someone else from doing something, he needs to show that person such kindness as will achieve his purpose: bringing about what is desired and averting what is disliked. People cannot endure bitterness without some sweetness; there is no other way. For this reason, Allah Most High commanded that hearts be won over, even assigning a share of the prescribed alms to those whose hearts are to be reconciled. Allah Most High said to His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him:

“Be gracious, enjoin what is right, and turn away from the ignorant.”

He also said:

“And they urged one another to patience and urged one another to mercy.”

One must therefore be patient and show mercy: this is courage and generosity. Thus Allah sometimes pairs prayer with zakah—which is kindness towards His creatures—and at other times mentions both together with patience.

All three are indispensable: prayer, zakah, and patience. The believers’ welfare, both in setting themselves right and in reforming others, cannot be secured without them. This is especially true as turmoil and trials intensify, for the need for these qualities then becomes greater. Generosity and patience are needed by all human beings; neither their religious nor their worldly welfare can be secured without them. Hence they all praise one another for courage and generosity; indeed, these qualities constitute most of what poets celebrate in their verse. Likewise, they blame one another for miserliness and cowardice. Matters upon which all human beings agree can only be true, as with their agreement in praising truthfulness and justice and condemning lying and injustice.

It is related that “when the Bedouins pressed the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with their requests until they forced him against an acacia tree, which caught his cloak, he turned towards them