Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) smile is sunnah

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that even a smile is charity. He also praised a smile that accompanies an act of charity like giving someone a glass of water.

Laughter also are attributed to the Almighty Allah which was inherent in the prophet Muhammad Pbuh. He was always smiling to anyone whom he met. A smile is the best medicine for having the quality of work in life as well as success in overcoming the challenge in life.

Prophet Muhammad S.A.W said, “Smiling in the face of your brother is charity (Sadaqa)”(Jami Tirmidhi). Hadrat Ibn ‘Abbas (God be pleased with him) relates that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) observed: “The pious offspring who casts a single look of affection at his parents receives a reward from God equal to the reward of an accepted Hajj.” (Sahih Muslim)

So why waste your time in frowns when Smile gives you a way to follow the Sunnah, win the hearts of others, earn good deeds, and give charity.

Smiling doesn’t seem like a particularly complicated act.

You feel a happy emotion, the corners of your mouth turn up, your cheeks lift and your eyes crinkle.

Easy, however, the overall effect tells the outside world that we’re feeling happy.It’s simple and, in most cases, totally spontaneous and in fact can be contagious.

Think about it. It is no surprise that in Islam much attention is paid to how we, as Muslims, carry ourselves and present our religion and the simplest way is to smile.

In fact, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the best example in terms of smiling and making others happy:

“When you smile to your brother’s face, it is charity,” he often told his companions.

Indeed Abd Allah ibn Harith has narrated:

“I have never seen anyone more in the habit of smiling than the Messenger.” (At-Tirmidhi)

Another companion relays that:

“Whenever the Prophet saw me after I had embraced Islam; he would receive me with a smile. I have never seen anyone who smiles more than the Prophet.” (Al-Bukhari)

With the nature of our lives these days, just by turning on the TV reading the paper, or surfing the internet, smiling may seem quite a difficult adventure. However, smiling is viewed across cultures as a sign of friendliness and it is a natural response that share our happiness with others.

The Healthy Side of Smiling

Research has revealed that smiling lowers the heart rate and temporarily reduces blood pressure reducing stress by releasing endorphins that naturally diminish stress hormones simultaneously putting us in a better mood. Endorphins also lessen pain.

Smiling and laughter therefore are useful aids in health care. Still in the area of health, smiling boosts the immune system by relaxing the body and allowing the immune system to react more quickly and effectively to invaders. Moreover, it has been proven that it increases productivity, and here’s a good one for female readers, it makes you look younger!

A Sunnah and Way of Life

How many of us have walked down the street, seen someone smiling, and smiled back thinking it was for us? Embarrassing yes, but I, for one, continue smiling after realizing the initial smile was not for me and garner happier smiley people in the process.

As mentioned above smiling is contagious, therefore as you are gaining all these benefits you are spreading them around to all those who see you smiling and smile back. Remember, a smile conveys confidence and professionalism.

Do people ever tell you to “just smile, you’ll feel better”?

If you’re like most teenagers you may hear it a lot, and you get annoyed every time you hear it. (Telling a teenager to smile is probably one of the best ways to ensure they won’t smile for the next several hours). But the notion that smiling will make you feel better has actually been confirmed by research.

There are several studies demonstrating that people are happier when they smile, at least in certain circumstances. It is no wonder Islam focuses on it. Our beautiful religion teaches that a smile is a message about ourselves as Muslims; that our hearts are pure and that we are not infected by anxieties, hang-ups, and gloom.

A smile is an instant message to those we know and those we do not know. It is received and understood even before we speak to or greet someone and makes that person more receptive to what we have to say.

That said we must realize though before we all go out with renewed vigor to smile and laugh with friends and family there are just a few small points to the middle way, we have a religion that should be known for its moderation, thus laughing and joking relentlessly is not the best way to behave. Remember that although Prophet Muhammad laughed and joked with his family and companions, he always behaved sensibly with fine moral principles. He never joked in a way that hurt someone’s feelings or joked or made people smile about things that were not true. In fact, he was heard to say:

“Woe to the one who speaks and lies to make people laugh; woe to him, woe to him”. (At-Tirmidhi)