Islamic Ethics (al-Adab al-Shar’iyya)

A study of
Mandhumat al-Adab – A didactic poem on ethics
By Ibn ‘Abd al-Qawi (d. 699)


Allah praise be to Allah, who gifted us to Islam and guided us to the path of His Prophet – SallAllahu ‘alaihi wa-sallam. Surely, without His guidance we would be in complete loss.

May the peace and the blessings of Allah be upon the Prophet, His companions, His family and all those who followed them in righteousness until the Day of Judgement.

Welcome to our online lessons on Islamic Ethics, known in Arabic as al-Adab al-Shar’iyya (?????? ???????).

The science of Adab refers to the sayings and actions of a person, inwardly and outwardly, for which one deserves praise, and therefore, something one ought to have.

This science, therefore, concentrates on a person’s inward dimensions, keeping his heart, soul and mind in a healthy state; as it also focuses in on one’s outer dimensions keeping his statements, actions, behaviour, and conduct in a healthy condition.

The early scholars would urge a person to begin with Adab before learning Hadeeth or other sciences.

Al-Nakh’i says of the early scholars (even though he himself is from the early scholars): ‘When they would approach a person to seek knowledge, they would first look at his manners, his prayers and his state, and only then would they take from him’

‘Umar would say: ‘Seek Adab, and then learn knowledge’

‘Abd Allah b. al-Mubarak would say: ‘One does not become noble by acquiring a type of science, until he beautifies it with Adab’

Hence, the Salaf would acquire Adab by accompanying the scholars, before seeking knowledge. Only after learning Adab on a satisfactory level, would their teachers impart to them the understanding of religion (fiqh), and only after that one of them would become a leading authority and a reference point for the Muslims.

Unfortunately, in our age the process has been reversed. One often becomes a leading authority before having gained the understanding of religion (fiqh), let alone Adab. Only by Allah’s grace do some of these leaders realise their errors, and turn to the fiqh of religion, only to realise that their leadership has already caused much irreversible harm, and that they are now too old to learn.

Adab is a science that teaches one how to behave internally and externally; How to react inside when some good comes, or some calamity befalls, and how to react externally when faced with trials, tribulations. Therefore, this science tames the soul and keeps it in balance and firm like a lofty mountain firmly rooted in the earth, unshaken by earthquakes of whatever magnitude.


Was-salamu ‘alaikum