determination of right and wrong

• The determination of the right and wrong of an act has been discussed since the Greek times
• There is a difference of opinion about right and wrong criteria because there is no source that can be used as a guide
• Each school of thought expressed a view or theory based on their own thoughts
• Views on right and wrong values in western society

  • Lickona (1993), Greenland and Robinson (1980) reject the ability of religious values in providing guidance
  • Nucci (1987) explains that the concept of morality is not related with the religion
  • Downey & Kelly (1978) stated that students in the west reject religious education
  • Personalism prioritizes individual autonomy and subjectivity
  • Positivism views morality as relative according to individual personal judgement
  • Pluralism and Secularism contribute to the decline of religious values in moral education
  • Liberalism focuses on individual freedom in all aspects of life from religious ties
  • Humanism sees man as God in which man is able to determine everything
  • Empiricism rejects the role of religion and the role of God in moral and value education
  • Kay (1968) and Harmin (1988) stress the importance of religion in value education
  • Gross (1999) that religion is an important factor in moral development
  • Blair (2002) agrees that religious schools including Islamic religious schools in the west have provided positive services and support moral education
• In Islam, the determination of right and wrong of an act is clear and concrete because the sources of Islamic teachings are absolute, which are Al-Quran, As-Sunnah and ijtihad
• Criteria that determine the measure of right and wrong in Islam

  • Complying with Islamic law
  • Getting God's pleasure
  • Heaven and hell reward
  • Compatibility between outward and inner
• The criteria for determining whether an act is right or wrong in Islam is based on clear and stable criteria
• The five levels of the value of an act in Islam

  • Wajib (obligatory)
  • Sunnah (encouraged)
  • Haram (forbidden)
  • Makruh (disliked action)
  • Harus (permissible)
• Makruh acts


  • Talking in the bathroom
  • Eating food that smells bad
  • Bathing in water that is basking in the heat of the sun