The Six Cs Of Akhlaq (Character)
Do you want to be closest to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) on the Day of Judgement? Do you want to know a simple way that you can achieve great success and have Allah happy with you? Well, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: “Those of you who will be closest to me on the Day of Judgment will be those who have the best Akhlaq.”
Today, we will discuss The Six components of Akhlaq and how they can help us to have better manners and character, Insha’Allah. They all start with C so that we can remember them easily. Akhlaq means good Character and manners. This is very importent in Islam, because it teaches you how to live in the world with the people and leads you to Paradise. The Quran and the example of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) are the best places to find out about how to perfect your Akhlaq.
The first C of Akhlaq is Conscience. The Conscience is our inner voice that Allah has given us to do the right thing and avoid sin. You know that weird feeling you get in your tummy when you are about to do something wrong, that is your consceince. It is also your conscience that makes you feel warm and fuzzy when you do something good. An excellent example of your conscience at work is when you help others and give charity, this could be your family, friends and even your neighbors. The Prophet Muhammad said in a Sahih Hadith: “A believer is not the one who eats his fill when his neighbor is hungry.” Our conscience is what helps us to practice good manners and follow the path of Allah.
The second part of having good character is Compassion. This is to care about other people and their feelings. If you look at the world today, we have so much food, but people are still hungry. This is because many people don’t have compassion and only think about themselves. Once, Ibn Umar (RA) went to the market and someone picked his pocket. When people in the market realized that his money was stolen, they started to make dua to destroy the person that robbed Ibn Umar. At this moment, Ibn Umar raised his hands and said, “O Allah, if this person took it because he was in need, O Allah, bless this money for him. O Allah, if he is a professional thief, O Allah, then make this one the last of his sins.” This shows us that we should have compassion for others even when they may not be very nice to us. It could be that your one act of kindness could change their whole life.
The third is Consideration. Being considerate means respecting others and thinking before we take action. We must always think about if our words or actions are going to make someone sad or happy. One day, the Prophet (SAW) was sitting with his companions and he told them that Ikrimah (the son of Abū Jahl, the worst enemy of Islam) was coming to accept islam. The Prophet (SAW) cautioned his companions to not mention anything mean about his father Abū Jahl. He said that cursing those who are dead only affects those who are alive as the dead cannot hear. Meaning he told them to be considerate of Ikrimah’s feelings. We must always follow this act of thinking before we do anything, Insha’Allah. We all want to bring a smile to people’s faces and spread love.
Now we know that we should listen to our conscience, have compassion and be considerate, but sometimes we have to be really brave to do these things.
So, the fourth C of Akhlaq is Courage. Courage is being brave and standing up for justice and for others even when we are afraid. We see that the Prophet Musa (AS) was afraid many times in the Quran. When his staff turned into a snake, he was afraid, but he still picked it up. He was told to face Firawn and he had fear, but he still went. This is because Musa (AS) was not a coward. Even when he was afraid, he had great courage, because he knew that Allah was with him and he was doing the right thing. We must be brave and overcome our fear when we have to stand up for what is right. Right is right even if there is no one doing it and wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it. We have to trust in Allah just like Musa (AS).
The fifth is Control. This is a very important point. We have to learn to control our desires, our anger and most of all our tongues. Many times we want something and we are not able to have it, we should be patient and know that if we are patient Allah will give it to us when the time is right or give us something even better! Other times we get so upset that we want to say or do something we know is wrong. Maybe over a toy with our brother or sister, we have to control ourselves and be a good example by keeping calm and not fighting. This could mean losing the toy, but it is better than losing your head. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW ) said: “The strong is not the one who overcomes the people by his strength, but the strong is the one who controls himself while in anger.”
The last is confidence. We have to trust in Allah and always do the right thing no matter what. Many times we do great things and we don’t see the results right away, but that should not stop us from doing good deeds and helping others. We should be confident that doing the right this is always what is best and trust that Allah will give us the reward for all our good deeds.
As Muslims, we represent Islam, so we should make sure that we are showing the world what an amazing religion we have and how great Allah is. Insha’Allah, these six components of Akhlaq will help us to have better manners and character. Some evil people in Makkah wanted to make the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) look bad when he was trying to bring the Message of Islam, they didn’t want anyone to follow him and tried to make people hate him, but they failed, because the Prophet had great Akhlaq and it always made the people respect him and love him. No matter what anyone says about us, our manners and character are who we really are and good people will always see that. Allah will see that.
May Allah help us to have good Akhlaq and seek His pleasure in all we do, Ameen!
Jazakam’Allahu Khayran for reading!