Virtues of Good Character
The heaviest on the scale
«Nothing is heavier on the believer's scale on the Day of Judgement than good character — Allah hates the obscene, foul-mouthed person.»
Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd
Completes faith
«The most complete of the believers in faith are those with the best character.»
Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd
Nearest to the Prophet
«The dearest of you to me and nearest to me on the Day of Judgement are the best of you in character.»
Tirmidhī
With people
«The best of you are those who are best to their families, and I am the best of you to my family.»
Tirmidhī
Smiling is charity
«Your smile to your brother is charity.»
Tirmidhī
Removing harm
«Every act of kindness is charity; to remove harm from the road is charity.»
Bukhārī & Muslim
Reaches the degree of the one who fasts
«The believer reaches by his good character the degree of the one who fasts and stands in prayer» — character is a form of worship.
Abū Dāwūd
Traits to Cultivate
Truthfulness
«Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. A person continues to tell the truth until he is written with Allah as a truthful one (ṣiddīq).»
Bukhārī & Muslim
Trustworthiness
«The hypocrite has three signs: when he speaks he lies, when he promises he breaks, when trusted he betrays.»
Bukhārī
Humility
«No one humbles himself for Allah except Allah raises him.»
Muslim
Anger management
«The strong is not the one who overcomes in wrestling, but the one who controls himself when angry.»
Bukhārī
Guarding the tongue
«Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him speak good or remain silent.»
Bukhārī & Muslim
Keeping secrets
A secret is a trust; betraying it is treachery. The Prophet ﷺ said: «A man's talk with another is a trust.»
Abū Dāwūd, Tirmidhī
Modesty
«Modesty brings only good» — it is a branch of faith and a shield from sin.
Muslim
Generosity
«The generous is near to Allah, near to Paradise, near to people, far from the Fire.»
Tirmidhī
Kindness to neighbors
«By Allah he does not believe, by Allah he does not believe, by Allah he does not believe — whose neighbor is not safe from his harm.»
Bukhārī & Muslim
Mercy to the young
«He is not of us who does not have mercy on our young and respect our elders.»
Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd
The Character of the Prophet ﷺ
The best of character
«You are on a great character» — Allah Himself testified to the character of His Prophet ﷺ.
68:4
Patient and forgiving
«The Prophet ﷺ did not take revenge for himself unless the sacred limits of Allah were violated.»
Bukhārī & Muslim
Gentle in speech
«He was neither obscene nor did he use obscenity, nor did he shout in the market.»
Bukhārī
Merciful
«The Prophet ﷺ was the most generous of people, and he was most generous in Ramadan.»
Bukhārī
His humility
«He used to sit with his Companions as one of them — not distinguishing himself by dress or seat.»
Bukhārī
He smiled
«His smile was the most pleasant of smiles» — he was not stern or harsh, but warm and approachable.
Bukhārī
Duʿās
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنِي لِأَحْسَنِ الْأَخْلَاقِ لَا يَهْدِي لِأَحْسَنِهَا إِلَّا أَنْتَ وَاصْرِفْ عَنِّي سَيِّئَهَا لَا يَصْرِفُ عَنِّي سَيِّئَهَا إِلَّا أَنْتَ
Duʿā for good character
O Allah, guide me to the best of character — none guides to its best except You. And turn away from me the worst of character — none turns it away except You.
Aḥmad
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْعَجْزِ وَالْكَسَلِ وَالْجُبْنِ وَالْبُخْلِ وَالْهَرَمِ وَقَسْوَةِ الْقَلْبِ
Duʿā for protection from bad character
O Allah, I seek refuge in You from incapacity, laziness, cowardice, stinginess, senility, and hardness of the heart.
Bukhārī