Sadullah Khan – Developing a Qur’anic Personality To be and what not to be. #3

Developing a Quranic personality, how to be and

what not to be.

We focus tonight on on the concept of.

A concept that appears 14 times in the

holy Quran

and in Islamic terminology

implies

a variety

of positive behaviors and positive attitudes.

In Fati, the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said,

Bil

is good character and good conduct.

And part of the mission and part of

the primary mission of the Rasul

was the improvement of human character and human

behavior.

But we could also imply cordiality

or respect to others. It's a verse in

the Quran where Allah says, Allah does not

prevent you from being kind and friendly with

people.

To show bir, to manifest bir to those

who don't fight you in your faith, and

to be kind to those people.

Bir is also the criterion

of social engagement.

Cooperate with each other, cooperate with others, with

one another on the basis of of that

which leads to righteousness and Allah consciousness.

And there's a particular verse, a conditional verse

in the Quran, that evokes our conscience. In

fact, it'll be the first verse that he

said tomorrow night.

It says, the attainment of is preconditioned. You

will never attain unto and to that level

of righteousness.

Until and unless,

you avail for others that which you yourself

symbolizes

righteousness

coupled with the concept of and

in fact, of generosity of spirit, and that

of empathy for human beings.

When you look at the prophetic example, salallahu

alaihi wasallam,

his nature was one of righteousness.

Not only that, he motivated other people towards

righteousness.

Do you not see the prophet sitting on

the street of Medina,

listening to an old woman and her plea?

Do we not see him,

responding to people or insulting him with kind

words? Do we not see how he has

mercy on those who may be opposing him?

Do we not see how he exhorts the

believers to feed the hungry, to care for

the orphans?

And therefore, the prophet salallahu alaihi wasallam, his

righteousness

the society around him. His etiquette of social

interaction, sallallahu alaihi wasallam, was empowering

rather than controlling.

He was a person inspiring

rather than dictating,

uplifting

rather than belittling or denigrating.

He was seeking commitment

rather than *

over them. And he ignited the moral imagination

and the spiritual consciousness

of those around him. And therefore, he could

take a shepherd boy like Abdulai ibn Mas'ud,

a noble woman like Khadija,

a slave like Bilal.

A nurse like Eiman.

A foreigner like Salman. A wealthy man like

Abu Bakr. A Jew like Abdullah Alaihi Salam,

an outcast like Juleibib,

and embrace them equally into his companionship

with the one

The prophet therefore taught us, righteousness

by his example.

That to be good, you do not have

to be judgmental.

To be equal, you don't have to be

exactly the same. To be tough, you don't

have to be mean.

To be strong, you don't have to be

cruel. To be united, you don't have to

be identical. To be right, you don't have

to be rude. And to be religious,

to be of the

to be of the righteous,

not to be of those who are self

righteous. As Allah warns us in the Quran,

Do not be self righteous.

Only Allah knows truly those who are righteous.

May Allah make us of the righteous.