Chapter: Encouraging Noble Character Traits

Introduction

The term “encouragement” (targhīb): al-Wasīṭ states that raghiba, raghaban and raghbatan means “to be keen on something and to desire it.” Al-Miṣbāḥ adds: “Raghibtu fī shayʾ means I wanted it, whereas raghibtu ʿanhu means I did not want it.”

The author—may Allah have mercy on him—has compiled numerous noble hadiths that urge and exhort toward lofty ideals, virtuous morals, and exalted prophetic manners. By arranging them in this pleasant order he has excelled in both classification and presentation. This mirrors a principle upheld by those who travel the spiritual path to Allah, a principle known as at-takhallī wa at-taḥallī—first divesting oneself of blameworthy and vile traits, then adorning oneself with praiseworthy and noble ones. Accordingly, he placed first the chapter entitled “Warning Against Blameworthy Morals,” and followed it with this chapter, “Encouraging Noble Morals,” thereby observing the sequence of shedding and then adorning.

The coming pages will, God willing, present these prophetic etiquettes, Islamic morals, and a detailed discussion of them.