NOVEMBER 1

God’s Command

Allah enjoins justice, kindness and charity to one’s kindred, and forbids indecency, wickedness and oppression. He admonishes you so that you may take heed.

Keep faith with Allah when you make a covenant with Him. Do not break your oaths after you have sworn them: for (by swearing in His name), you make Allah your surety. Allah has knowledge of all your actions. (16:90-91)

To God, man’s first duty is to see that justice is done. For example, whenever there is an outstanding debt, it should be paid, fully and in time, irrespective of the person concerned—whether weak or strong, friend or foe. In the payment of dues, the sole consideration should be the fulfillment of the obligation.

Man’s next duty is to be kind to his fellow men. This means that in the granting of rights and the payment of dues, an attitude of broad-mindedness should be adopted. Humanitarianism (muruwah) should go hand in hand with justice. In human dealings, generosity and compassion, going beyond the call of legality should be brought into play. Man should have the courage to be willing to receive less than the share due to him and to give others more than their share.

His third duty is to respect the rights of relatives. That is to say that a man should be as sensitive to his relatives’ needs as he is to his own. No man of resources should think that his wealth is to be spent only on himself and his immediate family. To his list of responsibilities he should add the paying of dues to relatives.

Three vices prohibited in this verse are indecency, wickedness and oppression. Indecency means flouting the dictates of one’s conscience in order to indulge in known moral evils. Wickedness (munkar), the very opposite of virtue (maroof), consists of those practices disapproved of in every society as failing to measure up to moral standards. Oppression—the tyrannising and coercion of others, is a serious deviation from the path ordained by God.