MAGAZINE: EDITION DECEMBER 2023
Islamic Concepts and Beliefs

Gems of the Promised Messiah & Imam Mahdi (as) – The Definition of Morality

Portrait of the Promised Messiah (as) & Imam Mahdi (Guided One), Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as)

Morality does not only mean to speak gently or use soft words. Not at all. In fact, courage, generosity, forgiveness, all the abilities granted to man, are in actuality moral abilities. Their appropriate use is what makes them moral qualities. Even anger, when expressed at the appropriate occasion, possesses a spirit of morality. This is a view that is different from the teaching of the Gospel, which is one-sided and instructs a person to turn the other cheek when struck on the first. This is not morality, nor can such a teaching be based on the principles of wisdom. For if this were true, every army in the Christian world would have to be demobilised, and all of their weapons of war would have to be destroyed; the Christian world would have to live a life of servitude, because if someone were to ask them for their shirt, they would be obliged to give them their cloak as well. The teaching states that if someone forces a Christian to walk one mile, they ought to walk with them for two. In such circumstances, the Christians would be faced with momentous difficulties. If they were to act upon this teaching, they would not only be deprived of the necessities of life, but would have all their comfort stripped from them. For if someone were to demand their possessions, they would be left with nothing, and if a Christian sought to find work, they would be forced into labour without wages.

In short, this teaching is greatly emphasised, and the Christian clergy can be seen to preach it in the public, vigorously praising this teaching, but when a practical example is sought after, nothing can be found. It is as though all this is limited to words alone, and nothing is to be acted upon. This is why none of this can be referred to as morality. Morality means to employ all the faculties that Allah the Exalted has granted man in their appropriate place and time. For example, human beings have been granted wisdom. Now, if someone who was unacquainted in a certain area needed counsel from someone who was experienced in the subject at hand, morality would demand that the latter offer their full assistance and sincere advice to the person in need through their own sound wisdom. People view these things lightly and say that they have nothing to lose; let the other person suffer. This is a satanic action. It is inhumane for an individual to see someone else being ruined and not be prepared to help them. No, in fact, one ought to listen to the other person with full attention and regard, and give them the necessary assistance that they need, according to one’s own wisdom and understanding.


ENDNOTES

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), Malfuzat – Volume II (Farnham, Surrey: Islam International Publications Ltd., 2019), 150-151.