The Role and Impact of the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in Improving Social Capital

The religious percept of “the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice” either as a socio-religious action or a manifestation of the sense of responsibility in social bonding, is of significant importance. The fulfillment of the growth and health of any society is dependent on the general public monitoring behavior.
The present study evaluates the place of “the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice” in the improvement of social capital and, centralizing three Qur’anic principles of religious fraternity, recognition of the Islamic jurisprudence guardianship, and unity, and considering the centrality of trust in the communicative aspect of faithful social capital, tries to present a model for the enrichment of social capital that is principled on Qur’anic doctrines.
The hypothesis of the article is that the Qur’anic humane percepts of “the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice” are highly influential in the improvement of the social capital. The main principles of social capital, namely, trust, voluntary participation, unity, social protection, and safety, are well echoed in the three mentioned Qur’anic principles. The emerging model would cover up the shortcomings of the western version of social capital, enhance it conceptually, and provide for further improvements in it.