Let's have a lively personality

Reading a book authored by a prominent Islamic scholar, I came across this unusual statement - it is the duty of all the mothers to instil fear among their kids towards their father. What kind of child pedagogy are we adhering to! No wonder our idea of an  ‘Ideal Muslim,’ is a monotonous, lifeless, and boring individual.

It is so depressing a scene in our families that as the father walks into the house, children are terrified. Even the wife considers it a disrespect to ask any question, or seek any clarification regarding anything. This is very unfortunate as it goes completely against the teachings of our Prophet (PBUH) whom we consider a role model, both inside and outside our house.

He used to be most cheerful and loving to his family. One day Aisha was travelling along with Prophet (PBUH). She asked the Prophet to go for a chase. It's  narrated in Abu-Da’ud that Abu-Bakr once entered the house of Prophet (PBUH) and witnessed Aisha getting involved in an argument with Prophet (PBUH); this quite enraged Abu-Bakr and he was about to scold his daughter when Prophet (PBUH) intervened and let Aisha (ra) vent her anger out.

Yusuf-al-Qardhawi states that to laugh is a human trait and something which distinguishes us from animals who cannot laugh; they cannot understand humour. As Islam proudly claims to be a religion which is in sync with the human nature, it is outlandish to believe that it would restrict the expressions of this nature.

Also, Islam prefers its proponents to carry impressive, cheerful, dynamic, and lively personalities. It is for the same reason that the interactions between the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions used to be very lively.

It is quite pertinent to mention the incident of Anas wherein he was walking in a market once. Prophet (PBUH) came from behind, tied his hands and announced if anyone would buy this slave? Anas, after witnessing it was the Prophet (PBUH), humbly submits himself and says that Prophet (PBUH) would not get a better deal against him. To this, Prophet (PBUH) replies by saying that Almighty considers him worthy more than anyone would do.

This cheerful and candid approach of Prophet (PBUH) was not limited to his male companions only, but the same was observed with women also. Once an old woman came to the Prophet (PBUH) and requested to pray for her place in Jannah.

Prophet (PBUH) responded by saying that you can not enter Jannah; with this he left for mosque. After he came back, Aisha informed Prophet (PBUH) that from the moment he left for mosque, the woman has been crying without a pause. On this, Prophet smiled, pacified the woman by saying that no woman will enter the Jannah as an old lady, rather she would be in her youth.

A sad situation is that if anyone tries to strike a balance between being a devout Muslim and a cheerful and lively individual, he is  dubbed to bring modern shades to Islam. While the fact of the matter is that any attempt to make Islam a path hard to be followed, will only result in people losing interest in it.