Raising the Moral Bar: Reaching for the Beauty and Goodness of Iḥsān

Abstract

Raising the Moral BarReaching for the Beauty and Goodness of Iḥsān Amira Abou-Taleb (bio) In my research on the Qurʾan, I build upon the works of scholars who call for gender justice from within an Islamic framework. My interest is informed by the works of Omaima Abou Bakr and Mulki Al-Sharmani, who examine qurʾanic ethics of family and marriage, and it speaks to Abou Bakr's study of the jamālī aesthetics of the Qurʾan, as described in this roundtable. My work calls for raising the moral bar beyond "justice" to the qurʾanic mandate of iḥsān. Within Arabic morphology, words derived from the triliteral root ḥ-s-n, including iḥsān, fuse the meanings of beauty and goodness. The Qurʾan employs the root ḥ-s-n on 194 occasions. However, despite this high frequency, we still lack a comprehensive academic critical analysis of the concept in the Qurʾan. Across the globe, Muslims in Arabic and non-Arabic speaking contexts have internalized iḥsān within their common vocabularies. However, most references to iḥsān in Islamic literature reference hadith and not the Qurʾan as the main source. In a famous hadith—known as the Gabriel (Jibrīl) hadith—iḥsān represents the pinnacle of faith: it is akin to being in the presence of God. Through my research, I conduct a close textual analysis of the root ḥ-s-n and its morphological derivatives across the Qurʾan. The intra-qurʾanic hermeneutical approach (tafsīr al-Qurʾān bi-l-Qurʾān) that I use as an investigative lens facilitates a holistic reading of the concept of iḥsān. My findings reveal the presence of an intricate and elaborate "iḥsān paradigm in the Qurʾan." Through this iḥsān paradigm, the Qurʾan presents iḥsān as being integral to the Creator and to all of creation, including human beings. While nature appears to seamlessly follow an intricate cycle of universal harmony, the Qurʾan shows how human beings have the aptitude to live in and out of sync with this harmony: manifesting iḥsān allows one to uphold the harmony while injustice and transgression cause corruption upon earth. Furthermore, the Qurʾan frequently prompts individuals to contemplate [End Page 99] the magnificence of the surrounding natural order and commands human beings to uphold justice (ʿadl) and put forth iḥsān. The Qurʾan establishes justice as a prerequisite for the higher moral value of iḥsān, and it commands both. I analyze the complex implications of this hierarchy in verses that mandate iḥsān in family relationships and when dealing with those who are vulnerable in society. I also examine how the Qurʾan forwards iḥsān as a tool for conflict management. One thing that is important to highlight is the way in which the Qurʾan commands iḥsān at the most difficult times, such as during marital strife and divorce. This implies that acting in a beautiful manner calls for deep reflection and deliberation. Such a mandate counters the human tendency to react impulsively at times of difficulty, and it restrains egotistical desires that often lead to exploitation and transgression. Acting in iḥsān is, therefore, a highly intentional act. The ramifications of this for gender relations, and for all human relations for that matter, are immense. It shows how the Qurʾan places iḥsān at the heart of its moral worldview and presents justice as a mandatory step toward iḥsān. Without justice, there can be no iḥsān. Gender justice is thus not only a fundamental social goal but is also necessary to fulfill the qurʾanic moral obligation of iḥsān. In the Qurʾan, those who manifest iḥsān are promised further iḥsān.1 The iḥsān paradigm thus presents a perpetual cycle of beauty and goodness that frames all relations. [End Page 100] Amira Abou-Taleb Amira Abou-Taleb is a doctoral fellow in the faculty of theology at the University of Helsinki whose research...