Faith is revealed and expressed through tolerance. In the words of the Holy Quran: "Those who are patient, seeking the pleasure of their Lord, establish prayer, spend secretly and openly from what We have given them, and repel evil with good" (Surah Ra'd, verse 21). Setting out the principle and instruction of tolerance, Almighty Allah says: "Be patient and tolerant, vie with one another in tolerance, bind yourselves in tolerance and fear Allah, so that you may succeed" (Surah Al-Imran, verse 200).

In difficult moments faith is shown not in the pointless acts of the foolish but through humility: "And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk with humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say 'Salam' (peace)..." (Surah Furqan, verse 63). And again: "(The servants of the Most Merciful are) those who do not bear false witness, and when they come upon idle things, pass by with dignity..." (Surah Furqan, verse 72).

Tolerance is a quality of faith and a human virtue. Almighty Allah says: "Good and evil cannot be equal. Repel evil with what is better, and you will see that your mortal enemy has become a close friend. None is granted this except those who are patient, and none is granted it except those who are most fortunate" (Surah Ha-Mim Sajdah, verses 34, 35).

Tolerance is closely tied to forgiveness. Almighty Allah says: "Hold to forgiveness, enjoin what is good and do not get entangled with the ignorant..." (Surah A'raf, verses 199, 200).

In fact, Islam always believes in generosity and in the easy way. Because of its spirit of worship, sincerity (ikhlas), prayer, dawah and tabligh, spirituality, service to humanity and Muslim brotherhood, Islam is called "the religion of peace". The beloved Prophet (PBUH) said: "Make things easy, do not make them hard; invite with good news, do not drive people away by frightening them" (Bukhari).

Source: Ittefaq. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.