2. ETHICS

The Universe came into existence and is developing. The world not only “is” but also “becomes”. Human beings are part of this process. They not only know but also act, and these actions depend on motives. The one concerns itself with “what is” and the other with “what ought to be”. The one requires facts and the other values. Ethics is about values. That “which is” is denoted by the word “truth”. That “which ought to be” is denoted by the word “Good”. But that “which ought to be” also implies that there is an opposite, that “which ought not to be”. This is denoted by the word “Evil”. And there is something between them which is neither good nor evil. It is neutral. It may act as a catalyst which enables one or the other. There is, however, a connection between Truth and Goodness. It is considered a good thing to know or seek the truth. The Good must also be based on the true if it is to have any validity. It is to be discovered and studied. There is, however, a third ingredient to life. This is action and refers to skills and techniques.

Morality is about motives, feelings, desires and conscience, not about intellectual cognition and arguments or about techniques and skills of action. However, we can think about morality and we also have to act in accordance with it. Similarly, action requires motives and thought, and thinking requires motives and action such as the search for facts, observation, experiment, and calculation. As in all aspects of life thinking, feeling and action must go together, but the focus differs according to whether we are dealing in science, ethics or practice. Yet in every aspect of human life all three, science, ethics and skill are required. It is, however, a common mistake to use the wrong faculty in any given situation, to intellectualise ethics, to let practical expediency distort it, allow feelings or skill to corrupt science, and distort practice through theory and emotion, These considerations are part of ethics.

Goodness is prior to Truth from one point of view, and Truth is prior to Goodness from another point of view. Things could not have come into existence if they did not fulfil a function. And something must exist with respect to which a function is fulfilled. The notion of ‘health’, for instance, combines the two values. The connection between the three aspects of life can be understood as follows. There is a system which must adjust to a larger system for its own welfare, the individual to the community, that to humanity, that to the earth, and so on, until we come to Total Reality. There is reciprocal action and feed backs. We receive an input, information etc, we must process it, and we must produce an output, action etc. This processing must be done deliberately and objectively in order to (a) avoid suffering and destruction (b) maintain harmonious adjustment (c) achieve development. Real progress or evolution means an increase in this ability. This is the fundamental truth about existence and the source of science, ethics and practice.

There are three ways in which the “Good” is understood.

1. Objectively, with respect to a Truth about Reality. Things which are in harmony or consistent with the rest of reality are good and things which are not and disrupt it are evil. But evil cannot exist at this level, since reality is a unity and nothing can happen which is not consistent with it. In so far as good and evil are relative terms, goodness at this level exists only in contrast to evil at other levels, to the way man describes evil.

2. Since it is man who must know and act according to it, the “Good” has relevance to man. However, man is only a small part of the Universe and he is dependant on its nature and its laws. He can benefit or harm himself according to how he behaves with respect to it. If morality has no objective source then it must be regarded as man made. This can take three forms:-

(a) If it is man made then the opinions of anyone on the subject is as good as anyone else’s. There are no standards and we have conflicts and chaos.

(b) Those that have the most power can impose their will on others. This requires coercion or conditioning and there is then no choice. Morality becomes whatever conforms to those in power. This may be the personal advantages of the person concerned, his preferences (he may love his fellow creatures, some of them or none and hate others) or his opinions of what the world is like.

(c) There may be a consensus, agreement or compromise in a community to abide by certain rules in order to prevent conflicts and accommodate the common interests of all. But this does not guarantee that these interests are understood, nor does it refer to adjustments other than social ones. A person must also adjust psychologically to the greater reality of the world he lives in, the community, as well as to the reality of his own nature. In fact, morality at this level arises from accidental local conditions, changes in fashions and the results of the expedience and vagaries of numerous power struggles. Morality is, therefore, constantly changing from time to time and place to place. It has no aim or purpose, and cannot, therefore, be regarded as objectively “Good”.

3. The “Good” is identified with that which will efficiently achieve a particular desire at a particular time in the particular circumstances existing there. But all things interact and affect each other. Since the relationship which the desire has with other desires, and the relationship which the circumstance has with others, and the relationships which desires and circumstances have with each other, is not taken into consideration, then the over all result may well be disaster. The good turns out to be evil and evil turns out to be good.

Therefore, Islam takes the objective view of ethics. It is the only possible one.

The whole of Islamic Ethics is based on the following fundamental propositions which are integral to the notion of Surrender:-

1. That there is an ultimate, fundamental unitary Reality from which all things derive and into which they dissolve. This is called Allah. The implication is that life is created and depends on the Laws and processes of the Universe. It is not created by a person himself. This principle is self-evident.

2. That all things are inter-dependant and parts of a Whole. There is, therefore, a fundamental harmony and order, and all things have a function with respect to the whole. This is part of their nature. Existence, therefore, implies an objective purpose. Man has a function and purpose with respect to the Universe and, therefore with respect to the ultimate Reality, Allah. The implication is that a person is not himself his own goal. Life has an objective purpose beyond itself since nothing has an independent existence.

3. That man can be defined as the Vicegerent in so far as he rules on behalf of Allah and has the necessary powers, derived from Allah, to do so.

4. That the welfare and destiny of the individual depends on how he fulfils this function. Since the Universe and its laws are greater than him, then if he flouts his nature and function he will suffer. But if he conforms he will prosper and develop.

If these propositions are not accepted then there can be no ethics. Any motive or action is equally futile. There are further consequences:-

5. There is a direction of development in the universe, and in all things within it. The purpose of life is development towards the Unity from whence all things came. The purpose or goal is also Allah.

“Thy Lord, He is the goal.” 53:42

6. The duties of man can be divided into duties (a) to the environment, (b) to other people and (c) to himself.

7. The purpose of life may be divided into adjustment, maintenance and development.

There are in general four questions in Ethics:-

1. What is the Good?

2. How can it be known and obeyed?

3. Why should it be obeyed?

4. How can it be established?

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What is the Good:-

The following series of arguments establishes the nature of the Good.

1. Since Allah is the Ultimate Reality , He is the only judge of what is good and right. In naturalistic or scientific terms this implies that the process of evolution will determine what is good.

“He is the All-knowing Judge. ” 34:26

2. Goodness consists of service to the Ultimate Reality.

“I, (Allah) created the jinn and human kind only that they might serve Me.” 51:56

The controversy between those who think that Good is that which Allah Commands, and those who think that Allah commands that which is Good should be dismissed as nonsense. The two are the same. There can be nothing beyond Allah to which He has to conform.

3. All things are subject to the Laws of the Universe, i.e. the Will of Allah, willingly or unwillingly, consciously or unconsciously. Man can, therefore, only harm himself by trying to go against them. In so far as man is conscious he ought also to surrender to this consciously. There is no free will except in Allah. But in so far as man identifies himself with Allah, he is free. That is, there is then no opposition or conflict.

“And unto Allah submits whosoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in the morning and the evening hours.” 13:15

“So set thy purpose for religion as a man upright by nature - the nature made by Allah, in which he has created man. There is no altering the laws of Allah’s creation.” 30:30

4. Man has an inbuilt desire for self-preservation and development and an antipathy towards that which will cause him harm or destruction.

“..And the soul and Him who perfected it and inspired it with conscience of what is wrong for it and what is right for it.” 91:7-9

5. But man has lost contact with his conscience because of his conditioning. He needs to renew contact through obedience to the religious teachings. It should be noted that obedience to the religious law is not itself morality. The law exists to make people behave as if they were morally upright in order that they may regain contact with their inherent source of morality.

“Lo! The human soul enjoins unto evil, save whereon my Lord hath mercy.” 12:53

“Those who do wrong follow their own lusts without knowledge. Who is able to guide him whom Allah hath sent astray. ” 30:29

“Lo! Allah guides not evil-living folk. ” 64:6

“And who goes further astray than he who follows his lust without guidance from Allah. Lo! Allah guides not wrongdoing folk. ” 28:50

“Whoso is saved from his own avarice - such are they who are successful.” 59:9

6. Everything in nature is as it should be. It is the source of all good. Evil is created by man. This is not only because he does evil but also because he interprets things subjectively. Man is responsible, in thought, feeling and action for his own fate.

“Whatever good befalls thee, O man, it is from Allah, and whatever ill befalls thee it is from thyself.” 4:79

“Whatever misfortune strikes you, it is what your right hands have earned.” 42:30

7. Good and evil are, therefore, defined as that which will benefit or harm the soul.

“ Whoso does right it is for his own soul, and whoso does wrong it is against it. And thy Lord is not at all a tyrant to his servants. ” 41:46

Success and Failure in life are defined according to whether psychological development or degeneration has been achieved.

“.. He is indeed successful who causes it (the soul) to grow, and he is indeed a failure who stunts it. ” 91:10

8. As far as the Universe is concerned it does not matter whether or not man does good or evil. If he does evil he will be destroyed. If he does good he will prosper and develop. The overall effect is that the development of the Universe continues. Man does good for himself only.

“And whosoever strives strives only for himself, for lo! Allah is altogether independent of His creatures. ” 29:6

“If He will, He can remove you, O people, and produce others in your stead.” 4:133

Indeed, even more,

“If He will He can remove you and cause what He will to follow after you, even as He raised you from the seed of other folk. ” 6:134

This resembles the Theory of Evolution. It should be stated that whereas the general idea of Evolution is certainly contained here, the details of it do not necessarily conform to the theory as presented by Darwin. Indeed, this should be considered a tentative first approximation. Further researches are bound to alter it considerably.

9. The outer condition, social or environmental, of a people depends on their inner condition.

“ Allah changes not the condition of a folk until they first change that which is in their hearts; and if Allah wills misfortune for a folk there is none that can repel it, nor have they a defender besides Him.” 13:11

10. A person cannot be judged for what he cannot help doing, either because of outer circumstances or inner compulsions or limitations. A person who acts from habit or automatically is not doing good or evil. Good or Evil actions can only be done deliberately. But he is responsible in so far as that he is capable of conscious action and does not do them.

“Those who avoid enormities of crime and abominations, except the unwilling offences - for them thy Lord has vast mercy. ” 53:32

“No laden one shall bear another’s load, and Man hath only that for which he strives. And his effort will be seen. ” 53:38-39

“O my people! Work according to your power. ” 6:136

11. Good and evil depend on intention. The same action can be good , indifferent or evil according to intention. A philanthropist who gives much to charity may be doing it for publicity or in order to avoid taxes, or to increase business. A scholar or scientist may produce his work for the sake of prestige or profit. There is no spiritual value in this. According to a Hadith the Prophet taught that apparently good actions led a person to hell because the intentions were not pure.

“Forsake the outwardness of sin and the inwardness thereof.” 6:121

“And each one hath a goal towards which he turns; so vie with one another in good works.” 2:148

“They think to beguile Allah and those who believe, and they beguile none but themselves, but they perceive not.” 2:9

12. The real Good, the moral law, is Objective, not Subjective or man-made. It has to be searched for and discovered, not made. It is, therefore, good to obey it rather than man-made laws.

“ So fear not mankind, but fear Me. And barter not My revelations for a little gain. Whoso judges not by that which Allah hath revealed: such are disbelievers.” 5:44

“Whoso judges not by that which Allah hath revealed: such are wrong-doers. ” 5:45

“..It may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows, ye know not. ” 2:216

This has important personal or psychological consequences. It is not possible to sustain morality without a sense of the sacred. Indeed, it may be said that those who lack a sense of the sacred have something fundamentally wrong with them. They are only able to function through mental conditioning or physiological instincts. Higher levels of functioning are not available to them.

It also has important political consequences. The Muslim is bound to oppose any man-made laws which flout or ignore the moral law, whether they be Democratic, Communist, Capitalist, Fascist or any other Ideology. He must oppose tyrants and oppressors. He ought to follow his inbuilt conscience. This requires self-awareness. True conscience, however, is regarded as having been veiled or repressed. He cannot follow what he wrongly calls his conscience. What is usually called conscience is what the psychologist Freud described as the Superego. This is the name given to the values inculcated into man by social conditioning. This is regarded as giving rise to the idea of God by projection. The Islamic view is the reverse of this. Conscience is an inner feeling of consistency. It derives from a sub-conscious experience of unity and requires a degree of integration. It is, therefore connected with Allah who is unity. When a motive is not consistent with inner and outer experiences it creates a contradiction which causes inner suffering. Allah is, therefore, prior to conscience. Quite often, however, what people call conscience is little else but the rationalisation of self-interest and prejudice. In the absence of conscience, therefore, he must follow the revealed law since this can be defined as that which is given by those who are in contact with their conscience. The moral values are not considered to be individual or social judgements. They are connected with the psychological wellbeing of a person.

The nature of the Good may, therefore, be defined by the following argument:-

1. There is an ultimate, objective, absolute Reality, That which conforms to it is Good. Thus, the state of Surrender is synonymous with the Good. Evil is rebellion.

2. The nature of this ultimate reality is Unity. The Good is that which produces Unity, integration or Harmony, inner, interactive and outer. However, there is to be some kind of order. Unity is not indiscriminate. Some things fit together and some do not. Each has to find its own place in the scheme of things.

3. A process of evolution, development or progress may be defined as one which leads to increasing integration, unity or harmony. That which facilitates this process is Good. That which obstructs it is evil.

4. There is a force in the Universe, integral to Allah, and, therefore, also in man, which leads towards unity and reconciliation. It is generally known as Love. The Good is that which is done by and through Love.

5. There is a built-in striving in man for inner integration. This is generally known as Conscience. The Good is that which conforms to it. Evil is self-destructive.

6. There is a built-in striving in man for adjustment to, and harmony with, the world. This manifests as awareness and knowledge. The Good is that which conforms to this. Evil results from ignorance.

7. The fundamental Unity behind all things implies that a single causal force exists, though it differentiates into several forms. The Good refers to the working of this force, the Spirit. Evil is that which opposes it. That which is called evil, however, exists by the same causal force, but refers to a partial view of the world and an inappropriate rearrangement of data.

From the Islamic Ethical view point we can derive the following general principles. They are implied in the thesis because they are the foundations on which it is based.

The “Good” has meaning only with respect to a structure, pattern or system. An organism, for instance, has a structure in which the parts are subordinate to the whole and have a function and purpose with respect to the whole. That which fulfils this purpose is called good, and that which obstructs its fulfilment is called evil. The Good, therefore depends on the nature of the system. Value refers to order.

A Community, Humanity, the whole Biosphere, the Planet, the Solar system, the Galaxy, the Universe itself, they are all systems, one part of the other. Values descend, as it were, from the higher to the lower, from a whole to the part. Values, ultimately come from Allah.

Evil is spoken of in the Quran as ‘errors’ or ‘missing the mark or target,’ or ‘straying from a path’. The following notions are used:-

Khati'ah – This refers to all imperfections of character, without considering differences of degree, intention or motive.

Gunah - Everything has a proper place in the scheme of things. When something is out of its proper place, we have Gunah.

Zanb - Everything has a perfect or ideal order and is correctly equipped for its proper function. If there is some abnormal growth, a disease, we have Zanb. A desire which goes beyond actual need or a perversion is such a growth. There must be neither more nor less in size and quantity. Both excess and insufficiency are evils. A balance is required. It generally refers to a fault, failing, defect or limitation that might be a mistake or error.

Jurm - Everything is part of some greater whole. When the part is cut off from the whole or functions as if it were independent, or if the means become the ends, then we have Jurm. There must also be sufficient diversity, flexibility and cooperation. The function of the part must not be obstructed by some other part.

Ithm - This refers to deliberate transgression of Allah’s command and deserves punishment.

Except for the last which applies only to human beings, the others apply to the Universe, the planet, the Ecological system, human societies, as well as human physiology and psychology. They are obviously connected with organisation and equilibrium, with the adjustment of an entity as part of a greater whole, and ultimately to Allah. They should be regarded as objective definitions or the Three Principles of Evil.

The word for repentance is Tauba. It means “turning” and refers to change in the orientation of the mind. It implies both the recognition of the error and rectifying it.

All human beings except Jesus are regarded as prone to sin. However, the Prophets are regarded as sinless and this doctrine is called "ismah" and implies that they are preserved by Allah from Ithm, but does not include Zanb, when it is accidental, mistaken or unintentional. The Quran records that the Prophet Muhammad did commit an act for which Allah reprimanded him (Quran 80:1-18).

Good and evil are thoughts, intentions or actions that:-

(1) Accord with or flout the purposes or laws of Allah. This may be interpreted as implying that they are for or against reality or nature, or in a more restricted sense to this planet or even to the Biosphere.

(2) Are beneficial or harmful to the development of the Society.

(3) Are psychologically or spiritually beneficial or harmful to the individual who does them. (The mental or physical benefit or harm may of course have spiritual consequences)

(4) Are spiritually, mentally or physically beneficial or harmful to those against whom they are done or those who are affected.

From the Ethical point of view, to be human has certain requirements. These, if we wish to be clear, can be classified in the following sets, each having three aspects which are inter-dependent:-

1. It is a fact about human beings that (a) they interact and are interdependent with the world they live in (b) they have the capacity for awareness of the world and themselves and can transform them. (c) that their fate and that of the world depends largely on what they do. These facts are incorporated in the notion of ‘Vicegerent’. It may be regarded as a formula incorporating these facts.

2. Physical, social and psychological needs. (a) Physical needs can be divided into materials, energy and order. They consist of things such as food, clothing, shelter, health. information (b) Social needs could be divided into cooperation, competition and identification, that is, a sense of belonging. They include the need for family, friends and other social interactions. (c) Psychological needs include the need to find ones position, function and potentialities in the scheme of things.

3. The capacity for cognition, affection (feelings, motives, interests, desires) and action. That is, we need consciousness, conscience and will (the ability to control).

4. Connected with these are facts, meaning and values, or Knowledge, skills and rules. Facts refer to items of experience which may be external (physical), internal (psychological) or social (interactive). Meaning refers to the connection between an external fact and an inner desire or value, and leads to action. It demands skill. Skills could, of course, be physical, social or psychological ones. Rules are made not only by religions but by all societies and even by individuals for themselves. They could consist of guidelines, laws or procedures.

5. Autonomy, dignity and privacy. We need a certain amount of self-reliance and require things affecting us to be done with our consent. We need respect and a certain amount of space and time to ourselves.

6. Security, love and significance. These ensure the growth and health of an individual.

7. Action requires (a) Prerequisites:- Hope, love and faith. (b) Conditions:- Purpose, power and freedom. (c) Qualities:- courage, endurance and concentration.

8. There must be a centre of integration, stability and coordination or “I”.

As all these requirements are inbuilt everyone knows intuitively what is good. Evil is then defined as anything which obstructs or opposes these requirements.

Most Judgements concern actions, motives or conditions which have (a) both good and evil aspects, (b) are good under certain conditions and evil under others, (c) are good with respect to one thing or evil with respect to another. This is because we live in a world of relativity. This is not to say that there is no absolute good and evil. We cannot, in fact, make such relative judgments unless we have some absolute criterion in mind with respect to which changing circumstances can be judged. In order to help discrimination we also need a sense of priorities. There are several levels of vice and virtue:-

1. We have seen that Islam is primarily concerned with the evolution of the soul. The ultimate criterion is the general psychological or spiritual one. That which aids integration, the development of consciousness, conscience and will (awareness, compassion, responsibility, ability and control) is good and that which obstructs it is evil.

2. The cultural level. The value systems, knowledge, ideas, sciences, charities, institutions and all that is comprehended under the term ‘religion’ when understood in its wider sense.

3. The Social level. The good of mankind takes priority over what is good for a community. The good of the community takes priority over what is good for the individual. Thus oppression, prejudice, misinformation and so on are evils. It is also a fact that the good of the planet takes priority over what is good for mankind, and that the good of the Universe takes priority over what is good for this planet.

4. The quality of life of the individual has greater importance than mere life. A person suffering from abject poverty, incarceration in prison, riddled with incurable diseases, insanity and ignorance and so on has a low quality of life. A person is allowed to revolt against oppression and to sacrifice his life in an attempt to get rid of it.

5. Life may be sacrificed for the higher aims mentioned above but not for the lower ones mentioned below.

6. The psychological, social and physical well being of a person. Injuring, insulting, abusing, harassing, flouting the rights of a person, disrupting his family, and so on are not as serious a crime as killing him. However, if this is persistently done then this raises it to level 4, and if done to many people this raises it to level 3. An evil done to a few people may cause general insecurity in the whole community. If a law allows the fundamental rights of an individual to be sacrificed for the sake of the community then clearly this allows the rights of every individual to be sacrificed. Though we should not confuse all the individuals in a community collectively for the community itself as an organized wholeness, the fact remains that the whole community is affected. It is not only Totalitarian Dictatorships which suffer from this muddled thinking, but also the so called Democracies where the will of the majority is imposed on the minority and often by the minority on the majority. Attempts are then made to prevent the specific cases of injustice from causing general consequences in three ways:- (a) By secrecy. (b) By creating specific laws for specific cases. (c) By indoctrination. All these are forms of perversion.

It is, therefore, necessary to make a distinction between three things:-

(a) The individuals in a community.

(b) All the interactions between individuals.

(c) the organised wholeness of the community.

Some things such as the right to life and the freedom to self-fulfillment must apply to all individuals. However, since human beings are inter-dependent and interact, they must have rights as well as responsibilities towards each other. Since they organize into a wholeness for mutual benefits, they must also have duties. These three are inter-dependant. The right to life and self-fulfillment is suspended if the individual kills or harms others. Communities and nations differ according to how they arrange the relationship between these three factors. The correct relationship between these should be a subject for impartial and objective study. It should not be left to the political power struggles or the prejudices and opinions of the few. No in depth analysis of the problem will be given here, but some principles can be suggested.

The notion of “Vicegerency” applies to every individual as well as to mankind collectively and as a whole organism. This means that

(a) Every individual has certain natural rights and duties provided he respects the same in others.

(b) Certain matters must be left to consultation and the consent of those involved and affected.

(c) Other matters which involve the community as a whole are settled by means of procedures to which common consent is obtained. An outline of the Islamic List of Rights and Duties is given in the chapter entitled “Imperatives”.

7. Property. The destruction and theft of property which a person requires for his pleasure or welfare is not as great a crime as injuring a person since these can be replaced. But such actions may also be raised to the higher levels if deprivation threatens life or the whole community.

Several levels of morality should be recognized:-

1. Actions which we cannot help doing because of inherent or circumstantial factors. People are wrongly blamed or praised for these. But it may, nevertheless be necessary for the health of the society to remove or restrict some and allow the others to flourish.

2. Actions based on training. Here, too, certain conditioned reflexes may be the cause of action. The individual cannot be blamed or praised but behaviour can be modified through an educational or training system.

3. Actions based on fear of pain and punishment. The Law operates through this. An objective law would be one which is a substitute for nature. Without Law, for instance, a person harmed by someone would retaliate, thereby doing harm to the perpetrator. This would be the latter’s punishment. Thus the perpetrator avoids the action for fear of pain. The Law merely assumes this aspect of nature in order to educate and regulate.

4. Actions based on impulse or sudden passions produced by particular circumstances, provocations and the need to release tension.

5. Actions based on ignorance, misapprehensions, errors in judgment, illusions

6. Actions based on lack of skill or control, mistakes.

7. Actions based on self-interest or ego-desires, greed, vanity, pride, laziness, including desire for approval. The society and the culture may be so organized as to channel selfish motives to the social good.

8. Actions based on Justice. If people strive to dominate others, they divide the population into superiors and inferiors. But no one wishes to be in the inferior position since it disables him. The result of the striving for position, therefore, leads to equality as the only stable state. Under these circumstances the transactions between people conform to the law of equal exchange. People do, however, subordinate themselves to leaders, persons whom they consider to be superior in some way. But this does not flout the law of exchange since both gain some advantages from this.

9. Actions based on principles.

10. Actions based on interest in something. This may be a hobby or some abstraction such as art or science, politics etc.

11. Actions based on love. This may have many degrees. love may be directed towards a person, a community, humanity, animals, nature.

12. Actions based on reason , knowledge and calculation of what will produce the greatest good.

13. Action based on the desire for spiritual development. However, there is an element of selfishness in this which negates self-development. Self-development is essentially self-transcendence and involves annihilation of the restricting ego.

14. Actions based on consciousness, conscience and will.

15. Action based on identification with God. This is the highest form of morality and indeed, in the light of what has been said above it is the only true morality. It is the one advocated by Islam.

” And they feed, for the love of Allah, the poor, the orphan and the captive, saying: We feed you for the sake of Allah alone; we desire no reward or thanks from you.” 76: 8-9

This is the meaning of Surrender.

As the Prophet Muhammad himself divided the religion he taught into al-Islam, al-iman and al-ihsan (the discipline, the faith and the righteousness), then adherence to the Law, though important, is the lowest form of morality since it requires neither love nor truth. The morality which depends on faith, love and hope is higher. But the morality which depends on truth, in identification with Allah is the highest. The three do not necessarily contradict each other. The Law must exist in order to prevent back-sliding of those who are not controlled by love or righteousness. But it is an external thing, not coming from oneself as love is. In so far, however, as the Law is objective, that is, in accordance with essential human nature, it provides the conditions in which love can develop. The Law is narrow and compulsive in its application since it depends on words and their formal interpretation and on fear and coercion. Love is wider and offers greater freedom, initiative and creativity to the individual. Righteousness, however, is wider still and frees the individual both from outer and inner restrictions and compulsions. However, the Law may be obeyed not because of fear of punishment, but because of love of Allah, or on consciousness of Allah or Surrender. In which case obedience to Law is raised to these higher levels.

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How is the Good possible:-

To do good or evil implies that we can choose between them. If we are all subject to the Causal Law and all our actions are determined by our inherited characteristics and past experiences, how can we do anything other than what we do? In order to cater for the possibility of moral action some people have invented the theory of Free Will. But this raises the problem that if our actions are uncaused then they must also be unreasonable and arbitrary. We cannot, for instance, say that we have arrived at the conclusion that we ought to behave in such and such a way, by means of such and such a process of thought, since this would then be the cause of our action. The point to be made here is that man has the faculty for thinking in order to analyse and synthesise the data of experience. He also has the capacity to seek appropriate experiences, the capacity of perception at various levels, and to act according to knowledge so obtained. Though this does not make him independent of the experience of reality, he does become independent of the restrictions of instinct, conditioned reflexes and habits. He has the capacity to learn, to grow psychologically, to develop, to evolve.

Man does not possess free will. He does, however, possess both will and freedom. Freedom arises from the fact that human beings are capable of numerous alternative actions, though the choice will depend on some cause. This freedom can increase or decrease just as the freedom of motion of a marble decreases and increases with the size of the bowl in which it is placed. A child may have to learn by rote that 2+2 makes 4, and 2+3 makes 5, and so on. But once it has grasped the principle of addition it is free of this kind of learning and can add any numbers. Later it grasps the principle of multiplication and reaches another freedom. It advances from sense data to percepts, to concepts and to ideas in the same way. There are changes in level such that the level below can be controlled from the level above.

Will, however, refers to the capacity to act according to knowledge and conscious intention rather than through habit or instinct. When a man intends to lift his arm, then the cells of his muscles respond. If the arm lifted itself this would be regarded as a disease. The individual too belongs as a cell to a greater whole, which again belongs as part to a still greater whole. To say that a man ought to respond only to Allah implies that he should have uncovered that faculty within himself which is sensitive to the fundamental force, the Spirit. He should be able to control lesser forces, e.g. habits, reflexes, social pressures, the patterns produced by racial history or changes in mood which may have been caused by changes in the weather, other environmental stresses, or the radiations coming from the sun or even further afield.

The Prophet Muhammad while teaching that everything is entirely determined by Allah, was asked by his companions what was the point of trying to do anything if everything was already predetermined. He answered: that, too, was predetermined. In other words whatever you do, whether you strive or not, there are causes for it, even your opinions and questions. To do what one ought to do implies putting oneself under the conditions where appropriate causes will operate. The religious or ethical teaching is itself a causal factor affecting the behaviour of people. If it were not so then there would have been no point in introducing it. From the Social point of view, it means that an ideological system, an educational system, a system of social approval and disapproval or a system of rewards and punishments are provided to regulate behaviour.

The Good, we have seen, can be done because of the inherent faculty of conscience. But the Fall implies that this has been suppressed. Therefore, the Good can only be done by uncovering and regenerating this faculty. The technique by which the Good can be done and evil avoided, recommended by the Quran is the cultivation of the Knowledge, Love and Fear of Allah. Behaviour governed by the love of Allah is obviously superior to behaviour governed by the fear of Allah. The knowledge of Allah produces the love and fear of Allah. The love of Allah also involves the fear to offend Him, and the fear of Allah creates love because of His Beneficence and Mercy. The fear of Allah overcomes all the other fears which govern behaviour. Fear, in this sense, refers not to physical but spiritual fear, the fear of harming one’s soul.

However, where these are absent, the causal force will either be provided by mental conditioning through training and habit formation, or by the use of social approval and disapproval, or by the use of punishment and reward, incentives and disincentives. These lower methods have to be used to prevent degeneration into chaos and in order to create conditions in which behaviour based on the love and fear of Allah can develop.

Good and evil are possible because, though the awareness, desire and ability to do good are inbuilt into man:-

(a) there are causes in experience (physical, social and psychological) which condition man to behave otherwise.

(b) In particular, the higher spiritual faculty is suppressed and this leads human beings to form attachments to lower physical and mental faculties.

(c) It also causes distortion of psychological mechanisms such as rationalisations based on fantasy and wishful thinking. This makes behaviour subjective, automatic (habitual), mechanical (reactive).

It is, therefore, possible to re-establish the good by (a) changing the environmental (physical, social and psychological) causes (b) establishing educational and cultural elements which lead to the efforts required for the practice of detachment (c) uncover and reactivate the higher spiritual faculty.

The argument about how the good is possible can be reduced to this:- Human beings have the spirit of Allah in them., Therefore, their behaviour should have and will inherently have, the characteristics of Allah, namely unity and consistency, goodness including compassion, and generosity, mercy, tolerance, and forgiveness, truth, wisdom, justice, power and beauty.

There are three parts to the argument:- (1) That Allah exists (2) That His spirit is in man (3) That He has the qualities mentioned.

Since the term “Allah” refers to the fundamental reality, then that must exist and it must also be in man. That He has the qualities mentioned becomes obvious from the unity of existence - that things are, in fact, inter-dependant and cooperate, that the whole maintains the parts, and the parts have a function with respect to the whole. This unity cannot be maintained with out these qualities, or conversely, the qualities derive from the unity. It also follows that if the parts do not cooperate but rebel then the whole itself must limit or remove them for its own sake. Thus, the four question in ethics derive from the definition of goodness itself.

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Why do good?

The third question is:- Why should we do that which is good?

The answer is:- We do it for our own good, our psychological or spiritual benefit. The desire to benefit ourselves is built into us. It is not a matter of choice. If Allah is self-existing, then we must presume that He possesses a self-preservative principle. And if all things are derived from Him then they too must possess the urge to be united with Him. However we may misinterpret our needs and what is good for us. The intelligent thing to do is, therefore, to discover what is good for us, not to invent it.

“Whosoever goes right, it is only for the good of his soul that he goes right, and whosoever errs, errs only to its hurt. No laden soul can bear another’s load.” 17:15 and 41:46, 45:15

“And whosoever strives, strives only for himself, for Lo! Allah is altogether Independent of all creatures.” 3:97

Allah is independent of all creatures and we do not affect Allah by what we do. A tree produces many seed which fall to the ground. Only some of these grow into new trees. The others rot away but are not lost. They fertilise those that grow. It does not matter to the world which of these grows or rot away. It matters only to the individual himself, whether he grows or not. The overall plan is not affected.

This appears to be a selfish motive, since it implies love of self. But the self described in the Quran is the soul, that which exists in relation to Allah. It is not the ego. It is not possible to be truly selfish, or unselfish, unless one knows ones soul.

“He who knows his soul knows Allah” (a saying attributed to the Caliph Omar).

The cultivation of the truth, love and fear of Allah is, therefore, necessary. Fear at this level implies the spiritual fear of separation, disintegration and alienation from ones roots and foundations. It is part of love, the desire to return to and unite with ones roots. This is also the meaning of the word ‘Religion’. It is a psychological need which has been suppressed into the unconscious mind.

It is important to realise that good and evil are defined in terms of their effects on the psyche, not in terms of wealth, social advantages, physical or mental welfare or pleasure, or some other external effects. There is conscience associated with the soul and human beings do have natural sympathy for others. The mind itself requires that all similars should be treated similarly. It is a fact that we interact, are interdependent and that we are also all related genetically. We derive from a single ancestry. Our actions affect others who react and affect us. The welfare of all is our welfare and vice versa. We affect each other materially by the air and food we eat and recycle, mechanically, through sound, speech and action, electro-magnetically through light and sight and perhaps also more directly through brain waves, biologically through bacteria, psychologically through emotions, culturally through ideas and socially through marriages, politics and economics.

According to Jesus the good, the possibility of doing good and the reason for doing good, and the basis for the law are comprehended in the following formula:-

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 22:37- 40

There is a third implication here, that a person loves himself. Since the Divine Spark is in man, the love of God, the love of neighbour and the love of self are identical. The realisation of this and behaviour in accord with it is Surrender.

“Say: My worship and my sacrifice, and my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the Worlds.” 6:163

The same teachings are also given by Moses as found in the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. The Prophet Muhammad formulated them as follows:-

“That you should love for Allah’s sake and hate for Allah’s sake and employ your tongue in making mention of Allah. That you should like other people to have what you like yourself, and dislike that they should have what you dislike yourself.”

The Prophet was asked whether the key to Paradise was not “There is no god but Allah”. The Prophet replied:-

“Yes, but every key has a ward. If you bring a key with wards the door will be opened for you, otherwise it will not.”

It has to be correctly understood, correctly motivated and this means it has to be correctly taught.

We ought to do good and avoid evil because:-

(1) It accords with our own nature. and therefore, we do it for our own spiritual welfare and development. This desire is built into us.

(2) All human souls are one. We are part of the society and of humanity, as a cell in our body is part of that body. Therefore, the welfare and development of each individual is linked with that of the society and of humanity. This awareness is built into us and produces natural conscience or love which is often repressed.

(3) Humanity, however, is a part of all life and of the planet in which it has arisen, and they are inter-dependent with these. There is an unconscious feeling of identity which ought to exist at the conscious level.

(4) Humanity also contains a spark of the divine. They are, in fact, instruments of Allah. This gives them the awareness, the faculties and the responsibilities which make them human. The identity with, and the love of, Allah should be a natural part of their humanity. Flouting this destroys their humanity.

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The methods of establishing the Good:-

Having established what good and evil are, how they are possible, why good should be done, the next purpose of ethics is to establish the good in the community. (Quran 3:104)

This has three aspects:- (a) to prevent evil (b) to do good (c) to maintain the good.

Actions, like objects, tend to be neutral. They can be good or evil, or both good and evil to different proportions in different circumstances. Knives can be used by surgeons or murderers. When a miscreant is punished, then this punishment obviously means that some harm is being done to him from his point of view. This is why forgiveness is regarded as a virtue. But this may lead miscreants to do even more harm. The following principles should, therefore, be applied:-

1. The amount of good done should always outweigh the amount of evil done.

2. If it is possible to do greater good, then doing less good is evil.

3. If it is possible to decrease the amount of evil, then not to do this is evil.

There are ultimately four methods of establishing the good, namely the cultivation of Justice, Love, and Truth, notions connected with the main attributes of Allah. These correspond to the impulses of hope, love and faith. A fourth requirement is Power, also derived from Allah, which also includes ability, the quality useful in establishing it.

Justice - Every action has consequences according to natural law both in the individual himself and in the environment on which he depends. The environment, therefore, affects a person according to how he has affected it. The Legal system men create must be based on such laws otherwise it will create injustices which will have detrimental affects on the whole community.

Love - A person acts morally when he does that which will benefit himself, others and the common environment and avoids doing that which will harm him, others or the common environment. This is called love. Therefore, love should be cultivated.

Truth - We are all parts of a greater totality into which we fit and towards which we have a function. We need to recognise this and act accordingly. Therefore, knowledge should be cultivated.

It is necessary to realise that these three correspond to the levels of being - minerals, living things and human beings. The first are governed entirely by laws while in the second we also find the principles of love and compassion, as in the love of parents for their off-springs and in the co-operation found in groups, but the consciousness of truth which requires complete unity and consistency is an attribute of human consciousness.

It follows, therefore, that all the methods which develop these three factors are good and those which militate against them are evil. Instead of the slogan ‘Freedom, Equality, Fraternity’, the slogan should be ‘Justice, Love, Truth’.

The methods of doing ‘good’ consist of the following:-

1. Since people are socially conditioned to function below their capacities special psychological methods must be used.

(a) The cultivation of the remembrance of Allah and a person’s relationship with Him.

(b) The use of methods which uncover and develop conscience, consciousness and will. Prayer, meditation etc

(c) The constant study of the Quran, other scriptures and uplifting literature to remind, deepen and reinforce the values.

(d) Meditation and pondering upon oneself and nature in general.

(e) The deliberate practice of kindness, charity, love, forgiveness, mutual help. This creates the outer conditions in which the inner conditions can develop. Where everyone is selfish there self-preservation itself requires the cultivation of self-interest.

(f) The cultivation of empathy. Most criminals and miscreants are persons who cannot or do not feel for their victims. They have never thought about the damage they do. This must be counteracted.

(g) The provision of training in useful directions; the cultivation of purposes. Much misdemeanour is due to aimlessness and boredom.

(h) The use of Psychological methods of dissolving evil. For instance resentment is dissolved by forgiveness. Attitudes of tolerance remove irritation. Non-expectancy removes disappointment. The cultivation of optimism and gratitude removes resentment.

2. The establishment of social conditions which facilitate good psychological development. This includes a good loving family life. The generations should be brought up in a home, family and surroundings where they learn from life, example and interaction with the virtuous.

3. Education, intellectual, emotional and behavioural; to establish an appropriate educational system in which people can learn what is good, how to do it, and to be correctly motivated. Reformation of evil doers should be done through proper guidance and training. In particular they need a correct self-image and a purpose in life.

4. The establishment of social and environmental conditions in which it is possible to do good and avoid evil; the removal of physical conditions which force evil or obstruct good. Starving people, for instance cannot be expected not to steal. In fact the right to live has a greater priority. Stealing food to feed ones family becomes relatively good. Tyrannies and Injustices of all kinds breed crime and uprisings. The availability of good advice and help.

5. The establishment of a cultural, ideological and value system in which there is a channelling of effort, a stimulus to good and discouragement of evil. The ambition to get rich combined with the idea that nothing but wealth and pleasure matters, and the creation of temptations and stimuli through advertisements and shop displays, for instance, are not conducive to high moral values. There should be good social examples and publicity for them. There need to be appropriate social heroes, social pressures through exhortation, condemnation and praise. The nature of newspapers, magazines, television and cinema must be controlled.

6. Prevention of evil by intervention. The removal of temptations; the use of locks, security systems, records of transactions etc. Treatment of the psychological causes of crime. The removal of habitual criminals or psychopaths from the situation in which they commit crimes or away from the society altogether into prisons. Advertisement, propaganda and exhortations to buy things are often invitations to commit crime.

7. Justice - punishment and reward. Nature itself regulates life by this method. The law generally deals with punishment only, leaving rewards to the market forces. But there ought not to be this difference. Both require intelligent application. Three levels should be recognised here:-

(a) The punishment and reward must be defined by Law, and the Law should be created by objective research, not whims and speculations.

(b) There has to be a scrutiny. The criminal must be caught. The virtuous must be known. The Police undertakes the investigation and catching of criminals.. Journalists investigate and report on the virtuous, but also on miscreants.

(c) Trials have to be carried out. This requires Judges and lawyers. But the public in general must also be involved, not only because a crime is an offence against the society, but also because they must see that justice is done both as an education and for the maintenance of Justice. Trials, however, are not merely carried out in criminal courts but also in industry and government departments, in factory, office or shop. People are appointed or dismissed after assessment by some tribunal or individual. Justice demands that this, too, should be done in the open.

The courts tend to make a distinction only between the guilty and the innocent. This is because the logical mind sees things in dichotomies. This does not constitute justice. In fact there are many shades of grey between black and white. At least five degrees of judgement should be recognised, namely:-

(a) Guilty (b) Guilty of the act but having extenuating circumstances. (c) Undecided, since good and evil, guilt and innocence are in balance. (d) Not guilty of the act, but culpable. (e) Innocent.

A starving man who steals or one who retaliates when severely provoked is not the same as one who does evil deliberately. In a conflict between two people, it may well be that the accuser is as guilty as the accused. He who accuses falsely should himself be prosecuted, It may be that a person did a good act, but the side effects were bad, or vice versa, or that he had good intentions but went about achieving it in the wrong way. It is the duty of the individual to ensure that as far as possible he obtains the correct knowledge and the correct skills. A person need not do the act himself but provoke it or employ someone else to do it, or lie, deceive and manipulate circumstances to produce an evil result. Everyone is to be held responsible for his own actions. The one who carries out an order is as much responsible as the one who gives the orders.

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NOTES

Good is the natural state and evil is caused by man because of defects. Evil behaviour must, therefore have causes. The causes may be:-

1. People suffer from what has been called psychopathy to various degrees. This is a lack of empathy, the ability to put themselves in the position of others, and consult only their own desires. This condition could be inherent or may be caused by faulty up-bringing.

2. People have built in needs and tolerances. Situations may arise in the social or physical environment where there is a conflict of interest which may last for varying lengths of time. Violence and murder may be committed in sudden flares of anger. Famines, wars or conditions of intense economic competition may lead to more selfish behaviour. This depends on changing environmental and socio-political circumstances.

3. Frustration or fulfillment of needs depends on whether people have sufficient abilities to fulfill them and on whether the physical or social environment provides the opportunities to fulfill them. Frustration of needs creates the natural desire to get rid of the causes of that frustration, to aggression. Observation and self-observation shows that everyone has inner resentments, hates, prejudices, which also lead to fantasies about murder, mutilation and destruction. These tend to accumulate. There are periods when this inner tension reaches an explosive level and must be expressed and discharged. This happens to individuals separately and to whole groups, communities and nations. It depends on how people manage their own psyche, how they are educated and how the society is organized.

4. The feelings and actions do not depend only on inner needs and on the environment which supplies those needs, but also on how people see and interpret both. This channels their needs and determines how they constructs their environment. It is responsible for both good and evil. Interpretation depends on how people are educated.

One who has murdered because of provocation is not similar to one who has done so for self-defense or one who is a psychopath, or one whose cultural and educational background causes him to demand that honour be satisfied, or one who does not possess sufficient skills or education to fulfill his needs or one whose social or political situation is oppressive and provides no opportunities. The prevention of evil requires action at all these levels. The Law must be so constructed as to facilitate this.

The treatment of offenders should be guided by the following principles:-

(a) An offence can only be committed against Allah (The Laws of Nature, the Universe, Truth, circumstances etc), implying that it is against the nature of some individual, community, humanity, the environment, not against the State or a King. Hence the punishment is ultimately determined by Allah. against whom the offence is committed. If then the punishment by the community differs from this, there are likely to be other consequences.

(b) Forgiveness for mistakes provided these are realized and actions taken to avoid them in future, and amendments are made. Prosecutions cannot be conducted if no charge has been brought. But often people are prevented from bringing charges by threats, other kinds of suppression or even the cost or bother of prosecution. It is necessary to ensure that the forgiveness is free and comes from the victim who gains no advantages from doing this. Charges may, however, be brought not by private individuals but by officials who have social responsibilities

(c) Punishment which is to be considered as a fair exchange or price for the action, or its natural social consequence. Since people differ both in nature and circumstances the same action against two different people is not the same, whether they are the victims of the crime or the criminal. Some people are more sensitive than others. Imprisonment for those who cannot bear restriction is a greater punishment than for others. A monetary fine for the rich man is less of a punishment than for a poor man. It is a greater crime to steal from someone who has worked hard to obtain what he has than to steal from one who has obtained it easily. The criminal and the victim should probably have some say in the punishment just as the seller and buyers of goods have a say in determining prices.

(d) Reformation of the offender through proper education. The pain by punishment should cause an awareness in the culprit of the pain he has caused.

(e) Retraining for some useful work.

(f) Isolation of the offender from the area where he can do damage.

(g) Deterring the offender and others from future offence.

(h) Expressing the disapproval of the Society for evil actions. The punishment will be severe in proportion to this disapproval. Ridicule, contempt, dishonour and ostracism are often more effective than physical punishment or incarceration.

(i) The offender should always be required to recompense the victim.

“And there is life for you in retaliation, O men of understanding, that ye may ward off evil.” 2:179

“Good deeds annul ill deeds. This is a reminder for the mindful.” 11:114

“Retaliation is prescribed for you.....there is life for you in retaliation.”” 2:178-179

“Worship preserves from lewdness and iniquity, but verily remembrance of Allah is more important. ” 29:45

“The good deed and the evil deed are not alike. Repel the evil deed with a better one, then lo! he between whom and thee there was enmity will become as though he was a bosom friend. But none is granted it save those who are steadfast, and none is granted it save the owner of great happiness. And when a whisper from the devil reach thee then seek refuge in Allah. ” 41:34-36

“Ye are the best community that hath been raised up for mankind. Ye enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency. ” 3:110

Good actions are expected from human beings, since they benefit the individual directly. They are a reward in themselves. No other reward for good actions should be expected. Evil actions, however, are expected from those who do not have adequate understanding or those who are driven by necessity.

Retaliation is a normal reaction. It is a natural means of controlling conduct. The punishment must be equal to the evil done. There is a right to retaliate in order to restore balance. Pleasure attracts and pain repels. These are punishment and reward due to the consequence of natural law. If a person puts his finger into the fire and burns it this is according to natural law. If a person jumps and then, falling to the ground, hurts himself this is natural law. If a person injures another and this other person, in order to defend himself or to discharge his resentment, returns the injury then this is also natural law. Interference with this natural law is itself injustice. All learning depends on the discovery of these natural laws. And if there is interference with this then no learning can take place and a distortion of the world view occurs. For instance the Class distinctions which still exist in many countries distorts the view which people have of each other, and this distortion propagates the social injustices. It also colours their view of the whole of life and reality itself.

According to the Hebrew Law of Justice, ‘an eye for an eye...’ is to apply. But Jesus, also a Prophet accepted in Islam, taught the Law of Love. To do good unto others and forgive them the wrongs they do unto you. How are these to be reconciled? The fact is that retaliation does an injury to someone. It is, therefore, an evil. The problem with forgiveness is that many who can get away with impunity will continue to do wrong. And this, too, is an evil. Without law there would be chaos. Others would have to do wrong for the sake of self- preservation.

The Islamic teaching combines the two and clarifies this apparent contradiction.

“A kind word with forgiveness is better than alms followed by injury .” 2:263

“And We prescribed for them (the Jews) therein (in the Torah): The life for the life, and the eye for the eye, and the nose for the nose, and the ear for the ear, and the tooth for the tooth, and for wounds retaliation. But whoso forgoes it in the way of charity it shall be an expiation for him. Whoso judges not by that which Allah hath revealed, such are the wrongdoers. ” 5:45

“Be ye staunch in justice, witnesses for Allah, even though it be against yourselves or your parents or your kindred, whether the case be of a rich man or a poor man.” 4:135

“The recompense for an injury is an injury the like thereof. But whosoever forgives and amends, his wage is the affair of Allah. Lo! He loves not wrong-doers. And whoso defends himself after he has suffered wrong - for such, there is no blame. Blame is only against those who oppress mankind, and wrongfully rebel in the earth. For such there is a painful doom. And verily whoso is patient and forgives - lo! that verily, is the steadfast heart of things.” 42:40-43

The Hebrew Law is the Law of Justice. The Christian is the Law of Love. The ‘eye for an eye’ is a social law, while love is a spiritual law. The one has social benefits but the other has psychological benefits.

But Jesus goes a step further. He taught ‘turning the other cheek’, letting evil discharge itself. Christian nations obviously ignore this. Islam teaches ‘repelling evil deeds by good deeds’. This may either consist of shaming an evil doer into desisting by doing good or removing or neutralizing the causes of the evil action in him, healing the resentment or disease or supplying the frustrated need.

Consider the following: If a person does some injury to another, it produces resentment in the latter. He discharges this resentment by doing some injury back to that person, or if he cannot, to someone else. This person also becomes resentful and must discharge it. And so, by the law of motion and cause and effect, things continue for ever. The action continues until something changes it; the change is proportional to the effort made to change it; and it also has an equal and opposite reaction, that is, on the person who initiates the action. In so far as we have a closed society the effects will eventually return to the first individual. This individual, however, acted as he did because of already existing causes. There is a vicious circle. No change occurs in the society until we get an individual who transforms the resentment within himself by forgiveness. He may, for instance, pity the person, seeing that he could not help his actions due to injury done to him. This person has not only transformed the energy and used it for his own development, but he has actually brought to a stop the entire cycle of events. He has transformed the Society itself. Other virtues have a similar effect.

The Islamic Rules of Interaction may be stated as being - do good to others, make agreements for mutual benefit, do not be the first to break agreements, retaliate if agreements are broken or evil is done, forgive.

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The Evolutionary force in the Universe may be said to take, in man, the form of a Life Force. This differentiates into three interdependent urges:- self-preservation, reproduction and self-extension. The one concerns the welfare of the individual, the second to the welfare of the race and the third has a cosmic function and is the main justification for religion. It is observable that secular morality and law confines itself almost wholly to the self-preservative requirements of man, and even in this it emphasizes physical preservation at the expense of social or psychological welfare. The other two needs are almost wholly neglected. Nor does it cover all, being designed only for certain groups who may even be in the minority.

Probably the biggest single cause of suffering in the West is adultery and sexual licentiousness. It causes a great amount of social and psychological harm and through them economic harm also. But this is not recognized and dealt with by Western Law because it does not concern property and because it was not in the interest of those who had the power and made the laws. It is probably also a reaction, a swing of the pendulum, from the extreme sexual repression created by the Christian Church. One extreme always leads to another. The Islamic attitude is balanced. It combines maximum sexual freedom with maximum protection of the family. The family rather than the individual is the social unit. The individual, being unable to reproduce, is clearly not a complete or viable unit. The one sex cannot exist without the other. Indeed, sexual differentiation is part of a universal differentiation into a pair of opposites.

Perhaps, the fact that the human population is already getting too congested for the resources of the earth, the reproductive rate must decline or the death rate increase. Nature herself contains balances. The differences between the sexes decreases and homosexuality and infertility appears to be a methods used by nature to overcome the population problem. The death rate is increased not only because of increasing poverty which also brings about disease, but also by wars, insurrections, riots, mass neurosis or psychosis, violent crimes, accidents, infanticide and so on. An intelligent control of the population is certainly required if all this is to be avoided. But because of sensuality and attachment to pleasure great emphasis is placed by the culture on indiscriminate sexual stimulation. The emphasis should be on sexual sublimation, the diversion of sexuality into more creative or developmental channels. This is usually achieved in marriages because of its association with love which it ought to deepen. When sexuality is diverted into self-development then the population problem is likely to resolve itself. The evolutional force, increasing order, would be diverted from increasing quantity to improving quality. Sexual stimulation produces the reverse effects. It destroys the families in which the development of the partners as well as the child is best accomplished.

Indiscriminate and promiscuous sexual activity destroys the capacity to form deep and stable relationships. Not only does adultery cause suffering to the spouses but by destroying families it does much psychological damage to the children. It destroys the social structure which is a network of families. In so far as sexuality has been confined to sensual pleasures, it has also created attachments to material objects. Love of family has become love of self and of objects. It puts in doubt the parentage and identity of the children, thereby destroying the interest of the fathers in the children. Indeed, the children have a need to know their parents and the circumstances of their origin. Their self-image is connected with this. Infanticide, abortion, neglect and cruelty to children, incest, all have become rampant. The reduction of sexuality to sensual pleasure, and abortion, in particular, is the result of, and propagates the devaluation of life in general, thereby facilitating indifference, cruelty, violence, murder and war. A great number of children grow up delinquent, bewildered, neurotic and with inadequate or defective personality development. The transfer of experience, culture and morality from one generation to the next, and its accumulation and development, is put into jeopardy. Though information and skills can be transferred by other means, motivation and morality cannot, and this in turn affects the other two.

Although many factors affect the way children are brought up, one important aspect is that the children should be genetically compatible with those who have an environmental affect on them. The influence which a person sheds on others depends on their character and temperament which is largely determined by their genetic make up. If the genetic make-up of the child is similar, as it would be in the case of parents then this facilitates and reinforces the influence. Otherwise it tends to be weakened, negated or even perverted. This may, of course, be a good thing in some cases, and other factors may modify such effects. It may well be that some people are better parents than others, kinder, wiser, more responsible and devoted. But on average the love of the parent for their child and the child for the parent cannot be equaled. And this love is not merely a question of external association but also of genetic identity. A natural rapport, empathy or resonance is established. Teachers and institutions cannot be adequate substitutes.

There is little doubt that morality connected with sexuality is more important than that connected with self-preservation, because here we are dealing with the welfare and development of the whole race not merely with individuals. The emphasis which Islam, as also other religions place on sexual morality is, therefore, easily understood.

It is probable that the widespread adultery in the West is the result of a misunderstanding of something said by Jesus. Christians tend to excuse adultery by pointing to the New Testament where Jesus forgave and released a woman who was caught in adultery and was about to be stoned according to Jewish law. (John 8: 3 - 11). He pointed out to those who were condemning her that they had all sinned. He asked the person who had not sinned to cast the first stone. Being convicted by their own conscience, no one did. Jesus then let the woman go saying “ Go and sin no more.”

Several points about this story should be noted. Jesus did not condone the sin, but told the woman not to sin in future. He did not himself prevent the punishment. There was hypocrisy in their condemnation. Jesus was motivated by compassion and understanding. The story itself is found only in one of the Gospels. It is not mentioned in the others. Some versions of the New Testament omit it altogether on the grounds that it is not authentic.

Adultery cannot be justified by this story. Indeed, according to Jesus, he who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery in his heart (Matthew 5:28). Islam takes practical steps to prevent this.

Muhammad was faced with a similar situation. But here a woman who had committed adultery came to him and confessed her sin. She was with child. He sent her away asking her to return after the child was born. He, too, was driven by compassion, and tried his best to ignore the confession, or to find excuses for her. But in the end, when all else failed, he had to let the law take its course. Spiritually speaking the woman had saved herself by repenting, accepting the consequences and paying her debt. Socially, not to have done so would have set a bad precedence causing enormous harm to thousands of imitators over the centuries.

Modern Western attitude to morality is often incorporated in arguments such as the following:-

1. It is the end of the 20th century. Conditions have changed. Some types of behaviour, particularly concerning sexual relationships, which were unacceptable in the past have become common place today. Morality is, therefore, relative and we ought not to be old fashioned. This argument, however, cannot be sustained. There is much more violence and crime of all kinds today than formerly, and there are dangers from atomic wars, pollution from chemical industries and so on. No one suggests that all these should now be accepted as normal.

2. Rather than condemn and punish miscreants we should be more understanding. There are causes for crime and immorality and we should try to get rid of these instead. This appears to be reasonable, but understanding has not gone far enough. This attitude has itself become a cause for the increase in crime. People no longer take responsibility for their actions, but place the blame for these on their upbringing, the social environment and so on. The consequence has been that many people indulge in self-pity and have become embittered because they feel they have been deprived of certain rights and privileges about which they knew nothing in the past, and this motivates their criminal behaviour. The punishment of crimes is itself educational in that it shows social disapproval apart from having a deterrent effect.

3. We ought to be forgiving. To punish someone is to do him an injury, and this reduces the person or the society which does so, to the same level as the criminal. Forgiveness, according to all religions, is a virtue. It seems strange that despite the decline of religion, this aspect of religion has been retained. There is probably a misunderstanding here. Firstly, forgiveness is good for the person who forgives not for the miscreant. This is because a person who harbours bitterness continues to be psychologically harmed. The crime committed by the criminal is greater than that which can be attributed to his action directly. But the victim has some control over the indirect results. Secondly, forgiveness for the miscreant is only effective on condition that he repents. If he does not, and intentionally continues to do the crime, forgiveness is futile. Thirdly, compassion cannot only be directed towards the miscreant. He is not the only person involved. It must also be directed towards the victims. The injury done to them can be partially relieved when there is recompense or a paying back. The adulterers, for instance, have injured their spouses, children and families. Fourthly, an immoral act is done within a social context. It has consequences far beyond the individuals concerned. It provides experiences and data which is incorporated in the thinking of others. It has powers of suggestion and may lead to imitation. Fifthly, Compassion is not the only virtue. Wisdom and Capability are two others. It is perfectly possible to do a great amount of social harm by compassion alone when the other two virtues are ignored.

The Islamic attitude towards good and evil may be summarized as follows:-

1. What we think is good or evil, because of our likes and dislikes, is not necessarily so in fact, Allah is the ultimate judge. Rather, we must try to discover what is good or evil, what will benefit or harm us from the evolutionary point of view and act accordingly.

2. Good is done without an expectation of reward. If it is done for reward then this becomes a commercial transaction. Having received the reward there can be no spiritual benefits.

3. A person should do that which is right and good without calculating or considering consequences to himself, since they are Allah’s commands and the consequences are also in the hands of Allah. Not to do so means that evil will multiply, and the coward responsible for this must share the blame. It is the lack of courage in opposing evil which has caused it to flourish. Civilizations probably rise and fall because of fluctuations in this kind of courage.

4. If someone does an evil against us, we must not hate the evil doer. Anger is to be controlled. Hate and anger are harmful to the individual who harbours them. We must have compassion because:-

(a) We have all done evil. It is difficult to avoid it. We can be judged just as harshly as we judge others.

(b) The evil doer may be as he is because of the evil done to him. He may have suffered from cruelty, deprivation, persecution, a bad upbringing.

(c) We can have compassion for him because of the hate which is destroying him, or the ignorance he is suffering.

(d) to punish a person is to inflict suffering on him, and this evil should be avoided.

5. An evil act does not necessarily condemn a person, nor does a good act necessarily make him praise worthy, for the following reasons:-

(a) A person will be condemned only for the greater sins. These are the ones which do irreversible damage.

“If ye but avoid the greater of the things ye are forbidden, We shall remove the evil in you, and admit you to a Gate of honour.” 4:31

(b) He will be judged by the balance of the good and evil he does, not particular acts. This follows from the fact that a person harms himself by every evil deed and benefits himself from every good deed.

“Allah tasks not a soul beyond its scope. For it is only that which it has earned, and against it only that which it has deserved.” 2:286

(c) A person is required to do the best he can, and the abilities given to people differ.

” Say (O Muhammad): O my people, work according to your power. Lo! I too am working thus. “ 6:136

But we cannot use our limitations as an excuse for not making efforts. Techniques for development exist and should be used.

”We task not any soul beyond its scope, and with Us is a record which speaks the truth, and they will not be wronged.” 23:62 Also 2:286 above.

Note: It has been discovered that when a certain threshold of pain is reached, the brain itself produces chemicals which suppress pain. There is, therefore a limit to suffering. This ability of the brain is also used deliberately by Yogis and others to control pain. The mind, too, is able to withdraw itself from the experience of pain.

(d) He may be driven not by intention but by inner need, outer compulsion or circumstances. His action may have been the result of extreme provocation or temptation, or due to a fit of passion. Efforts should be made to remove such causes.

“Whoso is forced by hunger, not by will, to sin, for him Allah is Forgiving, Merciful” 5:3

(e) He may have made a mistake or done wrong through ignorance and lack of skill. It is, however, a duty to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills, and a person may be blameworthy for not doing this.

(f) He may have done something accidentally. A person is obliged to remove the causes of accidents.

(g) He may have been compelled by his upbringing, culture, training or education. Efforts should be made to improve these or counteract any evil influences these may have.

The Muslim is, therefore, required to help others overcome evil, spread and emphasize goodness and conceal the weaknesses of others; not to indulge in gossip, criticizing, scandal mongering, broadcasting or publishing evil. Although secrecy which allows evil to flourish is wrong and not allowed, the publicity of evil is also wrong not only because it humiliates, but because it desensitizes people and makes it acceptable by produces the impression that it is normal. It is probable that the Western Sensationalist press is responsible for the widespread lowering of moral standards.

6. It may be necessary to punish an evil action, to retaliate:-

(a) As a preventive measure for others.

(b) To reform the wrongdoer. Pain is educational in that it teaches a person what to avoid. It may also make the culprit aware of the pain he is causing. Many evils are done because the perpetrator is quite unaware of the harm he is doing.

(c) To make the culprit pay for the harm he has done; to make compensation. The law of exchange must be upheld.

7. Human beings are all related. Humanity is one. Each person is another person but for the accident of inheritance and circumstance. They interact and are inter-dependent.

The golden rule is to treat others as one would treat oneself and would like to be treated. But there are certain restrictions to this.

(a) One has to know what is good for one and for others. It is perfectly possible to be mistaken about this, in which case evil will be done to others even when the intention is good.

(b) People and creatures differ. So do their circumstances. What is good for one is not necessarily good for another. We cannot treat the healthy in the same way as the ill. The rule cannot be applied at the superficial level.

(c) The rule requires both introspection and awareness of others. Thus, Islam requires that a good deed be done even before it is asked for.

8. Indeed, all life is one. Morality, therefore, applies to all life.

“There is not an animal in the earth, nor a flying creature flying on two wings, but they are people like you.” 6:38

9. If someone does an evil he should repent. This requires:-

(a) regret for the action.

(b) resolution not to repeat it.

(c) making compensations to undo the harm by an equivalent good act.

Forgiveness can only apply to those who repent. If they do not, they will continue to do evil and this must be prevented.

10. In the face of evil the attitude of the Muslim is required to:-

(a) To condemn it.

(b) To find methods of preventing it effectively.

(c) To be just even if it is against himself. It may well be that the evil someone does to a person is a punishment for something the latter did.

11. If someone does an evil against a person, then though he is allowed to defend himself against it, there is spiritual advantage in:-

(a) Enduring the evil done to one patiently. It may be that the anger and frustration of the evil doer needs expression and resolution for his own good. This is probably the meaning of the Christian “turning the other cheek” rather than inviting evil to be done.

(b) Continuing to do good whatever others may do.

(c) Returning good for evil.

“Repel evil with that which is better.” 23:96 Also 28:54 and 42:34

12. Everyone must die and return to their Maker, where they have to give an account for what they have done with their lives. This can be understood quite naturalistically. A person during his life time does, in fact, cause changes in the society and the environment by his actions, good or bad, and this capacity ceases on death, though the effects may continue for a long time, e.g. through books, institutions or movements. A person should be aware of this, and try to achieve something, to do some good in the world with the gift of life, talents and resources given him in order to justify his existence. He has a debt to Allah which must be repaid. The awareness of ones birth, dependant existence and mortality is important in this respect and should be cultivated.

Ultimately, man has to transcend his likes and dislikes, acceptance and rejection, good and evil. Both are from Allah.

Islam does not have the equivalent of the Hebrew Ten Commandments, but these are accepted as valid. There is probably no need to give a list of the evils which are forbidden or the virtues which are encouraged since most people recognize them not only because all religions teach them, but also because this recognition appears to be inherent in man.

Some of the evils are as follows:- Idolatry, Murder, theft, injuring, adultery, fornication, lying, treachery, deception, hypocrisy, prejudice, arrogance, suspiciousness, haughtiness, envy, laziness, apathy, gluttony, lust, avarice, anger, vanity and frivolousness, back-biting, boasting, defamation, annoying, provocation, false accusation, perfidy, vulgarity, derision, despair, extravagance, miserliness and niggardliness, hoarding, drunkenness, gambling, circumlocution, talkativeness, exaggeration, secretiveness, following that of which one has no knowledge, argumentativeness, cowardice, cynicism and so on.

Some of the virtues are as follows:- Godliness, truthfulness, integrity, self-control, humility, unselfishness, chastity, justice, peacefulness, gentleness, perseverance, concern, purity of motives, sincerity; discharging responsibilities, debts and duties; trustworthiness, cooperation, courage, energy, enthusiasm, tolerance, forgiveness, gratitude, cheerfulness, endurance, patience, charity, generosity, magnanimity, consideration, faithfulness, loyalty, cleanliness, seeking knowledge, supporting good causes, helping others against tyranny, persecution or injustice, and so on.

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A great amount of confusion exists in the field of ethics owing to the use of words such as ‘natural, unnatural and supernatural or normal, abnormal and supernormal or inherent, acquired and chosen’. They arise from conventions and should not have ethical implications. Nor do words such as ‘primitive, old-fashioned, immature, sophisticated, largest, greatest, the most powerful, foremost, leading, advanced’ and so on. All these could be either good or bad and have no ethical meaning unless they specifically refer to moral qualities. Characteristics may be admired or despised by people, but this does not necessarily imply correct moral judgments.

The first thing that must be noted is that everything that arises is natural. Diseases and are natural, disasters are natural, crimes are natural, homosexuality and sexual perversions are natural. But we do not condone these though they are natural. The second point to be made is that there is great variety in nature, so that given any particular characteristic it may be more or less rare. Left-handedness is abnormal, but it does not necessarily debilitate people. The sighted man in a community of the blind, or the healthy man among the diseased, is abnormal. A brilliant intellect is rare and so is very low intelligence. The fact that a majority of people have a certain opinion does not make it right or good. The third point to be made is that the actions of person have certain effects, beneficial or harmful, irrespective of whether their causes are inherent, acquired or chosen. The fourth point is that something may be beneficial or harmful at one time and to some limited object or system, but the reverse in a greater context. Something may be good for a child or people at a certain stage of development but not at others. An action which is good for a particular group or nation may not be good for the society or humanity as a whole or even for the Biosphere. Something may have short term advantages, but this does not make it good in the long term. An action done to a criminal may be perceived as good by him, but when it encourages him and increases his ability to do crime and, perhaps be caught and punished, then it is not good for others, the society as a whole or to the criminal himself. Loyalty, bravery, intelligence, strength, freedom, skill, control, power, popularity, fame, wealth diverted to evil ends are not good in themselves though people admire these, while modesty, humility, self-control, simplicity, endurance, patience, mildness and generosity are often despised though they may be good.

It cannot be emphasized too much that an ethical judgment should be as objective as a scientific one, but that the good is distinct from truth, utility or beauty. It refers to our motives and actions, not merely our perceptions. It is not possible, therefore, unless it is merely an intellectual theory, to have an ethical system apart from a concept of God which refers to the ultimate Objectivity, and Surrender to Him.

Many people believe that human beings are inherently evil and that they must be taught, conditioned or forced to do good. Others believe that human beings are inherently good and that external causes must be found for the existence of evil. Still others believe that human beings are in a state of neutrality and have certain instincts, desires and ambitions, but that the physical environment, the social organization or ideology makes certain kinds of actions desirable and others undesirable.

The Islamic view is that man was created perfect but that he fell from this state of perfection owing to a combination of causes - the existence of something which was forbidden by Allah, his own initiative, curiosity and desires to explore which were built into him, and the temptations by Satan. Thus, it is his own characteristics which were affected by a pair of opposite forces. But it is also recognized that people are governed by inherent characteristics - their destination in hell or paradise is predetermined. Indeed, human beings were to be tested against each other. Evil people or at least evil actions were also predetermined so that people could grow by overcoming evil. How is this apparent contradiction to be understood?

One could suppose that the behaviour of human beings and the social and environmental conditions which they set up affects the mutations and selection of genes. Conditions existed which facilitated the multiplication of certain bad or harmful characteristics. If the earth is eventually to be inherited by the good, then we may suppose that this process can be reversed. It is, of course also entirely possible that it is not the genes which are responsible for the good or evil. They are neutral. It is the subsequent development after conception, both in the womb and within the family, the social and physical environment which causes the defects to occur. This development depends, after all, on the nutrition received and on the chemical and electromagnetic environment and perhaps on the whole quantum field. The average development will then remain the same as long as that environment lasts, and will change proportionally with changes in it.

It is also the case that the same characteristics, abilities and actions could be good or evil according to when, where, how or to what purpose they are applied. People do possess an inbuilt conscience - they have natural affections, the capacity for sympathy and empathy and can put themselves in the shoes of other people. Therefore, they can feel the pain and pleasure of others and be aware of what is beneficial or harmful for themselves and others. They do have a sense of harmony, appropriateness, consistency, goodness, truth, utility and beauty. But this capacity may be suppressed or caused to atrophy and even reversed. Some people take pleasure in harming other people, life forms or in causing destruction and disharmony.

The causes of evil may, therefore, be described as follows:-

(1) Genetic or inherent factors. Some people are born more aggressive, impulsive, less intelligent and with lower sensitivity than others. They may have less self-control, greater difficulties in learning and solving problems but have stronger or greater needs and desires. Some people may have characteristics which are very useful or not useful in certain social conditions but could be the reverse in others. Social conditions may cause the multiplication of people with certain characteristics while reducing others. Males are more individualistic, competitive and aggressive than women who are more cooperative, owing to the presence in them of testosterone. There are, therefore, a much greater number of male criminals than there are female. Yet not all males are criminals. These same characteristics are needed to solve every problem and achieve anything at all. If these characteristics were to be removed we would have a decadent community.

(2) Psychological factors.- Up-bringing, traumatic events and education may cause the formation of complexes, fixations, inhibitions, attachments, perversions and other malfunctions.

(3) Environmental factors such as poverty, various kinds of deprivation, cruelty, disease, unemployment, oppression could inhibit development or opportunities for education. Particular areas may attract or concentrate people of a certain type who encourage or inhibit one another. The need to earn a living and the industrial system may make family life difficult.

(4) Cultural And ideological factors. Though the arts, literature, magazines, cinema, television, music halls and so on may reflect or be affected by the trends in the society they are also causes of its moral state. They have an educational affect. The sciences, too, propagate the idea of a meaningless, purposeless, futile universe where only the strong gain dominance.

(5) The Law and legal system are formal, mechanical, heartless, inadequate, self-contradictory, often the instrument of injustice and protects or encourages crime and evil.

(6) The family provides the love and security where the individual learns affection, harmonious inter-personal relationships, consideration for others, and values. The erosion of the male role of responsibility for the family and the career seeking by women, both results of the emancipation of women has led to the break down of families. Men have not yet found a substitute role.

(7) The decline of religion has removed the framework in which experience is interpreted, value systems are established, and thought, feeling and actions are given direction. Faith, purpose and the sense of communal unity have atrophied. Deliberate conscious behaviour has, therefore, declined.

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It has been shown that good and evil are defined as that which cause psychological or spiritual benefits or harm to the person who does them, rather than to the victim. This can be understood only if it is understood and accepted that the nature of the psyche should ideally be universal, unitary and objective. This allows full adjustment to Reality or Allah. To benefit it is to enhance these qualities. To harm it is to cause it to narrow down (e.g. through egotism), disintegrate it or destroy its objectivity. Apart from criminal actions, selfishness, greed, addictions, lust, anger, envy, hate, lying, cowardice, laziness, despair and so on, on which crimes are based, cause such psychological harm. The harm done is itself directly the lawful effect and punishment for the evil done, and benefits are the direct rewards.

The question is that if good and evil are defined in this way what is the justification for social punishment of the criminal? He has already punished himself and we certainly do him harm. The first answer is that not everyone has the intelligence to see that he is harming himself. It is necessary, even on compassionate grounds, to provide a punishment he can understand, so that he does not harm himself, as we do with children. Secondly, the miscreant should, to benefit himself, atone or pay for his deeds. This neutralizes the harm done. Thirdly, in so far as human beings are inter-dependant and have a common source they are responsible for each other. Benefits or harm to one person also causes the same to others and to the whole community since each is part of it.

The harm done to someone through no fault of their own, flouts the law of Justice. In fact everyone is responsible in allowing a state of affairs to arise in which such crimes occur. It is necessary to (a) indicate (b) neutralize and (c) prevent evil. Retaliation is normal and exists to indicate cause and effect as everywhere else in nature. We learn from this. Many people are quite unaware of the damage they do because reactions are suppressed either by self-control, cowardice or because of the power structure of the society. Compensation or retaliation causes the neutralization of the harm done to an individual. Punishment is a retaliation which also acts as a deterrent. It should include the requirement that compensation is paid to the victim.

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As the Universe was created because of a Purpose, then it has an Ethical Structure. There are three levels to Islamic ethics which also refer to natural world as studied by Science and to our procedures in studying or doing anything. These basic notions derive from the Attributes of Allah.

(1) Justice. This notion is connected with Law, balance and measuring. It has the following features (a) that the same action will have the same consequences or causes. (b) there will be a variation of causes or consequences which is proportional to the variation of actions. (c) there is a balance between opposite factors. (d) there is a reciprocity of exchange. (e) If something is transferred or transformed into something else, there is something constant underlying it. There is a Conservation Law. Obviously, nothing can be recognized if there are no such regularities. The measures must be constant. The value of money must also be constant.

(2) Benevolence. Two words are used for this, Beneficence and Mercy. Beneficence refers to anything which promotes the welfare and development of a thing or person. In general conditions are right for the arising and maintenance of thing. The love of parents for children is an example which applies to all animals also. Mercy refers to a degree of flexibility, tolerance and adaptability or elasticity which exists in all things. Things are not injured or destroyed by small changes from a norm.

(3) Unity. This refers to things such as kinship and order. Things form part of a system to which they give up some of their autonomy. The whole so formed is more than the sum of the parts owing to the pattern or structure and controls the parts. The parts have to adjust to the whole and to each other. They must co-operate and there are feedback mechanisms such that the parts are inter-dependant. Conversely, it is the whole which produces organs according to its needs with respect to the greater system to which it belongs.

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