technology of print, used Urdu as the medium of reformist discourses and ..... In his blog on Madrasa ...... mathematics and Malayalam in the Dars curriculum.
A PROPOSED FRAMEWORK FOR THE CURRICULUM OF ISLAMIC EDUCATION: IMPLICATIONS ON THE CURRICULA OF ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN KERALA, INDIA
BY
SHAFEEQ HUSSAIN VAZHATHODI
INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA
2011
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A PROPOSED FRAMEWORK FOR THE CURRICULUM OF ISLAMIC EDUCATION: IMPLICATIONS ON THE CURRICULA OF ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN KERALA, INDIA BY SHAFEEQ HUSSAIN VAZHATHODI A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education (Curriculum and Instruction) Institute of Education International Islamic University Malaysia JUNE 2011
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ABSTRACT
This study attempts to trace the foundations of the Islamic education and its curriculum in an effort to revive the curricula of the Islamic Religious Higher education (IRHE) system prevalent in India. It is undertaken in the context of the persistent pleas from various intellectuals and educators to revitalize the system, especially in the light of contemporary challenges to Islam and Muslims on various fronts. Hence, firstly, the study explores various fundamental elements and structures of the Islamic Worldview. Then, the study establishes the relevance of and coherency among these elements by indicating how they are represented in various Islamic codes of conduct (Sharī‘ah), and Sharī‘ah principles (‘usūl) and objectives (maqāsid). Secondly, the study explores what these essential elements imply to the foundations of the curriculum of Islamic education, its fields of exposition as well as its pedagogical focus. Accordingly, the researcher proposes a ‘basic’ curriculum framework for Islamic education. Further, the researcher identifies the role of IRHE institutions and the ‘ulamā’ produced in them in providing proactive and visionary leadership. Lastly, the study explores the implications of the framework on the IRHE institutions in Kerala and their curricula, educational intents, contents, pedagogy and the methods of evaluation. While undertaking these exercises, the study primarily uses a philosophical and analytical approach. Various deliberations carried out using these methods have proved that the Islamic education system, although theological in essence, is practical and pragmatic in spirit. In fact, the three essential Islamic elements of faith, knowledge and value, make sense only within the human and civilizational domains. These five key structures of the Islamic Worldview constitute the theological/spiritual, intellectual/psychic, moral, physical/social and civilizational foundations and dimensions of the Islamic education curriculum. They are unified by the core concept of faith. Together, they impinge on the educational intents, contents, pedagogy and the methods of evaluation.
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ﺧﻼﺻﺔ اﻟﺒﺤﺚ
ﺗﻬ ﺪف ه ﺬﻩ اﻟﺪراﺳ ﺔ إﻟ ﻰ ﺗﺘﺒﱡ ﻊ أﺳ ﺲ اﻟﺘﺮﺑﻴ ﺔ اﻹﺳ ﻼﻣﻴﺔ وﻣﻨﺎهﺠﻬ ﺎ ﻓ ﻰ ﻣﺤﺎوﻟ ٍﺔ ﻹﺣﻴ ﺎء اﻟﻨﻈ ﺎم اﻟﺘﺮﺑ ﻮى اﻟ ﺪﻳﻨﻰ اﻹﺳ ﻼﻣﻰ اﻟﻌ ﺎﻟﻲ اﻟ ﺴﺎﺋﺪ ﻓ ﻰ آﻴ ﺮاﻻ ،اﻟﻬﻨ ﺪ ،وذﻟ ﻚ ﻓ ﻰ ﺳ ﻴﺎق اﻟﻨ ﺪاءات اﻟﻤ ﺴﺘﻤﺮة ﻣ ﻦ ﻣﺨﺘﻠ ﻒ اﻟﻤﻔﻜ ﺮﻳﻦ واﻟﻤ ﺮﺑﱢﻴﻦ ﻟﺘ ﺸﻴﻴﺪ ه ﺬا اﻟﻨﻈ ﺎم ،وﻻ ﺳ ﻴﻤﺎ ﻓ ﻰ ﺿ ﻮء ﻒ ﻦ ﻣﺨﺘﻠ ﺴﻠﻤﻴﻦ ﻣ ﻼم واﻟﻤ ﺮة ﻟﻺﺳ ﺪﻳﺎت اﻟﻤﻌﺎﺻ اﻟﺘﺤ اﻟﺠﻬ ﺎت.وﻣ ﻦ إﺛ ﺮ ه ﺬﻩ اﻟﻤﺤﺎوﻟ ﺔ أﻧﻬ ﺎ ﺗﺒﺤ ﺚ ﻋ ﻦ اﻟﻌﻨﺎﺻ ﺮ اﻟﺠﻮهﺮﻳ ﺔ واﻟﻬﻴﺎآ ﻞ اﻷﺳﺎﺳ ﻴﺔ ﻟﻠﺘ ﺼﻮر اﻹﺳ ﻼﻣﻰ وﻋ ﻦ أهﻤﻴ ﺔ اﻟﺘ ﺮاﺑﻂ واﻟﺘﻤﺎﺳ ﻚ ﺑﻴﻨﻬ ﺎ آﻤ ﺎ ﻣﺜﱠﻠﺘﻬ ﺎ اﻟ ﺸﺮﻳﻌﺔ اﻹﺳ ﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﻓ ﻰ أﺻ ﻮﻟﻬﺎ وﻣﻘﺎﺻ ﺪهﺎ .إﺿ ﺎﻓﺔ اﻟ ﻰ ذﻟ ﻚ ،ﺗﺒﺤ ﺚ ﻋ ﻦ ﺗ ﺄﺛﻴﺮ ه ﺬﻩ اﻟﻌﻨﺎﺻ ﺮ واﻟﻬﻴﺎآ ﻞ ﻋﻠ ﻰ أﺳ ﺲ اﻟﻤﻨ ﺎهﺞ اﻟﺘﺮﺑﻮﻳ ﺔ اﻟﺪﻳﻨﻴ ﺔ وﻣ ﻀﻤﻮﻧﻬﺎ وﻃ ﺮق ﺗﺪرﻳ ﺴﻬﺎ .وﺑﻨ ﺎء ﻋﻠﻴ ﻪ ،ﻳﻘﺘ ﺮح اﻟﺒﺎﺣ ﺚ إﻃ ﺎرا ﻧﻤﻮذﺟﻴ ﺎ أﺳﺎﺳ ﻴﺎ ﻟﻠﻤ ﻨﻬﺞ اﻟﺘﺮﺑ ﻮى اﻹﺳ ﻼﻣﻰ وﻳﺤ ﺪﱢد دور اﻟﻤﺆﺳ ﺴﺎت اﻟﺘﺮﺑﻮﻳ ﺔ اﻟﺪﻳﻨﻴ ﺔ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻴ ﺔ ودور اﻟﻌﻠﻤ ﺎء اﻟﻤﺘﺨ ﺮﱢﺟﻴﻦ ﻣﻨﻬ ﺎ ﻓ ﻰ ﺗ ﻮﻓﻴﺮ ﻗﻴ ﺎدة ذات رؤﻳ ﺔ وﺑ ﺼﻴﺮة .وأﺧﻴ ﺮا ،ﺗﻜ ﺸﻒ ه ﺬﻩ اﻟﺪراﺳ ﺔ ﻋ ﻦ اﻵﺛ ﺎر اﻟﻤﺘﺮﺗﺒ ﺔ ﻋﻠ ﻰ ه ﺬا اﻹﻃ ﺎر ﻓ ﻰ ﺻ ﻴﺎﻏﺔ ﻣﻨ ﺎهﺞ اﻟﻤﺆﺳ ﺴﺎت اﻟﺘﺮﺑﻮﻳ ﺔ اﻟﺪﻳﻨﻴ ﺔ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻴ ﺔ ﻓ ﻰ وﻻﻳ ﺔ آﻴ ﺮاﻻ ،اﻟﻬﻨ ﺪ وﻓ ﻰ ﺗﺤﻘﻴ ﻖ أه ﺪاﻓﻬﺎ وﻣ ﻀﻤﻮﻧﻬﺎ وأﺳ ﺎﻟﻴﺐ ﺗﻌﻠﻴﻤﻬ ﺎ وﺗﻘﻮﻳﻤﻬ ﺎ .ﻟ ﺬا ﻗ ﺎم اﻟﺒﺎﺣ ﺚ ﺑﺎﺳ ﺘﺨﺪام اﻟﻤ ﻨﻬﺞ اﻟﺘﺤﻠﻴﻠ ﻰ اﻟﻔﻠ ﺴﻔﻰ ﻓ ﻰ ه ﺬﻩ اﻟﺪراﺳ ﺔ .وﻟﻘ ﺪ ﺗﻮﺻ ﻞ اﻟﺒﺎﺣ ﺚ إﻟ ﻰ أن اﻟﻨﻈ ﺎم اﻟﺘﺮﺑ ﻮى اﻹﺳ ﻼﻣﻰ ﻋﻠ ﻰ اﻟ ﺮﻏﻢ ﻣ ﻦ ﻲ ﻓ ﻰ اﻷﺻ ﻞ .ووﺟ ﺪ ﻲ وواﻗﻌ ٌ آﻮﻧ ﻪ إﻟﻬﻴ ﺎ ﻓ ﻰ ﺟ ﻮهﺮﻩ ،ﻓﺈﻧ ﻪ ﺗﻄﺒﻴﻘ ٌ اﻟ ﺪراس أﻳ ﻀﺎ ﺑﺄﻧ ﻪ ﻻ ﺗﺘﺤ ﱠﻘ ﻖ اﻟﻌﻨﺎﺻ ﺮ اﻹﺳ ﻼﻣﻴﺔ اﻷﺳﺎﺳ ﻴﺔ اﻟﺜﻼﺛ ﺔ )اﻹﻳﻤ ﺎن واﻟﻌﻠ ﻢ واﻟﻘ ﻴﻢ( إﻻ ﻓ ﻰ اﻟﻤﺠ ﺎﻻت اﻹﻧ ﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ واﻟﺤ ﻀﺎرﻳﺔ، وأن ه ﺬﻩ اﻟﻌﻨﺎﺻ ﺮ واﻟﻤﺠ ﺎﻻت ُﺗ ﺸﻜﱢﻞ أﺳ ﺲ اﻟﻤ ﻨﻬﺞ اﻟﺘﺮﺑﻴ ﺔ اﻹﺳ ﻼﻣﻴﺔ اﻟﺨﻤ ﺴﺔ )اﻹﻟﻬ ﻰ/اﻟﺮوﺣ ﻰ ،اﻟﻔﻜ ﺮى/اﻟﻨﻔ ﺴﻰ ،اﻟﺨﻠﻘ ﻰ، اﻟﺠ ﺴﺪى/اﻹﺟﺘﻤ ﺎﻋﻰ ،اﻟﺤ ﻀﺎرى( ،وأﻧﻬ ﺎ ﻣﺮﺗﺒِﻄ ﺔ ﺑﺮاﺑﻄ ﺔ اﻹﻳﻤ ﺎن ﺑ ﺎﷲ ،و ُﺗ ﺆﺛﱢﺮ ﺗ ﺄﺛﻴﺮا ﻣﺒﺎﺷ ﺮا ﻋﻠ ﻰ أه ﺪاف اﻟﺘﺮﺑﻴ ﺔ اﻹﺳ ﻼﻣﻴﺔ وﻣﻨﺎهﺠﻬﺎ وأﺳﺎﻟﻴﺐ ﺗﻌﻠﻴﻤﻬﺎ وﺗﻘﻮﻳﻤﻬﺎ.
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APPROVAL PAGE
The dissertation of Shafeeq Hussain Vazhathodi has been approved by the following:
_______________________________ Rosnani Hashim Supervisor
___________________________________ Adnan Abd. Rashid Internal Examiner
____________________________________ Aref Tawfiq Mohd. Al-Attari External Examiner
____________________________________ Nasr Eldin Ibrahim Ahmad Chairman
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DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. I also declare that it is not been previously or concurrently submitted as a whole for any other degrees at International Islamic University Malaysia or other institutions.
Shafeeq Hussain Vazhathodi
Signature ……………………………
Date:………………….
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INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA
DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH
Copyright © 2011 by International Islamic University Malaysia. All rights reserved. A PROPOSED FRAMEWORK FOR THE CURRICULUM OF ISLAMIC EDUCATION: IMPLICATIONS ON THE CURRICULA OF ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN KERALA, INDIA I hereby affirm that the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) holds all rights in the copyright of this work and henceforth any reproduction or use in any form or by means whatsoever is prohibited without the written consent of IIUM. No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
Affirmed by Shafeeq Hussain Vazhathodi
……………………………….
…………………...
Signature
Date
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This study is dedicated to: all those who were involved in assisting me with intellectual guidance and financial help, especially the El-Farouq Foundation, U.K.; to my spiritual guardians and well-wishers in Darul Huda Islamic University; to my beloved parents, brothers and sister; to my beloved wife, Jamshi for her elongated patience and sincere prayers; and to the new member of our family, Aysha Nuha. Praying that the Almighty Allah will accept this contribution and make it an impetus to the revivification of Islamic Education system, Āmīn
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
All the praises to Allah, full of compassion, ever compassionate. Let the grace and honour of Allah be upon the Holy Prophet Muhammad, the best ever murabbī For the successful completion of this work, I owe my gratitude particularly to Prof. Dr. Rosnani Hashim for her sincere assistance in guiding, supervising and advising me. Also, I am grateful to all other members of the dissertation Committee and other academicians at the Institute of Education, International Islamic University Malaysia who instructed me in various courses. I do owe special gratitude to my friends and classmates who assisted me by various forms and means, especially with mental support and prayers during the extended journey of doctoral studies. May Allah, the Almighty render His bounties and blessings on all of them, Āmīn. For the entire shortcoming that remains, the responsibility is mine alone. Allah alone is the Perfect and He knows the best.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract …….………………………………………………..……...….….............. ii Abstract in Arabic ...…………………………………………..………….………... iii Approval Page ...………………………………………………..……...…............... iv Declaration ……...……………………………………………................................. v Copyright Page ..………………………………………………..…………….......... vi Dedication ………….……………………………………………..……………...... vii Acknowledgements …..…………………………………………….……...…......... viii List of Tables ………….……………………………………………..….…………. xii List of Figures ...……….………………………………………………...………… xiii Transliteration Table …..………………………………………………………….. xiv CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY ……………………... 1 Background of the Study …………………………………………………............... 3 Statements of the Problem ……………………………………………..….............. 8 Purpose of the Study ……………………………………………………................. 12 Research Questions …………………………………………………….….............. 13 Significance of the Study ………………………………………………................. 14 Research Methodology ……………………………………………………………. 17 Previous Studies ………………………………………………………................... 20 Islamic Religious Higher Education in India ………………………….............. 23 Organization of the Study …………………………………………….….………... 32 CHAPTER TWO: DEVELOPMENT OF ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS….…...….. 36 Madāris During Muslim Rule ……………………………...……………………... 37 Madāris During the Colonial Times (1757-1947 A.D.) …………………............... 42 Darul Uloom Deoband ……………………………………………………... 43 Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow ………………………….……... 45 Other Educational Institutions During the Colonial Times …………….. 46 South Indian Madāris ……………………………………………………………… 49 The Post-Independence Period ………………………………………….................. 50 Muslims in Kerala …………………………………………………………………. 54 Development of Religious Higher Education in Kerala …………………………... 57 Dars System ………………..…………………………………..…......... 58 Sharī‘ah Colleges ………….…………………………………...…......... 61 Curricula of Islamic Religious Higher Education in India ………………................ 64 Reforms of Madāris Curriculum …….…………………………............. 71 Dualistic System of Education …………………………………............. 75
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CHAPTER THREE: THE THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL ………... 83 The Concept of Reality …………………………………………….……………… 85 Faith Structure ……………………………………………………………... 87 The Concept of Knowledge ……………………………………….......................... 92 Knowledge and Truth ……………………………………………………... 93 The Unity and Integrality of Knowledge …………………………………. 94 Sacredness of Knowledge …………………………………………………. 96 The Scope of Revealed Knowledge ……………………………………….. 96 The Concept of Man ………………………………………………………………. 99 Faculties which Make Knowledge Possible …...…………………………... 102 The Scope of Man’s Knowledge …………………………………………... 104 Man as ‘abd Allah ……………………………………………………......... 106 Man as khalīfat Allah ……………………………………………………… 107 Moral and Social Mission …………………………..………………….. 108 The Concept of Virtue ……………………………………………..……………… 112 The Concept of Life/Civilization (Tamaddun) ……………………………………. 115 Sharī‘ah: Its Aims and Objectives ………………………………………………… 117 Summary …………………………………………………………………............... 122 CHAPTER FOUR: THE FOUNDATIONS AND FRAMEWORK OF ……... 124 The Curriculum Studies …………………………………………………………… 125 Major Foundations of the Curricula of Islamic Education ………………………... 130 The Faith-based Theological Foundations of the Curriculum ….…………. 131 The Knowledge-based Intellectual Foundations of the Curriculum ………. 132 The Value-based Moral Foundations of the Curriculum …………….......... 133 The Man-related Physical/Social Foundations of the Curriculum …............ 134 The Physical World-related Civilizational Foundations ………………..…. 136 Islamic Education’s Fields of Exposition …………………………………………. 138 The Revealed Sciences ……………………………………………….......... 139 The Intermediary Human Sciences ……………………………………….. 141 The Physical and Natural Sciences ………………………………………... 142 Islamic Education’s Pedagogical Focus ………………………............................... 144 Al-Attas’ Curriculum Model …………………………………………......... 148 Rosnani’s Curriculum Model …………………………………………..….. 152 Curriculum Framework for Islamic Education …………………………................. 158 Organization of the Framework ………………………………………........ 160 The Vertical and Horizontal Integrity of the Framework ……………….. 160 The Concept of Religious Leadership …………………………………………….. 169 Summary ………………………………………………………………...………… 179 CHAPTER FIVE: IMPLICATION OF THE CURRICULUM ......................... 180 Islamic Religious Higher Education in Kerala …………………………................. 180 Al-Jamia Al-Nooriya Al-Arabiya (JNA) …………………………………... 185 Al-Jamia al-Islamiya (JI) …………………………………………………... 187 Darul Huda Islamic University (DHIU) …………………………………… 189 Brief Analysis of the IRHE Curriculum in Kerala ………………………………... 194 Implication on Aims and Goals of IRHE ………………………………….. 202
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Implications on the Organization and Content of IRHE Curriculum ……… 209 Organization of the Curriculum ..………………………………….. 210 The Contents of the IRHE Curriculum ……………………………. 212 Methodical and Practical Approaches to the Curriculum Contents .. 213 Implications on the Pedagogy and Methodology of IRHE ……………….. 226 Implications on Evaluation of IRHE ……………………………………..... 234 Summary …………………………………………………………………………... 235 CHAPTER SIX: SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND ..……………... 237 Summary of the Study …………………………………………………………….. 237 General Implications ………………………………………………………………. 244 Recommendations for Future Studies ……………………………………………... 246 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………….... 247 BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………………... 251 APPENDIX I: DARS-I-NIZAMI OF MULLA NIZAMUDDIN SIHĀLWI ….. 274 APPENDIX II: CONNECTION BETWEEN MAN, KNOWLEDGE ...……… 276 APPENDIX III: DISCIPLINES AND SUBJECTS TAUGHT IN ………..…… 277
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LIST OF TABLES
Table No.
Page No.
1.1
Muslim Employees in Government Sector Employment
7
2.1
Major Educational contributions of the Muslim Dynasties in India
39
2.2
Major Types of Islamic Religious Higher Education Institutions
63
2.3
Books taught in Durūs
69
2.4
A Summary of Criticism on Madāris
72
2.5
Islamization of Knowledge: Problems, Consequence and Solutions
79
3.1
The Comprehensive Conception of Man in Islam
101
4.1
Five Approaches to Curriculum
126
4.2
Five Concurrent Curricula
127
4.3
Ralph W. Tyler’s Four Questions
128
4.4
Islamic Sciences
147
4.5
Cursory Schemata of Man, Knowledge and University
149
4.6
Framework for Islamic Education Curriculum
164
5.1
Aims and Goals of Islamic Religious Education at Higher Levels
207
Structure 5.1
Structure to denote to the Vertical and Horizontal Integration
xii
211
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure No.
Page No.
1.1
Map of India
4
2.1
Map of Kerala, India
56
3.1
Immediate Conception of Reality
86
3.2
The Structure of Islamic Worldview
87
3.3
Almighty Allah as the Metaphysical Source and the Uniting 95 Base of all Sciences
3.4
Revelation as the Criteria
3.5
The Holistic Integrative Values-Structure Represented by 113 Sharī‘ah
3.6
Value Structure in the Islamic Worldview
118
3.7
Criteria that Determine the Values
120
3.8
Consonance and Congruity between Theory and Practice
122
4.1
The Conceptual Basis of the Islamic Education
138
4.2
Islamic Education’s Field of Enquiry
144
4.3
The Islamic Education’s Pedagogical Focus
145
4.4
Connection among Man, Knowledge and University
150
4.5
The Curriculum of an Islamic University
153
4.6
The Process of Curriculum Decision Making for Islamic Education
156
4.7
Faith-centered Frame of Islamic Education
162
5.1
Convergence between Five Components and Curriculum Components and Processes
212
5.2
Pedagogical Implication of IRHE Framework
231
97
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TRANSLITERATION TABLE
ء ب ت ث ج ح خ د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط
’ b t th j h kh d dh r z s sh s d t
ظ ع غ ف ق ك ل م ن هـ و ي ا+ ـَـ ي ْ + ـِـ ْو+ ـُـ
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z ‘
Gh F Q K L M n h w y ā ī ū
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY
Ever since the independence of India in 1947, empowerment of the Muslim community in India especially in the educational sector is significant among agendas of various governmental and non-governmental organizations. Then onwards, madāris (sing. madrasah, the traditional institutions of Islamic religious learning) - especially those at the tertiary levels, and the ‘ulamā’ (religious scholars, sing. ‘ālim) reared in them were the spotlight of deliberate calls for the uplift of the Muslim community. The immediate reason why madāris and ‘ulamā’ are the focal point in this debate may be that they are persistently continuing to influence a major part of the Muslim population in India. In the past, the ‘ulamā’ were successful as qudāt (sing. qādī, judges), fuqahā’ (sing. faqīh, jurisprudents), muftī (the juris-consultants) qualified to issue fatāwā (sing. fatwā, legal opinions) and civil servants able to man the administrative cadres of different ruling dynasties. At other times, they were very successful in instituting the ‘bastions of believers’, aimed to safeguard the religious and cultural identity of Muslims and to cater for their social and moral education (alNadvi, 1985; Zaman, 1999; Halstead, 2004; Sikand, 2005). As of contemporary times, they are constantly but strongly being criticized for being narrow-minded, conservative, and fearful of changes. Nevertheless, to a greater degree than any secular or cultural organizations, religious establishments such as mosques, madāris and other local religious bodies enjoy a much greater impact on shaping the mentality of the Muslim masses (Nadvi, 2008; Taludkar, 2010). They are already well established, and they have strong networks in local rural areas. This is
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why, most of those who call for revitalization of Muslim community eye, have one eye on the religious establishments for various reasons. To Taludkar (2010), the best way to spread “the message of worldly education comes through any religious body… [because it will] have much more penetrating effect than a million dollar campaign” (p. 3). He considers Friday sermons and tablīqhī gatherings, for example as potential avenues for this. It is for the same reason, that the present study argues that the ‘ulamā’ coming out of the madāris ought to be moulded as firm, visionary, integrated and holistic personalities and leaders, who are able to guide the community simultaneously in spiritual-moral, intellectual, socio-political and economic spheres (Zaman, 1999). In addition, they are responsible to continue the legacy of the Prophetic mission and they are entrusted to act as exemplars of the Prophets of Allah (PBUT) in guiding the community in every faculties of life as well. According to the prophetic Hadīth, the ‘ulamā’ are the inheritors of the Prophets (PBUT), who have left behind, neither dīnār nor dirham but knowledge (Ahmad, Tirmidhī, Abu Dā’ūd and Ibn Mājah). In short, it is with regard to two specific contexts, that the present work seeks to explore the means of revitalizing the Islamic education system. The first context is the ever-lagging backwardness of the Muslim community in India. The second context is the ascribed responsibility that the ‘ulamā’ should undertake as the harbingers of creative and Prophetic leadership models. It is in this regard, that madāris in India can play a dynamic and creative role in the empowerment of the Muslim community and how specifically the diversity of academic and educational activities can be reoriented and revitalized. In this respect, the Islamic spirit and vigour are very pertinent. What ideal roles the madāris and the ‘ulamā’ arising out of them) should play, are, in themselves, issues of various contentions and discourses among the policy makers,
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scholars and intellectuals in India. While explaining these significant contexts in an elaborate manner, the following part also provides some background information on the education, social, political and economic situations of the Muslim community as well a brief review of their literature.
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY The population of India is heterogeneous, multi-lingual and multi-cultural. The same is true about Muslims, as well as the madāris run by them. Geographically, Muslims in India are scattered and do not belong to one monolithic group. With the exception of Jammu and Kashmir (64%) and the Union Territory of Lakshwadeep, in no state or union territory do Muslims form a majority. More than half of the entire Muslim population lives in four states: Uttar Pradesh (22%), West Bengal (23%), Bihar (14%) and Maharashtra (9%). In Kerala, Muslims form 23% of the population (Prime Minister’s High Level Committee Report, headed by Rajinder Sachar 2006, henceforth mentioned as Sachar Committee Report). The population of other states varies between 3-10 million Muslims. The states where the Muslim population is 5% of the total population, or less are - Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab and Tamil Nadu. Together, Muslims form the largest minority community in the country, constituting 13.4 % of the population, but sadly, they are seriously lagging behind in terms of most development indicators, such as levels of literacy, developments, schooling, education, higher education, health, politics, security and other government level services. The comprehensive Sachar Committee Report published in 2006, underscores this many-a-time proved reality. In marked contrast to ‘the other 900 million Indians’ who have moved ahead, the Muslim community in India still remains
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as the most backward and marginalized community of India (Subash, 2002; Khalidi, 2006; Najiullah, 2006a).
Jammu &Kashmir
Punjab
Himachal Pradesh Uttarakhand
Haryana
Sikkim Arunachal Pradesh
Delhi
Uttar Pradesh
Rajastan
Assam
Bihar Jharkhand
Gujarat Madhya Pradesh
Tripura
Nagaland Manipur
Meghalaya
West Bengal
Mizoram
Chhatisgarh Orissa
Maharshtra
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Dadra & Nagar Haveli Andhra Pradesh
Goa
Lakshadweep
Karnataka
Tamil Nadu Kerala
Figure 1.1: Map of India Source: Drawn, based upon the map provided on the District wide Concentration of the Muslim population in “Social, Economic and Educational status of the Muslim Community of India”: A Report. (New Delhi: Government of India, 2006, p.32).
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The gap between Muslims and ‘All Others’ has widened consistently at the allIndia level and for all states -especially at the higher education levels. At the all-Indialevel, the educational attainment of Muslims worsens in relative terms as community moves from lower to higher levels of school education, especially at both middle and primary levels of education. Whilst overall, 26% of those 17 years and above have completed matriculation; this percentage is only 17% amongst Muslims. Gaps are vast and increasing over time, contrary to the expectation that as the overall educational system improves the disparities will be reduced. In the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Muslims continue to be backward. As a result, Muslims representation is poorer in numbers among the professional positions such as university professorships. Widespread illiteracy, low income, irregular employment implying thereby a high incidence of poverty are rampant among them (Qasmi, 2005; Khalidi, 2006; Najiullah, 2006a; Hamid, 2005). The Sachar Committee analyzed data for the year 2006 on Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) -the most prestigious services and position of power in India- and found the share of Muslims to be respectively only 3%, 1.8% and 4%. As Khalidi (2006) points out, “numerous studies of the social background of IAS officers covering various years show that Muslims represented less than 4% in the total cadre at any time since independence” (p. 45), while the Sachar Committee Report (2006) mentioned that, “in the years 2003 and 2004 only 4.9% of candidates appeared in the written examination of Civil Services which is far below the 13.4 % share of Muslims in the population” (pp. 165-166). The lack of Muslim representation in positions of power, in public employment - in the bureaucracy, police and the judiciary, and so on has been a matter of great concern too. For example, less than 3% of
5
Muslims were members of the 1.5 million strong armed forces at the beginning of the 21st century. The same is true of the Central Paramilitary Forces (Khalidi, 2006, p. 51). According to the Sachar Committee report, the share of Muslims in employment in various departments is abysmally low at all levels. Data pertaining to 8.8 million employees among different government departments, agencies and institutions reveals that only 440,000 (or 5%) are reported to be Muslims. Information on 1.4 million Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) workers shows that Muslims constituted only 3.3% of Central PSUs and 10.8% of the State level PSUs from which data was received (Table 1.1). In addition, their political participation is meagre and the number of their representatives in Parliament and state assemblies is decreasing. As Pandey (1997) puts it, “there were forty six Muslims in the Lokh Sabha (lower house of Parliament) in 1982, a figure which went down to 26 in the 1991 elections; this in turn demeans their influence in the public-policy making of the governments (cited in Kazi, 1999, p. 26). The dismal state of Muslim participation in almost all development spheres of modern India can be ascribed to various historical reasons, such as the British antipathy to Muslims; Muslims’ abhorrence to English education; the memory of bygone superiority; then the partition and the subsequent exodus of Muslim members of communities. Then, after independence, the attitude of the Government and of the majority community, which, instead of preserving the democratic rights of the minorities and ensuring social justice, allowed the state mechanisms, not excluding the courts, continuously to fail in keeping the democratic nature and to fulfil their promises (Hamid, 2004; Qasmi, 2005). These were some external causes. There were many internal problems as well, both at political and religious levels, such as the Muslims’ own backward mentality and absence of creative leadership. They meddled
6
with unclear vision and ambiguity regarding their political and religious identity and their own destiny. Thus they suffered a lot and are continuously suffering from the lack of visionary leadership.
Table 1.1 Muslim Employees in Government Sector Employment Departments/ Institutions Reporting State Level – Departments Railways Banks and RBI Security Agencies* Postal Service Universities** All Reported Government Employment (Excludes PSUs) Central PSUs*** States PSUs All PSUs
Reported Reported No. of number of Employees Muslim Employees 4452851 278385 1418747 64066 680833 15030 1879134 60517 275841 13759 137263 6416
Muslims as Percentage to reported Employees 6.3 4.5 2.2 3.2 5.0 4.7
8844669
438173
4.9
687512 745271 1432783
22387 80661 103048
3.3 10.8 7.2
*CRPF, CISF, BSF, SSB and other agencies; **129 Universities (Central and State) and 84 Colleges; *** Data from 154 PSUs Source: Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India: A Report, (New Delhi: Government of India, 2006), p.186. Undoubtedly, the miserable participation of Muslims in the education sector is the major cause of this dismal state of their backwardness. In addition, this can be remedied only through educational empowerment (Prasad, 1954; Rahim, 1997; Haque, 2000; Ahmadi, 2004, etc.). It is in this regard, the religious figures and establishments such as mosques, madāris and other local religious bodies that persistently continue to enjoy an indelible influence on the religious, cultural social and educational fabric of a major chunk of the Muslim population in India should be
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empowered. This study believes that the proper revitalization of the religious educational establishments, specifically at higher levels certainly is the only the panacea to the education and intellectual inertia of Muslim communities in India.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM “If we analyze the anatomy of the specific revolution in human affairs which the arrival of Islam activated, we shall see that its motivating force or sustaining energy was not political or economic but essentially educational in nature” (Saad, 1986, pp. 78-79 as cited in Hamadi, 2005, p. 4). Conversely, to al-Attas (1999) the basic cause of the political weaknesses and economics backwardness of Muslims in general is the problem of the content of education as well. Many other Muslim intellectuals also have ascribed the present malaise of the Muslim mind and its intellectual paralysis, to its educational institutions (Ashraf, 1985; Hamid, 2004; AbuSulayman, 2009; Kasule, 2007). According to Kasule (2007), the knowledge crisis and thought crisis are major causes of the weakness of the Muslim community. Grave mistakes in setting wrong priorities, and error in the content of knowledge, according to al-Attas (1979) produced false leaders in every spheres of life, religious, spiritual, intellectual, sociopolitical, socio-cultural and others. Therefore, unless Muslims adopt a bold and critical perspective to equip themselves with the appropriate tools of knowledge and thereby identify the root causes of under-development and backwardness, this situation will persist without a proper cure (al-Attas, 1979). The present study has struck at the root of the problem. It investigates how Islamic Religious Higher Education (IRHE) institutions can reinstate the genuine and authentic Islamic spiritual and intellectual tradition. Only a genuine, courageous and visionary leadership trained deeply in religious matters, but simultaneously oriented
8
about the lived reality of the people can successfully provide proper guidance to the Muslim mass in India, concurrently in spiritual, intellectual, socio-political, sociocultural and physical departments of their every day life. Hence, it is vital that both the institutions of Islamic religious higher education and the ‘ulamā’ take the issue of education in most serious manner. According to the prophetic Hadīth, the scholars (‘ulamā’) are the inheritors of the prophets (PBUT) (Ahmad, Tirmidhī, Abu Dā’ūd, Ibn Mājah). They are entrusted to act as exemplars of the Prophets of Allah (PBUT) in guiding the community in every faculty of life, religious and in every other way. Unfortunately, the very vision and mission, the intellectual and academic atmosphere and the curricula of IRHE institutions do not reflect the essence of Islamic ontological, epistemological and axiological world-view and its educational foundations and principles (AbuSulayman, 2009). Their curricula are so limited and have outlived their usefulness. Their pedagogy is isolated from the Islamic world-view and their concept of knowledge has no relations with the contemporary life. That does not ‘help students to understand contemporary social, political, or scientific issues’ (Rosnani, 2004, p. 10). They promote a distorted picture of Islam as al-din as a complete way of life; and thereby wrong results prevail among the Muslims (Daud, 1998). Hence, their graduates are not capable to guide the society properly, in accord with the changing circumstances, especially at intellectual and educational levels. As far as ‘ulamā’ in India are concerned, once they played the role of significant religious, intellectual and socio-political activists. Now they have become stagnant and infertile. During the Muslim rule, they enjoyed royal status as courtly men, largely acting as the link between their Rulers and the Muslim mass, especially in religious matters. However, with the installation of colonial structures by the British in India, the Muslim rule ended. The loss of Muslim rule itself was a serious blow to
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Muslims. It was at this point of time, that the religious leadership in India played a very creative and vital role in safeguarding the Islamic faith of the Muslim masses. They took a systematic recourse in a hostile and unfamiliar environment by instituting a number of madāris throughout the length and breadth of the country. Initially, they introduced new courses with emphasis on study of Hadīth. They adopted the technology of print, used Urdu as the medium of reformist discourses and even followed the administrative structures that the British introduced in their newly built schools. Further they could withstand ‘the serious threat to the Muslim identity and tradition’ posed by the colonial forces. Colonialism, being the by-product of fundamental social, political, intellectual, and technological transformations in the West introduced new ideas, institutions, and forms of knowledge (Zaman, 2002). Thus, ‘ulamā’ not only continued to respond to the challenges of changing times; they also were successful in enhancing their influence, in broadening their audiences and in making significant contributions to public discourses, and even in setting the terms for such discourses. Gradually, their influence among the Muslim masses, especially in forming their public perceptions became undeniable.
The
Colonial regime, cautioned by the mass influence of the ‘ulamā’, vigorously sought to circumscribe their influence and curtailed financial support for the institutions of religious learning. They instituted various mechanisms to dismantle its stronghold among the Muslim masses. Thus, the initial vigour and interest started to fade away, and the institutions which the ‘ulamā’ fostered, performed a kind of turning away from the issues such as the organization of state and society, and concerned themselves with the moral qualities of individual Muslims - an emphasis on the reform of the believer as an individual. It is in this regard that the madāris and the ‘ulamā’ in post-colonial India
10
became stagnant and infertile. Although, the number of madāris grew every year, the ‘ulamā’ did not mature as the representatives par excellence of a religious tradition. They read and re-read the classical texts. All ‘their glossaries and commentaries on the text’ became ‘essentially anachronistic in the modern world’. Whatever new issue emerged - to them, it just merited the response of only issuing a fatwa from time to time (Zaman, 2002, p. 4). They remained aloof from practical and real affairs that confused the Muslim communities on an every-day basis. They could never guide them nor provide a solution. For last 60 years since Independence of India, the situation has remained as such and the madāris have just kept themselves insulated from the mainstream issues in the country. This study believes that preparing the ‘ulamā’ to take up creative spiritual, intellectual and socio-cultural leadership roles is much needed, if an uplift of the Muslim community in India is desired. Furthermore, the study upholds that if the ‘ulamā’ are trained and educated to shoulder ‘the legacy of Holy Prophets of Islam’ (PBUT), they would, for certain, be able to rise up once again, to revitalize the Muslim community, and recapture the glory of Islam. Correct interpretation of Divine Wisdom, which is made at the adult level of education, was the primary target of the mission of all the Prophets (Daud, 1998, p. 169). This is proved by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)’s rigorous personal concern about future scholars of Islam in the School of Bench (As’hāb al-Suffah). They were deeply immersed in “studying and memorizing the Holy Qur’an and Hadīth, spending most of their time in mediation and worship, following the Prophet (PBUH) during the day wherever he went in order to observe what he did and said, so as to record his traditions” (Acikgenc, 1996, p. 83). According to Acikgenc (1996), ‘the main purpose of establishing the Suffah was to preserve the intellectual heritage
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of Islam… [and] as a centre of learning’ (pp. 83-84). This exemplifies why, traditionally various Muslim societies gave serious attention to and emphasis upon Islamic religious higher education as one prime area of focus. It continued to be the preoccupation of Muslim rulers, thinkers and sages throughout the ages, until the impact of modernity where more emphasis was given to the mere utilitarian concerns than to the revitalization of the spiritual and intellectual tradition of Islam. The study, therefore, stands to confirm that, if the intents, contents, pedagogy and evaluation methods of the institutions of Islamic Religious Higher Education (IRHE) are aligned as per the Islamic epistemological and metaphysical Worldview, as it was once established by the Holy Prophet (PBUH), the IRHE institutions would be able to maximize their educational efficiency and excellence. Consequently, they would be capable to produce firm, genuine and veritable leaders with holistic and integrated vision.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The main purpose of the study is to explore into means of revitalizing the Islamic religious higher education (IRHE) system. Such an endeavour mandates that the intents, contents, pedagogy and evaluation methods practised in the IRH educational system be founded upon the conceptual and theoretical foundations of Islamic Worldview. Only then, the system can be reformed, the curriculum and its various components re-organized, the overall educational atmosphere enlivened and ultimately the leadership role of religious-scientists at intellectual and spiritual levels is restored. In other words, firstly, the study aims to explore into the theological and metaphysical concepts concerning reality, knowledge, virtue, man and his destiny that occupy a prominent place in the Islamic Worldview. In order to establish the validity
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of these concepts, they are further elaborated in the light of key principles as well as the objectives of the Sharī‘ah. Secondly, the study aims to analyze the relationship of the theological and metaphysical concepts of the Islamic education curriculum, its major foundations, fields of exposition as well as its pedagogical and evaluation focus. Accordingly, the study intends to propose a ‘basic’ model on the IRHE curriculum framework. Thirdly, in the light of these deliberations, the study aims to appraise briefly the intrinsic worth, meaning and coherence of various subjects taught in IRHE institutions in the South-Western state of Kerala, India. This exercise is essential, because, it provides some background information to the process of investigating the implications and the framework of the intents, curriculum, pedagogy and evaluation practices in the IRHE institutions of Kerala, both at the theoretical and practical levels. This, in turn, would also prove why the curricula of Islamic Religious Higher education should encompass a wide variety of issues and topics, relating to the present reality and taking into account issues, challenges and prospects of the overall Muslim community in contemporary India. In that sense, the study departs from the conventional method of evaluating the curriculum of institutions based on the vision and perspective of their founding fathers, or comparing the curriculum of one particular institution with others.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS The questions addressed by the study are 1.
What are the theoretical and conceptual foundations of IRHE?
2.
How do these foundations apply to the curriculum of IRHE?
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3.
What will be the implications of these foundations on IRHE Institutions in Kerala with respect to (a) aims and objectives; (b) curriculum structure and content; (c) teaching-learning activities; and (d) methods of evaluation?
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The significance of the present study stands on its contribution, to the ongoing discussions, primarily, on reformation, revitalization and reorganization of the madāris and their curricula throughout India in general. The study would inform them that only by re-invigorating the Islamic fervour and vision into their curriculum and overall academic environment, that once again they would be able to mould veritable and visionary leaders who, in turn, would be capable to uplift the Muslim communities of India both in the spiritual and intellectual domains. A Muslim is commanded to constantly evaluate every aspect of his life, his abilities, points of weakness and strength in line with the ‘revealed’ guidance (muhāsabah). With the same vigour, any and every endeavour by Muslims, especially at social, cultural and political levels should be appraised for their conformity with the ‘revealed’ truths. The role of education in this regard, is of paramount importance and impinges significantly upon any other endeavours. The curriculum, on the other hand, is the core of the education system. Therefore, inevitably the curriculum of Islamic religious education should confirm and really partake to strengthen the elements of faith. On the contrary, it would promote self-negating, sectarian and bullying attitude towards faith and human well-being. Additionally, the study significantly contributes to the discussion on Islamization of knowledge, especially the Islamization of education. The author of this
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study believes that emergence of a systematic educational tradition is possible only within the spiritual and intellectual dynamism which demands revival of authenticity and originality within these two domains. Therefore, the demands that the basic model for IRHE curriculum framework proposed by the study further developed through a collective of Muslim educationists, subject-specialists, traditional scholars and curricularists that it would present a blue-print and roadmap for every endeavour in Islamic education. It is in this regard the study calls to IRHE to mould a community of ‘religious scientists’, who would focus on integration of the moral and the intellectual ideals, which enabled the early Muslims to be very successful to establish themselves in a very short time (Acikgenc, 2003). All the while, discussion on Islamization focussed on moulding the contemporary and modern human and natural sciences within the Islamic purview. Therefore, the study stands on the realization of Ashraf (1992) that “there is still an urgent need for constructing the detailed relationship between religious philosophy of education and educational planning, and for detailed design of the required steps to produce educational curricula based on faith and which are fit for practical application in Muslim and in non-Muslim countries” (p. 74). Although this urgent demand was deeply felt and various means were proposed, discussion on the Islamic Religious education per se largely remained on the margin. There were no serious deliberations on how the Holy Qur’an, Hadīth, and other subjects related to religious rituals and obligations should be taught, not just for their intrinsic worth but also for their practical implications. The usual practice is that they are taught just because they were inherently considered as essential components of the Islamic education tradition. Such a stand contributed to what is found in most of the madāris in India being glued to a ‘rigid’ and antiquated means and methods of imparting religious education. By
15
proposing such a basic framework, this study invites further discussions on the scope and range of the Islamic religious education at various primary, secondary, graduate and mastery levels, their aims, means and methods, from an applied and practical point of view. In short, the significance of this study lies in its specific endeavour to: (a) elaborate the theoretical and conceptual foundation of Islamic Worldview and relate it to Islamic religious education; (b) propose a basic model for IRHE curriculum framework; and (c) subsequently explore the implication of the framework on the aims and goals, contents, pedagogy and evaluation methods of IRHE institutions in Kerala. It is hoped that this would be radical step forward from the conventional trend of just analysing curriculum with each other or with regard to the ambitions of its founding fathers or funding organization. It is also believed that such a framework, if properly developed, would encourage the authorities behind the madāris to selfexamine what ought to be the purpose of the IRHE curricula and thereby relate them to contemporary contexts and also, how the contents ought to be designed, developed and implemented. This would also clarify to them how their prevalent educational policies are at odds with the veritable visions of Islamic Religious higher education. In addition, this would also help them to screen various suggestions made in the contexts of mounting pressures to reform the curriculum from both internal and external circles. The study thus, hopes, that madāris could once again regain the lost grounds and mould able visionaries eligible to take up the legacy of the Holy Prophets of Allah (PBUT) to preach Islam with ‘wisdom’ and excellent counsels.
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY In essence, all the questions posed in the study are approached from a philosophical and analytical perspective. A philosophical analysis, first, helps clarify the concepts, their inherent meaning, and latent assumptions related to them (Hales, 2002), whereas analytical methods would help to elucidate the ‘meaning of various concepts, ideas or units of thought that are employed in understanding… by showing their relationship to the network of other concepts’ (Hirst & White, 1998b, p. 2). Analytical philosophy helps to put every concept into one whole and accordingly to disclose the relationship between them. It is ‘a comprehensive approach of considering concepts in their wholeness… [It is a means of] evaluation that sheds light on a presumed problem without necessarily being atomistic in its conclusion (Hales, 2002, p. 12). The first method is used to analyze the first question. This question aims to understand and interpret the essential elements of Islamic ontological, epistemological and metaphysical Worldview. Respectively they explore ideas related to reality, knowledge and virtue and “these are ‘very fundamental’ when formulating the aims of education and the function of education as an institution” (Butler, 1968, p. 486). That is, clarification of essential concepts, principles and key terms from Islamic perspective is a very significant step in the study. It is when relating them to the Islamic doctrine as well as Islamic education at higher levels that the second method is used. In short, the study is more philosophical or theoretical in tones. However, with regard to the third question, the other two methods briefly used in the study are historical analysis and analytical curriculum criticism. “Historical analysis”, according to Marshall and Rossman (1995), “is… a method of discovering from record and accounts, what happened in the past” (p. 89). Various historical documents such
17
souvenirs, records, diaries, special publications, constitutional documents and newspaper reports, history books and encyclopaedias were to collect such historical information, but at a minimal level. This does not conform as the major intention of the study. On the other hand, the analytical curriculum research, which is a qualitative mode of research, relates curriculum materials to their social context and discloses their meaning (Eraut, 1990). With regard to curriculum of IRHE, it is the theoretical and conceptual foundations of Islamic Worldview that places it within a context and provides it the necessary meaning. These foundations, in turn, should be grouped together to build a framework. According to Posner (1992), such a framework is necessary, while analyzing any curriculum. The study, therefore, proposes a method of knitting these foundations together to form a basic framework and uses it to explore into the curricula of IRHE institutions in Kerala. The study has selected the institutions of Islamic religious higher learning in Kerala for appraisal, for several practical reasons. First, India is big a country and the number of madāris runs in to thousands. Second, almost all research studies on the Islamic traditional institutions have ignored madāris in Kerala. Their focus was mostly on Northern Indian states, more specifically Uttar Pradesh where many of the oldest traditional institutions are situated. Then, as far as the history of arrival of Islam and the subsequent establishment of Islamic religious education institutions is, concerned Kerala has a separate identity from that of the North of India. Thus, Kerala presents a considerable contrast to its counterparts elsewhere in India with the highest literacy rate in India and the presence of a larger number of religious higher education institutions of various hybrids. Lastly, it is almost impossible to cover all madāris in
18
India and to study all their curricula, whereas it is convenient for the researcher to study madāris in Kerala for he hails from there. Since there are hundreds of IRHE institutions in Kerala, the study has chosen only three among them. They are (a) Al-Jamia Al-Nooriya Al-Arabiyya, Pattikkad, Malappuram (b) Al-Jamia Al-Islamiya, Santapuram, Malappuram and (c) Darul Huda Islamic University, Chemmad, Malappuram. They represent most of the mainstream institutions that provide specialized education in the Islamic religious sciences at higher level. The key term ‘Islamic Religious Higher Education’ used in the study refers to “those sciences based on the Prophet (PBUH)’s traditions and the Qur’an…” (Rosnani, 2007, p. 93). By selecting and studying them, a comparative analysis is also made possible, for they follow different approaches and have emerged in different ages and in dissimilar situations and contexts. Relevant sources, both primary and secondary are utilized during this exercise. Although the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) -which definitely define the role of such an education and of the ‘ulamā’- are identified as primary sources, their directives are not strictly related to education, higher education, and least of all to curriculum. Therefore, it is very difficult to draw a structure or specific model per se from them. Hence, the study had to depend on secondary sources both classical and modern. Various works of the early classical Muslim intellectuals, Al-Ghazzali (10581111 A.D.), Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406 A.D.), and Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938 A.D.) were referred to at different points. Recent works of Syed Muhammad Naquib alAttas (1979,1985, 1989, 1999), Abdur Rahman Salih Abdullah (1982), Wan Mohammad Nor Wan Daud (1989, 1998), Rosnani Hashim (1996, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008), Hamadi Dhaou (2005), Osman Bakar (1991), Alparsalan Açikgenç
19
(1996, 2003), and other Arabic works of Majid Irsan al-Kilani (1987), Ali Ahmad Madkour (2002) and others also are extensively used at various points. Mostly, these works were used in the course of developing the conceptual and theoretical foundations for IRHE. Other works related to the history of madāris education in India, such as souvenirs, special publications, and secondary sources like reports in news-papers, history books and encyclopaedias were all utilized, but at a minimal level. They were useful to get some general ideas related to the list of courses, methods of teaching and learning, and system of organization of various sciences. They also provided some background information on the cultural, spiritual, and historical environments of the tradition of Islamic education. Since the study explores the implication of the theoretical and conceptual foundation on the curricula of IRHE, it should be seen as a continuum of discussion on Islamizing the educational systems in the Muslim world. Hence, materials, resolutions, memoranda and recommendations of six World Conferences on Muslim Education were also taken into account during different stage of the study, for they constitute the collective wisdom of enlightened and committed Muslim scholars and intellectuals from all over the world (World Centre for Islamic Education, 1983). Various papers presented in another conference held on the title ‘Towards the Construction of a Contemporary Islamic Educational Theory’ in 1990 in Amman, Jordan (Fathi Malkawi, 1990) were also reviewed while preparing the theoretical and conceptual structure as well as the curriculum framework for the IRHE.
PREVIOUS STUDIES Many Muslim scholars have advanced the relevance of Islam to the discipline of education (al-Attas, 1979; Langgulung, 1988; al-Farhan, 1979; Ashraf, 1979, 1985;
20
Rosnani, 1998, 2007; Hamadi, 2005). Such works discuss the foundations of Islamic education, its philosophy and the aims mostly in a general manner. They do not specifically discuss on how various key elements and concepts relate to the curricula of Islamic education, more particularly, to the curriculum foundations, and principles. The same is true about studies conducted by various scholars such as A.H. Totah (1926); Fahmy (1937); Ahmad Shalaby (1954); Mehdi Nakosteen (1964); A.L. Tibawi (1957, 1979a, 1979b); Franz Rosenthal (1970, 1990); George Makdisi (1981) and Charles Michael Stanton (1990, 1987) and others. However, with regard to the contents of the curriculum, much information can be gauged from the first set of discussions, and, to a lesser extent, from the second set. Again, the scholars in the first set are not reviewed here for a variety of their ideas find their place appropriately within various discussions, as they become identified as being primary or secondary references for the study. The same rule applies to various conference materials as well (A Conference towards the Construction of a Contemporary Islamic Educational Theory, 1991). Meanwhile, the second set do give some information about IRHE, their focus is mainly on presenting descriptive information on how Islamic education system developed from kuttāb and maktab to halqah, to mosque-colleges, to madāris, to dār, etc. In The Rise of Colleges: Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West, the focus of George Makdisi (1981) was on studying the similarities, in organization, and financial aspects between madāris with the Western colleges, and on the ‘ulamā’s role in the perspective of institutional setup. While doing this he has provided a brief discussion about various subjects; the teaching and learning methods used in the earliest educational setups such as h?alqah (pl. h?alaqāt, study circle) to prepare the ‘ulamā’. Stanton (1998), on the other hand, has written specifically in the context of
21
Religious Higher learning in Islam, but from a historical, not theoretical or conceptual perspective. Both Makdisi and Stanton identify halqah as the earliest avenue, which was meant for mass education, which later was transformed as a ‘professional chair…’ lead by ‘the head of a Guild of Masters…’ (Makdisi, 1981, p. 14, 17). Stanton (1987), thus, identifies two types of halaqāt one that served for those who pursued the religious sciences at an advanced level, and another that served only for those who specialized in the study of jurisprudence according to one of the four major schools of law. The main function halaqah was interpreting the legal aspects of the Holy Qur’an and Hadīth. They also point out that, in those times, ‘the knowledge of Islamic law’ was prime criteria for leadership of scholars (Makdisi, 1981, p. 7). Sciences other than law, such as Hadīth, exegesis, legal theory, Arabic literature and grammar were studied only as ancillaries to the study of Islamic law. Even with regard to Islamic law, mostly they concentrated on a specific school of law.
For example, the
Nizāmiyyah madāris - built and maintained by Vizier Nizam al-Mulk Hassan bin AlTusi, the Persian vizier of the Seljuk Sultans, Alp Arsalan and Malikshah -particularly focused on the study of the Shafi‘ite and the Ash‘arite system, where the Qur’an and old poetry formed the backbone of the study of the humanities (‘ilm-al adab) (p.5). According to Stanton (1987), by the establishment of al-Mustansiriyyah -a multi-structured institution, which bore the name of its founder Caliph al-Mustansir, this situation changed, but for a short while. Al-Mustansiriyyah included four colleges of law, each representing one of the four Sunni schools of thought. Subsequently, according to him, gradually, the small institution with a single Shaikh gave way in some cities to larger, more complex institutions of higher learning.
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However, institutions of Muslim Higher learning existed elsewhere during the time which provided education in other fields as well. The University of Cordova in the principal mosque of Abdur Rahman III, according to Hitti (1953), was one such madrasah. The Umayyad Ruler al-Hakkam built it (cited in Alavi, 1988). It had various departments to teach disciplines of Astronomy, Mathematics, Medicine, Theology and Law (p. 6). Then, according to Makdisi (1981), in the later centuries, there were many other institutions like Dār al-H?adīth, Dār al-Qur’ān that gave specialized education and training (p. 10). In short, these types of works mostly provide a historical analysis of institutions of higher learning among Muslims. Since the elaboration of various teaching methods used in these early establishments are found elsewhere in the present study, they are therefore not mentioned here. The following section provides a brief review of historical and descriptive literature in India, because the study is basically related to IRHE institution in India.
Islamic Religious Education in India With regard to IRHE in India, many general studies provide a historical account of Islamic Education in India. Although such works provide brief account of various subjects taught in the madāris, and in certain instances about methods of teaching and learning and educational atmosphere, with regard to the educational philosophy, curriculum organization and structure they are almost silent. How at most, they relate their discussion to Islam is just by mentioning the importance which Islam assigns to knowledge acquisition and the salient features and characteristic of notions of education in Islam. When reviewing various scholarly articles, books, theses and reports about madāris in India, at the outset, it should be borne in mind that there are thousands of
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madāris, big and small, spread all over India. According to Qamaruddin (1994), there are “twenty - to thirty thousand” madāris in India (p. 1). That might be a bit of exaggeration, unless the number includes any institution providing for religious education from primary level Qur’anic schools to the higher religious seminaries. This is proven to be true, as Qamaruddin himself indicates that, out of a total number of 576 madāris he surveyed, a total of “537 are secondary level madrasas and 39 are Jamias i.e. madrasas imparting higher education” (p.1). This means, the huge figure of thirty thousands include all types of Islamic religious education institutions. In Kerala itself, one among many Islamic religious organizations, runs more than 8,000 thousand primary madāris under its Central Education Board (Zubair, 2005). Whereas, if an estimate of institutions providing higher Islamic religious education by various Islamic organizations in Kerala is calculated, it might number above 200. What makes this review most cumbersome is that the literature and academic works that describe these madāris in the whole of India also add up to many hundreds. Recently, this trend of studying madāris rather than criticizing them on various points is a common academic practice; and scores of books and articles of mild, poor and excellent quality are authored and continuously being written. In his blog on Madrasa reforms (http://madrasareforms.blogspot.com), Yogindar Sikand provides a brief review of more than 40 works, besides texts of many interviews he conducted with an impressive list of scholars, intellectuals and students from various parts of India. Further, the blog is full of articles written by him and other works he translated. Together they present very extensive information on various types of madāris, their history, curriculum, their stands on reform, inter-faith dialogue, inter-sectarian rivalry among Muslims, the Muslim leadership crisis, the elitist mentality and many other topics of related to education. In a general manner, they also hint at the contributions
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of madāris to the Indian Muslims and their stance to the modern western sciences, mainstream education and other myriad of problems in the religious, cultural, political, educational spheres as well. Then there are many other works which trace the history of madāris based on their existence during the Muslims rulers’ time, during the time of the British occupation and after independence (Sufi, 1981; Metcalf, 1982; Ahmad, 1985; Nadwi and Sayed, 1985; Durrani, 1986; Khan, 1986, 1990; Hashimi, 1989; Siddiqui, 1995; Ansari, 1997; Khan, 2004; Khan, Saqib & Anjum, 2006; Sikand, 2004, 2005, 2006; Noor, 2005, etc). Another major issue with regard to the literature on madāris is that, most of the scholarly researches on traditional Islamic education focus only on the madāris in the Northern Indian states, more specifically in Uttar Pradesh where many of the oldest traditional institutions are situated. They all use qualitative descriptive methods, except a few like Ansari (1997) -who studied it from the perspective of students through a questionnaire distributed to madrasah students, and Qamaruddin (1994), and who did an all-India survey of these madāris. Furthermore, they do it from an historical perspective thus lacking a theoretical and socio-cultural perspective. In fact, all these works raise the question of effectiveness of the education system that prevailed or remains in the madāris only in a very general manner. None of them specifically focuses on the theme of ‘Islamic religious higher education’ per se. Again, there is hardly any study explaining the curriculum and methods of teaching in an elaborative manner. What they provide at most, regarding these aspects, is list of books categorized under different subjects and brief description of the desired course of action related to different subjects. This is especially true about G.M.D. Sufi’s (1981) work, Al-Minhāj: The Evolution of Curriculum in the Muslim Educational Institutions of Indo-Pakistan Sub-continent.
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The Indian writers identified above, hardly provide anything about the development of IRHE in Kerala, although, Muslims in Kerala have never been behind in offering Religious education to their children. According to Sikand (2003), Kerala presents a considerable contrast to its counterparts elsewhere in India, for Muslims in Kerala are well educated and Kerala is known for presence of a network of both traditional and ‘reformed’ madāris. Many articles about traditional education are found in various local publications, but hardly could they be described as scholarly works. Even then, no substantial studies on the Muslim traditional education system, especially focusing on religious higher education institutions are found, if cultural and historical representations on the Muslims in the Kerala which have been approached by a few such Miller, 1973; Zubair, 2005; Sikand, 2005 are exempted. Qasimi (2000) on the other hand, has written about Muslims of Kerala and listed all major institutions of religious learning, about their student strength, management and the bodies under which these institutions are running, but providing hardly anything about the curricula. Roland Eric Miller (1974) undertook an in-depth study on Islamic trend in south-west Indian Muslims, who were at that time popularly known as Mappilas. He discusses the madāris in Kerala in chapter four of his work, on political, social, economic and educational issues facing the Mappilas Muslims community from a historical point of view. He touches briefly on the subject of the traditional religious education institutions, both at fundamental and higher levels. He points out various criticisms that these system had faced and to calls for reformation and modernization from various quarters of the society. According to Miller (1974), the criticisms were mainly against the formal turnabout of Muslim religious scholars on issues of concerns to the Muslim mass, and their failure even to deal effectively with the sacred
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principles of Islam. Muslim religious scholars saw themselves as mere transmitters of past knowledge, not as providers of creative solutions to various socio-cultural and socio-economic issues. According to him, they failed to guide the Muslim community when they were embroiled in rapid changes happening around them, and were looking desperately to the religious scholars for an insight to change Islamically. He further notices that the tendency of criticism that was growing among the educated class and youth from the 1950’s until 70’s, as they were looking ‘for men of integrity, who combined the deep and wide knowledge of religion with an understanding of the contemporary world and its problems’ (pp. 370-373). By the turn of the 20th century, a realization was dawning on the leaders of the community that the traditional opposition to secular education had placed the Mappilas in an impossible situation. The modernist leaders further thought that the traditional group was further responsible for blocking their progress, retarding the community economically and creating a ‘public image and private mentality of backwardness’ (Miller, 1976, p. 206). In response, various modernist movements were initiated among the ranks of Muslims in Kerala. They championed modernist interpretations of Islam and set up institutions that combined both traditional Islam as well. They went for a radical overhaul of the traditional system of religious education. Several of these organizations, set up in the pre-1947 period, still exist today, running literally thousands of madrasas-cumschools in the state. As Zubair (2005) notes, religious scholars who follow the tradition of Islam so closely, were indifferent to the approach of Muslim modernists to the total overhauling of the traditional system of Islamic education. Nevertheless, their stance was not total negation of the mainstream education system. They played proactive roles in response to the emergence of new Muslim religious organizations.
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Selectively and cautiously, they actually facilitated it. Zubair (2005) in a recent study on ‘Development and Modernisation of Religious Education in Kerala: The Role of the Samastha Kerala Jameyyat ul-Ulama (All Kerala Scholars’ Association)’, discusses the contribution of this group of scholars in general fashion. He challenges the general notions that the traditionalist ‘ulamā’ are necessarily and wholly opposed to ‘modernity’. Zubair (2005) notes that far from being wholly opposed to change, the traditionalist ‘ulamā’ are responding creatively to the demands of modernity by attempting to fashion their own Islamic version of it. According to Miller (1976), “their attitude was one of gradualist approach and cautious compromise, as opposed to submission and hostility” (p. 303). The ‘ulamā’s readiness to accept some of the forms of modernity, but ignoring its spirit, led to events like the birth of Farook College, near Feroke, Calicut in 1948, the formation of Muslim Education Association (MES) in 1964, and gradual dissemination of modern modes of education among Muslims. Although, a multi-faceted change gradually gripped all sectors of the Muslim community, the traditional system of religious higher education continued in its old style without any change. Furthermore, the idea of ‘integration of Islamic and modern sciences’ especially in those madāris which cater for Islamic religious higher education was not favourably received by the traditional Muslim scholars. As a result, “most of the experiments to integrate both religious and secular streams of education were limited to primary levels” (Zubair. 2005, p. 8). Even this was done in a superficial manner, because, firstly, the lack of a well-defined philosophy that would clearly guide the organization, aims, content and curriculum of Islamic education was deeply felt. Secondly, there were no details on each subject in a book form. Thirdly, a lot of confusion lingered on what to include or exclude from the curriculum.
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In short, various limitations and deficiencies of madāris ascribed by various writers can be summarized as follows: a limited curriculum, lacking education in modern sciences and modem languages as well as any understanding of different cultures, closed against any influences from the outside, more interested in 'the other within' rather than integration into the outside world (Jan-Peter and Hartung, 2006). Because of these limitations, according to Jan-Peter and Hartung (2006), “although many representatives of madrasa institutions are open to and interested in dialogue with outsiders, they are able to dialogue on the same level because they lack any secular understanding of religion, which dominates most discourses in the West” (p. 11). Although various measures such as modernization, reformation, integration, and Islamization were put forward as strategies in order to, support madāris to open up to the challenges of the 21st century, many Muslim scholars and educationist are of the view that, no accepted theory of Islamic education has yet been formed (Abdullah, Rosnani, 1996; Daud, 1989, 1998; Roald, Delic, 2001). By presenting conceptual and theoretical foundations and moulding a systematic framework based on those foundations, this study hopes to start with a ‘look-to-within’ approach. This is further necessary if we are serious about producing a group of ‘able, courageous and visionary intellectuals and scholars in all fields’ (Rahman, 1988; Acikgenc, 1996). The emergence of such a group, rather than reinvigoration of an intellectual, ‘scientific’ tradition based on the Islamic epistemological and metaphysical framework is of utmost necessity (Acikgenc, 1996; Al-Attas, 1979). In the context of growing concerns about falling moral standards, others stress so much the importance of moral education (Delic, 2001; Abderrahman, 2008, e.t.c). However, this study believes that any significant place given to moral education would tend to fail, if it is not well founded with a worldview, which on the
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other hand should give all the weight to the core structure of faith. Nevertheless, faith in itself will not do the job. Faith should be instilled in such a way that it should inspire and motivate students to act accordingly. The faith should give rationale for every activity in which they are engaged. This necessitates a thorough and in-depth knowledge of various elements of the faith structure. Therefore, knowledge becomes the second fundamental structure. This study explores all the five fundamental structures of Islamic worldview in order to provide a structural framework for curricula of Islamic religious higher education. Confusion regarding the aims, content and curriculum structure of education at higher level in general, despite various efforts of many Muslim intellectuals and educators to define them, can be attributed to the absence of such a structure. This is portrayed well in the words of Osman Bakar (2009), It would not be possible to achieve an actual Islamization of the sciences until we have addressed the issue of the foundational premises and we have put in place, in each discipline, premises that are explicitly formulated and stated in the light of Islamic teachings (p. 13). It was only in the recent time, after the kick-start of Islamization of Knowledge project, at least some books and surveys on the present day institutions providing Islamic education started to come into light. Few works in this category, take the theory, philosophy and definition of Islamic education, its aims and contents at different levels into serious consideration. This is especially true about the literature that came out of various International Conferences on Muslim education. Some others analyze their implication for the contemporary educational, intellectual and spiritual realms. Many works and articles by Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas (1979,1985, 1989, 1999), Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud (1989, 1998), Rosnani Hashim (1998, 2004, 2006), Hamadi Dhaou (2005), Osman Bakar (1991), Alparsalan Acikgenc (1996,
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2003) and a few others, provide an alternative perspective about these issues. Therefore, their ideas have been appropriated accordingly, while developing this structural curriculum framework for Islamic Religious Higher Education, in chapter five, and exploring the conceptual foundations and principles based on Islamic epistemological and metaphysical scheme, in chapter four. Therefore, their works are not reviewed here, in order to avoid repetition. However, Hamadi (2005)’s work demand a special mention here. Hamadi (2005)’s doctoral dissertation titled, ‘analysis and evaluation of the Islamabad curriculum design (ICD): Implication to educational theory and practice in the Muslim world’ is another work which took some issues relevant to Islamic educational framework, philosophy, curriculum, its aims and organization into some clear deliberations. His focal concern while undertaking the study is appraisal of the ICD’s ability to deliver its intended aims. In the pursuit of this aim, he explores whether various components of the curricula are internally coherent, whether they are capable to deliver outcomes specified in its aims and objectives, or whether they require any modification at the levels of design, organization and implementation. Most importantly, he explores to what extent ICD can serve as a final curriculum construct or model from an Islamic environment. He also proposes a faith-centred curriculum model and elaborates on its theological, philosophical and curriculum organizational assumptions. Obviously, Hamadi (2005) was not particularly interested in IRHE curriculum per se. Nevertheless, his ‘Islamic curriculum model’ based on ‘the theory of faith’ and his analysis of ‘the human portrait’ and ‘the human outcome’ based upon the theological and philosophical foundations of Islamic Worldview adds much to the present study’s discussion on structural curriculum framework for IRHE. Hamadi
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(2005) also appraises various models and approaches to curriculum development, such as objective-oriented, subject-oriented, and learner-oriented. Looking at the educational experience in its totality, Islamic education curriculum has certain elements of these orientations, but essentially, it is a faith-centred process-oriented curriculum. According to Hamadi (2005), the basic principles related to the content, design, organization, implementation and evaluations of an Islamic curriculum model evolve around the axis of the theory of faith. Hence, various ideas presented by Hamadi will be reviewed accordingly at appropriate places, especially while deliberating on faith as the core structure of Islamic curriculum framework. The present study, in that case is a follow-up to his works, however with different scope and intents. Since his main aim was to appraise ICD, he was not supposed to study and analyze curricula at each education level, primary, secondary, higher secondary, pre-university, undergraduate, postgraduate and even post-doctoral levels separately. The present study, on the other hand, differs in its scope from Hamadi’s (2005) dissertation for it focuses on curricula of Islamic Religious Higher Education Seminaries. The present study, however, genuinely applauds Hamadi’s (2005) contribution to wealth of knowledge of the designers of curriculum for Islamic education. His study, indeed, requires to be discoursed among Muslim educationalists at the least.
ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY This study is organized in six chapters. The first chapter introduces the study and sets its background. It provides a general background of the study and encloses the research problem, purpose, questions, methods, and the primary and secondary sources and a brief literature review. The literature review summarizes the traditions
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of IRHE system, focusing on the general nature of their educational activities, curriculum and various methods of delivery and instruction. It also presents a summary of various attempts in the past to revitalize IRHE system such as reform of madāris curriculum, modernization of Islamic education, and Islamization of Education. The second chapter provides details on how Islamic Religious Higher Education and its curriculum have evolved in Kerala. In order to set a background to this, the chapter provides a brief historical account of IRHE institutions in India in general and Kerala in specific. However, the main intention of the chapter is tracing the evolution of curricula, not as reform movements as such. Therefore, the history of various educational organizations, Muslim visionaries and their reform attempts are explored only briefly. History of Islamic religious education at primary and secondary levels, therefore, is not specifically part of the chapter. Chapter Three explores various key concepts and principles, which form the theoretical and conceptual foundations of an ideal IRHE system. In the endeavour, it explores the conception of reality, conception of knowledge, concept of man, and conception of values and their inter-related nature from the Islamic epistemological and metaphysical Worldview. Then it explores how these conceptions are unified as one architectonic whole within the macrocosm of Islam as dīn (a comprehensive way of life), Sharī‘ah (order and code of conduct of human endeavours), and how they influence the structure and maqāsid al-Sharī‘ah (principles and objectives of Sharī‘ah). Lastly, the chapter presents five dimensional theoretical and conceptual foundations of Islamic Religious Education and explores how they relate to IRHE. Meanwhile, a succinct description about ‘ulamā’, their supposed role and the place of their leadership in the past and the contemporary setting also are made.
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Chapter Four relates various deliberations in chapter three to the Islamic education, its major foundations, fields of exposition as well as its pedagogical focus. The chapter thus aims to determine the distinctive attributes, correct parameters and defining criteria of the ideal curricula for Islamic religious higher learning. Then, it depends on these elaborations as well as various other expositions made by Muslim educationists and scholars coherently to propose a basic model for IRHE curriculum framework. Lastly, the chapter identifies the roles that Muslim intellectuals and educationists, especially the Sharī‘ah Scholars as religious scientists should take on their shoulder in further developing the basic model into a ‘perfected’ curriculum framework. The chapter also justifies the call for moulding of a group of dynamic and visionary leaders able to shoulder the legacy of Holy Prophets of Islam (PBUT) and recapture the glory of Islam for the well-being of whole humankind. Chapter Five looks into the implications of the proposed IRHE curriculum framework on institutions providing Islamic religious higher education in Kerala. It analyzes various implications at theoretical and practical levels and aspects, with regard to the aims and goals, organization of the contents, pedagogy, and on evaluation. In order to place this analysis in context, the chapter also briefly studies the curricula of three-selected IRHE institutions in Kerala. It also briefly compares the curricula of each of these institutions with the other, and provides some general recommendation for their reform. Since, from the outset study meant to contribute to the empowerment of IRHE institutions, their graduates and thereby the Muslims’ community in India, it looks into various avenues of doing so in the form of curricular and social activities.
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Chapter Six concludes the main points discussed in the study, with general implications and recommendation for action and guidance for future research on Islamic Religious Higher Education, and specifically its curriculum.
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CHAPTER TWO DEVELOPMENT OF ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS HIGHER EDUCATION AND ITS CURRICULUM IN KERLA
Son, sit at the feet of the scholars and close to them, for God gives life to the heart through the light of wisdom (al-Hikmah), Like as He gives life to the dead soil through rain from heaven. (Mālik ibn Anas, Muwattah, 2, p. 328) The main intention of the chapter is to provide details on how Islamic Religious Higher Education (IRHE) and its curriculum evolved in Kerala. While doing this, the history of various educational organizations, Muslim visionaries and their reform attempts will be dealt briefly, but with the main intention of tracing the evolution of curriculum. However, in order to set a background to this, firstly, the chapter provides a brief historical account of IRHE in India, but with specific focus on their curriculum. Secondly, it traces in brief the history of Islamic Religious Education (IRE) in Kerala. As is obvious, the central concern will be on the higher level IRE provided in various institutions throughout the breadth and length of Kerala. History of IRE at primary and secondary levels, thus, is not specifically within the scope of the chapter, unless such an account is demanded for explanation on the key purpose. Thirdly, it presents a brief elaboration on the curricula of various madāris from the pre-colonial to the present times. Meanwhile it also indicates to various attempts to reform the curriculum and restoration of their past glory. At this point, a brief account Islamization is provided, thereby relating various efforts to revitalization of Islamic Religious Higher Education tradition in India to its original purpose. After all the study is all about restoring the Islamic tradition in religious higher education so that a
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genuine group of religious scholars and scientists of integrity is capable of providing visionary leadership both at spiritual and intellectual domain produced by them.
MADĀRIS DURING MUSLIM RULE The history of Islamic religious education in India is, naturally tied with the introduction of Islam in India. Islam entered the northern and southern parts of India at different times and through different means. In the northern parts of India, Islam arrived in 711 A.D, whereas in the coastal areas of the south Indian state of Kerala, Islam is said to have spread at an earlier stage during the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) (Miller, 1974; Dale, 1990). Islam came through Arab tradesmen who had business ties with Kerala even prior to the period of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). This helped the message of Islam to spread through peaceful means (Dale, 1990). Although, it was only after the arrival of Malik bin Dinar and his group in 21st year of Hijrah (641 AD) that organized large-scale community settlements and high-level concentrations of Muslims in certain regions or parts of major towns of coastal areas started in the South (Zubair, 2006). Naturally, these Muslim missionaries might have imparted religious instruction to the emerging community of Muslims through mosques, which they built in different parts of Kerala. It should be also assumed that since Islam spread in the Northern parts of India through various Muslim Kings, the organizing of a system of education and religious instruction must have first started there. Ahmad (1985)’s reference that “the responsibility of providing higher education was in hands of the state, while primary education remained in the private hands” points to this fact (p. 12). Further, ‘the system of education introduced in India by Muslim rulers was a prototype of the
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system prevalent in parts of the Central and Western Asia’, as pointed out by Ahmad (1985), which serves to affirm this argument. The madāris under the patronage of these dynasties served two interests. They trained bureaucrats for the royal courts as well as judges, jurisprudents, jurisconsultants qualified to issue legal opinions, and civil servants able to staff the administrative cadres of different ruling dynasties (Sikand, 2008). Such a trend of establishing madāris for political and administrative interests was also perceived in the Abbasid times as well (Nakosteen, 1964). Besides the above-mentioned purpose, many of these madāris served the fervour and interest of certain Rulers in certain intellectual fields. Few of these rules were scholars in such sciences on their own. They also patronized erudite scholars of specific disciplines according to their interest. For example, during the Khalji dynasty (1290-1320 A.D.) scholars like Mawlana Ilmuddin, who was the best in Logic and philosophy, were invited to Delhi (Ahmad, 1985, p. 8). Babur, one among the Mughal rulers, invited Fut’hullah Shirazi to his capital, who in turn led the progress of rational subjects like logic, philosophy and scholastic theology, which became very much favoured by the 'ulamā’. It was due to his efforts that the writings of Persian scholars like Muhaqqiq Dawwani, Mir Sadruddin, and Mir Ghiyas Mansur became very popular in India and their works became a part of the curriculum of the higher seats of learning. Under the royal patronage, they established many madāris, which along with two purposes identified above also disseminated various scholastic disciplines, as well. Al-Hasani (1972) listed 102 madāris of higher learning during the span of Muslim rule in India; a few among them are listed below (Table 2.1).
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Table 2.1 Major Educational contributions of the Muslim Dynasties in India Ghaznawids (976 A.D. to 1186 A.D) Ghaurid (1192-1206 A.D Liberate dynasty (1211-1236 A.D) Khalji rulers (1290-1320 A.D.) Tughlaq dynasty (1320-1419 A.D.)
Sayyid Rulers (1419-1452 A.D.) Lodi sultanate (1451-1526 A.D.)
Mughal dynasty
Suri dynasty
University at Gaznah and many madāris Many madāris from Lahore to Delhi [a] Madrasah-i-Mu‘izzi in Delhi and Badaun [b] Nasiriya College of Delhi [c] Firozi Madrasah of Multan Madāris in Bengal and Delhi [a] Not less than 30 colleges by Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1316-1320) in Firozabad and other cities [b] Firoz Shahi Madrasah [c] Madāris in Malwa Madāris in Badaun and Katchar [a] Logic and philosophy introduced in the curriculum (nisāb) for the first time [b] Sikandar Lodi exhorted Hindus to learn Persian [c] Works of Indian languages translated into Persian (Nadvi, 1985, p. 5-8). [a]Madrasah Abu al-Fazal in Fatehpur Sikri [b]Madrasah Khair al-Manazil in Delhi [c]Madrasah al-Khas [d]Madrasah Mir Jumla [e] Colleges at Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Lahore, Delhi, etc. [f]The learned women of the royalty like Fatehpuri Begum, Akbarabadi Begum and Jahan Ara Begum (Siddiqui, 2004, p. 188) also established Madāris. [g] Farangi Mahal (Madrasah ‘Āliyah Nizamiyyah) in Lucknow Sher Shahi Madrasah
Besides the madāris established by the rulers, various Sufi orders, who were established in Central Asia and had their madāris there instructed the common Muslim mass in Islamic spiritual and moral teachings. These madāris called Zāwiyah in Arabic or khānqāh in India and served the common Muslims until the advent of the British (Hartung, 2006). At times, such kinds of education were also imparted through learning circles in mosques, the homes of ‘ulamā’, nobles and merchants (Sikand, 2005, p. 33).
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Among Mughal Rulers, Aurangazeb Alamgir (1658-1707), showed an unusual interest in the traditional education and advocated reforms in the curriculum. He himself was a scholar of many languages and Islamic jurisprudence. He employed high-ranking 'ulamā’ to compile and standardize prevailing formal legal opinions (fatāwā sing. fatwā) into the most comprehensive collection of legal opinions in India, the Fatāwā Alamgīriyyah (Jafri, 2006). He criticized the efficacy of traditional education of his times. He pleaded for a broad humanist approach in which history, geography, the languages of the surrounding nations, their forms of government, manners and customs found suitable place (Siddiqui, 2004). However, he could not introduce any reforms to reshape the system and make it more useful, effective and meaningful (Ahmad, 1985). He allocated the Farangi quarters, known as Farangi Mahal, to Mulla Qutubddin Ansari (Sufi, 1981; Sikand, 2008). Later in 1805 when the Mughal Empire was already in decline, the Farangi Mahal turned to become a great seat of theological learning called Madrasah ‘Āliyah Nizāmiyyah. Later, the madrasah became a renowned centre for rational learning, and was described by the great scholar Shibli Nu‘mani as the ‘Cambridge of India’ (Khan, 2001). The madrasah is said to have attracted students from as far away as Arabia and China. The family members of the Farangi Mahal prepared massive amounts of scholarly works on theology, rational sciences, mysticism, jurisprudence and biographical sketches. The last great stalwart of the family, Maulana Abdul Bari, who revived the madrasah in 1913, has penned 111 books (Robinson, 2001; Khan, 2001). Mulla Nizamuddin Sihalwi, son of Mulla Qutubddin Ansari, at the behest of the Aurangazeb (Sufi, 1981), developed the famous Nizāmī curriculum, which is still followed in many Indian madāris. Sadly, at present ‘nothing of that past grandeur of Farangi Mahal remains’ (Sikand, 2010, p.3).
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Meanwhile, the Southern part of India was a step ahead of the North in some fields of education. As found in the travelogues of Ibn Batuta, Sultan Jalauddin Ahsan Shah had established an independent kingdom in Madura, in the present Tamil Nadu in India where as many as 23 madāris catered for boys and 13 for girls (cited by Siddiqui, 2004). In short, it was by the advent of Muslim dynasties, institutions to impart education at higher levels in the forms of madāris started to be established in an organized manner in India. However, the existence of madāris was only sporadic. This is mainly because various Muslim dynasties being the elite culture remained indifferent about the education of general masses and did not recruit other than elites and nobles for such posts. Accordingly, “higher religious education and top religious and administrative posts were to be kept as a closely-guarded preserve of the foreignborn Turkish, Central Asian, Iranian and Arab Muslim elite”, not for Indians who converted to Islam at the hands of rulers (Ahsan, 2008, p. 27). They had to be content merely with knowledge of the basic principles of the faith. Had institution of educational enterprises been the priority of Muslim rulers who reigned from 9781857A.D., there would have been uncounted number of them established at every nook and corner of India. Perhaps, education had not been the priority of the nobility unlike their counterparts in Europe, who by now had started to institute colleges for higher education in a vast scale (Jafri, 2006). Furthermore, those educated at higher level were not many in number and that small group were trained just to staff the administrative offices. Consequently, they failed to provide creative leadership, which was much needed later in confrontation with the British. Although, during the Muslim period, the educational institutions were not divided into religious and secular, in the cultural shock of the influence of the new educational system instituted by the British,
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they rather refused to recognize the urgings of the new society and clung hard to their old ways. Meanwhile, the British on their part scourged the makātib and madāris to hit the system at its roots. Only a limited number of Indian madāris survived their time; and they too had to revise the scope and range of their academic activities into something very narrow.
MADĀRIS DURING THE COLONIAL TIMES (1757-1947 AD) During the colonial rule, there were two types of madāris: one run on the tradition of Muslim education system during the period of Muslim dynasties and the other run by the British. The British administration needed educated Muslim for various cadres of the civil service. It was with this intention, that Warren Hastings instituted the Madrasah ‘Āliyah in Calcutta in 1781 which gave instruction in the Persian and Arabic languages besides natural philosophy, theology, law, astronomy, geometry, arithmetic, logic, rhetoric and grammar. According to Warren Hastings, the madrasah aimed to “qualify the Mohammedans of Bengal for public service… and to enable them to compete on more equal terms with Hindus for employment under government” (Golden jubilee souvenir, the Muslim Educational Association of Southern India, 1954, p. 35). At degree or fādil stage all the traditional Islamic subjects and titles found in the Dars-i-Nizami system were taught. One madrasah which was established in 1692 under the patronage of Ghazi ad-Din Khan (d. 1751), one of the nobles at the court of Aurangzeb, which survived to the British colonial period was Madrasah Ghazi al-Din in Delhi. It later became well known as the Anglo-Arabic College or Delhi College under its principal Alois Sprenger (d. 1893) and it served as a prime centre of learning in pre-1857 Delhi (Jafri, 2006, p. 49). These types of madāris attracted a good number of Muslim students, for after their study
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students were drawn to the government services. These madāris, therefore, differed both on the basis of the purpose they served and on the agencies responsible for their establishment, from the traditional madāris. The traditional madāris were established by the ‘ulamā after the unsuccessful event of 1857. The 1857 event was the first episode in the struggle to evict the British and to drive them from India. It was politically and intellectually led by the ‘ulamā’ (Sing, n.d.). Consequently, after the event, the British targeted many religious leaders, many madāris were closed and their properties were confiscated. However, the ‘ulamā’ reacted to the challenges vigorously by establishing madāris and educational institutions throughout India. They were creative and timely in reacting to these threats and made madrasah the institutional basis of their work (Ahmad, 1985). In any sphere available, a community observant of detailed religious law and committed to a spiritual life (Metcalf, 1982). They diverted their attention to safeguarding the religious faith of Muslim masses and preserving their religio-cultural identity. Thus, contrary to the situation during the period of Muslim dynasties, the madāris now “were increasingly part of the frontline in defending Muslim society against both pressures of the colonial rule and Western culture, and the possibility of being absorbed into the wider Hindu world” (Robinson, 2005, p. xii). The famous Darul Uloom, Deoband of Saharanpur district in the Western Uttar Pradesh was the first to be established with this purpose in mind. A brief account on Deoband, therefore, is deemed to be worthy of mention here.
Darul Uloom, Deoband Darul Uloom Deoband was founded in 1866, with the main aim of protecting Islamic identity and Muslim cultural legacy from the cultural onslaught of the British, and
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maintaining the fervour of faith among the Muslim masses, against the intensified proselytizing activities and bold criticism against Islam from various circles; educational, intellectual, cultural as well as political (Metcalf, 1982; Hashmi, 1989). The educational aim of Deoband was to train well-educated ‘ulamā’ who would be dedicated to the teachings of Islam, able to teach the Qur’ān and Hadīth; and to shape the religious and cultural life of Muslims along the Sharī‘ah based practices or a true Islamic fashion (Metcalf, 1982, 2002; Parveen 2005). Although Deoband is a religiously affiliated higher seminary, during the period of struggles for Independence of India, Deoband played a central role in nation building (Sing, n.d.; Arshad, 2006; Alavi, 1988). As a premier traditional institution providing higher studies in religious education, Deoband graduates 500 students every year. After graduation “these scholars went out to take up positions as teachers themselves, writers, debaters with rival Muslims and non-Muslims, publishers in the expanding vernacular marketplace, prayer leaders and guardians at mosques and shrines” (Metcalf, 2002, p. 5). Few among them are admitted to Universities for higher studies, some go to professional course like Bachelor in Unani Medicine & Surgery (BUMS), Arabic and Urdu translations, etc (Ansari, 1977). As both ‘ulamā’ and Sufis, the graduates of Deoband have offered a ‘composite’ form of religious leadership (Metcalf, 2002). In a life span of more than 150 years, Deoband has produced a galaxy of eminent Muslim theologians, thinkers and scholars who have enjoyed great esteem of the entire Muslim world. A few among them are Mahmud al-Hasan (1851-1921)-an outstanding theologian and also a great political activist who played a dominant role in the Indian freedom struggle; Muhammad Ilyas, who founded the Tablīghī Jamā‘at, and other prominent Islamic scholars and theologians such as Husain Ahmad Madani
44
(1879-1957), Ubaydullah Sindhi (1872-1944), Shabbir Ahmad Uthamani, Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Sayyid Manazir Ahsan Gilani, Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri, Mufti Kifayatullah, Mufti Mahmud, Zulfiqar Ali, Fazulur Rahman, and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, e.t.c. (Ahmad, 1985). At present, it continues to produce learned men with missionary zeal to work in their community. Nevertheless, as pointed out by many intellectuals trained in the modern system, they fail to provide creative leadership and respond constructively to various challenges in the changed contexts.
Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama was founded in 1889 at Lucknow by a group of ‘ulamā’
(Nadwah
al-‘Ulamā’)
composed
of
religious
scholars,
Muslim
philanthropists, journalists, lawyers and government servants. Besides fulfilling those roles, these men acted simultaneously as internal leaders to their community’ (Metcalf, 1982, p. 336; Sikand, 2005, p. 79). One of their proclaimed aims by establishing Nadwa was “to harmonize the various prevailing and sometimes conflicting approaches in Sunni Muslim religious education” as well as to set a standard for the higher-level religious learning all over India (Hartung, 2006, p. 150). In this regard, Nadwa envisioned “to bring about appropriate reforms in all Arabic madāris, for it saw its graduates having little knowledge of the affairs of the world around them and not possessing the level of religious knowledge that they should” (Mungeri as cited by Sikand, 2005, p. 79). Further, the Nadwa aimed to bring the gap that existed between the Deoban type and Aligarh type of education system. Deoband, as mentioned above provided education only in traditional sciences related to the religion. In a direct contrast to the Deoband which opposed everything originating from the West, its arts, and learning,
45
dress and manners, the Aligarh placed emphasis on the adoption of the Western culture. This was in line with contentions of Sir Syed, that progress is hinged on cultivation of close relations with the British and accommodation to many dimensions of their culture (Mohiuddin, 1985, pp. 64-65; Metcalf, pp. 327-333). Nadwa, on the other hand, aimed to combine the merits of both classical and modern, the revealed and the acquired (Singh,2008; Wasey, 2005). It tried to integrate ‘the virtuous old’ with ‘the beneficent new’ (al-qadīm al-sālih wa al-jadīd al-nāfi‘) (al-Nadwi, 1959). In order to end the political weakness of the ‘ulamā’ and to bolster their prestige, Nadwa also emphasized upon providing its students with a thorough grounding in religious matters in addition to equipping them with Western ideas… (Metcalf, 1982). In short, setting a high standard of excellence and sophistication in scholarship was deemed inevitable in order to mould its graduates to be ‘scholars-cum-social activists’ who are capable to present the faith to the present-day world in a striking manner (Sikand, p. 81). For this purpose, certain changes were made in the syllabus of traditional education. Further notes on these changes are provided in a separate section at the end of the chapter. As of today, Nadwa continues to render valuable services to the Muslim community producing scholars, writers, journalist and social workers.
Other Educational institutions during the Colonial Times Other education institutions that served the Muslims during different phases of the colonial period are Mohammedans Anglo-Oriental College, which later became Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia, and Osmania University. They were established with the purpose of educating Muslims in modern sciences. They continue to provide education as full-fledged universities to the Indian population at
46
large. They also contributed to the enlightenment of Muslims variedly in religious, nationalised and modernised sentiments. It is with regard to the modernization that, certainly, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’ (1817-1894 A.D.) Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College deserves specific mention. Initially, Sir Syed Khan tried to create a three tier system of education, (a) a modern System to create administrators, managers, professionals and teachers, (b) a traditional system of Urdu, Arabic and Persian Colleges to produce medium grade Judicial Officers, Litterateurs and religious scholars (‘ulamā) and (c) a mass System (Private Muslim Schools) to maintain Secondary Schools, Primary Schools and Hafiziy Maktab where Qur’anic recitation and fundamental of Islam are taught. For the purpose, he established schools at Moradabad in 1859 and at Ghazipur schools in 1863, when both elite and lower classes children were educated. However, after his trip to England (1869-70), Sir Syed changed many of his previous stands and became a staunch supporter of Modern education through the English medium. Furthermore, he dropped the idea of maintaining the traditional system of education as it is and thought that only a fully-fledged system of modern education was the way to recapture the status that Indians had enjoyed during the period of Muslim Rule. For the purpose, he established a School in 1875 at Aligarh, which was upgraded to the status of a college after two years, and in 1921 to the status of a university. Although he had arranged for religious education in Aligarh, the religious atmosphere and life ended up ‘attenuated and flat’ in a very short while (Hashmi, 1989, p.334). At present Aligarh stands out as a full-class university with faculties of Agricultural Sciences, Arts, Commerce, Engineering And Technology, Law, Life Sciences, Management Studies & Research, Medicine, Denstistry, Science, Social
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Sciences and Theology. The Department of Sunni theology and Shī‘ah theology are the oldest departments of Aligarh. The Department of Sunni theology offers a threeyear degree level, a two-year mastery level and a Doctor/Master of Philosophy course in theology. Further, it provides a one-year diploma in Qirā’at as well. Besides these, the department also offers a course in Sunni theology to nearly 2500, first year Bachelor Arts, Science, and Commerce students (Aligarh Website, 2008). Another university founded during the colonial times is Jamia Millia Islamia. It was established in 1920 at Aligarh and then was shifted to Delhi 1935. It came into existence through the effect of Muslim stalwarts like Muwlana Muhammad Ali, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari, Hakim Ajmal Kahan and Dr. Zakir Hussain, and was concieved to be Islamic in tradition but national in outlook (Alavi, 1988, p, 91). Jamia Millia played a major role in preparing a new class of Muslims, educated in both modern as well as Islamic subjects; it is envisaged as a training ground for activists struggling for India’s freedom and for Hindu-Muslim collaboration (Sikand, 2005 p. 89). At present, it has also been converted into a full-class university. In South India, in Hyderabad, the Usmaniyyah university was establihed in 1917 by his highness Mir Uthman Ali Khan, the Nizam of Hyderabad. It envisioned that ‘the knowledge and culture of ancient and modern times are to be blended so harmoniously as to remove the defects of the present system of education (Sufi, 1981, p. 142). Urdu formed the medium of instruction at all stages in it although English was deemed to be a compuslory subject upto graduation standard (Mohiuddin, 1985, p. 65). Its Bureau of Translation took on a massive task of rendering a huge volume of works in the fields of history, philosophy, economics, sociology, mathematics, physics, chemistry, law, botany, zoology, engineering, pedagogy and medicine into
48
Urdu. A publication bureau was also attached to it. However, because Urdu was abandoned as the medium of instruction it had to suffer an incalculable loss. However, the Islamic character of all these universities was lost after independence, which was the case with Aligarh as well. At Aligarh they wanted to teach religion after acquiring modern learning, while Nadwa and Osmania were offering combined courses in religion and modern education (Hashmi, pp. 49-50). However, the result of this integration was not very encouraging (Durrani, 1986). According to Iqbal (1992), all those institutions failed to “create any sound effect on the moral life of Muslim young men”. According to him, “unless the education of a Muslim young man is grounded on the rock of religious and moral principles, he cannot be imbued with the qualities of breadth of vision, largeness of heart and selfreverence which constitute the differentia of Muslim character” (Iqbal, 1992, p.17).
South Indian Madāris The Madrasah Bāqiyāt al-Sālihāt established 1884) by Shah Abd al-Wahab (d. 1919) in Vellore is the oldest among the madāris in South India. The madrasah is known as ‘mother of Madāris’ in South India. It was a great influence on other madāris in Tamil Nadu and even in Kerala, for it used a modified version of Dars-i-Nizami for its syllabus (Tschacher, 2006). It continues to do so in the present times. Another religious institution of fame, Darussalam ‘Umrābād, was founded in 1924 in Tamil Nadu by Kaka Haji Muhammad. It imparted traditional education along with providing facilities for modern education. As such, its curriculum is somewhat different from the Nizāmiyyah curriculum. Its graduates are eligible to appear at the Arabic examinations and four other examinations of the Madras University privately, i.e., (1) Maulawi Fazil Examination, (2) Afzalul ‘Ulamā’ (Arabic) Examination (3)
49
Munshi-Fazil (Persian) Examination and (4) Matriculation Examination (Madras University). The discussion here does not cover madāris in Kerala during the colonial period for they are treated in a separate section of the same chapter. In short, it was out of menace of the British interfering in the faith of Muslims that led to the emergence of madāris as bastions of believers. In contrast to the madāris of the period of Muslim dynasties, those of the Colonial times took a different direction of endeavouring to safeguard the beliefs of the Muslim mass. Further, during the period of Muslim dynasties higher level education remained as a privilege of ashrāf (elites) -who claimed to be representing ‘Islamic’ culture and knowledge, whereas in the wake of the revolt of 1857, madāris catered for education of Muslims en masse (Sikand, 2005, p.52). In ‘a marked departure from the past’ madāris, thus, were limited to catering for children from poor lower class and Muslim elites began sending their children to Modern schools because they as with the modern English education taught in the schools set up by the British were the avenues to prepare their pupils for employment (Sikand, 2005, p. 65). Further, with the advent of colonialism, a new concept of religion being a private sphere, demarcated from the social life was introduced. This left an everlasting repercussion that it curtailed the role of ‘ulamā’ confined to governing the private lives of individual Muslims. They were alienated from larger social concerns, the public spheres and the larger issues of state and polity (Sikand, 2005). This is further explained while discussing the modernization and reformation attempts in the later parts of the present chapter.
THE POST INDEPENDENCE PERIOD In the post-independence period, the number of madāris continued to multiply, but their standards declined; their utility was limited to only a small community and their
50
strengths were substantially lost (Hamid, 2004). There were three trends among those who joined these madāris, which might have also contributed to this quandary. Firstly, for many families madāris were the only accessible means of any form of education in their localities. So these families were pleased with whatever little chances of education they had. Secondly, even if the children were trained and educated in secular schools, they could not aspire to obtaining jobs both in public and private sectors. Therefore, more and more parents began to send their children to madāris (Sikand, 2005). These groups sought to improve the standards of the madāris and reform their curriculum. Thirdly, many families also wanted to carry on the tradition of getting one of their sons to become an ‘ālim and they did not aspire to anything more than that. These trends, in other words, also caused the number of madāris to increase. The degree of internal dispute among ‘ulamā’ -that is ‘the striking characteristic of the process of modern religious changes among Indian Muslims’according to Metcalf (1982), was another factor that caused their number to increase (p. 334). The emphasis was on divergence and inter-Madh’hab differences or on a self-created identity emphasising more upon group boundaries than collaboration among the various schools of thought like Deobandi, Ahl-i-Hadith, Nadwi, Aligarhi, Barelwi, Jama’at-i-Islami, Shi’ah, and many more which have their own madāris and different approaches to Muslim religious education. This caused the nature of madāris to vary considerably across regions (Sikand, 2005). Add to this the agonies caused by elites, ‘intellectuals’ and middle class Muslims who were educated in the modern system of education, for they sought to insulate themselves from the concerns of the Muslins en masse. Very unfortunately, this divide was further aggravated in the aftermath of the independence of India, a time which urgently mandated a united and collective mobilization among Muslims.
51
A tradition of collective social work among the ‘ulamā’ and other Muslim scholar and intellectuals was very absent. Each observed cultural boundaries of its own, often competing and conflicting with each other and each working within its own ‘sacred public space’ (Sikand, 2005). There was no, and still there is no, central religious authority which controls or coordinates all of them. Always a certain vacuum persisted in defining standards of religious education which had been considered to be binding for all members of the Muslim community. The study simply does not like to enlist the madāris controlled by these religious offshoots for the fear that it will rather assist in imposing the divide than uniting the Muslim front. However, a brief description about these groups is provided below. The Deobandi offshoot per se is not a school of thought. The name came into being, for they subscribe to the Deobandi madrasah networks. They based themselves on the texts of the Hanafite school of law for guidance in correct ‘belief and ritual’ (‘aqā‘id wa ‘ibādāt). They accepted the validity of the four schools of Sunni jurisprudence. Whereas the Ahl-i-Hadith, being ghayr-muqallidīn (non-followers of one of the canonical schools of Islamic law) rejected all classical legal compendia in favour of direct reliance on the Holy Qur’an and Hadīth. They violently decried popular Sufism. They have their own madāris, which play a crucial role in sustaining their stands like Jami’a al-Salfiyya, Varanisi (Sikand, 2005a; Jafri, 2005; Alam, 2005). The scholars of the Barelwi school of thought (or, as they call themselves, the Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamā‘ah) believe in a custom-laden religious practice, and saw local customs and rituals as essential components of a ‘true’ Islam. However, contrary to popular beliefs about the them, “they criticised popular practices such as prostration on the graves of Sufis or music at their shrines which they saw as having no proper
52
‘Islamic’ sanction” (Sikand, 2005a, p. 60). Jami‘a al-Ashrafiyyah, Mubarakpur is one of their prestigious madāris in India. Within themselves, the Deobandis debated with the Ahl-i Hadīth over the validity of the medieval law schools and the institutions and practices of the Sufis. The Barelwis and the Deobandis debated between themselves the significance of the folk and syncratic elements in Indian Islam, etc. (Jafri, 2006, p. 68). Nadwis and Aligarhis as is obvious are attributed to their respective institutions. Abul ‘Ala Mawdudi in 1941 started Jama’at-i-Islami as an activist organization. Jama’at-i-Islami Hind, which was formed in the aftermath of the partition, functioned as a cultural and religious organization. One of Mawdudi’s major concerns was to formulate an alternative system of Islamic education, representing both the traditional madāris and regular schools. What should be noted here very importantly is that “the categories of traditionalists, Islamist and modernists may be useful for heuristic purposes” and should not be taken to exist as separate sects or deviations from Islam (Sikand, 2005a, p. 157). Many of the intellectuals educated in modern universities in the country and abroad, even some of the graduates of these madāris themselves, avidly criticize this divide. Rather a great majority of those educated in madāris affiliated to these groups, especially the younger ones, favour change in the form of modernization, reformation, integration or Islamization. Unfortunately, no one seems to be able to provide a ‘right direction’ and guidance; and to unite them in single platform (Sing, n.d., p. 11). In the context of India, such rivalry among Muslims is very catastrophic rather than being a boon to the community as a whole. Before discussing various efforts to modernize reform, integrate and Islamize the curricula of these madāris, the following part firstly provides an overview about madāris in Kerala and then, the curricula of madāris in general. While dealing with the development of religious higher education in Kerala,
53
brief historical details on Muslims in Kerala is also deemed necessary, specifically because, in a later stage the study aims to investigate the implication of the framework only with specific reference to IRHE institutions in Kerala, although generally they can be ascribed to the completely Indian scenario.
MUSLIMS IN KERALA The state of Kerala is located along the southwest coast of India tapering to the southern tip of the sub-continent. It occupies 1.18% of the total area of the country and has 3.4% of country’s population. Kerala also stands in the forefront of Indian states in the matter of literacy and education. The history of Muslims in Kerala is linked with the long-standing business ties that Arabs had with natives of Kerala even before the advent Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). It was through these trading links that Muslims- originated in the Western coastal areas of Kerala, which presently covers the districts of Malappuram, Kozhikkode, Kannur and Palakkad, “shortly after the beginning of Islam itself” (Miller, 1974, p.82). The specific factors involved in their growth, according to Miller (1974) “were immigration, inter-marriage, missionary activity, the support of the Zamorin, the rulers of an area covering from Kannur to Kollam, and personal advantage (Ibid, p. 84). In other words, Islam was facilitated in Kerala by peaceful means and exemplary ideal manners and persuasion. Today Kerala Muslims constitute 24.7% of the total population of the state and amount to 7.86 million (Census Report of India, 2001). The state is the second most populated state after West Bengal. In order of density of Muslim population, the state districts rank as follows: Malappuram (68%), Kozhikkode (37.5%), Kannur (38.1%) and Palakkad (37.2%). They rank as sixth in
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India in terms of actual number of Muslims, and fourth among them with largest percentage… (Sachar Report, 2006, p. 272). All Keralites speak the Dravidian language of Malayalam. Muslims never used Urdu as their mother tongue, whereas in almost all other states Muslims normally converse in Urdu. Compared to Muslims of other states in India, they are known for their high literacy rate and are well-educated. In fact, Muslims in Kerala spend a large of amount of money on education.
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Kasaragod
Kannur Wayanad Kozhikkode
Malappuram Palakkad
Thrissur
Ernakulam Idukki Kottayam Alappuzha
Pathanamthitta Kollam
Thiruvananthapuram
Figure 2.1: Map of Kerala, India Source: Drawn based on map provided in Official Web Portal of Government of Kerala, www.kerala.gov.in As far as the political or religious leadership is concerned, the situation in Kerala is comparatively better than the other states in India. With regard to religious leadership, the rivalry found among various offshoots affiliated to Islam is found
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elsewhere in India, although with lesser severity than is existent in Kerala as well. The political leadership, on the other hand, is only slightly motivated by the religious concerns that the educational, political, cultural and socio-economic problems of Muslims, the poor and deprived among them and in other communities are not their priorities. However, when compared to the North Indian experience of the divide between political and religious leaders, the situation in Kerala is far better. This is especially true about the educational sector, but much is desired to be done if Muslims in Kerala ever dream to be at par with other communities.
DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGIOUS HIGHER EDUCATION IN KERALA The state of Kerala accommodates a large number of Islamic religious higher education institutions in the form Dars, Sharī‘ah colleges, Arabic colleges and recently some ‘reformed’ or integrated religious higher education institutions that have incorporated ‘modern’ subjects and teaching methods to varying degrees into the curriculum (Sikand, 2002). Some of them stick to the same ‘traditional’ curriculum which is followed in North Indian madāris but with slight changes to match the Shafi’ī school of jurisprudence. Various colleges that catered for modern professional and technical education, such as Farook College and others instituted by Muslim Education Society (MES) do not come under the purview of Islamic Religious Education Institutions. In a strict sense, even among the four categories listed above, Arabic colleges as such were meant to prepare trained Arabic teachers for the mainstream government schools, rather than to prepare religious specialists and were conducted by the public universities of Calicut and Kannur. As Sikand (2005a) notes, the Arabic College system has, somehow helped to integrate Islamic and Arabic Education in the state
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with the ‘mainstream’, for the graduates of these courses who qualify to appear for a range of examinations for various government jobs or to go in for higher education in regular universities (Sikand, 2005a, pp. 127-128). However, few Arabic colleges also arranged to teach Islamic subjects beside the prescribed curriculum for Arabic examinations. Rawdathul Uloom Arabic College established in 1942 by Abu as-Sabah Mowlawi was the first Arabic College. It was in 1948, the Rawdathul Uloom Arabic College gave birth to another major college called Farook College, near Feroke, Kozhikode. It was modelled on Mohammadan Anglo Oriental (MOA) College of Aligarh and was affiliated to Madras University. As with MOA College, education at Farook College was offered ‘against the backdrop of Islamic culture…. Modern disciplines are held at the foreground, while traditional Islamic motifs appear in the background, it sought all round development of every student” Miller, 1974, p. 300).
Dars System The first avenues for education of adults in Islamic religious studies started through mosques. Such avenues are simply known as Dars in Kerala. Dars, (pl. durūs), simply means a lesson given to students, or a course of study (Noor, 2005). The tradition of Dars was the very first mode of public education, as there was no other arrangement for religious instruction of Muslims in Kerala. Moreover, it is a unique feature of Kerala, not found anywhere else in India (Kutty, 2003, p. 54). The Dars was a prototype of the system that the Prophet (PBUH) himself had arranged in Madīnah, the Suffah School, the students of which were named as dayf al-Islām (the guest of Islam) (Faizy, 2003, p. 82). In most cases, a single teacher (mudarris) instructed students of several grades in a day-long process starting just
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after Subh prayer. An oral tradition of learning, with no well-defined system of grading students, or a uniform system of entry and exit, students joined and left a Dars on their whims. The custom, however, was that a student would get instruction from a particular mudarris for a period of five years. Thereafter he would move to another one, until he obtained his ijāzah to continue with the tradition on his own. The oldest but the most famous Dars is the one held at Tanur Valiya Kulangara Mosque at Tanur, Malappuram where eminent scholars from Yemen, Egypt, Hadhramaut, and Hijaz are said to have conducted classes (Islamic Encyclopaedia (Malayalam, 2005). Sheik al-Imam Muhammed Abdullah al-Hadhrami al-Qahiri, who taught in the mosque in 675 AH, was the first mudarris and Mufti of this mosque (Spandanam, 1996). Another important Dars of fame was conducted at the Jum‘ah Masjid at Ponnani, in the district of Malappuram. It was because of the importance of this mosque as a centre of Muslim learning, that the Jum‘ah Masjid at Ponnani is called the ‘little Makkah’ of Malabar” (Randathani, 2005, p. 5). The Dars at Ponnani or Shaikh Makhdum institution, as Miller (1974) calls it, attracted students from various parts of Kerala, India and from countries like Indonesia, Malaya and Jawa. The ceremony of securing the seats around the famous lamp that still lights inside the mosque was called ‘Vilakkathirikkal’ (to sit around the lamp, vilakku – lamp, irikkuka – to sit), which was considered as the major qualification of the religious scholars of that period (Pasha, 1995, p. 134). Almost all of the eminent scholars of Kerala since the 14th century until the dawn of the 20th century were graduates of this Dars. In 1887, there were about 400 such pupils belonging to various distant places pursuing their studies in the Ponnani mosque. In 1906, the number was about 300 (Ali, 1990; Mohammed, 2007).
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The graduates of Ponnani Dars were well versed in Islamic jurisprudence and were eligible to issue fatāwā. They usually served as mudarris of most of the later generation of durūs or mosque-colleges, which were established in every mosque where Friday Jum‘ah prayers were held (al-masjid al-jāmi‘) (Faizy, 2003). Shaikh Ahmad Zainuddin, who is called as the lesser or second Makhdūm and who wrote Fat’h al-Mu‘īn in jurisprudence, was attached to the Ponnani Dars. The system worked well till the earlier part of the 20th century, and ceased to survive with its traditional glory as stagnation gripped the Mappilas Muslims, despite still keeping a Dars and the lamp there (Miller, 1974, p. 367; Pasha, 1995. p. 134). Other famous durūs were held in mosques of Kodungallur, Quilon, Calicut, Ponnani, Chaliyam and Tanur (Zubair, 2006). Another prominent Dars that later witnessed many vicissitudes was founded in 1871 at Vazhakkad, Malappuram by the Koyappathodi family. Later in 1908, Chalilakath Kunchahmed Haji (d. 1919) attempted to revive the authentic tradition of Dars system by re-introducing subjects such as Arabic language, Arabic grammar, philology and rhetoric, logics, theology, Islamic Jurisprudence, tasawwuf, tafsīr, Hadīth, munāzarah, history, geography, astronomy, engineering (handasah), mathematics and Malayalam in the Dars curriculum. The Islamic tradition of higher education was, in fact, inclusive of all branches of knowledge relevant to human life. But towards the end of 19th century, such a tradition was left behind and the Dars system shrink to a bare skeleton of knowledge in fiqh, Qur’an, Hadīth, and few ancillary sciences, which later became a convention especially with the emergence of modern social and applied science in a secular format and alienation of religious scholars from such fields. It was in this regard, Chalilakath efforts ought to be seen as revival of the Dars tradition. Changes made by introduction of teaching tools like
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globes, maps, charts, models and blackboard as well as the examination system thus should be seen as being just the need of the time, rather than being a reformation. The dars, now named as Madrasah Darul Uloom, however continued only for a period of ten years, and reverted to the conventional, not the authentic Dars tradition. By upgrading into an Arabic College in 1969, its collapse was completed and it was permanently cut off from the Dars tradition.
Sharī‘ah Colleges During these years, another group of institutions on the models of Darul Uloom, Deoband in Uttar Pradesh and other similar models in Tamil Nadu, were established as new avenues to impart Islamic religious higher education to adults in Kerala. Mostly, such experiments flourished under the leadership of Kerala graduates of higher Seminaries like Bāqiyāth al-Ṣālihat Arabic College, Lathīfiyah Arabic College, Darul Uloom Umarabad in Tamil Nadu. The founding leaders of most of the Islamic educational organizations were also the products of these higher seminaries. Having been exposed to these education systems, initially, these graduates set their own Dars with a new orientation, in line with the madāris from which they had graduated. No sooner had these types of ‘conventional’ durūs, evolved as higher seminaries providing Islamic religious education, than many reform-oriented scholars were at the forefront, in a bid to change the prevailing ‘conventional’ Dars system. As Zubair (2006) observes, with the establishment of the Al-Jami‘a AlNooriya al-‘Arabiya (JNA) in 1962 at Faizabad, Perintalmanna, the trend of transferring the traditional mode of learning from mosques to separate building, with divided classes and provisions for examinations and certificates started to crop up among Kerala Muslims. But in fact, these changes were very superficial for the
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curricula remained narrow, cut off from the authentic tradition of teaching subjects like Munāzarah, History, Geography, Astronomy, Engineering (handasah), Mathematics along with subjects directly related to religion such as ‘Arabic, the Qur’ān and Tafsīr, Hadīth, theology and practical studies related to propagation of Islam (Da‘wah)’ (Miller, 1974, p. 369). More details on the curriculum of JNA is elaborated in chapter five, for it is one among three selected for the study. In short, four trends were in vogue, which variedly contributed to the Islamic Religious Higher Education tradition in Kerala; (1) the authentic Dars tradition, (2) the narrow-conventional Dars tradition (including Sharī‘ah College), (3) the Arabic college tradition. Variedly some of the Sharī‘ah Colleges provided special training in Arts and Islamic Courses (AIC) in order to prepare their Muslim students with approved credentials in humanities and social sciences, but with Islamic orientations. This attracted more students, mainly because its graduates succeeded in obtaining government employment. The fourth trend, therefore, evolved out of these AIC course, so that, at present, many institutions providing Islamic religious higher education sector have integrated modern and Islamic education. This latter type has taught various subjects related to religion as well as various subjects taught in secular schools, but without ever trying to compromise them. Although their aim was to produce ‘ulamā’ with integrated knowledge, and the urge to Islamize the modern sciences was popular among them, they hardly succeeded in the aim, for they did not possess the intellectual and spiritual basis to undertake the long-forgotten Islamic intellectual tradition (See Table 2.2 for comparison).
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Table 2.2 Major types of Islamic Religious Higher Education Institutions Authentic Dars Main Character istics Aims
● Oriented to produce authentic and well-rounded scholars Produce genuine, religious oriented scholars and leaders
Traditional Type of madāris/Sharī‘ah Colleges ● Oriented about traditional professions ●continue the spirit of the Ponnani tradition Produce Imām, khatīb, religious teachers for madāris
Arabic Colleges ● Job-oriented ● a more modern direction in Islamic education Produce Arabic teachers for mainstream government schools.
Arts and Islamic Science Colleges ● Job-oriented ● Specialist in Arabic Language and Social Science majors Offer degree/PG certificate in Arabic and Social Science majors in affiliation with Public Universities
63 Syllabus
Curriculum on the pattern Inclusive of all of Ponnani tradition and branches of knowledge relevant Nizāmī curriculum to human life
● Prescribed curriculum for the five year Afzalul ulama’ course/ two post-Afzalul ulama course [] plus some Islamic courses
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● Prescribed curriculum of the Universities, plus some Islamic courses
Integrated IRHE Institutions
All-inclusive curriculum Aims for the scholarly leaders able to follow modern trends with Islamic perspectives Integrating modern and Islamic education
In the nutshell, as Zubair (2004) identifies, just like the global evolutionary phases, the history of Islamic education of Kerala also had the phases of steady development, golden period, stagnation and deterioration (p. 24). At present, there are plenty of religious higher educational colleges of the four categories identifies above. The common clamour among all these groups is that none of them is able to revive the genuine and original scholarly tradition and mould visionary religious scholars. The present dissertation aims to analyze three models based on the curriculum, which are conducted in Kerala at present. This will be covered in chapter five, however, a cursory view on how curriculum of IRHE developed in India and Kerala is provided below.
CURRICULA OF ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA
During the Muslim rule, rational sciences were given a significant place in the curriculum. Beside languages, the acquisition of fiqh, principles, namely fiqh, tafsīr and Hadīth were also acquired. Proficiency in jurisprudence was the highest criterion of learning while studies of Hadīth remained at nominal levels. Some rulers like Akbar and Aurangazeb, however, require special mention. The former introduced agriculture, astronomy, physiognomy, economics, civics, and medicine in the curriculum for children. During his time, the higher sciences were divided into Ilāhī (Theology), Riyādī (Mathematics) and Tabī‘ī (Natural Sciences) (Sufi, 1981; Qmaruddin, 1996; Siddiqui, 2004). These changes were temporal in order to make the system produce civil servants capable to staff the administrative cadres of the dynasty in power. The latter, Aurangazeb, was interested in reforming the curriculum, and became the first to appeal that History and Geography, the languages of surrounding nations, their forms of governments, manners and customs must find a suitable place
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in every curriculum prepared for madrasah education (Ahmad, 1985; Siddiqui, 2004). He even insisted that children should be taught in their mother tongues. However, Aurangazeb could not do much in the field of revitalization of education of madāris, because the Mughal dynasty was about to crumble at that time. Nevertheless, he commissioned a French Quarter for Mulla Nizamuddin Sihalwi, who later on compiled the famous curricula, called after his name, Dars-i- Nizami or Nizāmī curriculum. The Nizāmī curriculum was dominated by discursive science such as logic, philosophy and dialectics (Parveen 2005). The art of historiography was also given importance. He also included many new books on physics, mathematics, geometry, astronomy, Astrology, Algebra, Physics and medicine” (Parveen 2005, p. 64). Tariq Rasheed (2008), -- who is a ninth generation of direct descendant of Mulla
Nizamuddin Farangi Mahalli Sihalwi, who framed the Nizāmī curriculum, and who is carrying on with their family's centuries’ old tradition of Islamic scholarship -- also agrees with the point that the Nizāmī curriculum ‘is overloaded with books on antiquated Greek logic and philosophy, or ‘ulūm ‘aqliyyah (rational sciences), much of which is quite irrelevant now. However, the books on ‘transmitted’ sciences such as Hadīth, tafsīr were only up to nominal levels (Sikand, 2005) (See Appendix 2.1 for detail on various books included under various disciplines, not specifically Nizāmī Curriculum). It was against this backdrop that Shah Waliyyullah of Delhi (1703-1762) started to give more stress to tafsīr and Hadīth in the new curriculum. He had accommodated the Mālikī, the Shāfi’ī and the Hambali schools of jurisprudence, in spite of giving central position to Hanafi school of jurisprudence. He had ‘spearheaded the first movement among ‘ulamā’ to recapture the glory of Islam and
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had established a madrasah in Delhi which focused on religious disciplines’ (Siddiqui, 2004, p. 191).
Through assiduous efforts, he and his son Shah Abdul Aziz
popularised the Sihāh al-Sittah on Hadīth, though it did not get general acceptance (Sufi, 1986). Other ‘ulamā’ like Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, Shaikh Abdul Haq Muhaddith Dehlawi and Muwlana Khairabadi also sought to revive the Hadīth studies in the traditional curriculum in early 18th century. However, their attempts were disintegrated as soon as the British started to settle in India. In summary, three types of curricula co-existed during that time with three different points of view; one comparatively more religious in outlook with Hadīth and tafsīr as core subjects in Delhi, the second with fiqh and principles of fiqh as its focus at Luknow, and the other dominated by rationalist patterns of thought emphasising the study of discursive sciences at Khairabad. These sets of curriculum continued in their
original formulation for more than a century (Siddiqui, 2004; Deoband: The Education, n.d.). At the Sufi establishments, another kind of education was popular. The Shaikh at Zāwiyah taught similar subjects but from a Sufi perspective. Jafri (2006) narrates what Shaikh Nizam al-Din Awliya had to do when he reached the Jamā‘at khānqāh of Baba Farid. Though Shaikh Nizam al-Din Awliya was already instructed in the Islamic theological sciences, yet Baba Farid (p. 94) instructed him again on six chapters of the Qur’an. Beside other regular subjects taught in normal madāris, the works of al-Suhrawardi (founder of the Suhrawardi order), and Ibn alArabi and later those of Jami were taught in these Sufi madāris (khānqāh) (FazlurRahman as cited El-Muhammady, p. 53). In the backdrop of the failed 1857’s uprising against the British and the consequent threats to the madāris and the ‘ulamā’, the Nizāmī curriculum was changed alongside the revision of Shah Waliyyullah.
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Darul Uloom Deoband was
first to spearhead these changes. A central place was given to Hadīth and all six classical collections were included in the curriculum. However, in fiqh, in contrast to Shah Waliyyullah’s approach only medieval texts from the Hanafite School constituted the core. The rational sciences (particularly philosophy) being downgraded or omitted altogether. Both logic and philosophy, although they were taught, ‘did not serve any useful purpose as far as instilling creative thinking was concerned’ (Hashmi, 1989, p. 50). Nadwa’s curriculum was a new experiment of reframing the Nizāmī curriculum with Modern Arabic and theological studies. The art of journalism in Modern Arabic language was part of the curriculum. Unlike the Nizāmī curriculum laid more emphasis on logic and philosophy, Nadwa laid less emphasis on it. Philosophy was taught with the help of new books. The core curriculum entailed the
teaching of the Holy Qur’an and Hadīth. As in the case of Deoband, students at Nadwa were also trained in the Sufi path and were made to learn certain Sufi texts (Muhammad Ishaq Jalis Nadwi as cited by Sikand, 2005, p. 81). A salient feature of Nadwa, according Alavi (1988) was its emphasis on independent research. Every student at post-graduate level was required to submit one such work. Subjects like history, geography, general science, general knowledge, English, and mathematics were added in Nadwa for the purpose, above all, of more effective refutation of Western culture and religion (Metcalf, 1982, p. 339). It also tried to exclude controversial topics from the syllabus and produced its own books when necessary. Texts on economics and political science were included in its curriculum. However, as Metcalf (1982) observed, despite the initial ambitions to include new subjects – and new activities- at the school, the ‘ulamā’ of the Nadwa ultimately
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concentrated on the dissemination of reformist religious teachings, barely distinguishable from those of Deoband (p. 344). Attempts were made by Shibli Nu’mani (1857-1914) to construct a new ‘ilm al-kalām to meet the demands of modern times. He was a previous companion of Sayyid Ahmad Khan in Aligarh and the ardent advocate of the rational religious sciences (Hartung, 2006). Though he was a driving force in the formation of a reformoriented curriculum for Nadwa and though he advocated a middle path, he had to quit Nadwa in frustration, for the syllabus he prescribed was not introduced… and the institution soon fell to traditional ways (Wasey, 2005; Sikand, 2005). With regards to teaching methods, most of these institutions followed traditional methods of mass lecturing. Defects in teaching Arabic as the language of the Holy Qur’an and as a living language, made them unable to refer to the normative
sources and to historical precedents and institutions in a profound manner. Even after their education for years, the students were not in a position to speak in Arabic language, nor to understand the religious system comprehensively relating to the changes of the modern world. Although students were introduced to principles of fiqh and Hadīth, it was so very shallow that they never could use them at practical levels. Furthermore, mostly they failed to related fiqhī issues to the contemporary problems of the general masses, because they were isolated from the everyday life of the society. In Kerala, the curricula of durus and the religious higher echelons were somewhat influenced by the Nizami curriculum. Dars being a new experiment in Kerala, it had, and still is having, its own specialities. Currently, the decisions about the contents of the curricula are under the sole determination of the Mudarris. He has the liberty to conduct instructions in those fields of his expertise, or choose different
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methods for different students or even choose to teach modern subjects to his students if he is capable of it. The Dars follows a book (kitāb) based system. Students learned kitāb by kitāb. Whoever completed one kitāb could start with the second and finish early. The jurisprudence (fiqh) is put as the forefront of their teachings. This ended up in having no any focus or central concern for the curriculum. The subjects are taught with little bearing on the pupils’ social life and psychological needs. Whereas in the earlier times, the curriculum was broad enough to include both religious and secular subjects to cater for the material moral and spiritual well being of students (Muhammad, 1974), at present, the curriculum is very narrow in focus.
Table 2.3
Books taught in Durūs
Subjects Books (kutub) used Regular Dars Faith (‘aqīdah), Moral science (akhlaq), ‘Asharat Kutub (10 short treatises on Islamic mysticism (tasawwuf), and fiqh various subjects in one compilation), ‘Umdah al-Sālikīn wa ‘Uddah al-Nāsikīn (‘ibādāt) Arabic Syntax and Grammar Zanjān and Ajnās and Alfiyyah Hadīth Mishkāt al-Maṣābih Shāfi’ī jurisprudence Fat’h al-Mu‘īn Advanced Dars Qur’anic exegesis Tafsīr al-Jalālain and Tafsīr al-Baidāwi Sahīh al-Bukhāri and Sahīh Muslim Hadīth Shafi’ī jurisprudence Mahallī and Thuhfatul Muhtāj Geometry Uqlaidis (Euclid) Astronomy Tashrīh al-Aflāk Rhetorics Muktasar al-Ma‘āni, and Mutawwal Logic Tashrīh al-Mantiq, Sharh al-Tahdhīb, Qutbi and Mulla Hasan Philosophy Maibadi Medicine Al-Rahmat Compiled from Ali; Pasha, 2005; Zubair, 2005
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That is all the subjects indicated in the Table 2.3 are not taught in the present day durus. This is especially because most of study following the Dars system do so only for a few years, after which they join the Sharī‘ah Colleges. Although criticisms were hailed against this traditional system of Dars, beyond doubt, it played an indomitable role in preserving the Islamic culture and tradition among Kerala Muslims at a high quality. Rather, it was successful to produce many great scholars, theologians, religious leaders and reformers to whom the present Muslim community of Kerala owes their religious, intellectual and educational revival. Pasha (2005) has counted peculiarities of Dars as facilitating good teacher-student relationship, maintenance of good discipline and character building, better learning styles and spiritual atmosphere, providing education at minimum cost, etc. Rather, Dars organized in different mosques at every nook and corner of the Kerala has
significantly contributed to preserving the Islamic identity of Kerala Muslims. Lastly, the prevalent system of imparting instruction in madāris and Durūs is word-to- word translating and group lecturing (Alavi, 1988). In durūs, students will sit in a semi-circle in front of the mudarris, who would read the text, word by word and would interpret and comment. Students are encouraged to ask questions. The senior students help the junior students. However, memorization and recitation of passages of the Qur’an and traditional poetry are primarily emphasized. In some instances, students also record the utterances of the teacher in notebooks. Tritton (1957) identifies similar methods employed in medieval times. However, the practice of certain teachers of examining such notes closely, correcting and approving such notes for teaching, which was prevalent earlier, was no longer practiced in durūs throughout Kerala. Before concluding this chapter, the following section considers
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various suggestions which are raised in order to improve the religious education system in higher seminaries.
Reform of Madāris curriculum Many Indian scholars and intellectuals starting from Sir Sayed Ahmad Khan (18171898), Shibli Nu‘mani (1857-1914), Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938), Abul Kalam Azad (1888-1958), Abul A‘la Mawdudi (1903-79) and others, all called for changes in the traditional religious education system (Parveen, 2005). Similarly, many of the Indian scholars who wrote on traditional education in madāris in India have also raised the question of the reform of the curricula of madāris, for according to those scholars, the madāris do not in fact represent the traditional system of religious education, but rather, they are just a remnant of the system of the period of Muslim
rule in India (Mawdudi, 1985). The focal point of these various demands for change was that, in the present times, the madāris and their graduates fail to serve the socio- economic and political needs of the present Muslim community in meaningfully responding to the changing needs of contemporary Indian society at large. They contribute only in a limited way to fulfilling the religious needs of its graduates, less than their modern and worldly needs (Mawdudi, 1985; Ahmad, 1985; Durrani, 1986; Sikand, 2006, Seminar Report, 2008). Other major limitations and deficiencies of madāris ascribed by various writers can be summarized as follows: a limited curriculum, lacking education in modern sciences and modern languages as well as any understanding of different cultures. They are closed against any influences from the outside, more interested in ‘the other within’ rather than integration into the outside world (Jan-Peter and Hartung, 2006). Because of these limitations, according to Jan-Peter and Hartung (2006), “although
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many representatives of madrasah institutions are open to and interested in dialogue with outsiders, they are unable to dialogue on the same level because they lack any secular understanding of religion, which dominates most discourses in the West” (p. 11). Table 2.4 concisely summarizes the major criticisms against the madāris in India. The above criticisms are true about almost any Muslim endeavours in the field of education. At both religious and academic levels, they have been ascribed as being ‘ineffective’. Mostly they lack motive to inspire, what Fazlur Rahman calls ‘Islamic ‘intellectualism’…, i.e., the growth of genuine, original and adequate Islamic thought that must provide the real criterion for judging the success or failure of an Islamic educational system (Rosnani, 2007, p. 94).
Table 2.4 A Summary of Criticism on Madāris Orientation
• •
Curriculum
• • • • • •
General Problems Graduates
• • • •
closed against any influences from the outside compartmentalization of knowledge into dīnī (religious) and dunyawī (worldly) formats. limited and narrow curriculum un-trained teachers and administrators lacking education in human and natural sciences, and modem languages inadequacy in the understanding of different cultures the books are out-dated and were prepared to meet the challenges of Greek Philosophy and rival sects which then existed reliance on rout (by heart) learning, and parrot-fashion repetitions secular understanding of religion lack of financial resources a quandary about their role and responsibility in modern society lacking critical ability
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Thus, various suggestions made regarding the reforming of madāris are: 1. Discard the old antiquated philosophy and integrate new advancements in the field to bring students up-to-date with modern methods (Sufi, 1981; Rasheed, 2008) 2. Revision of books that depict a picture of the old world that has changed beyond recognition (Ahmad, 1985) 3. Incorporation of a comprehensive course structure for social sciences and inclusion of subjects like economics, political science and psychology, geography, natural and pure sciences, computer skills and current history for supplementing the general knowledge of students (Durrani, 1986; Sufi 1981; Ahmad, 1985; National Seminar, 2008) 4. Equipping madāris with modern educational infrastructure, which include
introducing a student-friendly teaching methodology with focus on understanding the subject matter (National Seminar, 2008) 5. Training students in a vernacular language and English language and inclusion of professional training in order to help them to meet the economic expectation of their family (National Seminar, 2008) In fact, the above-mentioned problems stem from the most serious failure of madāris to achieve in rearing their graduates with the Islamic spirit, fervour and vision of truth and reality. Although they are assisting tremendously to safeguard the distinct identity of Muslims in India, these are marginal for they fail to inculcate the comprehensive Islamic worldview. It is this neglect of the spirit of Islam and narrowconception of religion to being only the relationship between man and God and limiting it to just a few rituals, thereby, in fact, isolating them from being role models
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or becoming engaged in the social activities intended to elevate the status of the community. In fact, preserving the tradition of Islamic learning, by correcting the fatal mistake of dividing knowledge whose essence was indivisible and universal is very key to the process of reform. In his book titled ‘Bastions of the Believers: Madrasas and Islamic Education in India’, -after studying the concept of ‘ilm (knowledge) and the importance placed on the acquisition of knowledge of both ‘worldly’ and ‘religious’ in both the Qur’an and Hadīth - Sikand (2005) concludes that, the early Muslims made no distinction between the religious and the ‘secular’ knowledge. So, he demands that madāris should widen the scope of their curriculum to integrate religious and academic subjects. To Tariq Rasheed (2008), providing appropriate leadership to the community, as ‘heirs of the Prophets (PBUT)’ is, or should be, the
main question, when it comes to reform of the curriculum. All the Holy Prophets of Allah (PBUT) were leaders who lived among the people. They were not just ‘spiritual’ guides, for they exhorted the followers on matters of the physical world too. They dealt with questions, problems, conflicts, and ailments related to both worldly and spiritual issues. They guided their followers on all matters based upon wisdom. A saying goes that every Prophet (PBUH) was a man of his time, which in turn indicates how masterly and skilful the Holy Prophets (PBUT) were in the art of inspiring and teaching their contemporaries. The Holy Prophets (PBUT) did not lead fortified or secluded lives, away from the people, nor constrained themselves within the walls of a religious seminary In this context, it is a major shift from the Muslim religious scholars’ role of being just mere transmitters of the past knowledge to that of being providers of creative leadership and solutions to
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various socio-cultural and socio-economic issues and all this is a much mandated change and improvement. However, the curricula of madāris which aim at preparing the inheritors of the legacy of the Prophets (PBUT) confine them to becoming aloof from the community within the four wall of Madrasah. Specifically, these institutions providing IRHE have been ineffective to produce visionary Muslim leaders able to inspire and guide the community, in spiritual and intellectual domain and present-day Islam as a ‘holistic’ system. In other words, they were in fact, contributing to the sustenance of a dualistic system of education and thereby alienating Islam from worldly affairs.
Dualistic system of Education The dualistic system of education came to being, in India and elsewhere as colonial
and foreign influences started to institute their own systems in Muslim countries. In India, the British introduced bifurcation in the Indian education system for the first time. In order to train Muslim and Hindu experts in their corresponding laws they maintained separate institutions focusing on legalistic aspects, besides instituting newer modern ones to train government officials suiting their needs. Although, the madāris during the Muslim rule were also meant to train religious and government officials, the instruction in them were not bifurcated into religious and secular streams. In contrast to the British arrangement to teaching just legal aspects, the ‘ulamā’ focused more on safeguarding the ‘religious’ aspects. This tradition continued for a while, that resulted in slowing down the British system’s results. The British started to install their own British legal system by replacing both Hindu and Muslim codes. ‘Ulamā’, on the other hand, discarded the changes which were happening in the system, and consequently failed not only to understand the needs and issues of
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Muslims of their time, but also to adapt their understanding of jurisprudence and theology to the vastly different Indian context and to guide the community accordingly (Sikand, 2005). Thus, the contemporary madāris departed significantly from their medieval counterparts in their curriculum, focus and roles. Meanwhile, impressed by the developments made possible by the foreign countries, many Muslim intellectuals and those educated in the modern system started to ignore their heritage. These self-acclaimed reformers, instead of synthesizing the ‘inherited’ with the newer ones, without losing their inherent ‘spirits’, started to supplant the inherited systems with foreign ones. The narrow-concerns and isolationist stands of both the ‘ulamā’ and the ‘the reformists’, the hastiness of the latter, and the absence of any co-operation between them, made any chances of integration almost impossible to achieve. As a result, the traditionalists “rather reinforced the
interpretation of the concepts of knowledge and education in Islam to be narrow and parochial” (Daud, 1998, p. 27). On the other hand, the modernists among Muslims started to overhaul the education system, supplanting the traditional system with new European and Western models, but unaware of ‘philosophical and epistemological problems of modern secular scientific knowledge’ (Daud, 1998, p. 27). They did not realize the wrong directions that the thoughts and cultures of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were being taken in, such as the isolation of religion, secularism of state, materialism, denial of divine revelation, abolishing of ethical values and replacement with pragmatism” (al-Mubarak, 1984, p. 39). He The secular political leadership, on the other hand, embraced anything brought by the colonial enterprises into their lands, especially in the field of education. In fact, along with this, they also bequeathed not just the Modern Secular Western system, but also, its concepts of existence, of life and of man. Thus, they were gradually made to
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‘believe’ that these concepts are universal and that without them, a modern culture and civilization could not be built. They instituted new models of educational institutions, based upon the Western Secular models. These models did not fit into the spiritual fabric of the Muslim communities, but disintegrated their spiritual identity, their links with the cultural past and their intellectual legacy. Consequently, “a distorted picture and thereby wrong results prevailed among the Muslims” (Daud, 1998, p. 27). Although the new system succeeded in training the human resources needed for the different tasks in private and government institutions, it has simultaneously contributed to corruption, nepotism and moral alienation. These systems ‘remained culturally and pedagogically alien’ to Muslim regions and caused a duality in the personalities of the educated elite. Various Muslim scholars such as Al-Attas (1979), Ashraf (1993), and Rosnani (2004) have criticized the secular approach on moral,
spiritual and metaphysical dimensions and for not being able to produce enlightened individuals.
The case of India, in these circumstances, is by no means unique
(Hartung, 2006). As in the olden days, when Mawdudi criticized it for being a factory ‘just meant to rear a class of servants to staff the lower orders of the British Indian administration or professionally bereft Islamic characteristics’ (Mawdudi as in Rauf, 1985), it continued to be so in the present times. Because of Aligarh’s superficial concerns in inculcating Islamic behaviour, it produced intellectuals who were at times anti-religious (as in Sikand, 2006). However, there is nothing to be surprised about it, for India is a secular country and Aligarh is a University under its finance and control. Even in various Muslim countries, there are many such types of universities. Aligarh and Deoband, thus represented two extremes in the dual streams of education, and to a greater extent continue to be so even in the contemporary times.
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It was in a similar situation of two ‘contradictory’ and ‘independent’ systems of education, namely the ‘traditional religious system of education and secular pragmatic system of education, which ‘hold mutually exclusive and possibly contradictory educational philosophies’. The first World Conference on Muslim Education in 1977 put forward Islamization as a solution (Rosnani, 1996, p. ix). Later a series of conferences were held to find solutions to the educational dilemma. These conferences stimulated a general awareness among thinkers and educationists, even among non-Muslims, - of the basic differences between the secular and the Islamic educational curricula. They reiterated the urgent need of a system of education, integrated and holistic in character, in all branches of learning and the need for formulation of a suitable methodology for Islamization of knowledge and the education system. The Islamization was proposed as an intellectual response to curb
secular, atheist, anti-religious philosophies being disseminated in the guise of modern education, on the one hand, and the estrangement of Muslim scholars from the legacy of the past intellectual tradition. Although various discussion were under the banner of Islamization regarding the possible ways of evolving ‘social, political, economic and psychological thought from the Islamic point of view’, as Ashraf (1992) noted, no discussion were held on religious studies, (Ashraf, 1992, p. 74). A summary of various deliberations made as part of the project as in Table 2.5 would point to the subject of Islamic Religious Higher education, as such or as Ashraf mentioned, being a ‘comprehensive plan for Islamizing university education’ was taken up as a serious matter, if various propositions made by al-Attas (1979), and various further deliberation based on his model (Rosnani, 1996; 2007) are excluded.
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Table 2.5 Islamization of Knowledge: Problems, Consequence and Solutions Problems
Consequence
Solutions/Tasks
• the cognitive and psychological distortion of minds and souls • the problem of knowledge and methods
• intellectual stagnancy • absence of ijtihād • inability to measure the extent of changes • imperfections, inconsistencies and contradictions • distorted concept of truth, evidence and priorities
• NOTE THIS BOX CONTAINS ERRORS
• separation of religion from all practical and social responsibilities • poor psychological motivation • inability to locate points of strength in the source of Islamic Knowledge or absence of ijtihād • inability to learn from past experiences • inability to understand the spirit of Sharī‘ah • no real ambition • dreaming of no real future • cognitive and psychological make-up is defective • duplication, imitation of all types of capable people, without analyzing their vision • educational and cultural dualism
• re-modelled Islamic contents • New methodologies, procedures and terms derived from the Sharī‘ah and fiqh • restore supremacy in Knowledge • restore Islamic worldview as framework for knowledge • meticulous methodology • clear vision • cultural rehabilitation
• Performance inadequacy and least possible efforts • lack of excellence • lack of Intellectual structure and its attendant psychological structure • inadequacy of Traditional Muslim sciences (legalistic-bound, absence of rational criteria) • inadequacy of Western Methods of science • misconception of knowledge (corrupt knowledge) • imbalance in understanding two books (The Book of Revelation and The book of creation) together
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• intellectual revolution
• rectify knowledge through Islamic education • two kinds of books and two kinds of readings • epistemological and civilization necessity
Problems
Consequence
Solutions/Tasks
• Secular-religious duality of educational system • West-centric value-bound intellectual and moral framework • materialistic, atheistic philosophy
• Stagnation of Islamic learning • backwardness, loss of leadership
• De-Islamization (study and use of nature without a higher spiritual end has led mankind to the state of thinking that men are Gods or His co-partners)
• false leaders in all fields among Muslims • identity problems
• decline of intellectual vigour of Islamic civilization • fragmented and atomistic approach to the reading of the authentic Islamic sources without considering maqāsid, its priority and order
• decline of Muslim power • confusion in setting priorities for life activities and the life in the hereafter
• integration of Modern disciplines and Islamic legacy • a systematic re-structuring of the entire field of human knowledge as per criteria derived from Islamic worldview • Islamization of modern knowledge • philosophically coherent response through higher education • Islamic concepts for all branches of knowledge • digesting, assimilating the findings and evaluating them in the light of Islamic revealed knowledge • Intellectual revolution • a holistic approach to Sharī‘ah, its sources • synthesis or creative engagement of various past and present commentaries on this light
Source: Mohamed Aslam Haneef (2005), A Critical Survey of Islamization of Knowledge, pp. 67-115. According to Al-Attas, Islamization should be realized, ‘especially at the tertiary or university level’ (al-Attas, in Daud, 1998, p. 33). This is because, the task of Islamization of education, required a return to the basic sources of Islam. This not only demands a thorough research into the history of tradition and heritage, but also a true scholarship about the fundamental principles of Islam and objectives of Sharī‘ah. These suggestions of al-Attas’s have been one of the key motives of the present study to probe into means of revitalisation of IRHE and once again getting it back on track. Further deliberations of al-Attas are provided in chapter four of the present study. The
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following part tries to relate the dualistic situation in the education system with regard to Kerala. As pointed out earlier, in the total Indian scenario, although both Aligarh and Deoband were instituted by Muslims, generally they stand to represent two extremes in the dual streams in education, and largely continue to be so even in the contemporary times. In Kerala, these two trends did not exist in a confronting or exclusivist way, although the mainstream system of secular education is so prevalent and almost all Muslim children get educated in them. What makes Kerala significantly different, especially in the education sector is that the traditionalist ‘ulamā’, far from being wholly opposed to change, responded creatively to the demands of modernity by attempting to fashion their own Islamic version of it (Zubair, 2005). The ‘ulamā’s readiness to accept some of the forms of modernity, but ignoring its spirit, led to
events like the birth of Farook College, near Feroke, Calicut in 1948, the formation of Muslim Education Association (MES) in 1964, and gradual dissemination of modern modes of education among Muslims. According to Miller (1973), “their attitude was one of gradualist approach and cautious compromise, as opposed to submission and hostility” (p. 303). Thus, they continued the traditional system of religious higher education continued in its old style without any change. They did not receive the idea of ‘integration of Islamic and modern sciences’ especially in those madāris which cater for Islamic religious higher education very favourably. Whereas, when various reformist ‘ulamā’ ventured into such integration, starting from primary level to the higher level education system, it was done in a very limited and superficial manner. This was mainly because of the lack of a well-defined philosophy that will clearly guide the organization, aims, content and curriculum of Islamic education. Secondly, they did not write text-books on the modern subject from the Islamic perspective.
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Thirdly, there was a lot of confusion that lingered about what was to be included or excluded from the curriculum. These problems continue to present serious challenges to various madāris and IRHE institutions established by the traditionalists, reformists and others which provide so called integrated education. It is in this regard, that the present study aims to explore mean of moulding religious scholars and scientists of integrity, who combine the deep and wide knowledge of religion with an understanding of the contemporary world and its problems; who would provide visionary leadership and be able to inspire and guide the community, in spiritual and intellectual domain and present Islam as a ‘holistic’ system. This, in turn, demands a comprehensive understanding and focused study on the theoretical and conceptual foundations of the Islamic education, their implications on the curricula, its intents, contents, pedagogy as well as the overall educational
environment. Such an exercise would further clarify the true function of Islamic Religious Higher Education (IRHE) and that of ‘the Islamic religious scholarship’. This study believes that it is mandatory to base any means and strategies of revitalizing the Islamic Religious Higher Education tradition as well as the plans for empowerment of the Muslims, both at individual and collective levels on the authentic Islamic framework built upon the correct conception of the Islamic vision of truth, reality, man and his destiny in the world. However, recently various Muslim scholars have advanced the relevance of Islam to the discipline of education (Al-Attas, 1979, 1980; Langgulung, 1988; al-Farhan, 1979; Ashraf, 1979, 1985; Rosnani, 1998, 2007; Hamadi, 2005). Their works relate the foundations of Islamic education, its philosophy and the aims mostly in a general manner. Works of these two types as well as some conference materials are extensively referred to, while doing this exercise, which is carried out in the next chapter.
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CHAPTER THREE THE THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF ISLAMIC WORLDVIEW
The world is supported by four things: the learning of the wise, justice of the great, the prayers of the righteous, and valour of the brave (An inscription on the portals of University of Granada, as cited by Alavi, 1988, p. 6) In the attempts to explore the theoretical and conceptual foundation of Islamic Religious Education, the present chapter, basically, elaborates on the theoretical and conceptual foundations of Islamic Worldview. In this endeavour, the discussion below is arranged according to a logical sequence: Firstly, the chapter elaborates the concept
of reality, knowledge, and values. Together, they are the ‘necessary’ constituents of a philosophy of education (Butler, 1968). According to J. Donald Butler (1968), a responsible thought concerning reality, knowledge, and value, is ‘very fundamental’ when formulating ‘the aims of education and the function of educational institutions in a society’ (p. 486). All the three concepts are discussed from the standpoint of Islamic Worldview, but relating them to the concept of man, the purpose of his existence, his special capabilities and destiny. Secondly, the chapter explores how these concepts are inter-related and unified into one architectonic whole in the concept of al-dīn (the religion) and represented in Sharī’ah (the Islamic code of conduct), and its ‘usūl (principles) and maqāsid (objectives). This in turn would explain not only the validity of these concepts as a congruent and harmonious whole, but also their implications on the comprehensive and all-inclusive conception of Islam as civilization (al-dīn as tamaddun). The next chapter, accordingly relates these deliberations to the concept of
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Islamic education in general and Islamic Religious education and thereby IRHE in a detailed manner. As far as a Muslim is concerned, his vision, spirit, idealism, and personality so much depend on the Islamic belief system (Osman, 1991; Ahmad, 1998; Daud, 1989; Açikgenç, 1996). The Islamic belief system, on the other hand, provides a comprehensive, holistic but realistic and dynamic perspective about the reality, of knowledge and virtue. In the particular case of education, these three areas exert an influence upon the principal beliefs about the significance and nature of educational process, the function of educational institutions, and the role of learner in it (Butler, 1968; Hamadi, 2005). More specifically, they provide the needed “framework for establishing the aims and objectives of education, the criteria for the selection of educational contents and experiences, and the basis for evaluating their degree of
attainment” (Daud, 1998, p. 35). The aims of education and the function of Islamic educational institutions, therefore, cannot be determined, certainly, by just any concept of reality, knowledge or value. Just because certain ideologies are in vogue and dominant among the educated, they should not be taken at their face value to do justice to the education of Muslims. Such concepts moulded in crucibles alien to the Islamic vision of reality, knowledge and virtue; and thereby the Islamic conception of man and his destiny would contravene what Islam presents about them. That means, it is ‘ideas and teachings of the Holy Qur’an, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and as well as the explanation and elaborations by scholars of insight and spiritual discernment’ based on those authentic sources as well as other metaphysical sources of ‘macrocosmic universe and individual human intellect’ that should become guides and references while delineating such key terms as reality, knowledge and virtue (Açikgenç, 1996; al-
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Attas in Daud, 1998; Osman, 1991). To use Açikgenç (1996)’s terms, these three areas, accordingly, correspond to three well-defined and unified structures: the faith structure, the knowledge structure and the value structure, i.e., the ontological, epistemological and axiological visions of Islamic Worldview. The following deliberation are meant to explain them.
THE CONCEPT OF REALITY The study and exploration of reality, in the language of philosophy, is known as ontology. “Ontological questions are most often concerned with the substance of learning or content of study” (Wiles & Bondi, 2007, p. 42). The reality, as manifested in the Holy Qur’an, is of two generic kinds, (a) the Almighty God, the Creator and (b) the non-God, i.e., the created. Allah alone is God, the Eternal, the Creator, the
Transcendent, etc. Nothing like unto Him (al-Qur’ān, al-Shūra: 11). This is the first kind of reality. The second consists of all creations of Allah, ālam al-shahādah (perceptible) and ‘ālam al-ghayb (non-perceptible), which include humans, jinn, angels, heaven and earth, paradise, hell, plants, animals, the order of space, time, experiences and creations (al-Faruqi, 2004). Thus, Islam presents the dual spheres of reality. This duality, according to al-Faruqi (2004), is the first principle of tawhīd which separates the Almighty God, the Creator from non-God, i.e., his creations. God’s Existence is necessary. However, the existence of everything else is also real, ‘not mere imaginary figments of the mind’ (Daud, 1998, p. 41). From the standpoint of Almighty Allah, the reality, both in its Perceptible and Invisible realms is not two different, antithetical and diametrically opposed entities (Abd-Allah, 1983). For Him, they lie within the realms of ‘the perceived’ and ‘the known’. The shaded part in figure 3.1, thus, points to the comprehensiveness of Allah’s Dominion over all His
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Creation, as well as its vastness. The dashed border, on the other hand determines the limits of created beings, including angels and man. Vertically, both these created beings are related to the Almighty Allah.
The Infinite Absolute Reality The Divine Essence, the Divine Attributes the Divine Names, the Divine Decrees
The created realm The Visible Realms Man, Plants, Animals, Minerals
The Invisible Realms jinn, angels, heaven and earth, paradise, hell
Figure 3.1: The Immediate Conception of Reality Source: Developed by author.
From the standpoint of man, there exists “a conscious dichotomy between that dimensions of reality which lies within the purview of man’s conception and his five senses and that dimension which lies beyond” (Abd-Allah, 1985, p. 154). The first, i.e., the Visible or Perceptible “is regarded by Muslims as the lowest of the many levels of reality…” (Osman, 1991, p. 7). The two, together, constitute a unity. “The uniting Principle is God, who is One in His Essence, in His Attributes and Qualities and in His Work” (Osman, 1991, p. 2). He is the Ultimate and Absolute Reality. Hence, certain Divine characteristics and innate natures are represented in both the realms. That means, Allah the Almighty is the crux of the Islamic concept of reality. Consequently, īmān (faith) in Him is the core of Islamic epistemological and
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metaphysical Worldview. An ontological concept of reality determined by the Omnipotent, Ultimate and Absolute Power, therefore, is very central to Islam. This, in turn, heavily regulates the Islamic conception of knowledge and virtues, and consequently what they mean to man. Thus, other structures -the knowledge structure, the value structure, the man structure and life structure are knitted by the faith into ‘one unity’ (figure 3.1). They are invariably related to its core and indelibly imprinted by it. As the discussion discloses, each structure with their major themes, various key principles, essential elements and values related to them, and their implication on IRHE will be presented. This indeed would help in the process of developing an integrative, dynamic framework for IRHE curriculum.
knowledge (‘ilm) man (insan)
faith (īmān) value (‘amal)
Life/world (‘ālam) Figure 3.2: The Structure of Islamic Worldview
Source: Developed based on A. Açikgenç (1996), Islamic Science: Towards a definition, p. 61 Faith Structure There are three constituents to the faith structure, which are: (a) the object of belief, (b) the act of believing (īmān), and (c) one who believes (mu’min), i.e., the subject of belief (Izutsu, 1965, p. 92). Among the objects of belief, the Almighty Allah is the central integrating core. Faith in Almighty Allah, is the single essential characteristic
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of īmān (faith) that demarcates the faithful Muslim community from non-Muslims (Hamadi, 2005). He alone is the Absolute Reality and ‘everything else is relative’. “The belief of lā ilāh illaAllāh (there is no god, but Allah), implies that Allah is the Absolute, Ultimate First Cause, the Final End of all aspirations” (Osman, 1991, p. 6). Such a strong faith in the One God, according to him “is essentially intellectual and spiritual in nature….” (p. 231). This justifies why, in early Islamic history, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) enormously emphasized on consolidation of Islamic faith in the minds of new believers, thereby elaborating the meaning of life (Açikgenç, 1996). The birth of a strong united empire out of weak warring tribes would not have been possible had the Arabs failed to embrace Islam and adhere to its educational message (Açikgenç, 1996; Hamadi, 2005). Both intellectually and spiritually, understanding the Infinite Almighty Allah,
His Names and Attributes and comprehending that He is the ultimate spiritual basis and end of all life, lead a Muslim to offer his final and definitive allegiance to Allah and to His laws as revealed to His Prophet (PBUH), making all other loyalties subservient to this primary loyalty (Iqbal as in Mahdi, 2004). “The science of the Divine Names… [is] the base of, practically, all of the Islamic sciences, whether it be theology, jurisprudence or even philosophy” (Nasr, 1999, p. 24). The indelible and unflinching īmān (faith) in Allah, nurtures in man -the subjective pole of faith, a unique worldview of the Reality and the Universe, which in turn governs all his endeavours on earth. It helps him to decide who is he, Why he is created? and Who is behind all that is happening around? However, subjects such as Allah in Himself, the nature of resurrection, freedom and paradise, etc. are so Absolute and beyond the perceptions of physical senses. Nevertheless, man is accountable for unbelief in God and other fundamental objects of īmān (faith). Then a
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question arises: Without knowledge of the metaphysical reality and the fundamental objects of īmān (faith) how does such an obligation become rational? It is here, that the role of prophetic mission becomes relevant. God is known with the ‘illuminated knowledge’ that is revealed to the Holy Prophets (PBUT), who are sent to humanity as ‘the giver of good-tidings’ of the bliss in the hereafter (Ibn Khaldun as cited in Sharifi, 1985). But they are also the teachers of the fundamental truths which cannot be discovered with pure intellect (Açikgenç, 1996). Therefore, faith in the Prophethood and the Divine Books are other two key elements among the objects of īmān (faith). The Holy Prophets of Allah (PBUT) translate the divine messages and communicate with man. Man is taught by God, through the mediation of the Holy Prophets (PBUT). Through the mediation of wahy, the Holy Prophets (PBUT) attain this Absolute and the most certain knowledge, the
haqq al- yaqīn where there is no possibility of error of judgement or sight (Daud, 1989; al-Edrus, 1992). “Revelation (wahy) is the most perfect and truest form of knowledge and no other knowledge can reach the heights of its veracity, exactness and accuracy” (Haqq, 1990, p. 27). They, (the Holy Prophets, PBUT) as the media necessary, interpret and translate the divine principles and guidelines into everyday life. Their practices, thus, are integral for man. The role and function of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is that of ‘an interpreter par excellence’ (Daud, 1989, p. 48) as indicated by the Holy Qur’an: Indeed God has conferred a favour upon the believers, when He caused to rise up in their midst, an Apostle from among themselves who recited to them His verses, and purified them, and taught them the Book and Wisdom, whereas before that, they were surely in error manifest (Āl ‘Imrān: 164).
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The central function of all the Holy Prophets (PBUT) was introducing God as rabb (Lord) of the world and man (Noaparast, 2001). Further, they were assigned to the institution of the concept of unity and Oneness of Allah (tawhīd) and to teach man other elements of the metaphysical truths and moral standards, which cannot be discovered by independent human reason. These elements such as ‘malā’ikah (sing. malak, Allah’s agents at work, angels); the truth of Divine Revelation -perfected and finalized in the Holy Qur’an (kutub, sing. kitāb); the veracity of Holy Messengers of Allah (SWT) -of whom the last is Prophet Muhammad (PBUH); yawm al-ākhir (the Final Day); and al-qadr, khairuhu wa sharruhu (the decree of Allah) not only making man’s existence possible, but also assisting him to understand them perfectly and carry out his duties accordingly’ (Osman , 1991, p. 7).
All the elements of īmān (faith) are integrated as one unity. Together, they constitute the mainframe of Islamic conception of Reality and the foundational structure of Islamic worldview. These elements are integrally fused into ‘one whole’ that ‘disbelief in any one part thereof, is tantamount to disbelief in all the others’ (Açikgenç, 1996; Haq, 1990). Together, they form a cognitive or Gnostic category and build up a conceptual framework (al-Faruqi, 2004). According to al-Faruqi (2004), īmān (faith), woven into one single framework of unity …is the first principle of logic, knowledge, metaphysics, ethics and aesthetics. It acts within the believer as a light which illuminates everything. To al-Ghazali, īmān is a vision which puts all other data and facts into perspective. It is the grounding for a rational interpretation of the universe (p. 12). In this sense, īmān (faith), besides the elements disclosed above, is also inclusive of what is generally called the principles of Islam, which are witness to the Unity of Allah, and the Apostleship of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
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(shahādatain), Salāh (five times ritual prayer), Zakāh (the compulsory alms giving), Sawm (fasting in the month of Ramadan) and Hajj (Pilgrimage to Makkah). This implies that īmān (faith) should not remain at the level of confession only. It should reverberate in man’s inner belief, rituals and external works (Isutzu, 1965). Therefore, any human action or thought is a tributary of the īmān (faith). Īmān (faith) gives the direction, the guidance, the scope and the limits. If the core is jeopardized or corrupted, there is no guarantee that knowledge, virtue, life, world, etc., do not become jeopardized or corrupted (Abderrahman, 2008). To conclude, according to the Islamic Worldview, īmān (faith) is the integral, dynamic, and inspiring but the unifying factor; and the core of which is the Divine Principle. Faith acts as the spiritual as well as intellectual foundation of the human conduct, thoughts and feelings. It is the most fundamental framework on which all
other structures are built (Açikgenç, 1996). Rather all other structures are consistently and intimately linked with the core structure of faith that, whenever the string that connects them together is broken, they could be perverted by ‘marginal’ thoughts based on the perennial, rationalistic, realistic, existential, material, extremist, individualistic, utilitarian, exploitative and other deviatory ideologies. Īmān (faith), therefore, is likened to the strong stream of water which rises from the centre on the surface of the lake and then falls constantly into it, causing unending dynamic waves and reverberations in every particle of water contained in the lake. If the stream becomes static, the water easily gets spoiled. In the same manner, if the faith ceases to inspire the believer constantly, gradually he ceases to live as a true believer. The Islamic conception of knowledge, its nature, its classification into various branches, its intents and contents, in other words, are very much impregnated by the integral, dynamic and unifying aspect of the īmān (faith) factor.
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THE CONCEPT OF KNOWLEDGE The Islamic worldview develops the idea of knowledge so closely to its concept of belief (Açikgenç, 1996). That is, “īmān (faith) not only pre-supposes a certain level of knowledge, but is also a particular mode of knowing” (Osman, 1991, p. 231). The Holy Qur’an obliges Muslims to acquire knowledge, with the same vigour and emphasis that the Holy Qur’an commands them to have faith in Almighty Allah and other higher truths. Knowledge is so integral to īmān (faith) that the realization and comprehension of the principles of faith are not possible without knowledge. That is why ‘Islam is essentially a religion of knowledge;’ and the pursuit of knowledge is a ‘religious obligation’ (Osman, 1991, p. 1). Knowledge is an essential condition of healthy īmān (faith), because without knowledge of the elements of faith, an unflinching faith in itself is inconceivable. A
man needs ‘will-power’ supported by his ‘rational’ power, in order to be able to submit his feeling, thoughts and behaviour, words and deeds, and action and aspirations willingly and whole-heartedly to the Almighty Allah (al-Attas, 1989, p. 2). It is knowledge which creates this will-power and rational support. Therefore knowledge about the Divine Principles, various names and attributes of Allah, etc. and other key-elements of faith are indispensable for a strong faith to happen. This, on the other hand, refutes the claim that Islamic Religious Education is ‘inherently an indoctrination’ process, because understanding various elements of faith, indeed, require ‘ratiocination’ (Osman, 1991). While searching for knowledge of these essential elements of faith, man seeks the best ways of understanding the truth, in order to make a sense of it, which is ratiocination de facto. The study and exploration of knowledge, is referred to as epistemology in the language of philosophy (Wiles & Bondi, 2007, p. 42). In the educational context, the
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ontological questions, as mentioned earlier, are most often concerned with the substance of learning, or content of study, whereas the epistemological questions, deal with the best means of seeking that substance and content. This would answer the question, ‘why should man know, and how?’ “The ultimate purpose of human cognition has to do with the question of the spiritual destiny of man” (Osman, 1991, p. 17). Thus, there is an inevitable relationship between knowledge and haqq (truth). In other words, the unity of ‘ilm and īmān is so well established in Islamic Weltanschauung that the customary notion of dichotomy of belief and knowledge, prevalent in the West, is not tenable within the Qur’anic framework. The nature of the Islamic faith is such that the distinction between knowing and believing is rather blurred…. A systematic and rational exposition of these articles of faith by Muslim scholars led to the birth, development, and flowering of many religious and philosophical sciences in Islamic culture (Osman, 1991, p. 231).
Knowledge and Truth It was mentioned earlier, that in Islamic Worldview, the īmān (faith) is the integral, dynamic, and inspiring but unifying factor; the core of which is the Divine Principle. By extension, this idea of the Divine Principle also relates to the conception of knowledge as well. Allah, as the Author of everything in the universe including the human beings, and He has better knowledge of every minute thing about His creations. His knowledge about them is unique ‘in certitude’. He alone possesses the total, complete and perfect or absolute knowledge of all things including what man does or even the secrets of the hearts (Daud, 1989; Muslehuddin, n.a.). He is the apex of all knowledge, the Ultimate source of all knowledge, the knowledge of Absolute as well as Physical realms. Various names and attributes of Allah, as described in the Holy Qur’an, such al-‘Ālim, al-‘Alīm, al-‘Allām, ‘Allām al-Ghuyūb, al-‘Alīm alKhabīr, al-Samī?´ and al-Basīr, in toto signify this. Rather, His knowledge is infinite,
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‘for He is Himself Infinite’ (Daud, 1989, p. 102). According to al-Kalanbawi (d. 1790/91), “al-‘Alīm’, a name of Allah which refers to His knowledge, is “the mother of Divine attributes” (as cited by Daud, 1989, p. 68). It necessarily refers to other attributes such as Rabb (the Lord), al-Khāliq (the Author), al-Awwal (the Beginning), al-Haqq (the Truth), al-Hakīm (the Wise), and others. It is through these Beautiful Names and Qualities that Allah “reveals Himself to mankind” (Nasr, 1999, p. 24). The notion that Almighty Allah’s knowledge is the ultimate knowledge, therefore, is first salient feature of conception of knowledge in Islam (Daud, 1989, p. 62). Consequently, His ‘guidance’ for man is absolutely hudā or hidāyah (the right guidance).
The Unity and Integral Nature of Knowledge
The belief that the Ultimate Knowledge rests only with Almighty Allah, signifies both the wholeness and holiness of the Islamic knowledge. The wholeness connotes the integral nature, comprehensiveness and ‘unitary character’ of all sciences; the revealed, intellectual, scientific, experimental or inspirational. It denotes their interrelated quality and wholesome nature, rather than their inevitability, to the understanding of the total Reality (Amjad, 1992). The holiness, on the other hand, connotes the ‘sacredness’ of knowledge. The Holy Qur’an has well manifested this unitary character of all knowledge, for it calls its verses āyāt (sing. āyah) as well as the signs of nature as āyāt (signs). Both are ‘signs’ pointing to the same source and originating from the same source. Whereas the verses of the Holy Qur’an are the ‘linguistic’ signs, the natural events and things are ‘phenomenalogical’ signs, “as if one meaning (linguistic) is a mirror for the other (phenomenalogical). That is, al-Qur’ān al-tadwīnī (the closed book of the
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Holy Qur’an) consistently advocates man to learn from the al-Qur’ān al-takwīnī (open book of nature). It recognizes other sources of knowledge -such as anfus (sing. nafs, souls), āfāq (sing. ufuq, the far-off horizons), the annals of human history accumulated through the centuries which contain naba’ and qasas (wisdom), using various means of
sam‘
(auditory),
basar
(visionary)
and
fu’ād
(reflective)
observation,
contemplation, the introspection and the archeological surveys- as valid sources of knowledge. In other words, the proper study of the objects of knowledge, whether they be the microcosm of the atom or the macrocosm of the stars, the depth of the self, the conduct of society, or the march of history, if done under the guidance of the Revealed truth will compliment the Truth of Revealed Knowledge; “for ultimately they are derived from the same source: God, the Originator of all things” (Daud, 1980; IIIT, 1989) (figure 3.3). This establishes the inter-relatedness of various sources and
objects of knowledge (Bilgrami & Ashraf, 1985).
The Holy Qur’an Macrocosmic Universe Individual Human Intellect Figure 3.3: Almighty Allah as the Metaphysical Source and the Uniting Base of all Sciences Islam looks upon all the various sciences as the central means to salvation of the soul and to the attainment of human happiness and prosperity in this life as well as in the hereafter. The multiplicity of methodologies such as intellectual exercise and intuition, reasoning and logic, experimentation and observation, therefore, relate to the
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multiplicity of realities and of man’s place in that reality. But they are unified by the coherent vision, based upon the idea of al-tawhīd (Osman, 1991). Knowledge about all these are required in due measures, for keeping a balance between nourishment of body and soul. But the criterion for any knowledge, according to al-Ghazzali, “is its usefulness in leading human beings to those moral states that facilitate the attainment of ultimate happiness and achieving purification of the mind and soul (al-Zeera, 2001, p. 77).
Sacredness of Knowledge The Ultimate Knowledge, as pointed out before, is a key sifah (Divine attribute). This imposes the sense of ‘Sacredness’ on knowledge. According to Qadir (1988) ‘sacredness’ is central to the Islamic theory of knowledge and it is ultimately related
to al-Haqq, the Almighty Allah. Since Allah is the Sacred, not only the source of all knowledge, but also the aims, the object, the means and the ends of acquiring knowledge is also sacrosanct. Indeed, what distinguishes the Islamic way of thinking from the Western way is the unshakeable conviction of the former in the suzerainty of Allah over everything, and in the origination of all things including knowledge from the source which is no other than Allah (Qadir, 1988, p. 6). This is especially true of the Revealed knowledge, which is sacrosanct, and its certainty as well as utility is so assured, because it originates from the Ultimate Reality.
The Scope of Revealed Knowledge Although, Islam duly acknowledges ‘all possible avenues to knowledge’, Islam does not approve independent status of any faculty other than the Divine Revelation on
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reliability in the scale of truth. ‘Reason may fumble, but never the revelatory knowledge’, for the source of prophetic knowledge is Allah (Qadir, 1988, p. 82). Furthermore, the knowledge of Revelation is protected from any corruption or adulteration and constitutes a unique category, different in its essence from all other forms of knowledge, including mystic experience. It is the most certain and ‘objective’ knowledge; thus, is not a subjectively created ‘product’ of a Prophet (PBUH)’s intellectual capabilities. Therefore, the revealed knowledge which cover the Holy Qur’an, Sharī’ah (the Revealed Law) and Sunnah are most authentic sources of hudā (guidance) for man in every walks of his life (Sharifi, 1985; Qadir, 1988). Such knowledge contained in the Revelation is yaqīn (ultimately certain) and true and hence provides necessary hudā (guidance) for man (figure 3.4).
A
C zann (conjecture)
wahy as furqān (Revelation as the criterion)
B yaqīn (certainty)
‘aql/fikr (intellectual exercise) through
‘aql/fikr (intellectual exercise) through
hawā (desire)
hudā (guidance)
ghaflah (unconscientousness)
dhikr (contemplation)
Figure 3.4: Revelation as the Criteria Source: Developed and based on figures presented in al-Edrus, 1992, p. 95-96
The Revealed knowledge is supra-rational and supra-sensorial, in the sense that it is ‘not the outcome of man’s ability of thinking’ (Ibn Khaldun, as cited in Sharifi, 1985, p. 13). It is an external reality beyond the creation of any human being.
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However, although Revelation originates from supernatural sources which can be grasped solely by the chosen individuals called Prophets (PBUT), they bring it down to ‘the level of human perceptions (Qadir, 1988; Sharifi, 1985). The Holy Prophets (PBUT), hence, function as the link between Allah and human beings. Their mission is to guide people to salvation. In other words, the Revelation is not only a source of Absolute truth; it provides a system of beliefs and philosophical assumptions about the nature of this universe, of man, and man’s relationship with the natural world and social environment. The ‘Divine Revelation’ is a direct and immediate disclosure of what God wants man to realize on earth’ (al-Faruqi, 2004, p. 6). Man on hisown would not be grasping such knowledge. This is because human reason and human senses are contingent in their abilities and comprehension, in line with the contingency of all
man's capabilities (Ammara, 1995). In view of ‘grandness of responsibility’ of man, his capacities are very limited and finite. Therefore, his Creator prescribes a comprehensive moral code for him- a moral code grounded in a value-system which is comprised of ‘ethical guidelines for the religious quest, namely: piety, selflessness, truth, justice, love, wisdom, and beauty’ (Rahman as summarized in Mahdi, 2004, p. 82). The knowledge of accidents and attributes of sensible matters at time can be mere conjectures (zann) influenced by the whims and emotions of man, if they are bereft of guidance provided by the Revelation about man, the universe and reality at large. In summary, the knowledge structure is the second pertinent foundation of Islamic Worldview. Various essential elements of faith, especially the Divine Principle, significantly determine and unify various sources of knowledge and the nature, scope, contents, methods and intents of the process of seeking knowledge. Beside the elements of faith, and the universe, man himself is an object that is
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knowable.
These objective poles of knowledge are also influenced by the dual
conception of reality as Godly and non-Godly and the subsequent tripartite Spiritual, Subtle and Physical states of the created world. Furthermore, it is the Divine Principle that governs the relationship between the objective poles of knowledge and the subjective pole of knowledge, i.e., the man and all his faculties and powers of knowing, and various ways and methods of knowing as well (Osman, 1991). Thus, man is bound to know the Universe as well as to know its Uncreated Divine Principle and the relationship among them. Therefore, the sources of knowledge in Islam are based on an epistemology that is fundamentally different from the dominant epistemology of modern science. Before proceeding further with discussion on the implication of the concept of knowledge or on the concept of value, which are the fruition of faith into the plane of human action, it is necessary to elaborate on the
concept of man.
THE CONCEPT OF MAN The concept of man, his nature, conduct, psychology, duties and destiny; his relationship with Allah, with his fellow human beings and the cosmos form ‘as much a central preoccupation of the Koranic thought as the problem of God Himself’ (Iztusu, 1964, p. 75). In other words, the Holy Qur’an ‘places man in a very large perspective’ –the perspective of eternity and infinity, and simultaneously the perspective of the finite. The two, together, constitute the fundamental nature of man and denote to the ‘double capacity, for moral success and for moral failure’ which is the result of various constituents of man, of physical and spiritual nature (Nasr, 1999; Rahman, n.d., as cited in al-Mahdi, 2004).
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The discussion about man is arranged into two main themes. The first is on various internal and physical faculties and constituents of man, which make knowledge possible to him; the second is on the presumed roles he should be playing as the servant of Allah as well as the vicegerent of Allah. Man is not just a constantly changing badan/jism (physical body, but as portrayed in Table 3.1, man also has the spiritual, psychic and physical dimensions, each having corresponding faculties, attributes and limitations, which collectively impose a heavy responsibility on man’s destiny while living on the earth (al-Attas, 1990; Langgulung, 1991; Naoparast, 2001). These three dimensions, i.e., physical, psychic and spiritual are not independent, “separate or distinct, but rather confluent, interacting and interpenetrating coexistent phases of the soul” (Karim, 1984 as cited in Langgulung, 1991, p. 56). As a physical being, man is constantly changing (Daud, 1998). His powers cannot be unlimited, for
his life on the earth is for a limited period (Ashraf, 1979). He is ‘confined within the four walls of materiality, the bounds of time and space’. His nature is very plastic. He is educable of all the creation of Allah that he stands in most need of a right sort of guidance and education. The psychic dimension refers to the supernatural character of man. It is inclusive of the cognitive and rational faculties of ‘aql (intellect) and human mind. Men are capable of acquiring knowledge of the universe in which they reside. They are also capable of acquiring the knowledge of the Uncreated Principle (Açikgenç, 1996, p. 10; Osman, 1991, p. 22). As a spiritual being, the inner nature of man is defined by various transcendental components of rūh (spirit), nafs (soul), qalb (heart) and ‘aql (intellect). These premier constituents, according to Ashraf (1979) refer to the metaphysical, primordial, spiritual and transcendental existence of man, i.e., to the life ‘which extends beyond this world’.
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Table 3.1 The Comprehensive Conception of Man in Islam Man Spiritual Dimension
Components ● nafs (soul) ● rūh (spirit) ● qalb (nonphysical heart)
● ‘aql (intellect) ● Mind
Physical Dimension
● Body ● Five Senses
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Psychological Dimensions
Attributes ● Metaphysical, primordial, and transcendental existence ● intrinsically good (fitrah) ● permanence, eternity, infinite ● amānah, mithāq and hikmah (moral responsibility) ● dynamic and active ● justice, knowledge etc ● Rational, Intellectual ● Creative ● Social, Cultural ● Conscious ● Cognitive ● Emotional ● Educable, etc ● Carnal, Finite ● sensual observations ● susceptible to error ● Contingent existence ● Changing, Plastic, Physical differences ● Strength, speed, cleanliness, etc
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Implications
● Unity in multiplicity ● double capacity, for moral success and for moral failure ● a microcosm of the whole universe ● free-will ● grandness of responsibility of man
Destiny
● ‘abd Allah: multifaceted forms of ‘ibādah (worship), beside obligatory ones ●khalīfatAllah (collective identity)
It is, “rather, the inner nature of man… that forms the central theme of the Qur’anic discourse about man” (Ansari, 1992, p. 1). It is because of these premier constituents and inner nature of man that knowledge can inhere in him (Daud, 1998, p. 177).
Faculties which Make Knowledge Possible Although, various faculties in man can be grouped corresponding to the physical, psychic and spiritual constituents, their functions are not atomistic, but architectonically united. Thus, they “make it possible for man to become khalīfah (the steward of God)” (al-Ghazali as stated by Asari, 1993, p. 41). They ‘have been fashioned by Allah in due proportion,’ and they contribute proportionally to his balanced growth (Osman, 1991, p. 6). They together, perform psycho-physical and spiritual-moral functions and are moulded to be so. For example, as per Islamic
worldview “reason is understood, not simply as ‘ratio’ -a mental faculty which systematizes and interprets empirical facts in a logical order, making the experiences thereby understandable” (Daud, 1998, p. 97). Ratio or rational aspect is just one of the two aspects of the intellect. Simultaneously it is a spiritual entity, “inherent in the seat of intuition, al-qalb (heart)…. [Hence,] restricting the function of reason to the rational and sensible aspects only is, therefore, depriving it of its true quality, thereby making his reason unsound” (Ibid). Then, the five physical senses, as another example, are considered as “vital instruments of the soul in knowing certain aspects of God’s attributes and knowledge” (Daud, 1998, p. 118). They approve the existence of an ‘objectively real world’ (Ibid). It deciphers the signs that are found everywhere in the world of nature as well as within one’s own self, and thus helps ruh (spirit) in its search for the highest ideal.
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The ‘aql (intellect) compliments these faculties in order to get the meaning clearly. However, besides its physical and material functions, in ‘the particular Qur’anic epistemology’, intellect also assists man to ‘rightly comprehend the message of revelation’ (Al-Edrus, 1992, p. 97).
In this sense, “it is different from the
conception of ‘aql as Intellection as used by the philosophers, which according to them is a self-subsistent entity, an Existent and the First Manifestation” (al-Edrus, 1992, p. 43). That is according to Islam, in this process of ‘rational interpretation of the universe’, the Revelation and Divine guidance play a decisive role (al-Faruqi, 1982). It is the absolute means or the only means that can guarantee truth. In short,
Just as the extensive use of logic did not lead to secular rationalism which rebel against God and religion, so also the widespread practice of experimentation did not lead to an empiricism which regards sensual experience as the source of all knowledge. The traditional Islamic epistemology (theory of knowledge) provides all the necessary safeguards against such kinds of philosophical deviations (Osman, 1991, p. 5). Thus, ‘Islam cuts at the roots --the root of the fetish of empiricism, as well as rationalism. That is, Islam ‘points out the inherent limitations of human knowledge and understanding’ (Manzoor, 1991; Afazal, 1999). It calls for ‘integration between the cognitive and the sensitive imagination of the human soul’ and accordingly approves creative and innovative thinking. However, ‘training and developing of these aspects of man ought to be conditioned on the prior development of his spiritual capacities. This, on the other hand, implies that Islam ‘upholds the idea of the hierarchy and unity of knowledge and of modes of knowing’ (Osman, 1991, p. 5). In short, various faculties such as the five physical senses, and the rational and spiritual
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faculties of al-‘aql al-salīm (intellect) are approved as tools of man for acquiring the most certain knowledge of Revelation.
The Scope of Man’s Knowledge In contrast to Allah, man knows little. The fact is that, “the knowledge of man, however much he knows, is forever dwarfed by the vast domain of that which he does not and even cannot know” (Abd-Allah, 1985, p. 154). This necessarily implies that Almighty Allah’s guidance is necessary for man, especially to get insight about the world beyond perception. This is very specifically true about the knowledge of “God’s omniscience and the finality of the last judgement… which have direct bearing on the spiritual and moral edification of man in this world” (Abd-Allah, 1985, p. 155).“Only by means of prophetic revelation, according to the Qur’an, man can acquire that ‘ilm
(definitive knowledge) of the important essentials of the unseen” (Abd-Allah, 1985, p. 155). Nevertheless, through reflective thinking under the guidance of Revelation, man is able to comprehend that abstract knowledge. Reflective thinking is the process of intermingling experiences brought together by various spiritual, rational and physical faculties in order to make sense of the meanings of the heavenly messages brought by the Prophet (PBUH). Not only that, the Almighty Allah has taught him the names -the true nature of things (Daud, 1989; al-Edrus, 1992). ‘Through this primordial instruction by God’ Allah has bestowed in man ‘the ability to perceive and comprehend the scientific truths inherent in the world’ (Shari‘ati, n.d., as cited by Mahdi, 2002, p. 52). That means, man is given two types of knowledge: ‘al-‘ilm (knowledge) of accidents and attributes of sensible things and intelligible matters, and ma‘rifat Allah (knowledge of God)” (Daud, 1998, p. 50).
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“Ma‘rifah is that kind of certain knowledge which is attained through an experiential journey of the qalb… a state of the soul in which an experiential certainty is entertained, which thus reaches satisfaction, i.e., the state of the soul as expressed in the Qur’an as al-nafs al-mutma’innah” (Açikgenç, 1996, p. 49). Thus, the realms of ‘ilm and ma‘rifah so far as their content, objects and methods of acquisition are concerned are far removed from each other… ‘Ilm can be practical and theoretical, whereas ma‘rifah can be only experiential. Ma‘rifah provides a kind of tranquillity to the soul. However, both realms point to each other and cannot be detached from each other. They yield a unity and thus point to tawhīd (the unity of Allah). In short, man can comprehend the higher purpose of life and existence but through reflective thinking under the guidance of the verbal scriptural Revelation (Daud, 1998; Açikgenç, 1991). The reflective thinking is possible with the help of
various internal and external faculties that are inherent in him. Ultimately man has been equipped with all these inner capacities in order to be able to carry out the spiritual destiny and primordial truth that he has undertaken on his shoulders (alQur’ān, al-A‘rāf: 173; al-Ahzāb: 72). Further, man has accepted mīthāq (covenant) that only Almighty Allah is his Lord as well as al-amānah (trust) that the heaven, the earth and the mountains refused to take. The consequence of all this is that at once man is ‘abd Allah (servant of Allah) and khalīfat Allah (vicegerent of Allah); the former with significant personal and individual connotations while the latter with social and communal connotations. According to Daud (1998), “man’s raison d’être as God’s ‘abd (servant) and khalīfah (vicegerent) on earth has been settled in the Time of Pre-Separation when God announced to the angels that He was going to create vicegerent on earth” (p. 51). Both conceptions of man as ‘abd as well as khalīfah, are
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so central to Islam that they form the strong ideological motivation and basis of education and human resources development in Islam that are discussed below.
Man as ‘abd Allah Firstly, man is an ‘abd (servant) of Allah. At the outset, this fact should be noted, i.e., ‘the Holy Qur’an described the Prophets (PBUT) –who represent the highest human ideals- as true ‘ibād Allah (sing. ‘abd, servants of Allah). What this very explicitly conveys is that the worth of an individual is not quantified based on individual excellence, but on how much and how deeply one is conscious and faithful that he is first and foremost a servant of Allah and how this awareness is ‘personalized’ in his actions, attitudes and behaviour (Kazi, 1992, p. 13). As a servant of Allah one has to subject oneself completely, but consciously to
Allah, not just through physical performance of religious rituals, but by embracing His commandments in all aspects of faith, thought, feelings and actions. Man is bound to Allah alone, not to anybody else. Surrendering to Allah gives man’s freedom its distinctive characteristics. In Iqbal’s terms it is ‘the spiritual emancipation of the individual’ (as cited in Haq, 1990, p. v). Being Allah’s servant, he has to free himself even from his own subjective notions (zann, conjecture) and hawā (base desires) of alnafs al-ammārah bi al-sū’ (the nafs impelling towards evil), and also from all forms of superstitious beliefs and practices like magic sorcery, astrology, and all varieties of predicting the future (al-Edrus, 1992). He has to abstain from drugs, intoxicants and addiction-forming substances “to seek out the objective truths whether revelatory, historical, natural or logical, [in order] to convince himself and act accordingly” (Daud, 1989, p. 13). The ritual, transactional, culinary and other prohibitions in Islam, “beside their socio-economic consequences” are meant to free or prepare man’s
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mental faculties and physical capacities for their intended purposes... Only such a freedom will ensure man’s positive cognitive-moral growth…” (Daud, 1989, p. 13). To put it in different terms, man is created with a purpose that is worshipping Allah in every possible pursuits of his life. Worship is not constrained to certain rituals, but according to the Holy Qur’an it is ‘multi-faceted, that humans have to direct all their efforts, be they mental, emotional or physical towards the realization of’ the purpose for which he was created (Hamadi, 2005, p. 110).
Man as khalīfat Allah It is in reference to the role of ‘iqāmat al-dīn (establishing the religion of Allah) that the second role, i.e., vicegerency to Allah should be understood. As the vicegerent of Allah on the earth, man is commissioned to carry out Sharī‘ah (the Divine law) on the
earth. Throughout his life in this world, this Divine framework determines the domain, scope and spheres of man’s vicegerency and ultimately his status Here and in the Hereafter. The Divine Law sets the basic principles which prescribe the parameters for his freedom as the vicegerent of Allah. That is, vicegerency is a privilege that should be borne with responsibility. According to the Qur’anic Worldview, as Fazl-ur-Rahman (n.d.) explained, in order to be able to carry out his role as vicegerent of Allah on earth, firstly, man ought to be a moral being, Secondly, he has to be living in a society, Thirdly, he should possess the free-will and be endowed with various faculties and resources and lastly and most important, he should be bestowed by the Divine guidance. These privileges are a necessary pre-requisite to the mission of vicegerency (as summarized by alMahdi, 2004, pp. 42-43). To put it in a logical manner, man is confronted by various challenges on many fronts; while living among the people, his pure and innate nature
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is perverted. Although the innate nature is inherently inclined towards goodness, because of opposing physical and spiritual constituents he needs to make balanced and right, but rational choices; for which he should not depend solely on reasoning and sensual observations, in isolation from Allah’s supervision or bereft of His guidance. However, his commitment to the Revealed guidance and morality or resignation from it, is left to his free-will and disposition. The ‘trust of free choice or accountability…is the real function of a human being as a moral agent’ (Daryabadi, n.d., p. 680, as cited by Rahman, 2000). The ‘moral responsibility… is the human sense of being answerable for all acts or thoughts and conduct’ (Rumi, as cited by Shari‘ati, 1979).
Moral and Social Mission As vicegerent of Allah on the earth, the mission entrusted to man, according to
Shari’ati (1979), is “the same mission that God has in the cosmos… [that is] to rule according to God’s will, purpose and pleasure” (as summarized by al-Mahdi, 2004, pp. 42-43). Not only that he should pursue the moral code based on the Divine laws given by the Supreme Authority for himself, but that he also needs to be actively involved in “the struggle for creating an attachment to morality and awakening the moral consciousness of [his] fellow-beings by thoughts, words and deeds. He should strive hard to establish justice in the society, to promote human welfare, to do what is right and avoid what is evil. That is, the realization of this mission is not conceivable without reference to the societal whole (Rahman, n.d., p. 35). Society is ‘the sinequa-non condition of morality… and of religious falāh’ (al-Faruqi, 2004, p. 94). As an essential social creature in origin, nature, purpose and destiny, social organization is necessary to the human species (Ibn Khaldun, 1958).
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Society gives meaning to an individual’s life. They are mutually related and interdependent, but morally bound. That means, ‘no society can continue to exist or survive in the long run, without morality’ (al-Faruqi, 2004, p. 94). According to Iqbal (1877-1938), it is only through the community that one individual can associate with other individuals. It is the community which imposes discipline on him and teaches him to be as soft as the gentle breeze (as summarized by alMahdi, 2004, p. 14) Morality or the cosmic vocation of khilāfah entrusted to man becomes more relevant and realizable only when a man is part of society. That is, his perfection as vicegerent of Allah on the earth is inconceivable to the exclusion of other men. The creation of a private relationship with God is an inevitable pre-requisite to that relation with other man. It is rather, in struggle for the perfection of the human race, in
enduring hardship, hunger, deprivation and torment for the sake of the liberty, livelihood and well-being of men and in the furnace of intellectual and social struggle, that man attains piety, perfection, and closeness to God (Shari’ati as summarised in Mahdi, 2004, p. 58) His vicegerency on earth, in a spatio-temporal framework of activity and a physical environment, implies that he should function as an integrated being, namely, comprehensively, harmoniously, and creatively, in all the dimensions of his personality: physical, spiritual, moral, intellectual, and aesthetical (Rahman as summarised by Mahdi, 2004). As Allah’s vicegerent man must be active, dynamic, creative and objective for Allah is Dynamic and Committed to continuous creation. That is, man ought to mould the Divine attributes within him. He must strive hard in instituting the Divine religious and ethical principles in the society, that these principles ‘should serve as a check upon the individuals when they develop anarchical
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tendencies in the process of self-affirmation’ (al-Mahdi, 2004). Here, it is worthwhile to point out to the criteria that the Holy Qur’an ascribes to Muslim Ummah to be ‘the best ever produced for mankind’. The criteria of the best Ummah ever produced for mankind is that they enjoin good and forbid evil, and believe in Almighty Allah (alQur’ān, Āl‘Imrān: 104, 110). According to AbuSulayman (2009), the concept of khilāfah or man’s vicegerency on earth if understood along with the concept of belief in Judgement in the Hereafter, provides “an engaging positive vision that takes action and reform as its purpose in this world”. Such a vision should perforate the conscience of every Muslim individual, that it constantly stimulates the Ummah as whole,
to righteous action that is useful in both this life and the Hereafter…. It is, at once, an incentive for the jihad for self-purification, seeking sustenance, pursuit of learning, endeavours at reconciliation, efforts to meet the needs of the deprived, advocacy in defense of faith, selfprotection, defense of family and homeland, and defending the weak and the oppressed…. In all this, a Muslim seeks support by invoking God’s Name, glorifying Him, reciting the Qur’an, praying, fasting, giving alms, performing hajj, undertaking supererogatory religious rites, and privately and publicly observing God’s instructions (pp. 38-39). Lastly, as prime agent of Allah on the earth, the entire cosmos was succumbed to man, ‘to be explored and subjugated for the goodness of mankind’, and thus to be helpful while carrying out his role (Qutb, 1979, p. 51). In this regard it was mentioned earlier that Allah has taught man the names, thereby bestowing the ability to perceive and comprehend scientific truths existing in the world. Therefore, man ought ‘to mould the forces of the world around him for the realization of the moral ideal’, i.e., the creation of ‘spiritual democracy’ (al-Mahdi, 2004, p. 63; Iqbal as cited in Haq, 1990). Thus, the Islamic outlook towards the universe is optimistic; it differs from that which considers it an enemy to man (Abdullah, 1985, p. 75). Rather, it is a means for
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both the acquisition of knowledge of God’s names, characteristics and actions in this universe and in order to fulfil his commission of vice-regency. In short, the distinct position of man as khalīfah of Allah connotes to the moral concept of deputation of man on the earth. This is inline with the message of the Holy Qur’an as it proclaims, “God has promised those of you who believe and do good that they will be His deputies on earth, the same as their predecessors were ...” (AlQur’ān, al-Nūr: 55). The concepts of ‘abd and khalīfah constitute the philosophy of the Islamic concept concerning man's status in this universe. The immediate consequence of this philosophy is that man’s life process does not end with this physical world and that he is answerable to his Creator in the Day of Judgement for all of his deeds. Man is endowed with liberties, abilities and the right of ownership of earthly resources, but governed by the terms of the contract, i.e. the Sharī‘ah, by
which Allah has appointed him as vicegerent. Islam sets bounds for vicegerency, and does not grant absolute freedom. As vicegerent and as servant of Allah on the earth, man “is totally passive vis-à-vis the Will [guidance] of Allah, to receive from Him directions and guidelines for his life; and commands as to how to carry out His Will in the created order” (Nasr, 1999, p. 29). On the other hand, being Allah’s khalīfah, man has emancipated himself from all types of slavery except that to Allah (Abdullah, 1985, p. 75). The ‘genuine khilāfah (vice-regency) of the divine order’, as al-Faruqi (2004) narrates, is the highest, the most sublime, the noblest and the most consequential ideal conceivable for humanity (al-Faruqi, 2004). ‘Because of this endowment, man stands higher than the angels, for he can do more than them’ (alFaruqi, 2004, p. 5). It negates both the deification of man and the incarnation of Allah in man as well. Having knowledge about the roles and duties, as servant and deputy of Allah on the earth, is sine qua non as man’s existence itself.
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THE CONCEPT OF VIRTUE As per Islamic Worldview, it is faith that essentially determines the human values and, hence, the ways Muslims feel, think and act individually or collectively. This relates to man’s role, primarily as Allah’s servant and consequently man is entitled to rule the world according to His guidance as Allah’s vicegerent on the earth (khilāfah). The first obligation, therefore, refers to the spiritual values, which are meant to determine man’s relations with his Creator, the Lord of the Universe. But that is not exclusive of the interests of family as well as the community at large. He has to take care of, not only his own physical self and his immediate family, but, as a vice-regent of Allah, of Humanity in total as well. This refers to the moral aspects of values with interpersonal and human implications. That means that the comprehensive concept of virtue in Islam corresponds to both the spiritual and moral aspects of man’s relation
with God, his own self, other human beings and the physical environment. As per Islamic Worldview, therefore, faith is a priori to īmān (correct beliefs), a‘māl (actions) and akhlāq (behaviour and attitudes). Rather, faith ultimately controls virtue. The Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) link al-a‘māl al-sālihah (the righteous actions), so often with īmān (faith), as if ‘the two are like conceptual Siamese twins’ (Daud, 1989, p. 72).
This denotes the congruent
relationship between faith and action. That is, faith is complete only when it is accompanied by conviction and virtuous actions. By the same token, virtuous actions are successful only when their purposes are well comprehended and internalized. This means that, knowledge is also a pre-requisite to corrective internalization of values as well as morals. The end result of which is attainment of human happiness and prosperity in this life as well as in the hereafter. In order to attain happiness and progress in both this life and in the hereafter, man should maintain a comprehensive
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virtuous life, where he has to subscribe in the most balanced form to all the values related to his religion, body, mind, kith and kids, property and even human honour. They are inter-connected within a common frame and connected immediately by the framework of knowledge and then by the faith. The very outer frame includes every other frame within it. Values related to the belief being the first in the innermost frame of value, it connotes a hierarchy of values of human acts in the sight of God. As a whole, this relates to the outlook of balance and genuine synthesis between theoretical and practical aspects of Islam, where metaphysical beliefs are portrayed in the human plane, and the epistemological concepts are integrated at the practical levels. The practical aspects include, besides the five compulsory obligations, as indicated by the term ‘Islām’ in the famous Hadith of Jibrīl, ‘the moral, ethical and legal practices’ that are covered under the scope Sharī‘ah (Islamic religious Law) (Açikgenç, 1996, p. 24).
Figure 3.5 points to these interlinks between faith, knowledge and values.
Faith The Visible Reality
The Visible Reality
Knowledge The Divine Revelation
Values
Values related to dīn The Cosmic (faith) Revelation
Values related to nafs (life) and ‘aql (intellect)
Values related to nasl (progeny) and māl (wealth)
Values related to ird (honour)
Figure 3.5: The holistic integrated value-structure represented by Sharī‘ah In the language of Holy Qur’an, therefore, the exalted nature of man would be turned into the asfal sāfilīin (the lowest of the low), if man does not believe and accordingly actualize the beliefs in action (Al-Qur’an, Al-Tīn: 3-5). Al-haqq (truth),
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‘adl (justice), taqwā (piety or positive fear of Allah), tawādu‘ (humility), and sense of responsibility, amānah (trustworthiness), sidq (truthfulness), ‘iffah (temperance), etc. are the practical values which are ultimately tied into the ultimate value of īmān (faith). ‘Adl (justice), for example, is a key value. It is related to faith and knowledge. It is portrayed as the Divine quality, and should be practised on a human plane, at internal and communal levels. “Knowledge is seen is a key instrument of achieving justice” (Ahmad, 1998, p. 4). Only when every individual is availed of opportunities to acquire knowledge, that justice can be established in its Islamic manifestation. Therefore, to acquire knowledge is not an obligation upon a few only, absolving the vast majority of the society. That is why, in Islam, ‘ilm is placed at par with ‘adl or the pursuit of knowledge is as important as the pursuit of justice. In other words, knowledge is a secondary to īmān (faith) as a key virtue.
According to al-Attas (1979), knowledge is man’s paramount attribute responsible for the effective establishment of the just order in his self, his being and existence…” (p. 29). Tazkiyah (inner peace or tranquillity), adab (discipline), hikmah (wisdom) are the practical end results of knowledge, which can be attained if knowledge is sought with pure intention, bereft of vain desires. According to Daud (1989) “righteous actions that emerge out of and in conformity to the Islamic worldview include the spiritual and other religious duties as well as efforts of personal or social significance along moral, spiritual, intellectual or socio-economic lines” (p. 72). That is why there is no independent ethical or legal philosophy in Islam. ‘The corollary to this fact is that fiqh cannot be translated into English simply as ‘law’, for fiqh includes religion, law and morality so integrally the one cannot be without the others’ (Açikgenç, 1996, p. 25). Another pertinent point with regard to value, as can be gauged from figure 3.5, is that, the Islamic concept of reality and its dualistic mainframes and tripartite sub-
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frames also imply very significantly on value structure. So there are absolute values and acquired values. Because of the dual conception of reality, knowledge in Islam is classified into two -the Revealed and intellectually acquired-, so are the values. The Revealed-knowledge is the locus of the absolute or intrinsic values (Muslihuddin, n.a., p. 44). The acquired, common, shared and social values operate in the cultural and political practices. However, they are conceived within the framework of Revelation. That means the socio-political, physical-material factors are not denied their due places in Islam, but are placed within a perspective. Similarly, caring for the spiritual values does not mean the suppression of the biological or social needs (Abdullah, 1985). This comprehensive concept of value thus has been succinctly presented by the Holy Qur’an in Sūrah al-Baqarah, verse: 177.
It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards the East and the West, but righteousness is this that one should believe in Allah and the last day and the angels and the Book and the prophets, and give away wealth out of love for Him to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and the beggars and for (the emancipation of) the captives, and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate; and the performers of their promise when they make a promise, and the patient in distress and affliction and in time of conflicts-- these are they who are true (to themselves) and these are they who guard (against evil) The verse, at once denotes to the individual and collective virtues related to faith as well as actions; action such as giving away wealth for love of Allah, fulfilling the promises, being tolerant during the time of hardships and others. However, eventually all these should be based on staunch belief in Almighty Allah as well as the other angelic and metaphysical realities.
THE CONCEPT OF LIFE/CIVILIZATION (TAMADDUN) From earlier explanations on three key-structures and the concept of man as per the Islamic Worldview, it is clear that Islam is not only a faith, but essentially is also a
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way of knowledge and way of life. Islam is so extensive and comprehensive that embraces all aspects of activities of man, rather than being restricted to the physical performance of religious rituals. Islam encompasses all of Man’s beliefs, thoughts, feelings, deeds, actions, aspiration, behaviours and attitudes at personal, interpersonal, cultural, political, economic and other levels. That means, Islam is a living religion, the right course of life lived by man who willingly and whole-heartedly submits himself to his Creator, the Almighty Allah in order that he gains His Pleasure. “The idea that religion is a private matter, a system of beliefs and rituals confined to the relationship of an individual with his God, is foreign to the Muslims” (Rosnani, 1996, p. 8). Only, when man finds guidance in religion for every aspects of his life, he would be able to submit himself willingly and whole-heartedly to his religion. Islam is a balanced religion; neither encouraging orthodox extremism nor unregulated
liberalism. It strikes a judicious balance and follows a middle course. Various verses in the Holy Qur’an, thus, coherently present various meanings of al-dīn, the establishment of which was the mission of various Prophets of Allah (PBUT). According to Khan (2008), the word ‘al-dīn’ “literally signifies retribution, habit, submission, accountability, dominance, supremacy, power, command, behaviour, mode of life, path etc., and technically refers to Islam” (p. 5). To Khan (2008), what the Prophet (PBUH) had achieved in his life, best portrays the reality of al-dīn . He established a fully-fledged Islamic society in Arabian Peninsula, which continued flourishing for several centuries. That society was not merely a religious one but it also represented Islamic principles in all walks of human life, social, moral, political, economic, cultural, military, international relations, and educational etc…. It simply means that what the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) established was al-deen, the Islamic civilization (Khan, 2008, p. 5)
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The religion of Islam as understood as ‘al-dīn’ has strong association with spiritual traditions, intellectual culture and civilized life (Osman, 2009; Douglas and Al-Shaikh, 2004). The Arabic words which signifies ‘civilization’ is tamaddun. These words, “dīn and tamaddun, are taken from the same Arabic root, d-y-n, which underscores the relationship between spiritual, intellectual and civilized life” (Douglas and Al-Shaikh, 2004, p. 14). This shows that as a religion, Islam embraces life in its totality placing emphasis upon the physical, the psychic and the spiritual aspects of life, ‘good in this world and good in the hereafter’ (Al-Qur’ān, al-Baqarah: 201). Thus, unlike Christianity, material prosperity or full appreciation of this world and its goods is fully desirable in Islam, though not as a goal in itself. Islam also leads man towards a consciousness of moral responsibility in everything he does (al-Faruqi, 2004). Before closing this section, let us implore how these structures have already
been implied upon the objectives of Sharī‘ah.
SHARĪ‘AH: ITS AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The Sharī’ah, as a comprehensive concept includes theology (faith), spiritual, psychic and physical actions as well as morals and ethics. Sharī‘ah is an ‘integral aspect of the Islamic revelation’ (Osman, 1991). It serves as a guide for Muslims to conduct their life in harmony with the Divine Will. It is all-embracing in the sense that it includes not only universal moral principles but also details of the way in which man should conduct every facet of his earthly life, both private and social. The leading ‘ulamā’ have viewed the Sharī‘ah as a unity in which the detailed rules should be read in the light of their broader premises and objectives (maqāsid al-Sharī‘ah) (Kamali, 2005). According to Sharī‘ah, every human act must fall into one of the following five categories: (1) wājib (obligatory), (2) mandūb (meritorious or recommended), (3)
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harām (forbidden), (4) makrūh (reprehensible), and (5) mubāh (indifferent). These five on the other hand, are placed within other tripartite categories, in a descending order of importance, are (a) that which meets darūriyyāt (the absolute necessities), (b) that which meets no absolute necessity but it is merely expedient or means (hājiyyāt, expedients), and (c) that which serves a good end (tahsīniyyāt, embellishments) (see figure 3.6).
wājib (obligatory)
mandūb (recommended
mubāh (indifferen) hājiyyāt (expedients) darūriyyāt (necessities)
harām (forbidden tahsīniyyāt (embellishments)
makrūh (reprehensible)
Figure 3.6: Value Structure in the Islamic Worldview Source: Adapted from Hikmatullah Babu Sahib, 2009, PowerPoint Teaching Notes for Introduction to principles of Islamic jurisprudence, sl. 61 These three areas are basically concerned with the ‘protection’ and ‘promotion’ of the six essential interests and values of dīn (faith), nafs (life), ‘aql (intellect), nasl (progeny), māl (property) and ‘ird (honour) which are of primary importance to the Sharī’ah (see figure 3.7). According to Kamali (2005), “these are, by definition, essential to normal order in society as well as to the survival and spiritual well-being of individuals, so much so that their destruction and collapse will precipitate chaos and collapse of normal order in society” (p. 5). This is implied in many of the various laws and values of Sharī‘ah, especially in the spheres of ‘ibādāt and moral teaching. These laws are designed firstly, to protect (hifz) the benefits of the individual and that
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of the community, and to facilitate improvement and perfection of the conditions of human life on earth (ibqā’). For example, jihād is instituted in order to protect religion, qisās (the just retaliation) to protect life. Theft, adultery and wine-drinking are punishable offences as they pose a threat to the protection of private property, the well-being of the family, and the integrity of human intellect respectively. As another example, the family laws of the Sharī’ah are likewise an embodiment, largely, of guidelines and measures that seek to make the family a safe refuge for all of its members. “In an affirmative sense again, but at a different level, the Sharī‘ah encourages work and trading activity in order to enable the individual to earn a living, and it takes elaborate measures to ensure the smooth flow of commercial transactions in the market-place” (Kamali, 2005, p. 5). The Sharī‘ah, therefore, according to Kamali (2005) is concerned, “from the beginning to the end, with the benefits of
God’s creatures”, not God. Shātibī then adds that masālih (benefits) are to be understood in their broadest sense which is inclusive of all benefits pertaining to this world and the hereafter, those of the individual and the community, material, moral and spiritual, and those which pertain to the present as well as the interests of the future generations (as cited in Kamali, 2005). In short, Maqāsid al-Sharī‘ah is largely concerned with the philosophy of the law, its outlook and objective, rather than the specific formulations of its text.
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nasl (progeny) ‘aql (intellect) ‘ird (honour)
dīn (religion)
nafs (life)
māl (property)
Figure 3.7: Criteria that determine the values Source: Adapted from Hikmatullah Babu Sahib, 2009, PowerPoint Teaching Notes for Introduction to principles of Islamic jurisprudence, sl. 182 In relation to the pursuit of knowledge and education, the Sharī‘ah encourages the spiritual traditions, intellectual culture and civilized life which are necessary for the well-being of the people and the advancement of arts and civilisation. As
mentioned already, it is because the Sharī‘ah covers many areas with personal or social significance along the moral, spiritual, intellectual or socio-economic lines that, there is no independent ethical or legal philosophy in Islam. Therefore, the real comprehension of the nature and characteristics of the Islamic education, and more specifically Islamic religious education, is extremely depend upon knowing Islamic conception of Sharī‘ah as well. Various scholars, who studied the different aspects of Islamic education, are of the opinion that the ambiguity relating to the aims, goals and objectives of education is basically attributable ‘to the non-existence of a clear philosophy of education, which should act as the basis for any educational institutions’ (Rosnani, 1998, p. 6) (See Abdullah, 1985; Kilani, 1998; Delic, 2001, etc). This has a lot to do with the failure to understand and explicate educational philosophy relating it with maqāsid al-Sharī‘ah (the objectives of Shari’ah) and its three-fold structure of Absolute necessities, expedients and embellishments, as
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explained above. This failure, in turn, imposed considerable damage on the Islamic education system. To be more specific, the Sharī‘ah imposes heavily, not only in the process of formulating the philosophy of education, but also in relation to their application on different levels of education - from primary to post-doctoral, on every subject of study from religious to academic, and on the methods, learning experiences and evaluation processes. To conclude, the five key structures of faith, knowledge, value, man and life explained in the beginning of the chapter correspond to five essential principles of protecting faith, life, intellect, progeny, property and honour, basically as theoretical, applied and practical applications (see figure 3.8). This would further add to the development of curriculum framework for IRHE. To put it more explicitly, all the five structures, independently as well as coherently are as one architectonic whole
which provide epistemological foundations and principles on which to build the Islamic education system, its intents, content, means and methods. It is īmān (faith) represented in al-dīn (religion) which binds them together and determines the holistic paradigm, thus making Islamic education as ‘ unique’ and distinctive from any other mainstream educational system on alien moulds (See figure 3.9). The next chapter is meant to explore this further, relating it to curriculum principles, intents, content, pedagogy and means of evaluation.
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Dīn (Religion) nafs (life) ‘aql (intellect) nasl (progeny) māl (property) ‘ird (honour) Figure 3.8: Consonance and congruity between theory and practice ‘ilm (knowledge) ‘amal (values) ‘ubūdiyyah (servitude) khilāfah (vicegerency)
SUMMARY Islam as a belief system, a way of knowledge, life and civilization presents a distinctive metaphysical, cosmological, epistemological, ethical and moral doctrinal principles about reality, knowledge and virtue; and consequently about man and his destiny. These are portrayed in the Islamic legal-moral code of the Sharī’ah and the concept of al-dīn (religion) and unified by the concept of the Divine Unity (tawhīd)
into one comprehensive and holistic architectonic whole. Therefore, it is not surprising to claim that the very essence and spirit of Islamic education, its rationale, means, methods and whole rationale, are fundamentally distinctive and are permanently established. Nevertheless, pervasively, the education of Muslims in most of the Muslim countries is fundamentally alien to the authentic Worldview of Islam. The foundations, principles, criteria, intents, contents and so forth are moulded into frameworks which are incompatible with Islam, thus creating chaos in society and perverting Muslim minds. In the pervasive influx of the Western-centric education system, thought system, way of life and worldview of uncontrolled material progress and development, the ‘traditional’ Islamic religious education institutions have been sidelined.
Rather they themselves have chosen to remain in the periphery. The
contemporary ‘traditional’ Islamic religious education institutions and the ‘ulamā’
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produced in them have been ineffective not only to face the difficult moral and social dilemmas of modern society, but to provide visionary leadership specifically in spiritual and intellectual domains (Tauhidi, 2001). Therefore, the tertiary level institutions providing for ‘Islamic Religious Education’ system should once again actively involve itself in moulding genuine and original religious scientists of ‘insight and spiritual discernment based on those authentic sources as well as other metaphysical sources of ‘macrocosmic universe and individual human intellect’ in these spheres of life (al-Attas, in Daud, 1998). It is in this context, that the present study attempts to relate various deliberations made on the five essential structures of Islamic Worldview to the process of education, especially the curriculum, its aims and objectives, fields of exposition, methods of delivery and evaluation with specific reference to Islamic religious higher education (IRHE). It is nothing about inventing
new things, but it is all about reinstating ‘faith’ in every atom of education of Muslims. It is a call for appraisal of the traditional or conventional vision of Islamic education, and for the return to the classical, prophetic models of moulding Islamic education to become both practical and relevant. It is worth noting that classical Islamic education did, in fact, equip the earliest generation of Muslim scholars to face the challenges of their particular time. This is the legacy of true Islamic education, and this is the challenge of modern-day providers of IRHE.
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CHAPTER FOUR THE FOUNDATIONS AND FRAMEWORK OF THE ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS HIGHER EDUCATION (IRHE) CURRICULUM
Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do the righteous deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to in the earth, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practice their religion, that which he has chosen for them (i.e. Islam). And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear (provided) that they, (the believers) “worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me”. But whoever disbelieves after this, they are the rebellious, disobedient to Allah. (Al-Qur‘ān, al-Nūr: 55) The previous chapter elaborated on the key Islamic concepts of faith, knowledge and value relating them to man, his destiny and role in the world. It also explored how
these concepts converge coherently with the principles and objectives of the Sharī‘ah. This chapter further ventures into elaborating these concepts relating them to Islamic education, specifically its curriculum. In the course of doing so, it summarized various deliberations made in the field of curriculum. This exercise eventually leads to deliberations on (a) the major foundations of the Islamic education curriculum, (b) its major fields of exposition as well as (c) its major pedagogical focus. Then, the chapter compares these deliberations with various other expositions made by Muslim educationists and scholars, in an attempt to presents a ‘basic’ framework for the Islamic Religious Education curriculum. Lastly, the chapter identifies the roles that the Shari‘ah Scholars (‘ulamā’) as religious scientists should undertake in further developing the basic model into a ‘perfected’ curriculum framework as well as revitalizing the Islamic Religious Higher Education institutions tradition. It is in this context, that the next chapter explores the implication of the framework on the curricula of IRHE institutions in Kerala, India.
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THE CURRICULUM STUDIES The term curriculum, in general, refers to scope and sequence, syllabus, content outline, textbooks, course of study and planned experiences. An explorative exposition of ‘educational processes’ involved at any level would indicate that curriculum actually comprised of all these. That is why, different educationists, and academic curriculum workers define curriculum differently. For example, to Johnson (1968) curriculum is a structured series of intended learning outcomes or expected ends. To Marsh & Willis (1995) curriculum is a ‘set plan and experiences that students undertake under the guidance of the school’ (p. 10). Others claim that a curriculum is ‘the set of instructional strategies which teachers plan to use’ (Posner, 1995, p.5). From a different perspective, it has been defined as students’ actual, rather than planned, opportunities, experiences, and learning. Others define curriculum as a
body of knowledge or contents and general statements arranged according to certain objectives (Tyler 1949; Johnson, 1968; Prat, 1980; Posner, 1998). In fact, these definitions cover every element involved in the process of education, i.e., the intents, contents, teaching-learning experiences, organization (Rosnani, 1998). The key point to note about the curricula is that decisions made about them certainly involve valuejudgements. They correspond to certain perspectives and approaches on what education is, what objectives are worthwhile, and how they should be expressed, what kinds of content are most important, how the content should be organized, how education progress should be evaluated and what is and what ought to be the relationship between schools and the society at large? (Posner, 1992, p. 46) Major philosophies identified by modern scholars on curriculum are traditionalism and progressivism which subscribe to various perennial, idealistic, pragmatic, re-constructionist or existentialist approaches to curriculum. Posner (1992),
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for example, he identifies five theoretical perspectives, namely traditional, experiential, structure of discipline, behavioural and cognitive (See Table 4.1).
Table 4.1 Five Approaches to Curriculum Traditional Experiential Structure of the discipline Behavioural Cognitive
What are the important aspects of our cultural heritage that should be preserved What experience will lead to the healthy growth of the individual? What is the structure of the disciplines of knowledge? At the completion of the curriculum, what should the learner be able to do? How can people learn to make sense of world and to think more productively and creatively?
Source: George J. Posner (1992), Analyzing the Curriculum. p. 47. As Posner (1992) clarifies, this is not all about them; it is just representative,
but not exhaustive. Rather, he agrees that, some perspectives are more comprehensive than others are, and thus address a broader set of questions. As already shown, the theoretical and conceptual foundation of Islamic education is so comprehensive that it addresses a broader set of questions. Furthermore, they promote an eclectic approach that integrates at once, areas of physical and metaphysical, transient and permanent, spiritual and rational, individual and collective. However, with regard to the essential questions, they address the foundation on which they are constructed, and as far the end products which they envisage, those are distinctive. From a purely ‘rational-linear’ perspective, the systematic study of the contemporary life in society, the learners and the subject matter are the main sources of curriculum purpose and content, organization, implementation and evaluation (Tyler, 1949). Once the information and facts derived from them are ‘screened through’ the philosophy of the school and psychology of learning, they ‘convert’ to be
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the ‘ultimate’ guides which determine various curricular decisions. Rather, they ultimately influence the key assumptions and understandings about the world, society and morality and the choices of values, knowledge and skills to be included not just the formal documented curriculum, but also all the other five concurrent curricula (See table 4.2).
Table 4.2 Five Concurrent Curricula Official Curriculum Operational Curriculum Hidden Curriculum Null Curriculum Extra Curriculum
The curriculum described in formal documents The curriculum embodied in actual teaching practices and tests Institutional norms and values not openly acknowledged by teacher or school officials, but represented by the total environment within the school The subject matters which are not taught The planned experiences outside the formal curriculum
Source: George J. Posner (1992), Analyzing the Curriculum. pp. 10-12. All the five types of curricula contribute significantly to the education of students. For example, the hidden curriculum represents the total environment and settings within the school. Null curriculum, on the other hand, is the understood rationale for why certain disciplines are ‘not’ taught or facilitated in the school. All these curricula overtly or covertly imply on various curriculum decisions, purpose and content, organization, implementation, and evaluation and preferred role for teachers, administrators and students. However, only the first two are actually ‘deliberated’ upon by curriculum experts and educationists when planning a curriculum. According to R. W. Tyler (1949) model, four essential questions need to be answered when planning such a curriculum. They are:
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Table 4.3 Ralph W. Tyler's four Questions 1. 2. 3. 4.
Objectives What education purposes should the school seek to attain? Selecting Learning Experiences What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes? Organizing Learning Experiences How can these experiences be effectively organized? Evaluation How can we determine that these purposes are being attained?
Source: George J. Posner (1992), Analyzing the Curriculum. pp. 11-13. In fact, Tyler (1949) agrees that this is “one way of viewing an instructional programme”, but not all about it. It is not comprehensive. Thus, many other models with varying approaches such as technical-linear, descriptive, concept-based, processbased, emancipatory and critical were developed by Hilda Taba (1962), Schwab
(1970), Walker (1971), Mauritz Johnson (1977), P. Freire (1970), E. W. Eisner (1979), McLaren (1993), Posner (1998) and others. However, the technical-linear model is so widespread in the mainstream discussion about curriculum, that education was “seen as a technical exercise, where objectives are set, a plan drawn up, then applied, and the outcomes measured” (Smith, 2000, p. 5). In contrast to the eclectic and comprehensive approach that Islam promotes, the technical-scientific, rational-linear, means-end approach rests on a parochial assumptions and understandings about the man, universe, society and morality. They are theoretically influenced by the dominant secular-liberalist connotations regarding the ethical primacy of the human being, the exalted power of reason, democracy, autonomy, citizenship and so forth. Such fundamental principles, therefore, significantly influence the choices of knowledge, values and skills of Western educationists (Eg. R.W. Tyler, Kelly, Dewey). For example, the universe, its
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magnificent structures and its various resources are seen as purely material and utilitarian that they may be exploited to the maximum without limits. Evidently, thus, man’s worth is measured only in terms of his contribution to the progress and developments both defined from pure utilitarian, economic and material planes. The spiritual aspect of Man’s nature is ignored and rejected. Man is regarded as a biological and social phenomenon. Biologically, he is treated as an animal…. Sociologically he is treated as a quantifiable unit which goes on changing along with changes in the external circumstances than govern a society (Ashraf, 1985, p. 8). Values, on the other hand, are considered just as relative and as products of society. Their absoluteness is totally denied. The concept of wahy (revelation) and hudā or hidāyah (divine guidance) are central to every aspect of Muslims’ life, and consequently to the Islamic education, whereas within the Western framework, the
process of education and thereby its curriculum are essentially seen as value-free or neutral. Such marginal tunnel visions about the man and his role on the earth, are inconsistent with the Islamic vision of truth and reality, man and his destiny and ultimately the concept that Islam is a comprehensive religion, as explained earlier. Therefore, emulation of the rational-technical-scientific theories in toto, without appraising them Islamically, would be suicidal to Muslims. Because, the Western secular intellectual sciences and philosophy, civilizations, human, natural and applied sciences developed in a milieu alien to Islam and in the absence of clear vision about the innate spiritual nature of man, and even the universe, they represent “a set of cultural values and mores that grew out through time among the network of scholars actively engaged in scientific activities in the West” (Acikgenc, 2003, p. 1). What this necessarily demands, is that the Muslim intellectuals and educationists master Islamic principles and concepts related to education thoroughly,
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lest they would, to use al-Attas (1979)’s term, produce ‘false leaders’ who would ‘not posses high moral, intellectual and spiritual standards required for Islamic leaders’. Rather, they would not be ‘qualified for valid leadership of the Muslim community’. However, as false educationists, they would ‘cause injustice, general disarray and grave problems’ (pp. 2-4). Explicitly then, the foundational principles and conceptions regarding reality, knowledge, values, man and his destiny as Islam sees them, should permeate the entire education system, not ‘merely theoretically. Rather, the theoretical conceptions and beliefs should enter into application as well as practices (Cornbleth, 1990). They should reflect in the process of setting the objective, selective learning experiences, organizational learning experiences and evaluation methods. They should necessarily be permeated by the Islamic ‘cognitive and methodological approaches’ to original source of Islam (al-Attas, 1979 p. 8). The following section further explores
how various foundations that are decisive of the Islamic education system, distinctively depart from the philosophical, psychological, social and historical foundation
conceived
by
the
technical-scientific, rational-linear,
means-end
approaches.
MAJOR FOUNDATIONS OF THE CURRICULA OF ISLAMIC EDUCATION In Islam, the process of education is all about nurturing and maturing various spiritual, cognitive, affective and psychomotor potentials of man, in the progressive and balanced manner (Al-Attas, 1979; Ashraf, 1985). That means that, ‘education is a purposeful activity’ directed at the development of the totality of human life. Therefore, according to al-Kilani (1995), neither the traditionalist nor the modernist approach to curriculum would serve the Islamic curriculum process, for the curriculum that Islam envisages is all-comprehensive and integrative, encompassing
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the contemporary needs, the past issues and future concerns of man. In turn, this inevitably demands that the bases of the education and thereby curriculum be founded on the genuine but definitively certain principles of faith and the divine Sharī‘ah. In that process of which the Muslim educationists and curricularists should not succumb to their own subjective realizations and the mere conjectural presumptions following the footsteps of modern Western theorist uncritically (Ashraf, 1985; Kilani, 1995).
The Faith-Based Theological Foundations of the Curriculum As explained in the chapter three, the Islamic conception of reality and truth encompasses both the Absolute, invisible, transcendent realms as well as the revealed, visible, created and physical realms. These include Islamic metaphysical and ontological vision of truth and reality related to Divine Reality (the Absolute ghayb,
the Nature of Allah, etc); related man (Resurrection, Prophethood, man’s inner spiritual self, primordial conviction, servitude, vice-regency, etc); and related to the created reality (such as Heaven, the Hell, day of resurrection, etc). No source other than the Revealed one would be able to present it, because such knowledge that pertains to the Absolute realms is not accessible to man. In turn, this means that the faith-related facts, principles and criteria, which is the subject matter of Revealed Sciences are haqq (the most certain); and thereby the crux of the conceptual foundations of Islamic education. These permanent constituents of Islamic education regulate the variables that change according to the change of time, place and the needs of people. That results in Muslims need to shape their worldview regarding any other fields of sciences, ‘the system of his government, and policy and the directives of his art, literature, expression and educational skills or expertise’ around the permanent faith principles (Madkour, 1991). A Muslim educationist and curricularists ought not
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to receive the fundamentals of his faith or the constituents of his worldview from nonIslamic sources. Rather, these fundamentals act as ‘ulūm al-maqās?id wa al-ghāyāt (the science of guidance on aims and objectives) of education, (Ibn Khaldun, the Muqaddimah, p. 513 as cited in Madhkour, 1997, p. 389). The most important foundation of Islamic education, and thereby its curriculum is founded on the genuine but definitively certain faith-related facts, principles and criteria. Together, various elements of faith build up a conceptual and theoretical framework. They ‘form a cognitive or Gnostic category’ that various choices of and decision about values, knowledge and skills are to be included in the education, and by extension in the curriculum which is based on aqīdah (the science of faith). Īmān (faith) gives the direction, the guidance, the scope and the limits to the process of education. If the core is jeopardized or corrupted, or if the core is grafted
from alien worldviews, there is no guarantee that those educated in the system do not become false leaders. In short, the faith-based theological foundations are the base of practically all the sciences and disciplines taught in the Islamic education system whether it be theology, jurisprudence, natural sciences, mathematics, engineering or even philosophy.
The Knowledge-based Intellectual Foundations of the Curriculum Knowledge is secondary to īmān (the faith). But knowledge is man’s paramount attribute responsible for the effective comprehension of the foundational principles of faith, as well as its articulation in the establishment of the just order in his self, his being and existence…” (al-Attas, 1979, p. 29). To elaborate it further, firstly, in order to articulate faith in his personal and collective life, man requires the support of a dedicated will power, which, in turn, should be supported by the enlightened rational
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power. The rational power is nourished through the process of acquiring ‘right’ comprehension of the principles of truth and reaching at correct knowledge of things in the physical universe. Secondly, for the Islamic conception of knowledge is integrative and holistic, the intellectual foundation of Islamic curriculum is about having a correct Islamic vision about the educational process, i.e., about the wisdom and purpose of acquiring the knowledge. Ultimately, it is about being equipped with a balanced knowledge and enlightened rational power. ‘Knowledge really affects thought, behaviour and civilizing effectiveness or (in the case of lack of knowledge,) ineffectiveness’ (AbulAynain, 1992, p. 76). In different words, what this means is that education should facilitate a deep understanding of the Divine signs in the Revealed, Human and Natural sources of knowledge. It also implies that Islam does not approve
compartmentalization of education into religious and otherwise. Thirdly, Knowledge is so integral to al-īmān al-kāmil (the healthy faith) as well as al-‘amal al-sādiq (virtuous actions) that therefore, the educational process should be eclectic, in utilizing ‘all possible avenues to attain knowledge’ as well as various means of reflective, contemplative, and imagary methods of knowledge acquisition and the nurturing and maturing of the spiritual, intellectual, imaginative, emotive and other potentials within each student. However, Islam does not approve of the independent status of any faculty other than the Divine Revelation.
The Value-based Moral Foundations of the Curriculum Simply value-based foundations, as al-Attas (1979) describes, functions as criteria and means of deployments and enacting of the faith principles, which is the goals of human life; and consequently the goal of education. That is, the pursuit of knowledge
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about Absolute truths, and about the human, physical and natural sciences is useless devoid of any creative and constructive purpose and unless they are put into practice. The Absolute truths and facts should be seen as points of reference and as values having implications on “man’s relationship with God, humanity and the universe” (Ashraf, 1985, p. 25). That is, values are appreciated not as norms, but rather for their ‘formativeness’. They import certain meanings to this relationship. The Attributes of Almighty Allah, for example, are not regarded as just some metaphysical theories, but for their creative influence on ‘forming’ and nurturing the character and attitudes of man. The value-based foundations, thus, provide an all-inclusive goal for education. Various values are required for protection and preservation of dīn (religion), nafs (life), ‘aql (intellect), nasl (progeny), māl (wealth) and ‘ird (honour), therefore, they
should be imparted according to their place in the hierarchy. They should implanted through various teaching/ learning experiences, so that learners comprehend them well and apply them in their practical, theoretical and intellectual endeavours as researchers and practitioners, at personal as well as collective levels. When they are reflected in education and its contents and methods, the educated would be equipped with tazkiyah (inner peace or tranquillity), adab (discipline), h?ikmah (wisdom).
The Man-related Psychical-Social Foundations of the Curriculum Beside these three key foundations, there are two more foundations related to man (psychological and sociological) and the physical universe (civilizational). The psychological and sociological foundations are composed of Islamic viewpoint on man, various spiritual and physical components in him, the nature and ultimate purpose of human existence on the earth. They are subservient to the first three
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foundations and they examine various psychical, social, political, economical principles related to the utilization of individual and collective potentials for the wellbeing of the individual, family and the humanity at large. This foundation, therefore, firstly, corresponds to the concept of man as ‘abd and khalīfah (servant and vicegerent) of Allah). At personal or individual level, the scope of education is decided on its contribution to the meeting of the spiritual, intellectual and psychic needs of man. That is, as abdAllah (servant of Allah) man is free from any types of servitude to human-made systems. At inter-personal or societal level, the scope of education is determined by khilāfah (the Islamic concept of vicegerency) where man is dynamically involved in bringing welfare to humanity at large. The realization of these roles essentially depends on comprehensive educational processes, which train the emotional, intellectual, sensual and physical faculties
simultaneously (Ashraf, 1985). The human exemplification of this is historically preserved in the life, activities and sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), which, can be emulated as the perfect model that the educational institutions can project as their end product (al-Attas, 1979; Ashraf, 1985). Secondly, with regard to the nourishment of various internal and physical faculties of man in addition to addressing various human needs. This foundation demands that the education system incorporated in all these elements is varied in such a way as to cater for the development of a balanced growth in the constantly changing physical abilities of man, the supernatural cognitive and rational potential of his intellect and his innate urge for spiritual attainment defined by various transcendental components of rūh (spirit) and qalb (heart). In line with the above, thirdly, the establishment of this foundation also demands that a moderate, middle-path be followed with regard to integration of
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various rationalist or empiricist methods, tools and disciplines, so that the secular rationalism and the fetish of empiricism which rebels against the objectives of the Sharī‘ah. This foundation insists on the integration between the cognitive, the sensitive as well as the spiritual imagination of the human soul and accordingly approves creative and innovative thinking, thus providing ‘all the necessary safeguards against such kinds of deviations (Osman, 1991).
The Physical World-related Civilizational Foundations of the Curriculum Lastly, man’s needs for material development and progress are denoted in the present study using the concept of world or civilizational structure. Man lives in the physical world and among other members of the society where the principle related to the first three foundations are materialized. In order to facilitate this process, Almighty Allah
has provided (taskhīr) (the physical and natural resources) for man; for his consumption as well as their effective utilization for the overall welfare of humanity. Besides, this what the foundation demands is that education provides “an engaging positive vision of the Islamic perspective of progress, development, and reform, i.e., to relate them with promoting human welfare, establishing justice in the society, defence of family and homeland, efforts to meet the needs of the deprived and many others. That is, this foundation means to stress the wisdom behind striving for material advancement. It is all about struggling for creating an attachment to morality and awakening the moral consciousness among the people. Lastly, this foundation also implies that various sciences related to juz’ī (the partial) and micro-minute physical and material beings in the world are placed within kullī (the whole) or macrocosmic conception which is the Islamic vision of truth and reality. Therefore, it is necessary that such endeavour is not isolated from the holistic Islamic Worldview.
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In short, the entire cosmos was made subservient to man, and man was bestowed with the ability to perceive and comprehend scientific truths existing in the world, not just to exploit them, but rather to mould the forces of the world around him for the realization of the ‘spiritual democracy’, as indicated in the last chapter. To conclude the conceptual bases of Islamic education are theo-centric in essence, but realistic and practical as well. They correlate the metaphysical with the physical and the Divine with the human. They envision an ‘active efficacious and dynamic human portrait’ and prescribe a meaningful destiny for human existence at the individual and collective level (Hamadi, 2005). The unitary principle of tawhī?d is the key to all these foundations, which, in turn, stitches them into one architectonic unified vision. Tawhīd and by extension the faith-related theological foundations, thus, they act as the constant safeguards against disintegration and collapse of the
education system, for it puts forth certain decisive and permanent facts, values and norms, which, in turn, regulate the variables that change according to the change of time and place and the needs of people, but facilitate development and progress. The order, hierarchy and their inter-links between these five foundations are portrayed in figure 4.1. However, merely examining the foundation areas as such is insufficient. “Curricularists need to show the relationship of the foundation areas and curriculum” (Ornstein & Hunkins, 1998, p. 14). They need to be reflected in the curriculum principles and methods of their applications. This is why, the next section explores how these foundations relate to the Islamic educations’ fields of exposition.
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THE ULTIMATE REALITY Faith (Īmān) Virtuous Actions (al-Isām)
Knowledge (‘Ilm)
Man World Figure 4.1: The Conceptual Basis of Islamic Education ISLAMIC EDUCATIONS’ FIELDS OF EXPOSITION Corresponding five foundations of Islamic education explored above, the fields of exposition of the Islamic education is the compendium of Revealed, Intermediary
Human and Physical and Natural Sciences. As explained earlier, Islam approves all the possible avenues of knowledge, but does not grant them their own independence outside the holistic realm of Islamic Worldview. No one specific branch or sub-branch should be conceived with relationship to the others and to the whole. They are interrelated and unified within the architectonic unified world-view of Islam. An indelible link can be established not only among their contents, but also in their ultimate purport. Education, thereby, is a scientific activity of exploring into this interrelatedness, analyzing their meaning and synthesizing practical solutions out of it. The place of each category of the Revealed, Intermediary Human and Physical and Natural science and the place of science that falls under each category is, therefore, determined by their degree of contribution to the perfection of man’s knowledge of God, and to ‘the perfection of the soul to the point of being God-like, either directly or indirectly’ (Osman, 1998, p. 115). Practically, this denotes to the
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prior-most place of the Revealed Sciences in determining the parameters and criteria of foundational principles in various disciplines under intermediary human sciences, and physical and natural science.
The Revealed Sciences The Revealed Sciences, fundamentally, make the knowledge of the reality outside the sensual and physical world understandable or intelligible to man, that man be able to make meaning out of them.
What is beyond the sensual and physical world is not
limited to only the existence of God, immortality and revelation. On the contrary, such abstract problems as what is knowledge, what is the being, what is freedom and what is the truth, what are the destiny and role of man, what are the major ethical values, and so on, are all well-defined subject-matters included under the spectrum of the
Revealed sciences (Acikgenc, 1996). That is, the spectrum of Revealed Knowledge is so wide and comprehensive that they include specific directions for intermediary human sciences as well as the physical and natural sciences. With regard to education, the problem such as how a Muslim educationist should regard the education as such, what are its aims and goals, and what should one study or teach, and so on are all problems that fall within the area of Revelation. What all this shows is that, the Revealed Sciences have a well-defined knowledge content and an accumulated body of knowledge related to (1) the metaphysical domains of faith principles and (2) the Divine guidance, the Sharī‘ah. The first is known as the Revealed theology, which, “simply organizes and systematically presents the subject matters of the Absolute ghayb” such as dhātAllah (nature of Allah), ba‘th (resurrection), nubuwwah (prophethood), jannah (heaven), and others (Açikgenç, 1996, p. 59). According to Açikgenç (1996), ‘no science other
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than kalām (revealed theology)’ is able to present it, because such knowledge pertains to the Absolute realms (p. 59). The second presents certain principles which are meant to be a guide to man in every aspects of life, i.e., Sharī‘ah (the Divine code of law). That is, Revealed knowledge is not just the accumulative body of dry knowledge in the form of concepts, facts, rules and regulations. If such were the case, Islam would have already been buried and forgotten beyond centuries. In reality, they are ‘formative’ rather than being ‘normative’; formative in the sense they ‘formed’ the course of the human history, provided them the directions and constantly inspired them to further investigate the physical, natural and intellectual spheres of knowledge, essentially directing them towards decisive aims and goals. That is how the revealed sciences brought about the glorious civilization. They were an integral part of the Muslim
spiritual traditions, intellectual culture and civilization. It is the investigation into why they stopped doing so which, in fact, demands the necessity of the revival of the whole of the Revealed Sciences, and thereby, their bearing on other sciences. The nature and characteristic of the contents of the Revealed Sciences and the logical relationships that exist among them are distinct from the nature and characteristic of contents of the intellectual and empirical sciences (Osman, 2009). They are derived from the authentic sources of the Holy Qur’an and the Prophetic Sunnah; they have an organized body of knowledge, which is systematized with certain methods. Rather, these peculiar methods are used to derive and to examine these knowledge contents (Acikgenc, 1991; Osman, 2009). The authentic sources are depended upon as being the ultimate sources for derivation of rules, regulation, criteria and parameters, which control this meaning-making process. These are just a few among many reasons why the Revealed sciences have always been held to be the
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highest form of knowledge as well as the ultimate goal of all intellectual pursuits in Muslim classification of knowledge composed over the centuries.
The Intermediary Human Sciences Revealed knowledge is perfect in all its forms and allows no modification or change. It has the status of absolute truth. However, this knowledge is essentially aimed to guide man’s beliefs. Hence they need to be understood and their implications to man need to be elaborated. This is where the scope of Revealed sciences further expands to include the intermediary human sciences. “Speculative theology is the first human science that uses rational procedure in the acquisition of knowledge, and thus provides a passageway from the realm of the transcendent to the realm of the visible” (Acikgenc, 1996, p. 60). However, the human reason or intellect can only interpret
that knowledge, within certain limits set by Almighty Allah in the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). When man further interprets them using his physical and rational faculties, it is called ‘the philosophical or rational’ in essence. For example, speculative theology is about the intellection on Islamic vision of truths regarding the metaphysical reality, but within the frame of the Divine Revelation. Therefore, the truth of such expositions are dependent on ‘limitedness’ and ‘subjectivity’ of human reason, and thereby relative. The same is true about fiqh (the jurisprudence), akhlāq (ethics and morals), tasawwuf (mysticism). Jurisprudence, for example, deals regarding obligatory rituals, inter-personal ethics and morals, related family matters, business and political affairs and so forth, therefore, are inevitably decided upon the revealed divine injunctions. Therefore, intellectual knowledge is of tentative truth and always to be judged in the light of the former (Muslihudin, n.d. pp. 44-45).
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At applied and practical level, then, the Intermediary sciences investigate the implications of the Revealed sciences on man, his family and the society. They establish certain spiritual, moral and ethical codes for men and their interpersonal dealings and transactions. Thus, these sciences stand in between the transcendent and physical sciences. Hence, whenever possible while investigating such subjects, methods of both transcendent and physical sciences –namely, (a) the reflective thinking methods taking the Islamic sources as their ground, (b) the experimental observational methods, and (c) rational procedures- should be utilized. Those with deep-knowledge of the Islamic sources, and enlightened with the spiritual discernment and intellectual capacity, may prove or disapprove of certain past expositions at personal level. At the communal level, nevertheless, it is the duty of the religious scientists or ‘ulamā’ to derive specific scientific schemes, rules and regulations to be
followed while doing such exercises. Although, the intermediary human science cannot be like the method of those sciences investigating the physical realm, nor like that of other conceptual sciences, an organic relation exists between these multiple methodologies, for ultimately they are unified coherently under the vision of tawhīd (Osman, 1991). In short, the knowledge content and methods of inquiry of Intermediary Human Sciences, which include all the social and human sciences, are distinct from that of the first, i.e., each has its own proper methods and contents.
The Physical and Natural Sciences The Physical sciences, thus, are in the last category, which include sciences such as physics, astronomy, biology and abstract sciences such as mathematics and logics, whose subject matter is nature (Açikgenç, 1996). They investigate the physical reality, not the spiritual or metaphysical reality. The method of studying the physical sciences
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is based on the ‘twin fundamental principles of observation and experimentation’ (Açikgenç, 1996, p. 105). The Holy Qur’an repeatedly encourages man to reflect upon the Visible World, in order to acquire its knowledge’, not as independent intellectual exercise, but in the name of his Lord, because all the laws of nature are placed into it, in such an intelligible manner that they also point to the Absolute Realm. That is, as per Islamic Worldview, the physical sciences should necessarily be considered as creations of Allah, the Ultimate Creator. In other words, God’s Creation is also God’s revelation (Osman, 1991). The objective of studying them, therefore, should not be divorced from the main objective of society, namely the maintenance of the welfare within the ethical fabric of Islam. “The Qur’an talks about the Visible Universe and discusses its marvel for the sole purpose of teaching its main objective, which is guidance in the knowledge of Absolute Realm.... But the [purpose] itself can be
discovered and conceived only through the guidance of Revelation” (Osman, 1991, p. 56). To put it briefly, the content of Islamic education, should be a compendium of sciences in the Revealed, Intermediary Human Sciences as well as Physical and Natural categories, but designed within the Revealed faith-centred framework. The developments and discoveries outside the Revealed-faith framework, for certain, have their own contributions; and Islamic education could benefit from them, but after ‘purging’ the impurities and sieving them in the mould of Islamic Worldview. It is in this respect, that the Revealed faith-related principles, themes and values play the harmonizing and integrating role, giving the intellectual endeavour a purpose. Consequently, the curriculum of the ‘Islamic religious higher education institutions, necessarily should not be confined in the ‘pure religious studies’, rather to be extended to cover the humanities, social sciences as well as physical and natural sciences. An
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educational programme set to support exclusively, the Revealed sciences, will be different in content, design and organization from one that serves a more comprehensive concept of faith’ (Hamadi, 2005). Figure 4.2 summarizes these points, rather denotes to the ‘unitary consistency of the Islamic worldview’, and by extension, the unitary and holistic nature of Islamic education.
Revealed Sciences Intermediary Human Sciences
Physical and Natural Sciences
Figure 4.2: Islamic Education’s Fields of Enquiry ISLAMIC EDUCATION’S PEDAGOGICAL FOCUS
No aspect of man’s life will escape the consideration of the Islamic education, be it his social, physical needs or spiritual needs. Fulfilment of all these needs is inherent to man’s most particular attribute, that of morality. That is the reason why, instead of ignoring these needs and desires, Islam organizes them in a proper context. Dīn (religion), nafs (the human life) and ‘aql (human intellect) are key values, which according to the Sharī‘ah, need to be protected and preserved from, not just physical harm, but from drugs which cause the mental illnesses. With regard to the Islamic education, this implies that the contents of the curriculum should be essentially related to the human plane, considering, man’s spiritual need for guidance regarding ultimate truths and the need to reach for God. Also, the curriculum should cover Man’s intellectual needs so that he makes meaning of his existence as well as his desire to acquire knowledge; his physical needs for food, activity, and sex; and man’s social
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needs for affection, ‘belonging’, and status within a social group (Rosnani, 1996) (See figure 4.3). Spiritual and Moral Values and Needs (ruh) Physical and social Values and Needs (nafs, nasl, māl and ‘ird)
Intellectual Values and Needs (‘aql)
Figure 4.3: The Islamic Education’s Pedagogical Focus That is, the total education experience that the Islamic educational settings provide, should encompass the spiritual, moral, intellectual, practical, social and ethical ends and concerns of man. It is not an atomistic process of just fostering certain intellectual or physical skills such as analytical skills, effective
communication, practical intelligence, ethical judgment, social responsibility or physical expertise (Liberal Education, 2002). Beside these, education of Muslims should target the nourishment of their spiritual faculties as well. Therefore, a variety of inter-related factors which correspond to the individual man, his society, the family, his social and peer groups, the school, the role allocated to him and a myriad other factors that either overtly or subtly shape and influence what should be taken into account within that education while devising pedagogical plans (Sultan, 1992). In other words, pedagogical focus of Islamic education should aim at nourishing the spiritual, moral, intellectual, psychical, imaginative, scientific, linguistic, physical and social aspects, needs and priorities both individually and collectively, so that he is motivated towards goodness and attainment of perfection in every sense. This mandates that various fundamental principles, essential concepts, themes, skills and values related to the three main categories of knowledge, i.e., (a) the
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Revealed Sciences, (b) the intermediary Human Sciences and (c) the Physical and Natural sciences be arranged corresponding to the spiritual, psychic and physical constituents of man. This is represented in Table 4.4. The columns in the utmost left in Table 4.4, align with various human faculties such as the spirit (spiritus), soul (anima, psyche) and body (corpus) (Osman, 1998). They denote to the vertical dimensions that need to be taken into account while planning, designing, implementing and evaluating the education of Muslims. The columns at the top, as explained earlier, align with various sources and contents of knowledge needed to correctly establish the balance of the relationship between man and his Creator (Revealed Sciences), between man and other individuals (Intermediary Human Sciences), man and the physical universe (Physical and Natural Sciences). The places of each category aligning with the top columns- rather the places of sciences that fall under them, are determined by their
“degree of contribution to the perfection of the ultimate to his knowledge of God and the perfection of the soul to the point of being God-like, that he undertakes his role perfectly” (Osman, 1998, p. 115). Practically, the above point denotes the implication of Revealed Sciences while investigating the parameters and criteria of foundational principles in various disciplines under intermediary Human Sciences, as well as the Physical and Natural Science. That is why, the Revealed sciences have always been held to be the highest form of knowledge as well as the ultimate goal of all intellectual pursuits in Muslim classification of knowledge composed over the centuries (Osman, 1991). This justifies why the recitation of Holy Qur’an has been and continues to be integral to Islamic education at the earlier stages. At the later stages, the Holy Qur’an should be taught, not just for the merits of messages included in it, but for its inherent theoretical, applied and practical worth and implications.
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Table 4.4 Islamic Sciences
Revealed Sciences Spiritual/ Moral Intellectual /Psychic
Physical/ Social
Islamic Sciences Intermediary Human Science
● Principles of Imān (faith) ● Obligatory Rituals (pillars of Islam) ● Speculative or hikmah (philosophical) Theology, Jurisprudence, Ethics and Morals, Tasawwuf ● Principles of jurisprudence, sciences of the Qur’an, etc. Intrinsic or Absolute values comprised in Sharī‘ah (Divine Commandments)
Tasawwuf (spiritual ethics and morals)
Physical & Natural Sciences Environmental Sciences and Etiquettes
● Psychology ● Philosophical inquiry (logics and Reasoning) ● Methodical Sciences in relation to Humanities
● Mathematics ● Scientific Research Methods
● akhlāq (shared values and morals) related to the Personal and Inter-personal relations ● mu‘āmalāt (practical aspects of Divine Commandments in such as Economics, History, Political sciences, etc; commonly known as Social Sciences)
Pure Sciences such as Physics, biology, astronomy, etc.
Source: Adapted from A. Açikgenç (1996), Islamic Science: Towards a definition, p.61 Inevitably, thus, the foundational principles of religious, intellectual, philosophical, human and physical sciences should be derived from the Divine sources. This point is very pertinent, because Islam approves the rationalobservational-experimental-scientific methods, provided that they are sieved through the prism of the Revelation. In contrast to the pure rationalistic point of view about reality, man and universe; and in contrast to the jāhilī streak of individualism of ‘immanent’ arrogance and in contrast to total abstinence from worldly favours and withdrawal to inner-self, Islam pre-supposes a practical, realistic and comprehensive ideal for human beings
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(al-Attas, 1979). In short, the core components of the curriculum of Islamic education should, be composed sciences of various nature and characteristics, but integrated both vertically and horizontally, that they serve the balanced growth of every component in the tripartite constituents in man, i.e., the spirit (spiritus), soul (anima, psyche) and body (corpus). This is further explained while delineating the implication of these deliberations on the curriculum framework of Islamic education. Before that, the following part considers al-Attas (1979)’s expositions on curriculum along with various suggestions calling for its further improvement and revision. (e.g. Rosnani, 1996, 2007 and Hamadi, 2005).
Al-Attas’ Curriculum Model Although al-Attas (1979) points to the tripartite components in man, as was explained
at various points in this study, while establishing their implications on the Islamic education and its curriculum he presents ‘a cursory schemata of man, knowledge, and the university’, which essentially is based on the classification of sciences into the Revealed and acquired. Indeed, the schema ‘clarify the corresponding relationships that obtain between them’ (p. 200), rather it reflects upon the prominent place of the Revealed sciences in the hierarchy of knowledge: Elsewhere al-Attas (1979) has illustrated this through a pictorial representation (See Appendix 4.1 and figure 4.4). According to al-Attas (1980), “each man is like a kingdom in miniature; al-‘ālam al-s?aghīr (microcosmic representation) of ‘ālam alkabīr (the macrocosms)… His soul ought to govern his body as God governs the Universe” (p. 38). Accordingly, he claims the religious sciences to be the university’s permanent and abiding centre. Similar as man’s soul governs his body, the religious
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sciences should be the core of the university governing and implying upon all other faculties in it.
Table 4.5 Cursory Schemata of Man, Knowledge and the University MAN 1. His rūh, nafs, qalb, ‘aql (soul and inner being) 2. His body and physical faculties and senses MAN’S KNOWLEDGE 1. The God-given knowledge 2. The acquired knowledge THE UNIVERSITY 1. fard? ‘ayn (the religious sciences) 2. fard? kifāyah (rational, intellectual and philosophical sciences) Source: Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas (1979), Islam, Secularism and the Philosophy of the Future, pp. 200-201.
The dualism in the structure would become further evident if the above schema is presented as the figure 4.4 (as presented in Hamadi, 2005, p. 194). Upon careful reading, it will be clear that the above schema as well as the corresponding pictorial illustration presented by al-Attas (Table 4.4, Figure 4.4 and Appendix 4.1), brackets the physical as well as intellectual sciences in a separate ‘acquired’ category. This brings the wrong impression that both ‘spiritual’ and ‘physical’ faculties are independent (Hamadi, 2005). This denies not only the integral nature of man, but also the integral and harmonious nature of knowledge itself, and consequently the integral nature that various faculties in a university should embody.
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Soul God-given fardu ‘ayn (revealed sciences):
Man
Body
Knowledge
Acquired
University
fardu kifāyah (rational, intellectual, philosophical): 1. Human Sciences 2. Natural Sciences 3. Applied Sciences; 4. Technological Sciences
1. Holy Qur’an 2. Sunnah 3. Shari‘ah; 4. Theology; 5. Islamic metaphysics 6. Linguistic Sciences
Figure 4.4: Connection among Man, Knowledge and University Source: Content adapted from Attas. (1999, pp. 39-42)
To delineate the point further, corresponding to the tripartite constituents in man, i.e., the spirit (spiritus), soul (anima, psyche) and body (corpus) of man) the educational process should focus on the proportional nourishment of all of them. This may be equal to saying that the fard ‘ayn sciences should be taught in a manner that they are correlated with not solely the spiritual faculties, needs and requirements of man, but also relating with intellectual and physical needs and their development. In fact, the elaboration on the key principles of the Sharī‘ah in chapter three already pointed out that protection and preservation of dīn (religion), ‘aql (intellect) and nafs (life) are among the key to its objectives. Therefore, every discipline indicated under the Revealed sciences should be related to various disciplines covered under the rational, intellectual and philosophical sciences. The sciences related to religion should not be taught from a narrow perspective, but essentially should be conducted in a wider sense relating them to all
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the above aspects of man. The same rule is applied to the exploration and study of any other specific intellectual or physical or natural sciences. They should be carried out only in a holistic and comprehensive manner that they nurture and discipline man’s individual and collective life and relating to the physical and natural world. This, in fact, does not disapprove the veracity of al-Attas’s (1979) argument. Instead, it calls for the further improvement on his model for education. Further, this is not meant to abolish the valid hierarchy and order of certain sciences over others. Rather it demands the appropriation of correct perspective about knowledge about intelligence, virtue, the spirit, the human destiny and purpose. Al-Attas (1979) himself points out this factor. To him, education is about disciplining the body, mind and soul. It is about refining one’s physical, intellectual and spiritual capabilities and potentials and enabling a person with high morals,
intellectual and spiritual standards required for an authentic Islamic leadership. AlAttas (1979) own elaboration on the purpose of Islamic education denotes this integral quality. “In Islam the purpose of seeking knowledge is ultimately to become a good man” (p. 143). The ultimate model of a good man, according to al-Attas (1979), is embodied in the Universal or Perfect Man of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) who projected right knowledge and action in universal form. Hence, a university, not only should endeavour to produce a ‘perfect man’, but also in itself, should embody a perfect educational system enacted accordingly. In short, the horizontal and vertical coherence as indicated in table 4.4 is very pertinent as far the curriculum of the Islamic education is concerned. This will provide room to expand the core curriculum and include courses in intellectual and physical sciences. It is in this regard, Rosnani (2007)’s demand to expand the core knowledge for those specializing in the Islamic traditional sciences become significant.
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Rosnani’s Curriculum Model The curriculum of the higher Islamic traditional studies of the contemporary times, according to Rosnani (2007), is not “satisfactory or holistic, because it neither nurtures… the affective domain nor sharpens the students’ scientific or mathematical analytical abilities” (p. 105). She calls for an ‘intellectual Islamic curriculum’ whose basic core would allow students to explore literature, arts, history, social and philosophical analysis, science and mathematics, and foreign languages and cultures, along with religious sciences (Rosnani, 2007, p. 106). This, according to her, would encourage students to take their own initiatives to undertake philosophical and scientific analysis, appreciate their own culture, appraise other worldviews and thereby make a link between reality and educational processes. Rosnani (2007), thus, presents an improved model for Islamic higher education. The model was developed
based on the al-Attas (1979)’s model as well as the Western liberal education model. The Western liberal education model adopted in the Western Universities is comprised of a core, which includes one subject from each discipline. Then, there are different divisions representing a faculty of the intellectual sciences, humanities and the social, natural and applied sciences. In fact, al-Attas’s model also was constructed in a similar fashion, which is comprised of fard ‘ayn core (Islamic traditional sciences) and various faculties for fard kifāyah sciences. Rosnani (2007), thus, calls for an integrated and holistic model, which is composure of the Islamic traditional sciences core as well as Islamic intellectual sciences core. Besides these, the curricula of an Islamic University will be offering different divisions for specialization in sciences of either type (figure 4.5).
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Islamic Traditional Sciences specialization
Islamic Traditional Sciences Core
Islamic Intellectual Sciences Specialization- humanities, social, natural, applied sciences, etc
Islamic Intellectual Sciences Core
Figure 4.5: The Curriculum of an Islamic University Source: Adapted from Rosnani Hashim (2007)’s diagram in Intellectualism in Higher Islamic Traditional Studies: Implication for the Curriculum, p. 106. Rosnani (2007)’s primary concern while presenting this model for Islamic higher education’ was to seek out an answers to questions like “what knowledge is most valuable for today’s intellectual and ethical” Muslims, why the graduates of the
Islamic higher education are not creative and innovative even in their core business of teaching or da‘wah? In addition, how to facilitate what Fazlur Rahman calls ‘Islamic intellectualism’ (cited by Rosnani, 2007, p. 94). In fact, the success or failure of an Islamic educational system, according to Rahman (1988), should be evaluated based on its contribution to the growth of a genuine, original and adequate Islamic thought. Cognizant of the significance of such an endeavour, she urges for (a) adequate articulation of the conceptualization of knowledge as regards to the Islamic epistemology in the curriculum, (b) proper utilization of pedagogies that encourage critical and ethical thinking, (c) re-introduction of Islamic philosophy into curriculum, and (d) revival of the culture of academic freedom, so that the higher Islamic education once again produce genuine, original and adequate Islamic thought and intellectualism. Inevitably, this affects curriculum structure and the programmes of Islamic traditional sciences.
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Institutions providing for specialization in Islamic traditional sciences as their core focus, therefore, need to provide comprehensive and holistic education covering Islamic traditional and Islamic intellectual sciences. The training of their spiritual, intellectual and physical potentials should be integrative of sophisticated means of pedagogy and instruction. Only then, one would expect their graduates to provide an enlightened and dynamic leadership “in all spheres of human activity, such as socioeconomics, politics, and health”, and be able to articulate “today’s pressing issues of democracy, civil society, human rights, gender, environment, non-Muslims, pluralism, language, and globalization to the extent that they can guide the masses” (Rosnani, 2007, p. 94). In short, Rosnani (2007)’s model heightens the comprehensive and holistic aspects of Islamic education to a more advanced level. She advocates the revival of
the traditional as well as the intellectual sciences so that the essential qualitative aspect of knowledge is retained. To her, The Islamic approach to knowledge is essentially qualitative, in the sense that acquiring knowledge is not the result of the love of knowledge as such, but rather a means to know God, Who is the Ultimate Truth…. In another aspect, knowledge acquisition in Islam has always been associated with serving society…. The study of nature should not be directed towards dominating it, but towards benefiting from it, and then transcending it to reach a higher order of knowledge: knowledge of the Ultimate Reality and the realization of our status as spiritual servants (pp. 96-97). When related to the two-dimensional horizontal and vertical coherence as indicated in table 4.4, this would mean that the Revealed (Traditional), Intermediary Human and Physical and Natural Sciences (Intellectual) sciences become an essential congruent of the core of the Islamic education curriculum. Their utility, as far as man
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is concerned, is indicated at the vertical plane; i.e., these sciences should be integrated in such a manner that they contribute to the spiritual, moral, intellectual, psychical, social, and physical requirements of man. The comprehensive conception of the faith is the single principle that unifies the horizontal categories and vertical domains. This singular concept of faith binds together the education experiences in these different sciences, at different contexts and various stages of learning (Hamadi, 2005). This singular Islamic doctrine envisions and integrates the holistic human development which is based on the unity of body, mind and soul as well as the unity of life in this world and life in the hereafter. Through figure 4.6, the following part summarizes these deliberations. The figure denotes to interlinks between the conceptual bases (layer one), the fields of expositions (layer two), the pedagogical focus (layer three) and eventually on
curriculum (layer four). The term ‘curriculum’ is used here in an all-inclusive sense; that is, these deliberations imply on every element involved in the process of planning, designing, organizing, implementing and evaluating the ‘veritable Islamic education system’ (Nasr, 1984, p.1). The first layer of the figure suggests to the theoretical and conceptual basis of Islamic education. Explicitly, what this implies is that the total academic and administrative environments of Islamic education institutions should be planned, designed, implemented and evaluated in such a manner, that they reverberate the priorities decided by Islam. That is, it should not be just a hodgepodge of various disciples from the Islamic and the Western heritage. With regard to this, the function of tertiary level Islamic Religious education institutions is to actively involve a community of scholars in exposition of these conceptual bases for their theoretical and applied implications.
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THE REVEALED KNOWLEDGE CONCEPTUAL BASIS OF EDUCATION
LAYER ONE
Īmān (faith) al-Isām (virtuous actions)
‘Ilm (Knowledge)
Man World
ISLAMIC EDUCATION’S FIELDS OF EXPOSITION
Physical and Natural Sciences
LAYER THREE
Spiritual and Moral Values and Needs (ruh?) Physical and social Values and Needs (nafs, nasl, māl and ‘ird?)
Intellectual Values and Needs (‘aql)
Methods of Assessment and Evaluation
Curriculum Content Learning Experiences
Methods of Teaching and Learning
CURRICULUM PROCESS
Total Educational settings LAYER FOUR
Intermediary Human Sciences
ISLAMIC EDUCATION’S PEDAGOGICAL FOCUS
LAYER TWO
Revealed Sciences
Figure 4.6: The Process of Curriculum Decision-Making for Islamic Education Source: Developed based on Michael Grimmitt (1987)’s diagram in Religious Education and Human Development, p. 205. They need to expose the absolute principles for their relevance, adaptability and adjustability to the social changes brought about by the modernity (Ashraf, 1985). The second and third layers respectively denote the fields and the means of their
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exposition. As such, these institutions should provide everything necessary to encourage learners to live by religion, use religious insights in the interpretation of their own experiences, developing self-consciousness and abilities (Tauhidi, 2001). Religious facts and principles should not be allowed to lie as dormant facts; as having once been proved, never being evaluated again for their implications to the changing times. Beside being trained to have an ‘intellectual awareness’ about them, these scholars should be trained to see through them, make meaning out of them, and eventually expose their practical implications on individuals as well as on society. At present, it is incumbent upon the religious scientists and community of scholars to once again prove that a ‘veritable Islamic Educational System’ is not only possible, but also practicable. The third layer, thus, denotes the practical ends and ethical concerns of the
Islamic religious curriculum. That is, relating the contents of various disciplines to the human plane, focusing on the human integrity and welfare. The last layer denotes the curricular representation in the process of not only selecting intents, contents, teaching-learning experiences, organization of these experiences at various levels matching with students’ needs, but also in the total educational settings. In summary, the figure shows how five key structures explained in chapter three could harmoniously represented in the process of education. Otherwise, what this means is that, merely explaining these principles, concepts, themes and key values is insufficient. The Muslim curriculum specialists along with Muslim theologians, educationists, subject-specialists and intellectuals must embark upon analyzing the underlying principles, themes, concepts and key value corresponding to the Islamic conceptions of faith, knowledge, virtue and their implication for man, his life and the civilization (Ashraf, 1985). They are integral to the educational process.
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They are present at every stage of it as procedural principle and expressive objectives, which should guide our practice throughout. In fact, by attempting to co-ordinate various principles, themes, concepts and values related to these five domains in a framework, the study aims to translate them into procedural principles which, in turn, would inform the above-mentioned group in the process of formulation, objective, organization of the contents, and selection of the teaching-learning experiences and the methods of evaluation.
CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK FOR ISLAMIC EDUCATION At the outset, it should be mentioned that the curriculum framework, as proposed by the study is ‘basic’. The term ‘basic’, in this context, connotes two things. First, it just proposes a model structure, in the sense that, various principles, themes, concepts
and values listed under each column should not be considered as the ultimate. This is because such an exercise is not to be carried single-handedly. Rather, as pointed out above, such an exercise should be carried out by a collaboration of theologians, and subject-experts, Sharī‘ah experts, educationists and curriculum specialists. It was towards this end Ashraf (1985) called for scholarly experts in different fields to gather and establish a relationship between various disciplines and settle the important conceptual framework and the topics for necessary research. However, this remains un-achieved. In this regard, the proposed framework would indicate about how to go about that. Second, the term ‘basic’ means ‘fundamental’, that is, the framework is synthesis of various previous discussions in the third and the present chapters. Therefore, although the framework proposed by the study is a collection of basic principles, essential themes/concepts and key values related to different domains of
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man, what is listed under each of these headings are just representative, not conclusive, thus requiring further discussion at scholarly level. In other words, the details identified under each column are not final. It is also acknowledged that this is just a first attempt to do so, and is done at the individual level as partial requirement of the doctoral study. Even, a full-time doctoral level thesis would not be able to do justice to such a wide topic. Hence, the present dissertation, although claiming the originality of such a proposal, does not claim the list to be conclusive. However, the researcher firmly believes that necessarily it would be informative and will motivate the future endeavours in the Muslim world to revive the IRHE institution and recapture the past glory of Islam as al-dīn as a complete way of life. The golden past or glory of Islam, inevitably, is nothing other than a current manifestation of Islam as a practicable, realistic, dynamic civilization and way of life
encompassing every aspect of man’s requirements, needs, concerns and worries. At this point, it should also be noted that, the framework is neither a curriculum nor a syllabus; but it helps to identify what knowledge is worth transferring and most important, how it should be made possible. It would justify the inclusion of certain subjects in curriculum, the selection of their contents and suitable pedagogies. Eventually, it would provide the rationale and justification for adoption of certain approaches rather than others, while planning, developing, implementing and evaluating the curriculum at theoretical and practical levels. collaborative
engagement
of
theologians,
subject-experts,
Rather, if by
Sharī‘ah
experts,
educationists and curriculum specialists, they perfect the framework, and thereby implement them, In Shā Allah, the glorious tradition of Islamic education can once again can be revived.
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Lastly, it should also be noted that the framework, as such, matches with Islamic education curriculum at any level. It is the difference in orientation of the framework while organizing and deciding upon the content, the teaching-learning experience and the pedagogy, that distinguishes the higher levels from that of the lower levels in the education ladder. It is the depth and scope of the process and praxis that make one level distinct from the other. This is further explored while elaborating on the three functional roles of ‘ulamā’ as virtual heirs of the legacy of Holy Prophets of Allah (PBUT).
Organization of the Framework As indicated earlier, the framework was drawn, taking discussions in chapter three and the present chapter of the study into account. Chapter three presented the essential
theoretical and conceptual elements of Islam which relate to the concept of reality, knowledge, and values, man and the universe. It also explored their inter-relatedness and how they form five key structures of Islam, converged in the concept of al-dīn (the religion) and represented in Sharī’ah (the Islamic code of conduct), and its (usūl) principles and maqāsid (objectives). The present chapter analyzes these structures, relating them to foundations of Islamic education, its curriculum, and curriculum’s fields of expositions and focus of the pedagogy. The framework integrates these deliberations on two planes: the vertical and the horizontal.
The Vertical and Horizontal integrity of the Framework Vertically all the three basic categories in the Revealed, Intermediary Human Sciences as well as Physical and Natural spheres converge to the (a) spiritual/moral, (b) intellectual/psychical and (c) physical/social needs and demands of man. The Islamic
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vision of truth regarding essential concepts of reality, knowledge, and values, man and the universe place these multi-dimensional needs and requisites of man within a perspective, providing man’s existence in the universe with a purpose. Therefore, the frameworks consider all the five concepts as key vertical domains of Islamic education curriculum. The horizontal integrity deals with the theoretical, applied and practical aspects corresponding to each field in the vertical domain (see figure 4.7). The theoretical aspect determines the Fundamental Principles (FP) respective to the domains. Rather they present certain theoretical factual knowledge under each of the five domains. The applied aspect refers to the Essential Concepts, Themes and Skills (ECTS) related to various principles under each domain. In fact, it is through the concepts and themes that students understand the principles. Such an understanding is
very decisive to the application level. Hence, skills refer to various cognitive and practical strategies required for these principles to be well comprehended for their implications and meaning in personal and collective life of an individual as well as for society. It is at this level, the applied utility of the fundamental principles, that their analysis, synthesis and formation of ideas are carried out. They also imply on the methodical means of gathering data particular to each of them as well as various skills required for their application and practice. The application and practice, on the other hand, are governed by certain values. Obviously, thus, Key Values (KV) relate to the applied and practical implications interchangeably for all these domains. Various branches and subbranches under each domain, thus, would have their fundamental principles, essential concepts, themes, skills and subsequent key values. However, although Foundational Principles (FP), Essential Concepts, Themes and Skills (ECTS) and Key Values (KV)
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in each domain are determined by the salient features, characteristics and even discoveries specific to each domain, they are in fact, unified by the ‘Revealed Criterion’. The whole idea presented in figure 4.7 shows how the framework would look like if dissected into parts. The vertical and horizontal arrows in the figure are meant to signify the congruent relationship between various domains and their subsequent elements. That is, every aspect is indispensably influenced by the nature and characteristics of the factors and principles before it.
Horizontal Aspects Fundamental Principles
Essential Concepts, Themes Skills
Key Values
Knowledge Domain
Fundamental Principles
Essential Concepts, Themes Skills
Key Values
Value Domain
Fundamental Principles
Essential Concepts, Themes Skills
Key Values
Man Domain
Fundamental Principles
Essential Concepts, Themes Skills
Key Values
World Domain
Fundamental Principles
Key Values
PHYSICAL & NATURAL SCIENCES
Theoretical Aspects
Essential Concepts, Themes Skills Applied Aspects
Spiritual/ Moral/ Intellectual/ Psychical/ Individual/ Social needs and demands of man
Faith Domain
INTERMEDIARY HUMAN SCEINCES
Vertical Domains
REVEALED SCIENCES
Practical Aspects
Figure 4.7: Faith-Centred Frame of Islamic Education In short, theoretical aspects present powerful factual knowledge. The applied aspects convert them as procedural concepts and themes. The distinction between them builds heavily on Peters (1966)’s distinction between ‘knowing that’ (factual knowledge) and ‘knowing how’ (procedural knowledge), which suggest that only when what is known is translated into applied and practical aspects that education, as
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such, is made possible (as cited in Hamadi, 2005, p. 180). The figure gives a summary and a general idea of how to arrange the mammoth number of facts, principles, directives and rules drawn from the authentic sources of the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and other sources of Islamic heritage, but following the veritable Islamic methodical tools. The placing of theoretical application as the first component in every domain implies that the second should be the consequence of the first. Having elaborated these, we are in a better position to present the model framework. Corresponding to figure 4.7, the framework is arranged in four columns in a tabular format (see Table 4.6). The first column represents the five domains. These five domains, as described before, correspond to five major foundations of the curriculum of Islamic education, i.e., the faith-based theological foundations, the knowledge-based intellectual
foundations, value-based moral foundations, the man-related psychical-social foundations and physical world-related civilization foundations. The second column, lists the fundamental principles (FP) related to each of these five dimensions. They act, as noted earlier, as procedural principles defining and determining the essential nature and characteristics of these curriculum foundations, which guide the educational practice throughout.
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Table 4.6 Framework for Islamic Education Curriculum Dimensions Faith Domain
Fundamental Principles ● Īman (the principles of faith)
Essential Themes/Concepts/Skills ISLAMIC CONCEPT OF REALITY AND FAITH ● The belief in God: His Essence and Attributes, Actions)
● Faith in other elements of faith: Angels, Revealed Books, Prophets, the Day of Judgment and related themes such as wahy (the Revelation), nubuwwah and risālah (Prophethood), ba‘th, Hashr, Hisāb, Sirāt, Heaven, Hell ● The Pillar of Islām
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● Ihsān (comprehensive excellence) ● Revealed, Intellectual and Philosophical, and Physical Knowledge: Sources and purpose ● The Unity and Hierarchy of truth and knowledge ● The Wisdom (hikmah, ‘ilm al-ladunniyyah, ma‘rifah)
Key Values ● Tawhīd ● Freedom from enslavement to anything other than Allah ● Submission to the Will of Allah (ridā’, qanā‘ah, etc) ● Huda (The Divine Guidance)
THE OBLIGATIONS OF FAITH ● Obligatory Rituals
● Fard ‘ayn (individual obligation) ● Ihsān (comprehensive excellence)
●The Divine Code of Law
● Fard ‘ayn and fard kifāyah (individual and collective responsibility) ●Taqwah ●Perfectionism ● Protection and sustenance of the intellect and heart
● Concept of Divine Surveillance ● Self-awareness ISLAMIC CONCEPT OF KNOWLEDGE ● Unity, Integrity and hierarchy of Knowledge ● Certainty and Truth ● Authenticity of Revealed Sources Vs Intellectual and physical science ● Hierarchical Order and Reasons ● The Methodical Implications on intellectual and physical sciences ● The Divine Wisdom (Sunnatullah) ● The concept of Vulnerability of the Universe to Man for the human wellbeing (Taskhīr)
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● Balance between the spiritual, psychic and material health ● Legitimate elements of tasawwuf and Islamic philosophy ● Self and social awareness
Dimensions Value Domain
Fundamental Principles ● Spiritual and Moral Values
Essential Themes/Concepts/Skills ● The Concept of ‘adl ( justice) and Zulm (injustice) as its opposite ● The Concept of right action and bad ones ● Spiritual, Moral, Intellectual and Physical Aspects of Virtues ● Priorities and ordering of duties and rights ●The generic Principle of worship ● Absolute and shared virtues ● Collaboration on establishing virtue and conscientiousness and seek out and address areas of injustice and for sustaining faith ● Social Interaction with Communities of Other faith
Key Values ● Al-haqq (The truth) ● ikhlās and taqwā (Sincerity and conscientiousness) ● Chastity ● The trust ● Honesty ● Charity
● Man as composite of Soul, Mind and Body ● The Divine Purpose of Creation of man
● Human Potentials and limitations
● Protection and sustenance of the life and progeny ● The honour and destiny of Humanbeings
● Man in society
● Family ● Citizen and Member of Society ● Man and Social, Political, Economic, Cultural Milieu
● The human nature
● Good and righteous man ● Freedom and free-will
● The Cosmic Reality
● The Unity and hierarchy of Cosmic World ● The Visible and Invisible ● The Divine Wisdom relating to the created ● Civilizational Mission
● Hierarchy and Integrality of virtues
● Virtuous Mission
Man Domain
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Life/Civilizational Domain
● The Divine Purpose of the Universe
● Servitude to Allah ● Vicegerency and Social Responsibilities
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● The justice ● Actions ● The destructive vices at societal and personal and intellectual and spiritual levels
● Protection and sustenance of the progeny ● Individual and Social Responsibility for decisions and actions ● Protection and sustenance of properties ● Purposeful use of Human Resources ● Protection and sustenance of environment ● Resourceful Maintenance of nature
Dimensions
Fundamental Principles ● The Unity of Life ● The Unity of humanity
Essential Themes/Concepts/Skills ● Khair Ummah (The best society) ● the comprehensive concept of justice with respect to religion Political, economic, social, educational and cultural institutions ● Muslim Celebrations and symbols ● ‘Imārat al-ard (vocation for Common goodness of community) ● Nature of challenges from outside ● Reflecting upon the past: the achievements and downfall
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Key Values ● Concern for social justice ● Ethical relationship with coreligionists ● Purposeful Use of Material Resources) ● Constant Striving for the betterment of Community (Physical jihād and intellectual jihād, research)
The fundamental principles of each lower domain is implied by the one above it and integrally united in one whole, leading to integration of knowledge and thus the educational purpose. That means there is a certain hierarchy among the fundamental principles as edified by the key principle of Shari’ah: al-dīn (religion), nafs (life), ‘aql (intellect), nasl (progeny), māl (property) and ‘ird? (honour), as explained before. One significant point should be noted here. That is, the fundamental principles (FP) identified under various domains is so abstract that there are many other subfundamental principles and corresponding sub-themes, concepts and values related to each key principle listed in the table 4.6. The third column, therefore, extracts essential concepts, themes and skills (ECTS) related to each five dimensions and subsequent fundamental principles (FP). The fourth column presents key values (KV) related to each five dimensions. Key
values, therefore, translates the principles, concepts and themes into the practical or human plane, which in turn should be reflected in the end products as well as the total Islamic educational settings. Although classified under different dimensions, together the framework imposes heavily on the theoretical and conceptual as well as applied and practical aspects of curriculum organization, pedagogy and content. Furthermore, the framework and its components provide a structured pattern and an essential reference for the curriculum developers, teachers and administers because they can re-visit them repeatedly and build their conceptions upon it. Rather, it implies significantly on the Islamic education curriculum at any level. In summary, the faith-domain is the core, for its places knowledge and value within a perspective. It is the spine, around which other domains are arranged. Although each domain has its own fundamental principles, which have some influence
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upon its various themes, concepts, skills and values, the faith domain and its constituents are the essential influence upon them. The last two domains related to man and the physical world is substantive as well, for they correspond to the practical manifestations of the faith, knowledge and value to the mundane physical world. In short, the framework provides a very comprehensive structure of knowledge that deals with existential, cosmological, epistemological, theological, legal, moral, ethical, and civilizing orientations that those educated under such a framework will be able to live with the divine vision and use it to realize the divine purpose in the world. In other words, all these have an implication upon curricular decisions about what those educated in Islamic education institutions should know, understand, value and be able to do, as the result of the programs they undertake in them. Although, the various fundamental principles, essential concepts, themes and key values are listed
differently under various domains, in fact, they intersect with the others, creating the richness and complexity that should characterize various teaching-learning practices and activities in Islamic education. The overlap and connections between them, therefore, are just as important as the elements themselves. This is because; they ultimately are linked by the concept of al-tawhīd. As noted earlier, it is the depth and scope of the educational process and praxis that ultimately distinguishes the higher levels from that of the lower levels in the education ladder. This is further explained in the next chapter, while exploring the framework’s implication for Islamic Religious Higher Education. However, it should be noted that, the proper understanding of these principles, concepts, etc. with relation to each other, is very decisive as far as the leadership potentials of students at both the intellectual and spiritual levels are concerned. It is in this respect, that the study demands the concerted efforts from a group of dedicated scholars vibrant in Islamic
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knowledge and enlightened with the intellectual vision. It is in creation of such a group of religious scientists that Islamic Religious Higher Education Institutions (IRHEI) should perform their inevitable role. As of now, the curricula of most of the IRHEI are just residues of past formulations of the relationship between religion and education, which were relevant to their times. They still survive because of the intrinsic values inherent in them, which the present day IRHEI try to rekindle, but fail to do so because these institutions just exist on the periphery of the most influential contemporary systems. The following section further ventures into explaining the functional roles of ‘ulamā’ as virtual heirs of the legacy of Holy Prophets of Allah (PBUT). Eventually this would lead to outline the aims and goals of Islamic Religious Higher Education institutions. Further implication of the framework is discussed in the next chapter with special reference to institutions providing for such education in
Kerala, India.
THE CONCEPT OF RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP The discussion above on fundamental conceptions of Islamic Religious education, foundations of its curriculum and various key principles, concepts and key values related to these foundations provide a general outline of the generic Islamic conceptual scheme. These conceptual schemes are derived from the authentic sources of Islam, the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). Traditionally, ‘ulamā’ or religious scientists have been at the helm of developing and interpreting these schemes, rather consolidating their authenticity and originality, within the domains of spirituality and intellectuality. Essentially, thus, their role should corroborate with the role of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The Holy Qur’an explains this role of the Prophet (PBUH) as reciting to the community of Believers
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Allah’s verses, purifying them, and teaching them the Book and Wisdom (al- Qur’ān, Āl‘Imrān: 164). The three functions ascribed to the Prophets (PBUT) in this and other verses with similar meanings are (a) Rehearsal of the Divine Signs, (b) Sanctification and (c) Instruction in Scripture and Wisdom. The first role, i.e., rehearsal of the Divine signs, should be understood from the contexts of epistemological challenges posed by the proliferation of information -the true, false and pseudo truths- for the authenticity of Islamic religious principles. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), firstly, defined every term, concept and belief in clear and understandable form. Whenever a new complex situation was raised, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) received guidance from Almighty Allah and the Holy Prophet (PBUH) explained it to his community (Açikgenç, 1996). He guided them on various issues at micro and macro levels. That is, the Holy Prophet (PBUH)’s role was not
limited to transmitting the factual principles of belief and practice. Rather his mission was transformative in spirit and essence. Through constant, but timely rehearsal of the Divine signs both in the Holy Qur’an and the Universe, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) helped his companions to develop an Islamic perception of existence, and mould “a holistic conceptual scheme, which formed their worldview” (Açikgenç, 1996, p. 23). Beside this, secondly, tazkiyah (sanctification) was key to the Prophetic mission. According to al-Kilani (1998), sanctification means ‘purifying the human soul from both tyranny and feebleness and promote values of human universal brotherhood and a median healthy posture’ (as cited in Hamadi, 2005, p. 198). The Holy Prophet (PBUH) personalized these values and principle in his own life, thus being exemplar par excellence to his followers. Rather, he trained his followers to personalize them in their own lives. Thus, thirdly, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) nurtured an ideal Islamic society within the shadow of the Holy Scripture and the Divine Wisdom, highlighting
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the ultimate purpose of human life. Hence, the role of scholars at the Suffah, according Açikgenç (1996) was at once cognitive (intellectual) and affective (spiritual). They had to comprehend the Qur’anic message in its original form, and then they had to apply it in purifying their souls. At once, the Holy Qur’an was guidance and motivation for reflection on theirown nature and the nature of the universe. The message of Islam was not ‘just emotionally and spiritually satisfying’ but also ‘intellectually fulfilling’ (Kazmi, 1999, p. 503). It was through these three functions, that the foundations of the Muslim society were consolidated. It was on that basis, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his companions overcame the internal moral challenge from the unbelievers in Makkah and the literary challenges of advanced poetical tradition and the external intellectual and philosophical challenges from the Hellenistic civilization (Açikgenç, 1996). Further,
various physical hardship and wars were fought and won, because of the strong belief of the companions and the Prophet (PBUH)’s timely manoeuvres with the Help of Almighty Allah. In short, the Islamic worldview was established in its original form following these scientific steps (Açikgenç, 1996). As the heirs of the legacy of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), the restoration of the authenticity and originality of the fundamental principles related to various structures identified above, within the domains of spirituality and intellectuality is the foremost responsibility of ‘ulamā’. The ‘ulamā’ or religious scientists, according to Acikgenc (1996) is responsible for once again reinstating the well-equipped Islamic conceptual scheme, worldview as well as a sophisticated mechanism that is suitable for the development of the spiritual and intellectual dynamism. The terms spirituality and intellectuality denote two dimensions, that inevitably, but simultaneously should be taken into account by the ‘ulamā’ while shouldering the above three key roles. The
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first, in regards to the authenticity and originality of the concepts, and the other in regards to their applicability and practicality to the contemporary challenges of the time. The contemporary intellectual and scientific contexts demand that these contemporary Islamic religious scientists and scholars need to be actively involved in exposition of these conceptual bases for their theoretical and applied implications. At intellectual, economic, political and civilizational fronts, the rise of faith-oriented intellectual and social growth and development has been blocked. Certainly, the modern institutions of tertiary learning institutions have brought about ‘unbridled’ knowledge and intellectual expansion, as well as a lot of material development. Since they imparted their education, within an alien worldview, educational structure, substance and, most importantly, purpose, they have caused more havoc than in
solving the problems. Fragmented in approach and lacking the holistic, unitary and integrated worldview of Islam, those educated in these institutions pose serious challenge to the Islamic fabric of the society, and its epistemological and ontological foundations. Instead of alleviating hardships, the adoption of man-made systems and science as the ultimate source of truth and the guiding principles for man’s relationship with himself and the environment have caused immense pressures and problems in every aspect of life. Globally, the inexorable pressures of financial competition are eroding the human values of freedom and love, of inter-personal solidarity, and the living of an ethical life. In short, the situations out there contribute vigorously to stripping institutions providing IRHE of their relevance. To make the situation more pathetic, the IRHE institutions, rather than choose to isolate themselves from the mainstream.
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In the past, the scholars were engrossed in the mainstream issues, philosophical discussions pertaining to the human destiny, the nature of the universe and their authentication within the Islamic vision of truth and reality. They were simultaneously both scientists and philosophers, that they continuously engaged themselves in issues of foundational importance. Moreover, they were also deeply interested in the understanding and appreciation of Islamic teachings and knowledge (Osman, 1991). In concerning themselves with various sciences, including the religious and the philosophical, Muslim scientists were more sensitive to the need for a holistic view of knowledge. Their awareness of the inter-relatedness and unity of all knowledge quite often had important consequences on their search for solutions to the problems of their times. Quite contrary to this, the Islamic religious scholars of the present times merely regurgitate the themes and concepts neither bothering to relate them to their
foundational principles, nor re-engineering them to the modern issues. Therefore, the Islamic religious scientists of the modern times need to reconnect to Islam on two fronts while functioning upon the three roles of (a) Rehearsal of the Divine Signs, (b) Sanctification and (c) Instruction in Scripture and Wisdom. They have to establish fundamental principles, essential themes, concepts, and their implications on human life, purely based on the Islamic epistemic front as well as the pragmatic front. The epistemic aspects refer to the evaluation carried out only at the scholarly level, whereas the latter refer to the practical and social aspects. A holistic attitude towards regeneration of the Islamic heritage should consider both these aspects.
Essentially, this demands that various ideologies as well as the
sophisticated mechanisms that control the contemporary world become re-instated in a way that is suitable for the development of the spiritual and intellectual dynamism, within the Islamic worldview.
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According to Açikgenç (2003), ‘the emergence of a community of scholars’ is ‘a significant factor’ in moulding various key development indicators considered essential in the contemporary world. The scholars need to be beacons enlightening the entire intellectual and physical developments in the world, but within the spiritual tradition of Islam. To Açikgenç (2003), the obvious answer to the question “how can the Muslim world come to terms with those demands of the twenty-first century which require science and technology without losing its spiritual foundations?” lies in the epistemology of the Islamic religious-scientific tradition.
The spiritual foundation of Islam itself is the general framework of science in Islam, if we accept that foundation. However, if we decide to do science from a different perspective by using a different framework, we cannot capture that spiritual foundation; we are, that is, bound to lose that spirituality. Someone who is performing the Islamic rites of prayers but doing science in the manner of another tradition cannot be a Muslim scientist, even though he may personally be a Muslim. These are fundamentally two different issues. A scientist that is actively involved in scientific activities within the epistemological framework thus far outlined is a scientist who has not lost the Islamic spirituality. The same logic applies to Islamic education. Rather, traditionally education is the field which ‘ulamā’ were engaged with since olden times. In this sense, the ideas of religious scientists, which are primarily based on a cognitive scheme, include the achievements of generations of religious scientists within which religious education was carried out, and thus supplies a foundation for their further religious practices. The ‘ulamā’ in the past, developed a series of general Islamic conceptual schemes based on the revealed science such as ‘ilm, usūl, ra’y, ijtihād, qiyās, fiqh, ‘aql, qalb, idrāk, wahm, tadabbur, fikr, nazar, hikmah, yaqīn, wahy, tafsīr, ta’wīl, ‘ālam, kalām, nutq, zann, haqq, bātil, sidq, kidhb, wujūd, ‘adam and many others. After which, they specified a conceptual scheme in each science, which was also linked intimately to the Islamic worldview as the general framework of all scientific
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activities (Açikgenç, 2003). As of now, it is the responsibility of present ‘ulamā’ to further explicate the implication of these terms on the new developments made in various fields and sciences. On the other hand, any error at this level, rather an absolute turn-back from carrying out these duties would endanger the frame and fabric of the Muslim society. Firstly, with regard to the Rehearsal of the Divine Sings, the ‘ulamā’ or religious scientists should authenticate the Islamic foundational principles as in the original sources of Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah. This demands concerted efforts on their parts, for it essentially demands them to re-instate what has already taught to them, so as to have a very thorough and elaborate knowledge about specific aspects of religious obligations plus moral and social implications in relation to their field. It is to be borne in mind that no more Prophets are coming to guide the human affairs.
However, the guidance is assured if the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah are followed. However, as pointed out above, this is not about re-inventing the whole wheel. It is all about actualizing them in the practical reality and according to the conditions of the Muslims. Besides instructing on the Divine Signs as in the authentic sources, the ‘ulamā’ also are obliged to rehearse the Divine manifestations in the physical world in a holistic manner. The scope of such an endeavour is far and wide, which calls for the genuine but bold intellectual and spiritual jihād. That is, they need to be cognizant of the contemporary condition of the Muslims and accordingly reinstate every branch of knowledge in their appointed places. They should study the society ‘as it is, not only as it ought to be’, which is a major factor in determining the correct course of action. All types of extremist sectarian, political and even intra-religious tendencies, which divide the ranks of Muslims, should be held in check, essentially within the Islamic
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spirit of human welfare and well-being. This is necessary in order to re-establish the practicability of Islam as al-din, covering every aspect of Man’s life. Islamic principles are perfectly established and need no further development, but it is when relating them to reality that the Muslim community as whole fails. It is in this respect, that the second function of ‘sanctification’ is deemed to be very significant. Sanctification should start at the individual level. However, it should not be restricted to that level, but should encompass the community as whole. According to Açikgenç (2003), this will be possible only when spiritual dynamism becomes so well established that the intellectual dynamism grows in the purview of it. The rise of such a tradition necessarily assumes the existence of a society, as well as the mutual interplay between Islam and Society. That is, every social and human mechanism inevitably should be related to the purpose of purification of the human soul from
tyranny, outright materialism and feebleness, and accordingly to promote values of human welfare and universal brotherhood suitable for the development of the spiritual and intellectual dynamism (Açikgenç, 2003). The third function of instruction in Scripture and Wisdom, is implied by the second function. That is, the ‘ulamā’ should be capable to disseminate and implement its message in the language of contemporary times. They should be able to determine various decisions made in the socio-political and cultural spheres, again at epistemic and social fronts. However, because of the pervasive influence of secular ideologies and practices among Muslims, this arduous task cannot be undertaken by ‘religious scientists’ alone! All those scholars who have deep knowledge regarding their specializations in any field, and those who have deep knowledge about the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah at the level of ijtihād need to regroup among themselves.
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Or rather, they need to work together to unite the Muslims on the Islamic principles and foundation. It is in this regard, that the above framework becomes very relevant. It would certainly help Islamic education institutions to re-instate their vision. A right attitude (wisdom) and coherent vision will help by putting everything in perspective. A disinfect and defunct education system is the crux of the Muslim dilemma at different planes. Say: Are those who know equal to those who know not?' It is only men of understanding who will remember (i.e. get a lesson from Allah’s Signs and Verses) (al-Qur’ān, al-Zumar: 9). This is where the Holy Qur’an becomes a fundamental book of guidance and a code of life for humankind to enable it to differentiate between the right and the
wrong, because man on his own will not be able to do so. Lastly, the ‘ulamā’ need to show the best models of spiritual and intellectual leadership by actively striving for social justice in accordance with God’s commands, by calling others to goodness, and making peace with themselves and others (Rosnani, 2007). The essence of Islamic education at the higher level should include leadership training in spiritual values, and intellectual fields as well the social and physical aspects. Only then, would the graduates coming out of them be able to uphold all the traits and practices that Muslim leaders ideally should have. With a strong sense of responsibility and staunch Islamic vision, they should lead the Muslim community towards upholding its past glory as an all-comprehensive civilization and fully-fledged religion. Through personal examples, they should be able to moves others towards a commitment to the Islamic vision, and ultimately towards fulfilling the criteria that
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Holy Qur’an imposed on Muslims if they wanted to be the best-ever community produced in the world. The criteria is they enjoin good and forbid evil, and believe in Almighty Allah (alQur’ān, Āl‘Imrān: 104, 110). With regard to the framework, the five vertical domains particularly demand that the Muslim religious scientists specialize in these fields and further elaborate the fundamental principles, concepts, themes and values so that they eventually revive the Islamic ontological, epistemological, axiological, cosmological and psychological sciences once again as one united architectonic whole. In short, in tandem with modern higher education’s critical role of creative leadership, the ‘ulamā’ should be creatively engaged with explorative studies of the modern trends and ideologies which overtly and covertly denigrate the spirit of Islam
from the Muslim minds. This is necessary in order that they become empowered with intellectual strength to set the vision right, inspire the whole community and unite them on it. Furthermore, these scholars should reassert Islam’s place in every civilizing project. This requires that the various sciences in the socio-political, economic and cultural fields should be re-organized, based on Islamic principles, so that once again Islam spearheads the struggle against all types of injustices, exploitation and poverty. In the face of already well-established systems, such a task demands concerted and collective efforts by dedicated scholars genuine in their scholarship of Islamic epistemological and metaphysical Worldview, and its implications. It is the growth of a genuine, original and adequate Islamic school of thought that will provide the real criterion for judging the success or failure of an Islamic educational system (Fazlur Rahman, as cited in Rosnani, 2007, p.94). As such, inevitably the central task of IRHE is intellectual and spiritual in nature and essence.
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SUMMARY The chapter started with explaining what is curriculum from a general perspective. Then it elaborated what should be the foundations of Islamic education, based on various essential theoretical and conceptual elements of Islamic Worldview deliberated in the third chapter. Accordingly, the chapter elaborated on the Islamic education’s field of inquiry and pedagogical focus. In addition, how they impact on the curriculum planning, design, implementation and evaluation. In the meantime, the chapter also reviewed two curriculum models, very briefly. All these were done with the purpose of presenting a basic curriculum framework for Islamic education at the tertiary level. The framework thus presented, however, is applicable to Islamic education in general. With regard to this, it was stated that it is the difference in orientation, depth, the scope of organizing and deciding upon the content, the
teaching-learning experience and the pedagogy that distinguishes the higher levels of education from that of the lower ones. Towards this end, the chapter elaborated on the three functional roles of the ‘ulamā’ with regard to the position of Islam in the contemporary world, within the spiritual and intellectual domains, not separately, but simultaneously.
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CHAPTER FIVE IMPLICATION OF THE CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK ON ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN KERALA
One of the prime objectives of the study is probing into means of revitalizing the Higher Islamic Religious Education (IRHE) in Kerala, India. This chapter aims to examine how various deliberations made in the previous chapters regarding the IRHE curriculum framework would inform the orientation and organization of the intents, contents, pedagogy, assessment methods, and total teaching-learning environment of IRHE institutions in Kerala. However, before venturing into implication of the
framework on the curriculum, the chapter provides a brief appraisal of the curricula of the selected IRHE institutions in Kerala. Therefore, firstly, the chapter provides a summary of various curricular and academic activities in these institutions. Secondly, the chapter appraises these activities in the light of various deliberations made thus far, as well as relating them to various religious, educational, social, and communal problems and worries of Muslims in India. Lastly, the chapter examines how the framework would affect the various curricular activities in these IRHE institutions, especially in empowering those who are or were educated in them to provide visionary leadership and to guide the Muslim community simultaneously spiritually and intellectually.
ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS HIGHER EDUCATION IN KERALA One key issue raised in the previous deliberations on fundamental conceptions that define Islamic education was that Islam if understood as al-dīn, does not allow
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bifurcation of education between the religious and the mundane spheres of human existence. That is, the Islamic injunctions and commandments are pervasive in their effect on the human spirit, intellect, rational self, physical body, feelings and senses. The term ‘Islamic Religious Education’, therefore, should not narrowly mean the education about the fundamentals covered under the faith domain only. Even, these fundamentals of faith are inconceivable without proper comprehension and thereby, their articulation at the practical levels of deciding upon the various levels of man’s relationship with Almighty Allah, fellow human beings and other creatures (Ashraf, 1985). In other words, the scope of ‘Islamic Religious Education’ encompasses the intellectual, ethical, moral, social, physical, cultural and civilization domains. In the past, the Muslim scholars were equipped with deep-knowledge on the authentic
sources of Islam in the most comprehensive sense, that they were available to solve the problems that Muslims confront on any of the above fronts. Traditionally and historically, the religious or ‘theological education was not restricted to the spiritual sphere alone’ (Hamadi, 2005, p. 102). ‘In-depth study’ of the structure of various disciplines of the earliest institutions of Islamic education would prove this fact. Having said that, what is the situation of ‘Islamic Religious Higher Education’ in India in general and in Kerala specifically? The Islamic Religious Higher education institutions began to be established in an organized and institutionalized manner in Kerala after the early twentieth century. Prior to this, as indicated in the second chapter, various avenues such as Othupally, durūs or mosque-colleges were available, but not in an extensive and centralized manner. And when newer religious organizations started to emerge and many institutions for higher studies started to be established, their areas of religious activism
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and discourse were, in fact, more determined by the secular-liberal and socialintellectual milieu which sustained the bifurcated conception of knowledge, and educational system, than by the united Islamic vision of truth and reality. That is not to say that the founders the IRHE institutions were not passionate about, or cognizant of the unified vision of Islam. They were, indeed passionate; that is why they established many of such institutions for safeguarding the religious faith of the Muslims. Nevertheless, beyond a certain, (though considerable) level, they failed to seriously deliberate about how the Islamic concept of reality, knowledge, man and his destiny should be translated holistically into the educational plane. The traditional religious systems that were available, did not present Islam as an overall comprehensive and holistic belief-life-thought system, rather, it restricted the teaching to obligatory ritual and practices only. Therefore, the reformists among the newly
emerged organizations persistently tried to overhaul the traditional education system. According to them, traditional education provided little or no space for ‘modern’ subjects and thereby ill prepared the Muslims to stand side-by-side with other communities in modern education and subsequent progress and development. In short, initially, the educational reform movements in India as well as in Kerala chose between the secular or the modern Islamic system. Then it was combination of both the traditional Islamic with the modern education, but mostly it championed the modernist interpretations of Islam. In place of the traditional education system, they set up modern schools that taught reading and writing and provided education in both religious and secular subjects. Through hastened efforts many ‘Islamic’ and Arabic, colleges and schools were established, although their theoretical foundations were almost non-existent. In Kerala, several of these organizations, which were set up in the pre-1947 period, still exist today, and are
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running literally thousands of religious educational institutions-cum-schools in the state. Nevertheless, their conception of overall educational atmosphere as well as their curricula never has been a holistic or integrated one, inspired by the architectonic unity of the spiritual and intellectual tradition. In fact, there is no point in probing whether the curricula of IRHE institutions in Kerala were promoting such a comprehensive concept of Islam as a belief system, as a way of knowledge, as a way of life, as a lived religion and as a civilization. For certain, at least by niyyah (intention), they are meant to be so. Ideally, none among those who endeavour for revivification of Islam and Islamic education, for any reason, would believe otherwise. But the question that needs to be probed is how cognizant the founding fathers and visionaries of these institutions were about various key domains of faith, knowledge, value, man and civilization while planning for,
developing and organizing the curriculum intents and contents? For sure, they had some general vision about what their graduates would eventually do. However, mostly, with regard to the curriculum in general, they were unaware what specifically they were meant for? With regard to various disciplines included in the curriculum, they just followed what they inherited from the past, without bothering about the criteria to be oriented when subject components were selected or without worrying whether the contents of such disciplines were developed according to the needs of the time and whether they were different from what these institutions were supposed to cater for. They were not integrated or included in the curriculum according to their ability to deliver any target, but rather for the basic reason that they had been taught in the past. This does not contradict the claim that, in fact, in the past it was the same textbooks and their contents which produced great scholars, and sometimes also, in
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the contemporary times. It is true that they did, especially, a few centuries ago, and in some cases, they were dynamic and productive in their mission, though not generally. It is also true that, because of the inherent worth and merits congenital in these disciplines, worries about the ultimate success were misplaced as well. After all, the social, human and educational sciences prevalent today were established only quite recently. In fact, the current developments in the educational and social sciences, and the technological progress which they unleashed, brought about not only development and progress, but also many manifold challenges which caused chaos in some cases. They even influenced and transformed the way people thought and acted. They become more engrossed with material progress and luxury than being concerned about the sufferings of the poor and ‘have-nots’. These chaotic situations mandated the regeneration of Islam and its dynamic ideals once again. It is in the face of severe
challenges, that the Islamic education system needs to be revived with Islamic vigour and universality. “If the Muslim world wishes to set the reform agenda on the right track, its priorities have to be reflected in an educational reform plan” (AbuSulayman, 2009, p. 43). Only when various choices regarding the knowledge, values and skills to be imparted through Islamic education curricula are moulded into the crucible of Islam, will these institutions become genuinely and most effectively of service to Muslims. Study demands that the framework be appropriated when the curricula of Islamic education system are planned, and accordingly the contents of various subjects coherently interlinked. Furthermore, it demands that the pedagogy of Islamic education be well developed so that the students will be well motivated by the enlightened Islamic vision. In fact, the IRHE institutions in Kerala should subscribe to such an enlightened vision, especially in the light of the intellectual challenges and threats from the
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educational and curriculum theories, models and designs moulded by Western-centric secular-liberal perspectives. It is in this regard, that the secular bodies in India and thereby, also in Kerala should persistently call for assimilation of the IRHE institutions into the larger secular mainstream education system. The following section briefly studies three different types of IRHE institution in Kerala, which were envisioned to meet different types of challenges, and have been borne out with passionate aims.
Al-Jamia Al-Nooriya Al-Arabiya (JNA) The first organized institution of higher Islamic Religious learning to be established, but being upon the traditional Islamic outlook, was Al-Jamia al-Nooriya al-Arabiya (JNA) at Faizabad, Perintalmanna in Malappuram district of Kerala. Established in
1965, it is the premier Sunni training college (Miller, 1974, p. 369). Students join the JNA for collegiate or higher level education, after they have completed a five year general education and another five year study at a mosque-oriented dars. The main aim of the institution is to prepare religious specialists who as qādī, teacher and imām in the Muslim community could nourish their religious life and preserve the faith. The curriculum of the JNA is oriented to the task of correctly transmitting and teaching of the traditional books in tafsīr (Baidāwī), Hadīth (Bukhārī, Muslim, Tirmidhī), theology (sharh al-‘aqā‘id), fiqh (Mahalli, Tuhfah) to a young generation of scholars.
However, in order that the students be able to work effectively as
religious head of Muslim localities, students are given practical training in wa‘z (religious oration). Thoroughly devoted and disciplined, they were effective workers and symbols of continuity (Miller, 1973). As a’immah (sing. imām, regular prayer leaders) in mosques they constantly guided the public on religious matters.
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As
teachers in primary madāris, they hand on the Islamic tradition to young minds. In some instances, students are also provided with tuition, (although on a very limited scale), in English, Urdu and other secular subjects (Zubair, 2004). The major focus of the curriculum has been and continues to be jurisprudential rather than theological. Students are trained in the Shafi’ī school of jurisprudence. Mastery of specific kitāb (textbook) is the prime method used. Variedly the focus is on learning to analyze the sentence structures, their primary tones and intricacies of ritual practices, rather than comprehending the wisdom behind their institution as a law and method of implementation of those ritual practices in contemporary situations. Largely, the training in various disciplines was theoretical, rather than being practical. The JNA mission is to train students to deal independently, but effectively with the authentic sources of Islam and comprehensively understanding its
principles. Even under the guidance of pious but capable teachers, students are never given a chance to practise and utilize various methodical tools related to usūl al-fiqh (principles of jurisprudence) or usūl al-Hadīth (principles of Hadīth) through first hand practise, thereby some students even miss the whole point of why a certain text is taught. No avenues are made to train students to engage in theological reflection upon current issues. In a sense, the JNA’s primary task is to prepare the interpreter of the religious tradition as envisaged in the past, rather than being its re-interpreter relating the tradition with contemporary reality. As a result, many of its products, who come out with the title of ‘Moulavi Fādil Faidī’, although very much influential among the traditional Muslims, could not approach the changes with Islamic spirit and fervour. With few exceptions, many of them are not equipped with insight to provide improved and visionary leadership especially among the young audiences who are better
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exposed to the modern trend, mostly well educated and working as teachers, social activists and lecturers (Miller, 1974). As Zubair (2006) observes, - with the establishment of the JNA, the trend of transferring the traditional mode of learning from mosques to a separate building, with divided classes and provisions for examinations and certificates, started to crop up among Muslims in Kerala. These types of institutions were known variedly as Shari‘ah Colleges. These types of higher seminaries, which amount to approximately two hundred, are similar to the JNA, in being specifically to train religious scholars. The afore-mentioned shortcomings are not specific only to the JNA or to many other Shari‘ah colleges, but even to those institutions which offer modern subjects along with Sharī’ah-related disciplines. The Islamiya College was one of pioneers to introduce the modern subjects and the languages of English and Urdu, beside religious
subjects.
Al-Jamia al-Islamiya (JI) Al-Jamia al-Islamiya, which started as a Madrasah in 1955, was later upgraded into Islamic College and then into al-Jamia al-Islamiya (Islamic University) in 2003. It is located at Santapuram, near Perintalmanna, a township in the Malapuram district in Kerala. As of now, Al-Jamia al-Islamiya (JI) strives to achieve the following aims: •
To produce pious and active scholars capable of leading the Islamic society in India in terms of knowledge and thought
•
To produce enough propagators, skilled in religious and modern sciences, capable of countering the false allegations against Islam
•
To build a meritorious cadre of leaders to shoulder various leadership responsibilities, generally in India and particularly in Kerala
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•
To contribute to the formation of the Islamic society according to the Islamic fundamentals by the preparation of morally and intellectually matured individuals
•
To produce skilled women with firm faith in God, capable of shouldering their responsibilities in the modern era
•
To conduct special courses for men and women to streamline their potentialities and prowess in the field of propagation, social activities and administration and to train Imams and Khatheebs to make available their services, in reforming the society at large
•
To provide Facilities for researchers, scholars, and students to carry out a variety of scientific research and strategic studies with regard to issues
relating to the Muslim community in India •
Present a creative exemplary foundation for Islamic education combining both meritorious old and useful new qualities, on the model of modern universities in the Muslim world
At JI, education is provided to those selected from among those who already have finished at least the tenth grade of the mainstream school system. Those admitted have to go through a two-year tamhīdī (preparatory) course. At present, the degree programmes are offered in usūl al-din and Sharī‘ah which run for four years. Degree students may simultaneously enrol, as private candidates, for a degree course in the Calicut University in a subject of their choice. This is because the Indian Government’s education system and the public universities do not approve the programmes offered by JI. This is also true about all other Islamic education institution, including JNA and DHIU. After completing the degree courses at JI,
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students can do a two-year Master’s course in Qur’anic Studies or Hadīth Studies or Da‘wah (Islamic Mission) or a two years Leadership and Orators’ course. In various ways, these faculties aim to produce specialized scholars in the respective disciplines, able to refute misconception, suspicions and allegations regarding them, capable to analyze problems, concerns and issues at regional, national and international levels and to conduct practical research. Beside these faculties, the JI runs other centres and institutions for Islamic Research, Information Technology, Islamic Finance, and other subjects. In short, JI was the first establishment to initiate a new concept of Islamic education and curriculum, which integrates both spiritual and modern sciences. According to Vaniyambalam (2003), this was felt to be the prerequisite for the Muslim community in India to preserve their identity in that country. Due importance is given to the training of the students on the basis of Islamic
doctrines and so as to enable them to dedicate their lives to the way of Islam in a perfect and sincere manner (Al-Jāmi‘ah, 2003). They also get chances to participate actively in literary, cultural and social activities to develop their talents, improve their skills and enrich their experiences, which would help them in their future lives. Thereby graduates of these faculties fill the vacancies as missionaries, jurisconsultants, and teachers for Islamic Colleges and institutions.
Darul Huda Islamic University (DHIU) The Darul Huda experiment of venturing into combined education, starting from secondary level and continuing until graduation was novel when it started in 1986. The late M.M. Basheer Musliyar al-Baqawi (1929-1987) who was one of the visionary scholars of the time, initially promoted the thought that resulted in the establishment of Darul Huda Islamic Academy (DHIA). He contended that the graduates of durūs
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(sing. Dars,) and their formal halaqah type study classes conducted under a single teacher, almost similar to the Malaysian Pondok system) should not be left behind, that they should be equally aware of modern trends, and be able to relate them to Islamic perspectives and to prescribe Islamic solutions. Therefore, he spoke of an educational philosophy aimed at reproducing the philosopher-scientist scholars, similar to those who lived in the golden period of Islamic medieval history. He argued for the necessary re-orientation of the Dars’ curricula taking lessons from ‘the outstanding personalities such as Imam al-Ghazali’ (Zubair, 2004, p. 63).
He
demanded that the Dars curriculum should include the English and Urdu languages and in addition, the Modern Arabic language. He disseminated these ideas starting from 1962 for around 13 years (Nadwi, 2004). However, his attempts did not yield the needed results in the durūs conducted in mosques per se. However, his ambitions
were realized in the form of the establishment of Darul Huda Islamic Academy (DHIA), which was established in 1986. As mentioned in the Policies and Regulation of the Managing Committee of DHIA prepared in 1989, the aims are: •
To produce exemplary and pious scholars capable of propagating and teaching the messages of Islam in any parts of the world
•
To prepare scientific and fruitful strategies for revitalization of the Islamic religious education so as to benefit the Muslim community, especially in Kerala
•
To institute graduate schools and research centres to enhance further studies in various specializations in religious disciplines
•
To establish the Qur’anic Study Institute and College for Memorization of the Holy Qur’an in order to safeguard the Qur’anic message and to promote Qur’anic oriented research
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•
To establish colleges to train teachers and preachers so that they could conduct the Islamic religious activities and educational endeavours in the most effective and scientific manner
•
To redact the classical works, and publish text books for religious education
•
To establish a reference library for the benefit of the research scholars, writers and students
•
To set up professional training centres for students of the institute
DHIA educate young minds starting from secondary level, by providing instruction in various Islamic and modern disciplines simultaneously up to the graduation level. Before starting the degree level, students at DHIA would undergo a
five-year secondary, and two-year senior secondary course, where they study Islamic disciplines and the various subjects taught in regular schools, including Arabic, English and Urdu languages. DHIA offers specialized studies only at Master (two years) level, but not at the degree (three years) level. This is because DHIA believes that a deep and thorough knowledge of various Islamic and social sciences as well as mastering authentic books of the tradition is very pertinent while preparing veritable religious scholars and scientists. Further, due to the restricted nature of fiqh, H?adīth or the Holy Qur’an and other disciplines, DHIA hopes that at these levels, students should not be denied the chance to be exposed to the other forms of knowledge. That is because, if they are denied chances of learning all these sciences at degree level, students will acquire only a compartmentalized vision, thereby, being unable to relate the particulars with the whole; and religious studies for the implications of contemporary realities. In fact, the specialized knowledge, or the study of the Holy Qur’an, the Sunnah, fiqh, ‘aqīdah,
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etc, will become lively when they are explored for their applied and practical values relating to the issues which concern the students. Such students should be availed of chances of interaction with the outside world. Even, at the Master’s level, students pursue these traditional books under the guidance of renowned scholars along with studying various specialized disciplines under the departments (divisions) which specialise in propagation of the Holy Qur’an, Hadīth, fiqh, ‘aqīdah, da‘wah and comparative Religion. These divisions are among the very latest developments of Darul Huda, as it was upgraded into Darul Huda Islamic University. However, the Indian government and the public universities in India have not approved its academic programmes. Since Darul Huda admits only bright students and then, only after a rigorous interview, those selected are able to learn both the Islamic and modern subjects
simultaneously. Even then, Darul Huda does not want, nor does it expect that all its students will become professional ‘ulamā’ (Shaikh Zainuddin Musliyar, as cited in interview with Sikand, 2008). Few among them have gone to various universities in India and abroad, to pursue higher studies. Furthermore, at degree level, students at the Darul Huda must also simultaneously enrol in a degree programme at the Calicut University as private candidates or in any Open University. In the words of Shaikh Zainuddin Musliyar (2008), who is now the Prochancellor of DHIU, the Institutions want to prepare scholars who have a good understanding of both Islam and modern society ‘so that they can serve the community better and more effectively. After all, they have to provide guidance to the community not just in ritual matters but also in all other spheres of personal and collective life. [Thus], we combine both religious and modern subjects’ (as cited in Interview with Sikand, 2008, p. 4).
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So far, Darul Huda graduates have taken up a range of careers as teachers in government schools, madāris and Arabic Colleges, as journalists in leading Malayalam magazines and newspapers, as well as employees in the Gulf in companies and in various religious and government institutions. Yet only a few are engaged in their own localities serving the Muslim community. This is also true about the graduates of almost two hundred institutions throughout the breadth and length of Kerala. The limited scope of the curricula of these Islamic educational institutions and those invariably modelled on them under-prepare the religious scholars for creative involvement in socio-cultural-political-economic environments in an extensive manner. Add to this, the mainstream culture of secular education and the resultant eroding of the religious fervour and ethos among the educated youngsters. These
institutions are unable to inspire their students to get involved in contemporary problems in the above fields. Such an isolationist stand results in perpetuating backwardness among Muslims in all departments of development as well as the insulation of them from civilizing and cultural communities of other faiths. On the other hand, the general Muslim public remains un-imbued with the spirit of Islam in socio-economic developments. The religion, therefore, becomes only marginally meaningful, and influential merely at personal and to a small extent at family levels. At personal and family levels, the graduates of these institutions could successfully encourage adults as well as the students to internalize Islamic values, whereas they fail to envision community related projects based on Islamic themes.
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BRIEF ANALYSIS OF THE IRHE CURRICULUM IN KERALA For the sake of comparison between the three, the following points are very conspicuous. First, the curriculum of the JNA is furbished on the lines of Nizāmī curriculum developed by Mullah Nizamuddin Sihalwi with minor changes. In addition, it did not show any improvement since its establishment in 1965. The JI, however, has changed their course many times. Initially it provided Shari‘ah related courses along with few modern subjects and languages.
Soon, however, in considering the worries of
students regarding their careers, it started to provide degrees in Commerce and Arabic. Since these programmes were conducted in affiliation with mainstream universities, they attracted more students; however, the standard in religious education was seriously affected. This caused the JI to have recourse to its initial approaches, but
with a university orientation. Now it runs various faculties for Qur’anic, Hadīth, da‘wah, usūl al-dīn and various other training and research related courses. Darul Huda Islamic University, as it is now called, started as Darul Huda Islamic Academy providing a twelve-year continuous, secondary-to-degree training in religious as well mainstream subjects. In line with its upgrade to become a University, many changes are happening in its curriculum. The curriculum implemented thus far has been a loose integration of both religious and modern social sciences. Second, both JNA and DHIU are more traditional in orientation, especially with regard to depending on authentic texts of the past. This does not mean to question the veracity of these texts; however, various methods used to master these texts appear to be highly reproachable. Students are taught in antiquated style, word-by-word that not only slows the learning, thereby students get less opportunities to refer to other texts. This confines the mastery of a subject to specific texts. The JI, however,
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includes many texts as references, which both students and teachers refer to, in order to master a subject. Although teachers in both JNA and DHIU may also do so, students mostly depend solely on the notes communicated verbally by the teachers, as other marginal notes are available in the texts. In fact, the inclusion of only modern texts has also proved to be ineffective, especially with regard to producing religious scholars of high calibre. Third, the JNA does not teach any modern social sciences as such. To an extent, the same applies to JI. This JI admits only those students who have already completed higher secondary level education at the main-stream schools, as well as some higher-level religious education. Some of those who join JNA also do so after completing the higher secondary level mainstream education, but not all. This is because JNA mainly admits dars students, most of whom are secular school drop-
outs. However, DHIU’s education system is very different. It admits only selected students among those who have completed a primary level religious and mainstream school education. After joining the DHIU, they are given training in all the mainstream school subjects, along with religious educational disciplines. Hence, by the time they reach the degree level, they would have mastered subjects taught under both streams. That is, they have a level of background studies in social, natural and applied sciences. However, as noted elsewhere since the modern social and natural or even applied sciences are taught from the secular perspective, students fail to integrate religious aspects with them. Fourth, both JNA and DHIU are still following a bookish style of teaching and learning. Obviously, this influences the frame of curriculum as well as the end-result in terms of students’ intellectual and religious vision. In fact, teachers of these
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institutions frequently lack any training in pedagogy, although over the course of the time they have developed it, among their teaching skills. Fifth, the curriculum of the JI, places emphasis on the integrative study of Islamic Jurisprudence, in comparison with different schools of Jurisprudence, Laws of Inheritance and comparative religion etc. One of the features of this course is that it presents Islam as a full-fledged system, comprising all fields of human activities such as faith, worship, character of the individual and various social relationships. However, in JNA and DHIU, the study of fiqh is mainly focused only on the Shafi‘ī school. Sixth, for teaching ‘aqīdah, both DHIU and JNA follow the same books that were followed centuries ago, thereby repeating the old arguments, which are not useful or not of interest to students of modern times, but has the effect of confusing
them. The JI, on the other hand, incorporates modern as well old texts and does encourage a comparative analysis, although only at superficial levels. Seventh, variedly all these institutions also provide training in computer skills. English, Arabic and Urdu are taught in all of them. Research methodology is a mandated subject included in the curriculum of JI, but DHIU is only just venturing into it, whereas it remains unknown within JNA. In order to overcome the passivity toward Islamic solutions to various problems, to meet new challenges and to revise worn-out ways of thinking about religion, the IRHE institutions need to explore new ways of imagining the role of religion (Zaman, 2002; AbuSulayman, 2009). The curricula, as well as the total intellectual atmosphere of these institutions should be enlivened by relating them to the pressing socio-cultural and economic realities faced by the Muslim community. With regard to their curricula, the above-mentioned institutions variedly ventured into
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integrating Islamic and modern studies. By this, they aimed to produce religious scholars equipped with the balanced education. However, these institutions are yet to fulfil their dreams, because essentially, subjects were divided into Islamic and modern, like two streams sprouting from one point but flowing to two different directions, never meeting each other. Instead of approaching various modern-secular disciplines from the Islamic perspective, they just grafted or ‘supplemented’ them to their prevailing curriculum framework, thereby ignoring the mismatch which this created. Although envisioned to produce deeply educated scholars in religious sciences, these institutions largely failed to develop and implement a comprehensive curriculum. There are scores of institutions providing higher-level religious studies. However, there is growing concern among the elder religious scholars that the system
does not produce able scholars who would be capable to play a creative role in the Society. They lack enough skills to deal with a variety of matters, both religious and material that arise in the Society spontaneously. The main problem of the curriculum at higher level is that it was inherited, mostly book-based and emphasizes a transmission model of teaching and learning. Although different types of religious spiritual activities which are part of every day, are bereft of spiritual enlightenment, the impact of curricula for empowering the intellectual potential of the students are too limited. Instructions on various disciplines which are related to the Qur’anic exigency, to jurisprudence, to theology, to prophetic history and to other subjects are mostly conducted, depending upon selection of a single classic text (See Appendix 5.1). At times, teaching of classical text mostly depends on word-to-word translation, because of which, students fail to get a complete picture of the ideas presented in the texts. As a result, students are neither made
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cognizant of contemporary texts relating to these disciplines, nor are they motivated to refer to them. Other points related to the curriculum as well as to the total educational atmosphere of the IRHE institutions are: First, most of the institutions of Islamic religious higher learning came into being with almost the similar basic vision of producing ‘ulamā’. With this aim, they teach various disciplines related to religion in an insulated manner, mostly not linked with other disciplines. Therefore, students fail to relate one subject with another as well as to get a holistic picture of Islam simultaneously as a belief-knowledge-valuehuman-civilizational system. Second, within teaching disciplines which relate to religion, Islam is presented largely as just a set of rituals, rather than as a force for social transformation while in certain cases, for example, the teaching of jurisprudence, is so narrow in its focus that
its minor specifics are over-emphasized rather than its fundamentals. Although students are well versed in the particularities of various obligatory rituals, because of the compartmentalized teaching and learning methods, they fail to comprehend the essence and spirit (wisdom) behind them in relation to social justice and educational, economic and social welfare. Third, the curriculum and teaching methods focus much on theoretical aspects, rather than on the practical aspects. While teaching fiqh, which is the prince of religious sciences, injunctions related to matters of family, business-transactions, criminal cases and others are never related to living reality. Thereby students lack understanding of fiqh in its pragmatic applications in these respects. In fact, this is caused by the habit of studying fiqhi matters as hard-facts and because of the lack of components of usūl al-fiqh with practical focus.
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Fourth, although usūl al-fiqh is considered as an essential component of the fiqh, students are scarcely trained in practising the various methods of extracting laws from the Holy Qur’an and the Prophetic tradition (Sunnah). They are not related to their implications on the jurisprudential, attitudinal and everyday life. Because of such a narrow, limited monotonous one-way method of lecturing, and the practise of focusing only on classical text books, graduates fail to get a comprehensive portrait about Islam as a living faith. Fifth, these institutions are unable to overcome the influences of dual-division of knowledge in the religious and modern physical secular studies, although invariably, they adopt traditional and modern subjects and methods of teaching them. This is because, while studying various disciplines in either stream, they are not interlinked to each other. They are not studied in relation to their implications on the
fundamentals of belief, or on the conception of self, humanity and environment. This breeds marginalized and bifurcated thinking, thereby trivializing the role of Islam as being concerned just with rituals, instead of promoting the integrity and relevance of Islam to the modern world. Sixth, with regard to the religious disciplines, these institutions are established to transfer loads of information. Because of the ‘information fatigue’, their students are passive and their intellectual and scientific potentials are infertile. What Rosnani (2007) says about Malaysian experience is also true about these institutions in Kerala. The pedagogical methods are ‘not conducive to the development of intellectualism and academic freedom’ (p. 102). Rarely, are students encouraged to engage in research and intellectual activities. Consequently, the gap between the religious and the temporal style of education and life, instead of being covered, is ever widening.
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Seventh, most of IRHE institutions in Kerala follow a conventional examination-oriented curriculum model, which hardly cares about practical and intellectual abilities. They test students for the larger amount of religious contents they memorize, whereas in fact, they should have assessed students’ abilities to develop systematically a comprehensive world-view with implications of practical and theoretical, personal and collective, intellectual and spiritual levels. By solely depending on ‘one or two textbooks and, even worse, on their own notes’ teachers limit their students’ horizons, restrict their knowledge and trap them in the mind of one scholar. According to Rosnani (2007), this contrasts sharply with the various scholastic methods employed by the early scholars. Eighth, these institutions are most conspicuous for not having a vision about the role of their graduates in the future. At no stage of the educational process, are
intellectual dynamism and spiritual activism coupled. The avenues for training students to engage in various forms of academic, student-oriented and communityservice activities are so limited that even after graduation they remain insulated from ‘social-welfare, health-related programmes for the public and issues related to social justice and development’ (Rosnani, 2007). As a result, the graduates of these institutions fail in the wider process of identity formation in the secular-democratic state of India. Further, their leadership qualities are severely handicapped, especially while guiding the younger generations as well as those educated in the modern systems. As a result, even in their ‘core-business’ of teaching of da‘wah, they are not creative and innovative enough to win the hearts of students and present Islam in a practical and efficient manner (Rosnani, 2007). The above criticisms can be ascribed, not just to the three institutions and their graduates, but to almost all of such institutions in varying degrees. In fact, the Islamic
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religious higher education tradition was dynamic and proactive in character. Various disciplines related to religious obligations and man’s life on the earth was taught in a comprehensive manner. Concepts related to faith elements were given sufficient emphasis, that students could engage actively with them and thereby relate them to all other concepts related to his mundane life. Take Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) as an example. It included not just a few theoretical propositions regarding the compulsory ritualistic practices regarding five-times prayers (salāh), giving out obligatory alms (zakāh) and others. However, various legal issues relating to family (munākahat, nafaqāt), business transactions (mu’āmalāt), criminal cases (jināyāt) and various jurisdictional issues (qadā’a, siyāsat, hisbah) were discussed. The Holy Qur’an, the ahādīth and the historical narrative of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) (sīrah) were taught, so that the faqīh were able to depend on the authentic sources as references and be
motivated by their spirit and message. The ‘aqīdah (theology) was taught so that these prospective scholars became well able to comprehend the essence of the Revealed Message of Islam. Ethics and morality (akhlāq) were an integral congruent of the system, aiming to purify their ethical conduct, behaviour and attitudes which played the part of modern social and human sciences. Then various auxiliary tools and sciences were taught, so that they should become able to make correct judgements about matters related to individual and collective interest. These scholars, however, were not discouraged from earning money for their livelihood by involving themselves in various occupations. In essence, the religious education tradition and culture was productive, self-contained, unique and distinctive, - imparting spirituality, holiness and wholeness. Further exploration into this tradition would reveal how various disciplines were harmonized and various educational experiences of all these disciplines were integrated in the most effective and balanced manner.
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However, this tradition has been diluted from its original wholesomeness over the centuries. Such a dilution was caused by various internal and external factors. The bifurcation of Islamic knowledge into dunyawī and ukhrawī sciences’ and the conscious adoption of the Western system of education by Muslim countries have seriously contributed to the knowledge crisis and the thought crisis (Hikmatullah, 2003; Malkawi, 2006; Kasule, 2007). As an aftermath, the ‘ulamā’ -the specialized scholars in the fundamental sources and principles of faith, largely choose to remain at the periphery of the mainstream. Their alienation from the developments on various fronts has further sustained and extended the dualistic trend in education. Conversely, uncritically apeing the Western tradition, the Islamic theological, jurisprudential and legal studies and the Islamic identity were largely sidelined and restricted. It is in this regard, that the institutions providing for Islamic Religious
education, should once again revive the authenticity of the Islamic principles, their pragmatic worth and ultimately the Islamic intellectual and spiritual tradition. They need to develop new insights and experiences relevant to the socio-cultural life of the present times. The framework presented in the last chapter was developed, keeping the establishment of the authenticity of Islam in mind. The following section, further elaborates the import of the framework to the IRHE curriculum, its intents, selection of curriculum content and learning experiences, first in general and then in the context of Kerala, India.
Implication on Aims and Goals of IRHE The primary aim of education in Islam is imparting of the spirituality and holiness in man; i.e., to produce the God-fearing servant of Allah (‘abd-Allah) who is aware of his individual vertical relations with Allah (habl min Allah) and his social horizontal
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relations with his fellow man (habl min al-nās) as the responsible vice-regent (khalīfah) of Allah (Ashraf, 1985; al-Attas, 1979, Rosnani, 2007). In effect, this includes the training of the human spirit, intellect, rational self, physical body, feelings and senses. The framework presented, therefore, presupposes all these dimensions under five different domains. With regard to the faith domain, for example, the IRHE institutions should enhance students’ cognition of the divine signs, beliefs and religiously obligatory rituals
and commandments in the most comprehensive sense. Although these aspects need to be progressively instilled at every stage in varying proportions, specifically, ‘at the higher levels of education scheme, starting from the university they need to be comprehended correctly, and realized and disseminated with great emphasis for their implications for personal and collective human welfare’ (al-Attas, 1999 in Daud,
1998). In fact, these higher seminaries are involved in the process of moulding the prospective ‘ulamā’, religious scientists and proactive leaders. Hence, various key conceptions related to the domains, not only need to be consolidated in their minds, rather they should be able to articulate them consciously through intellectual research, spiritual pursuits and active engagement in the community. These principles should not remain at the cognitive and theoretical level as ‘normative’ truths only; rather they should play ‘formative’ or ‘transformative’ roles at personal and collective levels. In other words, the personification of the divine signs, beliefs and religiously obligatory rituals and commandments in attitudes and behaviour is a pre-requisite to the revivification, preservation and sustenance of the Islam as a living religion and Islam as a civilization. This requires exploration into the historical accounts of various Holy Prophets (PBUT) and their triumph in establishing justice and fairness in human interactions are as fundamental to the training of religious-scientists as the heirs of the
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legacy of Holy Prophet (PBUH). As matter of fact, a Holy Prophet (PBUH) was sent at various points of time not just to propagate the Oneness of Almighty Allah, but rather to establish order and justice, as dictated by the Divine law. From the approach of the Holy Qur’an while narrating the stories of different communities — some of them were obsessed and exorbitant about craving magnificent mansions in the mountains and thus being so materialist; others were involved in business mal-practices and cheating their customers on weights and measures; other were following unnatural sexual desires, others were worshiping the idols created by their own hands and yet some others worshipped the sun and the moon — the significance of this pragmatic approach to religious training can be verily established. Besides, calling them to acknowledge the Lordship of Allah, the Holy Prophets (PBUT) essentially guided along many mundane activities as well. This is
very significant when scores of problems such as increasing cases of injustice, communal and inter-sectarian rivalry, misplaced propaganda against Muslim, poor conditions for Women, Education and many other socio-political issues were related to backwardness and were faced with, or perpetuated by various agencies, including Muslims. The Holy Qur’an categorically establishes that religion is about assisting the destitute and the orphans, loving the poor, feeding those who were deprived during the times of disaster and starvation, striving for social justice and human welfare, making peace between one’s self and others and calling upon others with wisdom and judgment (Rosnani, 2007). That is, the divine messages that were preached by the Prophets (PBUT) were simultaneously calling for the worship of only One God, and caring about various intellectual and physical needs of people, in addition to training of students at higher levels, and thus, the need to make students ponder over their
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implications to the contemporary life. Therefore, at tertiary levels, various key virtues of Islam should be explored for its individual as well as collective meaning and prominence, not solely as a formalized legal and moral code and its rituals, but for its humanitarian calls. This is essentially related to the re-invigoration of the Islamic spiritual and intellectual tradition. The most important among various factors that make this re-invigoration possible, according to Açikgenç (2003) ‘is the emergence of a community of scholars’ who will be able to provide spiritual and intellectual leadership simultaneously (p. 5). In other words, the prospective ‘ulamā’ need to be trained at spiritual level juxtaposed by the intellectual levels. At spiritual level, they need to fortify themselves against the internal human evils, subjugation of oneself to one’s own carnal desires and deviation from the right path. At intellectual levels, the ‘ulamā’ need to be instilled with
knowledge that leads to the discipline of intellect, human imagination and bodily senses, so that they embody the perfect models as servants and vice-regents of Allah on the earth (Ashraf, 1985). Sanctification (tazkiayah), thereby, is an educational process of prime importance with these dual connotations. It involves both internal and external training. It is about training students to direct human energies towards the creative and constructive measures influenced by the Islamic cultural and civilization prospects and value systems. An active involvement with people on the ground is at the heart of these efforts, so that the students learn through practise, and through being part of daily sufferings of the people, to go through challenges and not to fail, when faced with them, but being able to confront them positively and with firm hearts. As indicated by Allamah Muhammad Iqbal, “an individual isolated from the community is an abstraction. He is real only as far as he absorbs the purpose of community and
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creatively expresses them through his own personality” (Mahdi, n.d., p. 56). A revival alienated from the Islamic civilization, cultural and vitreous mainframe would never be possible, other than to rob Islam of its Muslims. Therefore, in addition to preparing students in the above, it is also necessary to prepare them with all the necessary sciences and technological skills in order to make them competent with their counterparts. This should be the general objective of the Islamic education system. Additionally, as the prospective ‘ulamā’, they need to be trained to be creative, critical, ethical and analytical, so that they are able to evaluate the wealth of knowledge for its conformity and coherence with Islamic ideas as well as to be able utilize them at practical levels, in order to solve scientific, ideological, religious and personal problems. Thus, the higher level Islamic Religious Education should also focus on nurturing
the ability to think critically, creatively, and ethically as well as to communicate effectively, be it in writing or in speaking. The good person should appreciate how one gains knowledge and understands the universe, society, and ourselves; be informed of other cultures and times; have some understanding and experience with moral and ethical problems; have developed a spirituality that is dominated by a good heart; and have attained depth in some field of knowledge (Rosnani, 2007, p. 99). Table 5.1 organizes various aims and goals related to the five domains of the framework.
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Table 5.1 Aims and Goals of Islamic Religious Education at Higher Levels Aims at IRHE levels
Goals at IRHE levels
Faith Domain
● Develop a deep level of understanding of the fundamental principles, essential themes, concepts, and key values related to articles of faith; pillars of Islam and the comprehensiveness promoted by Ihsān
Knowledge Domain
● Develop a thorough awareness of Islamic epistemological and metaphysical Worldview and its integrated knowledge structure
● Create an awareness of the indispensability of divine guidance in deciding upon order, meaning and purpose, to justice, self-fulfilment, ethical endeavours, inter-personal relationship, human spirituality and the necessity of its actualization at the personal and collective levels ● Create deep-understanding and appreciate the Divine Signs in the Revealed, Human and Natural world ● Enhance the intellectual potentials to be able to interpret and synthesize facts, principles, theories, of the various religious, scientific, historical, socioanthropological, psychological fields from the essential Islamic standpoint
Value Domain
● Develop the potentials to reinvigorate the Islamic ethical and axiological traditions in conducting one’s individual and collective life;
Man Domain
● Recognition of the direct relevance of various fundamental elements of Islam to the preservation of human generation and the well-being of their life processes
Civilization al Domain
● Accustom learners to ways of sustaining the continuity and recognizable identity of the Muslim society, its intellectual and spiritual
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● Develop the potentials to establish the Islamic ethical and axiological traditions in conducting one’s individual and collective life; ● Create deep-understanding and awareness of the status and destiny of human beings on earth and the relationship to God, the universe and their fellow beings; ● Develop the dislike for, and the commitment to correct, all that is evil, unjust and the opposites of knowledge in a wise and proper manner; and inculcate the desire, responsibility and courage to seek, express and defend what is true, just and humane through direct-involvement and exemplification ● Cultivate the Islamic identity traits at the immediate personal and family levels as exemplary models expanding their vision of self, others, the world, life, etc. ● Provide spiritual and intellectual leadership to be able to contribute to revival and regeneration of Islam as a way of life and as a lived religion. ● Inculcate commitment to the continuation of social institutions, socio-economic justice, promotion of educational, moral and spiritual development of the community, the
heritage but without failing humanity at large
practice of shūrā and other Islamic social institutions all the time; ● Make learners reflect on the implications of pluralism at religious, cultural, ideological levels, appraise them as well as the mainstream political, financial and cultural establishments while striving for the betterment of the Ummah and world community
Source: Developed based on Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud (1989)’s The concept of Education in Islam and its implication for Education in a Developing Country. pp. 99101. In short, the framework demands that a religious-scientist “is not a narrow specialist in any branch of knowledge but is universal in his outlook and is authoritative in several branches of related knowledge”… Thereby he implies that,
a product of the Islamic university should be having adequate knowledge of the most important principles, concepts and issues in the major fields of the Islamic intellectual tradition and human learning so that the scholar can make authoritative contribution in any field he chooses, at any particular stage of his life (as cited in Wan Daud, 1998, p. 241). That means, the role that should be shouldered by the ‘ulamā’ is not confined to ‘handing down the Prophetic tradition of teaching and searching for knowledge to the next generation of scholars’ (Acikgenc, 1996, p. 84), but rather ‘to explain and clarify the vision of reality as embodied in the theology of Islam’ (AbuSulayman, 2009, p. 45). This is so much in demand, that in the future, they (the next generation of scholars) are supposed to shoulder the leadership roles, especially at intellectual and spiritual levels. Hence, they need to have thorough and deep understanding about all the five dimensions, their inter-relatedness and unity, and their implications. They also need to be nurtured to use their physical, practical, imaginative, cognitive and sensory capacities, but not failing to nourish their spiritual capacities. For these reasons, the various curricular and student activity programmes at tertiary level of
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religious institutions must be carefully planned and implemented so that the whole educational setting provides a ‘live’ Islamic environment motivating both intellectual and spiritual capacities and physical wellbeing. To summarize, the framework purports to show that the IRHE institutions prepare groups of specialized scholars or religious scientists who (a) possess a comprehensive knowledge regarding the fundamental principles related to all five domains, (b) who are able to revivify, preserve and sustain Islam as a belief system, as a way of knowledge, as a way of life, as a living religion and as a civilization, and (c) are able to provide dynamic spiritual and intellectual leadership.
Implications on the Organization and Content of IRHE Curriculum Various deliberations made prior to defining the framework, as mentioned earlier,
point to the process of ‘doing’ the curriculum, i.e., they influence the real organization of the curriculum, both at theoretical and practical levels. They imply on various curriculum decisions, regarding (a) how to organize the curriculum (b) what should be taught, and (c) why it should be taught, (d) choices regarding how to teach, and with what teaching aids, (e) how the evaluation should be carried out. Thus, the framework provides the conceptual and rational basis for various curricular choices at higher level of Islamic Religious education. Various basic principles, concepts and themes, skills and values indicated therein, in turn, provide the ‘permanent’ criteria for the above five exercises. The following part briefly discusses how the framework impinges on each of the processes.
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a. Organization of the Curriculum Firstly, with regard to organization, the IRHE curriculum should maintain the hierarchical order as well as the integral nature inherent in the Islamic concept of knowledge. The curriculum ought to be guided by the framework while deploying the core Islamic concepts into various disciplines. Then, the integral nature of the framework denotes the inter-intra disciplinary links among various subjects included in the curriculum. At both the inter-intra disciplinary levels, the continuity, integrity and sequence within the rationale and definitions, sequence, scope, learning areas, the portrayed outcome and means of assessments of each discipline should be coherent with the overall curriculum, its aims and the objectives promoted by the framework. The continuity refers to the need for recurring emphasis on the fundamental principles and essential concepts/themes which are hierarchically related to the five universal
values of Sharī‘ah, i.e., faith, intellect, human body, family, wealth and honour. That is, these principal ideals should be vertically reiterated in the learners through various curricular elements. The Sequence refers to the importance of having each successive experience built upon the preceding one, increasing breadth and depth of the learners’ development. Integration refers to the horizontal relationship of teaching-learning experiences (R.W. Tyler as cited in Ashraf, 1985). For example, besides studying tafsīr, Hadīth, fiqh or ‘aqīdah, metaphysics, comparative religion and others as independent sciences, they should be studied in relations to each other, relating the fundamental principles (FP), essential concepts, themes, skills (ECTS) and key values (KV) under each of them to other disciplines under various domains. In this regard, it is very pertinent to note that overloading students with unrelated inert ideas and so much of the unbalanced knowledge, will end up in narrowing students’ minds ‘rather than broadening them, as it initially aspired to do’ (Rosnani, 2007, p. 104).
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Secondly, various disciplines that fall under these five domains should be aligned according to their contribution to nurturing various human faculties and corresponding needs, i.e., the rūh (spiritual/intellectual), ‘aql (intellectual/psychic) and jism (physical/social). This is a requisite to correctly establish the balance of the relationship between man and his Creator (Revealed Sciences), between man and other individuals (Intermediary Human Sciences), man and the physical universe (Physical and Natural Sciences). Arrangement of the disciplines vertically according the various faculties and needs of man, as well as horizontally according to the Revealed, Human and Physical sciences, in fact, would integrate the curriculum, and thereby the total educational experience of the students. In this regard, it is worthwhile to present the structure of the table 4.4 mentioned in the fourth chapter (see page 145).
Islamic Sciences Revealed Intermediary Physical Sciences Human & Science Natural Sciences Spiritual/Moral Intellectual/Psychic Physical/ Social
Structure 5.1: Structure to denote to the Vertical and Horizontal Integration Such integration, if made possible, indeed, would be a positive step towards orientation of the prevalent social and human sciences from the Islamic perspective. In other words, the Muslim scientists are in a better position to synthesize the traditional as well as the contemporary expositions, but taking into account the hierarchy of human faculties of knowing, corresponding to the hierarchy of the cosmos, with modern discoveries in these subjects (Osman, 2009). Inevitably, this implies a lot for
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the overall organization of the curriculum, including while deciding upon its aims, contents, pedagogy and others. The following figure (5.1) presents this very concisely.
Faith Dimension Knowledge Dimension Values Dimension summarize ManTo Dimension Civilizational Dimension
Educational Aims & Goals; Contents; Pedagogy; Evaluation; Educational Settings
Teaching Learning Area Statements & Outcomes; Rationale & Definition; Assessment; Links across the curriculum
Figure 5.1: Convergence between Five Components and Curriculum Components & Processes b. The Contents of the IRHE Curriculum This part briefly analyzes what should be taught at IRHE level. To begin with, it
should be mentioned, all the previous deliberations were, in fact, meant for this. Therefore, the following discussion does not take various disciplines to be taught at IRHE level, case by case, but rather focuses on how they should be taught. Rather, the researcher firmly believes that such an attempt should be made only collectively by a group
of
theologians,
Sharī‘ah
scholars,
subject-specialists,
educationists,
curricularists and social and human scientists. Furthermore, principally the framework does not promote a fragmentary or compartmentalized approach to knowledge. It was in this regard, the study suggested an integrative to be followed while aiming to revitalize the Islamic education tradition, especially at higher levels. After all, whatever subjects are presently included in the IRHE curricula are not devoid of the intrinsic worth and merits. What the study mandates is that more stress should be placed on the methodical, pedagogical, applied and practical/pragmatic approaches
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while doing away with the practice of sticking to the antiquated monotonous ways of teaching. While integrating the newer subjects, therefore, it is very pertinent to lay stress on the unified, integrated, holistic and comprehensive nature of Islamic Worldview and as well as their pragmatic implications. To put it differently, while including or removing a discipline in or from the curriculum, the curricularists should be cognizant of the discipline’s role in consolidating the fundamental principles, themes, concepts and values related to any one among the five domains. This is further discussed under the following section.
c. Methodical and Practical Approaches to the Curriculum Contents Both theoretical and practical aspects are key to the teaching of any disciplines in the
Revealed, intermediary human, physical, and natural sciences. Although, the theoretical knowledge is more significant than practical knowledge, because the former implies its values on the latter, limiting tertiary level studies to the former would be suicidal for scholars coming out of which will not be able to apply them in making Islamic oriented decision and prescribing apt solutions. This is very cardinal while facilitating for the teaching of various Sharī‘ah-related disciplines indicated above. They should be taught not just as a science or theory or for voluminous truths included in them, but also for their applied and practical aspects as well. They should not be taught merely for their ‘intrinsic worth and merits, but for their ‘inherent meanings’ for governing the human relations as well. With regard to this, i.e., in the process of making the inherent meaning conspicuous, both methodical and pragmatic aspects of various Shari‘ah sciences need to be further stressed. By methodical approach, the study refers to the need of
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training the prospective religious scientists moulded in the IRHE institutions to be able to extract the methodical and epistemological principles from the fundamental sources and able to delineate on the way these principles are manifested in various Shari‘ah-related sciences. By pragmatic approach, the study refers to the need of training the prospective religious scientists moulded in the IRHE institutions to be able to translate the fundamental principles related to the five key domains into practical principles applicable to various disciplines. For example, with regard to various Islamic injunctions, besides studying the particularities related to them, they should be studied, in order to unearth the wisdom behind them. Furthermore, they should be studied in order to relate them to the key objectives of Sharī‘ah, their pertinence in keeping law- and-order in the society, awareness of personal duties and responsibilities towards Almighty Allah, the self, the members of Society and to the
natural environment. The following part elaborates these points with respect to major disciplines taught in the IRHE institutions. In order to point to the inter-disciplinary integrity between them, in some instances, the disciplinary boundaries are overshadowed. Further, both methodical and pragmatic approaches may appear intermixed. • While teaching the Holy Qur’an, at methodical level, students at IRHE institutions should be familiarized with its various types of interpretations: classical as well as modern, subject or theme-oriented as well as languageoriented. Various kinds and schools of interpretation, fundamental rules (usūl) of tafsīr and ta’wīl, differences among them. In addition, their distinction from interpretation, based upon conjectures. This should also be integrated into the curriculum. This includes the comparative study of origins, development and methodology of tafsīr. Then, they should have
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deep knowledge of the key terminologies such as wahy, khāss, āmm, muhkam, mutashābih, etc and the implications of those terms in the particular disciplines under consideration, as well as other disciplines. • Concerning the Hadīth, the specific terms related to Hadīth literature, their implications on affirming the validity of ahādīth and other topics related to it, should be studied in order to portray the implication of various prophetic actions on the contemporary lives of the Muslims. Most importantly, the Prophetic traditions (Sunnah) should be studied in order to portray the implication of various prophetic actions on the contemporary lives of the Muslims. That is, Hadīth studies should be coupled with the sīrah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and His companions. Even then, major events in the life of Holy Prophet (PBUH), need to be studied analytically for their
political, social, strategic and intellectual, but universal messages. In addition, various key values such as justice, mercy, trustworthiness and others as were inculcated into His life should be explored for their implication on the current situations of Muslims at local and international levels. In addition, with regard to various internal challenges, such as rejecting ahādīth for not conforming to modern rational sensitivities and perspectives, the problem of confrontation among Muslim groups on minor specifics of fiqh ruling, it is also very pertinent to search through the prophetic traditions on how the Holy Prophet (PBUH) personalised Islam through his Life Example. This will help the students to establish the position of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in the religion of Islam and his role in Muslim life.
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• The sciences of usūl (principles) related to tafsīr, Hadīth and fiqh should constitute a major component of tertiary level religious studies. These sciences should be taught and studied to “facilitate derivation of rules and concepts from the Divine Revelation” (Safi, 1993, p. 465). At methodical level, the teachers and students need to get first-hand training to investigate how these methodical sciences impinge on various sciences such as fiqh, kalām, akhlāq, study of objectives of Sharī‘ah, as well as how they evolved as new sciences. Students should be given many opportunities to see how they were practically utilized by the classical scholars to arrive at certain conclusions. They should be trained to learn through practise by analyzing various conclusions made in the past from the historical contexts of those times and from the perspective of objectives of the Sharī‘ah, thereby,
relating them to the present time. • Akhlāq is the integral spiritual anchor of religious education, whereas ‘aqīdah is the philosophical anchor. Fiqh on the other hand gives both of them a pragmatic dimension. In this regard, the key point stressed before should be carefully remembered, i.e., fiqh is not just about certain rituals and obligation, rather it is through fiqh, that the comprehensive concept of Islam as ‘al-dīn’ is translated into reality. • The consolidation of faith, the welfare of the community and elimination of human hardships are essentially inherent in all obligatory rituals prescribed by the Sharī‘ah. Therefore, at higher level, while studying fiqh students should be able to explore how these rituals and obligations contribute to the creation and maintenance of a balanced, positive and dynamic worldview
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both in the times of peace and hardships, ease and challenges. This is particularly true about theology (‘aqīdah) as well. • ‘Aqīdah is “the science which enables one to affirm the doctrines of religion and prove them to others by adducing proofs and eliminating doubts” (Amilah, 2005, p. 32). It should be taught for the intellectual and traditional understanding matters of the Islamic creed as well as for their similarities and differences with other religious traditions (Daud, 1998, p. 27). Beside that, it should enable the religious scholar-researchers to form a systematic and greater understanding of the purpose of world and all aspects of life and society, including education. At IRHE level, therefore, theological sciences should cover up-to-date ways of presenting Islam, addressing new ideological challenges advocated by Western thought such
as positivism, secular humanism, liberalism and post-modernism, secularism, nationalism, materialism which threaten the tenets of Islamic creed, doctrines and way of life. Therefore, students should be trained through scholastic and dialectic discussion methods, debates and dialogues to study issues like the Attributes of Allah; man’s free will and choice and the nature of good and evil. The intellectual understanding of matters of Islamic creed as well as their similarities and differences with other religious traditions is particularly important to theological studies. Further, more, ‘aqīdah should be learnt “in a comprehensive manner relating to its essentials in the fields of theology, philosophy, metaphysics, psychology and epistemology and the position of other religions (on all the above matters) -al-Attas in Wan Daud, 1998. Also, a comparative and critical analysis of contemporary and modern interpretations of the meaning of
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religion in Islam, by various circles would be most helpful in envisioning ‘the correct’ interpretation and the salient doctrines and principles of the creed (‘aqīdah) and their implications on the lives of Muslims in contemporary situations. • As pointed before, akhlāq is the integral spiritual anchor of religious education. The moral sciences ensures “certitude, consistency and perseverance in the hearts and minds of knowing and righteous believers in the face of' the most difficult challenges and trying circumstances” (Wan Daud, 1998, p. 214-215). Therefore, at higher levels, students should be introduced to various dimensions of the perfected character of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his leadership roles in the immediate family and larger society on various fronts. Akhlāq should be taught with the aim of moulding
a positive self-image taking lessons from changes in community, and society. Therefore, instead of ‘indoctrinating’ students with moral values as such, students should be motivated to find them out using ‘intellectual’ tools from the authentic sources. Thereby, they have to be trained to compare their findings with that of established moral codes, instituted in the Islamic tradition and heritage and in practice among the Muslim community. The methods of inculcating akhlāq should include moral reasoning and philosophical inquiry, so that students imbibe virtues consciously; reason about the ethical and social problems and accordingly learn to control their feelings and emotions and contribute to the well being of their society. • At theoretical level, students pursuing IRHE studies should make provision for exploring the social and communal roles, the key to moral values from a
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comparative perspective and to infer upon the implications of larger economic, political and ideological matters. Another key issue related to practical aspects of moral and ethical sciences is that Islam has won many hearts, not basically through the words of wisdom, but significantly through their personification in the character of the believers and du‘āt (sing. dā‘ī, preachers) and many Sufi saints. Therefore, spiritual and moral training should be the routine and essential congruent of Islamic religious education at any level. At tertiary level, students should be motivated to internalize and personify such exercises both spiritually and intellectually. • The jurisprudential studies, as mentioned before, are the pragmatic manifestations of Islam as al-din.
This would become additionally
significant when included into the point raised by Acikgenc (1996) that
‘fiqh includes religion, law and morality so integrally that one cannot be contemplated without the others’ and therefore cannot be translated into English simply as ‘law’ (Acikgenc, 1996, p. 25). Therefore, “at higher level” should not be confined to learning some facts about particularities of various individual and inter-personal obligations.
All various aspects
related to worship (‘ibādāt), family law (munākahāt), social and economic transactions (mu‘āmalāt), political and legal matters (qadā’). Criminal issues (jināyāt) should be taught with equal weight, but insistently relating to the realities of the people. In fact, the Islamic jurisprudence and law is the manifestation of fundamentals and principles of faith with implications on the individual and collective life. Thus, a pragmatic approach is very much needed while teaching jurisprudence.
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The study of fiqh should be related to various branches of social and human sciences, rules and regulations in a country, medical, biomedical, social, cultural, political and other areas, and essentially to the maintenance of faith, harmony, social justice and peace among the citizens of the country and for the preservation of the environment. In order to make this possible, it is essential that at tertiary levels students know various rules of fiqh intimately. It is in this respect, Osman Bakar (1991) expresses the opinion that the method of fuqahā’ (sing. faqīh, Jurisconsultants) is also a sort of tafsīr of the Holy Qur’an ‘although with somewhat different connotations’ (p. 35). Yet another point to be stressed while dealing with jurisprudence is its utilitarian aspects with regard to social polity, economics and finance. The essential principles of Sharī‘ah and its major concerns should be at the forefront of venturing
into these fields, especially since political and financial systems are mainly seen as a means of oppression of the poor and unskilled. Critical analysis of monetary and political forms of hegemony demand the urgent, but creative interference of the religious-scientists, so that Islam once again be presented as boon, not bane to the human welfare. These are related to practical aspects of dealing with fiqh almu‘āmalat (jurisprudence of social transactional obligations) and fiqh al-siyāsah (jurisprudence of public polity). It would be also worthwhile to compare the Islamic law with common law as practised locally and internationally, because such practise would enhance the horizon of the graduates. Rather, these universal utilitarian aspects of fiqh with regard to social polity, economics and finance might be the reason why the specialization in the traditional sense “meant excellence in the field of law, supported by high degree of competence in the other Islamic fields” (Makdisi, 1981, p. 84). Furthermore, ‘the greatest
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knowledge of Islamic law’, along ‘with some knowledge of every science’ (Makdisi, 1981, p. 7; p. 84) was traditionally the universal acceptable leadership criteria of an Islamic scholar. In the classical tradition, therefore, various religious as well as ancillary sciences such as grammar, poetry, dialectic sciences such jadal (dialectic) and khilāf (disputed questions) were all studied with specialization in jurisprudence being borne in mind. In the classical times, a law student applied himself to the learning of law in its positive aspects normally occupying a four year period. He began his study of disputations before this period was over. After graduation, he worked as a graduate fellow under a professor with the aims of enabling himself to issue solicited legal opinions, and to defend opinion against jurist-consultants who held contrary opinions. Such a practice, if revived, would certainly benefit the prospective ‘ulamā’ of the
modern times as they step into the community as real research-scholars of religious sciences (Ali, 2000). At IRHE institutions, therefore, students should be trained to dissect fatāwā made in the past. Furthermore, students should be practically trained, under the guidance of able scholars, to issue fatāwā. This corroborates well, the practice of ‘constant companionship’ (suhbah), “a practice that goes as far back in Islam [as with the Holy Prophet (PBUH)]…. As old as Islam itself, the institution of fellowship predates the college system in Islam” (Makdisi, 1981, p. 128). This is very much needed, if IRHE institutions once again aim to produce genuine and authentic ‘ulamā’. • The metaphysics is very fundamental to understanding of Islamic vision of reality and truth and contain the summary of all the other intellectual disciplines such as the sciences of the Holy Qur'an, Hadīth, and kalām. They, in turn, impose certain methodical approaches to deal with
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intellectual and philosophical sciences. Such a vision is essential to understanding the hierarchical order in the created world, which in turn points to the ultimate attributes of Allah and the Divine wisdom (Sunnatullah) in the universe and the course of history. • In-depth knowledge in Arabic language is necessary to all of the above, for ultimately their comprehension depend on the comprehension of the authentic sources of the Holy Qur’an and Hadīth for reference, which are essentially in Arabic. Only then, students will be able to analyze and interpret the basic source of Islam and the important intellectual and spiritual literature in Islam (p. 250).
While studying Arabic, students
should be familiarized about the scientific nature of Arabic language and the importance of the Divine Attributes and Names on various key terms
denoting the fundamental principles and essential themes/concepts and values. Other than being a potent vehicle of Islamic culture, the Arabic language should be studied as a source of Islamic unity (Safi, 1993). • In order to have a deeper understanding of Islam and the Muslim society it is also necessary to cover the Islamic culture, thought and civilization thoroughly, but also in comparing them with the Western culture, thought and civilization. The comparative study of religions should be carried out so that students be made aware of various world-views, ideologies, and belief-trends. To Safi (1993), study of the Islamic culture and civilization should focus on its function and institutional aspects, history, and development, through the centuries, and, in addition, their present-day ramifications as well as challenges, whereas to AbuSulayman (2009) the
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confrontation and reciprocal condemnation between the religions, should be transformed into scholarly investigation (AbuSulayman, 2009). • Students also need to be introduced to the study of the physical sciences, not as “an autonomous domain which is cut off from higher orders of reality” but relating it to the other two entities in the tripartite structure of reality (Osman, 1991, p. 74). “The relevance of spiritual and subtle entities” should be insisted upon “in the study of the physical world”, because as argued by the latest trends in the physical sciences, “the origin of life on earth cannot be resolved in terms of physical entities alone, no matter how deep we penetrate into the molecular world” (p. 74). What this implies is that it is necessary that students are a tertiary level, induced with a correct perspective of the physical, natural and even applied sciences. Knowledge
of the cosmic functions, powers, and qualities… especially in relation to the natural order, is indispensable for the integration of the physical and natural sciences into the spiritual knowledge of tawhīd (Osman, 1991). • Natural sciences, on the other hand, should be introduced not just for information contained in them, but also as “a source of many types of knowledge: mathematical, metaphysical; scientific and spiritual; qualitative and quantitative; practical and aesthetical” (Osman, 1991, p. 63). As per Islam, nature is a source of ‘Divine Laws’. This is in contrast with what is conceived by (a section of) modem science, which promote a cleavage between the ‘laws of nature’ and ‘the laws of God’. This ‘has disastrous consequences for the unity of science and spiritual knowledge.
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That is, the philosophy of science should be taught at higher levels, so that students get insights into the wonders and signs of Almighty Allah contained in them. According to Osman (1991), If we wish to restore this unity in the modern world, then one of the possible avenues is through the re-assertion of the metaphysical or spiritual status of the ‘laws of nature’ (pp. 64-45). This once again calls for development of the concept of ‘Islamic science’, and the burden falls on the community of Muslim scholars which included social, natural, physical and religious scientists. Therefore, at IRHE level, it is significant to promote an integrative and balanced approach towards the Islamic conception of sciences. Lastly, as pointed out by Madkour (1991), although, subjects like mathematics and natural sciences may be a common component with the mainstream education
system, but the aim of studying these sciences should be the empowering of a Muslim with the information, skills and experiences needed to enliven Islamic civilization on the earth following the Divine path. All these subjects need to be taught in such ways as to further this process and contribute to its concerns. Then, modern, social and natural sciences should be introduced so that the graduates be made aware of the potential and shortcomings of modern sciences, their inherent paradigms and propositions, the limitations of their methods, as well as for their contributions to human welfare. In other words, while familiarizing the students with methodical sciences as well as the key sciences such as ‘aqīdah, fiqh, and akhlāq it is also necessary to emphasize their unitary nature and to establish Revealed Sciences as primary sources of religious as well as social theorizing, analysis, criticism. Hence, the norms of unity of reality and knowledge, the partiality and limitations of human beings and thereby
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their implication of human discoveries should be emphasized in the methodological training and practice of students. In this regard, the nurturing of various intellectual skills is necessary. In classical times, “so important was dialectic (jadal) for the development of law and legal studies in Islam that it became a sine qua non of these studies in the colleges of law, both masjids and madrasahs” (Makdisi, 1981, p.110). In short, as religion is related to all other branches of knowledge, the study of the authentic sources and subsequently the study of fiqh, aqīdah and Akhlaq should be wider and wider in scope, range and depth at IRHE level (Ashraf, 1985). In total, the whole experience of learning should be meaningful to learners while engaging with various issues at stake when living in a global and pluralist society. At practical level, the da‘wah and research works should be oriented to “remove the distortions afflicting its thought, culture, and educational programmes that prevent the Muslim mind from
being effective…” (AbuSulayman, 2009, p. 45). This later part demands an overall integrated and trans-disciplinary curriculum at higher levels, but ultimately linked with faith dimension. This would correspond to the methodology of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) who insisted on establishing the firm faith in the minds of his companions, before demanding that they embark upon practical aspects of life (Açikgenç, 1996). To summarize, the graduates of Islamic religious higher education (IRHE) should be a consequence of the particular theoretical and practical application of fundamental principles, essential concepts/themes and key values identified under five key domains of the curriculum framework. They will have deep-level mastery of relevant authentic Islamic disciplines, working familiarity with the modern disciplines and various intellectual skills. The deep-level mastery and proficiency with the authentic sources would nurture a holistic approach to Islam. The deep acquaintance with the relevant modern disciplines would assist them to appraise the modern
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Western disciplines. The following discussion will explore means to make these masteries possible and consequently develop certain practical intellectual and spiritual skills in the learners.
Implications on the Pedagogy and Methodology of IRHE How to convincingly initiate the students to the contents of various disciplines, and how to present various principles, concepts and values that they contain in a meaningful, but coherent manner, is also key to this discussion on the pedagogical implications of the framework. The education in Islam is understood as a purposeful process of convincingly initiating the learners to the unique experience of being a Muslim. The transmission of knowledge, therefore, is just a menial part of the
educational process. That is, education is a series of intellectual exercises meant to awaken Muslims’ moral and intellectual consciousness (Asari, 1993). The aim of Islamic education, therefore, is to remove any obscurities on unique experience of being a Muslim. As one progresses in getting education on various fundamental principles, concepts and themes and reflecting on aspects of faith and truth, man and the universe, events and ideas, in an Islamic orientation, one should grow stronger as a Muslim. That is, corresponding to five key domains, Islamic education, therefore, should create five types of awareness, namely, Awareness of the Ultimate Reality, Self-awareness, Awareness of Morality, Awareness of the Community, and lastly, Awareness of the Universe. The self-awareness, is intimately linked to other types of awareness.
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…in becoming self-aware in this manner that human beings find themselves involved in a reflective and evaluative process which focuses upon their subjectivity, interiority or spirituality and which contributes to their self-knowledge and, consequently, to the development of their moral, religious and spiritual consciousness (Grimmitt, 1987, p. 197). This demands a lot, specifically from the educational process at the higher levels. Firstly, the educators at this level need to introduce certain desirable pedagogies and essential qualities into the form of teaching-learning activities. Students should be given ample teaching-learning experiences that they can directly become involved in concept formation, in a manner that is confessional. They need to be encouraged to make meaning out of the fundamental principles, and to relate them to the essential concepts and themes, instead of all these matters being presented to them. This calls for a major departure from conventional models of focusing so
heavily on a topic and on information. Instead, creative methods of assisting them to grasp the purpose and meanings should be adopted. They only need to be facilitated in the process of ‘deep understanding’ and ‘complex thinking’ (Erickson, 1998, p. viii). In other words, these principles, themes and values related to the five domains and their respective disciplines, are not to be ‘indoctrinated’ into the minds of learners. Accordingly, the curriculum should not be information-driven focusing on ‘transfer of the factual knowledge’. Conversely, the pedagogical procedures should aim at the awakening of graduates’ sense of moral consciousness and intellectual dynamism (Asari, 1993, p. 125). That means, the success or the worth and merit of the IRHE curriculum should not be judged, based on the larger amount of religious content in the curriculum or covering much of the content within the limited time. Rather, it should be judged, based on the desirable pedagogies and essential qualities that teachers at this level must bring to their practice of helping students to
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systematically develop conceptual schema regarding foundational principles, themes and values, and accordingly able to synthesize their place within the spectrum of Islamic Worldview. The learners should be trained to understand the fundamental structures of different particular disciplines and be able to relate them to the fundamental principles of faith, and to draw on their implications of key values. To put the above observations in different words, in fact, education at higher level is provided when the rational and physical capacities are already full-fledged. In addition, by this time, students are already exposed to the pressure from their surroundings. Therefore, education at this stage should, purposely and consciously motivate the learners to embark upon developing correct worldview, moral consciousness and attachment to the faith in all its forms. Ample chances should be provided to make them become involved in exploring the inter-connections between
various components identified above, and in order to make them capable of making genuine decisions about various pressing issues which challenge the faith and identity of Muslims. In this regard, it is vital that the Islamic philosophy and logics be included in the IRHE curriculum as tools “to sharpen thinking and reasoning powers of the students” (Rosnani, 2007). This is because thinking and reasoning are basic to all disciplines. In fact, it was when the study of Islamic disciplines was reduced to sheer memorization of the sharh (commentary) of the previous authors, instead of a dynamic pedagogy and germination of fresh ideas through ijtihād that the practise of logical thinking and reasoning was ignored. As a result, students ‘are not able to interpret the Islamic principles within their own simple, context and make their judgement based on them’ (Rosnani, 2008, p. 4). Therefore, as Rosnani (2008)
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pointed out, the incorporation of ‘the pedagogy of philosophical inquiry as the necessary tool to awaken the Muslim minds’ is much mandated at this level (p. 1). Philosophical inquiry is about making ‘education’ meaningful to the students. Philosophical inquiry is a form of investigation into the ideas and concepts related to the Islamic Worldview and to ethics, morality and spirituality to derive a greater understanding and meaning. It is a mode of pursuance of knowledge, carried out with ‘fairness, circumspection and deliberation, and by fortifying oneself against altercation and anger’ (Zarnuji as cited in Rosnani, 2008, p. 6). It is about training the cognitive as well as the affective domain of learners, so that they are able to make sense of what they learn. That is, students need to be provided with enough room for discussion, reasoning aloud, reflection and evaluation of important matters regarding moral or social crises. They should be given opportunities to open up their minds,
deliberate on their ideas, express them and defend them if they can, and likewise to evaluate the ideas of others and correct theirs if the others are more ‘reasonable and worthy (Rosnani, 2008). Integration of such methods into the teaching of Islamic subjects would enhance students’ abilities to make wise, religious oriented judgments, rather than to reflect and analyze the direction of their own life in the midst of various challenges of time regarding their personal identity as a Muslim, their life, career, peer relationships, etc. In short, philosophical inquiry demands that logic and reasoning are taught, together with their application to practical life, so that students grow up wise, intelligent, self-confident, critical and creative. Using these methods, students can be made to explore links across the curriculum and for integrating and making sense of all disciplines. Related to this, Rosnani (2008) calls for students to be trained in the deliberative skills, the cooperative skills, the reasoning skills and behaviour. The teachers, on the other hand, should take control of the classrooms by bringing in
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stimulating material with which to lead discussion, facilitating thought-encouraging questions and keeping the discussion focused. Rather they guide the discussion in the attempt to reach the truth and promote adab al-ikhtilāf (the etiquettes of differences of view) and also the necessity of respecting others, and the principles underlying their beliefs and listening to them before disagreeing with them. According to her, The most important agent for the revival of this pedagogy are teachers and educationalists. But to succeed and be effective in this pedagogy teachers need a little knowledge of philosophy including logic, and some training. Teachers too need to be critical and creative thinkers, and have good moral and ethical principles (p.11) Therefore, any learning experiences, intellectual-technical expertise and various skills provided at this stage should be designed in such a way that would induce the students to think beyond facts and topics, and engage them with ‘deeper
understanding’ and ‘complex thinking’ (Erickson, 1998, p. viii) (see figure 5.2).
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Ultimate Reality
Faith Domain
Īmān
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Figure 5.2: Pedagogical Implication of IRHE Framework Source: Developed based on H. Lynn Erickson (1998), Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction: Teaching Beyond Facts, p. 5, 52. The ultimate focus while selecting contents, and various teaching-learning experiences and methods of assessment, therefore, should be on concept formation. This is necessary, in order to prepare Muslim intellectuals to undertake methodical, reformative and civilizing aspirations (AbuSulayman, 2009). Thorough and deeper understanding of the different fundamental principles, essential concepts, themes and key values should, therefore, be considered, as ‘core competencies’ required of students pursuing IRHE. In other words, learning at higher stages is a search for meaning. Therefore, learning must start with the issues around which students are
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actively trying to construct meaning. Meaning requires understanding wholes as well as parts. In addition, parts must be understood in the context of wholes. Although each discipline has its own area of exploration and methods, they should not be treated as isolated facts or even topics, but inherently in an architectonic unity. Therefore, various sophisticated methods that Makdisi (1981) identified with colleges in the Classical times such as ta‘līqah, khilāf, jadal, mudhākarah, munāzarah etc should be enlivened once again. These methods should be re-invented and practised within their essential frameworks, but also they should be integrated into recent development. The religious scholar-researchers should be trained, with first hand experience in doing tafsīr, ta’wīl, ijtihād, qiyās and to utilize the inductive and deductive methods. Another pedagogical dimension of the framework is that, Islamic education at
higher levels should focus much more in a concerted manner, on affecting changes in learners’ attitudes and behaviour so that they actively participate in maintaining justice, freedom, goodness, truth and beauty as guided by religion. As men of knowledge and learning, the ‘ulamā’ are attributed the highest status as the ‘heirs of the Prophets (PBUT)’. This implies that acquiring as well disseminating knowledge are Godly attributes. The Holy Prophets (PBUT), who were commissioned with this mission, played unmistakable religious, social, political and educational roles as well. The prophetic mission of ‘guiding with wisdom and values’, therefore, necessarily heavily impinge upon on all those involved with IRHE. Moreover, it determines IRHE’s vision, of those missions at particular curricular, pedagogical and disciplinary levels. Correspondingly, the ‘ulamā’ have to shoulder a wider leadership role. Therefore, it is necessary that teachers at IRHE level posses various skills, and ‘model the thinking process and underscore the importance of the process of reaching the
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solution and not just the solution itself (Tradition on Ijtihād) (Rosnani, 2007, p. 5). Rather, in order to be capable to teach well, teachers must understand these concepts thoroughly. Besides, they should be able to analyze the mental models that the students use to perceive the world and to make assumptions. Lastly, teachers as role models should keep a balance between what they preach and what they practice, rather than between theory and practice (Al-Zeera, 2001). In short, a ‘religious-scientist’ “is not a narrow specialist in any branch of knowledge but is universal in his outlook and is authoritative in several branches of related knowledge” (Acikgenc, 1996, p. 84). According to al-Attas (1979),
a product of the Islamic university should be having adequate knowledge of the most important principles, concepts and issues in the major fields of the Islamic intellectual tradition and human learning so that the scholar can make authoritative contribution in any field he chooses, at any particular stage of his life (as cited in Wan Daud, 1998, p. 241). That means, the role that should be shouldered by the ‘ulamā’ is not confined to ‘handing down the Prophetic tradition of teaching and searching for knowledge to the next generation of scholars’ (Acikgenc, 1996, p. 84), but rather ‘to explain and clarify ideally the vision of reality as embodied in the theology of Islam’ (AbuSulayman, 2009, p. 45). The main reason for this is that, in the future, they are supposed to shoulder the leadership roles, especially at intellectual and spiritual fronts. Hence, they need to have thorough and deep understanding about all the five dimensions, their inter-relatedness and unity, and their implications. They also need to be nurtured to use their physical, practical, imaginative, cognitive and sensory capacities, but not failing to nourish their spiritual capacities. As such, various curricular and student activity programmes at tertiary level of any religious institution must be carefully planned and implemented so that the whole educational setting
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provide a ‘live’ Islamic environment motivating both intellectual and spiritual capacities and physical wellbeing.
Implication on Evaluation How students who are pursuing tertiary level Islamic religious education should be evaluated is almost obvious from the foregoing discussion. The practice of evaluating student's cognitive skills by standard tests should be the least stressed, because such tests would not be tenable to evaluate students with regard to their thinking, conduct and character. This is very true about the spiritual development of students, which is acknowledged as an indispensable component of Islamic religious education. Extreme focus on measuring cognition would strip the education at this level from its original purpose of making educational pursuit more honest, purposeful, practical and
meaningful to the pursuer (al-Attas in Wan Daud, 1998, pp. 243-234). To put it differently, such methods would demarcate between students and the various subject matters covered, for they would simply memorize the theoretical concepts. As noted before, this major dilemma pulls the graduate of IRHE to the periphery and estranges them from the affairs of everyday life. Therefore, a continuous assessment system should be developed to measure students’ abilities and skills as identified in table 4.4 (see page. 145), based on students’ participation and contributions to discussions, debates and discourses; their critical, creative and ethical thinking; manifestations of holistic thinking skills and intelligent use of theoretical and practical aspects of various disciplines they master. Such methods should also be used to evaluate changes in students’ behaviour and thinking dispositions.
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As Rosnani (2007) suggested, students ought to be given assignments that employ their research knowledge and skills, which in turn should be evaluated for manifestation of intellectualism or the practicality of various suggestions made by them. As such, students’ involvement with members of the society and their problems should be encouraged. This would also help to revive the tradition of academic freedom that were one of key features of higher institutions of learning of the olden times (Rosnani, 2007). In short, at IRHE level, therefore, evaluation should be meant to assess students’ capacity to act with spiritual insight but coupled with intellectual excellence and pragmatic insistence. In this regard, it should be noted that traditionally fiqh enjoyed greater prominence in the higher learning institutions, because, essentially fiqh is the practical manifestation of Islam in the every-day life of people. Fiqh covers
their individual, ritualistic, and their collective social, transactional, legal, criminal, political and financial concerns within the community. But alas, it has been restricted just to certain rituals. Although obligatory worship is central to Islam, it is not all about rituals. If even the ‘religious-scientists’ are unable to relate Islam as al-dīn, who dare to blame politicians for not enacting Islam (Acikgenc, 1996, p. 84)?
SUMMARY To summarize the whole discussion, institutions providing IRHE should be oriented to prepare Islamic religious scientists with a broad Islamic perspective, equipped with the deep-knowledge and intellectual skills which are needed for effective leadership of the Muslim community simultaneously, within their spiritual and intellectual spheres. Their role is not to initiate “the learners into pre-specified bodies of knowledge and the authoritarian teaching methods”, but it is the “fulfilment of the conditions
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necessary for the desired civilized renaissance…” (Hamadi, 2005, p. 165; al-Naquib, 1991, p.152). The success of the IRHE curriculum, therefore, should not be judged for the larger amount of religious contents in the curriculum or covering much of the content within a limited amount of time. Instead, it should be helping students to systematically develop conceptual schemata, regarding foundational principles, themes and values, and accordingly be able to synthesize their place within the spectrum of Islamic Worldview, thereby being able to translate them into reality. In line with the Islamic educational tradition, which was essentially creative, productive, dynamic and realistic in spirit and practice, education and training provided at higher levels should focus on the perpetuation of the message of Islam lively from generation to generation. If that is ever to be realized, the Islamic education system at any levels of the educational ladder should be moulded in the
framework of permanent principles regarding ontology, epistemology and axiology as Islam envisages. They should regulate the total educational process, its intents, contents, teaching-learning experiences and others. Islamic education, therefore, is essentially all about making students comprehend and internalize these principles holistically, whereas at higher levels, it is all about analyzing them for their applied and practical implications on a human plane, at individual, socio-political, economic, cultural, and civilizational and other level.
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CHAPTER SIX SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
This chapter summarizes and concludes the whole study. It puts forward certain general implications and recommendations for future studies, especially with regard to Islamic Religious Higher education.
SUMMARY OF THE STUDY The present study has attempted to trace the theoretical and conceptual principles and foundations of Islamic education and thereby to relate them to the curriculum of
Islamic Religious Higher Education (IRHE). Primarily this was done in an attempt to explore into the means of revitalizing the traditional institutions providing higher Islamic Religious Education. Partly, this was inspired by the persistent complaints from various governmental and non-government sectors in India about the failure of such institutions. Therefore, besides introducing the purpose, research questions, methodology and significance of the study, the first chapter also provided some general background information concerning socio-economic situations of the Muslims in India as well as a review of various literatures. The second chapter added further details on the development and the emergence of religious higher seminaries, especially their curricula, but this time focusing on the IRHE institutions in Kerala. This is because the study selected such higher seminaries in Kerala for brief appraisal as well as for delineating the implications of various propositions made in the study.
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By reviewing various works of the Indian writers about the tradition of Islamic education in India, the study found that their scope was confined to providing descriptive historical information. They did not provide any theoretical discussion on various issues related to curriculum. This, in turn, inspired the researcher, to look into various recent literature on Islamic education and Islamisation of knowledge, in both Arabic and English. Through this exercise, the study found that the educational and thought crises which affected these higher religious educational institutions were largely caused by internal weakness such as knowledge-crisis and thought-crisis, through the chaos brought out by ‘the false leaders’ and by the mistakes of religious leaders in properly understanding the challenges and thereby appropriating correct solutions. In the absence of a clear vision, various education systems promoted
conflicting approaches, thereby splitting the Muslim psyche and weakening his attachment to the holistic concept of Islam as al-dīn. Unfortunately, the scholars produced in the traditional Islamic education systems were under-prepared to assume their roles as ‘Islamic Religious Scientists’ and ‘proactive Visionary Leaders.’ In fact, partly, this also inspired the study to venture into various discussions on the theoretical and conceptual principles and foundations of Islamic Worldview. Various Muslim intellectuals and educators had pleaded for revivification of the Islamic educational tradition in the light of contemporary challenges to Islam and to Muslims on various fronts. The motive was further augmented by the realization that the revitalization of the Islamic education tradition would be possible only based on genuine and authentic Islamic foundations. Further exploration into these foundations proved that the system could be reformed only if their various curriculum components and the total
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educational atmosphere become re-invigorated with the Islamic fervor and spirit. The third chapter, therefore, explored into the theological and metaphysical concepts concerning reality, knowledge, virtue, man and his destiny. These concepts were then validated in the light of key principles and the objectives of the Sharī‘ah. The fourth chapter then related them to the process of Islamic education as well as the foundations of Islamic education curriculum. The chapter identified five key foundations, namely, faith-based theological, knowledge-based intellectual, valuebased moral, man-related psychical-social, and physical-world civilizational foundations of the curriculum. These foundations accordingly reflect upon both the arrangement of content as well as the pedagogical focus of the curriculum. They insist, not only on the hierarchical structure, but also on the vertical and horizontal integration of revealed, intermediary human, and physical-natural sciences with the
various spiritual, moral, intellectual, psychical, social and physical needs, demands and requirements of man. Another important deliberation made in the chapter was regarding the curriculum framework for Islamic education. Initially, the study aimed to focus on preparing such framework for Islamic Religious Higher Education only. But during the process, it was identified that due to the integrative nature of Islamic vision of truth and reality, various essential concepts on faith, knowledge, virtue, man and the universe are architectonically united, so that it is impossible to demarcate ‘religion’ from the ‘worldly’ affairs. This is because while living on the earth, various components and faculties that make up humanity and their subsequent needs and requirements cannot be fragmented. This was further ascertained by the comprehensiveness of Islam for it is simultaneously a system of faith, way of knowledge and virtue, a living religion and ultimately a thriving civilization. This was
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reflected in the framework through five domains, i.e., the faith domain, the knowledge domain, the value domain, man’s domain and the civilizational domain. Therefore, while referring to the curriculum framework the adjective ‘religious’ was removed. In addition, the attributor ‘higher’ was removed, for the study found that it is not the framework itself, which determines whether it is suitable only for higher level or lower level in the educational ladder. Rather, essentially what really demarcates the lower from the higher levels is the scope, breadth, width of subject matters, various pedagogical, pragmatic and methodical tools and teaching-learning experiences. Hence, the study found that a framework in itself could not be attributed to the higher or lower category. In short, the chapter provided a ‘Curriculum framework for Islamic Education’. In addition, the researcher realized that, proposing a ‘curriculum framework’ is
not a job to be carried out single-handedly. Such a move will be ambitious, rather than impossible. To this effect, the study also found that in fact, various scholars such as Syed Ali Ashraf (1985) had called for Muslim theologians, Sharī‘ah Scholars, educationalists, social scientists, curricularists, technicians and other relevant professionals, to collaborate in developing such a curriculum. The study believed that the first step towards materialization of such an ideal Islamic curriculum would be the preparation of a framework. The research, therefore aimed at proposing such a framework. It was with this purpose in mind; that the study explored the theoretical and conceptual foundations of Islamic Worldview and thereby related them to the Islamic Education. However, the researcher had to be satisfied with presenting merely a ‘basic’ model for the Islamic Education Curriculum Framework, because the researcher realized that even proposing such a framework should not be carried out single-handedly because the framework had to list fundamental principles (FP),
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essential concepts, themes and skills (ECTS) and key values (KV), all of which are related to the five domains. However, the effort to delineate these essential components of various Islamic domains, although much demanded and urgent, should not be a re-invention of the wheel, for much has already been done by scholars with insight, both contemporary and in the past. Rather it needs to become inspired by the wisdom of various intellectual exercises made in this regard, and the appraisal of their adaptability for the present times. The first of three of these domains, i.e., the faith, knowledge and value domains are idealistic in essence, whereas Man and civilization are the avenues for their pragmatic manifestations. In other words, decision regarding the principles, themes, concepts, skills and key values which relate to all these five domains should be collectively (ijmā‘, literally means consensus) carried out by the above mentioned
experts. Ijmā‘ -defined as “agreement of the community of Muhammad on a religious point” (Al-Ghazali, as cited in Farooq, 2006) in the fiqh terminology- is in fact conducive in this regard as well. In a wider sense, it avails to the totality of Islam as an all-comprehensive civilization and full-fledged religion (al-din). In other words, key terms such as jāmi‘ah, jumu‘ah, ijmā‘, jamā‘ah etc are derived from the same root and add to the urgency of the need for Muslim scholars, intellectuals, and specialists in various disciplines to group together and work collectively for the realization of Islam as al-din. It is in moulding such a group inspired by Islamic vigour and fervour that the glorious tradition of Islamic education requires revitalization. All these are said to mean that the Curriculum framework proposed by the study is just a ‘basic’ model, which needs to be developed through deliberate but collective collaboration. The chapter also proved that such a collective collaboration is much mandated in the face of various threats on the epistemic and social fronts and in the face of the
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pervasive influence of secular ideologies and practises among Muslim. The ‘religious scientists’, as well as those Muslim intellectuals who have deep knowledge in any field need to regroup among themselves. In this regard, the chapter proves that the Muslim religious scientists need not have comprehensive knowledge related to all five domains. Rather they ought to elaborate further, the fundamental principles, concepts, themes and values within the Islamic frame so that they eventually revive the Islamic ontological, epistemological, axiological, cosmological and psychological sciences once again as one united architectonic whole. In other words, as the inheritors of the legacy of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), the Islamic religious scientists of the modern times need to revive Islamic theological, moral and fiqhi sciences, so that the epistemic and pragmatic fronts while functioning upon the three roles of (a) Rehearsal of the divine signs, (b) sanctification and (c) instruction in scripture and wisdom.
Need, in addition, to creatively engage with explorative studies of modern trends and ideologies. These overtly and covertly denigrate the spirit of Islam from the Muslim minds, so that ultimately they are able to reassert Islam’s place in every civilizational project, at the socio-political, economic and cultural level, thereby spearheading the struggle against all types of injustice, exploitation and poverty. The fifth chapter considered various implications of the framework specifically in relation to aims and goals, contents, pedagogy and methods of evaluation of the curriculum of IRHE institutions in Kerala. In the process, it briefly analyzed the curriculum of three selected IRHE institutions, identified major problems and suggested some measures for solving them. While doing this exercise, the study found that most of the IRHE institutions in Kerala were established in the absence of a clear vision about the implications of essential Islamic concepts upon their overall educational atmosphere, as well as their curricula. They mainly followed what they
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had inherited from the past. Various texts, contents and methods were taught, which appropriated the same approaches as in the past, never being concerned with relating them to the needs, demands and challenges of the present times. The ‘reformed’ among these institutions, on the other hand, merely included modern subjects without bothering about the alien and secular perspectives which they promoted. Thereby, they failed to inspire the holistic and integrated worldview promoted by the architectonic unity of the spiritual and intellectual tradition of Islam. The chapter concluded with suggesting various ways of reviving this tradition that once again, IRHE institution as well as their graduates be empowered to provide proactive visionary leadership to the Muslim community in Kerala and India. In short, the study mandates that the true function of Islamic Religious Higher Education (IRHE) and that of ‘the Islamic religious scholarship’, be revived in such a
way that they provide visionary leadership in the face of ideological, political, economic, fanatic and other types of grievous challenges. They should not be merely engaged in handing down the tradition of teaching and searching for knowledge from generation to generation. Instead, they should revive the legacy of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in establishing the totality of Islam as an all-comprehensive civilization and fully-fledged religion (al-dīn). Besides their vital role in safeguarding the Islamic faith of the Muslim mass, indeed, they should empowered to continually respond to the challenges of changing times, thereby influencing the young and the old, the educated, the professionals and others alike, to be practically involved in sustaining the progress and development of Islam. Rather they need to be equipped with deep knowledge in the authentic sources of Islam and the holistic Islamic intellectual tradition. Furthermore, they should be rigorously trained in intellectual potential and be familiar with modern intellectual, socio-political, financial and cultural ideologies
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and trends. Last, but not least, they should personify, in exemplary fashion, the Islamic virtues through dynamic engagement in their Society. Only these conditions would sustain their role as the representative par excellence of a religious tradition.
GENERAL IMPLICATIONS Since various implications were already provided in the last chapter, specifically about the aims, goals, and organization of the curriculum, its contents and methods. In this chapter only general implications will be delineated. 1. At various points in the study, it was reiterated that the scope of ‘Islamic Education’ encompasses various intellectual, ethical, moral, social, physical, cultural and civilizational dimensions. Therefore, proper comprehension of the Islamic concept of faith, reality, knowledge, virtue
and other key concepts and their articulation at practical level in the educational process are much needed, if the Islamic education system is ever sought to be revived. Since the IRHE, institutions are the highest system giving rise to the dynamic and vibrant leaders for the Muslim community, the curriculum of them all should encompass the above dimension and domains. The providers of Islamic education at any levels of the educational ladder should be cognizant of the theoretical, integrated and pragmatic approach of Islam while developing the curriculum of each one of them, deciding upon its intents, contents, teaching-learning experiences and evaluation methods. 2. With regard to the above, those who provide Islamic Education should also be well aware of the Western framework and models of educational system, curriculum, their theoretical and practical foundations as well as their
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consequent repercussions on the total educational atmosphere. They should know why and where the Islamic and Western models are incompatible with each other in their theoretical and pragmatic aspects. In the context of the contemporary scenario, where the Western system is singularly manifested in the mainstream, such a cognizance is much mandated. Rather, it is in this respect, that the Islamic system has to maintain a continuous critical and analytical Islamic worldview. 3. Both the conceptual and practical components of Islamic Education should portray at the maximum level, the tawhidic, integrative, unitary, dynamic and hierarchical vision of truth regarding reality, knowledge, virtue, man and the world. Therefore, while developing the contents of various disciplines related to the Sharī‘ah, the focus should be also on rendering
various theological principles and divine injunctions into pragmatic reality. With regard to the above, the study calls for an Islamic education curriculum framework to be perfectly designed and developed, so that institutions providing for Islamic Education could organize the intents, contents, teaching-learning experience and evaluation methods of their curriculum accordingly and thereby implement them. 4. The study also posits that while implementing the perfected curriculum framework, various academic, student-orientated and community-oriented activities become integral to the IRHE. This is necessary if IRHE institutions wish to reinvigorate the tradition of Islam simultaneously as a belief-system, form of knowledge and thought; a lived-religion and civilization at a practical level; and thereby enhance their social usefulness
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in the promotion of social welfare and justice and in addition, combating poverty, aggression and various social illnesses.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE STUDIES 1. The findings of this research imply that a perfected Islamic education curriculum framework should be designed and developed. As an initial step, this study recommends that experts in primary, secondary, preuniversity and tertiary levels of education systems should develop specific aims and goals for each level. Rather the subject-specialists on each discipline should explore into the Islamic heritage, thereby designing the particular disciplines within the boundaries of their framework. This is a very pertinent step while trying to overcome the duality enforced by the
mainstream education system. 2. This study also found that an extensive appraisal of the Islamic education system, especially at IRHE level should be carried out, first expounding various disciplines and their corresponding textbooks. This should expose their intrinsic merits, and their worth as well as any demerits (if any). Accordingly, their demerits should be removed and the means of reinstating their merits should be sought out. In effect, various disciplines as well as their contribution to sustaining Islamic worldview should be presented which relate to the present times. This is a pre-requisite of carrying out any educational reform projects. 3. The study posits that ‘ulamā’ are to bear the responsibility of intellectual, civilization and methodical reformative and civilization aspirations. Therefore, studies should be conducted to establish their place in the
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educational and civilizational reform projects, thereby, demanding Muslim communities to appropriate the necessary resources collectively. In this regard, it is also important to find out what really made these once-glorious institutions fall short of serving the Muslim community in a holistic and integrated manner. 4. With regard to the above, a comparative analysis is necessary of modern methods of teaching and learning employed in the universities and institutions of religious learning among both Muslims and other faith communities with that employed during the golden period of learning. . This, besides exploring merits, worth and demerits would also encourage the revival of the relevant traditional Islamic education system in an integrative and holistic manner.
5. Lastly, the study strongly recommends that any future studies carried out, especially regarding the Islamic education system, its curriculum components, pedagogy and other essentials, should be related to any of the five domains. This would certainly contribute to establish the coherence of the Islamic vision of truth and reality, while helping appropriately to place them within the Islamic framework.
CONCLUSION The contemporary higher Islamic education institutions in India stand to face a deep quagmire of various internal and external challenges as well as mounting pressures to reform. At times, they are ignorant of the profoundness of these challenges and at other times, they have lost their direction for carrying out the challenges of reform. In the first case, either the challenges are simply ignored, or they are ignorant about
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them; whereas in the second case they do not know how to go about the reform process. In either case, what sustains this quagmire is the absence of, or a lack of cognizance about the genuine and authentic Islamic vision of education, its fundamental foundations and principles, and the subsequent implication to the curriculum and the total educational atmosphere. In the absence of a fundamentally comprehensive vision, rather because of the inability to apply them on the educational planes, the higher grade institutions that provide for specialized studies in Sharī‘ah-related sciences, disseminate an insulated portrayal of Islam. In a sense, they wrongly ascribe Islam as being confined to certain spiritual rituals with no relation to the intellectual, socio-political, economic and cultural movements that interfere with the course of the man’s life on the earth. Such an ailment, according to AbuSulaiman (2009), lies in the very the foundations. These
very foundations are the starting point, objectives, values, and keys of every idealistic, cultural and socio-political revival of the Muslim community. This is particularly true about the educational institutions. The educational institutions ought to be built on these foundational structures. Rather they need to strengthen themselves, establish their latent potentials, and actualize their salient characteristics. Various ontological, epistemological and axiological idealistic principles need to be transformed into pragmatic and civilizing levels. This, in turn, requires that the curriculum of each institution, which is the core of the educational system, should necessarily be built coherently around the foundational structures. To this effect, the study argues that there is urgent need of re-visualizing and constructing a perfected Islamic Education curriculum framework, which integrates fundamental principles, essential concepts, themes, values and skills related to the
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ontological, epistemological, axiological, pragmatic and civilizational domains of Islamic Worldview. In fact, only such a framework, perfected at the conceptual as well as practical levels would regain the traditional institutions of higher religious education, its original vigour and valour. Indeed, the framework would also help to construct ‘a systematic world-view’, which is a necessary condition for building a civilization (Acikgenc, 1996). Since IRHE, institutions are the highest system that gives birth to the dynamic and vibrant leaders for the Muslim community, their role in perfecting and enlivening the curriculum framework is very significant. Indeed this would be crucial to regaining the IRHE’s place within the Islamic cultural and civilising reform project (AbuSulaiman, 2009, p. 49). They need to ‘adopt a bold and critical perspective to identify the root causes’ and then to rise to the challenge of their enemies at intellectual and civilizational fronts. In fact, the mediocre educational
achievements of Muslims were caused by the failure of the Islamic education system to base its activities on such comprehensive Islamic worldview and framework. In an ideal education system based on the framework, the various academic, studentoriented and community-oriented activities conducted in these institutions should at once arouse an ever-growing consciousness among the students of the integrative vision of Islam as well as encouraging them to partake in various missions to promote social justice and the welfare of the people. Mutual response between theology and action, theory and practice; reality and thought, should be an integral part of the system. In such a curriculum, every subject matter should be placed according to their spiritual, intellectual and social implications. Such, endeavours should start from the premise that the institutions which cater for higher-level studies in Sharī‘ah-related sciences, should train their scholars to master various sciences which are related to their specializations, with great
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proficiency, being productive and serious, and having the sense of responsibility in the fulfilment of their reformative and civilizational aspirations. Rather they need to be equipped with potential to generate and redefine ‘the new branches of knowledge’, and thereby to ‘remove the distortions afflicting thought, culture, and educational programmes’ (AbuSulaiman, 2009, p. 45). With specific reference to India, they need to become contributing members of the nation, thereby, providing model attitudes of responsible citizenship. In short, the study informs the IRHE institutions to appraise their practices in the light of various foundational principles envisaged by Islam with regard to reality, knowledge and value and their enactment at individual and collective levels, at the social and civilizational front. In a country such as India, where Muslims are noted for their backwardness and marginalization, such institutions should mould a genuine,
courageous and visionary battalion of ‘religious scientist scholars’, able to guide the Muslim mass in India, concurrently in spiritual and intellectual arenas, in the face of mounting socio-political, socio-cultural and intellectual challenges. Their role should not be confined to transferring the credentials of Islamic faith, knowledge and virtue from generation to generation. They should be able to shoulder significant religionbased political activities. They should be bold enough to prescribe practical and realistic solutions on affairs that confuse the Muslim community on an
every day
basis. This is much demanded in the face of organized anti-Islamic forces within and without the country who are consistently trying their best to present a distorted picture of Islam through mass media and even to commit physical attacks from time to time.
WA ALLAHU A‘LAM
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APPENDIX I
Dars-i-Nizami of Mulla Nizamuddin Sihālwi Subjects Grammar: Etymology
Grammar: Syntax
Rhetoric
Philosophy
Logic (Mantiq)
Scholastics (Kalām)
Fiqh
Text Books [a] Mīzān [b] Munshā’ib [c] Panj-ganj [d] Zubdah [e] Sharh Mīr [f] Fuṣūs akhbāri [g] Shāfiyah [a] Nahw Mīr [b] Sharh Mi’ah Āmil [c] Sharh Jāmī [d] Hidāyah al-Nahw [e] Kāfiyah [a] Mukhtasar al-Ma‘ānī and Mutawwal by Sa’duddin Taftazani [a] Sharh Hidāyah al-Hikmah of by Hussain Ibn Moinuddin al-Maibudhi [b] Al-Shams al-Bāzighah by Muhammad Mahmood Jaunpuri [c] Sadra by Sadruddin Shirazi [a] Sharh al-shamsiyyah [b] Mīr Sullam al-‘ulūm by Muhibullah al-Bihari (d. 1708) [c] Sughrā and Kubrā by Sayyid Sharif (d. 1413) [d] Isāghoji by Imam Athiruddin Ab’hari (d. 1261) [e] Tahdhīb by Jurjāni [f] Sharh al-Tahdhīb by ‘Abdullah Yezdi [g] Qutbi by Qutbuddīn Razi [h] Mīr Qutbi [i] Risālah Mīr Zāhid [j] Mullah Jalīl [a] Sharh ‘Aqā‘id al-Nasafī by Taftazani [b] Sharh ‘Aqā‘id Jalāli by Muhammad Ibn Asad Siddiqi Dawwani [c] Sharh Mawāqif by Sayyid Sharif al-Jurjani (d. 1413) [d] Mīr Zāhid by Mir Zahid Harwi [a] Sharh al-Wiqāyah (first two books) by Zainuddin Junaid Ibn al-Shaikh al-Sandal al-Hanafi [b] Hidāyah (last two books) by Burhanuddin Ali Ibn Abu Bakr al-Marghinani
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Subjects Text Books Principles of Muslim [a] Nūr al-Anwār by Mulla Jiwan Law (Usūl al-Fiqh) [b] Tawdīh al-talwīh [c] Musallamāt al-Thubūt (The portion dealing with Mabadi’ Kalāmiyyah) [a] Mishkāt al-Masābīh by Shaikh Waliuddin Abu Hadīth Abdulla al-Khatib Principles of Hadīth [a] Nukhbat al-Fikr, sometimes with Sharh [a] Tafsīr al-Jalālain by Jalaluddin Muhammad Ibn Tafsīr Ahmad al-Shafi‘ī and Jalaluddin Abdur Rahman Ibn Abu Bakr al-Suyuti (d.1459) [b] Baidāwi by Qadi Nasirddin Abu Sa’id Abdullah Ibn Umar al-Baidawi [c] Madārik al-Tanzīl of Nasafī Mysticism [a] ‘Awārif, Treatises of the Naqhshabandiya School, Sharh Rubā‘yyāt of Jāmi, Introduction to the Sharh Lam‘āt Medicine [a] Abridgement of Abu ‘Ali Ibn Sīna's Qānūn Mathematics [a] Khulāsah al-hisāb by Bahauddin [b] Tahrīr Uqlaidis [c] Tashrīh al-aflāk [d] Risālah Qaushijiyyah [e] Sharh Chaghmīnī (chapter 1) Source: al-Minhaj: The evolution of curriculum in the Muslim education institutions of Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, G.M.D. Sufi (1981), pp. 73-75 and The Indian Muslims, M. Mujeeb (1967), pp. 407-408.
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APPENDIX II
Connection between Man, Knowledge and Curriculum a. Man Man’s soul and inner being (rūh, nafs, qalb, ‘aql)
Man’s various faculties and senses both spiritual and physical
b. Man’s Knowledge
Knowledge of Prerequisites to Revealed Knowledge represents the fard ‘ayn knowledge whose parts have been integrated to form the core knowledge of individuals in Islamic education; includes the Holy Qur’an-Exegesis, Commentary-Tawhīd, Principles of Islam-islāmīmān-ihsān, Life of the Prophet. Hadīth, Sunnah,
Knowledge of Sciences represents the fard kifāyah knowledge whose part have been employed according to priorities of service to state, society and in the Muslim community; includes the Natural, Physical, Applied, Human Sciences, Aesthetics, etc.
c. Curriculum The Core component of curriculum; includes knowledge of Prerequisites; must reflect inner being of man (rūh, nafs, qalb, ‘aql) and his spiritual faculties and departments
Knowledge of Sciences its various faculties and departments corresponding to man’s physical faculties and senses; includes rational or intellectual components of curriculum
Specialized studies in either science
Source: Adapted from Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas. (1979), Islam, Secularism and the Philosophy of the Future, pp. 149-151.
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APPENDIX III
Disciplines and Subjects Taught in Selected IRHE Institutions JNA Mu Mut khta aww sar al
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Qur’an, Tajwīd Ahkām al-tajwīd I‘ānah al-as’hāb ‘alā tajwīd al-kitāb Al-īdāh al-mufīd fī ‘ilm al-tajwīd Al-Qawl al-mufīd Al-Jazriyyah Qur’an Hifz Tafsīr (Textual Studies) Mukhatasar tafsīr Ibn Kathīr Jalalain Baidāwi Madārik al-tanzīl Fat’h al-qadīr Al-kashshāf Tafsīr Analytical Studies Tafsīr Subject-wise studies (Tawhid, shirk, ‘ibadah, jihad, shūrā, etc.) I‘jāz al-Qur’an: Literary and Scientific Tafsīr & Mufassirun Israīliyyat in Tafsīr Misconception in Tafsīr and their rebuttal Sciences of Qur’an (‘ulūm) Mabāhith fī ‘ulūm al-Qur‘ān
JI Prepar atory (2yrs)
5
DHIU
Degree Usūl al-Dīn (4yrs)
Sharī ‘ah (4yrs)
5 *
Masters Da‘wa h (2yrs)
Qur’a n Studie s (2yrs)
Sunn ah Studi es
5
Course for Leader s& Orator s 5
Seco ndar y
Senior Second ary
5
Deg ree
Masters Qur’ an
Hadi th
The olog y
Fi qh
Da‘ wah
5
5
5
5
5
*
*
*
*
*
* * 5 5
* * 5 5
* * 5 5
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* * 5 5
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5 5
5 5
5
* * * 5 5
5 5
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*
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*
* * *
* *
5 *
5
5
5 5
5
5 5 5 5 5
5 5
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5 *
5
JNA Mu Mut khta aww sar al
Al-Ta’ammulāt al-Qur’āniyyah Al-tibyān fi ‘ulūm al-Qur’ān Manāhil al-‘irfān Al-itqān Hadīth Textual/Analytical Studies Al-Muntaqā
JI Prepar atory (2yrs)
DHIU
Degree Usūl al-Dīn (4yrs)
Sharī ‘ah (4yrs)
Masters Da‘wa h (2yrs)
Qur’a n Studie s (2yrs)
Sunn ah Studi es
* * 5
5
5
5
278
Muwatta’ ibn Mālik Sunan al-Nasā’ī Sunan Ibn Mājah Jāmi‘ al-Tirmidhī Sunan Abī Dawūd Sahīh Bukhāri Sahīh Muslim Hadīth Subject-wise Studies Biography of Prophet Al-Manhaj al-harakī li al-sīrah al-nabawiyyah Al-Rakhīq al-makhtūm Al-Hayat al-tayyibah Al-shamāil al-Muhammadiyyah Sciences of Hadīth (‘ulūm) Mustalah al-Hadīth Nukhbah al-fikr Muqaddimah Mishkāt Usūl al-Hadīth al-Nabawī: ulūmuh wa maqāyīsuh Al-qawā’id al-asāsiyyah fī mustalah al-Hadīth Hadīth and Muhaddithūn Fiqh al-Hadīth
Senior Second ary
Deg ree
Masters Qur’ an
Hadi th
The olog y
Fi qh
Da‘ wah
* *
* *
* *
* *
* *
* 5
5
5
5
Bulūgh al-marām ‘alā subul al-salām Mukhtasar Sahīh Muslim Riyād al-sālihīn Mishkat al-Masābih
Course for Leader s& Orator s *
Seco ndar y
* 5
5 * *
* *
* * * * * * * 5
5
5 * *
* 5 *
5
* 5
5 *
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* * 5 5
JNA Mu Mut khta aww sar al
279
Al-jarh wa al-ta‘dīl wa al-takhrīj Islamic Culture Jurisprudence (fiqh) Kifāyat al-akhyār Kifāyah al-akhyār Fiqh al-sunnah Bidāyah al-mujtahid Taysīr fiqh al-‘ibādāt ‘Umdah al-Sālikīn Fat’h al-Mu‘īn Al-Mahallī Tuhfah al-muhtāj Al-Qudūrī Fiqh Fundamental Studies (usūl) Al-wajīz fī usūl al-fiqh ‘Ilm usūl al-fiqh Jam‘ al-Jawāmi‘
History of Islamic Law And Its Schools Comparison Between Schools of Jurisprudence Contemporary Jurisprudential Issues Minority Jurisprudence Islamic Legal Maxims Arabic Language (Grammar, Language Morphology) Al-nhw al-wādih Al-Mizān wa al-ajnās Zanjān Alfiyyah ibn Malik Arabic Language (Composition And Translation) Arabic Rhetoric Al-balāghah al-wāzihah
JI Prepar atory (2yrs)
Degree Usūl al-Dīn (4yrs)
Sharī ‘ah (4yrs)
DHIU Masters
Da‘wa h (2yrs)
Qur’a n Studie s (2yrs)
Sunn ah Studi es
Course for Leader s& Orator s
Seco ndar y
Senior Second ary
Deg ree
Masters Qur’ an
Hadi th
The olog y
Fi qh
Da‘ wah
* * *
* * *
* * *
* * *
* * *
5 5 5
5
5
5
5
5 * * *
5
* * * * *
*
5
5
*
*
5
5
5 *
5
*
* * 5 5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
* * * * 5 5 *
5 5 5 5
5
5
5
5
*
* * *
5
* 5
5 5 *
5 *
JNA Mu Mut khta aww sar al
Mukhtasar al-ma‘ānī Arabic Literature Muhkhtāraāt min al-adab wa al-nusūs
*
JI Prepar atory (2yrs)
Degree Usūl al-Dīn (4yrs)
Sharī ‘ah (4yrs)
DHIU Masters
Da‘wa h (2yrs)
Qur’a n Studie s (2yrs)
Sunn ah Studi es
Course for Leader s& Orator s
*
Qasas al-nabiyyīn Mukhtarat min adab al-‘arabi
5 *
5
*
*
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Kitab al-tawhīd Sharh al-‘aqā’id li al-Taftāzanī Al-milal wa al-nihal Sharh al-‘aqā’id al-Nasafiyyah Sharh al-aqa‘id al-Tahāwiyyah Al-‘aqīdah al-Islāmiyyah wa ‘usasuhā Al-jawāhir al-kalāmiyyah Tanwīr al-Qulūb Hujjah Allah al-bālighah Sanctification of the Soul/Tasawwuf Al-tarbiyah al-rūhiyyah Minhāj al-‘ābidīn Al-Dā’ī wa al-dawā’ Ihyā’ ‘ulūm al-dīn Islamic Economics
Senior Second ary
Deg ree
Masters Qur’ an
Hadi th
The olog y
Fi qh
Da‘ wah
5
5
5
5
5
*
*
*
*
*
* 5
*
Diwān al-hamāsah Arabic Prosody Matn al-kāfī History of Arabic Literature Tārīkh al-adab al-‘arabī Arabic Literary Criticism Al-adab al-‘arabi bayn ‘ard wa naqd Theology and Wisdom of Sharī‘ah Tasawwur al-‘ulūhiyyah kamā tu‘riduh Sūrah al-An‘ām Al-mustalahāt al-arba‘ah fi al-Qur’ān Ta‘rīf āmm bi dīn al-Islām
Seco ndar y
* 5 5 *
5
5
5
5
5
5
5 *
* 5 * 5 * 5
* *
* * * *
*
* *
* * * * 5 *
5 *
* 5
JNA Mu Mut khta aww sar al
281
Islamic Politics Fiqh of Islamic History (fiqh al-tārīkh alIslāmī) Law of Decedents & Distribution Islamic History Al-tārīkh al-Islāmī al-siyāsi Durūs al-tarīkh al-Islāmī Tārīkh al-anbiyā’=madrasah al-anbiyā’ Muhādarāt ‘an al-tārīkh al-Islāmiyyah Logic (Mantiq) Al-mirqāt Sharh al-Tahdhīb Al-qutbī Comparative Religion Science of Da‘wah/Islamic Da’wah: Its principle Mu‘wwiqāt al-Da’wah Contemporary ideologies/thoughts Tarīkh al-madhāhib al-Islāmiyyah/ Mukhtārāt min kitāb al-tawhīd Contemporary Islamic World
JI Prepar atory (2yrs)
Degree Usūl al-Dīn (4yrs)
Sharī ‘ah (4yrs)
DHIU Masters
Da‘wa h (2yrs)
Qur’a n Studie s (2yrs)
Sunn ah Studi es
Course for Leader s& Orator s
Seco ndar y
Senior Second ary
Deg ree
5 5 5
5 5 * *
5
5
5
5 5
* *
5
* 5 * * *
5
5 5
5 5
5
5 5
5
5 *
5 5 5
Analytical Study of Contemporary Issues Analytical Study of Social Issues
5
Interpersonal Relations Islamic Movements
5
Islamic Journalism Fundamentals, Methods, History of Da‘wah Various Islamic Sects English Computer Basics Urdu Language Kerala Urdu Reader Hamārī Kitāb
5 5 5 5
5
5
5
5
5
5 5 5
5 5 * *
5
5 5
Masters Qur’ an
Hadi th
The olog y
Fi qh
Da‘ wah
JNA Mu Mut khta aww sar al
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Ta’mīrī adab Islamic Research On Contemporary Issues Practical Oratory, Writing, Journalism Supervised Training on Exemplary Oration Da’wah Fieldwork General History Mathematics Social Sciences Sciences & Technology Bible, Qur’an & Science (Maurice Bucaille) Mathematics Malayalam Individual Reading (Examined) Suwar min hayāt al-sahābah
JI Prepar atory (2yrs)
DHIU
Degree Usūl al-Dīn (4yrs)
Sharī ‘ah (4yrs)
Masters Da‘wa h (2yrs)
Qur’a n Studie s (2yrs)
5
5
Sunn ah Studi es
Course for Leader s& Orator s
5
5
Seco ndar y
Senior Second ary
Deg ree
* 5
5
5
5 5 5 5 5 5 5
5 5 5 5 * 5 5 *
Masters Qur’ an
Hadi th
The olog y
Fi qh
Da‘ wah
258
