Ramadhan Preparation #6 - Cultivating Good Character (Akhlaq)

Treading further down the path of striving towards ihsan (excellence) in our acts of worship, we want to try and inculcate something even better: Ihsan at all times.

Jibreel asked the Prophet: “What is Ihsan?”

The Prophet Muhammad (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) replied: “It is, that you worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot (do so), (perform in such a manner that you) know that He sees you” (Narrated in Bukhari & Muslim)

Worship Allah as if you see Him! Think about it: How would you perform at work if you can see your boss monitoring you at all times, from start to finish? Or at least, to work as if you have  CCTV, knowing your boss is monitoring you at all times & evaluating every one of your actions towards your performance appraisal?

You would perform at your peak performance – Ihsan.

And that is what is meant when the Prophet defined Ihsan – he didn’t give a textbook definition of the word; rather, he gave the practical implementation of how to shift our mindset to perform at our best: to at least have clear knowledge, at all times, that there is One, All Seeing, All-Hearing of what you do.


And that’s just not in prayer or our ritual acts of worship – He evaluates at all times, and never fails. It is with this knowledge and muraqabah (Awareness that Allah is Watching) that we have the drive to uphold the best akhlaq.

The Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) said: "The most beloved to me amongst you is the one who has the best character and manners." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book #57, Hadith #104)

But good akhlaq isn’t merely a “command” –by the Mercy and the Grace of Allah, it is in fact a highly rewarded act of righteousness.

The Prophet Muhammad (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) said, "Nothing is heavier on the Scale of Deeds than one's good manners (i.e. akhlaq)." (Hadith - Bukhari's Book of Manners #271, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Ahmad, and Ibn Hibban.)


Surely if good character and manners are the heaviest on the scales then can you imagine how much more heavier they will be if we behave with good character and manners during Ramadan?

Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu’minin: The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
“By his good character a believer will attain the degree of one who prays during the night and fasts during the day.” (Sunan of Abu-Dawood – Book 41 Hadith 4780)

“the degree of one who prays during the night and fasts during the day” – since this is basically what we do in Ramadhan anyway, good akhlaq effectively doubles that reward further!

And when we talk about “good akhlaq” we mean akhlaq in a holistic sense: that is our manners with

• Allah – by trying our level best to seek His Pleasure, and avoid His prohibitions
• ourselves – by our patience, our consistency in performing good deeds, by controlling our desires, etc; and
• the others around us – by our speech & actions, our positive interaction

While the aspects of good akhlaq are too vast to be listed here, suffice to say that the best reference is the sunnah of the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi  wasallam).

لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا

“Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad s.a.w.) you have a good example to follow, for him who hopes for (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much” (Al-Ahzab 31:21)

In fact, remind ourselves again, the holistic objective of sending a Prophet/Messenger to humankind is to refine good manners and good akhlaq:

The Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) said – “Verily, I have only been sent to perfect the noblest of character and morals” (Narrated in Muwatta’ of Malik).

If we fail to meet this simple objective, we’ve failed the goals of the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

So let’s start improving our akhlaq today, and strive to “attain the status of one who prays in the night” by the time the clock ticks Ramadhan!