Importance of Good Character - Shaykh Abdullahi Hussein

Importance of Good Character

I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the accursed.

O people, fear your Lord, Who created you from one soul, and created from it its wife, and spread among them many men and women. And fear Allah in Whom you ask for help and mercy. Indeed, Allah is ever watching over you.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and say the righteous word. He will amend for you your deeds, and forgive for you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great triumph.

Indeed, the truth of the hadith is the Book of Allah, and the best guide is the guide of Muhammad ﷺ. And the worst of things are its innovations, and every innovation is a creation, and every creation is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire. Indeed, all praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, we thank Him, and we seek His assistance, and we ask for His forgiveness. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide, and whomsoever Allah misguides, none can guide. And I testify that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah, and I testify that Muhammad ﷺ is His final Messenger.

The Migration to Abyssinia and the Speech of Ja'far ibn Abi Talib

With the companions of the Prophet ﷺ who were being persecuted and tortured in Mecca, the Prophet ﷺ commanded them to migrate to Abyssinia, which is the modern-day Ethiopia. And in that land, there was a just ruler — a ruler that was just to all of the people. And after hearing of the migration of the companions to Abyssinia, the Quraysh were not happy and were not pleased with this news.

And so they sent two men, Abdullah ibn Abi Rabi'ah and Amr ibn Aas, to convince al-Najashi to bring them back to Mecca. And so al-Najashi invited the companions to the palace to question them about this affair, and to question them about al-Islam. And it was then when the great companion Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, gave what was considered a very powerful and eloquent speech.

He said: "We were a nation upon ignorance. We would worship idols, and we would eat dead animals, and we would commit adultery. And we were bad towards our neighbors, and we would cut the ties of kinship."

Until Allah chose from amongst us a prophet.

The Prophet ﷺ Was Sent to Perfect Good Character

This prophet was sent, as it was mentioned in an authentic hadith:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 8952; also reported by al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman)

The Prophet ﷺ said: "I have been sent to perfect good character."

And when Allah speaks about our prophet in the Qur'an, He gives us a principle to follow:

He says: "Indeed in the Messenger of Allah is a great example for you to follow." And if you were to apply this principle and to implement it in our day-to-day lives, we will find ourselves successful in this life and in the next.

And so I stand before you today to highlight some of the virtues of having حُسْنُ الْخُلُقِ — having good conduct — and how we should conduct ourselves when it comes to dealing with people.

Allah's Praise of the Prophet's Character

Allah praises our Prophet ﷺ in the Qur'an:

He says: "Indeed you, O Muhammad, are of great character."

And the reality is, my brothers and sisters in Islam, we as Muslims are a minority in these lands. And each and every single one of us here is representing this religion, whether you like it or not. You are an ambassador. You represent this religion through your actions and through your أَخْلَاق.

And so the question is — do we represent this religion as it deserves to be represented? Or do we carry ourselves in a manner in which our Prophet ﷺ would be disappointed in? What's quite common in today's society is being rough and tough. Being kind is considered a weakness. And what's considered manly is having a screw face. وَاللهُ الْمُسْتَعَان.

Allah addresses this very matter in the Qur'an. When speaking about our Prophet ﷺ, He says:

He says: "If you were rough and tough with the people, if you were rude and harsh with them, they would have fled away from you. They would have avoided you at all cost."

And so having good أَخْلَاق and having good mannerism is of those things that we constantly need to improve ourselves in. We constantly need to keep an eye on.

The Reward of Good Character

Our mother Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, narrated from the Prophet ﷺ that he said:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4798)

"A believer would attain through his good أَخْلَاق and through his good character the rank of the one that fasts the entire day and the one that stands that night in prayer."

SubhanAllah. Just having good character — treating your neighbors well, being respectful to your families and colleagues, being kind to the orphans — will allow you to attain the rank of the one that fasts the entire day and the one that prays the entire night.

Similarly, in another hadith — the hadith of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him — the Prophet ﷺ was asked regarding the deed that will admit the people into Jannah the most. A man approached the Prophet ﷺ and asked him regarding the deed which will admit the people into Jannah the most. The Prophet ﷺ said: Taqwa Allah — having consciousness of Allah, following His commandments and staying away from His prohibitions — and he followed it up with حُسْنُ الْخُلُقِ.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2004)

So not only is it good to follow in the footsteps of our Prophet ﷺ when it comes to his mannerism — insha'Allah it will be a gateway to Jannah. I ask Allah to admit us all into Jannat al-Firdaws al-A'la.

أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

The Four Pillars of Good Character

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ عَلَى إِحْسَانِهِ وَالشُّكْرُ لَهُ عَلَى تَوْفِيقِهِ وَامْتِنَانِهِ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ حَقًّا وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ صِدْقًا

Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, may Allah have mercy on him, narrates in his book Jami' al-'Ulum wa al-Hikam that the great Maliki scholar Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani, may Allah have mercy on him, mentions that having good character revolves around four hadith. These four hadith could be considered the pillars of having good mannerism and good أَخْلَاق.

The First Hadith: Say Good or Remain Silent

"He who believes in Allah and believes in the Last Day, so let him say good or remain silent."

The Second Hadith: Leave What Does Not Concern You

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2318; Ibn Majah, Hadith 3976)

"From the goodness of one's Islam is to stay away from that which does not concern them."

The Third Hadith: Do Not Get Angry

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6116)

The Prophet ﷺ was approached by a man seeking advice from him, and he advised him: "Do not get angry."

The Fourth Hadith: Love for Your Brother What You Love for Yourself

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 13; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 45)

"One does not attain true Iman and true faith until he loves for his brother that which he loves for himself."

And so if we were to act upon these four hadith and we were to implement them in our day-to-day lives, by the permission of Allah, we will be amongst those that have come with good أَخْلَاق.

Du'a

I ask Allah by His beautiful names and lofty attributes to grant us sincerity and to accept all of our deeds.

Indeed, Allah commands justice, good conduct, and giving to relatives, and forbids immorality, wrongdoing, and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.

So remember Allah and He will remember you. Thank Him for His blessings and He will increase you. And the remembrance of Allah is the greatest. And Allah knows what you do. And establish the prayer.