Islam As it Is

Islamic Character ~ 139 ~ believer must cultivate the capacity to rise above negative sentiments in his dealings with people so that his relationships with them remain on a positive basis. When anger and bitterness well up inside him, he should not give vent to these feelings but should, instead, contain and suppress them within his own self. He should live in the world in the way that the flowers do-giving off a sweet fragrance even to those who give nothing but abuse, and remaining unruffled even in the face of violent attack. AFTER MAKING A MISTAKE However upright one may be, one cannot help but err from time to time in one’s dealings with one’s fellow-men. There are bound to be occasions when one fails to give another his due or neglects some responsibility towards him. The Quran tells us that at such times we should right the wrongs we have done by immediately doing good. If we lose no time in doing so, we can effectively cancel out any harmful consequences of our wrong-doing. To this end the Prophet counselled: “Fear God wherever you are, and follow up a bad deed with a good