Question:
Explain the concept of moral values in Islam?
Answer:
CONCEPT OF VALUES AND
DISVALUES IN ISLAM
General
Concept: The
concept of value is a fundamental problem of human interest. Since the time of
Plato, goodness, beauty and truth have been universally recognized as the
essential facets of reality and as the ultimate values of life. However, with
the evolution of religious values, it was clearly noticed that the primary
value was unity, the second was justice, and the third was love. All others
evolved latter. While on the one hand, human values arise out of our desires,
urges, feelings and habits, on the other they are closely related to concept of
morality in a philosophy. Moreover, values cannot be separated from facts.
According to naturalists, nature is
the kind of order that simply possesses values. To them the way in which an
individual can get greatest value out of life is by harmonizing his life as
closely as possible with nature.
In the light of pragmatic philosophy,
values constantly develop in the interplay between fresh personal experiences
and cultural deposits.
Essentialist believe that values like
truth are rooted in and derived from its source.
According to perennialists, not only knowledge
but values too are grounded in a teleological and supernatural reality. As
Adler expresses it, “Anything has as much goodness as it has being. To them,
beauty is the highest value of aesthetics and speculative reason the highest
value of ethics.
Pragmatists deny the existence of
ultimate eternal values and believe that all values are subjective and relative
to man.
Sufism conceives value as the
development of the individual. Sufis want to gain spiritual illumination
through. Deep meditation and attain inner vision of the truth. They try to gain
a mysterious state of consciousness through Zikr where the individuality dissolves
itself in the knowledge of God.
Concept
of Values and Disvalues in Islam: The Arabic nomenclature for value is qadr. Literally
it means “appropriate measure”, According to al-Farabi, terms like baha, Khair,
etc. in Arabic literature all stand for the absolute values.
Values (qadr), a popular term of our
age, gained currency during the 19th century. Muslim discussed it in
the terminology of husn-o-qabah much earlier than contemporary philosophy could
reach a stage when it was possible for it to discuss its nature as “subjective”
or “objective”.
Practically, value in islam is a
standard on which we judge an action to be right or wrong, these standards are
helpful to differentiate between good and evil deeds.
Obviously, right actions stands for
values and wrong actions stands for disvalues.
Value-consciousness is the foundation
of Islam. So long as it remains alive, Islam is a living entity. The ahkam
(Commandments) of Islam, therefore, are not mere judgements: they are values in
themselves. The element of command in them is inexhaustible in terms of the
wish, the desire, the craving, or the demand or a will, not with standing its
individual or super-individual character. Consequently, in islam allah (God) is
not mere power, nor mere knowledge, nor mere feeling; He is above all, “Sublim”
(Subhan), a being over and above value: “All value”, His message revealed to His
Apostle forming the belief system of Islam, is the exposition of the values, which
are meant to shape mankind on the best image.
Istihsan, mursila, etc, are still
abiding values in Islam. The Quran and Hadith are still living entities and
they will be so forever. But the so-called ulema are not prepared to see them
in their total significance in terms of values which permeate them and do not
undertake creative exertion in which lies the essence of ijtihad. In Islam, the
nature of value, therefore, is like nature of a pattern. But immovable patterns
are fixed. Such patterns are only fit for inorganic things. The patterns of
life are dynamic and living forms.
As it should be very much clear from
the preceding discussion on the concept of Value that different philosophies
advocate different values. These depend upon the concept of good in a society. Some
philosophers consider values temporary and subject to change. But the value system
of Islam is immutable and does not accept any change with time simply because
Allah is immutable and the universe is working under permanent Laws and
principles set forth by Allah.
And you will never find any change in
the way of Allah. (33: 62)
Furthermore, the nature of man is also
unchangeable. Hence, values, which are mainly for the guidance/ benefit of man
in universe must be permanent. Whatever change time may bring, the values of
Islam operate within the same framework. Islamic values are aligned with the
nature of man and are conductive to his moral and spiritual evolution. Whatever
blocks this path or acts as a hurdle is considered an un-Islamic value. These
are uncongenial to human nature; they originate in ignorance and ego, arrogance
and caprice of man and are the source of all transgressions of humanity.
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