The Islamic Education System


The acquisition and dissemination of 'useful' knowledge is the goal of any education system. Knowledge considered useful to the Capitalist is worlds apart from knowledge considered useful to the Muslim. Islam has a particular view of life, which differs vastly to that of capitalism. These differing attitudes to life, produce the main differences between the two education systems.

Creed defines what is 'useful'.

The world we live in is not the be all and end all of our existence. Allah (swt) says,

"He Who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed." [ 67:2]

Our mere existence is to strive to attain Allah's (swt) pleasure. It is our good deeds that please Allah (swt). All our actions are geared towards reaping the benefits in the next life and not this life. In order to perform deeds to the best of our ability, thus gaining Allah's (swt) maximum pleasure, we should acquire some understanding of this world.

Capitalists turn their attentions to this life. They consider ideas of an after life as personal philosophy to be taken or left. The raison d'être of the Capitalist becomes to achieve in this world as much as possible. A good action is considered that which brings worldly benefits, regardless of the hereafter. They too feel it necessary to understanding this world. However it would be purely for worldly benefits.

What is 'useful' knowledge?

Many rituals require the state of ablution, wudu. It is obligatory to know how to make wudu. Furthermore, it is obligatory to know; what constitutes wudu, what nullifies wudu(ablution), which actions require wudu and for which actions it is recommended to have wudu etc. These things are second nature to most of us. However at some stage we were taught them. This is considered useful knowledge, it benefits us in the hereafter. Aspects of tahara are considered essential parts of an Islamic education. In contrast, the non-Muslim would find no benefit in reading a chapter entitled, "the four causes of minor ritual impurity (hadith)". Similarly a Muslim would find no benefit in knowing that white wine is drunk with a fish and red with meat.

Islamic knowledge is seen in worldly issues, as well as in issues related to ritual worship.

"O you who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination,- of Satan's handwork: eschew such (abomination), that you may prosper." [ 5:93]

Ibn 'Umar (ra) narrated that Rasul-Allah said, "Every intoxicant is khamr and every intoxicant is prohibited. Alcohol and gambling are both prohibited".

To know what constitutes gambling it may be necessary to gain certain knowledge. For example to conclude that lotteries are gambling, one must first know what the lottery entails. Thus the Muslim must have knowledge of the haram in order to know where, when and how to avoid them. Intoxicants are forbidden. We need to know which things we may come across that are actually forbidden for us to approach. For example, marijuana and cocaine, but also alcohol based perfumes and many cleaning substances etc. It may seem ironic, but we can benefit in the hereafter by studying the haram things. That is if we study them in order to recognise and avoid them.

'Useful' knowledge through history

Throughout Islamic history culture and civilisation revealed phenomena that were directly linked to our creed. The same could be said of Western civilisation. There are developments that stem from their insatiable desire to have mastership of this world.

In the field of navigation, Muslims were always well accomplished. Muslims had established astronomical observatories, produced elaborate charts and concluded that the planets follow elliptical orbits, long before their counterparts in the West. The main hindrance to Western explorations was the lack of navigational skills. They feared sailing too far away from the sight of shore. It wasn't until the advent of the magnetic compass that they ventured out to sea. These achievements stemmed from something simple normal and mundane. This was, the desire to find the kiblah for prayer. Muslims learnt to read the pole star not only for navigation but for the sake of finding the kiblah. Thus translating the concerns of this world to the concerns of the next world. Most Muslims today would have developed a sixth sense for orienting themselves in relation to Makkah. Islam encourages us to travel for trade and/or to spread Islam, these all require navigation. Rasul-Allah told us that the tourism of the Muslim is Jihad. Indeed the knowledge required to fight Jihad efficiently spawned many technologies and innovations.

The subject of tahara, gave rise to many aspects of knowledge and culture. These include the design of houses, mosques, public wash facilities and many aspects of technology related to hygiene. Cleanliness and hygiene were, and remain, essential parts of our culture and education, as well as being essential for public health. Indeed, the Spanish Inquisitors were riled by the cleanliness of Muslims. They found the best way to detect whether new converts to Christianity were keeping their old Islamic habits was by checking the condition of their facilities. The achievements of Muslims were not exceptionally brilliant, rather they were plain and ordinary. That is because they were born of basic actions that we are all required to perform.

Similarly, worldly knowledge is required to understand trading and a whole host of transactions and worships. The hadith books are filled with measurements in weights and volumes. These are in reference to; rituals like the 40th to be paid for annual zakat or the volume of cereal to be paid for zakat al-fitr, also references to transaction like the quantities of gold and silver, i.e. our currency. Muslims are required to understand elements of basic and advanced arithmetic as well as concepts of proportionality and quantification. This would not be to perform fast fourier transform in FORTRAN, manufacture missiles or even to program in PASCAL, but to divide inheritance, pay zakat and buy bread and share out meat from the aqeekah. In addition to the above examples we must learn some basic elements of the Shari'ah. Preferably we should learn the related verses of Qur'an and ahadeeth. These being the so called 'traditional' aspects of Islamic education.

A student doctor may learn a drug's basic form, its mode of action, its recommended dose regime, its indications and contra indications. All this is academic knowledge. What makes it 'useful' is how he uses it. He may intend to use this knowledge to treat patients purely for the sake of treating patients, or for the prestige of being a doctor, or because it is his job. However, it may be purely for the sake of pleasing Allah (swt). Allah (swt) has allowed this profession and we are all encouraged to help the sick. The student doctor is rewarded merely for learning. The same principle should be applied on everything. A wife may learn a new recipe for the sake of pleasing her husband, because Allah (swt) recommend that. She is rewarded for learning the recipe. These examples may not be considered 'traditional Islamic' education but they are indeed snippets of information from which we may gain reward.

All of this is underpinned with the knowledge of the revelation. The 'traditional' subjects of Qur'an, hadith, seerah, tajweed calligraphy etc. must also be studied. These are not extra subjects. They are interwoven into every aspect of all education, as well as being disciplines in their own right. A true Islamic system would have no religious studies. It is secular to see religious knowledge separate from worldly knowledge. For a similar reason we would not have a department of religious affairs in an Islamic government.

The system of excesses

The secular creed puts emphasis on this world. This becomes self consuming. Capitalist nations find difficulty in putting things into proportion. They end up obsessively chasing their own tails. This is described beautifully in the hadith of Rasul-Allah , "If the son of Adam was given a valley full of gold he will always want a second. If he has two valleys full of gold he will always want a third." [Bukhari]

These principles mould their attitude to everything, education included. Education is either geared to production and generation of money for the sake of this world, or to art and culture which is the mere worship of the aesthetics of this world. Students are encouraged to memorise to excesses in order to pass exams and impress tutors and peers in tutor groups etc. These excesses bring with them many problems. Suicide is common among students, as is drinking to excess. Anti-depressives drugs and/or counselling are a normal part of life on campus. The abased environment in colleges, schools and universities is easily recognised and avoided. However, there are more subtle ways in which Muslims may be fooled. That is to become obsessed with studying. Muslims can put their whole life on hold for three years whilst they immerse themselves in biochemistry or business studies books. The nature of the system in practice stems from the secular creed. Capitalist countries become certificate based societies and not true meritocracies as they claim.

Conclusion

Capitalism and Islam in the context of knowledge is how they both define useful. Our criteria is what helps us in the hereafter. We should reject the philosophy of Capitalism, and their philosophy of education, and their system of excesses. Everything we learn should be for the hereafter. We may be rewarded purely for learning. That does not mean learning traditional Islamic knowledge only. It may be the learning of the clinical pharmacokinetics of fetoprotein or the Sunnah of aqeedah, provided they are both for the sake of Allah (swt).

Further Reading

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