A Study of the Foundations and Methods of Moral Education in the Noble Qur’an with a Focus on the Views of Allāmah al-Ṭabāṭabāʾī and Imam Fakhr al-Rāzī

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 PhD student, Department of Theology, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran

2 Assistant professor of Theology and Islamic Studies Department at Islamic Azad University of Najaf Abad Branch

3 Assistant Professor Department of Theology, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran.

10.22034/dqm.2024.19148.1103

Abstract

The interpretation and exegesis (tafsir and ta’wil) of Qur’anic verses have long been practiced in Muslim societies, with a history as old as the Qur’an itself. Islamic ethics, as a form of religious ethics, is a significant subject from both philosophical and theological standpoints. Qur’anic ethical discussions have been sporadically interpreted by great exegetes and Islamic scholars, and books titled “Ethics in the Qur’an” have been authored using a thematic interpretation (al-tafsir al-mawdu’i) approach to collectively address these issues. Ethical matters have always been of paramount importance, particularly as the agents and motivations for corruption and deviation are more prevalent in our modern era than ever before. Our age is one of amplified scales, where what was once done on a limited basis now occurs limitlessly and tangibly. Moral corruption has expanded widely, breaking down all boundaries. In such conditions, attention to ethical issues seems more necessary and crucial than at any other time. This research, through a descriptive-analytical methodology and reliance on various library sources, including the exegeses of Allamah Tabataba’i and Imam Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, endeavors to articulate and examine the foundations and methods of moral education in the Holy Qur’an. The most significant finding of this study is that both Allamah Tabataba’i and Fakhr al-Razi consider faith (Iman) as the foundation of moral education, yet they approach it from two different perspectives: Allamah focuses on what faith does (its functional and practical role), while al-Razi is more concerned with what faith is and how it can be proven and comprehended (its epistemological and ontological nature). These two viewpoints are complementary, beautifully illuminating the diverse dimensions of moral education in the Qur’an.

Keywords

References

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Contemporary Quranic Studies
Volume 4, Issue 12
September 2025
Pages 151-184

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