Introduction

Allah sent down the Qur'an as guidance to man. Living by the "morality of the Qur'an" in its true sense can only be possible through practicing all that is enjoined in these verses.

There are some who fail to recognise this fact and pay meticulous attention to complying with some commands of the Qur'an while disregarding others. They perform some forms of worship to the letter, yet fail to display the moral perfection of which Allah gives a clear picture in the Qur'an. According to such people, saying, "I believe in Allah" alone is sufficient. However, in the Qur'an Allah warns people against this rationale: "Do people imagine that they will be left to say, 'We believe,' and will not be tested?" (Surat al-'Ankabut, 2) This verse makes it clear that, as well as what he professes, the way a believer conducts himself must also prove that he truly lives to earn Allah's approval. That is to say that he must display the morality that he hopes to please Him.

That is the way to become a true believer. One's sincere endeavour to display the values that pleases Allah is the sole criterion of one's sincerity.

There is a misconception prevalent among people about this. The majority of them believe that displaying the values of the Qur'an is a virtue peculiar to the prophets and the believers with moral perfection exemplified therein. This is simply not so. The lives of these people are exemplified in the Qur'an so that others may also adopt the same values and follow in their footsteps. In this way, Allah summons all believers to comply with the commands of the Qur'an and to live scrupulously by Islamic principles.

When one sincerely follows the voice of one's conscience and strives for the cause of religion, one can live by the values of the Qur'an just as well as the true believers described in its verses. One verse reads:

Then We caused Our chosen servants to inherit the Book. But some of them wrong themselves; some are ambivalent; and some outdo each other in good by Allah's permission. That is the great favour. (Surah Fatir, 32)

As the above verse maintains, some people may either fail to follow the path to which Allah invites him and thus suffers loss, or some become the forerunners in moral perfection and hope for salvation.

A believer of strong faith strives to attain the highest levels of moral perfection of which he is capable. He knows that he can please Allah and earn His love and pleasure only in this way. This is indeed the purpose of his existence on earth; to be able to earn the good pleasure of Allah and His consent through properly appreciating Him.

Everyone is responsible for aiming at moral perfection and striving towards that end. No boundaries limit such a noble human endeavour. Each believer who has a deep-seated faith in Allah and strives sincerely to draw closer to Him can display this moral perfection and thus attain the "maturity of faith".

One of the purposes of this book is to define the "perfected faith" one can attain through turning to Allah for every deed, striving to earn the approval and friendship of Allah and displaying moral perfection under all circumstances. Another purpose is to make it clear that nothing hinders man from attaining the moral perfection displayed by prophets, provided that he fears and reveres no one but Allah and strives sincerely for His cause. Over and above this, the intention in writing this book is to stress that putting forth a "sincere" effort to attain the hereafter is a praiseworthy act in Allah's sight. In one verse, Allah states the following about this issue:

But as for anyone who desires the hereafter, and strives for it as he ought to, being a true believer, shall have his endeavours be gratefully acknowledged. (Surat al-Isra', 19)