MORAL TEACHING OF THE QUR’AN AND ITS IMPACT ON THE PEOPLE OF ILORIN WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KWARA STATE

Description

This research project is designed to look into the moral teaching of the Qur’an and its impact on the people of Ilorin West Local Government Kwara State. Following the effort been made by Federal Government of Nigerian to rebrand this country. In an attempt to achieve the aims and objectives of this write up the researcher will review various related literate to a loot at the people of Ilorin and their inanition, moral and social impact of Qur’an on the people of Ilorin West Local Government Kwara State. Appraisal of the literature reviewed and research methodology, and result discussion, lastly, on the last chapter of this work, where the summary, conclusion and recommendation in which  hope if it put in to the consideration and practice will services last resort for the problem of our society.

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Morality is one of the fundamental principles of Islām. Islām prescribes a number of rules and regulations to be observed by believers in all activities. To uphold these rules, Allah (SWT) in the Glorious Qur’ān provides the believers with a series of moral teachings regarding personal ethics, family, social, business and political ethics to name a few.

As a complete way of life, Islām recognises morality as the foundation of Islāmic faith. The obligations enjoined by Islām are designed to inculcate Muslims with good morals and a sense of responsibility. The pillars of Islām, articles of Islāmic faith as well as other Islāmic rituals are all founded on moral grounds.

Subsuming all under the moral values, the Prophet (s.a.w.) declares that, “I have been sent (as the Messenger of Allah) only for the purpose of perfecting good morals” (Al-Bayhaqī, 1994, ḥadīth no. 20571).

Education, through which these moral values could be channelled from one generation to another is very important, being the first priority of Muslim parents, teachers and Islāmic institutions. Islām is a religion that prescribes a way of life that goes beyond the acts of ritual to incorporate all human endeavours. To present Islāmic moral values to the new generation of Muslims by way of developing educational methods is like preparing them to offer the best solutions for the Muslim identity which is under threat.

In Islām, education is a form of ‘ibādah (worship) where Muslims share a common set of values based on the Qur’ān and Sunnah (the two fundamental and reliable sources for many fields of knowledge). It is a lifelong process of preparing an individual to actualize his/her role as a vicegerent (Khalīfah) of Allah on earth, thereby contributing fully to the reconstruction and development of his/her society. Thus, education is one of the most important aspects in human development and the most influential social institution in any society. In general, the aim of education is to transmit a common set of beliefs, values, norms, and understanding from the adult generation to the youth. This study explores the moral teaching of the Qur’an and its impact on the people of Ilorin west local government area of kwara state. The first part addresses the concept of moral values in Islām while the second part identifies several approaches employed in the Qur’an in inculcating moral values. The last part spells out some implications of these Qur’ānic approaches for teacher education.

1.2    STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Morality is perceived to be the ideal behaviour of every human being in relation to his immediate environment or as ethical behaviour which generally differs from one society to the other. It is seen to be a person’s or society’s view of what is perceived to be the highest good. Moral values are things that are held to be right or wrong within given societies. According to Al-Ghazālī (1946), morality is an internal disposition that motivates one to cling towards commendable behaviours and praiseworthy actions. He (Al-Ghazālī) calls ethics as the science of the path of the Hereafter (‘ilm ṭarīq al-ākhirah), or the path trodden by the prophets and righteous ancestors (al-Salaf al-Ṣāliḥ) (Al-Ghazālī, n.d., vol. 1, p. 2).

In Islām, the basic ethical principles are founded on faith in Allah and one’s faith is incomplete if it is not accorded with good conduct. Umaruddin (2003, p. 42) asserts that the content of ethics in Islām is nothing but the body of injunctions laid down in the Qur’ān for the practical conduct of life and fully exemplified in the practice of the Prophet (saw). For Alhabshi (1993, p. 38)

Islāmic ethics is based on tawḥīd, or unity principle, which determines the unique relationship between God and man; man and man; and man and his environment.

Whatever a believer does with true faith will be considered morality which will be rewarded in both the present life and in the hereafter. The Qur’ān says: “For those who believe and work righteousness, is (every) blessedness and a beautiful place of (final) return” (Qur’ān, 13:29). It is therefore on this note that the study seeks to explore the moral teaching of the qur’an and its impact on the people of Ilorin west local government area of kwara state.

1.3    OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The aim and objective of the study is to explore the moral teaching of the Qur’an and its impact on the people of Ilorin west local government area of kwara state. Therefore, the study intends to:

1. Examine the impact of moral teaching of the Qur’an on the people of Ilorin West Local Government Area, Kwara State.
2. To examine the different Qur’ānic approaches to moral values

iii.      To examine the importance of Islamic morality in the society

1.4    RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Based on the specific objectives, the researcher deducted the following research questions:

1. what is the impact of moral teaching of the Qu’ran on the people of Ilorin West Local Government Area, Kwara State?
2. What are the different Qur’ānic approaches to morals among the Islamic people of Ilorin West Local Government Area?

iii.      Of what importance is the Islamic morality of the Qu’ran to the society?

1.5    SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study is meant to explore the moral teaching of the Qur’an and its impact on the people of Ilorin west local government area of kwara state. This study is limited to only the Muslim members of Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State.

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1    SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

Impact of moral teaching of the Qu’ran on the people of Ilorin West Local Government Area, Kwara State

Table 4.2.3 above shows that 66.7% being majority indicated that there is a positive impact of moral teaching of the Qu’ran on the people of Ilorin West Local Government Area, Kwara State, 23.3% also indicated that there is a negative impact of moral teaching of the Qu’ran on the people of Ilorin West Local Government Area, Kwara State, and 10% of the respondents indicated a no idea on the question.

Different Qur’ānic approaches to morals among the Islamic people of Ilorin West Local Government Area

Table 4.2.4 above shows the different approaches to moral among the Islamic people of Ilorin West Local Government Area. 90% of the respondents choose storytelling as an approach to moral among the Islamic people of Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State, 33.3% indicated modeling as an approach to moral among the Islamic people and, 6.7% respondents indicated reward and punishment as an approach to morals among Islamic people.

Importance of Islamic morality of Qur’an to the society

Table 4.2.5 above shows the importance of Islamic morality of Qur’an to the society. Morality is very important to every society and many society place morality in very high esteem. On this note 80% of the respondents indicated that the Islamic morality of the Qur’an is of a high importance to the society, 16.7% indicated that it is of importance to the society and, 3.3% indicated a no idea on the question.

Therefore, for the summary the major findings of the study are as follows:

1. There is a positive impact of moral teaching of the Qur’an on the people of Ilorin West Local Government Area, Kwara State.
2. There are various approaches to moral among the Islamic people of Ilorin West Local Government Area. And majority of the respondents has it that storytelling is the most popular approach to moral among the Islamic people of Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State.

iii.      Islamic morality of the Qur’an is of a high importance to the society and every society holds morality at a very high esteem so also the Muslim society

5.2    CONCLUSION

Morality and moral values are phenomena that are universally applicable to all humans. Basic moral values are accepted by all humans universally, regardless of their religion, race, or the region that they live in. It is morality which makes human beings distinct from other living beings.

Morality guarantees harmony in society and the absence of morality brings society to the verge of chaos and disharmony. Immoral societies are the most vulnerable ones to disintegration and division.

This is the very reason why all religions have stressed the importance of morality and there have been many religious leaders and great philosophers who have urged on adopting moral values. One would believe that the Quran, being the holy book of Muslims, is supposed to contain teachings about Islamic rituals or jurisprudential problems, but that is not the case. The Quran is a book that addresses human beings in general, and not just Muslims. The abundance of moral teachings mentioned in it are proof that it addresses all of mankind and is a universal book, rather than a book solely for Muslims. The moral values mentioned in the Quran are pertaining to almost all aspects of life, ranging from modesty in walking to honesty in business, from being kind & dutiful to parents to taking care of animals and plants, and from being good to neighbors to treating wives well. This brief paper focuses on moral values of the Quran which are guidelines for the whole of humanity irrespective of religion or ethnicity.

The approaches that the Qur’ān employs, as exhibited in this study, are not less important than the moral values themselves. Teachers of Islāmic education should also adopt these teaching approaches in guiding the students. The effectiveness of the inculcation of Islāmic moral values depends on the teachers’ ability to teach well and on their reflection of the Qur’ānic approaches to teaching.

5.3    RECOMMENDATIONS

The following were recommended after the study:

1. The leaders of the Islamic society should endeavor to instill the moral values in the life of its peoples
2. Morality values should be part of the curriculum for students to learn the need values of the Qur’an

iii.      Parents at home should ensure that morals are being taught at home so as to raise children that has moral integrity in the society

1. The school should put measure to ensure that moral values can be developed among students