{"id":20621,"date":"2014-06-03T04:50:44","date_gmt":"2014-06-03T04:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/new-wp\/?p=20621"},"modified":"2014-06-03T04:50:44","modified_gmt":"2014-06-03T04:50:44","slug":"ethical-constancy-and-religious-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/ethical-constancy-and-religious-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethical Constancy and Religious Education"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once, \u2018A\u2019ishah, who is a wife of the Prophet Muhammad, was asked about his way in good deeds: did he perform some actions exclusively on some particular days? She replied that, the Prophet did things like a raining cloud, which when it begins to pour knows no stopping; likewise, once the Prophet started doing something, he would do it continuously. (Narrated by Bukhari.)<\/span><\/p>\n

‘A\u2019ishah reported also that the Prophet said: \u201cThe good deeds which are most pleasing to Allah are those which are performed with greatest constancy, even if they amount to little.\u201d (Narrated by Abu Dawud.)<\/p>\n

Once, Masruq asked \u2018A\u2019ishah, \u201cWhat deed was the most beloved to the Prophet?\u201d She answered, \u201cThe regular constant one\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2018A\u2019ishah reported that the most beloved good deed to the Prophet Muhammad was that whose doer did it continuously and regularly. (Both narrated by Bukhari.)<\/p>\n

While analysing such traditions of the Prophet, Allamah Shibli Nu\u2019mani and Saiyid Sulaiman al-Nadwi note that moral behaviour\u2014in order to be\u00a0really<\/em>\u00a0moral\u2014should possess constancy.<\/p>\n

Moral behaviour ought to be persistently adopted so that it forms a habit, a kind of second nature with a man. \u201cA second nature,\u201d because once these acquired habits are well established, they operate as smoothly as man\u2019s original nature.<\/p>\n

With the exception of human beings, all the physical objects in the universe have each a particular function to which they are by nature committed.<\/p>\n

For example, the sun can only give light; it can neither make things dark nor can it spread darkness.<\/p>\n

The night shall always bring in darkness, it cannot give out light.<\/p>\n

Trees blossom and bear fruit each in its own particular season, and the flowers bloom only in the spring.<\/p>\n

In the animal world, not a single species can transgress beyond their natural limits.<\/p>\n

But man\u2014he is born with a free will and has been given full liberty. Human being has been given power to act as he likes.<\/p>\n

Light and darkness, as it were, are under his control. He can be bright as day, or dark as night.<\/p>\n

Man\u2019s genius bears fruit in all seasons; the tree of his excellence blossoms in every season. His morality flowers unrestricted by autumn or spring\u2014the flowers of his moral characters may always bloom.<\/p>\n

Unlike the animals and beasts, he is not confined to a set form of behaviour or conduct, nor is he restricted to a particular mode of life.<\/p>\n

Man has been given the freedom of choice. Indeed, this liberty has been granted to man, and such a freedom explains why he is held responsible or answerable for his conduct.<\/p>\n

But a fine principle that should govern all moral living is the strictest adherence to whatever moral conduct a man adopts for himself.<\/p>\n

When a person begins a good act he should do it continuously. He has to observe the law of his choice invariably and perpetually with such persistence and regularity that, in spite of having a free will, he should look like acting involuntarily under the force of a natural impulse, enabling any observer to predict that he shall commit good, or omit evil, or both.<\/p>\n

His actions should emanate from him as light from the sun, as fruit from the tree, as fragrance from the flower. In short, as the necessary attributes of his personality\u2014inseparable and inalienable. This is what may be called constancy and uniformity of behaviour.<\/p>\n

Hence the significance of habit-formation for the process of education, of giving man \u201ca second nature\u201d and promoting conducive conditions under which good habits are acquired and strengthened.<\/p>\n

As al-Ghazzali observes, an ethical deed creates some effect on the soul; this effect causes the body to repeat the similar deed; this deed again produces some effect on the soul; this effect is added to the previous effect which is now strengthened\u2014and the circular process goes on indefinitely unless if the habit is removed even if with difficulty (Muhammad Abul Quasem 1978).<\/p>\n

This principle underlies the issue of child religious education, of which al-Ghazzali notes, \u201cIf the father accustoms the child to goodness and teaches moral integrity to him, he will grow up in it and be happy in this life and in the hereafter\u2026.The father\u2019s safeguarding of the child consists in disciplining him, refining him, teaching him good character-traits, keeping him from evil companions, [and] not accustoming him to indulgence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Otherwise, if what is learned in ethics is not retained in terms of moral constancy, learning and education would be futile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Once, \u2018A\u2019ishah, who is a wife of the Prophet Muhammad, was asked about his way in good deeds: did he perform some actions exclusively on some particular days? She replied that, the Prophet did things like a raining cloud, which when it begins to pour knows no stopping; likewise, once the Prophet started doing something,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"_wpzoom_pinterest_image_url":"","_wpzoom_pinterest_hidden_image":"0","_wpzoom_pinterest_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[220],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-star","category-220","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20621\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}