Ethics in Islamic Literary Criticism: Between Theory and Practice

Abstract

This study explores the role of ethics in Islamic literary criticism, emphasizing its dual focus on artistic beauty and moral responsibility. It demonstrates that Islamic criticism originated within the framework of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, where values such as truthfulness, justice, trustworthiness, and benevolence became fundamental criteria for evaluating literary texts. The research traces the historical development of Islamic criticism from the spontaneous evaluations of the pre-Islamic era, through the Umayyad and Abbasid periods with critics like Ibn Qutaybah, al-Jahiz, and Ibn Tabataba, and further into Andalusian and modern contexts. Practical applications are highlighted through the analysis of al-Hariri’s Maqamat, al-Jahiz’s epistles, and selected poetry by al-Mutanabbi and Ahmad Shawqi, showing how ethical principles are embedded in literary structures. A comparative study with Western approaches reveals that Islamic criticism is more comprehensive and authentic, as it is grounded in a religious framework that makes ethics an integral part of literary evaluation. The study concludes that Islamic literature cannot be separated from its ethical dimension, and that the success of literary texts lies in their ability to combine artistic pleasure with moral responsibility.