Professional Ethics

Dr. Yasir Ahmad

Department of Engineering Management
College of Electrical and Mechanical
Engineering (CE&ME)

Lecture 11
 636

“Although Yarmouk is little known today, it is one of the most decisive

battles in human history...... Had Heraclius' forces prevailed, the modern
world would be so changed as to be unrecognizable”
Al-Ghazali holds the fact that human character
can be changed and improved certainty implies
that man possesses some degree of free will.
 The progress that man changes from the state of an-
Nafs al-Ammarah to the state of an-Nafs al-
Mutma’inna through ordeals and pains clearly
indicate that he is free in his will.

This freedom is not absolute, yet it is of paramount

importance, for it is sufficient to effect the necessary
change in human character.
There are some individuals whose character is yet
unformed, who are lacking in the ability to distinguish
between good and evil, between right and wrong. They
are ignorant, lacking in reflection and self-
consciousness, possessing no moral character, no
will, and no belief. They have yet not wholly become
slaves to the pleasures of the senses.

The character of such men can be improved easily.

They need only a guide, a determination and a motive to
help them follow the right path.
Some individuals in spite of being addicted to the
indulgence of the lower appetites are, nevertheless, alive to
their evil effects. They can discriminate between
good and evil. Their consciousness if fully developed and
they realize that the rational self is the only true self. Yet,
they submit to the demands of their lower
selves because they are not practiced in
subjecting their actions to the power of their
will. They have knowledge. They can be reformed, firstly
by abandoning their habits, and secondly, by cultivating
virtuous habits.

Such men are amenable to good influence, if

they have the will to improve their character.
Some individuals are not only addicted to evil
ways but also believe that those ways are good and to
follow them is necessary. With regard to such people it
can be said that the real nature of things has
become obscured in their minds; consequently,
the gratification of the lower self appears to them as the
sole end of human life. They have been brought up in
ignorance. Their animal self has grown at the expense of
their rational self. It has completely suppressed it and
rendered it ineffective.

To reform them is almost impossible.

There are some who, in having been brought up in the way
mentioned in 3rd Class, are proud of doing evil
and of leading others astray. They take pride in
doing so.
The improvement of such men is the hardest of all.
Only a conversion through Divine power can bring about a
radical change in their case.
It is about the third and the fourth types of men that the
Holy Quran says (2:7) “God has set a seal upon their hearts
and upon their hearing, and over their eyes is a covering,
and there is a great chastisement for them”
ٌ ‫ع َذ‬
‫اب‬ َ ‫َاوةٌ َولَ ُه ْم‬ َ ‫علَى أ َ ْب‬
َ ‫ص ِار ِه ْم ِغش‬ َ ‫س ْم ِع ِه ْم َو‬ َ ‫علَى قُلُو ِب ِه ْم َو‬
َ ‫علَى‬ ‫َخت َ َم ه‬
َ ُ‫َّللا‬
‫ع َِظي ٌم‬
"Those before you were destroyed because when a noble
among them stole, they let him be, but when the weak
among them stole, they carried out the legal punishment
on them. By Allah, if Fatima the daughter of Muhammad
were to steal, Muhammad would cut off her hand."
Ethical Theories and Islamic
Perspective
 Islamic
Theory Main Idea Perspective
Relativism Ethics are Rejected
theory relative to a because may be
particular a particular
environment. society culture is
Different against Islamic
societies may principles.
have different
ethical codes.
There is no
universal truth in
ethical principles
that can be held
by all peoples at
all times.
 Islamic
Theory Main Idea Perspective
Divine “Ethically Accepted, but
Command right” means this theory
theory “commanded was rejected
by God”, and in the Western
“ethically literature.
wrong or
unethically”
means
“forbidden by
God”. Religion
is the only
standard to
identify ethics.
 Islamic
Theory Main Idea Perspective
Utilitarian “Ethically Rejected
theory right” means because the
the action only basis for
results in a this theory is
greater the greatest
number of consequences
utilities than for greatest
could be number.
achieved by
any other
actions.
 Islamic
Theory Main Idea Perspective
Egoism theory A person Rejected
must always because it is
perform in against the
his/her own Islamic
interest. An principles of
action is justice,
considered to helping
be ethically others, and
right only altruism.
when it
promotes a
person’s self-
interests.
 Islamic
Theory Main Idea Perspective
Deontology It underlines the Rejected because
theory duty as a basis of the theory is not
moral category clear about the
which can be source of these
seen as a right or “universal ethics”
wrong judgment. since in Islam the
It does not look only source for
at the ethical system is
consequences of the Islamic
action. And, there principles.
are universal
ethical actions
that everyone
must accept.
 Islamic
Theory Main Idea Perspective
Virtue ethics theory This theory focuses Rejected because the
on what makes a only basis for this
good individual or theory is virtue ethics.
person rather than
what makes a good
action. There are
specific virtue traits
that every person
must have such as
civility,
cooperativeness,
courage, fairness,
friendliness,
generosity, honesty,
justice, loyalty, self-
confidence, self-
control, modesty,
fairness, and
tolerance.