Summary Human beings have two aspects. One is the common physical creation of mankind in its potential condition --something that is more or less the same in all human beings. This is called our khalq. However, in addition to this we are also endowed with khulq (moral character), which refers to our spiritual status, and something that is shaped by us. Khalq, the root of the term akhlaq, means to create or creation. It is also the root for the verb Kha-la-qa. Allahs names, Al-Khliq, meaning the creator, and Al- Khallq, meaning the creative or the one who creates a lot, are from the same root. There can be no possible form of creation for mankind other than the one we already have which would better serve the purpose of our creation. The purpose of our creation is to achieve nearness of Allah (s.w.t.), which is unattainable by any other form of creation. In addition to khalq (creation), we also have khulq (moral traits of character). Khulq is what we are able to acquire. It refers to those aspects of a human being, good or bad qualities, virtues or vices, which are shaped and formed over time as a result of our actions. The ability to elevate or degrade us spiritually is related to our khulq. Khulq is the singular form of akhlaq. Khulq consists of good or bad qualities that we possess or obtain over time. As human beings, we have been given very similar physical features and so these are not the factors that make us either good or bad human being. There is also a moral side to our creation wherein lies the real difference between people. The subject of the science of akhlaq (ethics) is khulq, which is our moral character and refers to those qualities, which are not physical. The science of akhlaq also deals with good and bad actions. In this world only the physical appearance of people is seen and their moral qualities are hidden. On the Day of Judgement, the qualities of the soul become obvious and people will be judged based on them.

In the Islamic approach to ethics more focus and emphasis is put on qualities of the soul rather than on actions, although actions are not ignored. Morality can be used to refer to different things, such as the moral character of a person, a group, a society or a community or to a science which deals with moral character traits or moral actions in which case it is very close to the Islamic science of akhlaq. Ethics can mean morality as a science or it can mean moral philosophy as a science, which deals with the science of akhlaq as a subject. In other words, it tries to investigate the pre-suppositions, concepts, epistemology and even the anthology of the science of akhlaq. As we are concerned with the Islamic science of akhlaq it does not make much difference for us whether we use the term Islamic morality or the term Islamic ethics. The Islamic science of akhlaq is responsible for studying moral virtues and how to achieve them. It also studies moral vices and how to remove them as well as good actions and bad actions. Only voluntary actions are studied in akhlaq because there should always be a role for human freedom and control. Jex says that: Morality is to investigate human behaviour as it ought to be Folksier says: The science of morality is giving us a set of laws and regulations which relate to behaviour, acting upon which can help us in achieving our goals Mulla Sadra, as a pioneer Muslim scholar in the field, believes that the science of akhlaq is the science, which deals with character traits and the actions that originate from them. According to Ayatullah Mutahhari: The science of akhlaq teaches us how to behave and how to be. In the opinion of Allamah Tabatabai: The science of ethics is the science that deals with human character traits. In the science of akhlaq only the qualities that may be acquired or removed are discussed because the aim of this science is to help us differentiate between virtues and vices and try

to acquire virtues or strengthen those we already possess and remove vices. Actions originate from one's entire personality; however, this does not necessarily mean that they come from a directly related quality. Peoples diverse understandings of virtues and vices have nothing to do with the definition of ethics, which is to study good and bad qualities, and good and bad actions. The aim of the science of ethics or the aim of one who studies it is to promote good actions and virtues amongst human beings. Amongst ethicists there are three major views regarding how something becomes defined as good or bad: deontology, teleology and virtue ethics. Deontologists believe in the necessity of performing moral responsibilities with good intentions regardless of the resulting consequences. Teleology says that the goodness or badness of an action is decided according to the results brought about by that action. A good action is one that leads to good consequences. A bad action is one that leads to bad consequences. Depending on whose interest should be considered in the outcomes of the actions, teleologists are divided into three groups: egoists, altruists and Universalists. Egoism is the view that says a good action is the one that has good results for the agent, the one who is doing the action. The agent can be a person or a group but the concern is still about the agent. Altruism states that morality is the result of ignoring our own needs and being concerned only about the interests of others. Universalism states that all human beings are equally important and, therefore, we should be interested in finding ways to help everyone and to serve everyones interests, be it the agent or anyone else.

Teleologists are divided into further groups when it comes to defining good and bad results and consequences. To gain tranquility, salvation or closeness to God are some instances of the good results mentioned by different groups of teleologists. According to virtue ethics, in order to decide whether an action is good or not first the relevant virtue should be defined and then it should be decided whether the action is in compliance with that virtue or not. Before virtue ethics found its place in the West, the two most popular views were the deontological view, which is a form of Kantian approach, and utilitarianism, which is a form of universalism, which wants to achieve maximum pleasure and happiness and minimum pain for the maximum number of people. From an Islamic perspective, actions on their own are not valuable and it is only after being accompanied by good intentions that they become valuable. In Islam both husn-i fili (goodness of action) and husn-i faili (goodness of agent) are necessary. If the agent is to receive credit for his actions, he must be in a conscious state whilst doing them and have good intentions. A righteous deed is the one, which is good by itself as an action and is also performed with a good intention by the agent. Human beings have self-love and a desire for doing what serves their own interests. Although, some scholars believe that this is not only the dominant but also indeed the sole desire in human beings, it seems much closer to the truth that, at the same time, we human beings have genuine desire for doing what serves the interests of other people as well. When we want to serve Allah (s.w.t.) we are asked to serve Him (s.w.t.) through serving His creation, such as other human beings, animals, plants and indeed any other creation in this world since Allah (s.w.t.) Himself is free from any need. Prior to studying any subject, first we have to know what the aim of that subject is. There is a slight difference between the aim of akhlaq and the aim of the science of akhlaq.

In the science of akhlaq we learn everything we need to know about qualities and actions so that we can benefit from them in order to become better human beings. The aim of akhlaq and in a wider sense, spirituality, is not merely to know in theory but rather to actually achieve all those virtues and perform those good actions so that we can become a perfect person who resembles Allah (s.w.t.) in the best way possible. By taking akhlaq as a priority in our life, our aim is to be as good, perfect and close to Allah (s.w.t.) as is possible and this can only be done through trying to resemble Him in His qualities as much as is possible for us as ordinary human beings. Out of billions of human beings, 124000 are chosen as prophets and out of these, five in particular are singled out. Then Allah (s.w.t.) says these are the people who were patient. They are not described as people of knowledge although they possessed knowledge or people of bravery or anything similar to this; instead Allah (s.w.t.) places most emphasis on their determination, which is a moral quality. Morality should be the focal point in our struggle for being a better person and for being as close to Allah (s.w.t.) as possible. Faith and disbelief are voluntary actions, which require certain moral qualities. For someone to believe means that they must accept admit and acknowledge what they know and believing entails more than merely knowing. The reason why some people believe in what they know to be true and yet some do not is rooted in their moral qualities. There is a very well known hadith from Prophet Muhammad (s) where he (s) says: The only reason for which Allah (s.w.t.) has appointed me, as a prophet is to accomplish noble character traits. The Prophet (s) did not merely teach noble character traits; rather he (s) first adorned himself with these before preaching them to others because, as he himself said: "I have never asked you to do anything unless I have preceded you in doing it". Makrim al-akhlaq (noble character traits) is different from mahsin al-akhlaq (good character traits). Good character traits can be very general whereas noble ones are at the highest levels of goodness.

According to the Quran, the Prophet (s) himself had achieved noble character traits but he had to establish these amongst his followers. The world will not come to end unless these are established and it is then that the mission of Prophet Muhammad (s) and all other prophets will have been accomplished. At the end of time, Imam Mahdi (atf) will re-appear and establish justice and equality amongst all people. However, this is not the end of Prophet's (s) mission because when justice and social equality are established, then it will be time for people to aspire to achieve noble character traits. There are three types of moral studies: descriptive ethics, normative ethics and meta-ethics (analytical ethics). In descriptive ethics the aim is to describe the morality of a person, a group, a tribe or a nation or even a religion. In the descriptive approach the idea is not to evaluate or judge but rather to describe. It is very important when undertaking research on the ethics of a particular religion that all sources and all information available on that religion should be referred to rather than just studying the practices of the followers of that religion. In normative ethics we are arguing either for or against a moral view or moral theory. In normative ethics we have to use reasoning and not merely quote scriptures no matter how reliable they may be. Meta-ethics goes deeper and investigates the pre-suppositions for ethics, which are the ontological, epistemological and logical questions that are necessary for being involved in ethics itself. Applied ethics is related to normative ethics. Thus, it is neither descriptive, nor meta-ethics. However, one can have applied ethics in a descriptive way and this is when there is no argumentation. Applied ethics is the study of the application of an ethical theory to a specific area of human life. An ethical theory must help you to understand the morality of every action and quality. There are two ways of doing this: One is to adhere to a theory and the different issues that arise, are analyzed in the light of that theory. Another way is to put those problems that are somehow connected in a category and address them together. Thus, we will have different categories instead of having thousands of scattered questions.

When we categories the different issues which are somehow inter-connected under one over-arching theme and then try to understand the moral values with respect to each in the light of the general theory that we adhere to this is called applied ethics. This approach saves a lot of time and energy and it is also likely to produce more accurate results. It is better that after mastering the ethical theory; we focus on one particular field. In this course, we will focus on Islamic teachings in morality in a descriptive way. Before we actually start explaining moral teachings of Islam we have to study the history of the development of the science of akhlaq in Islam. Morality is very important in Islam. It occupies the central position in the Quran, the traditions of the Prophet (s) and Ahl Al-Bayt (as). Therefore, Muslims have written many essays and books about akhlaq. To understand the history of the science of akhlaq in Islam, we have to start with the Quran and the Prophet (s). We believe that even a person who is not religious should be able to understand basic moral values like the goodness of justice. We also have Nahj Al-Balagha, which is a collection of the sermons, the letters and sayings of Imam Ali (as); and Al-Sahifah Al-Sajjadiyyah, which is a very deep ocean of moral teachings. In some religious traditions, maybe it is taken as a sign of weakness if you ask questions. But in Islam it is quite the opposite. Not only the Muslims belonging to the Shia sect, but also the Sufis believe that their genealogy goes back to the Imams of the Ahl Al-Bayt (as) and finally to Imam Ali (as) and through Imam Ali (as) they are connected to the Prophet (s). Nahj Al-Balaghah and many other books written like Ghurar ul Hikam, Mustadhrik Al-Nahj Al-Balaghah contain many moral sayings of Imam Ali (as).

The letter of Imam Ali (as), to his son Imam Hasan (as) is an example of his moral sayings. We have Nahj Al-Fasahah, which has been compiled later in the 14th century. It is a collection of the sayings of the Prophet (s). But if one wants hadith of the Prophet (s) he does not need to wait until the 14th century; one can find the hadith of the Prophet (s) in the traditions of Imam Ali (as) and other members of the Ahl Al-Bayt (as). The teachings of the Prophet (s) and Ahl Al-Bayt (as) are not something that emerged at the time of compiling major collections of hadith. They were there right from the beginning. Today, we can trace back all of them and we are able to find out all the people who have occurred in the chain of the narration. Al-Sahifah Al-Sajjadiyyah, which contains some of the supplications of Imam Sajjad (as), is full of moral teachings. In other collections of hadith, e.g., Usul Al-Kafi, we have many chapters on morality. Apart from these collections of hadith, we also have essays and books dedicated to akhlaq. For example the book titled Sifat Al-Mominun wa Al-Fajir written by Ismail ibn Mihran this book is about the characteristics of believers and the sinners. In the 3rd century, we have a book called Al-Maniat min Dukhul Al-Jannah (The Obstacles to Entering Heaven) or the book Tohaf Al-Uqul. In the 4th century, we have a book called Makarim Al-Akhlaq or the book, As- Saadah Wa Al- Isad this is about happiness and the way to reach happiness. In the 5th century, we have Tahzib Al-Akhlaq wa Tathir Al-Araq. This also is about morality. In the 6th century, we have a major book, Ihya Ulum Al-Din, which is by Al- Ghazali. He also has another book called Kimiya Al-Saadah. There is another important book at this time, Tanbih Al-Khatir wa Nuzhat Al-Nazir which is about moral teachings. In the 7th century we have Akhlaq Al-Nasirin and also Awsaf Al-Ashraf

(Characteristics of the Noble) by Khawaja Nasir Al-Din Al-Tusi. In the 8th century, we have Akhlaq Al-Ashraf. In the 10th century, we have Akhlaq Al-Shamsi and Akhlaq Al-Kashafi. In the 11th century AH, we have Al-Muhajjat Al-Baydha fi Tahdhib Al-Ihya by Mullah Muhsin Fayd Kashani. In the 12th century, we have Jami Al-Saadah, by Mullah Mahdi Naraki (ra) and after that there is Miraj Al-Saadah written by Mullah Ahmad Naraki. In the 14th century there are many great books on akhlaq. The Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute is working on an encyclopedia of applied ethics. The Research Institute for Islamic Culture and Thought is working on an encyclopedia on the Prophetic (s) teachings and practice of morality. The Office for the Islamic Propagation of the Seminaries of Qum also has many projects on ethics and moral philosophy. A book has been published which is a detailed bibliography of texts on Islamic ethics. Thus, it has a review of every book written on Islamic ethics, its methodology, and the books advantages and disadvantages. This is a very helpful source. It is called: "Kitab Shanakhti-yi Akhlaq-i Islami". The late Imam Khomeini (ra) has several books on ethics; two very famous ones are "Chihil Hadith" and "The Armies of Intellect and Ignorance Hadith-i Junud-i Aql wa Jahl". The late Allama Tabatabai (ra) in his Al-Mizan fi Tafsir Al-Quran has many good discussions on ethics. He has also some books related to ethics or spirituality. The late Ayatollah Mutahhari (ra) also has some books and some lectures, which are published on morality. He also has a series of lectures published separately on the philosophy of morality. Ayatollah Makarim Shirazi has two volumes on Akhlaq dar Quran

(Morality in the Quran). He also in his Tafsir-i Nimunah and other books discusses akhlaq. Ayatollah Jafar Subhani, in his thematic interpretation of the Quran has discussions on akhlaq. He has also written a Tafsir of Surat Al-Hujarat a chapter, which speaks on akhlaq. Ayatollah Jawadi Amuli, also has many books on akhlaq. In particular, I want to refer to two books: one is Mabadi-yi Akhlaq dar Quran; the other is Marahil Akhlaq dar Quran. One is about the principles and foundations of morality according to the Quran and the second is about the stages of morality according to the Quran. Ayatollah Misbah Yazdi also has many books on akhlaq. Particularly, Akhlaq dar Quran in which he studies major issues in Islamic morality. He also has two books on philosophical ethics. One is Falsafah-i Akhlaq which is mostly about meta-ethics, the other is Makatib Akhlaqi (Moral Schools of Thought) which is mostly about normative ethics. Different methods for the classification of ethical discussions are used: A. Influenced by the Aristotelian approach to ethics, people like Naraki (ra) in Miraj Al-Saadah. They say that human beings have three faculties. The faculty for thinking, anger and appetite. Moreover, maintaining a balanced position with respect to these faculties is virtue. B. Some divide ethics into two major areas: social ethics and personal ethics. C. Another way is to divide ethical teachings into the relation with yourself, the relation with the people other than yourself and the relationship with the environment. D. The fourth way is to divide ethical teachings according to: our relationship with God; our relationship with ourselves; our relationship with other people; and our relationship with the rest of the world. We are going to study morality here according to the last classification. To classify Islamic moral teachings we shall follow a four-fold classification of moral virtues approach. The first group of virtues are those, which relate to our relationship with God. Sometimes remembrance (dhikr) of Allah (swt) is something that has been achieved by a person and is part of his very being one of his attributes and sometime it is an action. We had earlier discussed that in

Islamic ethics, the qualities are much more important than actions in most of the cases because they are part of what we are. This topic is abundantly mentioned in the Quran and also in the Bible in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. There are limitations mentioned for almost all acts of worship in Islam but, when it comes to the remembrance of God, in general, according to the Quran there is no limit. Everything in this world, including Allah (swt) Himself, does tasbih of Allah (swt). Tasbih is a very important way of remembering Allah (swt) and is something that the people of the Heaven, the angels, are engrossed in. The concept of tasbih also includes hamd (praise of God). The Quran says: Glorify (your Lord every) morning and evening. (Al-i Imran: 41) It does not mean that remembrance of Allah should be limited to the mornings and evenings. It means that these two particular times of the day must receive more attention. When you want to start your active day and at the end of your active day. According to the Quran when one remembers the names of Allah (swt), one should devote himself to God with exclusive devotion. He should try to detach himself from anything other than God. Tranquility of hearts or peace is one outcome of the remembrance of God. Allah (swt) says: Whoever disregards my remembrance, his shall be a wretched life. (Taha: 124). They will not enjoy their life; maybe superficially they might enjoy but deep in their hearts they have big concerns and their life is not meaningful. Moreover, Allah (swt) says that these people on the Day of Judgement shall be resurrected as blind and they will be forgotten. This means that they are not remembered with Allahs (swt) care, love and mercy. The other outcome of the remembrance of Allah (swt) is illumination of the hearts.