• the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, had the most remarkable, magnanimous manners

and sublime traits. he was the most generous and righteous of all people. his lord the almighty

testified to this fact and this is more than sufficient as a reference. allaah the almighty has

honored and praised the beauty of the morals of his prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam,

saying (what means): {and indeed, you are of a great moral character.} [quran 68:4]

• his servant, anas ibn maalik, may allaah be pleased with him, said, “the prophet, sallallaahu

‘alayhi wa sallam, had the best moral character of all of the people.” [al-bukhaari and muslim]

• his wife, safiyyah bint huyayy, may allaah be pleased with her, said, “i have never seen one

with better morals than the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.” [ibn hajar and

at-tabaraani]

• his wife ‘aa’ishah, may allaah be pleased with her, said when she was asked about the morals

of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, “his character was the quran.” [ahmad and

muslim]

these precious words of ‘aa’ishah, may allaah be pleased with her, indicate that his character

embodied everything that was contained in the noble quran and he adhered firmly to all that it

enjoined and avoided all that it prohibited. whatever the quran regarded as good and praised

was part of his character, and whatever it regarded as bad and prohibited, he would avoid.

in this connection, ibn katheer, may allaah have mercy upon him, said in his tafseer (quranic

exegesis), “this means that he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would act according to the

commands and prohibitions of the quran. his nature and character were patterned according to

the quran. so, whatever the quran commanded, he did, and whatever it forbade, he avoided;

and this was along with what allaah endowed him with of the great qualities of bashfulness,

generosity, bravery, forgiveness, forbearance, and every other beautiful quality.” [tafseer al-

quran al-‘atheem]

• in addition to this are the noble qualities and refined manners of the prophet, sallallaahu

‘alayhi wa sallam, which were mentioned in the books of the people of the book before they

were distorted. it was narrated on the authority of ‘ataa’, may allaah have mercy upon him, that

he said, “i asked ‘abdullah ibn ‘amr about the attributes of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa

sallam, that were stated in the torah. he said, ‘yes, by allaah, he is described in the torah in

some of the same terms as he is described in the quran (what means): {indeed, we have sent

you as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner} [quran 48:8] – and as a saviour

to the unlettered; you are my slave and my messenger; your name is al-mutawakkil (one who

places all his trust in allaah the almighty); he is neither harsh nor aggressive, nor a noise

maker in the market-places; he does not repay evil with evil; rather, he overlooks and forgives;

allaah the exalted will not take him (in death) until he has straightened a crooked nation

through him so that they will say that there is no deity worthy of worship except allaah, and

(until he) has opened blind eyes, deaf ears, and hard hearts.’” [al-bukhaari]

allaah the almighty, the most truthful, says (what means) describing him: {and indeed, you

are of a great moral character.} [quran 68:4]

let us, therefore, delve into the loftiest values of the attributes of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi

wa sallam, so that we can benefit and learn from them.