Tolerance Leads to Respecting Differences

Whereas a lack of tolerance shows that a person only considers himself. He is unaware of the demands of others. Tolerance is a noble virtue. It has been variously referred to in Islam, for instance, gentleness, softening of the heart, and being kind to all creatures. When an individual attains to true worship and true religiosity, he rises above all the evils which stem from selfishness. He begins to be aware of external realities rather than just his own self. Such a person starts seeing others with eyes of love; this becomes second nature to him. He does not expect anything from others. Therefore, if others are not good to him, even then he keeps up his tolerant attitude towards them. Tolerance enables a person in all situations to respect others, whether they are good to him or not. In all situations he should live amongst them with the best human values, whether they are friends or relatives or unrelated to him. In all situations, he should treat people with sympathy and well-wishing, even if they are unsympathetic in their attitude. Tolerance in actual fact means being conciliatory towards others. In social life one is unavoidably faced with differences in religion, culture, tradition, personal preferences, and so on. In such a situation,