The Quran on Human Personality

From: www.clearvisionpk.com

The Quran empowers us by saying that a person consciously moulds his or her personality by choosing a certain path in life, and it is not entirely the work of factors beyond the person's control, as maintained by many western theories of human personality

By Saif Manzoor

Personality can be defined as:

a dynamic and organized set of characteristics [i] (traits or qualities) possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her cognitions, motivations, and behaviors in various situations (Ryckman, 2004).

Personality embraces moods, attitudes, and opinions and is most clearly expressed in interactions with other people. [ii] As such, it is very much a social construct and includes our inherent characteristics, and those which we acquire from the environment we live in.
The study of personality has a rich and varied history in psychology, with an abundance of theoretical traditions. Some psychologists have taken a highly scientific approach, whereas others have focused their attention on theory development.[iii]

In this essay we will explore the perspective of the Quran on human personality. We will also explore the characteristics, qualities and traits, which are considered positive or otherwise.

The Quran and Human personality

The Quran presents human personality as a set of characteristics which is cemented by the person’s faith. Some of them are presented as positive and desirable, and others as negative, hence undesirable.

Positive characteristics lead to a healthy and balanced personality, and negative ones lead to an unhealthy and fragmented personality. Emphasis on the good or bad characteristics have been made in terms of God's love or dislike.

The Quran does not endorse the doctrines of mind-body dualism which is considered as the basis of the human personality in Sufi, Greek, Christian and Hindu thought. The Quran emphasizes that a person has both good and bad traits, feelings and thought but still is a single person.

The Quran maintains that a person consciously moulds his or her personality by choosing a certain path in life and it is not entirely the work of factors like subconscious, which are beyond the person's control, as maintained by many western theories of human personality. The Quran's position is summarized as follows:
So for him who gives [of his wealth], guards against evil, and confirms goodness, We make good easy for him, but for him who is niggardly, thinks he is self-sufficient, and gives the lie to goodness, We make evil easy for him (92:5-10)

This raises certain questions which demand psychological explanations. How or why does a human take a certain road? How does he attune himself to God or turn away from Him?
It appears that man does not require much effort to be petty, self-seeking, submerged in his day-to-day life, and a slave of his desires, not because this is “natural’ to him—for his real nature is to be exalted—but because” gravitating down to the earth,” as we have quoted the Quranic language, is much easier than ascending to the heights of purity.

If a person once does a good or evil deed, his chances of repeating that kind of action increase and doing its opposite proportionately decrease. With the constant repetition of a good or evil action, it becomes almost impossible for a person to do the opposite, or even think of it, so much so that while men's hearts become "sealed" and their eyes "blinded" if they do evil, their doing good produces such a state of mind that the devil himself can have no sway over it. [iv]

Role of Faith and good deeds in human personality

Before we go any further we must understand that the Quran presents ‘faith’ in Unity i.e. one God, and good deeds, as the most important dimensions in human life. They build the inner conviction to appreciate good qualities which must be adopted and bad qualities, which must be shunned. Without faith and good deeds, it will be impossible for a person to develop a full commitment to these Quranic ideals.

According to the Quran, faith acts as the stabilizing factor in human personality. Its absence leads to a hasty or panicky personality, swinging like a pendulum between the extremes of hopelessness and self-righteousness.

Surely man was created fretful, when evil visits him, impatient, when good visits him, grudging, save those that pray and continue at their prayers, those in whose wealth is a right known for the beggar and the outcast, who confirm the Day of Doom and go in fear of the chastisement of their Lord (from their Lord's chastisement none feels secure) and guard their private parts save from their wives and what their right hands own, then not being blameworthy (but whoso seeks after more than that, they are the transgressors), and who preserve their trusts and their covenant, and perform their witnessing, and who observe their prayers.Those shall be in Gardens, high-honoured. [70:19-35]

Characteristics or Qualities which God loves

There are seven human characteristics for which God has expressed love in the Quran. Below we explore each of them:

Ihsan [goodness]
The root word of Ihsan is "Hasana" which means to do right, to improve, to be in a desirable condition or in a proper state, to decorate or embellish, to treat with kindliness.
In the Quran it is used for forgiveness, generosity, struggle for goodness and against evil and humbleness.

Taqwa [moral consciousness]
The root word of Taqwa is "waqy" which means to guard oneself against the negative influences of one's own deeds. It is the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, between justice and injustice.

Sabr [patience]
The Arabic word for ‘patience’ is ‘sabr’. The primary significance of the word ‘sabr’ is ‘(self)-restraint’ but it also signifies forbearance, composure, equanimity, steadfastness, perseverance, and endurance

Qist [justice and fair-mindedness]
The Quran has used several different words in the context of justice; Meezan (balance), Qist and Adl (justice and equity).

The word Meezan is derived from ‘wazana’ and it means balance, equilibrium or to distribute equally. It is also used in the meaning of equity, justice and fairness.
The word Qist means justice, fairness, equity, fair-mindedness, rightness or correctness.
The word Adl means to act justly, equitably, not to discriminate, be equivalent, to make straight, to be in a state of equilibrium, impartiality, justice and straight-forwardness.

Tahara [cleanliness]
The word "Tahura" or "Taharah" in Arabic have the following meanings: to be clean, pure, and purify. The words "Tuhr" means: cleanliness and purity like the word "Taharah".
One of the aims of teachings of the Quran is to purify the believers physically, psychologically and morally. [v]

Tawakul [trust in God]
The root of "Tawakul" is "wakala" which means to trust, rely and depend. Trust is God is natural outcome of one's faith. As disussed above, the trust in God acts as the stabilizing factor in human personality.

Tauba [repentence]
The root word of tauba is "taub" which means to repent, to be penitent, to turn from sin, to convert from and to renounce. Repentance means changing the bad action into good ones, or leaving the sins immediately and affirming that the individual will not commit it again in the future.

Characteristics or Qualities which God does not love
Kufr [ungratefulness]
Fasad [corruption]
Takabbur [arrogance]
Zulm [to do wrong, to oppress, to ill-treat, darkness]
Kheyana [disloyalty, breach of faith, deception, fooling]
Israf [waste]

Conclusion:
Our personalities are molded by the type of characteristics we adopt in our life. Positive traits of moral consciousness, patience, goodness, trust in God, fair-mindedness, cleanliness and repentance create a personality type which is totally opposite of what is the result of ungratefulness, corruption, arrogance, oppression, deception and waste.
Notes and References
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[i] A distinctive mark; a distinguishing trait, peculiarity, or quality, Oxford English Dictionary. [ii] Personality, Encyclopedia Britannica. [iii] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality_psychology [iv] Fazlur Rahman, Major Themes of the Quran, Bibliotheca Islamica 1989, page 20-21[v] Ahmed M. Rabba, Major personalities in the Quran, ASN, 2001, page 320[v] ibid, page 122