Page 21 - Beauties for Life in the Qur'an

GOOD CHARACTER TRAITS DESCRIBED IN THE QUR'AN 19

The Tone of Voice
The tone of one's voice is an essential part of a reliable and
positive disposition, for how it is used reflects the person's val-
ues. Even a pleasant voice may become irritating if the way in
which one talks is inappropriate. Allah advises His followers
through the words of Prophet Luqman (as):
... lower your voice. The most hateful voice is the donkey's bray.
(Surah Luqman: 19)
As the verse maintains, one who talks in a loud voice or
drowns out others does not create a favorable impression on
other people. Besides, in most cases this becomes just as unbear-
able as listening to a donkey's braying.
In other words, the way people talk is important. One with
bad manners may sound repulsive, although the tone of his or
her voice, under normal circumstances, may sound nice to the
ear. The reverse is also true, for a person with an unpleasant
sounding voice may cause it to sound better by adopting the
values praised in the Qur'an. A nice voice, on the other hand,
may well be perceived as offensive and intolerable if the person
is arrogant and irascible. Since such a person tends to complain
and dispute, his or her voice reflects this negative disposition.
As well as the voice, those people with moral excellence al-
ways have a noble, polite, humble, peaceable, and constructive
disposition. Owing to their positive outlook on life, they are
lively, vigorous, vivacious, and cheerful. This perfect disposi-
tion, which ensues from living by the morals explained in the
Qur'an, manifests itself in one's voice.

Kindness
The Qur'an informs us that believers are extremely kind peo-
ple. However, the Qur'anic concept of kindness is quite differ-