|
We are given four guidelines:
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 organisations 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 judgement
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's.
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 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.
It does not, through a false sense of originality and
innovation, provide any novel moral virtues nor does it seek to
minimise 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 forbid wrong. It requires 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 organised 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-Consciousness
The Qur'an mentions it as the highest quality of a Muslim:
The most honourable among you in the sight of God is the one who
is most God-conscious. (49:13)
Humility, modesty, control of passions and desires,
truthfulness, integrity, patience, steadfastness, and fulfilling
one's promises are moral values which are emphasised again and
again in the Qur'an. We read in the Qur'an:
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 you pace and
lower you voice; for the harshest of sounds, indeed, is the
braying of the ass. (31:18-19)
In a way which summarises the moral behaviour 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 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 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
honour. 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 traveller; and do not squander your wealth
in the manner of a spendthrift. (17:26)
Neighbours
The Prophet (PBUH) has said:
"He is not a believer who eats his fill when his neighbour
beside him is hungry." and:
"He does not believe whose neighbours are not safe from his
injurious conduct."
Actually, according to the Qur'an and Sunnah a Muslim 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 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 realise its
greatest potential. Islam purifies the soul from self-seeking
egotism, tyranny, wantonness 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. 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.
|
