Moral System of Islam
English Essay on "Moral System of Islam"
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 society is morally good in Islam and whatever is injurious to them is morally bad. Islam attaches so much importance to the love of Allah and love of man that it warns against too much of formalism. We read ir the Holy Qur’aan
“It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards East or West; but it is righteousness to believe in Allah 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 practise regular charity; 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.” (2177)
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 Allah and the love of his fellow men. We are given four heads Our faith should be true and sincere; We must be prepared to show it in deeds of charity to our fellowmen; We must be g good citizens; supporting social organisations; and Our own individual soul must be firm and unshaken in all circumstance.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 heart0 the conviction that his dealings are with Allah 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 Allah; that he can flee from the clutches of anyone else but not from Allah.
Thus, by setting Allah’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 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 practise virtue but also to establish 4rirtue and eradicate virtue but 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 sing ular object underlying the formation of this community or 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. The Holy Quraan mentions it as the highest quality of a Muslim “The most honourable among you in the sight of Allah is the one who is most God-conscious.” (4913)
Humility, modesty, control of passions and desires, truthfulness, integrity, patience, steadfastness, and fulfilling one’s promises are the moral values, which are emphasized again and again in the Holy Qur’aan. We read in the Qur’aan “And God loves those who are firm and steadfast.” (3146)
“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 Allah loves those who do good.” (3133-134)
“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 earth, for Allah 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.” (3118-19)
In a way which suinmarises the moral behaviour of a Muslim, Prophet Muhammad (Sail Allaho alaihe wasallam) said “My Sustainer has given me nine commands to remain ConscioUs of God, whether In private or an 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.” 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. Respect and care for parents is very much stressed in the Islamic teachings and is a very important part of a Muslim’s expression of faith. Allah says “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 no 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.” (172324) Prophet Muhammad (Sail Ailaho alaihe wasallam) said “He does not believe whose neighbours are not safe from his injurious conduct” Actually, according to the Holy Qur’aan and Sunnah, a Muslim has to discharge his moral responsibility not only to his parents, relatives and neighbours but also to the entire mankind, animals and trees and plants.
“It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards East or West; but it is righteousness to believe in Allah 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 practise regular charity; 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.” (2177)
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 Allah and the love of his fellow men. We are given four heads Our faith should be true and sincere; We must be prepared to show it in deeds of charity to our fellowmen; We must be g good citizens; supporting social organisations; and Our own individual soul must be firm and unshaken in all circumstance.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 heart0 the conviction that his dealings are with Allah 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 Allah; that he can flee from the clutches of anyone else but not from Allah.
Thus, by setting Allah’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 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 practise virtue but also to establish 4rirtue and eradicate virtue but 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 sing ular object underlying the formation of this community or 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. The Holy Quraan mentions it as the highest quality of a Muslim “The most honourable among you in the sight of Allah is the one who is most God-conscious.” (4913)
Humility, modesty, control of passions and desires, truthfulness, integrity, patience, steadfastness, and fulfilling one’s promises are the moral values, which are emphasized again and again in the Holy Qur’aan. We read in the Qur’aan “And God loves those who are firm and steadfast.” (3146)
“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 Allah loves those who do good.” (3133-134)
“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 earth, for Allah 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.” (3118-19)
In a way which suinmarises the moral behaviour of a Muslim, Prophet Muhammad (Sail Allaho alaihe wasallam) said “My Sustainer has given me nine commands to remain ConscioUs of God, whether In private or an 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.” 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. Respect and care for parents is very much stressed in the Islamic teachings and is a very important part of a Muslim’s expression of faith. Allah says “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 no 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.” (172324) Prophet Muhammad (Sail Ailaho alaihe wasallam) said “He does not believe whose neighbours are not safe from his injurious conduct” Actually, according to the Holy Qur’aan and Sunnah, a Muslim has to discharge his moral responsibility not only to his parents, relatives and neighbours but also to the entire mankind, animals and trees and plants.
No comments:
Post a Comment