Class 3
BEST OF YOU
PEOPLE OF CHARACTER
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“The best of you are those who have the best manners and character.”
(Sahih Bukhari)
“The dearest to me among you and the nearest to me on the Day of Judgement are those who have the best character.”
(Sunan At-Tirmidhi)
“There is nothing heavier than good character put in the scale of a believer on the Day of Resurrection.”
(Abu Dawood)
GOOD CHARACTER
One of the most beautiful things in Islam is the emphasis on good manners. This is something so many Non-Muslims have been attracted to, before eventually accepting Islam. One quote a shaykh once made in a lecture particularly stuck: A Muslim is made by manners.
The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ was asked about that which will admit most people to Paradise. He said: “Taqwa of Allah and a good attitude.” (al-Tirmidhi;. classed as saheeh by al-Albaani).
This is a beautiful Hadeeth which shows the importance of doing good at everything, having Taqwa of Allah is between the Slave and His Lord but the manners is between people and so along with being a good Aa'bid (worshipper of Allah) being a well-mannered person can get us to Jannah by the Mercy of Allah!
A good attitude is the characteristic of the best of the Messengers and is the best action of the righteous. It is – no doubt – half of religion, the fruit of the efforts of the pious and the practice of the devoted worshipper. Bad characteristics are lethal poison and lead to shameful consequences.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “I have only been sent to perfect good manners.” (al-Bukhaari in al-Adab al-Mufrad & Ahmad).
We can reach great heights with good manners, The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “By his good character a believer will attain the degree of one who prays during the night and fasts during the day”. (Abu Dawood, classed as Sahih by Albani)
Hence Islam paid a great deal of attention to laying down guidelines for treating diseases of the heart (i.e., spiritual diseases) and ways of acquiring good characteristics, which is regarded as one of the most important duties, because no heart will be free of sicknesses. If the heart is neglected, sicknesses will accumulate. No soul is free of inclinations which, if they are given free rein, will lead it to doom in this world and in the Hereafter.
Even the Prophet ﷺ used to pray for a good attitude, saying, “O Allaah, You have made my outward form beautiful so make my attitude good too.” [Narrated by Ibn Hibbaan; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani].
Even though such great importance and rewards have been mentioned sadly nowadays something strange is going on.
Muslims are seen as the untidy ones when its said the Purity is half Imaan.
The Islamic schools are becoming known for bad manners— Students, Teacher & Parents all equally blame worthy.
It is the Muslim Communities where the neighbors do not help each other when there has been so much emphasis given to it.
The Muslim Areas are the dirtiest of all and so landlords (even Muslims) prefer to have Non-Muslims tenants.
The Muslim Business Man are trusted the least
The Muslim workers are seen as lazy, unreliable and deceiving.
Men with beard are seen and referred to as harsh people.
The Ummah is sleeping none has the courage to stand up for justice.
The Muslims are more into arguing and making their points to win rather than trying to simplify or making things easy.
It is usually a Muslim trying to pull down another brother when the non-Muslims are supporting each other to grow.
There’s clearly something wrong. Why is there such a massive difference between what Islam teaches us and what is being reflected in society? The answer is: manners.
Seeing the value of Manners and doing things for the Sake of Allah
Stop a moment and comprehend that your manners can be one of the reasons a person accepts Islam and his/her good deeds from there on will all in your accounts as well. Ponder on the fact that Manners will weigh so heavily on the Day of Judgment when every small thing can make a big difference, envision being nearest to the Prophet ﷺ on the Day of Judgment, realize that manners could be one of the main reasons for Allah to enter you into His Gardens of Paradise.
Think that, why are almost all parents so keen on teaching saying please & thank you to their children? Because it is fitrah (natural inclination) for parents to want good manners from their children.
We should speak the truth, be honest, be brave, be just, not just because society considers it good manners; you we should because Allah ‘azza wajal has commanded us to do so! Allah (swt) has told us which manners are good.
So develop your good habits only for the sake of Allah, remembering your relationship with Him and seeking closeness to Him while focusing on your manners, this helps us to do more than we can for any worldly benefits.
PRAISEWORTHY TRAITS OF A MUSLIM
Truthful & Trustworthy
Being truthful is one of the necessities of a human society, one of the virtues of human behaviour, and brings great benefits, whilst lying is one of the major elements of corruption in human society, and the cause of the destruction of social structure and ties, one of the most evil features of bad conduct, and causes widespread harm. Hence Islam commanded truthfulness and forbade lying.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “O you who believe! Be afraid of Allaah, and be with those who are true (in word and deeds).” [al-Tawbah 9:119]
The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said: ‘You must be truthful, for truthfulness leads to righteousness and righteousness leads to Paradise. A man will keep speaking the truth and striving to speak the truth until he will be recorded with Allaah as a siddeeq(speaker of the truth). Beware of telling lies, for lying leads to immorality and immorality leads to Hellfire. A man will keep telling lies and striving to tell lies until he is recorded with Allaah as a liar.” (Reported by Muslim, 4721)
Truthfulness includes being truthful towards Allaah by worshipping Him sincerely; being truthful towards one’s own soul by making it adhere to the laws of Allaah; and being truthful with people in one's words and by keeping one's promises, and in dealings such as buying, selling and marriage, so there should be no deceiving, cheating, falsifying or withholding of information. Thus a person should be the same on the inside and the outside.
Humble & Friendly
The essence of being Muslim is being humble.
The word “Muslim” itself means to submit oneself in ultimate humbleness to Allah.
The Messenger of Allâh ﷺ said:
“The most perfect of the believers in faith is the one who is best in attitude and humble, who get along with others and others get along with them, and there is no good in the one who does not get along with others and they do not get along with him.” (al-Tabaraani; classed as hasan by Albani)
“Wealth does not decrease because of charity, and Allaah increases His slave in honour when he forgives others. And no one humbles himself before Allaah but Allaah will raise him (in status).”
But it is a great irony of the human soul that when we become more humble and submissive to Allah, we fall into a grave trap. We tend to grow in arrogance because we feel our level of submission is better than that of others. It was this same trap that Satan fell into.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “No one who has an atom’s-weight of arrogance in his heart will enter Paradise.” A man said, “O Messenger of Allaah, what if a man likes his clothes and his shoes to look good?” He ﷺ said, “Allaah is Beautiful and loves beauty. Arrogance means rejecting the truth and looking down on people.” (Muslim).
May Allah save us from being amongst the arrogant and make us amongst humble.
Be Easy Going
Islam is the religion of mercy and kindness, the religion of tolerance and ease. Allaah has not burdened this ummah (community, nation) with more than it can bear.
‘Aa’ishah R.A. said: "Never that the Prophet ﷺ , had to choose between two matters, but that he chose the easier of them as long as it was not a sin (i.e. a prohibited action). If it was a sin, he was the farthest of people from it….." (Al-Bukhaari)
The Prophet ﷺ said:
· “Religion is easy, and no one overburdens himself in his religion but he will be unable to continue in that way. So do not be extremists, but try to be near perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded. Gain strength by worshipping in the mornings and afternoons and during the last hours of the night.” [Narrated by al-Bukhaari (39) and Muslim (2816)].
“You are an ummah for whom I want ease.” [Musnad al-Imam Ahmad],
“The best of your religion is that which is easiest, the best of your religion is that which is easiest.” Musnad Ahmad (3/479). It was classed as hasan
Easy in Dealings
The Messenger of Allâh ﷺ said:
“...Whoever is easy-going with a debtor who is facing hardship, Allâh will make it easy for him in this world and in the Hereafter...” (Sahih Muslim)
“Whoever lets a Muslim off (a transaction), Allâh will relieve him of his distress on the Day of Resurrection.” (Abu Dawood & Ibn Maajah, classed as sahih by Albani) - This hadeeth is talking about, taking returns from someone we have sold something to someone.
“Whoever waits for one who is in (financial) difficulty (to pay a debt) or waives it for him, Allâh will shade him in His shade.” (Sahih Muslim)
"May Allah's mercy be on him who is lenient in his buying, selling, and in demanding back his money." (Sahih Bukhari)
Gentle & Forbearing
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said to Ashajj b. Qays: “You possess two qualities that Allâh loves: forbearance and patience.” (Sahih Muslim)
He ﷺ also said,
“He who is deprived of forbearance and gentleness is, in fact, deprived of all good.” (Sahih Muslim)
“Allâh will not increase a person who forgives others except in honour.” (Sahih Muslim)
Being Helpful
One form of providing ease is to make things easy in terms of religion and the other is to remove general difficulties for their brothers, this brings in great rewards from Allah and also is of great benefit in this world.
Being helpful or always ready to help was one of the characteristics of the Prophet ﷺ he would never say no to anyone who had asked him of help., Jabir ibn Abdullah (Allah be pleased with him) relates that, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was never asked anything whatsoever to which he said no.” [Bukhari and Muslim].
EXCELLENCE IN ALL YOU DO
One of the core problems with the Muslims specially those who are good at some things is that they become complacent. They do some really good things but then fall way behind in other things like a person is really good in Salah, Dawah, etc but his relation with his parents is appalling. This is not a complete Muslim, the main attribute of the Prophet’s character was perfection. He strove for perfection in everything he did. When someone would speak to him, he would turn around fully to talk. When speaking with him, he was never the first to look away, he was the best of companions and similarly was the best to his wives. He was simply perfect in everything he did Alhamdulilah! We need to atleast strive for excellence as perfection is something beyond us.
Please join our free online certificate course “THE LOST TRAITS”, to learn more about various traits that we should have as a Muslim and their respective virtues. https://learn-islam.org/lost-traits (available online now, register and learn).
Note these are not part of the ongoing course, it is an independent course that can be done at your own pace and at your own convenience.
TRAITS/ACTIONS THAT ARE CONTRARY TO GOOD MANNERS
LYING
Read the Hadeeth listed earlier under Truthfulness.
Another hadeeth Aa’ishah said: No characteristic was more hateful to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ than lying. If a man told a lie in the presence of the Prophet ﷺ, he would continue to feel some unrest in his heart until he knew that the man had repented. (At-Tirmidhi; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani).
BACKBITING | SLANDER
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Do you know what gheebah (backbiting) is?” They said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He ﷺ said, “Saying something about your brother that he dislikes.” It was said, “What if what I say about my brother is true?” He ﷺ said, “If what you say is true then you have backbitten about him, and if it is not true, then you have slandered him.” (Sahih Muslim)
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed by two graves and said, “They are being punished, but they are not being punished for anything that was difficult to avoid. One of them used to walk about spreading malicious gossip (nameemah), and the other used not to take precautions to avoid getting urine on himself when he urinated...” [al-Bukhaari, Muslim]
FOUL LANGUAGE
SubhaanAllah, somehow we have come to a stage where our youth sees using foul language as a means to be cool.
Warning of Hellfire because of cussing
Realize, dear brother/sister, that using foul language and cussing is a sin, even in joke and this is a characteristic of the people of Hellfire.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“The inmates of Hell are of five types….” And among them he ﷺ mentioned “…the miser, the liar and those who are in the habit of abusing people and using obscene and foul language.” (Muslim)
“O ‘Aaishah! The worst people are those whom the people desert or leave in order to save themselves from their dirty language or from their transgression.” (Bukhaari)
Bad words show disrespect to those being spoken to and a total lack of self-respect. The one who stays away from filthy language is not being a prude or old-fashioned; rather he /she is a Mu’min and a follower of the one with the best manners ever…that is, the Prophet ﷺ. Use of such evil words is disrespectful, plain and simple. It is not to be tolerated nor is it an acceptable behavior in Islam.
The behavior of the Prophet ﷺ
Anas bin Malik said: “The Prophet ﷺ was not one who would abuse (others) or say obscene words, or curse (others)…” (Bukhaari)
And Abdullah bin ‘Amr said: “The Prophet ﷺ never used bad language neither a ‘Faahish nor a Mutafaahish. He ﷺ used to say ‘The best amongst you are those who have the best manners and character.’ (Bukhaari)
And he ﷺ said: “The believer is not a slanderer, one who curses a great deal, one who indulges in obscenity or who in engages in foul talk.” (Tirmidhi– saheeh by al-Albaani)
Please join our free online certificate course “SINS TAKEN LIGHTLY”, to learn more about widespread yet sins that can be fatal for us in the hereafter. https://learn-islam.org/sins-taken-lightly (available online now, register and learn).
Note these are not part of the ongoing course, it is an independent course that can be done at your own pace and at your own convenience.
How to Attain Good Character?
By learning and practicing. Good character is based on five important qualities: Knowledge; A willingness to change; Patience; Good nature; Sound submission – Islam. (Ibn ul Qayyim)
Here are some practical tips on how to strive for a good character:
Be sincere in asking Allah to give you good character; make dua day and night!
Be patient and keep trying; fight your nafs to leave lying, bad words, bad environments, etc.
Surround yourself with people of good character; make dua Allah brings righteous people on your path.
Accept advice and seek forgiveness from others; if your mother says, “my son, don’t say that”, you should listen to her, and don’t be arrogant. Arrogance is rejecting truth, even if it is from your child, or your wife. You will not enter Paradise if there is even a grain of arrogance in your heart. Even if it is a disbeliever who corrects your mistake, accept his advice.
Read the Seerah and other books about good character; it was said: I don’t beautify Muhammad by my words, rather he beautifies my words.
May Allah give us all the hidayah to work on ourselves to become better versions, to attain good characteristics and to be amongst His beloved slaves.
TIPS FOR THE TEST
Do not have to memorise the ayahs or hadeeths word for word and their references, but remember their meanings and the msg being given.
Remember the virtues and rewards
Remember the sins and their effects
ASSIGNMENT
There will be an Assignment Question asked in the Test. Marks will be given based on the following: -
Invite atleast 15 people to the course (can invite via WhatsApp, Facebook, Email, telegram or word of mouth) 3 Marks. (check the note below for exceptions)
Note:
Those who have already invited whether on Whatsapp, Email or FB, do not need to invite again.
It does not matter, whether people join or not, our job is to invite.
Implement any 3 of the deeds covered from week 1. (5 Marks)
Talk about any 3 topics covered in this week’s classes with atleast 3 people. 5 Marks.
Pray for the Ummah, pray for the ease of all the poor & oppressed Muslims and pray that Allah make us all strong in imaan and give us the hidayah to work for the aakhirah and to help each other. Pray for this applying any three Sunnahs from class 4. - 2 Marks
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