Explanation of the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): (The best of you in terms of Islam are those who have the best character, provided they have knowledge of the religion)

The Shaykh : It is also authentic. It is narrated from Abu Hurayrah who said: I heard Abu al-Qasim (peace and blessings be upon him) say: . This is where this condition comes from: absolutely, even if he is ignorant and knows nothing about Islam? The answer is: No, meaning when they know the rulings of the Shari'ah that are obligatory upon them, from the obligatory acts, the duties, and the prohibitions, so that he is in his religion with clear understanding, as He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: . So His saying (peace and blessings be upon him) in this second hadith: indicates that the virtue of good character mentioned in the first hadith, which is that he has the rank of one who stands in prayer at night and fasts during the day, is only on the condition that he has knowledge of the religion. Therefore, in this second hadith, there is an exhortation for every Muslim to the obligation of acquiring knowledge of the religion, and not to live in his day ignorant, not knowing what is obligatory upon him and what is forbidden upon him. The main point of these two hadiths that the author cited in this chapter is the exhortation of Muslims, men and women, to improve their character: the man with his wife, the wife with her husband, the father with his son, the mother with her child, and so on, the neighbor with his neighbor, and the merchant with his customers. All of these are exhorted in these hadiths to improve their character. Improving their character necessitates that they improve their dealings with one another. So whoever is the best of them in character is the best of them in the sight of Allah the Exalted and the highest of them in rank, due to His saying (peace and blessings be upon him): meaning: the rank of one who stands in prayer at night and fasts during the day. And although the wording of the hadith appears to be specific to men, where he said: , the intention is not to restrict this virtue and this merit to men only, because we have learned repeatedly and often in past lessons His saying (peace and blessings be upon him): , and in another wording: meaning every ruling that applies to men, its equivalent applies to women. Everything that is forbidden for men is forbidden for women, everything that is prescribed for men is prescribed for women, and so on, all the rulings of the Shari'ah except for the rulings that are excluded. And the excluded rulings are very few, and we all know that regarding women and men. So when the hadith comes and says: , we should remember in this situation the aforementioned hadith: , so we know from that that the woman also, if she improves her character, surpasses the worshipper who stands in prayer at night and fasts during the day by her good character and her good treatment of those she deals with, provided, of course, that that worshipper is bad in character. And the reality, with great regret, is that we find many men and many women who, if translated, would be translated as a Muslim man and a righteous man, but when he is tested with a matter that reveals his character, his bad character quickly becomes apparent to people. And at that time, that man who limits himself to doing what Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has made obligatory upon him and avoiding what Allah has forbidden, with his good character, distinguishes himself from that person who is certified as righteous and as one who stands in prayer at night and fasts during the day, but who is bad in character with people. From this we know the magnitude and importance of good character in Islam. So we must take a lesson from this hadith, men and women, and each of us should improve his character with the other, especially the husband with his wife, and the wife with her husband, because of the strong bond that Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has established between them, between the husband and the wife.