THE RELIGION OF HUMANITY: Islam’s Ethical and Spiritual Outlook

THE LIFE OF A BELIEVER spirit, giving people a new aspiration: to become bearers of goodness, to achieve greatness through virtue, and to offer life to others—not the threat of death. In contemporary terms, one might say that the central aim of Islam is to cultivate creative human beings. Faith in God awakens a person’s creative faculties. Such a person becomes renewed—their thinking rises above the ordinary, their character surpasses conventional standards, and they walk the earth as a soul touched by the divine. The believer’s mission is not to become “Zayd of the Horses”, but “Zayd of Goodness”. This is the essence of a true believing personality. THE GOOD MUSLIM Abu Dharr al-Ghifari was a renowned Companion of the Prophet. He passed away in 32 AH in Rabdhah, near Madinah. A long hadith is narrated from him, of which the following is a part: “I entered the mosque and saw that the Prophet of Islam was sitting alone. I sat beside him and asked, ‘O Prophet of Islam, who among the believers is the best?’ He replied, ‘The one with the best character.’ Then I asked, ‘O Prophet of Islam, who among the Muslims is the best?’ He said, ‘The one from whose tongue and hand people are safe.’