By Dr. Norlain Dindang Mababaya

Summary and Conclusions

Islâm as the Right Religion  from Allâh is the Straight Way  that guides us to be righteous and attain success, especially supreme success in the eternal life hereafter. There are various Qur’ânic Ayât (Verses)  and authentic Ahadîth that inspire us Muslims to adhere to  righteousness.  Indeed, righteousness is one of the important keys to success.  The five pillars of Islâm and the six articles of faith in Islâm guide and develop us Muslims to perform righteous deeds for the pleasure of Allah the Almighty.  In this way, our Rabb (Cherisher and Sustainer) bestows His love and mercy upon us and grants us success both in this world and in the life hereafter.

Islâm guides us not only to understand the meaning of  righteousness but also to adhere to it.  In Islâm, righteousness covers all virtuous teachings such as: truthfulness, equality, justice, brotherhood and peace.  We are expected to promote, unity, brotherhood, peace and harmony between and among ourselves.  

Islâm admonishes us to avoid evil deeds as it is part of righteousness to avoid and refrain ourselves from deeds that Allâh and His Messenger forbid.  It forbids all sorts of evil deeds such as  rebellion,  transgression, mischief, boastfulness, arrogance, selfishness, niggardliness,  spending to be seen of men, pride, envy, making oaths to deceive others, slandering, laughing at others, sarcastic attitude,  nor calling others by offensive nicknames, suspicion, spying, or speaking ill of others behind their backs and the like.  All these indicate that indeed Islâm clearly admonishes us to refrain from following the works of Satan as he is indeed an avowed enemy to us.  Satan does nothing but leads us astray.  It is righteousness that we avoid him by avoiding evil deeds. In short, Islâm enjoins us to be righteous and forbids us from committing sins in order for us to attain salvation and success in the eternal life hereafter. 

Verily, Islâm teaches all virtuous teachings that please Allah the Almighty and guide us to righteousness.  Allâh gives rewards to anyone, male of female, who does a single righteous deed.  We need to strive hard to attain righteousness as Allâh gives tremendous rewards to the righteous believers. The righteous are the most honored in the sight of Allâh.  Allâh will protect and befriend them, improve their condition and increase His bounty upon them. 

Righteousness is the way for us to become closer to Allâh.  It serves as the key to power,  authority, security and peace.  It assures us love, mercy, and forgiveness from Allâh. Allâh will grant salvation to the righteous from the penalty of the blazing hell-fire.  He will reward them Gardens of eternity or eternal abode in Paradise, the  best home and reward in the hereafter.  The righteous will have everlasting health and youthful age. They will not taste death except the first death.  They will have companions pure and holy. They will enjoy perpetual peace, security and harmony without any sense of enmity nor  jealousy – free from any lurking sense of injury and fatigue and no fear of harm, nor grieve.  They will have luxurious life and abundance goods without measure – they will enjoy most excellent provision. They shall have before their Rabb all that they wish for – a fulfillment of the heart’s desires.  Above all, they will be in the presence or good pleasure of Allâh, which is the supreme success.

Islâm as the right religion, enjoins nothing but righteousness.  Likewise, it prohibits wrong and evil deeds. To guide mankind with the right religion and complete way of life, Allâh, our Creator and Sustainer, has commanded  us to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong.  He guides us through the Qur’ân and the Sunnah various effective ways of attaining righteousness.  We need to learn and practice them in order to attain Allâh’s tremendous rewards and thus be successful, especially in the eternal world.  To be righteous we need to:  acquire knowledge of Islâm according to the Qur’ân and the Sunnah; have firm belief (Faith) in Allâh and affirmation of His Oneness; follow Allâh’s Way (i.e., Islâm);  worship, obey, fear, and hope in Allâh; follow the Qur’an; obey Prophet Muhammad   by following his Sunnah; have sincerity (Ikhlas) in the performance of our deeds; love Allâh, His Messenger and the righteous; be steadfast in doing Dhikr (Remembering Allâh); call people to Islâm or at least support Da’wah; be truthful and have trust in Allâh; purify ourselves from evil, avoid bid’ah (innovation in religion) and seek refuge with Allâh from the influence of Satan; do Jihad or fight in the Cause of Allâh;  repent and pray for forgiveness; supplicate for righteousness; wish and strive for the Hereafter; have patience and perseverance; be with the company of the righteous; love one another for fear of Allâh; and show kindness, charity and spend in the way of Allâh.

For our divine guidance, Islâm teaches us to pray and supplicate to Allâh to: 1)  make us righteous, 2) grant us opportunities to do more deeds of righteousness, 3) join us in the company of the righteous and 4) make our children righteous – all for our success, especially supreme success in the eternal world hereafter.  All these concretely prove that Islâm is, indeed, the Right Religion and the Straight Path that guides us to righteousness and  success.