In Islam, morality in the sense of "non practical guidelines" or "specific norms or codes of behavior" for good doing (as opposed to ethical theory) are primarily based on the Quran and the Hadith – the central religious texts of IslamClark (2011), p. 283 – and also mostly "commonly known moral virtues" whose major points "most religions largely agree on". They include kindness (to people and animals), charity,Leaman, The Qur'an, "Morality", (2006), p. 415 forgiveness, honesty, patience, justice, respecting parents and elders, keeping promises, and controlling one's anger, love of God and those God loves, love of his messenger (Muhammad) and of believers.
The "basic aim" of Islamic morality and ethics is "to achieve" Raza-e Ilahi (the Pleasure of God)" or to make God's pleasure "the objective of man’s life";Moral System of Islam: The Standard of Morality. (2006). IslamReligion.com Retrieved 19 Aug 2016. and the importance of moral behavior in this is reflected in the five Quranic verses calling on Muslims to 'enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong', and hadith that quote Muhammad as saying 'I was sent to perfect the ethical conduct'.
Terminology
Terms associated with right-doing in Islam include: Akhlaq () is the practice of virtue, morality and manners in Islamic theology and falsafah (philosophy). The science of ethics (`Ilm al-Akhlaq) teaches that through practice and conscious effort man can surpass their natural dispositions and natural state (Fitrah) to become more ethical and well mannered. In the social sciences Akhlaq is a kind of normative ethical systems known as "virtue ethics", which is based on "virtues, or moral character", rather than "conceptions of the right (as in Kantian ethics) or the good (as in utilitarianism)". Al-Adāb (), has been defined as "decency, morals". Iḥsān (), is an Arabic term meaning "beautification", "perfection" or "excellence", but in Islam it is also defined (by Malcolm Clark) as ethics/morality "literally virtue, including right living," and (according to Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood) is a matter of taking one's inner faith and showing it in both deed and action.
Difference between Akhlaq and morality in Islam According to Juan E. Campo, editor of Encyclopedia of Islam, Ethics means philosophical reflection upon moral conduct, while morality pertains to specific norms or codes of behavior. Questions of ethics, therefore, involve such subjects as human nature and the capacity to do good, the nature of good and evil, motivations for moral action, the underlying principles governing moral and immoral acts, deciding who is obliged to adhere to the moral code and who is exempted from it, and the implications of either adhering to the moral code or violating it. Morality encompasses the values and rules that govern human conduct … Campo, Encyclopedia of Islam, "Ethics and morality" 2009: p.214 Similarly, Malcolm Clark says, "... some Western ethicists make a distinction between ethics (theory) and morals (practical guidelines) ..." Clark, Islam For Dummies, 2011: p.246
Scriptural sources According to Nikhat Sattar, "Islamic ethics differ from the Western concept" in being based on divine revelation.
Quran The Quran, which Muslims believe is God's revelation to humanity, declares "righteousness"Clark (2011), p. 283 to include (besides specific religious beliefs such as believing in Allah, the Day of Judgement, Prophets, Angels, etc.), the spending of "your substance, ... for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the freeing of captives; ... practice regular charity; to fulfill the contracts which you made; and to be firm and patient in pain and adversity and throughout all periods of panic" (Q.2:177); to be "active in deeds of charity; who abstain from sex except with their wives, or whom their right hands possess. ... [to] faithfully observe their trusts and covenants ...." (Q.23.3-11)
According to a reading of the Surah 17, "Al-Israa" ("The Night Journey"), verses , by academic S. A. Nigosian, a set of moral stipulations that can be reasonably categorised as ten in number, and written to resemble the Ten Commandments in the Bible. Nigosian alleges this "represents the fullest statement of the code of behavior every Muslim must follow", although Islamic scholars have not set apart these verses from any other moral stipulations in the Qur'an, nor are they regarded as a substitute, replacement, or abrogation of some other set of commandments as found in the previous revelations. "Worship only God," (); "Be kind, honourable and humble to one's parents," (); "Be neither miserly nor wasteful," (); "Do not engage in 'mercy killings' for fear of starvation," God will provide. (); "Do not commit adultery," (); "Do not kill unjustly," (); "Care for orphaned children,"(); "Keep one's promises:" (); "Be honest and fair in one's interactions," (); "Do not be arrogant in one's claims or beliefs," ().
Many Muslim theologians see the "Golden Rule" implicit in some verses of the Qur'an and in the Hadith. The Golden Rule was agreed 1993 also by Muslims as a central unconditional ethical norm in the Declaration Toward a Global Ethic."Towards a Global Ethic (An Initial Declaration)", Parliament of the World's Religions, Chicago, 1993.
Hadith Hadith, "the other major source of Islamic moral wisdom," is based on reports of the teachings, deeds and sayings, of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It is the basis of the Sunnah, which Muslims consider "to be a body of norms that should be followed in worship and in everyday life", and whose collections have "chapters about the virtues that he embodied. There included respect for parents and elders, maintaining strong family ties, being good to neighbors, caring for children, avoiding abuse of servants and slaves ... being well-mannered, offering hospitality to guests, visiting sick, showing mercy to animals, being patient and sincere, greeting people correctly, asking permission before entering a house, dressing modestly, and avoiding lying and rude speech."Campo, Encyclopedia of Islam, "Ethics and morality" 2009: p.216 One hadith reports Muhammad saying, "'I was sent to perfect the ethical conduct'." (Muwatta Malik) They state that the one with the best or most complete faith “is the one who is the best in conduct, and the most kind to his family" (Jami al-Tirmidhi).
Muhammad reportedly said, "The best among you are those who have the best manners and character" ().
In the well known "Hadith of jibril", the angel Jibril (Gabriel) questions Muhammad about "what is faith?" "what is Islam?" and "what is Ihsan?" (The last being defined variously as perfection or virtue, ethics, "including right living".)Clark, (2011) chapter 4, p.78 Muhammad then describes Ihsan as "To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that He is looking at you."
Other literature Besides the Quran and hadith, there are a number of other sources, (not all universally followed in Islam): the works of Islamic scholars and philosophers; Arabic virtues that predate Islam, (such as "honor, courage, loyalty, hospitality, self-control", etc.); the moral examples set by important Islamic personalities (such as the four rightly guided caliphs for Sunni Muslims); works on Adab (i.e. etiquette, manners); "philosophical reflection" by the school of Islam known as the Mu`tazilites and others; "works of Greek ethicists", (which were translated into Arabic); the 99 names of God, which among other qualities/attributes include names based on virtues -- "the gentle, the grateful, the just, the giver, the equitable, the loving", etc.; ethical values from Sufism "including humility and poverty".
General principles
While the "Hadith of jibril" (see above), includes virtue (called Ihsan) along with faith (Iman) and religious practice (called Islam) — the three are sometimes called the "three dimensions" or "three levels" of Islam — there is not a concise set of points for virtue/morality (no Ten Commandments),Clark (2011), Chapter 11 as there is for religious practice (the Five Pillars of ritual declaration of faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and pilgrimage), or faith (the Six Articles of the oneness of God, angels, prophets, the Torah, Bible and Quran, predestination, and Judgement Day).Clark (2010), Chapter 4 In addition, sections analyzing morality/ethics in works of Islamic philosophy are usually quite "slim" according to Oliver Leaman.
However, Quran is clear about the importance of Muslims taking action to "enjoin what is good and forbid what is wrong". Quranic verses 3:104, 3:110, 9:71, 9:112, 5:105, 31:17 all contain some variation of that phrase.Cook, Forbidding Wrong, 2003, p.3 A famous hadith quotes the Islamic prophet Muhammad as saying: "Whoever amongst you sees an evil, he must change it with his hand. If he is not able to do so, then with his tongue. And if he is not able to do so, then with his heart, and that is the weakest form of faith". (Mutazilite and Shia Imamis quote different traditions than this Sunni Hadith, but all agree on the Quran and on "the existence of the duty" to command and forbid.)Cook, Forbidding Wrong, 2003, p.12
In regards to the basis of Islamic morality/ethics, etc. (in fact the basis of the meaning of life), at least a couple of sources have proclaimed it to be "God’s pleasure" or the "worship [of] God".
Islamic secondary sources and later Islamic scholarly works have made detailed discussions and laid down detailed instructions on moral issues. However, in popular works on Islam some general principles of morality have been offered. Often, teachings calling for leniency, universality and courtesy are emphasized. The Religion of Islam website states that whatever is good and beneficial for mankind is morally good, and vice versa. According to Islamic sharia, a Muslim is expected to display good mannersLeaman, The Qur'an, (2006), p.252 as bad manners earn vices. Muhammad is reported as saying "It is not possible that you indulge in rebuking and reviling and remain righteous at the same time".Al-Ghazali, Muslim's Character, chptr. 14.
Some principles/conditions of Islamic ethics/morality offered by writers on the subject are Muslims should call on everyone to do what is good and should forbid what is evil (Malcolm Clark);Clark, Islam For Dummies, 2011: p.247 Moral actions are defined as those that result in justice (Malcolm Clark), following God's law (Nikhat Sattar); Both faith and good works are needed to go to heaven (jannah) (Malcolm Clark), Faith is incomplete without a sense of morality (Al-Ghazali),Al-Ghazali, Muslim's Character, chptr. 2. Salat prayers offered that do not prevent wrongdoings are worthless;Maariful Quran. Surah 29, verse 45. Insincere good deeds are not enough. Intentions must be good (Malcolm Clark), (Nikhat Sattar); Good character, strong moral values (wisdom, modesty, concern for justice, absence of greed, lust, etc.) must be cultivated (Malcolm Clark), (Al-Ghazali); Extremes should be avoided, balance sought after (Malcolm Clark).Clark, Islam For Dummies, 2011: p.248
The pursuit of (most) moral qualities is not a religious obligation (fard) in Islam, but supererogatory or voluntary (its category of Ahkam is known as mustaḥabb/mandūb); and seen as the key to attaining the nearness of God.Leaman, The Qur'an, (2006), p. 139-143
Emphasis on good character
Character—the assemblage of qualities that distinguish one individual from another—may be good or bad, innate or acquired. The canonical texts of Islam promote the idea of good character. The Quran describes Muhammad as 'an excellent example' (Q33:21, this verse is one of the bases of the religious importance of hadith and sunnah), and also as having 'exalted quality of character' (Q68:4). Thus his high quality character is an example to be imitated and cultivated by Muslims.