THE ISLAMIC WAY OF LIFE — Worshipping God and Doing Good to Man

This commandment has been misrepresented by certain self-styled advocates of Islamic revolution as being political in nature. But this is not so. It is entirely non-political. It only indicates that every member of society should have a strong sense of responsibility towards society. No one should remain indifferent on seeing the perpetration of evil or injustice. He should feel the pain of others in his own heart. When one sees someone engaged in calumny and slander of others, he should attempt to stop him from doing so. Every member of society should consider the upholding of virtue to be an essential duty. The greatest concern of every individual should be to see that goodness flourishes in society and that evils are uprooted from it. This task of enjoining good and forbidding evil has to be performed with utmost gentleness and well-wishing, not with harshness and violence. That is why this social responsibility has been linked with acts of worship in Islam. Family Life A sane society, from the Islamic point of view, is but an extension of a sane family. Human society at large is nothing other than a single family gradually extended throughout history. That is why Islam has greatly emphasized the significance of family life being disciplined and well-organized so that it may play its part in maintaining social stability. The task of enjoining good and forbidding evil has to be performed with utmost gentleness and well-wishing, not with harshness and violence. A family begins when a male and a female decide as members of society to live together under one roof. However, Islam does not allow such a relationship between a man and a woman, unless it is based on a legitimate marital contract, which is basically meant to be a guarantee of a lifelong partnership of rights and duties, and not merely a temporary entertainment. Hence, there is no room in Islam for what is known as pre-marital or extra-marital affairs between the two sexes. Through the institution of marriage Islam aims at building a society free from anarchy, instability, indecency, violence and crime. Marriage, when conducted and maintained on the lines laid down in the Quran and the Sunnah, provides an organised unit in the form of a home. In this way, successive generations are brought up and nurtured physically, morally