Islam Commands People To Behave Gently

God has infinite compassion, and is forgiving, protective and gentle toward believers. The Compassionate and Merciful has placed all the blessings in the universe at Man's disposal, supporting him with messengers to reveal the true path. He directs all men to be His sincere servants by means of His revelations, each of which is a guidepost to that path. Our Lord is the Halim (the Clement), Adl (Lord of Infinite Justice), 'Afuw (the Pardoner), Asim (the Protector), Barr (the Source of All Goodness), Ghafir (the Forgiver), Hafiz (the Protector), Karim (the Generous One), Latif (the Subtle One), Muhsin (Lord of Infinite Kindness), Ra'uf (the Compassionate), Salam (the Author of Safety), Tawwab (the Accepter of Repentance) and Wahhab (the Bestower).
Believers know that they are under our Lord's protection and are aware of His infinite goodness and kindness. For that reason, they are eager to become the kind of servants that are pleasing to Him, who merit His mercy, and Paradise. As we have seen, one characteristic distinguishing believers is they are full of love and compassion. A Muslim behaves very gently, always treating others kindly. God has offered our Prophet's (may God bless him and grant him peace) gentle nature as an example to all believers (3:159):

It is a mercy from God that you were gentle with them. If you had been rough or hard of heart, they would have scattered from around you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them, and consult with them about the matter. Then when you have reached a firm decision, put your trust in God. God loves those who put their trust in Him.

That verse describes how our Prophet's (may God bless him and grant him peace) gentle, moral nature exerted a positive influence on people, whereby they grew even more devoted to him. The Qur'an gives the gentle natures of other loving prophets as role models. One verse (11:87) recounts how, when the Prophet Shuayb (peace be upon him) was sent to the people of Midian, they told him, "... You are clearly the forbearing, the rightly-guided!" The superior morality of the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) is another example for everyone. The Qur'an tells us that he was sensitive, gentle and full of love. The verses in question read:
Abraham would not have asked forgiveness for his father, but for a promise he made to him, and when it became clear to him that he was an enemy of God, he renounced him. Abraham was tenderhearted and forbearing. (9:114)

Abraham was forbearing, compassionate, penitent. (11:75)

God has commanded his believers always to behave in a pleasant manner, to speak kindly, and to treat others well. His prophets behaved accordingly. For example, when the Prophet Musa (Moses) (peace be upon him) was about to go to Pharaoh, one of the most repressive and cruel rulers of all times, God called on Moses in these terms (20:42-44):

Go, you and your brother, with My Signs, and do not slacken in remembering Me. Go to Pharaoh; he has overstepped the bounds. But speak to him with gentle words so that hopefully, he will be reminded or show some fear.

These verses are an important reminder that everyone has a duty to live by the morality that the Qur'an reveals, and to adopt the morality of the prophets. The Qur'an proposes the following ideals for mankind: Love to all creatures God created; being kind and gentle in the best possible ways; always favoring compromise and tolerance; never speaking harshly, even under the most trying circumstances; making sacrifices happily and willingly; always desiring and seeking the best for others; pushing one's own personal desires to the background; wishing for others exactly what one wishes for oneself; being always quick to offer assistance in cases of need; and rejecting all forms of cruelty. That, no doubt, is exactly the ethical model that mankind is searching for.