Islamic Education Series

['Abd-al Latif]

Islamic Ed. Series Pt1: Indoctrination versus Cultivation

" Faith schools in Britain are not new; for centuries Christian schools have been part of this country’s tradition and history. However, when it comes to minority faith schools such as Islamic ones, a debate erupts which fails to recognize the simple fact that ‘Muslims are the largest religious minority in Britain’.

The US led War on Terror, commonly understood by Muslims as a war on Islam, has resulted in close scrutiny of Islamic faith schools especially within Western liberal societies. This has resulted in exacerbating the image of Islamic schools as a precursor to radicalisation. One of the allegations against these educational institutes is the charge of indoctrination. A charge that the government cannot ignore and a charge that I will attempt to refute by exposing the incorrect premise it is based upon. In doing so, I address the causes behind why individuals educated within a secular educational system may label Islamic education as indoctrinatory. This debate is an old and complex one involving two visions of reality, one system accepting only the physical while the other incorporating the physical within its metaphysical vision.

Liberal education is analysed through the commonly accepted Hirst and Peters’ model detailing the underlying philosophies. The concept of autonomy plays a crucial role in this debate and is viewed from the Islamic and liberal perspectives highlighting the root causes of the allegation. Islamic education nurtures and develops both the material and spiritual nature of the human being intending to educate human beings into submitting to Almighty God. To carry out a fair analysis, both liberal education and Islamic education should be evaluated. I use Michael Leahy’s concept of indoctrination to argue the case that Islamic education need not be indoctrinatory and recommends that a fair comparison be carried out when investigating Islamic education.

The government has found itself in an awkward situation - on the one hand it cannot permit any institution to actively indoctrinate its citizens whilst on the other hand it has to allow minorities to live as they choose within a liberal society. Of course, faith schools are a deeply contentious issue especially within a Britain that prides itself as a secular society. Despite this there are currently over 100 Muslim schools in Britain; the taxpayer funds seven of them. However their status within British society remains seriously contested. David Bell, Chief Inspector of Schools and head of Ofsted[1], when mentioning Muslims schools said that they ‘do not fit pupils for their lives as Muslims in modern Britain’.[2] The head of the Association of Muslim Schools challenged Bell’s comments as ‘Islamophobia’. He explained that Ofsted had based their research upon 18 of the 50 Muslim schools as incompetent in teaching ‘tolerance’. However, what Bell failed to highlight was that 17 of the 40 evangelical Christian schools inspected failed in the same area that is 6.5% more than the Muslim schools. Despite Bell’s clearly biased comments, the government has approved funding for further faith schools.[3] It is issues like these that highlight the very real nature of this debate.

Faith schools in Britain are not new; for centuries Christian schools have been part of this country’s tradition and history. However, when it comes to minority faith schools such as Islamic ones, a debate erupts which fails to recognize the simple fact that ‘Muslims are the largest religious minority in Britain’.[4] This debate can be said to be of two types, Muslims schools are divisive and appear to worsen social cohesion, and secondly, that Islamic education is indoctrinatory and prevents learners from being autonomous.

Defenders of faith schooling argue their case in a number of ways: their academic results are generally better than the state system; parents have a right to send their children to a religious school; faith schools promote strong moral and ethical values; the state in funding these schools helps to create a diverse society. It could be said that as faith schools promote strong ethical and moral values this should aid social cohesion, however these arguments do not address the main philosophical issue of indoctrination and it is this issue that this thesis will be addressing.[5]

According to the ‘liberal’ concept of education indoctrination is perceived as the antithesis of what is understood by the term ‘education’. It is imperative that you understand the underlying philosophies of the liberal concept of education; therefore, I will partially focus upon the ‘liberal’ concept of education, its aims and objectives. The aims and objectives of this concept of education pave way to the notion of autonomy, which can be said to be synonymous with the term education from the liberal perspective. This will entail exploring what autonomy implies and how the liberal educational process sets out in achieving this from its philosophies. The findings from the concept of ‘liberal’ education from the second article will be contrasted with the findings from the concept of Islamic education in the third article. It is important to detail both of these educational philosophies as this will aid my main argument and should provide the reader with a clear understanding of both educational processes. This will effectuate a deeper understanding of the inconsistency of the charge of indoctrination levied on Islamic education.

Within a liberal society such as ours, religion is treated as faith in a belief system, which is not-known-to-be-true. Using this premise, teaching any propositions which qualify this would be considered indoctrination. If such a proposition is believed to be true on a governmental level then this has serious implications with regards to the management of education within this country. How would a government justify the funding of such educational institutes? On the other hand if the government ceases its funding for faith schools then it might be perceived to be intolerant to the minorities which this liberal society consists of. Alternatively, private schools might teach certain ideologies which might be perceived by the state as dangerous. From the point of view of managing education the state has a fine line to tread between ensuring its citizens receive education whilst at the same time not be seen to curtail the freedom of its citizens in choosing a faith school for their children.

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Notes: Article one: Introduction
Sources: www.islam21c.com
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[1] Office for Standards in Education

[2] quoted in Meer 2007, p. 55

[3] Ibid, p. 56

[4] Parker-Jenkins 2002, p. 274

[5] Pring, 2005

['Abd-al Latif]

Islamic Ed. Series Pt2: The basis of Western Liberal Education

"The Renaissance was a time of general growth and prosperity for Western Europe. The Renaissance brought about the rediscovery of the Greek classics, and objectivity about the world, and the emphasis upon the importance of individualism. During the Renaissance, Europe emerged from the economic decline of the Middle Ages and witnessed financial growth. Most associations with past values or traditions were being broken and a rewrite of all aspects of life were being carried out. Western Europe had freed itself from the hold of the religious institutes, it was free and liberated.

This is the second article in the Islamic Education Series. Click here to read part 1.


It needs to be understood that there are perhaps two general understandings of the word ‘liberal’ in the term ‘liberal education’. The first is an understanding that ‘liberal’ education is an educational process which results in the liberation of the mind where an individual acquires knowledge for the sake of knowledge as opposed to acquiring knowledge for the sake of employment or any other utilitarian purpose. The second understanding of ‘liberal’ education is the type of education provided within the Western post-reformation period which finds its roots in a secularist perspective. This article understands liberalism in the sense of freedom from the constraints of the Church which the Western world was under during the pre-Reformation period.Christian doctrines that constrained the individual from thinking critically and exercising freedom of thought were prevalent during the Middle Ages. Earlier, the Greeks believed that intellectual freedom would result in rational behaviour as their main concern was to free the mind from error. It is within this context that education is a ‘liberating agent’ as it aims ultimately for individuals to make free choices.

The Renaissance was a time of general growth and prosperity for Western Europe. The Renaissance brought about the rediscovery of the Greek classics, and objectivity about the world, and the emphasis upon the importance of individualism. During the Renaissance, Europe emerged from the economic decline of the Middle Ages and witnessed financial growth. Most associations with past values or traditions were being broken and a rewrite of all aspects of life were being carried out. Western Europe had freed itself from the hold of the religious institutes, it was free and liberated. This was the premise of liberalism which led to the creation of democracy, man self-appointed himself to legislate using his own intellect and rationality; and as a result education was rewritten with new aims and objectives, to produce individuals who would carry on this newly founded legacy of liberalism into the future.

John Locke, a key Enlightenment thinker and father of Liberalism argued ‘that the government can only be considered legitimate insofar as it has popular consent’.^[1] He attached a condition to the ‘consent’ as respect for individual freedom as long as freedom is not bigotry and that the state should protect ‘the most important liberties of faith and conscience’. Carr highlights that his perspective can raise serious questions regarding the rational criteria that is used for judgement. The governing body pertaining to this newly constructed philosophy of liberalism was known as, ‘a liberal democracy, by its very nature, enshrines the values of political liberty and equality’.^[2] The liberal state views itself as a standing neutral referee between various conflicting ideologies and values, allowing each ideology to equality; however it is important to note that this neutral referee will not tolerate an ideology which undermines its own fundamental basis.^[3] Liberalism assumes individuals to be as sane and responsible adults and respects their decisions because they are taken to be such. However this perspective becomes problematic when it comes to children. Are these children the property of their parents? How should a child be raised in order for it to become a ‘rational self choosing adult’?^[4]

Characteristics of Liberal Education

Gregory (2002) states that liberal education has an intrinsic individualistic feature; it appears to be centred on the freedom and the rights of the individual and how this individual via these freedoms can attain some level of happiness. Emphasis is laid upon the ‘primacy and worth of the individual’.^[5] They are responsible for the direction that they choose for their own lives and also have a collective responsibility to recognise the rights of others. The state does not hold any responsibility in promoting a certain distinct lifestyle, or ideology which affects others. The promotion of autonomy can be seen as the primary goal and is a substantial part of the underlying ideology. The educational system is therefore required to provide the relevant knowledge and means that will enable the individual to be autonomous. Individuals are equipped with tools which encourage them to use their ‘critical rationality premised upon the desire to understand more accurately what is going on and happening both to them and the world’.^[6]

Gregory states that,

‘the successful pursuit of knowledge and better understanding equips individuals with the wherewithal to make a better sense of their lives’.^[7]

The interesting part of this statement is the term ‘better sense’ since it begs the question, what does Gregory really mean by it? Against which criteria are we meant to judge what is ‘better’ and what is not? Does it imply a financial, spiritual, moral, academic betterment? It can be understood that these are some of the profound ambiguities regarding the ideology behind the ‘liberal’ way of life. Alternatively it can be argued that it is exactly this that provides the richness to the ‘liberal’ school of thought. However, these questions will be answered later when the concept of education is investigated.

Carr elaborates upon his understanding regarding the purpose of education as,

The main task of education is to prepare young people for adult, personal and social functioning: a little more precisely, to equip individuals with the knowledge, understanding and skills apt for a personally satisfying, socially responsible and economically productive life.^[8]

Descartes, the accepted father of modern philosophy, performed a U-turn when he proposed man as the starting point rather than God. He asserted the ability of human reason to find certainty and the ultimate meaning of reality. Faith was being pushed into a corner. Emphasis was placed on the capacity of the rational mind. The transformation was under way from God-centered to man-centered thinking giving way to the Age of Reason. At the same time the birth of the Scientific Age was also being witnessed with the help of Newton. This resulted in a mechanistic view of the world emerging. An understanding developed that implied God the great clock maker ran the world by His fixed laws but was isolated from His creation.[^9]

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Notes: This is the second article in the Islamic Education Series. Click here to read part 1.
Sources: www.islam21c.com
Islam21c requests all the readers of this article, and others, to share it on your facebook, twitter, and other platforms to further spread our efforts.

Bibliography:

Carr, D. (2003). Making Sense of Education: An introduction to the philosophy and theory of education and teaching. London & New York: Routledge Falmer
Gregory, I. (2002). The Aims of Education In: I Davies, I Gregory, N McGuinn (ed.) Key Debates I n Education, London & New York: Continuum, 1-24.

Morley, P. (1997). Understanding the Postmodern Era. [Online Journal article ]http://www.maninthemirror.org/alm/alm39.htm (assessed 8th August 2007)
Winch. C, Gingell. J. (2004). ‘Philosophy & Educational Policy’. Oxfordshire: RoutledgeFalmer.
[1] Carr, 2003, p.173

[2] Winch and Gingell, 2004 p.140

[3] Ibid

[4] Ibid p.141

[5] Gregory 2002, p.14

[6] Ibid

[7] Ibid

[8] Carr 2003, p.7

[9] Morley, 1997

['Abd-al Latif]

Objectives of Western Liberal education Pt 3

"It is imperative to differentiate the ‘aim of education’ from its intrinsic and extrinsic sense. Intrinsic in the sense of pertaining to ‘education’ for the sake of education in contrast to the extrinsic educational aims that a politician or a Prime Minister may hold. The latter will view education from an economic frame of mind and might think of education as the tool to deliver trained manpower. The ‘intrinsic’ sense of the term ‘aim of education’ will be used in this article.

This is the third article in the Islamic Education Series. Click here to read part two.

It is imperative to differentiate the ‘aim of education’ from its intrinsic and extrinsic sense. Intrinsic in the sense of pertaining to ‘education’ for the sake of education in contrast to the extrinsic educational aims that a politician or a Prime Minister may hold. The latter will view education from an economic frame of mind and might think of education as the tool to deliver trained manpower. The ‘intrinsic’ sense of the term ‘aim of education’ will be used in this article.

The educationalists Hirst and Peters do not go into really defining what the aims of education are, but provide a philosophical insight into their formulations. They provide an example of what could possibly be taken as the aim of education in the case of an ‘educated man’ that he will possess ‘critical thinking, [knowledge of] specialized knowledge, autonomy, aesthetic sensitivity’.[1] These aspects are not the prime focus of this series therefore only the general aims, though highly contested they are, of western liberal education will be briefly discussed.

Peters’ model of education contains two criteria - knowledge and understanding, and desirability; thus what is being implied is that those are the aims of education. The first criterion of Peters’ is that education implies the transmission of something worthwhile, thus it is to transmit something worthwhile.

Gregory suggests that the main aims of education are inseparable from the ideological stance of a particular society. Humans are born with ‘talents, dispositions, propensities, inclinations.’[2] It is the role of education to develop these potentialities in line with the underlying ideology of that society. Education should provide ‘…individuals a greater measure of control over their own lives’ and it is these aims that ‘shape curriculum content and pedagogy.’[3]

Gregory’s perception regarding the main ‘aim’ of ‘Liberal education’ can be said to be autonomy of the individual. He argues,

In freeing them of ignorance, in encouraging the use of critical rationality premised upon desire to understand more accurately what is going on and happening both to them and in the world, individuals will move towards autonomy.[4]

O’ Conner details his version of the ‘aim of education’ as[5]:

1. To provide individuals with the minimum skills necessary for them to take their place in society and to carry of seeking further knowledge.
2. To provide individuals with ‘vocational training’[6] that will enable them to be self-supporting.
3. To awaken an interest in and taste for knowledge
4. To induce the individual to be critical
5. To put individuals in touch with and train them to appreciate the cultural and moral achievements of humankind.

Hamm takes a different stance in explaining the aims of education; for it depends upon the perspective of the questioner. If asked from an individual’s perspective, the aims of education could be employment, ‘prestige, escape from physical labour, high pay’.[7] If answering a community then the aims could be: ‘good citizenship, social cohesiveness, social levelling, democratic practice, equality.’[8] If asked from a business perspective then education could be seen as ‘an instrument of training to keep the wheels of industry moving, to keep the economy going, to select and prepare young people for occupations and profession.’[9]

To conclude, it is difficult to specify any particular aims of education as these very aims are highly contested. Gregory (2002) did suggest autonomy; however, Hand (2006) dedicated an entire paper titled ‘Against autonomy as an educational aim’. The aims of education within this context could be perhaps better defined as the general aims of what a free liberal Western democratic society values, and those values perhaps might be the ultimate aims. Nonetheless, the general understanding is that autonomy is the prime aim of the educational process.

The main aim of this article and the one preceding it was an attempt to highlight ‘Western liberal’ education and to briefly show how and why it is what it is in the present age. The previous article provided the background and contextual factors that resulted in the reformation Western Europe underwent. The Western world freed itself from the holds of the Church who governed and served as an authority in legislative matters. As a result of this newly acquired freedom, this civilization was liberated; most things were rewritten regarding the human beings conduct within society. Morals and ethical values were decided by man; how man would conduct his relationship with each other was redefined; reason and logic was given precedence over religion; things which were never questioned were explored and judged against the human reason and logic; a totally new way and outlook to life was created. Many philosophers including the likes of Immanuel Kant and Voltaire were vocal in attacking the religious dominated Middle Ages. One could also say that the emergence of Darwin’s theory of evolution was the nail in the coffin regarding the concept of God and served to truly polarize the Church from the state.

Scientific knowledge began to progress and that aided the development of two myths that emerged (Hanson, 2003). The first was that, ‘we are evolving on all fronts including our very natures’[10] and the second was that ‘anything old was of no real use’[11]. Therefore the idea that education should solely transmit spiritual, cultural and religious values was fast fading away; the vision had been firmly fixed on the future.[12]

The next article will, if Allah wills, take a detailed look into the Islamic concept of education exploring the underlying philosophies viewing it in comparison with the liberal concept to highlight the main differences and the main objectives.

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Notes: This is the third article in the Islamic Education Series. Click here to read part two.
Sources: www.islam21c.com
Islam21c requests all the readers of this article, and others, to share it on your facebook, twitter, and other platforms to further spread our efforts.

[1] p.27

[2] Gregory (2002), p.10

[3] ibid

[4] Ibid, p.14

[5] O’Conner (1957), p.8

[6] There is a great debate whether ‘vocational training’, or as it’s better known currently, ‘vocational education’ is actually education or merely training, i.e. acquiring certain hands-on skills. Writers such as O’Conner would tend to refer to it as ‘training’ because it was not classed as education as it did not ‘liberate’ the mind.

[7] Hamm (1989), p.52

[8] ibid

[9] ibid

[10] P.41

[11] ibid

[12] See: Phillips. M. (1996), All Must have Prizes. London: Warner Books.


Bibliography

Gregory, I. (2002). The Aims of Education In: I Davies, I Gregory, N McGuinn (ed.) Key Debates In Education, London & New York: Continuum, 1-24.
Hamm, M C., (1989). Philosophical Issues in Education: An Introduction. UK: The Falmer Press. Hand, M., (2006). Against autonomy as an educational aim. Oxford Review of Education, 32 (4), 535-550. Hanson, Y., (2003). New Lamps for Old. In: Educating Your Child in Modern Times. California, USA: Alhambra Productions, Inc. Hirst, P H, Peters, R S. (1970). The Logic of Education. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd. O’Conner, D. (1957). ‘An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education’. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd.

['Abd-al Latif]

Islamic Education Pt 4

"Knowledge according to Islam is generally understood to be of two categories, ilm naqliyya (knowledge revealed from God) attained through the religious sciences, and ilm ‘aqliyya (humanly constructed knowledge) attained through rational, intellectual and philosophical inquiry. The Qur’an makes it clear in numerous places that God is the source of all knowledge. Ilm naqliyya would manifest via the Qur’an and the sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as Muslims believe that he was divinely inspired in everything he mentions regarding religious matters.

This is the fourth article in the Islamic Education Series. Click here to read part three.

It may be a surprise to many how little has been written by academics regarding Islamic education. History bears witness to the richness and depth of Islamic education dating back some 1400 years. It may also come as a surprise that Islamic academia lead the world for several hundreds of years through every known academic field. Knowledge and education was always at the heart of the Islamic empire that stretched from western Morocco to the far eastern shores of Indonesia. At a time when Europe was in the ‘dark ages’ Muslims were studying theology, medicine, astronomy, philosophy, and geology in their Islamic educational institutes predating western universities by several centuries.^[1] The aim of this article and the next one is to explore the concept of ‘Islamic’ education in order to enable the reader to develop a comprehensive understanding of the philosophical variances when contrasted with the ‘liberal’ concept of education, as detailed in the previous section.

Knowledge holds a very high status within Islam therefore this article will detail the importance of knowledge by exploring what role it plays within Islamic education. The next article will detail the concept of Islamic education by analyzing the basic components and what role they play within the overall understanding of education. It will be intriguing to see how the concept differs from its liberal counterpart vis-à-vis the underlying philosophies. It will be interesting to see the aims and objectives of Islamic education in chapter three, and how they differ from the aims of liberal education as discussed in the previous chapter. It is well known that most religious forms of education have a spiritual dimension incorporated within it; Islam is no exception to this. There is tremendous emphasis to develop the spiritual side of the human being and a great deal of education is geared towards that cause. The subsequent articles on Islamic education address spiritual education and how the human being can be promoted through its levels by cultivating the soul, as well as discussing the differences between the liberal and Islamic concepts of education and attempts to highlight the reasons behind those differences.

Knowledge in Islam

From the very beginning Islam has put a great emphasis upon ‘ilm (knowledge), giving it a central role and making it compulsory for Muslims to acquire. It needs to be understood that there are two fundamental sources of knowledge in Islam, the Qur’an and the Sunnah (the sayings and actions of the Prophet (peace be upon him)).

The very first verses of the Qur’an that were revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) were directly related to education,

Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists); He has created man from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood); Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous; Who has taught (the writing) by the pen; He has taught man that which he knew not.^[2]

To emphasis the importance of education it can be seen that the first word to be revealed was ‘Iqra’ (read). There are numerous references in the Qur’an that place knowledge at the forefront of all things,

‘…Allâh will exalt in degree those of you who believe, and those who have been granted knowledge.’^[3]

‘and say: My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.’^[4]

In fact, the prerequisite to imaan (the concept of faith and belief in Islam) is knowledge as can be seen from this verse,

‘So know, that there is none that has the right to be worshipped but Allâh.’^[5]

There are also numerous narrations from Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that make explicit the importance of seeking of knowledge,

'Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim’.^[6]

The Prophet (peace be upon him) in another narration recommended every Muslim to seek knowledge by stating, ‘…Whosoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise….’^[7] thus clearly indicating that the seeking of knowledge is a lifelong activity with no upper limit.

The Islamic philosophy of education bases itself on the belief that God, the ultimate-knower, taught man the knowledge of things.^[8] God being the Teacher has elevated knowledge and seeking knowledge to the highest status and has created the link between knowledge and knowledge sharing. Adam (peace be upon him), the first human being according to Islamic theology, was made ‘vicegerent’ on earth because God had ‘taught Adam the nature of things’.^[9]The angels were told to ‘prostrate^[10] before Adam’ ^[11] as a result of God teaching him the nature of things. This underpins the high status of knowledge in Islam and is reinforced by a rhetorical question raised in the Qur’an, ‘Are those who possess knowledge and those who do not on equal footing?’^[12] (Shah 2006)

Shah (2006) deduces three points from this event that knowledge ultimately lies with God whereas humans possess limited and fragmented knowledge; secondly, knowledge and the passing on of it are Godly attributes; and thirdly, knowledge and the sharing of knowledge (teaching/learning) are the sources and justification of status and piety.

Types of knowledge

In the Islamic worldview of tawheed (divine unity), knowledge is holistic without any compartmentalization into the religious or secular domains. Both types of knowledge support the strengthening of faith, the former through a careful study of the revealed Word of God and the latter through an accurate and detailed, systematic study of man and nature.

Knowledge according to Islam is generally understood to be of two categories, ilm naqliyya (knowledge revealed from God) attained through the religious sciences, and ilm ‘aqliyya (humanly constructed knowledge) attained through rational, intellectual and philosophical inquiry. The Qur’an makes it clear in numerous places that God is the source of all knowledge.^[13 Ilm naqliyya would manifest via the Qur’an and the sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as Muslims believe that he was divinely inspired in everything he mentions regarding religious matters.
The next article, Allah willing, shall explore the concept of education in Islam.

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Notes: This is the fourth article in the Islamic Education Series. Click here to read part three.
Sources: www.islam21c.com

Islam21c requests all the readers of this article, and others, to share it on your facebook, twitter, and other platforms to further spread our efforts.

[1] Kinany, cited by Halstead 2004

[2] Ch 96:1-5

[3] Ch 58:11

[4] Ch 20: 114

[5] Ch. 47:19

[6] Hadith collected in Sunan Ibn Mâjah No: 224

[7] Hadith No 36 narrated by Abu Hurairah and collected in Imam Nawawi's Forty Hadith

[8] Qur’an Ch 96:1–5

[9] Ch 2:31

[10] Prostration, as a mark of worship has been forbidden to any created entity in Islam. This was an exceptional case where the prostration was out of reverence.

[11] Ch 2:34

[12] Ch 39:9

[13] See: Qur’an 8:75; 65:12; 22:70

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['Abd-al Latif]

Islamic Education Pt 5: The Concept of Education in Islam

"Tarbiyah could be understood as the type of education that addresses the heart, body, mind and soul of an individual. Tarbiyah places God at the centre of the individual’s learning experience. The main aim of tarbiyah could be summed up as providing Muslims with positive guidance in accordance with the Islamic tradition that will result in them developing into ‘good adults’ who lead fruitful lives in this world and the hereafter. Halstead explains that ‘good adults’ within an Islamic understanding implies adults who accept the obligations of the divine and ‘seek to take on the divine attributes such as hikma (wisdom) and ‘adl(justice).’

This is the fifth article in the Islamic Education Series.Click here to read part four.

The term ‘education’ in Islam is understood and comprehended in a totally different manner to what is understood within Western societies. As we explored, the general understanding of an educated individual within Western societies is someone who possesses critical faculties and is perceived as being autonomous with aesthetic sensitivity. From an Islamic perspective an educated individual might possess similar attributes; however the necessary component that is required is belief and knowledge of how to worship God and how to live life in accordance to the Islamic laws. There is no one word that describes ‘education’ within the Arabic language, however scholars generally tend to use three different words. Tarbiyah comes from the root word raba (to grow, to increase, to rear, spiritual nurturing), which implies a state of ethical and spiritual nurturing in developing the individuals potential and guidance of the child to the state of complete maturity. Ta’dib is derived from the root word aduba (to be refined, disciplined, cultured, well mannered), which suggests the social aspects of a human being including the process of character development and good social behavior. Ta’lim stems from the root word of ‘alima (to know, to be informed, to perceive, to learn, to discern), this refers to knowledge, the imparting and receiving of it through instruction and teaching.^[1]Halstead concludes that these three terms suggests a possible analysis in three areas of Muslim education; ‘(i) aiding individual development, (ii) increasing understanding of society and its social and moral rules and (iii) transmitting knowledge.’^[2] It can be said that these three dimensions offer the fundamental objectives of Islamic education. In order to acquire a better understanding these three areas need to be explored further.

Tarbiyah (Individual development)

Sheikh Ahmed Aways explains Tarbiyah as,

“…very important, for indeed all of the deen (religion) is based upon tarbiyah. This starts first of all with the education and training of our own selves, then of our families, and then of the community at large. But this tarbiyah is most important with respect to our children…”

Tarbiyah could be understood as the type of education that addresses the heart, body, mind and soul of an individual. Tarbiyah places God at the centre of the individual’s learning experience. The main aim of tarbiyah could be summed up as providing Muslims with positive guidance in accordance with the Islamic tradition that will result in them developing into ‘good adults’ who lead fruitful lives in this world and the hereafter. Halstead explains that ‘good adults’ within an Islamic understanding implies adults who accept the obligations of the divine and ‘seek to take on the divine attributes such as hikma (wisdom) and ‘adl (justice).’^[3] They strive to adopt a balanced approach with regards to their ‘integrated personality’ comprising heart, spirit and intellect; they strive to become insan kamil (the perfect human being) and live their lives according to the teachings of the Islamic principles.

Ta’dib (Social and moral education)

A fundamental component of the Islamic faith is the concept of the ummah (the worldwide family of fellow believers) that binds believers by transcending the barriers of nationality, ethnic backgrounds, socio-economic status, languages, and cultural variances. Bearing this in mind Islamic education can never be an individual affair because the Muslim belongs to a worldwide family where ta’dib ensures that they can live together in a state of peace and happiness with high moral and ethical values defined by the Sharia (divine law). Education therefore, it can be said, is used as the means to transmit and preserve a ‘community’s or society’s cultural heritage and traditional values.’^[4] Halstead confirms, ‘In Islam, social existence has exactly the same goal as the individual existence: the realization on earth of divinely ordained moral imperatives.’^[5] The Sharia integrates all aspects of human life such as political, social and economic into a single worldview and in doing so eliminates the concept of the separation between religion and state. Halstead points out that compared to a ‘liberal perspective, the notion of free will in Islam is thus an unsophisticated one.’^[6] What Halstead is pointing out is that there is a simple choice of whether one accepts Islam or completely rejects it. A ‘pick-and-choose’ concept does not exist where one might decide to accept a certain part of the belief and reject another part due to social changes or any other reason. This is a very important principle for if one rejects a part they have in fact rejected the entirety and have undermined the credibility of it. The Qur’an addresses this matter in a firm tone,

“Then do you believe in a part of the Scripture and reject the rest? Then what is the recompense of those who do so among you, except disgrace in the life of this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they shall be consigned to the most grievous torment.”^[7]

An important and relevant point to mention here within the British context is with regards to teaching and learning of citizenship in schools. Muslims believe religious education comes prior to any teaching of citizenship; the approach to social education needs to be compatible with Islamic principle. Al-Attas states that it is more important in Islam to produce a ‘good man’ than a ‘good citizen’, ‘for the good man will be a good citizen, but the good citizen will not necessarily also be a good m^an.’[8]

Ta’lim (Transmission and acquisition of knowledge)

It needs to be pointed out that there is no notion in Islam of the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake; knowledge is not valued in itself without an attached condition being met. Eaton (1982) states that Seyyed Hossein Nasr points to the fact that in the Arabic language ‘to know’ ultimately means ‘to be transformed by the very process of knowing’^[9]; al-Taftazani presents a quote by a famous Islamic philosopher Al-Ghazali regarding this issue,

Be sure that knowledge alone is no support…If a man reads a hundred thousand scientific subjects and learns them but does not act upon them, his knowledge is of no use to him, for its benefit lies only in being used.^[10]

This understanding also applies to wealth where the accumulation of it for its own sake is not permissible unless there is a cause intended in the accumulation. Knowledge in the same way must be acquired in order to benefit from it and then to pass it on or make good use of it by helping others in acknowledging God. The objective of seeking knowledge should initiate in the learner a spiritual and moral consciousness which leads to an increase in imaan (faith) which manifests itself as ’amal salih (virtuous actions) leading to yaqeen (certainty) which are all constantly emphasized in the Qur’an.^[11] In fact the Qur’an states in numerous places that one must possess imaan coupled with ’amal salih.^[12]

Teachers of knowledge have a noble role within Muslim society as they are responsible for the spiritual and moral nurturing of the next generation. Their personal lives are equally important as their profession. Ibn Khaldun, a classical Muslim philosopher and sociologist recognized that Muslim children learn ‘through imitation of a teacher and personal contact with him.’^[13] It would be fair to say that there is a similar concept in liberal societies where parents would generally prefer their children being taught by a teacher who holds ‘good morals’ and adheres to ‘ethical values’. However there is generally no fixed definition of what ‘good morals’ and ‘ethical values’ are.

All forms of seeking knowledge can be taken as worship so long as it is undertaken within the realms of the Sharia. The implications of this are apparent, that religion is at the centre of all aspects of education, ‘acting as glue which holds together the entire curriculum.’^[14]This can also be known as an integrated curriculum. The liberal notion of education would have a problem here, as this integrated approach with religion at the heart of it would undermine the concept of autonomy as it would appear to curtail individual thinking along a certain path.

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Notes: This is the fifth article in the Islamic Education Series. Click here to read part four.
Sources: www.islam21c.com
Islam21c requests all the readers of this article, and others, to share it on your facebook, twitter, and other platforms to further spread our efforts.

[1] Cook, 1999

[2] Halstead, 2004, p. 522

[3] Halstead, 2004, p. 523

[4] ibid

[5] ibid

[6] Ibid, p. 524

[7] Al-Quran 2:85

[8] Al-Attas, 1979, p. 32

[9] p. 141

[10] Quoted in al-Taftazani, 1986, p. 70

[11] Halstead, 2004

[12] See: Ch. 5:93; Ch. 18:107; Ch. 24:55; Ch. 103:3.

[13] 1967, p. 426

[14] Halstead 2004, p. 525

['Abd-al Latif]

Islamic Education Pt 6: Aims and objectives of Islamic Education

"Islamic education is primarily viewed as divinely revealed and thus prepares individuals to be upright citizens on earth and to ultimately attain happiness in the life after death. All the definitions above indicate that God is the centre and focus of Islamic education; hence to be educated a Muslim means to be devoted to attaining the pleasure of God. This should result in pious actions that would enable the Muslim to draw closer to God. The only way this is achieved is according to the divine revelation, being the Book and the example left by the Prophet (peace be upon him). The one condition that this can be achieved by is knowledge, which is the first step towards God, and therefore the aim of education relayed by most Islamic educationalists can be no otherthan a religious aim.

This is the sixth article in the Islamic Education Series.Click here to read part five.

The First World Conference on Muslim education was organised by King Abdullah Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia in 1977 and was held in Makkah. Muslim scholars from around the globe agreed on a definition for the aim of Islamic education as being, ‘The aim of education is the creation of the good and righteous man who worships Allah in the true sense of the term, builds up the structure of his earthly life according to the Sharia and employs it to subserve [sic] his faith.’^[1]

Ashraf and Husain deliverede a similar and more detailed description of the aims and objectives, in that ‘Education should aim at the balanced growth of total personality of Man through the training of Man’s sprit, intellect, the rational self, feelings and bodily senses. Education should therefore cater for the growth of man in all aspects: spiritual, intellectual, imaginative, physical, scientific, linguistic, both individually and collectively and motivate all these aspects towards goodness and the attainment of perfection. The ultimate aim of Muslim education lies in the realization of complete submission to Allah on the level of the individual, the community and humanity at large.’^[2]

What is being suggested here is a complete submission in all aspects of a Muslim, be it spiritual, intellectual, rational or physical etc in order to develop into a complete personality resulting in becoming a slave to the Almighty. This paradigm can also be witnessed in the Qur’an and the many sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) where a believing person is referred to as ‘abd (slave).

Education in Islam is regarded as a process that completely nurtures the individual as al-Attas confirms, ‘Education should aim at the balanced growth of the total personality of Man through the training of Man’s sprit, intellect, rational self, feelings and bodily senses…such that faith is infused into the whole of his personality.’^[3]

In Islamic theology, knowledge is gained in order to actualize and perfect all the dimensions of the human. The paradigm of perfection is the Prophet (peace be upon him), and thus the goal of Islamic education is for Muslims to live as he (peace be upon him) lived and to imitate him. Muslims are sanctioned to do this: ‘Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example to follow for him who hopes for (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.’^[4]This suggests that the Qur’an and the Sunnah are the perennial sources of rulings regarding both spiritual and temporal life. Al-Saud also confirms this in his contribution to the 1977 Muslim educational conference that the Qur’an ‘…by consensus of Muslim opinion, in the past and present, the immutable source of the foundational tenets of Islam, of its principles, ethics and culture. … All the other facets of the curricula of that Islamic education are based upon the acknowledgement of the Qur’an as the core, pivot and gateway of learning.’^[5]

Cook (1999) goes a little deeper into the human character by specifying the ‘qalb (heart), which is the seat of the sprit and affection, conscience feelings, intuition.’^[6] The concept of the ‘qalb’ is very significant within Islamic education, it could be said that it represents the metaphysical dimension of the human being. Al-Ghazali presents a detailed and comprehensive explanation of the human qalb,

When we speak of the heart, know that we mean the reality of man, which sometimes is called ruh (spirit) and sometimes the nafs (soul); we do not mean that piece of flesh which lies in the left side of the chest; that organ is not worthy, for the cattle posses it and so do the dead. It can be seen by the ordinary eyes, and whatever could be seen by the eyes belongs to this world, which is called the visible (shahadah) world. The reality of the heart is not of this world; it has come to this world as a stranger or passer-by, and that visible piece of meat is its vehicle and means, and all of the bodily features are its army, and it is the king of the whole body; the realization of God and the perception of His beauty is its function.^[7]

Islamic education is primarily viewed as divinely revealed and thus prepares individuals to be upright citizens on earth and to ultimately attain happiness in the life after death. All the definitions above indicate that God is the centre and focus of Islamic education; hence to be educated a Muslim means to be devoted to attaining the pleasure of God. This should result in pious actions that would enable the Muslim to draw closer to God. The only way this is achieved is according to the divine revelation, being the Book and the example left by the Prophet (peace be upon him). The one condition that this can be achieved by is knowledge, which is the first step towards God, and therefore the aim of education relayed by most Islamic educationalists can be no other than a religious aim.^[8]

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Notes: This is the sixtb article in the Islamic Education Series. Click here to read part five.
Sources: www.islam21c.com
Islam21c requests all the readers of this article, and others, to share it on your facebook, twitter, and other platforms to further spread our efforts.

[1] Jamjoom 1979, p. v
[2] 1979, p. 44

[3] 1979, p. 158

[4] Ch. 33:21

[5] 1979, p. 126-127

[6] p. 346

[7] Cited by Sharifi 1979, p. 77

[8] Ahmed, 2000

[tayek1967]

In this series i want to learn more educotion. pls share referal part of more islamic study. now this time i'm stay on one islamic link. which is may be referal. pls check this and share with me in future. thanks