وَكُـلاًّ نَّقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ أَنبَاء الرُّسُلِ مَا نُثَبِّتُ بِهِ فُؤَادَكَ

وَجَاءكَ فِي هَـذِهِ الْحَقُّ وَمَوْعِظَةٌ وَذِكْرَى

لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

And all that We recount unto thee of the stories of the apostles is in order that We may make firm thy heart thereby. And in this there hath come to thee truth and an exhortation and an admonition unto the believers.
[Surah Hud 11:120]

One of the reasons why Allah سبحانه وتعالى  revealed the stories of the previous Prophets was that these accounts would strengthen the heart of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم. Similarly for us, one of the best ways of gaining inspiration, strength of heart and understanding of deen is to study the lives of the sahabah (companions), pious predecessors and the ulama (scholars) of the past.

[This short excerpt is based on a brothers' majlis (gathering for spiritual training) held by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on 6th August 1997]