Article Analysis

As we analyzed the article, we found that to seek husnu’l-khuluq, people must According to Adnan Abu Rashid, he said that to obtain husnu’l-khuluq, man must have very high potential to elevate because man’s nature consist of good qualities and attributes. Islam lays emphasis on the promotion of an individual’s moral qualities and considers the reformation of his akhlaq as of vital importance for this aim. To attain husnu’l-khuluq with Tarbiyah Rabbaniyyah (Divine Education) through the establishment of ibadah, we attempt to explain the way in which Islam seeks to educate an individual Muslim. Muslims believe that ibadah is an element of education because every Muslim practices it all times, and the whole life of a Muslim is counted as Ibadah. We will attempt to study some of the importance aspects of ibadah which are enjoined by Allah and practiced by the Sunnah in order to grasp the significance of ibadah in the development of the akhlaq of Muslims.

The establishment of ibadah constitutes a continuing process of Tarbiyah Rabbaniyyah for every Muslim. The word husnu’l-khuluq is a compound word from hasanah and khuluq, which means “goodness of moral character”. One of the Hadiths has noted, “Virtue is husnu’l-khuluq and vice what thinks in your mind and is what you disapprove of being known to people. Every Muslim need to archive Husnu’l-khuluq for the perfection of their akhlaq. Islam more concerned with the development of the akhlaq of individual for developing the network of the social system. If nobody pays attention to the reformation of this important aspect, human life comes under the dominion of the dark forces and will be ruled by corruption.

Therefore, the corruption of an individual’s akhlaq will cause the destruction of the system of the whole community. The process of akhlaq development is the crucial factor in the nature of Tarbiyah Islamiyyah (Islamic education). The process does not appear suddenly, but it needs constant of education and a long-term process of training. The establishment of ibadah may provide a good way to shape the Tarbiyah(education) and training which would enable every Muslim to seek husnu’l-khuluq. Therefore, the consistency of communion with Allah through sincere ‘ibadah may help to develop man’s spirituality and finally may dominate the development of man’s akhlaq.

The Concept and Significance of Ibadah.

According to Adnan Abd Rashid, some views said that word ibadah in a narrow sense, which is limited to the name for certain rites, namely Salah, Sawm, Zakah, and Hajj. Obviously, from an Islamic perspective, ibadah represents many comprehensives senses, which encompass all areas of Muslim’s life. The word ibadah also translated as worship, obedience, or devotion, which signifies “obedience to God with humility or submissiveness.”. The struggle of life are not within the teaching of Islam from those who practice ascetic and withdrawal. Thus, Islam allows its follower legitimately to enjoy the pleasure of life inclusively as part of ibadah.

The Arabic word ibadah is derived from the root word in Arabic ‘abada which signifies the approach of man to Allah with the full degree of subjection, humility, submission, and self-abasement and its implies the relationship between man and Allah. According to Mustafa Ahmad al-Zarqa, “The basis of ibadah (worship)is the fact that human beings are creatures and thus bond-servants of God, their Creator to Whom they are destined to return back to God. Thus, Islam allows its followers legitimately to enjoy the pleasures of life inclusively as part of ibadah.

In connection, a Muslim as a ‘Abd (a slave) and servants of Allah that obey all His rules and regulation. Total obedience must be to Allah alone, and Man cannot follow his own desires or do anything which is contra to the Will of Allah. Allah says that, “And I (Allah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship me(Alone).” So, as a man, his job is only to concern himself with that for which he was created. Man are pleasing to Allah and seek the pleasure of Allah from the external and internal actions. Moreover, a Muslim may grasp the real spirit and meaning of ibadah through entire obey and love for Allah, and be consistently aware of the existence of Allah in his heart.

Islamic Jurisprudence has classified the term ibadah into two categories: First is the compulsory ibadah such as Tashahhud, Salah, Sawm, Zakah, and Hajj which is referred to as the “Pillars of Islam”. Second is the supererogatory ibadah, which include all aspects of life, acted in compliance to Allah’s will whether individually or collectively. It means that whatever a Muslim does in his activities, duties, and responsibilities which are satisfying to Allah will be counted as ibadah and will be rewarded by Allah accordingly. Mustafa Ahmad al-Zarqa has explained that, “… to strengthen the individuals faith and sense of submission to Allah, to set his character, to discipline him for his role as Allah’s faithful servant and steward on earth, to make it potential and simple for him to live in the way intended by Allah, and to durable ties of Brotherhood and friendliness among Muslims.

The first and foremost ibadah, which is essentially to be grab and followed in Muslim life, is Iman(belief in Allah) as commanded by Allah. Allah says, “ And verily, We have sent among every ummah (community, nation) a Messenger(Proclaiming): Worship Allah (Alone), and avoid (or keep away from) taghut (all false deities in example do not worship taghut besides Allah. This is clearly seen that, the foremost and correct aim of ibadah is Allah alone and one cannot relate Him with others. Moreover, all the Prophets brought from Allah the message of worship (iman) to their people. Thus, we believe this aspect, Iman, is of importance to begin our study of ibadah.

The Meaning and Requirement of Iman.

The Arabic word iman, translated as faith or belief, signifies an acceptance of belief even without any proof. ‘Faith’ and ‘belief’ does not give the accurate meaning of iman. Faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, things that cannot be seen”. Based on Ismail Raji al-Faruqi, “…these English words carry today within them an implication of untruth, of probability, of doubt and suspicioun.” Iman in Arabic means to secure, safe and calm. It signifies that, through belief in Allah, a Muslim become secure from straying and rooted to belief in truth.

Truth which stands together with yaqin(certainly), has been understood and accepted by mind as absolutely free from doubt of probabiliy. Iman consist of six fundamental articles: To affirm belief in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, Last Day and Qadr, Divine Preordainment. Muslims must affirm their belief in them in order to complete their iman. Therefore, someone who believes in Allah must be firm and certain, without any doubt of its truth. Conscious and reasonable mind is the basis of iman, which beyond unreasonable or endless theories, full of mysteries.

While, Muslim scholars define iman as acknowledgement with tongue signifies the recognition of the truth which must be uttered by at-tashahhud,then a firm belief in the heart and the activity of the limbs (‘amal) which imlies a series of bodily actions needed to conform with utterance and recognition of heart. In this regard, Allah dislike people who only speak but do not act. A Muslim must show his commitment through bodily actions as prescribed in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Although iman is loccated in heart, it requires the believer to translate it into actions and deeds.

The Real Significance of Iman In The Development of Akhlaq. Two fundamental words which are inseparable, iman and ‘amal. Iman in islam involves more practise and act than theory. The Quran showed that iman and ‘amal salih(good righteous deeds) linked together to influence man’s akhlaq.Action of a Muslinm are consequence of his belief and outward expression of inner convinction. Meaning that, if anyone is strong and firmly believes in Allah, then the strong and good quality of his moral character will be developed, but if one is low and weak in iman, the moral character will accordingly be weak. Iman is a key which builds a direct and strong relationship between Muslim and Allah where he able to attain the pleasure of Allah and to keep awareness of Allah which later may lead to his noble akhlaq.

Iman prevents a Muslim from committing sinful deeds because the true believer indeed obeys the commandments of his belief since he is aware that he is being watched by Allah. If iman has gonne from his heart, he may sometimes pretend to be a Muslim, but his convinction of iman is similar to hypocrisy. The higher state of iman may generate love for Allah and love for His Prophet, which establish of Muslim’s akhlaq. This is because, the natural outcome of this principle creates love for everything in the universe and love for the whole of humanity. This principle raises a Muslim above his desires and pays no attention to self-interest or selfishness. To conclude, theconsequences of iman are the brightness and beauty of a Muslim’s akhlaq, which ensure the society will be kept safe and secure from evil and corruption. The Obligatory Ibadah:-

The Tarbiyah and Significance of Salah In The Development of Akhlaq.

The highest and the most important form of ibadah is Salah. Every individual Muslim must do it no matter what obstacle that we are facing to. Salah is an ibadah which has a lasting effect on a Muslim’s deeds. Salah is a vitally important manifestation of belief and the most important pillar after belief. Salah will remind a Muslim that he is merely a servant of Allah and must always serve and obey His commandments because the characteristics of Salah concern self-purification which will keep the individual Muslim on the right path and keep him away from al-Fasha’ (every kind of sins) and al-Munkar (every kind of evil).

Consistency in the establishment of Salah helps a Muslim to strengthen his iman because the exercise of Salah keeps him reciting and glorifying the greatness of Allah at the time of changing the postures. Futhermore, he always renews his convenant with Allah. In addition, the repetition of recitation and glorification in Salah from the beginning to the end will constantly enrich and strengthen the iman of a Muslim. Besides that, the regular observance of Salah at the proper times with all its condition and stipulations, recitations and supplications, enable man to build up self-discipline in his life and to keep himself clean from sins.

Besides, the establishment of Salah 5 times a day allows a muslim to make supplications and seek forgiveness from Allah. Moreover, he will fearful of as well as hopeful in, Allah and gradually build up a sense of responsibility for his obedience to Allah in order to seek his pleasure. When the sense of seeking Allah’s pleasure remains in his heart then there is every possibility he will be good and helpful to everyone tries extra hard to avoid sin and if they lapse, they know they can count on the help of their many other brothers who are fasting with them. The desire automatically arises in every heart to do good works, to feed the poor his family and others.

The other merit of the establishment of Salah is to remember Allah Almighty. Through Salah, Muslims may establish remembrance of Allah because the nature of Salah essentially needs the presence of Allah in the heart and they must give full concentration to Allah. Therefore, regular Salah may keep a Muslim from ever forgetting that he is only a slave of Allah and needs to obey His commandments and to avoid any kind of arrogance. The significance of this is that a Muslim’s akhlaq can be elevated to a higher moral quality, as taqwa and ihsan.

Nevertheless, the absence of Allah in the heart during Salah actually causes the mind to wander and if the Salah is unable to engender a high quality of akhlaq. Finally, Salah becomes nothing and no veneration is done to Allah . Moreover, the establishment of Salah should include a correct knowledge of its performance and follow the way which was taught by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

The Tarbiyah and Significance of Sawm (Fasting) In The Development of Akhlaq. Literally, sawm means to abstain from something. The practice of sawm according to Islam is not merely abstaining from food and drink between dawn and sunset, but also involves self-education in the awareness of Allah by avoiding, through every possible effort, any source of evil restraining the temper and imperious passions, insticts and impulses. During Ramadan, every muslim trains his soul for a proper perfomance of spiritual exercises. Obviously, during this month Muslims essentially need to purify their hearts, seek forgiveness and keep away from sins through the rememberance of Allah.

The Qur’an shows that the performance of Sawm(fasting) during the month of Ramadan will unreservedly develop the highest moral quality(Taqwa) in an individual Muslim. The performance of Sawm enables the development of the attribute of Taqwa. During the fasting hours between dawn and sunset, a person may drink water or eat food privately because nobody knows or checks on his every movement but he believes and is aware that Allah knows whatever he does during the fasting hours. This sense of Allah’s awareness of what goes on within himself may develop a sense of hoping to please Him, which later cultivates the attributes of Taqwa.

The other effective purpose of sawm in moulding a Muslim’s akhlaq is to build self-control and self-purification in order to bring his lusts and desires under control. Moreover the nature of sawm enables him to build up akhlaq from internal purification where it may cause its performers to respond to what is good and to reject what is false because in the month of Ramadan they receive and practise this kind of tarbiyah. If someone fails to refrain from bad attitudes, this means that his sawm is not valid and is unacceptable before Allah.

The observance of sawm is considered a good element of Tarbiyah which can be used to oppose the schemes of Shaytan and abstain from lust and appetite. Shaytan has no authority to spread his propaganda of evil among sincere muslims during ramadan. With regard to lust and appetite, they will be weakened because of hunger while doing the performance of sawm. If a Muslim is able to control and dominate his lust and appetite this means he is able to conquer his enemy Shaytan and ready to obey Allah’s commandments. During Ramadan, the desire automatically arises in every heart to do good works, to feed the poor, to clothe the naked, to help those in distress, to participate in any good work being done anywhere, and to prevent evil. The Tarbiyah and Significance of Zakah In The Development of Akhlaq.

Zakat is an Arabic word which means purification. Zakat is one of the important ibadah after salah. To purify human soul Allah says, “Take sadaqah (alms) from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it, and invoke Allah for them. Verify your invocations are a source of security for them, Allah-Hearer and All-Knower.” Zakah may purify the heart of the rich man of greed and selfishness when he gives his surplus wealth. This is will bind the gives and receiver together in mutual respect and affection. Thus, zakah helps to build up a good akhlaq among individual Muslims.

Zakah helps to eliminate the habit of miserliness among Muslims and may develop the attributes of generosity. The payment of zakah can cleanse the heart of people complaining against God’s way in distributing wealth to those who need. Zakah shows gratitude to Allah and demonstrate love for Him. Al-Quran states, the sadaqah shall be apart from the things which he loves. Sadaqah educates and graduates generosity in man which man always be considered the right of others.

The Tarbiyah and Significance of Hajj In The Development of Akhlaq.

The necessity to performance Hajj needs physical exertion, bearing of hardship, sacrificing of wealth, energy, time and requires great patience. The significance of Hajj is believed totally in the Oneness of Allah, totally surrendered and submitted his whole life to the cause of Allah. Hajj also can educate and generate the concept of peace among Muslims. The practice very strict self-disciplined and control for every Muslim during Ihram, as example, prohibition of sexual intercourse, killing animals etc. Hajj also acts as a great lesson to the pilgrims in inspiring the spirit of sacrifice in the Muslim family. The purpose is for Allah’s pleasure and in order to worship him. The pilgrims will return to their fitrah as a newborn child.

Next, the significance of Hajj is to strengthen of Iman, purification of heart, purify from all sin and readiness for the sake of doing good. It also lead someone to act well and perform a betterment of akhlaq in his society on return. It also consist throwing stones at three place of Jamrah in Mina as exercise in the expression of the pilgrimage to be aware of all sorts of sinful acts and to ward off evil. Lastly, it promotes and trains the individual Muslims to be good and righteous. Affair that must be avoided is sexual relation, lost of discipline, disputing and pushing others among those perfoming the Hajj and all sinful deeds. The effect of bad deeds during performing Hajj is, it is far from receiving benefit by the blessing of Hajj and destruction of the ideal Hajj.

Conclusion.

A Muslim may be able to strengthen his Iman through the purification of his soul by performing ibadah. Ibadah is capable of building up the attributes of taqwa and Ihsan in a Muslim life by concept of the presence of Allah and awareness of Him may lead a Muslim to be always conscious that his inwards feelings and outward actions remain under His Supervision.