Question...

Question: What is to be gained from tiring oneself to acquire virtues and of keeping away from bad things? Answer: Virtues and good deeds benefit both the individual and society, as opposed to base things which harm equally the individual and society. For example, activity, which is in itself a virtue, makes man progress and strive harder and at the same time encourages society to develop more, whereas stagnation and laziness harm both man and society.

Such is the case with all the virtues and vices. Question: Some say that ethical principles reflect a society divided by class. Is this true? Answer: Not at all. Let us ask this group whether justice in the application of the law is a mere reflection of a particular society and so if the attitudes of that society were to change, injustice would become an admired quality? And is treason against the state such that if a different kind of society came about, treason would be counted lawful?

A similar argument can be applied to all the other virtues. Virtue will always be virtue and baseness will always be baseness and this is irrespective of how society is at a particular time or how it changes. Question: What are good moral traits? Answer: There are many good moral traits.

We will here mention some of them: 1-Honesty in Word and Deed: Man should be truthful in what he says and should be honest in what he does, in that his actions do not contradict what he really believes as in the case of a person who, out of outward show or flattery, is respectful to another although in his heart he thinks otherwise. Man should also be sincere in his actions.

This means that he should not give the impression that he is intent on doing a particular thing whereas he really wants to do something else. He should also keep his promises and never break his word. He should avoid pretence and not make himself out to be something that he is not, like someone, for instance, who wears tattered clothes so that people will think that he is poor whereas in reality he is well-off.

2-Trustworthiness in Speech and Character: Man should be sincere with his Lord and should not offend Him on any account. He should be honest in his dealings with others and not cheat anyone and should be trustworthy with regard to things that belong to other people and never betray their trust. He should act honourably concerning the reputation of another and never do anything God has forbidden behind his back.