Integrity
is defined as: "Acquiring wealth without humiliation or injustice, and
spending it in virtuous ways." It is also defined as: "Abstaining
from evil" (Al-Manawi). Abu Talib Al-Makki defines it as: "Distance
from baseness and filth." In modern times, it is defined as:
"Uprightness and freedom from defects."
Integrity
also means "eliminating corruption resulting from the misuse of
administrative and professional positions by establishing foundations and rules
that solidify high ethical standards and promote good morals in work
practices." This reflects the positive goals of state institutions through
the application of integrity principles and rules." When a person
possesses integrity, they do the right thing even in the absence of oversight
or accountability. A prime example of integrity is giving credit where credit
is due when it's possible to take it yourself. How many people in high
positions have attributed the success of large and ambitious projects to
themselves when they played only a minor role? Their situation is like that of
someone who reads God's words but doesn't understand, comprehend, or reflect
upon them: "Think not that those who rejoice in what they have done (or
brought about) and love to be praised for what they have not done—think not you
that they are rescued from the torment, and for them is a painful
torment." (Surat Al Imran 3:188). Therefore, one should be careful not
to... He should not appropriate the achievements of others but rather be an
honest leader who appreciates the contributions of others with joy and love and
who bestows appreciation and respect upon all who deserve it for their actions,
words, or behavior.
The
Holy Quran has urged integrity in more than one place. Among what is mentioned
in the Quran regarding integrity is the saying of God Almighty: “And your
clothing purify” (Surat Al-Muddaththir: 1). The majority of the early scholars
interpreted this verse as referring to the purity of the heart, the purity of one's
finances, and the integrity of the soul from baseness, sins, and
transgressions. And His saying, “Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in
repentance and loves those who purify themselves (by taking a bath and cleaning
and washing thoroughly their private parts and bodies for their prayers, etc.)”
(Surat Al-Baqarah: 222), which has several interpretations, one of which is
that it refers to being free from sins and transgressions. This is because the
repentant one is the one who committed a sin or transgression and then
abandoned it, and the purified one is the one who did not commit the sin or
transgression and abstained from it, and there is no third for these two
categories, and the wording is possible for that because sin is a spiritual
impurity, and that is why God said, “O you who believe (in Allah's Oneness and
in His Messenger (Muhammad SAW)! Verily, the Mushrikun (polytheists, pagans,
idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah, and in the Message of Muhammad
SAW) are Najasun (impure). So let them not come near Al-Masjid-al-Haram (at
Makkah) after this year, and if you fear poverty, Allah will enrich you if He
will, out of His bounty. Surely, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.” (Surat
At-Tawbah: 28), so abandoning it is a spiritual purification.
The
noble Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) urged integrity
in the words of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): “The
lawful is clear, and the unlawful is clear, and between them are doubtful
matters that many people do not know. So whoever avoids doubtful matters
safeguards his religion and his honor, and whoever falls into doubtful matters
is like a shepherd grazing his flock near a protected area, who is likely to
enter it. Verily, every king has a protected area, and the protected area of
Allah on His earth is His prohibitions. Verily, in the body there is a morsel
of flesh which, if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt,
the whole body is corrupt. Verily, it is the heart.” (Narrated by: Nu’man ibn
Bashir; Source: Al-Ilmam bi-Ahadith al-Ahkam). Therefore, safeguarding one’s
religion means he is a seeker of purity and integrity from what defiles and
disgraces him (Ibn Rajab). And doubt (in Islamic law): that whose matter is
unclear, so it is not known whether it is permissible or forbidden, and whether
it is right or wrong (Al-Ma'ani Al-Jami'). Among the doubts in this time is
bank interest: there is disagreement among scholars regarding it between those
who permitted it—and these are few who have appeared in the modern era—and
those who forbade it, and these are the majority of scholars from the early
generations and the jurisprudential councils of the later generations.
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