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ISLAMIC ETHICS:
Decency, Propriety, and Purity
Abdullatif Aljibury, Phd.
Danville, California
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Reflecting on the ethical codes in this final chapter, one cannot but observe its central pivot in decency, purity and sanctity of the
tennents that the believer is guided to acquire and fully demonstrate in his daily activities. These practices are a shining testimony to the value system and the spiritual level
that the believers attain in this mortal life. Each item is an attestation to the divinity of the system and a celebration of the purity and sanctity of life that God has so
designed.
The following Code number 65 is a clear evidence of the respect and sensitivity that the believers should observe during the natural phenomenon of the woman’s monthly period. This
transparency is significant in demonstrating to all the dignity and respect that women in general are accorded in the Islamic value system. This is quite contrary to what the
adversaries of Islam accuse the system of harboring. They give the impression of the disdainful treatment that women are accorded in society. It is this very verse that stands out
as a clear answer to the accusation by some writers that the prophet had violated this clear guide post by indulging into full contact in his relations with his wives during their
periods.
Holy Quran:
Code of Ethics #65:
Stay Clean in Body and Spirit
Quran 2: 222
وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ
عَنِ الْمَحِيضِ ۖ قُلْ هُوَ أَذًى فَاعْتَزِلُوا النِّسَاءَ فِي الْمَحِيضِ ۖ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوهُنَّ حَتَّىٰ يَطْهُرْنَ ۖ فَإِذَا تَطَهَّرْنَ فَأْتُوهُنَّ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَمَرَكُمُ
اللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ |
And they will ask
thee about [woman's] monthly courses. Say: "It is a vulnerable condition. Keep, therefore, aloof from women during their monthly courses, and do not draw near unto them until
they are cleansed; and when they are cleansed, go in unto them as God has bidden you to do.
Verily, God loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean. |
Quran: 74:4-5
وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ
وَالرُّجْزَ فَاهْجُرْ |
And your garments (inner self) purify!
And all defilement shun! |
Holy Quran:
Code of Ethics #66:
Lower Your Gaze.
Quran 24:30-31
قُلْ
لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَزْكَىٰ لَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا يَصْنَعُونَ
وَقُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ
إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا ۖ وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ ۖ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَائِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ
أَوْ أَبْنَائِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي أَخَوَاتِهِنَّ أَوْ نِسَائِهِنَّ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُنَّ أَوِ
التَّابِعِينَ غَيْرِ أُولِي الْإِرْبَةِ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ أَوِ الطِّفْلِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يَظْهَرُوا عَلَىٰ عَوْرَاتِ النِّسَاءِ ۖ وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا
يُخْفِينَ مِنْ زِينَتِهِنَّ ۚ وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ |
Say to the
believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: And God is well acquainted with all that they do.
And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and
ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their head coverings over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their
fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their
right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to
draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O you Believers! Turn you all together towards God, that you may attain His Bliss |
Holy Quran:
Code of Ethics #67:
Attain to Chastity and Purity
Quran 23:1,5
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ .....
وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ
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Trully, to a happy
state shall attain the believers....
And who are mindful of their chastity |
Quran 24:30-31
See above
Quran 33:35
إِنَّ
الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْقَانِتِينَ وَالْقَانِتَاتِ وَالصَّادِقِينَ وَالصَّادِقَاتِ وَالصَّابِرِينَ وَالصَّابِرَاتِ وَالْخَاشِعِينَ
وَالْخَاشِعَاتِ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقِينَ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقَاتِ وَالصَّائِمِينَ وَالصَّائِمَاتِ وَالْحَافِظِينَ فُرُوجَهُمْ وَالْحَافِظَاتِ وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا
وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ أَعَدَّ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ مَغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا |
Verily, for all
men and women who have surrendered themselves unto God, and all believing men and believing women, and all truly devout men and truly devout women, and all men and women who are
true to their word, and all men and women who are patient in adversity, and all men and women who humble themselves [before God], and all men and women who give in charity, and
all self-denying men and self-denying women, and all men and women who are mindful of their chastity, and all men and women who remember God unceasingly: for (all of] them has
God readied forgiveness of sins and a mighty reward. |
Holy Quran:
Code of Ethics #68:
Dress modestly and decently.
The following three verses are the only ones in the Quran that address the attire of the believers whether men or women. It is to be
discerned that the Muslim man and Muslim woman’s outward attire (that he or she would appear in public) is manifested in simplicity, modesty and cleanliness that imparts beauty to
the outward look of individual Muslim. To wit carefully consider the following three verses:
Quran: 7:26
يَا بَنِي آدَمَ
قَدْ أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ لِبَاسًا يُوَارِي سَوْآتِكُمْ وَرِيشًا ۖ وَلِبَاسُ التَّقْوَىٰ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ |
O CHILDREN of
Adam! Indeed, We have bestowed upon you from on high [the knowledge of making] garments to cover your nakedness, and as a thing of beauty:17 but the garment of God-consciousness
is the best of all. Herein lies a message from God, so that man18 might take it to heart. |
Quran 24:31
See above
Quran 33:59
يَا أَيُّهَا
النَّبِيُّ قُلْ لِأَزْوَاجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَاءِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ جَلَابِيبِهِنَّ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰ أَنْ يُعْرَفْنَ فَلَا يُؤْذَيْنَ ۗ وَكَانَ
اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا |
O Prophet!
Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be
known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
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Holy Quran:
Code of Ethics #69:
Refrain from Adultery
Quran 17:32
وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا
الزِّنَا ۖ إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً وَسَاءَ سَبِيلًا |
And do not come
near adultery" - for, behold, it is an abomination and an evil way. |
By commanding that believers “not come near adultery", God has intensified the prohibition of adultery. It is to be noted that the term zina signifies all sexual intercourse
between a man and a woman who are not husband and wife, irrespective of whether either of them is married to another partner or not; hence, it denotes both “Adultery" and
"fornication" in the English senses of these terms.
Quran: 24:2-3
الزَّانِيَةُ وَالزَّانِي فَاجْلِدُوا كُلَّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا
مِائَةَ جَلْدَةٍ ۖ وَلَا تَأْخُذْكُمْ بِهِمَا رَأْفَةٌ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ ۖ وَلْيَشْهَدْ عَذَابَهُمَا طَائِفَةٌ مِنَ
الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الزَّانِي لَا يَنْكِحُ إِلَّا زَانِيَةً أَوْ مُشْرِكَةً وَالزَّانِيَةُ لَا
يَنْكِحُهَا إِلَّا زَانٍ أَوْ مُشْرِكٌ ۚ وَحُرِّمَ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ |
As for the
adulteress and the adulterer - flog each of them with a hundred stripes, and let not compassion with them keep you from [carrying out] this law of God, if you [truly] believe in
God and the Last Day; and let a group of the believers witness their chastisement
The adulterer couples with none other than an adulteress - that is, a woman who accords [to her own lust] a place side by side with God;
and with the adulteress couples none other than an adulterer - that is, a man who accords (to his own lust] a place side by side with God: and this is forbidden unto the
believers |
Quran: 25: 63, 68
وَعِبَادُ
الرَّحْمَٰنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلَامًا
وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَدْعُونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا آخَرَ وَلَا يَقْتُلُونَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَلَا
يَزْنُونَ ۚ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَٰلِكَ يَلْقَ أَثَامًا |
For, [true]
servants of the Most Gracious are [only] they who walk gently on earth, and who, whenever the foolish address them, reply with [words of] peace;
and who never invoke any [imaginary] deity side by side with God, and do not take any human being's life - [the life] which God has
willed to be sacred - otherwise than in the pursuit of justice,52 and do not commit adultery. And [know that] he who commits aught thereof53 shall [not only] meet with a full
requital. |
Holy Quran:
Code of Ethics #70:
Shun Homosexual Acts
Quran:7: 80
وَلُوطًا إِذْ
قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ أَتَأْتُونَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مَا سَبَقَكُمْ بِهَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِنَ الْعَالَمِينَ |
We also (sent)
Lut: He said to his people: "Do ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever) committed before you? |
Quran: 7:81
إِنَّكُمْ
لَتَأْتُونَ الرِّجَالَ شَهْوَةً مِنْ دُونِ النِّسَاءِ ۚ بَلْ أَنْتُمْ قَوْمٌ مُسْرِفُونَ |
"For ye practice
your lusts on men in preference to women : ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds." |
Quran: 27:54-55
وَلُوطًا إِذْ
قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ أَتَأْتُونَ الْفَاحِشَةَ وَأَنْتُمْ تُبْصِرُونَ
أَئِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الرِّجَالَ شَهْوَةً مِنْ دُونِ النِّسَاءِ ۚ بَلْ أَنْتُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُون |
(We also sent) Lut
(as a messenger): behold, He said to his people, "Do you do what is shameful though you see (its iniquity)?
Would you really approach men in your lusts rather than women? Nay, you are a people (grossly) ignorant |
Holy Quran:
Code of Ethics #71:
Do Not Drink Alcohol and Do Not Gamble
Quran: 2:219, 205
يَسْأَلُونَكَ
عَنِ الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ ۖ قُلْ فِيهِمَا إِثْمٌ كَبِيرٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَإِثْمُهُمَا أَكْبَرُ مِنْ نَفْعِهِمَا ۗ
وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا يُنْفِقُونَ قُلِ الْعَفْوَ ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ
اللَّهُ لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَفَكَّرُونَ |
[THEY WILL ASK
thee about intoxicants and games of chance. Say: "In both there is great evil204 as well as some benefit for man; but the evil which they cause is greater than the benefit which
they bring.
And they will ask thee as to what they should spend [in God's cause]. Say: "Whatever you can spare." In this way God makes clear unto you
His messages, so that you might reflect on this world and on the life to come. |
Quran: 5:90-91
يَا أَيُّهَا
الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالْأَنْصَابُ وَالْأَزْلَامُ رِجْسٌ مِنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَنْ يُوقِعَ بَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَاءَ فِي الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ
وَيَصُدَّكُمْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَعَنِ الصَّلَاةِ ۖ فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُنْتَهُون |
O ye who believe!
Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination,- of Satan's handwork: eschew such (abomination), so that you may prosper.
By means of intoxicants and games of chance Satan seeks only to sow enmity and hatred among you, and to turn you away from the
remembrance of God and from prayer. Will you not, then, desist? |
Holy Quran:
Code of Ethics #72:
Do Not Take Drugs or other ruinous Addictions
Quran: 2-195
وَأَنْفِقُوا فِي
سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلَا تُلْقُوا بِأَيْدِيكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِ ۛ وَأَحْسِنُوا ۛ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ |
And spend of your
substance in the cause of God, and make not your own hands contribute to (your) self-destruction; but do good; for God loves the doers of good. |
This general statement of throwing one’s self and by one’s own hands to self- destruction is very important in that it encompasses avoidance of all harmful elements and practices
that an individual may be knowingly or unknowingly enticed to fall into. As is the case now-a-days, there are many drugs, harmful and addictive substances and pollutants that are
so detrimental to the individual’s health and existence that are being marketed in very clever and enticing ways to lure the individual to fall into their addictive traps. Once a
person falls into the drug trap, then it is a matter of time that one’s valuable life is wasted for- ever. It is to our own advantage to head God’s admonition in Not letting one’s
self be destroyed by one’s own hands.
Following and adhering to the divine Code of Ethics is not only obeying and worshipping our creator, but also it works for our very own advantage and well-being. Let us submit and
be thankful to Him.
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