عن أبي محمد عبد الله بن عمرو بن العاص رضي الله عنهما قال‏:‏ قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم‏:‏ ‏ “‏أربعون خصلة أعلاها منيحة العنز، ما من عامل يعمل بخصلة منها رجاء ثوابها وتصديق موعودها إلا أدخله الله بها الجنة

Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin Al-‘as RA reported:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “There are forty kinds of virtue; the uppermost of them is to lend a (milch) she-goat (to someone in order to benefit from it and then return it). He who practices any of these virtues expecting its reward and relying on the truthfulness of the promise made for it, shall enter Jannah.” [Bukhari].

Allah, through His mercy and grace, has given us many avenues of doing good deeds.

He accepts even the smallest of good actions, when these are based on sincere intentions.

From other narrations, we learn that some of the forty excellent deeds alluded to here are concealing the faults of Muslims, planting a tree, being compassionate to others, sharing in the joys and happiness of people, creating space for others to join in a gathering, replying to Salaam (Islamic greeting), and answering to the praise of one who sneezes.

The crux is these are all simple deeds which are easy to perform, but they carry huge returns and rewards.

EASY GOOD DEED – Cordiality and Courtesy

Cordial and courteous behaviour is very pleasing to Allah and is also very rewarding.

The famous and notable Companion, Abu Dhar Ghifari RA has related that our blessed Prophet ﷺ said:

عن أبي ذر رضي الله عنه قال‏:‏ قال لي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏:‏ ‏لا تحقرن من المعروف شيئاً، ولو أن تلقى أخاك بوجه طلق

Abu Dharr RA reported:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “Do not disdain a good deed, (no matter how small it may seem) even if it is your meeting with your (Muslim) brother with a cheerful face.” [Muslim].

Thus, cordial behaviour towards others should never be considered lowly as it too adds much good to one’s record.

Abu Darda RA quotes our Prophet Muhammed ﷺ in the fallowing words:

عن أبى الدرداء رضي الله عنه‏:‏ أن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال‏:‏ ما من شئ أثقل في ميزان المؤمن يوم القيامة من حسن الخلق، وإن الله يبغض الفاحش البذي

“Nothing will be heavier on the Day of Resurrection in the Scale of the believer than good manners. Allah hates one who utters foul or coarse language.” [Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan Sahih].

Abu Hurairah RA relates:

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ‏- رضى الله عنه ‏- قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اَللَّهِ ‏- صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ أَكْثَرُ مَا يُدْخِلُ اَلْجَنَّةَ تَقْوى اَللَّهِ وَحُسْنُ اَلْخُلُقِ

“The fear of Allah and good morals (Akhlaq) are the two major characteristics which lead to Paradise.” [Tirmidhi and Al-Hakim graded it as Sahih]

Some narrations add this as well;

وَسُئِلَ ‏:‏ مَا أَكْثَرُ مَا يُدْخِلُ النَّارَ قَالَ ‏:‏ الأَجْوَفَانِ ‏:‏ الْفَمُ وَالْفَرْجُ

And he was asked: ‘What most leads people to Hell?’ He said: ‘The two hollow ones: The mouth and the private part.’”

In another tradition, Abu Hurairah RA has quoted the following words of our blessed Prophet ﷺ:

ال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ ‏أكمل المؤمنين إيمانا أحسنهم خُلقا، وخياركم خياركم لنسائهم

“The believers who show the most perfect Faith are those who have the best behaviour, and the best of you are those who are the best to their wives”. [Tirmidhi]

The Beloved wife of Nabi ﷺ, Ayesha RA has quoted the following words of our respected and blessed Prophet ﷺ.

قالت‏:‏ سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول‏:‏ إن المؤمن ليدرك بحسن خلقه درجة الصائم القائم

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying: “A believer will attain by his good behaviour the rank of one who prays during the night and observes fasting during the day.” [Abu Dawud]

The cordial and courteous behaviour mentioned in these Prophetic sayings have a wide range of connotations, but cordiality to others and courtesy are important constituents of moral behaviour.