A young Muslim from Halifax in Northern England has been honored by the Calderdale Policing Awards in appreciation of his efforts to prevent a suicide attempt in Halifax’s town center, Halifax Courier reported. 

The award is given annually to recognize unsung heroes for their “bravery and integrity while undertaking difficult circumstances.”

“Every day I think about how big of an impact a suicide could have on a family,” Atif Jamil, 25, said.

“Just because someone is smiling doesn’t mean they are OK mentally or physically.”

“I’m Muslim and through Islam, we’re taught if you save one life, you save all because one good deed has the potential to create great change.” 

Jamil was driving along and noticed a man standing at the side of the road. Jamil pulled over to find out if the man was ok.

“My natural instinct was to stop and help, so I spoke to him,” he said.

“The man was on the phone to a woman and he told me ‘she’s left me’. This man was at the lowest point in his life, but I told him he wasn’t alone and I tried to hold my nerve,” he said. 

Working as a manager of a car dealership, Jamil said he was able to talk with the man for 15 minutes until the police arrived at the scene and pulled the man to safety. 

What young Jamil did falls in line with similar heroic acts done by some other Muslims.

A young Muslim teenager from Brooklyn helped police arrest a man who attacked an Orthodox Jewish woman on the subway in December last year.

Another young American Muslim student showed bravery, also in December 2019, as she opened the doors of her mosque as a shelter, enabling more than 100 students to flee a high school stabbing in Wisconsin.