Qutb-ud-din B. Abd-ur-Rahim known as Shah Waliullah, a great Muslim scholar of the eighteen-century, laid down a number of moral and ethical foundations that can lead man to the highest human position, that is, the ability to translate justice in his individual and social lives in all sphere of human endeavours. Justice is the fulcrum for the success of all social functions. The integration of these moral and ethical principles in all individual and social activities can ensure high morality in the society. These foundations are as follows:
* Purity and Cleanliness (Taharah)
Muslims are enjoined to possess and maintain both inward purity and outward cleanliness. Inwardly, man must acquire and practice all the noble qualities of ethical values such as honesty, sincerity, benevolence, etc. Outwardly man must project an appropriate image in terms of his attitude, manner or behaviour, dress, speech etc. Possessing these qualities can contribute towards a better individual personality and responsibility. This will make man to be an asset to the society rather than a liability. Thus he will be able to place himself properly in the society and play positive roles.
* Obedience to God-Seeking for truth (Ikhbat)
To obey God in almost every act that man does is highly prescribed by Islam. Truth to Islam, only come from God. Man who is seeking for truth will only attain it through submission to God. Those who disobey God reject the truth and at the same time are doing injustice to themselves. Knowledge is very necessary for the well-being of man. It guides man to seek the truth. The true knowledge recognises the supremacy of God and every discipline of knowledge will have to relate to God. The learners of knowledge will thus be closed to God in all his endeavours.
Obedience to God will develop within man the inclination to do justice to himself and also to the members of the society.
* Generosity and Forgiving (Samahah)
The ethics of samahah is highly essential for individuals to possess as members of the society. In man’s relationship with his fellow men, these attributes of generosity and forgiving can create a very conducive atmosphere for the society to prosper. Unity and harmony in the society are stabilising factors for nation building.
Man is a social being. He needs others by nature. The prevailing attribute of samahah among members of the society is a contributive factor towards minimising injustices from taking place. The absence of these attributes among men can lead to a situation where greed and jealousy among individuals will take place. This unhealthy condition can contribute negatively to the society’s development.
These ethical foundations, if subscribed to and integrated in all human individuals and social activities can contribute towards the achievement of justice in the society. These ethical foundations are interrelated and justice is the highest and noblest goal to be attained by every man. Indeed, the realisation of justice in society is highly demanded by the Islamic shariah.
Using these ethical principles and integrated with the efforts to upgrade the knowledge skills and professionalism, the education system of the country can contribute towards human development. One needs to be able to distinguish between human resource development and human development. The earlier concept in the present understanding basically is to produce human labour resources to meet the needs of the country. This approach recognises the purpose of education is to produce people of different knowledge, skills and professions in order to serve the various sectors in the country. If the nation is able to secure a proper match between what is being made available and what is required, then the nation will attain a proper human resource development.
Human development, on the other hand, is comprehensive. Its initial concern is to produce a good man through the process of education. A good man implies that he is good in all aspects of his character and also acquires high skill and knowledge in line with his intellectual ability, and at the same time, relevant to the needs of the nation. The basis of this approach signifies the priority given to the effort to produce men with high moral characters, and at the same time, those who can contribute to national development.
The moral and ethical principles lead humanity towards attaining a just and fair social order. Islam considers justice as the cornerstone of its social order. S.M.N. Al-Attas defines justice as a harmonious condition or state of affairs whereby everything is in its right and proper place, such as the cosmos, or similarly, a state of equilibrium, whether it refers to things or living beings. It operates at two levels. At the individual level, it refers to a condition and situation whereby man is in his right and proper place in relation to himself. Secondly, it relates to relational situations of harmony and equilibrium existing between the ruler and the ruled. Thus, man is capable of committing wrongdoing and injustice to himself as well as be unjust in his relationship with others. A man who is just to himself normally will also be just to others and the society.
The significance of doing justice to oneself and to others is basically for one’s own good. Man is created in the right proportion. In line with the nature of man, the religion of Islam is to enhance the natural attributes that exist in man. By being just and fair to oneself and others, man is placed in a proper position for further improvement of himself and plays a positive role to the society.
In the process of moving towards a developed and respectable nation, we cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of secular nations. Human development in all aspects in an integrated form should be of our concern. The ability to develop our human resources in line with the above perspective will be the key to our quality performance and competitiveness in the international arena and ultimately our success in the future.