RKUD 3020 : ISLAMIC ETHICS KIRKHS, IIUM

1. Is it possible to change our
characters?????

2. METHODS OF CHANGE INMETHODS OF CHANGE IN
CHARACTERCHARACTER
It is possible to change the character
through effort and appropriate moral
training.
If character were unchangeable, all
commandments and admonitions,
encouragements and threats would be
useless.
Again, if change of disposition among
animals is possible, therefore, man who is
granted with reason, should be certainly
possible
Religion can help to guide men in the
refinement of their character

3. Changing character according to al-Ghazali, does not
require the complete suppression of man’s natural
faculties of desire and anger, for this is impossible
It only requires controls of the faculties of the soul to
the state of moderation, and experience has shown
that this is possible through moral training.
But men differs in the speed of change in their
dispositions, so al-Ghazali explain these differences by
putting men on four levels

4. 1. Negligent people (al-insan al-ghufl)
 ignorant- (jahil)
 Who do not distinguish truth from falsehood or good
from evil
 They lack conviction, and have lacked it since their
birth
 Their carnal desires are not strengthened since they
have not indulged in them
 The character of any person of this type may become
good in a short time.
2. Those who know well enough the evil but do not shun
it because they find it enjoyable.
 Ignorant and astray (dall)
 The correction of their disposition is more difficult that
the first, but it is possible through strenuous effort

5. 3. Those who believe that their evil dispositions to be
right and good and so pursue evil ways wholeheartedly
 Ignorant, astray and wicked (fasiq)
 It is almost impossible for these men to be cured of
their vices
 There is no hope for their correction except in rare
instances.
4. Those who are in addition to their corrupt beliefs and
practices, see excellence in their very excess of evil.
 Ignorant, astray, wicked and vicious (sharir)
 In this they vie with one another, and think that they
gain fame by the amount of evil they accomplish
 The most recalcitrant of the foul level and the most
difficult to change

6. PURIFICATION OF THE SOUL ANDPURIFICATION OF THE SOUL AND
REFINEMENT OF CHARACTERREFINEMENT OF CHARACTER
Three methods to achieve good character
1. By nature - Divine gift : (bi tab wa al
fitra)
 Given to man by God at the time of
their birth
 Created in the sense that the faculties
of their souls are in equilibrium, that
they are good by nature
 Eg, prophets

7. 2. Mortification (mujahada) and self-training (riyada)
and habituation (I’tiyad)
 Taking pains to perform those actions which
proceed from good character until they become
habitual and pleasant.
 Eg, to acquire generosity, a man needs to train
himself with this character until it becomes a nature
to him
 An action will be considered to have become his
nature and habit if he feels pleasure in performing it
(I’tiyad- habituation)
 This pleasure feeling, is the criterion of the
acquisition of a virtue

8. Thus, a man will only be said to have acquired the
trait of generosity if he finds joy in giving away his
wealth.
Performing good actions with pleasure, and avoiding
evil unhesitatingly are necessary throughout one’s life,
for without this the soul cant be perfectly enlightened
with good qualities.
So there must be constant perseverance in
voluntary acts, otherwise no quality can be produced
in the soul
Therefore there is an element of will and full
consciousness in virtue

9. The reason why a virtue was difficult and
burdensome at first, and become easy after
practiced for some times, is because the
circular relationship between soul and body.
(refer to soul interaction theory)
Al ghazali regarded this method as the most
effective and usual way of acquiring good
qualities of the soul

10. 3. By association
That is by observing good people and
associating with them
Man by nature is imitative, so if man associates with
the virtuous for some time, he will unconsciously
incorporate in himself something of their goodness
and also consciously learn from them
If association is impossible because of the absence of
virtuous men, study of their lives will be sufficient to
strengthen the desire for goodness and to facilitate its
cultivation

11. -this method of learning good traits by
observing the good and mixing with them is
regarded by al-Ghazali as the basic principle
of training children in good character for
they are more imitative that n adults.

12. Purification of the soul
Awareness of the evil :
4 methods
-keep company with a spiritual guide (shaykh) so
that he might closely observe and identify the
defect
-ask a truthful, pious, friend
-gain knowledge of one’s defect from an enemy
-mix with people and to ascribe to oneself the
defects one sees in them

13. -hasten to remove the evil by asking help from a
spiritual guide just as he seeks guidance of a
medical man in curing bodily disease
A true guide is Gnostic (arif), intelligent, a seer of
the soul’s diseases, kind-hearted, admonishes other in
religion, purified his own soul from evil traits, is eager
to assist others in their efforts for purification
Common man do not know the diseases of the
soul, their secret causes and the specific ways and
subtle techniques for their removal, hence they need
guidance
On finding a true guidance, cling to him as a blind man
on the sea-shore clings to his guide

14. (the principle of opposition) The restoration of
the spiritual health; the cutting off the evil
substance and removing its causes.
A vice of the soul can be cured permanently if its
substance is destroyed. This can only be
accomplished by the removal of the causes of vices.
Therefore the treatment of the individual vices, makes
an exhaustive enquiry into the causes of every
vice. (via knowledge)
The vices can be removed by their opposite ;
opposing it causes; which indeed according al-
Ghazali the general rule of spiritual treatment.
To know; is to know the nature of a vice, its
causes, its harm in this life or in the next

15. Opposing the cause of a vice by knowledge is called
by al-Ghazali is cognitive limit (ilaj ilmi)
The next is the action to get rid of vice; in need of
perseverance, needs to be repeated for a long time
As a result of perseverance in the opposite action, the
vice will be effaced from the soul, and its opposite
quality; virtue will be established (soul interaction
theory of al-Ghazali)

16. The removal of vices through action, or practical
remedy (ilaj amali)
Since practical remedy is contrary to one’s desire, it
demands a high degree of patience without which
no cure is possible..
In sum, there remedy for an evil trait lies in the
combination of three elements; knowledge, action
and patience.
the principle of opposite is mention in the Qur'an
79:40-41

17.  In refining the character by means of the principle of
opposite
Diagnose the diseases and determine its causes,
decide upon the form of self training one s will be
able to undergo with good intention, according to
age, bodily health and temperament
If an evil trait is so strong, unable to be removed by
practicing its opposite, devise a technique by which
the disciples habit may be deflected to a less evil trait,
only after that to be removed by its opposite.
For instance: miserly person, to be ordered to give
away his wealth to impress others after some time,
miserliness will vanish but the evil trait of love of
influence will be powerful, to be removed by its
opposite

18. Perseverance in opposition must be stopped
after the mean has been achieved, for now the
soul has regained it health, other wise, another evil
trait will take place. Eg. miserliness to be trained to
generosity, but if generosity goes beyond the mean
state, it leads to prodigality
Al-Ghazali suggest the way to identify whether the
soul has achieve the mean; if an action is easier and
more pleasant than its opposite action, it means that
the soul is in a state of deviating from the mean eg : if
giving money to the undeserving is easier than not
giving to them, it is a sign that the soul has crossed
the mean to the extreme excess in spending

19. Asking for divine grace (tawfiq)
There is a need for a different forms of divine
help; divine leading, strengthening and grace
To preserve the mean also, one need to ask for
god’s guidance in ritual prayer