The scope of Islamic ethics is numerous, far reaching and comprehensive because Islamic ethics deals with the relationship between man and God, man and his fellow men, men and other creatures of the universe, and man with his innermost self. Meanwhile, the two primary sources of Islamic ethics are the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h). Al-Qur’an is the most significant source given by God for the human being to refer to pertaining to human conduct besides the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) as the role model to be imitated. Both Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) are called the scriptural morality. There are some elements in the Qur’an which can be considered as fundamental problems of ethics, such as, i) the nature of right and wrong, ii) divine justice and power, and iii) freedom and responsibility [5]. With regards to the 4 ibid 5 ibid, pp. 6. Understanding Islamic Ethics and Its Significance on the Character Building Adibah Binti Abdul Rahim 508 International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 3, No. 6, November 2013 DOI: 10.7763/IJSSH.2013.V3.293 first problem, the Qur’an uses a whole cluster of terms to denote the concept of moral or religious goodness, such as, al-khayr (goodness), al-birr (righteousness), al-qisr and al-iqsat (equity), al-adl (justice), al-haqq (truth and right), al-ma’ruf (known and approved), and al-taqwa (piety). Pious actions are normally referred to as salihat, whereas impious or sinful actions are termed sayyi’at6 . The term like m’aruf, khayr, and al-birr which occur in many verses7 express the moral and religious spirit of the Qur’an. The second fundamental ethical issue in the Qur’an is regarding the divine justice. There are several verses in the Qur’an that are related to the divine justice, such as, verses that enjoin justice8 , disapprove of the unjust9 , and love the equitable and pious in which to show that God is not an unjust dealer with His servants10. Meanwhile, the third ethical problem in the Qur’an is regarding the human responsibility11. The term used is yus’alu in which it is used in passive voice in a morally neutral sense that would be referred as the meaning of ‘liable to question’ such as responsible or answerable for doing or believing that which is clearly reprehensible. In some of the verses, the unbelievers or polytheists are stated to be answerable to God for their misdeeds or disbelief on the Day of Judgment while in others this answerability is expressed much broader terms that illustrate the general imperative of moral responsibility. The other source of Islamic ethics is Islamic theology. Theologians did not enter into normative questions of Islamic ethics. They discussed the source of ethical knowledge, the basis of moral obligation and the meaning of ethical terms. Besides these epistemological and meta-ethical questions, they also discussed the questions of human freedom and responsibility, and divine justice. The theologians have taken various positions on these ethical questions. The determinists, for instance, upheld the absoluteness of divine power, denied the reality of human freedom and responsibility, and did not try to justify divine justice [6]. Meanwhile, another group of theologians, the Mu’tazilite, asserted man has power and freedom to choose and act through reason. They stated that acts like prayers, fasting, and zakah are determined good through revelation. However, there are other things that can be determined good through reason. For the Mu’tazilites, moral obligation is rational. The pronouncements of reason, they said, are binding not only on man but also on God. According to Mu’tazilites, God must reward the righteous and punish the wicked acts. This is what they called divine justice.