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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Islam Fundamental Principles and Teachings Part Three :islamic Ethics and Etiquettes Islam emphasises exceedingly on human ethics, and attaches significant importance to social etiquettes, to the extent that Allah’s messenger, peace be upon him and his pure family, identified the aim of his mission as the completion, perfection and globalisation of noble morality saying, “Indeed I have been sent to complete the noble morals”234.

And when Allah Almighty wants to praise His beloved Prophet, peace be upon him and his pure family, He praises him by pointing to his noble morals saying, .and surely you are of a mighty morality.235. And when He wishes to remind the Muslim Ommah of the great mercy that have been gifted to them, He reminds them of the most significant attributes of this mercy, which is the Prophet’s lenient manners and morals saying, [addressing the ] .it is by Allah’ mercy that you are gentle to them.236.

These, and many other texts in this respect, point to the importance of ethics and etiquettes – akhlaq & adab – in Islam, and the extent of their requirement in a Muslim individual, such that when the Wise Qur’an mentions some of the rulings of punishment, the sacred book follows them with the mention of forgiveness, and accompanies them with moral/ethical rulings, and considers forgiveness in them as being “closer to piety”237.

234 Mostadrak al-Wasa>’el, vol.11, p187 235 The Qur’an, The Pen, (68):4 236 The Qur’an, The House of Emran (3):159 237 In reference to such verses as 2:237. The Pillars of Morals and Etiquettes Islam made religion and piety the axis of ethics and etiquettes, and identified four pillars for ethics and two for etiquettes, and invited the Muslims to them and instructed them to adorn themselves with them.

Ethics and their four Pillars The four pillars of ethics are: Purity of the heart and the honesty of intention; On the significance and vitality of the purity of the heart and its wellbeing, and the honesty of intention and its sincerity Allah Almighty declares; .the day when neither wealth nor sons shall profit, except for him who comes to Allah with a sound heart.238 that is pure from polytheism, disbelief, and from the unethical manners.

Beaming and smiling face; In the hadith it is reported, “The believer has his happiness and contentment upon his face and his sorrow in his heart”239.