The Ethics and Pro-Social Values in Judaism, Christianity and Islam ...

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with the patient. (2:153) The Qur’an describes those who are patient as among the Godfearing,
righteous and sincere in belief (2:177; 16:126-127).
Righteousness
Through worship, acts of piety and charity, a Muslim is to be identified not only by faith,
but by their actions. Submitting to God is in effect the pursuit of the highest personal
good, which also advances the good of the community. A Muslim is therefore a believer
who worships God, and one who does so in the pursuit of the collective good. Each
commitment brings about the peace, the slm root word for peace, from which both
Muslim and Islam are derived.
The Qur’an is unequivocal in emphasizing the link and balance between religious beliefs
and righteous actions, and not only through ritual. One verse (2:177) particularly
demonstrates the integration of inner values with social outcomes, reminding believers
that adherence to form is not true worship:
It is not righteousness that you turn your faces Towards East or West [in prayer].
Rather, truly righteous are those who believe in God and the Last Day, and the
Angels, and the Scriptures, and the Prophets; and who give material gifts out of
love for God, even of what they care for, to relatives and orphans, and the poor
and the traveler and the needy, and for the freeing of slaves; and who establish
prayer and give alms; and who fulfill their promises which they have made; and
those who are patient in misfortune, affliction, and hardship – such are the people
of truth, and they are the God-conscious ones.
While righteousness is found in the purity of one’s own heart, in one’s original state
before distractions, willfulness and ignorance lead believers astray, the Qur’an also
makes it clear that it is a path of striving. The Qur’an (90:8-18) describes the virtues of
the righteous as those who “brave the steep uphill road”:
And what will explain to you what the steep uphill road is? [It is] freeing the
slave, or the giving of food on a day of hunger to the orphaned relative or a needy
stranger lying in the dust. Then will he be of those who believe, and enjoin
patience and enjoin compassion. Such are the companions of the right hand.
A Prophetic Hadith emphasizes the effort behind righteousness: “This life is but a tillage
for the next, do good that you may reap there; for striving is the ordinance of God and
whatever God hath ordained can only be attained by striving.” (Suhrawardi, p. 74)
Conclusion
While God endowed humankind with a decent and God-fearing nature, the Qur’an also
makes it clear that God’s purpose for creation is to test humanity in the application and
manifestation of our greatest potential and ideals. The Qur’an asks, “Do you think that
you will enter the garden while Allah has not yet known those who strive hard from
among you, and (He has not) known the patient?” (3:142)
The Prophet Mohammed once remarked that “A servant of God will remain standing on
the Day of Judgement till he is questioned about his life on earth and how he spent it, and