Muhammad: How He Can Make You Extraordinary

by Hesham Al-Awadi

Children’s personalities are formed during the first six years. The first year develops emotions, while the second year is crucial for vocabulary building. In the third year, young children learn to interact with others, and in the following year become more self-reliant, before learning to better express their emotions and needs during the fifth and sixth years.

Showing love and affection has a huge impact on a child’s personality. She becomes more self-confident, allowing for her feelings and emotional intelligence to develop. Studies have shown that showing children love fulfills their need to feel safe, strengthening their ability to adjust to their surroundings. Making a habit out of hugging your child, affectionately greeting her when she wakes up or comes home, kissing her, and playing with her improves her psychological health and sense of self-worth.

Inhabitants scraped by on a bare-bones existence where survival was the focus and luxuries were non-existent. In this arid environment, scorching temperatures could fry an egg in the sun, and both water and shade were scarce. Water scarcity forced Bedouins to become used to drinking just enough to survive, not to fully quench their thirst as we take for granted today. With almost no water, food sources were few and far between, as crops were not grown outside of oases, wells and springs. Bedouins learned to be content living with a constant gnawing hunger and thirst, and never complaining, “Not camel’s milk again!” Consumption in those days was for survival, not for pleasure, and this harshly austere life trained Bedouins to bear trials and tribulations with stoicism.

This was the environment in which Muhammad lived, and it clearly impacted upon him. Even as an adult, he never ate until full, would tie flat stones to his stomach to quell hunger pangs, would not have a cooking fire going for long in his home, and only ate meat on rare occasions, instead eating mostly dark, coarse bread. If no food was to be found, he would fast, and he slept on a mat woven from palm leaves.

Discipline — when one is able to act responsibly regardless of one’s desires — can and must be developed at an early age.

Much of a child’s impression about himself is taken from his parents, since he sees them as the two people who know him best, and so believes what they say about him. He begins to build up self-esteem from his parents, and what they say about him becomes his inner voice about himself. So watch what you say!

Don’t give in to despair or give up your rights, but rather demand them with a polite dignity, and know that good times follow bad times, even if in bizarre or unexpected ways.

At times of distress, strengthen your heart, even if you are on the brink of death. A lamp has light before it is extinguished. A wounded lion still knows how to roar. — Samuel HaNagid, a prominent Hebrew-language poet in 10th century Islamic Spain Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake. — Victor Hugo