Good Moral Conduct
﴿ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَـٰنِ وَإِيتَآئِ ذِى الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ
الْفَحْشَآءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْىِ ۚ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ ﴾
Indeed, Allah f commands justice and the good, and giving to the relatives,
and forbids the immorality and the bad and the oppression.
He admonishes you so that you may take heed. [16:90]
This verse has been described by Ibn Mas‘ūd h as the most comprehensive verse in the Qur’ān. [1]
In it, Allah f has commanded three things and has prohibited three things.
Allah f has commanded justice, good moral behaviour and giving our relatives their due, and Allah f has prohibited immorality, wrongdoing and oppression.
It is an extremely powerful verse, which is why many of our elders recite it in the khuṭbahs of Jumu‘ah and the two ‘Īds. Throughout the centuries, they have been continuously reciting it due to its major importance.
AKTHAM B. AL-SAIFĪ h
Aktham b. Al-Saifī h was the chief of his people. When he learnt about the Holy Prophet g, his claim to prophethood and his propagation of Islam, he decided to visit the Holy Prophet g personally. But his people suggested to him that he was their chief, the highest-ranking person among them, therefore, his going there personally was not appropriate.
As a result, two men from the tribe were chosen as emissaries and sent to see the Prophet g. Aktham b. Al-Saifī h instructed them to ask the Prophet g two very simple questions, “Who are you?” and “What are you?”
Upon reaching the Prophet g, they asked him who he was. The Prophet g replied,
“I am Muḥammad b. ‘Abd Allah.”
They then asked their second question, the Prophet g replied,
“I am the servant of Allah f.” Then he started to recite the following verse:
﴿ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَـٰنِ وَإِيتَآئِ ذِى الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ
الْفَحْشَآءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْىِ ۚ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ ﴾
The Prophet g continuously recited the verse until the two representatives memorised it.
The emissaries returned to Aktham and reported that by asking the first question their intention was to find out his lineage. But he did not give much attention to this. He simply considered it sufficient to give the name of his father. Yet, when they checked on his lineage with others, they found out that he was very high in lineage and nobility.
Then they told Aktham h that the Holy Prophet g had also recited some words to them which they would narrate to him.
When the emissaries recited the verse in question to Aktham b. Al-Saifī h, he promptly said:
“This tells us that he bids morals which are high and forbids morals which are low. Let all of you embrace his religion as soon as possible so that you stay ahead of other people, and not lag behind as camp followers.” [2]
We must not underestimate the blessings of this verse and those like it! There are many verses like this in the Qur’ān, which, upon hearing, resulted in mass conversion to Islam.
When ‘Umar h heard the first few verses of Sūrat Ṭāhā, he embraced Islam. [3]
JUBAIR B. MUṬ‘IM h
When Jubair b. Muṭ‘im h heard the first few verses of Sūrat Ṭūr, he was so moved by them that he felt that his heart would fly out of his body as exemplified in the following incident:
عن جُبَيرُ بنُ مُطْعِمٍ h ، سَمِعْتُ النَّبيَّ ﷺ يَقْرَأُ في المَغْرِبِ بالطُّورِ، فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ هذِه الآيَةَ :
﴿أَمْ خُلِقُوا مِنْ غَيْرِ شَيْءٍ أَمْ هُمُ الْخَالِقُونَ * أَمْ خَلَقُوا السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بَلْ لَا يُوقِنُونَ *
أَمْ عِنْدَهُمْ خَزَائِنُ رَبِّكَ أَمْ هُمُ الْمُصَيْطِرُونَ ﴾ [ الطور : ٣٥ – ٣٧ ] قالَ : كَادَ قَلْبِي أَنْ يَطِير .
Jubair b. Muṭ‘im h narrates:
I heard the Prophet g reciting Sūrat al Ṭūr in the Maghrib prayer,
and when he reached the Verse,
“Were they created from nothing, or were they themselves the creators, or did they create the Heavens and the Earth? Nay, but they have no firm belief.
Or do they own the treasures of Your Lord? Or have they been
given the authority to do as they like?” [52.35-37];
My heart was about to fly (when I realised this firm argument). [4]
There are numerous such examples of our Ṣaḥābah j.
One of the key aspects of this verse is justice; Allah f commands Justice. One must not forget how unjust pre-Islamic Arabia was, and this begs the question: how was Justice established?
The following incident regarding the people of Samarkand is worth mentioning.
‘UMAR B. ‘ABD AL-‘AZĪZ r AND THE PEOPLE OF SAMARKAND
When the Muslim army entered Samarkand, its people complained to the Caliph of the time, ‘Umar b. ‘Abd Al-‘Azīz r, stating that the leader of the Muslim army, Qutaibah was wrong for invading their city.
They argued that Qutaibah had commanded his troops to invade their city and that this was contrary to the agreement they held with the Muslims, the agreement being that they would not be attacked without prior notice.
‘Umar b. ‘Abd Al-‘Azīz r took this case to the Islamic judiciary. The judiciary ruled in the favour of the people of Samarkand, who were not Muslims at the time. .
When the people of Samarkand witnessed the justice established by the judiciary and ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al ‘Azīz r, the entire community became Muslims. [5]
May Allah f enable us to fulfil all His rights and be just and fulfil the rights of our relatives and refrain from evil deeds and stay away from oppression.
[1] Usmānī, Shafī‘, Ma‘ārif Al-Qur’ān, 5:399.
[2][2] Usmānī, Shafī‘, Ma‘ārif Al-Qur’ān, 5:399-400.
[3] Suyūṭī, Al Khaṣā’iṣ Al-Kubrā, pp. 294-5.
[4] Bukhārī, 4854.
[5] Al Hāshimī, Muḥammad ‘Alī, The Ideal Muslim Society, pp. 143-144.
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“The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.”
The Prophet (peace be upon him)
