Dealings with People and Good Character (2/3)

Avarice

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The dust of the path of Allah and the smoke of Hellfire are never joined together in the heart of a slave. Belief and avarice are never joined together in the heart of a slave."

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Two qualities are not found together in a believer: miserliness and ill-temper."

'Abdullah ibn Rabi'a said, "We used to sit with 'Abdullah and they mentioned a man together with aspects of his character. ‘Abdullah said, 'What would you think if you cut off his head? Would you be able to put it back on again?' 'No,' they replied. He said, 'And his hand?' 'No,' they said. 'And his foot?' he said, they said, 'No,'. He said, 'You cannot change his character until you change his physical form. The drop remains in the womb for forty nights and then the blood congeals and then it becomes a blood clot and then a lump of flesh and then Prophet sends an angles and he records his provision, his character, and whether or not he will be happy or miserable (in the Next World).'"

Good character when people have understanding

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A man who is known for his good character has the same degree as someone who stands at night in prayer."

Abu Hurayra said, "I heard Abu'l-Qasim say, 'The best of you in Islam is the best of you in character when they possess understanding (of the deen)."

Thabit ibn 'Ubayd said, "I have not seen anyone more serious when he sits with the people nor more jocular in his house than Zayd ibn Thabit."

Ibn 'Abbas said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked, 'Which religion does Allah Almighty love the most?' He replied, 'The simple Hanifiyya one.'"

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr said, "There are four qualities such that if you were to be given them, you will not be harmed even if the world were to be taken away from you. They are: good character, restraint in food, truthful words, and upholding a trust."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do you know what it is that makes most people enter the Fire?" "Allah and His Messenger know best," they said. He said, "The two empty ones: the genitals and the mouth. Do you know what it is that makes most people enter the Garden? Taqwa of Allah and good character."

Umm ad-Darda' said, "Abu'd-Darda' stood up in the night to pray. He was weeping and said, 'O Allah! You made my physical form good, so make my character good!' until morning. I said, 'Abu'd-Darda', your only supplication for the entire night was for good character!' He replied, 'Umm ad-Darda', the Muslim makes his character good with the result that his good character takes him into the Garden. He makes his character bad with the result that his bad character takes him into the Fire. The Muslim is forgiven while he is asleep.' I asked, 'Abu'd-Darda', how can be forgiven while he is asleep?' He said, 'His brother arises in the night and performs the night prayers and makes supplication to Allah Almighty and is answered. He makes supplication for Muslim brother and his request is answered.'"

Usama ibn Sharik said, "I was with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when some bedouins came. There were many people on all sides. The people were silent and no one spoke except them. They said, 'Messenger of Allah! We experience difficulty in such-and-such and such-and-such' and it was in things which are not harmful to people. He said, 'Servants of Allah! Allah has removed difficulty except in a case where a man slanders someone unjustly ­ that is the one who is in difficulty and destroyed.' They said, 'Messenger of Allah, can we make use of medical treatment?' 'Yes, servants of Allah,' he replied, 'you can make use of medical treatment. Allah Almighty did not create an illness but that He made a cure for it ­ except for one disease.' They asked, 'And what is that, Messenger of Allah?' 'Old age,' he replied. They said, 'Messenger of Allah, what is the best thing that a man can be given?' 'Good character,' he replied.'"

Ibn 'Abbas said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was the most generous of people in giving charity. He was even more generous in Ramadan when Jibril, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to meet him. Every night of Ramadan Jibril used to come to him and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would read the Qur'an to him. When Jibril came to him, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was more generous in giving charity than the blowing wind."

Abu Mas'ud al-Ansari reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Before your time a man was called to account and it was found that the only good thing he had done was that he was easy in his business dealings with people. He used to order his slaves to go easy with people who were in difficulty. Allah Almighty said, 'We are more entitled to do that than he is, so forgive him.'"

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked, "What is the most frequent reason for someone entering the Garden?" He said, "Taqwa and good character.” He was asked, "What is the most frequent reason for people entering the Fire?" He replied, "The two empty ones: the mouth and the genitals."

It is reported Nawwas ibn Sam'an asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, about dutifulness and wrong action. He said, "Dutifulness is good character and wrong action is that which works on yourself and which you dislike for other people to become aware of."

(Continued)