7. Discovering and Improving Special Talents

Allah the Almighty has created human being with various characteristics, attributes, and abilities. Everybody acts in accordance with his/her characteristics. This fact is expressed in the following verse:

قُلْ كُلٌّ يَعْمَلُ عَلَى شَاكِلَتِهِ فَرَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ هُوَ أَهْدَى سَبِيلاً

“Say: everyone acts according to his own disposition: but your Lord knows best who it is that is best guided on the way.” (al-Isra 17; 84)

The Arabic term shakilah (شَاكِلَة), which is usually translated as natural disposition, have different different but related meanings such as nature, custom, religion, ethics, intention, and temperament. In other words, every human being acts in accordance with his/her natural disposition, temperament, morals, and state. He/she performs deeds in accordant with his/her feelings.

The creation of human beings with different abilities and the wisdom behind this dissimilarity that is to maintain balance in social life are stated in another verse:

“Is it they who would portion out the Mercy of your Lord? It is We Who portion out between them their livelihood in the life of this world: and We raise some of them above others in ranks, so that some may command work from others. But the Mercy of thy Lord is better than the (wealth) which they amass.” (al-Zuhruf 43; 32)

Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) stated that:

“You would find people like those of mine, the good amongst you in the Days of Ignorance would be like the good amongst you in the days of Islam, provided they have an understanding of it…” (Bukhari, Manaqib, 1; Muslim, Fadail al-Sahaba, 199)

As emphasized in the above mentioned verses and the sayings of the Prophet (pbuh), people are like mines, some are as precious as gold; others are as valuable as silver or copper or coal. Likewise, their abilities are different. An ability, which is found in one person, may not be found in another. It is not always easy to recognize who has which abilities and to improve them based on certain methods. Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) was the exemplary model of those who have succeeded in this. Our Prophet (pbuh) was able to see people’s mysterious worlds by means of his prophetic sagacity and perception. He could see the pearls and jewels hidden in these worlds and he knew very well how to unearth them.

The qualities and abilities of Abu Bakr and Umar, Uthman and Ali, Bilal and Mus’ab (r. anhum) were not the same. But every one of them presented star-like perfection to the extent of their abilities. Each one of them held the hands of the Messenger of Allah and ascended the steps of virtue. Abu Bakr (r.a.) became the model of submission, love and self-sacrifice in the path of Allah; Umar (r.a.) became the symbol of justice and courage; Uthman (r.a.) was the model of chastity and gentleness; Ali (r.a.) was the symbol of knowledge and bravery; while Bilal (r.a.) got the title of “the master of muadhdhins,” Mus’ab b. Umair (r.a.) revived Medina by teaching the Qur’an.

Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) paid special attention in educating every one of his believers and to improving their hidden skills. In this regard, the following narration is meaningful:

“A delegation of the Abdulqais clan had come to Medina. Abdullah b. Awf, the head of the delegation, took off his clothes and put on nice and clean ones before going into the presence of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). Then they came to the Prophet (pbuh). He welcomed his visitors and prayed for them. Then he asked:

“Which one of you is Abdullah b. Ashaj?” Abdullah b. Awf replied:

“O Messenger of Allah! I am.” Abdullah was an ugly person. When he saw that the Prophet (pbuh) was looking at him, he told the Prophet:

“O Messenger of Allah! One cannot make a water-skin from human skin and drink water from it. Only two parts of a person are valuable: the tongue and the heart.”

Upon which Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) told him:

“O Abdullah! You have two characteristics that Allah loves.” When Abdullah enquired what they were, the Prophet (pbuh) said:

“Gentleness and deliberateness.” Abdullah (r.a.) asked:

“O Messenger of Allah! Were these qualities formed in me later or have I been created with them?” He (the Holy Prophet) replied:

“You were created with these morals.” (Ibn Sa’d, I, 314; V, 557-560)

The young should be given the chance to use their abilities and their path should be cleared. The following was narrated from Ibn Umar (r. anhuma):

“We were with the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) in an expedition. I was riding a camel that belonged to my father Umar. I could not control the animal and I was passing in front of the others. My father was sad about the situation. From time to time he came, pulled the animal back and told me:

“Hold your animal. It should not pass before the Messenger of Allah (pbuh).” Thereupon the Prophet (pbuh) asked:

“O Umar! Would you sell it to me?” My father replied:

“O Messenger of Allah! It is yours” and sold the camel to him. Then the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said to me:

“O Abdullah! It is yours. Ride it as you wish.” (Bukhari, Buyu’, 47; Hiba, 25/2)

Through this act, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) showed that the youth should not be pressured into acting in a certain way, but rather be given freedom within the limits of Islamic principles.

Uqba b. Amir (r.a.) narrated:

“Two people came and presented their case to the Messenger of Allah. He told me:

“O Uqba stand up and judge between them.” I said:

“O Messenger of Allah! For this you are more appropriate than me.” He said:

“Even so, I want you to judge between them. When you exert all your effort and reach the right decision, you will receive ten rewards; when you exert all your effort and reach the wrong decision, you will have one reward.” (Ibn Hanbal, IV, 205)

There are many aspects of social life and many tasks should be properly fulfilled in order to maintain these aspects. In order to realize this, trustworthy, capable, adept, and trained people are needed. Therefore, educational systems have to be arranged to train such people and capabilities need to be discovered at an early ages and then, based on the results, people must be directed to the proper jobs.

The Prophet’s principle of scrupulously finding and improving abilities should be one of the rules of our educational lives. This is necessary to raise qualified people and to avoid wasting human resources.

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