The Qur’ān and the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) give us certain guidelines on do’s and don’ts for an individual to build a strong personality, observes SYED KAZIM
Personality is defined as the enduring personal characteristics of individuals. Personality development refers to the creation of a personality cult with the intention of forming a particular impression in the minds of others. This is the sum total of choices, behavioural traits and decisions that a person makes in life. Personality development is also explained as the development of the organised pattern of behaviours and attitudes that makes a person distinctive. Personality development occurs by the ongoing interaction of temperament, character and environment.
Today the modern corporate world has completely changed the meaning of the word ‘Personality Development’ when it refers to the way we dress, the way we speak, the way we carry our self, and the way we present ourselves. The modern concept of personality development focuses on the external outlook. But when Islam speaks about personality development, it mainly focuses on developing the personality of the individual from within and making him a better person, from the point of view of his character.
Islam is a complete system that impacts all areas of a person’s life. Allah tells in the Qur’ān, “Have you not considered how Allah presents an example, (making) a good word like a good tree, whose root is firmly fixed and its branches [high] in the sky? It produces its fruit all the time, by permission of its Lord. And Allah presents examples for the people that perhaps they will be reminded” (Qur’ān 14:24-25). This is a verse which speaks about Personality Development of the individual in detail.
The first aspect mentioned in the verse is about the roots of a tree. The meaning of the roots of a tree refers to the Eeman of the individual. If the roots are firmly fixed in the earth, the tree becomes stronger and longer; and if the roots are not firmly fixed, it can fall any time. Thus an individual can only develop when he has strong belief in every aspect of Islam. The second aspect mentioned in the verse is about the branches of a tree. The branches refer to continuous development of the individual’s personality. Thus an individual should continuously strive for his knowledge, social, moral and talent development. The third aspect mentioned in the verse is fruits. Fruits refer to the return what an individual can give to the society. Thus the personality of an individual can only be effective and fruitful when he contributes to the society using his skill and talent. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) once said, “The best of people are those that bring most benefit to the rest of mankind.” (Daraqutni, Hasan)
In order for the tree to grow, there is contribution from the entire universe, like the sunlight, wind, water, sand, etc. Similarly, when a person plans to develop his own self then Allah makes the necessary arrangement for the individual to grow and develop.
Salah is a tool which helps an individual to develop his spiritual personality. Praying five times a day makes a person God-conscious. Hajj is a tool which helps an individual to develop his social personality. When an individual performs Hajj, he learns and witnesses equality and universal brotherhood, which helps him for the rest of his life. Reading the Qur’ān is an act which helps develop his intellectual personality. Reading the Qur’ān regularly helps a person gain more knowledge and helps him understand the purpose of life. Reading and understanding the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) helps a person develop his moral personality. When a person reads the life of Prophet Muhammad, he also strives to imitate and behave in the same manner.
Islam focuses on continuous development of the individual. Thus once Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said, “He whose two days are equal, is a loser” (Daiylami). The hadith clearly specifies the individual to focus of contentious improvement, if he does not do something different or does not learn something new the next day; he is termed to be a loser.
A believer is racing towards the Paradise. They always try to have their today better than their yesterday. They want to keep on increasing their piety and good deeds. They try to devote more time, energy, and resources with each passing day to win Allah’s pleasure. They want their inner self to be better today than it was yesterday and their tomorrow to be better than today. They don’t want to repeat their mistakes, they learn from their experiences, and try to purify their hearts and their intentions to make them better all the time. Thus, a Muslim’s two days are not equal.
A Muslim’s competition is with himself because he knows that as they get better they win more of Allah’s pleasure and thus higher and better places in the Paradise. It is immaterial how good one is, when compared to others. However, when a believer sees another trying harder than oneself for Allah’s pleasure, it motivates them too. The companions competed with each other, but not for the things of this world. When the individual continuously strives for all this, he tends to develop his personality from within. If each day we make only one tiny improvement; tell one less lie, do one additional act of charity, learn a hadith, just think how much you will improve over time.
To develop the personality from within, the Qur’ān and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) emphasise people to be truly righteous, to have good intentions, to be truthful, to keep up the promise, to develop tolerance, to be polite, to be kind, to be thankful, to be steadfast, to be honest, to be cooperative, etc. Developing all these qualities will make a person best in character. On the other hand the Qur’ān and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) instructs people not to indulge in backbiting, not to lie, not to be suspicious, not to be jealous, not to get angry, not to be proud, not to abuse people, not to be a hypocrite, not to taunt, not to mock, not to discriminate, not to indulge in any kind of fraud or cheating. Thus once Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said, “The best of people are those with the most excellent character.” (Tabarani)
One main task performed by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) was to develop the personalities of the individuals by moving them from darkness to light. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) transformed the personalities of the companions from within, which ultimately prepared them to sacrifice their pleasure, comfort, money and life for Islam.
In another verse Allah the Exalted relates development of one’s personality to success and failure. Allah tells in the Qur’ān, “He is indeed successful who purifies it. And he is indeed a failure who corrupts it.” (Qur’ān 91:9-10) The verse explains personality development through purification of one’s soul. The inspiration for recognising good and evil has been mentioned which also explains the meaning of personality development that is to purify the self from wickedness and to nourish it with the fear of Allah and righteousness. In other words, to nurse or train the self in such a way that good and righteousness are encouraged and achieve prominence. The real progress of self and the nourishment of the soul lies in developing this quality. This reality can be understood with an example, a plant can grow only when it gets a congenial environment and it is properly watered. Otherwise a powerful breeze would be sufficient to uproot it.
Individual should first of all, purify himself of disbelief and transgression and should accept the divine guidance and become an obedient slave of Allah. The path of obedience is the path of the Shari’ah, by following which man can become righteous and virtuous. The best and the most effective recipe presented by the Qur’ān for one’s personality development is Allah’s exalted and perfect Shari’ah. By directing man to the right method of personality development, the Qur’ān has kept man from all those unnatural and awkward methods and ways which the followers of many religions have invented with a view of personality development. The Qur’ān wants man to concentrate on this reality so that he may shape his life accordingly and when he may return from this testing ground of the world, the goal of his success may be before his eyes. Thus this verse also gives importance to development of personality from within.
Islam provides a well-rounded approach for personality development. A man should be able to earn a living, have pure belief, correct worship, able to control his desires, be careful about his time, organise his affairs and beneficial to those around him. In order to achieve all this, a person should be physically, spiritually and intellectually strong. Thus Islam gives importance for a person to develop his personality in all these three dimensions.
As Allah says in the Qur’ān, “And verily, you (O Muhammad) are on an exalted standard of character” (Qur’ān 68:4) and once Ayesha described Prophet Muhammad saying, “His character was the Qur’ān”. The Qur’ān and the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) give us certain guidelines on do’s and don’ts for an individual to build a strong personality. They are the best source of guidance for a person to develop one’s character and his overall personality. No course, no workshop can create the impact which the Qur’ān and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) can create. Good manners and character lead to prosperity, while bad ones lead to misery.