Dealings with People and Good Character (1/3)

Love between people

Abu Hurayra that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "By the One in whose hand my soul is, you will not enter the Garden until you submit. You will not submit until you love one another. Extend the greeting to one another and you will love one another. Beware of hatred, for it is the razor. I do not tell you that it shaves the hair, but it shaves away the deen."

Friendship

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

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

Joking

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

Abu Qilaba said about this, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used an expression which some of you use in jest. He said, 'When you drive the glass vessels!'"

 [‘Anjasha was a singer of camel-songs who drove the camels along. 'Glass vessels' refers to the women on the camels.]

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 of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Her slave girl said, 'Messenger of Allah, some of the women who make jokers in this quarter are from Kinana!' The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Rather some of our jokesters in this quarter.'"

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

Joking with a child

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

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, took al-Hasan or al-Husayn by the hand and then put his feet on top of his own feet and said, "Climb up."

Good character

(Abu'd-Darda' reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "There is nothing which weighs heavier in the balance than good character."

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was neither coarse nor loud. He used to say, "The best of 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 about who among you I love the most and the one who will be seated closest to me on the Day of Rising?" The people were silent, so he repeated that two or three times. Then the people said, "Yes, Messenger of Allah." He said, "The one among you with the best character."

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

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

'Abdullah said, "Allah Almighty shared out your character between you as He divided your provision between you. Allah Almighty bestows wealth on those He loves and those He does not love. He only gives faith to those He loves. Whoever is stingy about spending his wealth and fears to fight the enemy and is in terror of enduring the night should repeat frequently. 'There is no god but Allah. Glory be to Allah. Praise be to Allah, and Allah is Greater.’"

The generosity of the self

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Wealth does not mean having a lot of property. Wealth means having self-contentment."

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

Anas ibn Malik said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was merciful. No one came to him but that he promised himself something and carried out that promise if he had anything to give. The iqama for the prayer had been given when a bedouin came and took hold of his garment and stated, 'I am still not satisfied.' The Bedouin alarmed the Prophet's wives. The Prophet went with him until the man had received what he wanted. Then he returned and prayed."

Jabir said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was never asked for anything to which he said, 'No.'"

'Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr said, "I have never seen two women more generous than 'A'isha and Asma'. Their generosity was different. 'A'isha used to gather things and after they had been collected together, she would share them out. Asma' would not keep anything for the next day."

(Continued)