10/630 – Abū Umāmah al-Bāhilī, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “I guarantee a house on the outskirts of Paradise for the one who abandons dispute even when he is in the right; a house in the middle of Paradise for the one who abandons lying even when joking; and a house in the highest part of Paradise for the one whose character is excellent.” This is an authentic hadith, recorded by Abū Dāwūd with a sound chain. (Al-zaʿīm means “the guarantor.”)

11/631 – Jābir, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “The dearest of you to me and the nearest to me in seating on the Day of Resurrection are those of you with the best character, while the most detested of you to me and the farthest from me on the Day of Resurrection are the verbose, the bombastic, and the grandiloquent.” They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, we know the verbose and the bombastic, but who are the grandiloquent?” He replied, “The arrogant.” Reported by al-Tirmidhī, who graded it ḥasan.

A verbose person (al-tharthār) is one who speaks excessively with affected speech. The bombastic (al-mutashaddiq) is someone who talks down to people, filling his mouth with words to flaunt his eloquence and magnify his own speech. The grandiloquent (al-mutafayhiq) derives from a root meaning “fullness”; it is the person who stuffs his mouth with words, stretches them out and resorts to outlandish expressions out of haughtiness and self-exaltation, displaying his supposed superiority over others.

Al-Tirmidhī also transmitted from ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak, may Allah have mercy on him, that when asked to define good character he said: “It is a cheerful face, freely giving of what is good, and withholding one’s harm.”