MALAKAH DAN ADAB: KAJIAN FILOSOFI PENDIDIKAN AKHLAK IBNU MISKAWAIH DAN SYED MUHAMMAD NAQUIB AL-ATTAS

Abstract

This study examines the concept of moral education through a comparative approach to the thoughts of Ibn Miskawaih and Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas. Both figures are prominent in the Islamic intellectual tradition and share a strong concern for the formation of human morality, yet they developed their ideas within different historical contexts and philosophical frameworks. Ibn Miskawaih represents classical Islamic ethical thought influenced by philosophical rationalism, whereas al-Attas reflects contemporary Islamic educational thought with an emphasis on metaphysical and epistemological foundations rooted in revelation. This research employs a qualitative method based on library research with a philosophical–comparative analytical approach to the primary works of both thinkers and relevant supporting literature. The findings indicate that Ibn Miskawaih conceives morality as malakah, a stable disposition of the soul formed through habituation, moral training, rational reflection, and the moderation of the soul toward human perfection (saʿādah). Meanwhile, Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas emphasizes the concept of adab as the core of moral education, with revelation serving as its epistemological foundation and the ultimate aim of education being the formation of the well-mannered, virtuous human being who properly understands God, the self, and the order of reality. Despite their differing approaches, both thinkers converge in emphasizing knowledge as a fundamental element and in orienting education toward the moral and spiritual perfection of the human person.