In recent years, the conjunction of corporate and ethics is oxymoron. This is owed to the many sensational corporate and financial scandals that had taken place in many countries, which have been detrimental to the economy and society. With corporate scandals continue to dominate media headlines, the current spate of questionable behaviours of business executives is a hotly debated subject. The concept of ethics refers to the moral principles and values that generally governs the conducts of a person or entity. Hence,
it is generally agreed that ethics is about what constitute right or wrong and good or bad conduct. But ethics as a moral standard can mean different things to different people depending on a number of factors including culture, education, norms; which creates ambiguity on how one defines “right from wrong” and “good from bad”. Different scholars have adopted different standards in distinguishing between what is deemed right from the wrong. Because of that, there are several ethical theories explaining the ethics concept from different perspectives. Based on non-Islamic perspectives (mainly developed by Western scholars), ethics can be defined based on one of the following standards:
Allah S.W.T says:
“and We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy for all creatures”
(Al-Quran, 21:107)
- Culture:
Because ethics can be understood only based on a particular society, there is no universal ethical principal that can be followed by all people in different countries.
- Religion:
Religion is the only source to know ethics. This perspective was/is not accepted in the West due to several reasons.
- Character:
Ethics can be seen in individuals by following specific traits and values. It is about building a good person regardless of his/her actions.
- Action:
Ethics are achieved when an action (any kind of action) results in a greater good for the majority of the society.
However, to the writer’s knowledge and research, there is no absolute and comprehensive theory that can explain what would be the right thing to do in each situation. Every perspective is looking from one point of view only, which results in limiting its applicability. Moreover, finding a common theory for the mentioned perspectives (in which all standards can be combined in one theoretical basis) in the Western literature is challenging to say the least. This is due to the disagreement among Western ethical theorists in identifying a common and comprehensive ethical system for making such ethical decision.
In contrast, the Islamic ethical theory defines the terms such as right, wrong, good, bad, meritorious, non-meritorious, and obligation based on the Islamic main sources, which are the Quran and Sunnah. In addition, culture (A’uruf) is considered as one of the Islamic secondary sources as long as it does not contradict with these two main sources. Islam also prioritises the interest of the majority (Maslla’ah), and at the same time ensures that minorities have their own rights (including the safeguard of their wealth) that cannot be violated even by the majority.
Character building of Muslims is the ultimate result of the main Islamic worships, i.e. prayer, zakat, fasting, and hajj (pilgrimage). As supported by the Quran and Sunnah, prayer should prevent Muslims from doing shameful and unjust deeds. Zakat is to help the poor and to purify the givers’ souls. It teaches Muslims to be generous and caring for others. Fasting helps in building traits like honesty and self-control and should result in achieving taqwa (piety). Hajj develops good characteristics such as kindness, altruism, tolerance, and patience. In other words, the Islamic ethical theory does not only include both ethical action and building character with virtue ethics, but it is more comprehensive than that as it combines all standards (i.e. culture, Maslla’ah, and character) under the main standard of complying with the Quran and Sunnah. Ethics are protected by iman (faith and beliefs). As Muslims believe (iman) in the Hereafter’s rewards and know that the purpose of the existence of mankind is to do all kind of goods. The Islamic ethical theory covers all aspects of life and considers the ability of humans in implementing ethics. things and actions (ibadah) in order to please Allah swt, which will ultimately result in entering Aljannah (the Paradise). Iman is the main motive for Muslims to engage in good deeds and to avoid the wrong things. In other words, even if there is a corrupted management or bad governance, iman is the only guarantee that Muslims will not be involved in any wrongdoings. Because of that, in Islam, ethics will not be effectively implemented without the incorporation of iman as part of ethics. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) described the most complete believers (mua’ameneen) as those who have the highest level of morality.
The Islamic ethical theory covers all aspects of life and considers the ability of humans in implementing ethics.
In Islam, the term ‘akhlaq’ is commonly translated as ethics. As for the concept for the right thing to do, Quran uses a variety of terms to emphasise the concept of ethics, such as haqq (truth), ma’ruf (approved), khayr (goodness), birr (righteousness), and salihat (good actions). There are many verses from the Quran that can be used as a basis to identify the meaning of “the right thing to do”.
The Islamic ethical theory covers all aspects of life and considers the ability of humans in implementing ethics. Unfortunately, there are a number of Islamic ethical studies/research that looked at specific jobs and professions in order to develop the appropriate ethical code of conduct for every kind of career or job such as managers, financial analysts, marketers, accountants, traders, bankers, regulators, government officers…. etc. There is a need for a clear and detailed Islamic ethical code of conduct for each job as the nature of one job (for example a CEO of private company) is different from other jobs (such as auditor of the same company).
It is the responsibility of Muslim researchers and scholars (especially in the Muslim world) to develop such codes based on the Islamic main sources by taking into account the other standards (i.e. culture, maslla’ah, and character) and through a scientific and academic modern approach. This will highlight the beauty of Islamic teachings and bring harmony with other religions and cultures as there are many ethical similarities between the Islamic and the Western perspectives.
Allah S.W.T says: “and We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy for all creatures” (Al-Quran, 21:107).
