Key Qur'anic Verses


17. Value-orientation

"It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards East or West;
But it is righteousness to believe in God, and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers;
To spend of your substance our of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for those ransom of slaves;
To be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity;
To fulfill the contracts you have made, and to be firm and patient in pain (or suffering) and adversity and throughout all periods of panic;
Such are the people of truth, the God-fearing." [2/al-Baqara/177]

Note: An important reason behind the gradual deterioration in the moral-spiritual fiber of Muslim societies is the extremism in regard to ritualism and legalism. Symptoms of ritualism is like someone very particular about prayers and all its details, but does not care about courtesy, decency, politeness, honesty, care, compassion, etc. To establish the correctness of whether Ameen should said aloud we might not hesitate to declare someone Kafir, call him names, or even punch in the nose of those who disagree.

In the same way, there is extremism regarding Islamic law. We fail to understand that the way we sometime present Islam as a "complete" code of life might be considered by others as quite tyrannical. Besides the obligatory and the prohibited, the rest of the Islamic guidance should be left for people to discover for themselves and follow as much as they like. Also Islamic guidance to some extent has been greatly trivialized by such discussions as to whether it is alright to cross legs while sitting, etc. Much of these fine details should be left to people as they grow up and discover themselves. The primary focus should be on the foundations/basics that help people develop proper attitude, perspective, behavior, and values. There are many aspects of Islamic laws, such as punishment of theft, adultery, etc. that serve the purpose best when they don't need to be applied. That is why value-orientation is of fundamental importance. Read some very enlightening Hadiths in this regard.

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