A few years ago, a friend of mine shared an interesting realization with me. Faced with different challenges throughout her life, she was walking home from work, hiding all the disappointments her tired face was showing in the darkness of the Sarajevo night. “I felt as if all my hopes lost hope and disappeared,” she shared, smiling. Surrendering slowly to the gloominess of her heart, she looked at the lights of a billboard in front of her and saw these words:
“None of you believes until he loves for his brother that which he loves for himself.” (Prophet Muhammad ﷺ)
“I have heard this hadith a million times before, but this time it hit differently. I was so overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude that this man has walked this earth full of injustice, leaving behind him ﷺ a light that was shining on my heart, right now in this moment!”
She knew that the disappointment and hurt will not vanish, but the words of Rasulullah ﷺ and the life he led reassured her that hurt and injustice is just…not the way. If you want to be a believer, that is.
Historical Context
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was born in Mecca in 570 CE and received his first revelation at the age of 40. His prophetic mission lasted 23 years, during which he transformed Arabian society, established a robust and inclusive community in Medina, and laid down the foundational principles of Islam. His life serves as a practical model for almost 2 billion Muslims, encapsulating virtues such as compassion, honesty, and resilience.
In the world of lost focus due to too much of everything, how can we keep holding to the rope of the man who lived his blessed, difficult and most fruitful life with moral and ethical values that didn’t change a bit from the beginning to the end? His life is a light and guidance for anyone who wants to take heed. Every moment is a supporting hand and a pure drink, for those who want to be healthy.
Here are some of the things we can consider from the example of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to bring forth into our lives:
Stay true to yourself
Prophet Mohammad ﷺ said: “Righteousness is what reassures your soul and your heart, and sin is what wavers in your soul and puts tension in your chest, even if people approve it in their judgements again and again.” (Sunan al-Dārimī 2533)
Your first mission is to build a healthy heart, that has no spiritual diseases and is not regulated exclusively or mostly by the lower ego. Only then, this divine connection will shine in its full light. You will be led in your actions by your pure conscience, a heart that wants good for you and others and strives to make positive change and impacts your life and the lives of those around you.
Your boundaries are the boundaries of Allah
Rasulullah ﷺ said: “Verily Allah the Almighty has prescribed the obligatory deeds, so do not neglect them; He has set certain limits, so do not go beyond them; He has forbidden certain things, so do not indulge in them; and He has said nothing about certain things, as an act of mercy to you, not out of forgetfulness, so do not go enquiring into these.” (Daraqutni)
Modern psychology tells us every day to ‘set up the boundaries’. Very rarely have I found any good advice on how to actually do that. But then, looking at the life of the Prophet ﷺ, it’s very clear that his ﷺ boundaries were those that were instructed by the Creatorﷻ.
Rasulullah ﷺ never got angry if he was personally harmed or insulted. One of the most emphasized events in his life was during the liberation of Mecca, when he ﷺ accepted repentance of those who killed his closest friends and family members, forgave them, welcomed them into the Muslim community with open arms, showing the strength of love for his mission and what real leadership looks like.
However, if God’s boundaries were affected or ridiculed in any case, his face would turn red in anger and his immediate reaction would come swiftly, stopping any further violence or similar harm. In times when he was offered two things to choose from, he would choose the easiest one for people, if it is halaal (permissible) and pleases Allah ﷻ. And when it came to Allah’s ordained laws and sanctions, he emphasized that even if it was his daughter, he would be the first one to sanction her, because there is no special treatment when it comes to God’s boundaries.
Don’t calculate on your investment
“This is the true joy of life: being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.” (George Bernard Shaw)
Your life purpose consists of the motivating aims of your life—the reasons you get up in the morning.Within the busy lives we often create for ourselves, it’s easy to forget the true purpose and how important and essential it is for us.
Rasulullah ﷺgave his all on the path of fulfilling his ﷺ purpose: bringing the faith in One, Merciful God back to the people. Know that everything you enjoy from this beautiful religion today, it’s because he ﷺ never paid attention to the level of his tiredness or exhaustion, never calculated everything he gave for the success of his mission. He never gave up nor lost his motivation.
When Quraysh suggested a peace offer, adding power and money to the offer, but that they would not have to accept the faith in One God, he refused without thinking.
Instead, he ﷺ replied: “By God, if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left on condition that I abandon this course, until God has made me victorious, or I perish therein, I would not abandon it.”
With all the sacrifices, hardship and pain, and vast forgiveness granted to him by Allah ﷻ, when asked by his wife why he stands in a prayer until his feet swelled, his answer was: “Should I not be a thankful servant?
Be with people as you want Allah to be with you
Rasulullah ﷺ said: “He who does not have mercy will not have mercy upon him.”
Being able to move on is one of the things that is the guarantor of healing. Explaining the strategy of the devil against humans, Allah ﷻ informed us in Sūrat al A’rāf: “I will approach them from their front, their back, their right, their left, and then You will find most of them ungrateful.” In one of the explanations, it’s said the front and the back represent the future and the past. If you constantly delve into either, you will not be able to grow and move forward. It’s a way of the devil to scare us with the future and weigh us down with the past.
We all make mistakes. Whenever you can, let go and forgive, taking Rasulullah ﷺ as the example. Remember the sins you want Allah ﷻ to overlook and forgive–and then, move on. “Rather, let them forgive and forbear. Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you? Allah is Ever Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Nur, 22)
The world needs you. It needs a positive example and change. This is you. You don’t have time to waste. Walking in the footsteps of Rasulullah ﷺ will bring us there.
