Islam Rediscovered
9. The Islamic Way of Life
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are unspecified forms of
ibadah
, which
consists of
dhikr
and
fikr
(3:191), meaning to remember God
with feelings of fear and love.
This second form of
ibadah
aims at mental activation
of the human soul so that he may be enabled to see
God’s signs in everything he comes across in his
daily life. This is the
ibadah
or worship, which is
obligatory for every Muslim throughout his life.
AKHLAQ (MORALITY)
What is morality? It is to live among one’s fellow
men according to the moral teachings of Islam. The
essence of Islamic morality is thus set forth and
given in a
hadith
: “Behave with others as you would
like them to behave towards you” (al-Bukhari). By
nature everyone knows what sort of conduct he
approves of and of what sort he disapproves. So to
follow this generally accepted moral criterion in
relation to others is essentially Islamic morality.
Islam differentiates between social manners and
social character. Social manners are based on the
principle ‘Do as they do.’ But Islamic morality is
based on the formula of unilateral and
