Merits of virtue
All of the above is condensed in Aisha’s answer to a question about the Prophet’s moral character, “The Quran was his moral character”. By this she meant that the Prophet was graced with all the good moral traits and praiseworthy qualities mentioned in the Quran and also was cleansed of all deeds and reproachable qualities forbidden by the Holy Scripture. In another hadith it is said that Aisha answered in this way, “Have you not read the ayat of the Quran?” (meaning), “Believers will thrive who are humble in prayer, avoid useless and frivolous conversation, regularly pay zakat, keep their private parts to themselves with the exception of their wives and concubines, for which they have no reproof. But he who strives to gratify his desires in a different way (with illicit women) crosses the boundaries of that which is permitted.
Those believers flourish who safeguard that entrusted to them for custody, honour agreements and are perseverant in the timely performance of the prescribed prayers.
They will inherit paradise Firdaus [1], in which they will abide eternally.” (Sura Al Muminun, ayat 1-11) Such is the moral character of the Prophet .”
In these ayat there are also reminders to listeners of the greatness of the Prophet’s moral character: faith, which is the basis of the qualities of the heart; namaz the mainstay of bodily qualities; zakat the basis of qualities concerning property; chastity in relation to forbidden women; trustworthiness and commitment to agreements.
In these ayat, the Almighty repeatedly mentions «those who cherish the prescribed prayers», drawing the attention of listeners to their importance and great significance.
Junaid al Baghdadi said, “The Prophet possessed a great moral character, he desired the blessings of both worlds for his community but did not seek to acquire them for himself.”
The righteous Husayn al Nuri said, “How could the Prophet’s moral character not be great when Allah had illuminated his soul (inner world) with the light of His qualities?” [2]
In the book of the Great Sheikh [3] “Talqih al Azhan” it is said, “The Prophet was endowed with the ability to speak succinctly and in words that had a deep and wise meaning, for he was sent in order to bring the good qualities of people to perfection. Thus, the Almighty said, «Truly, you possess a great moral character.»
This shows that the path of the Messenger of Allah is the most correct. The Prophet said, “Verily, the Almighty possesses three hundred and sixty qualities. And he who greets Allah in the state of monotheism, and possesses even one of these qualities, will enter Paradise.» Then the companion Abu Bakr asked, “O Messenger of Allah , is there in me at least one of these qualities?” The Prophet replied, “You have all of them, O Abu Bakr. And for Allah the most beloved of them is generosity.”
For the Almighty the best qualities of person are complete submission (taslim) to the Creator and contentment with his Lord and tolerance and generosity in relation to others. The words “in the state of monotheism” have the following meaning: sometimes virtue may be without faith, as faith may also be without virtue. Thus, if with faith came virtue, then a believer would not have been ordered to do or reject anything.
Virtue - the basis of religion
Know that good moral qualities are the foundation of religion and that the Prophet Muhammad was sent in order to improve them. In this regard, the Messenger of Allah said,
«Verily, I have been sent for the improvement of good morals.»
The essence of good morals is that a person should be mildmannered, tender and gentle with his household, his servant and all Muslims.
The Messenger of Allah said, «The inhabitants of Paradise are gentle, mild mannered and sympathetic to others, but the inhabitants of Hell are hard hearted and harsh.»
When the companions asked, “But, O Messenger of Allah , how does one identify hard hearted people?” To which the Prophet replied, «These are people who are severe with their households, friends and relatives.» Our great Lord said (meaning), “And talk pleasantly with people.” (Sura Al Baqara, ayah 83). The Almighty also said (meaning), “Tell, O Prophet, My slaves to conduct their speech in the best possible manner” (Sura Al Isra, ayah 53).
And the best incorporate in their manners all that is best and most pleasant. Show to others those qualities that would please your own soul: pleasant speech, good words, fine and admirable deeds. And try to eschew foul language, improper words and evil deeds and do not engage in them with others.
Moreover, when performing any action in relation to other slaves of Allah, you must remember that the Almighty will recompense you accordingly, Allah the Almighty and Most Great. Know that such a reward will be that which is most appropriate.
That is, one who will be as though a Paradise for the servants of Allah a merciful and a cool shadow in which others relax will receive a corresponding recompense from Almighty Allah.
Thus, one who honours a slave as a sign of respect for his master (sayyid), actually is extolling the master himself.
Thus, in a hadith from Almighty Allah it is said that on Day of Judgment the Lord will say to His slave, “I was hungry, but you did not feed Me. I asked you to quench My thirst, but you did not give Me water. I was ill, but you did not visit Me.”
To which the slave responded, “How can You experience hunger, when You are the Lord of all the worlds? How can You be ill, being the Lord of all the worlds? How can You ask me to quench Your thirst, while You are the Lord of all worlds, all of which You created?”
Then the Creator, the Pure and the Holy, explained, “Verily, a certain slave of Mine was ill, and if you had visited him you would have found Me near him. A certain slave of Mine was hungry and if you had fed him, you would have found what was given by Me to him. A certain slave of Mine asked you to quench his thirst; if you had given him water, there you would also have found Me.”
That is, Almighty Allah clarified His words “I was hungry, I was ill, I asked you to quench My thirst” himself with the following expressions: “A certain slave of Mine was hungry, a certain slave of Mine was ill and a certain slave of Mine asked you to quench his thirst.»
Virtue brings benefits to its owner in both worlds and about this is narrated in a hadith concerning Abu Talib. Once Abbas asked, “O Messenger of Allah , Abu Talib defended you and helped you; will this bring him any benefit in that world?”
The Prophet replied, “Yes, and if it were not for me, he would have found himself at the very lowest level of Hell.” It is said that Abu Lahab saw in a dream potable water issuing from his thumb and this happened every Monday night. And the reason for this was that Abu Lahab freed his slave on that day upon learning from her the good news of the birth of the Messenger of Allah .
One of the righteous said, “He who is of the community of the Messenger of Allah but could not see Him and sincerely desires to do so, let him look at the Quran. For there is no difference between a gaze directed at the Quran and a gaze on the beloved Prophet . The Quran is like an extended image of the person whose name is Muhammad , son of Abdullah, son of Abd al Muttalib.»
Another of the righteous ones remarked, “Whoever wishes to behold the Messenger of Allah , let him observe the Sunna, especially in those places where it has been forgotten. This is since the revival of the Sunna of the Prophet s like the resuscitation of the Prophet himself. And he who revives the Sunna of the Messenger of Allah is as though reviving all humanity, for the Prophet incorporates all that is good in perfection.”
One of the righteous also said, “After Muhammad was sent as a prophet to all humanity, nothing regarding bad moral qualities remained unknown to the populace, as the Prophet explained to us in detail the trajectories of their origin.” This means that for mankind there did not remain the slightest reason for committing evil, since the Prophet explained to people what constitute good and bad morals.
- Al Qurtubi writes that this is the highest level of Paradise.
- The soul of the Prophet assimilated divine light from the qualities of Allah, which graced his moral character (in concordance with the qualities of the Almighty), as stated in the hadith, “Adopt the moral qualities of Allah.”
- This is an epithet used for Sheikh Muhyiddin al `Arabi .
From the book “Virtues of the righteous” by sheikh Ahmad-Afandi Mufti Dagestan
