20 Hadiths on Good Character (Akhlaq): A Sourced Collection
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The Prophet ﷺ summed up the purpose of his mission in a single sentence: to perfect good character. It is also how the Qur'an praises him — "And indeed, you are of a great moral character" (al-Qalam 68:4). This page collects twenty hadiths on character, gentleness, the tongue, modesty and mercy, from Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi, each with its reference.
1. The Most Complete in Faith Is the Best in Character
"The most complete of believers in faith are those best in character." Source: Tirmidhi, Rada' 11 (no. 1162) — hasan sahih; Abu Dawud, Sunnah 15 (no. 4682)
Note: The hadith places character inside faith rather than beside it; they are not two separate measures.
2. I Was Sent to Perfect Good Character
"I was sent only to perfect good character." Source: Ahmad II, 381; Bukhari, al-Adab al-Mufrad 273
Note: The purpose of the message is defined by a moral aim.
3. The Heaviest Thing on the Scale
"Nothing is placed on the believer's scale on the Day of Resurrection heavier than good character. Allah dislikes the obscene and the vulgar." Source: Tirmidhi, Birr 62 (no. 2002) — hasan sahih; Abu Dawud, Adab 7 (no. 4799)
Note: That the heaviest item is character rather than the quantity of worship is the central idea of this collection.
4. The Best of You Are Best to Their Families
"The best of you are those best to their families, and I am the best of you to my family." Source: Tirmidhi, Manaqib 63 (no. 3895) — hasan sahih; Ibn Majah, Nikah 50
Note: Character is measured at home, not in the street.
5. Fear Allah Wherever You Are
"Fear Allah wherever you are, follow a bad deed with a good one and it will erase it, and treat people with good character." Source: Tirmidhi, Birr 55 (no. 1987) — hasan
Note: Three commands: God-consciousness, repair, and conduct. The third is the outward face of the first two.
6. Do Not Belittle Any Good Deed
"Do not belittle any good deed, even meeting your brother with a cheerful face." Source: Muslim, Birr 144 (no. 2626)
Note: The smallest unit of good character is an expression on the face.
7. The Believer Is Not a Slanderer
"The believer is not a slanderer, nor one who curses, nor obscene, nor vulgar." Source: Tirmidhi, Birr 48 (no. 1977) — hasan gharib
Note: Character is defined here negatively: by what must be absent.
8. Let Him Speak Good or Keep Silent
"Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him speak good or keep silent." Source: Bukhari, Adab 31 (no. 6018); Muslim, Iman 74 (no. 47)
Note: Silence is offered as an option equal in standing to speech.
9. The Muslim Is One From Whose Tongue and Hand People Are Safe
"The Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe, and the emigrant is the one who abandons what Allah has forbidden." Source: Bukhari, Iman 4 (no. 10); Muslim, Iman 64 (no. 40)
Note: The definition is not a stated creed but the safety of those around you.
10. Loving for Your Brother What You Love for Yourself
"None of you believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." Source: Bukhari, Iman 7 (no. 13); Muslim, Iman 71 (no. 45)
Note: The measure is not the other person's rights but what one wants for oneself.
11. Allah Is Gentle and Loves Gentleness
"Allah is gentle and loves gentleness in all matters, and He gives for gentleness what He does not give for harshness." Source: Bukhari, Adab 35 (no. 6927); Muslim, Birr 77 (no. 2593)
Note: Gentleness is presented not as a temperament but as the route that produces results.
12. Deprived of Gentleness, Deprived of Good
"Whoever is given his share of gentleness is given his share of good, and whoever is deprived of his share of gentleness is deprived of his share of good." Source: Muslim, Birr 74 (no. 2592); Tirmidhi, Birr 67
Note: The converse of the previous hadith; together they put gentleness at the centre of character.
13. Smiling Is Charity
"Your smiling in the face of your brother is charity for you." Source: Tirmidhi, Birr 36 (no. 1956) — hasan gharib
Note: The concept of charity is widened from wealth to conduct.
14. Who Is Forbidden From the Fire?
"Shall I tell you who is forbidden from the Fire? It is forbidden to every person who is gentle, easy-going, approachable and accommodating." Source: Tirmidhi, Qiyamah 45 (no. 2488) — hasan
Note: The condition for deliverance here is a manner of dealing with people, not a quantity of worship.
15. Modesty Is a Branch of Faith
"Faith has over seventy branches. The highest is saying 'there is no god but Allah,' and the lowest is removing something harmful from the road. And modesty is a branch of faith." Source: Bukhari, Iman 3 (no. 9); Muslim, Iman 58 (no. 35)
Note: The hadith names the highest and lowest branches, then places modesty between them.
16. Modesty Brings Nothing but Good
"Modesty brings nothing but good." Source: Bukhari, Adab 77 (no. 6117); Muslim, Iman 60 (no. 37)
Note: A ruling without exception; the wording is unqualified.
17. Whoever Shows No Mercy Is Shown No Mercy
"Whoever does not show mercy will not be shown mercy." Source: Bukhari, Adab 18 (no. 5997); Muslim, Fada'il 65 (no. 2318)
Note: He ﷺ said this in reply to a man who told him he had never kissed a child.
18. Beware of Suspicion
"Beware of suspicion, for suspicion is the most false of speech. Do not spy, do not pry, do not envy one another, do not turn away from one another, do not hate one another. Be, O servants of Allah, brothers." Source: Bukhari, Adab 57 (no. 6064); Muslim, Birr 28 (no. 2563)
Note: One hadith lists six acts that corrupt character, and all of them begin with suspicion.
19. An Atom's Weight of Arrogance
**"No one with an atom's weight of arrogance in his heart will enter Paradise." A man said: A person likes his clothes to be good and his shoes to be good. He said: "Allah is beautiful and loves beauty. Arrogance is rejecting the truth and looking down on people." Source: Muslim, Iman 147 (no. 91)
Note: The hadith defines arrogance and separates it from taste: the issue is not clothing but one's stance toward truth and toward people.
20. The Best of People
"The best of people are those most beneficial to people." Source: Tabarani, al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; al-Quda'i, Musnad al-Shihab
Note: The collection closes on a measure that ties character from private virtue to public benefit.
Reading Them Together
These twenty narrations gather good character around three axes. The first is the tongue: hadiths that make silence an option equal to speech, that place cursing and obscenity outside faith, and that list six corrupting acts all beginning with suspicion. The second is gentleness: presented as the way Allah loves and the way that yields results, set explicitly against harshness. The third is where it is measured: being "best" is assessed at home, and the collection closes on benefit to people.
What stands out is that character is nowhere treated as a second heading beside worship. It is the heaviest thing on the scale, the measure of complete faith, and the terms in which the Muslim himself is defined.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which hadith on good character is best known? "I was sent only to perfect good character" (Ahmad II, 381) and "The most complete of believers in faith are those best in character" (Tirmidhi 1162).
Does character come before worship? The hadiths do not set them against each other, but they do say good character is the heaviest thing on the scale (Tirmidhi 2002) and use it to measure completeness of faith (Tirmidhi 1162).
Is dressing well a form of arrogance? No. The Prophet ﷺ drew the distinction explicitly: "Allah is beautiful and loves beauty. Arrogance is rejecting the truth and looking down on people" (Muslim 91).