Why Do We Lack Character
Widespread Impression.
"Our people have no character" is acknowledged universally, at
home and abroad, in business and government circles, and in
every sphere of administrative activity. Lack of character
produces social imbalance and leads ultimately to national
decline and disintegration. The malady has been eating up the
vitals of our social life too fast to withstand an unexpected
shock.
Meaning of Character.
The outward signs of a weak character are commonly believed to
be bribery, corruption and exploitation but they do not bring
out the true significance of the word. It belongs to the realm
of ethics, which defines character in terms not easily
intelligible to the common man. Here are a few definitions given
by Western writers on ethics.
Character Defined.
Preservation of life is an animal instinct; not so is the
preservation of honour. The concept of honour is unknown to the
animal world. In fact it forms the line of demarcation between
the Animal and the Man. Honour is a specific human value.
Preservation of human values elevates the level of life, from
the animal to the human. Character may, therefore, be defined as
who so preserves human values against animal instincts is a man
of character.
Assessment of Human Values.
Human values might have different meanings. Take the word
honour. "God has saved my honour," means that I have not been
disgraced before my friends. "She gave her life to save her
honour"—here honour signifies chastity. But the meaning of
chastity itself might differ from people to people. In the East
if some one casts an evil glance at a veiled lady, her father or
brother would not hesitate to shoot him. In the West, however,
if a girl flirts publicly, her father or brother, instead of
having any qualms, would feel proud of her as a popular society
girl! Again one society might attach the greatest importance to
a particular value which in the estimation of another society
might not be a value at all. We respect and honour our parents,
but there have been tribes with whom eating them up constituted
a sacred duty. The Puritans saw nothing wrong in stealing Negro
children and shooting the Irishmen. The Jews thought it bad,
even criminal, to levy interest among themselves but permitted
it in the case of non-Jews. In an island of the Pacific there is
a tribe with whom dishonesty is the best moral conduct and among
whom the cleverest cheat is held in the highest esteem. Thugs
felt proud of killing poor wayfarers. Nationalism is recognized
the world over as a political and social creed and one who helps
the well being of his nation by exploiting the other nations, is
regarded a patriot worthy of being immortalized in metal and
marble.
Universal Standard of Character.
Since human values vary with different societies should
character mean harmonizing oneself to the values which a society
might stress for the time being? In days gone by Spartans viewed
theft a virtue and held the smartest thief in the high-test
esteem; today theft is a crime and a thief a criminal. With us
conception of a virgin is a disgrace for the family, in the West
sexual intercourse between a willing couple is neither an evil
nor a criminal offense: even homosexuality between willing
parties is condoned there. Is there then no universal standard
of character?
Quranic Concept of Character.
People inhabiting different countries might follow different
ways of life but, according to the Holy Quran, human values are
the same anywhere and unchangeable too. It is not given,
however, to human intellect to determine such values. Human
intellect is essentially individualistic in character. It can
seek preservation of the particular self to which it belongs
individually or collectively, but not that of the other selves.
For the well-being and preservation of mankind as a whole,
however, what is needed is not an individualistic intellect,
which cannot see beyond its nose, but a comprehensive and all
pervading intellect, namely God and Revelation. It is Revelation
alone which gives abiding universal values. The revealed values
are preserved in the Holy Quran, the code of life for mankind in
all climes and ages. Quranic values are Permanent Values of life
and provide a universal standard of character or, to use Quranic
terminology, Taqwa.
Rational thought fully endorses Quranic concept of character.
The famous writer Hastings Rashdall says:"That there is one
absolute standard of values, which is the same for all rational
beings, is just what Morality means."(The Theory of Good and
Evil, Vol. II, page 286)
On page 211 of the book he agrees that these values cannot be
devised by human intellect but have been revealed to man and
says:
"Certainly it (moral law) is to be found, wholly and completely,
in no individual human consciousness. Men actually think
differently about moral questions, and there is no empirical
reason for supposing that they will ever do otherwise".
Basis of Character.
Character and human dignity are closely connected with a firm
belief in the following:--
(a)that man is not merely his body, but has also a Personality
whose integration is life's real purpose;
(b)that as there are laws for the development of Body, so there
are laws for the integration of Personality, called permanent
values;
(c)that permanent values cannot be discovered by human intellect
but have been revealed by God; and
(d)that every action leaves an indelible impression on the
doer's Personality.
Law of Development.
One of the laws governing development of Personality is that
development proceeds in proportion to what one makes available
from his earnings for the development of others. One who
believes in human Personality works his best for earning a
living, utilizes as much of it as would furnish basic needs of
life and makes the rest available for the development of fellow
beings. Judged by physical standards the process brings nothing
but loss. If one knows that what is left after meeting his needs
would pass to others, why should he work for the surplus. He
should normally work for procuring his needs only and then
relax. The reasoning is logical and a satisfactory answer to the
argument is not easy to produce. Russia faced the self-made
problem and in the absence of an adequate answer had no
alternative to hanging an iron curtain along its borders.
Quranic concept, however, provides an answer and by doing so
establishes the superiority of the Quranic Social Order over the
other social orders evolved by man. The establishment of the
Quranic Social Order is the work of a group of "Mom-e-neen",
that is people who are rationally convinced:
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