*Riyad al-Salihin* (The Meadows of the Righteous) from the Words of the Master of the Messengers, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Chapter on Good Character.
Allah the Exalted said:
"And indeed, you are of a great moral character."
And the Exalted said:
"...and who restrain anger and pardon people,"
"...and Allah loves the doers of good."
On the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was the best of people in character.
Agreed upon.
Key lessons of the hadith:
Allah favored His servant and Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
by granting him the grace to embody noble character traits;
He then praised him,
highlighting the beautiful manners he was adorned with,
and emphasized this by saying:
"And indeed, you are of a great moral character."
This was simply because he possessed the finest character among all people,
for there is no virtuous trait
except that he embodied it in its most complete, exemplary, and sublime manner.
On the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
I never touched brocade or silk
that was softer than the palm of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
nor did I ever smell a fragrance sweeter than the fragrance of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
I served the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, for ten years,
and he never once said "Uff" to me,
nor did he ever say regarding something I did, "Why did you do that?"
nor regarding something I did not do,
"Why did you not do such-and-such?"
Agreed upon.
Key lessons of the hadith:
The humility a Muslim should show to his fellow Muslim when shaking hands,
such that one is cheerful-faced, smiling, and gentle in demeanor.
Encouragement toward maintaining personal cleanliness and wearing pleasant fragrance,
as this was the practice of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The exhortation to treat servants with gentleness
and not to express annoyance at what they do.
Anas's, may Allah be pleased with him, keenness to conform to what the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, desired;
for he served the Messenger of Allah for ten years,
and the Prophet never objected to him, owing to the perfection of his service,
or its near perfection;
for had Anas done anything requiring disciplinary rebuke,
the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would not have delayed it.
On the authority of al-Sa'b ibn Jaththamah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
I presented the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, with a gift of
an onager (wild ass),
but he returned it to me.
When he saw the expression on my face, he said:
"We did not return it to you
except because we are in the state of ihram."
Agreed upon.
*Hurum* means in the state of ihram for Hajj or 'Umrah.
Key lessons of the hadith:
The prohibition for a person in ihram to eat game meat
if it was hunted specifically for his sake;
and it is to this scenario that the hadith of al-Sa'b ibn Jaththamah is applied.
But if someone not in ihram hunted it for himself
and gifted it to the person in ihram, it is permissible for the latter to eat it.
The recommendation to accept gifts and partake of them.
It is impermissible to accept unlawful gifts.
The noble character of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
in that he comforted the feelings of the gift-giver
by explaining the reason and justification for his refusal.
The hadith indicates the permissibility of judging by circumstantial indicators
in the absence of explicit verbal statements, based on al-Sa'b's words:
"When he saw the expression on my face."
On the authority of al-Nawwas ibn Sam'an, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
I asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
about righteousness and sin,
and he replied:
"Righteousness is good character,
and sin is that which wavers in your heart
and you would hate for people to find out about."
Reported by Muslim.
On the authority of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was never
obscene by nature (*fahish*), nor did he deliberately use obscenity (*mutafahhish*),
and he used to say:
"Indeed, among the best of you are those who are best in character."
Agreed upon.
*Fahish*:
meaning one who speaks obscenities,
which is exceeding the proper bounds in foul speech.
*Mutafahhish*:
meaning one who artificially adopts and exaggerates foul speech.
Key lessons of the hadith:
A believing servant must stay away from foul speech and vile actions,
must not pursue them,
and must steer clear of their causes.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, possessed the finest moral discipline,
so nothing ever emanated from him except righteous deeds
and wholesome speech.
Good character is an arena of virtuous competition among the believers;
whoever excels in it
is among the best of believers and the most complete in faith.
On the authority of Abu al-Darda', may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Nothing is heavier on the scale of the believer on the Day of Resurrection than good character,
and indeed, Allah detests the obscene and foul-mouthed person."
Reported by al-Tirmidhi.
*Al-Badhi'* is the one who utters obscenities and vulgar words.
Key lessons of the hadith:
Affirmation of the Scale that weighs good and bad deeds on the Day of Resurrection,
and that it has two pans.
Good character is among the greatest righteous deeds a servant will find in his record on the Day of Resurrection,
and will see on the scale of his good deeds.
The obscene, foul-mouthed person who indulges in bad speech is not loved by Allah.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was asked about that which most frequently admits people into Paradise,
and he said: "Taqwa (fear and consciousness of Allah) and good character."
And he was asked about that which most frequently admits people into the Fire,
and he replied: "The mouth and the private parts."
Reported by al-Tirmidhi.
Key lessons of the hadith:
Encouragement toward taqwa and good character.
Warning against the harvest of the tongue,
such as disbelief, backbiting, talebearing,
false testimony, slandering chaste women, and the like,
for these cast people headlong on their faces into the Hellfire on the Day of Resurrection.
Warning against fornication and adultery,
which is an abomination that leads to evil consequences in this world and the Hereafter.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"The most complete of believers in faith
are those who are best in character,
and the best of you are those who are best to their women."
Reported by al-Tirmidhi.
On the authority of 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, say:
"Indeed, by his good character, the believer surely attains the rank of the one who constantly fasts and stands in night prayer."
Reported by Abu Dawud.
Key lessons of the hadith:
The loftiest ranks belong to
the one who fasts by day
and stands in prayer through the night.
Good character multiplies reward and recompense,
to the point that a servant attains thereby the rank of the fasting person who never breaks his fast
and the night-worshiper who never grows weary.
On the authority of Abu Umamah al-Bahili, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"I guarantee a house in the outskirts of Paradise
for whoever leaves off arguing, even if he is in the right;
and a house in the middle of Paradise
for whoever leaves off lying, even if he is joking;
and a house in the highest part of Paradise
for whoever refines his character."
Reported by Abu Dawud.
*Al-Za'im* means the guarantor.
*Rabad al-Jannah* refers to its outskirts,
just as the *rabad* of a city refers to its surrounding environs.
*Al-Mira'* means disputing and contending in word or deed for a vain purpose.
Key lessons of the hadith:
The permissibility of giving a guarantee to encourage good deeds,
and whoever gives a guarantee is obligated to fulfill it,
based on the principle of the obligation to honor promises and covenants.
Encouragement to abandon argumentative disputation,
because it leads to discord and division.
The hadith contains proof for the legal principle of blocking the means to harm and warding off evils:
if a perceived benefit will lead to a greater evil,
that benefit is relinquished for that reason.
Paradise has degrees,
and the stations of people in Paradise correspond to their deeds.
The prohibition of lying in all its forms and varieties,
even in jest and amusement,
except for what has been explicitly exempted.
In this lies a refutation of those who claim there is a "white lie"
meant as lying during jest and play.
The highest levels of reward with Allah
are for the one who perfects his character,
because good character encompasses all virtues.
On the authority of Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Indeed, among the most beloved of you to me,
and the nearest of you to me in gathering on the Day of Resurrection,
are those of you who have the best character;
and indeed, the most detested of you to me and the farthest from me on the Day of Resurrection
are the chatterboxes (*thartharun*), the pompous babblers (*mutashaddiqun*), and the pretentious blowhards (*mutafayhiqun*)."
They said, "O Messenger of Allah,
we know the chatterboxes and the pompous babblers,
but who are the pretentious blowhards?"
He said: "The arrogant."
Reported by al-Tirmidhi.
*Al-Tharthar* is one who talks excessively and affectatiously.
*Al-Mutashaddiq*
is one who talks down to people,
opening his mouth wide with affected eloquence to aggrandize his speech.
*Al-Mutafayhiq*
is derived from *al-fahaq*,
which means fullness;
it refers to one who fills his mouth with speech,
expands excessively in it,
and uses obscure words out of arrogance, self-importance,
and a display of superiority over others.
Key lessons of the hadith:
Good character is among the means to gain the love of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and proximity to him on the Day of Resurrection.
The highest ranks of Paradise are for whoever perfects his character,
because it encompasses all traits of righteousness.
warning against pretentiousness in speech through making grandiose claims,
boasting, self-praise,
and speaking pompously merely to display eloquence and rhetoric,
for these traits are the characteristics of the arrogant and the ostentatious.
At-Tirmidhi reported
from 'Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, may Allah have mercy on him, regarding the explanation of good character,
that he said:
"It is having a cheerful countenance,
extending kindness,
and refraining from harm."
Among the benefits of this narration
is that 'Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, may Allah have mercy on him, pointed out
the signs and fruits of good character;
for good character
requires that a Muslim meet his brother with a joyful and smiling face,
because he earns a reward for doing so.
Whoever possesses this quality
extends his hand in goodness,
prefers others over himself with what he has,
and does not withhold his aid and generosity.
*Riyad as-Salihin* (The Meadows of the Righteous).