The Muslim Educational Needs

Published on January 2017 | Categories: Documents | Downloads: 37 | Comments: 0 | Views: 234
of 114
Download PDF   Embed   Report

Comments

Content

THE MUSLIM EDUCATIONAL NEEDS:
An Exposition of the Fundamental Elements and Objectives of Islamic Education

By ANSHARI P. ALI, Ph.D (ISTAC)

Published by: COLLEGE OF LAW EXTENSION Mindanao State University General Santos City

2012

Philippine Copyright, 2011 by ANSHARI P. ALI, Ph.D Email: [email protected] H/P#09099475492 ISBN No. 978-971-94531-1-6 No portion of this book may be reproduced in books, pamphlets, outline or notes, whether printed, mimeographed, typewritten, copied in different electronic devices or in any other form, for distribution or sale, without the written permission of the author. Any portion of this book without the corresponding number and the signature of the author on this page either proceeds from an illegitimate source or is in possession of one who has no authority to dispose of the same. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY THE AUTHOR

No___________
Printed by:

Marbel Gepcars Printing Press
Rizal St., Zone III, Koronadal City Tel. # (083) 228-6586

MARCH 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i Dedication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii Acknowledgement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iii INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 The Two Positions about Education . . . . . . . . . 9 CHAPTER I THE ELEMENTS OF ISLAMIC EDUCATION. . .16 The recipient of education.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The External and Internal senses. . . . . . . . . . 21 The Soul as Khalifah (Vicegerent). . . . . . . . . . 31 CHAPTER II THE CONTENTS OF ISLAMIC EDUCATION. . 39 The Meaning of Hikhmah (Wisdom). . . . . . . . 48

The Categories of Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . .50 CHAPTER III
THE METHODS OF ISLAMIC EDUCATION. . . 63
Tarbiyah (Good breeding). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 Ta'lim (Instruction). . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Riyadah (Self-Discipline). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Tahdib (refinement). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Ta'dib (Education) . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ..77 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 85
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 85 Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 References. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96

About the Author

FOREWORD
Islamic education has always been a misunderstood concept in the minds of many Filipinos, educators included. The secularization of western education has inculcated into our mental perspective the acquisition of knowledge that aids the material aspirations of society, and in the process, relegates the normative development of man to the sideways. As such, western educational systems regard the holistic education of a man as either unnecessary or redundant, and therefore, treat human spiritual development as a mere collateral concern, rather than the main focus of education. This is the typical attitude of someone who thinks that the reformative aspect of worship is exemplified only by religious activities and limited solely to religious preaching. It denies the natural oneness of man' body (jasad), soul (nafs) and spirit (ruh), and does a disservice to the education of the whole man. It sets an unseen wedge between man's individuality and his society, and in so doing, produces a human community with truncated perspectives. The book of Dr. Anshari P. Ali, “The Muslim Educational Needs: An Exposition of the Fundamental Elements and Objectives of Islamic Education”, helps clarify the concept and implementation of Islamic education in the Philippines. According to Dr. Ali “another important element of education is the content which should be inculcated to the aql

(intellect) of a child or person”, and “while modern and secular educational institutions gave much attention to the method than the content of education, Islam provides more emphasis on the latter.”

The attention given to content in Islamic education ensures that education is both divinely-sourced and humanpropagated. This acknowledges that the origin of all ilm (knowledge) is God, and man merely propagates the knowledge that comes from the Divine Source. This likewise expands the scope of knowledge and knowledge acquisition beyond the otherwise secular bounds of western education.

In his latest book, Dr. Ali demystifies Islamic education by lucidly explaining what will otherwise appear as alien Arabic terms to students and practitioners of western education, such as tarbiyah (good breeding), ta'lim (instruction), ta'dib (education), tahdib (refinement) and riyadah (self-discipline); and by elaborating on the Islamic concept of hikmah (wisdom). Just as education is meant to enlighten, the book of Dr. Ali aims to clear the cobwebs that shroud the mind in its perception of Islamic education. It opens our eyes and reveals the soul of Islamic education.

ATTY. MEHOL K. SADAIN Professorial Lecturer College of Law & Institute of Islamic Studies University of the Philippines September 12, 2011

ii

DEDICATION

This book is sincerely dedicated to the members of my family, especially my late parents, my children and my dear wife whom I promised my heart and love forever

iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
All praises belong to the Almighty Allah Who is the Light of the heavens and earth. The parable of His light is as if there were a niche and within it a lamp, the lamp enclosed in glass, the glass as it were a brilliant star, lit from a blessed tree, an olive, neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scare touched it, light upon light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His light, Allah doth set forth parables for men, and Allah doth know all things.

May the peace and blessings of the Almighty Allah be upon the Holy Prophet Muhammad who was sent in order to rehearse the signs of Allah containing clear explanations that may lead forth those who believe and do righteous deeds from the depths of darkness into light. I am greatly indebted beyond expression to my late parents Mahmud H. Ali and Jarulah A. Ali for having taken good care of me during my childhood together with their prayer for my guidance to the right path of Allah. My wholehearted respect and sincere gratitudes are due to Professor Dr. Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas for the wisdom that I have learned and acquired

iv

from him during my doctoral studies at the International Institute of Islamic Thought and civilization (ISTAC), IIU, Malaysia.
I am specially grateful to Atty. Mehol K. Sadain, my former Professor at the Institute of Islamic Studies, University of the Philippines, for having extensively read the manuscript and for having made the FOREWORD of this book. I wish to thank Professor Julieta Arsenal of the Mindanao State University, General Santos City for helping in editing the manuscript of this book.

My thanks are due to Atty. Abdurrrahman T. Canacan, Chancellor, MSU-General Santos City and Atty. Mariano S. Lugares, Assistant Dean, College of Law Extension, MSU-General Santos City for their assistance in the publication of this work.
I also thank those who, in one way or another, have helped for the completion of this study.

Lastly, but not least, I am so thankful to the members of my family, for their patience and contributions for the success of this work. A. P. A.

v

The Muslim Educational Needs

INTRODUCTION
One of the great challenges for the Muslim scholars in this post-modern era is the challenge of education. It is the concept of education as conceived and disseminated throughout the world by the Western civilization which is infused with the character and personality of said civilization. Western civilization means the civilization that has evolved out of the historical fusion of cultures, philosophies, values and aspiration of ancient Greece and Rome amalgamated with Judaism and Christianity, and developed by the Latin, Germanic, 1 Celtic and Nordic peoples. It derives from Ancient Greece the philosophical and

epistemological elements and the foundations of education and of ethics and aesthetics, from Rome the elements of law, statecraft and government; from Judaism and Christianity the elements of religious faith and from the Latin, Germanic, Celtic and Nordic peoples their independent and national spirit and traditional values, and development and
1

1

Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas, Islam and Secularism. Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), 1993, 134, hereafter cited as Secularism.

1

The Muslim Educational Needs

advancement of the natural and physical sciences and technology which they, together with the Slavic peoples, have pushed to such pinnacles of power.2
Western civilization is guided by the principles of secularism. The term secularism is derived from the Latin word saeculum which conveys a dual connotation of time and location with reference to the modern period of the world.3 It stands in contrast to the sacred making an approach to life divorced from the influence of religion, and thus determined by temporal or worldly concerns.4 According to the Western world

2 Ibid. 3

This definition was provided by Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas in his book titled Islam and Secularism which is the earliest and most comprehensive account by a Muslim scholar on the historical and philosophical meaning of the terms secular, secularization and secularism. For further reading, see Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, Islam and Secularism (Kuala Lumpur: Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM), 1978), 14-49, hereafter cited as Secularism; Also see Anshari P. Ali,

4

The Evolution of Islamic Law in the Philippines. General Santos City: Mindanao State University, 2009, 66-70, hereafter cited as Evolution.
See al-Attas, Secularism, 14-46; also see W. L. Reeses,

Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion (New Jersey: Humanities Press Inc., 1980), 519; also Malcom B. Hamilton, The Sociology of Religion (London: Routledge, 1995), 165, hereafter cited as Hamilton.

2

The Muslim Educational Needs

philosophical thought, secularism is an ideology which disenchanted nature, desacralized politics and deconsecrated values.5 The disenchantment of nature involves the freeing of nature from its religious overtones and the dispelling of animistic spirits, gods and magic from the natural world so that nature is no longer regarded as divine entity in which man is free to act upon it.6 The desacralization of politics means the abolition of sacral basis of political power and authority as a prerequisite of political and social changes in the evolutionary process. 7 The deconsecration of values implies the consideration of all cultural creations as transient and relative so that every value system including religion and worldview are open to change on the basis of evolutionary process.8
Secularism denotes the disappearance of religious symbol of political and social aspects of life.9 It was a result of the Western man's interpretation of biblical faith and the long history
5 Al-Attas,

Secularism, 17; for further reading about secularization, see Keith A. Roberts, Religion in Sociological Perspective (Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1990), 303-23, herafter cited as Roberts; also Hamilton, 165.
6 Al-Attas, Secularism, 16; Roberts, 306; Hamilton, 166.
7 Al-Attas, Secularism, 16; Roberts, 306. 8 Al-Attas, Secularism, 16; Roberts, 307.

Al-Attas, Secularism, 15; Roberts, 304.

3

The Muslim Educational Needs

of philosophical and metaphysical conflict in the religious and purely rationalistic worldview of the Western scholars. In other words, secularism is a Western concept whereas secularization is a process that is located in the west.11The former arose in the west as a result of the power struggle between the church and the state over the swords of temporal and spiritual authority, both claimed by the Roman Pope and the Holy Roman Empire, whereas the latter involved the movement from a sacred to a secular society in the sense of abandoning any commitment to religious and traditional values and practices by accepting change and founding of actions on a rational and utilitarian basis.12
10

Western civilization formulates its vision of truth and reality not upon revealed knowledge and religious belief, but upon cultural tradition which is reinforced by philosophical premises based upon speculation pertaining mainly to secular life
10 See al-Attas, Secularism,18, Roberts, 305; Hamilton, 166. 11 Al-Attas, Secularism, 18; for further reading, see Rudolf

Heredia, Secularism and Secularisation: Nation Building in a Multi-Religious Society,” in Secularism and Liberation, ed. Rudolf C. Heredia and Edward Mathias (New Delhi: Indian Social Institute, 1995), 11-37, hereafter cited as Heredia. 12 Hamilton, 167.

4

The Muslim Educational Needs

centered upon man as physical entity and rational animal setting great store upon man's rational capacity alone to unravel the mysteries of his total environment and involvement in existence.13

Technically, such knowledge disseminated from the Western World is mainly a product of confusion and skepticism which has elevated doubt and conjecture to the scientific rank in methodology as a valid epistemological tool in the pursuit of truth and reality of things.14
The dissemination in the Muslim world of knowledge from the Western world infused with the character and personality of Western culture and civilization through universities and other institutions of learning has resulted the infiltration of key concepts from the Western world and the emergence of intellectual confusion.15 The Intellectual confusion emerged as a result of changes and restriction in the meaning of key terms that project the worldview derived from revelation. The effects of the intellectual confusion are indicated in moral and cultural dislocation,
13 Ibid.
14 Ibid.

Ibid, 162.

5

The Muslim Educational Needs

which is symptomatic of the degeneration of religious knowledge, faith and values.16 Said confusion is also manifested in the corruption or changes to the meaning of knowledge, its nature, proper places and purposes.
17

As a result of the Western colonization and cultural control of vital areas of the Muslim world beginning in the 17th century, the West was able to inculcate the projection of its worldview in the Muslim mind and hence to dominate the Muslims intellectually.18 The dissemination of the basic essentials of the Western worldview and its consolidation in the Muslim mind was gradually accomplished through the educational system based upon a concept of knowledge and its principles that would ultimately bring about the deislamization of the Muslim mind.19 The penetration to the Muslim mind of western knowledge and education has resulted to the loss of adab (self-discipline) implying the loss of the capacity for discernment of the right and proper places of things, the confusion of the order of nature as arranged according to their grades
16Ibid.
17 Ibid

18 19

Ibid, 104. Ibid, 105.

6

The Muslim Educational Needs

(maratib) and degrees of rank (darajat) and the undermining of legitimate authority and the inability to recognize and acknowledge right leadership in all spheres of life.20
Adab means the knowledge of disciplining the body, mind and soul that preserves man from errors of judgment. It is the discipline that assures the recognition and acknowledgement of the reality that knowledge and being are ordered hierarchically according to their various grades (maratib) and degrees of rank (darajat), and one's proper place in relation to that reality and to one's physical, intellectual and spiritual capacities and potentials.21 Such acknowledgement means actualization in one self and in society as a whole of what is recognized being a manifestation of justice

('adl). The Muslims in the Philippines are part of the Muslim world that became victims of the dissemination of Western education and worldviews and its penetration to the Muslim mind as a result
20 Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, The Concept of Education in Islam: A framework for an Islamic Philosophy of Education. Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), 1991,35, hereafter cited as Education in Islam. 21 Ibid, 27.

7

The Muslim Educational Needs

of the Spanish and American colonization of the Moroland for many centuries and the establishment of the Philippine secular educational system in their own communities.
The secularization and intellectual confusion existing in the mind of some Muslim intellectuals in the country regarding the proper places and objectives of education can be remedied through Islamization of the mind, the learning of Islamic Epistemology of knowledge and education as well as the adoption of adab and other Islamic key concepts that should be incorporated to the curricula of some universities within the Muslim areas in the country. In this regard, the author wishes to make an exposition about the fundamental elements and objectives of Islamic education with a hope to shed light about the truth and basic purpose of learning and education on the basis of Islamic Worldview.

However, the author would like to begin discussion on the subject with a brief presentation about the two theoretical positions concerning the purpose of education.

8

The Muslim Educational Needs

The Two Theoretical Positions
Philosophically, there are at least two theoretical positions concerning the purpose of education. The first position is called society centered position whereby education is conceived primarily as a vehicle to produce good citizens whether for various kinds of democracies, oligarchies or monarchies.22 The perennial school or cultural transmission school associated with Plato and with many medieval Western scholars as well as a few modern ones such as William T. Harris, Robert Hutchins and Adler in the United States are included in the society or state-centered position.23

The modern social re-constructionist school associated with George S. Count of the United States, Paulo Freire of Brazil and Jurgen Habermas of Germany, as well as the feminists who stress the principle of liberation are included ultimately as

22 Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud, The Educational Philosophy

and Practice of Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas: An Exposition of the Original Concept of Islamization, Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), 1998, 121, hereafter cited as Educational Philosophy.
23Ibid.

9

The Muslim Educational Needs

society-centered position, though at a different 24 point in the spectrum. The followers of the society centered position argued that since man is inherently a social animal and knowledge is basically socially construed, education should prepare individuals to function and adapt successfully in their respective society. For them, the aims and objectives of education are designed to strengthen the beliefs, attitudes, knowledge and skills accepted and valued by the social group.25 However, since beliefs, attitudes, knowledge and skills valued and accepted by the respective society are expected to continually change, the education of all individuals in the society must not only reflect such changes but must also be prepared for all types of changing circumstances.26
In this educational system, the needs and interests of individual students are located in a secondary position, although not totally neglected.27 It should be noted that most national

24 Ibid
25 Ibid, 122
26 Ibid, 122

Ibid, 122

10

The Muslim Educational Needs

systems of education in the world today including the Philippines are state centered. In the Philippines, the basic purpose of education is to prepare students to become good Filipino citizens committed to uphold the Constitution, the rights and duties of citizenship and the teachings of patriotism and nationalism. For instance, the 1987 Constitution states that: “All educational institutions shall include the study of the Constitution as part of the curricula. They shall inculcate patriotism and nationalism, foster love of humanity, respect for human rights, appreciation of the role of national heroes in the historical development of the country, teach the rights and duties of citizenship, strengthen ethical and spiritual values, develop moral character and personal discipline, encourage critical and creative thinking, broaden scientific and technological knowledge, and promote vocational efficiency.” 30
In line with the said constitutional postulate, tertiary education in the country is designed to “assist each individual to develop his potential as a
28The Philippine Constitution, Article 14, Section 3 (1). 29Bernas, S.J. The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the
28
29

Philippines 2003 Edition, Manila: Rex Book Store, 2003.1231. 30The Philippine Constitution, Article 14, Section 3(2).

11

The Muslim Educational Needs

human being and enhance the quality of citizen participation in the basic function of the society.31 There is no doubt, however, that the Philippine educational system is anchored on the secular principle of the state as enshrined in the Constitution separating the religious activities of the Church from the public affairs of the state. The constitutional provision prohibiting the use of public money or government fund for the teaching of religion strengthens such principle.
32

In short the Philippine educational system is basically designed for the physical and material well being of the Filipino citizens, especially the learning and acquisition of science and technology as an instrument for national development and progress,33 so that they may become ultimately good instruments for the realization of the interests of the state. Technically, however, the teaching of religion or religious belief has no proper place in the curricula of the Philippine public schools. Otherwise, such using of public money or
31 The Manual of Regulations for Private Schools, 1992,
32 The Philippine Constitution, Article 6, Section 29(2).
33 The Philippine Constitution, Article 2, Section 17.

Article 1, section 10 (a).

12

The Muslim Educational Needs

government fund for the teaching of religion or religious belief may contradict the secular principle as enshrined in the Philippine Constitution. This may lead to the conclusion that the purpose of molding a student in order to become a God-fearing or religious (makadius) person is not one of the alleged purposes of the Philippine educational system. However, the clamor of the Muslims about the irrelevance of the Philippine educational system to the educational needs of the Muslim minority in the country has resulted in the establishment of some Islamic studies institutes in the country. Going back to the second theoretical position concerning the purpose of education, the socalled child or person centered position primarily stresses the needs, capacities and interests of the students.34 This position has two major trends; the first trend holds that the primary purpose of education is to prepare the individuals to attain happiness by achieving maximum social economic success while the second stresses the development of an intelligent, rich, and wellbalanced personality of each child.35 The person centered position has
34

Educational Philosophy, 121. 35 Ibid.

13

The Muslim Educational Needs

been espoused by most of the dominant religions of the world.36
The traditional Islamic educational system is deemed to be a person centered one which has always had the personal success and happiness in this world and particularly in hereafter as its most important aim and objectives.37 However, this person-centered educational philosophy gradually shifted to concentrate on the needs and interests of society when the Muslim world came under the beguiling influence of western ideas and institutions.38 However, the Contemporary Muslim Philosopher in the Muslim world, Seyd Muhammad Naquib at-Attas of Malaysia who has systematically defined the meaning of Islamic education has consistently argued and clarified that the purpose of education in Islam is not to produce a good citizen, nor still a good worker, but a good man.39

Such a good man is expected to be good to God, good to himself, his parents, his family, his relatives, his neighbors, his community, his society, his country, to the animals and environment.

36 38 39

Ibid, 121. Ibid. Ibid.

37 Ibid, 123.

14

The Muslim Educational Needs

As Islamic education is concerned about the producing of a good man, the author wishes to examine and describe the meaning and characteristics of an Islamic education.

15

The Muslim Educational Needs

CHAPTER I
THE ELEMENTS OF ISLAMIC EDUCATION
In Islam, education is defined as something progressively instilled into man.40 This definition encompasses the three fundamental elements inherent in education, namely the content, the process and the recipient of education.41 According to al-Attas, the recipient of education pertains to man alone for the other members of animal species that are not endowed with aql (intellect) are excluded. In our discussion of the elements of Islamic education, I shall start with man being generally known as rational animal.

The Recipient of Education
Man is the sole recipient of education being a rational animal (hayawan al-natiq) endowed with aql (intellect).42

40 Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas, The Concept of

Education in Islam: A Framework for an Islamic Philosophy of Education. Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1991, 13, hereafter cited as Education.
41 Ibid.
42 Ibid.

16

The Muslim Educational Needs

By defining man as rational animal, the term rational is signified by the term natiq which points to an innate faculty of knowing that formulates meaning.43 The term natiq is derived from a root word that conveys the basic meaning of speech, in the sense of human speech signifying a certain power and capacity in man to articulate words in a meaningful pattern.44 Meaning is an intelligible form with regard to which a word, an expression, or a symbol is applied to denote it. When that word expression or symbol becomes a notion in the mind (aql), it means understood.45

In other words, man is a language animal, and the articulation of linguistic symbol into a meaningful pattern is a visible expression of the inner, unseen reality that is called aql.46 Aql refers to the human intellect which is man's highest faculty of knowledge identified with the eye of the heart (ayn al-qalb) for the heart means essentially the seat of knowledge or the instrument for the attainment of knowledge.47
43 Prolegomena, 121-22 44 Education, 14.
45

46 Education, 14.

Prolegomena, 123.

47 Osman Bakar, Tawhid and Science: : Islamic

Perspectives on Religion and Science, Selangore Dar alIhsan: Arah Pendidikan SDN BHD, Level 3A, Block B, Peremba Square,

17

The Muslim Educational Needs

For Isma'I Ankaravi, the term al-nafs natiqah or rational soul is evocative of two different meanings: one is “speaking” and the other is “reasoning”.48 This is because what constitute man is not the ability to talk but the power to comprehend the intelligible and distinguish between right and wrong, good and bad.49 In other words, the essence of man is his ability to reason, not simply to speak. Otherwise, even the parrot, which can learn to talk by training, would be a man. On the other hand, there are some peoples in the world who cannot speak, like those who are dumb, yet who can still think and reason.50 Man is thereby distinguished from the rest of the beasts. It is by this spiritual substance, that man comprehends the existence of the intellects, pure soul, celestial bodies, the four elements, the three kingdoms, as well as all signs on the earth, in the sky and in the oceans, thereby acquiring virtues and attaining happiness.51

Sauna Resort Section U2, 40150 Sha Alam, 2008, 24, hereafter cited as Tawhid and Science.
48 Bilal Kuspinar. Isma'il Ankaravi on the Illuminative Philosophy,

Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), 1996, 116, hereafter cited as Illuminative Philosophy.
49 Ibid.
50 Ibid, 51 Ibid.

117.

18

The Muslim Educational Needs

The real nature of aql is that it is a spiritual substance by which the rational soul (al-nafs alnatiqah) recognizes and distinguishes truth from falsehood52Aql is a quality that distinguishes man from other animal and prepares him to understand the theoretical sciences and master the abstract disciplines.53 Also, it is the power to understand the secrets of different things.
In other words, the term rational means the capacity for understanding speech and power responsible for the formulation of meaning which involves judgment, discrimination, distinction and clarification which has to do with the articulation of words or expression in a meaningful pattern. The word meaning refers to the recognition of the place of anything in a system.55

54

The term aql itself basically signifies an active, conscious entity that binds and withholds objects of knowledge by means of words or symbolic forms; and it indicates the same reality that is denoted by the terms heart (qalb), spirit (ruh) and soul (nafs).56

52 Al-Attas, education, 14.
53 Ihya Ulum al-Din, Kitab al-Ilm, 226.

54 Education, 15. 55 Ibid. 56 Prolegomena, 122.

19

The Muslim Educational Needs

This means that the seat of knowledge in man is the aql which is a spiritual substance. When this spiritual substance involves intellection or apprehension, it is called aql (intellect).57 As for intellect, it performs abstraction of objects of the external world and contemplates the realities of things, and its functions are localized in various regions of the brain.58
When the said spiritual substance deals with the governance of the body, it is called nafs (soul). When the same spiritual substance receives illumination of guidance from God, it is called qalb (heart). 59

When referring to the heart, the first meaning indicates the pine-shaped lump of muscular flesh situated to the left side of the body and the fountain-head of the subtle vapor that is the vehicle of the physical animal spirit.60 Through this vehicle, the animal spirit rises from its fountain-head in the heart to the brain through the veins to all parts of the body. This spirit is the conveyor of animal life
57 Ibid, 147. 58 Ibid, 147-8.
59 Ibid, 147. Ibid

20

The Muslim Educational Needs

which is common to all animals. When it passes away, it causes the death of the external senses involving that of the body as a whole.62 This indicates the double aspects of the heart, such as physical and spiritual. When the said spiritual substance separates from the body as it reverts to its world of abstract reality, it is called ruh (spirit).
63

61

In short, Islamic education must pertain to the reality of man, and not simply to his body and animal aspect, but his spiritual aspect. 64 It means that such education being exclusive of man excludes other animals which are not endowed with aql (intellect).

The External and Internal Senses
In Philosophy, one of the fundamental functions of the human soul as conceived by the peripatetic philosophers is the capacity to obtain knowledge by virtue of its external and internal senses. This is generally known as the acquisition
65

61Ibid.

62 Ibid. 64 Ibid,

147.

13. 14. 65 Bilal Kuspinar, Isma'il Ankaravi on the Illuminative Philosophy, Kuala Lumpur: International institute of Islamic

63 Education,

21

The Muslim Educational Needs

of knowledge which involves two different processes: (1) abstraction (tajrid) and (2) perception (idrak).66 Both of them operate in a reciprocal interaction between the knower, called subject, and the thing to be known, called object. In such a relation, the knower first abstracts the image of an object in the external reality by means of the external senses of the soul, and then perceives it as a form by means of its internal cognitive faculties or internal senses.67

For Ibn Sina, there are two main groups of the faculties of the rational soul. The first group, called external consists of five senses: touch (allams), taste (al-dhawq), smell (al-shamm), hearing (al-sam') and sight (al-basar).68 Touch is a faculty which is spread over the entire surface of the skin.6 9 It senses basically four diverse circumstantial states: hot and cold, moist and dry. In addition, it also gives an impression about the following: light and heavy, smooth and rough, soft and hard.70
Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), 1996, 113, hereafter cited

as Illuminative Philosophy.
66 Ibid 67 Ibid. 68 Ibid, 69 Ibid. 70 Ibid,

120. 120.

22

The Muslim Educational Needs

Taste sense is located in the nerves spread out over the tongue. It perceives the taste through the moisture that comes out of the squeezed juice.71 Smell sense is a faculty which is located in the two lobes (za'idatayn) of the front part of the brain. It perceives smells and odors by means of the air.72 Hearing is a sense located in the nerves dispersed over the surface of the ear cavity. It perceives the sounds by means of the air which enters the ear.73

Sight is the faculty located in the nerves of the two pupils of the eyes. It perceives lights and colors as images imprinted on the humors of the eyes. An example of this would be a mirror which reflects image.74
Ibn Sina also asserted that the five internal senses also consist of a hierarchy of five faculties, such as: common sense (al-hiss al-mustarak), faculty of imagination (al-khayaliyyah), faculty of idea or thought (al-fikriyyah), faculty of

71 Ibid. 72 Ibid. 73 Ibid,

120.

74Ibid

23

The Muslim Educational Needs

discrimination/estimation (al-wahm), and 75 retentive faculty (al-hafizah). Each of them, like the external ones, becomes an instrument of perception for the soul, each occupies a distinct place, although, unlike others, only in the brain, and each has a separate function in the process of receiving information.76 For al-Attas, the existence of internal senses is established by way of intuition (al-wijdan).77
The first of these internal senses receives the information brought by the external senses and combines and separates internal images or representations of the external sensible objects.78 It is the common sense (al-hiss al-mustarak).

Common sense resides in the forepart of the front ventricle of the brain.79 This faculty behaves as a sort of “pool' into which flow all the sensible forms transmitted from the external world by the five external senses.80 All the forms of objects whether perceived through touch, smell, hearing, sight or taste are first received by the common
75 Ibid, 76 Ibid,

120. 120.

77 Al-Attas, 78 Ibid

Prolegomena, 150 151 79 Illuminative Philosophy, 120. 80 Ibid.

24

The Muslim Educational Needs

sense, which, among the other internal senses, is the closest to the external ones.81 In other words, common sense directly receives the data of the five external senses. It is necessary that the external sensible objects be first present to the external senses before they can be perceived by the common sense.82 It perceives only their individual sensible particulars, and not their intelligible universals, and it is able to sense pleasure and pain, both as perceived in the imagination as well as in the external sensible objects.83
However, al-Farabi described common sense as the ruling element of the external senses and as the recipient of sensed forms, but it is excluded from both the external and internal senses.84 Suhrawardi asserts that common sense also visualizes the forms, even in dreams, in a direct and visible manner without the interference of the

81 Ibid.

82 Prolegomena, 83 Ibid,

151. 151. 84 Osman Bakar, Classification of Knowledge in Islam. Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), IIU, 2006, 52, hereafter cited as Classification of Knowledge.

25

The Muslim Educational Needs

imagination.85 As it combines in itself the images of all the transmitted forms, it perceives them by direct vision.86 For Ankaravi, common sense perceives the forms, not only in wakefulness but also in sleep or in dream by way of designation whereby the person who falls asleep can envision an individual form away from its referent in external reality.87 In other words, he does it, in the absence of the five external senses, due to his common sense, and not by virtue of his intellect which conceives only universal and not particulars.88 The Common sense receives the data provided by the external senses, gathering together similar as well as dissimilar ones, but does not retain what it has received.89 In other words, the function of recording and retaining the images or forms of the external objects received by the common sense belongs to the second internal sense called the representative faculty.90

85Prolegomena, 86 Ibid. 87 Illuminative 88 Ibid. 89Prolegomena, 90

151..

Philosophy, 121 151.

Ibid, 151.

26

The Muslim Educational Needs

imagination.85 As it combines in itself the images of all the transmitted forms, it perceives them by direct vision.86 For Ankaravi, common sense perceives the forms, not only in wakefulness but also in sleep or in dream by way of designation whereby the person who falls asleep can envision an individual form away from its referent in external reality.87 In other words, he does it, in the absence of the five external senses, due to his common sense, and not by virtue of his intellect which conceives only universal and not particulars.88 The Common sense receives the data provided by the external senses, gathering together similar as well as dissimilar ones, but does not retain what it has received.89 In other words, the function of recording and retaining the images or forms of the external objects received by the common sense belongs to the second internal sense called the representative faculty.90

85Prolegomena, 89 Ibid. 90 Illuminative 91 Ibid. 89Prolegomena, 90

151..

Philosophy, 121 151.

Ibid, 151.

27

The Muslim Educational Needs

pertaining to its objects as if they were sensible objects of the external world.95 This faculty, due to its close dependency on the particular meaning and intentions inherent in the sensible objects, is highly inclined to make judgments which are though seemingly acceptable and convincing to itself, yet in most cases, in contradiction to the wise decision of intellect.96 In other words, the estimation is where judgments and opinions are formed, and unless governed by intellect, the imaginative powers related to it are the sources of errors of judgment.97 The estimative faculty presides over judgments not in the analytical way that characterizes intellectual judgment, but in the imaginative way determined by memory images through a process of association from past experience, or not by memory images, but by an instinctive interpretation of the image perceived by the soul without going through any process of association from past experience.98

95 Prolegomena, 96 Illuminative

152. Philosophy, 120. 97 Prolegomena, 152 Prolegomena, 152.

28

The Muslim Educational Needs

The fourth internal sense, called the retentive and re-collective faculty (al-hafizah and aldhakirah), retains meanings and conserves them for the estimative faculty which receives these meanings.99 The retentive faculty is situated in the rear ventricle of the brain. Its primary function is to recollect the individual incidents (al-waqa'i) and situations (al-ahwal). The retentive faculty, also termed as memory and recollection, acts as a storehouse for intentions and meanings transmitted from the estimative faculty and retrieves them when needed.100 The retentive faculty retains particular meanings and memorizes them for close inspection and appraisal by the perceiver for so long as they remain in it.101 When they become absent from retention and the perceiver wishes to recall them, then it is called the re-collective faculty.102
The fifth internal sense is the imaginative faculty (al-mutakhayyilah). The imaginative faculty is situated in the middle ventricle of the brain near

99 Prolegomena,
100 Illuminative

152.

Philosophy, 120.. 101 Prolegomena, 153. 102 Prolegomena, 153.

29

The Muslim Educational Needs

the vermin form process.103 Its main task is to work on the images and forms stored in the faculty of representation, and thus separate and combine them in various ways.104 In other words, imaginative faculty perceives forms, then combines and separates them in an act of classification, adds to them and takes away from them so that the soul may perceive their meanings and connect them with the forms or images.105 The soul uses this faculty for the purpose of classification by means of combining and separating its objects, sometimes through the practical reasons and sometimes through the theoretical reason.106 Its essential nature is to perform the function of combining and separating, and not of perception. When the soul uses it as an intellectual instrument, it is called cogitative, and when it is used according to its natural disposition it is imaginative.107
The soul perceives what this faculty combines and separates of the forms through the mediacy of

103 Ibid. 104 Ibid. 105 Prolegomena,

153.

106Prolegomena,

153. Prolegomena, 153.

30

The Muslim Educational Needs

the common sense as well as through the mediacy of the estimative faculty.108 In its developed form this faculty apprehends ideas beyond the spheres of sense and sensual images.109 It is a specifically a human faculty not found in the lower animals.110

In short, each of these internal senses or faculties is invested with a specific function and occupies a distinct location on its own in the brain.

The Soul as Khalifah (Vicegerent)
In Theology, the spiritual substance as nafs (soul) has a very important role in the existence of a human being. In fact, the soul is the real person as the body is considered as a mere physical entity occupied by the soul during his life existence in this world. The soul was created by God, but it becomes immortal. After the creation of the soul but before its appearance on earth, God summoned such soul in order to testify about his acknowledgement of the Lordship of God. This can be understood in the verse of the Holy Qur'an in which Allah says: When thy Lord drew forth from the children of Adam-from their loins-their descendants, and made
Ibid, 153. Ibid. Ibid.
109 108

31

The Muslim Educational Needs

them testify concerning themselves, (saying): “Am I not your Lord (Who cherishes and sustains you)?”they said: Yea! We do testify!111
In said verse, the entire souls of the children of Adam individually and collectively made covenant with God in which case they had made testimony and acknowledgement about His Lordship. In o t h e r w o r d s , s u c h t e s t i m o n y a n d acknowledgement of the souls individually and collectively about the Lordship of God also means their recognition and acknowledgement that He is their King, Creator, Sustainer and Master. When they recognized that God is their master, it implies their recognition of their status as servants of God.

In the same verse, God endowed the soul with knowledge of absolute God which is deemed as the beginning of man's acquiring of knowledge. Similarly, God graced the soul with power to answer the question which was asked by their Lord. As the soul was created and sent to this world, God equips it with knowledge and the names of everything that man does not know. Allah says in the Holy Qur'an: “And He taught Adam the names of all things”.112

111

Surah al-a'raf 7:172.

al-Baqarah, 2:31

32

The Muslim Educational Needs

Being equipped with knowledge, God appointed the soul as khalifah (vicegerent) on earth. 113 Being a khalifah on earth, the soul was entrusted with amanah (trust) that includes the implementation of justice and the commandment of God.114

Therefore, the first trial for man in enforcing amanah and justice is his physical body as called by Abu Hamid al-Ghazali as micro kingdom where the soul is deemed as king being a khalifah or representative of God entrusted to enforce therein such God's commandment.115 In dealing with the governance of his body as a kingdom, the soul has visible armies like the five external senses, such as the power of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching.116
Similarly, the soul-king has invisible armies otherwise known as internal senses, such as the power of common sense, power of thought, power of imagination, power of memory and power of judgment or discrimination in which the soul is

113 Surah 114 Surah 115

Al-Baqarah, (2:30).

al-Nisa', (4:58). Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Ihya ulum al-Din: The Book of Destructive
116

Evils, trans. Maulana Fazul Karim Vol 3, Sind Sagar Academy, Pakistan,

5, hereafter cited as Book of Destructive Evil.

Ibid, 4.

33

The Muslim Educational Needs

empowered to distinguish right from wrong or good from bad or the truth from falsehood.117 For al-Ghazali, the five external and internal senses are, like armies, that are always subservient to the order of the soul-king. For instance, when the soul wants to close the eyes, the eyes will automatically close or if the soul wants to move the hand, the hand will automatically move.118
However, in the physical body of man as kingdom, there is such desire which may be likened to a collector of revenue within a kingdom that usually collects whatever the external and internal senses have obtained. The desire is also supported by Anger that Al-Ghazali termed as like a police within a kingdom that usually encourages the desire to pursue its move.119

The soul, however, is duty bound to enforce peace and order within the body kingdom that includes the disciplining of desire and anger by placing them under the dictates of reason and justice. For instance, desire must be controlled in order to operate in a moderate way so that patience which is the beautiful status of desire may always
117 118 119

Ibid, 5. Ibid, 4. Ibid, 6.

34

The Muslim Educational Needs

be attained whereas greedy which is the worst status of desire be avoided.120 It is not possible, of course, for a person to live without desire, but such desire needs to be disciplined so that love may be reasonable under the shade of justice. It is also natural for a person to be overwhelmed by anger sometimes, but such anger requires disciplinary measure so that it may operate moderately without transgressing the right of others and the limit of the law.
The soul is required to enforce the commandment of God over every physical attributes of the body by placing them in their real status as servant of God being the basic purpose of their existence on earth.

Being the governor of the body kingdom entrusted to enforce therein the commandment and will of God, the soul is deemed accountable to God for whatever disobedience committed by any physical attribute of the body in which the soul will be asked in the day of judgment by no less than his Lord. The real essence of man originated from the worlds of (al-malakut) dominion and of (al-amr)

120

Ibid.

35

The Muslim Educational Needs

command.121 When man inclines himself towards the right direction, the divine peace (al-sakinah) will descend upon it, and the effusion of divine liberality will successively be diffused in it until it achieves tranquility in the remembrance of God and abides in the knowledge of His divinity, and soars towards the highest levels of the angelic horizon.122 The Holy Qur'an called this state of the soul as al-nafs almutma'innah (tranquil soul). For instance, Allah says:

“O (righteous) soul, in complete satisfaction! Comeback thou to thy pleased (thyself), and well-pleasing Enter thou, then among My devotees! thou My heaven.123

rest Lord, unto Yea,

and well Him. enter

Sometimes the soul is drawn towards its intellectual powers and encounters the intelligible whereby their eternal truths cause it to affirm its loyalty to God, and sometimes its animal powers drag it down to the lowest foothills of the beastial

121 (Qur'an,:Ya

sin, 36:83); al-Mu'minun (23):88.

122

Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam: An Exposition of the Fundamental elements of the Worldview of Islam, Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Though and Civilization (ISTAC), 1995, 146, hereafter cited as Prolegomena.

Al-Fajr (89):27.

36

The Muslim Educational Needs

nature.124 This vacillation in the state of the soul is the state of the soul that censures itself which is called al-nafs al-lawwamah, which is in earnest struggle with its animal powers. In the Qur'an, Allah says: And I do swear by the self-reproaching soul. 125”
By means of knowledge, moral excellence, and good works, it is possible for man to attain to the angelic nature, and when he does, he no longer has in common with his fellow man the animal nature in him except in outward form and fashion.126 But if he falls into the degrading depths of the beastial nature and remains captive in that condition, then he is severed from the nature common to humanity and appears as man only in shape and construction.127 This is the state of the soul that incites to evil. That is also the meaning of what Allah says: The (human) soul certainly incites evil, unless my Lord do bestow His Mercy”.128

However, the physical body has important contributions to man's intellectual and spiritual development as it is through the bodily faculties

124 Prolegomena,

147.

125 Al-Qiyamah, 127 Ibid. Yusuf (12):53.

126 Prolegomena,

(75):2. 147.

37

The Muslim Educational Needs

that the soul can acquire particular information and data concerning the world of sense and sensible experience.129 Through its various faculties, the soul will then develop these sensedata into general principles, ideas and beliefs.130

129 Wan

, Philosophy, 54.

Ibid.

38

The Muslim Educational Needs

CHAPTER II
THE CONTENT OF ISLAMIC EDUCATION
Another important element of education is the content which should be inculcated to the aql (intellect) of a child or person. While modern and secular educational institutions gave much attention to the method than the content of education, Islam provides more emphasis on the latter. In his comment about the importance of the content of education, al-Attas asserted that the teaching and learning of skills alone, however scientific it may be or the teaching and learning of human, natural and applied sciences alone do not constitute education.131 There is something in knowledge which when not inculcated will not make its teaching, learning and assimilation as education. Such something in knowledge has

Al-Attas, The Islamic Concept of Education: A Framework for an Islamic Philosophy of Education, Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC,
131

20, hereafter cited as Education.

39

The Muslim Educational Needs

reference to the content of education which shall be inculcated to the mind of the student.132
However, al-Attas described the content of e d u c a t i o n a s t h e “ r e c o g n i t i o n a n d acknowledgement of the proper places of things in the order of creation, such that it leads to the recognition and acknowledgement of the proper place of God in the order of being and existence.133

Such recognition of the proper place of a thing occurs when the relation of a thing with others in the system becomes clarified and understood. It is worthy of note that such relation of a thing with others in a system describes an order.134
In the said description of content of education, the term 'proper place pertains to two domains of application. It may refer, on the one hand, to the ontological domain which includes man and the world of empirical things, and, on the other, to the theological domain which includes the religious and ethical aspects of human existence.135

Such 'proper place' means 'real' and 'true'

132Ibid.

133

Ibid.
15.

134Ibid,

Ibid.68.

40

The Muslim Educational Needs

place as denoted by the Arabic term haqq for haqq signifies both reality and truth pertaining to the two domains.136
The world of nature as depicted in the Holy Qur'an is composed of symbolic forms (ayat), like words in a book. Indeed, the world of nature is another form of Divine revelation analogous to the Holy Qur'an itself, only that the great, open book of nature is something created as it presents itself in multiple and diverse forms that partake of symbolic existence by virtue of being continually articulated by the creative word of God.137

In other words, the natural world is a book containing knowledge, but such knowledge is not evident merely from the physical phenomena for these are nothing but signs the meaning of which can be understood by those who are equipped with proper knowledge, wisdom and spiritual discernment.138 This is in line with the ayah (verse) of the Holy Qur'an in which Allah says:

136

Ibid.
133. Philosophy, 65.

137 Prolegomena, 138 Wan,

41

The Muslim Educational Needs

“Behold! In the creation of the heavens and earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding. They are those who remember Allah standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and earth (with saying) “Our Lord not for naught hast thou created (all) this! Give us salvation from the chastisement of the fire”.139
Some natural objects are obvious as to their meaning, just like the clear verses (muhkamat) of the Qur'an, while other natural phenomena are like the ambiguous verses (mutashabihat). Our understanding and interpretation of these signs in the external world must be based on the same method of valid interpretation and understanding of the written words of the Qur'an, i.e. through tafsir or direct interpretation and ta'wil or deeper and allegorical interpretation based on the clear and direct ones.140 In other worlds, a thing, like a word, is in reality a sign or a symbol, and a sign or a symbol is something that is apparent but inseparable from something else not equally apparent. When the

139

Surah al-Imran, 3-190-191.

140Wan,

Philosophy, 65.

42

The Muslim Educational Needs

former is perceived, the other, which cannot be perceived becomes known.141 The meaning of a thing means the right meaning of it as determined by the Islamic vision of reality and truth as projected by the Qur'anic conceptual system.142 The Holy Qur'an itself speaks of its signs and symbols as consisting partly of those that are clear and established (al-muhkamat), and partly of those that are obscure and ambiguous (almutashabihat). In correspondence with the signs and symbols of the Holy Qur'an, the world of phenomena also consists of signs and symbols which we call 'things' that are clear and established in their meanings, and those that are obscure and ambiguous.143 As the interpretation of those ambiguous texts is to be based upon those that are clear and established, the interpretation and explanation of the obscure and ambiguous aspects of the things of the empirical world must be grounded upon what is already known and established.144

141 Ibid, 142 Ibid.
143 Ibid,

134.
136.

144 Ibid.

43

The Muslim Educational Needs

It is worthy of note that everything that exists in the natural world is a symbol of something in the higher world.145 Symbol is the reflection in a lower order of existence of a reality belonging to a higher ontological status. That higher world which is symbolized by the natural symbols is the spiritual world. The sun, for instance, symbolizes the Divine Intelligence; a bird symbolizes the soul; a tree symbolizes the grades of being; and water symbolizes knowledge and rain revelation.146 For Ibn Sina, scientific facts became transformed into symbols which were to act as guide posts for the traveler upon the path of spiritual perfection in his journey through and beyond the cosmos to the Divine Presence.147 In other words, nature is also a source of gaining knowledge of Divine wisdom. Above all, everything in the natural world is a symbol or sign for the power and existence of its Author, that is the Almighty God. Going back to the notion of right or proper place of a thing, it involves necessity for things in the ontological order of creation, are already so arranged according to various levels and degrees

145Bakar, 146Ibid,

Osman, Tawhid and Science 66. 66. Ibid, 68-9.

44

The Muslim Educational Needs

but man out of ignorance of just order pervading all creation makes alterations and confuses the places of things such that injustice occurs.148 For instance, God created man as man, but some men placed themselves in the place of women. Woman was created as woman, but some women put themselves in the place of men to the extent of having committed injustice against themselves.

The place of a person, a thing or an object of knowledge does not merely refer to the location or the specific space occupied by the person, the thing or the object of knowledge, but also the natural position of a person, thing or object of knowledge that conforms to the nature, both in the external world and in the imagination and in the mind as well as the spiritual world.149
As for a human being, the proper place of a man is that he is to be considered as both spiritual and physical. He is a living being possessing that inner faculty of knowing that apprehends the meaning of the universals.150 He has the power and capacity to articulate words or symbolic forms in meaningful patterns.151 He is spirit, soul, heart and

148

Prolegomena, 130. Ibid, 131. Ibid.

149 Ibid. 150 151

45

The Muslim Educational Needs

intellect manifested in bodily form, and his spirit, soul, heart and intellect point to one and the same reality being named by many names because of its many modes in its relations with the various levels of existence encompassing the spiritual and physical domain. 152
Therefore, the harmonious condition by which a person or thing is placed in its proper place signifies justice.153 In other words, Islamic justice does not only refer to relational situation of harmony and equilibrium existing between one person and another, or between the society and the state, or between the ruler and the ruled, or between the king and his subjects, but also for the harmonious and rightly balanced relationship existing between man and his self.154 On the other side, injustice, being the opposite of justice, is putting a thing in a place not its own. It is to misplace a thing; it is to misuse or to wrong; it is to exceed or fall short of the mean or limit; it is to suffer loss; it is deviation from the right course; it is disbelief of what is true, or lying about what is true knowing it to be true.155
152Prolegomena, 153Ibid, 154Ibid,

130-31

66. 66. 155Ibid, 67.

46

The Muslim Educational Needs

Thus, when a man does an act of injustice, it means that he has wronged his own soul, for he has put his soul in a place not its own; he has misused it; he has made it to exceed or fall short of its real nature; he has caused it to deviate from what is right and to repudiate the truth and to suffer loss.156 The Holy Qur'an stresses the point that man, when he does wrong, is being unjust to himself, and that injustice is a condition brought by man upon himself. For instance, Allah says: Verily Allah will not deal unjustly with man in aught: it is man who wrongs his own soul.157
As the harmonious condition of things being in their right or proper places signifies justice, the knowledge in which a person is able to effect correct judgment as to the proper places of things means hikma (wisdom). Wisdom is the knowledge given by God that enables the recipient to know the right place, or to render correct judgment as to the right place of a thing or an object of knowledge.158 Al-Attas also asserted that justice implies knowledge of the right and proper place of a thing,

156 Ibid,

68.

4:123; Yunus, 10:44. Prolegomena, 129.

157 Al-Nisa,

47

The Muslim Educational Needs

or right as against wrong, or the mean against the limit, or spiritual gain as against loss or truth as against falsity and falsehood.159 This is why knowledge occupies a most important position in Islam. In fact, man is bound to do with justice to knowledge, that is, to know its limit of usefulness and not to exceed or fall short of it, to know its various orders of priority in relation to its usefulness to one's self; to know where to stop and to know what can be gained and what cannot, what is true knowledge and what is learned guess and theory-in sum, to put every datum of knowledge in its right place in relation to the knowing one so that what is known produces harmony in the one who knows.160

The Meaning of Hikmah (Wisdom)
Going back to the meaning of hikmah (wisdom), it is a science which is concerned with the real natures of things as they are, as well as with the appropriate action required.161 As to the use and benefit of wisdom, it is to perfect the

Ibid, 68. Ibid, 68. Bilal Kuspinar, Islma”il Ankaravi on the Illuminative Philosophy, Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and civilization (ISTAC), 1996, 70, hereafter cited as Illuminative Philosophy.
159 160

48

The Muslim Educational Needs

human soul with the aid of gnosis. Every heart attains happiness by wisdom as every problem finds solution by wisdom.162
The science of wisdom deals with the matters proper to its own subject-matter. For instance, the science of medicine ('ilm al-tib) takes the human body as its own subject-matter as the physician occupies himself with the matters proper to human body, like certain diseases attached to the human body.163 In like manner, the subject-matter of astrology or astronomy ('ilm al- nuzum) is the heavenly bodies, since the astrologer or astronomer deals with the issues related to the structure of these bodies and their observations.164 Again, the science of Islamic jurisprudence ('ilm al-fiqh) is involved with judicial matters and religious obligations such as prayer, fasting, almsgiving, pilgrimage and so on.165 The subjectmatter of divine science is absolute Being since the sage (hakim) of divine science deals with the matters that are proper to absolute Being.166

71. Ibid, 71. 164 Ibid. 165 Ibid. Ibid.
163

162 Ibid,

49

The Muslim Educational Needs

Therefore, when the truth of the matter is revealed to man as he recognized it, it becomes incumbent upon him to guide his conduct so as to conform with that truth.167 In other words, recognition of the truth in both domains, the ontological and theological, necessitates in man a conduct that conforms with that truth. Thus, acknowledgment in the Islamic concept of education means affirmation and confirmation or realization and actualization in one's self of what is recognized.168 Acknowledgment of what is recognized is what renders education as education, otherwise, recognition alone is but a learning.169

Categories of Knowledge
In Islam, knowledge has been divided into several categories on the basis of various considerations. According to the method of its acquisition,knowledge is divided into illuminative or Gnostic knowledge and the scientific knowledge.170 The illuminative or Gnostic knowledge is the most valid, the highest of which is revelation received by the prophets and followed by

167 Ibid, 168 Ibid. 169 Ibid. 170

21.

Wan, Philosophy, 241.

50

The Muslim Educational Needs

the intuition of the sages, saints and scientists.171 The scientific knowledge is based on reason and empirical experience.172 In other words, the scholars also named these two categories of knowledge as al-'ilm al-naqliyyah (revealed knowledge) and al-aqliyyah (intellectual) or altajribiyyah (empirical knowledge).173 Revealed knowledge includes those sciences acquired from the revealed books of God and those Prophets sent by God. There are at least four (4) books revealed by God, such as the Torah which was revealed to Prophet Moses, the Psalm revealed to prophet David, the Gospel revealed to Prophet Jesus and the Holy Qur'an revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them all). Each of these books contained knowledge.174 The Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is also considered as internal revelation from God.175 Such knowledge cannot be arrived at either by reason or by experimentation.

171
172

Ibid.

Ibid. 173 Ibid.
174Surah

al-Maidah: 44 and 47.

Hashim kamali, Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence. Malaysia: Pelanduk Publications (M) Sdn., 1995, 19, hereafter cited as Principles.

175Muhammad

51

The Muslim Educational Needs

The intellectual knowledge includes all sciences that are product of the mind and those that can be arrived by reason and experimentation. Included are human sciences, natural sciences, applied sciences and technological sciences.176

Considering its utility to mankind, knowledge is divided into al- mahmudah (praiseworthy) and al-madmumah (blameworthy).177
All revealed knowledge are praiseworthy. Praiseworthy sciences include those on which the activities of this world depend, such as medicine and arithmetic. They are divided into sciences the acquisition of which is fard kifayah and sciences the acquisition of which is meritorious though not obligatory.178 The Sciences which are deemed fard kifayah comprise ever science which is indispensable for the welfare of man in this world, such as medicine which is necessary for the life of the body, arithmetic for daily transactions and the division of legacies and inheritances, as well as others besides.179 However, should one who can practice them rise in that community, it would suffice, and the obligation to acquire said

176 Al-Attas,
177 Ihya, 178

education, 42.

Kitab al-'Ilm, 37.

Ibid.

Ibid, 37.

52

The Muslim Educational Needs

knowledge would cease to be binding upon the rest of the community.180 Other sciences necessary for the development of the community, such as agriculture, weaving, politics and even cupping and tailoring are fard kifayah and praiseworthy too.181 Going back to sciences which are deemed blameworthy, it should be noted that basically knowledge is not held to be blameworthy in itself, but regarded as such in the eyes of men for one of three reasons.
First, when such knowledge leads to any harm whether the harm should fall on its practitioner or someone else for which reason the science of magic and talism is held blameworthy.182 The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) himself was the victim of magic which caused him to become sick until the Angel Gabriel made it known to him and exorcized the evil spirit from underneath a stone in the bottom of a well.183 Second, knowledge is blameworthy when it is mostly harmful. Astrology is part of astronomy the
180 Ibid,
181 Ibid,

37.

Al-Gazali, Ihya Ulum al-Din, Kitab al-Ilm trans. Nabih Amin Faris. Pakistan: Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, 7, Aibak Road,
182

Lhaore,1991, 73, hereafter cited as Kitab al-Ilm.

183

Ibid.

53

The Muslim Educational Needs

gist of which is that future events are indicated by present causes.184 Astrology is an attempt to know the course of the laws and ordinances of God relative to His creatures. Therefore, Shari'ah has declared it blameworthy.185 The Prophet said, “whenever the decrees of God are mentioned, withhold from discussing them; whenever the stars are mentioned, desist from any talk; and when my companions are mentioned, refrain from any gossip'.186 Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “acquire of the science of the stars enough to lead you on land and on sea but no more.” He warned against it for three reasons: First, because it is harmful to most people, since if they were told that these results would be the consequences of the movement of stars, they might think that it is the stars which influence the course of events and are also the gods who direct the world.187 The second reason is that astrology is purely guess-work and in the opinion of the average man, the influence of the stars is not determined

184

Ibid, 74.

185 Ibid. 186 Ibid, 187

Ibid, 75.

54

The Muslim Educational Needs

either with certainty or even probability.188 Pronouncement in connection with it are the result of ignorance.189 Consequently, astrology has been pronounced blameworthy because of this ignorance, but not as knowledge.190 A third reason is that astrology is of no use at all. It is a waste of time and life which is the man's most precious things.191 The third reason for which a kind of knowledge is deemed blameworthy is when the pursuit of that knowledge does not give the practitioner any real scientific advantage.192 Consequently, such knowledge is intrinsically blameworthy, as for instance, the study of the trivial science before the important one, and the obscure before the significant.193 Going back to the classification of knowledge, knowledge is divided into Shar'iyah or Islamic and non-Shar'iyah or foreign sciences on the basis of its civilization origin.194

188

Ibid.

189 Ibid,
190

75.

Ibid. 191 Ibid, 76. 192 Ibid, 77.
193 Ibid.

Wan, Philosophy, 241.

55

The Muslim Educational Needs

In view of the human obligation towards it, knowledge is divided into fard'ain (personal obligation) and fard kifayah (social obligation).195 The basis of fard'ain knowledge is the prophetic tradition in which the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was reported to have said: “talab al'ilm faridatun 'ala kulli muslimin wa muslimah” which means learning of knowledge is an ordinance obligatory for every Muslim male and female.196 The scholars, however, disagreed as to what branch of knowledge that a man is required to learn. For instance, the mutakallimun (scholastic theologians) insisted that it is the scholastic theology on the ground that the oneness of Allah, as well as His essence and attributes may be known through it.197 Thefuqaha (Jurists) held out for fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) alleging that the acts of worship, the lawful and the unlawful as well as the forbidden and permissible in daily conduct are determined

195 Ihya,

Kitab al-Ilm, 30-32; Wan, Philosophy, 241.

Ihya, Kitab al-Ilm, 30. Hamid al-Ghazali, Ihya ulum al-Din “Kitab al-'ilm”, trans. Nabih Amin Faris, Lehore: SH. Muhammad Ashraf, 7-Aibak Road, new Anarkali, 1991, 30, hereafter cited as Kitab al-'ilm.
197Abu

196

56

The Muslim Educational Needs

through fiqh. What the ordinary man needs in his everyday life is determined through it.
The mufassirun (Qur'anic commentators) and the muhaddisun (traditionists) are holding that it is tafsir and hadith as, through the Qur'an and the sunnah, all sciences are attained as they stood for the science of the Qur'an and Sunnah.198

The mutasawwifun (Sufis) pointed out to tasawuf (sufism) as the branch of knowledge which was intended being the science whereby man has to realize his position in relation to God through mystical experience.199 Also, tasawuf comprises the knowledge about sincerity and the affections of the soul as well as the distinction between the followers of God and the Satan.200 According to Abu Talib al-Makki, the above quoted tradition implies the knowledge of the fundamental principles of Islam on the basis of the saying of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that “Islam was built upon five pillars” as it is necessary to know how to fulfill the five pillars of Islam as ordained by God.201
198 Ibid. 199 Ibid. 200 Ibid. 201 Ibid,

31.

57

The Muslim Educational Needs

The division of sciences into fard'ain (personal obligation) and fard kifayah (social obligation) is inferred from the dual aspect of man, such as the body and soul. The first kind is food and life for the soul which serves the more permanent and spiritual dimension of man whereas the second is a provision which man might equip himself within the world as he pursues the pragmatic ends which serves his secondary, secular, material and emotional mode of existence 202

It is important to note that such fard'ain knowledge is not restricted to the essential elements of Islam (i.e. five pillars of Islam), but it, Secularism, 144. must be pursued from the age of responsibility through the highest level of learning until death-bed.203 In other words, the fard'ain knowledge which involves knowledge of prerequisites is obligatory to every individual Muslims whereas fard kifayah is obligatory to some Muslims only.204 While all knowledge of the prerequisites or fard'ain is good

202 Al-Attas

203Ibid,

153; also Wan, Philosophy, 253. Al-Attas, Secularism, 147.

58

The Muslim Educational Needs

for man, not all knowledge of the second or fard kifayah is good for him.205 However, both kinds of knowledge have to be acquired through conscious 'amal (action) for there is no useful knowledge without action resulting from it, and no worthwhile action without knowledge.206
It is worthy of note that although the revealed, praiseworthy, Shar 'iyah and fard'ain knowledge are superior to the intellectual, blameworthy, nonshar'iyah, fard kifayah knowledge, the latter knowledge should not be neglected as they are also important when placed in their proper places. Also religion cannot be truly explained and elaborated particularly in our days without intellectual sciences. The latter without the former will be misguided and purely sophistical.207

Al-Attas delineated the basic subjects of fard'ain knowledge, such as (1)the Holy Qur'an: its recitation and interpretation, (2)the Sunnah: the life of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), the history and message of the Prophets before him; the hadith and its authoritative transmission, (3) the
205 Ibid, 206 Ibid.

147.

Wan, Philosophy, 253.

59

The Muslim Educational Needs

Shari'ah: jurisprudence and law, the principles and practice of Islam (Islam, Iman, and Ihsan), (4) theology (tawhid): God, His Essence, Attributes, Names and Acts, (5)Islamic metaphysics (tasawwuf): psychology, cosmology, and ontology, (6)linguistic sciences: Arabic, its grammar, lexicography and literature.208. Regarding the knowledge the acquisition of which is considered fard kifayah, Abu Hamid alGhazali asserted that such necessary duty can not be distinguished from other duties except when the different sciences are enumerated. They are divided into sacred (shar') and profane (ghayr Shari) sciences.209 Such sacred sciences are those which have been acquired from the Prophets and are not arrived at either by reason.
However, fard kifayah sciences comprise every science which is indispensable for the welfare of man in this world, such as medicine which is necessary for the life of the body, arithmetic for daily transactions and the division of legacies and inheritances, as well as other besides.210 These are the sciences which, because of their absence, a

208 Al-Attas, 209 Ihya, 210

Education, 42. Kitab al-ilm, 36.

Ibid.

60

The Muslim Educational Needs

community would be reduced to narrow straits.211 But should one who can practice them rise in the community, it would suffice, and the obligation to acquire their knowledge would cease to be binding upon the rest of the community.212

Fard kifayah also includes knowledge on fundamental industries, such as agriculture, weaving, politics, computer, fire extinguishing and even cupping and tailoring as if a town lacks a cupper extinction would overtakes its people and they should be driven to expose themselves to destruction.213 In short, fard kifayah sciences include the rational, intellectual and philosophical sciences, especially human sciences, natural sciences, applied science and technological sciences.214
For Abu Hamid al- Ghazali, to study intellectual sciences, especially medicine, mathematics, administration, agriculture, and the like are fard kifayah as they are leading to the progress of the Muslim community.215 This is to
211

Ibid.

212 Ibid. 213 Ibid.

214Ibid, 215

43. Ihya, Kitab al-Ilm, 37.

61

The Muslim Educational Needs

prove that Islam is not anti-progress so long as such progress does not divert the Muslims from their journey toward hereafter.

62

The Muslim Educational Needs

CHAPTER III
THE METHODS OF ISLAMIC EDUCATION
The third fundamental element of education is the method or system of inculcating knowledge to the aql of a child. It is worthy of note that methodology is the ways or methods by which man can gain knowledge of reality either in its partial or total aspects.216 Methodology also deals with man who is the subject pole of knowledge, that is to say, the subject that knows.217 This pole consists of all the faculties and power of knowing within man which are hierarchic in nature.218 It means that man is c apableofhavingmultiplelevelof consciousness.219
Methodology also deals with the Universe which is the objective pole of knowledge, that is to

216 Osman

Bakar, Tawhid and Science, 19.

217

Ibid.

218 Ibid. 219 Ibid.

63

The Muslim Educational Needs

say, the object that is knowable being hierarchical too.220 It means the Universe has multiple levels of being or existence. In other words, Islamic methodology of knowledge (al-'ilm) deals with the essential relationship between this hierarchy of man's faculties of knowing and the hierarchy of the Universe as well as the principles governing such relationship.221 The anatomy of Islamic cosmos is based on the data furnished by Revelation itself that defines the whole domain of study to which the Islamic sciences should be directed.222 Ibn Sina asserted that true science is that science which seeks the knowledge of the essences of things in relation to their Divine origin.223 The basis of the method of Islamic education is the verse “Read in the name of your Lord Who created. Created man out of clothed congealed blood. Read and thy Lord is Most Bountiful. He Who taught (the use of) the pen, taught man that which he knew not 224 (al- Alaq, 1-5).

220 Ibid.
221 Ibid. 222 Ibid.

223 Ibid,

23.

Surah al-'Alaq, 1-5).

64

The Muslim Educational Needs

The verse spiritualizes and de-secularizes the act of learning and education as to the command for learning is grounded in the name and pleasure of God. It also clarified that God is the source of all knowledge and the Teacher of mankind. It also gives information that man is not alone to discover anything in the universe, but he still needs the guidance and assistance of God being the Master of the universe.225 It also implies that since the source of knowledge is the Universal God, then knowledge itself when coming from the Divine Source is universal226 Being part of the integral teachings of the Holy Prophet, all knowledge comes from God, and is interpreted by the soul through its physical and spiritual faculties. Hence, knowledge, with reference to God as being its source of origin, is the arrival in the soul of the meaning of a thing or an object of knowledge; and with reference to the soul as being its interpreter, knowledge is the arrival of the soul at the meaning of a thing or an object of knowledge.227
Theologically, knowledge is of two kinds, such as the knowledge gifted by God to man and the one
225

Wan, Philosophy, 317. 182.

226 Ibid. 227 Prolegomena,

65

The Muslim Educational Needs

acquired by man through the means of his own effort and rational inquiry based upon experience and observation.228
Al-Ghazali suggested five major terms in conceptualizing the methods of Islamic education, such as tarbiyyah (Good breeding), ta'lim (instruction), riyadah (training), tahdhib (refinement) and ta 'dib (education).229

Tarbiyah (Good Breeding)
The term tarbiyyah literally means to feed, to nourish, to nurture, to bear, to foster, to rear, to bring forth mature product and to domesticate.230

For al-Ghazali, tarbiyyah means the nourishment of the body, but it should be associated with tazkiyyah (purification of the soul) to encompass the over all educational development of a human being.231
For al-Attas, tarbiyyah basically refers to the idea of possession that belongs to God (al-Rabb), the Creator, Nourisher, Cherisher and Possessor of

228 Prolegomena,

68.

229 Asmaa,

Five Key Terms, 106.

230Al-Attas,

Education, 28. Asmaa, Five Key terms, 124.

66

The Muslim Educational Needs

all.232 The term also embraces the act of feeding, loving, sheltering and nursing as well as cherishing which parents bestow upon their children.233 In like manner, it is also used in relation to the offspring of an animal other than man, such as cattle farming, stock breeding, chicken farming and poultry husbandry.234 This implies that tarbiyyah encompasses the process of developing the physical and material aspects that are not restricted to man alone since such is extended to animals as well.235 It should be noted that it was al-Attas who argued about the inconsistency of taking the term tarbiyyah to convey the meaning of Islamic education. His analysis on the meaning of tarbiyyah is part of his argument against those Muslim scholars who used said term to convey the meaning of an Islamic education.236 He argued that those Muslim scholars who conceptualized tarbiyyah as Islamic education coined the term with the Western concept of education as the term tarbiyyah is indeed a transparent translation of education in the

232

233Ibid,
235 Ibid, 236 Ibid.

Al-Attas, Education, 30. 31.
29.

234 Ibid.28

67

The Muslim Educational Needs

Western sense encompassing animal species which is not restricted to rational animal.237 For him, the Latin word educatio, meaning education in English, is conceptually connected with the Latin word educere or in English educe which means to bring out or to develop from potential existence in which the developing process refers to physical and material things.238 The referents in the conception of education is derived from the said Latin concepts that encompass the animal species and not restricted to “rational animal”.239 He also argued that although intellectual and moral training are infused into the basic idea of Western education, they are geared to physical and material ends pertaining to secular man and his society and state.240
It has been explained earlier in the previous pages of this work that Islamic education pertains to man alone as rational animal endowed with intellect excluding other animals that are deprived of reason. It was suggested, however, that the most appropriate term to convey the meaning of Islamic education is ta'dib as such concept embraces the

237 Ibid. 238 Ibid.

Ibid. Ibid.
239

68

The Muslim Educational Needs

over all process of Islamic education encompassing the element of tarbiyyah (Good breeding) and ta'lim (instruction). The concept of ta'dib will be explained later.

Ta'lim (instruction)
Regarding the concept of ta'lim, such term is derived from the Arabic root word allama which means to make someone 'alim or to make him possess knowledge as it becomes firmly rooted in his mind.241
The process of ta'lim (instruction) consists of the three main components: the learned (al-'alim), the learner (muta'allim) and the knowledge ('lim). As learning is the quest to bring forth the thing from potentially to actuality in oneself, teaching or instruction is the action of bringing forth the thing from potentiality to actuality in someone else.242

As 'ilm (knowledge) is defined as knowing the thing as it is, ta'lim is the presentation to the learner by the rational tranquilized soul of the realities of things and their forms.243 However, knowledge is potentially ingrained in the souls at

241 Asmaa, 242 Ibid,

Five Key Terms, 118.

120.

243

Ibid

69

The Muslim Educational Needs

the beginning of their creation, like the seed in the earth and the gem in the depths of the sea or in the heart of mine.244 This can be understood in the meaning of verse 172 of the surah al-A'raf, when God asked the souls of the children of Adam to testify about the Lordship of God and said souls acknowledged such testimony implying the fact they have already knowledge about it as taught to them by God. In fact, such acknowledgement of the souls of the children of Adam about the Lordship of God is deemed as the beginning of human knowledge. Hence, the knowledge about God (ma'rifat Allah) is the best knowledge for a human being and his first obligation to acquire during his life on earth.

For Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, ta'lim is the means for the acquisition of knowledge through which men are elevated from the level of beasts to that of human beings.245 The usual means of acquiring human knowledge is divided into two: such as through human teaching and the Divine teaching.246 While the human teaching is a familiar method which is easily perceived, the Divine teaching is of two aspects, such as knowledge

244 Ibid. 245 Ibid,

119.

Ibid.

70

The Muslim Educational Needs

attained through learning and the one acquired through reflection (tafakur).247
Thus, the process of ta'lim necessarily involves the cultivation of knowledge in the rational soul as its recipient, since the first manifestation of its light is in the brain or intellect that is the source, foundation and fountainhead of knowledge.248 Knowledge springs from the intellect as the spring of the fruit from the tree, the light from the sun and the vision from the eyes.249

However, al-Attas emphasized that ta'lim (instruction) is distinct from ta'dib (education) since the former generally refers to the instruction and cognitive aspects of education, but the latter already includes within its conceptual structure the elements of 'ilm (knowledge) and ta'lim (instruction).250 Also, ta'dib includes both the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of education.251

247 Ibid,120. 248 Ihya, 249 Ibid. 250 Al-Attas, 251 Asmaa,

Kitab al-ilm, 221. education, 34. Five Key terms, 122.

71

The Muslim Educational Needs

Riyadah (Self-Discipline)
Concerning the Concept of riyadah (selfdiscipline), the term refers to a substitution of the blameworthy state with the praiseworthy one.

For al-Ghazali, riyadah is a training of the soul from a trivial to an intense struggle through gentle and gradual effort until difficult states and practices become plain and simple.252 For instance, a man who wishes to acquire the quality of generosity must perform generous acts continuously struggling with his soul in giving away some particular possessions until his nature conform to it. Thus, the action will be developed as one of his traits and part of his nature that will become easy and habitual.253 A good character can be possessed through Divine gift as some persons are born gifted, but there is common means of achieving it through self-mortification and self-discipline effort of performing good traits until they become habitual and pleasant. 254

114. 115 Ibid, 115; Also Ihya, Kitab al-Ilm, 3, 54
253 Ibid,

252 Ibid,

72

The Muslim Educational Needs

Such a good character implies the harmonious relationship of the tree faculties of the soul, namely the faculty of reason (aql), the faculty of anger (gadhab) and the faculty of desire (al- shahwah). 255

When all faculties of the soul remain in order, it implies equilibrium. The observance of the equilibrium result in the fundamental traits of character: such as virtues of wisdom , courage, temperance and justice. Wisdom is a state of the soul that enables man to distinguish between right and wrong beliefs, between true and false statements and between good and evil actions.256 Courage is a state of the soul in which the faculty of anger is always obedient to wisdom and temperance is a state of the soul in which the faculty of desire is disciplined as being put under the commands of reason and Shari'ah.257 As for justice, it is the state and power of the soul in which the faculties of anger and desire are controlled under the dictates of wisdom that is guided by reason and Shari'ah 258

255 Asmaa, 256 Ibid,

Five Key Terms, 114.

117. Kitab al-Ilm, 3:54; Asmaa, Five Key Terms, 118.

257

Ibid, 118.

258 Ihya,

73

The Muslim Educational Needs

The real purpose of riyadah (self-discipline) is to attain self-purification from spiritual impurities by subjecting the faculty of anger and desire under the authority of reason and Shari'ah which ultimately leads towards the refinement of character reflected in outward actions and deeds.259
Self discipline is a prerequisite for the harmonious balance and equilibrium of the character which is a spiritual health.260 Thus, the aim of self-discipline and mortification is to bring back the soul to its primordial state of equilibrium, for it constitutes the health of the soul while deviation from it constitutes its sickness.261

In relation to the child education, riyadah is the most important term to denote the significance of character formation in the early phase of childhood particularly during the age of discernment before they can discern good from evil.262 Character formation is, in fact, of an utmost importance during this period due to the immaturity of their reasoning faculty at a time

259 Asmaa, 260 Ibid, 261 Ibid.

Five Key Terms, 115.

117.

262

Ibid.

74

The Muslim Educational Needs

when they are highly receptive to either positive or negative influence.263

Tahdhib (Refinement)
Another method of Islamic education that alGhazali suggested is tahdhib (refinement). In relation to Islamic ethical terminology tahdhib alakhlaq precisely means the refinement of character inclusive of cleansing and purifying it.264 It refers to self-examination and the choosing of appropriate options for the progress of the states of the soul according to its stations (maqamat)265 For instance, the sign of which a person is at the station of patience (sabr) is when his good deeds are performed easily without any hesitation or when generous man constantly takes pleasure in giving his money with no reluctance. For al-Ghazali, a person who insincerely gives away his money is not generous person.266 Tahdhib al- akhlaq (refinement of character) requires the proper governance of the faculties of alghadab (anger) and al-shahwah (desire) thereby the
263 Ibid.
264

Ibid, 125.

265 Ibid.

Ibid, 126.

75

The Muslim Educational Needs

sound faculty of intellect and justice are able to control the faculty of desire through arousing anger against it, and lessening the rage of anger through arousing a strong desire against it so that both desire and anger become submissive to reason and Shari'ah.267 Such mujahadah (self-mortification) and riyadah al-nafs (self-disciple) ultimately lead towards the equilibrium of the rational faculty and the perfection of wisdom as well as spiritual transformation from base attributes to the virtuous.268 According to al-Ghazali, if a child is purely taught up through the process of refinement, he will genuinely understand the reason and wisdom underlying this disciplinary process (riyadah) when he approaches puberty that represents his mature age or reasoning (kamal al-'aql). At this stage, he will understand at the rational level, the concept of life and death, as well as the accountability underlying every act in this world and in character.

267 Ibid.

Ibid, 126-127.

76

The Muslim Educational Needs

Ta'dib (Education)
Ta'dib seems to be the most important method of Islamic education. In fact, al-Attas argued that ta'dib encompasses within its conceptual structure the elements of tarbiyyah (good breeding), 'ilm (knowledge), ta'lim (instruction) and riyadah (selfdiscipline).269 It conclusively reveals the personcentered aim of Islamic education and the total development of a well-balanced personality through the actualization of inner potential faculties and quality of the soul.270 Invoking the original meaning of adab as derived from a hadith reported by Ibn Mas'ud that the Qur'an is a God's banquet on earth (Ma'dabat Allahu fi al-ardh), al-Attas asserted that adab is the inviting to a banquet.271 The idea of a banquet implies that the host is a man of honor and prestige, and that many people are present. The people, who are present, are those who, in the host's estimation are deserving of honor of the invitation, as they are people of refined qualities and upbringing who are expected to behave as befits their station, in speech, conduct and

Education, 22. Education, 22. Al-Attas, Secularism, 149
270 Al-Attas,

269 Al-Attas,

77

The Muslim Educational Needs

etiquette.272 In the same sense that the enjoyment of fine food in a banquet is greatly enhanced by noble and gracious company, and that the food be partaken of in accordance with the rules of refined conduct, behavior and etiquette, is knowledge to be extolled and enjoyed, and approached by means of conduct as befits lofty nature.273

As the Holy Qur'an is God's invitation to a spiritual banquet on earth, we are exhorted to partake of it by means of acquiring real knowledge of it. Ultimately, real knowledge of it is the tasting of its true flavor.274 It should be noted that knowledge found in the Qur'an is life and food of the soul.
Going back to the meaning of ta'dib, it involves the inculcation of adab which is a discipline of body, mind and soul that assures the recognition and acknowledgement of one's proper place in relation to his physical intellectual and spiritual capacities and potentials.275 It is the method of acquiring good qualities and attributes of

272 Ibid, 273 Ibid. 274 Ibid. 275 Ibid.

149.

78

The Muslim Educational Needs

mind and soul that preserves man from committing errors in making judgment and action.276
For al-Ghazali, adab is the process of bringing out (istikhraj) the inner faculty and latent character trait into action by actualizing the good natural disposition which is solely a Divine gift.277

This implies the two aspects of adab, such as the divinely gifted origin of the innate natural disposition and the acquisition of human action through righteous practice and self-discipline.278 As for the first aspect, every child is born in equilibrium and natural disposition(mu'tadilan sahih al-fitra). The said concept is derived from the hadith in which the Prophet said: “Every child is born with sound natural disposition (al-fitrah), it is only his parents who make him a Jew, Christian or a Zoroastrian”.279
Al-fitrah refers to the natural inclination in man to assent to the existence of God. This idea is inline with the verse of the Qur'an “So set thou face

276 Ibid, 278 Ibid.
279

277 Asmaa,

25. Five Key Terms, 107.

Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Janazah.

79

The Muslim Educational Needs

truly to the religion being upright, the nature in which Allah has made mankind”280 Some children are born gifted with perfect innate disposition, (kamal fitri), possessing sound intellect and good character. They are inherently inclined to be generous, truthful and courageous, particularly in the case of the prophets, saints, and sages.

Regarding the second aspect of adab, good character can be acquired through association with those who possess the noble traits and education.281 Thus, parents are the main social factor for molding a child's good character and who are the first to exercise and implement adab (education) through ta'lim (instruction) and alI'tiyad (habituation).282 For al- Ghazali, although the soul and the body are two distinct entities, they interactively affect each other and mutually determine their courses.283 As bodily action influences the soul, the soul influences the physical performance too. When the quality of the soul is established, relevant bodily action necessarily proceeds from it. The established state or quality of the soul is called al-

280

Surah al-Rum; 30.

281 Asmaa,

Five Key Terms, 108. Ihya, 3:78. 283 Asmaa, Five Key Terms, 110.
282 Al-Gazali,

80

The Muslim Educational Needs

khuluq (character) that can be considered good if it is disposed towards the production of praiseworthy deeds acknowledged by al- aql wa al-shar (the intellect and the religious law).284
This process involves mujahada (spiritual struggle) and riyadah (discipline), leading towards purification of the soul and tahdib al-akhlaq (refinement of the character).285 In other word, good character is the ultimate refresh of ta'dib and the highest form of which is the adab in religion, especially in al-salah (prayer). In fact, the prayer is the best activity where the real meaning of adab can be manifested while a man is completely and humbly submitting himself to his Lord Who is the creator of the Universe and the owner of his soul.

The perfect outcome of this Divine educational curriculum is the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) Himself as the exemplary model, as he acknowledged in his hadith: My Lord educated me (addabani), and so made my education (ta'dib) most excellent”286 The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the first beneficiary and recipient of the
284 Ibid. 285 Al-Gazali, Ihya, 3: 126. Al-Attas, Education, 26

81

The Muslim Educational Needs

Qur'anic educational content (al-ta'dihat fi alQur'an). He was the first being who was educated by the Lord Himself through His Divine Speech until his character and personality became equivalent to the Qur'an. In one of his ahadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) acknowledged: “I am raised upon to accomplish noble character” 287

Adab contains the meaning of 'ilm wa al-amal (knowledge and action), the activities of the body and soul, of physical and spiritual, as well as the vertical and horizontal relationship of mankind with God and fellow human beings. Al-Attas gives several examples of how the notion of adab is manifested in the various human existence. Adah towards one's self in which one acknowledges his dual nature of body and soul thereby his rational soul subdues the animal soul and renders it submissive to God. The one's displaying of sincere humility, love, respect, care, and charity to his parents, elders, children, neighbors, and community leaders by acknowledging his proper place in relation to them is a manifestation of adab.
Adab is also an intellectual knowledge whereby fard'ain knowledge is given priority than

287

Asmaa, Five key Terms, 113.

82

The Muslim Educational Needs

fard kifayah one being the proper and correct way of learning and applying different sciences. Respect towards the scholars and teachers manifests such adab for knowledge. The final purpose of seeking knowledge is to actualize experience of happiness in this world and ultimately in the hereafter when the person shall behold his Lord.288Adab towards nature and the natural environment mean that a person should place trees, stones, mountains, rivers, valleys, lakes, animals and their habitat in their proper places. For the spiritual world, adab means the recognition and acknowledgement of the various stations based on acts of devotion and worship, the spiritual discipline that rightly submits the physical or animal self to the spiritual and rational self.

288

Wan, Philosophy, 256.

83

The Muslim Educational Needs

84

The Muslim Educational Needs

THE SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Summary
In summary, there are three fundamental elements of Islamic education, namely: the recipient, the content and the methods of education. Education is exclusive of human being as a rational animal endowed with aql (intellect) which is a spiritual substance. Such spiritual substance is called aql (intellect) when it involves intellection or apprehension, but nafs (soul) when it deals with the governance of the physical body. It is called qalb (heart) when it receives illumination of guidance from God, but ruh (spirit) when it separates from the body as it revertes to its world of abstract reality. Such spiritual substance was created by God, endowed with knowledge, appointed as Khalifah (Vicegerent) and entrusted with amanah (trust), but it remains immortal whose worldly action is subject for Judgment during the Judgment day.
However, the physical body has important contribution to man's intellectual and spiritual development as it is through the bodily faculties that soul can acquire particular information and data concerning the world of sense and sensible experience. Through its various faculties, the soul

85

The Muslim Educational Needs

will then develop these sense-data into general principles, ideas and beliefs. The recognition and acknowledgement of the proper places of things in the order of creation leading to the recognition and acknowledgement of the proper place of God in the order of being and existence constitutes the basic content of Islamic education. Things in the creation of heavens and earth as well as in man are already arranged as decreed by God. The recognition of the proper places of things in the order of creation implies hikmah (wisdom) and its acknowledgement through actualization means justice. In reality, everything in the world of nature is pointed to its Author, that is the Almighty God. Knowledge has been divided into several categories for various considerations. According to the method of its acquisition, knowledge is divided into al-'ilm al-naqliyah (revealed knowledge) and al-aqliyah (intellectual) or altajribiyah (empirical knowledge). Knowledge is also categorized into al-mahmudah (praiseworthy) and al-madmumah ( blameworthy) on the bases of its utility to mankind.
For its civilization origin, knowledge is categorized into Shar'iyah (Islamic) and non-Shar'iyah (foreign sciences). In view of the human

86

The Muslim Educational Needs

obligation towards it, knowledge is divided into fard 'ain (personal obligation) and fard kifayah (social obligation). The revealed, praiseworthy, shar 'iyah and fard 'ain knowledge are superior to the intellectual, blameworthy, non-shar'iyah and fard kifayah knowledge, but the latter knowledge are also important when placed in their proper places. The elaboration of religion, particularly in our days needs intellectual knowledge whereas intellectual knowledge may be misguided without guidance from revealed knowledge. The division of sciences into fard'ain and fard kifayah is inferred from the dual aspects of man, such as the body and soul. The first kind is food and life for the soul which serves the more permanent and spiritual dimension of man whereas the second is a provision which man might equip himself within the world as he pursues the pragmatic ends which serves his secondary, secular, material and emotional mode of existence.
The basic subjects of fard'ain knowledge are: (1) the Holy Qur'an, (2) the Sunnah: the life of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), (3) the Shari'ah, the principles and practice of Islam ( Islam, Iman

87

The Muslim Educational Needs

and Ihsan), (4) theology (tawhd), (5) Islamic metaphysics (tasawwuf) and (6) Arabic language.

Sciences the knowledge of which is deemed fard kifayah also comprise every science which is indispensable for the welfare of man in this world. This includes the rational, intellectual and philosophical sciences, especially human sciences, natural sciences, applied science and technological sciences. The essential relationship between the hierarchy of man's faculties of knowing and the hierarchy of the Universe and the principles governing their relationship is the concern of Islamic methodology of knowledge. However, there are at least five key concepts for the methods of Islamic education, such as tarbiyah (good breeding), ta'lim (instruction), riyadah (self-discipline), tahdib (refinement) and ta'dib (education). Tarbiyah embraces the act of feeding, loving, sheltering and nursing as well as cherishing which parents bestow upon their children. However, the term encompasses the process of developing the physical and material aspects not restricted to man alone but extended to plant and animal as well.

88

The Muslim Educational Needs

Ta'lim (instruction) is the action of bringing forth the thing from potentiality to actuality in someone else. It is the means for the acquisition of knowledge through which men are elevated from the level of beasts to that of human beings. The process of ta'lim involves the cultivation of knowledge in the rational soul as its recipient. Riyadah refers to a substitution of the blameworthy state with the praiseworthy one. It can be achieved through self-mortification and self- discipline efforts with the performance of good traits until they become habitual and pleasant.
The real purpose of riyadah is to attain selfpurification from spiritual impurities by subjecting the faculty of anger and desire under the authority of reason and Shari'ah which ultimately leads towards the refinement of character reflected in outward actions and deeds. Tahdhib al-Akhlaq precisely means the refinement of character inclusive of cleansing and purifying it. It requires the proper governance of the faculties of al-ghadab (anger) and al-shahwah (desire) thereby the sound faculty of intellect and justice are able to control the faculty of desire through arousing anger against it, and lessening the rage of anger through arousing a strong desire

89

The Muslim Educational Needs

against it so that both desire and anger become submissive to reason and Shari'ah.289
Ta'dib is the most method of Islamic education encompassing the elements of tarbiyyah (good breeding), 'ilm (knowledge), ta'lim (instruction) and riyadah (self-discipline). It conclusively reveals the person-centered aim of Islamic education and the total development of a well-balanced personality through the actualization of inner potential faculties and quality of the soul.

Adab is a discipline of body, mind and soul that assures the recognition and acknowledgement of one's proper place in relation to his physical, intellectual and spiritual capacities and potentials.290 It is the method of acquiring good qualities and attributes of mind and soul that preserve man from committing errors in making judgment and action.
A good character is the ultimate refresh of ta'dib and the highest form of which is the adab in religion, especially in al-salah (prayer). The perfect outcome of this Divine educational curriculum is the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) Himself as the exemplary model, as he

289 Ibid.

Ibid.

90

The Muslim Educational Needs

acknowledged in his hadith: My Lord educated me (addabani), and so made my education (ta'dib) most excellent. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the first recipient of the Qur'anic educational content and the first being educated by the Lord through His Divine Speech until his character and personality became equivalent to the Qur'an. In one of his ahadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) acknowledged: “I am raised upon to accomplish noble character” Adab or self discipline is manifested in the various aspects of human existence. Adab means the one's acknowledgement of his dual nature of body and soul thereby his rational soul subdues the animal soul and renders it submissive to God. His displaying of sincere humility, love, respect, care, and charity to his parents, elders, children, neighbors, and community leaders by acknowledging his proper place in relation to them is a manifestation of adab. Adab is also an intellectual knowledge in which fard'ain knowledge is given priority than fard kifayah one being the correct way of approaching knowledge. Respect towards the scholars and teachers manifests such adab for

91

The Muslim Educational Needs

knowledge . Adab towards the natural environment means the placing of trees, stones, mountains, rivers, valleys, lakes, animals and their habitat in their proper places. The above explanation is a brief exposition about the Muslim educational needs, particularly the fundamental elements and objectives of Islamic education.

Conclusion
It is hereby concluded that Islamic education is part of the educational system which is theoretically a person centered position the basic purpose of which is to produce a good man (salih) and woman (salihah). Such a good man, in the Islamic concept, means precisely the man of adab (self-discipline) encompassing his spiritual and material life.

The aim of Islamic education is not exactly the same with the purpose of the Philippine secular education, that is to produce a good Filipino citizen committed to uphold the interests of the state.
However, the building of a good and peaceful society is one of the aims of Islamic education by producing good men to serve as instrument for building a good and peaceful society. In fact,a good

92

The Muslim Educational Needs

man as defined by Islam is the one who is sincerely conscious of his responsibilities towards God who understands and fulfills his obligations to himself, his parents, family, community, society, animals and environment constantly striving to improve himself as man of adab (self-discipline).

On the other hand, there is no guarantee that a good citizen of a secular country may be a good man as defined by Islam due to the concept of secularism that separates the religious belief of a person from his public affairs. One thing that made Islamic education different from Western secular education is its approach towards the things or objects of knowledge being inseparable from the Divine source which cannot be found in western approach. Another thing is the taking of the character of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as model for Islamic education but alien in the Western educational system. The final purpose of seeking knowledge and education under Islamic worldview is to actualize the experience of happiness in this world and ultimately in hereafter when the person shall behold his Lord.

93

The Muslim Educational Needs

Recommendations
In the Philippines, the different accredited Islamic studies institutions need to incorporate the course or subject on Muslim educational needs: the fundamental elements and objectives of Islamic education to their respective curricula as an instrument for safeguarding the truth and reality about the basic purpose of learning in pursuance of Islamic worldview. The same subject is recommended for its incorporation to the curricula of the universities established in the Muslim areas, particularly in the college of education. On the other hand, the curricula of the various madaris (Islamic school) offering Islamic studies courses need to be improved by including the study of technological sciences being indispensable to the welfares of the Muslims in the country, especially in the modern period. As some Filipino Muslim scholars argued that the present secular educational system in the country is not exactly suitable to the educational needs of the Muslims in the country as it does not contain curriculum designed for the benefits of a child or person in hereafter, there is a need to design a curriculum whereby Islamic and technological sciences, particularly those relevant to the welfare of the Muslim community in the

94

The Muslim Educational Needs

country are integrated in order to produce Muslim Professionals who are expert in Islamic education or fard'an knowledge and at the same time well versed in the technological sciences, specially those that are indispensable for the welfares of the Muslim communities in the country being fard kifayah. Wa Allahua'lamu bi al-sawab

95

The Muslim Educational Needs

References

Abu Abdullah Muhammad b. Isma'il. Sahih alBukhari “Kitab al-Fara'd”, 4 vols. Cairo: Dar Ihya' al-Kutub al-'Arabiyyah, 'no date', 3 ____________.SahÏh al-Bukhari. Trans Muh. Hussin Khan. 9 vols. New Delhi: Kitab Bhavan, 1984, 8. Abu Hamid al-Ghazali Ihya' Ulum al-Din, 4 vols. Trans. Maulana Fazul al-Karim Pakistan: Sind Sagar Academy,3 _____________ Ihya' Ulum al-Din “kitab al-llm”, trans Nabih Amin Faris.Pakistan: Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, Labore,1991. Acikgenc, Alparslan. Islamic Science: Towards a Definition. Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), 1996.

96

The Muslim Educational Needs

Al-Attas,

Syed Muhammad Naquib. Islam and Secularism, Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1993.

_____________ The Concept of Education in Islam: A Framework for an Islamic Philosophy of Education, Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1991. _____________. Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam: An Exposition of the Elements of the Worldview of Islam, Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1995. Ali, Anshari P. The Evolution of Islamic Law in the Philippines: History, Texts and Analysis. General Santos City: Mindanao State University, 2009.
Bakar, Osman. Tawhid and Science. Malaysia: Arah Pendidikan SDN BHD, Level 3A, Block B, Peremba Square, Saujana Resort, Section U2, Shah Alam, Selangore Darul, 2008. ____________. Classification of Knowledge in Islam. Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), IIU, 2006.

Bernas, Joaquin G., S.J. The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines: A

97

The Muslim Educational Needs

Commentary. Quezon City: Rex Printing Company, Inc., 2003. Hamilton, Malcom B. The Sociology of Religion. London: Routledge, 1995. Heredia,RudolfC.Secularismand Secularization: Nation Building in a Multi-Religious Society, in Secularism and Liberation, ed. Rudolf C. Heredia and Edward Mathias. New Delhi: Indian Social Institute, 1995.
Kamali, Muhammad Hashim. Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence. Malaysia: Pelandok Publication (M) Sdn, 1995. Kuspinar, Bilal. Isma'il Ankaravi on the Illuminative Philosophy. Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), 1996.

Mohd. Arshad, Asmaa' “Five Key Terms in alGhazali's Child -Education Theory: An E x a m p l e o f I s l a m i z a t i o n o f Contemporary Knowledge” in AlShajarah: Journal of the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC). Vol. 7 No. 1, 2002.

98

The Muslim Educational Needs

Roberts,

Keith A. Religion in Sociological Perspective. Belmonth: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1990.

W.L., Reeses. Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion. New Jersey: Humanities Press, Inc. 1980.

The Manual of Regulations for Private Schools, 1992. Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud. The Educational Philosophy and Practice of Syed Muhammad Naquib Al - Attas: An Exposition of the Original Concept of I s l amization.KualaLumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), 1998.

99

The Muslim Educational Needs

100

Sponsor Documents

Or use your account on DocShare.tips

Hide

Forgot your password?

Or register your new account on DocShare.tips

Hide

Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive a link to create a new password.

Back to log-in

Close