ProfessionalandEthicalIssues

Lecture4 EthicsinIslam

Source : Shihab A.Hameed, Khalid Al-Khateeb, Zubayda Mutaz,. Software Engineer Islamic Ethics, International Conference on Computer and Communication Engineering (ICCCE 2010)

EthicsandIslam
ThegeneralunderstandingofethicsinIslamcanbe expressedasa
setofmoralprinciplesandguidancethatrecognizeswhat isrightbehaviorfromwhatiswrongorwhatoneshould doornot.

AllahsaysinQuran
VerilythisQuranDothguidetothatwhichismostright (orstable) [Quran17:9].

Quranconsistsofmorethan6000verses;with hundredsofversesfocusingonethicalaspects.

EthicsandIslam
Islamisbasicallybasedontwosources:The HolyQuranandSunnah ofProphet Muhammad(SAAW).
Sunnah ismainlydefinedbyMuslimscholarsas allwhatprophetMuhammad(SAAW)says,acts, oragreedon,whichismainlydocumentedinsix authenticatedresources
(Sahih albukhari,Sahih Muslim,Sunan AbiDaud,Jamea alTermethi,Sunan IbnMaja,andSunan alNisaae)

ExamplesfromQuranand Sunnah/Hadith
AllahusesthetermAkhlaq orkhuluq intheHoly Qurantorefertotheethics. TheimportanceofethicsinIslamisshownwhen AllahprescribesProphetMuhammad(SAAW)that heiswithgreatethics ProphetofAllahhadbeenraisedtoagreat spiritualdignity [Quran68:4]. ProphetMohammedsaid Iwassenttocomplementthebestofethics.

ExamplesfromQuranand Sunnah/Hadith
Hazrat Aisha,thewifeofProphet,said prophetethicwasalQuran [21]. AllahorderstheMuslimstofollowandobeyProphet Mohammedasamodel YouhaveindeedintheMessengerofAllahan excellentexample [Quran33:21]. Allahdescribespeopleofthebestnationas: Youarethebestofpeoples,evolvedformankind, enjoiningwhatisright(Maruf),forbiddingwhatis wrong(Munkar),andbelievinginAllah [Quran 3:110]

SampleofGoodEthicalTermsinQuran andSunnah

SampleofBadEthicalTermsinQuranand Sunnah

Assignment:12GoodEthicalTerms
Ihsan (beneficence) Ikhlas (sincerity) Amanah,Nazaha,Istiqama (honesty) Wafaa Ahd,Ketman Ser(KeeppromiseandSecrecy) Morality,Husn alkhulug walmuamalah (goodethicsand dealing) 6. Hikman &hulum (wisdom) 7. Sabr,Musabara,Kathm ghaidh (patience) 8. Adl,Insaf)(fairness) 9. Sidq (Truth) 10. Rahma,Raafa,Rifq (Mercyful) 11. Takrem Insan (Mankindpriority) 12. Tafakr,Tadabr,Taaml (thinking) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Assignment
Eachgroupisassigned1goodand1badethical term.YoushouldgatherversesofQuranand Ahadith (fiveeachatleast) forthattermorits synonyms.Youwillhavetothenwriteareport describingtheterm,relatedverses/ahadiths Youcanconcludethereportbywritinginyour wordstheimportanceofthetermanditsethical implicationsforusassociety. Youhaveoneweeks tocompletethisassignment.

EthicsofDisagreement
EthicsofdisagreementinIslam???

Human beings => thinking beings => with intellect => differing views
This diversity surely leads to Differences in perspective Differences in understanding Agreements Disagreement.

EthicsofDisagreement
DifferingVsOpposing
Appropriate to advocate and defend one's views with passion, but illogical and unethical to treat those who have differing views as enemies. Worse still is to hold those who disagree with us in contempt or to suspect them of disbelief thereby intensifying our hostility towards them.

In many Muslim communities there is often the tendency to

misconstrue differing perspectives as opposing forces divide the community into enemy camps over secondary issues rather than uniting them on greater common issues. turn minor points of jurisprudence into major ideological conflicts. ... sadly, all this in the name of "Islam".

EthicsofDisagreement
ANobleTradition Most early Mujtahideen (experts in Islamic Law) differed and disagreed yet maintained a high regard for one another.
The differing opinions of great scholars and those well-versed help to illuminate the multidimensions of an issue Varying interpretations bring about a degree of flexibility

EthicsofDisagreement
Agreetodisagreeethically Tolerancefordifferingviews Respectotherpeopleandtheirviews