• THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

ETHICS, FIQH AND LAW

 Cont…

 In morality, by contrast, bad intentions may sometimes

amount to a moral wrong. On the other hand, good
intentions are in themselves good values.
 Morality is wider than law. What is moral is not necessarily
enforced through law. But there are some things which are
governed by law (driving on the left or right side of road)
which are presumably matters of indifference from a moral
point of view.

2
 Morality / Ethics and Law

• Both law and morality are the basis of actions.

• Law provides a series of public statements (a legal code),
or system of do’s and don’ts – to guide humans in their
behavior and to prevent them from doing harm to others
and violating their rights.
• Morality provides a similar system though might not be in
written form.
• Morality provides reasons behind any significant laws
governing human beings and their institutions.
• Morality precedes law.
• Law is taken to be concerned with acts, rather than
attitudes.
• The mere fact of having ethical intentions is not really the
sort of thing about which you can have a law.

3
 Conformity between Morality and Law

Islamic Law:
- Law should be a reflection of Islamic morals.
- Laws, rules and regulations are not supposed
to be against Islamic moral principles
Secular Law:
The relationship between law and morality is
not entirely reciprocal. What is moral is not
necessarily legal and vice versa.
Many practices have been inscribed in the law,
that are clearly immoral (e.g., homosexuality,
same sex marriage, mercy killing, abortion,
usury, changing munkar …).
4
 Cont.

Sanctions: If you break the law, you may be fined or

imprisoned or executed. Various bureaucracies exist
precisely to hand out legal sanctions. If you do something
that is morally wrong (but not also illegal), however, no
similar bureaucracy is going to come after you.
Instead, according to the Revealed Religion you suffer a
punishment on the Day of Judgment.
In non-religious worldviews you may suffer the sense of guilt
in your own conscience, or your reputation may be
jeopardized, or you may be blamed by people.
5
 Morality and Etiquette

• For the most part, “etiquette” pertains to norms that are of

little ethical significance.
• It concerns form and style rather than the essence of social
existence.
• Etiquette determines what is polite behavior rather than
what is right behavior in a deeper sense. It represents
society’s or religion’s decision about how we are to dress,
greet one another, eat, celebrate festivals, express gratitude
and appreciation… etc.
6
 Fiqh (‫)فقه‬
• It is derived from the verb ‫( فقه‬faqiha), which means to
understand, to comprehend. Later it is developed into a
science of derived practical legal rules and matters of ibadah,
as opposed to matters of ‘aqidah and akhlaq. Some of the
legal rules are derived from the method of ijtihad (‫)اجتهاد‬.
Ijtahad is based on the practice of the Sahabah of Mua’dh ibn
Jabal, when the Prophet asked him that if he could not find
any rulings in the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet
(SAW), he will exercise his judgment and act accordingly.
Relationship between Akhlaq and Fiqh.
• Akhlaq and fiqh are indivisible in Islam. They are both
part and parcel the whole corpus of the Islamic
Shari’ah. They are both derived from the Qur’an and
the Sunnah of the Prophet SAW. Both enhance and
strengthening the other. First, we must have Iman,
the belief in the Tawhid of Allah SWT, and then the
performance of all the actions as Allah SWT has
commanded and prohibited, either in fiqh or in
akhlaq.
 Examples of Interdependence
between ‫ فقه‬and ‫اخالق‬.
• Prayers (‫)صالة‬.
• Praying with total humility (‫ ) خشوع‬will prevent a person from
doing shameful deeds:
• ‫اْت ُل َم ا ُأوِح َي ِإَلْي َك ِم َن اْلِك َت اِب َو َأِقِم الَّص اَل َة ِإَّن الَّص اَل َة َت ْن َه ى َع ِن اْلَف ْح َش اء َو اْلُمنَك ِر‬
)29:45( ‫َو َلِذ ْك ُر ِهَّللا َأْك َب ُر َو ُهَّللا َي ْع َلُم َم ا َت ْص َن ُعوَن‬
• Recite what is sent of the Book by inspiration to thee, and
establish regular Prayer: for Prayer restrains from shameful
and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest
(thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the (deeds) that
ye do. (al-Ankabut:45)
• Fasting (‫)صوم‬.
• Fasting will help a person to curb his anger, and be
more patient and tolerant, as the Prophet SAW said,
“When any of you is observing sawm (fasting) on a
day, he should neither indulge in obscene language
nor should he raise his voice; and if anyone reviles
him or tries to quarrel with him, he should say, I am
observing fast.”
• Narrated by Abu Hurairah (RA): Allah’s Messenger
SAW said, “The example of a believer is that of a
fresh tender plant; from whatever direction the wind
comes, it bends it, but when the wind becomes
quiet, it becomes straight again. Similarly, a believer
is afflicted with calamities (but he remains patient till
Allah removes his difficulties). And al-Fajir (an evil-
doer) is like a pine tree which keeps hard and
straight till Allah cuts (breaks) it down when He
wishes.” (Sahih al-Bukhari)
• Zakat (‫ )زكاة‬and Hajj (‫)حج‬.
• ‫ُخ ْذ ِم ْن َأْم َو اِلِه ْم َص َد َقًة ُتَط ِّهُرُه ْم َو ُتَز ِّك يِه م ِبَه ا َو َص ِّل َع َلْي ِه ْم ِإَّن‬
)9:103( ‫َص َالَت َك َس َك ٌن َّلُهْم َو ُهّللا َس ِم يٌع َع ِليٌم‬
Of their goods, take alms, that so thou
mightest purify and sanctify them; and pray
on their behalf,” (9: 103).
• ‫اْلَح ُّج َأْش ُهٌر َّم ْع ُلوَم اٌت َفَم ن َفَر َض ِفيِه َّن اْلَح َّج َفَال َر َفَث َو َال ُفُسوَق َو َال‬
‫ِج َد اَل ِفي اْلَح ِّج َو َم ا َت ْف َع ُلوْا ِم ْن َخ ْي ٍر َي ْع َلْم ُه ُهّللا َو َتَز َّو ُد وْا َفِإَّن َخ ْي َر الَّز اِد‬
)2:197( ‫الَّتْق َو ى َو اَّتُقوِن َي ا ُأْو ِلي اَألْلَب اِب‬
“For Hajj are the months well-known. If anyone
undertakes that duty therein, let there be no
obscenity, nor wickedness, nor wrangling in the Hajj.
And whatever good ye do, (be sure) God knoweth it.
And take a provision (with you) for the journey, but
the best of provisions is right conduct. So fear Me, O
ye that are wise,” (2:197).
• Zakat and Hajj are specially performed to
make our hearts lessened the love for this
world as in Surah al-Ankabut, ‫َو َم ا َه ِذِه اْل َح َي اُة الُّد ْن َي ا‬
‫ِإاَّل َلْهٌو َو َلِع ٌب َو ِإَّن الَّد اَر اآْل ِخَر َة َلِه َي اْل َح َيَو اُن َلْو َك اُنوا َي ْع َلُموَن‬
)29:64(
“What is the life of this world but amusement
and play? But verily the Home in the
Hereafter, that is life indeed, if they but knew”
(29:64).
• Imam al-Ghazali said the love of this world is the origin of
every fault, the basis of all corruption, the source of all the
diseases of the heart such as jealousy, backbiting, cheating,
ostentation, arrogance, anger, pride, greedy, stinginess,
laziness, and etc. These are the inward sins, as Allah SWT
says in the Qur’an, “Leave the outwardness of sin and its
inwardness,” (6:120). The good characters would be
sincerity (‫)اخالص‬, truthfulness (‫) صدق‬, contentment (‫)رضى‬,
remembrance (‫) ذكر‬, watchfulness (‫) مراقبة‬, generosity (‫)كرم‬,
God-fearing (‫)تقوى‬, gratefulness (‫)شكر‬, humbleness (‫ )تواضع‬,
modesty (‫)حياء‬, courage (‫ )شجاعة‬and etc.
 Sources:
• Haneef, Sayed Sikandar Shah, Ethics and Fiqh for
Daily Life: An Islamic Outline, Kuala Lumpur: IIUM,
2005.
• Al-Qushayri, Principles of Sufism, trans. B.R. Von
Schlegell, Berkeley: Mizan Press, 1990.
• Sahih al-Bukhari, trans. Dr. Muhammad Muhsin
Khan, Riyadh: Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, 1994.