Islam and Moral Man

So I will just take this as revision from my NUS days.

Now, Islam as a philosophy as the Human Condition and its parallels with the theory of "Moral Man".

In Islam, human nature desires above all, peace and love.

Spiritual unity is very real. We only have to make people aware of its existence. Once the outer, artificial veils are removed, what remains will be pure spirituality.

This is because in reality, the various circumstances that confront man lead to drawing of different veils over man's natural propensities.

The veil of material greed produces self-centeredness; the veil of jealousy causes him to see himself as seperate from others.

The goal of Islam is to cultivate in the individual a complex-free soul who can withstand all kinds of negativity.

When such an individual rises above the mundane world, he/she will discover he higher realities. (2:186) tells us that there is no need for any intermediary to establish contact between God and man. At any place and time, God is accessible to us.

No matter how hostile a man may appear, he possesses a nature which is God-given. Thus the best way to break through through the outer surface of his antagonism is to return good behavior for bad behavior.

Idealism should be striven for with reference to one's own thoughts and conduct, but in one's dealings with others one had to resort to pragmatism.

It must be accepted that divergence of views does exist between man and man. Unity can be best forged through tolerance.

Diversity in opinion is natural and desirable as it will aid in intellectual development as the interaction of divergent thinking provides the requisite mental stimuli of running through a mental gauntlet.

Through diversity, we can understand that nobody in this world is perfect. One set of talents complements another's.

Salvation depends upon an individual's actions, it is not the prerogative of any group.

All violence is born in the mind and it can be ended in the mind itself through unveiling and intellectual awakening.

It is biological truth that all human beings are God's family. Where there is brotherly love, mutual solidarity will, of necessity, prevail.

There are two faculties in every human being which are mutually antipathetic. One is the Ego and the other is the Conscience. Violence invariably awakens the Ego which necessarily results in a breakdown of social equilibrium and non-violent activism awakens the conscience which would awaken introspection and self-appraisal.

The miraculous outcome of this is that "he who is your enemy will become your dearest friend."