Excellence in Character

"It isthe believers who are successful: those who are humble in their prayer;those who turn away from worthless talk; those who actively pay zakat;those who guard their private parts." (23:1-5)' She said, 'That was thecharacter of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace.'"

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, said, "By the One in Whose Hand my soul is, you will not enter Paradise until you submit to Islam. And, you will not submit to Islam until you love one another.Extend the greeting to one another and you will love one another. Bewareof hatred, for it is the razor. I do not tell you that it shaves the hair,but it shaves away the deen."

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, said, "The souls of two believers shouldmeet in the course of a day even if they do not actually see each other."

The favors are not recognized, (the familial ties of) the womb are severed, and we have not seen the like of the closeness of the hearts.

'Umayr ibn Ishaq said, "We used to say that the first thing tobe removed from people would be friendship."

Anas ibn Malik said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, came upon a group of women which included Umm Sulaym.He said, 'Anjasha!* Be gentle when you drive the glass vessels!"

Abu Hurayra reported that the people said, "Messenger of Allah,you joke with us!" He replied, "But I only speak the truth."

Bakr ibn 'Abdullah reported that the Companions of the Prophet,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to throw melons at one another.He said, "If these were real, they would be men."

Ibn Abi Mulayka said, "'A'isha was joking with the Messenger ofAllah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Her slave girl said, 'Messengerof Allah, some of the women who make jokes in this quarter are from Kinana!'The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Rather someof our jokesters in this quarter.'"

Anas ibn Malik said, "A man came to the Prophet, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, to ask him for a mount. He said, 'I will giveyou a she-camel's foal to ride.' He exclaimed, 'Messenger of Allah, whatcan I do with a she-camel's foal?' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, said, 'Are camels born from anything other thanshe-camels?'"

Anas ibn Malik said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, used to mix with us to the extent of asking a younger brotherof mine, 'Abu 'Umayr! What has happened to the little sparrow?'"

Abu Ad-Darda' reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Nothing is heavier on the scale than good character."

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, was neither coarse nor loud. He used to say, "The bestof you is the one who has the best character."

'Amr ibn Shu'ayb reported from his grandfather that the Prophet,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Shall I tell you aboutwho is most beloved to me and the one who will be seated closest tome on the Day of Judgment?" The people were silent, so he repeated that twoor three times. Then the people said, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah." He said,"The one among you with the best character."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, said, "I was sent to perfect good character."

'A'isha said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, was never given a choice between two things but that hechose the easier of the two as long as it was not a wrong action. If itwas a wrong action, then he was the last person to do it. The Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, never took revenge onhis own behalf. But when the respect of Allah Almighty was violated, hewould take revenge on behalf of Allah Almighty."

'Abdullah said, "Allah Almighty allotted character betweenyou as He divided provision between you. Allah Almighty bestows wealthon those He loves and those He does not love. He only bestows faith upon those whoHe loves. Whoever is stingy about spending his wealth, fears to fightthe enemy, and is terrified of enduring the night should frequently repeat .'There is no god worthy of worship but Allah, Glory be to Allah, All praises are due to Allah, andAllah is the greatest."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, "Wealth does not mean having a lot of property, rather wealth is in being content."

Anas said, "I served the Prophet, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, for ten years. He never said 'uff' to me and he never questioned meabout anything I had not done, asking, 'Why didn't you do it?' or questioned me about somethingI had done, asking 'Why did you do that?'"