On many occasions, Aishah, the wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him) whom he loved most and who was the closest person to him in the last ten years of his life, was requested to describe his personal manners and his moral standard. A woman of great knowledge and profound insight, she always sought to relate her account of the Prophet’s personality to the teachings of the Qur’an. Saad ibn Hisham reports: “I spoke to Aishah, the mother of believers, and said: ‘Tell me about the Prophet’s manners.’ She asked me: ‘Don’t you read the Qur’an?’ When I answered in the affirmative, she said: ‘His manners were (an embodiment of) the Qur’an.’” (Related by Muslim).
This short answer is reported by several people, each asking on a different occasion. It is thus related in different anthologies of Hadith with different chains of transmission and different reporters. This makes the Hadith both famous and authentic. One of these reporters, Jubayr ibn Nafeer, mentions that it was when he went on pilgrimage that he visited Aishah and asked her this question to which she gave the same answer. It is a short answer in which we had to interpolate the words in between brackets to give a clear sense that an Arab Muslim would immediately gather. But what does it mean in practice? Ibn Katheer gives us the following explanation:
“What this means is that he would comply with whatever the Qur’an orders to be done, and he would make sure to refrain from whatever the Qur’an prohibits. Such was his great, natural inclination which is certain to give anyone the best moral standard of all and the most perfect and beautiful manners. Moreover, God has given him a great and perfect faith which He gave none before him. Moreover, he was the last of all prophets, which meant that God would send no messenger or prophet after his mission is completed. Therefore, his character combines a standard of modesty, generosity, courage, forbearance, forgiveness, compassion and all other virtues that is beyond description.”
Sometimes Aishah gave some insight as to what she meant when she answered this question, which was frequently asked by people who wished to emulate the Prophet’s standard, knowing that he provided the most perfect role model. Abu al-Dardaa’, a companion of the Prophet, says that he asked Aishah about the Prophet’s manners. She said: “His manners were (an embodiment of) the Qur’an: He was pleased when the Qur’an was complied with, and he was angry when it was disregarded.”
This sets the standard very clear. Whatever the Qur’an ordered was to him something that must be complied with. If the Qur’an ordered that certain practice should be prohibited, then it must be abandoned by all. The Prophet would be the first to implement any Qur’anic injunction, whatever it said, because he knew that it was a divine order that must be carried out.
On another occasion, Aishah was talking to a group of people who asked her the same question. She replied: “His manners were the Qur’an in practice. Read, if you will, the first ten verses of Surah 23, The Believers, and you will know what the Prophet’s personal manners were.” (Related by Al-Bayhaqi).
Here Aishah refers her interlocutors to a specific passage of the Qur’an which outlines certain commandments. These ten verses are as follows: “Truly, successful shall be the believers, who humble themselves in their prayer, who turn away from all that is frivolous, who are active in deeds of charity, who refrain from sex except with those joined to them in marriage, or those whom they rightfully possess - for then, they are free of all blame, whereas those who seek to go beyond that (limit) are indeed transgressors, who are faithful to their trusts and to their pledges, and who are diligent in their prayers. These shall be the heirs that will inherit the paradise; therein shall they abide.”
These ten short verses outline a code of morality that covers private and public situations, as well as relations with God and social dealings. Thus, humility in prayers symbolizes man’s relation with God to whom prayers are addressed, while turning away from frivolity indicates following a code of serious morality. Charity is a fulfilment of a social duty by which the rich look after the poor so as no one is left unlooked after. Maintaining virtuous standards in the fulfillment of the sexual desire means that sex must be confined within the bounds of marriage. No excess is permissible in Islam. This preserves a standard of purity and cleanliness in family and community relations that is bound to benefit everyone, parents and children, as well as the community as a whole. Fulfilment of trust and pledges sets relations within society on a basis of complete honesty and sincerity. This makes for a much closer community in which every individual finds support and the whole community prospers. When such standards are maintained, the result is virtuous life in this world and heaven in the hereafter. This is a double success.
Needless to say, Qur’anic morality and good manners are much wider and more varied than what these ten short verses sum up. Aishah simply gave a clue and left it to her listeners to reflect on what her reply that the Prophet practically implemented all Qur’anic directives meant. It is in this light that we should read the Prophet’s own statement: “I have been sent with my message only to perfect good manners and morality.” Thus, setting moral standards on a level of perfection is the objective of the final divine message, which remains the point of reference for all humanity, at all times. And when we say that the Prophet’s manners were an embodiment of Qur’anic teachings, we are saying that he provided the perfect example of perfect morality. Hence, it is not surprising that he is described in the Qur’an as having a ‘great moral standard’ (68: 4) And it is no exaggeration to say that none can do better than to emulate the Prophet in all actions and situations.
