The Role of Habituation in Changing the Individual’s Character Traits in Islamic Ethics

This research aims to build a comprehensive understanding of the role of the habituation process in changing individual character traits and acquiring virtues in Islamic moral education. To achieve this, it investigates the habituation process as a concept and as a practice in two main disciplines: Islamic moral philosophy and Sufism. Through the content analysis of the primary sources from Islamic ethics tradition, the habituation process was an essential tool for moral education in both Islamic moral philosophy and Sufism. Both disciplines share that this process is an ongoing process that is based on knowledge, volition, and repetition. However, there are some variations in the habituation conditions and applications in each discipline. Islamic moral philosophy focuses on reason and theoretical knowledge to know the suitable moderate actions before habituating. While Sufism focuses on revelation as a source of knowledge and highlights the role of intentions and God’s assistance through the practice. This research highlights the efforts of al-Iṣfahānī and al-Ghazālī to reconcile the two disciplines, therefore their moral education was influenced by both Islamic and Greek sources. In both disciplines, the habituation process applications were based on the continuous interaction between character traits and body actions. Consequently, the importance of this process is in establishing stable disposition and tendencies in the self through volitional, repetitive, and intentional actions.