Altruism, devotion, understanding, being lovable, compassion, affection, patience, good manners, respect for one’s elders, protecting the needy, and public spirit are excellent virtues bestowed on a Muslim by the moral values of the Qur’an. These virtues are manifested in the best and most intense form in a Muslim who has a sincere faith in and fears Allah and who is loyal to the Qur’an. A Muslim who lacks any of these characteristics, or feels weak or deficient in one or more areas, will strive to immediately to correct and eliminate that deficiency, through fear and love of Allah, and to acquire the moral values that are most pleasing to Him.
These virtues are all manifestations of the warm and love-filled spirit of the religion of Allah. When such virtues are lacking, the result is a soulless, mechanical, harsh and frozen spirit. It is obvious that someone who lacks the fervor of good moral values, who does not excitedly strive for Allah’s approval and who has turned into a robot will have a cold and superficial view of Allah. It is also clear that Allah will not be remembered with joy and passion and profound fervor with such a perspective. A person will not be full of the love of Allah and he will not feel or have a deep fear of Allah. This perspective will turn a person away from the warmth of the religion of Allah, it also causes one to forget that everything happens by Allah’s permission, that nobody has the power to do anything unless Allah so wishes, that all ranks and stations belong to Allah, that every minute of life unfolds as Allah wishes and that nobody other than Allah has any power at all. Life for someone who forgets these truths is a far cry from Allah’s commandments, the moral values of the Qur’an and the Sunna of our Prophet (saas), and all that remains are “the facts of the life of this world.” In that case, the result is people who may appear to be Muslims, who may perform their religious obligations, but who in fact lack the soul of a Muslim. Even more importantly, Allah forgets he who forgets Allah and arranges all things according to the laws of this world.
For that reason, it is of the utmost importance for Muslims to protect themselves against all indoctrination and conditioning that might lead them to live cold and soulless lives devoid of beauty. The mindset that depicts altruism, loyalty, respect, love and devotion as invaluable and portrays the opposite characteristics as modernity is a devilish one that seeks to turn Muslims from the true essence of Islam.
We must not forget that a conception of religion without soul, love or warmth is not the Islam described in the Qur’an. It is not the Islam that our Prophet (saas) and the Companions lived by. What makes a Muslim valuable in the sight of Allah and other Muslims is first of all, of course, faith and takwa, followed by moral virtues, altruism, patience, kindness, affection, humility, respect for his elders, and devotion to his Muslim brothers. All of these characteristics and virtues are stemming from his love of Allah. Muslims who know that any weakening of these virtues may lead to a weakening of faith must strongly avoid falling into such a situation and must always reject any model far removed from the love of Allah, deep moral virtue, and the joy of faith for the sake of modernity.
