Naat

Assignment # 2
Concept of education in Islam

Submitted by:
NS Sadia Sadaf
Reg # 711
Mech(B)

Submitted to:
Maj (R) M. Sharif
April 8,2013

Concept of Education in Islam in the light of Quran and Sunnah

وَاللَّهُ أَخْرَجَكُمْ مِنْ بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ لا تَعْلَمُونَ شَيْئاً وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ السَّمْعَ وَالأَبْصَارَ وَالأَفْئِدَةَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

The word Islam defined by the Quran itself means submission to the Supreme Being and compliance with His laws, which constitutes Nature. Islam lays special emphasis on the acquisition of knowledge.

Concept of vicegerent of man:

According to Quran, Allah has made man as a vicegerent due to knowledge (IIm-ul-Asma), when angels argues about the vicegerent of man than Allah (SWT) taught Adam the names of some things and then Adam told them and hence proved his ability for vicegerent on earth. This shows the importance of acquiring knowledge from the Quranic point of view. It is obligatory alike for both Muslim male and female.

يَرْفَعْ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍo

Knowledge is of two types, revealed knowledge and acquired knowledge. Revealed knowledge has been given to human beings, through prophets by Allah. Acquired knowledge is that which is being acquired by the human beings though the study of natural phenomena, attitude of man and through the study of society. Quran says that for the prosperous life on earth both kinds of knowledge, revealed and acquired is necessary. It shows the basis of the educational set-up in Islam where the children are not only equipped with religious knowledge but also with acquired that is scientific knowledge so that they can live a righteous and prosperous life. That is why the knowledge in Islam is considered as the greatest gift of Allah to Man. It helps man to attain righteous and prosperous life. Education is the process through which knowledge is transmitted from a section of society to another section. It also reflects the philosophy on which it is based. Islamic philosophy derives its origin from the spirit of teachings of the Quran and Hadith (the saying of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). The Qayas and Fiqqah, are also the crucial components.
The word Quran literally means reading or recitation. Islamic education aims to discovering and formulating Allah’s will.

سُبْحَانَكَ لا عِلْمَ لَنَا إِلاَّ مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُo

Quran indicated basic principles that lead a Muslim to observation of the universe and Nature, where he can find the answers to many question by his own efforts.
We would certainly appreciate that how nicely Quran gives hints in respect of various branches of learning and advises man to use intellect. So much so that Quran says in Surah Al-Aaraf that those who do not us their abilities we as intellect, eyes and ears will enter into the fire of hell because they are inferior to animals. It should be noted that the Quran explains the actual practical shape of life by demarking the borders of the various aspect of life.
Quran being a complete code of life says “We have sent down to you the book, as an explanation for everything.”

The Quranic text is divided into 114 chapters. Each chapter is called “Surah” which consist of a certain number of verses each called “Ayah”.
The revelations continued in Quran were not all revealed on one occasion but at long intervals and in response to special needs to the prophet (peace be upon him) lived at Mecca for thirteen years and at Medina for ten years. The revelations which the Prophet (peace be upon him) received in Mecca period are mostly concerned with general percepts that urges strongly and earnestly the man to righteousness.

اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ oخَلَقَ الإِنسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ o اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الأَكْرَمُ o الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ o عَلَّمَ الإِنسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْo

Quran is not a book of science or any other particular field of knowledge but it deals, mainly with basis principals of human life. Therefore, Quranic concept of education is that it explicitly teaches its readers principles in each and every sphere of life so that its followers have complete knowledge about their pattern of life.
Quran is the fountain head of wisdom, from which all other sources of knowledge derive their authority. It consist of very words of Allah, revealed on Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in twenty three years, first in Mecca and completed in Medina. The Holy Quran says, “This day have I perfected for you, your religion and completed my favor on your, and chosen for you Islam as a religion.

Islamic education system comprises of the following principles:

1. Belief in the oneness, immateriality, absolute power, mercy and supreme compassionateness of the Creator.

1) Charity and brotherhood among mankind.

2) Subjugation of passion.

3) The outpouring of a grateful heart to the Giver of all good.

4) Accountability of human actions in another existence.

5) Developing a sense of social consciousness i.e. enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong.

Importance of education in Hadith:-

The next source of Islamic foundations of education is the Hadith, Ahadith as plural. Hadith derives its authority and validity from Holy Quran. Quran says ‘obey Allah and obey the Messenger.

هُوَ الَّذِي بَعَثَ فِي الأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولاً مِنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمْ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِنْ كَانُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلالٍ مُبِينٍo

Thus, Hadith offers best explanation or interpretation to Quran.

Hadith are not only explanatory to the Quranic text but also complementary to it. Prophet (peace be upon him) is a teacher appointed by Allah who not only teaches the Book and philosophy but purifies the soul as well. He (peace be upon him), himself was a role model who presented ideal practical life in the light of those limits enunciated by the Quran. Thus, the Quran declared the Prophet (peace be upon him) to be the interpreter of Quranic texts. Hadith is the index and vehicle of the Sunnah which gives concrete shape to the Quranic teachings. A Hadith is a statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him). A sunnah may be embodied in a Hadith, but is not itself a Hadith. His (peace be upon him) Sunnah is both an instrument for the institutionalization and practice of Allah’s will, as well as a strong force for the propagation of Islam. As we studied earlier that the man is expected to learn through experiments on the foundations given by the Quran and whose example is preserved in the life, activities and saying of Prophet (peace be upon him). The Prophet (peace be upon him) before emigration (Hijrat) to Medina deputed a teacher, there to arrange the education of the believers. Prophet (P.B.U.H) said:

إنما بعثت معلمًا

After the Hijrat, the Prophet’s Mouse in Medina became the center of education. A covered platform called Suffa, was built in front of the Prophet (peace be upon him) house to give instructions in the Quran and Hadith. On the other hand the Prophet’s wives (MAPT) were in charge of the education of women.
The foundations lay by Hadith and Sunnah for Islamic education is that children should not only be taught theoretically but there should be a practical guidance for them to adapt in practical life. That is why prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was given the task to teach his companions, Quran, practically.

There are hundreds of Hadith which emphasize on necessity and supreme value of gaining knowledge. Some of them are the following:

· He dies not who takes from learning.

· The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr.

· He who leaves home in search of knowledge walks in the path of Allah.

· The acquisition of knowledge is a duty incumbent on every Muslim male or female.

· Seek after knowledge even though it may in China.

· To be present in a circle of learned men is better than prostrating oneself in prayer a thousand times or visiting a thousand sick persons and attend a thousand funerals.

· A word of wisdom is like the lost treasure of a believer who has got the best right to secure it wherever he might have found it.

In Islam to acquire knowledge is an act piety, he/she who speak of it praise Allah, he/she who seeks it adores Allah and he/she who imparts it performs an act of devotion.

Types of knowledge

There are only two types of knowledge in Islam: 1. Beneficial and 2. Not beneficial
Note the supplications of the Prophet (P.B.U.H):

اللهم إني أسئلك علمًا نافعًا

(O Allah! I ask you for the beneficial knowledge).

اللهم إني أعوذ بك من علم لا ينفع

(O Allah! I take refuge in you from useless knowledge).

Classification of (knowledge) in Islam according to Importance

1. Obligatory (فرض) 2. فرض كفاية (Obligatory on society) 3. مستحب (Desirable) 4. مباح (permissible) 5. مكروه (detested) 6. حرام (prohibited)

Obligatory Knowledge:

On every Muslim seeking of this knowledge is compulsory; so that he can live Islamically. He should know the basics of:
Beliefs عقائد
Worships عبادات
Dealings معاملات
Prohibitions which lead to punishments عقوبات
Etiquettes of lifeآداب معاشرت
Purification of heart قلب

Allama Iqbal said:
Knowledge gives power. This power should be under Deen. Otherwise it is pure Satanic. A Muslim must Islamize his knowledge.

Islamic objectives
To produce individuals who believe firmly in the individual and collective system of Islam. To protect, practice, and promote it.
To help in knowing Allah and the ways to please Him using latest means at his disposal (as a Khalifah).
To develop morals by following the Prophet PBUH (Ta’leem + Tazkiah + Himkmah)

Live a balanced life (spiritual vs material; self vs society; spending vs saving; avoiding extremes)

To be expert in one’s own field

To have a vision and a mission along with discipline - within the limits given by Allah.

Muslims goal

The goal of Muslims is to worship Allah and to seek knowledge

إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِين
اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيم
صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ
غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا الضَّالِّينَ

The Muslim thinker’s right from al-Kindi was led to formulate the doctrine of the Intellect under the inspiration of the above-mentioned verses. It is generally believed, and not without justification, that the Muslims took this doctrine from Aristotle’s De Anima (‘and Alexander of Aphrodisias’s De Intellectu, though acknowledging at the same time that they made some very important modifications and elaborations. Thus, al-Kindi made a very pertinent addition when he divided Alexander’s ‘Intellect habitu’ into two intellects, of which ‘one is the possession of knowledge without practicing it’ and ‘the other is the practicing of knowledge. Next to him, al-Farabi makes a distinction between the ‘intelligible in sensible’ and ‘intelligible in action which is almost parallel to that of al-Kindi.

However, he adds ‘acquired intellect’ which is capable of comprehending pure abstractions, and here the intellect rises to the ‘level of communion, ecstasy, and inspiration. It may be added that though al-Farabi himself declared that his theory depended on the third part of De Anime of Aristotle, his conception of the ‘acquired intellect’ is alien to Aristotle; it differs also from the ‘ acquired intellect’ as found in the theory held by Alexander of Aphrodisias and al-Kindi’. When we come to Ibn Sina the concept of a supra-human transcendent intellect which, when the human intellect is ready, bestows knowledge upon it finds its most developed form. It is the external, objective agency which causes all knowledge through inspiration in the human mind and, but for which no knowledge could be possible.

Unlike Alexander, al-Farabi, and even Aristotle, Ibn Sina holds that the universal is not abstracted from the particulars of sense-experience; ‘it issues directly from the active intellect’. He says, ‘The perception of the universal form,..., is a unique movement of the intellective soul, not reducible to our perceiving the particular either singly or totally and finding the common essence among them , for if so, it would be only a spurious kind of universal. He concludes, ‘the origin of knowledge is mysterious and involves intuition at every stage He goes on, ‘All seeking of knowledge,..., has this prayer-like quality’; however, he adds that ‘the effort is necessary on the part of man; the response is the act of God or the active intellect. In other words, the ‘innate’ nature of knowledge does not preclude the possibility and necessity of effort on the part of man, and no knowledge can be ‘had’ without effort by man. Thus, Ibn Sina has developed his theory of knowledge in the intuitive direction in line with the teachings of the Qur’an-.

In fact, the Muslim thinkers have developed their theory of knowledge in two positive directions:-viz., (i) in the direction of the practical import of knowledge, and (ii) in the direction of ‘innate’ or ‘intuitive’ nature of knowledge— the two characters which the Qur’an has emphasized. This account clearly indicates that the Muslim thinkers, although impressed by the Greeks and built their own theory on theirs, were really inspired by the Qur’an teachings which prompted them not only to accept but also to modify and add to the Greek view.

Thus, true knowledge, according to the Islamic view, is that which instills humility and submission in the person who possesses it. The Qur’an says, ‘Surely those of His servants who are possessed of knowledge fear Allah. Haman, the minister of Pharaoh, who represents those who take great pride in their personal skill and wisdom, led to the destruction of his master as well as himself. It may be interpolated here that the knowledge which the Holy Book refers to is not the worldly knowledge, but the knowledge of God. It is a view based on a bifurcation between the knowledge of God. (Or religion) and the worldly knowledge (or science). However, this bifurcation is alleviated if we start with the belief, as we did in the beginning of this paper, that all knowledge is ‘innate’ and by the Divine Grace: this is the very purport of the Islamic teachings. They presume that all knowledge is one and in the end conduces, or will conduct, to the knowledge of God. In this connection Iqbal has denied that there is any fundamental or essential bifurcation between thought (the instrument of science) and intuition (the instrument of religion).

He says, ‘Nor is there any reason to suppose that thought and intuition are essentially opposed to each other. They spring up from the same root and complement each other. He adds, ‘Both are in need of each other for mutual rejuvenation. Both seek visions of the same Reality… He is still more direct when he says, ‘The truth is that religious and scientific processes, though involving different methods, are identical in their final aim. Both aim at reaching at the most real’. It is not only that they complement each other and are identical in their final aim; the purport of the Islamic teachings, which recommend strongly the Conguest of the Universe as the final goal of human endeavor, is that all knowledge will in the end be reduced to one ultimate knowledge— i.e., knowledge of God to Whom all things, including knowledge, must return, says the Qur’an.
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