Morality, like worship, forms an important branch of religion. In a way,
it is more important than the other branches because it is here that man
has within his grasp the opportunity of functioning as God's deputy and
vicegerent. Good morals are Devine attributes and it is demanded of us
to produce them in ourselves as far as our humanity allows. A Tradition
of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) says, "Let the virtues of God
be your virtues."
To appreciate fully the distinctive merit of good morals it is of advantage
first to know as a basic principle that human deeds that are capable of
caning God's pleasure and on which there is a reward from him are divided
into four groups.
The first group include acts a man performs to express and affirm while
paying his tribute to the Glory and Worship fullness of God, his own utter
helplessness before and complete submission to him. The acts of worship
fall within this category.
The second includes acts a man is compelled to perform by the very nature
of his being and the material wants of his earthly existence, but if they
are performed according to the wishes and dictates of the Lord, they become
worthy of his approbation and reward. For instance, a man engages himself
in an occupation for the purpose of earning his daily sustenance or he
gets married because their is a natural urge to be fulfilled, but God
has laid down certain rules in respect of these activities;now, if he
pays due regard to the Divine ordinances while pursuing his profession
or in the conduct of his married life, everything that he does in these
spheres becomes an act of religion and entitles him to a reward from God.
This aspect is characteristic of acts we sun up under the two headings
of Muamalat (monetary affairs) and Muasharat (social conduct).
The third includes functions like the propagation of faith, religious
preaching and instruction, the rendering of assistance to the sacred cause,
the acceptance of trial and suffering in its path, the making of sacrifices
for its victory and the forbidding of evil and the ordering of good deeds,
which are in reality the province of the prophets, and when men other
then them make these duties their own they get elevated to the status
of the deputies and agent of the Divine Apostles. They then operate as
successors to the Holy mission of those closen servants of God. These
deeds are very pleasing to the Almighty and there can be no doubt about
the great reward that is on them. What is more, they engender in the doer
of them a resemblance with the Prophets (Peace be upon him) which cannot
be acquired in any other way.
The fourth includes deeds which are associated with the vice gerencey
of God. This is the grand distinguishing feature of the moral virtues.
For example, mercy is a virtue which is essentially a Divine attribute.
It is because of this attribute that he is glorified as the most benevolent,
the most compassionate, and his wish is that his servants should also
cultivate the noble quality and behave with mercy and compassion towards
his diserving creatures. Similarly, forgiveness and the hiding of the
faults and sins of others are Divine virtues and we men are required to
produce them in ourselves as well. The same is the case with the other
excellent moral qualities like modesty. temperateness, beneficence, charity,
generosity, justice and fair-mindedness, and the capacity to admire what
is good and to despise what is wicked. All these are Divine qualities
which we are called upon to furnish ourselves with.
In brief, in the field of morality alone, among all the fields of human
endeavor, does man operate as the vicegerent of God in its domain he does
what God himself doth do. This destination is shared by no other department
of man's existence. Hence, the intrinsic superiority of morals over the
rest of the aspects of human conduct.
We will now see what great importance has the Prophet (Peace be upon him)
attached to moral virtues. He says:
"The Lord has sent me down as his Apostle that I may evolve moral
virtues to highest perfection." ( Mishkat)
"Muslims who possess better morals are the most perfect in faith
." ( Mishkat)
"On the day of judgement the moral virtues of a Muslim will (prove
to be) the heaviest item in the scales of Deeds." (Ibid)
Yet, inspite of these clear pronouncements, a majority of even those among
us who may be said to be men of religion present a most disappointing
picture : they do show some awareness of the importance of worship, but
where the Divine commands governing social and moral behaviour and the
conduct of monetary affairs are concerned, they pay littile head to them.
Many of them, indeed, seem to labour under the impression that these commands
are meant for those who expire for exceptional spiritual advancement while
for salvation only the Namaz and Roza are enough, although moral rectitude
is as much necessary for deliverance in the Hereafter as worship.
In the Quran and the Traditions the same stress is laid on good morals
as on worship, and moral transgressors have been given the warning of
a chastisement as equally severs as that promised to the defaulters in
the matter of prayer, fasting etc., For instance, stinginess is a moral
fault. Now, see how strongly has it been condemned by the Quran :
"And let not those who covetously withhold of the gifts which God
hath given of his grace think that it is good for them : soon the things
which they covetously withheld be tied to their necks like a twisted collar,
on the Day of Judgement."
(Quran : Aal-i-Imran, 18)
In like manner, in Sura-i-Humaza, the Quran gives the tidings of hell
for moral diseases like excessive love of wealth, contemp-
tuous upbraiding, double-dealing, scandle-mongering and malicious back-biting.
"Woe to every (kind of ) scandal-monger and backbiter who pileth
up wealth and layeth it by thinking that his wealth could make him last
forever ! By no means ! He will be sure to be thrown into that which breaks
to pieces."
(Quran : Humaza, 1)
So, also, does the Prophet (Peace be upon him) of a number of moral vices
he has emphatically stated that they are sure to plunge one into the all
consuming fire of the hell. Take vanity. About it he says :
" He who harbors vanity in his heart even by an atom shall not enter
Heaven." (Muslim)
Or, read these Traditions of his :
" Anyone who engages in malicious fault-finding or pries into the
secrets of others and gives publicity to them shall not be admitted into
the Paradise." (Bukhari)
" On the last day the biggest loser will be the hypocrite, who, when
he goes to one party talks in one voice and, when to the other party.
Talks in an other voice. (Muslim)
" God will show no compassion to him who shows no compassion to his
fellow-beings." (Bukhari)
" A woman will find her way into the Hell simply for the reason of
her cruelty to a cat which she had lead in captivity and gave it not a
morsel of food till it died of starvation." (Muslim)
In contrast to the above two Traditions, those who are kind and merciful
have been given by the Prophet (Peace be upon him) the assurance of a
rich reward :
" God will have mercy upon them that are merciful. Show compassion
to those who dwell on the earth : He who dwells in the Heavens will show
compassion to you." (Abu Dawood)
In another Tradition we are informed that "Awoman was granted remission
of her sins because her heart melted at the sight of a dog who was dying
of thirst, and, she saved its life by drawing water from the well, at
great pains to herself, and giving it to drink."
Apart from the Traditions giving the warning of dradful chastisement in
the Hereafter to those who cherish wrong moral ideals and behave accordingly,
there are in which it is plainly stead about certain moral vices that
their presence in a man is enough to disqualify him from a being a Muslim.
Thus, it is related that once the Prophet (Peace be upon him) declared
with great feeling that "I swear by God in whose power lies my life
that no one can be a believer unless he attains the state of desiring
for his brother what he desires for himself."
On another occasion, it is reported that the Prophet (Peace be upon him)
spoke out the following words: "By God, he is not a Muslim, by God,
he is not a believer, by God, he is devoid of the wealth of faith."
"Who?" the Companions inquired. "The III-fated man",
the Prophet ( Peace be upon him) replied, "from whose mischief his
neighbors are not secure."
There also occurs a Tradition to the effect that, " That callous,
unfeeling person is not a Muslim who eats to hissatisfaction while his
neighbor, by his side, goes without a meal."
Now, in these Traditions the vices for which the chastisement of Hell
has been promised or which have been described as destructive of faith
or inimical to salvation all belong to the realm of morality. This will
show in what great value does Islam hold good ethical conduct........To
quote from Ibn-i-Taimiyah in Kitab-i-Imam : "The position of things
about which it is said in the Traditions that whoever is guilty of them
will not be admitted into the Heaven or that he is devoid of faith is,
at the minimum, that they are prohibited in the Shariat and it is the
duty (of a Muslim) to abstain from them."
Be that as it may, normal virtues are not the ultimate objectives one
may, strive after only if the aim should be to become a saint or a spiritual
luminary. They are essential condition of faith, it being as much indispensable
for the saving of the soul to develop good moral qualities and avoide
moral evils as are the offering up of prayer and the observance of fasts.
Particularly unneces-
sary is the acquirement of virtues on which special stress has been laid
in the Quran and the Traditions, like fortitude, the reposing of trust
in the will of God, truthfulness, honesty and integrity, the keeping of
promises, sincerity, genuine and whole-
hearted love of God and the Prophet (Peace be upon him) wishing well and
thinking nobly of others, and maintenance of secrecy over their faults
and misdeeds, compassion, forgiveness, suppression of anger, generosity,
justice and fair-mindedness, humility and meekness and love and hatred
not for self-satisfaction but for the sake of God. In the same way, it
is of utmost importance to purge oneself clean of the reverse qualities,
known, in common parlance, as vices.
The Quranic verses and the sayings of the Prophet (Peace be upon him)
relating to moral behaviour have been discussed at great length by the
author in his book entitled, Islam Kiya Hai and at still greater length
in the second volume of his Ma,arif-ul-Hadees. He will, therefore, content
himself with this brief chapter here and pass over to an examination of
Islamic teachings concerning monetary dealings and social conduct.
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