Character Education in Islamic Thought: A Comparative Study of Al-Miskawaih and Al-Ghazali
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61166/demagogi.v4i2.194Keywords:
Character Education, Islamic Ethics, Akhlaq, Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb Miskawayh, Abu Hamid al-GhazaliAbstract
Character education has long been a central concern in Islamic intellectual tradition, particularly in the works of classical Muslim scholars who emphasised the development of moral virtues and ethical behaviour. This study examines the concept of character education in the thought of Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb Miskawayh and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, two prominent Muslim thinkers who significantly contributed to Islamic ethical philosophy. The research aims to analyse and compare their perspectives on the formation of moral character and the role of education in cultivating virtuous individuals. Using a qualitative library research method, this study examines primary texts such as Tahdhib al-Akhlaq by Al-Miskawaih and Ihya Ulum al-Din by Al-Ghazali, as well as relevant secondary literature. The findings reveal that Al-Miskawaih emphasises a rational and philosophical approach to moral education, highlighting the importance of intellectual discipline and balance among human faculties to achieve virtue. In contrast, Al-Ghazali focuses more on spiritual purification, emphasising the role of faith, self-discipline, and religious practices in shaping moral character. Despite their methodological differences, both scholars share a common goal of guiding individuals toward moral excellence and social harmony. This study concludes that integrating their perspectives can provide valuable insights for contemporary Islamic education, particularly in developing character-based curricula that combine intellectual development with spiritual and ethical formation.
Downloads
References
S. Rijal, A. Basir @ Ahmad, H. Desky, M. Tamtowi, and C. S. Safira, “IBN MISKAWAIH’S ETHICAL PHILOSOPHY AND ITS RELEVANCE TO MORAL EDUCATION IN INDONESIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS,” J. Ilm. Peuradeun., vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 695–720, 2025, doi: 10.26811/peuradeun.v13i1.1648.
H. F. Amedroz, “The Tajarib al-Umam of Abu ‘Ali Miskawaih,” Islam - Z. Gesch. Kult. Islam. Orients, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 335–357, 1914, doi: 10.1515/islm.1914.5.4.335.
H. F. Amedroz, “The Vizier Abu-1-Fadl Ibn al ’Amid Tajarib al-Umam of Abu ’Ali Miskawaih,” Islam - Z. Gesch. Kult. Islam. Orients, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 323–351, 1912, doi: 10.1515/islm.1912.3.1.323.
M. K. H. Othman, S. Abdullah, M. F. M. Yaakob, M. S. O. Fauzee, and N. Zakaria, “The development of student outcome in Al Hikmah aspects in the era of industrial revolution 4.0,” in AIP Conf. Proc., American Institute of Physics Inc., 2023. doi: 10.1063/5.0118921.
S. Khan, AN UNPUBLISHED TREATISE OF MISKAWAIH ON JUSTICE OR RISĀLA FĪ MĀHIYAT AL-‘ADL LI-MISKAWAIH. in An Unpublished Treatise of Miskawaih on Justice or RisĀla FĪ MĀhiyat Al-‘adl Li-Miskawaih. Brill, 2023, p. 38. doi: 10.1163/9789004662605.
S. A. I. S. M. Ghazali, M. Z. Hussein, and S. H. Sarijo, “3,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate interleaved into anionic clay for controlled release formulation of a new environmentally friendly agrochemical,” Nanoscale Res. Lett., vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 1–8, 2013, doi: 10.1186/1556-276X-8-362.
Z. Yildirim, “A Commentator on al-Ghazali in the 18th century ottoman empire: Lalezarii and his al-Mīzān al-Muqīm,” Ankara Univ.Ilahiyat Fakultesi Dergisi, vol. 61, no. 2, pp. 371–452, 2020, doi: 10.33227/auifd.698979.
A. A. Mohamed, M. A. Rozaq, M. Ndow, and M. Rabe, “Adab as the Epistemological Foundation of Islamic Education: A Study of Syed Naquib al-Attas,” 2025.
W. M. Watt, “A Forgery in al-Ghazālī’s Mishkāt?,” J.R. Asiat. Soc. G.B. Irel., vol. 81, no. 1–2, pp. 5–22, 1949, doi: 10.1017/S0035869X00102461.
S. A. Malik, “A Historical Introduction to Islam, Science, and Evolution: The Book Symposium on ‘Islam and Evolution: Al-Ghazālī and the Modern Evolutionary Paradigm’,” Theology Sci., vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 564–587, 2023, doi: 10.1080/14746700.2023.2255945.
M. H. Mahadi, M. H. Kamarzaman, M. A. S. Kamaruzaman, and M. H. Jalil, “A Model of Ethical Management in Organisations: An Analysis of al-Ghazali’s Theory of Management,” Int. J. Islamic Thought, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 126–132, 2023, doi: 10.24035/ijit.24.2023.275.
A. Shihadeh, “A Post-Ghazālian critic of Avicenna: Ibn Ghaylān al-Balkhī on the materia medica of the Canon of medicine,” J. Islam. Stud., vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 135–174, 2013, doi: 10.1093/jis/ett017.
A. H. B. Yusuf, “A Study of Conceptual Foundations of Maqāsid al-Sharī’ah (objectives of Islamic Law) as expounded by classical Muslim Jurists,” Islam. Q., vol. 64, no. 4, pp. 527–546, 2020.
S. Vasalou, Al-Ghazālī and the Ideal of Godlikeness. in Al-Ghazali and the Ideal of Godlikeness. Oxford University Press, 2025, p. 214. doi: 10.1093/9780198912477.001.0001.
A. A. Mohamed, H. Z. Harun, and U. Aliyu, “Gender and Religious Authority in Muslim Communities: A Systematic Qualitative Literature Review (2000–2025)”.
M. Fatimah, E. Muslimin, A. Sayidah, and A. A. Mohamed, “Technological mastery and competence development of Islamic religious education teachers in Wonogiri: Supporting SDG 4 on quality education,” Profetika: Jurnal Studi Islam, vol. 26, no. 01, pp. 245–258, 2025.
Y. T. Langermann, “Al-Ghazālī‘s Purported ‘Influence’ on Maimonides: A Dissenting Voice in Trending Scholarship,” Interpreting Maimonides: Critical Essays, pp. 26–45, 2018, doi: 10.1017/9781316875483.003.
A. H. Minnema, “Algazel Latinus: The Audience of the Summa theoricae philosophiae, 1150-1600,” Tradito, vol. 69, pp. 153–215, 2014, doi: 10.1017/S0362152900001951.
R. Skinner, “An islamic approach to psychology and mental health,” Ment. Health Relig. Cult., vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 547–551, 2010, doi: 10.1080/13674676.2010.488441.
“Correction to: The īmurgh in Chach: bird symbolism in the Rawdat al-fariqayn (British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, (2022), 49, 4, (580-594), 10.1080/13530194.2020.1833707),” Br. J. Middle East. Stud., vol. 52, no. 2, p. 563, 2025, doi: 10.1080/13530194.2023.2192558.
J. Janssens, “Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī’s Use of al-Ghazālī’s Mishkāt in His Commentary on the Light Verse (Q 24:35),” Islam. Philos. Theology Sci. Texts Stud., vol. 98, pp. 229–252, 2016, doi: 10.1163/9789004307490_010.
M. Buzaglo, “Gödel’s Second Theorem and the Provability of God’s Existence,” Log. Universalis, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 541–549, 2019, doi: 10.1007/s11787-019-00235-z.
F. S. Dzulkefli, A. R. Ghazali, K. Xin, and M. H. Mad Zahir, “Full wavefield propagation simulations and the effects on elastic mode conversion in strong heterogeneous media for better multi-component processing and reservoir characterization,” in EAGE Reserv. Geosci. Conf., ResGeo, European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers, EAGE, 2018. doi: 10.3997/2214-4609.201803278.
Y. T. Sangaré, “End of prophecy and heresy in al-Ghazali (505/1111),” Stud. Islam., vol. 112, no. 1, pp. 76–98, 2017, doi: 10.1163/19585705-12341348.
S. M. Zwemer, “James Rendel Harris on Al‐Ghazali,” Muslim World, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 51–54, 1942, doi: 10.1111/j.1478-1913.1942.tb01983.x.
R. Arjmand, “Embodiment in education in the Islamic world,” The Palgrave Handb. of Embodiment and Learn., pp. 519–540, 2022, doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-93001-1_31.
A. Alwishah, “Introduction,” Aristotle and the Arabic Tradition, pp. 1–10, 2015, doi: 10.1017/CBO9781316182109.001.
H. Atapour, A. Hamdipour, A. Majidi, and M. Heidari, “Citation Analysis of Muslim Scholars of the Islamic Golden Age on the Web of Science,” Int. J. Inf. Sci. Manage., vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 103–146, 2025, doi: 10.22034/ijism.2025.2037025.1552.
A. A. Mohamed, Q. Bezibweki, M. Ndow, M. Rab, and M. Elbanna, “The Influence of Hassan Elbanna on Islamist Movements in the Middle East and Southeast Asia,” 2025.
M. F. Yusoff, J. A. A. Bakar, and R. C. Mat, “Guidelines for developers when developing an Islamic mobile app: A conceptual framework,” Multidiscip. Sci. J., vol. 6, no. 11, 2024, doi: 10.31893/multiscience.2024162.
Ö. Akdağ, “God’s power and impossibility in al-Ghazali and Thomas Aquinas,” Cumhur. Ilah. Derg., vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 147–166, 2016, doi: 10.18505/cuifd.78659.
N. Y. Mohamed, Ghazali’ s Epistemology: A Critical Study of Doubt and Certainty. in Ghazali’ s Epistemology: A Critical Study of Doubt and Certainty. Taylor and Francis, 2023, p. 144. doi: 10.4324/9781003403562.
I. Charaf, “Conceptualisation and organization of knowledge between the 10 tg and 14th centuries in Arabic culture,” Knowl. Organ., vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 213–221, 2004.
M. Campanini, “IN DEFENCE OF SUNNISM: AL- GHAZALI AND THE SELJUQS,” The Seljuqs: Politics, Society and Culture, pp. 228–239, 2014.
E. Somay, E. Topkan, and U. Selek, “Commentary on ‘Predictors of survival among head and neck cancer patients after radiotherapy based on health-related quality of life indices and symptoms-specific outcomes: a systematic review,’” Qual. Life Res., vol. 34, no. 9, pp. 2547–2548, 2025, doi: 10.1007/s11136-025-04000-2.
M. A. Sway, “Islamic Narratives of Duty, Supererogation, and Ithar,” Handb. of Supererogation, pp. 349–360, 2023, doi: 10.1007/978-981-99-3633-5_20.
H. Laluddin et al., “An analysis of maslahah’s development through al-ghazali pre and post al-ghazah periods,” Int. Bus. Manage., vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 187–193, 2012, doi: 10.3923/ibm.2012.187.193.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Alwy Ahmed Mohamed, Muk Andhim
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
