بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
What constitutes a good deed?
The "deed" part is easy enough, I guess, but its the "good" part that befuddles us sometimes. A case in point is the classical Euthyphro dilemma, in which Socrates asks Euthyphro: "Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?"
In other words, is something good because God loves it, or God loves it because it is good? The attempts to answer this question have been many, and have given rise to many kinds of philosophies. For example good is "one that maximizes the overall "good" of the society" (utilitarianism), or "pleasure is the only intrinsic good" (hedonism), and a whole lot of others.....
What puzzles me is that when I ask this question to Muslims, I get diverging answers as well. In my opinion, there should be no divergence amongst Muslims, as we are supposed to obtain our moral code of conduct from the Qur'an and the Prophet's (salallahu alayhi wasallam) example. Let us look at some ayat (verses) of the Qur'an:
Al-Baqara [2:216], a part of which states:
عَسَى أَن تَكْرَهُواْ شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ وَعَسَى أَن تُحِبُّواْ شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّكُمْ وَاللّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ
....but it is possible that you dislike a thing which is good for you, and that you love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and you know not.
An-Nisa [4:19], a part of which states:
فَعَسَى أَن تَكْرَهُواْ شَيْئًا وَيَجْعَلَ اللّهُ فِيهِ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا
......it may be that ye dislike a thing, and Allah brings about through it a great deal of good. Both of these ayat or parts thereof indicate that Allah knows best what is good.
And then we have ayat like Al-Ahzab [33:21]:
لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا
Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for any one whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day, and who engages much in the Praise of Allah.
And also Aal-i-Imran [3:31]
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Say [O Prophet]: "If you love God, follow me, [and] God will love you and forgive you your sins; for God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace."Further, in An-Nisa [4:80]:
مَّنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللّهَ وَمَن تَوَلَّى فَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظًا
He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah. But if any turn away, We have not sent thee to watch over their (evil deeds).
All the above ayat, and numerous hadith (Traditions) of the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wasallam) indicate that the criteria for deciding what is good is through the commandments of God, and whatever the Prophet (salallahy alayhi wasallam) taught us about the commandments of God.
So, in conclusion, everything what Allah and His Prophet (salallahu alayhi wasallam) love and asked us to do, is "good", and what Allah and His Prophet (salallahu alayhi wasallam) have forbidden us from, is "not good"/"evil"/etc. We should understand, and internalize this criteria to guide us as to do what is good and avoid doing what is not.
What about things that are not explicitly mentioned as good or bad? Well, that is the topic of discussion for another day, another post :)
