Benefits of the Hadith: (… So I said: O Mother of the Believers, inform me about the character of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). She said: Do you not read the Qur'an? I said:)
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The Shaykh : And among the benefits of this hadith is the eagerness of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and others from the Salaf of this Ummah to know the character of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), because he asked Aisha about the character of the Messenger, even though the original of his question was about what?
The student: Witr.
The Shaykh : About Witr, but he asked about the character of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in order to emulate him. For this reason, I urge you to strive to know the morals of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his biography, so that you may emulate him, for in that lies the strengthening of faith, the strengthening of love for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and reward.
And among the benefits of this hadith is the questioner being referred to what he knows, rather than being given the specific answer he asked for, because this man asked about the character of the Messenger, and she referred him to something he knows, which is?
The student: The Qur'an.
The Shaykh : The Qur'an. So if a person asks you about something and you refer him to something he knows, in order to stimulate him to derive the ruling himself, then in that lies an answer and teaching. And while it is an answer and teaching, it is also training, so that a person becomes accustomed to not asking about anything that is not truly hidden from him, because some people ask about an issue that everyone knows and which does not require a question. But if you refer him to the Qur'an or to the hadith and say, "Do you not read such-and-such? Has it not been conveyed to you from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) such-and-such?" then in that there is benefit. Indeed, there are three benefits: the answer, knowledge, and training.
And among the benefits of this hadith is that the character of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was the Qur'an; he adopted the morals indicated by the Qur'an and encouraged therein, and he avoided the morals from which the Qur'an warned. And by Allah, if we were to walk in this path and review the Qur'an with reflection and contemplation, and adopt the morals therein, whether they are what the Qur'an calls for doing or what it calls for leaving, we would attain much good. If we were to take just one word, namely His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He) that He bestowed upon the believers that they were scattered, but Allah the Exalted united them and bound them together with brotherhood. If we were to take this and act upon the implication of this ruling, we would attain much good. But we read the Qur'an as if we are reading it only for worship or for attaining reward.
And among the benefits of this hadith, after it is completed… it was the Qur'an.
The student: He said, "I was about to stand up."
Another student: ...
The student: Witr.
The Shaykh : About Witr, but he asked about the character of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in order to emulate him. For this reason, I urge you to strive to know the morals of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his biography, so that you may emulate him, for in that lies the strengthening of faith, the strengthening of love for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and reward.
And among the benefits of this hadith is the questioner being referred to what he knows, rather than being given the specific answer he asked for, because this man asked about the character of the Messenger, and she referred him to something he knows, which is?
The student: The Qur'an.
The Shaykh : The Qur'an. So if a person asks you about something and you refer him to something he knows, in order to stimulate him to derive the ruling himself, then in that lies an answer and teaching. And while it is an answer and teaching, it is also training, so that a person becomes accustomed to not asking about anything that is not truly hidden from him, because some people ask about an issue that everyone knows and which does not require a question. But if you refer him to the Qur'an or to the hadith and say, "Do you not read such-and-such? Has it not been conveyed to you from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) such-and-such?" then in that there is benefit. Indeed, there are three benefits: the answer, knowledge, and training.
And among the benefits of this hadith is that the character of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was the Qur'an; he adopted the morals indicated by the Qur'an and encouraged therein, and he avoided the morals from which the Qur'an warned. And by Allah, if we were to walk in this path and review the Qur'an with reflection and contemplation, and adopt the morals therein, whether they are what the Qur'an calls for doing or what it calls for leaving, we would attain much good. If we were to take just one word, namely His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He) that He bestowed upon the believers that they were scattered, but Allah the Exalted united them and bound them together with brotherhood. If we were to take this and act upon the implication of this ruling, we would attain much good. But we read the Qur'an as if we are reading it only for worship or for attaining reward.
And among the benefits of this hadith, after it is completed… it was the Qur'an.
The student: He said, "I was about to stand up."
Another student: ...