Introduction to the Study of The Holy Quran — Page 313
313 Quran–the Perfect Scripture It has already been stated that God has through His Prophets provided for the progress and perfection of man by means of the Law of Shariah, the moral law and the social law. Since the Quran is the most perfect Scripture, it deals with all these three laws. It sets out the Law of Shariah and the moral law in full and states the fundamental principles of the social law leaving the rest of the field of social law to be developed and filled in by man himself. In the sphere of the moral law the Quran lays down this fundamental principle that it is the appropriate use of the natural faculties which constitutes high moral qualities. The suppression or stultification of natural faculties or desires is as much a moral offence as is complete submission to their domination. He who seeks to kill his natural faculties or completely to suppress his natural desires sets at defiance the law of nature. He whose mind is filled with, and whose energies are devoted to, the fulfilment of his natural desires sets the Law of Shariah at defiance and is heading towards spiritual destruction. Both courses are fatal to man’s development. Neither the law of nature nor the Law of Shariah can be defied with impunity. That is why the Quran teaches that since all things are created for the service and benefit of man, their use is permissible to him save that he is restrained from putting them to uses which are definitely harmful. According to this principle, celibacy is viewed by Islam not as a virtue but as a vice. In the same way abstention from the use of clean articles of food, drink and dress is not a virtue but a vice, inasmuch as restrictions like this amount to a defiance of the law of nature and ingratitude in respect of divine bounties. It is equally a vice, however, to spend one’s time wholly in the pursuit of these objects and to devote oneself completely to their enjoyment, for in this way a man neglects the development of his soul, which is the real object of human existence. As it is sinful for a man to go on working incessantly and to abstain from all nourishment—for thereby he will bring about his own death and will leave his work unfinished—in the same way it is sinful for a man to devote himself entirely to the fulfilment of his physical desires and to abstain from useful activities, for such a man spends his life in the pursuit of the means and neglects the end. No end can be achieved without the provision of means and appropriate means cannot be created without keeping the true end in view. Principles to Establish Social Order To establish order in the social sphere and to give it a beneficent direction the Quran has laid down the following principles: (1) Absolute ownership vests in God alone and all things belong to Him. (2) He has subjected everything to the control of man for the collective benefit of the whole of mankind.