Twenty Qualities the Qur'an Names, and the Verse Behind Each One

Ask someone what “good character” means in Islam and most answers stay general — kindness, honesty, patience, the usual list anyone would give regardless of what they had read. The Qur’an does not stay general. Twenty times across the text, a specific instruction is given, attached to one verse, in language a reader can check rather than take on faith. This is a walk through twenty of them, grouped by what they are actually asking for rather than the order they happen to appear in the muṣḥaf, with every Arabic quotation verified against the text itself and linked to the verse it comes from.

Before anything is said about money, speech, or temperament, the text places four instructions that all describe the same relationship — a believer’s attention returning, again and again, to the One who is owed it first.

فَٱذْكُرُونِىٓ أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَٱشْكُرُوا۟ لِى وَلَا تَكْفُرُونِ

So remember Me — I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and do not turn away in ingratitude.

— Sūrat al-Baqarah, 2:152

The verse does not describe remembrance as a duty owed upward with nothing returned. It is framed as an exchange, and Allah names Himself as the party who moves first in it — a believer’s remembering is met, not merely logged.

وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖ وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِى لَشَدِيدٌ

And [remember] when your Lord made it known: if you are grateful, I will certainly give you more; but if you are ungrateful, My punishment is truly severe.

— Sūrat Ibrāhīm, 14:7

Gratitude here is not simply the polite response to a gift already given. It is presented as the condition that brings more of it — and the sentence that follows makes the alternative equally plain, without softening it.

إِنَّ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱخْتِلَـٰفِ ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍ لِّأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَلْبَـٰبِ

Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are signs for people of understanding.

— Sūrat Āl ʿImrān, 3:190

Reflection is not framed here as a private hobby for the philosophically inclined. The sky changing color at dusk and the same twenty-four hours splitting into light and dark, day after day without failing once, are called signs — evidence, addressed to whoever is willing to actually look at them instead of walking past.

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ فِى صَلَاتِهِمْ خَـٰشِعُونَ

The believers have truly succeeded — those who stand humbly attentive during their prayer.

— Sūrat al-Muʾminūn, 23:1–2

Khushūʿ is placed in the very first description of a successful believer, before charity, before fasting, before anything else is named. Not simply performing the prayer, but being present inside it — the body still moving through its motions while the heart could be anywhere.

A second cluster has nothing to do with worship directly and everything to do with what a believer says, hears about, and holds onto — or lets go of.

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَكُونُوا۟ مَعَ ٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ

O you who believe, be mindful of Allah, and stand with those who are truthful.

— Sūrat al-Tawbah, 9:119

The instruction is not only “speak the truth.” It is to keep company with people who do — an acknowledgment that honesty is easier to sustain, or harder to abandon, depending on who is standing next to you.

وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ ٱللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ

And those who turn away from idle talk.

— Sūrat al-Muʾminūn, 23:3

This is not a ban on ordinary conversation. Laghw is talk that goes nowhere — gossip, mockery, chatter with no purpose — and the verb chosen is turn away from, the same motion as stepping around something on the ground rather than picking a fight over it.

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يُحِبُّونَ أَن تَشِيعَ ٱلْفَـٰحِشَةُ فِى ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

Indeed, those who love to see indecency spread among the believers will have a painful punishment in this world and the next. Allah knows, and you do not know.

— Sūrat al-Nūr, 24:19

Read the other direction, the verse implies its own reward: taking no pleasure in a believer’s fault becoming public knowledge, and doing nothing to help it travel further than it already has.

خُذِ ٱلْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِٱلْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ ٱلْجَـٰهِلِينَ

Hold to forgiveness, command what is right, and turn away from the ignorant.

— Sūrat al-Aʿrāf, 7:199

Three instructions in one short verse, and the order is deliberate: forgive first, only then correct, and reserve disengagement for whoever will not be reasoned with at all. A grudge is what fills the space this verse asks a believer to leave empty.

۞ وَسَارِعُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ مَغْفِرَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتُ وَٱلْأَرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ ٱلَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ فِى ٱلسَّرَّآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ وَٱلْكَـٰظِمِينَ ٱلْغَيْظَ وَٱلْعَافِينَ عَنِ ٱلنَّاسِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ

Race toward forgiveness from your Lord, and a garden as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for those mindful of Him — those who spend in ease and in hardship alike, who hold back their anger, and who pardon other people. Allah loves those who do good.

— Sūrat Āl ʿImrān, 3:133–134

Kāẓimīn al-ghayẓ is not the absence of anger — it is anger that is felt and deliberately restrained rather than released onto whoever provoked it. The verse pairs that restraint with pardon immediately after, as if holding the feeling in were only half the instruction.

The largest cluster in this list has to do with money, kinship, and duty toward people a believer did not choose — parents, neighbors, strangers passing through.

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَنفِقُوا۟ مِمَّا رَزَقْنَـٰكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِىَ يَوْمٌ لَّا بَيْعٌ فِيهِ وَلَا خُلَّةٌ وَلَا شَفَـٰعَةٌ ۗ وَٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ هُمُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ

O you who believe, spend from what We have provided you before a day comes in which there is no trading, no friendship, and no intercession. It is the disbelievers who are the wrongdoers.

— Sūrat al-Baqarah, 2:254

The urgency in this verse comes from what it removes, not what it demands. On the day it describes, wealth cannot be traded for a way out, a friendship cannot be called in as a favor, and no one can intercede on another’s behalf — which is exactly why the giving is asked for now.

وَٱلَّذِينَ تَبَوَّءُو ٱلدَّارَ وَٱلْإِيمَـٰنَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ يُحِبُّونَ مَنْ هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَا يَجِدُونَ فِى صُدُورِهِمْ حَاجَةً مِّمَّآ أُوتُوا۟ وَيُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ ۚ وَمَن يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِۦ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ

And those who had already settled in the city, and had embraced faith before them, love whoever emigrates to them, feel no need in their hearts for what the emigrants were given, and prefer them over themselves even when they are themselves in want. Whoever is guarded against the greed of his own soul — those are the ones who prosper.

— Sūrat al-Ḥashr, 59:9

This describes the Anṣār of Madinah receiving the Muhājirūn who arrived with nothing, and the verse’s closing line generalizes the point past that one historical moment: prosperity, in the Qur’an’s own accounting, is tied to being freed from your own soul’s stinginess — not to how much you have kept.

۞ لَّيْسَ ٱلْبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ ٱلْمَشْرِقِ وَٱلْمَغْرِبِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلْبِرَّ مَنْ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ وَٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ وَٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ وَءَاتَى ٱلْمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِۦ ذَوِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْيَتَـٰمَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَـٰكِينَ وَٱبْنَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَٱلسَّآئِلِينَ وَفِى ٱلرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَى ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱلْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَـٰهَدُوا۟ ۖ وَٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ فِى ٱلْبَأْسَآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ وَحِينَ ٱلْبَأْسِ ۗ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا۟ ۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُتَّقُونَ

Righteousness is not turning your faces toward the east or the west. Rather, the righteous one is whoever believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets, and gives his wealth — despite loving it — to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler cut off from home, those who ask, and toward freeing those in bondage; who establishes prayer and gives in charity; who keeps a promise once made; and who is patient in hardship, in suffering, and in the heat of battle. Those are the ones who are true, and those are the ones who are mindful of Allah.

— Sūrat al-Baqarah, 2:177

Kinship’s claim on a believer’s wealth is not an afterthought here — it opens the list, ahead of orphans and the needy, and the phrase “despite loving it” rules out giving away only what was already spare.

۞ وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِيَّاهُ وَبِٱلْوَٰلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَـٰنًا ۚ إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ ٱلْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَآ أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا فَلَا تَقُل لَّهُمَآ أُفٍّ وَلَا تَنْهَرْهُمَا وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوْلًا كَرِيمًا وَٱخْفِضْ لَهُمَا جَنَاحَ ٱلذُّلِّ مِنَ ٱلرَّحْمَةِ وَقُل رَّبِّ ٱرْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِى صَغِيرًا

Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be good to your parents. Should either of them, or both, reach old age in your care, never say to them a word of contempt, nor raise your voice at them, but speak to them with honor. Lower before them the wing of humility, out of mercy, and say: “My Lord, show mercy to them, just as they raised me when I was small.”

— Sūrat al-Isrāʾ, 17:23–24

Kindness to parents is placed directly after the command to worship Allah alone — the only obligation ranked ahead of it in the sentence. The verse does not stop at forbidding cruelty; it names a specific tone of voice not to use, at exactly the age when patience with them is hardest to keep.

فَـَٔاتِ ذَا ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ حَقَّهُۥ وَٱلْمِسْكِينَ وَٱبْنَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ لِّلَّذِينَ يُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَ ٱللَّهِ ۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ

So give the relative his due, and the needy, and the traveler cut off from home. That is best for those who seek the presence of Allah — those are the ones who prosper.

— Sūrat al-Rūm, 30:38

The traveler named here has no family tie to draw on — someone passing through, cut off from their own resources by distance rather than poverty. The verse gives them a due, the same word used for the relative’s share, not a discretionary act of charity.

۞ وَٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا۟ بِهِۦ شَيْـًٔا ۖ وَبِٱلْوَٰلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَـٰنًا وَبِذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْيَتَـٰمَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَـٰكِينِ وَٱلْجَارِ ذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْجَارِ ٱلْجُنُبِ وَٱلصَّاحِبِ بِٱلْجَنۢبِ وَٱبْنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَـٰنُكُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ مَن كَانَ مُخْتَالًا فَخُورًا

Worship Allah, and associate nothing with Him. Be good to parents, relatives, orphans, the needy, the neighbor who is family, the neighbor who is a stranger, the companion at your side, the traveler cut off from home, and those bound in servitude to you. Allah does not love whoever is arrogant and boastful.

— Sūrat al-Nisāʾ, 4:36

The verse widens the circle of “neighbor” past whoever happens to share a tie of kinship or faith with you — it names the stranger next door alongside family, and the companion simply walking beside you, before closing on a single character trait Allah says He does not love: arrogance.

وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا۟ مَالَ ٱلْيَتِيمِ إِلَّا بِٱلَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ حَتَّىٰ يَبْلُغَ أَشُدَّهُۥ ۖ وَأَوْفُوا۟ ٱلْكَيْلَ وَٱلْمِيزَانَ بِٱلْقِسْطِ ۖ لَا نُكَلِّفُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۖ وَإِذَا قُلْتُمْ فَٱعْدِلُوا۟ وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَا قُرْبَىٰ ۖ وَبِعَهْدِ ٱللَّهِ أَوْفُوا۟ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّىٰكُم بِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

And do not go near the wealth of the orphan except in the best way, until he reaches maturity. Give full measure and weight in fairness — We do not burden any soul beyond what it can bear. Whenever you speak, be just, even if it concerns a close relative. And fulfill your covenant with Allah. This is what He commands you, so that you may take heed.

— Sūrat al-Anʿām, 6:152

The instruction to “be just, even if it concerns a close relative” is the harder half of the verse. Fairness toward a stranger asks little of a person; fairness in a dispute that touches your own family is where the verse expects the standard to actually be tested.

None of what came before survives contact with a hard day unless something holds it in place. The Qur’an names that something directly.

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ

O you who believe, seek help through patience and prayer. Truly, Allah is with those who are patient.

— Sūrat al-Baqarah, 2:153

The verb chosen is “seek help through” — istaʿīnū — not “practice” or “display.” Patience is treated as a resource a believer draws on for support, paired directly with prayer as the other half of the same request.

وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ طَرَفَىِ ٱلنَّهَارِ وَزُلَفًا مِّنَ ٱلَّيْلِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلْحَسَنَـٰتِ يُذْهِبْنَ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ذِكْرَىٰ لِلذَّٰكِرِينَ

And establish prayer at both ends of the day, and in the early hours of the night. Truly, good deeds erase bad ones. That is a reminder for those who take heed.

— Sūrat Hūd, 11:114

The claim in the middle of this verse is doing more work than the prayer instruction surrounding it: a good deed is not described as merely earning its own separate reward, but as actively removing the record of a bad one that came before it.

ثُمَّ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْمَرْحَمَةِ

And [being] among those who believe, and urge one another to patience, and urge one another to compassion.

— Sūrat al-Balad, 90:17

Tawāṣī is a mutual verb — each side urging the other, not one person being patient or kind while everyone around them merely benefits from it. Compassion, in this verse, is a standard a community holds its members to together, and patience is asked for in the same breath, by the same grammar.

قُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا۟ مِنْ أَبْصَـٰرِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا۟ فُرُوجَهُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَزْكَىٰ لَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَبِيرٌۢ بِمَا يَصْنَعُونَ

Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Allah is well aware of everything they do.

— Sūrat al-Nūr, 24:30

The instruction is given to the men first, on its own, with no exemption attached for a private moment no one else will witness — the closing clause names Allah’s awareness as the reason it applies even then.

وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَـٰتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَـٰرِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ …

And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their private parts as well …

— Sūrat al-Nūr, 24:31

The parallel instruction to women opens with the identical pair of verbs — lower, guard — before the verse continues for several more lines into specific rulings on covering and on which relatives are exempted from them, not reproduced here because the point standing behind both verses is the same one: modesty is asked of both sexes, addressed to each in turn rather than assumed of one and legislated for the other.

Twenty is not a ceiling the Qur’an sets on good character, and it is not a checklist to complete and move past. What the twenty verses above share is something more specific than “be a good person” — each one names an exact behavior, ties it to a stated reason, and hands the reader a coordinate to go check rather than a mood to aspire to. Read together, they describe someone whose worship, speech, wealth, temperament, and privacy are all answerable to the same standard, verse by verse rather than in the abstract.

You can read every sūrah quoted above in full, in Arabic and in translation, in our Qur’an reader.

If any rendering here has drifted from what the Arabic actually says, tell us and we will correct it. Every verse above is meant to be checked, not taken on trust.

May Allah ﷻ make His words easy for us to live by, not only easy to quote.