Moral Concept of Islam

Good for Evil It is stated in the Quran that one of the characteristics of the favourite devotees of God is their ability to forgive, even when they are angry. The Prophet taught his followers to treat gently even those who misbehaved with them. In other words, man should return good for evil, and remain pacific in the face of provocation. This altruistic conduct finds a close parallel in the physical world in the symbiotic relationship established by God between man and the tree. To continue to exist, man must continually breathe in air, retaining the air’s oxygen and exhaling its carbon dioxide. If the tree were to imitate this progress, the world would become unlivable, because the air would become polluted with poisonous gases. But God has so ordained things that the tree will do the opposite of man, i.e. it will breathe in carbon dioxide, thus cleansing the atmosphere, and will breathe out oxygen, thus supplying human beings and animals with the basic fuel of life. The model for the behaviour demanded of man by the Quran is to be found in the reciprocal bond between man and tree. But where the tree plays its part automatically in the natural course of things, man in the social sphere must deliberately, and of his own free will, choose to return love for hatred, comfort for pain, forgiveness for anger, and gentleness for provocation. In short, a negative attitude should be responded to by positive behaviour. Such conduct having no room for ‘tit-for-tat’ logic, you should never hesitate to give oxygen to one who gives you carbon dioxide. Summary The standard of conduct maintained by God through His direct control over nature has to be exhibited by man in his