Husn al-khuluq (good character)

الخلق الحسن

Treating people with what pleases them in word and deed while withholding harm — the third clause of 'fear God wherever you are': 'and keep company with people in good character' — which together with taqwa combines God's rights and His servants' rights, a combination Ibn Rajab calls rare, sustained only by the most complete of prophets and the truthful; its summit, as God describes the muttaqun, is giving freely and bearing hurt — 'who spend in ease and hardship, who restrain their anger and pardon people' — and revelation reports 'the most complete of believers in faith are the best of them in character', that it is the heaviest thing laid in the scales, raising its owner to the rank of the one fasting and praying, the best gift given a Muslim and what makes them most beloved to God and nearest to the Prophet ﷺ in station; among its definitions: Ahmad's 'that you not become angry or fierce' and, in another report, 'that you bear what comes from people', Ishaq ibn Rahuya's 'a cheerful face and not becoming angry', and some scholars' 'restraining anger for God, showing openness and cheer except to the innovator and the flagrant, pardoning the erring except for discipline or establishing a hadd, and withholding harm from every Muslim and covenanted person except to change an evil or take what is due for the wronged without transgression'.

Overview

For Ibn Rajab, good character (husn al-khuluq) is treating people in ways that please them, in word and deed, while withholding harm from them. ¹

In the counsel "Fear God wherever you are"

It is the third part of that counsel, whose text reads: "and treat people with good character." It joins piety with the right of God and the rights of His servants. Ibn Rajab holds that combining the two is rare, and that only the perfected among the prophets and the truthful can bear it. ²

Its aim

He says that its aim, as God described the pious, is to give generously and to bear harm. He cites hadiths, among them: "The most complete of believers in faith are the best of them in character." He notes that it is among the heaviest things placed in the scale. ¹

Definitions

He relates from Imam Ahmad that good character is not becoming angry, and in another report, bearing with what comes from people. From Ishaq ibn Rahawayh: openness of countenance and not becoming angry. He relates from some scholars: swallowing anger for God's sake, showing cheerfulness, and pardoning those who slip, except for discipline or the application of a legal penalty. ³

See good manners.

From Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy's lecture series Al Dinu Al Qayem

The Sheikh says that a person is known by his character: his neighbours at home, his companions on journeys and those he deals with in the markets are where it is seen ⁴. He says that the word for travel (safar) derives from unveiling (isfar), and that character shows on journeys (needs_source: the derivation) ⁵.

The Sheikh holds, as his own opinion, that separating economics, art, poetry and literature from religion has produced discourtesy, deviation in conduct and backbiting ⁶, and that the nation has lost its identity in its character and conduct ⁷.

Sources

Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam — Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali , p. 391

Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam — Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali , p. 427

Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam — Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali , p. 428-430

Assabile archive of Omar Abdelkafy's lectures (audio and video) , Al Dinu Al Qayem, episode 8, at 00:05:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)

Assabile archive of Omar Abdelkafy's lectures (audio and video) , Al Dinu Al Qayem, episode 8, at 00:06:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)

Assabile archive of Omar Abdelkafy's lectures (audio and video) , Al Dinu Al Qayem, episode 5, at 00:52:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)

Assabile archive of Omar Abdelkafy's lectures (audio and video) , Al Dinu Al Qayem, episode 8, at 01:11:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)

Righteousness (birr)

In the twenty-seventh hadith of the Forty, righteousness (birr) and sin (ithm) are defined through conscience and character together: in al-Nawwas ibn Sam'an's report in Muslim (2553), 'righteousness is good character, and sin is what wavers in your soul and you dislike for people to see it' — righteousness reduced to sheer character, and sin marked by inner unease joined to dislike of public exposure; and in Wabisa ibn Ma'bad's report in Ahmad and al-Darimi, the Prophet commanded 'consult your own soul' while poking his chest with three fingers: righteousness is what the heart and soul are at peace with, and sin is what wavers in the heart and hesitates in the breast even if people give verdict upon verdict — inner rest and expansiveness made the sign of righteousness, and inner hesitation the sign of sin even against the muftis' rulings; Abu Umama's route 'if something wavers in your breast, leave it' and Abu Tha'laba al-Khushani's 'righteousness is what the soul rests in and the heart is at peace with … even if the muftis give you verdicts' corroborate it, both chains sound for Ibn Rajab.

Husn al-khuluq (good character)

At a glance