Indeed, all praises and thanks are to Allah. We praise Him, we seek His help and and we seek His forgiveness. We take refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves and from the sins of our actions. Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide. And whomever Allah misguides, none can guide. I testify that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah. And I testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger. May blessings and peace be upon him, and upon his family and companions.
First and foremost, I advise you to fear Allah and remain conscious of Him. For know that a day is coming where you will be held accountable for all the actions you do during this worldly life.
Now then: the Prophet ﷺ said:
"Nothing is heavier on the believer's scale on the Day of Resurrection than good character." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhī)
And he, our Beloved, ﷺ also said:
"Indeed, the person most beloved and closest to me on the Day of Resurrection will be the one who had the best of character amongst you." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhī)
O slaves of Allah! Ponder upon these statements of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Akhlāq (good character) is a central part of Islam. One of the aspects about akhlāq is it's value as a da‘wah tool. The character of a Muslim can serve as a powerful form of da‘wah (inviting people to Islam).
Good character makes good da‘wah, especially today. With a non-Muslim, if you're rude, foul-mouthed, disrespectful, harsh and showing attitude with them, what do you think the impression of this non-Muslim will be on Islam? Chances are you'll be confirming what they see and hear from the media everyday about "Izlam and "Mozlems". There's nothing more embarrassing than seeing a Muslim being rude, harsh and foul-mouthed towards a non-Muslim. Whereas if you interact with them in a nice fashion, speaking gently, being respectful and polite, they will see our dīn in a more positive light. They will become attracted to our religion. The Messenger ﷺ won over many people due to his lofty character. Even his enemies who rejected his message still recognised him as a man of the greatest character, a man of truthfulness, honesty and trustworthiness, to the point where they would entrust him with their precious belongings for safekeeping, even though they were fiercely opposed to his message. All this due to his character. So realise that good character is good da‘wah.
This can apply to Muslims too. If you go to a Muslim who's not so religious and speak to him in a harsh way (e.g. You hopeless person, Allah is going to punish you, you're going to hell), do you think he'll accept what you're saying? What do you think he'll think about "the religious Muslims" who go to the masjid and attend religious gatherings? He'll wanna keep his distance from them because they're all rude, harsh people. You'll scare him from the masjid, from religious gatherings, and perhaps from the religion itself. Whereas if you deal with him in a nice manner, with a smiling face and a warm heart, what effect do you think this will have on his heart? He will be touched by your character. And so as a result, he will incline towards the religion. So when dealing with your fellow Muslims, do so with the utmost character. If you're supposed to deal with non-Muslims, who do not believe in Allah's message, with exemplary character, then how about your fellow brothers and sisters in faith? Especially with Muslims who aren't as in touch with the religion. Don't be like the growling thunder that goes on scaring away the people. Be like the gentle rain, for it's the rain that grows flowers, not the thunder. It was not by harsh words and a growling voice, but rather by kind dealings and gentle words that the Prophet ﷺ made the harshest of people into the softest- and purest-hearted of them.
So remember dear brothers and sisters: your character can serve as a powerful presentation of the religion. You, by the fact that you're a Muslim, are an ambassador of Islam, so ensure that you portray your religion via your conduct in a positive manner, especially in our times. Be a kind, polite, respectful, nice person. Don't be harsh, rude, foul-mouthed and having attitude. The last thing we want is people being turned away from the religion of Allah because of the horrible way we behave. I end with a narration where the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked about that for which people are admitted into Paradise the most, to which he said: "Taqwā and good character." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhī)
First and foremost, I advise you to fear Allah and remain conscious of Him. For know that a day is coming where you will be held accountable for all the actions you do during this worldly life.
Now then: the Prophet ﷺ said:
مَا شَيْءٌ أَثْقَلُ فِي مِيزَانِ الْمُؤْمِنِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْ خُلُقٍ حَسَنٍ
And he, our Beloved, ﷺ also said:
إِنَّ مِنْ أَحَبِّكُمْ إِلَىَّ وَأَقْرَبِكُمْ مِنِّي مَجْلِسًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَحَاسِنَكُمْ أَخْلاَقًا
O slaves of Allah! Ponder upon these statements of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Akhlāq (good character) is a central part of Islam. One of the aspects about akhlāq is it's value as a da‘wah tool. The character of a Muslim can serve as a powerful form of da‘wah (inviting people to Islam).
Good character makes good da‘wah, especially today. With a non-Muslim, if you're rude, foul-mouthed, disrespectful, harsh and showing attitude with them, what do you think the impression of this non-Muslim will be on Islam? Chances are you'll be confirming what they see and hear from the media everyday about "Izlam and "Mozlems". There's nothing more embarrassing than seeing a Muslim being rude, harsh and foul-mouthed towards a non-Muslim. Whereas if you interact with them in a nice fashion, speaking gently, being respectful and polite, they will see our dīn in a more positive light. They will become attracted to our religion. The Messenger ﷺ won over many people due to his lofty character. Even his enemies who rejected his message still recognised him as a man of the greatest character, a man of truthfulness, honesty and trustworthiness, to the point where they would entrust him with their precious belongings for safekeeping, even though they were fiercely opposed to his message. All this due to his character. So realise that good character is good da‘wah.
This can apply to Muslims too. If you go to a Muslim who's not so religious and speak to him in a harsh way (e.g. You hopeless person, Allah is going to punish you, you're going to hell), do you think he'll accept what you're saying? What do you think he'll think about "the religious Muslims" who go to the masjid and attend religious gatherings? He'll wanna keep his distance from them because they're all rude, harsh people. You'll scare him from the masjid, from religious gatherings, and perhaps from the religion itself. Whereas if you deal with him in a nice manner, with a smiling face and a warm heart, what effect do you think this will have on his heart? He will be touched by your character. And so as a result, he will incline towards the religion. So when dealing with your fellow Muslims, do so with the utmost character. If you're supposed to deal with non-Muslims, who do not believe in Allah's message, with exemplary character, then how about your fellow brothers and sisters in faith? Especially with Muslims who aren't as in touch with the religion. Don't be like the growling thunder that goes on scaring away the people. Be like the gentle rain, for it's the rain that grows flowers, not the thunder. It was not by harsh words and a growling voice, but rather by kind dealings and gentle words that the Prophet ﷺ made the harshest of people into the softest- and purest-hearted of them.
So remember dear brothers and sisters: your character can serve as a powerful presentation of the religion. You, by the fact that you're a Muslim, are an ambassador of Islam, so ensure that you portray your religion via your conduct in a positive manner, especially in our times. Be a kind, polite, respectful, nice person. Don't be harsh, rude, foul-mouthed and having attitude. The last thing we want is people being turned away from the religion of Allah because of the horrible way we behave. I end with a narration where the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked about that for which people are admitted into Paradise the most, to which he said: "Taqwā and good character." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhī)
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