Islam - Its Meaning for Modern Man — Page 234
234 Benevolence and beneficence are incumbent upon man, since all that he possesses ⎯ his faculties, his capacities, his wealth, and his substance ⎯ he has received from God. He must share all this with his fellow beings and be beneficent and benevolent in his turn as God has been bountiful to Him (28:78). Islam has set up a gradation in moral qualities which enables a person to take stock of his moral development and progress for the purpose of discovering in what respect special care and effort are needed. A gradation is an indispensable for the moral development of man as a graduated course of studies is indispensable for the instruction of the human mind. Religion must furnish guidance for people of varying capacities who are at different levels of moral and intellectual development. It is necessary, therefore, that it should set forth gradations of moral values which should enable people to determine where they stand and what needs to be done in each case for further development. In this connection, the Quran states: “God enjoins equity, beneficence, and treatment like that accorded to kindred; and forbids evils that are not manifest, and those that are manifest and cause annoyance and those that cause injury to others. He admonishes you, so that you may be rightly guided” (16:91). Thus virtue and vice are each divided into three grades. All grades of vice must be eschewed and all grades of virtue must be achieved.