The Moral Values of The Qur'an
(36 - 41)

36. No Dispute Among the Believers

One of the secrets of the believers’ success is the warm brotherhood and solidarity among them. The Qur’an emphasizes the importance of unity: “Truly, Allah loves those who fight in His Cause in battle array as if they were a solid cemented structure.” (Surat as-Saff, 61:4)

Any statement or behaviour that may damage this close brotherhood would be an adversary act against religion itself. Allah warns the believers against this threat in the Qur'an:

Hence, the sincere believer must be extremely cautious of entering into such disputes, avoiding words or manners that may hurt his brothers. Moreover, he should behave in such as way as toincrease affection and confidence among them. In the Qur’an, we have the clear decree:

If a believer does not have the same opinion as his brother on some issue, he should nevertheless behave and talk in the most modest and humble way. Sharing ideas should remain on the basis of “consultation” and not “debate”. If a contention is observed among two other believers, then what one should do is indicated in the verse below:

“The believers are but a single Brotherhood. So make peace and reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers; and fear Allah, so that you may receive His Mercy.” (Surat al-Hujraat, 49:10)

It should be noted that even a minor argument of any kind may have very negative effects on the Cause.

37. Seeking Allah’s Protection from Satan While Reading the Qur’an

The Qur’an is the divine book revealed by Allah to guide mankind. While it helps increase the faith of the believers, it exposes the denial of the unbelievers.

That means that some verses of the Qur’an have the capacity both to reveal the transgressions of “those whose hearts are flawed by perversity” and to increase the faith and submission of the believers.

It should be noted, however, that no one can guarantee that he will continue to preserve his faith. Believers may also lose the Qur’anic point of view with the effect of Satan’s temptations. Naturally they would not perceive the wisdom in the Qur’an if they read it while under the sway of Satan. That is why Allah commands believers to seek refuge in Him from the evil influence of Satan before reading the Qur’an:

This command of Allah is important for it reminds believers of Satan's constant presence and unceasing activities. Indeed, Satan is ever at work, lying in wait for people on Allah’s straight path, and trying to assault them “from before and behind, from their right and from their left.” The strategies of Satan have been explained in many verses of the Qur'an. Thus salvation from the deceits of Satan can be achieved only through the Qur’an, which warns us against Satan’s tricks and tells us to avoid them. As expressed in the 42nd verse of Surat al-Hijr, “Satan has no authority over Allah's servants.” The solution is to accept the Qur’an as the only guide and to read it after seeking refuge in Allah from the rejected Satan.

38. Being Considerate

The members of a profane society are, in the main, rude, uncaring and inconsiderate. The reason for this is the egoism of the unbelievers. They all think of their own benefit. Others have no importance for them.

However, a real group of believers are completely different from such people, because one of the significant characteristics of the believers is their refusal to fall a prey to their own greed. Believers who overcome their vain desires, will naturally be caring and considerate towards other believers. The Qur’an tells of that kind of self-sacrificing relationship between the refugees who fled with Mohammed to Medina and the faithful people of Medina who helped them:

As is also mentioned in this verse, the believers should give other believers preference over themselves. That is true faith, submission and brotherhood.

To give other believers preference is not confined only to offering them physical terms. Brotherhood is also imparted with thoughtfulness. A believer must consider the needs and problems of his brother more than those of himself.

Rude and inconsiderate manners show the insufficiency of a person's faith. A person who is not able to consider how his acts will affect the other believers, and who acts only according to his own "wishes" and "as he likes", is far removed from the example of the believer depicted by Allah. The Qur'an emphasizes this subject with many examples of both considerate and inconsiderate actions. And the most important is surely to be gracious and respectful to Allah’s Messenger:

People who are reared on the teachings of the Qur’an are noble, polite, upright and considerate. This is the natural attitude of the believer who gives preference to his brothers over himself and who feed for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan and the captive. Being considerate is a characteristic of the companions of Paradise. For instance; not disturbing a brother while he is on an important task, keeping silent when believers pray, making the believers as comfortable as possible, asking if they need something and serving them without being asked may be given as examples to kind behaviour. However, these are only a few examples, and these considerate manners may amount to hundreds and thousands according to changing conditions.

39. Turning away from the Ignorant

In the Qur’an, the believers are described as in the verses below:

Believers are innately peaceful, whereas those who disbelieve are extremely uneasy, restless and aggressive. It is as if their torment of hell had already started on earth. That is why they cause trouble and are also constantly faced with difficulties. However, believers do not even communicate with those people unless they attempt to give harm to the believers and Islam. They behave honorably, as the above verses describe. When intervention is necessary, they do notbehave rudely, but in the most civilized and law-abiding way.

40. Not Arguing About Things About Which One Knows Nothing

In the Qur’an, man is typified as being “contentious in most things.” (Surat al-Kahf, 18:54) In other verses, this criticism is levelled particularly at the unbelievers:

The reason for this tendency to argue about everything is not to reveal and evaluate different opinions, but to satisfy the urge to quarrel. In the arguments of the ignorant, neither side tries to evaluate the others' ideas or find a correct solution. Beating the other is the one and only aim. This explains the loud voices and the tense attitude during such arguments, and the turning of what should merely be a discussion into a quarrel.

It is most abnormal surely, to argue over things about which neither disputant has any certain knowledge. The most obvious example of this is to be seen in discussions of religion, about which the arguers are generally exceedingly ignorant. The error of such conduct is pointed out in the verse below:

41. No Mocking

The following verse clearly tells us that there should be no mockery among the believers:

Allah tells people to refrain from mocking. Mockery can take many forms: open laughter at personal misadvantures, sly grins, verbal teasing under the pretence of joking, or sidelong glances to convey something which cannot be openly discussed. Such behaviour belongs to the culture of the ignorant and does not befit true believers. The Qur’an tells us that people who indulge in such behaviour will have tosuffer the Fire of Allah mounting on to their hearts.

It is not possible for a believer to behave in any cynical manner after he knows this clear decree of Allah. Indeed, no believer behaves in that way deliberately. However, if ever a believer slips into that manner, he may be unaware of his wrong conduct and taking it as fun. But whenever he realizes that what he is doing is wrong, he should immediately stop and repent.