Building Good Character

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Righteousness is in good character and good character is generosity, spending and bearing. You are generous with what Allah bless you--your strength, power, money, intelligence, ability, freedom, time, and health. You use and spend everything that you have for the sake of Allah.

Good character includes, maintaining family ties, forgiving and pardoning, giving when you are being denied, having cheery disposition, good loving relationship with people, forbearance and humility and thinking well of people.

Smiling, making people happy, serving people, being a good wife or a good husband, being a good parent are among the greatest acts that people already engaging in. No souls know the pleasures Allah prepared for them in the things they are already doing.

If you want to work on good character, force yourself to act like someone with good character. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the companions, Allah be pleased with them all, are our great role models. Study the seerah and it is good to read the biographies of the companions.

Look at everything that the Prophet brought, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and be grateful that he brought them. We ask Allah tawfiq and to help us practice them. This practice happens step by step, it is not an overnight change but it starts with knowledge. It starts with taking the time and the effort to learn what is obligatory and proceed.

Keeping the company of the righteous learned people, you can learn many good character traits that books and lectures cannot teach you because you can see as well how they carry themselves and imitate them.

If you want to work on removing greed for example, keep spending on a particular good cause until it become easier.

If you want to work on getting rid of envy/jealousy, ask Allah to give the person you are envious or jealous of more of what he/she has and bless you with same.

If you want to work on patience, try to remember that Allah creates everything. There is no movement or stillness except Allah wills it. This is your chance to work on your patience and be with Allah for Allah is with the patient one. If Allah is with you, nothing can harm you.

May Allah show us good teachers among the living and among the dead, and keep us in the company of the righteous. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam