Elegance: An Islamic Perspective

In Islamic thought, the concept of elegance is not captured by a single term. Still, it is expressed through a constellation of ethical and aesthetic principles that unite inner virtue with outward comportment. One of the most frequently cited terms is ihsān, which denotes excellence, refinement, and acting with beauty and consciousness of God, thereby linking elegance not merely to appearance but to moral depth and spiritual awareness. Another closely related concept is jamāl, meaning beauty, which in Islam encompasses both visible harmony and inner moral beauty, as reflected in the prophetic teaching that Allah is beautiful and loves beauty, implying that elegance is inseparable from dignity, balance, and restraint. The term adab also conveys a strong sense of elegance, as it refers to refined conduct, propriety, and the graceful ordering of behaviour in accordance with ethical norms, knowledge, and humility. In addition, tawāzun, or balance, expresses an elegant moderation that avoids excess and deficiency, suggesting that elegance in Islam is found in proportion, harmony, and measured action rather than extravagance. Taken together, these concepts indicate that Islamic elegance is fundamentally ethical and spiritual, where simplicity, balance, and moral excellence give rise to a form of beauty that is calm, dignified, and deeply meaningful.

From a general perspective, elegance is commonly understood as a quality of outward appearance, style, or behaviour that conveys refinement, simplicity, and aesthetic harmony, often measured by social taste, cultural norms, or artistic standards. In this view, elegance is frequently associated with visual neatness, graceful movement, polished language, and the ability to present oneself in a pleasing and socially acceptable manner, sometimes independent of deeper moral considerations. It tends to be evaluated through external criteria such as fashion, design, rhetoric, or manners, and its value can shift according to trends, class expectations, and cultural preferences.

From an Islamic perspective, however, elegance is inseparable from ethical intention, spiritual awareness, and moral discipline, and therefore cannot be reduced to surface beauty or social performance. Elegance in Islam emerges from inner refinement expressed through sincere intention, humility, moderation, and excellence in conduct, where outward grace is meaningful only insofar as it reflects inner virtue. Rather than being governed by changing tastes, Islamic elegance is anchored in enduring values such as ihsān, adab, balance, and modesty, which shape behaviour, speech, dress, and interaction in a way that preserves dignity and avoids excess. Consequently, while general elegance may prioritise how one appears to others, Islamic elegance prioritises how one stands before God, with outward harmony serving as a natural extension of inward moral and spiritual order.

In The Alchemy of Happiness, Imam al-Ghazali does not speak of elegance as a matter of outward style or aesthetic display, yet he offers a profound account of what may be understood as true elegance through the refinement of the soul and the ordering of inner life. He explains that genuine happiness arises when the human being knows himself, disciplines his desires, and aligns his inner faculties with divine purpose, suggesting that elegance is fundamentally an inward harmony rather than a superficial polish. For al-Ghazali, the heart that is purified from arrogance, greed, and excess naturally produces conduct marked by calmness, humility, and balance, which together form a dignified and graceful way of living.

Al-Ghazali further associates refinement with moderation and self-control, arguing that excess in speech, behaviour, or desire disturbs the moral equilibrium of the soul. This moral equilibrium, when achieved, manifests outwardly as measured speech, appropriate silence, gentle manners, and respect for others, all of which resemble what would later be described as elegant comportment. He emphasises that beauty in action lies in appropriateness and proportion, where every faculty of the soul performs its proper role without domination or neglect, creating a life that is orderly, restrained, and inwardly luminous.

Most importantly, al-Ghazali roots all refinement in the remembrance of God and sincerity of intention, asserting that outward grace without inner truth is hollow and deceptive. In this sense, elegance for him is not an external ornament but the visible trace of an inner transformation, where knowledge, worship, and character unite to produce a life of quiet dignity. Thus, The Alchemy of Happiness presents elegance as spiritual coherence, ethical balance, and humility before God, offering a vision of refinement that is timeless, inwardly grounded, and morally meaningful.

In relation to elegance, the central message of al-Ghazali in The Alchemy of Happiness is that true refinement cannot be achieved through outward appearance alone but must arise from the purification and ordering of the inner self. He teaches that a person who has not disciplined his desires, corrected his intentions, and cultivated humility may appear polished, yet remains inwardly chaotic and spiritually coarse. For al-Ghazali, what appears graceful on the surface only becomes genuinely elegant when it reflects a heart that is balanced, sincere, and oriented towards God.

Al-Ghazali further conveys that restraint is the soul of refinement, for excess in speech, ambition, or self-display inevitably leads to moral ugliness, even if it is socially admired. He insists that the most dignified form of beauty lies in appropriateness, where actions, words, and emotions are expressed in their proper measure and context. Such proportion produces a quiet nobility of character, in which a person does not need to announce virtue or sophistication, because their presence itself communicates calmness, order, and moral clarity.

Ultimately, al-Ghazali’s message is that elegance is a by-product of sincerity and self-knowledge rather than a goal pursued for its own sake. When a person seeks God, understands his own limitations, and lives with conscious restraint, elegance emerges naturally as a form of inner light made visible in conduct. In this way, The Alchemy of Happiness presents elegance not as a social performance, but as a spiritual state expressed through modesty, balance, and quiet excellence.

In Beauty and Islam: Aesthetics in Islamic Art and Architecture (first published in 2001 and is issued by I.B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, now part of Bloomsbury Publishing), Valerie Gonzalez investigates what beauty means within the Islamic tradition, showing that it cannot be separated from theology, ethics, metaphysics, and the broader intellectual history of Islam. She traces the roots of Islamic aesthetic thought back to medieval Muslim philosophers such as Avicenna and Averroes and argues that Islamic aesthetics must be understood not in isolation, but in relation to concurrent discussions about existence, purpose, and moral order. Gonzalez applies contemporary theoretical frameworks — including phenomenology and semiotics — to classical Islamic art and architecture, thereby bridging traditional sources such as the Qur’anic narrative of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba with modern analytical approaches to perception, meaning, and form. Her exploration of geometrical configurations and inscriptions in places like the Alhambra, for instance, reveals how harmony, proportion, and symbolic content are not merely decorative but express a deeper philosophical and spiritual coherence that resonates with the Islamic conception of beauty. By placing traditional miniatures, ceramics, and architectural examples alongside modern art, she highlights how the Islamic impulse toward refinement — an elegance of proportion and spiritual significance — remains influential across time and artistic media.

The central message of Beauty and Islam: Aesthetics in Islamic Art and Architecture by Valerie Gonzalez, insofar as it relates to elegance, is that Islamic beauty is neither ornamental excess nor autonomous aesthetic pleasure, but a disciplined harmony grounded in metaphysical meaning and spiritual order. The book conveys that elegance in the Islamic tradition arises from proportion, rhythm, and restraint, where visual refinement serves to disclose a deeper unity between form, meaning, and divine presence. Elegance, therefore, is not intended to draw attention to the artist or the object itself, but to guide perception towards contemplation, inward stillness, and awareness of a higher order.

Gonzalez emphasises that Islamic art and architecture express elegance through abstraction, geometry, and repetition, which deliberately avoid dramatic individualism or emotional spectacle. This aesthetic choice reflects a worldview in which beauty must remain ethically and spiritually coherent, preventing form from overpowering meaning. Elegance, in this sense, is achieved through balance and intelligibility, where complexity is carefully controlled and excess is avoided, allowing harmony to emerge without ostentation. Such restraint produces a quiet sophistication that does not shout its presence but sustains prolonged reflection.

Ultimately, the book communicates that elegance in Islam is an expression of metaphysical discipline rather than personal taste, rooted in the Islamic understanding of order, unity, and transcendence. Beauty becomes elegant when it respects limits, serves purpose, and remains aligned with spiritual truth, thereby transforming art and architecture into spaces of dignity, serenity, and moral clarity. In this perspective, elegance is not a decorative ambition, but a mode of ethical and spiritual alignment made visible through form.

In Piety, Politics, and Everyday Ethics in Southeast Asian Islam: Beautiful Behavior (2018. Bloomsbury Academic), the essays collected under the editorship of Robert Rozehnal explore the rich and varied expressions of adab—what the book calls “beautiful behaviour”—within the Islamic contexts of Indonesia and Malaysia, and in doing so implicitly relate to a kind of lived elegance grounded in ethical formation and social conduct. The contributors examine how adab functions as a normative framework that shapes personal etiquette, moral conduct, civility, and humaneness, showing that elegance in this Islamic context is inseparable from everyday ethical practice rather than mere superficial refinement. Drawing on historical texts, local customs, and contemporary experiences, the book demonstrates that elegant behaviour in Islam is embodied through appropriate speech, respectful interaction, and mindful presence in various social and political spheres, thereby foregrounding the moral substance underlying outward grace. 

The book also considers how adab interacts with politics, law, spirituality, and cultural imagination, revealing that what might be called elegant conduct is also deeply ethical and politically meaningful. Chapters discuss how adab informs grass-roots religious life, shapes gendered expectations within educational institutions, and navigates public scandal and authority, illustrating that elegance in the Islamic ethical sense is not detached from the concrete realities of power and community life. By attending to both textual traditions and lived experience, the volume shows that elegant behaviour in Southeast Asian Islam emerges from the integration of moral ideals with social practice, where civility, respect, and moral coherence express a refined mode of being in the world that is recognisably Islamic. 

The central message of Piety, Politics, and Everyday Ethics in Southeast Asian Islam: Beautiful Behaviour in relation to elegance is that refinement in Islam is fundamentally ethical, social, and lived, rather than aesthetic in a narrow or elitist sense. The book conveys that what may be understood as elegance emerges through adab, namely beautiful behaviour expressed in speech, posture, restraint, and attentiveness to others, all of which are cultivated within everyday religious practice. Elegance, therefore, is not detached from ordinary life, but is formed through repeated moral actions that shape character and social harmony.

The volume further communicates that Islamic elegance is relational and contextual, arising in how individuals navigate family life, education, public authority, gender expectations, and political engagement with dignity and self-control. Rather than celebrating flamboyance or self-display, the book highlights how restraint, politeness, and moral consistency function as markers of refinement in Southeast Asian Muslim societies. In this sense, elegance is understood as the ability to maintain ethical composure amid social tension, disagreement, or power imbalance, reflecting inner discipline rather than external polish.

Ultimately, the book’s message is that elegance in Islam is inseparable from responsibility towards others and awareness of moral consequence. Beautiful behaviour is presented not as personal style, but as a moral achievement rooted in piety, humility, and social accountability. By situating elegance within lived ethics and communal life, the book affirms that true refinement in Islam is measured not by how impressively one appears, but by how responsibly, gently, and justly one inhabits the shared moral world.

In conclusion, both general and Islamic understandings of elegance recognise refinement, harmony, and a sense of order as essential qualities, yet they diverge in their foundations and ultimate purposes. In common usage, elegance is primarily evaluated through outward form, taste, and social impression, often shaped by cultural fashion and aesthetic preference, whereas in the Islamic perspective, outward grace is meaningful only as an expression of inner moral and spiritual alignment. Despite this difference, both perspectives converge in valuing restraint, balance, and appropriateness, suggesting that elegance, whether secular or religious, resists excess and disorder. The decisive distinction lies in orientation: general elegance seeks approval within social or aesthetic frameworks, while Islamic elegance is oriented towards ethical integrity and consciousness of God. Where these two views meet, elegance becomes not merely a matter of appearance, but a cultivated harmony between conduct, intention, and proportion, reminding us that true refinement endures when beauty is guided by moral purpose.

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