“An individual with high moral qualities produces an excellent society at large. There are a plethora of Quranic verses and Hadith which indicate the position of excellent character.”
Islam, being a comprehensive way of life, encompasses a complete character system and Glorious Quran, as a compendium Book, contains multifarious excellent characters that teach the believers how to conduct their life accordingly. The importance of these excellent characters in Islam is so high so much that every Muslim is exhorted to possess excellent moral quality. It is on this basis that Islam brought down a plethora of universal and fundamental principles for guidance of humanity in almost every circumstance. To achieve these fundamental rights, it presents an effectual moral system that will make it easy for its adherents to achieve the desired goal. Almighty Allah however, through the Quran encourages Muslims to develop heart capable of discovering His pathway that governs and sustains the functional system in human generations. Islam gives very much emphasis on the importance of excellent character and its significance for the development of an individual and society. An individual with high moral qualities produces an excellent society at large. There are a plethora of Quranic verses and Hadith which indicate the position of excellent character. In the Quran, Almighty Allah emphasizes that: Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong. They are the ones who attain success (Quran). Excellence implies the whole Islamic value system, its beliefs, ideas, ethical principles, and all aspects of life. It can be inferred from here that successful Muslims are those who struggle and exert considerable effort to practice everything which is good and to refrain from everything which is unlawful according to Shariah. Relatively, Almighty Allah extols the Muslim community in the following verse: You are the best community that has been raised up for mankind. You enjoin right conduct and forbid wrong (Quran). Understood from this sense is how Almighty Allah labeled Muslims as the best Ummah which enjoins what is good and forbids what is wrong. In fact, the personality of the best Ummah is not only having personal virtues but also calling and directing others to the right path of virtue. This has been, over the time, the practice of the Prophets and their successors. After achieving their own perfection, they helped others to achieve same. The Prophet (SAW) was reported to have elucidated: Nothing is heavier on the scale than having an excellent character (Tirmidhi). There is no gain saying the fact that Islam stresses much on aspects of having sublime manners. Moreover, ethics can be considered as the basic pillar for a healthy and firm nation. A society or nation, which is devoid of ethical values always invite problems that will hinder its progress.
“Showing the superiority of good character and positive relationships are even more important than voluntary acts of worship, such as extra prayers and fasting. Islamic moral values therefore are vividly vital because it is a basic pillar for a healthy society. It aims at establishing life’s order and giving it regulation, dignity and serenity as desired by the teachings of Islam.”
A considerable number of scholars as well as philosophers have come to term on the importance of ethics and sublime manners in every individual and society, and considered both as the foundation of every society. Most of the scholars maintained that the first step in promoting an ideal human society is to advocate refined morality. Indeed, each Prophet brought the same message to urge his people to uphold good morality. To be more precise, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) tells us that: I was sent to accomplish the exalted characters (Al-Bukhari) While in the Quran, Almighty Allah praises him of having excellent standard of characters (Quran). In theological terms, excellent character is central to the Islamic understanding of salvation in the Hereafter. All Muslims, indeed all human beings, will be evaluated on the Day of Judgment by placing their good and bad deeds on the scale. The character of the faithful is among the heaviest deeds on that Day. The Prophet (SAW) has in one of his traditions said: Nothing is heavier on the Scale of a believer on the Day of Resurrection than good character. (Al-Bukhari) Indeed, good character is one of the primary reasons that people are admitted into Paradise. A man once asked the Prophet (SAW): What admits most people into Paradise? The Prophet (SAW) replied Mindfulness of Allah (al-Taqwah) and good character. (Al-Bukhari). Showing the superiority of good character and positive relationships are even more important than voluntary acts of worship, such as extra prayers and fasting. Islamic moral values therefore are vividly vital because it is a basic pillar for a healthy society. It aims at establishing life’s order and giving it regulation, dignity and serenity as desired by the teachings of Islam.