al-Akhlaq al-Fadila Qawaid wa Muntalaqat li Iktisabiha
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al-Akhlaq al-Fadila: Qawa'id wa-Muntalaqat li-Iktisabiha (Virtuous Morals: Principles and Starting Points for Acquiring Them) is a contemporary treatise on Islamic ethics and moral cultivation authored by the Saudi scholar Abd Allah ibn Dayf Allah al-Ruhayli. It serves as a practical guide aimed at bridging theoretical ethics with practical behavioral application across human interactions with God, society, and oneself.
Background and Purpose
The book was published as the sixth installment in the author's series Dirasat fi al-Manhaj (Studies in Methodology). Al-Ruhayli began drafting the work around 1403 AH and completed the manuscript in Medina in Muharram 1416 AH (c. June 1995 CE), deciding to publish what was completed rather than delaying it.
Al-Ruhayli wrote the work to address a widespread misconception: the claim that human morals are purely innate and cannot be acquired or modified. He argues that moral refinement does not seek to eradicate natural human instincts—such as anger, appetite, or possessiveness—which is neither possible nor legislated, but rather to discipline and direct them toward moderation and the fulfillment of religious obligations without excess or negligence. The stated goal of the work is to provide an applied educational formula for moral reform accessible to rulers and subjects, scholars and learners, men and women alike.
Method and Sources
Although framed within a da'wah and pedagogical context, al-Ruhayli structured the treatise around specific methodological guidelines:
- Observation and Experience: Selecting and discussing topics based on personal observation and reflection on behavioral mistakes and rectifications in daily life.
- Scriptural Standard: Relying on the Quran and authentic Sunnah as the criterion for distinguishing between virtue and vice, while engaging innate human disposition (fitra) and sound reason (aql) as complementary faculties aligned with revelation.
- Hadith Authentication: Restricting textual evidence to authentic narrations, citing directly from Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim by their standard numbering, and verifying the authenticity of reports drawn from other collections.
- Limited Secondary Quotations: Rather than compiling a book of citations, al-Ruhayli limited lengthy quotations to two primary places: an abridgment of definitions from Abd al-Rahman Habannaka al-Maydani's al-Akhlaq al-Islamiyya wa-Ususuha in the first chapter, and verbatim excerpts from Ibn Hazm's al-Akhlaq wa-l-Siyar fi Mudawat al-Nufus in the fifth chapter.
Structure and Contents
The work is organized into chapters addressing both foundational concepts and practical maxims:
- Chapter One: Serves as an introductory framework outlining the definitions of moral qualities, innate versus acquired traits, and avenues for developing virtues—such as knowledge of legal rulings, behavioral training, living in righteous environments, following virtuous role models, societal pressure, and self-accounting. It also classifies morals into nine foundational roots (usul)—including the love of truth, mercy, willpower, collective drive, love for others, patience, generosity, magnanimity, and high ambition—and their respective subsidiary branches.
- Chapter Two: Examines moral maxims directly derived from verses of the Quran and authentic hadiths.
- Chapter Three: Presents fundamental rules and practical starting points for acquiring good character, formulating behavioral principles drawn from everyday interactions, such as treating others as one wishes to be treated and refusing to use personal hardship as an excuse for mistreating others.
- Chapter Five: Incorporates detailed discussions on remedying the soul, including selections from classical ethical literature such as Ibn Hazm's treatise on character.
Publication History
The book was first printed in Riyadh in 1417 AH (1996 CE). A second edition appeared in Riyadh in 1429 AH (2008 CE), followed by a third edition in 1436 AH (2015 CE).
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