A Muslim cafe owner in New York responds to robbery in the most heartwarming way possible

Impact

After his coffee shop Cocoa Grinder was robbed, Abdul Elenani didn't call local law enforcement. Instead, as a Muslim, he looked to Prophet Muhammad for inspiration. 

In a big panel window of his Brooklyn, New York, coffee shop, Elenani posted an open letter to the robber, IlmFeed reported. In the letter, Elenani said he forgave the robber if he needed to commit the robbery for survival.

"If the money you stole was to better you and your family's living, then I forgive you," Elenani wrote. "If it was stolen for you to go out there and ruin yourself and health, I still forgive you and ask of you to fix yourself."

The letter was filled with sentiments of mercy and forgiveness for the robber, but more importantly, it finished off with two powerful quotations from Prophet Muhammad.

"You do not do evil to those who do evil to you, but you deal with them with forgiveness and kindness," Prophet Muhammad once said.

In this current political climate, where anti-Muslim hate crime is on the rise and there are still plenty of misconceptions about Islam, Elenani did a great deed of clearing misconceptions about the religion by simply following in the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad.

For those who are not familiar: Prophet Muhammad is highly regarded among Muslims since he is believed to be the last messenger of God. To many Muslims, Prophet Muhammad didn't only spread the message of one true God, but he also spread the message of tolerance, kindness, forgiveness and love.

And Elenani emulated just that.

Here's the full text of the letter:

Through this door you came & through this door I write!

Dear John/Jane Doe,

Hope this letter finds you and your family well. What happened on the night of the 17th of August was a mistake and not cool. After hearing about all the restaurants getting robbed and broken into on a weekly basis then Cocoa Grinders turn came around that night made me just stop to write you and hopefully you read it.

If you were to ask me personally "Would you rob to survive?" I'd say "I'm better off not surviving and of course not be a reason to mess up some ones day or life" but of course at the end of the day everyone has their own personal opinion. Well sir/madam, I didn't report this and I didn't check the cameras to see who you are. I'd rather just not know. If the money you stole was to better you and your family's living, then I forgive you. If it was stolen for you to go out there and ruin yourself and health, I still forgive you and ask of you to fix yourself.

"Every human being commits sins, and the best of sinners are those who frequently repent."

– Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

"You do not do evil to those who do evil to you, but you deal with them with forgiveness and kindness."

This was said about Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

With love,