Attitude is everything. Attitude is understood as the beliefs, feelings, response and action tendencies of an individual or group of individuals towards ideas, objects and people. Attitude reflects how one feels and responds to the environment one lives in. An attitude is a mental state of readiness, learned and organised through experience, exerting a specific influence on a person’s response to people, object and situations with which it is related. Attitude is learned behaviour towards various aspects of the environment. These behaviours might be positively or negatively directed towards certain people, services or institutions.
Allah says in the Qur’ān, “And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet (in return) with one better than it or (at least) return it (in a like manner)…” (Qur’ān 4:86). This verse clearly instructs the people of a thoughtful attitude to respond to the greeting in a much better manner or at least in the same degree. This shows how well Islam promotes good attitude among the people.
Allah says in the Qur’ān, “So by mercy from Allah, (O Muhammad), you were lenient with them. And if you had been rude (in speech) and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah. Indeed, Allah loves those who rely (upon Him)” (Qur’ān 3:159). This verse from the Qur’ān indicates that Prophet Mohammad’s attitude was the most important factor that attracted many people towards Islam.
A leader, who wants to invite people towards Islam, should encompass gentleness and leniency in his personal attitude. However, one should note that the message of this Qur’ānic verse is that one should be lenient in one’s behaviour and approach. If someone insulted him, he would forgive them kindly, because that was something related to himself. But if anyone violated Islamic laws and rulings, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) would treat them with severity and justice.
When the Prophet entered Makkah after the city had been conquered, a woman from among the wealthy Quraish aristocrats had stolen something important and according to Islamic rules, her hand had to be cut off. The woman was a popular influential figure of Quraish, and her relatives tried to save her by persuading the Prophet not to go ahead with the ruling because the woman was the daughter of such a wealthy and upper class family and if her hand was to be cut off, the whole family would be disgraced. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said, “Impossible, I cannot suspend the ruling. If this woman was not a member of the aristocracy (rich and famous) you would all agree that she must be punished, but now you say she should not be punished because she would be disgraced. How can I forgive her? Never, the laws of Allah will never be suspended and no excuses will be accepted.”
From the two incidents we see that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) never compromised in matters regarding principles, but when his own interests were in question, he was extremely lenient and generous. Some of the reasons behind the progress of Islam were because of his excellent conduct, attitude and characteristics displayed by the Prophet and the way he lived.
Once the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) had been on his way to the Mosque and when people noticed that he was late, they went in search of him and found a Jew obstructing in the way. At that point the Muslims wanted to slap and punish this rude fellow, but the Holy Prophet said, “No, you people don’t interfere, I know what to do with my friend.” Observing this humble attitude and leniency, the Jew embraced Islam right there and said, “You are so powerful yet you are so lenient, and this is not possible for an ordinary man. I bear witness there is no God except Allah and that you Muhammad are the messenger of Allah.”
Allah says in the Qur’ān, “And We have not sent you (O Muhammad), expect as a mercy to the worlds” (Surah 21:107). Thus, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) possessed a forgiving attitude throughout his life. He forgave people at an individual level and collective level as well. When Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) conquered Makkah, its leaders came to him fearing that he would kill them as all conquerors do. But he let them all free.
Ikrimah was the greatest enemy of Islam. Despite the general forgiveness proclaimed by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him), on the day of victory, Ikrimah picked a fight with the Muslims, suffered a defeat and then fled. When Ikrimah’s wife pleaded for his forgiveness, the Prophet forgave him. Immediately after forgiveness, when Ikrimah appeared before the Prophet, he denied becoming a Muslim. On this the Blessed Prophet said, “You can, no doubt, remain steadfast on your faith. You are free in every way.”
Habir ibn al-Aswad was another vicious enemy of Islam. He inflicted a serious injury to Zainab, the daughter of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him), when she decided to migrate to Medina. She was pregnant when she started her migration and the polytheists of Makkah tried to stop her from leaving. This particular man, Habir bin al-Aswad, physically assaulted her and intentionally caused her to fall down from her camel. Her fall let to a miscarriage and she herself was badly hurt. Later on when he decided to come to the Prophet (pbuh), the latter magnanimously forgave him. Truly, this attitude of forgiveness displayed by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) inspired people and contributed to his character.
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) always displayed a positive attitude. When he visited Taif, the people of Taif set a group of children and vagabonds behind him. They pestered him and threw stones at him. He started bleeding; blood from his body came down to his feet. While he was sitting there, Angel Jabreel along with the angel of mountains came there and said “O Prophet of Allah! If you order us then we will grind the people of Taif between mountains. He in spite of accepting the offer said, “These people just don’t know me” and I hope that Allah will raise some one among these people who will serve Islam.”
The Prophet said, “How amazing is the case of the believer; there is good for him in everything, and this characteristic is exclusively for him alone. If he experiences something pleasant, he is thankful, and that is good for him; and if he comes across some diversity, he is patient and that is good for him” (Muslim).
Once the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) went to visit a sick bedouin, when he met him, he said, “Don’t worry, if Allah Wills, it will be expiation (for your sins).” The bedouin said: “You say expiation? No, it is but a fever that is boiling or harassing an old man and will lead him to his grave without his will.” The Prophet said, “Then, yes, it is so” (Bukhari).
We usually find the world a very tough place to live in, with all the ups and downs in life; it sometimes feels as though we are in some sort of a never ending roller coaster ride. There is so much going on around us, positive and negative, good and bad which can lead us to experience many different emotions ranging from happiness to sadness.
Therefore, we need to have a positive attitude towards life, no matter what the situation is and we should not let the adverse situations affect the productivity and quality of our lives. Once we are able to change our attitude from negative to positive, the world around us becomes a heaven to live in.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) also showed great and equal respect to the fellow beings irrespective of their belief and religion. Once a funeral of a Jew passed before Prophet Muhammad, as a sign of respect, the Prophet stood up. The Prophet was asked, “Why did you stand up for a Jewish funeral?” The Prophet replied, “Is it not a human soul?” (Bukhari). His attitude was so remarkable, that even his worst enemies could not deny it.
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) displayed a kind and loving attitude towards people. One old woman made a habit of throwing rubbish on Prophet Muhammad whenever he passed by her house. Even when the old woman threw rubbish on him, he would pass silently without showing any anger or annoyance. One day when the Prophet was passing by, the woman was not there to throw the rubbish. He stopped and enquired, he learnt that the woman was sick. He visited her. The old woman was greatly moved by this kindness and love of the Prophet. By this, she understood that he is truly the Prophet of Allah and Islam is the true religion and she immediately accepted Islam.
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) displayed a high level of tolerance towards people. This attitude impressed and also led them to accept Islam. One day Prophet Mohammad saw an old lady carrying a heavy load. He went over and offered help. The old lady graciously accepted this offer of kindness. As Prophet Mohammad walked next to her with her load she started talking ill about Muhammad. Throughout the journey she kept on abusing him and warning him to stay away from Muhammad. He listened to her politely and carrying her heavy load to its destination. Upon learning that the man who helped her was none other than Prophet Muhammad, she accepted Islam on the spot.
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said, “The similitude of believers in regard to mutual love, affection, fellow-feeling is that of one body; when any limb of it aches, the whole body aches, because of sleeplessness and fever” (Muslim).
In another hadith, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said, “You see the believers as regards their being merciful among themselves and showing love among themselves and being kind, resembling one body, so that, if any part of the body is not well then the whole body shares the sleeplessness (insomnia) and fever with it” (Bukhari).
So the Muslim Ummah, whatever colour, nationality or gender, wherever we are, we are like this body. If we hear that any part of this Ummah is being oppressed, then we should feel this pain. The hadith aims at imbibing the attitude of love and affection towards the Muslims across the globe and create universal brotherhood. Another hadith to supplement this is, “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself” (Bukhari & Muslim).
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) once said, “The best of people are those with the most excellent character” (Tabarani). Attitude is an integral part of one’s character. If one has to become best, he should possess an excellent character, and he can possess an excellent character only when his attitude is good. Thus, attitude plays a very important role in one’s life.
Attitude directly affects our ability to serve Allah, our family, our friendships and our existence in human society. Possessing a good attitude will help the person to be happy and successful in his individual as well as his collective life. Thus, Islam aims at imbibing the attitude of honesty, truthfulness, tolerance, humility, firmness, love, affection, kindness, trustworthy, generosity, forgiveness, gentle, positive, accommodative, etc.
Thus a man who talks or preaches from the heart will win the hearts of others and whoever talks and preaches from the mouth, his words will not penetrate into one’s hearts. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) successfully transformed the world from its ignorance and idol worshipping to that of monotheism and salvation. It was the attitude of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) which contributed drastically to the success of his mission. Surely, imbibing this type of attitude in our lives will help us become better human beings.