Islamic ethics (
أخلاق إسلامية), defined as "good character," historically took shape gradually from the 7th century and was finally established by the 11th century. It was eventually shaped as a successful amalgamation of the
Qur'anic teachings, the teachings of the
Sunnah of
Muhammad, the
precedents of
Islamic jurists (see
Sharia and
Fiqh), the
pre-Islamic Arabian tradition, and non-Arabic elements (including
Persian and
Greek ideas) embedded in or integrated with a generally
Islamic structure. Although
Muhammad's preaching produced a "radical change in
moral values based on the sanctions of the new religion and the present religion, and fear of God and of the Last Judgment", the tribal practice of Arabs did not completely die out. Later
Muslim scholars expanded the religious ethic of the Qur'an and
Hadith in immense detail.