Hatred is an emotion of intense revulsion, distaste, enmity, or antipathy for a person, thing, or phenomenon, generally attributed to a desire to avoid, restrict, remove, or destroy the hated object. Hatred is also among the most common emotions that human's experience. It can be based on fear of an object or past negative consequences of dealing with that object. Hatred is often described as the opposite of love or friendship.

Often the verb "to hate" is used casually to describe things one merely dislikes, such as a particular style of architecture, a certain climate, one's job, some particular food, or people who claim to hate something when they in fact merely dislike it.

"Hatred" is also used to describe feelings of prejudice, bigotry or condemnation against a person, or a group of people, such as racism, and intense religious or political prejudice. The term hate crime is used to designate crimes committed out of hatred in this sense.

Religion Islam has been accused unjustly of being a religion of hate by those who never made a true effort to understand even the basic teachings of Islam. We all know that ignorance is the worst enemy of the truth, and Allah (SWT) asked us to learn the truth as there is nothing after the truth except falsehood.

This then is Allah, your true Lord; and what is there after the truth but error; how are you then turned back? Noble Qur'an (10:32)

Let us present the simple truth about Islam and the Noble Qur'an that proves that Islam is not a religion of hate but rather a religion of love, tolerance, understanding, and social justice.

Many people are not aware that Islam is the religion of Prophet Abraham, not the religion of Prophet Muhammad. Prophet Abraham, being the founder of Islam, with all its beautiful and peaceful teachings and rituals, passed his religion to all the prophets who came after him, including all the Israeli prophets, Prophet Moses, Prophet Jesus and Prophet Muhammad. Those attacking Islam, out of ignorance, or deliberately, are attacking Prophet Abraham who is their prophet as much as the prophet of the Muslims.

Noble Qur'an explains clearly this fact,

And strive hard in (the way of) Allah, (such) a striving a is due to Him; He has chosen you and has not laid upon you an hardship in religion; the faith of your father Abraham; He named you Muslims before and in this, that the Messenger may be a bearer of witness to you, and you may be bearers of witness to the people... Noble Qur'an (22:78)

Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian but he was (an) upright (man), a Muslim, and he was not one of the polytheists. Most surely the nearest of people to Abraham are those who followed him and this Prophet and those who believe and Allah is the guardian of the believers. Noble Qur'an (3:67-68)

Then We revealed to you (O Muhammad): Follow the faith of Abraham, the upright one, and he was not of the polytheists. Noble Qur'an (16:123)

In that simple sense, how can Islam which is the religion of Abraham promote hate when it is the same religion passed down to the Jews and Christians before reaching Muslims? How can the Jews and Christians claim different standard when we are talking about the same religion with different names but all go back to Abraham.

Noble Qur'an, the final Testament, made a special mention of the relationship that controls the social and daily life with other people including but not limited to Jews and Christians. In it Noble Qur'an urges the Muslims to be loving, caring, friendly, patient, tolerant, advocates of freedom, democracy, and social justice. Islam never advocated hate or promoted it. People, who promote hate, do so on their own terms and misunderstanding. By doing so they do not represent Islam or the teachings of Islam in the scripture.

We need to remember that hate is a man made crime that we should not blame on any religion. Any claim of hate in a religion is no more than man made innovation that has nothing to do with God or His scripture. Planting hate only produces hate. Planting love, will produce love. Our God is Almighty, all loving.

A kindergarten teacher has decided to let her class play a game. The kindergarten teacher told each child in the class to bring along a plastic bag containing a few potatoes. Each potato will be given a name of a person that the child hates, so the number of potatoes that a child will put in his/her plastic bag will depend on the number of people he/she hates. So when the day came, every child brought some potatoes with the name of the people he/she hated. Some had 2 potatoes; some 3 while some up to 5 potatoes.

The kindergarten teacher then told the children to carry with them the potatoes in the plastic bag wherever they go (even to the toilet) for one week. Days after days passed by, and the children started to complain due to the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten potatoes. Besides, those having 5 potatoes also had to carry heavier bags. After 1 week, the children were relieved because the game had finally ended.

The kindergarten teacher asked: "How did you feel while carrying the potatoes with you for 1 week?" The children let out their frustrations and started complaining of the trouble that they had to go through having to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they go. Then the kindergarten teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game.

The kindergarten teacher said: "This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred for somebody inside your heart. The stench of hatred will contaminate your heart and you will carry it with you wherever you go. If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just one week, can you imagine what is it like to have the stench of hatred in your heart for your lifetime?"

Moral: Throw away any hatred for anyone from your heart so that you will not carry sins for a lifetime. Forgiving others is the best attitude to take. "Learn to Forgive and Forget."

In the time of a caliph, a rich man bought a slave whom he treated, from the beginning, like a gentleman, giving him the best of food and clothes, and money exactly like his own child or even more lavishly. But the slave noticed that his master always felt uneasy.

Eventually the rich man made up his mind to set him free and provide him with some capital. One night as they were sitting together, the master said: "Do you know why I have treated you so well?" The slave asked the reason. The master said: "I have one request to make which if you fulfill, you would enjoy all I have given and will give you! But if you refuse, I will be discontented with you." The slave said: "I will obey whatever you ask. You are my benefactor who has given me my life." The master said: "You must promise me in good faith to do it, for I am afraid you may refuse it."

The slave said: "I promise to do what you want." The master said: "My proposal is that you must behead me at a specific time and place." The slave exclaimed: "What? How can I do that?" The master said: "That is what I desire." The slave said: "That is impossible." The master said: "I have got your promise. You must do it."

One midnight, he awakened the slave and gave him a sharp knife and a bag full of money and climbed up a neighbor's roof, and told the slave to behead him there and then go wherever he liked. The slave asked the reason for such an act. The rich man answered: "I hate this one man and prefer death to seeing his face. We have been rivals but he, my neighbor has gone ahead of me and excels me in everything, and I am burning with hatred. I desire my neighbor to be jailed for this fake murder and this idea is a relief to me. Everyone knows him to be my rival, and so my neighbor will be condemned to death for this act." The slave said: You seem to be a foolish man and deserve this death."

So he beheaded the rich man and ran away, His rival neighbor was consequently arrested and imprisoned, but no one believed that he would have killed his rival on his own roof. It had become a mystery. At last, the slave felt a prick of conscience, went to the authorities and confessed the truth. When they understood the matter, they freed both the slave and the neighbor.

This is a fact that Hate is a disease of the soul. The Noble Qur'an says in Chapter "The Sun" (Shams 91:9-10). "He will indeed be successful who purifies it, and he will indeed fail who corrupts it." Thus, the first proposal of the Noble Qur'an is purification of the self from ailments, complexes, ignorance, deviations and metamorphoses.

You could have heard that in the past there were people who, because of excess of sins, were cursed by the Prophets of their time and were thus metamorphosed, that is, they were transformed into animals such as a monkey, a wolf, a bear etc.

Someone said: "We had made a pilgrimage to Makkah along with Imam Sajjad (as) and when we looked down at the Desert of Arafat it was full of Hajis (pilgrims). There were so many of them that year. The Imam Sajjad said: "There is much uproar, but few are true Hajis (pilgrims)." The man says: "I don't know how Imam Sajjad gave me the insight, but when Imam Sajjad asked me to look down again, I saw a desert full of animals, like that in a zoo, among whom a few human beings were moving about." The Imam Sajjad told him how things looked to those who had a clear sight and were concerned with the inward concept of things.

So you think you are superior to others because you belong to a different ethnic group, or you speak a different language, or you are from a different country or you belong to a specific family, group, clan or race.

And you will support others on the basis of their language, ethnicity, relationship, origin.even though they do injustice, commit crimes, in the name of tribalism, racism, nationalism or any other ism, other than their moral superiority, good qualities or for justice.

And you will not help or support other human beings because they do not belong to 'your' group, country, clan, race, family. Even though they are oppressed, denied their rights, they deserve to be supported, they are on truth.

Are you aware that this type of fanatic behavior is known as "Asabiyyah" or Prejudice?

Do you know what Islam says about Asabiyyah" or Prejudice?

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: "Whosoever possesses in his heart Asabiyyah even to the extent of a mustard seed, God will raise him on the Day of Resurrection with the (pagan) Bedouins of the Jahiliyyah (the pre-Islamic era)."

Imam Jafar Sadiq (as) said: "Whosoever practices Asabiyyah (against someone), Allah (SWT) shall wrap around him a fold of Fire."

Imam Ali (as) said: "Almighty Allah (SWT) will punish six groups of people for six kinds of sins: .He will punish the Arabs for Asabiyyah..."

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: "One who calls towards Asabiyyah is not from us, one who fights for Asabiyyah is not from us and the one who dies on Asabiyyah is not from us."

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: "Best among you is the person who defends his tribe till they do not commit a sin."

Imam Ali (as) said: "If it becomes unavoidable for you to be among those who practice Asabiyyah, then do Asabiyyah to uphold the truth and support of the oppressed."

Imam Ali (as) said: "The one whose deeds lower him, his family background or ancestry cannot elevate him."

Thus, remember that the superiority is only on the basis of pure intentions and sincere and lofty deeds. Asabiyyah is a dangerous condition for an individual and the society. It is an evil trait, inspired by satanic forces. One must ponder seriously about its consequences in this world and hereafter.

A true believer annihilates his own will in the Will of his Lord. He is free from all traces of ignorant Asabiyyah's and thick and dark curtains of blind Asabiyyah's would not obstruct his vision.

When called to deliver justice and utter the word of truth, he puts a firm foot on the head of all associations and ties, sacrificing all ties of kinship and customary affinities at the altar of the aims and orders of his Lord. He supports truth and justice under all circumstances.

So if you love or hate someone, or support or are against a group of individuals or a nation, think wisely for a while, what has motivated you for it. If it is other than promoting truth and justice or help of oppressed or preventing aggression and tyranny, than give up your support of the people you are associated with. It will be certainly difficult for you to take a bold step and give up love, friendship, and affinity of your relatives, friends and colleagues. But your decision to give up blind Asabiyyah will not only save you from the fire of hell, but also motivate others to do the same.