5 Skills of a Positive Genius that Prophet Muhammad Had
The
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was a positive genius- someone who sees that he has the
ability to do something about the negative realities in the world, by the grace
of God. In his book, Before Happiness*, Shawn Achor lists the five skills of a
positive genius, and I could see each one in the Prophet (PBUH).
The first
skill is choosing the most valuable reality. Our biggest mistake sometimes is
believing that our negative perception is the only reality that exists. Now
what was the Prophet's (PBUH) reality? He was an orphan, no brothers or
sisters, with a handful of believers who were harassed and abused by the wider
society. When his uncle and wife passed away, there was literally nothing
preventing Quraish from murdering him- and we know they tried. And this is
reality, is it not? He could have focused on that. He could have been so
consumed by that reality that he could not see anything else. But when his
uncle passed away, he focused on Taif. When Taif fell apart, he knew he had the
hajj (holy pilgrimage) season to look forward to because all the tribes would
come to Makkah from all over Arabia. But things were not easy for the Prophet
(PBUH) even after migrating to Madina. Actually, they were difficult. The
companions became ill. They missed Makkah and recited poetry about it. So what
did the Prophet (PBUH) do? He prayed to God to make Madina as beloved to them
as Makkah. He knew that his du`a' (supplications) could change reality. And it
did- after the conquest of Makkah, the Prophet (PBUH) and many of the
companions went back to Madina.
Secondly,
the Prophet (PBUH) knew what was meaningful to him. Achor defines "meaning markers" as things in
your life that matter to you, which you use to draw mental maps to success.
Without meaning, we burn out. This can be applied to things like activism or
our jobs to things like prayer. When we get tired of praying, it is because we
have not connected to the meaning of prayer, or we forgot along the way. It
becomes a chore. Similarly with activism, we burn out because we forget what
gave it meaning to begin with. We get tired and then maybe leave it. When
Aisha, radi Allahu 'anha (May Allah be pleased with her), saw the Prophet
(PBUH) praying for so long that his feet became swollen, she said to him:
"O
Messenger of Allah, why do you undergo so much hardship despite the fact that
Allah has pardoned for you your earlier and later sins?"
He (PBUH) responded: "Afala akuna abdan shakura? - Should I not be a thankful
servant?" (Bukhari)
This
is why we are taught to attach a sincere intention to everything we do. This
gives what we do meaning. You can give current things in your life meaning by
attaching a sincere intention to them (for example, your halal income), but
once you know what is truly meaningful to you, you can change your present
situation to include those things (starting a hobby outside work for example).
Moreover, it is about diversifying. If we only attach meaning to our jobs, and
forget our family and friends, pretty soon we will find ourselves drained. The
Prophet (PBUH) was balanced. He spent quality time with his family. Aisha (ra)
said that the Prophet (PBUH) would joke with them, talk to them, and even race
with Aisha (ra). He spent quality time with the companions. Amr bin al-Aas (ra)
said that the Prophet (PBUH) was so attentive to him he thought he was the best
companion! He ensured his time with his Lord was about quality too, as we saw
with the hadith (tradition of the Prophet) above.
Thirdly,
he knew how to propel himself more quickly towards his goal. Achor explains
that the closer we perceive ourselves to be to our goal, the faster we move
towards it, like a runner finishing a race - he speeds up. Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala (Exhalted is He) promises in the Qur'an that He will make
after hardship ease. The conviction in that alone meant the Prophet (PBUH) knew
that there would be something good coming. Moreover, the Prophet (PBUH) did not
focus on the problems of the present, but saw each step (no matter how small)
as him getting closer to his finish line. And that made what he went through
worth it, and it gave him energy to continue. It is not about how far or near the
goal actually is, but where we perceive it is. If you want to encourage people
to donate money for a cause, what encourages people more is knowing that, for
example, you have already raised 10%. If you tell people you need to raise
$100,000 and you have already raised $10,000, it is easier to get people to
donate than to tell them you need to raise $90,000 and you have nothing. At the
end, the amount you have to raise is the same, but it is our perception that
gives us the energy to move towards the goal.
So
that is what our brain responds to. When the Prophet (PBUH) was migrating from
Makkah to Madina under dangerous circumstances, he said to Suraqa bin Malik
(who was initially trying to kill the Prophet!): "What about a day when you will be wearing the bracelets of
Kisra.Ó" Suraqa was shocked. "Kisra?!"
And the Prophet (PBUH) said "Yes,
Kisra the son of Hermuz" (the leader of the powerful Persian empire).
Simply by being en route to the safety of Madina, the Prophet (PBUH) saw his
finish line as closer. And he was confident about reaching his target.
Fourthly,
he canceled out the noise, and focused on the signals. Achor says in the book
that your brain can process only 40 bits of information per second despite the
fact that you are inundated with 11 million pieces of information coming from
all your nerve endings! Most of that is just noise, meaning information that
distracts us from making positive change. What we choose to process then in
turn reflects where we put our energy. So noise is information that is
negative, false or simply unnecessary, whereas signals are pieces of
information that are true and reliable and alert us to possibilities. The
Prophet (PBUH) focused on signals, meaning things that he could actually use.
For example, if he focused on all the noise that was telling him that everyone
was out to get them, he would not have been able to utilize the opportunities
when they came up. But when the Muslims migrated to Madina, the Prophet (PBUH)
conducted a population census- he even created a signal, because that
information would come in handy. He then set up a new market so the Muslims
could begin to work and trade. What he could have done was worry about imminent
attacks from the Mekkans. It's not that there wasn't that threat, but he gave
them the attention that they needed, and not more. He could have focused his
energy on arming the Muslims, but he dealt with that aspect by concluding
treaties with the different communities in Madina for protection. He then
worked on getting the companions settled.
An
important aspect is he did not have the issue of internal noise. Sometimes we
are our own worst enemy with the negative talk we subject ourselves to. But he
had a strong relationship with Allah (swt), and thus he knew his worth to Allah
(swt).
The
fifth skill? He transferred his positive reality to others. He taught people
how to see the good. He taught us not to belittle any good deed, even a smile
to someone. When Mu'adh bin Jabal was sent to Yemen, the Prophet (PBUH) told
him:
"Make things easy and do not
make things hard. Tell people of glad tidings, and do not push them away."
(Bukhari)
He
reminded us always that the door to God is always open. When a man came to
Prophet (PBUH) confessing that he had done impermissible things with a woman he
was not married to, the Prophet (PBUH) recited the following verse to him:
"And establish prayer at the
two ends of the day and at the approach of the night. Indeed, good deeds do
away with misdeeds. That is a reminder for those who remember" (Qur'an,
11:114).
That
is why the companions were the best of people. They internalized the positive
genius of the Prophet (PBUH), and created their own positive realities.
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