The Impact of Moral Education on Religious Life

Moral education is the foundation of happiness and misery of human beings and societies. Thus, the present study explores the necessity of moral education in life and its impact on the realization of Islamic lifestyle using descriptive-analytical method. Without morality, religion has no meaning for people, and the world will not be organized. The issues of ethics, selfpurification, and be adorned with moral virtues are of utmost importance in all monotheistic religions, especially in Islam. Man is capable of connecting to all perfections but achieving it depends on the correct training, and in order to achieve the grand aim of closeness to God, the best practice should be chosen. In the Islamic tradition, the aim is gaining the satisfaction of God. In addition, the governed relations on the individuals' lives are affected by the perspective inspired by lifestyle. Thus, the effect of moral education to establish Islamic lifestyle is undeniable and inevitable.


Introduction
Man, has an innate tendency to moral values from the beginning to the end of his life, and his character has always been tested with the criterion of moral virtues or vices.And everyone who can achieve higher score in this measurement will have higher and more valuable status for God and in people's memories.Therefore, the messengers of God in the human history have guided the man to grow by inviting nations to worship the only Creator of the universe and relying on authentic moral values in all aspects of life.The messenger of Islam, one of the messengers of God, mentioned the completion and perfection of moral virtues as one of the reasons of his arousal."Moral education" has been one of the most important missions of the prophets and has a special place in Islamic culture, especially in the Innocents biography (peace be upon them) (Banar, 2000, p. 540).Moreover, it is an interdisciplinary topic which, on the one hand, is related to Psychology and, on the other hand, to educational sciences and ethics.Ethic science makes acceptable values available to moral education and informs it about the values that should be taught to students, and education makes the acceptable principles and methods of training available to this field.
Moral education has been part of ethic science in Muslim works; therefore, as an independent discipline, the concept is relatively new (Baba nezhad, et al., 2010).In discussing moral education, two important areas of "education" and "ethics" are studied as two factors of moral education.The area of moral education is indebted to two areas of "ethics" and "education;" in other words, it firstly seeks help from ethics and secondly from education.Since in ethics the greatest emphasis is on self-constructing and in education is on other-constructing, moral education also includes self-constructing and other-constructing.In the contemporary world, as human relations become complex and globalization occurs, moral education has become more evident and has been one of the most essential sciences for human so that one of the most important missions of the prophets has been cultivating and refining human.The Holy Prophet also considers perfecting benevolent humans as the goal of his mission.God has not probably introduced sample and example in any science except in ethical science that introduced His last messenger and prophet and the best creatures of the universe as samples.
At the beginning of the third millennium, despite the amazing advances in science and technology, morality, identity and ethics (in general use), such as professional ethics, organizational ethics, personal morality, ethics, morality and citizenship have found significant importance.There has always been attention to the role of ethics and moral values in various areas of life throughout human history.This attention to morality is due to the fact that human nature has an undeniable tendency towards divine and human values (Saheb al zamani, 2010).If we want to know the relationship between ethics and education, it is necessary to pay attention to the definition of education.Providing context for nurturing the innate talents of every creature and the emergence and actuality of potentials can be considered very important.In addition, ethic is a set of spirits, mental traits and characteristics.Therefore, it can be concluded that ethic is one of the most important results of education, and it has a two-side effect.On the one hand, education should lead to the recognition of moral virtues and vices.On the other hand, ethics affect on easing the path of self-education and make a balance among multiple desires by identifying different human's talents and moral virtues and vices of human spirit.In Islam, the ultimate goal of human education is reaching the ultimate perfection; therefore, each action or adjective that to any extent helps human reach perfection or provides the grounds to reach perfection has moral value to that extent (Musavi, Qasempoor & Rezazadeh, 2013).In this way, Islamic doctrines pioneer humans step by step and gradually, and the Islam religion do not neglect any matter, from the most important matter to the minor one, and it has offered a complete program (Saheb al zamani, 2010).
Because ethics and moral education have an essential role in the fate of human and society, they have long been concerns for human scholars and religious leaders.The majority of the religious teachings of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and other religions consist of ethics, and most of the activities of the various Muslim scholars include moral education.Khajeh Nasir al-Din Tusi considered the creation and establishment of certain characteristics that bring bilss and perfection and the highest degree of bliss (i.e.reaching proximity to the Lord of the Worlds) as the main purpose of moral education (Kaviani Arani, 2009).Akhlaq (ethics) is known as the plural of Kholq (mood) and means power and the inner nature of human which is understandable with insight and inapparent vision.Moreover, "mood" is known as the firm sensual characteristic that human acts according to that attribute promptly; for instance, an individual who has "courage characteristic," does not hesitate when facing enemy (Deilami & Azarbayejani, 2006, p. 15).Raqeb Isfahani describes this word: "khalq (creation) and kholq (mood) are in essence similar but creation is limited to the forms and shapes that can be perceived by eye" (Raqeb Isfahani, 1943, p. 158).Thus, according to philologists, it becomes clear that mood is internal and consistent qualities and characteristics in human soul that does not have external and obvious aspect and does not become separate from the self easily (Kaviani Arani, 2009).Abu Ali Maskuyeh in the "Tathir al Araq" book stated that mood is a status for the soul and self of human that inspires him to works without thought and reflection.Professor Motahari defined ethic as "a series of acquired traits, virtues, and habits accepted as ethics by human; in other words, it's a template for the human spirit and the human soul is constructed within that framework and according to that design and map."In fact, ethic is how the human spirit is (Qara maleki, et al, 2007).Mohammad Taqi Jafari defined ethic as flourishing all the positive aspects of human in the path that he has taken to meet the highest aim of life (Kaviani Arani, 2009).Allameh Tabatabaei stated that mood is a sensual queen that actions are issued from it and is devided into virtue and vice (Tabatabaei, 1996, p. 369).
From what has been quoted form the scholars of ethics, it becomes evident that mood is a sensual and firm thing in the self that causes actions to be easily issued from human.
Therefore, a simple comparison of this with the quotations of philologists reveals that the ethic scholars are affected by philologists in expressing the meaning of mood.Thus, the personal and social well-being of humans depends on cleaning and self-purification of impurities and garnishing it with the moral virtues.As the man tries to enrich his thought and understand scientific facts and constantly make progress in this regard, it is necessary to cultivate his spirit with moral virtues.Even without considering the religious dimension of morality, moral virtues are vital necessities of life in a prosperous and accomplished society.
So if you are not in the hope of heaven and do not fear the punishment and reward fire, still it is necessary to seek virtues and moral education because these virtues and education rescue human (Arbani, 2007, p. 24).Islam attaches great importance to ethics as the issue of ethics and moral education has always attracted the attention of God's prophets, philosophers and authorities throughout the history of mankind.Moreover, paying attention to the moral education dimension has been one of the main concerns of philosophers, mystics, and scholars and, in general, those who think about human cognition and salvation (Najarzadegan, 2009, pp. 23-24, quoted in Kaviani Arani, 2009).The Holy Prophet (may Allah bless him and his family) mentioned one of the important purposes of his mission as the completion and accomplishment of moral virtues and characteristics.From this hadith, it can be inferred that morality is a human need and does not belong to a specific person or religious community (Doostdari, 2008).

Moral education
Many definitions have been proposed for moral education.For example, "moral education means how to use and nurture talents and internal forces in order to develop and establish desirable attributes and behaviors, and attain moral virtues and avoid vices, and eradicate them … Moral education forms an integral part of ethics" (Deilami & Azarbayejani, 2006, p. 17, quoted in Qomri, 2009, pp. 75-91).In another definition, it is stated that "moral education is teaching moral principles and values and nurturing moral tendencies and values" (Davoodi, 2009, pp. 10-11, quoted in Qomri, 2009, pp. 75-91).Another definition is "moral education is the process of preparation and implementation of procedures to thrive, invigorate and create moral behaviours and virtues, and also to modify and remove immoral attributes, behaviors and practices in oneself or others" (Banari, 2000, p. 180).Moral education includes "nominal or implied training of ethics inside or outside of school" (Fermahini Farahani, 1999, p. 38).Moral education is a set of educational activities in order to eliminate vices and establish virtues.In other words, according to this definition, moral and valuable education is a set of actions which aims at helping people to acquire moral and valuable knowledge, attitudes and behavior.Finally, it can be stated that moral education is the teaching of moral principles and values and nurturing moral tendencies and values.In this definition, the cognitive, affective and moral aspects of ethic are considered and it is an exhaustive definition of moral education (Davari, Mohammad, 1999, quoted in Kaviani, 2009, p. 2).

Principles of moral education
Principles are the plural of principle and mean the basis of everything.Here, we mean the root and basis of moral education which moral education is based on that."Principles of moral education are descriptive statements that specify the general orientation of moral education and play a role in determining the principles and methods of moral education" (Davoodi, 2009, p. 77, quoted in Saheb al zamani, et al. 2010).Principles of moral education mean the talents, possibilities and necessities of human related to moral training and they also represent the kind of procedures and methods in moral education.

Tenets of moral education
Tenets is the plural of tenet and literally means "the stem, root, and base of everything; therefore, tenets means the roots, bases, rules and regulations" (Amid, 1984, vol. 1, pp. 217-218).In addition, it means origin and source, and here the tenet of source is the actions of the teacher and instructor in moral education.In applied sciences, such as educational sciences and management, tenet means a rule and instruction that is considered as the guideline for action."Dr.Hushyar defined tenet as the criterion and basis of the work and action of students and teachers … In addition, tenets means not only the theoretical principles that are extracted from the existing factors in life but also the criteria for action" (Saheb al zamani, 2010).

Methods of moral education
Methods of moral education can be defined as detailed instructions, applied techniques, and practical behaviors that make the principles and purposes of education possible and give them objectivity."Method is a way extended between the basis and purpose and regulated and connected the sequential action with the aim and purpose of the instructor" (Shokuhi, 2007, p. 139).Methods as guidelines and recommendations indicate how educational measures are implemented according to special circumstances and occasions (Kaviani Arani, 2009).

The literal meaning of ethics
According to various human attributes, such as bravery, generosity, integrity, or cowardice, greed and betrayal, it can be perceived that these traits are so firm in some hamans that they do the works related to these traits easily and without any retrospection and thought.
In contrast, others have sometimes been attributed to these traits, and possibly force themselves to do the works related to these traits with retrospection.Whenever, a trait becomes stable in a person and penetrates into him so that he does the related works of the trait easily and without much thought, it is stated that this trait has become a queen (habit) for him.But, if the trait is momentary and the person forced himself to do the related work of the trait, this trait is called "instant" (Mesbah, 2009, quoted in Kaviani Arani, 2009).
Ethic literally means the consistent and firm traits (i.e.habit) that physical acts are easily done in accordance with the requirements of those traits and habit without thought and hesitation, and ethics is referred to the set of these traits (Naraqi, 2007).Therefore, the person who has the consistent generosity trait can be considered as a generous person because he has not hesistated to be generous to other people and this generosity has not been difficult for him.It should also be noted that the literal meaning of ethic is not limited to good and praiseworthy traits but includes bad and inadmissible traits, and as some individuals have the good trait of generosity, others have the inadmissible trait of stinginess (Naraqi, 2007).

The terminological meaning of ethics
Ethics is a concept related to personality, mood, and the nature and habits that regulate human behavior in all aspects of social life (work, daily life, politics, science, family, personal relationships within the group, the class) (Aqa bakhshi, 1996, p. 39, quoted in Qarvian, 1998).
Ethics means a compromise with the standards, rights and common tasks; however, there is a possibility of conflict between acceptable social standards and the individual learns to judge based on individual conscience in such cases (Poor afkari, 1994, p. 148).Sometimes the word "ethic" is just used for the good and praiseworthy characteristics and behaviors; for example, sacrificial is known as a moral character and robbery is known as an immoral character.All the sensual attributes are the origin of good or bad actions, whether the attribute is stable and consistent or unstable and ephemeral.According to this term, if a stingy person, despite his usual nature, gives things generously to others, he is considered as having the generous character in that case so that his generosity is perceived as a positive and praiseworthy moral action.However, because this trait is not stable in him, according to the literal meaning, generosity is not considered as his characteristics (Mesbah, 2007, p. 16, quoted in Kaviani Arani, 2009).

The importance of ethics
The Holy Prophet (may Allah bless him and his family) said that "God appointed me to complete and accomplish moral virtues."The impact of moral virtues on moral excellence is evident as the holy prophet introduced the purpose of his appointment as the completion of moral virtues.The Islamic saints also obligate their followers to learn ethics in order to lead them to self-purification and self-constructing, and they prioritize acquiring this science which is the basis of wellbeing of the society (Feiz, translated by Saedi, 1993, p. 7).The importance of ethics and self-purification is not hidden to anyone.Modifying humans and different societies and rescuing them from problems and social corruptions, war, bloodshed, etc. can be only possible in the light of promoting correct ethics and inviting people to be adorned with social virtues.In Holy Quran, purification, along with teaching book and wisdom, are mentioned as the aims of sending the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and his family) (Mesbah, 2009, p. 65).In another hadith, Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) said that "if we did not have hope for or faith in Paradise and fear and horror from hell and did not expect reward and punishment, it would be appropriate to follow moral virtues because they are guides to achieve success and salvation" (Bahar al anvar,vol. 66,p. 405).
This hadith clearly shows that moral virtues not only lead to the salvation of human but also the mundane life would not be improved without them.Good behavior is the most important virtue for religious leaders; this good trait has an important role in attracting hearts and closing to God and people.Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said that there is no better action than good behavior for the believers in the Judgment Day (Saheb al zamani, et al. 2010).

Ethics in Islam religion
Various definitions have been proposed for Akhlaq (ethics) which is driven from kholq (mood).The late Naraqi said that "mood" is a sensual estate that causes actions to be easily issued from human without needing attention and thought" (Naraqi, 2007, p. 46).Ethic is also defined as "a set of principles and values that has regulated human behavior and determined their divine teachings and issued rules for humans in order to reach the aim of human existence" (Rahimi, 2008).The late Allameh Tabatabaei defined ethics as "a technique that argues about human habits related to plants and animal forces and distinguishes the virtues of habits from their vices so that human can complete his practical wellbeing due to the manifestation and qualification of moral virtues.As a result, human shows actions and behaviors which cause public praise and the praise of human society."Of course, what has been mentioned as the purpose of ethics is from the view point of scholars of Greece.But we believe that the purpose of Islamic ethics is to "achieve the satisfaction of God" not "achieve eulogy and praise of society or not even the mere achievement of human virtue and perfection" (Allameh Tabatabaei, 1993, vol. 1, pp. 376-378).Whatever the definition of ethics is, the necessity of discussing it continuously and permanently in the society is self-evident.
The saying of Imam Ali confirms this necessity: "if we did not have hope for Paradise and fear from the hell and did not expect reward and punishment, it would be appropriate to follow moral virtues because they are guides to salvation" (Koleini, 1990).This hadith indicates that morality is a human need and does not belong to a specific society.Similarly, the Holy Prophet (may Allah bless him and his family) said that "if human knew what benefits are for him in good behavior, he would know he needs a good behavior …" (Bahar al anvar, vol.71, p. 396).Moreover, he said that "God has placed moral values as means of communication between Himself and his servants; therefore, it is sufficient for you to have a behavior that links you to God" (Makarem Shirazi, 2006, vol. 1, p. 23).Mohammad Saleh Mazandarani, one of the greatest scholars, explained about the necessity of moral and ethical issues in society: "it is surprising that people have left ethics and acting according to it and suspected that they can find the hereafter salvation in apparent acts, and they do not care to purify the self as much as they try to purify the uncleanness, and this is the misleading disaster" (Usul al-Kafi, vol.8, p. 85).Here, the responsibility of scholars becomes heavier because they should not only consistently and constantly benefit from moral virtues but also consistently caution the public to pay attention to moral issues.The Holy Prophet (may Allah bless him and his family) said that "Islam is good behavior" (Mizan al hekmat, p. 170).Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said that "good behavior is the basis of all goodness" (Mizan al hekmat, p. 170).In addition, there is an anecdote in this regard:"A man approached the Messenger of God from the front and asked: O'Messenger of God, what is religion?The Holy Prophet answered: It is good behavior.Then, he came from the right side and asked what is religion?The Holy Prophet answered: It is being goodtempered.Then he came from the left side and again asked what is religion?The Holy Prophet answered: don't you understand?
Religion is that you do not become angry" (Rahimi, 2008).

The position of moral eduction in Islam
The dignity of each science depends on the dignity of its topic; therefore, theology, which subject is the holy nature of the self-existent and his characteristics and actions, is the highest science.After the principles of belief, training knowledge and ethic with its moral concept are the top of sciences and techniques from the dignity and status perspective because the topic of them is human spirit and self; that is, it is the "breath of heaven" (Haj Sura, verse 29) which is blown to the earthly body, and its completion and competency to carry the devine honesty and undertaking the position of "Caliph of Allah" (Baqare Sura, verse 20) is possible in the light of ascribing to "God's attributes" (Bahar al anvar,vol. 68,p. 423) and purifying the impurities.Whenever we perceive the fact that human creation is intented to complete his spiritual growth, and the purpose of the mission of prophets, especially the last prophet (may Allah bless him and his family) is to complete moral virtues and provide the tools for this growth and perfection, the status of education, ethics, and its final destination becomes clear.According to this perspective, moral character constitutes the essential element and the main essence of human existence which is the purpose of laws and programs of human cultivation; therefore, moral education is at the top of religious teachings and duties with the opinions and laws (Usul al-Kafi, vol.9, p. 32).And even some researchers called it "major jurisprudence" and others called it "spiritual medicine" and traditions have considered it as the highest status of ethics and education.When the Holy Prophet (may Allah bless him and his family) dispatched "Muadh ibn Jabal" to deliver the message of Islam to Yemen, recommend him to "teach them the God's book and train them in favorable behavior" (Tohf al oghul, p. 25).Moreover, there are various sayings about this topic: "with good behavior, believers reach the degree of those who fast and those who are wakeful" and "nothing is heavier in the scale of action than good behavior" and "it is incumbent upon you to have good behavior because the place of those who have good behavior is unquestionably paradise and avoid bad temper because the place of those having bad temper is inevitably hell" and "the most popular of you in the sight of Allah are those whose behavior is better, more flexible and more attuned, and the most hated of you in the sight of God are those who gossip and estrange among the brothers and attribute crimes to innocents" (Majlesi, Bahar al anvar).
Islamic texts and sources attest that moral and educational programs are the main programs of this human-cultivating religion, and ethics have a high rank in Islamic education.
Referring to the status of ethics and self-purification in Islam, Imam Khomeini said that "Islam is not a materialistic school, but it is a materialistic-spiritual school.Islam accepts materials in the cover of spirituality.Islam is for spiritualities, ethics, and self-purification and cultivating human; all monotheistic schools are consolidated to cultivate human … The aim of Islam and all prophets is to correct human; if the human is trained, all the issues will be solved" (Sahifeh Noor, vol. 7, p. 16, quoted in Eskandari & Kiani, 2007).

The concept of lifestyle
Lifestyle is a relatively stable manner which one follows his objectives through it; that is, it is a method to reach the aims of life.These methods are the results of the childhood of the person; in other words, lifestyle is the objective and quantifiable dimention of person's personality.For this reason, the Adler's theory of "lifestyle" is also considered his theory of "character."For the first time, Alfred Adler (1922) raised the issue of lifestyle and then it was expanded by his followers.They discussed lifestyle, its formation in early childhood, the primary attitude of lifestyle, the core functions of life and the interaction of them with each other in detail and showed it in the form of lifestyle tree.They introduced values, anthropological and philosophical concepts and portrayed the whole life monolithicly.
Lifestyle is the most important factor that everyone adjusts his life according to it.
Accordingly, lifestyle is a set of ideas, designs, samples of habitual behavior, desires, and specification of social or personal conditions which determine the particular reaction of individuals (Fuchino, et al., 2003, pp. 303-313).Adler believes that recognizing a person requires identifying his perceptual structure and his lifestyle.Lifestyle refers to the faith and beliefs that the individual acquires during the early days of his life, and it is a perceptual model which has direction (Shafii Abadi, 1992).Lifestyle is the way a person lives, and it covers factors such as personality traits, nutrition, exercise, sleep, dealing with stress, social support and the use of medication.By evaluating a person's lifestyle, the amount of personal and social success can be evaluated (Cockerham, 2005, pp. 51-67).

The concept of Islamic lifestyle
The most important innovation in the concept of Islamic lifestyle is that it has considered the Islamic teachings and the totality of Islam."Islamic lifestyle" is known in the majority of human sciences in the international level so that it has been considered and studied from various angles.Islamic lifestyle is related to the all life of individual and its dimensions.Islamic lifestyle is different from other lifestyles in one way.In sociology, management, medical sciences and clinical psychology, etc., lifestyle is also discussed, but only a specific behavior is considered in these domains and there is no direct connection with cognition and emotions.But because Islamic lifestyle is Islamic, it can not have any relationship with cognition and emotions.Accordingly, any behavior that is to have Islamic basis should have at least minimums of Islamic cognition and emotions as support.In lifestyle from the psychological, sociological and medical sciences perspective only behavior is considered, but they neglect the individual's intentions, cognitions, and emotions.Islamic lifestyle can not be indifferent towards intentions; for example, if there is no belief in God and prejudice and orientation, it becomes evident that human has been abandoned alone and confounded in this timeless and stressful valley.The lack of an acceptable guidance system or, in other words, a trustful guiding light has made human stressful and anxious.
Irresponsiblity of people against each other and the lack of constructive patterns suitable for youth can create substantial mental disorders.People with different mentalities have remained alone as the only moral reference.In this hustle and bustle and congestion of ethics, no reliable source that one can measure his success or failure with it and find his status within it can be found; he himself and his thoughts remain without any spiritual facilities.Here, we find moral education without any connection with the heavenly school and the divine revelation is unproductive and unsuccessful.The lack of accepted and worthly universal norms leads to disruption, instability, confusion, disparity and incommensurability in moral education and ethical values (Baba nejad, et al. 2010).