Hawzah News Agency (Qom, Iran) - Ethical values, which pertain to the very principle of humanity, and which are thus rooted in the fitra, are permanent and immutable; neither the passage of time nor transformations in society can alter them.
For example, the propriety of fulfilling promises, or reciprocating goodness with goodness—such ethical imperatives are constant, having been established at the very dawn of creation and will continue thus for as long as man exists. These moral norms are not subject to change. The converse is no less true: the ugliness of, for example, treachery, or of breaking promises, will always be so. Therefore, from a properly intellectual perspective, one understands that there is a range of immutable and deeply-rooted principles woven into the very texture of man’s character, determining his moral and social life.
On the margins of these ethical principles there can arise certain customs and manners which do undergo the influence of time and place, and are thus subject to change; these, however, cannot impinge upon or significantly modify the immutable principles of morality.
The Holy Quran alludes to some of these intelligible and immutable moral principles; for example:
Is the reward of goodness anything other than goodness? (Sura alRahman, LV:60)
Against those who are good there is no way [of blame].(Sura al-Tawba, IX:91)
Truly, God will not cause the reward of those who do good to be lost. (Sura Yusuf, XII:90)
Truly God enjoineth justice and kindness and giving to kinsfolk, and The Worldview of Islam forbiddeth lewdness and abomination and wickedness. He exhorteth you in order that ye may take heed. (Sura al-Nahl, XVI:90)
Reference:
Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani, Doctrines of Shii Islam, A Compendium of Imami Beliefs and Practices, Translated and Edited by Reza Shah-Kazemi, published by I.B.Tauris Publishers, london • new york 2003
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