Building morals on religion according to Imam Muhammad Abduh

Abd Ellateef, Hassan

doi:10.21608/qarts.2025.348641.2139

Building morals on religion according to Imam Muhammad Abduh

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Hassan Abd Ellateef

10.21608/qarts.2025.348641.2139

Abstract

This study focuses on clarifying Muhammad Abduh’s effort in building morality on religion. The introduction included a statement of the close relationship between religion and morality, as confirmed by many thinkers. Then the study explained the centrality of morality in Muhammad Abduh’s thought and how moral values were a higher goal for his reform movement. He saw Happiness for the individual, society, is due to adherence to religion and virtue. Then the study takes care to present Muhammad Abduh’s method of building morals on the correct belief, and the fact that faith is the basis of virtues and directs to doing good, while atheism is the advocate of chaos and moral corruption, and it has demonstrated that the Islamic religion supports virtues, Its morals suit reason and common sense, and its acts of worship help refine the soul and develop virtues. This is what led to Muslims in the early eras becoming famous for their good morals and adherence to justice and tolerance with people of other religions. But the question arises: Why did Muslim morals change in later eras? Muhammad Abdo answered that the reason for the deterioration of Muslim morals is due to weak faith as well as a wrong understanding of religion. He called for a return to the correct faith and purifying them from what has been introduced into them from other cultures. He called for raising children on the correct teachings of Islam and for Friday sermons to be used to focus on morals.

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