Abu Hurairara narrated that the Prophet (P.B.U.H) was once asked
"What is the deed that makes people enter Paradise most", he answered "Godliness, and noble manners."
(On the authority of Altirmidhi, Ahmad, Ibn-Maja, and others.)
The advice of the Prophet(P.B.U.H) to the Islamic nation is very precious as it contains Allah"s right over his servants to fear him through being pious. Godliness is Allah"s order for all His servants :
And We have directed those who received the Scripture before you, and (We direct) you to keep your duty towards Allah.(4.131)
Godliness means that the servant of Allah makes between himself and what he fears for the sake of his Lord a ward to protect himself from His punishment; that emits from forsaking sins and sticking to good deeds.Our ancestor stated godliness' features and its people:
"Godliness is obeying Allah's orders and forsaking His prohibited deeds, apparently and interiorly, feeling great respect for Him and fear from Him as well. Added that He must be obeyed rather than disobeyed, remembered rather than forgotten, and thanked rather than denied. The servant cannot be dutiful to Allah in a perfect way even if he spent all his time, and all what he posses for the sake of his Lord because of the hugeness of Allah"s rights over His servants.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H) said in his prayers confessing his disability to thank his Lord
" I seek refuge from Your wrath with Your satisfaction, and with Your forgiveness from Your punishment, and with You from You,, I do not count the praise upon You, You as You praised Your Self."
We have also been informed that there are certain angels, since Allah created them, in continual kneeling, prostration, and praising to Allah since He created them.. Ibn Abbas –may Allah be pleased with both-described the pious saying ,
"They are those who are cautious of Allah"s punishment by forsaking what they know of kinds of vain desire , and they wish to gain His mercy by believing of what he sent (with His Prophet (P.B.U.H.)."
Al-Hassan Al- Basry said that
The pious are those who avoid what Allah prohibited, and carry out what He ordered them to do.
Also, Omar Ibn Abdul-Aziz stated that
Godliness is not accomplished by neither supererogatory prayers at the night, nor fasting at the morning, but by forsaking what Allah prohibited and carrying out what He ordered,so if someone is bestowed a good deed afterwards , it is a transition from good to good. Godliness, in fact, is Allah"s advice for the mankind in His Holy Quran; He stated that it is the cause of prosperity and happiness. Among its fruits:
1- Allah's protection: (Fear Allah, and know that Allah with the pious.) (2.194)
2- Knowledge (And fear Allah, and teaches you Allah.) (2.282)
3- Discrimination between right and wrong, effacing bad deeds, and forgiveness of Allah (O believers! if you fear Allah, He grants you a discrimination (between right and wrong), effaces your bad deeds, and forgive you; and Allah is the Lord of unbounded grace.)(8.29)
4- Safety from the Hell-fire :( and there is no single one of you who shall not pass over it; this absolute decree of your Lord is unavoidable. Then We will save those who were pious during their earthly life, and leave the wrongdoers there humbled on their knees.).(19.17, 18)
5- Paradise: (such is the Paradise, which We give as an inheritance to those of Our servants who lead a pious life.).(19.63).Also, (Paradise should come close to the righteous.) (50.31) and, (Verily, for the righteous are gardens of Delight in the Presence of their Lord.) (68.34)
6- Being honorable: (Verily, the most honorable of you, in the sight of Allah, is the most righteous of you.) (49.13)
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) advised us to be righteous as he said to Abu- Dhar,
"I advise you to stick to righteousness apparently and interiorly."
On the authority of Al-Tirmidhi, Yazid Ibn Salama told the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) that he has heard a lot of hadiths, so he became afraid to forget, and asked the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) to tell him one word collects every thing. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) answered,
"Be righteous to Allah concerning what you are aware of."
Also the companions of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) advised each other and those who would come after them to be righteous; when Abu-Bakr became the caliph, he said,"I advise you to be righteous to Allah, and to praise Him with what He deserves, and toOn the authority of Al-Tirmidhi, Yazid Ibn Salama told the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) that he has heard a lot of hadiths, so he became afraid to forget, and asked the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) to tell him one word collects every thing. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) answered,
"Be righteous to Allah concerning what you are aware of."
Also the companions of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) advised each other and those who would come after them to be righteous; when Abu-Bakr became the caliph, he said,
"I advise you to be righteous to Allah, and to praise Him with what He deserves, and to mix your fear with your hope and to ask him continually as Allah praises Zachariah and his family saying: (They were ever quick in emulating good deeds and called on Us with fear and desire and were submissive.) (21.90).
Also, when Abu-Bakr was dying, his very first words to Omar were,
" Be righteous, Omar."
When Omar wrote to his son, he recorded,
"I advise you to be righteous to because he who fear Allah, Allah would protect him, he who gives charity for the sake of Allah, Allah would reward him, and he who thanked Him, Allah would give him more. Be always conscious of righteousness, and purify your heart with it.
You can not find a definition of the righteous that is more accurate than the Ali's definition –may Allah be pleased with him-when Hammam asked him to describe them for him as if he looks at them. Ali answered,
"They are whose speech is the truth, whose garment is providence whose walking is humility. They cast down their eyes from what Allah prohibited, and devoted their ears to useful knowledge. The Creator, according to them, is the greatest, so everybody else is little to them. Their hearts are sad, their bad traits are not feared, their souls are virtuous. They endured short days, which was followed by a long rest .Worldly life desires them, but they renounce it; it captured them, but they ransomed themselves. At the night, they stand praying, and reciting the Quran .When they pass by a verse that gives a hope, they meditate longing to it, and when they pass by a verse that reveals a threaten, they listen with their hearts" ears thinking that the Hell-fire"s inhalation and exhalation are inside their ears, so they kneel asking Allah to free them from the shackles of the Hell-fire. At the morning, they are righteous wise scholars whom the fear of Allah has made them thin. The beholder thinks that they are sick, while they are not" In conclusion, if we meditate upon noble manners, we find them a base of righteousness.We ask Allah to make us of His righteous slaves.
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