I propose a framework for comparative Islamic-Western ethics in which the Islamic categories Islam, Iman, and Ihsan are juxtaposed with the concepts of obligation, value, and virtue, respectively. I argue that shari'a refers to both the obligation component and the entire structure of the Islamic ethic; suggesting a suspension of the understanding of shari'a as simply Islamic "law," and an alternative understanding of usul al-fiqh as a moral epistemology of obligation. I will test this approach by addressing the question of reason in Islamic moral epistemology via an examination of an argument advanced by a founding usul scholar Muhammad bin Idrīs al-Shāfi'ī (150 A.H./767 C.E.).

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Mythological language is sometimes understood as a way of representing, by concrete imagery, more abstract notions. In this paper, we will pose some metaphysical questions about the possibility of such a representation. These questions will serve to motivate a brief tour of Mishkāt al-Anwār (Niche of Lights) -Abu Hamid al-Ghazali_s commentary on the famous ayat al-nur ("verse of light") of the Qur'an-wherein is discussed, among other things, how symbolic imagery is possible, and "the respect in which the spirits of the meanings are specified within the frames of the similitudes."Keywords Al-Ghazali . Metaphysics . Metaphor . Mishkāt al-AnwarThe following is taken from an account, given by a contemporary of the Prophet Muhammad named Anas bin Malik, of the Prophet_s ascent through the heavens to the "Lote Tree," a place described as nearest to God, and beyond which none may pass.So those angels did not talk to him until they carried him and placed him beside the well of Zam-Zam. From among them, Gabriel took charge of him. Gabriel cut open (the part of his body) between his throat and the middle of his chest and took all the material out of his chest and abdomen and then washed it with Zam-Zam water with his own hands until he cleansed the inside of his body, and then a gold tray containing a gold bowl full of belief and wisdom was brought and then Gabriel stuffed his chest and throat blood vessels with it and then closed his chest. He then ascended with him to the heaven of the world and knocked on one of its doors. 1