As global business operations expand, managers need more knowledge of foreign cultures, in particular, information on the ethics of doing business across borders. The purpose of this paper is twofold: to share the Islamic perspective on business ethics, little known in the west, which may stimulate further thinking and debate on the relationships between ethics and business, and to provide some knowledge of Islamic philosophy in order to help managers do business in Muslim cultures. The (...) case of Egypt illustrates some divergence between Islamic philosophy and practice in economic life. The paper concludes with managerial implications and suggestions for further research. (shrink)

This essay briefly evaluates the ongoing controversy between LIU Qingping and GUO Qiyong (and their followers) about the “moral heart ”of Confucianism in order to draw acomparison with Islamic ethics for mutual illumination of the two traditions.

The objective of this study was to employ the theory of planned behavior in examining the inclusion of Islamic religiosity in predicting Islamic ethical work behavior. Islamic religiosity was included as Islam plays a dominant role in Brunei’s society. Participants consisted of 370 Malay Muslim teachers. Structural equation modeling was used to test three proposed models. While Model 1 was based on the theory of planned behavior, it does not take into consideration the distinctive Islamic context (...) of the Bruneian society. Hence, Model 2 was proposed to include Islamic religiosity. To better reflect the population, a model with Islamic religiosity was further augmented leading to Model 3. Results showed support for only two models: Model 1 and Model 3. Model 3 was revised by removing non-significant paths. Model comparison indicated that the revised Model 3 (AIC = 100.82; BIC = 103.55) is a better model than Model 1 (AIC = 141.88; BIC = 143.98). This suggests that the predictive power of the theory of planned behavior can be improved by including dominant cultural factors, such as religiosity, that affect a person’s belief. In conclusion, it can be said that religion is indispensable in exploring and understanding how the people in Brunei think and behave in their workplace and society. (shrink)

Originally introduced by Plato and Aristotle, the doctrine of the mean is the most prevalent theory of ethics among Islamic scholars. According to this doctrine, every virtue or excellence of character lies in the observance of the mean, whereas vices are the excess or deficiency of the soul in his functions. Islamic scholars have been influenced by the doctrine, but they have also developed and re-conceptualized it in innovative ways. Kindi, Miskawayh, Avicenna, Raghib Isfahani, Nasir al-Din Tusi, (...) and others are among the Islamic contributors to the subject. Some of their contributions are as follows: bringing together Aristotle's doctrine of the mean with Plato's psychology, dividing virtues into four higher geniuses, dividing vices into eight higher geniuses, setting various kinds of vices and virtues under these higher geniuses, adding the criteria of quality to Aristotle's quantitative evaluation of excess and deficiency, dividing various conceptualizations of justice, adding religious and mystical virtues into the existing list of virtues, and proposing a comprehensive model for curing diseases of the soul. (shrink)

The data presents an examination of Islamic ethical work behavior of Malay Muslim teachers in Brunei through religiosity and theory of planned behavior. The total number of participants was 370 Bruneian Malay Muslim teachers. The participants were sampled from two different types of school systems being non-religious schools and religious schools, with five schools each. By documenting information of the data, this data article presented the demographic characteristics of participants, and reliability and correlation of measures involved. Analyses of the (...) data can provide insights into determinants and in predicting Islamic ethical work behavior. Furthermore, the data will be useful for researchers and policymakers that are interested in knowing the current situation of religiosity and behavior in the country. It can also be used as references in developing interventions, promoting and facilitating Islamic ethical work behavior in the workplace. (shrink)

This study addresses the subject of Islamic ethics from definitional and disciplinary perspectives. It highlights the need for relevantization of Islamic ethics to contemporary issues in a systematic manner which, in turn, calls for development of Islamic ethics as a complete discipline with ability to meet all types of challenges: conceptual, practical, normative, applicative, etc. Regarding the definitional issue, different from and more expansive than the traditional understanding of alākhlāq, the researcher argues that a (...) proper definition of ethics should include ethically relevant habits, character, and behavior in its subject matter. As an academic discipline of paramount, practical significance, Islamic ethics should adequately address metaethical, normative, and applicative aspects of the subject. In terms of metaethics, Islamic ethics is derived from revealed knowledge; whereas, principles of Islamic jurisprudence (us
l al&fīqh) offers the best available methodology for the discipline in meeting demands of normativity and application. Regarding the nature of the subject of Islamic ethics, the researcher argues that understanding Islamic ethics as virtue ethics is unjustifiable reduction because a careful study of the subject from its sources would prove that Islamic ethics is rather an integrated field comprising of virtues ethics, divine command theory, duty&based ethics, etc. Therefore, Islamic ethics should be developed, taught, and learned as a whole composite of above&mentioned elements. (shrink)

This study demonstrates that there is a need of addressing neighborhood relationships in contemporary times. And in this regard, a position from Islam is considered in which neighborly relationships are based on Quranic ethical virtue ihsan i.e., doing good to others. The word neighbor in the Quran and Hadith is a general term that is not discriminatory. It includes Muslims and non-Muslims. This insight is very useful for building relationships in multicultural and multireligious communities for harmony and peace. To locate (...) a neighbor, though there are jurisprudential opinions, leaving it to its customary use is preferred in this study. The neighborhood rights and duties are given in detail. And it is also demonstrated that those prophetic narrations in which harming neighbors or committing sins against them is considered as the consequence of the absence of faith in fact show the disgust of such sinful acts; therefore, a sinful Muslim is not considered as a non-believer. The harm is especially illustrated with infringing the privacy of a neighbor. It has been shown that Ihsan includes ethically both non-maleficence and beneficence. Most of the prophetic traditions can be classified under these two categories. In addition to this, it is also shown that the neighborhood relations in Islam also include the Golden Rule which is allencompassing and in principle exhaustive. (shrink)

Religion has always been argued as a cultural factor that influences behavior. Similarly, previous studies had shown that demographic factors such as age, gender, education level, and work experience were linked to behavior. This present study examined if demographic factors and religiosity dimensions could predict ethical behavior, specifically Islamic ethical work behavior, in Brunei. This study used an existing data set, which had been employed with a different approach and research questions. A total of 370 respondents were analyzed. Model (...) analysis involved the use of binomial logistic regression. It correctly classified 77% of cases. The result showed that demographic factors were not significant predictors of Islamic ethical work behavior. However, all religiosity dimensions were significant predictors of Islamic ethical work behavior, providing support for religion influencing behavior in the workplace—to a certain extent, in the society—although the degree of effects varied, suggesting opportunities for further research. The findings were discussed, and limitations and recommendations were then presented. (shrink)

The importance of the self (nafas) with which heart is assumed to be connected is significantly present in Islamic ethics that could be derived from the primary sources of Islam, the scripture and Sunnah. However, the human heart (Qalb) is in need of further exploration concerning its relationship to ethics. Ethics is part of the Islamic worldview and authentic ethical behavior in such a worldview is connected to intentionality which is an attribute of the heart. (...) The Islamic sources show that the sound heart is at the center of an ethical agent that is free of vices, and the strength and motivation for good actions originate from the heart by the virtue of belief, Iman. Therefore, the right ethical behavior emanates from the heart. The important point is that intentionality as the property of the heart matters in Islamic ethics because ethical accountability is ultimately before God in Islam. Therefore, there is a responsibility for a Muslim to safeguard his heart from temptations and vices. Hearts can get ethically sick and one reason for such sickness and hardness could be because of committing sins repeatedly which are mostly unethical actions by their very nature. Therefore, a Muslim should keep his heart clean from vices. In ethical decision-making, the heart plays its role as its purity will lead to good actions and better understanding. The heart has intellectual and cognitive powers that can help in making ethical decisions. (shrink)

This paper examines the complex and multifaceted discourse surrounding the hijab, which has been variously interpreted as a symbol of sexist oppression and female empowerment. It challenges the notion of a universalizing framework to address sexist oppression and argues that different conceptions of empowerment can be equally valid, depending on the intersectional identities and values of the subject. Drawing on the experiences of Muslim women in the West as a case study, the paper explores the challenges they face from both (...) broader Western society's Gendered Islamophobia and misogyny from within their Muslim community. -/- Two distinct responses have emerged among Muslim women to counter these challenges: Islamic Feminism and Islamic Traditionalism. Islamic Feminism seeks to use Islam, particularly the Qur'an, as a basis for achieving feminist goals. However, this movement is not universally embraced among Muslim women, as many argue that it does not align with their traditional Islamic values and goals of gender justice. As a result, an alternative discourse of Islamic Traditionalism has emerged, which seeks to address these issues by drawing on traditional Islamic values and methodology to achieve unique Islamic goals of gender justice and empowerment. The paper critically examines the effectiveness and limitations of these frameworks while framing empowerment as a manifestation of women's agency to make choices that they find empowering for themselves. It highlights the complexities and nuances of the hijab discourse, challenging monolithic interpretations and advocating for a nuanced understanding that takes into account the diverse experiences, identities, and values of Muslim women. (shrink)

This paper evaluates the economic effects of a politically communitarian model of family ties towards the pension crisis in developing countries. The use of a Canadian - an individualist-oriented political economic pension system - is compared to a religiously and culturally communitarian form of family care in Bangladesh, a country slowly feeling the effects of the pension crisis. The analysis concludes, based on theoretical and economic evidence, that it is not in the social or economic interest of Bangladesh or similar (...) countries to use the same policies currently being deployed by Canada and most other OECD countries. This paper is the first of its kind to apply socioeconomic costs and benefits of developed countries’ policies and apply them to the context of a developing country—keeping in mind the cultural aspect and its implications. It aims at bringing back original ethical and moral values with a social orientation that should inspire all stakeholders to ensure family self-regulation that converge toward a solid foundation of communitarian principles. (shrink)

Physicians in Islamic countries might be requested to participate in the Islamic legal code of qiṣāṣ, in which the victim or family has the right to an eye-for-an-eye retaliation. Qiṣāṣ is only used as a punishment in the case of murder or intentional physical injury. In situations such as throwing acid, the national legal system of some Islamic countries asks for assistance from physicians, because the punishment should be identical to the crime. The perpetrator could not be (...) punished without a physician’s participation, because there is no way to guarantee that the sentence would be carried out without inflicting more injury than the initial victim had suffered. By examining two cases of acid throwing, this paper discusses issues related to physicians’ participation in qiṣāṣ from the perspective of medical ethics and Islamic Shari’a law. From the standpoint of medical ethics, physicians’ participation in qiṣāṣ is not appropriate. First, qiṣāṣ is in sharp contrast to the Hippocratic Oath and other codes of medical ethics. Second, by physicians’ participation in qiṣāṣ, medical practices are being used improperly to carry out government mandates. Third, physician participation in activities that cause intentional harm to people destroys the trust between patients and physicians and may adversely affect the patient–physician relationship more generally. From the standpoint of Shari’a, there is no consensus among Muslim scholars whether qiṣāṣ should be performed on every occasion. We argue that disallowing physician involvement in qiṣāṣ is necessary from the perspectives of both medical ethics and Shari’a law. (shrink)

Abstract: The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into leadership practices is transforming organizational dynamics and This decision-making processes. paper explores how AI can enhance leadership effectiveness by providing data-driven insights, optimizing decision-making, and automating routine tasks. It also examines the challenges leaders face in adopting AI, including ethical considerations, potential biases in AI systems, and the need for upskilling. By analyzing current applications of AI in leadership and discussing future trends, this study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the (...) opportunities AI presents for effective leadership and the strategies required to address its associated challenges. (shrink)

Lynn White’s seminal article on the historical roots of the ecological crisis, which inspired radical environmentalism, has cast suspicion upon religion as the source of modern anthropocentrism. To pave the way for a viable Islamic environmental ethics, charges of anthropocentrism need to be faced and rebutted. Therefore, the bulk of this paper will seek to establish the non- anthropocentric credentials of Islamic thought. Islam rejects all forms of anthropocentrism by insisting upon a transcendent God who is utterly (...) unlike His creation. Humans share the attribute of being God’s creations with all other beings, which makes them internally related to every other being, indeed to every single entity in this universe. This solves the problem that radical environmentalism has failed to solve, namely, how to define our relation with nature and other beings without dissolving our specificity. Furthermore, Islamic ethics structures human relations strictly around the idea of limiting desires. The resulting ethico-legal synthesis, made workable by a pragmatic legal framework, can sustain a justifiable use of nature and its resources without exploiting them. The exploitation of nature is inherently linked to the exploitation of one’s self and of fellow human beings. Such exploitation, according to Qur’anic wisdom, is the direct result of ignoring the divine law and the ethics of dealing with self and “other.” Only by reverting to the divine law and ethics can exploitation be overcome. The paper ends by briefly considering possible objections and challenges vis-à-vis developing a philosophically viable yet religiously oriented environmental ethics. (shrink)

This article explains Muhammad Iqbal’s ethics of reverence for humanity and determines how it fits with Islamic ethics. The cardinal goal of Islamic ethics is reverence for humanity. The Arabic expression ‘Islam’ means ‘peace’. The cardinal claim of Islamic ethics is that human beings deserve reverence because they are created with the best conformation. The Arabic phrase Ahsan al-Taqweem refers to the best conformation, which means a wide range of unique physical, metaphysical, moral, (...) aesthetic and cognitive potentials. From a broader perspective, Islamic ethics foster reverence for humanity based on three primary moral and political values: equality, freedom, and fraternity. Drawing on the Islamic tradition, Iqbal argues that all human beings are worthy of reverence irrespective of their racial, cultural, religious, or linguistic disparities because of their distinctive potentials, such as creativity, freedom, and knowledge. These potentials are preordained in human beings by birth. To develop these potentials, Iqbal posits his theory of egohood which fosters unique individuality. Under certain conditions, such as individual-society relationships, freedom, equality, and fraternity, Iqbal insists on developing these potentials to acquire the status of a perfect human. According to Iqbal, a perfect human is a God’s vicegerent on earth, who collaborates with Him in creation. Iqbal’s ethics of reverence for humanity emancipates human beings from poverty, war, violence, humiliation, discrimination, exploitation, hatred, and destruction. Yet, Iqbal’s ethics of reverence for humanity furnishes human beings with prosperity, peace, self-respect, equality, dignity, friendship, fraternity, and survival on earth. Thus, Iqbal’s ethics of reverence for humanity is consistent with Islam’s ethics of reverence for humanity. (shrink)

I begin the first part by showing how situationism should make us question traditional understandings of virtues as intrinsic dispositions. I concentrate specifically on situationist experiments related to mood. I then introduce Islamic virtue ethics and the dawa movement. In parts two and three I examine ethnography of the dawa movement to explore how they deal with worries about the influence of mood on their virtue. In part two I show how they train their habits in very traditional (...) virtue ethics ways in order to be more resilient when faced with virtue-diminishing affective situations. In part three I show how the situation, rather than hindering practitioners, is recruited into helping these women achieve piety. I conclude, in part four, by showing the dawa movement's creative use of the Islamic veil as a way to help these women deal with the objection that one cannot avoid all bad situations. Going beyond social psychological experiments, I examine two methodological sources not found in situationist debates. First, I argue for ethnography as an empirical method through which to study virtue. I draw on ethnography of the Islamic women's dawa movement. Secondly, the work in the philosophy of mind on ‘affective scaffolding’. (shrink)

Creativity and innovation is very part of human nature (fitrah) which makes human beings different from other beings that are so far found on the planet. The outcome of creativity can be both harmful and beneficial. And most of it depends on the moral standing of those to whom end products of such creativity are available. Islam gives high importance to health and the Muslim civilization that flourished in Bagdad and Spain during the medieval period made original contributions to medical (...) science. The contributions of the scholars of the age were led by religious ethics and spirit in pursuing, using, and creating knowledge. On the other hand, with the advent of modernity, science has received freedom to a greater extent to be ethics-free, neutral, and value- free. This approach has produced new important innovations in medical science and ways of their applications. Some of these innovations and their applications are beneficial and some others are beneficial too if guarded by appropriate ethics, yet some of the applications are questionable. After discussing the ethical repercussions of these innovations and applications, a general ethical framework on the subject is formulated on Islamic guidelines. (shrink)

This article looks at some of the salient analyses of moderation in the ancient Greek and the Islamic traditions and uses them to develop a contemporary view of the matter. Greek ethics played a huge role in shaping the ethical views of the Muslim philosophers and theologians, and thus the article starts with an overview of the revival of contemporary western virtue ethics--in many ways an extension of Platonic-Aristotelian ethics--and then looks at the place of moderation (...) or temperance in Platonic-Aristotelian ethics. This sets the stage for an exposition of the position taken by Ibn Miskawayh and al-Ghazali, which is then used as a backdrop for suggesting a revival of the Quran's virtue ethics. After outlining a basis for its virtue ethics, the Quranic view of wasatiyya or moderation is discussed briefly. (shrink)

This study examines the impact of Islamic Work Ethic on organizational citizenship behaviors and knowledge-sharing behaviors among university employees in Pakistan. A total of 215 respondents from public sector educational institutions participated in this research. The findings suggest that IWE has a positive effect on OCBs. In other words, individuals with high IWE demonstrate more citizenship behaviors than those with low IWE. The findings also suggest a positive effect of IWE on KSBs. Individuals with high IWE exhibit more KSBs (...) than those with low IWE. The paper also discusses the theoretical and practical implications of these findings. (shrink)

Using a time-lagged design, we tested the main effects of Islamic Work Ethic (IWE) and perceived organizational justice on turnover intentions, job satisfaction, and job involvement. We also investigated the moderating influence of IWE in justice–outcomes relationship. Analyses using data collected from 182 employees revealed that IWE was positively related to satisfaction and involvement and negatively related to turnover intentions. Distributive fairness was negatively related to turnover intentions, whereas procedural justice was positively related to satisfaction. In addition, procedural justice (...) was positively related to involvement and satisfaction for individuals high on IWE however it was negatively related to both outcomes for individuals low on IWE. For low IWE, procedural justice was positively related to turnover intentions, however it was negatively related to turnover intentions for high IWE. In contrast, distributive justice was negatively related to turnover intentions for low IWE and it was positively related to turnover intentions for high IWE. (shrink)

In this chapter, we examine a few potential problems when inquiring into the ethics of medieval Christian and Islamic mystical traditions: First, there are terminological and methodological worries about defining mysticism and doing comparative philosophy in general. Second, assuming that the Divine represents the highest Good in such traditions, and given the apophaticism on the part of many mystics in both religions, there is a question of whether or not such traditions can provide a coherent theory of value. (...) Finally, the antinomian tendencies and emphasis on passivity of some mystics might lead one to wonder whether their prescriptive exhortations can constitute a coherent theory of right action. We tackle each of these concerns in turn and discuss how they might be addressed, in an attempt to show how medieval mysticism, as a fundamentally practical enterprise, deserves more attention from practical and moral philosophy than it has thus far received. (shrink)

Many philosophers argue that religious schools are guilty of indoctrinatory harm. I think they are right to be worried about that. But in this article, I will postulate that there are other harms for many individuals that are more severe outside the religious school. Accordingly the full scope of harm should be taken into account when evaluating the harm that some religious schools may do. Once we do that, I suggest, justice may require that we choose the lesser harm. To (...) simplify matters, I focus my attention on the stigmatic harm done to Muslims, and the role that Islamic schools might be expected to play in mitigating that harm. If the full weight of stigmatic harm is factored into the ethical analysis concerning Islamic schools, then I suggest that there are sufficiently weighty pro tanto reasons for Muslim parents to prefer an Islamic school over the alternatives, notwithstanding the potential indoctrinatory harm. (shrink)

Arguably, ethical guidelines and medical laws on medical confidentiality have fallen short of extrapolating the methodology for dealing with potential ethical complexities in its practice. This drawback has made it difficult for physicians to prevent harm from occurring if it has not yet happened, remove harm if it has already taken place, or minimise harm if it is unavoidable. Therefore, this article attempts to outline certain principles in the form of a framework to govern the management of confidential information in (...) light of Islamic legal maxims. This effort is meant to help health workers to deal with conflicting situations, with reasonable care given to those at risk, while maintaining therapeutic trust and professionalism. The notable significance of this framework is that it is structured after identifying the potential harms in the protection and disclosure of medical confidentiality in selected cases from patient's, doctor's and third party's perspectives and addressing each of them with due importance. (shrink)

Pain medication is one of the responses to the mercy argument that utilitarian ethicists use for justifying active euthanasia on the grounds of prevention of cruelty and appeal to beneficence. The researcher reinforces the significance of pain medication in meeting this challenge and considers it the most preferred response among various other responses. It is because of its realism and effectiveness. In exploring the mechanism and considerations related to pain medication, the researcher briefly touches the Catholic ethical position on the (...) issue, a position that cannot be ignored in the development of contemporary bioethics. The researcher particularly deliberates on the contemporary Islamic discourse on the issue; by furthering the debate in line with the Islamic legal maxims and general guidance from the primary sources of Islamic law and ethics. The resolution on the issue is sought by synthesizing the views and legal maxims (al-Qawaid al-Fiqhiyyah) on the issue, which in conclusion provide justification for pain medication by considerably regarding pain as necessity and pressing need. However, such resolution allows pain medication to the limit and proportion that removes the pain and prohibits overdosing the patient with medication that may directly cause the death. (shrink)

Euthanasia is one of the significant bioethical issues that has grown in complexity over time because of unprecedented developments in medicine, biotechnology, palliative care, and advanced medical technology. The issue is ethical and legal; new and old. To address this issue from the perspective of Islam, responses have emerged from various sections such as organizations of Muslim doctors, independent writers, fatwÉs, and above all from the Islamic jurisprudential bodies and Islamic medical code. œ”:In this chapter, euthanasia and its (...) types are explained. Active euthanasia is explained with related issues which come under it and ethical guidance from the main sources of Islamic jurisprudence is taken to understand Islamic ethical position on the issue. In a similar way, passive euthanasia is explained and the issues which come under it are explained and a detailed discourse is given in understanding the issues and how Islamic approach to medical treatment solves these issues. (shrink)

This study attempts an exposition of different perceptions of obligation to medical treatment that have emerged from the Islamic theological understanding and how they contribute to diversity of options and flexibility in clinical practice. Particularly, an attempt is made to formulate an Islamic perspective on ordinary and extraordinary means of medical treatment. This distinction is of practical significance in clinical practice, and its right understanding is also important to public funded healthcare authorities, guardians of the patients, health and (...) life insurance institutions, and employers who provide health care coverage to their employees. Not only these parties, but also lawyers and justice administration functionaries such as public prosecutors and judges are in need of understanding this distinction to deal with relevant litigations. The distinction could be made regarding terminally ill patients and non-terminally ill patients separately. The essential factors that matter in making the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary means of treatment are: (1) patient capacity (2) expert advice, and (3) nature of medication. Regarding terminally ill patients, medical treatment can become extraordinary because of (1) patient capacity and (2) nature of medication. In both these case the deciding condition applies: the expert advice taken from a group of physicians. In regards to non- terminally ill patients, extraordinary medical treatment includes three cases: (1) treatment that is known to be useless and futile, (2) treatment that endangers the life or cause more harm than what it removes, and (3) useful treatment, but the patient is unable to bear the cost. (shrink)

: The Islamic jurists utilized the discipline of maqāṣid al-sharīʿah,in its capacity as the philosophy of Islamic law, in their legal and ethicalinterpretations, with added interest in addressing the issues of modern times.Aphoristically subsuming the major themes of the Sharīʿah, maqāṣid play apivotal role in the domain of decision-making and deduction of rulings onunprecedented ethical discourses. Ethics represent the infrastructure of Islamiclaw and the whole science of Islamic jurisprudence operates in the lightof maqāṣid to realize the (...) ethics in people’s lives. Scrutinizing the key themesof maqāṣid-based ijtihād and scope of ethics in maqāṣid, this article delvesinto the discourse on the application of maqāṣid to medical ethics. As a casestudy, this research analyses the extent of medical confidentiality in the light ofmaqāṣid and arrives at the conclusion that limited confidentiality goes more inline with the maxims of maqāṣid. (shrink)

As the scope of innovative technologies is expanding, their implications and applications are increasingly intersecting with various facets of society, including the deeply rooted traditions of religion. This paper embarks on an exploratory journey to bridge the perceived divide between advancements in technology and faith, aiming to catalyze a dialogue between the religious and scientific communities. The former often views technological progress through a lens of conflict rather than compatibility. By utilizing a technology-centric perspective, we draw metaphorical parallels between the (...) functionalities of new technologies and some theological concepts of Islam. The purpose is not to reinterpret religious concepts but to illustrate how these two domains can coexist harmoniously. This comparative analysis serves as a conversation starter with an intention to mitigate any apprehensions towards technology by highlighting its potential to align with religious concepts. By fostering an environment where technological innovations are seen as tools for enhancement rather than threats to tradition, we contribute to a more inclusive discourse that encourages the religious community to engage with and potentially embrace contemporary technological advancements. (shrink)

Sikhism, the fifth-largest organized religion [1] in the world, was founded in the fifteenth century in Punjab, India. Guru Nanak Dev and his successor Sikh Gurus established this system of religious philosophy. The sacred scripture, Sri Guru Granth Sahib [2-3], is the present Guru of the Sikhs. The religious philosophy of Sikhism is traditionally known as Gurmat. Sikhism originated from the word Sikh, having the Sanskrit root śiṣya meaning "disciple" or "learner." With about 27 million followers or 0.39% of the (...) world population [4], approximately 83% of the Sikhs live in India. Islam is the religion articulated by the Holy Quran [5-6], a religious book. Its adherents consider it the verbatim word of the one incomparable God (Allah). Muslims live by following the demonstrations of the Prophet of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad, and real-life examples (Sunnah). The Sunnah has been collected through the narration of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad's companions in the Hadith collections. Islam means submission to God. The word Islam is derived from the Arabic word "Salam," which means peace. With about 1.7 billion followers, or 23% of the global population [7-8], Islam is the second-largest religion by the number of its adherents. Despite being different religions, Sikhism and Islam share many similarities. Most of these similarities center around the notion of a single, all-powerful, and loving God. Both faiths share similar normative, social, and environmental ethics. Some of these similarities are described in this article. (shrink)

Sustainability is a crucial issue for many sectors in Malaysia, including the manufacturing sector. Many businesses, especially the chemical manufacturing industry, aim to achieve a sustainable business through the implementation of green practices. Green practices provide guidelines for the employees to simultaneously sustain the organisation in a sustainable manner and carry out the required manufacturing activities. Focusing on that, this study aimed to examine the effects of green practices on corporate sustainability performance through Islamic work ethics, organisation size, (...) and organisation age as moderators. Using the stratified random sampling technique, 344 chemical manufacturing organisations in Malaysia were invited to participate in a survey. Data from 130 completed questionnaire sets were subjected to partial least square (PLS) analysis. The results demonstrated significant effects of green practices on corporate sustainability performance via Islamic work ethics and organisation size. However, organisation age was found to exhibit no moderation effect on the relationship between green practices and corporate sustainability performance. Conclusively, as part of the organisational strategies, the sustainability of chemical manufacturing organisations must involve successful implementation of green practices, Islamic work ethics, and organisation size. This study offered several theoretical and practical contributions on green practices, Islamic work ethics, organisation size, and organisation age, and corporate sustainability performance. Theoretically, this study extended literature on the resource-based view theory, natural-resource-based view theory, and stakeholder theory. Al-Quran and hadith were used to support this study to link the relationships of the variables under study, particularly in the context of chemical manufacturing organisations in Malaysia. Practically, this study was expected to assist chemical manufacturers in selecting the appropriate green practices to achieve corporate sustainability performance and good implementation of Islamic work ethics. Additionally, it is recommended for future research to explore other types of industries in the manufacturing sector given the focus of this study on the chemical manufacturing industry only. (shrink)

Originally introduced by Plato and Aristotle, Moderation Theory in Ethics is the most prevalent theory of ethics among Islamic scholars. Moderation Theory suggests that every virtue or excellence of character lies in the mean between two vices: excess or defect. Every ethical virtue comes from moderation in actions or emotions and every ethical vice comes from excess or defect. This paper suggests that while Islamic scholars have been influenced by this doctrine, they have also developed and (...) re-conceptualized it in innovative ways. Kindī, Miskawayh, Avicenna, Rāghib Isfahānī, Nasīr al-Dīn Ṭusī, and others are among the Islamic contributors to the subject. Some of their innovations in this theory are as follows: bringing together Aristotle's doctrine of the mean with Plato's psychology (by Kindī), dividing virtues into four higher genuses, dividing vices into eight higher genuses, setting various kinds of vices and virtues under these higher genuses (by Miskawayh), adding the vice qualitative criteria to Aristotle's vice quantitative criteria (excess and defect) (by Ṭusī), dividing various conceptualizations of justice (by Avicenna), adding religious and mystical virtues into the existing list of virtues (by Rāghib Isfahānī), and proposing a comprehensive model for curing diseases of the soul. This paper seeks to establish the main contributions of these Muslim scholars to Moderation Theory and elaborate on this theory’s evolution within the Islamic world. (shrink)

I propose a framework for comparative Islamic—Western ethics in which the Islamic categories "Islam, Iman," and "Ihsan" are juxtaposed with the concepts of obligation, value, and virtue, respectively. I argue that "shari'a" refers to both the obligation component and the entire structure of the Islamic ethic; suggesting a suspension of the understanding of "shari'a" as simply Islamic "law," and an alternative understanding of "usul al-fiqh" as a moral epistemology of obligation. I will test this approach (...) by addressing the question of reason in Islamic moral epistemology via an examination of an argument advanced by a founding usul scholar Muhammad bin Idrīs al-Shāfi'ī. (shrink)

Seeking for Happiness in Islamic Philosophy and its goal, it can be seen a literal and unanimous answer in philosopher words which reflects combination of worldly(secular) and otherworldly(sacred) happiness that it can prepare temporal and eschatological happiness. But in a deeper investigation we can ask: what is the main purpose? mortal or final dimension of happiness? As a result of the text, it seems that from Al- Kendi to Al- Rāzī the otherworldly happiness is considered as a result of (...) worldly happiness. After Al- Farabi to Al- Tusi the flow of thinking tends to combine worldly and otherworldly happiness. After Al- Tusi and under the influence of him in Nasirian Ethics (Akhlaq-i Nasiri), the changed version of philosophical Islamic Ethics supports eschatological happiness and supposes the worldly happiness as a primary and elementary level which must be considered as healing of mortal life. Matching with this view, it seems that worldly happiness is Abolished, because it changes the balance between and worldly and otherworldly happiness, and also it week the social development instead of increasing individual happiness. (shrink)

Contemporary Muslim writers have demonstrated that an environmental ethic can be derived from the scriptural sources of Islam. However, at present, the impact of this type of interpretation within the Muslim world appears to be minimal. The most promising prospects for disseminating an environmental awareness based on Islamic principles have come from governments, such as those of Iran, Pakistan,and Saudi Arabia, which claim Islam as a basis for legislation.

After Al-Tusi and his effective work- which is called Nasirian Ethics- Islamic Philosophical Ethics emerges a fixed perspective that tips the balance (scale) in favor of otherworldly Eudemonia and considers worldly Eudemonia as rental land which can be abandoned. Ibn Khaldun tries to present a communicative theory; but his work has limited under the main discourse of Islamic Ethics which is fixed in the space and effect of the mentioned balance. As a consequence, after Mulla (...) Sadra and in Esfahan school, the Nasirian though is developed. then the main challenge is that the social development is slowed diminished in favor of individual Eudemonia. But it seems that Tabatabai in his theory (Constructional Perceptions) shows or reconstructs an almost unanimous consensus which tries to find a compromise between temporal (worldly) and eschatological (otherworldly) Eudemonia. In this paper and according to its descriptive- analytic prospect- with memorizing a historical transformation- Tabatabai 's theory is supposed as an alternative for reconstituting of Islamic Philosophical Ethics, which is based on the popular goodness and civil development. (shrink)

The ideological interface between Muslims and liberal educators undoubtedly is strained in the realm of sex education, and perhaps on no topic more so than homosexuality. Some argue that schools should not try to ‘undermine the faith’ of Muslims, who object to teaching homosexuality as an ‘acceptable alternative lifestyle’. In this article, I will argue against this monolithic presentation of Islam. Furthermore, I will argue that a narrow view of Islam is neglectful of gay and lesbian Muslims who are particularly (...) vulnerable to the unrepentant hostilities of their own communities. (shrink)

ABSTRACT The philosophical tradition approaches to morals have their grounds predominantly on metaphysical and theological concepts and theories. Among the traditional ethics concepts, the most prominent is the Divine Command Theory (DCT). As per the DCT, God gives moral foundations to the humankind by its creation and through Revelation. Morality and Divinity are inseparable since the most remote civilization. These concepts submerge in a theological framework and are largely accepted by most followers of the three Abrahamic traditions: Judaism, Christianity, (...) and Islam: the greatest part of the human population. Holding faith and Revelation for its grounds, the Divine Command Theories are not strictly subject to the demonstration. The opponents to the Divine Command conception of morals, grounded in the impossibility of demonstration of its metaphysical and religious assumptions, have tried for many centuries (albeit unsuccessfully) to devalue its importance. They held the argument that it does not show material evidence and logical coherence and, for this reason, cannot be taken into account for scientific nor philosophical purposes. It is just a belief and, as so, should be understood. Besides these extreme oppositions, many other concepts contravene the Divine Command theories, in one or another way, in part or in full. Many philosophers and social scientists, from the classic Greek philosophy up to the present date, for instance, sustain that morality is only a construct, and thus culturally relative and culturally determined. However, this brings many other discussions and imposes the challenge to determine what is the meaning of culture, which elements of culture are morally determinant, and finally, what are the boundaries of such relativity. Moral determinists claim that everything related to human behavior, including morality, is determined, once free will does not exist. More recently, modern thinkers argued that there is a strict science of morality. However, the scientific method alone, despite explaining several facts and evidence, cannot enlighten the entire content and full meaning of ethics. Morals’ understanding requires a broader perception, and an agreement among philosophers, which they have never achieved. All of these questions have many different configurations depending on each philosophical strand, and start complex analysis and endless debates, as long as many of them are reciprocally conflictive. The universe and the atmosphere involving this thesis are the dominions of all these conceptual conflicts, observed from an objective and evolutionary standpoint. Irrespective of this circumstance and its intrinsic importance, however, these questions are far distant from the methodological approach of an analytical discussion on objective morals, what is, indeed, the aim and scope of this work. We should briefly revisit these prominent traditional theories because this thesis shelters a comparative study, and its assumptions at least differ profoundly from all traditional theories. Therefore, it becomes necessary offering direct and specific elements of comparison to the reader, for the right criticism, dispensing interruptive researches. However, even revisiting the traditional theories, for this comparative and critical exposure purpose, they will be kept by the side of our main concerns, as “aliena materia.” Irrespective of the validity of any or all of the elements of this discussion, and their meaning as the philosophical universe of this thesis, the purpose of this work is demonstrating and justifying the existence and meaning of prehistoric moral archetypes arisen directly from the very first social needs and efforts for survival. These archetypes are the definition of the essential foundation of ethics, its aggregation to the collective unconscious and corresponding logic organization and transmission to evolutionary stages of the human genome and different relations space-time, irrespective of any contemporary experience of the individuals. The system defined by these archetypes composes an evolutionary human social model. Is this a metaethical position? Yes, it is. Moreover, as in any metaethical reasoning, we should look carefully for the best and coherent routes, as the Analytical Philosophy offers them. Thus, this work should reasonably demonstrate that morals are not a cultural product of the civilized men or modern societies and that despite being subject to several cultural relative aggregations and subtractions, its essential foundations are archetypal and have never structurally changed. This reasoning induces that morality is an original attribute of the “homo sapiens”; it is not a property and nor an accident: it integrates the human essence and belongs to the realm of the ontological human identity. The human phenomena is a continuing process, playing its role between random determination and free will, and we need to question how morality began and how did it come to us in the present. (shrink)

The chapter begins with a brief genealogy of psychoanalytic thinking in the broad area of religion. It first looks at Freud’s early modernist dismissal of religion, comparing this with Lacan’s valorisation of the ethical quests that both religion and psychoanalysis are said to share at the heart of their discourse. It then examines Lacan’s later pessimism in opposing the ‘triumph of religion’ in our times to an increasingly uncertain future for psychoanalysis. Moving from a conceptual discussion of these themes to (...) an applied analysis of contemporary challenges, the chapter highlights the contribution of psychoanalysis to an understanding of the aesthetics of violence informing the eschatology of Islamic terror within contemporary global jihadism. (shrink)

Although some Muslim scholars have been affected in their ethical system by ancient Greek philosophers, they have also added some Islamic teachings to it and established a combined ethical system (philosophical and religious). Raghib Isfahani, the author of Al-Dharīʿa, is one of these Muslim scholars whose ethical system in this book should be regarded as a combined Islamic Virtue Ethics. It is the combination of Quranic and Philosophical Virtue Ethics. The general framework of his theory is (...) philosophical adopted from Aristotle's and Plato's Virtue Ethics, however, the content of his theory is completely Islamic and Quranic. One of the significant innovations of Raghib in philosophical Virtue Ethics is adding religious virtues to moral virtues. He added theses four religious virtues: Hidāya (God's guidance), Rushd (God's supplement), Tasdīd (God's giving strong will to individuals) and Taʾyīd (God's assistance) to Plato's four ethical virtues (wisdom, temperance, courage and justice). He has called them Tufīqī virtues. According to Raghib, there is no way to obtain virtues but by God's guidance and supplement. By inspiration from Quran, he divided justice into absolute and conditional one. This innovation help us in reconciling Muʿtazilites and as Ashʿarites dispute in being moral goodness and badness rational or religious. (shrink)

One of the methods of teaching ethics, which has recently attracted the attention of researchers in the field of ethics and education and has a long history in Islamic teachings, is teaching through games, the main purpose of this article is to explain it in detail and examine the capacities and advantages of this method; With the difference that in this article, our focus is not on a specific type or case of games, but on the absolute (...) of collective games that do not necessarily have an ethical design. Therefore, in this article, by using inference and documental methods and using library resources, after reviewing the background of indirect methods of moral education, the game is defined and then, while enumerating a number of effective functions of the game in the moral improvement of the players, some advantages of this method over other training methods have been mentioned. Strengthening moral humility, balance between personal interest and collective interest, creating the capacity to win and finally the spirit of acceptance of failure are among the capacities of the game in moral education. (shrink)

This article compares the elucidation of the semantic structure and fixity of a number of key terms and concepts of the Qur'an by two contemporary scholars, Toshihiko Izutsu (1914-1993) and Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas (1931--), with that of al-Raghib al-Isfahani (d. ca 443/1060), the author of the celebrated Kitab al-mufradat fi gharib al-Qur'an. By 'key terms and concepts' are meant those words used by the Qur'an which play a decisive role in making up the basic conceptual structure of the Qur'anic (...) worldview. The article shows how the Qur'an profoundly changed and subsequently fixed the meaning of Arabic terms, particularly those key terms relating to religion and ethics, and it highlights the fact that the contemporary semantic analysis of the Qur'anic vocabulary has its precedent in the fifth/eleventh century. (shrink)

This article fosters the significance of Muhammad Iqbal’s pacifist ethics in the post-9/11 world. In the post-9/11, there emerged a new world order in which violence emerged in many guises, including terrorism and war, which has devastated global peace since the advent of the twenty-first century. Undeniably, the threat of a nuclear war has been constantly harassing the world. Under these atrocious conditions, the question is whether Iqbal’s pacifist ethics could help achieve and sustain global peace. Iqbal was (...) an empirically informed and trained philosopher in the early twentieth century in the Western and Islamic traditions. He witnessed the First World War and identified the factors of the Second World War, which had started just a year after his death. Iqbal identified that materialistic interests and colonial and imperial exploitations cause conflicts, eventually leading to violence and war. The recurrent problem is how we avoid the Third World War to sustain global peace. Iqbal’s ethics offer two ideas for achieving global peace: reverence for humanity and human fraternity. Reverence for humanity helps develop human potential, which promotes creative activities vital for positive peace. Human fraternity is the only dependable unity among human beings, despite their particular races, colours, cultures, or languages, for acquiring global peace. The article thus demonstrates the relevance and significance of Iqbal’s ethics in achieving and sustaining a peaceful co- existence in the world. (shrink)

This paper raises a moral issue for contemporary post-revolutionary Muslim intellectuals in Iran. According to traditional Islamic teachings, ethics enables people to transcend from this mundane world and offers guidance on ways to improve virtues. Most contemporary Iranian Muslim intellectuals have attempted to pave the way for accomplishing this goal. After clarifying the ways in which Iranian Muslim intellectuals have faith in virtue ethics as a best possible moral normative theory, we claim that virtue ethics fails (...) to support some of our modern problems in the realm of politics such as human rights and democracy. Also, we argue that virtue ethics is not a good theory for ordinary average people who have weakness of will. A preliminary conclusion of the paper will be that utilitarianism, generally, and principle of utility, specifically, is a better solution to the modern problems. This, we believe, has been overlooked from the eyes of post-revolutionary Muslim intellectuals. Yet, we suggest that among different versions of utilitarianism, rule-utilitarianism is more justified to do this job. (shrink)

It is sometimes argued that the non-therapeutic, non-consensual alteration of children‘s genitals should be discussed in two separate ethical discourses: one for girls (in which such alterations should be termed 'female genital mutilation' or FGM), and one for boys (in which such alterations should be termed 'male circumcision‘). In this article, I call into question the moral and empirical basis for such a distinction, and argue that all children - whether female, male, or indeed intersex - should be free from (...) having parts of their genitals removed unless there is a pressing medical indication. (shrink)

Due to the shortage comprehensive study about the ethics of belief in the Quran, This study will provide a detailed understanding based on the concepts of the Quran. Numerous books and articles have been written criticizing and defending the ethics of belief, these are three categories: critical for the basics, criticism of the method and reasoning process and criticism of the results. Some of these criticisms like fideism and irrational religious beliefs are not accepted. Maximum rationality, that Clifford (...) believes, is not feasible and practical because it contains all of the partial and simple beliefs. Also, rational argument is not provable for everyone. Clifford and the holy Quran collectively believe that blind acceptance of traditions and beliefs of fathers or ancestors are wrong. In the viewpoint of Islam (Shia), investigation of the religion principles has been emphasized. Another similar point of view between them is criticism of credulity. The advantage of this article is research on the ethics of belief in the Quran. (shrink)

New Muslim movements in South India, such as the Solidarity Youth movement, re-formulated Muslim priorities towards human rights, democracy, development, environmental activism, and minorities. I read Solidarity Youth Movement as proposing an ethic of Islam’s conception of justice, while also drawing inspiration from the influential Islamist Abul A’la Maududi. Focusing on jurisprudential debates, I look at the ways in which Maududi’s intervention informs the praxis of Solidarity Youth Movement. This paper seeks the possibility of examining their activism as an instance (...) of juristic deliberation, linked to the revival of maqāṣid al-sharī’ah in the latter part of the twentieth century. I suggest a reading of their maqāṣid approach, born out of praxis in a Muslim minority context, as potentially informing the development of fiqh al-aqalliyah. (shrink)

In the face of differences between the ethical religio-philosophies believed across the globe, how should a media ethicist theorize or make recommendations in the light of theory? One approach is relativist, taking each distinct moral worldview to be true only for its own people. A second approach is universalist, seeking to discover a handful of basic ethical principles that are already shared by all the world's peoples. After providing reasons to doubt both of these approaches to doing media ethics, (...) consideration is given to a third. This under-explored approach offers moral claims that would be reasonable for nearly all long-standing cultures to accept even though they currently do not, with the aim of creating new common ground among them. The chapter advances some rights and responsibilities, particularly as they concern the media's role in respect of self-government and self-expression, on which many of those with African, Confucian, Islamic, and Western foundational commitments could sensibly converge. (shrink)

This paper examines the trait of submissiveness within the framework of virtue ethics. Submissiveness is generally regarded as a vice, particularly when evaluated in reference to patriarchal systems. This paper argues that there is something valuable about the trait of submissiveness—when it functions as a virtue—that is lacking in secular contexts, and this lack detracts from the possibilities of a good life.

This article explains Muhammad Iqbal’s politics of spiritual democracy and examines its applications to Pakistan and the contemporary world. Almost an official doctrine has emerged that Pakistan's creation is the result of Iqbal’s philosophy. If it is the result of the intended or unintended consequences of Iqbal’s philosophy, the question is whether Pakistan has adopted the version of his democracy. Iqbal’s ‘spiritual democracy’ stands contrary to the European model of democracy. European democracy, according to Iqbal, is materialistic and acquires the (...) interests of the individual rather than the interests of humanity. Iqbal used the expression “spiritual democracy” only once in The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, but he did not explain it. Although Iqbal used the expressions: spiritual democracy, Muslim democracy, and Islamic democracy, interchangeably in his writings, he developed his idea of spiritual democracy by drawing on the key values of Islamic ethics, notably freedom, equality, and fraternity that posit the idea of an ideal society by discarding racial, cultural, ethnic, or linguistic disparities for acquiring the common good of humanity. This article explains four theses of Iqbal’s moral and political philosophy to make sense of his model of spiritual democracy: First, human beings have the potential to legislate laws to make this world livable. Second, all human beings are equal in the moral sense. Third, human beings are free and responsible agents. Fourth, human beings have fraternal relationships with each other. So, the article explains the salient features of Iqbal’s politics of spiritual democracy and determines its implications for Pakistan, and the contemporary world. (shrink)

As the title suggests, this collection addresses the very topical subject matter of environmental ethics by bringing together a host of unique voices. In the editor’s words, ‘[t]he essays collected here represent a joint effort in dealing with this problem [of global environmental conservation and protection]. All contributors to this volume agree that what we urgently need now is global awareness of the environmental crisis we are facing’ (9). While a thread of consensus weaves throughout, what is more striking (...) is the diverse and colorful tapestry of approaches these essays yield on a single theme. The first four essays articulate the ethical injunction to conserve and protect the natural environment in terms of various axiological and methodological commitments: normative, biocentric, aesthetic and empirical. In the final five essays, the thematic emphasis shifts ever so slightly. A plurality of perspectives on environmental conservation and protection emerges from different theological commitments, at times reflecting and at other times transcending individual—Christian/Western, Islamic/Middle Eastern, Buddhist/Eastern, and (in the final two essays) Daoist/Eastern—cultures. (shrink)