What is an Islamic Education ?
What is an Islamic Education?
Introduction
{اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ
الَّذِي خَلَقَ}
العلق: 1
Transliteration: Iqra biismi rabbika
allathee khalaqa
The word ‘Iqra’ literally means to
‘read’ or ‘recite’. The object of this proclamation is understood to be the
message of Islam, but in a more general sense, whenever one begins thinking
about education, and its relation to the deen of Islam, it is this verse which
springs to mind. This idea of ‘reading’ in the Name of Allah is a complex one
and brings up the serious question: ‘what is an Islamic education?’ Related to
this question are another two: ‘what are the goals of an Islamic education?’
and ‘how does it differ conceptually from the concept of ‘education’ advocated
and applied in the West?’ Having taught for some years in the State sector
before moving to Ebrahim Academy to teach English to Muslim boys in a purely
Islamic environment, I feel these are questions which need to be asked so that
as parents and educators we can begin to think about what sort of upbringing we
want to give the men and women of tomorrow’s Ummah. Such questions therefore
lie at the heart of this discussion, which will draw on various critical essays
on Islamic education, such as the late Syed Ali Ashraf’s The Aims Of Education
(1979) as well as an interview I undertook with the respected Sheikh Al Abbasy,
a senior lecturer at Madinah University.
Aims
As we begin to think about the aims
of Islamic education, it may be helpful to turn to Ashraf’s essay, The Aims Of
Education (1979). In it, he separates the concept of ‘education’ from that of
‘instruction’. He posits the view that ‘education helps in the complete growth
of a personality, whereas instruction merely trains an individual or a group in
the efficient performance of some task’. He adds that ‘a human being may be a
great lawyer, but still remain ill-mannered, immoral, unrighteous, or unjust’.[1]He further presents the idea that a truly
‘educated’ person is one who ‘knows and performs his or her duty towards
[him]self, family, neighbours, and humanity’, in addition to having ‘acquired’
enough ‘knowledge about how to earn a livelihood honestly’. I would add that
first and foremost, a person needs to know his or her duty to the Creator,
Allah. Ashraf’s definition seems to be quite synonymous with the concept of
refinement- the idea that a young person’s education involves a process of
moulding their personality as well as their intellect so that when they enter
into the world of work they do so with sound mannerisms and knowledge of how to
maintain their duty to their Creator and His Creation. Such an education
should, I believe, be what Islamic institutions aim to provide young students
with. I would add that in terms of the source we should use in moulding our
students’ personalities, we need to refer to the Sunnah. The personality (right
down to the tiniest mannerisms) we should try to impart on our students must be
that of the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him), for he
was Khayru-l-Khalq (the best of creation). This should be to the extent that
when our students leave our schools they are able to think for themselves,
being able not only to ask themselves at every juncture in their lives, ‘what
would my Prophet do?’ but also be able to answer the question for themselves,
acting accordingly.
Such a mindset is also advocated by
Sheikh Muhammad al-Abbasy. He is a senior lecturer and Professor in Madinah
University, and during my Hajj Pilgrimage this year, I had the opportunity to
interview him. When I asked him about his view on the aims of an Islamic
education, he stated that ‘the main aim in the secondary schools, and in the
University, is to qualify the student to be good da’iah; a good caller to [the
path of] Allah’, adding that ‘knowledge is not just for passing exams, it is to
develop the person to be[come] a good man, a good Muslim, so that after that,
they can pass the message to the others’. Clearly, just as we are arguing,
al-Abbasy too espouses the view that an Islamic education needs to involve a
process of shaping the personality of the student to that of the Prophet
(prayers and peace of Allah be upon him). Indeed, later on in my discussion with
him, Abbasy championed the personality of the noblest of ‘caller[s]’ to Islam:
Muhammad (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him). He stated that ‘you have to
make Muhammad (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) your leader and example
if you want the success in your life’. He added that ‘in every action, you have
to follow the example of Sayyidina Muhammad (prayers and peace of Allah be upon
him)’ because Islam ‘does not only belong in the Masjid’ but ‘wherever a person
is […they] should be looking to Islam, the Message, for answers’. Without
mentioning it, the Sheikh is referring to Surah An-Nisaa (verse 59) in which
Allah states, {… (And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it
to Allah and His Messenger (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him),…}
[An-Nisaa 4:59]
{فَإِن تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي
شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّـهِ وَالرَّسُولِ} النساء: 59
Transliteration: fain tanazaAAtum fee shayin faruddoohu ila Allahi
waalrrasooli
What can be argued at this point in
the article is that the aim of an Islamic education should be to impart on
students the personality of the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon
him). I would add that they also need to have engrained in their minds the key
Islamic concepts of Tawhid, Hayat, Akhirah, Dunya, Jannat, Naar, Deen’, Munkar,
Nafs, Kufr, Ajr, Sabr, Fitrah, and so on, all of which rule our lives. This is
so that whatever juncture they are at in their lives, our students consider
such questions as ‘how does this decision rest in relation to Tawhid, my belief
in Allah?’ ‘Does it take me closer to Jannat or closer to the fire?’
Responsibility
Who then, does the responsibility
for this moulding of the students’ personality fall upon? Undoubtedly, the
responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of the Muslim teachers in the
Islamic learning institution. In the chapter entitled, ‘What Do Teachers Do?’
contained in Learning To Teach In The Secondary School (2009), its co-authors
Andrew Green and Marilyn Leask state that ‘you have responsibility for both the
academic and the pastoral development of your pupils’, outlining the ‘pastoral’
role as ‘getting to know the pupils’, ‘registering the class’, ‘reinforcing
school rules’, and ‘liaising with parents’.[2]
Aside from the school rules, there
is no teaching of what is morally right, or wrong, let alone any association
with religion. From my own experiences as a Secondary school teacher in the
State sector I found that there may be some mention of those things which are
universally rejected in PSHE (Personal, Social, and Health Education), such as
murder, drugs, and drinking, but even then, such things are presented as things
which involve a little jail-time, which will only be the case if they are
caught. There is no sense of accountability to Ar-Raqib (The Watchful), Allah.
The Islamic concept of Tarbiyya is
more inclusive of the more important aspects of nurturing, such as teaching the
students the differences between what is right, and wrong from both the legal
sense, as well as the Islamic sense. Students will be told of those things
which stain the heart, which put a person’s Akhirah at risk, and they will be
told that ultimately, Allah is Ever-Watchful of what they do and that if He
Wills, He can punish them for that which they do in the darkest room on the
blackest of nights if it is something He has forbidden.
In reference to this, Sheikh
al-Abbasy stated that in Madinah, ‘the teachers teach, and give Taribyya
[nurturing and edification] too. This is done through the good example [of the
teacher] and the good books of Tarbiyya’. Indeed, Green and Leask state that
‘above all, pupils respond to individuals one of the first things your pupils
pick up on is you as a person; how you present yourself as an individual and as
a practitioner’.[3]This concept
is widely accepted among those involved in teaching pedagogy and clearly shows
that Muslim teachers aiming to ‘educate’ young Muslims need to first themselves
be the embodiment of the personality of our beloved Prophet (prayers and peace
of Allah be upon him), and then work to ‘educate’ the students so they too
embody the mannerisms and conduct of the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be
upon him) before they leave school.
This crucial role of the Muslim
teacher has been expanded on here because of the fact that over time the role
of the teacher in the State sector has changed and become increasingly focused
on improving grades and assessment marks rather than the personalities of the
students. Such is even the case even in certain ‘outstanding’ schools in
London. This has led to the primary role of the teacher being to help the
student get the best grade possible, nothing more. This is something which has
been problematized even by Western thinkers. Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam in
their well-known collaborative work Inside The Black Box (1998) state that one
of the ‘negative impact[s]’ of ‘assessment in classrooms’ which they came across
in their research, was that ‘the giving of marks and the grading functions are
over-emphasized, while the giving of useful advice and the learning function
are under-emphasized’.[4] The
mark of a ‘good teacher’ has become more about how much ‘value’ have they
‘added’ to the pupil in terms of Key Stage 3 Levels, GCSE grades, or A-level
grades. This is not the way forward. Young people need examples to follow to
shake them out of apathy, and teachers cannot be more than a very basic role
model without the blueprint of the Prophet Muhammad (prayers and peace of Allah
be upon him).
Conclusions
In drawing this study to a close, it
is clear that when it comes to the aims of Islamic education, we have set our
aims high. So we should. It is true also that the responsibilities on the
Muslim teachers in Islamic institutions, Academies, and schools are great. So
they should be. Success will never be achieved if we set our sights any lower
than on the personality, path, conduct, and advice of the Messenger of Allah
(prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) - the most influential man in history,
as confirmed in Michael M. Hart’s book, The 100: A Ranking of the Most
Influential Persons in History (1978). Who is there that can argue, when the
Creator of the Heavens and the Earth declares,
{Indeed in the Messenger of Allah
(Muhammad prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) you have a good example to
follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and
remembers Allah much.} [Surah Al Ahzab 33:21]
{لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي
رَسُولِ اللَّـهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّـهَ وَالْيَوْمَ
الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّـهَ كَثِيرًا} الأحزاب: 21
Transliteration: Laqad kana lakum fee rasooli Allahi
oswatun hasanatun liman kana yarjoo Allaha waalyawma
alakhira wathakara Allaha katheeran
Imparting the rationale the Prophet
Muhammad (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) on our students must be the
primary aim of Islamic education, with subject related knowledge coming as a
secondary objective. Of course, before this can even begin to happen, we the
teachers and instructors need ourselves to use the Quran and Sunnah as a
criterion as well as becoming an embodiment of the Sunnah right down to our
rationale. What is the aim of Islamic education? As we have discussed, it is to
educate, shape, and mould ourselves, and subsequently our children and students
into the most influential and most blessed man to walk the face of the earth:
Muhammad (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him), the Khayru-l-Khalq.
Sources:
www.islam21c.com
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Notes:
[1] Ashraf, 1978:1
[2] Greek and Leask, 2009:13
[3] Green and Leask, 2009:10
[4] Black and Wiliam, 1998:4
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