The Book of Good Manners

[iLoveAllah]

The Book of Good Manners

Riyad-us-Saliheen

Chapter: Exaltation of Modesty

1.. Ibn `Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) passed by a man of the Ansar who was admonishing his brother regarding shyness. Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Leave him alone, for modesty is a part of Iman.''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Commentary: The Ansari, who was being lectured by his brother, was indeed an embodiment of modesty and unpretentiousness. Such a man is never sharp in worldly affairs because modesty restrains him from following wrong ways. For this reason, modesty has been called a part of the faith. This is an inborn quality, that is, some people are unassertive by birth. Yet, if they are gradually guided and directed towards virtues, their unassumingness further increases. And in Islam it is counted a virtue.



2.. Imran bin Husain (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Shyness does not bring anything except good.''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

In a narration of Muslim: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "All of shyness is good.''

Commentary: This Hadith enlightens us on the excellence of modesty, which serves the good purpose of preventing man from the disobedience of Allah and from immoral and evil pursuits. Evidently, it has a salutary impact on society. Besides, it keeps man free from sins, and, consequently, he will stand blameless with Allah. From this standpoint, modesty is certainly a thorough good.



3.. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Iman has sixty odd or seventy odd branches. The uppermost of all these is the Testimony of Faith: `La ilaha illallah' (there is no true god except Allah) while the least of them is the removal of harmful object from the road. And shyness is a branch of Iman.''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].



4.. Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was even shier than a virgin behind her veil. When he saw something which he disliked, we could perceive it on his face.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Commentary: Though this Hadith particularly refers to the character of Messenger of Allah (PBUH), it also reveals the fact that modesty is a peculiar quality of woman. An unmarried woman, above all else, is considered to be the embodiment of bashfulness. Islamic countries have witnessed many curses of western civilization and the worst is the one which has robbed away the modesty of woman because it is the last protective shield of Islamic civilization which the enemy is consistently sweeping off. May Allah grant Muslims the insight to avert this wickedness!

[Ummati]

Chapter: Fulfillment of Promises

Allah, the Exalted, says:

"And fulfill (every) covenant. Verily! The covenant will be questioned about. (17:34)

"And fulfill the Covenant of Allah (Bai`ah: pledge for Islam) when you have covenanted.'' (16:91)

"O you who believe! Fulfill (your) obligations.'' (5:1)

"O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do? Most hateful it is with Allah that you say that which you do not do.'' (61:2,3)

~*~

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Three are the signs of a hypocrite: When he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is trusted, he betrays his trust.''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Another narration adds the words: "Even if he observes Saum (fasts), performs Salat (prayer) and claims to be a Muslim.''

~*~

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Four are the qualities which, when found in a person, make him a sheer hypocrite, and one who possesses one of them, possesses one characteristic of hypocrisy until he abandons it. These are: When he is entrusted with something, he betrays trust; when he speaks, he lies; when he promises, he acts treacherously; and when he argues, he behaves in a very imprudent, insulting manner.''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Commentary: Theologically speaking, a disagreement between heart and tongue - or word and deed - about the declaration of faith in Islam is defined as hypocrisy.

`Ulama' say that there are two aspects of hypocrisy, relating to faith and practice.
1. A hypocrite conceals his disbelief in his heart but verbally professes Islam. Anyone who belongs to this category of hypocrites will be, as stated in the Qur'an: "In the lowest depths of the Fire.'' (4:145).
2. A man does have faith in his heart but in practice he portrays the characteristics of a hypocrite.

~*~

Jabir (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said to me, "When the revenues of Bahrain will arrive, I shall give you such and such and such.'' He passed away before the revenues were received. When they arrive during the caliphate of Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him), he ordered to be announced: "Anyone whom Messenger of Allah (PBUH) promised or owed anything, should come to him.'' I went to him and said: "Messenger of Allah (PBUH) had said to me such and such.'' He took a double handful out of the money and gave it to me. I counted it and found that it was five hundred dirham. Then Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) said to me: "Take twice as much more of that amount.''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Commentary: Messenger of Allah (PBUH), according to Al-Bukhari, spread his both hands thrice in a gesture and indicated to Jabir (May Allah be pleased with him): "I will give you double handfuls of money thrice''. Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him), however, fulfilled the Prophet's promise during his caliphate.

This Hadith is suggestive of fulfillment of the deceased pledge by the ascendant, that is, his death will not invalidate it. Rather, the responsibility of fulfilling his pledge devolves upon his inheritors. Similarly, a new ruler is under obligation to carry out the commitment made by his predecessor on the government level.

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Stop, Look and Listen

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “If somebody reproaches you and makes you feel ashamed of any of your defects, do not make him feel ashamed of any of his defects.” [Abu Daud]

Usually, when somebody points out one of our shortcomings, we immediately become defensive and start finding faults with them. But the advice of our beloved Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam), is that we should listen quietly and evaluate what we are being told. If there is something we can improve about ourselves, it is only to our own advantage to do so. If the criticism is unjustified, then we are rewarded for our patience and good behaviour in not retaliating. The angels will take care of defending our honour. Starting a counter attack opens the door for Shaytaan to come in and take over.

Once Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (radi Allahu anhu) was sitting with the Prophet (sal allahu alaihi wa sallam) when a man came and started to abuse Hazrat Abu Bakr. Hazrat Abu Bakr remained silent. Finally, he started to speak in his defence. At this point the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) got up and left. Hazrat Abu Bakr immediately went after him and inquired if he had done something wrong. Rasul Allah replied that as long as he had been silent, angels had been speaking on his behalf, but when he started to respond, the devil came and sat down next to him. As the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) could not remain seated where the devil was sitting, he left.

[Ummati]

Narrated by 'Abdullah bin 'Amr

Allah's Apostle said, "It is one of the greatest sins that a man should curse his parents."

It was asked (by the people), "O Allah's Apostle! How does a man curse his parents?"

The Prophet said, "'The man abuses the father of another man and the latter abuses the father of the former and abuses his mother."

[Ummati]

Treatment of Servants:


Narrated by Anas,

I served the Prophet for ten years, and he never said to me, "Uf" (a minor harsh word denoting impatience) and never blamed me by saying, "Why did you do so or why didn't you do so?"

[Ummati]

[Ummati]

RasulAllah SWS said, “I guarantee a house in Jannah for one who gives up arguing,
even if he is in the right; and I guarantee a home in the middle of Jannah for one
who abandons lying even for the sake of fun; and I guarantee a house in the highest
part of Jannah for one who has good manners.”(Abu Dawud).