Source / Courtesy: Muslim Sunrise
By Lubna Roohi Malik
The Holy Qur’an lays out three basic states of man. These three states separate man from animals and spiritual men from moral men. These three states are: the natural state, the moral state, and the spiritual state. Man begins in the base, natural state, where he has the impulse to eat, drink, sleep, and perform various other natural functions. To move beyond this, man learns social culture and etiquette, which are a slightly refined natural state. To become moral, however, man needs to learn to control the natural qualities, urges, and impulses and exhibit them in the appropriate manner at the appropriate time. God Almighty says in the Holy Qur’an in 68:5 that He has endowed all humans with the ability to achieve high moral excellences.