Ethics in religion

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Ethics is a branch of philosophy dealing with right and wrong in human behaviour. Most religions have a moral component, and religious approaches to the problem of ethics historically dominated ethics over secular approaches. From the point of view of theistic religions, to the extent that ethics stems from revealed truth from divine sources, ethics is studied as a branch of theology. Many believe that the Golden Rule, which teaches people to "treat others as you want to be treated", is a common denominator in many major moral codes and religions.

1 Ethics in the Bible
2 Jewish ethics
- 2.1 Ethics in the Jewish Apocrypha
- 2.2 Modern Jewish Ethics
3 Christian ethics
4 Hindu ethics
5 Buddhist ethics
6 Chinese traditional ethics
7 Islamic ethics
8 Shinto ethics
9 Animist ethics
10 See also
11 Sources

[edit] Ethics in the Bible

Main article: Ethics in the Bible

Western philosophical works on ethics were written in a culture whose literary and religious ideas were based in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the New Testament. As such, there is a connection between the ethics of the Bible and the ethics of the great western philosophers. However, this is not a direct connection; significant differences of opinion in how to interpret and apply passages in the books of the Bible lead to different understandings of ethics. Not a few have suggested that modern understandings of the Bible are fundamentally mistaken; or that biblical morality is itself wrong.

[edit] Jewish ethics

Main article: Jewish ethics

Jewish ethics stands at the intersection of Judaism and the Western philosophical tradition of ethics. Like other types of religious ethics, the diverse literature of Jewish ethics primarily aims to answer a broad range of moral questions and, hence, may be classified as a normative ethics. For two millennia, Jewish thought has also grappled with the dynamic interplay between law and morality. The rich tradition of rabbinic religious law (known as Halakha) addresses numerous problems often associated with ethics, including its semi-permeable relation with duties that are usually not punished under law.

Jewish ethics may be said to originate with the Hebrew Bible, its broad legal injunctions, wisdom narratives and prophetic teachings. Most subsequent Jewish ethical claims may be traced back to the texts, themes and teachings of the written Torah.

[edit] Ethics in the Jewish Apocrypha

Ethics in systematic form, and apart from religious belief, is as little found in apocryphal or Judæo-Hellenistic literature as in the Bible. However, Greek philosophy greatly influenced Alexandrian writers such as the authors of IV Maccabees, the Book of Wisdom, and Philo.

Much progress in theoretical ethics came as Jews came into closer contact with the Hellenic world. Before that period the Wisdom literature shows a tendency to dwell solely on the moral obligations and problems of life as appealing to man as an individual, leaving out of consideration the ceremonial and other laws which concern only the Jewish nation. From this point of view Ben Sira's collection of sayings and monitions was written, translated into Greek, and circulated as a practical guide. The book contains popular ethics in proverbial form as the result of everyday life experience, without higher philosophical or religious principles and ideals. More developed ethical works emanated from Hasidean circles in the Maccabean time, such as are contained in Tobit, especially in ch. iv.; here the first ethical will or testament is found, giving a summary of moral teachings, with the Golden Rule, "Do that to no man which thou hatest!" as the leading maxim. There are even more elaborate ethical teachings in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, in which each of the twelve sons of Jacob, in his last words to his children and children's children, reviews his life and gives them moral lessons, either warning them against a certain vice he had been guilty of, so that they may avoid divine punishment, or recommending them to cultivate a certain virtue he had practised during life, so that they may win God's favor. The chief virtues recommended are: love for one's fellow man; industry, especially in agricultural pursuits; simplicity; sobriety; benevolence toward the poor; compassion even for the brute (Issachar, 5; Reuben, 1; Zebulun, 5-8; Dan, 5; Gad, 6; Benjamin, 3), and avoidance of all passion, pride, and hatred. Similar ethical farewell monitions are attributed to Enoch in the Ethiopic Enoch (xciv. et seq.) and the Slavonic Enoch (lviii. et seq.), and to the three patriarchs.

The Hellenistic propaganda literature made the propagation of Jewish ethics taken from the Bible its main object for the sake of winning the pagan world to pure monotheism. It was owing to this endeavor that certain ethical principles were laid down as guiding maxims for the Gentiles; first of all the three capital sins, idolatry, murder, and incest, were prohibited (see Sibyllines, iii. 38, 761; iv. 30 et seq.). In later Jewish rabbinic literature these "Noachide Laws" were gradually developed into six, seven, and ten, or thirty laws of ethics binding upon every human being.

[edit] Modern Jewish Ethics

The Mussar Movement is a Jewish ethical movement which developed in the 19th century, and which still exists today.

[edit] Christian ethics

Christian ethics developed while early Christians were subjects of the Roman Empire. Christians eventually took over the Empire itself. Saint Augustine adapted Plato, and later, after the Islamic transmission of his works, Aquinas worked Aristotelian philosophy into a Christian framework.

Christian ethics in general has tended to stress grace, mercy, and forgiveness; it stresses human weakness as opposed to divine goodness. It also codified the Seven Deadly Sins. For more see Christian philosophy and the Seven virtues.

[edit] Early Church

Paul teaches (Rom., ii, 24 ff) that God has written his moral law in the hearts of all men, even of those outside the influence of Christian revelation; this law manifests itself in the conscience of every man and is the norm according to which the whole human race will be judged on the day of reckoning. In consequence of their perverse inclinations, this law had become, to a great extent, obscured and distorted among the pagans; Christian understand their mission as, to restore it to its pristine integrity.

The New Testament generally asserts that all morality flows from the Great Commandment to love God with all one's heart, mind, strength, and soul, and to love one's neighbor as oneself. In reaffirming this Great Commandment, Jesus Christ was reaffirming the teaching of the Torah.

Ecclesiastical writers, as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine of Hippo all wrote on ethics from a distinctly Christian point of view. Interestingly, they made use of philosophical and ethical principles laid down by their Greek (pagan) philosopher forbears.

The Church fathers had little occasion to treat moral questions from a purely philosophical standpoint and independently of Christian Revelation; but in the explanation of Catholic doctrine their discussions naturally led to philosophical investigations.

This is particularly true of Augustine, who proceeded to thoroughly develop along philosophical lines and to establish firmly most of the truths of Christian morality. The eternal law (lex aeterna), the original type and source of all temporal laws, the natural law, conscience, the ultimate end of man, the cardinal virtues, sin, marriage, etc. were treated by him in the clearest and most penetrating manner. Hardly a single portion of ethics does he present to us but is enriched with his keen philosophical commentaries. Late ecclesiastical writers followed in his footsteps.

[edit] Scholasticism

A sharper line of separation between philosophy and theology, and in particular between ethics and moral theology, is first met with in the works of the great Schoolmen of the Middle Ages, especially of Albertus Magnus (1193–1280), Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), Bonaventure(1221-1274), and Duns Scotus (1274–1308). Philosophy and, by means of it, theology reaped abundant fruit from the works of Aristotle, which had until then been a sealed treasure to Western civilization, and had first been elucidated by the detailed and profound commentaries of Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas and pressed into the service of Christian philosophy.

The same is particularly true as regards ethics. Thomas, in his commentaries on the political and ethical writings of Aristotle, in his Summa contra Gentiles and his Quaestiones disputatae, treated with his wonted clearness and penetration nearly the whole range of ethics in a purely philosophical manner, so that even to the present day his words are an inexhaustible source from which ethics draws its supply. On the foundations laid by him the Catholic philosophers and theologians of succeeding ages have continued to build. In his Summa Theologiae, Thomas locates ethics within the context of theology. The question of beatiudo, perfect happiness in the possession of God, is posited as the goal of human life. Thomas also argues that the human being by reflection on human nature's inclinations discovers a law, that is the natural law, which is "man's participation in the divine law."[1]

In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, thanks especially to the influence of the so-called Nominalists, a period of stagnation and decline set in, but the sixteenth century is marked by a revival. Ethical questions, also, though largely treated in connection with theology, are again made the subject of careful investigation. Examples include the theologians Francisco de Vitoria, Dominicus Soto, Luis de Molina, Francisco Suarez, Leonardus Lessius, and Juan de Lugo. Among topics they discussed was the ethics of action in case of doubt, leading to the doctrine of probabilism. Since the sixteenth century special chairs of ethics (moral philosophy) have been erected in many Catholic universities. The larger, purely philosophical works on ethics, however do not appear until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as an example of which we may instance the production of Ign. Schwarz, "Instituitiones juris universalis naturae et gentium" (1743).

[edit] Protestant Ethics

Far different from Catholic ethical methods were those adopted for the most part by Protestants. With the rejection of the Church's teaching authority, each individual became on principle his own supreme teacher and arbiter in matters appertaining to faith and morals. The Reformers held fast to the Bible as the infallible source of revelation, but as to what belongs or does not belong to it, whether, and how far, it is inspired, and what is its meaning — all this was left to the final decision of the individual.

Philipp Melanchthon, in his "Elementa philosophiae moralis", still clung to the Aristotelean philosophy; so, too, did Hugo Grotius, in his work, "De jure belli et pacis". But Cumberland and his follower, Samuel Pufendorf, moreover, assumed, with Descartes, that the ultimate ground for every distinction between good and evil lay in the free determination of God's will, a view which renders the philosophical treatment of ethics fundamentally impossible.

In the 20th century, some Christian philosophers, notably Dietrich Bonhoeffer questioned the value of ethical reasoning in moral philosophy. In this school of thought, ethics, with its focus on distinguishing right from wrong, tends to produce behavior that is simply not wrong, whereas the Christian life should instead be marked by the highest form of right. Rather than ethical reasoning, they stress the importance of meditation on and relationship with God.

[edit] Hindu ethics

Hindu ethics are related to reincarnation, which is a way of expressing the need for reciprocity, as one may end up in someone else's shoes in their next incarnation. Intention is seen as very important, and thus selfless action for the benefit of others without thought for oneself is an important rule in Hinduism, known as the doctrine of karma yoga. This aspect of service is combined with an understanding that someone else's unfortunate situation, while of their own doing, is one's own situation since the soul within is the soul shared by all. The greeting namaskar is founded on the principle that one salutes the spark of the divine in the other. Kindness and hospitality are key Hindu values.

More emphasis is placed on empathy than in other traditions, and women are sometimes upheld not only as great moral examples but also as great gurus. Beyond that, the Mother is a Divine Figure, the Devi, and the aspect of the creative female energy plays a major role in the Hindu ethos. Vande Mataram, the Indian national song (not anthem) is based on the Divine mother as embodied by 'Mother India' paralleled to 'Ma Durga'. An emphasis on domestic life and the joys of the household and village may make Hindu ethics a bit more conservative than others on matters of sex and family.

Of all religions, Hinduism is among the most compatible with the view of approaching truth through various forms of art: its temples are often garishly decorated, and the idea of a guru who is both entrancing entertainer and spiritual guide, or who simply practices some unique devotion (such as holding up his arm right for his whole life, or rolling on the ground for years on a pilgrimage), is simply accepted as a legitimate choice in life.

Ethical traditions in Hinduism have been influenced by caste norms. In the mid-20th century Mohandas Gandhi, a Vaishnava, undertook to reform these and emphasize traditions shared in all the Indian faiths:

vegetarianism and an ideology of harms reduction leading ultimately to nonviolence
active creation of truth through courage and his 'satyagraha'
rejection of cowardice and concern with pain or indeed bodily harm

After his profound achievement of forcing the British Empire from India, these views spread widely and influence much modern thinking on ethics today, especially in the peace movement, ecology movement, and those devoted to social activism.

Many New Age traditions also derive from his thought and other Hindu traditions such as acceptance of reincarnation, which is a way of expressing the need for reciprocity, as one may end up in someone else's shoes "in a future life". A cardinal virtue in Hinduism is kindness.

[edit] Buddhist ethics

Bhikkhu Bodhi wrote: The need to internalize ethical virtue as the foundation for the Buddhist path translates itself into a set of precepts established as guidelines to good conduct. The most basic set of precepts found in the Buddha's teaching is the pañcasila, the five precepts, consisting of the following five training rules:

(1) the training rule of abstaining from taking life; (2) the training rule of abstaining from taking what is not given; (3) the training rule of abstaining from sexual misconduct; (4) the training rule of abstaining from false speech; and (5) the training rule of abstaining from fermented and distilled intoxicants which are the basics for heedlessness.

These five precepts are the minimal ethical code binding on the Buddhist laity. They are administered regularly by the monks to the lay disciples at almost every service and ceremony. They are also undertaken afresh each day by earnest lay Buddhists as part of their daily recitation.

It has to be pointed out that the five precepts, or even the longer codes of precepts promulgated by the Buddha, do not exhaust the full range of Buddhist ethics. The precepts are only the most rudimentary code of moral training, but the Buddha also proposes other ethical codes inculcating definite positive virtues. The Mangala Sutta, for example, commends reverence, humility, contentment, gratitude, patience, generosity, etc. Other discourses prescribe numerous family, social, and political duties establishing the well being of society. And behind all these duties lie the four attitudes called the "immeasurables" or brahma-viharas — loving-kindness (metta), compassion, sympathetic joy (mudita), and equanimity.

Corresponding to the negative side of abstaining from the destruction of life, there is the positive side of developing compassion and sympathy for all beings. Similarly, abstinence from stealing is paired with honesty and contentment, abstinence from sexual misconduct is paired with marital fidelity in the case of lay people and celibacy in the case of monks, abstinence from falsehood is paired with speaking the truth, and abstinence from intoxicants is paired with heedfulness.

In order to develop the positive virtues we have to begin by abstaining from the negative qualities opposed to them. The growth of the positive virtues will only be stunted or deformed as long as the defilements are allowed to reign unchecked. We cannot cultivate compassion while at the same time indulging in killing, or cultivate honesty while stealing and cheating. At the start we have to abandon the unwholesome through the aspect of avoidance. Only when we have secured a foundation in avoiding the unwholesome can we expect to succeed in cultivating the factors of positive performance. Source

[edit] Chinese traditional ethics

Chinese traditional systems of thought are both varied and often syncretic, so it is difficult to point to a single, central structure to Chinese ethics. In addition, there is always the question of whether beliefs form behaviour, or behavior forms beliefs — in other words, whether an ethical system is something that people try to follow, or just a description of what they do. However, this being said, it is nonetheless true that there are several basic threads in Chinese traditional ethics.

Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism emphasize the maintenance and propriety of relationships as the most important consideration in ethics. To be ethical is to do what one's relationships require. Notably, though, what you owe to another person is inversely proportional to their distance from you. In other words, you owe your parents everything, but you are not in any way obligated towards strangers. This can be seen as a recognition of the fact that it is impossible to love the entire world equally and simultaneously. This is called relational ethics, or situational ethics. The Confucian system differs very strongly from Kantian ethics in that there are rarely laws or principles which can be said to be true absolutely or universally.

This is not to say that there has never been any consideration given to universalist ethics. In fact, in Zhou dynasty China, the Confucians' main opponents, the followers of Mozi argued for universal love, jian'ai. The Confucian view eventually held sway, however, and continues to dominate many aspects of Chinese thought. Many have argued, for example, that Mao Zedong was more Confucian than Communist. Confucianism, especially of the type argued for by Mencius (Mengzi), argued that the ideal ruler is the one who (as Confucius put it) "acts like the North Star, staying in place while the other stars orbit around it". In other words, the ideal ruler does not go out and force the people to become good, but instead leads by example. The ideal ruler fosters harmony rather than laws.

Confucius stresses honesty above all. His concepts of li 理, yi 義, and ren 仁 can be seen as deeper expressions of honesty (cheng 誠, commonly translated as "sincerity") and fidelity (xiao 孝) to the ones to whom one owes one's existence (parents) and survival (one's neighbours, colleagues, inferiors in rank). He codifed traditional practice and actually changed the meaning of the prior concepts that those words had meant. His model of the Confucian family and Confucian ruler dominated Chinese life into the early 20th century. This had ossified by then into an Imperial hierarchy of rigid property rights, hard to distinguish from any other dictatorship. Traditional ethics had been perverted by legalism.

There are many other major threads in Chinese ethics. Buddhism, and specifically Mahayana Buddhism, brought a cohesive metaphysic to Chinese thought and a strong emphasis on universalism. Neo-Confucianism was largely a reaction to Buddhism's dominance in the Tang dynasty, and an attempt at developing a native Confucian metaphysical/analytical system.

Laozi and other Daoist authors argued for an even greater passivity on the part of rulers than did the Confucians. For Laozi, the ideal ruler is one who does virtually nothing that can be directly identified as ruling. Clearly, both Daoism and Confucianism presume that human nature is basically good. The main branch of Confucianism, however, argues that human nature must be nurtured through ritual (li 理), culture (wen 文) and other things, while the Daoists argued that the trappings of society were to be gotten rid of.

The Legalists, such as Hanfeizi, argued that people are not innately good. Laws and punishments are therefore necessary to keep the people good. Actual governing in China has almost always been a mixture of Confucianism and Legalism.

When the last dynasty of China, the Qing (1644-1911) fell, Chinese Nationalist reformer and Christian convert Sun Yat-Sen introduced modern notions of ethics and democracy. He remains the only twentieth century figure respected by Nationalist, Communist and modernizers alike.

Mao Zedong combined Classical Legalism and other native political infuences with the Marxist-Leninist emphasis on the role of economics in determining ethical relations. His Quotations of Chairman Mao were mandatory reading, and perhaps a billion copies are in existence. He emphasized the relation between power and the "mass line" of choices made by ordinary people in real life. Maoism is not very popular today, but his absolute rule of China made it impossible to avoid this strict bottom-up, agrarian, concept of ethics. In practice, of course, power flowed from the top. Ethical discourses are still viewed with suspicion in most of China today, as the behaviour of power seems rarely to be actually motivated by ethical norms.

Still, honesty and fidelity remain central to Chinese ethical thought. Where Mao is remembered unsympathetically in China, it is less for his brutality than for not doing as he said.

[edit] Islamic ethics

Islam is monoetheistic and emphasizes submission to Allah. It sees all of natural law, including that revealed by science, as an aspect of that law. The islamic ethical system is based upon the teachings of the Quran and Hadith.

[edit] Standard of Judgment of 'Good' and 'Bad'

According to Islam, man has not come into existence on his own and neither is he a product of natural forces that had somehow, by pure chance, combined to produce life. On the contrary, man is a creation of an All Wise, and a Most Merciful Creator. God gave man life and with that also gave man the freedom and the authority to do good or to indulge into evil. This authority and this freedom was given to man for the basic purpose of testing him, as to how he uses his authority and freedom. As a part of this test, God also gave man the basic knowledge of 'good' and 'bad' at the time of his inception. Thus, according to Islam, every individual has been bestowed a clear standard of judgment of 'good' and 'evil' by God. The Qur'an, in Surah Al-Shams (91: 7 - 10) has presented this knowledge of the human soul as an evidence of the fact that soon, man shall indeed face separate consequences of his 'good' and 'bad' deeds. The Qur'an says:

[2]

The human soul - the way He molded it and inspired it with knowledge of its evil and its good - bears witness to the fact that indeed he, who cleanses it [of all impiety] shall be successful while he, who corrupts it shall face doom.

Thus, according to the Ethical philosophy of Islam, the knowledge of good and evil or in other words the standard of distinguishing good from evil is a part of the sapiential sense[1] of man. This sapiential sense includes, besides many other concepts, moral concepts like justice, truthfulness, honesty, helping the weak, freedom in one's personal matters etc. It is quite possible though, that there is a difference in the application of these concepts in practical life situations, yet the concepts themselves have never been questioned and are, and have mostly remained, universally accepted. It is for this reason that ethical values like justice, honesty, trustworthiness and truthfulness etc. have never even been questioned philosophically, even if there is a considerable practical deviation from these values or a huge difference in the practical application of these values.

It is precisely for the stated reason that man, on the Day of Judgment, shall have no excuse for any voluntary and conscious deviation from these values in his life, even if he has remained ignorant of the teachings of any prophet. Every person, irrespective of whether he is a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Hindu, an atheist or an agnostic, knows that defrauding others is wrong. He defrauds others not due to any misconception about the 'goodness' or the 'badness' of defrauding others, but to gain some immediate and quick material gains from such an act. The same is the case of all other basic moral values. The excuse of ignorance, in the case of these basic moral and ethical values, shall therefore not save an individual from punishment on the Day of Judgment, as, in reality, there has never been ignorance in this sphere.

[edit] The Nature and Scope of the Islamic Shari`ah vis a vis Ethical Issues

The Qur'an has indeed reminded - not introduced - man of a number of basic moral and ethical values. The Qur'an has, for instance, mentioned wrongfully depriving others of their rights and bribing authorities for this purpose to be a great sin, as a direct corollary of the basic values of justice, honesty and refraining from defrauding others. However, this reference of the Qur'an is not to introduce man to the fact that such an act is sinful, but to remind him that he himself is fully aware of it being a sinful act. In Al-Baqarah 2: 188, the Qur'an says:

[3]

Do not devour one another's wealth through unjust means, nor bribe the authorities in order that you may wrongfully usurp the possession of others - while you are well aware [of its being a sinful act].

Most of the references to ethical principles or their applications to practical life situations, in the Qur'an are of the same nature. They are not mentioned as a first-time introduction for man, but as an obvious reality of which man is already aware.

However, there is another category of directives in the Qur'an, which relates primarily to the application of universal ethical principles. For instance, the Qur'an has mentioned the etiquette of interaction between unrelated men and women in a mutually interactive environment. This directive of the Qur'an is based primarily on the value of Hayaa[2]. However, in this particular case, the Qur'an has not stopped merely at reminding man of keeping the value of Hayaa in mind while interacting with the opposite sex, but has also prescribed a code that should be observed while such an interaction takes place. The same is the case, for instance, in the prohibition of Riba. The prohibition of Riba, according to the Qur'an is based on the universal principle of justice. Nevertheless, the Qur'an has not stopped merely at reminding man of keeping the value of justice in perspective, while economically transacting with others, but has gone further to prohibit a transaction that, in its view, was based on such an injustice.

These and other similar cases are examples where the Qur'an has not merely mentioned an ethical principle but has actually applied an ethical principle to a practical life situation and has prescribed or prohibited a certain act. However, a close analysis of all such situations shows that the Qur'an has done this only in cases where:

In the absence of such divine prescription or prohibition, there could have been a significant difference of opinion and, subsequently, a significant deviation in human application of these ethical values to practical life situations. People could have gone to extremes in such applications; and

Deviations in such applications affect the moral and spiritual cleansing of individuals, which, in turn, affects the success or failure in the hereafter.

The Qur'an has only made applications of universal ethical principles in cases where both the conditions mentioned above are satisfied.

Thus, to summarize, the ethical teachings of Islam may be classified into two categories:

Where the Qur'an has reminded man of the basic ethical values with the implication that if man consciously deviates from such values, he shall then have no excuse to defend himself from facing the consequences of such deviation.

Where the Qur'an has applied the basic ethical principles on practical life situations and has prescribed or prohibited a particular code of conduct.

An exhaustive explanation and enumeration of issues in Islamic ethics should consist of both these categories.

[edit] The Answer to the Question 'Why Be Ethical?' in the Islamic Perspective

In one of the preceding sections, we had seen that the various schools of moral philosophers have given their own answers to the question that why should a person choose to behave in a manner that is considered to be in keeping with the ethical norms and standards of his society. In this section, we shall see what is the answer to this question from the Islamic perspective.

Before we consider the answer to the said question in the Islamic perspective, it seems necessary to clarify that in a number of situations, the question of deviating from an ethical principle does not even arise. Let us take 'honesty', as a case in point. There are a number of situations in one's life where there is absolutely no reason to deviate from honesty. For instance, if someone, under normal circumstances, asks me my name, I am not likely to deviate from the principle of 'honesty'. I would, in most of the cases, tell him my name very 'honestly'. It is only under circumstances where a high - material, physical or emotional - price is likely to be paid or a great benefit likely to be sacrificed that one needs a good reason to adhere to 'honesty'. The same would hold true for all ethical principles. It is only under circumstances where adherence to ethical or moral values is likely to be followed by a loss that this adherence needs a reason.

The reason for such adherence, from the Islamic perspective is simply that it is a direct requirement of the articles of faith of Islam to adhere to such ethical or moral principles, irrespective of the volume of cost that has to be borne or that of the benefit that may be lost. The declaration of Imaan (faith) not followed by good deeds, in the eyes of Islam, is either hypocrisy or ignorance[3].

A person who truly believes in the Islamic articles of faith (Tawheed[4], Risalah[5] and Aakhirah[6]) cannot be unmindful of the practical requirements of these articles of faith. Ignorance of the practical requirements of these articles of faith, translates into ignorance of the articles of faith themselves. Furthermore, being unmindful of fulfilling these requirements practically refutes the very existence of true Imaan in one's heart.

The Difference Between Islamic and Other Ethical Philosophies

It should be obvious from the preceding discussion that the Islamic Ethical philosophy differs from the other philosophies on two basic accounts:

The origin or the motivating factor in adherence to ethical principles under the Islamic ethical philosophy is primarily the articles of faith of Islam. In other words, ethical behavior, under the Islamic ethical philosophy is a requisite of the articles of Islamic faith. An attitude of deviation from ethical principles is a practical negation of ascription to the very elements of Islamic faith.

The practical application of ethical principles of the Shari`ah, with the basic universal ethical principles themselves, are a part of the basic code of ethical conduct in Islam. Thus, refraining from Riba is as much a part of the Islamic code of ethics as dealing with others in a just manner. [4]

[1] Sapiential sense refers to the necessary sense that every normal human being possesses. Derived from homo sapiens, the term was first coined by Roy Abraham Varghese in his book "Great Thinkers on Great Questions".

[2] Hayaa is one of the basic values that Islam wants to inculcate among its adherents. Due to the lack of an accurate synonymous in the English language, I have used the Arabic word, which, over here, implies 'the suppression of sexual interaction within certain prescribed limits and the avoidance of instigating sexual attraction or being instigated by a sexual attraction beyond those limits".

[3] That is the person is either lying about his imaan or is ignorant of what imaan really means.

[4] Belief in one God.

[5] Prophethood.

[6] Day of Judgment.