[27] Islam is the Religion of purity, both physical or spiritual. Spiritual purity includes the following:

• Purity from the filth of associating partners with Allah. Allah (SWT) says:

Verily! Joining others in worship with Allah is a great oppression and injustice. [31:13]

• Purity from the filth of doing deeds to show off Allah (SWT) says

So woe unto those performers of prayers. Who delay their prayer from their stated fixed times Those who do good deeds only to be seen [of others]. And refuse to give even the smallest of kindnesses (e.g., neighborly needs: pots, pans, knives…) [107:47]

• Purity from being pleased with one’s actions. Allah (SWT) mentioned that Luqman said to his son:

And turn not your face away from men with pride, nor walk in insolence through the earth. Verily, Allah likes not each arrogant boaster. And be moderate (or show no insolence) in your walking, and lower your voice. Verily, the harshest of all voices is the voice (braying) of the ass. [31:18]

• Purity from vanity. The Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“Whoever drags his clothing [on the ground] out of vanity, Allah will not look at him on the Day of Requital.” [al-Bukhari]

• Purity from the filth of pride. The Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“A person who has a seed’s worth of pride in his heart will not enter Paradise.” A man said, “O Messenger of Allah (SWT) what if a person likes to wear nice clothing and shoes?” He replied, “Indeed Allah is beautiful and loves beauty. Pride is that you reject the truth and look down upon others. “ [Muslim]

• Purity from the filth of envy. The Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“Do not hate each other, do not envy each other, and do not turn your backs upon each other; but rather be the slaves of Allah and be brothers. It is impermissible for a Muslim to abandon his brother for more than three days.” [Muslim]

As for physical purity, Allah (SWT) says:

O you who believe! When you intend to offer the prayer, wash your faces and your hands (forearms) up to the elbows, rub [by passing wet hands over] your heads, and (wash) your feet up to ankles. If you are in a state of Janaabah [i.e. had a sexual discharge or intercourse] purify yourself (bathe your whole body). But if you are ill or on a journey or any of you comes from answering the call of nature, or you have been in contact with women [i.e. sexual intercourse] and you find no water, then seek clean earth and wipe therewith your faces and hands. Allah does not want to place you in difficulty, but He wants to purify you, and to complete His Favor on you that you may be thankful. [5:6]

Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“The [following] verse was revealed in description of the inhabitants of Qubaa’:

In it are men who love to purify themselves. And Allah loves those who purify themselves. [9:108]

They purified [after relieving themselves] themselves with water, so this verse was revealed in their regards.” [Abu Dawood & at-Tirmidhi] [28] The religion of Islam has a great inner strength. It enters the hearts and makes one obsessed with it. For this reason, many continue to accept Islam in spite of the weak financial and moral backing its callers receive. Even though its enemies spend vast amounts of money to distort and mar the image of Islam, people still accept Islam in droves. Rarely does a person enter Islam and then reject it after that. This inner strength also influenced some Orientalists who initially studied Islam in order to find dubious points therein. The beauty of Islam and its true principles which conform to the natural disposition of man and sound intellect changed their lives, and they later accepted Islam. Previous enemies to Islam now attest that it is the true Religion. Gibb said:

Well, then, if the Qur’an were of his own composition, other men could rival it. Let them produce ten verses like it. If they could not (and it is obvious that they could not), let them accept the Qur’an as an outstanding evidential miracle.

[29] Islam is a Religion of social support; it has obligated upon Muslims to attend to the needs of their fellow brothers, wherever they may be The Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“The believers in their love, mercy and their feeling for each other are like one body: if one part feels pains, all the other parts feel pain by fever and sleeplessness.” [Muslim]

Islam orders that Muslims strive to improve their conditions through offering charity, whether that charity be obligatory or voluntary. The Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” [al-Bukhari]

It orders that Muslims support their brothers in times of crises and agony. The Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“The believers are like a solid structure, each one [brick] strengthens the other,” and then he clasped his hands and intertwined his fingers.” [al-Bukhari]

It orders that Muslims aid their brothers and assist them in times of war. Allah (SWT) says:

And if they seek your help in Religion, it is your duty to help them. [8:72]

It forbids that they be forsaken in their time of need. The Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“No person forsakes defending his Muslim brother when his honor is being attacked, except that Allah will forsake him at a time when he needs it most. And no person comes to the aid of his Muslim brother when his honor is being attacked except that Allah will come to his aid at a time he needs it the most.” [Ahmad & Abu Dawood] [30] The Religion of Islam came with a just and fair system of inheritance, one which distributes the wealth of the deceased amongst his heirs each according to their right, whether they be young or old, male or female, this division of wealth is one which all sound intellects will attest to. The wealth is distributed amongst the heirs of a deceased according to their lineage to the deceased and the benefit they might derive from it. No one has the right to distribute the inheritance the way he desires. One of the benefits of this system is that it distributes resources, no matter how vast, by. dividing them into smaller entities, thus making monopolization impossible. The Noble Qur’an clarifies the share which should begiven to children parents, spouses, and kith and kin in Surah an-Nisaa in three verses: 11, 12, and 176. The Prophet (ﷺ) also said:

“Indeed Allah has given each person his due right. So let not one of you bequeath something to someone who has already been allotted a portion of the inheritance.”

[Abu Dawood & at-Tirmidhi] [31] The religion of Islam has legislated the way one can bequeath a portion of his wealth. Every Muslim has the right to bequeath a portion of his wealth which they wish to be used after his death for a righteous cause in order that it be counted for him as a continuous charity. However, the religion has limited the maximum amount a person can bequeath to a third of his total wealth. Aamir bin Sa’d (RA) said:

“The Prophet (ﷺ) visited me while I was sick in Mecca. I said to him, have some wealth, may I bequeath all of it [in charity]?’ He replied, ‘No.’ I said, ‘Then half of it?’ He replied, ‘No.’ Then I said, ‘A third?’ He replied, ‘A third, and a third is much. If you leave your heirs rich it would be better for them than to leave them begging. Whatever you spend it will act as a charity for you, even a morsel of food which your hand feeds your wife. Perhaps Allah will raise your status and cause some people to benefit from you, and cause others to be harmed.” [al-Bukhari]

Islam has placed a condition by which one can bequeath, specifically, that he must not harm his other rightful heirs. Allah (SWT) says:

… after payment of legacies they may have bequeathed or debts, so that no loss is caused [to anyone]. This is a Commandment from Allah. [4:12] [32] The Religion of Islam has introduced a system of criminal punishment which guarantees peace and security of society from crime. Murder is prevented, wealth and honor is protected, criminals are subdued, and peoples’ rights are protected from being usurped. Crime is reduced and its impact decreased, for in Islam each crime has a fixed punishment which suits it. It sentences capital punishment for premeditated murder. Allah (SWT) says:

O you who believe! The law of equality in punishment is prescribed for you in case of murder. [2:178]

The killer is not be beheaded if the guardians of the deceased choose to pardon him. Allah (SWT) says:

But if the killer is forgiven by the brother (or the relatives, etc.) of the killed against blood money, then adhering to it with fairness and payment of the blood money to the heir should be made in fairness. [2:178]

The punishment of theft is severing the hand from the wrist. Allah (SWT) says:

Sever the hand of the thief, male or female, as a recompense for that which they committed, a punishment by way of example from Allah. And Allah is All Powerful, All Wise. [5:38]

If a thief knew that his hand would be severed if he stole, he would not steal. He would value his hand, and people’s money would be safe from his evil.

The punishment for fornication is flogging for those who were never married. Allah (SWT) says:

The woman and the man guilty of illegal sexual intercourse, flog each of them with a hundred stripes. [24:2]

A person is also be flogged if he falsely accuses another of fornication. Allah (RA) says: And those who accuse chaste women, and produce not four witnesses, flog them with eighty stripes. [24:4]

All punishments and castigations in Islam are derived from a general principle. Allah (SWT) says:

The recompense for an evil is an evil like thereof. [42:40]

Allah (SWT) also says:

And if you punish, then punish them with the like of that with which you were afflicted. [16:126]

There are specific conditions and guidelines for the implementation of these castigations. Furthermore, the implementation of these castigations is not a determined matter such that they must be implemented; rather, one may pardon and forgive if the castigation relates to that category of rights which belong to humans. Allah (SWT) says:

… but whoever forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah. [42:40]

The reason behind the implementation of these castigations is not to seek revenge, or to lash out with harshness. Rather, the goal behind the implementation of these castigations is to protect the rights of humans, to stabilize the security within society and to serve as a deterrent for those who think of doing something which would harm it. If the person who wants to kill knows that he will be killed as well, and the person who wants to steal knows that his hand will be cut off, and the fornicator and the one who falsely accuses others of this crime knows that he will be flogged, this would most certainly deter him from doing these crimes. Allah (SWT) says:

And there is (a saving of) life for you in al-Qisas (the Law of Equality in punishment), O men of understanding, that you may become of the pious. [2:179]

Some may say that the castigations legislated in Islam. for certain crimes are too harsh. Everyone agrees that these actions are crimes whose danger is apparent in society and that they must be dealt with and eradicated, and that those who commit them should be punished. Therefore, the only difference (in opinion) here concern the type of punishment which should be met out for these crimes. Each of us should ask himself whether the punishments legislated in Islam are more successful in eradicating crime and lessening it, or man-made laws, which only increase the rate of crime. Indeed an unhealthy body part must be amputated if it means the survival for the rest of the body.