Righteousness in Islam - Part 1

Transcript of the khatira delivered by Dr. Munawar Haque on Feb 8, 2020

Today’s khatira is the first in a series of a few khatiras in which I want to discuss the concept of righteousness in Islam. Although the concept of righteousness has been dealt with in many verses of the Qur’an, the main verse which explains the meaning and concept of righteousness in detail is verse 177 of Surat al-Baqarah, which says, 

“Righteousness does not consist in whether you face towards the East or the West; righteousness means believing in Allah, the last day, the angels, the book and the prophets; the righteous are those who, despite their love for it, give away their wealth to relatives,  orphans, the poor, stranded travelers, beggars,  and to free slaves, and who establish salah and pay the zakah, and who keep their pledges when they make them, and show patience in hardship and adversity, and in times of distress. Those are the people who are true. And it is they who are mindful of Allah.” (al-Baqarah, 2:177)

The broad spectrum of righteousness is basically divided into three categories. These are: (1) fulfilling the rights of fellow human beings, (2) fulfilling the rights of Allah, and (3) fulfilling all types of pledges and promises involving transactions, contracts, agreements and trusts. 

As human beings, we either act out of some urges coming from our animal instincts like eating and drinking to satisfy our hunger or thirst, or we do something to satisfy our spirit and soul. Just as every human being needs food, water, and air for his bodily existence, likewise, every human being, however immoral or unethical he may be also needs spiritual nourishment.

Every person has some concept of righteousness and tries to live by it for his own internal and spiritual satisfaction and in order to satisfy his conscience. Often, criminals and people with questionable character justify their wrong actions by projecting their acts of good deeds. They try to balance and offset their wicked deeds with their virtuous deeds. They practice their own codes of righteousness to keep themselves calm and composed inwardly.

If we were to look at the Muslim society, we find two distinct groups of people having their own concepts of righteousness and piety. One group consists of the so called religious people who place all their emphasis on adherence to the code of belief, observance of rituals, and an outward manifestation of religiosity in their style of dressing, appearance, and behavior. They may even be engaged in acts of charity, giving huge donations toward building mosques, learning centers, orphanages, and helping the poor and the deprived. However, they have no problem in leading their lives against the principles and ethical values of Islam by freely indulging in activities that are absolutely forbidden in Islam, such as lying, cheating, defrauding, hoarding, exploiting, dealing in usurious transactions (riba), and so on.

The other group is made up of the educated, modern, secular, liberal, and progressive type of Muslims whose leaning is more toward humanism than toward the deen of Islam. They are not concerned with rituals, doctrine, and external religious appearance. Rather their thoughts center on humans and their values of honesty and integrity. They marginalize religion, but are otherwise concerned with the interests, needs, and welfare of human beings. 

There is a third group as well of people who are deeply religious, both outwardly and inwardly, but such people are few and far between. Thus the concept of real righteousness or piety is different with different groups of people, and each group seems to be happy and content with its own code of righteousness. 

Human personality should be the same outwardly and inwardly. We may get deceived by the manifestation of a person’s action or behavior. It is human limitation that we judge any action on the basis of its external manifestation.  Since a person’s intention (niyyah) behind an action cannot be perceived or gauged, we tend to pass judgment on the external manifestation of the action. Two persons doing the same pious act with different intentions will be judged equally by us, but the judgment of their action with Allah (SWT) will depend upon the intentions behind their action—the states of their hearts at the time of performing the particular act, which is known only to Allah (SWT).

To clarify the concept of true righteousness, the verse 177 of Surat al-Baqarah portrays the model that should be reflected in the personality and character of a truly righteous person. Turning one's face towards the east or the west is mentioned here only by way of illustration. Piety is not an issue of facing a particular direction in prayers. Although external manifestations of things are important as no spirit can exist without a form, yet it is more important that attention should be directed more towards the spirit, essence, and the underlying principles of things. It is as if the Muslims are being told that their concept of righteousness needs to be broadened, and needs to be corrected. 

The actual purpose of the verse is to emphasize that the observance of certain outward religious rites and the manifestation of certain familiar forms of piety do not constitute that essential righteousness, which alone carries weight with Allah and earns His recognition and approval. Genuine righteousness must be founded on strong iman. It must cover the person’s thinking and action and extend to his inside and outside life, and to his individual and collective affairs.

The first requirement for real righteousness is to have iman in Allah (SWT). To have iman in Allah and to live by tawheed is the first and the most fundamental article of faith. It marks a definite turning point in one’s life. It is a transformation from aimlessness to purposefulness.

To have iman in Allah means to believe in Allah as He is in His names and attributes, and to accept His guidance and commandments. According to a hadith, “Iman is knowledge in the heart, a voicing with the tongue, and an activity with the limbs.” The heart is the specific faculty or spiritual organ that separates human beings from animals. The condition of the spiritual heart must always be kept in mind.  Nothing shall benefit man on the Day of Judgment except if he comes to Allah (SWT) with a sound heart.

يَوْمَ لَا يَنْفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ () إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ

“The Day when neither wealth nor children will benefit anyone; except for someone who comes to Allah with a sound heart.” (ash-Suh’ara, 26:88-89)

The tongue is the tool of expressing what you have in your heart and mind. When the heart recognizes the truth, there should be a way out to express it. It is the capacity to speak that allows us to communicate with our Creator through our prayers, supplications, repentance, and constant remembrance of Him. Iman has also to be manifested through one’s actions. The Qur’an frequently mentions iman and good deeds together. Good deeds are an index of true iman. When iman reaches a state of certainty in our heart, then our actions will necessarily be changed because the actions of a man are based on what he believes in firmly. 

Iman necessarily leads to two results: The first is that a man's internal anxiety must disappear and he must achieve inner peace and tranquility. The second result is a reform of one's actions and life-style. A true righteous believer should be adorned with high morals and righteous deeds, and should be free from degrading actions. It is crucial for all of us to keep a regular check on our iman and if we feel it is diminishing in any way, then we should take measures to restore it. It is our responsibility to know those things that decrease our iman and how to avoid them and those that increase our iman and how to embrace them.

So, basically, the starting point of real righteousness or piety is to be a believer, and the starting point of the believer is to have iman in Allah (SWT) and to remain steadfast on that belief. A hadith tells us:

قُلْ مَنْتُ بِاَللَّهِ ثُمَّ اسْتَقِمْ  

"Say I believe in Allah, and then be steadfast."

InshaAllah, we’ll continue with part 2 of the concept of righteousness in a subsequent khatira. There are five parts is all. 

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