Morality includes ethics or moral philosophy, and offers human beings the proper way to spend their lives. These etiquettes suggest the ideals and principles we should aim to achieve, morally commendable actions, and what is considered immoral. Religion may be described as a belief system that elevates people's lives and affirms the presence and ultimate dominance of a spiritual, supernatural, omnipotent divinity that transcends the material realities of day-to-day life. Ethical principles and religious tenets share some ground but do not correspond exactly. Most – but not all – faiths give their adherents ethical instruction. Much, but not all, moral philosophy has its origins or linkages in religious belief.

What do we mean when we refer to religion?

It is challenging to provide a specific definition of "religion" since the term "religion" is susceptible to various interpretations and understandings. On the other hand, religion may be seen as an organized body of ideas and rituals rooted in a common worldview.
This worldview often consists of a consensus on a set of moral principles and an understanding of the meaning of various religious texts. A feeling of connection and identity may also be provided to those who subscribe to a particular religion.
In addition, religion may be understood as the belief in and worship of a superhuman, governing authority, most prominently a personal deity  or gods. This is one comprehensive definition of religion. It is often connected with rites, and it may also entail the reading of holy books. 

What exactly is ethics?

The subject of how a person ought to conduct their life is at the center of the study of ethics, a subfield of philosophy. It seeks to give a framework for ethical decision-making by posing the question, "What is the proper thing to do in this specific situation?" and attempting to provide an answer.
Throughout the course of human history, a great variety of ethical theories have been proposed; nonetheless, no one response is universally accepted to all ethical concerns. Rather, various individuals are likely to arrive at different conclusions depending on the principles and ideals that are most important to them.
The ethical tradition significantly focuses on applying moral principles in everyday life. Instead of providing instruction on how to live a good life in the abstract, ethics aims to offer direction on how to live a decent life in the actual world.

Relation of Ethics to Religion

The history of the connection between religion and ethics may be told via how religion connects to applying practical experience and analytical thought to investigate morality. A significant number of people who participate in religious activities believe that they do not need to comprehend the rationale behind the moral teachings of their specific religion since all they need to know is what God considers morally acceptable. They are not concerned with the rationale behind why some actions are ethically commendable while others are disapproved by society. However, this rejection of critical thinking may impede persons who feel this way from properly knowing all of the particulars of their faith. 
Various perspectives exist on the relationship between religion and ethics, from the notion that religion is the ultimate cornerstone of ethics to the view that ethics is built on humanism principles justified primarily and often only by appealing to reason. These two extremes are often discussed in a manner that leaves little possibility for compromise or pragmatic answers to real-world problems; as the Prophet Muhammad says: " The best of you are those who have the most excellent morals."

The merciful religion of Islam

This presentation of Islam's ethical framework is made in the context of Shariah, the Islamic social and legal order. Whatever promotes one's or society's well-being is ethically desirable in Islam, whereas whatever causes harm is immoral. Islam's ethical framework is the bedrock of a society based on the religion's teachings, deemed divine and unchanging. Regarding personal relationships, business dealings, social gatherings, and public appearances, Muslims are expected to exercise extreme caution following Islamic ethics.

Who exactly is Muhammad?

Muhammad was born in Makkah in 570, while Christianity was still a relatively new religion in Western Europe. His parents had passed away before he was born, leaving him in the care of his revered Quraysh uncle. When he was older, people sought him out as an arbitrator because of his reputation for honesty, kindness, and sincerity. Historians have remarked on his equanimity and quiet demeanor.
Muhammad was a very pious man who had always disapproved of the corruption that pervaded his culture. Occasionally, he would go to the Cave of Hira, located on the slopes of Jabal al-Nur, also known as the "Mountain of Light," not far from Makkah, and meditate there.

Ethics Without Religion

Even if a significant amount of moral philosophy derives from religious belief, the history of secular ethics may be traced back to ancient times. Many philosophers throughout history have belonged to some religious belief system, and acknowledged that it is impossible to live a happy life outside the influence of religion. 

Both ethics and religion presume that the soul is immoral 

Similarly, ethics imposes the need that the soul to be eternal. Although human existence is brief and constrained, the ideal of ethics is vast and unbounded. It is unlikely that it will realize its potential in its limited lifetime. The only way to achieve one's ethical goal is to live an infinite number of lives in succession.
Single life cannot sate the unbridled need of a human being for the comprehension of truth, appreciation of beauty, and fulfillment of their potential. A person's moral behavior throughout life may show the soul's immortality.
In this manner, ethics and religion lead man along the paths of choice and emotion to the ultimate good, beauty, wisdom, and total perfection God is. Both are impressive to one another, and both are necessary for the growth of the human person.
Conclusion

There is a noticeable gap between religious beliefs and moral principles. ethics is grounded in the application of reason. In writing this article, we aimed to clarify the distinction and similarity between these two ideas. 

references

1. https://classroom.synonym.com/the-concept-of-evil-in-islam-12085675.html
2. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/religion-morality/
3. https://www.shareyouressays.com/knowledge/what-are-the-relationship-between-ethics-and-religion-explained/113112
4. https://www.shareyouressays.com/knowledge/what-are-the-relationship-between-ethics-and-religion-explained/113112
    

“Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Apostle of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets, and Allah has knowledge of all things” (33:40).

Based on some Islamic narrations, God has sent as many as 124000 prophets to humankind throughout history in different lands; the first of whom was Prophet Adam (AS), and the last divine prophet was Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Why Did God Send Prophets?

What do you think was the primary purpose for which the prophets were raised? God says in the Holy Quran:

“O Prophet! Indeed, We have sent you as a witness, as a bearer of good news and as a warner. and as a summoner to Allah by His permission, and as a radiant lamp” (33:45-46)

“Certainly We sent Our apostles with manifest proofs, and We sent down with them the Book and the Balance, so that mankind may maintain justice;” (57:25)

According to the verses above and many other verses in the Quran [i], prophets were all sent to awaken the inner prophet within each person (i.e. people’s reason), guide them to the right path and invite them to monotheism (worshipping the only One God), which would ultimately lead to their well-being and salvation here in this world and also the hereafter. In fact, no one can deny the effective role prophets had in different aspects of people’s lives in history, as Will Durant puts:

“There is no significant example in history, before our time, of a society successfully maintaining moral life without the aid of religion. France, the United States, and some other nations have divorced their governments from all churches, but they have had the help of religion in keeping social order” [1].

Did Different Prophets Bring Different Religions?

Now you might wonder, “if God is One and all the prophets were sent to bring us closer to Him, then why would He send different religions?”

From the Quranic point of view there is No such thing as different religions, but rather “all Prophets irrespective of the fact whether they had or did not have an independent code of law, had the same mission and preached the same message” [2]. Quran says:

“Indeed, with Allah religion is Islam, and those who were given the Book did not differ except after knowledge had come to them…” (3:19)

So, why would God send as many as 124000 prophets?

The answer is God’s message had to be renewed and developed according to the requirements of the time, the environment and also the people to whom God’s prophets were sent. Based on the stage of human development in each time and environment, a preaching or law-giving prophet [ii] would come to restore the divine message which had previously been changed, destroyed or distorted by people.

Was Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) The Last Prophet?

As stated above, people’s intellectual immaturity was the main reason why God renewed his message and developed it over time. However, by the advent of Islam and revelation of the holy Quran, humanity had passed the period of its childhood and had become mature enough to preserve its intellectual heritage, i.e., the religion of God. One thing that proves human’s maturity at the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) is that literacy had become more common among people.

That is why the Prophet’s (PBUH&HP) main miracle is not of anything physical, material and time-dependent, instead, it is a book which is made of words understandable for people of all times. In other words, God, then, guides people and shows them His signs using words (Quran) not by events like parting the sea (led by prophet Moses) or healing the blind or the sick (led by prophet Jesus). God’s message, accordingly, was revived through the revelation of the holy Quran and hence, Muhammad (PBUH&HP) was the last prophet of God.

There Is No Need for a New Prophet

It is noteworthy that the majority of divine prophets were the preaching ones who would interpret and spread the teachings of the law-giving prophets. But now that God has provided all requirements for humans to achieve their individual and social perfection giving them His book of guidance and wisdom to think, and people have reached a higher intellectual stage and become mature enough to interpret God’s message [iii], there won’t be a need for a new prophet.

At this age of knowledge, the religious scholars are capable of applying the general principles of Islam to the requirements of the time and place and deducing the rules of religious laws [2]:

“The scholars are the inheritor of prophets” Imam Sadiq [4].

It is clear from what has been discussed above that the intellectual maturity of human has played an essential role in the finality of prophethood in several ways:

It has enabled man to receive his evolutionary program all at once and not by stages,
It has enabled him to keep the celestial Word of God (Quran) unaltered,
It has enabled him to interpret the revealed word of Allah, preach and propagate the teachings of religion and apply the religious principles to all the changing circumstances [2].

The last mentioned task is now performed by religious experts (Mujtahid) and is named Ijtihad meaning striving and making an effort to deduce the divine laws of Islam from the reliable sources and proofs.

Finally, …

The finality of prophethood does not mean that humanity is now able to dispense with religion. It is the need for prophets and the revelation of God that has ceased to exist, which is only because God’s message has been immune to any sort of alteration or distortion since the advent of Islam:

“Indeed We have sent down the Reminder, and indeed We will preserve it” (15:9)

This message is indestructible, and all people of next generations can have a recurring experience when dealing with it, irrespective of time.

However, God has never left the earth devoid of His guidance, and Imams as the successors of the Holy Prophet (PBUH&HP) have played the main part in maintaining humans’ spiritual connection with God from then on.

Notes:

[i] “Certainly We raised an apostle in every nation [to preach:] ‘Worship Allah, and shun fake deities.’ Among them were some whom Allah guided, and among them were some who deserved to be in error. So travel over the land and observe how was the fate of the deniers” (16:36). Also see: (7:59, 7:65, 7:85 and 7:73)

[ii] The messengers of God where either law-giving, who would be sent with a noble message and guidance and whose number did not exceed the fingers of one hand, or preaching who would spread and propagate the teachings of the law-giving ones.

[iii] "We ought to present you with the principles and you ought to arrive at specific conclusions from them." Imam Sadiq (AS) [3]

[iv] the holy Quran, the tradition of the holy prophet and 12 infallible Imams (Sunnah), consensus (Ijma`), and reason (`Aql)

Reference:

1. Mand and Universe
2. Wasail al-Shia, Bab 6, Hadith 51, 52
3. al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 32, Hadith 2