Kiung Siang Ping 06B1127

Principles of Islamic Business Ethics (MS 1111) Essay

1. “The pursuit of understanding Islamic perspective in ethics should

commence with proper comprehension of tasawwur Islami (the Islamic
worldview or weltanschauung)”. Explain.

The modern world today sees many businesses and organizations in operation, be
it small local shops or multi-national businesses with global network. These institutions
are important for the financial growth of a society. It would be convenient to assume that
all these institutions are being operated with the base of ethical values in mind. However,
reports have showed that most business managers are concerned about the ethical conduct
of their employees.

Ethics can be defined as the set of moral principles that distinguish between what
is right and what is wrong. It gives prescriptive advice on what is encouraged to do and
which should be refrained. Business ethics, simply put, are prescribed moral guidelines
for businesses and organizations. Islam has its own distinctive value-based ethical system
for business dealings. It prescribes certain specific guidelines for governing business
ethics. It enumerates the general ethical rules of business conduct, identifies ethically
desirable forms of business, and specifies the undesirable modes of transactions.

Islam places a high emphasis on the ethical values in all aspects of human life. The
Islamic perspective on ethics focuses on the ethical norms and moral codes taken from
the verses of Qur’an as well as the holy teachings from the Prophet. Yet, it would be wise
to pursue an understanding of the Islamic view on ethics with a proper comprehension of
tasawwur Islami ( Islamic Worldview) because only with a proper understanding of the
meaning within the Hadith will a Muslim be able to understand and in addition, be able to
execute the Islamic way of ethics.
 Tasawwur can be described as the big picture of Islam which guides followers in a
comprehensive and all-encompassing manner in this life and hereafter. The six articles of
faith serve as the foundation for the picture and the pillars of Islam represents the
practicing tenets of Islam. The hadith narrated by Iman Muslim on the authority of the
Commander of the Faithful, Abu Hafs ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA) goes:

One day while we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (SAW) there appeared
before us a man whose clothes were exceedingly white and whose hair were
exceedingly black; no sign of journeying were to be seen on him and none of us knew
him. He walked up and sat down by the Prophet (SAW). Resting his knees against his
and placing the palms of his hands on his thighs, he said: O Muhammad tell me about
Islam. The Messenger of Alaah (SAW) said: Islam is to testify that there is no god but
Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to perform prayers, to pay the zakat,
to fast in Ramadan and to make the pilgrimage to the House (Ka’bah) if you are able to
do so. He replied: You have answered correctly. We were amazed at him as he was
asking the question and he has affirmed the answer. He said: then tell me about iman
(article of faith). He (the Prophet) replied: It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His
books, His messengers, the last day (of judgement) and to believe in divine destiny, the
good and the evil thereof. He said: You have answered correctly. He said: Tell me about
ihsan. The Prophet replied: It is to worship Allah as though you are seeing Him and
while you see Him not, yet truly He sees you….

In essence, the six articles of faith mentioned within the hadith urges followers to
believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the last day (of judgement) and
to believe in divine destiny, the good and the evil thereof. God has established man as his
vicegerent on Earth. Man was granted the power to know, to think, to understand and to
distinguish between good and evil. In short, man has to express gratefulness and faith
towards Allah for He granted ‘resources’ to man.
 Faith is placed on Allah by every Muslim for He is the Almighty. The Prophet has
taught his followers to always be mindful of Allah and it is also this mindfulness that has
forged discipline and obedience within the followers. The obedience exhibited by human
to Allah will lead to goodness in human. As narrated in the hadith below:

On the authority of Abu abbas ‘abdullah the son of ‘abbas (RA) who said;
“One day I was behind the Prophet (SAW) and he said to me : Young man, I shall teach
some words [of advice] : Be mindful of Allah and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of
Allah and you will find him in front of you. If you ask, ask Allah; if you seek help, seek
help from Allah. Know that if the (entire) ummah (nation) were to gather together to
benefit you in anything, it would not benefit you except to the extent that Allah has
destined for you. (Similarly) if they did the same to bring harm to you, such would not
happen except what Allah has destined for you. The pens have been lifted and the pages
have dried (where there us no more alteration).”
[Reported by al-Tirmidhi and he said it was good and sound]

His angels are to be kept in mind everyday as Islam has emphasized again and
again that good deeds must be done in everyway and to everyone in order to ensure a
reward in this life and the life after. It is clear that the guidance from the Almighty covers
all aspect in a human’s life. Allah’s messengers appeared in different lands and among
different nations in a time span which lasts for thousands of years. They all received
guidance from the same source and followed the same moral principles originally
established for man. They are comprehensively setting themselves as examples to the rest
of the human race.

The last day of judgement can be interpreted as the day when man is judged on his
actions and doings in the previous life. It is to be believed that every good deed or
wrongdoing is seen by Allah, and remembered. And when the day of judgement came,
there will be rewards for the good deeds and punishments for the wrongdoings. Freedom
will be given to man when he is alive on Earth to choose which path he wishes to take.
 Man are told to believe in divine destiny, the good and the evil thereof. This is
linked to the hadith reported by al-Tirmidhi above. Allah has destined the amount of good
and the amount of bad to be bestowed on a human. Nothing can be changed even if there
are outside forces forcing change. One must believe in Allah that there is a fixed amount
of good and bad to befall on a human. There is no need to complain and moan of
unfairness. These six articles of faith can regulate a human in the most intimate ways. A
person who holds devote trust in these articles will consequently have goodness in him.

The pillars of Islam have four, namely Rabbani, Akhlaqi, Insani and Wasati.
Rabbani can be simplified to mean divine guidance. It is believed that Allah has provided
bountiful resources to man and these resources are to be utilised in the proper way. Allah
will proved guidance which will ultimately achieve the goals set by the Almighty
Himself. It will be up to the humans to seek all that is lawful (halal) and good/pure
(tayyib). It is stated that humans has the duty to keep the limits set by the Shari’ah. This
means that they have to know and understand the laws to abide by them. The boundaries
between halal, haram and shubhah must be acknowledged and handled with meticulously.
Humans must be grateful for all that is granted by Allah the Almighty, as and when he is
aware of the source of sustenance.

Akhlaqi is the Islamic parameters set on every aspect of human life. It is an

important component for it transcends economics, politics, social, education, health,
business and so forth of the human life. It is stated that the most important mission of
Prophet Muhammad is to ‘strive for perfect and flawless morality, manner, behaviour and
ethics.” The Islamic viewpoint encourages acceptance to all that is good and rejection to
all that is bad, based on the teachings and not on personal choice and preference.

Insani is Islam’s recognition to the central role of human as servant and

vicegerent. While human needs are more often unlimited, human resources are often
limited. This will mean that utilization of resources must be monitored carefully to avoid
overuse or low productivity. Humans are regarded as the best creation, they have the
highest potentials but unfortunately, they are also a potential for evil and disaster.
Guidelines are needed from Allah (hidayah) in the form of religious teachings in order for
them to maintain discipline.

Wasati is also known as equilibrium. In the Islamic context, everything needs to

have a balance. For instance, life and the afterlife, material and spiritual, self and society
or enterprise and state control. It is often difficult for one to maintain a perfect balance;
hence there is a need to see that the balance does not tip dangerously to one side. Take
self and society for example. If ‘Self’ is exhibited too much, then selfishness, isolation or
disintegration might occur. If there is an imbalance leaning towards ‘Society’, then the
sense of ‘Self’ might be lost, creating false consciousness.

As a result of a proper understanding of tasawwur islami, ihsan can be attained.

Ihsan literally means benevolence, good heart and sympathy. However, in this case, ihsan
would take on the meaning of a person achieving the highest level of consciousness of
being monitored by Allah at all times. This is by virtue of the hadith: “ … it is that you
serve Allah as though you could see Him, for though you cannot see Him yet he sees
you…” Achieving ihsan is ultimately central in the pursuit of understanding and
achieving ethics and discipline. When a person bears a constant consciousness that
everything he does is being monitored by Allah, he will subconsciously choose to do
which is right by the teachings of Allah, and forbid that which is unlawful. It is with this
consciousness that he will be able to attain rewards from Allah in life and the afterlife as
a result of good deeds.

Conclusively, it is crucial for a person to develop a correct and proper

understanding of tasawwur before attempting to understand the Islamic perspectives on
ethics because if there is no proper understanding established first within the everyday
life of the human then there will not be a proper execution of actions. A human must be
able to first organise his personal life and actions accordingly before attempting to
proceed to another level. It should be noted that the Islamic perspective on ethics has
direct links to everything in tasawwur hence without clarity on it, there will be an
imperfect understanding of ethics.
References:

 Rafik Issa Beekun (1997) Islamic Business Ethics, Human Development Series
No.2, The International Institute of Islamic Thought, USA: International
Graphics.
 Altaf Gauhar (1976) Translations from the Quran, Pakistan: Shalimar Publication
(Pvt) Ltd.
 [An Islamic Approach to Business Ethics]-
http://www.renaissance.com.pk/Mayviewpoint2y5.htm