Ideas Inspired by the Qur'an

A Qur’anic Portrait of Virtue

It is not righteousness for you to turn your faces to the East and West, but rather righteousness is [done by] one who trusted in AL-LAH and in the Final Day, and in the angels and the Scripture and the prophets. And [by one who] gave his wealth for love of Him to near of kin, to orphans, to the needy, to the traveller, to those who ask, and for [emancipating] slaves. And [one who] did his mandatory prayer ritual and paid the tax for alms. And those who were upholders of their promises when they made promises. And those who were steadfast in times of tribulation and adversity and at the moment of disaster. They are those devoted to the truth. And they are the attentive ones. (Q2:177)

Here are some of the lessons that we can learn from this single verse:

1. Goodness is not primarily located in the action that is performed. A ritual prayer can be perfect, judging from its external characteristics, such as which direction one turns to face, and yet devoid of merit.
2. One unusual feature of the syntactic construction of this verse in Arabic is that “righteousness” is equated with “one who …” I inserted the words “done by” to facilitate our grasp of this passage by standards of English usage. As per the Arabic construction, however, it implies that the emphasis in virtue is not on what is done so much as on the person doing it. AL-LAH is quite capable, through Arabic, of saying that “righteousness is belief in GOD etc., giving his wealth etc., maintaining prayer etc., thereby equating an abstract noun with other abstract nouns. He chose, however, to reify a personal characteristic, namely righteousness, by pivoting towards the use of a subject with a verb, and in the past tense at that. This syntax makes the action definite and reportable — ‘We saw Fulan do this particular act.’ The phrasing gains in immediacy and puts on flesh, as it were.
3. ‘The only Absolute, Self-Subsistent, and Self-Contained Good is GOD. All other forms of good are diluted, dispersed, and involved in variegated combinations and contradictions. A contradiction between goods is natural and normal; all living things experience this clash when having to balance the freedom to grow or explore against the need to conserve energy, for example. Where change and diversity reign, a constant frame of reference is essential. For plants and animals, that frame is the physical environment plus the dividual’s internal constitution. It provides a sensory or conceptual stage on which decision and action can occur. Rational beings, moreover, require a structure of rational meanings. We humans need to know not only what, where, when, and how, but also why. And that is why trust, which is the stable basis for any intentional action, is mentioned first among the ‘goods’ of righteousness. Righteous actions are founded on trust in something or someone. And trust itself is an action. When the Messenger (may GOD bless him and give him peace was asked, “What deeds are best?” he replied, “Faith in AL-LAH.”
4. Trust begins with GOD because He is The Source of Good. He manifests Himself at the end of time, the Final Day, and in the angels who worship Him, the Book He reveals, and the prophets who proclaim Him. Together, these objects of faith constitute a conceptual framework with multiple points of reference — references for us, as we are unable to recognize Absolute Unity in any way other than through layered multiplicity. These are the points from which we derive our understanding of where good is going, where it is coming from, what it looks and sounds like, and who its exemplars are.
5. The hallmarks of goodness are generosity and sacrifice. Having a generous will, as per Kant’s idea of it in my previous blogpost, is necessary to begin, but AL-LAH never speaks of a will in the abstract without mentioning its effects or objects. He is communicating with His servants who know very well that no good will exists in this world without objects on which to act, whether it acts or not.
6. The ritual worship (salat) and obligatory charity (zakat) are codified elements of a habitual, institutional commitment to public goodness. The first is communal and organic, synchronized with the daily cycles of light and darkness; the second occupies the heart of Islamic welfare, ideally under good governance. Goodness is more than just a personal choice or ethical ideal; it is also mandatory social practice.
7. Keeping promises is a major part of social capital and the foundation of authority and morality, since GOD too has made promises that He is bound to keep. He promises to reward virtue and punish vice. When people no longer believe that promises have reliable consequences, corruption, abuse of power, and atrocities follow.
8. Steadfastness is the sign of goodness in reserve. The faithful do not complain when disaster strikes. They know that GOD is Good, His Promise is true, and that unmerited suffering is a purification, a test, and a source of greater rewards. In other words, they not only do good and manifest it in their character, they also see good in all that occurs, no matter how conditional, contaminated, or unfortunate. The capacity and willingness to see good amid evil is a greater virtue than failing to see any of it because someone, such as Kant, has stipulated that only the best will do.
9. The good, the just, the true, the beautiful, the powerful, the peaceful, the living — these are all rays of light from the celestial Absolute, shining down into the world and adorning it with His Wisdom.
10. Attentiveness — to GOD, to oneself, and to the conditions and events by which one is encompassed — is the key for readers of the Qur’an to approach and enhance goodness in a consistent, persistent, and intelligent manner.

One may construct systems of goodness, as Kant has done, and still be far from knowing, feeling, and enjoying what goodness is. The Qur’an is full of good thoughts, good words, and examples of good deeds, but it offers all of it to us in degrees and stages, and in ways and terms with which we are familiar. That ease of access and understanding is another lesson in goodness, one in which there is no closure, no final resolution, until The Good calls us back to Him and informs us what we were doing here, and for Whom.

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