Lecture 4: Decision Making in Islam Professional Responsibility

Decision making in Islam Ijmah Ijmah is an Arabic term referring to the consensus or agreement of the Muslim community two kinds of consensus are: ijma al-ummah - a whole community consensus. ijma al-aimmah - a consensus by religious authorities. E.g. consensus on Islamic banking,

Decision making in Islam (contd.) Qiyas Qiyās is the process of deductive analogy in which the teachings of the Hadith are compared and contrasted with those of the Qur'an, in order to apply known injunction (command) to a new circumstance and create a new injunction. Here the ruling of the Sunnah and the Qur'an may be used as a means to solve or provide a response to a new problem that may arise. E.g. Is chatting allowed in Islam? Discussion: Inductive vs. deductive reasoning

Decision making in Islam (contd.) Ijtihad Ijtihad is the making of a decision in Islamic law (sharia) by personal effort, independently of any school (madhhab) of jurisprudence (fiqh) Mujtahid  is an Islamic scholar who is competent to interpret sharia by ijtihad Following conditions are defined for ijtehad Knowledge of the Quran Knowledge of the ahadith of the Blessed Prophet Knowledge of the sayings of the Salaf-us-Salaheen; that is to know which rulings they disagreed and upon which they were unanimous. Knowledge of Arabic linguistics Knowledge of Qiyas, the knowledge by which one learns the method of deriving a ruling from the Quran and Sunnah.

Decision making in Islam (contd.) The following points are presented in order to clarify the purpose of ijtihad: God is all-powerful, all-knowing. God created laws for humankind and only God has the authority to do so. God appointed messengers to convey the laws to humankind. God appointed imams to guide humankind about the laws. At present, neither the Prophet (S.W), nor the imams are accessible. Therefore, qualified jurists have the duty to find God's law, not create God's laws. Therefore, ijtihad is the process of finding God's law from the Qur'an and the hadith using specific methods. E.g. defining policies/rules for an interest free Islamic Banking system in the light of Quran o Sunnah

E.g. defining policies/rules for an interest free Islamic Banking system in the light of Quran o Sunnah

General guidelines for ethical decision making Professional standard analysis – IEEE/ACM Roles & responsibilities analysis Stakeholder analysis Systemic policy analysis – local/international laws Ethical theory analysis – better ethical understanding of situation

Professional Responsibility Computer professional (C.P) People who design, build, program & service computerized devices, as well as who plan & manage such activities Enormous power to affect world in good, bad way, E.g. programs to control airplanes, nuclear power plant, medical devices,

Professional Responsibility Computer Practitioners – people who design, build, program computerized devices, as well as who plan & manage such activities Affect the world in good or bad way E.g. computer programs to control airplanes, nuclear power plants, medical devices, space stations Since lives of many people depends on such programs C.P should make ethically & professionally sound judgments & decisions.

What does it mean to be a professional? Mastering an extensive body of knowledge & skills Providing an important service Exercising monopolistic control over relevant services to society -- license or certificate to practice Accepting a code of professional conduct

Professional Context The complex context in which a computer professional normally functions include a variety of roles Roles carry related ethical responsibilities & obligations Employer to employee Professional to professional Professional to client Professional to user Professional to society

Employer to Employee Relationship between an employer & employee is contractual one Employee agrees to carry out assigned jobs Employer agrees to pay compensation Employer responsibility to provide safe env. Tools & also avoid asking employee to do anything illegal Employee’s responsibility is to be loyal, honest his/her qualification or experience, do not reveal trade secrets

Professional to Professional Team members Share work & cooperate Provide helpful advice & assistance

Professional to client Computer professionals have clients people or organizations with whom they have contracted to provide a computer related product or service Nature of responsibility depends on how professional to client relationship is defined

Professional to client (contd.) Agency; Clients make all significant decisions & the C.P merely carries out those decisions Shortcoming: special knowledge of professional is not effectively used Paternalistic Professional makes all the decision and client is treated like a child Fiduciary Responsibility is shared for making important decisions Trust is essential

Professional to user C.P often creates h.w or s.w intended for use by a range of people E.g. airplane manufacturer may hire a s.w firm for developing a s.w package, the s.w will affect a diverse user community, crew, passengers etc. C.P must accept job only if s/he is competent enough.

Professional to Society Work of C.P can easily impact millions of people Safety of people depends on reliable function of s.w package Computer technology has rapidly incorporated into every field from medial, to banks to education to communication, defense, industry Contract: society grants rights to practice profession, C.P agrees to practice in a manner to benefit society Environmentalist view