According to the
Prophet Muhammad (saw) the religion he brought, Islam, had three levels:- (1)
al-islam - the law or discipline, (2) al-iman - the faith and (3) al-ihsan -
righteousness or piety.
The first level,
also known as the Shariah, taken by some people as the only one, is concerned
mainly with actions and requires only appropriate information. It tends to be
rather formal and legalistic but is essential for the formation of a correct
vessel in which the second level can be contained.
This second
level is concerned mainly with understanding and with underlying motives - with
hope, love and faith. Some people consider this to be the essence of religion
and ignore the first level (as some Christians do). This is a mistake which leads
to the spillage or evaporation of the contents. Behaviour based on correct
motives does not contract or abolish the law or Shariah, but expands and
fulfils it (as Jesus also pointed out - Matthew 5:17). It constitutes a wider
circle within which the first level is contained. From another point of view
the Shariah may be regarded as containing the other levels just as the physical
man contains a mind and soul.
But it is the
third level that is concerned with the state of being of a person and its
transformation. Surrender (Islam) in its proper sense refers to this. The first
two levels have been discussed in other articles. This article deals with
righteousness.
Righteousness is
not ritualistic behaviour nor dogmatism, nor sentimental attachments. But the
term also contains all the previous levels:-
"Righteousness is not that ye turn your
faces towards the East or the West, but it is righteousness to believe in
Allah, and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers, and
to spend of your wealth for love of Him, for your kindred, and orphans, and the
needy, and the wayfarer, for those who ask, and to ransom those in captivity;
and to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfil the
covenant (contracts) which ye have made; and to be firm in patience in times of
pain (poverty and deprivation), and adversity, and in periods of panic (or
violence); these are the people who are true, and these are those who are
Allah-fearing." 2:117
"Ye cannot attain to righteousness until
ye spend freely of what ye love. But what ye spend, of that Allah is
aware." 3:92
Righteousness is
defined as being aware of the presence of Allah who is omni-present, the Outer
and the Inner (57:3, 2:115) and that He sees you and all you do, and to think,
be motivated and act accordingly. The Universe was made for the purpose of the
evolution of consciousness, that Allah may be known, and man was made as a
vicegerent (2:30), and to serve Allah:-
"I created not the jinn and mankind but to
worship Me." 51:56.
Worship has four
aspects:- (i) Reverence or respect. (ii) Devotion or love. (iii) Service. (iv)
Complete submission or surrender in which case it is a synonym for Islam.
The word
"Praise" is often used to cover all these aspects. It is hardly
necessary to point out that it is absence of these qualities which makes man a
thoroughly disruptive force in the world, and that by reaction he himself
becomes the victim. The Quran is full of references to it, and is itself an act
of worship. It is, for instance, constantly calling attention to the harmony of
the Universe and Nature.
"O ye who believe! Remember Allah with
much remembrance and glorify Him early and late." 33: 41-42 Also 40:56,
50:39, 52:49, 76:26
"The thunder hymns His praise and so do
the angels for awe of Him....And unto Allah do prostrate whosoever is in the
heavens and the earth willingly or unwillingly, as do the shadows in the
morning and evening hours." 13: 13,15
"The seven heavens and the earth and all
that is therein praise Him, and there is not a thing but hymns his praise, but
you understand not their praise..." 17:44
"Hast thou not seen that Allah, He it is
Whom all who are in the heavens and the earth praise, and the birds in their
flight? Of each He knows the worship and the praise, and Allah is aware of what
they do." 24:41 Also 59:1, 62:1, 40:7
Therefore,
righteousness or correct behaviour is:-
"Say: Verily, my worship and my sacrifice,
and my living and my dying belong to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. He has no
partner. This I am commanded, and I am foremost of those who surrender (unto
Him)" 6:163-164
and also
"Then set your purpose for religion as a
man upright by nature ˜ the nature made by Allah in which He has made men;
there is no altering (the laws of) Allah's creation; that is the right
religion, but most people do not know ˜ turning to Him only, and be careful of
your duty to Him and keep up prayer and be not of those who ascribe partners to
Him, or of those who split their religion and became schismatic, every sect
rejoicing in its own tenets." 30:30-32
Righteousness
produces Unity and Objectivity ( i.e. thought, motive and action for Allah's
sake). It is only possible when the Spirit of Allah within us is active. But
the striving to be righteous is to purify oneself, the vessel, so that it can
receive the Spirit, to realize oneself.
The recognition
that we owe all things to Allah, our lives and all the material, social and
inner psychological and spiritual resources which we benefit from, as well as
the guidance through the Messengers and Scriptures, and that we were created
for a purpose, gives us certain duties. Duty is integral to the understanding
of righteousness and is mentioned in the Quran a great number of times.
"To Allah belongs all that is in the
heavens and that is in the earth! We have charged those who have been given the
Book before you, and you too, that ye do your duty to (or fear) Allah. But if
ye misbelieve, verily, to Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and that is
in the earth, and Allah is Absolute and Worthy of all Praise!" 4:131
"Verily, Allah is with those who do their
duty to Him, and with those who do good." 16:128
"Believe in what I have revealed,
verifying what ye have got, and be not the first to disbelieve in it, and do
not barter my signs for a little price, and keep your duty to Me. Cloak not
truth with vanity and falsehood, nor knowingly hide the truth." 2:41-42
"Remember the favour of Allah to you and
His covenant that He made with you, when ye said: We hear and we obey; and keep
your duty to Allah. Verily, Allah knows well the secrets in your breasts. O ye
who believe! Stands steadfast as witnesses for Allah with justice; and let not
hatred of (or towards) people tempt you to injustice. Act with equity, that is
nearer to piety, and fear Allah; for Allah is Aware of what ye do." 5:7-8
"O mankind! Be careful of your duty to
your Lord, who created you from one soul, and created there from its mate, and
scattered from the twain a multitude of men and women. Be careful of your duty
towards Allah, in whose name ye claim rights of one another, and the wombs that
bore you; verily, Allah is Watcher over you." 4:1
"Say: Come! I will recite what your Lord
has made a sacred duty for you - that ye may ascribe no partner unto Him; that
you do good to your parents; and that you slay not your children because of
poverty, for We will provide for you and them; and that you draw not nigh to
lewd sins, either apparent or concealed; and kill not the life, which Allah
hath made sacred save in the course of justice; this is what Allah commands
you, haply ye may understand." 6:152
"Nay, whoso fulfils his covenant and acts
righteously, - verily, Allah loves those who act righteously." 3:76
"O ye who believe! If ye do your duty to
Allah He will give you a discrimination, and will rid you of your evil thoughts
and deeds, and will forgive you; for Allah is Lord of Infinite Bounty."
8:29
"He who repents and believes and does
righteous work, for such Allah will change their evil deeds to good deeds.
Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful. And he who repents and does right, verily,
he has turned to Allah with true conversion." 25:70-71
"But those who keep their duty to their
Lord, for them are gardens beneath which rivers flow, and they shall dwell
therein for ever - a welcoming gift from Allah. That which Allah has is best
for the righteous." 3:198
"Whoso obeys Allah and the Messenger,
these are in the company of those unto whom Allah has shown favour, of the
prophets and saints and martyrs and the righteous;- the fairest company are
they." 4:69
One of the
duties is to judge all things by what Allah has given us:-
"Fear not men, but fear Me, and sell not
My Signs (or revelations) for a miserable price. Whoso will not judge by what
Allah has revealed, these are the misbelievers." 5:44
"Then let the people of the gospel judge
by that which is revealed therein, for whoso will not judge by what Allah has
revealed, these are the evildoers." 5:47
The following
argument may be given to justify this:-
In order to
explain something we must go to its causes, purposes or some standard from
which judgment is made. But these are also explained by other causes, purposes
or criteria. We must come ultimately to something that is self-existent in
terms of which everything else is explainable. This is the only way in which we
can get a self-consistent view and certainty. Differences and opinions and
conflicts arise because different people base themselves on different criteria
and sets of assumptions, usually unconsciously. Islam allows only a single all
comprehensive assumption, namely the existence of Allah, the ultimate
self-existing. Even the existence of the Universe is not taken for granted. The
argument goes as follows:-
(1) Allah, the
self-existent, the source of all things, exists. All things must be consistent
with Allah. He is the final judge. That is the ultimate criterion.
(2) All things
are not only created by Allah, but so is the knowledge of them, the capacity
for this knowledge and the possibility of motivation and action accordingly. Truth
and Goodness are that which is created and revealed by Allah. We ought,
therefore, to follow that which is inspired or revealed. (6:107, 10:110)
(3) Having
established that the Quran is inspired by Allah, this becomes the source of
knowledge and the criterion, provided, of course, that it is correctly
understood. (2:121, 17:82, 17:36).
Righteousness
can be divided according the three categories of knowledge into three levels:-
(a) When a
person accepts and follows a correct teaching.
(b) When a
person acts correctly because he perceives and recognizes what is righteous.
(c) When the
person is upright by nature. His conscience is functioning correctly.
Thus
Righteousness itself may be regarded as having three aspects:-
(1) The first
concerns the understanding and practice of Surrender. This subject has been
dealt with in the article entitled "Surrender"
(2) As we see
from the above verses, existence implies obligations towards the creator. These
obligations may be classified as follows:-
(a) Directly to Allah - This consists of (i)
Taqwa -cultivating consciousness of Allah. (ii) Tawakkul - cultivating Trust in
Allah (iii) Rida Allah - striving to please Allah.
(b) To oneself - This consists of (i) Tawba -
repentance, (ii) Dua - supplication, (iii) Tazkiyah - purification (inner and
outer), (iv) Sabr - patience and perseverance (v) Shukr - Gratitude (vi) The
avoidance of excesses, waste, squandering, hoarding, gambling. (vii) Avoiding
intoxicants, addictives and inferior foods such as pig meat. (viii) Earning
ones living only by honest and beneficial means. (ix) Moderation in the
consumption of food and other wants. (x) Fulfilling ones trust and natural
obligations.
(c) Towards
others - This consists of cultivating and promoting (i) Salaam - Peace (ii) Adl
- Justice (iii) Musawa - Equality (iv) Ukhuwah -Brotherhood (v) Mawadah -Love
(vi) Rahma - Mercy (vii) Afw - Forgiveness (viii) Dawah - Invitation to the
faith. (ix) Shuni - Consultation (x) Avoidance of usury. (xi) Avoiding harm
(xii) The keeping of promises, agreements and treaties.
(3)
Righteousness may also be regarded as consisting of correct thinking, correct
motivation and correct action:-
"Be mindful of your duty to Allah and (1)
do righteous works; and again: (2) be mindful of your duty and believe; and
once again: (3) be mindful of your duty and do good. Allah loves the good.
" 5:93
These could be
studied respectively in subject such as Logic, Ethics and Hygiene (but not in
the Western sense). All have a physical, social and psychological aspect and a
degree of inter-dependence. Logic and Ethics may, for instance, be regarded as
forms of Hygiene, and Logic and Hygiene may be regarded as branches of Ethics.
Logic includes purification of ones motives and the cultivation of a framework
of thought that facilitates human development. Hygiene includes such things as
the avoidance of gambling, alcohol, superstitions, swine flesh, the all
excesses and extremes, the cultivation of etiquette and good manners.
There are
degrees of importance associate with the various religious instructions. Some things
have greater importance than others do and some are relatively trivial (note:
relatively) and become evils if they are allowed to take greater importance in
the life of a person than the more important things. There are many people, for
instance, who do little charity become much agitated about the niceties of
washing the feet in Wuzu. Others are concerned about the exact posture in
prayer rather than with their mental concentration and so on. Many Muslims require
quotations from Hadith about details of ritual and relative trivia instead of
using intelligence. It is necessary to remember the following facts:-
(1) Islam means
Surrender to Allah. Muslim means one who surrenders to Allah. These refer to
states of being. They are not the names of a particular community, or a set of
institutions or a set of actions or a set of beliefs. But these can be means by
which a person is led to become a Muslim.
(2) Allah will
judge by realities and not names. Whether we call ourselves Muslim or condemn
others as Kafir is irrelevant. No man should assume that he can speak for God.
Indeed, apart from its absurdity it is based on ignorance and is also a sin of
arrogance, an idolatry of self which causes self-deception. The Quran tells us:-
"Verily, whether it be of those who
believe, or those who are Jews or Christians or Sabaeans, whosoever believes in
Allah and the Last Day and acts aright, they have their reward with their Lord,
and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve." 2:62
(3) A Muslim is
one who does things for the sake of Allah (76:9). It is the intention behind
the action which counts. From the Islamic point of view inner states do produce
outer signs, and outer behaviour does produce inner states, but we, owing to
our limited perception, cannot always judge what the inner state or intention
was from outer actions. And we often deceive ourselves. Awareness of our inner
state is also necessary.
(4) It is the
goal that matters and the means or methods do not have importance in themselves
but only in whether they lead to the goal or not.
(5) There could
be numerous ways or methods to the same goal (22:67). But some may be better or
more efficient than others and for some people and in some circumstances and
not all. Clinging to a method through habit and automatism is futile. It
renders the method useless, unless it is itself an act of piety and has an
inner content.
(6) There are
many degrees of piety and each person is rewarded according to his actions. For
every pious person there is someone who is more pious. There are different
possibilities for everyone. It is not possible for any one to attain Absolute
piety. This means that everyone will fall short. It also means that different
people will fall short in different ways but also attain different virtues
(92:4, 30:22). Differences cannot be condemned.
(7) Each person
is responsible for his own spiritual state and development (5:105). It is not
possible by external force to cause his development, but only to harm him. Each
person should, therefore, look to his own development rather than that of
others. He may advise and guide them but not criticize or compel them (49:12,
11:28, 50:45).
(8) People
modify themselves for good or evil according to their own inner striving
(17:15). People will not be judged by any particular action but according to
the balance between the good and evil actions. We, too, ought not to judge them
by particular actions, specially when we do not know their circumstances and
the inner struggles they undergo.
(9) The fate of
a person depends on his ability to adjust to reality as created by Allah, both
external and our own nature. In order to survive and develop it is necessary to
have correct knowledge, correct motivation and do correct actions. These are
interdependent. We have to seek knowledge, understand it and apply it.
(10) Only Allah
possesses Absolute Knowledge. Human beings acquire their knowledge gradually
from Allah by their interactions with the world created by Allah and through
their own bodies and the faculties also created by Allah. But at any given time
they have only partial knowledge. This means that they may have varying amounts
and different parts of the whole. But human being also learn from each other.
Their intelligence demands that they should learn from those who have greater
knowledge because the likelihood of them being right is greater. But knowledge
too is a means for spiritual development. It will help them not at all unless
it becomes their own. This means that they themselves must understand and
become aware. The uttering of mere verbal dogmas or performing certain rituals
or adherence to certain institutions is not just useless but builds a prison
and is a form of idolatry. The purpose of Islam is liberation.
It should
be noted, however, that this article is a description, the purpose of which is
to produce an understanding of what Righteousness means. This is not itself
righteousness, nor is it the outer practice of the forms of righteousness. It
only represents the middle or second category of Islam.