God, who created the human being and put him on the earth, endowed him with inborn, or innate knowledge and values. These innate values form a natural moral sense, which makes a person recognise what is good and beautiful such as telling the truth, keeping promises and being grateful. This same moral sense also makes a person recognise what is bad and morally ugly such as telling lies, deceit and arrogance.
The natural moral sense is one way in which the Creator has provided for the guidance of human beings. He has granted human beings a conscience, which registers right and wrong and a mind which has the ability to reason. He has made the whole universe a natural book full of signs that lead a thinking person to the existence of God, His power and His bounty.
The inherent moral sense in a human being allows him to recognise what is true and good from what is false and evil.
However to make matters clearer and to give man a more detailed knowledge of God, He showed him a well specified way of relating to Him. This was done through prophets. Prophets were persons specially chosen by God to bring to the people practical guidance on how to stay on the right path. The last of the prophets was the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad. The Quran was revealed to him as sure and clear guidance for all. Muhammad’s explanations of the revealed verses and his life itself offered further and more detailed clarification of how we are supposed to act in a way that is pleasing to God. As God abhors all that is not beautiful and untrue, His guidance served to develop in the believers a very sound system of human values based on the inborn human understanding of what is good and what is evil, given to man by God at the time of creation.
"I was sent to perfect the best in moral characteristics", said the Prophet describing his mission. While this points to the fact that the message he brought was not a new one, it also shows that the main purpose of the message was to make man live according to the highest moral standard which he is capable of. This saying of the Prophet may be linked to many verses in the Quran such as: By the soul and how He formed it, then inspired it to understand what was right and wrong for it. He who purifies it will indeed be successful, and he who corrupts it is sure to fail (91:7-10).
We know that creation is amazingly vast and intricate. Man too is a very intricate being who has been placed on earth to lead a life according to the moral values laid down by God. Only in abiding by them will he pass the trial on earth and attain the eternal life in the Hereafter.
The inherent moral sense in a human being allows him to recognise what is true and good from what is false and evil. Through the call of the prophets and the revelation he was also offered divine guidance as to how to differentiate between good and evil. Good may be defined as whatever is pleasing to God and therefore beneficial to man. Evil on the other hand, is whatever incurs the anger of God and is therefore, harmful to man. Although God created mankind in a state of natural goodness, He also created him with the capacity or power to do both good and evil. However, only by doing good can he pass the divine test and achieve eternal life.
To preserve the pure and sinless state in which man was born and to keep him on the path to God, one has to keep away from and ward off evil. This is why piety, which is repeatedly stressed in the Quran, is the most important quality a person could develop in relation to good and evil. Piety means to be conscious of God and to be careful of not overstepping the limits set by Him. It is a defence against evil and temptation.
Islam's ethical code has its basis in the Quran and the life of the Prophet.
Therefore, when we speak of cultivating human values in Islam, we simply mean following the guidance of God. Doing things that are pleasing to Him is beneficial to us as this leads to salvation and eternal life. The Quran does not merely ask people to do good, and refrain from evil. It specifies the ways to achieve these ends. From this one can see that each person has a duty to cultivate good and desirable qualities, which are part of his natural make-up. And he has a duty to strive against bad traits and habits.
Islam’s ethical code has its basis in the Quran and the life of the Prophet. Some of the qualities that should be cultivated are truthfulness, honesty, reliability in fulfilling trusts, gentleness, politeness, courtesy, generosity, compassion and readiness to forgive, purity and decency, humility, patience and steadfastness, courage, thankfulness, dignity, honour, self-respect, good temper, perseverance, diligence and willingess to respect others.
And the Quran says: Verily men and women who submit and men and women who believe, and men and women who are patient, and men and women who are truthful; and men and women who are humble before God; and men and women who give in charity, and men and women who fast and men and women who guard their chastity and men and women who remember God much— to them God has promised forgiveness and a great reward. (33:35)
The best deeds are those done regularly even if they are small. -Prophet Muhammad
But lying, dishonesty, deceit, untrustworthiness, hypocrisy, harshness, miserliness, enviousness, hatred, shamelessness, self-conceit, opportunism and laziness are among the traits of human character one should fight against.
In cultivating good qualities, it is important to remember the saying of the Prophet, that 'the best deeds are those done regularly, even if they are small'. This stresses the need to develop good habits, so that the practice of goodness becomes easy and natural and a matter of course.
