What Is an Islamic Personality?
By Dr Shahid Athar
Indianapolis
The question "What is an Islamic personality?" has surfaced into the Muslim mind recently, as there is no record of companions asking Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) this question. For them it was not difficult to know the answer by seeing it practiced by the Prophet himself. Now that we don't have the Prophet, and when we look at ourselves and out of this guilt complex of what we are and what we should be, we want to ask this question.
Personality as such is the external manifestation of built-in and acquired forces in character, thought and actions in dealing with the self and the surroundings. The newborn that has its own genetic personality traits is constantly influenced after birth by external effects, learning and interactions. His behavior develops as a result of his experiences. Everyone around a man, including parents, peers, teachers, co-workers and even spouse and children, affect his behavior. It used to be said, "A man is known by the company he keeps, the book he reads," and now it can be added "by the TV and movie he watches."
Habits are acquired as a result of constant stimulus and drive, resulting in a response. The drives are of two types: a) the basic instinct, i.e., hunger, feeling sad or happy, sex drive, self-preservation, maternal and paternal drive, etc.; b) the acquired drive, i.e., external stimulus in response to learning and experiences. Most of the social and cultural norms are acquired this way.
Certain moral codes are from nature and common to all religions, and even to secular ideology. Everyone, whether he believes in one God, many gods, or no god, appreciates a person who is honest, truthful, trustworthy, humble, pleasant, etc.
The Islamic moral code has all the natural human moral code but in its highest perfection, constant and for the pleasure of God. Such idealistic perfection is outlined in the Qur'an
and shown by the life of the Prophet. Thus, if there is an Islamic personality, then the only role model is Prophet Muhammad himself (Pbuh).
Verily in the messenger of Allah, you have a good example of him who looks toward Allah and the last day and mentions Allah frequently. (33:21)
Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) himself had said, "I have been sent to perfect your conduct." He established himself as a truthful and trustworthy person even before he became a prophet. Khadija (R), his first wife, said to him about his character, "You join the ties of relationship, you speak the truth, you bear people's burdens, you help the poor, you entertain the guest, you mitigate (decrease) the pain and grief suffered for the sake of truth."
After his death, when a group of Muslims who never met him came to his wife Ayesha (R) and asked her to describe his character, she asked them a question, "Have you not read the Qur'an?" Thus, Prophet Muhammad's character was nothing but a living example of the Qur'an itself.'
In order to get an idea of the character of the believers, one has to read the whole Qur'an. In Sürah Al-Mu'minün, they are described as those who are humble, avoid vain talk, do their prayers, spend in charity and guard their modesty. In Sürah Al-Infal, it is said of them, "When Allah is mentioned, their hearts feel fear, when Qur'an is recited it increases their faith, and they have trust in their lord."
In Sürah Tawbah, it is mentioned of them as "they protect each other, enjoin good and forbid evil and strive in the cause of Allah." In Sürah Ra'd, they are described as the ones who keep their promises, have patience and migrate for the cause of Allah." We should ask ourselves: how many of the features of the believer do we have in us?
Not only do we not sometimes have the features of the character of a believer, but also it is more painful to observe that some of us have features of unbelievers and hypocrites in our day-to-day life, especially in social dealings. A Muslim is not supposed to lie, to backbite, to be envious, to break his promise, to be dishonest, timid, and abusive, speak rumor or gossip, or to be of loose character with the opposite sex, or oppress other people or steal.
However, a Muslim is not "just another nice guy," nor was the Prophet Muhammad (P) just an "ever-smiling saint" only. He was and he told us to be a "mirror to fellow Muslims."
"O you prophet! We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings, a Warner and as one who invites people to Allah with His permission and as a shining lamp" (Qur'an 33:45-46). Thus he did not hesitate in correcting companions when he found a need and with the best manner that he was a model of. When Asma, sister of his wife Ayesha, came to him while he was with Ayesha, he noticed Asma's dress was too thin. He turned his face away and told her, "When a woman reaches puberty, nothing should be seen of her (by non-Mahrem) except this and this," and he pointed to his hands and face. Many of us Muslim men are not bold enough to tell this to even our wives, what to speak of telling it to other female relatives.
Once a man came to the Prophet, sat down, sneezed and he did not say, "Praise be to Allah." The Prophet remained quiet. Then another man came, sat down, sneezed, and said , "Praise be to Allah." The Prophet responded by saying, "Allah's mercy be on you." Then the first man complained and asked, "How come you did not pray for me?" The Prophet replied, "You forgot Allah and I forgot you!"
Thus, the "Islamic personality" is the sum of what we used to be and what we should be, minus what we should not be rather than what we are now . The D'awa for the perfume is not its name or the shape of its bottle, but the good fragrance. The D'awa for the rose is not its size or the shape but its color and smell. The D'awa in Islam is not pamphlets about Islam or videos and lectures, but the character of a Muslim. To quote Imam Ghazali, “Watch your thoughts as they become your words, watch your words as they become your actions, watch your actions as they become your character and watch your character as it may become your destiny”
(From a Friday Sermon by the author at Al-Fajr Mosque, Indianapolis)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
