Islamization of Education --(TEACHER'S MANUAL)
By Dr. Bilal Philips
The topic of Islamization of Education has been under discussion for almost the last 40 years. It can bedated back to at least the 20th century, where educators from various parts of the world gathered in Makkah in the 70s, and analyzed the problems. Muslims were facing with regards to Education. They looked at the existing models and discussed Islamic requirements, and they wrote about the need for Islamization of knowledge as it is conveyed in the educational institutions. In fact, they virtually wrote an encyclopedia on the topic at hand. Since that time, a number of Islamic schools have arisen in Muslim countries.. Education is primarily the responsibility of parents, it is primarily the responsibility of the Muslim parents to educate their Muslim children. The early scholars of the past, whether Imam Malik, Shafi’ee or Sufyaan Ath-Thawree ,talked about their mothers and not particular schools. Their mothers taught them memorization of the Quran, Fiqh, Hadeeth, in their very homes. That was the norm.
The bottom line is that every Muslim child who goes to the non-Muslim educational system, whatever Islam they had within them is neutralized, confused or lost. By the time they graduate.
The Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said :
“Each and every one of you is a shepherd responsible for his flock. The man is responsible for the wife and children of the home. The woman is responsible for the children of the home.”
Islamization of education is a challenge to Islamize all of the course material it is not complete until all subjects in the school are taught from an Islamic perspective. When all our subjects and fun activities are islamized, we can say that we truly have an Islamic institution.
The 3 E’s of Education
The three main elements involved in the Educational process namely:
1. The Educator who we call the teacher.
2. The Education which is the material that is being taught.
3. The Educated which is the student.
In this part we will discuss only about the Teacher and administrator.
The Educator means the Teacher
Now, the basic philosophy behind the Islamic institution is fundamentally that the Muslim teacher is distinctly different than the teacher who happens to be a Muslim. The Muslim teacher, one who is going to teach in this institution, is fundamentally different from a teacher who happens to be a Muslim.
The teacher who will teach in the school should do so only for worshipping Allah through education, serving the Muslim community.
Secondly The concern for opening Islamic school should not be for profit, they should not cut corners, like hiring improper people, and should not treat school as market place and should not try to get the cheapest teachers who have less and improper knowledge. We don't want school which is financially successful and Islamically failure.
The basic qualifications for teachers are
They should have ‘ilm (knowledge)
They should have Eemaan (faith)
They should have Ikhlaas(sincerity),
They should have good deeds (amal us salih).
These are the core qualifications for the Muslim.
In terms of knowledge, we are talking about correct knowledge, not just knowledge. the teacher has to impart that. There are principles which are based on the guidance of Prophet Muhammad sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam . He used to make a du’a –
“O Allah, I ask You for beneficial knowledge”.
So, when we are in the process of teaching, it is important that the one who is teaching is able to distinguish between the useful and useless knowledge. Knowledge which is of no benefit is either useless knowledge or false knowledge. Knowledge should be prioritized. We should have the knowledge that is fard ‘ain, and knowledge that is fard kifaayah. So, individual knowledge, knowledge of tawheed, is primary individual knowledge. Teacher should be able to distinguish knowledge which is Fard Al Ain and Fard Al Kifayah.
Each educator should have clear knowledge of eeman, not just rattle it off, but to really understand what the pillars are, and what impact these pillars should have in our lives. There is a realization of these pillars actualized in our day-to-day lives.
The third characteristic that the educator must possess. is that of Ikhlaas. Ikhlaas means sincerity. The intention behind being a teacher should be for the sake of Allah, and not just for material gain. The educator recognizes that this process of education is in fact ‘ibaadah.
The prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said –
“This world is cursed and everything in it is cursed, except the remembrance of Allah and that which helps to remember Allah, and the teacher one with knowledge and the student”.
This teacher student relationship is a holy relationship, a sacred relationship, it is one which the Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said is the truly blessed relationship in this world. He/she should believe that this is something pleasing to Allah subhaana wa ta’ala.
Also, in terms of ikhlaas, the material which is being delivered must be delivered sincerely. If we are teaching from the heart it will reach the heart.
And the last characteristic is that of ‘Amal Saalih. The foundation of righteous deeds is that it should be according to the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Righteousness is that which has been defined by Allah, same for evil. The basic source of righteous deeds has to be based on revelation. Our source of revelation is the Qur’an and the Sunnah. They have to be based on sincerity. For the teacher, the educator, righteous deeds should be by example. If we want to teach the children righteousness, we should be the example of righteousness. Be what we want them to be; because if we are not then they won’t be.
That they feel they have a mission to accomplish; there is a driving force which is behind them.
They feel a sense of responsibility. The children who have been sent in their hands, they have to answer to Allah as to what happens to these children. He should be merciful. The Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said,
“He is not of us who does not respect the elders and is merciful to the young.”
Allah is Ar Rahman, Ar Raheem. He did not only use one name, stressing the importance of mercy.
The Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said,
“He who does not show mercy will not receive mercy from Allah subhaana wa ta’ala.”
Unfortunately, when we talk about mercy, there is an element within the educational system of Muslims, where that mercy has gone; and unfortunately it is connected with the Qur’an. We have a bunch of people out there, in charge of madrasas, who don’t have mercy. They are abusing our children. the Quran teacher used to beat them, and torture them. So there should not be a difference in criteria for Islamic subject teachers and other teachers.
If he is not trained in Education and psychology, he will then abuse. If there is mercy, the teacher will know their limitation, to fulfill his responsibility towards Allah by gaining the necessary knowledge, to instill the love about the subject taught, especially the Qur’an and Arabic. It should be the most beloved subject. It’s unanimously one of the most hated subjects, so there is failure here. It needs to be addressed. We need to re-assess.
Where are we and where are we headed?
There should be justice amongst the educators. The students should not feel that they are unfair. But the educator cannot afford to be seen as favoring someone over others.
The children should feel a care from their teacher. We should know the names of all of the students. Know something about them, something about their family. We are dealing with Islamic education, not a production line; there should be a sense of concern. We should approach education, the process according to a plan. We should have a clear plan. They have lesson plans. A lot of people just neglect them.
And of course our actions in general, whatever it is we want to convey, we have to show it. As they say actions speak louder. Students take from the teachers the final word. This is because they spend more time with the teachers than with the parents. It is very important that we be the best example that we can be.
Jazak Allahu KhairanIF YOU THINK THAT YOU POSESS ABOVE QUALITIES OR YOU WILL STRIVE TO ACQUIRE IT THEN PLEASE PROCEED WITH THE MCQ TEST.
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