How Does Islam View the Nature of Good and Bad?

From: http://www.islamicity.com/m/news_frame.asp?Frame=1&referenceID=60214

By: Amani Aboul Fadl Farag

Fortunately, the understanding of good and bad in the religion of Islam is not a complicated issue. It is not ascribed to metaphysical powers, like in many doctrines that believe in the existence of gods for good and gods for evil who drive people to do bad things. And by this, humans become free of responsibility towards what they have done.

In Islam, God created good things and bad things and made them known to man through successive revelations, but He left it for human free will to use its power of choice to make its way between the two paths, and be responsible for the choice. Allah (God) says in the Quran, which Muslims believe is His word,
[And by oath of the soul, and Him Who perfected it in proportion. Then He showed it what is wrong for it and what is right. Indeed, he succeeds who purifies his self (i.e. by doing righteous good deeds). And indeed he fails who corrupts his self (i.e. by doing every kind of evil wicked deeds).] (Ash-Shams 91:7-10)

In fact, Muslims understand the nature of what is "good" and what is "bad " only in the light of their constitution which was revealed to them in the noble Quran, in addition to what Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught them. These two sources are what we call "Shariah", which means "legal system" in contemporary terminology.

The recognition of "good" and "bad" should not remain theoretical or purely cognitive, but should be interpreted in terms of practical actions. People should follow what they have known to be "good" and renounce what they have known to be "bad". This positive attitude is considered to be the gauge by which their faith is measured.

In other words, people's faith is only manifested in their good or bad deeds.
This importance of "good" and "bad" deeds makes God mention them in the Quran — in contexts of both inviting to the good and warning of the bad — more than 360 times, while the Prophet's sayings on it are beyond number.

The following verses are but few examples of God's stressing on this idea in order to encourage the believers to stick to good deeds. God says in the Quran what means,
[He who created death and life, that He may try which of you is best in deed.] (Al-Mulk 67:2)
[Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has faith, We will give him a life that is good and pure, and We will bestow on such their reward according to the best of their actions.] (An-Nahl 16:97)
[Then, as to those who believed and did righteous deeds, their Lord will Admit them to His mercy: That will be the achievement for all to see.] (Al-Jathiyah 45:30)
[For those who believe and work righteous deeds is a reward that will never fail.] (Fussilat 41:8)

On the other hand, there are also many verses which deal with the consequences of evil and bad deeds.
[Whoever works evil will be requited accordingly. Nor will he find besides Allah, any protector or helper.](An-Nisaa' 4:123)
[Taste the penalty of eternity for your evil deeds.] (As-Sajdah 32:14)
[If any does evil, the doers of evil are only punished to the extent of their deeds.] (Al-Qasas 28:84)

"Good" and "bad" are two adjectives qualifying human deeds or acts. They transcend religious rituals such as praying and fasting, to extend to acts related to all aspects of life, such as politics, economics, legal system, warfare, and social conduct, according to fixed criteria.

The first criterion by which we recognize good and bad is related to their definitions. Good is any act which is consistent with the concepts of values, virtues, ideals, justice, and welfare, whereas bad is the opposite. But it is important to realize that these concepts should only be understood from a purely Islamic perspective and according to Islamic paradigm.

That is because although there are always shared values amongst all cultures that are known to be good, such as honesty, truth and charity, and common acts that are agreed upon to be bad among all cultures, such as cheating, stealing, and lying, yet there are some values which will remain controversial amongst different value systems. What is considered a virtue or an ideal in one moral system may not be so in another.

You may consider for example drinking alcohol. Although it could be good in some cultures, as a source of happiness and psychological relief, it is considered bad in the Islamic context because of the mental confusion which takes away the drinker's self-respect.

Another example is that of sexual freedom, which could be regarded as good signs of romanticism and personal freedom in some cultures, whereas in Islam they are looked down upon as signs of moral chaos which lead to the destruction of societies.

Another example is that of hijab (women's Islamic dress code), it is considered bad in Western societies as a sign of oppressing women, but it is considered good in Islam as it is a sign of women's chastity, self-respect, and so on.

Another criterion which helps Muslims recognize good and bad acts is the effect of such acts. No act is good or bad in itself, but it is so according to its consequences on the individual and society.
Some consequences are in the hereafter; this means that a certain act may lead its doer to Paradise or to Hell. Therefore, the good deed will be the one which leads to Paradise, whereas the bad is what leads to Hell.

Other consequences of good and bad are expected in this world in which we live, in other words, the effect of a certain deed on the individual and the society. The ideal image of a citizen in the Islamic value system is that of a beneficial Muslim who affects all of his surroundings positively.
To clarify this idea of the importance of the effect of a good worldly deed, let's contemplate this situation in which the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) noticed a man constantly staying at the mosque. He asked his Companions: "Who is supporting him?"
They replied: "His brother."
So the Prophet said: "His brother is better than him."

This story demonstrates that a man's worldly work which benefits him and his society is considered good, while the religious act which causes him to be lazy and dependant is bad.
A good deed could also imply combating evil and fighting corruption, which means "reformation" in modern terminology.
The Quran says in valuation of this type of good deed,
[They believe in Allah and the last day. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. And they hasten in all good works. They are in the ranks of the righteous.] (Aal-`Imran 3:114)

In the context of recognizing what is good and what is bad, it is important to know that one of the most important criteria of qualifying the deed is the intention behind it. Sometimes the deed appears to be good and compatible with Shariah, but the one who did it meant something else in his or her heart. The following story of "the mosque of mischief", which was narrated in the Quran, explains this problem. God narrates:
[And there are those who put up a mosque by way of mischief and infidelity, to disunite the believers and in preparation for one who warred against Allah and His messenger before. They will swear that their intention is nothing but good, but Allah does declare that they are certainly liars.] (At-Tawbah 9/107)

Building a mosque is one of the best deeds in Islam, but in this situation, some enemies of the Muslim community wanted to build another mosque which was far away from the main mosque where the Muslims used to congregate. They meant to split the Muslim community at that time and cause division and disunity among the Muslims. Thus, although the deed appears to be good, yet its evil intention makes it bad.

The Prophet was quite aware of such contradictions that sometimes take place between the act and its intention. Therefore, he declared that the description of any deed, whether it is good or bad, is going to be for the intention behind it, and not for the deed itself. He said,
"The actions are but judged according to intentions; and to every man is due what he intended." (Al-Bukhari)

What is amazing in the Islamic moral system is that when the doers of bad deeds become aware of their evil and regret doing it, there is always a chance for them to go back by making repentance at the right time. Then they may be forgiven. The Quran says what means,
[Allah accepts the repentance of those who do evil in ignorance and repent soon afterwards; to them, Allah turns in mercy.] (An-Nisaa' 4/17)

But, unfortunately, the situation may not be so for those who keep obstinate and insist on their bad doings till they die, God says about them,
[Of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil until death faces one of them and he says: "Now I repent". Nor of those who die rejecting faith. For them We have prepared a most grievous punishment.] (An-Nissa' 4:18)

We pray that God may write us among those who endeavor to do good deeds and abstain from the bad.

Can Evil Be Good?
Enjoying the Goodness of Creation
Good Deeds = Longer Life?
Do Good and Evil Come from Allah?
How to Be a Good Muslim

Blogger comment:
Muslims believed among a lot of reasons why the Quran is God's book and not made up by the prophet is its comprehensiveness, when it talks about Jesus, Moses, morals, sexuality, second life and so forth it talk about all the points that we need to know of. The information about the topic may not be in one Sura and may be scattered but wonderfully if you do your research you would know that it is quite comprehensive that even a human genius can not do it. If you for example read about Jesus in the Quran you find his life from his mother conception to his raise up to God, to his second coming to even his speech in the day of Judgment. Regarding good and bad, humans are not angels and even prophets have minor sins, life is struggle between the good and bad. Like in Christianity a born again Christians as well in Islam born again Muslims. In Quran God states clearly all sins are forgivable if people repent and the Prophet says "who repented of sin is as the one who had no sins". Thus God door is always opened and we all are sinners to variable degrees. If we to be good is for our benefits if we are bad you will find war, corruption, hunger, earthquakes and so forth. Though people who are good may be tested with that also, so it is man own task to find deep in himself if it is his sins brought punishment or pure test from God and sometimes we do not know until we meet him.