What Does the Euthyphro Dilemma Reveal about the Moral System of Islam? Part 1
/Many people believe that all religions are the same, that they all have the same goal, and they all aim at the same end, namely, to encourage their followers to do what is good. Islam as a religion has a unique ethical system, which relies mainly on Allah’s commands. This article will link Divine Command Theory (one horn of the Euthyphro Dilemma), particularly a strong version of voluntarism, to the Islamic understanding of morality.
The Euthyphro Dilemma, in contemporary terms, asks this question? Is something moral because God commands it, or does God command what is moral?
In other words, who defines the standard of goodness/rightness? Is it God because he is higher and above the standard of goodness and rightness—making goodness a function of divine caprice? Or is the standard of goodness/rightness above God— making Him submissive to it?
Most Muslims will likely agree with the first horn of the dilemma, the Divine Command Theory. God is above all standards, He has the complete freedom to mandate any law, and every ethical norm is defined by His will and command. He does not succumb to any condition or standard because he defines the specifications and the guidelines of goodness/rightness. In other words, the difference between right and wrong, and good and evil for that matter, is a function of God’s discretion.
Confining our attention for the moment to axiological matters, the first horn of the dilemma makes goodness arbitrary if God does not have a good nature. If good and bad are due to God’s mandate, can God’s fiat render theft and adultery to be good things? Shifting our focus to deontic questions, can God simply make torturing children for fun to be right? The Islamic literature, taken at face value, reveals that analogously abhorrent commands are not only possible under the Islamic worldview, but real.
Since goodness is defined by Allah, on a strongly voluntarist reading, then he can command adultery and thereby make it good. It is known in Islam that polygamy is permissible. Not only permissible, but it is also ordered to prevent evil. Allah tells Muslims, “if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphan-girls then marry (other) women of your choice, two or three, or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one or (the slaves) that your right hands possess. That is nearer to prevent you from doing injustice” (Surah 4:3 Al-Hilali & Khan). In the Qur’an Polygamy is given to Muslim men to prevent adultery. Polygamy is ordered in the Qur’an; therefore, it is not considered bad or wrong (Surah 4:3). Most Muslims do not discuss whether marrying four wives is considered an adulterous act because Allah commands it. Whatever Allah commands is halal (permissible).
The conversation about this topic seems like a dead-end. Many female TV anchors have broached this topic with various Arab Imams in interviews. They asked the Imams, “Does not God care about my feelings?” The answers of the Imams were, “Do you know better than Allah? Do you dare to question Allah?” Allah is the ultimate authority in the world, and he knows what is best and right for humanity. Therefore, women should obey the Qur’an without questioning Allah’s decree. “O you who believe! do not put questions about things which if declared to you may trouble you” (Surah 5:101). Asking Muslims not to question Allah and just obey him blindly is a great weakness in Islamic theology because God created human beings with the faculty of thinking. So, to create them with rational capacity and ask them not to use it is a contradictory matter.
Polygamy in Islam shows favoritism to men against women. It is true that this decree was given in a male dominating culture; however, it implies divine subjectivity because It dismisses women’s human’s worth, rights, and dignity. It is still the official practice in all Islamic majority countries, and is allowed under Shari’a law. Divine favoritism displays subjective morality in Islam because permitting polygamy for men and dismissing women’s feelings and rights is completely dependent on Allah’s commands.
In the Judeo-Christian faith, morality is objective because it is based on the immutable character of God. God does not change his mind. He did not order monogamy, then changed his mind and allowed polygyny/polygamy. Monogamy was and is the official practice in Christianity. God did not approve polygamy despite the fact that it was practiced in the Old Testament. He created one man and one woman as his suitable helper (Gen 2:18), but things changed after the fall. Lamech, for instance, was the first man who started practicing polygyny (Gen 4:19). It was not God who intended it, neither included it in his original design. Moreover, Lamech was a criminal, he killed a man for wounding him and a young man for injuring him. This is to say that the first person who originated this act was a violent selfish killer who did not care about his wives’ feelings, thus following his model is morally imprudent. Additionally, Moses’s law never encouraged polygamy. On the contrary, polygyny was detestable (Deut 17:17). Patriarchs and kings who practiced polygyny did it according to their own discretions, and not according to God’s commands or design.
Sherene Khouri was born into a religiously diverse family in Damascus, Syria. She became a believer when she was 11 years old. Sherene and her husband were missionaries in Saudi Arabia. Their house was open for meetings and they were involved with the locals until the government knew about their ministry and gave them three days’ notice to leave the country. In 2006, they went back to Syria and started serving the Lord with RZIM International ministry. They travel around the Middle Eastern region—Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and United Arab Emirates. Sherene was also involved in her local church among the young youth, young adults, and women’s ministry. In 2013, the civil war broke out in Syria. Sherene and her husband’s car was vandalized 3 times and they had to immigrate to the United States of America. In 2019, Shere became an American citizen.
Sherene is a Ph.D. candidate in Apologetics and Theology at Liberty University. She holds a Master of Art in Christian Apologetics from Liberty University and a Bachelor of Science in Biblical Studies from Moody Bible Institute. She is also working on a Master of Theology in Global Studies at Liberty University. Her specialty is answering Islamic objections to the Christian faith.
