Contributing to Islamic Ethics

Abstract

Islamic ethics (akhlaq islamiyah), which is concerned with good character and the means of acquiring it, took shape gradually from the seventh century and culminated in the eleventh century with the teachings of Miskawayh (d. 1030), al-Raghib al-Isfahani (d. 1060), and al-Ghazali (d. 1111). Islamic philosophical ethics combined Qur’anic teachings, the traditions of Muhammad (s), the precedents of Islamic jurists, and classic Greek (Hellenic) ethical ideas. Prophet Muhammad (s) said: “Verily I have been sent in order to perfect moral character” (Fainnama bu`ithtu-li-utamima makarim al-akhlaq). Such prophetic traditions, Qur’anic moral exhortations, and Hellenic ethical writings became the main sources of inspiration for Miskawayh, al-Isfahani, and al-Ghazali. Inspired by the Arabic version of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, these moral philosophers Islamized virtue ethics and focused on cultivating character and purifying the soul (al-nafs). Although al-Isfahani inspired al-Ghazali and tried to maintain a balance between the justice of the soul and the justice of society, the latter developed a Sufi ethics that became increasingly otherworldly with its focus on purifying the self. This ethical model later became a source of inspiration for St. Thomas Aquinas and Maimonides. This special issue of the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences focuses on Islamic ethics, especially ethics as applied to such contemporary issues as bioethics, the environment, human rights, and evolution. The papers provide insight into how ethical problems are dealt with within ...