Report on Islamic Ethics

1. ISLAMIC ETHICS
Dipol, John Patrick T.
Dulatas, Ruth Angela H.
Duterte, Camille Anne E.
4lm3

2. Table of Contents:
I. INTRODUCTION
II. ISLAMIC ETHICS
I. Moral Commandments
II. Moral Absolutes
III. Extremism
IV. Between Functionalism and Morality
V. Islamic Law and Islamic Ethics (Kevin Reinheart)
III. ISLAMIC VIEWS
I. On Euthanasia
II. On Abortion
III. On Homosexuality
IV. On War

3. I. INTRODUCTION TO
ISLAM

4. Origin of Islam
• monotheistic religious tradition
• developed in the Middle East in the 7th century C.E.
• "surrender,” "submission"
• founded on the teachings of Prophet Muhammad
• an expression of surrender to the will of Allah, the creator
and sustainer of the world

5. The Quran
• the last revealed word of God
• primary source of every Muslim’s
faith and practice
• deals with all the subjects
concerning human beings:
wisdom, doctrine, worship,
transactions, law, etc.
• basic theme: relationship
between God and His creatures
• provides guidelines and detailed
teachings for a just society,
proper human conduct, and an
equitable economic system

6. Prophet Muhammad
• born in Makkah in 570
• His father died before his birth and
his mother died shortly thereafter
• raised by his uncle who was from
the respected tribe of Quraysh.
• was raised illiterate, unable to read
or write, and remained so till his
death

7. Prophet Muhammad
• As he grew up, he became known to be truthful, honest,
trustworthy, generous, and sincere. He was so trustworthy
that they called him the Trustworthy.
• At the age of 40, he received his first revelation from God
through the Angel Gabriel. The revelations continued for
23 years, and they are collectively known as the Quran.

8. Prophet Muhammad
• After he began to preach the practices of the Quran, he
and his followers suffered persecution from non-believers
• They were commanded by God to leave the city of
Makkah and go to Maddinah.
• After several years, Muhammad and his followers were
able to return to Makkah, where they forgave their
enemies.

9. Prophet Muhammad
• Before he died at the age of 63, the greater part of the
Arabian Peninsula had become Muslim, and within a
century of his death, Islam had spread to Spain in the
West and as far East as China
• Among the reasons for the rapid and peaceful spread of
Islam was the truth and clarity of its doctrine
• Islam calls for faith in only one God, Who is the only one
worthy of worship.

10. Five Pillars of Islam
• 1. The Profession of Faith (The Shahada)
• 2. Daily Prayers (Salat)
• 3. Alms-Giving (Zakat)
• 4. Fasting during Ramadan (Saum)
• 5. Hajj or Pilgrimage to Mecca

11. Shariah Law
• “Shariah” - a well-trodden path to water
• provides for the discipline and principles that govern the
behavior of a Muslim individual
• governs the interactions between communities and
establishes the criteria by which all social actions are
classified

12. Sunni and Shi’a
• agree on the fundamentals of Islam and share the same
Holy Book
• differences originate from the question of who would
succeed the Prophet Muhammad as leader
• After the Prophet’s death, Sunni, the larger group of
Muslims chose Abu Bakr, a close Companion of the
Prophet, as the Caliph
• Shi’a, the smaller group, believed that the Prophet's son-
in-law and cousin, Ali, should be Caliph

13. SOME BASIC ISLAMIC
BELIEFS

14. Belief in God
Muslims believe in one, unique, incomparable God, Who
has no son nor partner, and that none has the right to be
worshipped but Him alone. He is the true God, and every
other deity is false. He has the most magnificent names
and sublime perfect attributes. No one shares His divinity,
nor His attributes.

15. Belief in the Angels
Muslims believe in the existence of the angels and that
they are honored creatures.

16. Belief in God’s Revealed Books
Muslims believe that God revealed books to His
messengers as proof for mankind and as guidance for
them. Among these books is the Quran, which God
revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. God has guaranteed
the Quran’s protection from any corruption or distortion.

17. Belief in the Prophets and Messengers of God
Muslims believe in the prophets and messengers of God,
starting with Adam, including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael,
Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Jesus. But God’s final message
to man, a reconfirmation of the eternal message, was
revealed to the Prophet Muhammad .

18. Belief in the Day of Judgment
Muslims believe in the Day of Judgment (the Day of
Resurrection) when all people will be resurrected for God’s
judgment according to their beliefs and deeds.

19. Belief in Al-Qadar
Muslims believe in Al-Qadar, which is Divine
Predestination, but this belief in Divine Predestination does
not mean that human beings do not have freewill. Rather,
Muslims believe that God has given human beings freewill.

20. Belief in Divine Predestination includes
belief in four things
1. God knows everything.
2. God has recorded all that has happened and all that will
happen.
3. Whatever God wills to happen happens, and whatever
He wills not to happen does not happen.
4. God is the Creator of everything.

21. II. ISLAMIC ETHICS

22. Moral Commandments
1. Worship only God
2. Be kind, honorable and humble to one's parents
3. Be neither miserly nor wasteful in one's expenditure
4. Do not engage in 'mercy killings' for fear of starvation
5. Do not commit adultery

23. Moral Commandments
6. Do not kill unjustly
7. Care for orphaned children
8. Keep one's promises
9. Be honest and fair in one's interactions
10. Do not be arrogant in one's claims or beliefs

24. Moral Absolutes
• affirms ethical absolutes
• the Bible grounds morality in God’s essential character, the
Qur’an teaches that God cannot ultimately be known
• Certain actions are good not because they derive from
God’s character, but because God chooses to call them
good.

25. Moral Absolutes
• What emerges as Moral Absolute in Muslim juridical
culture is the product of an incremental and cumulative
sociological and theological interactive and digestive
process
• If doctrines were examined in a progressive historical and
sociological context, one would better explain the process
by which Muslim jurists negotiated religious and political
imperatives

26. Extremism
• “ghuluw” – extremism, extravagance, immoderation, and
“tatarraf” – radicalism.
• the letter of the saying must be obeyed, without taking
into consideration the circumstances and reasons for this
ruling
• Shariah laws were not merely for the sake of obedience
but they have human welfare as their goal

27. Extremism
• Sword Verse:
"But when the forbidden months are past,
then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, and
seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every
stratagem (of war);
but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practise
regular charity, then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-
forgiving, Most Merciful.“
(9:4-6)

28. Between Functionalism and Morality
• Teleological or deontological
• Utilitarian or consequentialist
• Moral and pragmatic considerations

29. Between Functionalism and Morality
• not entirely clear what methodology is used between
moral and pragmatic consideration, nor is it clear what
makes certain rules unwavering and absolute. followed by
the jurists in reaching the balance

30. Islamic Law as Islamic Ethics
(Kevin Reinheart)
• Islamic law is more basic to Islamic ethics
• three basic terms associated with law (and therefore
ethics): fiqh, shar’, shari’ah
• four roots of legal/ethical understanding (Jiqh), describes
the manner in which a judgment (hukm) : Qur’an, hadith,
ijma (consensus), qiyas (analogical reasoning)

31. Islamic Law as Islamic Ethics
(Kevin Reinheart)
• Fiqh
• understanding or discernment
• Objects: religion, sources of law and statutes, import of Revelation
in human life
• Quasi-inductive
• Roots:
1.Qur’an
• Collection of indicators or revelational determiners which point the way
to moral knowledge
2.Hadith
• Reports of Prophet’s significant, exemplary acts, non-acts, sayings
3.Ijma
• Agreement by an authoritative body about the assessment if an act

32. Islamic Law as Islamic Ethics
(Kevin Reinheart)
4. Qiyas
• Analogical reasoning
• Supposed, after the fiqh process, we have a hukm (judgment) which is
A, by considering P and Q, we have a problem with B. We consider
factors similar to P and Q, so that judgment about B be made in
analogy with A
• Ex:(1) All intoxicating drinks count as grape-wine (propositio minor);
(2) All grape wine is forbidden (propositio major);
(3) Therefore every intoxicating drink is forbidden (conclusio)

33. III. ISLAMIC VIEWS

34. • Mercy Killing
• the act or practice of ending the life of an individual
suffering from a terminal illness or an incurable condition,
through lethal injection or the suspension of extraordinary
medical treatment.
On Euthanasia:

35. ``This act is Islamically forbidden for it encompasses a
positive role on the part of the physician to end the life of
the patient and hasten his death via lethal injection,
electric shock, a sharp weapon or any other way. This is
an act of killing, and, killing is a major sin and thus
forbidden in Islam, the religion of pure mercy.”
- Yusuf al-Qaradawi
On Euthanasia:

36. • Islamic jurisprudence, based on a convincing
interpretation of the holy Quran, does not recognize a
person’s right to die voluntarily.
• The Islamic arguments against euthanasia can be
summarized in two main reasons
On Euthanasia:

37. 1. Life is sacred and euthanasia and suicide are not
included among the reasons allowed for killing in Islam.
2. Allah decides how long each of us will live and two
verses support this reason.
On Euthanasia:

38. Conclusion:
• It is He (Allah) who gives and takes away life. No human
can give or take it.
• Muslims are against euthanasia. They believe that all
human life is sacred because it is given by Allah.
• Allah chooses how long each person will live. Human
beings should not interfere in this.
On Euthanasia:

39. On Abortion:
• Islam values human life
• “On the Day of Judgment parents who killed their
children will be under trial for that crime, and their
children will be witnesses against them.” (Qur'an 81:8-
9).

40. • “Do not slay your children for fear of poverty. We
shall provide for them and for you.” (Qur'an 17:31).
• “Even in a case where one is already poor, the Qur'an
insists that Allah will provide sustenance for us and
for our children, and furthermore that Allah has made
human life sacred.” (Qur'an 6:151).
On Abortion:

41. On Homosexuality:
• “We also sent Lut : He said to his people : "Do ye
commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever)
committed before you? For ye practice your lusts on
men in preference to women: ye are indeed a people
transgressing beyond bounds.“” (Qur'an 7:80-81)
• "What! Of all creatures do ye come unto the males,
and leave the wives your Lord created for you? Nay,
but ye are forward folk." (Qur'an 26:165)

42. On Homosexuality:
• all humans are naturally heterosexual
• Scholars see it as sinful and perverted deviation from the
norm
• God has created everything in pairs, each endowed with
physical and psychological characteristics to complement
and complete one another
• All Islamic schools of thought and jurisprudence consider
gay acts to be unlawful. They differ in terms of penalty

43. On Homosexuality:
• (between males) the active partner is to be lashed a
hundred times if he is unmarried and killed if he is
married; whereas the passive partner is to be killed
regardless of his marital status.
• (between females) the sinners are to be lashed a hundred
times if they are unmarried and stoned to death if they are
married.
• The Sha'fi school of thought requires a minimum of 4
adult male witnesses before a person can be found guilty
of a homosexual act.
• Al-Fatiha estimates that 4,000 homosexuals have been
executed in Iran since their revolution in 1979.

44. On Homosexuality:
"There are many reasons why it is forbidden in Islam.
Homosexuality is dangerous for the health of the
individuals and for the society. It is a main cause of one of
the most harmful and fatal diseases. It is disgraceful for
both men and women. It degrades a person. Islam teaches
that men should be men and women should be women.
Homosexuality deprives a man of his manhood and a
woman of her womanhood. It is the most un-natural way of
life. Homosexuality leads to the destruction of family life.“
-Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi,
the Islamic Society of Northern America

45. ISLAMIC WAR

46. Jihad
• “struggle” or
“effort”
• Two types:
• Outer Jihad
• Inner Jihad

47. Other ways in which a Muslim engages in
the 'greater Jihad' could include:
• Learning the Qur'an by heart, or engage in other religious
study.
• Overcoming things such as anger, greed, hatred, pride, or
malice.
• Giving up smoking.
• Cleaning the floor of the mosque.
• Taking part in Muslim community activities.
• Working for social justice.
• Forgiving someone who has hurt them.

48. Justifications of Jihad
• that a man is convicted of deliberate homicide and thus
the claim of retaliation is established against him
• that someone resists the establishment of the true faith so
that fighting against him might become necessary
• that someone is guilty of speaking disorder in the Domain
of Islam and strives to overthrow the Islamic order of
government
Two Additional Just Causes:
• that a person commits illegitimate sexual intercourse even
after marriage
• that a Muslim is guilty of apostasy and rebellion against
the Muslim body-politic.

49. What Jihad is NOT
• Force people to convert to Islam
• Conquer other nations to colonize them
• Take territory for economic gain
• Settle disputes
• Demonstrate a leader's power

50. Moral ethics before going to war
• Refraining from committing treachery and betrayal.
“If you [have reason to] fear from a people betrayal, throw
[their treaty] back to them, [putting you] on equal terms.
Indeed, Allah does not like traitors.” 8:58

51. Moral ethics in the start of fighting
• Knowing the enemy; refraining from fighting those who did
not participate in fighting
Muslims are not allowed to fight and they included women,
children, old people, crippled, blind, handicapped, one whose
right hand is cut off, lunatic, monks in monasteries, wanderer
in mountains who is not mixed with people, people who are
secluded in a house or a church worshipping in a locked door
• Forbidding soldiers from destruction and demolishing
properties

52. Moral ethics in the start of fighting
• Forbidding mutilation of corpse and burning people alive
“Don’t exaggerate, or betray or mutilate.”
“Don’t torture people.”
• Protecting the right of civilians and those which Muslims
vowed to protect
• Hastening in accepting invitations for peace once the
enemy leans towards it

53. Moral ethics after the cessation of fighting
• Prevention of plundering or brutal and barbaric acts
“plundering is not less prohibited than eating the
meat of dead animals.”
• Fulfilling vows
• Mercy in treating war captives and forbidding any assaults on them

54. Principle of Necessity
• Two Principles:
1. Public welfare of the Muslim community
• Elements:
• Matter of vital necessity
• Case of clear-cut necessity
• Importance is universal
2. Reciprocity
• “Fight the polytheist all together as they fight you all together.”
(9:36-37)

55. “Necessity makes licit the illicit.”

57. • http://www.al-islam.org/marriage-and-morals-islam-
sayyid-muhammad-rizvi/chapter-three-islamic-sexual-
morality-2-its
• Kevin Reinheart, Islamic Law as Islamic Ethics