(Definition and Samples from the Role of Imagination in Islamic Morality)

Imagination, particularly ethical imagination is a category having gained less attention in regard to its definition and nature, and investigating its role in many ethical systems and theories including Islamic ethics has been neglected. To achieve this purpose, a definition of ethical imagination is proposed and its relation with current paradigms is studied. Subsequent to illustrating the relation and differences between ethical imagination and the concepts like superstition or belief in the unseen, the role and effect of imagination will be analyzed in two separate levels: the level of formal principles and the level of norms of Islamic ethics. To do so, the function of imagination in the golden rule is analyzed as an important principle among the formal principles of Islamic ethics and by investigating some virtues and vices such as interest free loan, backbiting, zakat, murder and rehabilitation, the role of imagination in the realm of norms will be analyzed.