Ethics In Islam

Abstract

The seminar on "Ethics in Islam" was held in Faridabad, Haryana, on July 30-31 1988, sponsored by the Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi and the Department of Philosophy at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. Mr. Muqimuddin, the seminar organizer, opened the proceedings by remarking at the outset that the seminar's theme was of prime importance in the context of the present world. Justifying any aspect of Islamic Ethics is both tricky and difficult. According to him, ethics has developed in the West in the form of philosophical theories but classical philosophers did not give much attention to the theoretical aspects of Islamic Ethics and virtually no effort has been made toward the documentation of ethics in Islam. The keynote address, delivered by Dr. Mohammed Abdul Haq Ansari entitled "Islamic Ethics: Concept and Prospect," (presently a professor at Imam Muhammad Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), reviewed different streams of writing in the spheres of Islamic philosophy, Sufism, theology, jurisprudence, politics, and economy, and highlighted the contribution each has made to the subject. He asserted that in view of the material available in these writings, Islamic scholars of our time can develop a veritable chronicle of Islamic Ethics in a period shorter than the Islamic econoll}ists have taken to develop Islamic Economics. According to Prof. Ansari, there is a wellformulated system of morality in the Qur'an, but there is no such theorization in the field of ethics. He pointed out that there are several ethical problems which need our attention while proceeding towards theorization of Islamic Ethics, e.g., determinism, freedom of will, distinction between good and evil, etc. The keynote address was followed by a lively discussion. Prof. Fazlur Rahman Ginnori was of the opinion that Islam has provided a complete code of morality obliviating the need for theorizing about Islamic Ethics. Other participants were of the opinion that in order to convince the world of the feasibility of Islamic Ethics, especially because of its identification with most aspects of science, there is a need for an ethical theory of Islam. Dr. Sanaullah Mir of Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India, read a paper on "Philosophical Justification of the Islamic Ethical Standard: the Ontological and Deontological Standards." While discussing the nature of ...