The Evolution of Early Islamic Ethics

Abstract

This article reviews Hellenic’ and Islamic ethics before the middle of
the eleventh century. It begins with the ethics of the pre-Islamic Arabs
and then describes the ethics of the Qur’an, hadith (Prophetic
Tradition), adab2, Sufism, theology and philosophy. We attempt to provide
here, as far as possible, a comprehensive, but not necessarily
exhaustive, overview of the unfoiding of Islamic ethics from the period
of Prophet Muhammad to Miskawayh (422/1030), the first Muslim
moral philosopher who made a conscious effort to Islamize and
integrate Hellenic elements within his ethical treatise and to make it
part of the Islamic intellectual legacy. Such an overview is intended
to provide an approximate picture of the evolution of Islamic ethical
trends, which have modified the old Arabian ideal of muru’ah
(manliness) into a new ideal of virtuous happiness in this world and in
the Hereafter. Hellenic ethics have inspired Muslim philosophers from
the time of Miskawayh to develop a more systematic exposition of
Islamic ethics, and we hope that this review of the early ethics of Islam
will provide a better appreciation of the early sources that have haped
the ethics of later Islamic moralists such as al-Raghib al-Isfahani
(d. 433/1050) and al-Ghazzaii (505/1111), who have had a lasting
impact on Muslim thinkers up to today.