The role of religious commitment in Islamic teachings in social responsibility of Iraqi Muslims

organisations and consequently meet employee satisfaction, which deserves greater emphasis in all societies, particularly Islamic ones.


Introduction
The responsibilities given to today's organisations in societies are not entirely within the economicbounded domains, as traditionally concerned. At times, the situations are not specifically economic; businesses stand facing numerous rights and responsibilities related to their surrounding societies, which do not allow them to rely merely on economic management to achieve their own goals (Aguinis & Glavas 2012). Over the past 50 years, most researchers working in the fields of industrial and organisational psychology and management have addressed intra-organisational networks to obtain organisational excellence, remove obstacles and deal with challenges. In this respect, the paths to organisational excellence through employees, beyond formal relationships, have been emphasised by industrial-organisational psychologists (Akanmu & Mohamad 2021). Accordingly, financial crisis and moral collapse in some international organisations in recent years have drawn researchers' attention to the study of ethical virtues and values. In the meantime, organisations have been facing conditions wherein they have had to redefine right and wrong to maintain a good reputation (Kaptein 2010). Social responsibility is thus among the most important factors affecting social performance, with a key role in producing customers' reactions to organisations. The more the organisations consider the dimensions of their social responsibility, the better the customers and the society react to them, and their corporate social performance is enriched (Brunton, Eweje & Taskin 2017). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) here represents the wide variety of activities volunteered by business owners and investors as effective members of societies. In fact, social responsibility refers to the duties and Considering the changing face of today's business environment and the importance of corporate social performance evaluation along with adherence to religious teachings, studies on how social organisations affect societies, mainly Islamic ones, have received much attention in recent years. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) here represents the wide variety of activities, volunteered by business owners and investors as the effective members of societies. In fact, it refers to the duties and responsibilities undertaken by organisations in order to maintain and help their affiliated societies. Adherence to religious components has been further introduced as one of the factors shaping the mode in which people interact in the workplace and social groups. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the role of religious commitment in social responsibility in Iraq as an Islamic nation. For this purpose, a total of 2500 Muslim employees, working in 75 service organisations (i.e. finance, accounting, insurance and education), were selected as the statistical population in 2022. The data were also collected by standardised questionnaires and then analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Linear Structural Relations (LISREL) software packages. The study results demonstrated that employees' religious commitment could play a significant positive role in enhancing social responsibility in the organisations concerned (p = 0.28, t = 2.95).
http://www.hts.org.za Open Access responsibilities undertaken by organisations in order to maintain and help their affiliated societies (Chu, Chen & Gan 2020).
Over and above their traditional roles and responsibilities, today's organisations are required to do other activities to meet expectations in societies, labelled as CSR. Here, ethics have a significant impact on the activities fulfilled by individuals and organisations, so proper performance entails commitment and responsibility. Social responsibility has been accordingly recognised as one of the central points in the philosophy of the existence of organisations (Choi & Jung 2008). Appreciating social responsibility by organisations can thus make it possible to promote organisational commitment and even satisfy stakeholders outside to legitimise them. Of note, CSR puts emphasis on responsibility and accountability as the bases of the organisation's behaviour in society, and it then targets how responsible businesses are associated with wealth creation (Fernando & Lawrence 2014). Corporate social responsibility can further cut direct costs, lead to employee productivity and improve the organisation's competitive image. The value of social responsibility and its observance by organisations can also have a positive effect on their performance in a way that employees' organisational commitment is inspired. In this regard, the proponents of social responsibility always argue that organisations can achieve long-term profits through it in multiple ways, but its opponents reason that social responsibility holds back the economic role of businesses; in their view, it is nothing more than a transient pretence by organisations (Loor-Zambrano, Santos-Roldán & Palacios-Florencio 2022).
Social responsibility is accordingly an attribute of forwardlooking managers, so they should no longer spend their time merely on traditional tasks but reflect on social and public dimensions of their professions and become aware of the impacts of their organisations on the environment. It is obvious that a decision made by a manager can affect the fate of other organisations in a hierarchical process. In fact, CSR includes methods that are based on ethical values and respect for employees, society and the environment (Taştan & Davoudi 2019). These responsibilities are designed to be sustainable for society and shareholders in general. The business process is accordingly one of the most dynamic and challenging issues (Karyawati et al. 2020). For managers, it is no longer enough to perform tasks such as planning, organising and controlling or even calling themselves effective, but responding to the needs of the society, citizens and internal and external customers of their organisations is also of utmost importance.
The world's current conditions and the new business environments compel the managers of large organisations and companies with an active role in global or emerging markets to make every effort to create value for all their stakeholders and make a balance between the social, economic and environmental sectors of their businesses. In general, CSR provides strategies for organisations to act in their business environments and meet social, economic and legal expectations, because organisations are socially, economically and environmentally assumed responsible towards their employees, shareholders, customers, governments, suppliers and other stakeholders (Brammer, Brooks & Pavelin 2006).
Over recent years, religiosity and spirituality have been increasingly considered a necessity by managers, supervisors, employees and researchers in various organisations to interact with employees, customers and society (Braam & Koenig 2019). No attention to religious issues and spirituality can be thus described as a secular approach to the study of organisational life, but the introduction of spirituality into organisations can empower employees to achieve a more integrated perspective of their own organisation, family and society. Although several definitions have been thus far proposed for spirituality in the workplace, many cases include the dimension of meaning and solidarity at work, which denotes fostering sensitivity and importance in establishing effective communications by a person with God, oneself, colleagues and the workplace in order to give them meaning, purpose and integration in the direction of one's career path growth (Byrne, Dana & Jason 2011). Religiosity here implies making religious efforts in a way to affect one's attitudes, inclinations and actions. On the other hand, fair behaviour and commitment to the tasks assigned have been long emphasised in all divine religions. In Iraq, religion has always been one of the constructive elements of Iraqi culture, as an important factor shaping change and transformation and even a key variable in society. Therefore, religiosity can be among the factors related to social responsibility. The present study aimed to investigate the role of religious commitment in CSR among Iraqi Muslims working in service organisations in 2022.

Literature review
As the universal religion for all times, Islam responds to the changing needs of humanity and even offers applicable laws and regulations for all its relations and affairs. This does not mean Islam has a specific rule for each issue with a common title today. To be more precise, there are generalities, principles and conventions in Islam, by which a ruling on any issue can be obtained. Religion as a spectrum is an instrument for individuals, on the one hand, and a kind of meaning in the form of the major motivator in life with an inner value on the other hand. Internal religion by itself is inspiring to individuals and does not require other stimuli (Pirouz 2020). Spirituality and religion, sometimes interpreted as spiritual health and religious practices, overlap because they both provide frameworks through which one can understand the meaning, sublime purpose and values of life. Spirituality, as the awareness of existence or the force beyond the material aspects of life, creates a deep sense of oneness with the universe. Religion also tends to encourage everyday rituals, such as prayers and fasting, but spirituality seeks new levels of meaning, ahead of such practices. Spirituality is further assumed as an important factor shaping individual behaviours in society and family (Rastgar et al. 2012 services are among the resources that some religious people can benefit from to undergo less despair in the face of stressful life events (Ketabi et al. 2005). Religious commitment accordingly denotes thinking, feeling and behaving in agreement with the beliefs and teachings of a religious system. This type of commitment reflects the place of religion in individual and social life, observance of values and adherence to beliefs in daily life, fulfilment of religious practices and rituals and contribution to the activities of religious organisations. Accordingly, religion as a set of beliefs, do's and don'ts and values is one of the most important psychological supports that can provide the meaning of life in every moment. In special circumstances, religion can also save one from suspension and worthlessness to reach a compromise (Askari & Sadeghi 2014).
Corporate social responsibility is also a concept considered by organisations, which affects the interests of society through assuming responsibility for the impacts of their activities on consumers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, society and the environment in operating spaces. Corporate social responsibility is a transcendent approach to business that takes account of the social impact of an organisation on society (Crane & Glozer 2016). Its main goal is to bring all sectors (viz. public, private and volunteering) together to work for an alignment of economic benefits with the environment, bringing business success, growth and sustainability. It also seeks the extent to which companies are related to the goals and needs of society and how they are shaped. All social groups accordingly perform certain functions or play roles to change society over time. Corporate social responsibility refers to the duties and responsibilities undertaken by organisations in order to maintain and help their societies. Supporting the external environment is not selective, but it is an important part of the business process (Eberle, Berens & Li 2013). Therefore, social responsibility is one of management's obligations, which is to maintain and expand the interests of the organisation for promoting the general welfare in society.
In short, social responsibility assumed by organisations includes cases such as trying not to pollute the environment, become involved in employment discrimination or engage in immoral things; it may also involve informing consumers about the quality of products and contributing positively to people's lives. Thus, organisations must take action to protect and help the society in which they operate, and they may even feel responsible for not contaminating the environment, discriminating in employment, neglecting employees' needs or producing items that harm public health; rather, they may strive to allocate financial resources to improve social welfare as accepted by the majority. As organisations have an impact on the social system, social responsibility entails acting in a way that does not harm society (Dobele et al. 2014).

Social responsibility in the Holy Qur'an
In Islam, the importance of treating each other well has been repeatedly affirmed, and having social responsibility is a requirement, with reference to different Qur'anic themes. For example, in Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 83, God says: '… worship none but Allah; be kind to parents, relatives, orphans, and the needy; speak kindly to people; establish prayer; and pay alms-tax …'. In the Holy Qur'an, Almighty God has further made Muslims responsible towards each other, and he has clearly determined their responsibilities. Addressing believers in the Holy Qur'an, God says: '… give to close relatives their due, as well as the poor and needy travelers …' (Al-Isra, Ayat 26). God also says: [R]ighteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but true righteousness is in one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask for help, and for freeing slaves; and who establishes prayer and gives zakat … (Al-Baqarah, Ayat 177) As stated in the Holy Qur'an: [W]orship Allah alone and associate none with Him. And be kind to parents, relatives, orphans, the poor, near and distant neighbors, close friends, needy travelers, and those bonds people in your possession … (An-Nisa, Ayat 36) Or: [R]emember when He made you successors after A'ad and established you in the land, and you built palaces on its plains and carved homes into mountains. So remember Allah's favors, and do not go about spreading corruption in the land … (Al-A'raf, Ayat 74) Or: '… surely to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth. Surely Allah's promise is always true, but most of them do not know …' (Yunus, Ayat 55). Almighty God further warns against corruption on the Earth and says: '… when they are told, do not spread corruption in the land, they reply, we are only peace-makers …' (Al-Baqarah, Ayat 11).
In addition, God has repeatedly emphasised the observance of the rights of the people in the Holy Qur'an; for example: '… O my people! Give full measure and weigh with justice. Do not defraud people of their property, nor go about spreading corruption in the land …' (Hud, Ayat 85). Elsewhere, he says: [S]pend from the good things which you have earned and from that which We have produced for you from the earth. And do not aim toward the defective therefrom, spending from that while you would not take it yourself except with closed eyes … (Al-Baqarah, Ayat 267) Elsewhere, it is highlighted that one should: '… give orphans their wealth when they reach maturity, and do not exchange your worthless possessions for their valuables, nor cheat them by mixing their wealth with your own …' (An-Nisa, Ayat 2).
Regarding the type and amount of assistance to the poor and the lower strata of society, addressing the Prophet, God says: http://www.hts.org.za Open Access '… they also ask you, Prophet, what they should donate. Say, whatever you can spare. This is how Allah makes His revelations clear to you believers, so perhaps you may reflect …' (Al-Baqarah, Ayat 219). Elsewhere, God says: '… spend in the cause of Allah and do not let your own hands throw you into destruction by withholding …' (Al-Baqarah, Ayat 195). God also enumerates the characteristics of true believers as follows: '… they are those who spend neither wastefully nor stingily, but moderately in between …' (Al-Furqan, Ayat 67). He also says: [A]nd the example of those who donate their wealth, seeking Allah's pleasure and believing the reward is certain, is that of a garden on a fertile hill, when heavy rain falls, it yields up twice its normal produce. If no heavy rain falls, a drizzle is sufficient. And Allah is All-Seeing of what you do … (Al-Furqan, Ayat 265)

Commitment to religious teachings in the Holy Qur'an
There are various references in the Holy Qur'an to the importance of adhering to Islamic teachings, as briefly mentioned here. God states that: [T]he only response of the true believers, when they are called to Allah and His Messenger so he may judge between them, is to say, we hear and obey. It is they who will truly succeed … (An-Nur, Ayat 51) And '… and whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger and fears Allah and is conscious of Him, it is those who are the attainers …' (An-Nur, Ayat 52). God also says: '… we have indeed sent down revelations clarifying the truth. But Allah only guides whoever He wills to the straight path …' (An-Nur, Ayat 46).

Research hypothesis
As social responsibility, with its moral nature, and social accountability, with the uncertainty of its limits, cannot act as effective factors in protecting the interests of society by organisations, government regulations should be resorted to in the meantime. It is noteworthy that the government in almost all countries has acted as a regulatory authority to fulfil the social responsibility of organisations. Using public policies in society, the government provides the guide for managers and the criteria by which their behaviours are evaluated. Using such policies, society sets its goals and ideals and then obliges organisations to respect them and provide the means to do so. With the help of public policies, the government also provides guidance and criteria for the management behaviours as a tool in its hands to embody and ensure the fulfilment of social demands. As organisations have an impact on the social system, the purpose of social responsibility is acting in a way that does not harm society.
There is also a difference between management ethics and social responsibility in that both are related to the observance of values and ethics of society and the achievement of organisational goals by managers, with the difference that social responsibility is associated with the major issues of organisations and ethics is related to the individual behaviour of managers and employees. An organisation accordingly fulfils its social obligation when it assumes legal and economic responsibilities, and no more, according to which the organisations take actions that improve the situation of society and refrain from actions that make the situation of society worse. Finally, social accountability pays attention to the capacity to act on the demands and expectations of society.
In view of the above-mentioned literature, the following hypothesis was raised for further consideration among Iraqi Muslims: H 1 : Religious commitment has a significant role in social responsibility among Iraqi Muslims.

Methodology
Using a quantitative research design, this study aimed to investigate the role of religious commitment in social responsibility. Therefore, a descriptive survey was implemented. Upon identifying the scales, the questionnaires were distributed among 2500 Iraqi Muslims involved in 75 selected organisations (including finance, accounting, insurance and education) in 2022. For this purpose, a total of 2500 questionnaires were distributed and 2438 completed cases were returned. Afterwards, the relationship between the research variables was analysed, using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) techniques and structural equation modelling (SEM). The results of descriptive statistics also showed that 78% of the respondents were male and 22% of them were female. As well, the majority (49%) were between 30 and 35 years of age, and 38% of them were over 35. Moreover, 13% of the respondents were under 31. Two questionnaires were thus used to test the research hypothesis, based on a five-point Likert-type scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree (scored from 1 to 5). To this end, the 20-item questionnaire developed by Najafi, Ahadi and Delavar (2006) was utilised to measure the four dimensions of religious commitment, viz. observance of essentials, observance of recommended actions, religious activities and religious decisions. In addition, Carroll's (1991) 20-item scale was used to measure the four dimensions of social responsibility, that is, economic responsibility, legal responsibility, ethical responsibility and humanitarian responsibility. Exploiting content validity, the questionnaires were also validated. Therefore, five professors working in the research field were asked to review the questionnaires and rate the items in terms of readability, clarity and overall adequacy of the measured concepts. Upon review, the questionnaires were approved. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was then applied to assess reliability. In the present study, the reliability of all variables was over 0.70, indicating that all scales had good reliability (Table 1).

Results
In this study, the role of religious commitment in social responsibility was examined using SEM. To test the research hypothesis, a structural model was thus performed based on four components of religious commitment and four components of social responsibility. Figure 1 and Table 2 illustrate the results of hypothesis testing with reference to path coefficients and t-values.
According to Joreskog and Sorbom (1993), Table 3 shows the fit indices of the research model, wherein the model's goodness-of-fit is provided. Furthermore, according to Table  3, as the path coefficient is positive and the t-value is more than 1.96, the research hypothesis is confirmed.

Discussion
Religion as a psychosocial phenomenon has always been considered by researchers and in recent decades with the expansion of topics related to social studies, the role of religion as a moderator has attracted the attention of many psychologists. It is believed that in believing in God, there is an extraordinary force that gives a kind of spiritual power to religious people and helps them to endure the hardships of life, reducing their anxiety and worry. Faith is without a doubt the most effective treatment for anxiety and the force that must exist to help a person in life. Lack of faith is an alarm that announces the inability of a person to face the hardships of life. Religion is as important for fostering mental health as air is for human life. Religion helps a person to understand the meaning of life events, especially painful and anxious events. Religion teaches its believers how to adapt to the vast set of worlds that form in front of a person and impose their laws on him. Religion is a motivating factor that has tremendous benefits for individuals. Religion is the basis of all human needs. Many people accept religious answers more than psychological answers. Religious principles, beliefs and traditions are important and present truths about human nature. Although psychology and religion are mutually exclusive in giving meaning to life, religious answers are more acceptable to religious people than psychological answers. Research on the relationship between religion and other behavioural variables over the past two decades has shown that religious people have more functional behaviours and higher life satisfaction than nonreligious people. Everyone's religion determines the reality of one's existence and also affects one's identity. Religious beliefs are linked to human destiny and the activity of these beliefs in the human heart profoundly affects other principles of human life. A religious person is one who is constantly on the path to creating a value experience that satisfies him or her to the fullest extent possible. The highest or most complete value for such a person is unity, and he or she moves constantly and without a moment's pause in a direction that creates unity. For the religious person, unity is the most complete experience he or she creates. Therefore, the value system that unites human beings is a religious value system. This value system affects all aspects of life and overshadows all orientations and includes all value orientations. The religious value system prepares the best ground for a healthy personality. Of course, not all people who claim to be religious are healthy.
In different management schools, legitimacy has been described as a very important issue, from various perspectives, for today's organisations. To this end, organisations are defining some mechanisms for gaining more legitimacy. The origin of such movements is not only limited to worries about society but also to make more profit, in many cases. A look at the Islamic verses and views as mentioned in this study regarding the responsibilities of believers towards each other and even the Earth, it becomes clear that legitimacy has been further emphasised by the Holy Qur'an because with the introduction of Islam, Almighty God has looked at this issue as one of the requirements of human life. Now, the point is that once a believer or an organisation moves towards legitimacy, it has a divine origin. Therefore, the legitimacy of organisations becomes relevant as a divine issue, and it can be concluded that social responsibility in Islam is a duty and the intellectual philosophy governing the Islamic view of social responsibility is a more comprehensive view than others.

Conclusion
The present study aimed to investigate the role of religious commitment in the social responsibility of Iraqi organisations. For this purpose, 2500 Muslims working in various Iraqi organisations were selected as the statistical population. Then,   standardised questionnaires were distributed to collect the required data. Using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Linear Structural Relations (LISREL) software packages, the data were analysed, and the results indicated that employees' religious commitment could have a significant positive effect on the social responsibility of an organisation (p = 0.28, t = 2.95). The research findings also revealed that strengthening religious commitment indicators among employees would boost social responsibility in organisations. Although the concepts of spirituality and religiosity are closely related, they are not necessarily the same. By definition, spirituality refers to a state, quality, behaviour or divine reality, but spirituality is a concept, feeling and state of being that is associated with ideas, beliefs and concepts that give meaning and direction to a person's life and help them face life challenges and understand its events. Religion, on the other hand, is defined as an individual or institutionalised system of beliefs and devotion. In other words, religions are more specific versions of spiritual expressions. Religions are the belief systems and not only the ones with their own customs, symbols and societies. Numerous studies have correspondingly shown that regular participation in organised religious activities, such as praying, can bring many positive outcomes, like individual and group health. Experts also introduce religion as a variable that should be delineated in research studies. Accordingly, the more religious the people are, the more they are expected to be present in the social arena and establish more effective relationships with others and the environment by relying on religious beliefs. One of the manifestations of these beliefs is the CSR of social organisations.
Being socially responsible here means that individuals and organisations must be ethical and sensitive to social, cultural and environmental issues. With regard to social responsibility, CSR usually arises, which denotes the set of duties and obligations that an organisation must perform to maintain and help society, spending the benefits of its activities in social and cultural fields for the people and employees. Thus, having a responsible attitude, going beyond the minimum legal requirements and adhering to the right principles, applies to all businesses of any size. Striving for establishing social responsibility also helps individuals, organisations and governments make a positive impact on progress, work and society. Social responsibility here means that dynamic individuals or social organisations have the ability to understand the problems of fellow human beings in any situation and work to resolve their problems. In other words, organisations need to realise their shareholders and stakeholders and assume their social responsibilities towards the members of society. This social relationship builds empathy and communication between organisations and citizens and even among individuals.