By Muhammad Al-Ghazali

"Indeed Allâh (God) conferred a great favor on the believers when He sent among them a Messenger (Muhammad) from among themselves, reciting unto them His Verses (the Qur'ân), and purifying them (from sins by their following him), and instructing them (in) the Book (the Qur'ân) and Al¬Hikmah [the wisdom and the Sunnah of the Prophet (i.e. his legal ways, statements, acts of worship)], while before that they had been in manifest error." (Quran 3:164)

Islam keeps the reform of the human self as the first item on its list for reforms. It makes the human self as the first target of its efforts and sows the seeds of the Islamic teachings in its depths, so that the self and religious training become inseparable.

The teachings of the Prophets last till Doomsday and around them gathered a group of faithful people. The secret of their teachings is the reformation of the human self. Their teachings are deep-rooted and inseparable from daily life. These are not like a shallow coat of paint or varnish that can be worn out by the passage of time. Instead, the faithful followers had imbibed their principles and teachings into the depths of the human heart. The teachings had turned into a powerful source that could protect their hearts from wickedness help them make the right choices in life.

All pious, religious people keep their righteous self as the basis of all their programs of reform, and consider firm and strong moral character as a permanent guarantee for the establishment and upkeep of every civilization. However, emphasizing the importance of individual self-reform does not belittle the importance of those who thrive to reform the government and society. The purpose of this article is merely to make people aware of the value of self-reform, which leads to a virtuous and healthy way of life.

The wicked spreads corruption and disorder in the government, and works the system to meet its mean and wicked objectives. Instead of abusing power, the purified and noble self will thrive to remove defects from the government and enhance society's greatness and decency. 

That is why reform of the self is the foundation of supreme virtue. If no attention is paid to the reform of the individual (selves), the world will be plunged in darkness and corruption. That is why Allah says:

"Verily, Allah will never change the condition of a people until they change it themselves ..." (Quran 13:11)

Stating the cause of the corrupt communities, Allah says:

"Like (the deeds of) the people of Pharaoh and of those before them; they rejected the signs of Allah and Allah punished them for their crimes; for Allah is Strong and Strict in punishment; because Allah will never change the Grace which He has bestowed on a people until they change what is in their (own) soul." ( Quran 8:52-53)

Islam considers self-reform and training in two aspects of the human nature:

The first aspect: Every human being has a decent and pure nature which rushes towards righteousness and goodness because we feel happy when we achieve them and sad when we succumb to wickedness and evil The self sees the extension and development of its existence and the well-being of its life in truth and justice.

The second aspect: Every human being has in himself excitable emotions and Satanic inclinations, which turn him away from the right path. They glorify harmful acts and throw the self into a pit of meanness and lowliness. Regardless of the source of these harmful inclinations, (whether they come from influences in our environment or are part of our nature), we as human beings find ourselves struggling against them in order to stay on the righteous path.   Both good and evil are found in us, and they are locked in a mutual struggle. The choices we make decide our final destination.

Allah says:

"By the soul, and the proportion and the order given to it; and its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right; truly he succeeds who purifies it, and he fails who corrupts it." (Quran 91: 7-10)

Islam strengthens our pure and righteous nature, makes it even brighter and more illuminating, and guides us so we can successfully complete life's journey.  Similarly, Islam also frees us from wickedness and evil, which leads us astray from the right path, causing us to fall from our high rank.