نشریه اخلاق وحیانی
سال سوم شماره 1 (پیاپی 4، بهار و تابستان 1392)

Considerations in ethical ties between man and his environment have led to the formation of the field of “environmental ethics”. This dynamic field has equally involved philosophers, theologians, historians, experts and environmental activists in some serious issues, which has, in turn, led to the diversity of attitudes and views in this area. The present study is an attempt to analyze the backgrounds of the emergence of this area and to report the existing views on it as well as to illustrate the future prospects of this field through a historical perspective. Moreover, one of the controversial issues in this field is the role of religion in saving or ruining the environment which will be analyzed in this paper.

Most states in today’s world have regulated their foreign policies in accordance with the theory of Neorealism and are working towards enhancing their power and interests. These states operate in international arena under the reign of chaos and secularization of politics. In contrast to this predominant approach, ethics is at the core of politics in Islam. This is why the main purpose of the foreign policy of Iran, based on its constitution, is not just the achievement of its national interests, but the realization of the interests of the entire humanity, though this goal might lead to the sacrifice of some financial interests. The purpose of this paper, thus, is to compare the foreign policy of Iran and the foreign policy based on the theories dominating the international relations based on “Neorealism”, “Liberalism”, and “Constructivism”. The research method adopted in this study is of descriptive-analytic kind and the data have been gathered through a library research method. The results revealed that despite differences in their political, financial, cultural and ideological conditions, all governments pursue similar goals regarding their national interests in the international arena. However, based on Islam’s viewpoint, one particular nation must not be the basis for decision-making and an Islamic government must pay attention to the interests of all the people of the world.

The relation of religion and ethics as two great and lofty domains of human life has received considerable attention from intellectuals throughout history, and at least from the time of Plato onward, as these two domains are responsible for the wellbeing and welfare of the mundane man and based on the degree of their dependence on or independence of each other they create totally different systems and patterns. Based on one of these assertions, ethics and ethical practices are impossible to be practiced unless by relying on the revealed teachings and this maximum reliance is to the extent that some or all of the ethical concepts would be semantically indefinable without reference to religious concepts. However, evidently, none of the various forms of such relations, even in their modified versions - which consider ethical qualities to be combined with some constraints pertaining to the voluntary acts of a compassionate and beneficent Allah - have had the strength or the stamina to overcome the critiques and problems ahead of them.

The present paper entitled “Ethics and Peaceful Conduct towards the Followers of Denominations” seeks to demonstrate the Shiites’ desirable way of conduct towards the followers of other Islamic denominations. To this end, the contents of this article have been divided into two sections of “Moral Dilemmas” and “Moral Values” in the way of conduct towards the followers of other denominations. In the first section, i. e. the Moral Dilemmas, the ethical “don’ts” and blameworthy behaviors have been addressed and in the second section the moral values which must be observed in one’s behavior towards the followers of other denominations have been studied. Observing ethics in one’s conduct towards other Muslims is, in effect, in line with the instructions of the Quran with regard to unity among Muslims (واعتصموا بحبل الله جمیعا و لا تفرقوا) and also the theory of the Approximation of the Islamic Denominations, for, in the author’s opinion, the only removable obstacle to the solidarity of the followers of all of the Islamic denominations is the lack of adherence to Islamic ethics. Hence, if a clear distinction is made between the ideological differences and ethical behavior and conduct with Muslims, then religious differences would not be a barrier to observing ethics and treating Muslims peacefully. Thus, this study intends to demonstrate the fact that, despite all of their disagreements and differences in their religious attitudes, the followers of all Islamic denominations can achieve approximation and a peaceful life based on their common ethical standards taught by the honorable Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his household) for the perfection of which he was delegated as a Prophet.

The holy Quran has been revealed as a Divine scripture and a standing miracle for the education and guidance of mankind and it is because of this property of the Quran (i.e. guidance) that the verses of the Quran have been studied in this paper to identify the best educational strategies and methods from the perspective of the Quran. These strategies have been categorized into three main strategies in this paper; although other categorizations are also possible. Thus, the present paper analyzes the educational strategies in three separate categories: the first strategy is the cognitive-intuitive strategy. This strategy addresses, the Quranic verses, whose purpose is to address the issues of the origin, the end and the reason of man’s creation, and by directing mankind towards contemplation, remembering the resurrection, paying attention to Allah’s bounties and learning from the mistakes of the people in the past this strategy attends to such cognition and intuition. The second strategy is the attitudinal strategy. This strategy attends to those statements in the Quran that fuel man’s enthusiasm to act. The cultivation of faith, fostering love and affection, penance, premonition, glad tiding, reward and punishment are among the methods employed by this strategy. Yet, the third strategy which has been attended to in the Quran is a set of behavioral strategies which seek to guide those under education. Presenting moral-educational examples in practice, creating role models, respecting the personality of those being educated, admonition, tests and afflictions are but some of the methods employed in this strategy.

The purpose of the present research is to study the role of Islamic ethics in leading the man beings to perfection. The research method adopted is of document analysis and descriptive kind. The research domain included the primary sources (including the holy Quran, and the resources attributed to the Prophet of Islam and the pure Imams as well as the works of great religious scholars) and secondary sources (scientific works derived from rich Islamic resources) which include books, journals, dissertations, religious internet websites and other research studies related to this study. Sampling was done through purposive sampling, thus only the resources related to the topic of this research were utilized. Moreover, the instrument of research has been note-taking in this study. This study aims at answering the following questions:What is the role and significance of ethics in the viewpoint of Islam?What is the role of ethics in the personal and social life from the perspective of the Quran and that of the infallibles? What are the incentives of individuals in striving for perfection?What are the ethical principles and practices for leading mankind to perfection from the viewpoint of the Quran and the infallibles?The results of this study indicated that the ethical practices explicated by the Quran, the Prophet of Islam, and the pure Imams have indeed illuminated the way to perfection for mankind, by practicing which, true perfection can be achieved. Finally some implications and suggestions have been presented to make the results of this research practical.