Relationship of Ethical Behavior with Material Well-being and Happiness: An Islamic Perspective

Abstract

The paper explores relationship of ethical behavior with material well-being (MWB) and happiness from Islamic perspective. The Qur’an discusses MWB under a broad concept of ‘rizq’ and asserts that God distributes rizq among people. For understanding this general assertion, we speculate that three categories of factors affect the level of rizq: common factors, such as physical and mental ability, capital and labor; positive ethical factors such as gratitude, philanthropy, integrity, and trust; and negative ethical factors, such as injustice, corruption, fraud and greed. The distribution of rizq manifests itself through the familiar cause-effect mechanism, while the Invisible Hand of God (IHG) acts in an over-arching manner. Most probably, the IHG considers human ethical behavior also while acting in a certain manner. The effect of ethical behavior is reflected through a complex but unknown system of entitlement, which has implications for happiness. The happiness depends upon the ethical means by which the MWB is achieved. The paper despite being speculative makes a beginning in exploring the relationship of ethical behavior with MWB and happiness.