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Role of Islam in the development of human personality and community

Allah almighty designated human being as his vicegerent on the earth and then revealed his message to him from time to time to guide them towards straight path. Islam was and is the seal of those messages and hence is perfect in every possible interpretation. Islam talks about all the three possible types of rights that a human must keep in mind while fulfilling his duties. The three rights are rights of Allah upon a human, rights of people on a human and the right of his self. These rights, if fulfilled with devotion, will not only result in the development of human personality but the community as a whole.

Now we are going to discuss each them one by one.

Rights of Allah
A Muslim praying to Allah
A Muslim praying to Allah


The origin of all the rights and the basic unit of personality development is the rights of Allah over human beings. Not only this right gives a complete guide on how to be a humble servant to God but also teaches humans how to deal with their fellow beings and lastly how to deal with their own-self.  Allah in the form of Quran has bestowed a complete guideline for humans and it does not ignore any aspect of human life whether it is biological, whether it is economic, whether it is the psychological or spiritual aspect.

The biological needs include to have a family, to enter into marriage and to live in close relation with the fellow human beings. Islam teaches us to lead a pious life among the people and not to live a life of mysticism away from the worldly life.

On the economic plane, it does not ignore the material needs of man and guides him how to earn his livelihood without falling into disarray.

The third one is the psychological needs; the needs that deals with human emotions. Islam does not ignore this side of humans as well and presents a beautiful model of how to achieve emotional stability by following the commands of Allah, Almighty.

Finally, the path of moderation shown by Islam guides humans towards an everlasting success. These teachings of Islam, if followed by human beings can result in the attainment of Godly attributes.

Rights of people
Muslims performing Pilgrimage
Muslims performing Pilgrimage


The next important right that has been a part and parcel of human life and that leads to the development of a community is the rights of other fellow people over a human being. This right mainly deals with the development of a community of people. It tells us how to behave with other people, how to be good to other people, how to give peace to other people and how to lead a life which results in the formation of a just society. Islam teaches us that Allah (SWT) being merciful may forgive people for not following his commands but will never ever forgive the breach of human rights. The person concerned will be authorized by Allah whether he wants to forgive the breacher or not.

Right of self
Sufi Mystics performing their rituals
Sufi Mystics performing their rituals

Prior to Islam, religions mostly dealt only with certain aspects of human life or were merely focused on the extreme version of spiritualism.  The state of extreme spiritualism mostly resulted in self-denial or the denial of worldly life.  On the other hand, some extremist secular ideologies outrightly rejected spiritualism in each and every form and considered the matter as the sole unit of human personality.  In contrast to the above-mentioned ideologies, Islam introduced a system of perfect balance which dealt both with the spiritual and secular planes and taught its followers against self-denial or Rehbanniya and materialism.

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) once asked one of his companion about his practice of fasting all the day and praying all the night. The companion said that he does follow this schedule. The Prophet then guided him and said: "Do not follow this routine! Observe the fast but only sometimes. Stand up for prayer at night but also sleep at night. Your body, your eyes, and your wife have rights over you. “Sahih Bukhari”.

The path of moderation is the way forward for human beings to get rid of all the extremism that has destroyed the world these days and develop a personality which is merciful for all, even for animals.

Forms of worships

Islam has also made it compulsory to follow some forms of worship for a certain period of time and the purpose of these worships is not only developing human personality but also to advance a rightful and just community. These forms of worships include Prayer, Fasting, Zakat, Pilgrimage apart from others.

Prayer on the outwardly looks like a simple exercise but on the inner, it has a great philosophy attached to it. If we look deeply into the purposes of prayer (Salah or Nimaz), it teaches us how to passionately follow a particular time framework, how to follow the head of the community, how to move in conformity with the fellow human beings, how to be tied in brotherhood with each other.

Fasting is a very good exercise to deal both with physical and spiritual diseases. During the time of fasting, a human abstains from eating, drinking and from sexual intercourse. It not only heals diseases but also give rich the feeling of the pain through which poor are passing each day. This feeling if truly felt by the rich community can lead towards a rightful community.

Zakat is a great tool to keep the community on the right path. It is a source of economic balance in the society and provides a much-needed help to poor of the community.

Pilgrimage is also a way to bring entire ummah together and to teach them how to be disciplined and caring for others in their life.

These teachings and worships of Islam are a great source of how to develop a meaningful personality and how to develop a just community.

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