2. Akhlaq to Parents and Relatives
Al Quran strictly requires man to dedicate to his parents (Q: 17: 23). Dedicating to parents (birrul walidain) is alkhoir, a goodness value universally made compulsory by God. It means that the goodness value of dedicating to parents is in force for all times and for all strata of societies. How to dedicate to parents, however, belongs to category of al ma’ruf that is a goodness value socially accepted by a society in a time and in a region. In this case, Al Quran set limitations. For example, in Surah Al Isra it is mentioned that a child should not speak harshly to his/her parents, let alone scolding them (Q: 17: 23).

A child should show his/her thankfulness to his/her parents that had caused him/her to exist in this world. God views a child’ s thankfulness to his parents as essential, so that the command to be thankful to parents is revealed at the same time with command to be thankful to Himself (Q: 31:14). One’s obedience to his parents, however, is limited by his obedience to God. If his parents command one to do things violating God’s commands, then he is not allowed to obey their command by still properly (ma’ruf) respecting them as parents (Q: 31: 15). The prophet also forbids a child to openly take a dispute with his parents to a law court since children-parents relations are not merely legal relations with aspect of social contract but also holy blood relations.

Meanwhile, parents should be just in giving their affection to their children. Among parents’ obligations to their children are giving good names, making a living for them, educating them with religion (akhlaq for living) and marrying them off in time
If his parents had passed way, a child has following obligations to them: (a) doing things commanded in their last will/testament, (b) maintaining their good reputation, (c) continuing their goals, (d) continuing social interactions with their relatives and friends, (e) asking God’s forgiveness for them. In case of social interactions with relatives, the spirit of good relations in general should be in accordance with the spirit of obligation to dedicate to one’s parents.

One’s uncles, aunts, mothers in law, and so on should be placed at the same level/position as his/her parents, younger nephews and nieces should be placed at the same level as his younger brothers/sisters, while older nephews and nieces should be placed at the same level as his older brothers/sisters. Specifically, relatives should be given priorities over others. For example, if one intends to pay zakah while there are poor persons entitled to receive the zakah among his relatives, then the poor relatives should be given priority over other poor people who are not relatives in receiving the zakah. The spirit of ethics in kinship relations is expressed by Prophet Muhammad in following sentence: “respecting the older and caring for the younger” (laisa minna man lam yuwagir kabirana wa lam yarham soghirana).
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Man is a social being and a unique individual at the same time. As a social being, a man needs other men to actualise himself. Without other men, a man can’t be a man. What a man will be also depends on with whom he is socialising. Social interactions in a society give rise to social norms that are values agreed on by the society as goodness. According to ethics, those norms are called social ethics, while science of akhlaq calls those social norms al ma’ruf that are things socially known by the society as goodness. In accordance with the wide scope of human interactions, ethics has some branches, such as social ethics, political ethics, business ethics, medicine ethics, and so on. All those are guidances on what should do and what should not do in each field. Since ethics has mind or culture as its sources, all of its branches only regulate order of values in horizontal relations among men.

Meanwhile, akhlaq has universal values of divine revelations as its sources; its scope includes horizontal relations among men and between men and their environment and vertical relations between man and his God. In detail, man’s akhlaq in the perspective of vertical and horizontal relations consists of:

A. MAN’S AKHLAQ TO OTHERS
1. Akhlaq to Prophets
God gives his guidance to man in four levels that are (1) instinct, (2) the five senses, (3) mind, and (4) revelation. The first and the second guidances are also given to animals, in addition to man. The second guidance, mind, are the thing that makes human different from animals. With his mind, man can solve problems so that man is able to plan, to evaluate, and arrange things. Although man has physical limitations, for example he can’t fly like a bird and he can’t dive like a fish, with his mind, man can compensate those weaknesses. With technology he creates, man is able to rule the earth and its atmosphere for fulfilling his life necessities.
In addition to understanding technical things, man with his mind can distinguish between good things and bad things, between things ethically should be done and things should not be done.

Therefore, man has responsibilities for his behaviours, both to his society as a social system and to his God in the day after. Mind, however, can’t determine universal truth, since everyone has a different capacity of mind. Truth perceived by the mind is highly relative, since man is influenced by subjective things so that he can’t achieve the true happiness if he only uses his mind. Mind only can find truth but doesn’t determine it. To complete His blessings, God gives man the fourth guidance, revelation. Revelation is the universal truth submitted by God to guide man in achieving the true happiness. In accordance with man’s ability in absorbing information, God sent Prophets and Messengers as revelation-bringers and models of how to live rightly at the same time.

In Christianity, Jesus is called a living revelation, while in Islam, Prophet Muhammad is regarded as manifestation of the truth values of revelation of Al Quran (kana khuluquhu al Qur'an) and model for human (uswah hasanah). Prophets are God’s messengers sent to human societies. There are some prophets sent to a certain community in a certain period of time, while there is also a prophet sent to guide human in all periods of time. According to Islam, Prophet Muhammad, as the closing or the latest prophet, has teachings for all human beings until the end of time. Basically, there is no inconsistency or contradiction between revelations brought by earlier prophets and revelations brought by later prophets since all of them has the same source (min manba'in wahid).

Manifestations of man’s akhlaq to prophets will be mentioned. When a prophet still lives, ethically and rationally people in his period, in welcoming appearance of a God’s messenger, should accept, respect, and believe him. Al Quran mentions that a believer should believe a prophet (Q: 7: 157), do not reject him (Q: 3:184), do not speak loud to him, be courteous (Q: 49: 2), do not hurt his feeling (Q: 33; 53), and don’t kill him (Q: 3: 21). Furthermore, man is ordered to love and defend him and follow his sunnah.

After a prophet had passed away, a believer’s behaviour to him should be:

(a) Following his sunnah. Sunnah has a wider meaning than that of hadith. Prophet’s sunnah consists of daily behaviours modelled by him when he does religious services, becomes the head of his family, becomes the head of his country, becomes someone’s friend, becomes a citizen, becomes a commander at war, and so on. It is often debated that whether the prophet’s sunnah that should be followed is limited on his behaviours as a messenger or also including his behaviours as a “basyar”, an ordinary man. According to majority (jumhur) of ulamas, all behaviours of prophet Muhammad, when he does his tasks as a messenger and as an ordinary man, is a sunnah that should be followed, since even his behaviours as an ordinary man is enlightened (guided) by revelation so that there is nothing of his behaviours is blameworthy. Critiques of the orientalists on Prophet Muhammad’s behaviours—on polygamy, for example, are not accurate in general since their analyses are not comprehensive.

(b) Loving him. Manifestation of loving a prophet among others are following his sunnah, reading shalawat for him, giving one’s children and grandchildren names having something to with him, and putting emphasis on following his sunnah than on following other things. Shalawah is ma’tsurah prayer, a prayer taught by the prophet and even is commanded in Al Quran. For Prophet Muhammad himself as a ma’sum (holy) messenger, his followers’ prayers actually do not give any effect. Shalawat is more a necessity of one uttering it since he/she hopes for the prophet’s syafaat (intercession) in the day after. Meanwhile, commemorating maulid (birthday) of the prophet is more a part of culture and social necessity of Islamic community, it is not based on his recommendatio
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3. Memorising and Thinking
Things captured by the senses (sensation) is changed into information (perception) and stored in memory. Memory is a highly structured system that enables organisms to record facts of the world and uses them to guide their behaviours. One of man’s advantages is his ability to store a huge amount of information for a long time and to recall them back.

Memorising works through three phases: (a) Recording: information from perception is recorded through the nervous system, (b) Storing: the information is stored in a certain form, a certain place, and a certain time. Information in the memory may increase and may also develop itself, (c) Recalling: the stored information can be recalled back, flashing into one’s mind or indeed intentionally recalled back in detail since the information is needed. Everyone has a different memory capacity. For example, a person always remembers in detail things he experienced decades ago, while the second person tends to forget things quickly. Meanwhile, the third person tends to forget the older information after recording the new one. A male student of Institute of Al Quran Sciences, who has to recite Al Quran from memory as her task, forgets the first juz (chapter) of Al Quran after reciting the second juz and passing the test. When reciting the third juz, she begins to forget the second juz and so on.

Thinking is an activity involving the using of various concepts and symbols to replace objects and occurrences. Thinking is manipulating or organising environmental elements by using various symbols so there’s no need to do visible activities. Thinking is the fourth process, after sensing, perceiving, and memorising, that affect interpretation of stimuli, In thinking one involves sensing, perceiving, and memorising at the same time.

In daily living, thinking is required to: (a) solving problem, (b) making decision, and (c) creating new things. In solving problems, some people think realistically, some other think unrealistically. Realistic thinking, or reasoning, consists of two thinking methods: deductive and inductive methods. Deductive thinking is taking a particular conclusion from general premises. On the contrary, inductive thinking is taking general conclusion from particular instances.

In addition, there is an additional method that is evaluative method of thinking or critical thinking through sorting problems, making distinctions, and valuing whether a thing good or not, appropriate or not.

Although critical thinking and using the thinking methods are characters of one’s intellectuality, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that every intellectual person always thinking logically. In daily living, thinking logically may cause difficulties; on the contrary in certain circumstances, thinking illogically is sometimes more practical and more secure. Above the logical thinking, creative thinking is also known.

Solving dilemmatic problems requires creative thinking. Creative thinking is thinking by using a new method, a new concept, a new finding, a new paradigm, and a new art. Creative thinking is urgent not due to its newness but due its relevance in solving problems. Due to its newness and unconventionality, creative people often can’t be understood by other people in general, they even may be regarded as strange or “crazy” (thinking “crazily”). If these thinking methods are connected with categorisations of leaderships, we may observe that there is a leader that is born in correct time. There is also a leader who is born in a time but since he rules too long, his thinkings becomes obsolete, and still there is another leader who is born “preceding his time”. The last type of leader has very creative thinkings so that people of his time do not understand him. It often happens that only after this kind of leader has passed away, people realise that the various thinkings of the controversial leader were advanced and correct.

Characters of people who are able to thinking creatively is (a) having intelligence above those of average people or very intelligent, (b) open-minded, and (c) free, autonomous, and self-confident.

In addition to thinking, tafakkur (contemplating) is also known, According to Asfibani, thinking is a potential that can connect concepts of science with objects, meanwhile contemplating is the potential’s wandering follows its mind capacity. In Al Quran, people having a mind capacity strong enough to contemplate in a correct way are called ulul albab (Q: 2: 79 and 197)

People with honourable akhlaq have perceptions and thinkings that are consistent in straightening, appreciating, or constructing things. Therefore, people with honourable akhlaq are not influenced by prejudices when perceiving things, they think constructively in creating things and they are proportionally just in straightening up (correcting) certain things. Their consistencies will make ease their thinkings since their memories neatly store information so that they won’t experience any inner conflict.

Interpersonal Communication System
In social life, people need each other, in terms of individual or group, and it is inevitable that transactional relations happen among them. Quality of one’s relations with other depends on his/her image. If one has a good image in others’ eyes then his interpersonal relations must be good, and these good interpersonal relations determine success in negotiating, promoting, and transacting. Therefore, image is a very important asset in communicating with others.
Image is others’ strong impression on a person, a group of persons, or an institution. One consistently shows good behaviours and outstanding achievement for a long time will build his society’s impression on him that he is a good and excellent figure. On the contrary, if he shows inconsistent behaviours for a long time, his society will build bad impression on him.

Therefore, according to this perspective, image can be built. One who intends to have a good image in his family or in his environment should consistently shows that he is a good person. Image or impression is built through interpersonal communication process in which others perceive us and vice versa. Problems on image usually have something to do with ones having socially prominent positions. Not all behaviours, however, are perceived correctly, since perceptions are influenced by many factors.

1. Psychological Bases of Interpersonal Relations
Good interpersonal relations among individuals, or among institutions are not built automatically but are based on psychological bases. Good relations between two parties are enabled if there are three following factors between them:

1.1 Trust. If others respect us since they trust our moral credibility, then our interpersonal relations must be good, and transactional relations with other parties will run smoothly or even very smoothly. The problems are how to develop the trust and how to maintain it. A person may try hard to built his image but always fails, while another person’s image suddenly falls due to a seemingly minor occasion, but there is still another person who experiences a big occasion or faces a big problem but his good image is not badly influenced. Consistency is one of factors that may build good image, while inconsistency may damage image, but consistent inconsistency for a long time is a distinctive image.

1.2 Attitude of Helping Each Other. Attitude is a tendency to behave, perceive, think, and feel in facing an object, idea, situation, or value. Attitude is not behaviour but is tendency to behave to a certain object. We can understand one’s attitude in helping others through consistency in his attitude to certain objects for a long time. If we are known for having attitude of tending to help others, not intercepting or pretending to help others, then our relations with others will run smoothly, and in turn will make ease our transactional relations. Attitude tends to stay in one’s self, doesn’t change easily but it indeed can be changed since attitude basically is built from experiences and learning process.

1.3 Open-mindedness. Open-mindedness has a very significant impact in developing good relations. An open-minded person is a person who has self-confidence and honesty. He is not worry that his opinions, advice, and offers will be refused since he has a positive self-concept. He doesn’t have any hidden (and bad) agenda behind ideas and advice he propose openly, since he has honesty. A creative-thinking person is usually also an open-minded person, although behind his open-mindedness there is a hidden agenda of positive social engineering that he thinks is necessary. We should distinguish open-mindedness from thinking naturally and plainly, since the former has a positive connotation while the latter has a slightly negative connotation

Factors Affecting Perception
In building images, both individual images and institutional images, we should consider various factors affecting perception, since we not only can wrongly sense something but also wrongly perceive something. When others perceiving us, there are at least two things affecting their perceptions: situational factors and personal factors.

Situational Factors that may affect Others’ Perception on Us:
2.1. How our characters are introduced. If we are introduced as persons with a few of knowledge but a lot of good deeds, then others will perceive us as good persons (positive), but if others introduce us as persons with a lot of good deeds but without knowledge, then the image built is negative.

2.2. Distances: physical distance, intimacy distance, social distance, and thinking distance. People who interact well with ulamas are usually perceived as religion experts, people who often communicate with the president are usually regarded as important people, and persons who often talk about Marxism are often regarded as communists, and so on

2.3. Body gestures. Putting hands on the hips and elbows turned outwards and showing pride are often regarded as indicating arrogance. Bowing one’s head are often perceived as showing politeness and modesty. Raising one’s face is perceived as showing courageous and sitting with one chin in his/her hands is often perceived as indicating sadness.
2.4. Facial Expression. Face is the mirror of the soul. Shining face is perceived as indicating happiness or sincerity. Messy face indicates stress. One’s feeling is indeed can be known through his facial expression, although a sweet face of one with evil character and fierce face of one with good character may cheat us.
2.5 Ways of uttering verbal symbols. Sweet words uttered by an angry person tend to have deeper meaning than rude words uttered by someone with happy face
2.6 Appearance. Physical appearance, clothes, vehicles, and houses one has may indicate his/her image, but physical appearance of one with proven credibility of akhlaq will not change or influence his/her image. When it comes to a person whose nobility of akhlaq is widely known, people put stress on who wear the clothes, not the clothes themselves.

Meanwhile, personal factors affecting others perception on us and vice versa is life experience and self-concept. One that had lived with us wouldn’t believe any negative rumour on us if we have been consistently living by doing good deeds. On the contrary, if during our long life we had done much bad behaviours that are known by many people, then people would not trust us if one day we act and behave like pious people.

Self-concept also has a very big impact in communication. Self-concept is one’s view and feeling about his/her own self. Self-concept may be psychological, physical, and social. One with positive self-concept is self-confident in communicating with others so that it strengthens the good image he has, meanwhile one with negative/bad negative self-concept tends to overly calculate others’ responds so that his credibility is unseen.
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As a social being, man can’t avoid from interacting with each other. In communicating with each other, man subject to intra-personal communication and interpersonal communication systems. Furthermore, as a psychological being, man don’t only absorb visible things, but they also perceive those visible things with their psychological devices, so that one’s performance is not only understood from visible things of his but also from things that are assumed to be also exist behind those visible things. People in general may tend to judge someone based on his outward appearances as the parameters. In judging someone, educated and civilised people, however, tend to put emphasis on his moral and akhlaq credibilities as the most important parameters among his qualities. They refer to those parameters in any social transaction. One’s akhlaq credibility is a very helpful and powerful factor in negotiating with others in various matters.

A. INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
A party’s leader may say to his public that he is a honest person who never lies, but his public will not immediately conclude that he is indeed a honest person, since man isn’t a cassette recorder that record every sound it hears. Instead, any information received by a man is passing three phases: (1) Receiving the stimulus; spoken words are listened and the speaking person is seen. (2) Processing information; words listened are connected with the person uttering it, his present words are connected with his words in previous days, his words are connected with others’ words, and so on, then words of the party’s leader are concluded into an information in accordance with one’s perception. (3) Storing information, what had been concluded into an information is then stored in one’s memory. (4) Providing back the information. When one wants to respond the statement of the party's leader, he has to think about what responses should be given, what possibly will be the implications or impacts and so on. This process gives rise to a new information on the party’s leader. A same message may have different meanings for different persons and responded differently by different persons too.

According to Communication Psychology, the process of receiving information involves Sensing, Perceiving, Memorising, and Thinking

1. Sensing
Sensing originates from the word “sense” that is the faculty of perceiving that connects man and animals with their environments. In Communication Psychology, sensation is the process of receiving stimuli. When two persons communicate near each other, they can perceive each other physically, seeing body of each other by means of sight, listening each other by means of hearing, smelling perfume used by each other by means of smell, feeling the smoothness of each other’s skin by means of touch. All that perceived by the senses are stimuli. Sometime people can perceive two stimuli at the same time, for example, when you are watching television (external stimulus), another stimulus comes inwardly in form of memory of your parents which are unhealthy in the village and waiting for you to come.
Different sensations of different persons may be caused by different senses’ faculties/capacities and by different experiences and environments. A food tasted very peppery by tongues of Yogya people is probably tasted normal by tongues of Minangese people. On the contrary, words spoken loudly deemed normal by Medan people may sound very disturbing or annoying to the ears of Javanese people.

2. Perceiving
Perceiving is a process of giving meaning to sensation so that one gains new knowledge. Perception is a process of changing sensation into information. When you think you’ve heard someone had said “silat” while in fact he had said “salat”, you are in wrong sensation. When you praise your love, however, by saying “you’re the most beautiful woman in the world”, but your lover feels that she was ridiculed through those words, then your lover are in misperception. Wrong sensation may also cause misperception.

Misperception may happen due to personal, situational, functional, and structural factors. Factors having big impacts on perception among others are attention, functional concept, and structural concept.

2.1 Paying attention
Paying attention is a mental process in which awareness of one stimulus is more dominant and at the same time awareness of other stimuli is weak. For example, when the public attention is focused on what alleged to be corruption done by the present president, attention to the corruption done by other people weakens. Or, when a moviegoer’s attention is focused on a scene on the screen, his attention to other spectators around weakens. Attention has a big impact on perception so that there is a proverb says, “an ant in the middle of the ocean is seen (due to attention), while an elephant in eyelids is unseen (due to no attention). One intending to catch others’ attention should know that attention might come outwardly or inwardly. External factors may psychologically become attention getter usually since the stimulus has a striking nature compared to those of other stimuli. For example, one little moving object may catch one’s attention compared to other big motionless objects around it. Contrariety also may be the cause, for example, a sound louder that other sounds, a light in darkness, a new thing among old ones, or one thing seen or heard repetitively in a long time, so that it becomes familiar to the eyes or the ears.

Furthermore, internal factors influencing attention are biologic and socio-psychological factors. A hungry person is more interested to food, a thirsty person is more interested to beverage, and a husband missing his wife, since his wife is in a distant place, is more interested to women (biological factor). Meanwhile, for example, when a group visited victims of Bengkulu earthquake, it appears that doctors, veterinarians, ulamas, educators, politicians, and entrepreneurs who were members of the group had different interests or focuses in accordance with their own socio-psychological factors.

1.2. Functional and Structural Factors
Functional factors influencing perception among other are necessity, mental readiness, emotional condition, and cultural background. A thirsty person sometimes perceives liquid of storage battery as a beverage, a beggar may perceive 5000 rupiahs as a big amount of money, while a rich person perceives it as a small amount. An angry person may perceive gift as a humiliation, while a person in war may sometimes perceive a passing-by animal as an enemy that should be shot. To celebrities, cars are prestigious things, while for ordinary people, cars are more perceived as transportation.

Structural factor influencing perception in such a way that when one perceives something, he perceives it as a whole, not as parts. When we perceive a face as a beautiful face, actually we perceive not only the face but also the whole body of the face owner. When a pious kyai (ulama) was seen wearing a shirt full of patches, we may tend to perceive him as a modest person (positive perception), but if we see an artist wearing a cloth full of patches, we tend to perceive him as eccentric (netral perception), while a criminal wearing a cloth full of patches may be perceived as shabby hobo. One in close relation with ulamas are often perceived as a pious person, a person in close relation with the authority are often perceived as an important person, while a person having good relations with a corrupter are often perceived as a henchman

Lecturers tend to perceive books and rice as main necessities, but farm labourers in general don’t seem to perceive books as part of his main necessities. Those mentioned above are the processes of perception. Not all good-deeds are perceived as goodness, but we can consider things that enable other perceive them wrongly. One’s akhlaq credibility plays an important role in developing others’ perception of him.
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Akhlaq is one’s inner state that is the source of behaviours he does without calculating its advantages and disadvantages. One with a good akhlaq will do goodness spontaneously without any hidden purpose, while one with a bad akhlaq will do badness without calculating the impacts for him and for the victims. No man suddenly becomes a wise man or a big criminal. A certain process is required to become a wise man or a big criminal.
The process may have form of life’s dynamism, circumstances that are amazing, disappointing or designed to form certain patterns of behaviours.

Therefore, theoretically, any man can be formed to be a good person as he also can be formed to be a bad person. Since akhlaq is an inner state, then object of an akhlaq education is one’s inner state. It doesn’t mean that we should negate outer or external states of any person, since there is interdependent correlation between inner states and outer states of a person. One who has a good heart (qalb) or good akhlaq also has well outer behaviours (good manners), but not all who has good manners is a person who has a good akhlaq.

Building discipline or habituating a pattern of well outer behaviours (good manners) may be parts of a process of building a good akhlaq in a person, but in other person those may make him a munafiq (here means one who pretends to be a good person). Also, habituating a pattern of bad behaviours to someone may make him a bad person, but in other person that may generate an extreme resistance against badness. Those circumstances may happen since everyone actually has a capital in form of different personality or capacity. There is a person having a dominant drive to do good things and on the contrary, there is also other person having a dominant drive to do bad things.
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Controlling Shahwah
Buddhism teaches man to control shahwah through the concept of samsara. The formulation is as follow: Life is a samsara (misery). Samsara is caused by desires, then samsara is eliminated by eliminating desires and to eliminate desires one has to follow the method of eight paths of the truth: correct understanding, correct mind, correct utterance, correct behaviour, correct livelihood, correct effort, correct attention, and correct semedi (contemplation).

Meanwhile, in Islam the method of controlling shahwah is implemented systematically by means of teachings of shariah and akhlaq.

1. Sexual shahwah is controlled by marrying, closing aurat, and fasting. Free socialising among the opposite sexes is forbidden. living unmarried (celibacy) is not recommended although it is a human right.

2. Shahwah of stomach is controlled by not eating unless one is hungry, and stopping eat before one is satisfied, in addition to doing obligatory and sunah fasting..

3. Shahwah of properties is controlled by implementing a modest way of life and paying obligatory zakah, and paying recommended infaq and sadaqah. Modest isn’t identical with poor, modest in this respect is consuming things according to universal necessity standards. Therefore, we may have things as much as possible, but we should only consume things (foods, clothes, vehicles, housings, and so on) as required by universal necessity standards. A lot of rich people implement modest way of life, which some poor people live wastefully and luxuriously.

4. Shahwah of politics is controlled by stressing that basically a leader is a servant of people he/she leads (sayyid al qaum khodimuhum). Politic is a field of dedication; a leader is a struggler holding on to a principle of providing protection and well-being to people he/she leads.

5. Shahwah of prestige is controlled by realising that a car is a transportation device, a cloth is a body protector and closer of awrah, a house is a place to live and to rest, property is a means to reach excellence. In short, each thing has its own utility.

Shahwah and Passion
Our interest to the other sex is normal and blameless. If one follows up that interest by approaching, applying, and marrying the person he interests to and loves, then those things he does are excellent, and religious services, and will be rewarded by God. However, if he follows up his interest by seducing, deceiving, and raping the person or committing extra-marital intercourse with her, then the shahwah had changed into a thing called hawa in Al Quran (hawa nafsu in Indonesian and passion/lust in English).

We are also allowed to be rich, a regent, a member of House of Representatives, or even a president. Those desires are political shahwahs that are normal, humane, and blameless. It is also only normal that some people desire to be millionaires or tycoons. If a shahwah drive followed by obeying moral values, then it is a positive thing. If the shahwah drive is followed uncontrollable by moral, then it becomes a destructive hawa or passion. Becoming rich by corrupting and deceiving, becoming official by bribing, those will eventually lead to destruction.

Nature of Passion
Shahwah controlled by conscience and clear mind, let alone if it is also based on sharp conscience (nurani), will function as a motive of behaviour that leads to life’s excellence. In this circumstance, shahwah is like energy making a machine to be still in motion and warmth. This balance of shahwah cause one is able to suppress his shahwah when required (like putting on a car’s brakes), and to give the shahwah its right according to what it needs.

Meanwhile, one’s passion demands fulfilment at once without considering its impacts on other and him. The passion’s drive is so strong that Al Quran symbolises hawa of one who can’t control it as a god that is worshipped (ittakhodza ilahahu hawahu). One who serves his passion will do anything required to satisfy it, however it may be disgusting. One who indulges his shahwah will fall in glamorousness and hedonism, while one who always follows his passion’s drives will certainly fall in criminality and humiliation.
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People in general regard shahwah (or syahwat in Indonesian) as the same as sex, so that one will be embarrassed if others say that he/she has a big shahwah. Actually shahwah is one of subsystems in a soul system (system of nafsani) of man, together with mind, heart, and conscience. Shahwah is fitrah (natural dispostion), humane, blameless. We even need it, since one who doesn’t have shahwah any longer will also lose his spirit to live. We need, however, to have the capacity to manage shahwah so that it is controllable and becomes proportional motive of our behaviours. Uncontrollable shahwah may become a destructive hawa (passion or lust).


Definition of Shahwah
The word “shahwah” originates from Arabic syahiya-syaha yasyha – shahwahan, which in the perspective of lughawi means “to like”. Meanwhile, shahwah itself means soul tendency to what it desires, nuzu' an nafs ila ma turiduhu..
In a verse of Al Quran, the word “shahwah” denotes the desired object, but in other verses the word is used to mention man’s potential desires or wishes. Shahwah is used in Al Quran to mention things having something to do with sexual shahwah (Q: 7:81 and Q: 27:55), with following others’ opinion blindly (Q: 4:27) and with man desires of delicacy and enjoyment (Q:3:14 and Q:19:59).

One of verses mentioning the existence of shahwah within man is (the translation in English):
“The love of desires, of women and sons and hoarded treasures of gold and silver and well bred horses and cattle and tilth, is made to seem fair to men; this is the provision of the life of this world; and Allah is He with Whom is the good goal (of life)” (Q: Ali Imraan[3]: 14). The verse above mentions shahwah as potential man desires. In the verse, it is confirmed that basically man tend to love women/the opposite sex (sexual), children (pride), properties (pride, arrogance, utility), good vehicles (pride, convenience, and utilities), cattle (enjoyment and utility), and tilth (enjoyment, utility). Thus, according to Al Quranman tendency to sexual enjoyment, properties, and convenience, is humane.

If man loves to posses the things mentioned above, then the failure in possessing them is a misery for one really desires them, let alone if those things had been possessed and enjoyed by one but suddenly they are disappearing from his hands. If one’s shahwah is insatiable, especially if he is a narrow-minded person, then his behaviours may deviate.

Nature of shahwah
Since having shahwah is man’s nature and man will be delighted if his shahwah is satisfied, then shahwah should be a motive of his behaviour. If a man is hungry or thirsty then his behaviour is always oriented to how to get foods and drinks. If sexual shahwah is in dominance in his self, his behaviour is oriented to things giving sexual satisfaction. Hence, man’s behaviour is highly influenced by shahwah dominant within his self, such as sexual shahwah, political shahwah, shahwah of property, shahwah of convenience, shahwah of self-esteem, shahwah of delicacy, and so on. Shahwah is like a child, if he is released he will do anything uncontrollably, since a child only follows his satisfaction drive. He doesn’t understand any responsibility. If they are educated, children’s behaviours and even animal’s behaviours can be controlled. Indulged shahwah will lead to glamorous and hedonistic ways of life.
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