Honorable Muslims!
Our Lord Almighty (swt) states in the Holy Qur'an, "There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often."[1]
In the hadith I have read, our beloved Prophet (saw) says, "I was sent to perfect good character."[2]
Dear Believers!
The Messenger of Allah (saw) was the perfect of all people not only in terms of faith and worship but also of character. Let us remember once again our Prophet's (saw) unique morals in this Friday's khutbah. Let us renew our covenant to adopt his (saw) morals.
Dear Muslims!
The morality of our Prophet (saw) was the Qur'an. Our Prophet (saw) would reflect on his life what the Qur'an commands and avoid what it prohibits. When one day somebody asked 'A'isha (ra), "O mother of believers! Can you tell me about the Messenger of Allah's character?", she replied, "Do you not read the Qur'an? His character was the Qur'an."[3]
Dear Believers!
Our Prophet (saw) was a compassionate and merciful family leader. His home was full of peace and love. He would never let violence and hate enter his home. On one occasion, he described the best person as follows, "The best of you is the one who is best to his family. And I am the best among you to my family."[4]
Dear Muslims!
He (saw) was the best teacher. When teaching his companions a lot of useful things about all spheres of life, he would say, "I am like a father teaching you."[5] Children's education was of particular significance to him. He would work to ensure that young companions would grow up with their hearts connected to mosques and full of love for salah (ritual prayer). All his endeavor was for them to have faith and good character. His advice to parents was very clear: "There is no gift that parents give their child more virtuous than good manners."[6]
Dear Believers!
The Messenger of Allah (saw) was also a sincere, true and loyal friend. Ali (ra) would describe the Prophet's relations with his (saw) friends as follows, "The Messenger of Allah was always a mild-tempered, graceful and refined person. He was never a bad-tempered, cold-hearted, loud- and foul-mouthed and stingy person who would look for flaws of other people. He (saw) would disregard things he despised, he would not let anybody down who had high expectations of him, and he would not refuse their demands..."[7]
Dear Muslims!
Let us take our Prophet (saw) as our role model in our words and actions. Right, let us take his good character as a guide for ourselves so that we have a good character as well. Let us let our souls reach perfection in the journey of servitude. Let us let our families be our paradise on earth. Let us build bridges of sincerity, trust and loyalty between us and our friends and families. Let us make our world meaningful and our afterlife peaceful for good.
Let us not forget, "The most correct of words is the Book of Allah. The best guidance is that of Muhammad."[8]
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[1] Ahzab, 33/21.
[2] Ibn Hanbal, II, 381.
[3]Abu Dawud, Tatawwu', 26.
[4] Tirmidhi, Manaqib, 63.
[5] Ibn Majah, Taharah, 16.
[6] Tirmidhi, Birr, 33.
[7] Tirmidhi, Shama'il, 60.
[8] Nasa'i, 'Eidayn, 22.
General Directorate of Religious Services