Ethical Dimensions of Muslim Education

Nuraan Davids, Yusef Waghid

• Éditeur: Palgrave Macmillan
• Année: 2016
• ISBN:
  9783319293172
• Sujet: Social Sciences
• Sous-sujet: Sociology of Religion

This book draws upon ethical dimensions of Muslim education as a means through which to address contemporary issues, such as social and societal conflicts, exclusion and marginalisation, and violence. It argues that an ethical Muslim education is underscored by the practice of autonomous, critical and deliberative engagement that can engender reflective judgement, compassionate recognition and a responsible ethical (Muslim) community.Such a community is not only capable of cultivating human relationships based on non-coercion, truthful and peaceful human coexistence, but can also quell the stereotypes and forms of dystopia and exclusion that are pervasive in contemporary society. Put differently, Muslim education extends the neo-Kantian view that ethical human conduct can be rationalised in terms of achieving morally worthwhile action towards forms of engagement that are potentially disruptive.

Theme 1
Ethics, Islam and Education

Ontologically and semantically, Muslim ethics has been informed by several nomenclatures where the notions of akhlaq (virtuous conduct) and adab (civility) are very prominent. Our contention is that Muslim ethics—moral practices—as informed by the Qurān, is a discourse in terms of which humans’ moral agency can be enhanced through education. Put differently, and as argued throughout this book, education on the part of human beings can lead to ethical excellence. In turn, ethical excellence potentially contributes to conscientising and provoking Muslims to be more attentive to contemporary ethical dilemmas. The latter includes human-rights violations; gender inequity, as encountered through egregious violations of women’s rights, such as honour killings and education deprivation; malicious acts of violence and terrorism; and the wanton destruction of sacred sites and relics. In turn, these violations are disguised in a rhetoric of jihād (struggle), which, as we shall argue, are profoundly irreconcilable with any notion of ethical conduct as espoused through the Qurān.

The central focus of the introductory theme of this book is an elucidation of the idea of a Muslim as an ethical being. As such, the claim to a Muslim identity or allegiance is not, as we shall argue, one that is located in an inheritance or adoption of external religious rituals, practices or dress codes. Rather, the idea of an ethical being is one of being attentive to oneself, to others, and in relation to how and why one has been created, so that one surrenders that attentiveness and knowledge to a Higher Being. From the outset, therefore, our allusion to Muslim is not restricted by ideas of prescribed and regulated religion. Instead, we attempt to show that being a Muslim (as in surrendering to a Higher Being or Will) means embodying a particular enactment of what it means to be human. For this reason, we commence this theme, and this book, with a conceptual explication of ethics. In its associations with virtues, such as ma‘ruf (approved), khayr (goodness), haqq (truth and right), birr (righteousness), qist (equity), ‘adl (equilibrium, justice) and taqwa (piety), as well as, most commonly, akhlaq (virtuous conduct), we lay bare the inextricable connectedness between being good as an individual and being good in relation to, and for the sake of, all creation, which includes all others and the physical world in which one lives. In this sense, and drawing on Qurānic exegeses, we show, on the one hand, that the idea of ethics in Islam is about being attentive to humankind and its environment. And, on the other hand, that a Muslim is one who internalises this attentiveness and expresses it through his/her relationships with a Higher Being, through her/himself, and with others.

Following on this idea, it becomes important to offer insight into how the Qurān is understood and how it imagines and espouses ethics (Chap. 2). We commence, therefore, by drawing attention to the fact that the Qurān does not, in a strict sense, contain any ethical theories and should not be considered as a compilation of individual injunctions. Rather, it should be approached and understood as an exposition of an ethical doctrine in which every verse or sentence has an intimate bearing on other verses and sentences. It is for this reason—throughout this book—that we adopt a hermeneutical-multidimensional approach—that is, an approach that concerns itself with ethical and critical thinking necessary to examine a specific tradition such as the one being associated with Islam. In looking at what the Qurān is, and how it promotes an ethical doctrine and conduct, we focus our attention on three primary modes of prophetic stories, parables, and eschatological expositions. We argue that what can be drawn and deduced from the aforementioned are enunciations that are invariably connected to the ethical pursuit of something worthwhile, in this instance, knowledge and critical questioning. We extend our critical pursuit of what it means, first, to be Muslim, and second, what is understood by knowledge and education in Chaps. 3 and 4, respectively. In offering a hermeneutical analysis of what and how the Qurān depicts those who believe in its message, we interrogate, etymologically, not only what it means to be Muslim, but perhaps, more importantly, what Islam seeks to achieve through its ethical doctrine and those who abide by it. Countering a confessional stance of Muslim identity and allegiance, we argue that an individual’s identity can become manifest through his or her action. As such, she/he exhibits his/her responsibility in surrendering to God as a trustee or vicegerent, which is the highest responsibility that has been afforded to humankind. Following on this idea, we show that the purpose of a Muslim’s life is to ensure justice in all that she/he does, thereby contributing towards cultivating harmonious and balanced relationships between her/himself and others. To our minds, an idea of ethics that renders ethical experiences of responsibility to God and humankind is far more tenable than the ethical pursuit of paradise merely for the sake of entering paradise. Instead, the pursuit of God’s pleasure and access to his abode should be determined through unrelenting quests and perseverance towards various forms of knowledge that are useful to the experiences of humanity and the protection of the environment and other beings. Thematically, in this regard, a jihād of ethics becomes an intellectual exertion for just action—hence, the ethical pursuit of justice of all kinds becomes the raison d’être of Muslim education.

© The Author(s) 2016

Nuraan Davids and Yusef WaghidEthical Dimensions of Muslim Education10.1007/978-3-319-29317-2_1

Begin Abstract

1. Qurānic Conceptual Framework of Ethics

Nuraan Davids¹ and Yusef Waghid¹

(1)

Department of Education Policy Studies Faculty of Education, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

End Abstract

Any discussion of an ethical framework and/or dimension of a specific religious way of living such as Islam invariably draws attention to the notion of what constitutes human well-being: a good life, appropriate conduct and defensible social relationships. More specifically, there are several approaches to ‘religious ethics’. These include: a formalist approach, which delineates the place and import of religion for the moral life; a sociolinguistic approach, which explores specific actions that guide communities’ ways of life through ritual myth, discourse and belief; and an ethical-naturalist approach, which is concerned with a holistic treatment of moral propositions (Schweiker, 2005: 2). Then there is a hermeneutical-multidimensional approach—our approach—which concerns itself with ethical and critical thinking necessary to examine a specific tradition, such as one being associated with Islam. Our application of a hermeneutical-multidimensional approach to religious ethics has a two-pronged strategy: first, we connect explications of various ethical concepts as enunciated through Muslim education, to justifications informed by philosophical understandings, particularly the interpretive or hermeneutic dimension of human agency. Second, we relate our explications to Qurānic pronouncements.

Conceptions of ethics claim to offer both a reasoned and reasonable account of actions constituted along either a continuum of right and just action or a continuum of wrong, and therefore reprehensible, action. Using practical reasoning—that is, the ability to think and act with compassionate imagining—it would be reasonable to conceive of, and distinguish between, that which is morally good and that which is morally bad. Muslim education, as shaped through the sources and teachings of the Qurān and the life and practices of its Prophet Muhammad,¹ offers particular guidelines and preferences around which those who claim to be Muslim ought to conduct themselves—morally, as an individual, and as part of a collective community (Ummah). Underlying these guidelines and preferences is a particular set of principles, or ethos, which ought to embody every aspect of a Muslim’s life. However, as is evident from Syria to Kenya, from the treatment of women by the Taliban (literally, students of Muslim education) to the scourge of honour killings—not only in Muslim-majority countries, but also in liberal democracies—different understandings and interpretations of Islam have yielded different and often unacceptable enactments. To this end, Islam has increasingly come to be associated with, among other descriptions, backwardness, intolerance, violence and terrorism. These associations have been dramatically supported by various events, including New York’s 9/11 Twin Tower destruction, London’s 7/7 tube bombings, and Paris’s Charlie Hebdo killings because of some people’s dissatisfaction with satire against the Prophet Muhammad; they’ve also been supported by the actions of various organizations, including Boko Haram² (a group that condemns any form of Western education) and the group known variously as ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) or ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria)—a terrorist organisation intent on establishing a Muslim caliphate in Iraq and Syria. One might wonder, therefore, what Islam is and does; what it advocates and cultivates through its foundational sources; and how it conceives of, and delineates between, that which is right and just and that which is not. Indeed, what constitutes an ethical framework of Islam? In this chapter, we shall attempt to give an account of ethics vis-à-vis Muslim education, in particular making a case for individual moral action intertwined with communal action to achieve goodness.

The Qurān: Ethics and Ethos

Derived from the Greek ‘ethos’, which means custom or habit, the term ‘ethics’ is understood to denote the theory of right action and the greater good. To Socrates, people will do what is naturally good, provided they know what is right and believe that bad actions are purely due to ignorance. Ethics, or moral philosophy, concerns itself with how people ought to act so that they might choose right conduct, thereby causing the greater good, which will ultimately lead to a good life—that is, a life worth living or a satisfying or happy life. In the Aristotelian sense, this good might be understood as self-sufficient: “By self-sufficient we mean not what is sufficient for oneself alone living a solitary life, but something that includes parents, wife and children, friends and fellow-citizens in general; for man is by nature a social being” (Thompson, 2004: 14). Ethics differs from morals and morality, signifying the theory of right action and the greater good; morals indicate the practice of ethics. As such, ethics is not limited to specific acts and defined moral codes, but rather encompasses the whole of moral ideals and behaviours, a person’s philosophy of life (or Weltanschauung). With reference again to Aristotle, and in particular the Nicomachean Ethics, the ethics of and for a citizen of a polis (state) is for the practices of a polis (MacIntyre, 2007: 5). This definition is a clear indication that for Aristotle, as for subsequent Muslim scholars (as we shall show), individual ethical action is for the cultivation of society.

Ethical theory, explains Fakhry (1991: 1), is a reasoned account of the nature and grounds of right actions and decisions, as well as the principles underlying the claim that such actions, decisions and principles are morally commendable or reprehensible. Muslims generally understand what is morally commendable or reprehensible to be coherently encapsulated in the revealed text of the Qurān, as enacted through the life experiences of Prophet Muhammad (the Sunnah). As such, the Qurān is understood to offer the basis and the medium through which to understand and practice all moral, religious, political and social obligations. Lunde (2002: 25) describes the Qurān as the foundation stone of Islamic society, its constitution, which permeates all aspects of life—encapsulated in the verse: “We have sent down to you the Book explaining all’ things” (Qurān, al-Nahl, 16: 89). However, as al-Hasan, Faridahwati and Kamil (2013: 11) explain, because the Qurān generally speaks about universal concepts, the specificity of conduct and behaviour expected of Muslims are reflected in the life example of the Prophet Muhammad. To this end, Muslims consider the Sunnah (lived example of the Prophet Muhammad) as a critical factor in the sustenance of their faith and the preservation of their identity. According to Nasr (2010: 18), for traditional Islam, all morality is derived from the Qurān and ahādith (words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH), which are related to the Sharī’ah, or divine law. He explains that while traditional Islam accepts the possibility of giving new opinions or independent judgement (ijtihād) based on traditional legal principles, these are always based on the principles of analogy (qiyās), consensus of opinion (ijmā), and judicial preference (istihsān).

Abu Zayd (2004: 43) explains that since both the content and expression of the Qurān are divine, the content of the Sunnah is therefore also divine, but its form is human. To this end, Abu Zayd reports, “Muslim jurists maintain that the Qurān is in need of the Sunna more than the Sunna is in need of the Qurān”. Ramadan (2001: 78) clarifies that the Qurān, together with the lived example of the Prophet Muhammad, defines the points of reference for all Muslim spheres of life—the individual, social, economic and political life. In Islam, differentiation between what is right and what is wrong cannot be left to a particular society, because society, or the individuals who constitute a society, have inherent weaknesses and might be inclined towards behaviour that is convenient, regardless of whether it is right or wrong (al-Hasan et al., 2013; al-Qaradawi, 1985). From a Muslim perspective, the Qurān, al-Hasan et al. (2013: 2) state that ethics is related to several Arabic terms, such as ma‘ruf (approved), khayr (goodness), haqq (truth and right), birr (righteousness), qist (equity), ‘adl (equilibrium, justice), and taqwa (piety), as well as, most commonly, akhlaq (virtuous conduct). They continue that, while good actions are desc...