Merits of Good Manners

Alhamdulillah and all praises be to Allah, the Bestower of benevolence, bounty and generosity to his servants.

He is the Giver of countless blessings to all creatures and creations. He is the Generous and the Benevolent whose graces are visible and invisible.

Thanks and praises to him at the beginning and at the end. All thanks be to Allah. We give gratitude to Him, we seek His help and guidance, and we ask for His forgiveness.

Praise be to Allah the Lord of the worlds, we glorify Him, seek His help, ask for His forgiveness and return to Him in repentance to Him. We seek refuge in Allah the Almighty from our faults and iniquities.

He, whom Allah guides, is rightly guided, but he whom Allah sends astray, you will find no guide for him.

I bear witness that no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him) is the servant and messenger of Allah.

We thank Almighty Allah and all the Praises and Blessings be on the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the master of the messengers, the Imam, the pious and the final Prophet. He is the final Messenger, the leader of goodness and the Messenger of mercy.

Having good manners is a trait of the prophets, truthful and righteous people. High degrees and ranks are achieved by following good manners.

Almighty Allah devotes a verse in the Qur’an about the manners of the Prophet (PBUH), it relates all the high morals and best of manners to the Prophet (PBUH). Allah says in the Qur’an: “And verily, you (O Muhammad) are on an exalted standard of character.” (Al-Qalam: 4).

Having good manners in Islam is of a high status and favorable position. There are many texts that praise the good behaviors and encourage following and adhering to them. The Prophet (PBUH) 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.” (Al-Tirmidhi) The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Mankind has not been given anything better than good manners.” (Sahih al-Jami').

Narrated Anas Ibn Malik (RA) that the Prophet (PBUH) said to him: “I command you to be of good manners and remain silent for long periods of time, because by Him whose hand is in my soul, the creation cannot beautify themselves with anything better than these.”

Good manners mean smiling at people’s faces, helping them, doing goodness, treating people with kindness, and not to hurt anyone. In short, they are every positive conduct by Muslims such as good words, forbearance, anger suppression and forgiveness.

Now let’s look at the great reward and absolute goodness of people with good manners:

* Having good manners and character is the heaviest good deed in your Balance according to what the Prophet (Peace Be upon Him) said:

“Nothing will be placed in the Balance (in the Day of Resurrection) heavier than good conduct.” (Al-Tirmidhi no. 2003; al-Albany no. 5721, classified it as Hadith Sahih)

* Having good manners and character makes you the most beloved and closest to the Prophet (PBUH) in the Day of Resurrection. The Prophet (PBUH) said: “The most beloved of you to me and the closest of you to me in the Hereafter are those of you who have the best manners; the most hated of you to me and farthest from me in the Hereafter are those of you who have the worst manners, those who speak and do not even care about what they are saying” (Sahih al-Jami).

* Having good manners and character is the way to enter Paradise and reach the highest status in Paradise.

The Prophet (PBUH) said: “I am a leader, in a house in the lowest place of Paradise; of the people who leave the argument even they were right.  I am a leader, in a house in the middle of Paradise, of the people who leave the lies even though I was a joke. I am a leader, in a house in the highest place of Paradise, of the people who have high morals.” (Narrated by Abo Dawood, hadith no. 4800, approved by Albany in Sahih Attargheeb, hadith no. 2648).

* Having good manners and character will enable the Muslim to reach by them the rank of the person who always prays at night and fasts during the day. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “The person of good manners will get the same reward as the person who prays during the night and fasts during the day” (Sahih Al-Jami).

* In another hadith the Prophet (Peace Be upon Him) mentions the reward for one who is a musaddat, the one who is always trying to fill in the gaps between other Muslims by being social, friendly, and having good manners.

He (PBUH) said: “The Muslim who is musaddat reaches the darajat as-sawwam al-qawwam.” Sawwam is the one who continually fasts and the qawwam is the one who continually stands in prayer.

So the Muslim who is very social, has good manners, and is fulfilling the rights of his brothers, reaches the level of the one who continually fasts and prays just because of his good manners.

My dear Muslim brothers and sisters! How many good deeds have we missed by our heedlessness of the greatness of good manners? This is an invitation to get the highest rank in the present life and in the Hereafter by following the best conduct and praised attitude. We should lead and encourage ourselves to follow good manners and strive for having them.

By this, we will be following the best human and greatest role model of humanity, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him).

We should follow his example of how he treated his wives, his children, his neighbors, his companions, the Muslims and even disbelievers and infidels.