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ETHICAL PRACTICES
– THE ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE

Farooq Akbar - SP-09-110

Tabassum Daud - F-08-123 2
 Sequence

 Introduction
 Islamic Ethics
 Applied Dimensions

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 What are Ethics…..?
 Moral obligations
 Principles
 Good Practices
 Code
 Acceptable behavior
 Society rules
 Norms
 Rules governing the conduct

“The noblest of you in the sight of Allah

is the best in conduct” (49:13). 4
 Islamic Ethics
 Good Character (Akhlaq)
 Command the good & forbid the
evil (amr bil maaruuf wa nahi
anill munkar)
 Kindness
 Modesty
 Justice
 Liberty
 Generosity
 Truthfulness
 Charity

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 Good character

 Purity and Sincerity of Intention

‘Inna mal aamaalo binniyaat’

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 Striving against ones desires

 Best form of jihad:

“He who strives against his

own self and desires, for
Allaah”

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 Gentleness
 From Abu Hurairah (radiyallaahu 'anhu)
who said that Allaah's Messenger
(salallaahu 'alaihi wa'sallam) said: Indeed
Allaah is gentle and loves gentleness,
and gives due to gentleness that which
He does not give to harshness.
Reported by Ibn Majah (no. 3688) and Ibn
Hibaan (no. 549)

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 Responsibility

“So each one of you is a

guardian and is responsible for
what he is entrusted with”

Extract : Al-Bukharee (Eng. Trans. 9/189/no.252) and

Muslim (Eng. Trans. 3/1017/no.4496)

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Command the good and forbid the Evil

"If one of you sees something

wrong, let him change it with his
hand; if he cannot, then with his
tongue; if he cannot, then with his
heart and this is the weakest faith."
Some versions add: "there is no part
of faith behind that, not even so much
as a mustard seed.“
[Hadith] 10
 Kindness
 Courtesy
 Gentle manners
 Empathy
 Regardless of Caste, Color, Creed, pers
relations

Eg - Fatah-e-Makkah

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 Generosity
 The Prophet (s.a.w) said:

"O' son of Adam, if you spend your surplus wealth

it is good for you, and if you withhold it, it is bad for you.
There is no blame on you if you hold on to what you need.
Begin (your spending in charity) with those for whose
support you are responsible. The upper hand is better
than the lower (i.e. it is better to give than to receive)."
( HADITH - MUSLIM )

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Modesty (Saadgi, mianaravi)
 Dressing
 Food
 Behavior / dealings
 Attitude
 Living
 Worship

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 Justice
 Right - to get his due
 Duty - to give what is due
 Responsibility with accountability
 Justice with generosity (merci)

 An hour of justice by a ruler is better than sixty days

of hard work” (Hadith)

 All people are equal like the teeth of a comb

(Hadith)

 “You are not considered faithful in the sight of Allah

unless you like for your brother, what you like for
yourself” (Hadith) 14
 Liberty
 THE RIGHT TO:
 Practice Religion
 Place of worship
 Express own ideas
 Vote
 Equal treatment
 Fair trial
 Protection of honor and reputation
 Minorities to practice their religion
 Social security

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 Truthfulness
 Truthfulness in Words, Actions and Attitude
 Basis of all ethics and virtues
 All sins can be evaded because of one virtue (i.e Truth)

“O Ye who believes; fear God and be with those who

are true in word and deed” 9:119
 One cant be a liar and a Muslim at the same time .
 Islam dispels hypocrisy, in contradiction it is a
hallmark of modern diplomacy and propaganda
Hippocrates shall be in the lowest abyss of Hell
(4:145)

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 Charity (Zakaat) and Generosity
 Goodwill towards humanity
 Social welfare, Sharing and Sacrifice
 Distribution / circulation of wealth
 Discourages Capitalization
 Applied issues / advantages
 Less sins in society
 Less Frustration
 Better Law and order
 Less Feeling of deprivation
 Charity by self assessment
 Confidentiality is encouraged – to maintain dignity
and self respect of recipient. 17
 THE ISLAMIC WELFARE
STATE
Yahya ibn Sa'd,
Special envoy of Khalifa Umar ibn Abdul
Aziz (717-720)
 "The Khalifa sent me to collect the Zakah
from the Muslims of Africa. When I
collected it, I inquired if there were any
poor on whom the money could be spent,
but I could not find one poor person."
-
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Applied Dimensions

by Farooq Akbar

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Some Applied Dimensions
 Marriage / family
 Body and physical care
 Animal rights
 Environment
 Community
 Jihad / war
 Dressing up, food and other values
 Professional or Business Ethics

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 Marriage and Family
 Hadith : The one who got married, washed
away half of his sins.
 "The believers who show the most perfect
Faith are those who have the best behavior,
and the best of you are those who are the
best to their wives". [At-Tirmidhi].
 Respect and care for women
 Right of divorce, pocket money, Maher
 Permission to re-marry, equality, limit on marriages
 Rights of Inheritance
 Duties Toward Parents …….A Hadith,
Goodness towards parents is the greatest obligation 21
 Body and Physical Care
 Ultimately
the body belongs to Allah
and cannot be harmed or disgraced

 Some Unethical Practices……

 Suicide
 Physical torture to others
 Alcohol
 Fatal Recreational Drugs / narcotics
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Unethical Practices in dealing with Animals

"Fear Allah in your treatment of animals."

(Hadith - Abu Dawud, Kitab Jihad)
 Blood sports (bull fighting)
 Ill treatment (Confining birds in cages)
 Painful Slaughter (sharp knife)
 Killing animals for luxury / cosmetics
(Shark Fins, Snake Leather, Ivory)
 Experimenting other than for medical
research
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 Environment
 Cleanliness (safayee nisf eeman hai)

 [Hadith] “He who plants a tree or sows seeds,

and then a bird, or a person or an animal eats
from it, but is regarded as a charitable gift for
him."  

 Planting trees (sadqa – e- jaariaahh)

 Agriculture
 Circle of life – food for insects / birds, stray animals

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 Ethics towards Community
“The Believers Are Like Brothers To One Another;  So,
Promote Peace And Reconciliation Among Them, And Fear
Allah, That You May Receive Mercy” (49:10)
 Maintain Peace and Resolve Conflicts
 Cleanliness , environment
 Help, sharing, Charity
 Manners
 No Disturbance to others
 Teaching, skill transfer
 Health, communicable diseases
 Recognizes rights of individuals but emphasizes on
human obligations
 More privileged have greater responsibility as compared
to less fortunate 25
 Jihad and the Conduct of War
 The "greater jihad” (soul, tongue, pen)
 The "smaller jihad" (arms / conventional war)
 “Slay [enemies] wherever you find them!" (4: 89), …followed
by "if they let you be, and do not make war on you, and offer
you peace, Allah does not allow you to harm them" (2:90; 4:
90; 5: 2; 8: 61; 22: 39)
 Allah does not allow harming innocent civilian, and directs
the protection of women, children and the elderly during war
(4:96; 9: 91; 48: 16,17)
 You shall feed and protect prisoners of war, and you shall
not expect a reward (4: 25,36; 5:24)
 (Hadith) 'Do not attack a temple,or a church. Do not bring a
tree or a plant down. Do not harm a horse or a camel’

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 Other Values………….
 Modesty in dressing (Burka)
 Muharramat - pork, blood, improperly butchered
animals, baby animals
 Gambling
 Charging interest and profiteering
 Alcohol drinking

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 Business Ethics
Allah Is Pure And Loves Purity And Goodness [Hadith]
 Honesty
 Measure accurately in sales
 No profiteering
 Hording
 False claims
 Transparency
 Welfare and Justice
 Prompt payment of salary / wages
 Fair play & Facilities for official use only
 Equality / discrimination
 Respect & dignity
 Standards for self first
 Safety, welfare of staff
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 Empowerment, encouragement
 Loyalty & Responsibility
 Environment (protect, improve)
 Speedy delivery of service
 Meeting performance expectations
 Larger company interest is supreme

 Sood
 Interest/ mark up on finance
 Futures (projects far from sight)

 Conduct
 Teamwork, inter-dept relations
 Prompt replies, communication
 Truthfulness
 Admit mistakes
 Tact & Confidentiality
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 Lobbying
Ethical Evaluation of Conduct / Action

 Compliance with rules, regulations

 Synchronization with company values
 Gives a guilt-free feeling
 What if others do it this way
 Point of view – Most Ethical Person
 Will it be ok in case of own family

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SUGGESTIONS AND Q & A

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