The Ethics of Education: al-Is · faha ¯nı ¯’s al-Dharı ¯ ‘ a as a Source of Inspiration for al-Ghaza ¯lı ¯’s Mı ¯za ¯ n al-‘ Amal Yasien Mohamed* University of the Western Cape 1. Introduction E arly literary contributions to adab as an educational concept prepared the background for the educational thought of al-Ra ¯ghib al-Is · faha ¯nı ¯’s 1 pedagogical ideas which in turn influenced al-Ghaza ¯lı ¯ (d. 1111). Adab is an ethical concept which refers to “high quality of soul, good upbringing, urbanity and courtesy,” 2 as well as positive “moral and social upbringing, intellectual education and entertainment.” 3 Knowledge and its relation to moral action became an important theme between the 9th and 11th centuries 4 that was incorporated into the thought of al-Is · faha ¯nı ¯. The adab of * This research was undertaken at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies between October and December 2010. I would like to thank the National Research Foundation of South Africa for financial assistance. I am also grateful to Afifi al-Akiti of Oxford University, and David Solomon Jalajel of King Saud University, for their constructive comments and suggestions. 1 Al-Ra ¯ghib al-Is · faha ¯nı ¯ (Abu ¯ l-Qa ¯sim al-H · usayn b. Muh · ammad b. al-Mufad · d · al) (d. 1060) is well known for his Qur’a ¯nic lexicon, Kita ¯b Mufrada ¯t Alfa ¯z · al-Qur’ a ¯n, but less known for his Kita ¯b al-Dharı ¯ ‘ a ila ¯ Maka ¯rim al-Sharı ¯ ‘ a, ed. Abu ¯ l-Yazı ¯d al-‘Ajamı ¯ (Cairo: Da ¯r al-S · ah · wa, 1985). Since we published the first journal articles in English between 1995–1998 an increasing number of scholars have developed an interest in al-Is · faha ¯nı ¯’s ethics, theology, literature and linguistics. See Yasien Mohamed, “Al-Ra ¯ghib al-Is · faha ¯nı ¯’s Classical Concept of the Intellect,” Muslim Educational Quarterly 13:1 (1995): 52–61; “The Ethical Philosophy of al-Ra ¯ghib al-Is · faha ¯nı ¯,” Journal of Islamic Studies 6:1 (1996): 51–75; “The Unifying Thread: Intuitive Cognition of the Intellect in al-Fa ¯ra ¯bı ¯, al-Is · faha ¯nı ¯ and al-Ghaza ¯lı ¯,” MAAS Journal of Islamic Science 12:2 (1996): 27–47; “Knowledge and Purification of the Soul: An Annotated Translation with Introduction of al-Is · faha ¯nı ¯’s Kita ¯b al-Dharı ¯ ‘ a ila ¯ Maka ¯rim al-Sharı ¯ ‘ a (58–76; 89–92),” Journal of Islamic Studies 9:1 (1998): 1–34. The most extensive contribution on al-Is · faha ¯nı ¯ to date is our The Path to Virtue: The Ethical Philosophy of al-Ra ¯ghib al-Is · faha ¯nı ¯ (Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization, 2006). 2 H. Hilpatrick, “Adab,” in Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature, Julie Scott Meisami and Paul Starkey (eds.), 2 vols. (London: Routledge, 1998), p. 56. 3 Ibid. 4 Franz Rosenthal, Knowledge Triumphant (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1970), pp. 254–268. © 2011 Hartford Seminary. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148 USA. DOI: 10.1111/j.1478-1913.2011.01369.x 633