MPFP1023 PHILOSOPHICAL

IDEAS IN EDUCATION
DR. SUBADRAH MADHAWA NAIR
Faculty of Education and Liberal Studies
City University
Petaling Jaya
Lecture 8
A- Ghazali
 Lifeand Education- Imam Ghazali was born
in Khurasan in 450/1048. He received
thorough education in Quranic exegesis,
Hadith, fiqh and kalam.
 In 484/1091, after education Imam al-Ghazali
appointed as a professor in the Nizamiyah Madrasah in
Baghdad which was built by Nizamul Mulk. Imam took
this responsibility with proud and enjoyed a position of
prestige and prominence for four years and lectured to
over three thousand students. During this period imam
spent times to study the philosophy and penned down
some important works. In 488/1095 imam sunk in a
deep existential and spiritual crisis.
 Hence imam left the teaching and went to Damascus where he
spent ten years for selfintrospection, meditation and spiritual
exercises. Narrating this spiritual crisis imam al- Ghazali says:
“the thirst for knowledge was innate in me from an early age: it
was like a second nature implanted in my by God… no sooner
had I emerged from my boyhood than I had already broken the
fetters of tradition and authority and freed myself from
hereditary beliefs… the diversity in beliefs and religions and the
variety of doctrines in the sects which divide men are like a vast
ocean strewn with shipwrecks…each sect believes itself to be
exclusively in possession of truth and of salvation…
 Imam and Philosophy- Imam al-Ghazali bravely criticized
the scholastic analysis, the aims and purposes of the
philosophy.
 1. Islamic shariah assumes natural regularity to be a
product of divine providence, where as the philosophers
view it as being independent of any external agency or
power.
 2.Certain views of the philosophers are clearly
contrary to the tenets of Islamic shariah. They
deny the possibility of the resurrection of the
dead on the day of the judgment and they claim
that punishment by god is spiritual, not physical
3. The philosophers hold that the
world is eternal and co-existent with
God
 4. They believe that God knows only
the universals but the particulars.
 Al-Ghazali extremely charged the philosophers who
created the great confusion and misgiving about
Islamic doctrines and principles by adopting the
neo-platonic cosmology and Aristotelian logic. In
Tafahat ul Falasifa Imam al-Ghazali identified
twenty points to challenge those philosophers. In
respect of seventeen points, imam pointed out that
the philosophers are guilty of innovations and other
three points about their blasphemy/insulting
 During al-Ghazali’s life he wrote more than 70 books on
science, Islamic philosophy and Sufism. Al-Ghazali published
his book The Incoherence of Philosophers, this is marked as
the turning point in Islamic epistemology. The encounter he
had with skepticism led al-Ghazali to form a belief that all
events and interactions are not the product of material
conjunctions but instead are the present and immediate Will
of God. Another of al-Ghazali’s most renowned work is Ihya’
Ulum al-Din or The Revival of Religious Sciences. The work
covers almost all fields of Islamic science. 
 This includes Islamic jurisprudence, theology, and
Sufism. The book has received many positive
criticisms. Al-Ghazali then wrote an abridged
version of the The Revivial of Religious Sciences in
Persian under the title Kimiya-yi sa’adat also
known as The Alchemy of Happiness. Even though
al-Ghazali has mentioned that he has wrote more
than 70 books, presently there are more than 400
books that are attributed to him.
 Al-Ghazali had a significant influence on both
Muslim and Christian medieval philosophers. One
of the most influenced was St. Thomas Aquinas.
Al-Ghazali also played a major role in
amalgamating Sufism and Shariah. He was the
first to combine the concepts of Sufism into
Shariah laws and the first to give a formal
description of Sufism in his works. The works of
al-Ghazali strengthen the stance of Sunni Islam
compared to other schools of thought.
 Al-Ghazali returned to Tus in 1110 and declined
the invitation of the grand vizier of Muhammad I
to return to Baghdad. According to most
historians’ al-Ghazali passed in the year 1111 on
the 18th of December.
 Theencyclopedic knowledge of imam Al-
Ghazali includes the analysis about the
human nature and comparative study of
animal and human behavior. Imam alludes
man possesses within himself qualities
which are partly angelic, partly animal and
partly satanic.
 The God has referred in the Quran to the
secrets of the human self. He points out
that the self is basically a spiritual entity.
The self according to him includes six
faculties .appetite, anger, impulse (strong
wish), apprehension (misfortune)  ,
intellect, and will.
 Animal on the other hand, have only three
faculties, namely appetite, anger and
apprehension. It is the presence of intellect
and will in man who distinguishes him from
animals as well as from the rest of the
nature. Imam discussed psychological
disorders and suggested their suitable
solutions through spiritual methods
Education

 Imam Al-Ghazali contribution to the moral philosophy is

the great example of his wide-range knowledge. In is
famous work Mizanul Amal imam describes that the
knowledge and action are associable and that welfare and
prosperity in this world and the hereafter depends on a
combination of these two elements.
 Man has been endowed with two kinds of
potentialities, one relating to reasoning and
discernment (ability to make judgments), and the
other to moral virtues. These potentialities can be
actualized and developed in two ways: through
education and training, and through divine
revelation as in the case of prophets. Imam Al-
Ghazali says about the theory of politics and
government in his book Nasihatul Muluk, the
prosperity of people as well as their downfall and
ruin depend to a large extend on the kind of
 These potentialities can be actualized and
developed in two ways: through education and
training, and through divine revelation as in the
case of prophets. Imam Al-Ghazali says about the
theory of politics and government in his book
Nasihatul Muluk, the prosperity of people as well
as their downfall and ruin depend to a large
extend on the kind of rulers they may have.
 Criticizing the contemporary situations of imam narrates the
failure of the Ulama therefore necessity of the true
knowledge and the social role of the man of knowledge in
Islam and responsibilities of the teachers and the students.
Imam Al-Ghazali enumerated eight obligations on the part of
teachers and ten obligations on the part of students. About
the tasawwuf in Khulasa al-Tasniffi al-Tasawwuf imam
defines the tasawwuf: “know that tasawwuf two things:
truthfulness with Allah Almighty and good conduct with
people. Anyone that practices these two things is a Sufi.
 Truthfulness with Allah is that the servant put an end to
his ego’s shares in the divine command. Good conduct
with people is to not prefer one’s demands over theirs as
long as their demands are within the parameters of the
law. Whoever approves of the contravention of the law or
contravenes it can never be a Sufi, and if he claims he is
lying”
 Due to prolific writing of imam and his point of
view to take the Ahadith, he had been criticized.
Another argument about imam, he did not
mention about jihad in his magnum opus Ihya
Ulumi al-din, at the time, Muslim countries had
been attacked by the crusaders and thousands of
Muslims were killed. Shaykh Yusuful Qaradawi
replied to these argument with the following
words:
 The great imam’s excuse may be that his most pressing
engagement was the reform of his own self first, and
that it is one’s personal corruption which paves the way
for external invasions, as indicated by the beginning of
sura al Isra’. The Israelites, whenever they became
corrupt and spread corruption in the earth, were
subjected to the domination of their enemies. But
whenever they did good and reformed themselves and
others, they again held sway over their enemies.
 He directed his greatest concern toward the
reform of the individual, who constitutes the core
of the society. The reform of the individual can
be affected only through the reform of his heart
and thought. Only through such reform can his
works and behavior be improved, and his entire
life. The is basis of societal change to which the
Quran directs us by saying: “lo, Allah changes not
the condition of a folk until they first change that
which is in their hearts”
Conclusion

 The great philosopher of island as remark of imam

al-Haramayn- Al-Ghazali is a quenching sea. He
cultivated the right path to the pure Islamic
philosophical view point and indicated moral
ethics in the basis of Quran. Through his numerous
books and thoughts, imam is still the guiding light
of adherents of Islam and their deliberate
approach towards life..
Al- Farabi
 Al-Farabi completed his earlier education at Farab and
Bukhara. Later on he went to Baghdad for higher studies
where he studied and worked for a long time. During this
period he acquired mastery of several languages as well as
various branches of knowledge and technology. Farabi
contributed considerably to science, philosophy, logic,
sociology, medicine, mathematics and music. His major
contributions were in philosophy, logic and sociology and
for which he stands out as an Encyclopedist.
 Little reliable information about Alfarabi’s life has
survived. The extant sources all date from at least three
centuries after his death. He was probably born in what is
now Kazakhstan around 870 AD, and died in 950AD. He
spent most of his active career, which was largely devoted
to teaching, writing, and his studies, in Baghdad. There
has been speculation that he also studied in Byzantium,
because of his interest in Greek language and thought, but
this has never been verified. He left Baghdad due to
political unrest toward the end of his life and may have
died in Damascus
 Later in his work, Farabi laid down in Platonic fashion the qualities
necessary for the ruler. He stated that a ruler should be inclined to
rule by a good quality of a native character and exhibit the right
attitude for such rule. At the heart of Al-Farabi’s political
philosophy is the concept of happiness, in which people cooperate
to gain contentment. He followed the Greek example and the
highest rank of happiness was allocated to his ideal sovereign whose
soul was ‘united as it were with the Active Intellect’. Farabi served
as a tremendous source of aspiration for intellectuals of the middle
ages and made enormous contributions to the knowledge of his day,
paving the way for the later philosopher and thinkers of the Muslim
world.
 Farabian epistemology has both a Neoplatonic and an
Aristotelian dimension. The best source for Farabi’s
classification of knowledge is his Kitab ihsa al-ulum. This
work neatly illustrates Farabi’s beliefs, both esoteric and
exoteric. Through all of them runs a primary Aristotelian
stress on the importance of knowledge. Thus al-Farabi’s
epistemology, from what has been described may be said
to be encyclopedic in range and complex in articulation,
using both a Neoplatonic and an Aristotelian voice.

 Farabialso participated in writing books on early Muslim
sociology and a notable book on music titled Kitab al-Musiqa
(The Book of Music). This book is, in reality, a study of the
theory of Persian music of his day, although in the West it
has been introduced as a book on Arab music. He invented
several musical instruments, besides contributing to the
knowledge of musical notes. It has been reported that he
could play his instrument so well as to make people laugh or
weep at will. Farabi dealt with music therapy, where he
discussed the therapeutic effects of music on the soul.
 Abu Nasr Mohammad Al-Farabi was leading Muslim intellectual,
philosopher, linguist, and educationist. He dealt with
metaphysics keeping in view three basic concepts; God, the
emanation and beings and the internal structure of beings. He
always tried to understand the intellectual framework of the
world and society. He wanted to restore unity in politics
seeking guidance from Quran. According to AlFarabi, education
is a process to create ideal society by nurturing and preparing
individual towards attaining perfection and freedom on a
broader canvas. For him, education is the acquisition of
knowledge, skills and values for happier life.
 AlFarabi prescribes persuasive and
instructional strategies for common people
while for elites, he recommends
demonstration method. Sound character,
intellectual competence and demonstration
skill are the basic components of effective
teaching. There should be sequence in
learning starting with the language, then
logic, seven forms of mathematics, natural
 The concept of evaluation means the
measurement of learning outcomes. Different
instruments may be used to test knowledge and
intelligence. The capacity for deductive and
critical thinking understands the relationship
between parts of information and to arrive at the
understanding of whole.
CONCEPT OF UNIVERSE & SOCIETY

 He lived in historical period of great turmoil so

the intellectual and social circumstances
prevailing of his day did not explain his approach.
In those days the central Islamic caliphate was
torn apart into independent states and
principalities in both the east and west. The sects
and schools of thought (madhahib) sprang up at
the cost of the nation’s intellectual and political
unity (oumma). Thus al-Farabi’s concern was to
restore unity to Islamic thought by confirming the
gnoseology based on demonstration.
 He introduced logic within Islamic culture, and
this is why he is known as the second teacher. He
also worked hard to restore unity in politics and
political science basing on the system of rules
which governed nature and on the Qur’an which
emphasized the relationship between gnoseology
and values (axiology) (al-Jabiri, 1989, p. 241)
 According to Al-Farabi’s view, one of the goals of
education is to create an ideal community. The citizens of
the community work together in attaining happiness for all
(Al-Farabi, 1959, p-97). Living in a society, theoretical and
practical perfection can be obtained because it develops
the individuals and prepares them to be free. If people
were to live outside the society, they may turn out to be
wild animals (Al-Farabi, 1964, p. 87).
RELIGION VS PHILOSOPHY

 Al-Farabi’s Philosophy and Religion were

two expressions of a single truth.
Philosophy explains religion by providing
proofs. It is neither in conflict nor in
contradiction with religion. That’s why he
also brings together the philosophy of Plato
and of Aristotle to describe the unity of
intellect. In his opinion, there is a unity of
thought in Plato and Aristotle concepts and
THE AIMS OF EDUCATION

 In al-Farabi’s philosophical system, education is one of the

most important social phenomena. It deals with the
human soul and ensures that the individual is being
prepared from an early age to become a beneficial
member of the society. It is to achieve his level of
perfection to reach the goal for which he was sent in this
world. It is fact that there is no writing specifically
devoted to education in al-Farabi’s books. However
anyone who follows his writings with utmost interest and
care will find various texts present here and there with
clear educational elements.
 According Farabi, the perfect human being (al
insan al kamil) is he who has theoretical virtue,
intellectual knowledge and practical moral
values, becoming perfect in his moral behaviour.
Then, crowning these theoretical and moral
virtues with effective power, they are anchored in
the souls of individual members of the community
when they assume the responsibility of political
leadership..
 He becomes role models for rest of the people.
AlFarabi combines moral and aesthetic values like
good are beautiful, and beauty is good. The
beautiful is that which is valued by the scholars
(Al-Farabi, 1982, p. 54). So the perfection he
expects from education unites knowledge and
virtuous behaviour. It is also happiness and
goodness at one and the same time.
 Al-Farabi includes ‘proficiency in the arts which is
another aim assigned to education. In his view,
perfection in theoretical and practical arts is one
of the expressions of wisdom. The wise are those
who are very proficient in the arts and acquire
perfection in them (Al-Farabi, 1968a. p. 54).
 In Al-Farabi’s view, education is the combination of
learning with practical action. The purpose of knowledge
is to apply it. The highest stage lies in its being
transformed into action, ‘Whatever by its nature should
be known and practiced, its perfection lies in it actually
being practiced’ (Al-Farabi, 1987, p. 73). The sciences are
nothing until or unless they can be applied in practical
otherwise void and useless. The practical sciences are
those which are linked to readiness for action and
absolute perfection is what the human being achieves
through knowledge and action applied together. If the
speculative sciences are learned without applying them,
Thank You