CHITRAL: In a country like Pakistan, where over 97 percent of the population are Muslim, number of mosques per square kilometer is highest in the world and proportion of prayer goers is higher than any muslim country, one would naturally expect a strong ethical outcome of this religiosity but instead, unfortunately financial corruption also remains the highest in proportion to display of religiosity, and is more or less acknowledged as systemic. This contradiction raises an uncomfortable but necessary question:  “Are Islamic teachings inadequate to check financial corruption?”

Islamic doctrine, in its original and comprehensive form, leaves little ambiguity regarding financial ethics. The Qur’an and Sunnah strongly condemn dishonesty, bribery, fraud, hoarding, and the misuse of public trust, while elevating justice, accountability, and transparency as core moral obligations. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ warned unequivocally that nations before Islam were destroyed not due to lack of worship or rituals, but because justice was selectively applied and corruption tolerated among the powerful. These teachings are neither symbolic nor secondary; they are foundational principles meant to regulate both personal conduct and public institutions- but are they being preached by our preachers?

The persistence of corruption, is the result of a selective engagement with religion—one that prioritizes rituals, symbols, and identity over moral accountability and social justice. Prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage are emphasized to the core, while honesty in dealings, fairness in governance, and fear of accountability in the hereafter are treated as negotiable. When religion is reduced to personal piety and public display, stripped of its ethical demands, it loses its transformative power. The crisis, is of neglected values—where ritual survives, but moral courage and institutional integrity are left to starve. .. CN report, 14 Dec 2025