Author: Rahmatullah Rahmani
Ethics (1st Part)
Abstract
Spirituality in Islamic society is based on religion and religious teachings, so that the teachings of Islam shape spirituality. Spirituality is always moralistic, but moralism is not directed to spirituality. If spirituality is institutionalized in the society, ethics will penetrate among different social layers. It is clear that the word spirituality and its derivatives aren’t used in the Quran. At the same time, due to the strong presence of spiritual teachings in the Qur’an, it can be claimed that the Qur’an is a spiritual book; Therefore, instead of asking about the definition of the word spirituality from the perspective of the Qur’an, it is better to ask what are the components of spirituality in the Qur’an? What are the characteristics of Quranic spirituality? Can spirituality cover human life completely?
On the other hand, spirituality has various meanings that shouldn’t be confused with each other. Many diverse spiritual trends have emerged in the contemporary world and entered the cultural space. This is despite the fact that our mystical heritage is so rich and the spiritual capital of Islam is so rich that it has the ability to create a great social revolution. However, there are damages and shortcomings in our way of working that prevent this excellent and rich content from appearing.
Therefore, one of the main concerns of efficient managers at different levels is how to create suitable platforms for human factors working in all professions so that they deal with the issues of society and their profession with a sense of responsibility and full commitment and observe the ethical principles governing their jobs and professions. Good people have professional ethics such as a sense of responsibility, superiority and competitiveness, honesty, respect and honoring others, respect for social values and norms, justice and fairness, sympathy with others and loyalty.
preamble
The world we live in today has a lack of morals for various reasons; ذecause we Muslims have ignored what is stated in the Qur’an and Hadith; For this reason, good morals have been removed from our lives, while one of the important goals of the Prophet’s mission was to perfect imperfect morality. Professional ethics is one of the basic issues of all human societies, unfortunately, less attention is paid to professional ethics in our society.
We would like our lives to be full of intimacy, warmth and purity, the privacy of people and the sanctity of everyone should be preserved, and our associations should be based on “Quranic culture”. This means the stability and strength of people’s relations, in the shade of observing the points that are derived from the “mutual rights” of the members of the society.
Unlike the western culture, the spirit and content of our religious culture is based on communication, intimacy, cooperation, sympathy and affection. The effects of this growing culture can also be seen in the moral guidelines of Islam.
A Muslim should live within the framework of the principles and traditions of his religious culture in such a way that he can boldly and proudly put the signature of religion on all his behavior, and his life has the label of Islam, and he casts the shadow of the Islamic model on his life at home and in society.
Etiquettes, visits and family and friendly visits, the way of speaking and behaving with different classes, friendship and its limits, respecting the rights of others and politeness and respect are among the obvious manifestations of social ethics. Such social relations are carried out with different titles in different conditions. Sometimes it is in the form of “Pray and have mercy” in relation to relatives and relatives, sometimes it is called “visit” in the case of patients, sometimes it is called “visit” in relation to religious brothers and sisters, and sometimes it is with neighbors. Sometimes it is with the poor, sometimes it is based on feeding, and sometimes it is in the form of traveling far and near and taking gifts and bringing souvenirs of “travel”. Sometimes it is to participate in weddings or participate in mourning ceremonies.
The Holy Quran is the only program that guarantees prosperity and happiness for every person. In this statute, which was established by the creator and ruler of man, his small and large needs to reach the perfection of prosperity and happiness have been raised.
The religion of Islam is a collection of beliefs, teachings and practical instructions that were revealed to the heart of the Prophet, peace be upon him, by the All-Wise Creator. This moral system, in the form of a set of teachings, has outlined the way and customs of living in a decent and proper way and has explained the values of dos and don’ts governing human behavior. As a result, we will understand the close relationship between religion and ethics and we will consider ethics as an inseparable part of religion. Therefore, talking about the moral system attributed to Islam is a justified thing and talking about the general structure governing this system is something worthy of reflection and thought.
Certainly, the fundamental origin of moral commands in Islam is neither hedonism nor profit seeking, neither wisdom nor conscience, nor custom nor society nor modernity, nor other things that have been proposed by moral schools, but rather the source of commands and standards of action and moral order. – In the basis of the work – it is the divine revelation.
On this basis, good is what Allah has commanded to do, and evil is what Allah has forbidden. In other words, Islamic Sharia is a Sharia that is compatible with a healthy nature and agrees with a growing and developed thought. It is not surprising that the Qur’an describes the pious and those who have good morals with the adjective «أُولِيْ الأَلْبَاب» “Men of understanding”. He also mentions the same point at the end of some commands and commands, including in this saying: «ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُم بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ»؛ “These are the things that Allah strongly advises you to understand and act wisely.
For this reason, we see that ethics in Islam does not rely only on the decisive command and the task of worship, but also on addressing the thoughts and stirring the consciences, regarding an understandable and proven moral system, with certain worldly and hereafter consequences, including about Luqman’s orders to his son. As Allah Almighty says: «يَا بُنَيَّ أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَانْهَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا أَصَابَكَ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ﴿۱۷﴾ وَلَا تُصَعِّرْ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَمْشِ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ ﴿۱۸﴾ وَاقْصِدْ فِي مَشْيِكَ وَاغْضُضْ مِنْ صَوْتِكَ إِنَّ أَنْكَرَ الْأَصْوَاتِ لَصَوْتُ الْحَمِيرِ ﴿۱۹﴾؛”O my son, establish the prayer and force him to do good deeds and prevent him from doing bad deeds and be patient with the injury that has been inflicted on you. This [indicates] your determination [and will in] affairs. (17) And turn away from the people [to arrogance] and walk on the earth with pride and arrogance, for Allah doesn’t like the self-righteous braggart. (18) And be moderate in your walk and make your voice slow, because the worst songs are the calls of donkeys. (19).
Therefore, the moral system of Islam does not only include sermons and a few orders and rulings; Rather, moral rules are separate from the moral system. This system starts with knowledge and is tied to love. The greatness of this moral system is that it does not only give orders, but also creates change. so, it is necessary to discuss and explore the correct basis on which human morality can be firmly and firmly built. The truth is that this is not only a scientific discussion and research, but a real necessity of daily life. Especially in this turbulent age where the necessity and importance of moral issues have been increased, the discussion of such a moral basis will definitely be considered one of the most important and necessary issues of life.