Nowadays the conundrum of moral degradation in our society is being discussed repeatedly by every section of the society at every forum. The question of this problem has not been the concern of the clerics only but all the social organizations, communities and even the politicos have been haranguing on this enterprise frequently. Our faith is in the system of Islam which denotes surrender and submission before the will of Allah. It provides a complete code of conduct for man in all spheres of life. It demands its followers to worship Allah alone, the Creator and the Sustainer of the Universe. It demands from its followers to be truthful in their daily lives; honest in their dealings; help and come to the rescue of the poor and the needy; to be kind to the parents and elders; be pious and uphold moral values and not to commit evil in life and observe patience and perseverance in hostile conditions and in all circumstances. The Holy Quran says , “ True piety does not consist in turning your face towards the east or the west, truly pious is he who believes in Allah, and the last day and the angels and in the revelation and in the messages of the prophets; and spends his substance, however much, he himself may cherish it upon his near of kin, and the orphans and the freeing of human beings from bondage, and is constant in prayer and renders the purifying dues, and they who keep their promises, whenever promise, and are patient in misfortune and hardship, and in time of peril, it is they that have proved themselves true, and it is they, who are conscious of Allah”. Islam strengthens the family as the basic unit of a human society. It condemns illicit relationship between man and woman and approves and declares marriage as a sacred relationship. It also encourages positive attitude and condemns pessimism in the life of a Muslim, as it kills hope and strength. It emphasizes importance of goodness and purification in the life of a Muslim. It stresses on inward purity, which is the real aim of a follower of Islam. It discourages and forbids the intermingling of sexes and all kinds of obscenity and vulgarity. The Quran says, “(O Prophet) tell the believing men to lower their gaze and to be mindful of their chastity, this will be the most conducive to their purity and, Verily, Allah is aware of all that they do”. The Quran again says, “And ( O Prophet) tell the believing women to lower their gaze and to be mindful of their chastity and not to display their charms ( in public) beyond what may (decently ) be apparent thereof; hence let them draw their head-coverings over their bosoms”.
“The moral ideal is to make every person an embodiment of moral values and virtues. The intellectual ideal is to promote search for knowledge. The cultural ideal is to bring about a unity between the material and spiritual aspects of life. The political ideal is to establish a welfare state. The international ideal is to establish a universal state based on the brotherhood of mankind. In case, we as Muslims would follow the commandments of the Holy Quran and the teachings of our Prophet (SAW), the aghasting and horrifying incidents occurring daily in our lives and society would not ensue.”
Islam presents for mankind a complete and comprehensive system of life from the cradle to the grave. It provides guidance in social, economic, political, moral and spiritual fields of life. The best way of living in this world is the way which is based on the guidance provided by Allah Himself and by the Prophet (S A W). In order to lead humanity to the way of Allah, the injunctions of the Holy Quran were translated into practice by Prophet Mohammad (SAW), thus providing a living model for all mankind. When the Prophet’s wife Hazrat A’isha (RA) was once asked to describe the mode of life and conduct of Prophet (SAW), she replied: “His morals are the Quran”. In other words, his (SAW) life is a true picture of the Quranic teachings. We have blinded ourselves to see difference between Halal (legal earning) and Haram (illegal earning) and we have mingled both of these together. In our daily life we make every kind of corruption and resort to illegal means of earning. The malaise of corruption is every where, in court, market, school, college, university, , politics, society, office, medicine and it is rampant in our outside life as well as in our private. This fouling tendency has led us to witness such incidents which symbolize moral degradation in our society. We are suffering from lack of moral values because we do not study our Holy Quran and do not follow our beloved Prophet (SAW) practically. We do not prefer education of our children on religious basis and not to speak of full time religious education, we do not permit them to study our religion for an hour a day and think that by doing so; time for worldly studies will suffer. The religion of Islam brought by our beloved Prophet (SAW) is a way of life and it is not concerned with mere religious rituals but means to regulate human behavior and conduct in all fields of life and spheres of activity. It has set ideals and principles and the objective is to have a congenial social and political order so that climate for blossoming of Islamic ideals is created. These ideals are religious, social, moral, intellectual, cultural, political and international. The religious ideal of Islam is to establish belief in Allah and that Mohammad (SAW), is the Last Prophet. The social ideal is to establish a pattern of social order under which there are no distinctions of caste, color, the rich and the poor. The moral ideal is to make every person an embodiment of moral values and virtues. The intellectual ideal is to promote search for knowledge. The cultural ideal is to bring about a unity between the material and spiritual aspects of life. The political ideal is to establish a welfare state. The international ideal is to establish a universal state based on the brotherhood of mankind. In case, we as Muslims would follow the commandments of the Holy Quran and the teachings of our Prophet (SAW), the aghasting and horrifying incidents occurring daily in our lives and society would not ensue.
(The author is a veteran academician in Jammu & Kashmir. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
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