Righteousness is good morals, and sinfulness is what your heart is not at ease with, and you hate that people know about it
An-Nawwās ibn Sim‘ān al-Ansāri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:
An-Nawwās ibn Sim‘ān al-Ansāri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) about righteousness and sinfulness, and he said, "Righteousness is good morals, and sinfulness is what your heart is not at ease with, and you hate that people know about it."
Attribution: Narrated by Muslim
Grade: Authentic
Explanation
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about righteousness and sinfulness so he said:
The greatest aspect of righteousness is adopting good morals with Allah through piety and with people through the endurance of harm, avoidance of anger, having a cheerful face, speaking good words, maintaining ties, obedience, kindness, charity, kind treatment, and good companionship.
As for sinfulness, it refers to suspicious matters that move and waver within the soul, the breast does not feel at ease with, the heart feels doubtful about and fearful of its being a sin, and one is not willing to show it to the elite, or the best and the most perfect among people given its ugliness. This is because the soul has a natural inclination to show people its good aspects, so when it hates making some of its acts known to people, then this is a sin that is devoid of goodness.
Benefits
Encouraging the act of adopting noble morals because good morals are among the greatest aspects of righteousness.
The believer does not feel confused about the truth and falsehood; rather, he knows the truth through the light in his heart and turns away from falsehood and disapproves of it.
Anxiety and uneasiness of the heart along with disliking the idea of making it known to people are among the signs of sinfulness.
As-Sindi said: This applies to suspicious matters when people are not aware of the right choice. Otherwise, what is enjoined in the Shariah, without the existence of a relevant proof, falls under righteousness, and what is prohibited falls under sinfulness, and there is no need to refer to the heart and its tranquility in both cases.
The Hadīth addresses those who possess a sound natural disposition, not those with reversed hearts that do not recognize what is good or reject what is evil except what is engraved therein of their whims.
At-Tībi said: It was said that righteousness in the Hadīth was interpreted in various ways. He interpreted it in one position as what the soul and the heart feel at ease about. In another position, he interpreted it as faith, and in a different position as what brings you close to Allah, and here as good morals, and he defined good morals as the endurance of harm, the avoidance of anger, having a cheerful face, and speaking good words, which are all close in meaning.
