Al-Mawardi and the Ethics of the Two Abodes

Adab ad-Dunya wad-Din — Ethics of This World and Religion — is one of the most practically oriented works of Islamic ethics ever written. Its author, Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Mawardi (972–1058 CE), was a major Shafi'i jurist, political theorist, and author of works spanning Islamic jurisprudence, political philosophy, and moral theology. He served as the supreme qadi (chief judge) of the Abbasid caliphate and was one of the most influential scholars of his age. His political masterwork Al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyyah (The Laws of Governance) is one of the foundational texts of Islamic political theory.

Adab ad-Dunya wad-Din reflects al-Mawardi's conviction that the ethics of proper conduct cannot be divided into purely religious and purely worldly categories — rather, they form a seamless whole. The book's title expresses this integration: Islamic ethics governs both dimensions of human life, and the Muslim who conducts himself according to Islamic principles in his worldly affairs is simultaneously fulfilling his religious obligations. The book was written to guide Muslims in the practical ethics of daily life in a way that serves both their worldly welfare and their ultimate destination in the hereafter.

Al-Mawardi's approach is empirical and practical rather than purely theoretical. He draws on Quranic verses, prophetic hadiths, the wisdom of the pre-Islamic Arabs and Persians, and the insights of Greek philosophers as mediated through Islamic scholarship to construct a comprehensive account of practical wisdom. His willingness to draw on diverse sources of wisdom reflects a broad intellectual orientation characteristic of the Abbasid scholarly tradition at its peak.

The book is organized around five major themes: reason and its value, personal conduct and character virtues, the ethics of social interaction and relationships, the ethics of governance and public life, and the proper attitude toward the uncertainties of worldly life. This organization makes the work a genuinely comprehensive guide to practical ethics that covers the full range of a Muslim's social existence.