Building Morals

Morals which the acts of worship develop in oneself are not meant to be solely for a person, but it is meant to be direct to social aspects so that people could deal with. Therefore, the goal of these acts of worship is to promote morals in oneself to improve transactions and contracts that take place among people according to life style and nature.

Social morals that are promoted by Salah are many, such as: Equality, gratitude, fearing Allah, continuous observing, punctuality to work, and equality. In Salah people stand on equal footing, no matter what their colors and classes are. Everyone stands before Allah in one line where there is no difference among people in richness or colors, then a person feels belonging to the Muslim group.

Furthermore, brotherly bonds that help people to cooperate in the different aspects of life are strengthened, especially in the field of economic transactions. Salah itself is a sincere act of thanking Allah (Glory be to Him), and by practicing Salah the sense of gratitude which will play an important role in contracts and transactions grows. Hence, transactions are built on mutual respect which has a great impact on Islamic economy.

Salah promotes the instinct of fearing Allah; contracts and transactions need the instinct of fear and surveillance to avoid theft, cheat, embezzlement, injustice, and betray.

It was reported in "The Qur'an is miracle of ages" book that Salah develops the instinct of punctuality five times a day; verily, transactions and work need punctuality and continuity. Indeed, by the Qur'an and Salah the income increases, production expands, and economy grows.

All these instincts promote fearing Allah in oneself in secret and in public, hence a person follows the Straight Path, avoids grievous sins, enjoins good and forbids evil. Allah (may He be Exalted) says: "Verily, As-Salat (the prayer) prevents from Al-Fahsha' (i.e. great sins of every kind, unlawful sexual intercourse, etc.) and Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism, and every kind of evil wicked deed, etc.)" [Surat Al `Ankabut: 45].

As for the social morals which Zakah promotes, they are many, of which: Purifying rich people from miserliness, stinginess, and destructive tight-fistedness. When oneself avoids these vile qualities, he will get used to leniency in transactions and giving in charity. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says: "May Allah show mercy to a man who is lenient at selling, purchase, and when demanding his rights." As reported in Sahih Al Bukhari.

Zakah is purification for rich people from miserliness and stinginess. Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "Take Sadaqah (alms) from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it, and invoke Allâh for them. Verily, your invocations are a source of security for them; and Allâh is All-Hearer, All-Knower." [Surat Al Baqarah: 103].

Therefore, Allah (Glory be to Him) describes good souls which purified themselves with success and winning. Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted) says: "And whosoever is saved from his own covetousness, then they are the successful." [Surat Al Hashr: 9].

Zakah also purifies the poor from envy and hatred and instills in them love and intimacy. As for the economic morals which Zakah promotes, they are many, of which: Exhortation to investment and consumption; and both are necessary in the field of contracts and transactions. Collecting Zakah from the rich pushes them to invest their monies otherwise it will be eaten up by Zakah. Zakah also exhorts to consumption where those who receive Zakah consume it in meeting their needs and that increases consumption.

In turn, it leads to increase investment and paying the debts of the insolvents from Zakah, and encourages the rich as well the poor to take loans and borrow money because they have the trust that the fulfillment of their debts shall be from Zakah if they are insolvent which in turn leads to investment. Likewise, Zakah urges people to work, and extracts capitals and idle people. When the poor meet their needs, it leads to more investment and consumption, which urges people to work and hire idles.

As for social morals that Sawm (fasting) promotes: they are patience and strong will; which are essentials in contracts and transactions. Patience instills in oneself the probability of hunger and thirsty which are of necessities of life, and observing patience on necessities is one of the harshest things that a person may endure; thereby patience is severer. Patience which fasting instills has a vital role in the field of contracts and transactions because it is a powerful weapon that fights the lust for food, fights self-desire for collecting money by all means, and balances financial behavior on the basis of wisdom, balance, and putting things rightly. When one of the two contracting parties observes patience and controls his actions, success will be given to both parties in contracts, behavior, and transactions.

Sawm instills in oneself the highest kinds of trusts, and we need this kind of trust is needed in contracts and transactions, where people deal in between with things that please Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted) and under his supervision. So, there should be no oppression, eating up people's money falsely, and there should be no hypocrisy or false appearances.

Through the feelings of Hajj, social morals grow by the high morals that were inculcated in oneself by Hajj; the most important of these principles is the economic solidarity between the Muslim nation. Then, Muslims' word becomes united to stand by the side of poor countries to cover their needs and the whole Muslim countries cooperate in between to develop them.

No wonder, Hajj is full of spiritual, material, social, and economic benefits, either in this world or in the next, and they are not limited to individuals or groups but extend to include the entire humanity.

The Islamic Shari‘ah has organized dealings and contracts among people by placing a general system for people to follow in their different transactions in order to maintain their morals through fulfilling their needs and achieving their goals. This Islamic system in building morals laid the basis for contracts and transactions which is caring for the interests of society and individuals.

So, no wonder that Islam cares for inculcating cooperation and brotherhood, love and solidarity, mercy and justice which in turn lead to remove gaps between individuals. There should be no extravagance or wastefulness to reach the prohibited limits or the poor reach the limits of extreme hunger. The poor taste hunger only when rich people withhold their money, spend them wastefully which violates the poor's rights.

Allah (He may be Exalted) stressed on the following qualities: "And those who, when they spend, are neither extravagant nor niggardly, but hold a medium (way) between those (extremes)." [Surat Al Furqan: 67]. Allah (Glory be to Him) warned the people against extravagance saying: "But spend not wastefully (your wealth) in the manner of a spendthrift. * Verily, the spendthrifts are brothers of the Shayâtîn (devils), and the Shaitân (Devil-Satan) is ever ungrateful to his Lord." [Surat Al Isra': 26-27]. He (Glory be to Him) says regarding luxury which destroys societies: "And when We decide to destroy a town (population), We (first) send a definite order (to obey Allâh and be righteous) to those among them [or We (first) increase in number those of its population] who lead a life of luxury. Then, they transgress therein, and thus the word (of torment) is justified against it (them). Then We destroy it with complete destruction." [Surat Al Isra': 16].

By this great system in building Muslims, all teachings and instructions targeted the scope of transactions and contracts; that is because transactions and contracts are acts of worship. We have the right to say that Islamic economy is the exit for humanity from its problems and ordeals.