Smile :)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Good character is directly related to faith itself. The believers who are best in faith are those who are best in character. The weightiest of matter on the Scale in the Day of Judgement is good character.

There is no reciprocating harm with harm but return bad with good. This is the Prophetic ways.

Our character is tested most in our relationships with people, especially with our children, spouses, parents, siblings and relatives.

The sign of the best of believers is that they hasten to repent. Repentance has a worldly aspect to it. If you have wronged someone or said something wrong to someone, a sign of sincerity with your relationship with Allah is that you do not hesitate to apologize. Of course social discretion and wisdom entails that you apologize in such a way that it does not turn you into a doormat on which people start walking all over you. But you hasten to apologize so that the wound does not get deeper.

You can frame a bad relationship in a positive way and the reward is both here and in your next life. Show a cheerful face, put that smile on your face, and invite the person for lunch or go out and have coffee/tea/sweets.

Whenever you smile, it is said that your brain is releasing serotonin, the happy hormone, and that it is widely believed that a serotonin deficiency plays a role in depression.

Smiling is the natural way to force yourself to be happy. Many people even smile for five minutes straight in the morning to get themselves in a great mood for the day. It is a very powerful tool that is utilized less and less as we grow older. You see babies smile all the time (except when they are busy doing their thing) and how much joy those little smiles brought to you and people around. Just remember that while happiness leads to smiles, smiles also lead to happiness.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said that "Your smile for your brother is charity." It is charity for you because it makes you feel happy and it is charity for others because it makes them happy. Remember, "Charity is prescribed for each descendant of Adam every day the sun rises."

As well, feeding people is not an accident when the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked about faith.

Abdullah ibn 'Amr reported that a man asked the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Which is the best of Islam?" He replied, "Feeding people and giving the greeting to those you know and those you do not know."

May Allah enable us to put smiles on our faces even when things are bad. Ameen.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam