But that is not what respect should be about. Such circumstances are not what should elicit respect from us to our neighbours. There should not be the determining factor as to whether we should treat the next person with respect and dignity.
Treating people with respect is supposed to be a fundamental characteristic of human existence as even the Holy Bible acknowledges this in the gospel according to Mathew chapter seven verses twelve when It says, “So in everything, do to others what you … humility, gentleness and patience.
According to an Islamic scholar, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, God tells us in the Qur’an that “We have indeed honored the Children of Adam, and provided for them means of transportation on land and sea, and given them wholesome food and exalted them high above the greater part of Our creation” (17:70).
This shows that man by his very creation deserves regard and respect. This respect is man’s natural birthright, regardless of which community he belongs to.
According to a Hadith, “That person is not one of us who is not merciful to our juniors and respectful to our elders.” According to another Hadith, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said, “One who believes in Allah and the Last Day must honour his neighbours; one who believes in God and the Last Day must honour his guests.”
There are a number of such commands to believers in the Holy books which lay great emphasis on showing due respect to the people of God; for this is an important area in which we are actually being tested as regard to our faith in God. Our love and devotion for God finds expression in this world in the form of our relations with other human beings. One who is a true lover of God has an inner urge to love God’s servants.
Respect for humankind is one of the basic teachings of our faiths. Anyone, be he of one’s own religion or of any other religious tradition, whether he belongs to one’s community or to another; whether he belongs to a friendly group or to the enemy group, in all cases is worthy of respect.
According to the teachings, human beings are to be respected despite their differences. Even where antagonism is displayed, we have to adopt peaceful means of conflict resolution and continue to show respectful behaviour. In the eyes of Islam all human beings are equal and deserve our respect.
After all said and done, is it still possible to show respect to or treat someone with respect or honour who has not treated you in the same manner or who without question behaves in a manner that indicates he should be best ignored or treated just as shabbily?
“Yes” said, Abubakar Abdulrahim. “I will continue to treat him with respect because my belief is that you should follow evil with good things and not evil. You will be surprised that showing him respect and being gentle towards him will serve as a corrective measure and cause him to change his ways. It may be as a result of the fact that he is frustrated and not provoking you enough to respond back at him in the way he expects. It may also be as a result of the fact that he admires the mildness of your attitude towards him and appreciates it as a more humane way to relate with people.”
For Ola Bamsa, “It is not easy to deal with people who are nasty to me with respect and gentility. I prefer to ignore them completely and avoid them as much as I can so our paths don’t cross. So far that has been the way I have handled it and it has worked for me.”
Regardless of how people behave toward you, learn to treat them with respect or avoid them. Treating others respectfully, will make our world a nice place to live in, whether at home, work or in the larger community.
Take a cue by treating them the way you would like them to treat you. If you used to make jest of people, mock or insult them, stop doing so. Begin to listen to others and appreciate their view points and value them. This way you will also be considerate of their likes and dislikes and be sensitive to their feelings.
The greatest challenge of all is to stop gossip/back biting. What you cannot say before them, do not say behind their backs.
The diversity of cultures and values are things which put together, make our society more interesting. This can be best experienced where we get along with one another.
If we keep our minds open to learn things from one another without loosing our identity, we will eventually create a better and friendly atmosphere to live in.
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