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Introduction
2nd Edition
Though man,
by divine inspiration or natural instinct finds out the roots of good and bad
and through natural guidance, differentiates between the desirable and the undesirable,
it does not mean that people can understand all the problems facing them in
the field of morality by themselves without a teacher. That they can easily
distinguish virtues from vices and answer all the questions in this regard.
This is so because the knowledge of morals is so difficult and complex that
despite deep studies by great philosophers throughout the centuries, some parts
of the problem have remained unsolved even today and they have not become as
clear as they should be and scholars are not able to give a definite reply to
some questions pertaining to morals. Therefore, we should try to grasp their
realities and subtleties from the Holy Quran and words of the infallibles
We must understand
that in the school of thought of the Holy Prophets (s.a.w.s.), man is a being
having two dimensions, that is to say, human nature has both a positive and
a negative dimension. Man can travel upward as well as downward. In his temperament,
he has inclination both toward good and bad. Man possesses both an intelligence
and heart. Intelligence guides him to the good and the graceful and he also
has a lustful heart, which drives him toward the bad and the lowly.
Human heart
possesses both a constructive power and a destructive one. The Holy Quran points
to both of them in various verses and says. Nay! I swear by the Day of Resurrection.
Nay! I swear by the self-accusing soul. Regarding the second it says: Most surely
man's self is wont to command him to do evil, except such as my Lord has had
mercy on,
Man, naturally
has an inclination toward God due to the positive dimension. The Quran says
in the same background. In the right state - the nature made by Allah in which
He has made men.
He has power
to travel toward good and become a lofty being. He has the capacity to lift
himself up to the state of Nafse Mutmainnah (Restful soul) How beautiful is
the Word of Allah: O soul that art at rest! Return to your Lord, well pleased
with Him, well pleasing Him. So enter among My servants. And enter into My garden.
In the negative
dimension, too, the human nature has been recognised as stingy, greedy, quarrelsome,
hasty and thankless. Hence we find these subjects in the Holy Quran:
And man
is niggardly.
Surely man is created of a hasty temperament.
And man is most of all given to contention.
And man is ever hasty.
Most surely man is ungrateful to his Lord.
The negative
dimension of man's self is such that he can drag himself down unto the lowest
of the low. The Holy Quran says: Then we render him the lowest of the low except
those who believe and do good.
These verses
tell us clearly that man can become lower than all the lowly creatures. Thus
from the viewpoint of Quran and Divine schools of thought, there is, in the
nature of man, a fathomless expanse of difference. On the one hand it develops
so much that it reaches the Aalaa illiyyeen The Highest places in the Hereafter
as, the Holy Quran says about the noble Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.):
Then he
drew near, then he bowed, so he was at the measure of two bows or closer still.
On the other
side, it is possible that he drops down so low that he reaches the Asfalus Saafileen
(lowest of the low.)
Now that we
have read some of the Quranic verses describing graceful morals and their importance
as well as the ayats which mention how much low a man becomes by immorality,
we should know that, for training and guidance of man, it is necessary for us
to take maximum benefit from the teachers of morality who themselves have been
the epitomes of moral virtues and who had kept themselves far away from vices
so that, we too, slowly, become graceful. If we do not do so and if we leave
ourselves free, then surely we may reach the place mentioned by the Holy Quran
regarding such licentious people, They are as cattle, nay, they are in worse
errors.
So, from this
aspect, we must know that the importance of morality is so great that the perfection
of human destiny lies in the gracefulness of his morals.
Gulam Reza
Sultani
Introduction
1st Edition
Before we discuss
morality, we must understand that from the viewpoint of Islam, man has a very
high status. The Lord Almighty says about his creation, So blessed be Allah,
the best of the creator.
Also regarding
the creation of Adam, He tells the angels, I am going to place in the earth
a Khalif Surely I know what you do not know He also says, And surely
We have honoured the children of Adam, and We carry them in the land and the
sea, and We have given them of the good things, and We have made them to excel
by an appropriate excellence over most of those whom We have created.
It is obvious
that man by his painstaking efforts reaches such a status that his eyes, ear
and heart become divine; and then whatever he desires, happens.
In some narrations
we read: A man who performs deeds honestly for forty days, the Lord Almighty
fills up his heart with wisdom. So also: Knowledge is the light with which God
fills the heart of whomever He wills.
Now, in order
to be able to gain the status of humanity and to seek this high station, it
is necessary to, first, understand our selves and then only we would know our
Lord, because, One who knows himself, known his Lord.
We should know
that reaching this stage is not possible except under the shade of submission
to the Divine laws and by removing all despicable vices from ourselves and by
adorning ourselves with precious virtues like knowledge, truthfulness, Piety
, moral heroism, humility, sincerity and Takhliyah and Tahliyah (consuming and
expelling).
In this book,
we describe some qualities which either raise man to perfection or drag him
down to abyss, from the viewpoint of the Holy Quran and the Hadith so that,
with the blessings of the Holy Quran and the words of the Holy Prophet and his
pure progeny, both the author and the readers may be blessed with light. Then,
after contemplation, examination and analysis we shall come to a conclusion
that man reaches perfection only in the shade of morals and ethics and understands
the aim of creation.
I hope that
this book having 32 lessons of ethics shall prove effective for cleansing and
purifying and will help us and the readers in our journey toward the Lord and
human perfection.
Ghulam Reza
Sultani
