Morals & Manners
1] It is related by ‘Abdullah bin Amr that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “The best of you are those who possess the best of manners.” – Bukhari and Muslim
2] Abu Hurayrah related that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Muslims who possess better morals are the most perfect in Faith.” – Abu Da’ud and Darimi
3] It is related by Abu Darda, that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “On the Day of Reckoning, the most weighty item in the Scales of Deeds will be good manners.” – Abu Da’ud and Tirmidhi
Commentary
This is in addition to fundamental principles of Islam: Salah, Zakah, Sawm and Hajj. [Annotated]
4] It is related by ‘Abdullah bin Amr that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Nearest to me among you are those who have better manners.”
5] It is related by Jarir bin ‘Abdullah that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “They will not obtain the mercy of God in whose hearts there is no mercy for others.” – Bukhari and Muslim
6] It is related by ‘Abdullah bin Amr bin al-Aas that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “God will have mercy upon them that are merciful. Treat kindly the dwellers of the earth; He who dwells in the heaven will treat you kindly.” – Abu Da’ud and Tirmidhi
7] It is related by Abu Hurayrah that a person complained to the Prophet, peace be upon him, of his own hard-heartedness. “Caress the head of the orphan, and feed the poor,” the Prophet replied. – Musnad Ahmad
8] It is related by Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “A generous hearted bondsman is nearer to God and men, and he is close to Heaven and far off from Hell; and, surely, an ignorant, but openhanded bondsman is dearer to God than a devotee who is a miser.” – Tirmidhi
9] It is related by Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “It is the command of the Lord for every bondsman: ‘Spend on others. I shall spend on you.’” – Bukhari and Muslim
10] It is related by Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Miserliness and Faith cannot exist together in anyone’s heart.” – Nasai
11] Abu Bakr related to us, saying that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “The cheat, the miser, and the one who follows up one’s favours with painful reminders of them shall not enter Heaven.” – Tirmidhi
12] It is related by Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Musa bin Imran (the Prophet Moses, peace be upon him), (once), asked the Lord, ‘O Lord! Who are the noblest of bondsmen in Your sight?’ ‘Those who forgive the guilty when they have him/her in their control (and are in a position to take revenge),’ the Lord replied.” – Bayhaqi
Commentary
The practice of the Prophet, peace be upon him, who was the most merciful of men, was that he always forgave those who did a wrong to him, but never failed to punish, according to the Divine Law, men who violated the limits laid down by God.
It is related in Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of ‘A’ishah that the Prophet, peace be upon him, never punished anyone in a personal matter, but when a person transgressed against a God-given law, he used to punish him/her by reason of the command of God.”
13] It is related by ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar that “(Once) a person came to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and said, ‘O Prophet, how many times should I forgive the fault of my attendant (slave or servant)?’ ‘The Prophet kept quiet. The questioner, then, asked again, ‘How many times should I forgive the fault of my attendant (slave or servant)?’ ‘Seventy times each day,’ replied the Prophet.” – Tirmidhi
Commentary
What the Prophet, peace be upon him, wanted to stress was that forgiveness was not a thing on which limits could be set. On the other hand, kindliness demanded that a servant should be forgiven even if he was frequently at fault.
The figure of seventy on such occasions does not denote the exact number, but profusion.
14] It is related by Hudaifah that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Do not be of those who do (by others) as the others do (by them), and say that we will do them a favour if they do us a favour, and if they will be mean and unjust to us then we, too, will be mean and unjust to them. On the contrary, resolve that you will do good if others do good, and if they do a wrong and act unjustly, even then you will not be unfair to them.”
– Tirmidhi
15] Abu Dhar Ghifari related to us that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Let no one of you consider any form or manner of doing good of little value. So, if he has nothing to give to a brother, he should, at least, meet him with a smile on his face. (This, too, is a form of kindness). And when you buy or cook meat, increase the broth, (by putting more water into it), and take out a spoonful from it for your neighbour.” – Tirmidhi
16] It is related by Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “A believer is a personification of love. There is no virtue in him who does not love others and the others do not love him.”
– Musnad Ahmad, and Bayhaqi
