Ali Ibn Abi Taleb, may God be pleased with him, defined high morals as consisting of three traits: staying away from prohibitions, seeking the permissible, and being generous in supporting one's family.

Imam Ghazali says: "A person may be said to have good khalq and khulq" (good looking and well-mannered), meaning that he is good both outwardly and inwardly. The outer as well as the inner image may be either ugly or beautiful.

The inner soul which perceives through insight is better than the body, which perceives through sight. On this point, Allah (SWT) says: "(Remember) as your Lord said to the Angels, "Surely I am creating a mortal of a clay. So when I have molded him and breathed into him of My Spirit, then fall down to him prostrating!" (Sad : 71,72)

This verse draws attention to the fact that the body is linked to earth, but the soul originates in God. In this context, soul and self mean the same thing. A high moral standard, then, is a well-established configuration in the self which is the source of all activities.

The inner self, or soul, consists of four forces: knowledge, wrath, lust and justice. All four must be characterised by goodness for one's manners to be noble.

The force of knowledge, if judged to be good by mental and legal criteria, will breed wisdom which comes at the top of good manners. About wisdom, Allah (SWT) says: "He brings (the) Wisdom to whomever He decides; and whoever is brought (the) Wisdom, then he has been brought much charity (i.e., benefit); and in no way does anyone constantly remember except the ones endowed with intellects. (Al Baqara [The Cow] : 269)

As for the forces of wrath and lust, they are good to the extent that their liberty and restraint are under the full control of wisdom, mind and legality. Full liberty or full restraint are the two objectionable extremes; a middle course is preferable.

The force of justice is the main factor in determining the amount of control required of wisdom. Justice has no extremes; it only has an antithesis: one is either just or unjust.

In short, good manners can be identified with faith: bad manners with hypocrisy. The Quran is full of verses that illustrate morality. Likewise, Traditions of the prophet (PBUH) on the subject are too many to mention in this limited space. Some Islamic thinkers summed up the characteristics of a well-mannered person as follows:

He tends more towards bashfulness and humility and less towards hostility, he is righteous and pious. When he talks he tells only the truth; he is short on words but long on action; he seldom slips into error or pries into people's affairs; he is reverent and devoted, friendly and communicative, dignified and patient; he is grateful and content, mild-tempered and tolerant, tender and chaste, compassionate and affectionate. He does not swear, insult, gossip or slander; he is not impatient, rancorous, parsimonious or envious; he displays a friendly mien and wears a cheerful smile. In loving, approving or getting exasperated, he only seeks God's pleasure.