Strong Faith: A Path to Noble Manners

Strong and true belief in Almighty Allah is not only a force that restrains Muslims from the
evil of both words and actions, but it also motivates every noble deed. That is why when the
Qur’an directs Muslims to do what is good or avoid what is evil, it reminds them of their
belief.

Almighty Allah says,

O you who believe! Fear Allah, and (always) say a word directed to the Right. (Al-
Ahzab33:70)

O you who believe! Let not some men among you laugh at others. (Al-Hujurat49:11)

O you who believe! Fear Allah and be with those who are true (in word and deed) (At-
Tawbah9:119)

Sound faith should remind Muslims that Almighty Allah is their Lord, Islam is their religion,
and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is their prophet. Strong faith creates
pleasant and kind manners whereas weak faith directly leads to the collapse of all good
manners.
Some people came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said:

O Allah's Messenger a lady is known to pray, fast and give a lot of charity, but she harms her
neighbours with her tongue." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: "She is
in Hellfire."Another lady was known to only pray and fast the minimum requirements and
she only gave a little charity, but she did not harm her neighbours. The Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) said:"She is in Paradise."(Authenticated by Al-Albani)

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also said, "By Allah, he does not believe! By
Allah, he does not believe! By Allah, he does not believe!" It was said, "Who is that, O
Allah's Messenger?" He said, "The person whose neighbour does not feel safe from his
evil."(Al-Bukhari)

The lesson here is that the severest punishment awaits the person who has bad manners and
this is a shameful description of someone who mistreats those around him. This guidance of
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) teaches Muslims the importance of having
good manners; it is also a warning not to neglect the rights between people even though the
person might be perfect in fulfilling the basic acts of worship and performing extra acts of
worship. Performing these acts of worship may not benefit someone if he has bad manners as
this contradicts true Islamic behaviour.

The Prophet's sayings (peace and blessings be upon him) provide proof of this when he said,
"Many people who fast get nothing from their fast except hunger and thirst, and many people
who pray at night get nothing from their Prayer except wakefulness and tiredness."
(Authenticated by Al-Albani)

He (peace and blessings be upon him) also said,"If one does not abandon falsehood in word
and deed, Allah has no need for his leaving his food and drink."(Al-Bukhari)

On the other hand, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "By good manners a person
can reach the position of the one who prays at night and fasts during the day.”(Authenticated
by Al-Albani)
Focusing on the same meaning, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) once asked his
Companions, "Do you know who the bankrupt one is? ”They said, "A bankrupt person is the
one who has neither dirham (money) nor wealth." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon
him) said, "The bankrupt person among my followers (Ummah) is the one who would come
on the Day of Judgment with Prayers, fasting, and zakah; but would have offended one
person, slandered another, devoured others' wealth, shed the blood of this person, and hit that
person."(Muslim)

It is like a trader who has stock worth £1,000 but has a debt of £2,000, so he is a loser!

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "The signs of a hypocrite are three:
whenever he speaks, he tells lies; whenever he is entrusted, he betrays; whenever he
promises, he breaks his promise (even if he prays, fasts and claims that he is Muslim)." (Al-
Bukhari)

Also, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "There are four traits and whoever
possesses them is a hypocrite and whoever possesses one of them has an element of
hypocrisy until he abandons it: the one who lies when he speaks, breaks his promise when he
promises, violates when he makes an agreement, and transgresses when he disputes." (Al-
Bukhari).

Many people claim to be practicing Muslims, yet they commit acts which do not match the
noble manners of the true faith.

What is the value of faith which does not reflect good manners? And, what is the meaning of
striving for good while corrupting what is good in this life, yet claiming to be practicing
Muslim? How many Muslims are there who are supposed to be practicing ones but they
cheat, commit fraud, deceive and tell lies? How many Muslims today lie when they sell, do
not do their best at work, and fail to regard the ties of kinship or of covenant with those
around them?

Islam is having noble manners and whenever a person’s faith increases his good manners
should also increase. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) summarized his whole
message by saying, "Indeed, I was sent for no other reason, than to perfect noble morals.''
(Authenticated by Al-Albani)
A Muslim who performs acts of worship without being affected by them must have weak
faith. Acts of worship should restrain Muslims from doing evil deeds, and it should correct
their actions and civilize their character because acts of worship should teach the person how
to be aware of Almighty Allah in every situation. If performing acts of worship do not do
this, they are nothing but physical acts with no effect.

Almighty Allah says,

Recite what is sent of the Book by inspiration to you, and establish regular Prayer: for Prayer
restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in
life) without doubt. And Allah knows the (deeds) that you do. (Al-`Ankabut29:45)

The corruption that Muslims are experiencing these days is from their own doing. A person’s
weak faith is reflected in his or her daily life. If a person’s faith was true and strong, his
situation would change.

Hanzalah and Abu Bakr As-Siddiq(may Allah be pleased with them)went to Allah's
Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and said to him:

O Allah's Messenger, Hanzalah has become a hypocrite". Thereupon, Allah's Messenger

(peace and blessings be upon him) said:What has happened to you? I (Hanzalah) said: "O
Allah's Messenger, when we are in your company, we are reminded of Hellfire and Paradise
as if we are seeing them with our own eyes, but whenever we leave you and attend to our
wives, children and business, much of these things go out of our minds". Then Allah's
Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By Him in Whose Hand my life is, if
your state of mind remains the same as it is in my presence and you are always busy in
remembrance (of Allah), the Angels would shake hands with you in your beds and in your
paths but, Hanzalah, time should be devoted (to worldly affairs) and time (should be devoted
to prayer and meditation)". He (the Prophet) said this thrice.(Muslim)

The Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) struggled to be far from
any characteristic of hypocrisy. They knew that bad manners may lead to hypocrisy, and so
every Muslim should beware of any characteristic that would eventually affect his faith, and
hence, render him a loser.