A person’s faith is not complete until he has good
behavior. Allah the All-Mighty and the All-Wise praises His
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for this
characteristic. He says {And surely you are of a great
morality) (Surat Al-Qalam 68:4). There is nothing heavier
than good behavior in the Balance that weighs our deeds on
Judgment Day. 'A’ishah reported that the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) said, “The one who has the most
perfect faith is the one who has the best behavior and the one
who is the most decent to his family.” (Narrated by At-
Tirmidhi). Another proof for this is that a man asked the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “What is
righteousness and what is wrongdoing?” The Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) answered, “Righteousness is good
behavior and wrongdoing is that which wavers in your soul
and you dislike people finding out about it.” (Narrated by
Muslim). 'A’ishah also said: I heard the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) say, “The believer can attain with his
good behavior a rank that is not attained by the one who fasts
and prays at night.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood).
Another example is when some of the Jews came to the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and greeted him
saying, “As-Samu alaikum (Death be upon you).” The
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “And upon
you, too.” 'A’ishah answered them, “Let death and a curse be
upon you, too.” Thereupon the Prophet (peace and blessings
be upon him) said, “ A’ishah, don’t speak bad words.” She
said, “Didn’t you hear what they said?” He answered her,
“Didn’t I respond to their greeting and say, ‘And upon you,
too? O A’ishah, Allah doesn’t like bad words and those who
speak them.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
used to say, “O Allah, grant me beautiful behavior in the way
You have granted me a beautiful face.” (Narrated by Ahmad).
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also said,
“Allah would never put in Hell-fire the one whom He created
w'ith both good shape and good behavior.” (Narrated by At-
Tabarani).
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made
good behavior desirable by telling us, “The one who will be
the dearest and the nearest in place to me on the Day ofJudgment is the one who has the best behavior."
(Narrated byAt-Tinnidhi).
The Meaning of Good Behavior
Ali ibn Abi Talib said, “Good behavior is made of
three characteristics: refraining from what is huram
(unlawful), seeking what is halal (lawful), and being generous
to one’s own children." Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, “Good
behavior is generosity, sacrifice and endurance (of
hardships).” Imam Ahmad defined good behavior as, “Good
behavior is not to be angry and not to envy.” The Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) once asked his
Companions, “Shall 1 tell you who the best of you are?” They
said, “Yes, Messenger of Allah.” He said, “The most longliving
and the most well behaved.” (Narrated by Al-Baz/ar).
When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
wanted to send Mu'adh ibn Jabal to Yemen, Mu'adh asked,
“Advise me. Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) said, “Worship Allah and don’t
associate anything with Him in worshiping.” Mu’adh said,
“Messenger of Allah, give me more.” The Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) said, “If you do something bad, follow it with something good.” Mu'adh said, “Messenger of Allah,
give me more.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon
him) said, “Stand firm in the straight path and improve your
behavior.” This was the final advice from the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) to a pious Companion who was
most knowledgeable in what is halal and what is not. Mu'adh
expressed this when he said, “The last thing the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) advised me while my foot
was in the saddle was, ‘Mu'adh, improve your behavior.’”
(Narrated by Al-Hakim).
In the same way the Prophet (peace and blessings be
upon him) met Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari and said to him, “O Abu
Dharr, do you want me to tell you about two characteristics
that are light on the back (easy to follow) but heavier in the
Balance than any other thing?” He said, “Yes, Messenger of
Allah.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,
“You have to keep to good behavior and to a long time of
silence. By the One in Whose hands is my soul, people cannot
do any better.” (Narrated by Ibn Abud-Dunya).
A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be
upon him) and asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what is the best prayer?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,
“The long night prayer.” The man asked, “What is the best
charity?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,
“When the poor makes his best effort.” The man asked, “W ho
among the believers has the most perfect faith?” The Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The one who has the
best behavior.” (Narrated by At-Tabarani).
This last hadith explains that good behavior and faith
are one thing, whereas bad behavior and hypocrisy are one
thing. If every one of us tries to overcome his own
weaknesses till he refrains from sinning, this will lead him to
good behavior.
What Are the Signs of Good Behavior?
Allah the Exalted describes the behavior of the believers
by saying prosperous indeed are the believers — who are
humble in their prayers, and from vain talk turn away, and
who are active in almsgiving, and guard their chastity —
except from their wives and what their nght hands possess,
tor that they are not to blame; and whoever goes beyond that,
those are the transgressors. And those who faithfully observe
their trusts and their covenants, and who strictly guard their
prayers — those shall be the heirs) (Surat Al-Mu’minoon
23:1-10). And He says in another ayah O’hey ask you
(Muhammad) about the spoils of war. Say, “Spoils are at the
disposal of Allah and His Messenger, so fear Allah and be
righteous to each other, and obey Allah and His Messenger, if
you are believers.” Most surely the believers are those whose
hearts tremble with awe when Allah’s Name is mentioned and
when His Revelations are recited to them their faith increases,
and they put their trust in their Lord.) (Surat Al-Anfal 8:1-2).
And He says ^And the true servants of Allah the Most
Gracious, are those who walk modestly on the earth, and who
when the ignorant address them, they say: “Peace”; and those
who spend their nights prostrate to their Lord and standing;
and those who say: “Our Lord, avert from us the chastisement
of Hell; surely its chastisement is a grievous torment; evil
indeed is its dwelling place and as an abode”. Those who
when they spend, are not extravagant nor niggardly, but find a
way between; and they do not invoke with Allah any other
god, nor kill any soul Allah has forbidden, except by right, not
commit adultery; and whoever does this shall meet the price
of sin) (Surat Al-Furqan 25:63-68).
If anybody compares himself to the traits listed in these
ayahs and finds many of them in him, then he possesses signs
of good behavior; whereas the absence of all of them is a sign
of bad behavior. But if he lacks some of them, then he lacks
some of the signs of good behavior, and he has to do his best
to complete what is missing.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also
described in detail what is required for someone to be a good
believer. All the traits are related to good behavior. He (peace
and blessings be upon him) said, “The true believer is the one
whom people can entrust with their money and souls, and the
true muhajir (emigrant) is the one who can desert sins and
wrong doings.” (Narrated by Ibn Majah).
And he (peace and blessings be upon him), said, “Good
behavior makes sins melt away as water makes snow melt
away, whereas bad behavior spoils man’s good deeds as
vinegar spoils the taste of honey.” (Narrated by At-Tabarani).
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said as well,
“The believer who has the most complete faith among you is
the one who has the best behavior.” (Narrated by Abu Ya'li).
In his advice to Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari, the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) said, "‘Fear Allah wherever
you are, and when you commit a sin, follow it with a good
deed so that the good deed may wipe this sin off, and treat
people with good behavior.” (Narrated by At-Tinnidhi).
There is a story that proves that children always inherit
good behavior from their parents, as Allah says ^As
descendants one from another) (Surat A1 'Imran 3:34). The
story tells about a man who came from Syria and entered
Madinah. He saw a good looking, handsome, well-dressed
young man riding on a strong mule. The man asked someone
from the city about this young man and was told that he was
Al-Hasan ibn 'Ali ibn Abi Talib. The man felt a great hatred
and envy towards Al-Hasan.
He approached him and asked, “Are you really 'Ali’s
son?”
Al-Hasan answered, “I am his son.”
The man asked, “Have you heard the bad words that I
said about you and your father before?” And the man started
to swear at and say the bad words to Al-Hasan.
Then Al-Hasan said, “I think you are a stranger in this
city.”
The man said, “Yes.”
Then Al-Hasan said to him, “If you need
accommodation, I can offer it to you. If you need money, I
can give you some. Or if you need any help, I can help you.”
The man was amazed by the patience the Prophet’s
grandson showed to him. He left saying, “Nothing on earth is
dearer to me than that young man whom I treated harshly and
he responded gently.”
Let our children try to be among those who, if they
commit a sin, follow it with a good deed and those who treat
people with good behavior. We ask Allah to grant us good
behavior.
