Some books offer nourishment for the mind, while others offer nourishment for the soul, very few offer both. Moral Values by Zulfiqar Ali Meghani is one of those rare books that offer both.

It’s a slim volume of just over 100 pages, but it covers all that we need to know to lead a righteous life and foster a peaceful environment, where society as a whole can flourish peacefully.

The book is mainly focused on the good moral values that we need to possess, particularly the youth, who are right now living in a world where good values have eroded and given way to acceptance of many ills as the norms of society. Compassion, hard work, modesty, patience, respectfulness, gratefulness, optimism, diligence, faith, truthfulness, wisdom, patriotism, generosity and much more are discussed here.

The brief, but comprehensive sections try to describe each moral value, with the main objective being to make the youth reflect on these values. And then the author shows the readers the personification of these values in the heroes known to most of us, and who represent these values in their character and work.

The book starts with pictures of 10 national heroes, whose short biography is scattered in different sections of the book, showing how in their characters we find the embodiment of these moral values. For instance, in the very first section devoted to compassion, we have Dr Ruth Pfau and Dr Adeeb Rizvi’s life and services to reflect upon to learn what compassion means in the true sense. The sections of the noble and selfless national heroes are inspiring and the need of the time, for the youth needs such heroes, from around us, to inspire and motivate them to give back to society. Besides the two mentioned above, we can also read about the life and work of A.S. Edhi, Akhtar H. Khan, Jamshed Nusserwanjee Mehta, S. Babar Ali, A. Qayyum Khan, Sir Ganga Ram, Parveen Rehman, Amjad Saquib, Muhammed Ali Khoja and Hassan Ali G. Rammal.

Besides these, if these are not inspiration enough, there are many useful quotations scattered all through the book, adding to the reading pleasure.

There is finally a section devoted to the seven evils that we must all guard against — anger, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, envy and sloth. And you can read very useful tips shared by Mr Meghani on how to counter and control such urges, along with Quranic verses on moral values.

All in all, Moral Values is a very comprehensive and well-researched handbook that everyone needs to read, to remind ourselves about our collective responsibility and obligation to make our world more harmonious and peaceful.

Mr Meghani, the author, who has studied and worked both internationally and locally in notable institutions, used his vast experience and exposure in compiling this book. As he believes firmly in community service, he aims to give back to society through this effort.

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 29th, 2023