Fitrah in Islam and Ren Xing in Confucianism: its relation to Islamic and Confucian ethics

Mohd Nor, Nur Suriya (2017) Fitrah in Islam and Ren Xing in Confucianism: its relation to Islamic and Confucian ethics. In: International Seminar on Islam, Confucianism and the Moderate Path of Civilization, 28th September 2017, Sungai Long, Kajang Selangor. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

This paper seeks to discuss the concept of fitrah in Islam and its relation to Islamic Ethics. Islamic Ethics is defined as “good character.” The motive force in Islamic ethics is the notion that every human being is called to “command the good and forbid the evil” in all spheres of life. Muslims understand the role of Prophet Muhammad as endeavouring to facilitate this submission. In Islam, man is inherently good on what is termed as fitrah i.e. innate disposition. The doctrine of fitrah is essentially that all human beings are born onto some disposition towards monotheism, along with a disposition to good moral values. Human beings exhibit both good and evil actions which tell that the humans are capable of both good and evil. Interestingly, Mencius believed that people in Confucianism are basically born good. According to him, human nature (ren xing) is inherently good and since we draw the difference between right and wrong from our own mind, these ideas are innate. Thus, this paper aims to highlight similarities between fitrah in Islam and ren xing in Confucianism.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Plenary Papers)
Additional Information:	7233/64457
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Human Nature, Fitrah, Islamic Ethics, Ren Xing, and Confucian Ethics
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences > Department of Usul al-Din and Comparative Religion Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences
Depositing User:	Dr Nur Suriya Mohd Nor
Date Deposited:	16 Oct 2018 10:31
Last Modified:	16 Oct 2018 10:31
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/64457

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