Righteousness Is Good Character \ An-Nawas ibn Sam`an reported that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Righteousness is good character, and sin is whatever bothers you and you do not want people to know.” (Muslim) {Righteousness is not that you turn your faces to the east and the west [in prayer]. But righteous is the one who believes in God, the Last Day, the Angels, the Scripture and the Prophets; who gives his wealth in spite of love for it to kinsfolk, orphans, the poor, the wayfarer, to those who ask and to set slaves free. And (righteous are) those who pray, pay alms, honor their agreements, and are patient in (times of) poverty, ailment and during conflict. Such are the people of truth. And they are the God-Fearing.} (Al-Baqarah 2:177) Rather than being an end in itself, one of the main purposes of worship is to bring about traits beneficial to the self and society. Allah says about the salah (prayer): {Surely, the salah prevents lewd acts and bad deeds…} (Al-`Ankabut 29: 45) Hence one can say without any qualms that Islam as a whole came to perfect good manners, as did the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) himself: “Indeed, I was only sent to complete the most noble character traits.” (Muslim) Good character is any trait that is beneficial to humans, both to oneself as well as to others, at the same time not being generally or specifically prohibited by Islam. Through maintaining good conduct, one becomes one of the beloved servants of Alllah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The most beloved servants of Allah to Him are those who have the best manners.” (Al-Hakim) When one realizes the importance of good character and its essentiality in defining righteousness, an aspect which is the goal of Islam, this exhorts Muslims to fulfill this aspect of faith as well, since one can not become “righteous” through mere belief and devotion to Allah in themselves without good character. But what is regarded as good character? We find that the Quran and Sunnah in various texts define it to be any trait that is beneficial to humans, both to oneself as well as to others, at the same time not being generally or specifically prohibited by Islam. For example, Allah says: {Those who suppress their anger, and forgive other people – assuredly, Allah loves those who do good.} (Aal `Imran 3: 134) Righteousness is dealing fairly, justly and politely with one’s family. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The believers with the most perfect faith are those with the most perfect conduct and manners. And the best ones amongst you are those who are best to their families.” (At-Tirmidhi) Truthfulness is an essential aspect of good character which leads to Paradise. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Indeed truthfulness is righteousness, and indeed righteousness leads to Paradise.” (Muslim)
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 02:03:57 +0000
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