Morality in the Sunnah

“Sunnah”, in its most general sense, refers to the life of the Prophet Muhammad (saw). The Prophet Muhammad (saw), who informed people about religious rules, applied these rules himself first and was subject to wahy before anyone else. Aisha's following saying is the best expression of this. "The character of the Messenger of Allah (saw) was the Qur'an." (Muslim, Musafirin, 139)

Our Almighty Lord (swt) shows the life of our Prophet (saw) as a good example for us to follow in the Qur'an: “There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often." (Ahzab, 33/21) Therefore, after the Qur'an, the sunnah is the second source of religious rulings and morality. 

“I was sent to perfect good character.” (Muwatta', Husn al-Khuluq, 1) By this hadith, Prophet Muhammad (saw) states that His life is also a source of morality. As our Lord (swt) emphasizes in the following verse, the life of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) is full of examples of morality:  “And indeed, you are of a great moral character.”(Qalam, 68/4)  When the Prophet met the angel of revelation Jibril for the first time and was taken by fear, the words of his wife, Khadija, elude to his exemplary good character: “Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You keep good relations with your kith and kin, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guests generously and assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones.” (Bukhari, Bad’u al-wahy, 1) When Aisha was asked about the moral character of the Prophet, she replied: “He was never a harsh person, nor would he quarrel in the markets, he would not react to an evil with evil, but rather he was pardoning and forgiving.”(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Birr, 69)

The Messenger of Allah valued the person he faced and showed interest. He preferred to be forgiving and gentle in his relationships, approaching everyone with mercy. He would not feel grudge and anger towards people, he would not treat them harshly. Allah pointed out these attributes of Him by saying: “So by mercy from Allah , [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them.  And if you had been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them...” (Al-i 'Imran, 3/159)  The Prophet Muhammad (saw) did not talk about people's mistakes, when He made a criticism, He would do it without mentioning names, and He would not embarrass anyone.

Our Prophet loved to eat with others. He would recite the Basmalah before eating, He ate with His right hand, He would finish His meal without overeating, and He would wash His hands before and after the meal. He did not eat anything that is harmful to His health and is haram/prohibited, nor anything that would disturb people around it with its smell; other than that, He would not say "I don't like it" about any food. He always obeyed the table manners and trained those around Him with patience and courtesy. He cared for hygiene and simplicity in His clothing, and did not like shabbiness and heedlessness. He regarded hygiene as "half of faith"(Muslim, Taharah, 1). As He was clean himself, He tried to instill this habit in those around Him. He did not care about luxury and magnificence, and did not worry about temporary troubles. He advised others to be content with what is available and always be optimistic in life. He had a great heart. He liked to forgive, He did not hurt anyone and He wanted the well-being of even His enemies. He hated arrogance/showing off, saying that a person with a bit of arrogance in his heart would not be able to enter Paradise. (Muslim, Iman, 147) He was not arrogant towards anyone, but was not belittled in the face of His enemies. He protected justice meticulously, and did not treat people according to their rank and position. He respected His wives and looked after their rights. Even when He wanted to pray at night, He was gracious to ask permission from His wife. He liked to joke with His family members… The whole life of the Messenger of Allah (saw) is full of such behaviors, which are the reflection of morality.

As one can see, the Prophet Muhammad (saw) set an example for people by doing the good and avoiding the bad and forbidden behaviors Himself before everyone else. In addition, He pointed out the importance of morality at every opportunity and encouraged Muslims to be moral: “The best among you are those who have the best manners and character.” (Bukhari, Adab, 38); “Where ever you are, be aware of your responsibilities to Allah.” (Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Birr, 55); “Nothing is heavier on the believer's Scale on the Day of Judgment than good character. (Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Birr, 62) Moreover, “Allah! Beautify my morals (khuluq) as you have beautified my creation (khalq).”  (Ibn Hanbal, I, 403); “… keep bad akhlaq away from me...” (Muslim, Musafirin, 201) and similar supplications teach us that we should ask our Lord for help to attain morality.