Do you know, what is religion? Let's find out from Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw)!

Once a man came to Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) and said: O messenger
of Allah, what is religion?
Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) replied: Akhlaq (Good Conduct, Morality).
Then he came to his frontand asked: O Messenger of Allah, what is religion?
Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) replied: Akhlaq (Good Conduct, Morality).
Then he came to his left side and asked: what is religion?
Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) replied: Akhlaq (Good Conduct, Morality).
Then he came to his back side and asked the same question: what is religion?
Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) replied: Akhlaq (Good Conduct, Morality).
Then Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) said looking at him: Not to be
angryis Akhlaq (Good Conduct, Morality).
Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) was asked: What is misfortune?
Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) replied: Bad Conduct.
Hence, religion Islam according to our Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) is
nothing but Akhlaq (Good Manners, Morals). And Akhlaq (Good Manners,
Morals) isbased on the cleanliness of both our inner self (Nafs, Soul)
and our outerself (Physical, Body).
It is of great importance to be mindful that Akhlaq(Good Manners,
Morals) forms an important component of our religion Islam and our
Imaan (faith).
Allah (SWT) speaks about the importance of good conduct, ethics,
morals orcharacter in the Noble Qur'an. Allah (SWT) orders and
reminds us continuously throughout the Noble Qur'an to develop good
character and treat people well, where HE (SWT) says:
1. And say to My servants (that) they speak that which is best. (17:53)
2. Worship Allah, and do not associate partners with him. And be good
toyour parents, and the relatives, and to the orphans, and to the poor
people, and the neighborthat is close to you and the neighbor that is
not close to you, and your companion on the journey. (4:36)
Many Ahadith can be quoted concerning good conduct, ethics, morals
orcharacter. The following are some of what Holy Prophet Muhammad
(saw) said:
1. I have been sent is to perfect good manners (Morality, Islamic Behavior).
2. The dearest of you to me is he who is the best of you in Akhlaq.
3. The most complete of believers in Imaan (faith) are those who are
best incharacter.
4. The most (important) things that cause people to reach Heaven are
divine piety and a good temper.
5. There is not anything that will be placed on thescale weightier
than good Akhlaq, and, certainly, the one who has good Akhlaq reaches
by it the rank of one whocontinuously observes Saum (Fasts) and
performs abundant (Nafl)Salah.
6. Verily, a servant can gain the rank of him whoboth fasts during the
day and keeps vigil at night, keeping up prayers, through his good
disposition.
7. Fear Allah (SWT) wherever you are, followup an evil deed with a
good deed, and meet with the people, interact with the people, with
good Akhlaq.
8. Imam Ali (as) said to hisson, Imam Hassan (as): O' my son! No
wealth is more valuable than intelligence and no poverty is similar to
ignorance; no terror is worse than arrogance, and no life is more
pleasant than being good tempered.
9. Imam Ali (as) says, Good behavior lies in three traits: Avoiding
unlawful things, acquiring the lawful ones, and being fair to one's
family members.
10. Imam Hassan (as) says: The most preferableadornment is graceful manners.
11. Imam Hassan (as) says: Verily, the best of bests is a good temper.
12. Imam Ali ibn Husayn (as) said: Fair speech increases wealth,
stretches sustenance, postpones death, creates love among family
members, and causes the person to enter Heaven.
13. Imam Sadiq (as) said: There are three things that each of which is
brought by a person to Allah (SWT), Allah (SWT) will necessitate
Heaven for the one: donation in poverty, a good temper with all
people, and justice to one's self.

Akhlaq, Islamic Behavior, Good Conduct, Morality, Good Manners, Islamic Etiquette

Akhlaq is an Arabic term referring to the practice of virtue, morality
and good manners in Islamic Theology and Philosophy (Falsafah). It is
most commonly translated in English as; islamic behavior, disposition,
good conduct, nature, temper, ethics, morals or character (of a
person).
Akhlaq is the plural for the word Khulq which means
disposition."Disposition" is that faculty (Malakah) of the soul (Nafs)
which is the source of all those activities that man performs
spontaneously without thinking about them. Malakah is a property of
the soul which comes into existence through exercise and repetitive
practice and is not easily destroyed.
A particular disposition (Malakah) may appear in human beings because
ofone of the following reasons:
1.Natural and physical make up (Fitrah): It is observed that some
people are patient while others are touchyand nervous. Some are easily
disturbed and saddened while others show greater resistanceand
resilience.
2.Habit (Ada): It is formedbecause of continual repetition of certain
acts and leads to the emergence of a certain disposition.
3.Practice and conscious effort: Which if continued long enoughwill
eventually lead to the formation of a disposition.
Even though the physical make-up of an individualproduces certain
dispositions in him, it is by no means true that man has no choice in
the matter and is absolutely compelled to abide by the dictates of his
physical make-up. On the contrary, since man has the power to choose,
he can overcome the dictates of his physical nature through practice
and effort, and can acquire the disposition ofhis choice.
Of course, it should be admitted that those dispositions which are
caused by the mental faculties such as intelligence, memory, mental
agility and the like, are not alterable. All other dispositions,
however, may be changed according to man's will. Man can control his
lust, anger and other emotions and desires, and channel them to edify
himself andpropel himself along the path of perfection and wisdom.
When we speak of man's capacity to bring about changes in his
dispositions, we do not mean that man should destroy his instincts of
reproduction or self-preservation. Man could not exist without these
instincts. What we mean is that one should avoid going to either
extremes in regard to them, and maintain a condition of balance and
moderation so that they may perform their functions properly. Just as
the seed of a date grows into a fruitful tree through proper care, or
awild horse is trained to serve his master, so also can man attain
perfection and wisdom through self-discipline and intelligent
perseverance.
Human perfection has many levels. The greater the amount of
self-discipline and effort on the part of the individual, the higher
thelevel of perfection that he would attain. In other words, he stands
between two extreme points, the lowest of which is below the level of
beasts and the highest of which surpasses even the high station of
angels. The human movement between these two extremes is discussed by
ilm al-Akhlaq (Science of Ethics). It is the goal of ethics to raise
and guide man from the lowest animal state to that exalted position
superior to that of the angels.
In a hadith from Imam Ali (as)is related as saying, Allah (SWT)
created Angels with intellect but without anger or desire. And created
animals withanger and desire but without intellect. And created man
with intellect (reason), anger and desire. If man's reason over powers
his anger and desires, he rises to the status of that higher than
angels. But ifhis anger and desires overpower his intellect and reason
he becomes lower in status than that of an animal.
The importance of ethics is thus revealed. And it is because of the
reasons mentioned above that ethics is considered to bethe most
exalted and valuable of sciences; Moreover, we know that man is the
noblest of creatures, the ultimate purpose of whose existence is to
attain perfection; therefore, it follows that ethics is the noblest of
all sciences.

Story - ••• I WANT TO MERRY HER •••

A boy said to his father: "Isaw a girl and I want to marry her. She is
so beautiful and she has gorgeous eyes. The father answered his son:
of course son, let's ask forher hand in marriage."
When the father saw the girl, he admired her beauty and he told his
son: "You don't deserve this girl, she needs someone who has
experience in life and shecan depend on, someone like me."
The boy was surprised bythe attitude of his father and he told him:
"She willmarry me, not you". They started to fight and finally they
decided both to go to the police station to solve their problem.
When they tell their storyto the police officer, he told them: "bring
the girl so we can ask her about her opinion about this." When the
officer saw the beauty of the girl he said to the boy and his
father:"you both don't deserve her, she needs someone who has prestige
like me."
The three men started a fight and decided to go to the minister to
solve their problem. When the minister saw the girl, he said: "She
deserves to be married with a minister like me". The prince heard
about their problem and calls them all to help them solve it but and
when he saw thegirl he said: "This girl willmarry me".
All the five men started tofight. Finally, the girl said"I have the
solution! I willstart to run and whoever catches me first, he will be
my husband". When she started to run, the boy, his father, the
policeofficer, the minister and the prince started to run to catch
her. Suddenly the 5 men fell into a deephole.
Moral : The girl looked to them from the top and she said "do you know
who I am?"
I am the Dunya - THE LIFE!!
People want to run to catch me, they are racing to have me. By doing
that, they forget their religion, until they end up in their grave and
still won't have me.

"R" is for Ramadan and resolution – II

Another sense of precedence for setting goals should come from the
fact that Allaah Almighty has made certain things obligatory for
Muslims while encouraging them toward other levels of worship )Sunan
and Nawaafil, that is, the desirable and the additional(. Some Muslims
focus more on the later )like the Taraaweeh prayers( to the neglect of
the obligation )like thefive daily prayers(. It is important to
fulfill the obligation, before attempting to practice the Sunan and
Nawaafil.
When setting goals for Ramadan,then, remember to set smart)sensible,
measurable, attainable, realistic, timely( goals:
Specific: A specific goal has a much greater chance of being
accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must
answer the six "W" questions:
Who:Who is involved?)remember, you are a Muslim, a servant of Allaah(
What: What do I want to accomplish? )for Ramadan - attain Taqwa; in
life - seek the pleasure of Allaah(
When: Establish a timeframe
Where: Identify a location )work,home, etc.(
How: Identify requirements and constraints )if the goal is to memorize
certain parts of the Quran then the requirement is to know proper
Tajweed. If so, one constraint that one may face is the amount of
Quran one can memorize depending on their fluency in reciting Quran(
Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal
Measurable: Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward
the attainment of your goals. To determine if your goal is measurable,
ask questions like How much? How many? How will I know when it is
accomplished? Hence, a measurable, spiritual goal for Ramadan can be,
say: I will perform all the Sunnah prayers before and after each
obligatory prayer everyday duringthe month of Ramadan.
Attainable: You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your
steps wisely and establish a timeframe that allows you to carry out
those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach
eventually move closer and become attainable notbecause your goals
shrink, but because you grow and expand tomatch them. A believer is
susceptible to falling into the fallacy of considering him - or
herself unworthy of a certain level of spirituality because of past
sins committed. This is an old device of Satan, to weigh us down and
cause us to despond of the mercy of Allaah. To succumb to this
whispering is to forget that our Lord, Allaah, MostHigh, is all
forgiving and Most Merciful. Allaah States in a Sacred Hadeeth:"I am
as My servant thinks I am. I am with him when he makes mention of Me.
If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself.
And if he makes mention of Me inan assembly, I make mention of him in
an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm's
length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me
walking, I go to himat speed."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[ Therefore, as
the servantof Allaah exerts himself or herselfspiritually, Allaah
expedites the attainment of that spiritual goal.
Realistic: This is not a synonym for "easy." Realistic, in this case,
means "doable." To be realistic, agoal must represent an objective
toward which you are both willing and able to work.
One way to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have
accomplished anything similar in the past. Also, ask yourself what
conditions would have to exist to achieve this goal.
Timely: Binding a goal to a time -frame will give a sense of urgency
in attaining it. Learning to recite the Quran "someday" won't work. It
is important to identify by what date you will learn to recite the
Quran. This due date will not only motivate you to work to reach that
goal but also help you to determine if you have fulfilled your goal or
not. And, of course, a goal of this magnitude should be broken up into
smaller smart goals, to ensure advancement and assessment.
The Prophetand his Companionsused to prepare for Ramadan well before
start the month. One way of doing so is to identify and formalize
goals for it now, if you haven't already. For goals not only help us
prioritize our life but also enable us to undergo the requisite
purification of intention. This, in turn, assists us in becoming
focused in and with our lives. Thus goals are an integral part
ofhaving a plan, a purpose, for our life.
Heed this last point well, for a lifewithout a plan is a plan for
certain failure. We ask Allaah to direct us toward those goals
thatwill help us earn His pleasure, for,indeed, that is the ultimate
goal that He Almighty has commanded all of us to seek in this fleeting
life.