A role model is someone we look up to. While we talk about the term role model, each of us has someone on his mind. A role model is a person who inspires you to be like him. The model could be someone from our family, friends, or even a character we did not see, but we hear his life story. The qualities of the model that motivate us to become a better version of ourselves are the values and beliefs they practice and preach.
Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), my role model, is a man of truth, integrity, love, selflessness, and compassion. He was an Arabian merchant who was born in the city of Mecca. In the year 610, at the age of 40, he escaped to a desert cave where he experienced mystical visions. Angel Gabriel came to him with messages from Allah. Muhammad returned from the desert with a spiritual mission to transform the society around him. Christianity had become the dominant faith leading up to the birth of Prophet Muhammad. He claimed that he was receiving messages from Allah, such as Jesus and Moses, prophets that once came before him. Prophet Muhammad was the greatest role model for every Muslim person in this world who believes in Allah and the Day of Judgment.
The world has seen many scholars, philosophers, and preachers, but none was as great as the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). He infused justice, love, and dignity to whoever came across his path. Prophet Muhammad planned to convert slaves, orphans, women, and the poor, converting people to the fellowship of a new monotheistic faith called Islam. The meaning of Islam is the one who surrenders to God. Islam was built on five pillars that every Muslim is obligated to: Faith in God, prayer five times a day, giving to the poor, pilgrimage to Mecca known as Haj, and fasting in the month of Ramadan. When first hearing about Islam, the Pagan Arabs were tolerant and even curious about the words of this new man who claimed to be the last messenger of God. Muhammad (PBUH) brought masses from darkness to light. He suffered from the worst persecutions and painful torture and sufferings, but he was patient and endured to complete his goal of linking people to the path of goodness.
God sent His messengers in every period of history to guide humanity. The world had been waiting for the last Prophet for centuries. This long wait ended with the prophethood of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH). He was sent as the last Prophet. His guidance was declared sufficient for all till the end of this world. The Prophet (PBUH) said, “If Hazrat Musa had been alive he had no option but to follow me.” Muhammad (PBUH) was an honest man in his business dealings, and eventually, people started to call him “Al-Ameen” (The Trustworthy). If anyone wanted to entrust money to someone, the people would tell him, “You should only go to Al-Ameen.”
The Prophet (PBUH) has touched my heart like no other personality. I have had a life-long association with his life, words, actions, and behavior; however, not a day in my life passes without my love for the Prophet increasing. I marvel at the charisma he possessed whereby hundreds of men and women would only refer to him as their dear, and gave the impression that no matter how eloquent they were, their words could not fully describe his magnanimity, nobility of character, and benevolence. The Prophet's spiritual retreats and his solitary moments of prayers and meditations as he slipped out of his bed at night to be alone with the Alone, and then when distracted by his wife, saying to her, "let me be alone with my Lord." The spectacle of his tears often soaking his blanket can never be erased from my mind. His constancy in celebrating God's remembrance led his beloved wife to remark, "the Prophet was always celebrating the remembrance of God."
The Holy Prophet set the best example in leadership. He endured along with others every toil and labor that he asked others to endure and endured better than others; there was no trouble which others might have experienced, and he did not. He was among those who dug the trench and endured hunger and other afflictions just as the common Muslims did. He did not leave the battlefront even for a moment during the siege nor retreated an inch.
The Prophet’s own family had also been exposed to danger as the families of other Muslims. He did not make any special arrangements for his own and his family’s protection. He was always in the forefront to offer maximum sacrifices for the great objectives for which he was constantly asking others to make sacrifices. The Prophet's life is a model for him who remembers Allah much and consistently and not occasionally, just by chance.
His life is a model for the person who is hopeful of God's grace and His favor. I hope to possesses the characteristics of the prophet. He taught me commitment and constant pursuit without stopping whatever the obstacles I would encounter in my life.