Islam not only emphasizes the spiritual or devotional aspect of life but also on all beneficial activities of Man. It focuses on the all-round development of his personality and social life as a whole. Muslims should be eager to do all the good deeds they come across. They know that Allah is aware of all their acts and will reward them immensely. Allah says:

وَلِكُلٍّ وِجْهَةٌ هُوَ مُوَلِّيهَا فَاسْتَبِقُوا الْخَيْرَاتِ أَيْنَ مَا تَكُونُوا يَأْتِ بِكُمُ اللَّهُ جَمِيعًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ 

“For each [religious following] is a direction toward which it faces. So race to [all that is] good. Wherever you may be, Allah will bring you forth [for judgment] altogether. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:148)

Muslims must believe in Allah. This belief should be more than only in His existence; one is supposed to believe in His immortality and His Power. Whatever the situation we are destined to face, comes to us by Allah’s will. Not even a leaf falls without His knowledge, and so neither are any of our lives or deeds out of His knowledge. The believers love Him for all the blessings and respect His wisdom for any situation that goes against their wishes. Allah says:

وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَندَادًا يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِّلَّهِ وَلَوْ يَرَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا إِذْ يَرَوْنَ الْعَذَابَ أَنَّ الْقُوَّةَ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعَذَابِ 

“Even so, there are some who choose to worship others besides God as rivals to Him, loving them with love due to God, but the believers have a greater love for God.” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:165)

Islam gives comprehensive guidance to a Muslim to develop righteousness. Thus, anyone who follows the Islamic guidance faithfully will become a person of high calibre, a person worthy of his status as a human being, the only being who has been allowed to rise above the status of even an angel. Allah says:

الَّذِينَ يَجْتَنِبُونَ كَبَائِرَ الْإِثْمِ وَالْفَوَاحِشَ إِلَّا اللَّمَمَ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ وَاسِعُ الْمَغْفِرَةِ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِكُمْ إِذْ أَنشَأَكُم مِّنَ الْأَرْضِ وَإِذْ أَنتُمْ أَجِنَّةٌ فِي بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ فَلَا تُزَكُّوا أَنفُسَكُمْ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ اتَّقَىٰ 

“Those who avoid the major sins and immoralities, only [committing] slight ones. Indeed, your Lord is vast in forgiveness. He was most knowing of you when He produced you from the earth and when you were fetuses in the wombs of your mothers. So do not claim yourselves to be pure; He is most knowing of who fears Him.” (Surah An-Najm 53:32)

Allah has laid down clear instructions for Muslims in the Quran about all that is prohibited. One must never transgress for Allah is always watching and has knowledge of all our acts, whether they are done openly or in private. He is the merciful Lord; He orders His believers to avoid all the major sins and be pure in their intentions. Thus, such a well-guided person would become an ideal citizen of any country.

Here are some mind-blowing facts about Islam:

1. Islam is the world’s fastest-growing religion by the number of conversions every year
2. The Quran has not been changed or tampered with since its revelation 1400 years ago
3. Islam stresses the importance of being kind to one’s parents
4. Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem are Islam’s three holy cities
5. The Quran is the most memorized book in the world
6. Islam teaches us to be kind to our neighbours, Muslims, and non-Muslims
7. The Golden Ratio of the Earth lines up with Mecca, one of Islam’s holiest cities
8. Islam was implemented in Spain for over six hundred years in which it brought peace and stability
9. Islam is an Arabic word that means “peace,” “security,” and “surrender.” Muslim means “one who peacefully surrenders to God.”
10. Islam is a complete way of life that governs all facets of life: moral, spiritual, social, political, economic, intellectual, etc
11. Islam is the only religion that says that if a man cannot deal justly between multiple wives, he should only marry one
12. There are over 1.5 billion Muslims in the world today, which equates to approximately a fifth of the world’s population

God tells a person to be righteous in this very world if he wants to enter Paradise (metaphorically expresses as “Gardens”) in the next world. The Quran is full of such advice, one of which runs thus: Allah says:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُدْخِلُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ يُحَلَّوْنَ فِيهَا مِنْ أَسَاوِرَ مِن ذَهَبٍ وَلُؤْلُؤًا وَلِبَاسُهُمْ فِيهَا حَرِيرٌ

“Indeed, Allah will admit those who believe and do the righteous deeds, (to) Gardens flow from underneath it the rivers. They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and pearl, and their garments (will be of) silk.” (Surah Al-Haj 22:23)

The Guidance to do righteousness is given throughout the Quran, but here the reader is drawn to Chapter 17, where, from verses 23 to 37 of this 111-verse chapter alone, 12 commandments are given for a man to follow.

The Commandments are given in detail in the Quran but here they are summarised as follows:

• Fulfil your undertakings and responsibilities. (17:34)
• Help your relatives and the wayfarer. (17:26)
• Do not be proud or boastful. (17:37)
• Be kind to your parents. (17:23-24)
• Do not commit adultery. (17:32)
• Worship none but God. (17:23)
• Do not kill. (17:32)
• Do not kill your children for fear of want. (17:31)
• Do not cheat but be fair in your business and other dealings. (17:35)
• Do not indulge in idle curiosity or talk about things you do not know of. (17:36)
• Do not touch the property of orphans, unless it is to their (the orphans’) benefit (17:34)
• Do not be spendthrift, nor niggardly (that is, stingy) but keep a just balance between these two extremes. (17:27-29)

The comprehensiveness of the guidance given in the Quran is evident even in a subject like a courtesy. Two examples are:

• “O you who believe! Enter not houses other than your own, until you have asked permission and saluted those in them…And if you find no one (answering your salutation) enter not.” (24:27-28); and
• “O you who believe! Let not some people among you laugh at others; it may be that the (latter) are better than the (former); nor defame, nor be sarcastic to each other, nor call each other by (offensive) nicknames; ill-seeming is a name connoting wickedness…avoid suspicion as (much as possible): for suspicion in some cases is a sin: And spy not on each other, nor speak ill of each other behind their backs. (49:11-12)

In the Hadith, the moral commandments as given by the Prophet are also very comprehensive. Some of these are:

• “The most perfect Muslim is he who is the best in manners and who treats his wife well.”
• “A true Muslim is he from whose tongue and hands the people are safe.”
• “He is not a believer who eats his fill while his neighbour is hungry.”
• “Verily God is Pure and loves the pure, is Cleanly and loves the cleanly, is Beneficient and loves the beneficent, is generous and loves the generous.”
• “When a man dies, his works stop, except three: his acts of charity which are continued by his family members, his knowledge by which the living may benefit and his pious issue (offspring) who prays for him.”

وَإِذْ قَالَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ يَا مَرْيَمُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَاكِ وَطَهَّرَكِ وَاصْطَفَاكِ عَلَىٰ نِسَاءِ الْعَالَمِينَ

“O Mary, indeed Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds.” (Surah Al-Imran 3:42)

In Islam, the guidance for attaining righteousness is given very comprehensively, covering not only aspects of the spiritual but also of life. These moral values will certainly promote the well-being of man in this world. However, the onus of attaining the level of righteousness lies in the person.