Ahmadiyyat or The True Islam — Page 234
234 The Third Object of Religion Social Aspect of Islam I now turn to the social aspect of Islam. By the social aspect of Islam I mean such rules of conduct as have been laid down by Islam to serve as the foundations of society and to regulate the rights and duties of its mem- bers interse. These rules are merely practical illustra- tions of some of the moral qualities. In dealing with morals the primary object is the welfare and purity of the individual, but we cannot lose sight of the fact that the individual is a member of society. On the other hand, in dealing with social rules the object in view is the collective welfare of society of which individuals are members. At bottom both kinds of rules are moral rules. When we look at the matter from the purely moral point of view our object is to discover rules of conduct which should enable a man to live a righteous life cleansed of all evil. From the social point of view our object is to discover such rules of conduct as would enable men to live together amicably and to march forward on the road to national progress. In the first case, we devote our attention to a consideration of moral truths and principles in the abstract, in the last case, we are more concerned with their application to the rela- tions of different men with one another. The Holy Quran has stated the rules of social conduct at different places, but the last chapter is devoted wholly to this purpose. The place assigned to this chapter in the Holy Quran indicates that the beneficent adjustment of social