Islamic Ethics Concept & Prospect
English Essay on "Islamic Ethics Concept & Prospect"
Islamic ethics as a discipline or a subject does not, exist at the present. We do not have works that define its concept, outline its issues, and discuss its problems. What we have, instead, is a discussion by various writers philosophers, theologians, jurisprudents, sufis and political and economic theorists in their particular fields of some issues that are either part of, or relevant to, Islamic ethics. Philosophers like Abu Nasr al Farabi (d. 329950) and Abu Mi Miskawayh (d. 4211030), in their ethical works, have mostly rehashed Greek ethics. True, they have introduced, here and there, some Islamic terms and concepts and modified some notions that hurt their Islamic susceptibilities. But this does not make their ethics Islamic. They do not raise many issues that Islamic ethics must raise, and many ideas they have set forth cannot be considered to be Islamic unless they are seriously modified.
Theologians have, indeed, discussed some very important questions of Islamic such as the source of ethical knowledge, the meaning of ethical terms, and the basis of moral obligation. The views they have expounded are extremely significant. But they have been treated as part of theology rather than ethics, and thy form only one aspect of Islamic ethics. Works on sufism, principles o jurisprudence (usul al fiqh), principles of government and administration (al ahkam al sultaniyah), and public revenue and expenditure (al kharaj), also touch upon ideas that are part f, or relevant to, Islamic ethics. We have in them an analysis, for instance of some ethical virtues, a discussion on motives, priorities and preferences, levels of obligations, and political and economic justice.
There is, in short, much material scattered in the works of various disciplines that can by’ utilized to develop Islamic ethics. At present, while the discipline of Islamic ethics does not exist, it can be developed. Thirty years ago, Islamic economics did not exist, but thanks to the devotion of a number of scholars, we now have Islamic economics. I am sure that Islamic ethics will take even less time to develop, provided we give it the required effort. Let us hope this conference of ours initiates the process.
In this paper, I will try first to define the task Islamic ethics should perform, and then review, in that light, various streams of writings to which I have referred, and see what contribution each of these can make to the subject. The first task of Islamic ethics is to understand and expound the ethos of Islam as conceived in the Qur’an and elaborated in the Sunnah of the Prophet. Although these are the two primary sources of Islamic ethics, one more source should also be taken into account the practice of the Prophet’s Companions. They were trained by the Prophet himself, and their lives as individuals and as a society are the best embodiment of Islamic values, after the example of the Prophet. Further, the life and the practice of the second and third generation leaders (a’immah) of Islam are the next best model of Islamic values and norms. They are almost free from alien ideas and values that affected Islamic society in succeeding generations. This is testified to by the Prophet himself as well as by history. He said “The best generation is mine, next comes the generation that will follow, and then the generation that will come after.” It goes without saying that the life of the Companions or of the (a’immah) of the next two generations does not constitute an independent source beside the Qur’an and the Sunnah. It is taken only as an authentic expression of the ideals set forth in them. The life of the peoples in succeeding generations does not enjoy this status, because it bears the influence, in varying degrees, of alien ideas and practices.
To define the Islamic ethos as presented in the Qur’an, the Sunnah, the life of the Companions, and their righteous Successors is the first task of Islamic ethics. The view of the good life (at hayat al tayyibah) for which Islam stands has to be set forth in detail. It has to spell out the various components of that life, the traits and characteristics, motives and attitudes, feelings and emotions, actions and reactions, relations and associations that constitute it. It has to determine the place of human necessities and material conditions in the realization of that life. It has to define the priorities What goods are higher and what are lower; what is the ultimate end of life, and how are various goods related to that end It has to study the relation between knowledge, action, and feeling; between personal attainments and social concerns; between devotion to God and commitment to humanity. It has to determine the place of aesthetic values in life, the pleasures of the body, and material goods. It has to show the value of individual work and collective action. In all these things, it has to be viewed in the context of normal life, as well as in extraordinary and stress situations.
Another aspect of the Islamic ethos comes to light when we discuss such questions as what is right and what is meritorious, and, opposingly, what is wrong and what is punishable by God What is the place of motive and intention in this regard What are the degrees of obligation, and what are the personal and collective duties How do the circumstances of the individual and society affect the degree of obligation
The second task before Islamic ethics is to discuss the general terms used in Islamic morals, such as good, bad, right, wrong, meritorious, non-meritorious, responsibility, and obligation. The task has to determine and explain what these terms, or the terms used in Islamic sources communicating these ideas, mean. What are their degrees or levels, and how are they determined What part is played in their knowledge by reason, intuition, and revelation as incorporated in the Qur’an and the Sunnah It has to inquire into the ways the language of the Qur’an and the Sunnah expresses or suggests the degree of good and right, evil and wrong. It has to determine what act and practice of the Prophet is the Sunnah to be followed, and what is a personal habit or preference; or what incidental actions am practices are not meant to be followed. The Qur’an and the Sunnah recognize the convention (‘ruf) of the society and accord it a normative value if it belongs to a particular aspect of life. Islamic fiqh regards it as one of its secondary sources, and it is also to be noted by Islamic ethics. Some Sufis have claimed that mystical intuition (kashif), or inspiration, is also a source of ethical knowledge. Others have denied that, and a third group has taken a position in between the two. Some of these problems are the subject of meta-ethics, and others are the concern of moral epistemology.
The third task of, Islamic ethics is to discuss how Islamic ethics is related to and influenced by Islamic faith. In Islam, God and the Hereafter are not merely postulates of morality as Kant had though; they determine very much the meaning and content of ethical concepts and values. The distinction between the right and the meritorious, the role of motive, the concept of good and its levels, the nature and scope of virtue all these notions are influenced by the Islamic idea of God, the life Hereafter, prophecy, and revelation. Modern ethics has tried to disengage ethics from metaphysics. But it has failed to see that to deny or not to affirm these realities is also a kind of metaphysic al position. Islamic ethics has to point out the different ways in which Islamic faith affects moral life and concepts.
An important issue that falls into this category is the possibility of human freedom and responsibility in the context of Divine omnipotence and predestination. Islamic ethics has to show that the freedom of man, to the extent he is held responsible for his acts, is not contravened by the omnipotence and predestination of God as presented in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Another issue that falls into this category is whether the norms of rationality, goodness, and justice, applicable to man, are equally applicable to God, or is it that they only partly apply to Him On the answer to this question rests the theological problem of Divine justice and evil. The fourth and last task of Islamic ethics is to pronounce judgements on problems that face Islamic society and to say what is right or wrong. To cope with this problem, Islamic ethics will have to define its own dynamics. it will have to specify the values that are permanent and unchangeable, and those whose operational norms may change. To the second category belong, in my view, such values as justice and equality whose scope or level of application may vary according to conditions. If the first of these four tasks has been thoroughly accomplished this last one would not be difficult to perform.
These are, in my view, the tasks that Islamic ethics is to accomplish. I will now review various streams of writings mentioned earlier and point out what contribution they can make to Islamic ethics.
Philosophical Works
The ethics that Abu Nasr Farabi (d. 329950), Abu ‘All Miskawayh (d. 4211030), Nasir al Din Tusi (d. 6721273) an Jala al Din Dawwani (d. 9081502) have elaborated do not touch upon the last three problems I have mentioned. They are only concerned with the first problem, or, rather, with just a part of it, far It discusses the problem of good and leaves out the problem or right Greek ethics was essentially an ethics of good, and these wants adopted that ethics they brought no change in its character. Its central question remained as it was, namely, an investigation into the ultimate good or good in itself. The answer that Greek ethics gave to this question was happiness, which Muslim philosophicers translated in Arabic and Persian as sa’adah. In the way this concept was originally elaborated, a very comprehensive idea of the good was printed. It included knowledge moral virtue, individual as well as social; health and the pleasures of the body; material goods; and even the goods of fortune, such as noble birth. Everything found a place in this ideal. This perhaps, was the reason why it appealed much to Muslim philosophers.
Theologians have, indeed, discussed some very important questions of Islamic such as the source of ethical knowledge, the meaning of ethical terms, and the basis of moral obligation. The views they have expounded are extremely significant. But they have been treated as part of theology rather than ethics, and thy form only one aspect of Islamic ethics. Works on sufism, principles o jurisprudence (usul al fiqh), principles of government and administration (al ahkam al sultaniyah), and public revenue and expenditure (al kharaj), also touch upon ideas that are part f, or relevant to, Islamic ethics. We have in them an analysis, for instance of some ethical virtues, a discussion on motives, priorities and preferences, levels of obligations, and political and economic justice.
There is, in short, much material scattered in the works of various disciplines that can by’ utilized to develop Islamic ethics. At present, while the discipline of Islamic ethics does not exist, it can be developed. Thirty years ago, Islamic economics did not exist, but thanks to the devotion of a number of scholars, we now have Islamic economics. I am sure that Islamic ethics will take even less time to develop, provided we give it the required effort. Let us hope this conference of ours initiates the process.
In this paper, I will try first to define the task Islamic ethics should perform, and then review, in that light, various streams of writings to which I have referred, and see what contribution each of these can make to the subject. The first task of Islamic ethics is to understand and expound the ethos of Islam as conceived in the Qur’an and elaborated in the Sunnah of the Prophet. Although these are the two primary sources of Islamic ethics, one more source should also be taken into account the practice of the Prophet’s Companions. They were trained by the Prophet himself, and their lives as individuals and as a society are the best embodiment of Islamic values, after the example of the Prophet. Further, the life and the practice of the second and third generation leaders (a’immah) of Islam are the next best model of Islamic values and norms. They are almost free from alien ideas and values that affected Islamic society in succeeding generations. This is testified to by the Prophet himself as well as by history. He said “The best generation is mine, next comes the generation that will follow, and then the generation that will come after.” It goes without saying that the life of the Companions or of the (a’immah) of the next two generations does not constitute an independent source beside the Qur’an and the Sunnah. It is taken only as an authentic expression of the ideals set forth in them. The life of the peoples in succeeding generations does not enjoy this status, because it bears the influence, in varying degrees, of alien ideas and practices.
To define the Islamic ethos as presented in the Qur’an, the Sunnah, the life of the Companions, and their righteous Successors is the first task of Islamic ethics. The view of the good life (at hayat al tayyibah) for which Islam stands has to be set forth in detail. It has to spell out the various components of that life, the traits and characteristics, motives and attitudes, feelings and emotions, actions and reactions, relations and associations that constitute it. It has to determine the place of human necessities and material conditions in the realization of that life. It has to define the priorities What goods are higher and what are lower; what is the ultimate end of life, and how are various goods related to that end It has to study the relation between knowledge, action, and feeling; between personal attainments and social concerns; between devotion to God and commitment to humanity. It has to determine the place of aesthetic values in life, the pleasures of the body, and material goods. It has to show the value of individual work and collective action. In all these things, it has to be viewed in the context of normal life, as well as in extraordinary and stress situations.
Another aspect of the Islamic ethos comes to light when we discuss such questions as what is right and what is meritorious, and, opposingly, what is wrong and what is punishable by God What is the place of motive and intention in this regard What are the degrees of obligation, and what are the personal and collective duties How do the circumstances of the individual and society affect the degree of obligation
The second task before Islamic ethics is to discuss the general terms used in Islamic morals, such as good, bad, right, wrong, meritorious, non-meritorious, responsibility, and obligation. The task has to determine and explain what these terms, or the terms used in Islamic sources communicating these ideas, mean. What are their degrees or levels, and how are they determined What part is played in their knowledge by reason, intuition, and revelation as incorporated in the Qur’an and the Sunnah It has to inquire into the ways the language of the Qur’an and the Sunnah expresses or suggests the degree of good and right, evil and wrong. It has to determine what act and practice of the Prophet is the Sunnah to be followed, and what is a personal habit or preference; or what incidental actions am practices are not meant to be followed. The Qur’an and the Sunnah recognize the convention (‘ruf) of the society and accord it a normative value if it belongs to a particular aspect of life. Islamic fiqh regards it as one of its secondary sources, and it is also to be noted by Islamic ethics. Some Sufis have claimed that mystical intuition (kashif), or inspiration, is also a source of ethical knowledge. Others have denied that, and a third group has taken a position in between the two. Some of these problems are the subject of meta-ethics, and others are the concern of moral epistemology.
The third task of, Islamic ethics is to discuss how Islamic ethics is related to and influenced by Islamic faith. In Islam, God and the Hereafter are not merely postulates of morality as Kant had though; they determine very much the meaning and content of ethical concepts and values. The distinction between the right and the meritorious, the role of motive, the concept of good and its levels, the nature and scope of virtue all these notions are influenced by the Islamic idea of God, the life Hereafter, prophecy, and revelation. Modern ethics has tried to disengage ethics from metaphysics. But it has failed to see that to deny or not to affirm these realities is also a kind of metaphysic al position. Islamic ethics has to point out the different ways in which Islamic faith affects moral life and concepts.
An important issue that falls into this category is the possibility of human freedom and responsibility in the context of Divine omnipotence and predestination. Islamic ethics has to show that the freedom of man, to the extent he is held responsible for his acts, is not contravened by the omnipotence and predestination of God as presented in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Another issue that falls into this category is whether the norms of rationality, goodness, and justice, applicable to man, are equally applicable to God, or is it that they only partly apply to Him On the answer to this question rests the theological problem of Divine justice and evil. The fourth and last task of Islamic ethics is to pronounce judgements on problems that face Islamic society and to say what is right or wrong. To cope with this problem, Islamic ethics will have to define its own dynamics. it will have to specify the values that are permanent and unchangeable, and those whose operational norms may change. To the second category belong, in my view, such values as justice and equality whose scope or level of application may vary according to conditions. If the first of these four tasks has been thoroughly accomplished this last one would not be difficult to perform.
These are, in my view, the tasks that Islamic ethics is to accomplish. I will now review various streams of writings mentioned earlier and point out what contribution they can make to Islamic ethics.
Philosophical Works
The ethics that Abu Nasr Farabi (d. 329950), Abu ‘All Miskawayh (d. 4211030), Nasir al Din Tusi (d. 6721273) an Jala al Din Dawwani (d. 9081502) have elaborated do not touch upon the last three problems I have mentioned. They are only concerned with the first problem, or, rather, with just a part of it, far It discusses the problem of good and leaves out the problem or right Greek ethics was essentially an ethics of good, and these wants adopted that ethics they brought no change in its character. Its central question remained as it was, namely, an investigation into the ultimate good or good in itself. The answer that Greek ethics gave to this question was happiness, which Muslim philosophicers translated in Arabic and Persian as sa’adah. In the way this concept was originally elaborated, a very comprehensive idea of the good was printed. It included knowledge moral virtue, individual as well as social; health and the pleasures of the body; material goods; and even the goods of fortune, such as noble birth. Everything found a place in this ideal. This perhaps, was the reason why it appealed much to Muslim philosophers.
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