Qur'an Verse of the Day

The verse contains three commandments and three prohibitions which briefly deal with all the various stages of the moral and spiritual development of man and with both its positive and negative sides. It enjoins justice, the doing of good to others and kindness as between kindred; and forbids indecency, manifest evil and transgression. Justice implies that a person should treat others as he is treated by them. He should return to others the good or evil to the extent or measure to which he receives it from them. Higher than ‘Adl (justice) is the stage of Ihsan (goodness) when man should do good to others regardless of what sort of treatment he receives from them, or even if he is maltreated by them. His conduct should not be actuated by considerations of reciprocity. At the last and highest stage of moral development, viz. Ita’i Dhil-Qurba (giving like kindred), a believer is expected to do good to others not in return for any good received from them, nor with the idea of doing more good than the good received, but to do good prompted by a natural impulse, as good is done to very near blood relations. His condition at this stage resembles that of a mother whose love for her children springs from natural impulse. After a believer has attained this stage his moral development becomes complete. These three stages of morals constitute the positive side of man’s moral development. Its negative side is portrayed in the three words, viz. Fahsha’ (indecency), Munkar (manifest evil) and Baghy (transgression). Fahsha’ signifies vice of which the knowledge is confined to the doer and Munkar signifies those evils which other men also see and condemn, though they may not suffer any loss or infringement of their own rights by them. Baghy, however, comprehends all those vices and evils which not only are seen, felt and denounced by other people but which do them positive harm also. These three simple words cover all conceivable vices.