PHILOSOPY OF ISLAMIC EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM

Islam is a monotheistic Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of

Muhammad (SAW). The word Islam is derived from the Arabic word Aslama,
which means “to accept, surrender or submit" or "submission", or “the total
surrender of oneself” to Allah. An adherent of Islam is known as a Muslim,
meaning "one who submits (to Allah)".

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

PHILOSOPHY OF ISLAMIC EDUCATION

The philosophy of Islamic education is

looking at the principles and concepts
underlying education in Islam, it is analyzing
and criticizing, deconstructing and
disintegrating of the existing educational
infrastructure and strives to produce new
concepts continuously or displays what
should be the concepts.
The Islamic Education is seeking to
achieve the distinct role of the human being which is reform and construction of
human life. This Islamic concept of life based on the fundamental concepts as
individual, society and the world, and education works to find a balanced
relationship and equitable between the parties to this equation which are based
on a relationship characterized by a mutual and integration, so one party cannot
survive without the other parties.

BACKGROUND: FAMOUS MUSLIM PHILOSOPHERS

The first Muslim philosopher of note was al-Kindi. He was of Arab descent and
died sometime before 870 A.D. Next was al-Razi (Rhazes), who died about 925
or 935 A.D. and was known for his rejection of revealed religion. Al-Farabi,
who died in 950 A.D. was of Turkish descent
and was known among Muslims as the “
second teacher,” Ibn Sina (Avicenna),
who died in 1037 A.D., was without doubt
the most influential of all the Muslim
philosophers on the later development of
Islamic philosophy and theology.
Ibn Rushd (Averroes), a Spaniard who
died in 1198 A.D., was known mainly
for his commentaries on Aristotle.
AREAS OF ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

1. METAPHYSICAL BELIEVES / ONTOLOGY (Ultimate Reality:

God and His Attributes)
The term reality, in its widest sense, includes everything that is, whether or
not it is observable or comprehensible.

NATURE OF REALITY
The ultimate Being or Reality is Allah. Allah, as described by the Quran for
the understanding of man, is the sole self-subsisting, all pervading, eternal
and Absolute Reality. He is the first and the last, the seen and unseen. No
vision can grasp Him. He is above all comprehension. He is transcendent
also because He is beyond the limitation of time, space, and sense-
content.
God, is thus, a living, self-subsisting, eternal, and absolutely free
creative reality which is one, all powerful, al-knowing, all beauty,
most just, most loving, and all good.

WORLD/UNIVERSE

Allah is omnipotent. To Him is due the primal origin of everything. It is He,

the Creator, who began the process of creation and adds to creation as
He pleases. To begin with He created the heavens and the earth.
The heavens and the earth
as separate existents with all
their produce were created
by Him in six days (six great
epochs of evolution). He
draws the night as a veil over
the day, each looking for the
other in a rapid series. He
created the sun, the moon,
and the stars, all governed
by the laws designed by Him
and under His command.
Every creature in the heavens and the earth willingly submits to his laws.
The sun runs its course for a determined period; so does the moon. The
growth of a seed into a plant bearing flowers and fruit, the constellations in
the sky, the succession of the day and night-these and all other things
show proportion, measure, order, and law. He it is who is the creator,
evolver, and restorer of all forms. He it is who sends down water from the
sky in due measure, causes it to soak in the soil, raises the life to land that
is dead, and then drains it off with ease”. He is the Lord of Throne and
Honor and the Throne of Glory Supreme, the Lord of the dawn and all the
ways of ascent. To Him belong the east and the west, where ever, you
turn, there is His presence. It is He who spreads out the earth like a
carpet, sends down
water from the sky in due measure
to revive it with fruit, corn, and plants,
and has created pairs of plants,
each separate from the others, and
pairs of all other things. It is He who
gives life and death and has power
over all things. God is not only the
creator, but also the cherisher, sustainer, protector, helper, guide, and
reliever of distress and suffering, of all His creatures, and is most merciful,
most kind, and most forgiving.

ALLAH’S RELATION TO MAN

In reality, man is the highest of all the creation Allah has created him in the
most beautiful of moulds. He is born with the divine spirit breathed into
him. The sole aim of man therefore is a progressive achievement of all
divine attributes. Allah is always near man nearer than his jugular vein.

SOUL

The soul of man is of divine origin because Allah has breathed a bit of His
own spirit into him. It is a deep mystery, a command of Allah, of the
knowledge of which only a little has been communicated to man. The
conscious self or mind is of three degrees. In the first degree it is the
impulsive mind (Nafs Ammarah) which man shares with animals; In the
second degree it is the careful or morally conscious mind (Nafs
Lawwamah) struggling between good and evil and regretful for the evil
done; in the third degree it is the mind perfectly in tune with the divine will,
the mind in peace (Nafs Mutma”innah).

MAN’S POWER

Allah has subjected for the use of man, everything in the heavens and the
earth – the sun and the moon, day and night, winds and rain, the rivers
and the seas and the ships that sail, pearls and corals, springs and
steams, mountains, moisture, and pastures, and animals to ride and grain
and fruit to eat.

DEATH

Death of the body has been decreed

by Allah to be the common group of
mankind. Wherever a man is, death
will overtake him. Every soul shall be
given a taste of death and in the end
brought back to Allah and duly
judged on the Day of Judgment, and
only he who is saved from fire will
admitted to paradise; it is than he will
have attained the goal of his life.

LIFE AFTER DEATH

For everyone after death there shall be an interval lasting till the Day of
Resurrection. On that day all the dead shall be raised up again. They shall
all now meet their lord. The scale of justice shall be set up. All in
proportion to their respective deeds and for a period of longer and shorter
shall go to the state of pain and sorrow, designated in the Quran as hell,
and the righteous saved from hell shall enter a state of perpetual peace,
designated as paradise.
2. EPISTEMOLOGY: CONCEPT OF KNOWLEDGE IN ISLAM
Knowledge can be defined as “The state or fact of knowing.”
The knowledge According to Islam has three degrees

1. Deductive knowledge: Knowledge by inference (Ilm al-Yaqin)

2. Observatory knowledge: Knowledge by perception (Ain al-Yaqin)

3. Empirical knowledge: Knowledge by personal experience

or intuition (Haq al- Yaqin)
Deductive knowledge is the lowest level of knowledge. Observation leads
it to perfection through experiencing. The empirical or experimental
knowledge is last stage comes very late. According to Islamic philosophy
knowledge is mandatory for all men and women. When angels
questioned the superiority of Adam, it was his knowledge which
made the angels admit the fact and bow down to him as ordained by
Allah. “He imparted knowledge to man which He did not do to angels
“Islam is the religion of knowledge.

3. AXIOLOGY: CONCEPT OF VALUE IN ISLAM

Values can be defined as “those things that are important to or valued by
someone”. According to Islamic philosophy values are universal,
permanent and not relative. Spiritual values are regarded more valuable
than material one. There are some basic values in Islam and Islam
preaches to that. A human being cannot live without these basic values.
Individuals and states are advised to protect or at least to respect these
basic values.

LIFE
Allah is living one Himself and gives life to others.

RELIGION
Religion is considered as a basic value or fundamental right of every
individual.

ETERNITY (TIME WITHOUT END)

This attribute in its fullness is exclusively Allah’s. Man is created within
time for a stated term; yet, he has within himself a deep desire of
eternity and for a kingdom that never fails or ends. The way is open for
the finite and temporal man to attain life everlasting.

UNITY
The greatest emphasis in the Quran is on the unity of Allah. Faith in
Allah is the necessary prerequisite of moral life, but it should not be
mere verbal acceptance; it must be accompanied by good deeds,
implying an attitude of mind which is motivated by a complete
submission to Allah’s will. All believing men and women are truthful in
their words and deeds. The Quran says that “All Muslims are
brothers and have great love and affection among themselves

TRUTH OR WISDOM
Wisdom as a human ideal stands for man’s search for knowledge or
truth. It is something which is distinguished form conjecture or
 imperfect knowledge and mere believe.

KNOWLEDGE
God is all knowledge. He is the Truth. He witnesses all things. Really,
nothing on the earth or in the heavens is hidden from Him, not even as
much as the weight of an atom.

JUSTICE
Allah is the best to judge and is never unjust. He does not deal
unjustly with man; it is man that wrongs his own soul. On the Day of
Judgment, He will set up the scales of justice and even the smallest
action will be taken in to account. He is swift in taking account, and
punishes with exemplary punishment. For those who refrain from
wrong and do what is right there is great reward. Divine punishment is
equal to the evil done.

LOVE
Islam emphasized on the basic values of love. God is loving and He
exercises His love in creating, sustaining, nourishing, sheltering,
helping, and guiding

GOODNESS
“Allah is all good, free from evil (Quddus). He is also the source of all
good and worthy of all praise” .Goodness is an attribute of Allah and
therefore, it becomes the duty of every person to obey his own
impulse to good. He should do good as Allah has been good to all and
love those who do good. Believers hasten in every good work as all
prophets were quick in emulating good works so all people are
advised to strive together towards all that is good.

BEAUTY
Inner beauty has more weightage than the apparent beauty alone.
Allah possesses most beautiful named and highest excellence and
creates everything of great beauty. Man is created in the best of
moulds and is given a most beautiful shape. Allah created the
universe with beauty

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

 To provide the teachings of Holy Quran as first step of education

 To provide experiences which are based on fundamentals of Islam.
 To provide experiences in the form of knowledge and skills with
clear understanding that these experiences are likely to be changed
in the light of changes in society.
 To develop understanding that knowledge without the basis in faith
and religion is incomplete education
 To develop commitment towards the basic values which have been
prescribed in religion.
 To develop sense of accountability towards Almighty creator so that
man passes his life like a faithful servant
 To encourage international brotherhood irrespective of differences
in generations, occupations and social class.
 To foster great consciousness of the Divine presence in the Universe
  To bring man nearer to an understanding of God and of the relation
in which man stands to his Creator
 To develop piety and faith amongst the followers
 To produce man who has faith as well as knowledge in spiritual
development
 To develop such qualities of a good man which are universally
accepted by the societies that have faith in religion.
TEACHER

Teacher is given the status of

spiritual father. Teacher is
supposed to have qualities of
tolerance, patience, hardworking,
honesty and punctuality.

STUDENT

Student’s character building is given importance because he/she is supposed

to be an innocent soul.

TEACHING METHODS

Rote memorization, drill, dictation, discussion, lecture method, problem

solving, in-depth study method may be used by the teachers. Teacher is free
to use the teaching method of teaching which he supposes the best.

CURRICULUM

In Islamic philosophy the curriculum has two essential parts

Revealed knowledge: it is included in curriculum without any charge and

is compulsory for all. Knowledge of Quran, sayings of prophet (S.A.W),
beliefs and worship includes in revealed knowledge.

Acquired knowledge: It is included in curriculum and is not compulsory

for all. It includes all the types of knowledge that are beneficial for
humanity like physics, chemistry, mathematics, sociology, literature,
geography etc.

LEADERSHIP

Leadership is democratic, based on service with consultancy. Answerable

to Allah Almighty.

EVALUATION

Oral or written tests.

Prepared by:
Jester C. Mabuti