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Islam has laid down some
universal fundamental rights for humanity as a whole, which are to be observed
and respected under all circumstances. To achieve these rights Islam provides
not only legal safeguards but also a very effective moral system. Thus
whatever leads to the welfare of the individual or the society is morally good
in Islam and whatever is injurious is morally bad. Islam attaches so much
importance to the love of God and love of man that it warns against too much
of formalism. We read in the Quran:
"It is not righteousness
that you turn your faces towards East or West; but it is righteousness to
believe in God and the Last Day and the Angels, and the Book, and the
Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for
orphans for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask; and for the
freeing of captives; to be steadfast in prayers, and practice regular charity;
to fulfill the contracts which you made; and to be firm and patient in pain
(or suffering) and adversity and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the
people of truth, the God-conscious." (2:177)
We are given a beautiful
description of the righteous and God-conscious man in these verses. He should
obey salutary regulations, but he should fix his gaze on the love of God and
the love of his fellow men.
We are given four heads:
a) Our faith should be true
and sincere,
b) We must be prepared to show it in deeds of charity to our fellow-men,
c) We must be good citizens, supporting social organizations, and
d) Our own individual soul must be firm and unshaken in all circumstances.
This is the standard by which
a particular mode of conduct is judged and classified as good or bad. This
standard of judgment provides the nucleus around which the whole moral conduct
should revolve. Before laying down any moral injunctions Islam seeks to firmly
implant in man's heart the conviction that his dealings are with God who sees
him at all times and in all places; that he may hide himself from the whole
world but not from Him; that he may deceive everyone but cannot deceive God;
that he can flee from the clutches of anyone else but not from God.
Thus, by setting God's
pleasure as the objective of man's life, Islam has furnished the highest
possible standard of morality. This is bound to provide limitless avenues for
the moral evolution of humanity. By making Divine revelations as the primary
source of knowledge it gives permanence and stability to the moral standards
which afford reasonable scope for genuine adjustments, adaptations and
innovations, though not for perversions, wild variation, atomistic relativism
or moral fluidity. It provides a sanction to morality in the love and fear of
God, which will impel man to obey the moral law even without any external
pressure. Through belief in God and the Day of Judgment it furnishes a force
which enables a person to adopt the moral conduct with earnestness and
sincerity, with all the devotion of heart and soul.
It does not, through a false
sense of originality and innovation, provide any novel moral virtues nor does
it seek to minimize the importance of the well-known moral norms, nor does it
give exaggerated importance to some and neglect others without cause. It takes
up all the commonly known moral virtues and with a sense of balance and
proportion it assigns a suitable place and function to each one of them in the
total scheme of life. It widens the scope of man's individual and collective
life - his domestic associations, his civic conduct, and his activities in the
political, economic, legal, educational, and social realms. It covers his life
from home to society, from the dining-table to the battlefield and peace
conferences, literally from the cradle to the grave. In short, no sphere of
life is exempt from the universal and comprehensive application of the moral
principles of Islam. It makes morality reign supreme and ensures that the
affairs of life, instead of dominated by selfish desires and petty interests,
should be regulated by norms of morality.
It stipulates for man a
system of life which is based on all good and is free from all evil. It
invokes the people, not only to practice virtue, but also to establish virtue
and eradicate vice, to bid good and to forbid wrong. It wants that the verdict
of conscience should prevail and virtue must not be subdued to play second
fiddle to evil. Those who respond to this call are gathered together into a
community and given the name "Muslim". And the singular object underlying the
formation of this community ("Ummah") is that it should make an organized
effort to establish and enforce goodness and suppress and eradicate evil.
Here we furnish some basic
moral teachings of Islam for various aspects of a Muslim's life. They cover
the broad spectrum of personal moral conduct of a Muslim as well as his social
responsibilities.
God-Conciousness
The Quran mentions it as the
highest quality of a Muslim:
Humility, modesty, control of
passions and desires, truthfulness, integrity, patience, steadfastness, and
fulfilling one's promises are moral values which are emphasized again and
again in the Quran. We read in the Quran:
"And God loves those
who are firm and steadfast." (3:146)
"And vie with one
another to attain to your Sustainer's forgiveness and to a Paradise as vast
as the heavens and the earth, which awaits the God-conscious, who spend for
charity in time of plenty and in time of hardship, and restrain their anger,
and pardon their fellow men, for God loves those who do good." (3:133-134)
"Establish regular
prayer, enjoin what is just, and forbid what is wrong; and bear patiently
whatever may befall you; for this is true constancy. And do not swell your
cheek (with pride) at men, nor walk in insolence on the earth, for God does
not love any man proud and boastful. And be moderate in your pace and lower
your voice; for the harshest of sounds, indeed, is the braying of the ass."
(31:18-19)
In a way which summarizes the
moral behavior of a Muslim, the Prophet (PBUH) said:
"My Sustainer has given
me nine commands: to remain conscious of God, whether in private or in
public; to speak justly, whether angry or pleased; to show moderation both
when poor and when rich, to reunite friendship with those who have broken
off with me; to give to him who refuses me; that my silence should be
occupied with thought; that my looking should be an admonition; and that I
should command what is right."
Social Responsibilities
The teachings of Islam
concerning social responsibilities are based on kindness and consideration of
others. Since a broad injunction to be kind is likely to be ignored in
specific situations, Islam lays emphasis on specific acts of kindness and
defines the responsibilities and rights of various relationships. In a
widening circle of relationship, then, our first obligation is to our
immediate family - parents, husband or wife and children, then to other
relatives, neighbors, friends and acquaintances, orphans and widows, the needy
of the community, our fellow Muslims, all our fellow human beings and animals.
Parents
Respect and care for parents
is very much stressed in the Islamic teaching and is a very important part of
a Muslim's expression of faith.
"Your Sustainer has
decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be kind to parents.
Whether one or both of them attain old age in your lifetime, do not say to
them a word of contempt nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor.
And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility and say: My
Sustainer! Bestow on them Your mercy, even as they cherished me in
childhood." (17:23-24)
Other Relatives
"And render to the
relatives their due rights, as (also) to those in need, and to the traveler;
and do not squander your wealth in the manner of a spendthrift." (17:26)
Neighbors
The Prophet (PBUH) has said:
"He is not a believer
who eats his fill when his neighbor beside him is hungry";
and: "He does not believe whose
neighbors are not safe from his injurious conduct."
Actually, according to the
Quran and Sunnah, a Muslim has to discharge his moral responsibility not only
to his parents, relatives and neighbors but to the entire mankind, animals and
trees and plants. For example, hunting of birds and animals for the sake of
game is not permitted. Similarly, cutting trees and plants which yield fruit
is forbidden unless there is a very pressing need for it.
Thus, on the basic moral
characteristics, Islam builds a higher system of morality by virtue of which
mankind can realize its greatest potential. Islam purifies the soul from
self-seeking egotism, tyranny, wantonness and indiscipline. It creates
God-conscious men, devoted to their ideals, possessed of piety, abstinence and
discipline and uncompromising with falsehood, It induces feelings of moral
responsibility and fosters the capacity for self control. Islam generates
kindness, generosity, mercy, sympathy, peace, disinterested goodwill,
scrupulous fairness and truthfulness towards all creation in all situations.
It nourishes noble qualities from which only good may be expected.
