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 Day Of Judgement 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 poor due; to
fulfil 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.
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 give
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 impell man to obey the moral law even without any external
pressure. Through belief in God and the Day of Resurrection 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 battle - field 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-Consciousness:
The Quran mentions it as the highest quality of a Muslim:
"The most honorable 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, stead- fastness, 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 poor-due 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 parent,s 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 are very much stressed in the Islamic
teaching and are 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". (l7: 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 neighbor beside him is
hungry; and: He does not believe whose neighborsare 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
good will, scrupulous fairness and truthfulness towards all creation in
all situations. It nourishes noble qualities from which only good may be
expected.
Source: www.islamic-council.org
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