Islam for Non-Muslims
- RELIGIOUS FAITHS VS IRRELIGIOUS IDEAS
- ISLAM AS A RELIGION
- ISLAM AS A WAY OF LIFE
Moral Discipline in Islam
35: MORAL DISCIPLINE IN ISLAM
Introduction: The code of right conduct known as morality is central to every religion. However, not all the religions are at the same level in dealing with morality. Islam, for example, appears to be a strong champion of morality among the religions. A student of comparative religion may navigate through the pages of the Quran and can easily discover how widely and deeply this holy Book covers the moral contents compared to other scriptures. This reality did not escape the neutral assessment of the Encyclopedia Britannica, “Islam laid a firm moral basis for a total purposeful community”. In fact, Islamic guidelines to morality have potentials to shape human behavior and character in excellent mold.
Morality Not Exempted by Faith: The Islamic principles of morality are based on a solid foundation and not degraded by any negative factors. For example, it does not give any loose rein to immoral practices by promising a short-cut to Afterlife salvation as a reward for only investing faith in Islam, its Prophet or Quran. With faith in Islam comes your obligation of being faithful to God by practicing His revealed moral codes and therefore faith cannot be a substitute for good deeds. It further holds that the dignity of mankind will be meaningful only if you are guided by moral compass throughout life. This morality not only happens to be a cause of your own spiritual development but the society as a whole can also reap tangible benefits from your morality.
Unique Islamic Examples: Historically, there have been many examples of moral practices mainly to the credit of prophets and religious people. Moral values are also not without any practitioners or supporters in the present day human society. However, the morality upheld by the Prophet of Islam and upon his inspiration by his followers met such high standard that left a powerful influence upon the Muslim community.
Now we make citations of some brilliant examples of morality that go back to early Islam. The Prophet extended his pardon even to those who tortured him to profuse bleeding at Taif. His close associate Caliph Umar, during his magnificent rule, shared time on camel back with his servant while he was pulling the rein during journey through heated sands of the desert. In the battlefield of Yarmouk (636 AD) during Umar’s rule, three wounded warriors, even in their dying condition, one by one sacrificed the very little available water offered by a nurse in favor of others. The end result was that all three of them succumbed to glorious deaths while at least one or two lives could probably be saved with that available water. During the Crusades of 1192, Muslim general Saladin created a legendary example of humanity by helping his arch enemy Crusader leader Richard by delivering much needed supplies and medical help even if he knew tens of thousands of Muslims were massacred through abrupt invasion of Jerusalem by the Crusaders.
High Standard: In this way, examples may be multiplied to show how Islam under its Prophet hit a high moral ground and opened a golden chapter in human history. If we consider the first half (500-1000 AD) of the Middle Ages a ‘Dark Age’ for Europe due to relative shortage of virtues and education, then the early part of Islamic history (7th to 13th centuries) was like a shining star. It will be hardly an overstatement to comment that the Islamic approach to morality is not only a superb model for the Muslims in particular but also for the humanity in general. Now we provide some Quranic examples in this regard.
Classified Quranic Quotes on Morality:
(1) Righteousness & Similar Virtues: Islam promotes (A) positive virtues like justice, truthfulness, oath-keeping, honesty, simplicity, gratitude etc. and discourages (B) negative vices like greed, cheating, treachery etc. Now follow some details based on the Quranic quotes occasionally with annotations.
(A) Positives: (i) Good Deeds: You are urged to “do good (to people) as God has been good to you. God loves those who do good. Help one another in righteousness and piety.” (28:77; 2:195; 5:2).
(ii) Truthfulness: It is important to “speak true words. Do not cover the truth with falsehood nor conceal the truth when you know of it. God rewards the truthful persons”. (33:70; 2:42; 33:24).
(iii) Justice: You are commanded to “do justice. When you judge between man and man, do with justice. Whenever you speak, speak justly even if a near relative is involved. Stand out firmly for justice, as witness to God, even as against yourselves or your parents or your kin and even if it be (against) rich or poor. Let not the hatred of others make you swing to wrong and depart from justice” (7:29; 4:58; 6:152: 4:135; 5:8). So, dispensing fair justice for God’s sake without any bias for your own self or your nearest relatives and against your hated enemies is a crucial test for the Muslim judges.
(iv) Witness: You need to “stand out firmly for God, as witnesses to fair dealing” (5:8). You cannot “hide any evidence” that is crucial for justice and if you hide, your heart will be “tainted with sin” (2:283).
(v) Oath & Promise: God wants you to fulfill your “obligations”, “contracts” and “oaths” you made (5:1; 2:177; 5:89). If you “break oath” or promise that you make by citing God’s name, that will be dangerously “harmful to (your) soul” (48:10). God rebukes “making oath a screen (for covering up their misdeeds)” or “taking oaths to practice deception” (63:2; 16:92). These mean you must keep your words/promises that you made and honor any contracts or oaths that you agreed upon.
(vi) Trusteeship: “If any of you deposit a thing on trust with another, let the trustee faithfully discharge his trust (as they should). Respect their trusts and covenants. You cannot knowingly misappropriate things entrusted to you” (2:283; 70:32; 8:27).
(vii) Gratefulness: God becomes “pleased with you, if you are grateful” (39:7) to Him as well as any human benefactor. God does “not like anyone who is a traitor to faith or shows ingratitude” (22:38).
(viii) Simplicity: Islam encourages you to be simple-hearted but does not like you to be cheated due to over-simplicity. God advises, if a “wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth” to avoid your own harm (49:6).
In this way, Islam seeks promotion of positive virtues. In the same token, it also encourages disengagement from falsehood or other negative attributes.
(B) Abstention from Negatives/Vices:
(i) Lying & Indecent Talks: You are advised not to “utter slander” (and) “avoid vain talks” (60:12; 23:3). God dislikes that “evil is noised publicly except when injustice is done (to you) (4:148). You cannot talk nonsense like addressing your wife as mother which will render your wife “divorced by Zihar” (33:4). God enjoins “Avoid false words. Woe to each sinful dealer in falsehood” (22:30; 45:7). Do not “swear to falsehood knowingly” (58:14). If you do a sin and throw that on to an innocent person, then you carry double sins: one for “lying and (the other for your) own sinning” (4:112). “Treating (the Truth) as Falsehood” is also extremely blameworthy (52:11). The Prophet commented: “Lying is the mother of all sins”. This means if you are used to lying, you can use that to cover up other sins (like stealing) for protection from consequences.
(ii) Stealing: God commands that you “will not steal” (60:12).
(iii) Treachery: God “does not like a traitor to faith or an ungrateful person” (22:38).
(iv) Greed: “Those who have their souls clean of greed will achieve prosperity” (59:9).
(v) Envy: God cautions you from “coveting things” of others who got more from Him than you (4:32).
(vi) Misery: “Those who are miserly are so at the expense of their own souls” (47:38). God condemns those “who are miserly or encourages others to be miser” or who “hide the bounties from God” (4:37).
(vii) Flattery: God does not like those who “love to be praised for what they have not done” (3:188). The Prophet not only condemned false praises but also true praises in the presence as that might misguide you or fuel your worthless pride.
The Islamic position in this regard is that (i) in the presence, you try to maintain good relation with people through smiles, help, courtesy, truthfulness but without flattery and (ii) in their absence, make true praises and defend their interest.
(2) Kindness and Allied Virtues: Islam advises people to be tender-hearted, kind, liberal, patient and forgiving and give up harshness and cruelty.
(i) Kindness and Generosity: God preserves His “love for those who are kind (and) behave with care and courtesy” (5:13; 18:19). He reminds you not to “forget liberality among yourselves (and) repel evil with good” (2:237; 13:22).
(ii) Friendly Words: God wants His servants “say things that are the best” and speak to the people “words of kindness and justice”, “speak fair” and “words of appropriate (comfort)” (17:53; 4:8; 2:83; 4:9).
(iii) Sacrifice and Dedication: You should not give to others anything of such lower quality (ex: stale food, tattered clothes) that you would not like for yourself. In the words of God: “You cannot be pious unless you give (freely) your beloved things” (3:92). Then God urges you “to give of good things that you have (honorably) earned”, avoid such “(hateful) bad things that you yourself would not like to receive unless you close your eyes to it” (2:267). He was appreciative of people who “give priority (to others) over themselves” even if poverty was their (own lot)” (59:9).
(iv) Patience and Forgiveness: God intends to be “on the side of the patient” (2:153). He admires those who “refrain from anger” and “forgive even being in a state of anger” (3:134; 42:37). You are advised to melt down your anger by seeking refuge from Satan. He recommends “Let them forgive and overlook (any human faults) with gracious forgiveness” (24:22; 15:85); otherwise how can you “wish to be forgiven by God?” (24:22). He labels your forgiveness as an “act of courageous will” (42:43).
It is advisable in Islam that you keep cool in the event of any problem or provocation. Anger and aggressive verbal power are condemnable when they are uncontrollable and harmful to others but appreciable when they are put to good uses like fighting injustice, or for self-defense etc.
(v) Proportionate Response Only (If Needed): Even if you are personally harmed by others, you are expected to bear it as much as you can and forgive the offender. If, however, you lose ground for patience and gain for anger, you may at most revenge up to “equal extent” of being harmed but “not more” (42:40; 22:60). This provision of proportionate retaliation is an Islamic pragmatism, needed badly for your survival and it acts as a deterrent to oppression and injustice. In the name of this concession, however, there is no scope of running into excesses “out of malice or injustice” (4:30). Even in defensive fighting, “You cannot cross the limits” (2:190).
(3) Modesty and Allied Virtues:
(i) Avoid Pride & Arrogance: Historically, modesty was the virtue of Adam and arrogance was the vice of Iblis. Islam finds fault with pride leading up to arrogance as that not only tend to underestimate and harm the target group but the latter also feel inferior and discouraged. In fact, the qualification for being proud exclusively belongs to God Who creates, owns and controls everything. That is why, He expresses distaste for the “arrogant boaster and vain-glorious” and promises to “blot out vanity” to make the proverb ‘Pride has its fall’ a reality (4:36; 42:24). You should therefore avoid “vain talks” (23:3), full of boasting and self praises involving I-words like “I am the best”. God warns “Do not swell your cheek (with pride) at people nor walk on the earth with insolence, for you can neither rend the earth nor reach the mountains in height” (31:18; 17:37). Expression of pride through talking, wearing or any other activities are far from being permissible.
(ii) Modesty & Humility: On the contrary, Islam shows favor for modesty and humility. “Give good news to those who humble themselves. The servants of God are those who walk on the earth with humility and say ‘peace’ while facing the ignorant. Be moderate in your pace and lower your voice, for harshest of sounds undoubtedly is the braying of the ass” (22:34; 25:63; 31:19). In fact, modesty does not mean weakness or cowardice, but it is an intermediate virtue between arrogance and weakness. It is also allied with courteous behavior. For example, God warned the followers of the Prophet “not to speak aloud to him as you speak aloud to one another” or “raise voices over the voice of the Prophet” while talking to him with the risk of “invalidation of your good deeds” (49:2).
(iii) Code of Conduct as a Guest: God uses the example of the Prophet as a lesson on your ideal behavior as a guest if you are invited to other’s house. God advised the guests of the Prophet not to “shout out” when calling him from outside his home and urged their “patience until (he normally) comes out to them” (49:4/5). He forbade the invitees from “entering the Prophet’s house unless permission is given to you for a meal” (33:53). You enter therein “when you are invited and when you are finished taking your meal, disperse without engaging in lengthy familiar gossip, to the annoyance of the Prophet. He is shy to dismiss you but God is not so (to tell) the truth. When you ask (his ladies) for anything you need, (you do not invade their privacy by entering their inner chamber reserved for the ladies); (instead) ask them from behind a screen which conduces to purity of hearts for both of you” (33:53). Thus the above lesson should serve as a valuable guide to the Muslims either as a guest or otherwise.
(4) Decency and Chastity: In the eye of God, the sense of decency and bashfulness are two noble virtues, not only for the women but also for the men. The Prophet declared bashfulness as “part of faith”. This is understood in the sense of shying away from only indecent actions and not from pious deeds. Alert to their harmful consequences, Islam advices people not to “come near to shameful deeds” (6:151). These ‘shameful’ activities means 3 types of actions. First is having sex with any partner other than spouse (through adultery, fornication or homosexuality). Second is improper method of intercourse such as rectal penetration, oral ejaculation or animal intercourse (bestiality) etc. Third is any activity that either instigates to adultery or gives you some sort of sexual pleasure such as through kissing, hugging, groping, seeing or showing naked or semi-naked body etc.
(5) Ethics in Earning & Spending: In Islam, honest earning amounts to a virtuous deed. You are therefore required to apply moral standards while making money and abandon foul means of income including robbery, theft, hijacking, extortion, bribery, fraud, gambling etc. In business transactions, you are mandated to “give measure and weight with (full) justice, weighing with true and upright scales” and anyway you cannot “cause any loss” to others by fraud (6:152; 26:182; 26:181). Islam prohibits bribery in all forms of giving or taking money or other items of value for influencing a public official to deviate from what otherwise could be a lawful decision. An example of bribery is giving bribe as “bait for the judges” (2:188) so the verdict goes in favor of the giver of bribe.
When it comes to spending for charity, Islam gives full support for being utterly generous but without going to the extreme of being bankrupt when a giver becomes a taker. Choosing a middle course between extravagance and misery, the Quran affirms: “Do not make your hand tied to your neck, nor stretch it forth to utmost reach so that you become blameworthy and destitute. When they spend, they are neither extravagant nor niggardly but hold a just (balance) between those (extremes)” (17:29; 25:67).
Wasting: In matters of spending for personal needs, Islam takes a position between misery and wasting: “Eat and drink, but do not waste by excess, as God does not love the wasters” (7:31). The prohibition of wasting is however not absolute. For example, you should not consume stale food, salty food and greasy food respectively as precaution from your diarrhea, hypertension and heart disease. Or you do not have to lick your residual food to the bottom of your plate. Likewise, you cannot remain discontent from showering on a summer Friday by using only 3 mugs of water. You need to balance between wastefulness and necessity by using your common sense. The Prophet urged you to avoid wasting of water even at the bank of a flowing river. Here flowing river is like a metaphor of a billionaire who, despite having abundance, cannot throw away usable resources that could otherwise be donated to the needy people.
(6) Ethics in Borrowing & Lending: Islam injects morality into what may be called a well-balanced creditor-debtor relationship. For example, you are not recommended to be a borrower as long as you are solvent. If poverty forces you to make loan, you should keep the amount at a minimum and bear intention at heart to pay that back as soon as you can. Clearance from loan obligation is rated so high that Islamic law prioritizes loan repayment (from the assets of the deceased) over distribution of will and inheritance.
On the other hand, if you are a well-off person, you should not turn down a loan request if made by a person who is really needy but trustworthy and ask for a reasonable amount. In that case, you will extend what is known as a “beautiful loan” worthy of “double to your (credit)” (64:17) for being interest free and not being tied to any predatory conditions or rigid repayment schedule. You cannot hurt the feelings of the borrower through “reminders of generosity” or disclosure to a third party (2:262). You should also have a mindset to forgive the loan in case the borrower’s financial ruin disables all his good intentions. If a debtor is in hardship, “grant him time until it becomes easy for him to repay loan but the best is to remit it by way of charity” (2:280).
Conclusion: In this way, Islam gives a framework of high end morality that should enter in every aspect of your life, without any parallel across both religious and secular worlds.