ISLAMIC ETHICS

It is of the greatest importance then to build up a good character while still in this world, for it is only those who are possessed of the highest qualities of character who will be eligible to take up their abode in Paradise. Controlling One’s Speech According to the Quran, Paradise will be free of idle talk and sinful speech. There shall be no lying, no false accusations, and no denigration of others. (In Paradise) they shall not hear any idle talk, or any untruth: all this will be a recompense, a gift, that will suffice them, from your Lord. (78: 35-36) In a sublime garden, where they will hear no idle talk. (88: 10-11) There will be the most sublime feeling of peace and goodwill, for there will be no ridicule, no abuse. In short, no remarks are even to the slightest degree inappropriate. For this to be a reality, only those who are truly superior in character will be ushered through its portals. Paradise is no place for the low in character. It is a place where only the noble shall reside. It is of the greatest importance then to build a good character while still in this world, for it is only those who are possessed of the highest qualities of character who will be eligible to take up their abode in Paradise. Those who fall below this sublime standard will be discarded like so much rubbish and cast into the pit of Hell, there to suffer eternal punishment for the wickedness of their ways. Fruitful Organization Within even the tiniest of seeds, God has concealed the beginnings of a verdant plant. From one tiny kernel can spring forth the loftiest of trees. But this potentiality can be realized only when all of the conditions for its growth are just right—season, soil, temperatures, sunshine, rainfall, all must be exactly what the plant needs, and only then will the seed sprout and produce the most wonderful of foliage, blossoms, and fruits. Suppose we just dropped our seed on a tabletop and left it to its resources, there would be no question of its producing a plant, green or otherwise. Why should this be so? It is because God has created the correct combination of conditions for growth to take place and has laid down a definite pattern for the functioning of every single thing and every single living creature on this earth. This divine pattern has been ordained for