Tirmidhi

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: Hazrat Nawas bin Sam'an, who belonged to the tribe of Banu Kilab, came from his homeland to meet the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) in Madinah Munawwarah. He then stayed in Madinah for a year as a traveler, so that it would be convenient and easy for him to ask questions. This is because those who left their homeland—that is, the Muhajirun who settled in Madinah—would refrain from asking questions and preferred that outsiders or Bedouins ask the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) questions, so that they too could gain more knowledge about the religion. Later, he must have established friendship with the Ansar, which is why he was referred to as Ansari instead of Kilabi.

Explanation:
1:
Good character holds a very high status in Islam.
Helping others,
assisting people in every good deed,
not causing harm to anyone—these are all such moral virtues that, in the view of Islam, are considered good deeds.
In this hadith, two signs of sin are mentioned:
One sign is that a sin is something that pricks at a person’s heart, and the second sign is that a person dislikes others becoming aware of it.
In other words, human nature guides a person toward what is right,
and restrains him from evil.

Takhrij:
[مسلم، البر والصلة 6516],
[بلوغ المرام : 1238],
[تحفة الاشراف 20/9]

Benefits:

➊ Generally, good character (husn al-khuluq) is understood to mean treating people well, meeting them with a cheerful face and sweet speech, and avoiding harshness and severity. However, this is a limited understanding. In reality, good character is to make all the commands of Allah, exalted is He, so much a part of one’s life that they become like an innate habit, performed naturally without any hardship. The evidence for this is that Allah, exalted is He, said regarding the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam:

«وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ» [68-القلم:4] “Indeed, you are upon a great character.”
Sa’d ibn Hisham ibn ‘Amir asked Sayyidah ‘A’ishah radi Allahu anha to tell him about the character of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. She replied, “Do you not recite the Qur’an?” He said, “Of course.” She said: «فان خلق نبي الله كان القرآن» “The character of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was the Qur’an itself.” [مسلم، مسافرين 139]
That is, he adopted the manners of the Qur’an in such a way, acted upon its commands and avoided its prohibitions so thoroughly, that every aspect of the Qur’an became his natural disposition.

In this understanding of good character are included the pillars of Islam, the rights of Allah, the rights of people, patience, gratitude, fulfillment of promises, truthfulness, trustworthiness, justice, charity, jihad, excellence (ihsan)—in short, everything. A few comprehensive verses about this are:

«لَّيْسَ الْبِرَّ . . . . . . . .» [2-البقرة:177]

And He said:

«وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ . . . . . . .» [25-الفرقان:63]

And He said:

«التَّائِبُونَ الْعَابِدُونَ . . . . . . .» [9-التوبة:112]

And He said:

«قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ ٭ الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ ٭ وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ اللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ ٭ وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِلزَّكَاةِ فَاعِلُونَ ٭ وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ ٭ إِلَّا عَلَىٰ أَزْوَاجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ ٭ فَمَنِ ابْتَغَىٰ وَرَاءَ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْعَادُونَ ٭ وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَانَاتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَاعُونَ ٭ وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَوَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ ٭ أُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْوَارِثُونَ ٭ الَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ الْفِرْدَوْسَ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ» [23-المؤمنون:1 - 11]

See the details in the translated Qur’an with commentary.

➋ The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam described two signs of sin. The first is that it pricks the chest; a person does not feel at ease about it. One thought comes: “Let me do this, there is no clear prohibition against it.” Another thought comes: “No, this is not good; Allah, exalted is He, will be displeased. People will think badly of me.” This state keeps a person uneasy. This is what is called a sin. Hasan ibn ‘Ali radi Allahu anhuma said: I memorized this hadith from the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam:

«دع ما يريبك إلى ما لا يريبك فإن الصدق طمانينة وإن الكذب ريبة» [صحيح الترمذي، النسائي]

“Leave that which puts you in doubt for that which does not put you in doubt, for truth is tranquility and falsehood is doubt.” For further clarification, see: [بلوغ المرام حديث 1384]

The second sign of sin is that you dislike people finding out about it. In reality, if all people consider something bad, it is a sign that the act is sinful. That is why a person wishes that his good deeds become known to people, but his bad deeds remain hidden. The disease of showing off (riya’) also arises from here.

➌ When those acts are sins about which there is doubt, for which there is no clear ruling of permissibility or prohibition, and about which the heart is uneasy, then what doubt can there be about the sinfulness of those acts that are clearly and explicitly prohibited?

➍ If Allah and His Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam have commanded something, but people dislike it out of ignorance, then no attention should be paid to the people. The characteristic of a Muslim is:
«لَا يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ» [5-المائدة:54]
“They do not fear the blame of any blamer.”

➎ Allah, exalted is He, has placed the recognition of good and evil in human nature. That is why in Arabic, virtue is called “ma‘ruf” (recognized), because the goodness of that act is recognized by everyone. And evil is called “munkar,” which means “unrecognized”—that is, human nature does not accept or recognize that act.

Takhrij:
«أخرجه مسلم، البر والصلة، باب تفسير البر والإثم، حديث:2553.»©Explanation:
➊ In this hadith, the reality of virtue and sin is described: Virtue is that a person deals with people cheerfully, maintains friendship with them, does not burden them, helps them in their affairs, carries their burdens, does not treat them badly, does not commit aggression against them, does not lose self-control without reason, acts with forgiveness and forbearance as much as possible, and does not adopt an attitude of reproach and strictness, etc.

And sin is that there remains a pricking and doubt in the heart as to how this action is in the sight of Allah, the heart does not find peace and satisfaction, and by doing which there arises a fear in the heart that if people come to know of it, they will reproach and criticize me.

➋ In this world, the struggle between virtue and sin is ongoing and will continue.

This is the best method to recognize virtue and evil.

© Hadith Narrator:
«حضرت نواس بن سمعان رضی اللہ عنہ » In Nawwas, there is a shaddah on the letter "waw," and in Sam‘an, both fathah and kasrah on the letter "sin" are correct.

Nawwas bin Sam‘an bin Khalid Kalabi ‘Amiri.

He is counted among the Syrian Companions (radi Allahu anhum).

It is said that his father presented himself in the service of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) made supplication for him, and he presented a gift of shoes to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) accepted it.