Is conscience given by God or only shaped by society?

Conscience was placed in human beings by God. Society does not create it, but it can distort it. Even so, a person can find the truth again by looking honestly within.

Both answers contain some truth, but in different ways. Conscience itself is not created by society. It is a disposition that God has placed in every human being. The first verse above says that God has given the soul a sense of what is wrong for it and what is right for it.

Society, however, has a great influence on it. Family, friends and surroundings can distort conscience. Some of what people take to be the voice of conscience is really a mistaken idea they picked up later. That is why people from different backgrounds sometimes reach very different judgements, and yet all appeal to their conscience.

But the original conscience is not lost in the process. Whatever has happened to it, deep down a person knows the truth about themselves. This is what the second verse above says. Whoever is willing to go deep within and listen honestly can find the truth again beneath all the layers that came from outside.

The hadith above shows what this looks like in daily life. Virtue is what brings the soul to rest and gives the heart peace. Wrong is what stirs unease in the heart, even when others declare it permissible. Whoever pays attention to this inner unease hears the voice that God has placed within them.