Is Islam compatible with Stoic philosophy, or parts of it?

[Randy Cavitts]

The original Greek Stoicism held the belief that destructive mental states are the result of errors in judgment, and that a well-rounded person doesn't suffer from such emotions. They are in control of themselves as well as their inner self.

Originally, Stoicism appeared to nature, and its relationship with the human will. That is, that the ideal course of your actions should be in tune with nature. The inferior man, in Stoicism is lead by the world: "like a dog tied to a cart, and compelled to go wherever it goes."

I think in some respects that Islam calls you to rise above the world, to become a part of something greater, and to cultivate self-discipline (praying, fasting, etc.)

 

[Faxecura]

I think that this is true of most religions.

I think in Christianity there are arguably similar ideas; The central Stoic ethical doctrine is that a great man can find happiness in virtue, and is indifferent to the presence or absence of any kind of external goods. Christianity, also teaches this to some extent: that simple virtue apart from any concern for personal external welfare is "storing up goods in heaven". That being said, stoicism is not in and of itself a religion, and as Christians or Muslims, we should look to our respective scriptures before finding things outside of it.

 

[susanexpress1]

parts of it I think.

 

[asa120]

at least some one read before he critic
thank you greate post and i recomend for you to read sharia it s the laws of islam and when you read it you will have e global idia what is islam and why it stand out from all other religions

 

[Treks]

Bumping an old thread.

To a degree I agree with old user Faxecura when they say most religions would be compatible with Stoicism. However, there are still some fundamental ideas in most religions that need to be suspended when practicing Stoicism.

[Disclaimer: I'm still pretty new to Stoicism.]

One example that immediately springs to mind is the religious idea of rewards / afterlife. A Stoic is concerned with the present moment. The future, and indeed what god/s will do with us when we die, is beyond our control and is therefore nothing do us.

However, Stoicism was not taught in a vacuum of a society. I can only assume that most Stoics were also observing their indigenous religious rites (Epictetus talks about the theft of his devotional lamp, and Marcus Aurelius as Emperor was head of the Roman religion).

I'm interested to see if any of today's RFers have a POV on this.