There is an often quoted saying:
“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.”
Islam provides wholesome guidance in all aspects of human life. This volume is devoted to demonstrating the utilitarian value of some of the Islamic teachings.
Alislam-eGazette is an international publication of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community that now goes to 40,000 subscribers each month. Here is the link to subscribe and review the archives.
For an interesting comparison with the Christian teachings see the comment below, ‘Turning the other cheek!’
The Holy Quran not only provides rational and utilitarian teachings but also a complete set of guiding principles to lead a fully satisfying life in all necessary human dimensions:
“This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as religion. But whoso is forced by hunger, without being wilfully inclined to sin, then, surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful. ” (Al Quran 5:4)
Zia Shah
The balance of forgiveness and punishment in Islam — Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Founder of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community writes:The Torah taught ‘a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye, and an ear for the ear.’ The purport of the teaching was to provide a commandment to the Jews to establish justice and prevent them from committing transgressions and excesses. This was necessary because having spent four hundred years in slavery, cruelty and meanness had become their second nature. Hence the profound Wisdom of God so planned that to counter the overemphasis of cruelty and revenge in their natures, the teachings of forgiveness and love was highly stressed to the same degree. Hence the moral teaching found in the Gospels is specifically for the Jews and not for the whole world as Jesus had no concern with other people.The teaching which Jesus brought did not only have the drawback of not being addressed to all mankind, but it also had another shortcoming. As Torah overemphasises revenge to one extreme, the Gospels, turn to the other extreme as regards the teaching of forgiveness. Both these scriptures fail to bring into focus all the possible branches of human nature. As for Torah, it remains concerned with only one branch, while the Gospels hold fast to the other exclusively. Both teachings lack balance. As it is evident that to punish on every occasion is not appropriate nor is it in accordance with the dictates of justice, likewise to forgive and to overlook faults indiscriminately is contrary to the spirit of human reform. In view of this the Holy Qur’an does not entirely agree with either, but instead proposes the following:وَجَزٰٓؤُا سَيِّئَةٍ سَيِّئَةٌ مِّثْلُهَاۚ فَمَنْ عَفَا وَاَصْلَحَ فَاَجْرُهٗ عَلَى اللّٰهِؕ اِنَّهٗ لَا يُحِبُّ الظّٰلِمِيْنَThe recompense of an injury is an injury the like thereof; but whoso forgives and his act brings about reformation, his reward is with Allah. (Al Quran 42:41) [Publisher]So an injury can only be avenged to the extent of the injury received, as is taught by the Torah. But whoever prefers to forgive, as is taught by the Gospels, then such forgiveness is only permitted when the person forgiven is likely to respond with reform and the final outcome is positive and healthy and the whole episode ends up well. Otherwise, the routine teaching remains the same as that of the Torah.http://www.alislam.org/library/books/Message-of-Peace.pdf