Created by Pakiza Sadiq

Islamic system of Education

1. INTRODUCTION
Islam is:
• Monotheistic Abrahamic Religion originating with the teachings of Muhammad (SAW).
• Islam is from Asslamah, means "to accept, to surrender, to submit, submission, or "the total
surrender of oneself to Allah.
• An adherent of Islam is known as a Muslim, meaning "one who submits (to Allah)."

The prime message of Islam is:

• The Unity of God, that the Creator of the world is One and He alone is worthy of worship and
• Muhammad (SAW) is His Messenger.

Surah Al-Akhlas Defines Allah In This Manner Say:

• He is Allah, the One and Only;
• Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
• He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
• And there is none like unto Him.

A Muslim's OTHER BELIEFS

• God's angels.
• Previously revealed Books of God.
• All the prophets, from Adam to Jesus (peace be on them both).
• The Day of Judgment and indeed the Decree of Allah.
• Life after death.
• Fate, good and bad all are from Allah.

FIVE FUNDAMENTALS OF ISLAM

1. Bearing witness to the Unity of Allah and Muhammad (SAW) as His Messenger. (Tauheed)
1. 2 Observing the prescribed prayer. (Salat)
2. Payment of Zakat.
3. 4 Keeping the fasts of Ramadan.
4. 5 And performing the pilgrimage to Mecca. (Hajj)
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2. CONCEPT OF REALITY IN ISLAM ULTIMATE REALITY: ALLAH

Reality, in everyday usage, means "the state of things as they actually exist." The term reality, in its
widest sense includes both being and nothingness, whereas existence is often restricted to being.

The ultimate reality is Allah as in the Qur'an & Hadith:

• He is the sole self-subsisting, all pervading, eternal and Absolute Reality, the first and the last,
the seen and unseen, beyond the limitation of time, space, and sense-content.
Allah denoted His attributes by His names, that can all be summarized under a few essential heads:
• Life, Eternity, Unity, Power, Truth, Beauty, Justice, Love, and Goodness.
• As compared to the essence of Allah, these attributes are only finite approaches, symbols or
pointers to Reality and serve as the ultimate human ideals, they are not illogical symbols.

Allah's RELATION TO MAN

• Allah created the first man Adam and from him his mate Eve and form the twain produced men
and women in large numbers.
• Man is the highest of all the creation. He is born with the divine spirit breathed into him. So man
should achieve divine attributes. Allah is always near man nearer than his jugular vein.
• Man has Free Will to choose, decide, and resolve to do good or evil.
• Besides this Allah has given him guidance through revelation & inspiration and Wisdom.
• Therefore, whatever good or evil the man does, he is responsible for that.

SOUL
• The soul of man is of divine origin.
• It is a deep mystery, a command of Allah

The conscious self or mind has three degrees.

1. Nafs-e-Ammarah Impulsive mind which man shares with animals.
2. Nafs-e-Lawwamah Careful or morally conscious mind which struggles between good and evil
and regretful for the evil done.
3. Nafs-e-Mutma innah it is the mind perfectly in tune with the divine will, the mind in peace.
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DEATH AND LIFE AFTER DEATH

• Death has been decreed by Allah. Every soul shall be given a taste of death.
• For everyone after death there shall be an interval lasting till the Day of Resurrection. On that
day all the dead shall be raised up again.
• All shall fully remember their past deeds. Anyone who would have done an atom of goods shall
see it and anyone who will have done an atom of evil shall see it.
• All in proportion to their respective deeds and for a period of longer and shorter shall go to the
state of pain and sorrow, designated in the Quran as hell, and the righteous saved from hell shall
enter a state of perpetual peace, designated as paradise.

3. CONCEPT OF KNOWLEDGE IN ISLAM

Knowledge can be defined as "the state of knowing the fact."

• Superiority of Adam to angles & their bowing down to Adam because of his knowledge.

The first revelation of the Quran is about reading and knowledge. Allah says:
• "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 men that which he knew not" [al-'Alaq 96:1-5]

Allah created man and provided him with the tools for acquiring knowledge. Allah says:
• "And Allah has brought you out from the wombs of your mothers while you know nothing. And
He gave you hearing, sight, and hearts that you might give thanks (to Allah) [al-Nahl 16:78]
• "And say: 'My Lord! Increase in knowledge" [Ta-Ha 20:114]

The Prophet (SAW) says:

• "The scholars are the heirs of the Prophets and that the Prophets did not leave behind dinars and
dirham (i.e., money), rather their inheritance was knowledge, so whoever acquires it has gained a
great share."
• "Whoever follows a path in the pursuit of knowledge, Allah will make a path to Paradise easy for
him." [Bukhaari, Kitaab al-'Ilm, 10]
• "When a man dies, all his deeds come to an end except for three - an ongoing charity, beneficial
knowledge or a righteous son who will pray for him."
• Islam motivates to learn all kinds of beneficial knowledge.
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• The main purpose of acquiring knowledge is to bring us closer to Allah, not simply for the
satisfaction of the mind or the senses. Knowledge must be linked with values and goals.

STAGES OF KNOWLEDGE
According to Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah there are six stages to knowledge.
1. Asking questions in a good manner.
2. Remaining quiet and listening attentively.
3. Understanding well.
4. Memorizing.
5. Teaching.
6. Acting upon the knowledge and keeping to its limits.

DEGREE OF KNOWLEDGE
Knowledge can be gained by three degrees:
1. Knowledge by inference (Ilm al-Yaqin)
• It is based on actual experience (observation or experiment) of the phenomena.
2. Knowledge by perception (Ain al-Yaqin)
• It is either scientific knowledge based on experience and the study of natural phenomena which
are signs of God & symbols of the Ultimate Reality or historical knowledge based on trustworthy
reports.
3. Knowledge by personal experience or intuition (Haq Al-Yaqin)
• It is based on the inner experience of minds (anfus), because Allah reveals His signs through the
inner experience of the people too.

4. CONCEPT OF VALUES IN ISLAM

Values: Those things that are important to or valued by someone, some society or organization. Values
determine what is right and what is wrong. There are some basic values in Islam that should be protect
or at least to respect these basic values
• Life
• Religion
• Eternity
• Unity
• Power
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• Truth or wisdom
• Knowledge
• Justice
• Love
• Goodness
• Beauty

5. AIMS OF EDUCATION IN ISLAM

General objectives of Islamic education:
• To teach students the fundamentals of Islam which includes:
1. Tawheed
2. Iman (faith)
3. Ibadah (worship)
4. Akhlaaq (morals)
5. Shariah (Islamic Law)
• To develop in students a deep rooted belief in, and a commitment to, the fundamentals of Islam.
• To help students establish the knowledge and practice of Tawheed
• To develop students knowledge of the Prophet (pbuh) and appreciate and practice the teachings
of his Sunnah.
• To help the students gain the realization that the Prophet, his companions, and the righteous
people are the ultimate examples in our lives.
• To help students develop their identity as believers (Mu'aminun).
• To help students to define the Islamic way of worship and living.
• To clarify to students the Islamic laws in the light of Qur'an and Sunnah of Rasulullah.
• To develop students understanding the types of Shirk.
• To develop students understanding the concept of sin in Islam and its consequences.
• To develop student personal relationship to the Qur'an as the word of Allah.
• To develop students' respect and appreciation for the Qur'an as the final source of guidance and
final criterion in Islam.
• To develop students' appreciation for the Sunnah as an explanatory source of the Qur'an.
• To develop in students an appreciation for the memorization and understanding of the Qur'an and
its unique linguistic style.
• To help students develop an awareness of the wisdom behind Allah's creation.
• To emphasize students to the responsibility of Muslims toward self, family, the Muslim nation,
and humanity at large.
• To help students realize that Allah's word is truth and the teachings of the Prophet are truth.
• To lead students to develop the practice of the Truth in all aspects of their lives according to the
examples and teachings of the Sunnah.
• To teach students Islamic manners and etiquette in relation to themselves and all others.
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• To help students develop a moderate practice of Islam in all aspects of their lives based on the
Qur'an and the Sunnah.
• To encourage students to appreciate all branches of knowledge of Allah's creation such as
applied sciences, history, and languages.
• To make students aware of their responsibility as Muslims to their environment.
• To prepare students to contribute to the establishment of an Islamic society.
• To make students aware of the Muslim communities around the world.
• To encourage students to work toward the uplifting and unity of the Islamic Ummah.

6. THE OBJECTIVES OF EDUCATION IN ISLAM

• Strengthen the connection between man and his creator.

• Preserving life's order.
• Developing knowledge and connection with the universe.
• Cultural construction.
• Nurturing the righteous individuals.
• Establishing justice.
• Protection of religion.
• Protection of life.
• Protection of intellect.
• Protection of wealth.

7. CURRICULUM OF EDUCATION IN ISLAM

Curriculum contains on these points:
• Education for leadership has its focus on creativity, original thinking and decision making.
• In Islam, leadership has a different concept. It is based on knowledge and Taqwa or piety and not
on wealth and political power. (the reign of Hazrat Abu Bakar r.a.)
• The generation of Muslim should be produced within the context of Islam.
• Islamic system of education stresses to synthesize the knowledge of science and technology in
the light of Quran and sunnah.
• Muslim have to develop children who are both living manifestations of Allah's final revelation
and knowledge of these branches of knowledge that had to mastery of this creation. And thus to
develop a sense of competition.
• It also emphasizes on organizing curriculum programmers with such a time table that it becomes
a positive contribution for performing five salat and one month fast.
• Thus Islamic curriculum includes religious, scientific & technical, vocational education and also
study of English as it is a link language etc.
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8. METHODS OF TEACHING
According to Islamic philosophy and the history of Islamic Education these are Method of Teaching:

1. Lecture Method
• (Khutba-e-Hajjatul Wida & Khutba before Prayer of Juma)
2. Question-Answer Method
• (Questions of villagers & holy companions related to religion, management, administration etc.)
3. Discussion Method
• (the discussion of As'hab-e-Suffa).
4. Group Discussion
• (Group discussion of Imam Azam's pupils in his class)
5. Demonstration method
• (Hazrat Ali's [r.a.] performing Wazu and other practices)
6. Debate
• (Debates among the pupils of Imam Azam [r.a.] on varios topic like time table of prayers etc)

TEACHER'S RELATIONSHIP WITH STUDENT

• Like Father and son.
• Giving chances to express himself.
• Maintaining the respect to the teacher.
• Behave kindly to the students.
• Not beating the students.
(the case of Hazrat Anas [r.a.] with the prophet (pbuh]
• Ignoring little mistake.
• Praising on good performance.
• Motivating for good deeds.
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CONCLUSION
• Islam not only promotes education but also thinks it as a fundamental duty on each and every
one.
• Islam divides all types of knowledge & education into 2 categories.

1. Ilm-e-Nafe
Education which is beneficial not only for the person but also for the society, country and the humanity.
2. Ilm-e-Gair Nafe
Education which is harmful for the society or humanity or that makes the person far away from his
creator.

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