Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

The Arabic term akhlaq (pl. of khulq) for ethics does not occur in the Koran. There are however few words that suggest technical terminology for the ethics. The most prominent word for virtuous conduct is salih or other words from the root, which occur some 171 times in the Koran. The root appears in verbal forms: "Who does right (man salaha) from among their fathers, wives, and offspring" (40:8, 13:23). Its most common form is a nominal in stereotype with amila as "do good deeds" or "those who do virtuous acts" (alladhina amilu l-salihat) (2:25) and numerous other instances. Amila l-salihat is so common as to amount almost to a chorus in Koranic discourse. Very often salih is joined to other fundamental Koranic concepts: "For those who have faith and do good deeds there shall be no transgression (junah) concerning what they have eaten, therefore, fear God and have faith and do good deeds; then, fear God and have faith; then fear God and do kindness (ahsanu); God loves those who do kindness" (5:93). Salih-acts explicitly earn the doer paradise (2:25, 5:93).

Another Koranic term for virtue is birr and various derivatives of the root letter b-r-r. The word birr seems to be a general word connoting virtue or righteousness in the context of religious attitudes and acts, and can occur also in verbal form: "