The Sunday Mail
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 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 fellow humans that it warns against too much of formalism. In the Holy Qur’an, a righteous and God-fearing person is described in a most beautiful manner.
He/she should obey salutary regulations, but should fix the gaze on the love of God and the love of fellow humans.
The standard to classify good and bad
There are four chief elements highlighted here:
Our faith should be true and sincere,
We must be prepared to show it in deeds of charity to our fellow-men,
We must be good citizens, supporting social organisations and
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 judgement provides the nucleus around which the whole moral conduct should revolve.
God-consciousness
The Qur’an mentions this as the highest quality of a Believer :
“The most honourable among you in the sight of God is the one who is most God-conscious.” (Qur’an Ch 49: v 13)
Thus, 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 (The Creator and Supreme Sovereign of the entire universe); that he may deceive everyone but cannot deceive God; that he can flee from the clutches of anyone else but not from God’s.
Thus, by setting God’s pleasure as the objective of man’s life, Islam has furnished the highest possible standard of morality. 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 changes though not for wrong use, wild variation, or moral flexibility. 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 Judgement 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.
Important moral characteristics
Humility, modesty, control of passions and desires, truthfulness, integrity, patience, steadfastness, and fulfilling one’s promises are moral values which are emphasised over and over again in the Holy Qur’an.
Further, in a way that summarises the moral behaviour of a Believer, the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) said:“My Sustainer(God Almighty) 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 kinship with those who have broken it 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, neighbours friends and acquaintances, orphans and widows, the needy of the community, our fellow Believers, all our fellow human beings and animals.
Actually, according to the Holy Qur’aan and the Prophetic teaching, a Believer has to discharge his moral responsibility not only to his parents, relatives and neighbours but to the entire mankind, animals and useful trees and plants.
For example, hunting of birds and animals for the sake of mere sport 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 realise its greatest potential. Islam purifies the soul from selfishness, tyranny, unruliness and indiscipline.
It creates God-fearing 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. It nourishes noble qualities from which only good may be expected.
Wider scope of moral obligations
Islam 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 work place, 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 being 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 do good and forbid evil. It wants that verdict of conscience should prevail and virtue must not be subdued to play second fiddle to evil.
The basic moral teachings of Islam for various aspects of a Believer’s lifecover the broad spectrum of personal moral conduct as well as his social responsibilities.
For further information on Islam or a free copy of the Holy Qur’aan, please contact:
MajlisulUlama Zimbabwe, Council of Islamic Scholars
Publications Department
P.O. Box W93, Waterfalls, Harare
Tel: 04-614078 / 614004, Fax : 04-614003
e-mail: [email protected]
