Islamic ethics: An outline of its concept and essence (II)

• Main Author: Hashi, Abdurezak Abdulahi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: IIUM Press 2016
• Subjects: BJ1188 Religious ethics
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/59682/1/Islamic%20Ethics-%20An%20Outline%20of%20its%20Concept%20and%20Essence.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/59682/; http://journals.iium.edu.my/revival/index.php/revival/article/view/183

Since the early epochs of the Muslim history, the study of ethics, a field that is traditionally known among Muslim scholars as tahdhib al-akhlaq (character purification), has been an essential part of Muslim intellectual heritage. It is true that the Qur’an and Sunnah are the foundations of good morals, to which Muslims, including companions of the Prophet (s. a. w.), made constant reference to address moral issues. However, Muslim theologians and jurists (fuqaha) as well as the Sufis (ahl al-tasawuf), gave a considerable effort, time and again, to address, though in different approaches, the nature, the scope and the parameters of the Islamic ethics. This paper uses analytical method, and it aims to highlight the essence of the Islamic ethics. It provides an explanatory account of the basic components of the Islamic moral system, such as the inborn character (fitrah), the good motive (niyyah hassanah) of the moral agent and the role of the shari’ah principles in determining the moral property of given moral conducts. The related texts of the Qur’an and Prophetic narrations as well as the opinion of the scholars in this topic would be analysed. Kajian etika sejak zaman awal sejarah Islam terhadap bidang yang secara tradisinya terkenal di kalangan ulama Islam sebagai tahdhib al-akhlaq (penulenan akhlak) telah menjadi bahagian yang penting dalam warisan intelektual Muslim. Memang benar bahawa al-Qur’an dan sunnah merupakan asas kepada akhlak yang baik kepada orang Islam, termasuk sahabat Rasulullah (SAW) yang merupakan rujukan tetap bagi menangani isu-isu moral. Walau bagaimanapun, ahli-ahli teologi Islam dan pakar undang-undang (fuqaha) dan juga para sufi (ahl al-tasauf), telah memberikan satu usaha yang besar dan masa bagi menangani, walaupun dalam pendekatan yang berbeza, sifat, skop dan parameter dari segi etika Islam. Karya tulis ini menggunakan kaedah analisis, dan ia bertujuan untuk menyerlahkan inti pati bagi etika Islam. Ia menyediakan akaun penerangan bagi komponen asas sistem moral Islam, seperti watak semula jadi (fitrah), motif yang baik (niyyah hassanah) bagi ejen moral dan peranan prinsip syari'ah dalam menentukan ciri moral apabila diberikan kelakuan moral. Teks-teks yang berkaitan dengan al-Qur’an dan riwayat Nabi Muhamad (SAW) serta pendapat daripada para ulama dalam kajian ini akan dianalisis.