Development of Personality in the Context of Islam
In Islamic perspective personality is directly linked to the practice of Islam, as Islam teaches its adherents to acquire good moral behavior
Post by on Tuesday, June 15, 2021
SHOWKAT LONE
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Personality is defined as enduring
characteristics and patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviors’ that make a
person unique. Personality is the totality of behavior of an individual with a
given tendency system. Tendency means there is consistency. That is, generally,
the individual remains fairly consistent throughout life. There are different
theories that have emerged to explain different aspects of personality. Some
theories focus on explaining how personality develops, while others are
concerned with individual differences in personality.
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The biological perspective suggests that much
of one’s personality is a result of genetic inheritance. The trait theories
focus on identifying core traits that can be used to describe the personality.
According to behaviorists, human personality is composed of traits. All behaviors
are learned, and learning can be effective in changing maladaptive behavior.
The social-cognitive theory has added the notion that we acquire personality by
observing others (imitation, role models) and building a sense of self-efficacy.
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In Islamic perspective personality is
directly linked to the practice of Islam, as Islam teaches its adherents to
acquire good moral behavior. Moral character is not simply a goal within the
life of a Muslim, but the end goal of the Islamic faith itself. In today’s parlance our mindsets have deviated from the true essence
of Islamic teachings and we are overpowered by selfish worldly desires. Islam
encourages social justice, compassion, lofty spiritualism, cooperation in the
deeds of righteousness and well being of a nation with ceaseless struggle
against evil and devilishness. These are the important principles and elements
of our glorious Islamic civilization. Our moral principles based on righteous
character can be summed up in three words i.e. justice, mercy and fulfilment of
agreements.
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Islam has emphatically called upon people to
adopt good moral character and the following Hadiths reinforce this
characteristic: The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was asked, ‘Which Muslim has the
perfect faith?’ He answered: ‘He who has the best moral character’ (Tibrani).
Another tradition has it, ‘They asked the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) what the best
thing is given to man?’ He replied, ‘Best moral character’ (Tirmidhıˆ).
Abdullah bin’ Amar (RA) has reported: ‘I have heard the Prophet Muhammad (SAW)
as saying: “Should I not tell you who amongst you are the most likeable person
to me? And who will be the nearest to me on the Day of the Judgment?†He
repeated this question twice or thrice. The people requested him to tell them
about such a person. He said “He who amongst you has the best moral characterâ€â€™
(Ahmed).
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That is, every Muslim, in essence, should
demonstrate good interpersonal behavior and conduct, character and morality. It
is worth noting that personality is an aspect of spiritual development. There
is evidence to suggest that spirituality functions as a personality trait. The
ideal Muslim character embodies a particular way of thinking, feeling and
behaving based on the teachings of the Quraan and the Sunnah and sayings,
actions and the approvals of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in all aspects of his
lifestyle and behavior.
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 The
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) epitomized virtuous and righteous character traits and
is a living example for all humans to follow as a role model for personality
development. Islamic personality, according to Siddiqi (2012) is not rigid,
parochial, racial or nationalistic but is universal, wholesome, dynamic and
balanced. A Muslim should strive to attain a strong body, good character,
cultured thought. He should be able to earn a living, have pure belief, and
correct worship. He should be able to control his desires, be careful about his
time, organized in his affairs, and beneficial to those around him. These
comprise the duties of every Muslim as an individual. So we can say that ideal
Muslims are of the highest moral character in their relation with their Allah
(SWT) and his Messenger, themselves, family, parents, relatives, friends and
the rest of the society. They strive to improve their characters daily by the
teachings of Islam.
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(Author is PHD Research Scholar at
DAVV Indore. Feedback: Loneshowkat440@gmail.com)
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