The many different religions in the world today often hold different significant beliefs. While they, at times, hold similar beliefs, the framework of the execution of beliefs is often varied. As a polytheistic community whose nature of pleasing their gods also involved being indulgent, the Arab religion was significantly different from the Islamic religion in terms of ethics and principles. As a result, the ethics of the Arab people and their religious beliefs were rapidly altered to fit the new religion. This essay draws heavily from Toshihiko Izutsu to argue that although the Islam religion and the traditional Arab communities hold shared values, the shared values of these religions are significantly different in their ethical framework. As a result, the Arab community had to conform to the change.
For starters, the introduction of Islam changed the entire outlook on the virtue of generosity. Traditional Arab generosity, as represented in tales and poems, was mainly done as a public demonstration of nobility and extended even to strangers[1]. While it is not wrong to share with strangers, the generosity was rooted in over-indulgence and was a sign of show-off aimed at getting the approval and respect of fellow men[2]. Additionally, this over-indulgence was not solely focused on food or helping people in need but also on alcoholic drinks, with the noble members of society drinking a lot and providing wine and alcoholic beverages to guests. While men were very generous in traditional Arab society, the same cannot be said for women, as they most often had to be the voice of reason in the family.[3]. The effects of over-indulgence tasked them with the responsibility to speak to reproach their men from participating in overindulgent gestures as is recorded in activities, as recorded in poems and tales of the Arab community. In other words, men and women were not held in the same regard when it came to generosity in the Arab culture.
The introduction of Islam to the Arab culture, however, presented a new approach to the ethical framework of generosity. According to the Quran, generosity was no longer a sign of over-indulgence but that of communion with God and others[4]. As a result, when Muslims gave, they did so without thinking of the approval of men, as the approval of men translated to sin. Additionally, the Quran introduced a new dynamic where generosity required a balance such that there would be no wastefulness and greed[5]. While there are recordings of generous men of faith in the Quran, they were not over-indulgent. Instead, the Quran calls for sharing with the needy in a way that is not wasteful; that is, there is a need for balance between sharing and being stingy. Even in the realm of giving in the concept of offerings to Allah, Muslims were not required to give in the honor of men but in the honor of God alone.[6]. In that way, the Quran presented a new ethical framework to the believers.
Similarly, traditional Arab beliefs prided themselves in the excessiveness of courage. In the desert environments that most Arabs inhabit, courage is a necessary virtue, mainly due to the extreme weather and limited resources[7]. Arabs had to exhibit their courage in the defense of their property and their people. As such, cowardice was shunned, and a soldier who had turned his back against a battle that would protect him or his people was unheard of. The courage praised and required in Arab society was also significantly indulgent and aimed at attaining the praises of other people in the community. Warriors who exhibited bravery and courage were highly praised and loved by the community, while cowardice was a recipe for shame and disrespect within the community. Additionally, courage in these communities was shown in the form of revenge in the event that an individual or a community was wronged by the other, and it restored honor among such people and communities.
On the contrary, Islam introduced courage with respect to the honor of God. In this light, the Islamic faithful are considered courageous if they express their courage with reverence to God and not for the honor of men. For example, the Quran encourages believers to smite the Kafirs as it is an honorable course before God[8]. There is, therefore, a sense of direction offered by the Quran as to how and when to exhibit courage, and that is significant in protecting the faith. The Islamic faith, similar to the Arab beliefs and culture, shuns cowardice. The Quran classifies cowardice as a sin. Islam does not encourage giving up in battle; in fact, the Quran states that if believers encounter Kafirs matching toward them, they should not turn back.[9]. The word also proceeds to state that even if individuals swear that they are Islam, if they are cowards, then they do not belong to the faith. The only way through which the Quran sets itself apart from Arab beliefs is that courage is encouraged in preserving the faith for the glory of God and not oneself.
Moreover, although the traditional Arab communities wholeheartedly believed in being loyal, the framework of loyalty in their beliefs and those of the Islamic culture differ. For the Arab community, loyalty revolved around keeping promises and being trustworthy and faithful[10]. There were grave consequences, including death due to disloyalty, but most importantly, a loyal man was an honorable man. Calmness and integrity, both of which are values associated with loyalty in the traditional Arab community and associated with blamelessness[11]. As such, men strived to honor their commitment to their community and even outsiders if they had made such a commitment. The Arabic concept of loyalty kept the communities together and ensured trust.
The Islamic concept of loyalty wholly introduced the concept of loyalty in a similar way to the traditional Arab concept, except that it was modified to the monotheistic values of the Islamic religion. For starters, the most critical aspect of loyalty became loyalty to God, in which, like the Christian believers, Islam’s faithfulness is first loyal to God, worshipping no other God.[12]. Then, after loyalty to God comes loyalty to oneself and others. Just like in traditional Arab communities, the Quran highly encourages that individuals should be full of integrity and honesty. In the same way, God, as a participant in the covenant between Muslims and himself, is an active participant[13]. The Quran praises him as a god who is true to his word and also presents grave consequences for individuals who do not remain covenant in their relationship with God.
Additionally, a virtue that is quite similar to loyalty, that of integrity, is present in traditional Arab communities and is also present in Islamic beliefs but with specific differences that align it with Islamic beliefs. For starters, the Arab community, like most human communities, held the truth in high accord[14]. People were expected to tell the truth, and lying was vice. However, unlike the Islamic beliefs and concept of society, traditional Arabs did not have different truths, ways of presenting the truth, or types of truth. As a result, truth to them was a single concept that glorified itself in telling the truth as a means of presenting oneself as an honorable person. Lying was an embarrassing sin and a highly discouraged practice.
Despite the presentation of truth as the absence of lies, the Quran changed traditional Arab beliefs to conform to Islam in several ways. For starters, In Islam, God is the truth. This is different from Arab beliefs because God, as the truth, makes the truth more than just an action. As a powerful God with the power to create and cause the final resurrection is the truth, meaning that he is accurate and that he is the source of truth[15]. Another twist evident in Islamic beliefs is the presentation of revelations as the truth or reality. In the Quran, God reveals his word and the future to prophets, who then relay his message to his people, who then act from the point of knowledge[16]. Considering that God is truth, and the word that he sends as revelation is truth, it follows that Islam is the truth religion. Several verses of the Quran present the religion as true[17]. As a true religion, Islam urges believers to believe in God and his word only because that is the source of all truth. As evidence, the truth according to Islam is different from traditional Arab beliefs of truth because the truth comes not just from speech but also from God, His revelation, and religion.
Finally, the Arab virtue of patience is another way in which the presentation of Islamic beliefs impacted Arab traditions and beliefs. Among the Arab communities, the virtue of endurance was a must-have, especially given the extreme conditions that would last long. Patience in the Arab community required them to ensure circumstances that befell them without resulting in unnecessary violence.[18]. Endurance, a quality of inner strength, was overly necessary for the Arab community, even more than they required physical strength during challenging periods of their lives in the desert. The belief that hard times and circumstances would pass always propelled them to a better future.
On the other hand, Islam’s modification of this virtue is modified to exhibit a genuine belief in God. In spreading the word of Allah, according to the Quran, believers are expected to face hardships, opposition, and even hatred. It is to this challenge that the virtue of perseverance becomes a necessary trait for believers. Even in the old days, on the battlefield with the Kaffirs, Muslim believers were expected to exhibit perseverance.[19]. The pain that believers expect to face is not solely limited to the positive realm. Still, regardless of the manifestations of such pain, it is the responsibility of believers to persevere for the honor and glory of Allah. Additionally, apart from converting kaffirs, Muslims expect to find challenges in pursuit of their faith. The challenges that they face during these periods are a test of their patience and faith in their God. The result for believers who persevere is a reward from God, while those who backslide due to challenges of faith expect judgment.
Conclusively, Islam significantly impacted the ethical and religious worldviews of the Islamic community. While the ethical practices of both communities may bear similar names, they significantly differ in the way that they are practiced. While most of the ethical virtues practiced by Arab communities were purely for themselves so that they were perceived as honorable and noble in society, the Islamic worldview challenged these notions. Instead, they introduced a framework that was solely focused on ethics for the honor and glory of their God; in summary, the majority of the Islamic ethical practices focused on adapting to a monotheistic religion that believed in only one God.
Bibliography
Izutsu, Toshihiko. “V. The Islamization of Old Arab Virtues,” 74–105, n.d.
[1] Izutsu, Toshihiko. “V. The Islamization of Old Arab Virtues,” 74–105, n.d.
[2] Izustsu, 75
[3] Izutsu, 81
[4] Izutsu, 76-77
[5] Izutsu, 77
[6] Izutsu, 80
[7] Izutsu 84
[8] Izutsu, 85
[9] Izutsu, 86
[10] Izutsu, 87
[11] Izutsu, 87
[12] Izutsu, 88
[13] Izutsu, 89
[14] Izutsu, 97
[15] Izutsu, 97
[16] Izutsu, 98
[17] Izutsu, 99
[18] Izutsu, 102
[19] Izutsu, 103
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