Good Manners
Dear brothers and sisters, each and every one of us loves the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and would want to be of those closest to Him in Judgement day.
I think it is fair to say that there isn’t anyone that wouldn’t want to be the most beloved to Him?To have that closeness to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon Him, on that day is the closeness to being in Paradise.So, what does one need to do in order to be a part of this rank?
The answer, dear brothers and sisters, may surprise you. It isn’t about huge amount of fasting, or going Hajj, or being extreme in dissociating with worldly affairs, neither is having a huge amount of knowledge of being of powerful build, or power and money.
What then what could it be?Dear brothers and sisters, the answer lies in having good manners and hence the topic of this week’s khutba.
The Prophet peace and blessings be upon him said, according to a hadith:
It is of the most beloved to me and the closest to me in Judgment day are those with the best of manners.Dear brothers and sisters, Allah SWT has sent the best of Prophets, Mohamed, Peace and blessings be upon him, to teach us the best of manners.
He is reported to have said according to Hadith:
I have been sent to complete the best of MannersDear brothers and sisters, Our Prophet peace and blessings be upon him had the most complete of manners, as Allah SWT has described him in the Quran in Sura Qalam, ayat 4:You are of great Manners
So, dear brothers and sisters, how do we emulate that so that we can be of the rank spoken of earlier?
Well, having good manners is to be following in the footsteps of our beloved Prophet SAWS. And therefore the traits mentioned in the remainder of this khutba come from accounts of his manners SAWS.So therefore it is to be generous and helpful. It is to be such that one does not hurt others.It is to try and correct mistakes, and to forgive others, be quiet about others errors and mistakes, and to try and get the hearts closer to each otherGood manners is also about the challenge to maintain your relationships with family in particular; and to give those who need, and to forgive those who have oppressed you, to look after the old and to be merciful on the young, and to give each person their rights.
How appropriate is this reminder in particular with the oppression we see against Muslims, almost on a daily basis in our media.And when Aisham, may Allah be pleased with her was asked, what would the prophet peace and blessings be upon him do in his house, she said (He would do in his household what would not require others to service him, but when prayer was called he would leave for the prayer).
Dear brothers, this one is particularly for you because good manners is doing your fair share of the housework and the chores. Chauvinism doesn’t exist in our faith and good manners confirms this.The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was very generous, good with gatherings.Uthman May Allah be pleased with him said according to hadith:We have by Allah accompanied the Prophet peace and blessings be upon him while travelling and while home, and he would visit the ill, attend the funeral, would come with us into battles, and would be with us with small and large.
Dear brothers and sisters, this tells us that we need to be generous not only with the obvious but also with our time and our efforts.The prophet peace and blessings be upon him would be smiling a lot; Jareer may Allah be pleased with him said:The Prophet peace and blessings be upon Him did not see me except was smiling.Dear brothers and sisters, this is telling us that his demeanour was always a happy one. It tells us that optimisim, hope, happiness and contentment is synonymous with good manners. A smile, they say, is contagious and is also a form of charity and what sweeter charity is there to give than a smile?The Prophet peace and belssings be upon him was the most forbearing and patient, Aisha may Allah be pleased with her said
The Prophet, peace and blessings be Upon Him, did not hit anything with his hands, not a woman or a servant except when in battle for sake of Allah
Dear brothers and sisters, good manners comes with having patience, tolerance and an acute understanding that this life is a test. Things will get to us. We aren’t robots and we do have feelings. Sometimes people will cause us to be hurt or angry but the key to having good manners is to show patience and to not lose it as is more and more the norm these days. And lastly, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was the most forgiving; His people hurt him, and the Angels of the mountains asked Him if He wanted the two mountains to come together and crush those who hurt Him, He refused.
Dear brothers and sisters, good manners is knowing that even if you are wronged, you should forgive. Even if you are hurt, the manners is to forgive. Life is short and life is a test. Show mercy to fellow creations of Allah SWT so that He may be able to show mercy to you on the Day of Judgement.T
his khutba and its translation can never do justice to the vast examples of impeccable manners that were demonstrated by the Prophet SAWS. However, we must strive to learn more about his life and how he lived it so that we can learn to imitate and hopefully inherit the manners of our beloved Prophet SAWS.
May Allah SWT teach us good manners. May Allah SWT enable us to absorb examples of good manners and may Allah SWT reward us on our good manners.
Alhamdullilahi Rabilalameen.
