Moral Concept of Islam

This suggests that every human being has to function in his own particular sphere without trespassing upon the domain of any other individual. This Quranic law is illustrated by an incident which took place in a Western country, shortly after it had won freedom. One of its citizens came out on to the street, vigorously flapping his arms. In his excitement he hit the nose of a passerby. The latter asked the freedom-lover why he had hit him on the nose. He retorted by saying that his country was now free and that, in consequence, he was free to do whatever he wanted. The passerby politely remarked, “Your freedom ends where my nose begins.” Every individual in this world has freedom of action. Yet this freedom is not limitless. People are bound to act within the confines of their own spheres and to enjoy their freedom without disturbing the peace and freedom of others. This is basic to proper conduct as laid down in the Quran. God’s confinement of the movement of different heavenly bodies to their respective orbits provides a paradigm on which to base the human code of conduct. One of the Quranic verses suggests in figurative language that man should not be stony-hearted: Thenceforth were your hearts Hardened, they became Like a rock and even worse In hardness, for among rocks There are some from which Rivers gush forth; others There are which when split asunder send forth water and others which sink For fear of God, and God is Not unmindful of what you do. In other words, man should be large-hearted enough to embrace the truth whenever it is revealed to him, and when confronted with man’s oppression of man, his heart should be rent with agony. He should, moreover, adopt a submissive rather than a rebellious posture.