This is from the book “Islamic Thought”
any people proceed in life aimlessly, so they undertake their actions without a criterion to which they measure. Therefore, you see them undertake bad actions they think of them as good. They abstain from undertaking good actions they think of them as bad. The Muslim woman that walks in the streets of the main Islamic cities, such as Beirut, Damascus, Cairo and Baghdad, while uncovering her legs, and showing her beauty and charms, thinking that she undertakes a good action. Similarly, the righteous person who adheres to the mosques abstains from talking about the corrupt actions of the rulers, because this is politics, and he thinks talking in politics is bad. Such a woman and such a man had fallen in sin. She uncovered her ‘awrah, and he did not take care of the Muslims affairs. This is because they did not take for themselves a criterion to which they measure their actions. Had they taken a criterion, then they would not have such contradiction of their actions with the ideology that they openly declare to embrace.
Therefore, it is necessary that man has a criterion to which he measures his actions, so as to know the reality of the action before he undertakes it.
Islam assigned for man a criterion to which he measures his actions, so he knows which of them is bad and which is good. He then abstains from the bad action and performs the good action. This criterion is the Shar’ only. Thus, what the Shar’ considers as good action is good, and what it considers as bad action is bad. This criterion is constant, so the good would not become bad, and nor the bad would become good. Rather, what the Shar’ views as good remains good, and what the Shar’ views as bad remains bad.
Thus, man would proceed in a straight path and with awareness, so he understands the matters as they are. This is different to the case if he did not make the Shar’ criterion for good and bad, rather he made the mind a criterion for himself. In such case, he would proceed haphazardly, because a matter becomes good in a certain situation and bad in another, for the mind might see the thing itself good today and bad tomorrow. He might see it good in one country and bad in another. Thus his judgement on things becomes unstable; and the good and bad become relative and not real. Then he would fall in the predicament of undertaking the bad action while thinking it is good; and abstains from the good action while thinking it is bad.
Therefore, reference must be made to Shar’, and it must be taken as a criterion for all actions, and to make good that which Shar’ views as good, and to make bad that which Shar’ views as bad.
