How to Emulate the Lifestyle of the Prophet of Islam ﷺ
Say (O Muhammad, to mankind): “If you truly love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Quran and the Sunnah). Allah will love you and forgive you of your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” — Qur’an 3[Imran]:31
In today's world, a mere mention of the word Islam leads to misgivings and dreadful feeling. It's not because the faith is associated with doubt or fear. The neo-Muslim have failed to be a truthful Muslim in the real sense. A true Muslim is one who adheres to the teachings of Islam based upon the teachings of the noble prophet. Even before his missionary call, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was known for an impeccable character and exemplary lifestyle. The qurayshi people acknowledged him to be the trustworthy one albeit belying his message.
If the modern day Muslims embrace these flawless traits, we'd find the world a better place for all to live. Many Muslims only claim to love the prophet, but they do not follow his ways. No doubt following the sunnah isn’t child’s play. It comes with discipline which starts with a firm conviction to follow the path of the righteous predecessors. This was what gave them felicity in this world and the next. So bare in mind, nothing will fix our state except we return to the basis. In doing this, you will face several objections. Having a firm resolution with pure intention solely for Allah’s sake will propel you to succeed. In addition, seek knowledge with understanding before rushing to implementation and condemnation. Here are glimpses from the life and times of the best of mankind ﷺ Savor him!
1. Gratitude: The prophet ﷺ was well known for expressing gratitude. He first gives thanks to His Lord for whatever favor conferred upon him. He also expresses appreciation to anyone who extends kind gestures to him.
In one of his sayings, it was reported thus: 'He who is not grateful to man is not grateful to Allah' (Ahmad). In another narration, we find: ‘Contemplate those who have less than you and not those who have more than you, lest you belittle the favors of Allah conferred upon you’ (Bukhari and Muslim).
2. Tolerance: You might have heard the story of the Bedouin who ran into the mosque and deliberately passed urine. The people rushed to beat him up, but Allah’s Apostle ﷺ told them to leave him alone. After the bedouin relieved himself, the Prophet ﷺ asked that water be poured over the place to cleanse it. He then explained to the Bedouin calmly, “This is a place of worship, in it is the worship of Allah and the reading of Qur’an.” After the Bedouin had left, the Prophet ﷺ then said to his companions: “You have been sent to make things easy (for the people) and you have not been sent to make things difficult for them.” (Sahih Bukhari and Muslim)
3. Repentance: If you never knew, Allah had forgiven the prophet ﷺ for his previous and future sins. Yet, he was a servant seeking forgiveness and constant repentance. In his words: “By Allah, I seek forgiveness from Allah and I repent to him more than seventy times in a day.” (Sahih Bukhari)
4. Simplicity: Muadh ibn Jabal was a very young companion of the prophet ﷺ. Yet the prophet ﷺ loved him and sent him to Yemen to go and teach the people about Islam. On the eve of his departure, Allah’s messenger ﷺ advised him thus: “Make things easy for people and do not make things difficult. And cheer them up and do not drive them away.” (Sahih Bukhari and Muslim)
5. Equality: The Prophet of Islam ﷺ established a religion based on racial equality. He said: “There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab, nor for a non-Arab over an Arab. The fair-skinned person is not better than the one with the dark skin. Nor is the dark-skinned one superior over a fair skinned. The one who is more pious and God-fearing is more deserving of honor.” (Ahmad)
6. Moderation: Today, we find two obvious categories of Muslims — the lax and the extreme. In between both are the moderate ones with balance in all they do. This is as exemplified from the life of the Rasul ﷺ : “Religion is easy, and no one overburdens himself in his religion but he will be unable to continue in that way. So do not be extremists, but try to be near perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded. Gain strength by worshipping in the mornings and afternoons and during the last hours of the night.” (Bukhari)
7. Patience: Patience is one scarce value among the Muslims today. Everyone is being tested, but the adversity comes in different ways. The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘No one can give a better or more abundant gift than patience.’
(Sahih Bukhari and Muslim)
8. Contentment: A man once came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: “O Messenger of Allah, direct me to an act which, if I do it, will cause Allah to love me and the people to love me.” So he said: “Renounce the world and Allah will love you; and renounce what the people possess and the people will love you.” (Ibn Majah)
In another situation, the Prophet ﷺ said: “What is little but sufficient is better than that which is abundant but causes heedlessness.” (Ibn Hibban)
9. Humility: The Prophet ﷺ said: “No one who has an atom’s-weight of arrogance in his heart will enter Paradise.” A man said, “O Messenger of Allah, what if a man likes his clothes and his shoes to look good?” He said, “Allah is Beautiful and loves beauty. Arrogance means rejecting the truth and looking down on people.” (Muslim). In another narration, he was reported thus: “Allah has revealed to me that you must be humble, so that no one oppresses another and boasts over another.” (Abu Dawud)
10. Accountability: The prophet of Islam ﷺ was self critical and judgmental of himself. He strove for excellence by checkmating himself regularly and ordering other Muslims to do likewise. From his tradition, we find: Blessed is he who preoccupies himself with his own defects, rather than those of others. (Al Bazzar)
11. Honesty: The Prophet ﷺ was well known for trustworthiness even before his mission as a prophet. He said: ‘Truthfulness leads to righteousness and righteousness leads to Paradise. A man remains truthful and concerned about honesty until he is recorded as an honest man with Allah. Lying leads to sinfulness and sinfulness leads to the Fire. A man keeps lying and remains partial to lies until he is recorded as a liar with Allah.” (Sahîh Bukharî and Muslim)
12. Kindness: His virtues were elegant such that you feel the electricity in his kind of wisdom. He was reported to have said: “Do not be people without minds of your own, saying that if others treat you well you will treat them well, and that if they do wrong you will do wrong. Instead, accustom yourselves to do good if people do good and not to do wrong if they do evil.” (At-Tirmidhî)
The values and attributes of prophet Muhammad ﷺ are inexhaustible. The key point is for us as Muslims to really live our lives in line with the ways of the messenger. If we do this, we’d find peace and tranquility with our Lord, ourself and humanity at large.
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