Islamic ethics

Islamic ethics is the "philosophical reflection upon moral conduct" with a view to defining "good character" and attaining the "pleasure of God". It is distinguished from "Islamic morality", which pertains to "specific norms or codes of behavior".
It took shape as a field of study or an "Islamic science", gradually from the 7th century and was finally established by the 11th century. Although it was considered less important than sharia and fiqh "in the eyes of the ulama" "moral philosophy" was an important subject for Muslim intellectuals.
Many scholars consider it shaped as a successful amalgamation of the Qur'anic teachings, the teachings of Muhammad, the precedents of Islamic jurists, the pre-Islamic Arabian tradition, and non-Arabic elements embedded in or integrated with a generally Islamic structure. Although Muhammad's preaching produced a "radical change in moral values based on the sanctions of the new religion... and fear of God and of the Last Judgment"; the tribal practice of Arabs did not completely die out. Later Muslim scholars expanded the religious ethic of the Qur'an and Hadith in immense detail.

Terminology

A number of related terms refer to the right way to behave in Islam: Akhlaq, Adab, Ihsan.

Akhlaq

Akhlaq, is the practice of virtue, morality and manners in Islamic theology and falsafah. Akhlaq is the most commonly used Islamic term for morality.
The science of ethics teaches that through practice and conscious effort man can surpass their natural dispositions and natural uncorrupted state to become more ethical and well mannered. Akhlaq is a kind of normative ethical system known as "virtue ethics", which is based on "virtues, or moral character", rather than "conceptions of the right or the good ".
Akhlaq is not found in the Quran, but its root – kh-l-q – is shared by khaliq and makhluq, which are found throughout the Quran. It is most commonly translated in English-Arabic dictionaries as: disposition, nature, temper, ethics, morals or manners or in general a person who has good manners, and behaves well.

Adab

Adab in the context of behavior, refers to prescribed Islamic etiquette: "refinement, good manners, morals, decorum, decency, humaneness". While interpretation of the scope and particulars of Adab may vary among different cultures, common among these interpretations is regard for personal standing through the observation of certain codes of behavior. To exhibit Adab would be to show "proper discrimination of correct order, behavior, and taste."
A description of the difference between Akhlaq and Adab is:

Aklaq is ethics, the 'moral philosophy'; Ethics/ morality. Islamic behaviour, disposition, good conduct, nature, temper, ethics, morals or character of a person.
Adab is "the actual practices of moral philosophy"; Manner, attitude, behaviour and the etiquette of putting things in their proper place "a culture of refined behavior shaped the ethical outlook of urban Muslims" There were writings setting forth "the virtues for different classes and groups to honor, including the ulama, rulers, bureaucrats, merchants and craftsmen".

Furthermore, according to one source, sharia is not just concerned with concerned "with legal rules and regulations indicating "what man is entitled or bound to do,... but also what he ought, in conscience, to do or refrain from doing. Thus, shari’ah... embraces both private and public activities."

Ihsan

Iḥsān, is an Arabic term meaning "beautification", "perfection" or "excellence", but is also defined in Islam as ethics/morality "literally virtue, including right living", and is a matter of taking one's inner faith and showing it in both deed and action.

Other terms

Other terms found in the Quran that "denote the concept of moral or religious goodness"
are:

al-khayr,
al-birr,
al-qisr,
al-iqsat,
al-adl,
al-haqq,
al-ma’ruf, and
al-taqwa.
"Pious actions" are "normally referred to" as salihat; "impious or sinful actions" as sayyi’at.
Ethics v. morality

Juan E. Campo describes the difference between Akhlaq/ethics and morality in Islam as :

Ethics means philosophical reflection upon moral conduct, while morality pertains to specific norms or codes of behavior. Questions of ethics, therefore, involve such subjects as human nature and the capacity to do good, the nature of good and evil, motivations for moral action, the underlying principles governing moral and immoral acts, deciding who is obliged to adhere to the moral code and who is exempted from it, and the implications of either adhering to the moral code or violating it. Morality encompasses the values and rules that govern human conduct...

Scriptural sources

Quran

The Quran, which Muslims believe to be the verbatim word of God, serves as the primary source of moral teachings in Islam. Verse declares:

"Righteousness is not in turning your faces towards the east or the west. Rather, the righteous are those who believe in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Books, and the prophets; who give charity out of their cherished wealth to relatives, orphans, the poor, ˹needy˺ travellers, beggars, and for freeing captives; who establish prayer, pay alms-tax, and keep the pledges they make; and who are patient in times of suffering, adversity, and in ˹the heat of˺ battle. It is they who are true ˹in faith˺, and it is they who are mindful ˹of Allah˺."

Another verse states:

"Believers are those … who avoid vain talk; who are active in deeds of charity; who abstain from sex except with their wives, or whom their right hands possess. Thus they’re free from blame, but those whose desires exceed those limits are transgressors. Believers faithfully observe their trusts and covenants and keep their prayers. They will be the heirs, who will inherit Paradise, where they will dwell."

However, the Quran offers "more in the way of general principles"—justice, goodness, kindness, forgiveness, honesty, and piety – "than specific rules".

The Ten Commandments In Quran

Quran provides the Ten Commandments which is believed to be as originally revealed to Moses:
Evidence for these verses having some relation to Moses and the Ten Commandments is from the verse which immediately follows them:
According to a narration in Mustadrak Hakim, Ibn Abbas, a prominent narrator of Israiliyat traditions said, "In Surah Al-An`am, there are clear Ayat, and they are the Mother of the Book." He then recited the above verses.
Also in Mustadrak Hakim is the narration of Ubada ibn as-Samit:
Ibn Kathir mentions a narration of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud in his Tafsir:

Order	Commandment in the Quran	Surat Al-An'am	Surat Al-Isra	Corresponding in the Bible
First Commandment	Do not associate others with God			Do not put other gods before me
Second Commandment	Honour your parents			Honour thy father and thy mother
Third Commandment	Do not kill your children for fear of poverty			Do not murder
Fourth Commandment	Do not come near indecencies, openly or secretly.			Do not covet thy neighbour's wife, Do not commit adultery
Fifth Commandment	Do not take a life except justly			Do not murder
Sixth Commandment	Do not come near the property of the orphan except to enhance it			Do not covet his slaves, or his animals, or anything of thy neighbour
Seventh Commandment	Give full measure and weigh with justice			Does not exist, instead there is Remember the sabbath day
Eighth Commandment	Whenever you testify, maintain justice even regarding a close relative			Do not bear false witness against thy neighbour
Ninth Commandment	Fulfil your covenant with God			Do not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
Tenth Commandment	Follow God's path and not any other			Do not make unto thee any graven image or idols neither kneel before them nor worship them

Hadith

, which are based on reports of the teachings, deeds and sayings, silent permissions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as various reports about Muhammad's companions, also serves as an important source for Islamic moral teachings. Some hadith cited expressing good conduct, deeds, morals in Islam, and the importance of these include:

Narrated 'Aishah: the Messenger of Allah said: "Indeed among the believers with the most complete faith is the one who is the best in conduct, and the most kind to his family"
"Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that the Messenger of Allah,... 'I was sent to perfect the ethical conduct'."

A "famous" hadith "Hadith of jibril" describes the angel Jibril questioning Muhammad about "what is faith?" "what is Islam?" and "What is Ihsan ?", where in reply Muhammad lists the "Five Pillars of Islam", the "Six Articles of Faith", and describes Ihsan thusly:

"To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that He is looking at you."
Contrast with other faith-based systems

One perspective holds that Islamic ethics place less emphasis on original sin and asceticism than Christian ethics, and to a lesser extent, Jewish ethics. Unlike the doctrine of inherent sinfulness found in some Christian traditions, Islam is said to view human beings as born in a state of natural purity, capable of moral choice. Although the Qur’an contains over a hundred references to hell and judgment, it also emphasizes trust in God, gratitude, and life-affirming values such as generosity and moral stamina. Islamic ethical teachings, including the concept of vicegerency and obligatory acts like zakat, are often framed in terms of social responsibility and active moral conduct. This view contrasts with what has been described as the more ascetic or sin-focused tendencies in other Abrahamic traditions.