🌙Islamic Article🌙

 Islamic Education: A New Approach The Early Years  

 One of the biggest challenges we face today as Muslims in general, and Muslims living in the West in specific, is the challenge of providing Islamic education to the younger generation. Education we receive through the early stages of our lives shapes our way of thinking and is therefore of primary importance. Most education that young Muslims receive today is secular. This is perhaps the main reason for the lack of scholarship in the Ummah in the recent decades. The minds of our youth today are shaped by the secular education system where religion either plays no part, or plays a very marginal role. Even the so called Islamic schools of today have been unable to provide a proper alternative to the secular education system. When the Muslims coming out of colonial influence or the Muslims living in the West realized the need for Islamic education for their young, their solution was to add on Islamic studies subjects to an otherwise secular curriculum and call it an Islamic school. Most schools today continue to follow the same methodology where Islamic education is taught separately from the secular education. This separation of ‘this-worldly’ and ‘that-worldly’ is the very essence of secularism itself. In Islam the distinction between the sciences of the world and the sciences of the religion is non-existent. For a Muslim, one’s whole life is an act of worship to Allah. The separation of Islamic studies from the worldly studies, however, reinforces in the young minds the idea of separation between the matters of the world and the matters of the religion. The Muslim minds in their formative years are getting trained to view religion as a private and separate matter from the affairs of the world. The Islamic schools of today are no different from the non-Islamic schools except that they hire some individuals to teach Islam while the rest of the curriculum remains the same. Making the matters worse, the methods employed by most schools to impart the Islamic knowledge are either imported from centuries ago or are ineffective imitations of the western education systems. This lackluster imposition of the western, secular education system on the Islamic sciences leads to stagnation of Islamic studies, further alienating the young minds from Islam. In public schools, the situation is even more worrying. In most Western countries today, the schools teach a dogma of multiculturalism and tolerance – and there is nothing wrong with the concepts of multiculturalism and tolerance itself – that is secular at heart. This dogma shapes the young minds to view their religion as a private matter between them and their God without ever influencing their public life. These children grow up seeing the limited Islamic education at home and at Sunday schools as a way to connect to their background, nothing more. The leaders of the Muslims in general, and in the West in specific, need to devise a new strategy and a new curriculum for Islamic schools. It is high time that Islamic knowledge is communicated to the young minds in a comprehensive and creative manner. Unless we are able to do so, we will slowly lose our younger generations to the secular and godless world. We need to instill in our youth Islamic values and the Islamic way of thinking from a very early age. This cannot be done without a fully thought-out, new and dynamic approach to education. It is not sufficient to hire a few bearded teachers to convey Islam to the young Muslims. What we need are new teachers–teachers able to link their subject matter to Islam. It is not sufficient for someone to be an expert in his or her subject of instruction. We need to have people who are educated in Islam, and believe in it wholeheartedly. As heirs of the Prophets, all teachers should illustrate the ideals of Islamic character in their conduct. Until this new education strategy is formed, however, the responsibility lies with the activists and Imams within the Muslim community to train the young Muslim minds along the lines of Islam. This can be done mainly through classes and study circles. The young minds should be familiarized with at least the following by the time they reach middle-teenage years: 1. Correct Understanding of the Aqeedah: The aqeedah is the basis of all that we believe in and it is imperative that this is taught correctly. However, at this age it is not necessary to go into much detail. Using the method employed by Allah in revealing the Qur’an, the simple truths about the universe should be taught first. These simple facts taught in a fun and enjoyable manner will form the crux of the beliefs of these young Muslims. 2. Arabic Language: The Arabic language is instrumental in understanding the Qur’an and the Islam itself. Young Muslims should have basic Arabic knowledge, sufficient to be able to read the Qur’an and understand some of it. 3. Essence of Worship: Most young Muslims are taught to go through the rituals of Islam without ever understanding the essence of these rituals. The task here is to employ creative methods to ensure that young Muslims understand the importance of ritual worship and what role it plays in Islam. By understanding this, the young people will be better able to recognize and fulfill the rights of Allah, at least at a very basic level. 4. Rights of Humans: After the rights of the Creator are the rights of the created in Islam, and among those the rights of the parents are at the top of the list. Due to the importance of the rights of the parents in Islam, these need to be taught at a very early age. Again, care should be taken to ensure that these are not taught as theory; rather they should be taught in an interactive and fun manner. 5. Islamic Character: The young minds should be familiarized with the high Islamic character and morals from the stories of the Prophet, his companions, and other Qur’anic personalities. Again, taught in a fun and enjoyable fashion, this will result in making clear to the youth what high Islamic ideals should they be aspiring towards. 6. Islamic History: The life of the Prophet and his companions needs to be taught to the young Muslims from an early age in a manner that helps them relate it to their lives. Loving the Prophet is one of the essentials of the Islamic faith and it is impossible to love a stranger. It is not necessary at this point to teach this history in much detail. Rather, a brief but comprehensive overview highlighting the main points of the Prophet’s life should be the focus. 7. Qur’an: The young Muslims by this age should be able to recite the Qur’an properly and without hindrance. There is no need to delve deep into the explanation of the Qur’an. The approach here should be to read the Qur’an properly, read the translation of the Qur’an, memorize the last ten to fifteen chapters, and to study some selected verses in detail. For the study of the verses, we can use the twelve-topic syllabus suggested by Khurram Murad at the end of his book “The Way to the Quran.” The above will inshaAllah adequately shape the minds in the right way as these young Muslims embark upon to the world of higher education. As they step into the most difficult years of their youth, they will be well prepared to tackle the challenges that come their way in an Islamic manner, in the light of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. A Life Long Journey Today, the Islamic education for young Muslims is in crisis. Be it secular schools or the Islamic ones, the vision of Islam that is being imparted to the young Muslim minds is one that promotes religion as a private matter, contrary to Islamic teachings. The need is to revamp the education system so that Islam can be taught in a comprehensive manner. Until that is done, however, the responsibility lies with Muslim activists and Imams in the community to take the initiative. The young minds should be trained to think Islamically–to appreciate their Muslim identity. For that, fundamental Islamic training is necessary at a very young age. By the time a young Muslim reaches teen ages, he or she should have the correct understanding of the basic Islamic aqeedah. The young Muslims should also be able to read the Arabic language with some understanding, know the essence of worship in Islam, appreciate rights of human beings and be familiar with the high Islamic character. Lastly, the young Muslims should also be acquainted to the lives of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions and be able to recite the Qur’an without hindrance. Nevertheless, the Islamic education should not end at this point. As the minds mature, they will be ready for more in depth study of Islam. We should remember that it is not necessary for every person to be an expert in Usul al-Fiqh and Usul al-Hadith. Nor is it necessary for everyone to study the Islamic history in great detail. The requirement of Islamic education is different for people in different spheres of life. Here we will distinguish between the necessary ingredients of the Islamic education for college and university-going students at three levels: at the first level are the ordinary Muslims; second are the activist leaders; and the third are those who will be looked upon by the community for their scholarship. For the third level, organized Islamic education is necessary at a University level and it is therefore not a focus of our attention. We will concern ourselves here with only the first two levels. At the first level, our focus should be to impart the following to every Muslim man and woman. The following are logical extensions of the seven points mentioned above: 1. Aqeedah: Building on the basics of aqeedah in the first phase, a further and more detailed understanding of the correct aqeedah needs to be built. This involves understanding Tawheed and Shirk as well as the concepts of hakimiyyah (sovereignty), wala’a (protection and support) and khilafah (vicegerency). 2. Arabic: Advancing the understanding of the Arabic language is needed for the better understanding of the Qur’an. In learning the Arabic language it is important to keep in mind that the aim is to learn the language of the Arabs and not only the language of the Qur’an. There are two important reasons for this. First, understanding the Arabic language will allow these Muslims to benefit from the countless works of Islamic literature that have not been translated, while also understanding the word of Allah in the words Allah revealed it. Second, a common language is a necessity for unity of the Muslims; for us to unite the Arabic language must be taught and learned as the language of conversation among Muslims. 3. Qur’an: We should focus on the study of the whole Qur’an with limited explanation, without going into much scholarly debates and side issues. The approach here should be to study the Qur’an individually and then come together in small groups to discuss important issues under a teacher or a more knowledgeable individual. Through this approach, one can easily study the whole Qur’an in two to three years. While this is continuing, a selection of verses should be taken to study in much more detail. For this we can use the forty-topic syllabus picked by Khurram Murad at the end of his book “Way to the Quran.” 4. Islamic History: Every Muslim should be able to understand the basic differences between the Righteous Caliphate and the Caliphate that followed. Moreover, a top-level understanding of the major conflicts in the early Muslim history is required to comprehend the divisions and sects in the Ummah. Additionally, the factors that led to the rise and fall of the Muslim Ummah should be taught in an objective manner. Understanding the divisions in the Ummah and the causes for the decline is necessary in shaping the thought process of a Muslim. 5. Other Islamic Teachings: We should educate the young Muslims in comprehensive teachings of Islam as they relate to worship, everyday fiqh, limits set by Allah, importance of collective work and responsibilities of Muslims to the community. These are the minimum requirements to shape the thinking of young Muslims towards proactive Islamic work. With this understanding we can be assured that even if the person does not become a lifelong activist in the cause of Allah, he or she will have sufficient understanding of Islam to conduct his or her affairs in accordance with the Qur’an and the Sunnah if he or she wishes to do so. At the second level are activist leaders. These are community leaders charged with the responsibility of leading and motivating the community into action. It is necessary for them to be more knowledgeable than the masses. Therefore, it is necessary to identify young Muslims who are serious, judicious, mature, and have some leadership mantle as well. There should be separate classes and study circles for this more rigorous Islamic education. To call towards Islam, one must first be familiar with the Islamic culture – the system of beliefs and practices that he or she calls to. Islamic culture is simply a broader term for the aqeedah – in other words, it is the Islam’s aqeedah put into practice. The understanding of Islam imparted to the young Muslims here must be free of extremism and false folklores. We must adopt a balanced approach, sticking to the consensus of the majority of the scholars wherever possible. This understanding of the Islamic culture is gained from the Qur’an and the Sunnah. The following are some important facets of Islam that should be covered at this second level. 1. Qur’an: For a person entrusted with leading the Muslim community, connection with the Qur’an is mandatory. The Book of Allah is our source of guidance and inspiration and we need to turn to it as the first generation of Muslims–the Qur’anic generation–turned to it. For this, we should focus on in-depth tafseer of the Qur’an for these young Muslims. Some things to keep in mind for this are:         We should focus on developing the correct understanding of the language of the Qur’an as well as the way of its presentation. We should teach the young Muslims to view Qur’an as eternal, where every single verse has a meaning and an implication for us, today, individually and collectively. We should study the Qur’anic stories for valuable lessons and inspiration for our times. Stories of Adam, Noah, Ibrahim, Yousuf, Moses, Dhulqarnain, Talut, Suleiman, People of the Cave and many others all highlight important lessons that the Muslims today can benefit from greatly. We should study the personalities of the Qur’an. These are detailed throughout the Qur’an either as individuals dealing with specific problems (like a young man, Yousuf, dealing with the temptation of an evil woman) or as qualities that Allah wants in His servants (like the characteristics detailed in the first verses of chapter 23, Al-Mu’minoon) or as qualities Allah dislikes in His servants. We should exercise using arguments from the Qur’an whenever possible. In the Qur’an we see arguments made for every excuse that the unbelievers came up with against the message, and the arguments made by Allah are stronger than any argument we can make as human beings. This will be a valuable asset in doing Da’wah. However, we must ensure that these leaders of tomorrow clearly understand that the Qur’an must not be taken out of context to support arguments it does not make. We cannot impose our own ideas on the Qur’an–rather, we must shape our ideas through the Qur’an. In teaching and studying the Qur’an, we must stay away from the Israelite narrations. It is necessary to draw our knowledge only from the authentic sources, and the Israelite sources are not among them. However, in matters of no religious bearing, like number of men in an army, we can take from the Israelite narrations—but only with extreme caution. Understanding of the sciences of the Qur’an–Usul al-Qur’an–is also necessary for the advanced understanding of the Qur’an. However, one need not delve too deep into the Usul as it is neither necessary nor recommended at this level.   2. Sunnah: The Sunnah of the Prophet is the explanation of the Qur’an itself. One cannot understand the culture of Islam without comprehending the Sunnah of the Prophet. This Sunnah of the Prophet includes his sayings, his acts, and his whole Seerah in general. The Prophet should be the ultimate ideal that the Muslims look up to and in his life we find lessons for every sphere of life. The students should study the Sunnah in this regard through a collection of Sahih Hadith (recommended are Bukhari, Muslim and Riyad as-Saleheen) and through authentic books on the Seerah. We should focus on imparting the understanding of the basic terminology of Hadith as well as a very basic understanding of the sciences of the Hadith–Usul al-Hadith. Once again, the students should be taught to understand the Hadith properly. This is extremely important because every heretic sect, which has ever been known to Muslims, misused Hadith out of context to justify their existence. 3. Fiqh: The leaders of tomorrow should have a decent understanding of the fiqh of Islam to understand the true culture of Islam. Unless a true understanding of fiqh is present, these young Muslims will not be adequately able to correct the social and religious ills they see around them. Additionally, in calling towards Islam, a lot of time is spent on teaching people the worship of Allah in its correct manner. To be able to do so, we should teach the basic and most common everyday fiqh issues in detail. Most importantly, however, a basic understanding of disagreements between the fiqhi schools should be taught. At this basic level, these young Muslims should be able to appreciate the differences of opinion in everyday fiqh matters. This can be done without actually knowing the various opinions. 4. Usul al-Fiqh: Though a detailed understanding of the sciences of the Fiqh is not needed, an introduction to them is necessary. The students should briefly study the various sources of fiqh, and differences between various degrees of permissibility in fiqh. 5. Tasawwuf: Tasawwuf represents the spiritual and inner aspects of the Islamic culture. However, tasawwuf in Islam has become to represent a dogma that has been corrupted by Christian and Buddhist mysticism. We need to focus on the pure aspect of tasawwuf, which has been called as tazkiyyah as well. This refers to development of character, high morals and consciousness of Allah. We need to ensure that young Muslims being prepared for leadership roles not only understand the true tasawwuf, they practice it to develop the spiritual aspects of it themselves. 6. Contemporary Islam: Lastly, it is imperative that these individuals understand the Islamic Way of Life–deen–and how it differs from other ways of life in the modern era. The need is to be able to see Islam as a complete system of life that provides guidance in every sphere. To be able to outline the guidance of Islam in every aspect is not necessary–what is needed is the top-level understanding of what Islam’s stance is on various issues of importance to our present times. These include personal issues like family life, women rights, equality of sexes and inheritance laws as well as various public issues. With the above, these young Muslims will inshaAllah have sufficient knowledge of Islam to lead their communities objectively in the light of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. For one to be able to go through all of the above seems rather ambitious. After careful analysis, however, we can be confident that for someone studying at the level one only, the material can be taught in a very light manner in four years. However, for those who are considered for leadership of the community, the task is somewhat more burdensome. A dedicated person can cover the above material in four to six years of disciplined study. An important consideration here is that Muslims, especially those entrusted with leadership, should be dedicated to lifelong learning. One cannot go through four or six years of Islamic education and consider it done. Our understanding of Islam develops as we mature through the experiences of life and it is crucial for us to maintain our connection with the study of the Qur’an and other teachings of Islam. Moreover, we need to approach imparting of Islamic knowledge in a judicious manner. Knowledge does not necessarily translate into action and we cannot expect every person who attends our study circles and classes to come out a changed human being. Our job is to dispense the knowledge we have, and it is Allah’s Will only to give or not to give guidance. This becomes doubly important when we are inviting people for leadership preparation. It is our hope that the rigorous nature of the second phase outlined above will weed out the immature and the non-serious individuals, but we need to be careful not to make it an elitist society of Muslims. Our study circles and classes should be open to all, leaving the process of selection to the nature. With all this, we hope to prepare a generation of Muslims who can lead the Muslims out of stagnation. —————- i- The points in this section are inspired by Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi’s book “Tha-qafah ad-Da’iyah,” (Culture of the Caller to Islam) which is translated into Urdu by Sultan Ahmed Islahi as “Fikri Tarbiyyat kay Aham Taqazay.”