Tickets To Paradise--Ticket #10 (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.

The Messenger, sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, said,

“I guarantee a house in the upper part of Paradise for a person who has good character.” [Abu Dawud ~ Hadith Sahih]

The rules in Shari'ah are not the same as morality. The law represent the very edge of moral conduct. The law is what separates a moral person and a criminal. So, if we want to be a truly moral human beings, we have to follow the Sunnah of Prophet, sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, which is beyond the limits of the law and closer to the absolute ideal of virtue.

The Prophet, sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, said,

Indeed I was sent in order to complete righteous character.

In this month of Ramadhan we want to pay attention to our moral conduct. The key to moral conduct is gratitude to Allah for everything we have--our limbs, our wealth, our knowledge, our health, our life, our surroundings and environment, etc. The way we show gratitude is to use His blessings to worship and obey His commands and not using them to disobey Him. The common phenomenon in Ramadhan is food waste and extravagance during iftar and suhur, and people (children and adults alike) walking in front of people who are praying or people talking in the prayer room and its vicinity without regard to those who are still praying. We want to avoid being the one who do all these. Parents should teach their children not to walk or stand in front of a praying person.

About the wasters, Allah says,

ثَمَـٰنِيَةَ أَزۡوَٲجٍ۬‌ۖ مِّنَ ٱلضَّأۡنِ ٱثۡنَيۡنِ وَمِنَ ٱلۡمَعۡزِ ٱثۡنَيۡنِ‌ۗ قُلۡ ءَآلذَّڪَرَيۡنِ حَرَّمَ أَمِ ٱلۡأُنثَيَيۡنِ أَمَّا ٱشۡتَمَلَتۡ عَلَيۡهِ أَرۡحَامُ ٱلۡأُنثَيَيۡنِ‌ۖ نَبِّـُٔونِى بِعِلۡمٍ إِن ڪُنتُمۡ صَـٰدِقِينَ (١٤٣)

...But waste not by excess: for Allah loves not the wasters. (Qur'an Al An'am 6:141

It is sinful to walk across in front of someone who is praying when it is easy to avoid.

Narrated Busr bin Sa`id: that Zaid bin Khalid sent him to Abi Juhaim to ask him what he had heard from Allah's Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, about a person passing in front of another person who was praying. Abu Juhaim replied,

"Allah's Apostle said, 'If the person who passes in front of another person in prayer knew the magnitude of his sin he would prefer to wait for 40 (days, months or years) rather than to pass in front of him." Abu An−Nadr said, "I do not remember exactly whether he said 40 days, months or years." (Bukhari)

May Allah guide us. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam