Islam and Morality: A Philosophical Introduction

Description

Islam and Morality considers how Islam, the Qur’an and other Islamic texts have approached the ethics of a variety of contemporary and historical issues. Throughout the book, Oliver Leaman provides a varied, balanced, and thought-provoking account of how Islamic philosophers and texts have considered the ethics of aesthetics, violence, conflict, gender, sexuality, medical ethics, wealth, poverty, the environment and legal ethics. Working through these subjects, Leaman considers the work of a range of Islamic thinkers, including Al-Tabari, Ali Shariat, Hasn Hanafi, Ibn Tufayl, Ibn Rushd, Ibn al-‘Arabi, al-Ghazali, and Amina Wadud, while also taking into consideration the different branches of Islam and Islamic theology, including the Mu’tazilites and the Ash’arites, as well as Sufi, Sunni, and Shi’a. In addition to the above, the book also considers how Islam responds to other Abrahamic religions, how it understands the concept of free will, and how it sees the relationship between good and evil. Aimed at upper level undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers working in Islamic Studies and ethics, Islam and Morality represents one of the first books to provide a sustained reading of the importance of ethics within Islam. The author, Oliver Leaman, has written extensively on the topic of Islamic philosophy Title Page Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Bibliography Note on Transliteration Chapter 1: Justice Fallacy of basing ethics on law Fallacy of basing law on ethics Fallacy of separating ethics from law Fallacy of identifying ethics with law The source of ethics in Islam Mu‘tazilites and Ash‘arites The role of revelation Sin as error Ethics and rationality The problem of evil Different views on how to act Bibliography Chapter 2: Conflict The rules of war The importance of considering the consequences Different kinds of jihad Back to absolute principles Principles and how to apply them Bibliography Chapter 3: Sins Apostasy Rituals Drinking and gambling Risk Sukuk Gambling on faith Speculation Wealth and poverty Bibliography Chapter 4: Health The quality of life Ethics and the kalam The role of nature Islam as based on moderation Back to the Qur’an Genes and morality Choosing children The value of life The role of genes The significance of the new technology Defending life and the use of principles The death of death Bibliography Chapter 5: Bodies Modesty The social body in Islam Modesty, dress, and body esteem The ethics of balance Motives Sex and altering bodies The equality issue Homosexuality Was there homosexuality in the premodern world? What is wrong with progressive Islam? Bibliography Chapter 6: Nature The modern halal phenomenon Is there anything special about Islam? Different kinds of Muslims The halal controversies Eating animals and Islam The greater halal and the lesser halal Food and fitting in Surreptitious halal and Islamicization Halal certification and non-Muslims Halal certification and the Muslim consumer The way forward? Our relationship with nature Our responsibility to look after the world Bibliography Chapter 7: Choice Is human responsibility an oxymoron? Determinism and the Qur’an Choice and justice Balance and notions of responsibility Who killed Jesus? Bibliography Chapter 8: Sufis The personal The private and the institutional Taqwa Forgetting God Evil and Iblis Escaping from the self The persistence of evil Balance and mysticism The end of morality? The role of morality in spirituality The role of the exemplar Bibliography Chapter 9: Principles The role of the principles of law The attraction of general principles Islamic principles and Islamic society How the Qur’an talks about ethics Bibliography Index