The main objective of the Islamic moral code is to create an Islamic personality that lives by its deep faith of loving, conscious submission to God, and is nourished by His divine love. These features motivate the actions of this personality and help him restrain himself from temptation, due to fear of displeasing God. He also understands and accepts the dignified role that has been given by God to Man as His trustee on earth, which gives him a meaningful feeling of its existence.If people were to meet these ideal criteria, they would be able to constitute a community which would ordain good and forbid injustice and evil in society. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) once said: 'I have been sent to prefect the high moral standards' (Narrated by Malik), which means that he was sent in order to complete and prefect the noble moral qualities that have been preached by all the prophets before him.Relationship between morals and faithSome people think that faith and morals may not necessarily be related. In Islam, any reform on an individual or social level must start with moral transformation. This moral transformation may be encouraged by an appeal to either patriotism, the power of law, or inherent kindness.However, to have profound and sustainable moral elevation, it must be concurrent with the moral code that is revealed by God, which in itself is not temporary due to certain circumstances or basic benefits.The Qur'an says, 'Verily, never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)' (Ar-Ra'd 13:11).Elsewhere it says, 'Because Allah will never change the grace which he hath bestowed on a people until they change what is in their (own) souls: and verily, Allah is He Who heareth and knoweth (all things)'(Al-Anfal 8:53).These verses depict the rise and fall of different ancient civilisations.According to the second verse, these people were deprived of all the blessings and luxuries bestowed on them by God because of their bad deeds and ungratefulness to Him.The relationship between faith and morals is frequently mentioned in a verse that is repeated frequently in the Qur'an ''Those who believe and did good deeds'(Saad 38:24).This verse indicates that to have true faith, good deeds are essential.This relationship is also clarified in many sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. For example, it was reported that he once told his companions that the most beloved to him and the closest to him in the hereafter is the one who has the best manners (Ahmad). The Prophet also said: 'The best of the believers in faith are those who are the best in morals' (Narrated by At-Tabarani).The Prophet's grandson, Al-Hassan, also said that true faith is not only by wishing or pretending to have faith, but it is the true belief of one's heart which is verified by good deeds.Relationship between morals and worshipIn Islam, if any act is preformed with good intention and within the boundaries that God has permitted then it is considered an act of worship.More specifically, by relating the characteristics of the moral code to the pillars of Islam (i.e. prayer, charity, fast), we will find that acts of worship are closely related to morality.Prayer, for example, is required of a Muslim five times a day, in which he stands facing the qiblah, then bows and prostrates in devotion to God.
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