Charecteristics Of The Caller Part IV

5. Morality

Great stress has been placed in Islaam on good moral character. Prophet Muhammad (phuh) summarized the essence of the Islamic message
saying,

إنَّما بُعِثْتُ لأتَمِّمَ مَكارِمَ اْلأَخْلاقِ
“Indeed, I was only sent to complete the most noble of character traits.” And Allaah said in the Qur’aan,

وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَى خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ
“Surely you (Muhammad) have a magnificent character.”
(Soorah al-Qalam, 68: 4)The Prophet’s companion, Ibn ‘Abbaas explained that “character” here meant “religion”, i.e., Islaam. By using the term “character” to refer to the religion of Islaam, Allaah stresses the importance of morality in relationship to the religion. It was also reported that when the Prophet’s wife ‘Aa’ishah was asked about the Prophet’s character, she replied, “His character was that of the Qur’aan.” That is, his manners were according to Allaah’s instructions in the Qur’aan. Consequently, the development of good character depends on closely following the Qur’aan and the teachings of the Prophet (phuh). In this regard, Allaah also said in the Qur’aan:

لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ
“Indeed you have in the Messenger of Allaah a beautiful example (of conduct)...”
(Soorah al-Ahzaab, 33 :21)Thus, the rites and rituals of Islaam cannot be separated from good manners. An-Nawwaas ibn Sam‘aan quoted the Prophet (phuh) as saying,

الْبِرُّ حُسْنُ الْخُلُقِ وَالْإِثْمُ مَا حَاكَ فِي صَدْرِكَ وَكَرِهْتَ أَنْ يَطَّلِعَ عَلَيْهِ النَّاسُ
“Righteousness is good character and sin is what itches in your heart and you dislike that people would find out about it.” Islaam teaches man how to lead a morally righteous life by pointing out the proper way to live. Any Muslim who displays bad manners such as swearing or lying is either a hypocrite pretending to be a Muslim or a very weak Muslim. Faith is inseparable from action. Aboo Hurayrah quoted the Prophet (phuh) as saying,

أَفْضَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ أَحْسَنُهُمْ خُلُقاً
“The believer whose faith is most complete is he whose character is best.” Consequently, throughout the Qur’aan, whenever Allaah instructs humankind to believe, He always links faith with command to do righteous deeds. Aboo Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (phuh) did the same, saying, for example,

مَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ فَلَا يُؤْذِ جَارَهُ وَمَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ فَلْيُكْرِمْ ضَيْفَهُ وَمَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ فَلْيَقُلْ خَيْرًا أَوْ لِيَصْمُتْ
“Whoever believes in Allaah and the Last Day should not harm his neighbor, he should be kind to his guest and he should either speak good or be silent.” That being the case, there should be an underlying principle of morality at the base of all Islamic teachings. Islaam covers all aspects of human existence; spiritual, social and economic. Consequently, there is in Islaam a network of moral principles governing all human relations with God, with other humans, as well as with the environment in which humans exist. For example, from an Islamic perspective, worshipping others besides God would be considered morally wrong and bad character, in the same way that lying to others or littering the environment would be considered morally objectionable. Therefore, it may be assumed that each of the pillars of Islaam and Eemaan were designed to develop a particular set of moral characteristics. Without understanding the moral and spiritual goals of the pillars, they remain empty rituals which cannot benefit anyone in the next life.