Acts of kindness

Doing small acts of kindness constantly and making them a habit can help in softening our hearts and to bring us closer to Allah. Some of us may not even know the hardness of our hearts and thus striving to look for opportunities to do good deeds can help us stay clear of such a state. Consider the story about the man who came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) complaining th at his heart was hard, implying that his attitude in dealing with people was harsh and unfriendly. On hearing his complaint about himself, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied to him with an advice by saying, “Would you like your heart to become soft and to get what you want? Show mercy to the orphan, pat his head, feed him from your own food, and your heart will become soft and you will get what you want.” (Hadith reported by al-Tabaraani;