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.
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