In the name of God, Perfect Praise belongs only to Him.
With the ‘modern West’ leading the world and setting up norms that are being followed throughout the world, all things, which ‘if did’ invites God's wrath and His punishment, are being resurrected. In today's age with all of these ‘fitan’ (test and trials) and ‘crisis’ that surround us, masculinity in men is dwindling. There are numerous reasons for this constant decrease of masculinity in males, one of which and in fact the major reason is the Television/Media/Internet with Movies, Music and Pornography each playing its role appropriately, delivering to us an upshot where the world now witnesses a male giving birth to a baby!
God in His Glorious Book i.e., The Qur'ān lays principles for individuals, He has given men their roles and for women theirs, which are necessary to be abided by if we want a stable and prosperous society away from satanic acts and practices. However, we shall only talk about ‘men’ in this article.
Mankind should always strive to know its Creator, His Oneness, His Majesty, His Sovereignty and to be sincere to Him in all affairs, whether it be in respect to Himself (Huqūqillāh) or in respect to others (Huqūq al-'ibād). Understanding God's Lordship, His names and attributes and His position as the only One to be worshipped should be the first thing a man should do if he wants to tread on the right path.
That being said, men and masculinity is not about the ‘sigma/alpha male’ that we see on the internet these days, it is about man striving towards fulfilling good character, best manners and his roles and responsibilities.
Some of which is to...
Be A Lover Of Justice
Ibn Marzuban records, Imām 'Alī (عليه السلام), passed by some people who were talking. Imām 'Alī, said, “What are you doing?” They said, “We are discussing manhood.” to which Imām 'Alī said: Has not Allāh, The Almighty sufficed you in His book wherein He said, ‘Verily, Allāh commands justice and excellence,?’ (16:90). Imām 'Alī then said, Justice is to have a sense of fairness and excellence is to prefer others to yourself. What remains of manhood after this?
Be A Lover Of Fitness
Hit the gym, lift weights, build muscles, and alongside learn some art like boxing, wrestling etc. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, there are two blessings which many people lose, health and free time. (Bukhāri) and he also said, the strong believer is better and more loved by Allāh than the weak believer and in both of them is good. (Muslim). The Prophet (ﷺ) would himself wrestle and allow his companions (رضي الله عنهم اجمعين) to wrestle as well. The Prophet (ﷺ) also encouraged training a horse swimming, archery. (al-Nasai)
Socrates, one of the most famous greek philosopher said, ‘No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.’
And stay away from unhealthy foods. it is said you are what you eat, eating unhealthy food will sure invite sickness and disease.
Be A Lover Of Beauty
Maintain good hygiene as, Allāh loves those who purify themselves (2:222), and Cleanliness is half of faith said the Prophet (ﷺ). (Muslim)
Grow your beard, God decorated men's faces with beards for them to keep it, not to shave it. Men all throughout the history kept beards until the modern west came along and told them falsely so, that shaving it off is more hygienic.
Keep yourself presentable at all times, a good haircut, combed and neat looking beard (The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “is having combed hair not better than one of you coming with his hair uncombed as if he were a devil.” [Muwatta Malik]), wear ironed clothes, take a shower everyday, use good perfumes, trim your nails every week, wear good and clean shoes. To sum up, look clean and smell clean.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, Verily Allāh is beautiful and Allāh loves beauty. (al-Mu’jam al-Awsat)
Be Of Those Who Speak Less
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “He who believes in Allah and the Last Day must either speak good or remain silent.” (Riyād as-Sālihīn)
Chilon, the great greek philosopher said, ‘less is more’ let these principles govern your tongue. Speak only when you have something important to say and then only in short, this type of approach to speech has many benefits like your words would hold more weight, you’ll command attention when you do speak and you can be reflective before opening your mouth.
Be Brave, Courageous, Fearless And Tough
And fear Him and do not fear anyone but Allāh. (33:39)
Imām 'Alī reported: When the danger intensified and the people met each other in battle, we would seek protection by the Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings be upon him. None of us would be closer to the enemy than him. (Musnad Ahmed)
Do not freeze in times of danger, always try your best to sincerely avoid confrontations and be the first one to apologize if necessary and if the physical fight seems inevitable then be the first one to hit without fearing any consequences. Take out the fear of anything that is created and fear only God, the Creator.
Standing up for truth and justice at any cost is bravery, God instructs his Messenger (ﷺ), “Say, never will fleeting benefit you if you should flee from death or killing and then [if you did] you not be given enjoyment [of life] except for little.” (33:16)
Be what they call a ‘military monk’
Ferocious on the battlefield and yet crying like a child in front of God.
Be A Volunteer
And co-operate in righteousness and piety. (5:2)
Nothing brings one respect and honour like volunteering does, help Muslims and non Muslims in any good effort no matter how difficult the ask may be. Try to do favours for people because this is a constructive use of your time and helps in making friends and do not be stingy with your strength, time or property.
It is said that the one who considered himself to be clever because he slips away from helping others has in reality been a recipient of God's wrath and He the Most High has kept his slave from doing any good and receiving any award.
Be A Protector And Provider
Men are in charge of women by what Allāh has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. (4:34)
Try to have multiple sources of income, try to earn more, protect your family, provide them with halal provision, a spacious home, good clothing and a good means of transportation.
Much more can be said and in greater length, than what we have written in this article on this topic. This acts only as a reminder and nothing more.
The modern west wants men to be docile, weak, obedient, emotional, irreligious, dependent, depressed, anxious, alone. But what we should do is to become ‘men’ with mountain strong faith and purpose, men who have order and discipline, men who sacrifice for good, men who love justice and hate oppression, men with courage, men with wisdom, reason and logic. Men with strength, kindness, and will. Men who control their lower desires and impulses, those who continually refine their intellect, improve their character, seek knowledge and put it into action till death, men who avoid undignified behavior and sinful deeds, and men who try to take on the character of the most perfect man i.e., the Prophet (ﷺ), As God says, “There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allāh an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allāh and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allāh often.” (33:21)
May Allāh make us among those who truly fulfill their duties, and may Allāh make us among those who truly obey His commands and who truly follow the example of His Prophet, āmīn.
What problems would muslims face now in coming years