MORALITY – the rules, values and standards that guide us to know right from wrong, good from bad, or virtue from vice – might be said to be of three kinds.
There is a kind of morality needed to guide society. This is through knowing that there are certain shared values and standards of behaving in order that we might be able to get along with each other – both as individuals and as a society as a whole.
But it’s not enough to know that, for instance, being honest, kind and helpful to each other (or not to cheat, steal or deceive others), are morally the right way to behave if that’s all we are going to do: know the rules. This is where the second kind or layer of morality comes in.
Unless we move on to tidying up our own inner, moral selves, then no amount of moral theorising will ever be enough, and will never practically take shape or radiate its beauty in the individual or society. For what is the point of having fine moral rules in theory, or on paper, when we know that our unruly self – with its greed, jealously, spite, selfishness, cowardice or bad temper – will prevent us from sticking to the rules?
So the second layer of morality is inward moral substance: the work of disciplining the ego, cleaning the heart and cultivating those virtues that make doing the right thing increasingly natural to us. It is one thing to know that we should be patient; another to become a patient person. It is one thing to praise generosity; another to loosen the grip of greed upon our own soul.
Then there is a third and deeper layer: the greater moral purpose of it all. Why should we become better people in the first place? For the believer, morality is not merely about social harmony or even becoming a decent human being. It is ultimately about seeking the pleasure of Allah and becoming the kind of person He loves and draws close.
So morality has an outer, an inner, and an upward dimension: rules that regulate our conduct; virtues that reform our inward and outward character; and a higher purpose that gives both their meaning. Without the first, society becomes unruly. Without the second, morality becomes an empty husk. And without the third, we may know how to be good, but have lost sight of what and who goodness is ultimately for.
Wa’Llahu wali al-tawfiq.