Good character

*Summary of Iṣlāḥī Majlis by Shaykhul-Ḥadīth Ḥaḍrat Mawlāna Ādam ibn Yūsuf Ṣāḥib دامت بركاته*

20th September 2020 | 2nd Ṣafar 1442AH

‎مولاي صل وسلم دائمًا أبدًا

‎على حبيبك خير الخلق كلهم

*عَنْ أَبِي الدَّرْدَاءِ رضي الله عنه ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ "‏مَا شَيْءٌ أَثْقَلُ فِي مِيزَانِ الْمُؤْمِنِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْ خُلُقٍ حَسَنٍ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَيَبْغَضُ الْفَاحِشَ الْبَذِيءَ*

_Abu Darda' (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Nothing is heavier on the believer's scale on the Day of Judgment than good character. And indeed Allah ﷻ , Most High, hates the shameless obscene person."_ (Jāmi` at-Tirmidhī 2002)

On the day of Qiyāmah, every person will have a scale where their deeds, both good and bad, will be measured. The reason for this is not because Allah ﷻ is unaware, but rather to make the Justice of Allah ﷻ apparent to the people, and for us to know what we achieved through our lives.

*𝗪𝗶𝗽𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻*

In order to keep our slate free from bad deeds, we need to carry on seeking the forgiveness of Allah ﷻ and repent to Him. With true repentance, our bad deeds get erased. But this is only possible when we repent sincerely from our hearts, shed tears, and have a firm resolve within us to leave the sin. If this is done properly then inshā'Allah we will return to Allah ﷻ with a clean slate!

When it comes to repentance we must never delay. We must make it a habit to repent to Allah ﷻ every night before sleeping.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀

Good character will be the heaviest on the scale but what exactly is good character?

Our beloved Ḥaḍrat explains this good character as follows:

"Serving the creation of Allahﷻ to the best of our abilities, abstaining from causing harm to any individual, and desiring the best for every person."

The best character originates from the heart where we truly desire the best for all, and not just by verbally wishing the best for others.

Another deed which will also be very heavy on our scale of good deeds is the recitation of the following Tasbīḥ

*سُبْحانَ اللهِ وبِحَمْدِهِ، سُبْحانَ اللهِ العَظِيمِ*

We can try and make an effort to read this 100x every morning and evening. It only takes a maximum of 5 minutes to read, yet makes a huge impact on our scale of deeds and can change our future.

𝗚𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗲

The next part of the Ḥadīth mentions: _"Allah ﷻ hates the shameless obscene person"_

From this, we learn that we should control the tongue from using blasphemous, obscene, and filthy words. Instead, we should use the tongue to speak such words that will benefit others. Allah ﷻ says in the Qur'ān:

*(وَقُلْ لِعِبَادِي يَقُولُوا الَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ )*

_"Say to My servants that they should (only) say that which is best." (Al Isrā':53)_

If we have a habit of using indecent language, we must make an effort to work on it now before it is too late. If the tongue is not controlled, it leads to further sins such as insulting our parents and seniors. (May Allah ﷻ forgive us all) We should utilize the tongue to make Zikr, to such an extent that we have no spare time to speak ill.

The kalimah "Lā Ilāha Illa-Allah لا اله الا الله " has a strong connection with good speech:

A person who has true Īmān, will never speak in a vulgar manner. The way we speak during our lifetime has an impact on our final moments. If we have a habit of speaking in a vulgar manner, using harsh words, being rude to one another, then it will be difficult to utter the Kalimah at such a crucial moment. This is the reality that we are unaware of. Sadly, people have passed away whilst uttering offensive words because throughout their lives they spoke indecently and made no effort to change their habit.

```May Allah ﷻ grant us the ability to practice on everything that has been said. Āmīn```