Islamic Natural Law Theories

Emon, Anver M.

doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198706601.003.0008

Cited by 12 publications

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“…However, more recent studies have challenged this view and believe that there can be found elements that may be linked to natural law, giving reason a role as an authority independent of revelation when thinking about the law (Emon, 2005(Emon, , 2010.…”

Section: Natural Law Human Law and Divine Law In The Sharīʿamentioning

confidence: 99%

Routledge Handbook of Religious Laws

Bottoni¹,

Ferrari²

2019

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While the classical jurisprudence (fiqh) of Islamic law speaks of 'four sources' to the Sharīʿa, there are actually only two that refer directly to divine revelation: the Qurʾān which was revealed to the prophet Muḥammad, and the Prophet's statements and acts, his sunna, collected and transmitted in a body of normative stories and anecdotes called the ḥadīth, or 'Prophetic traditions' (Kamali, 1991: 14-228; Vikør, 2005: 31-88). The Prophet had no supernatural attributes according to standard theology (the Sufī mystics would disagree), so there is an issue why his statements beyond those that transmit the Qurʾān also represent a divine revelation. One explanation is to claim that the Prophet, being the exemplary human, is infallible: he cannot say anything that is not correct. However, most views of the Prophet would restrict his attribute to being free of sin (maʿṣūm), which preserves him from a conscious lie but not from being honestly mistaken. Many ḥadīth stress his human side, providing statements of the type, 'when I speak as a Prophet, you must follow my example, but I have my own likes and dislikes as a man, and you need not follow me in that' (Muslim, 'Ṣaid', 7). Clearly, such stories are responses to claims that everything the Prophet said and did was indeed normative and represented divine will. A more pragmatic explanation is that divine revelation was continuous throughout the Prophet's life. So, if the Prophet had inadvertently made a mistake, God would correct him in a later revelation. In the absence of such a correction, the Prophet's statement must thus reflect God's will. However, neither the Qurʾān nor the ḥadīth are limpid sources but in contrasting ways. The text of the Qurʾān is not disputed by Muslims but is not always directly understandable, and only a small fraction of its verses refer to what may be

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Section: Natural Law Human Law and Divine Law In The Sharīʿamentioning

confidence: 99%

Routledge Handbook of Religious Laws

Bottoni¹,

Ferrari²

2019

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“…Anver Emon, for example, noted that “source texts, at most, confirm and corroborate them” (2010, 135). Even the classical Ash‘arite scholar Al‐Ghazali (d. 1111), who was among the first to articulate the maqāṣid theory, acknowledged common morality and therefore universal ethical standards when he said that “it is impossible that any society or any legal system ( sharī‘ah min al‐sharāi‛ ) which aims for the benefit of creation ( iṣlaḥ al‐khalq ) would not include prohibitions against neglect of and restraint from the five values” (Al‐Ghazali , 258; Emon , 135). An inclusivist approach to issues related to ethics would focus more on the use of reason, common morality, and universal moral principles, and less on religious texts which should confirm universal principles and not contradict them.…”

Section: Arguments Against Gmos From Islamic Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food Ethics: A Critique of Some Islamic Perspectives on Genetically Modified Food

al-Attar¹

2017

Zygon

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This article critiques some Islamic approaches to food ethics and the debate over genetically modified (GM) food. Food ethics is a branch of bioethics, and is an emerging field in Islamic bioethics. The article critically analyzes the arguments of the authors who wrote in favor of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) from an Islamic perspective, and those who wrote against GMOs, also from an Islamic perspective. It reveals the theological and the epistemological foundations of the two main approaches. Moreover, it provides an attempt to critique what is perceived as an exclusivist and legalistic trend adopted by some authors. It argues that an alternative approach that acknowledges the priority of reason in ethics and is at the same time rooted in Islamic tradition would be more inclusive and constructive.

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“…God, in this scenario, commands what is good, rather than makes something good by virtue of His command. In general, the Muʿtazilīs conceded this point, and viewed divine revelation as a confirmation of a preexisting natural moral order (on this point see Emon ).…”

Section: Divine Commands As Human‐like Expressions Of the Willmentioning

confidence: 99%

Commands as Divine Attributes

Farahat¹

2016

Journal of Religious Ethics

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Theories of ethics that attempt to incorporate divine speech or commands as necessary elements in the construction of moral obligations are often viewed as vulnerable to a challenge based on the so‐called Euthyphro dilemma. According to this challenge, opponents of theistic ethics suppose that divine speech either informs one of a preexisting set of values and obligations, which makes it inconsequential, or is entirely arbitrary, which makes it irrational. This essay analyzes some of the debates on the nature of divine commands in eleventh‐century works of Islamic jurisprudence (uṣūl al‐fiqh). I show that Muʿtazilī jurisprudents advanced the view that divine commands were actions performed in time that had concrete manifestations, while Ashʿarīs argued that divine speech in general, and commands in particular, were eternal divine attributes. After exposing certain weaknesses in the Euthyphro‐inspired objections to theistic ethics, I argue that the Ashʿarī idea of commands as divine attributes is a promising move for scholars interested in defending a divine command view of moral obligation.

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Islamic Natural Law Theories

Cited by 12 publications

References 0 publications

Routledge Handbook of Religious Laws

Routledge Handbook of Religious Laws

Food Ethics: A Critique of Some Islamic Perspectives on Genetically Modified Food

Commands as Divine Attributes

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