مقاوم
08-09-2007, 09:49 AM
This is an article I wrote six or seven years ago. It was targeted at Muslim families living in the West in general and those living in North America (US and Canada) in particular. I'm putting it here for thought and reflection by Saowt members
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The Importance of Education
Islam is a religion of institutions. If we put matters in their right perspective we will see that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, and the rightly guided Khalifas after him built powerful and vital institutions that struck roots deep into the future up to our present day.
After the grace of Allah, it is those institutions that are largely credited with enabling Islam to make the quantum leaps which it has made through the different phases and eras of history, thus making it the only religion fit for all people, times, and places.
Typically, a society is built on six major pillars that constitute its foundation and the main factors of its stability. They are the orders by which society functions and if any of these orders should malfunction or become corrupt, it can threaten the stability of the whole society. Indeed, it can threaten its very existence and cause it to collapse. These six major orders are Social, Political, Economical, Judicial, Educational, and the Military.
Through divine revelation, our Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, laid the cornerstones of these orders. But it was through his wisdom, patience, and perseverance that he slowly started the actual building process of the institutions that helped to maintain those orders. A process that his Khalifas continued after him, and was constantly modified and developed in accordance with Shari'ah (Islamic Law) through history.
In this article, I would like to focus on some of these institutions. I will examine the principles upon which they were built, the role they played in the early Muslim society, and the vital need that we as Muslims have today to re-instate many of these institutions that have faded away or disappeared altogether. In these short presentations, I shall not be following any particular order.
Among the Prophet's first priorities in Da'wah was education (Tarbiyah). It was necessary at the dawn of Islam to ensure the proper molding of the early Muslim personality. It later proved to be the backbone of all future activities as well as the source of strength that Muslims drew from when they faced the persecution and tortures of Quraish.
Dar-ul-Arqam is considered by many to be the first university of Islam; it was certainly one of the first institutions of Islam. In Dar-ul-Arqam, the first Muslims underwent an intensive course in Islamic principles of faith and high morals, but the process of education continued well beyond the Makkan Phase.
The prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, recognized that every human being has many potentials, and that the human character is multi-dimensional: The human body and its energy, the brain and its energy the soul and its energy and the potential of great good and great evil in everyone.
He, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, was able to devise the guidelines of building a well-balanced, well-rounded Muslim personality and Muslim identity, and he was a role model, an example, in every aspect of the building process. The evidence for this from the Seerah is overwhelming, and it shows the great care and attention the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, gave education and setting the right examples to his followers.
Many will argue that we as Muslims today are living another Makkan phase. Muslims have drifted far away from the teachings of The Qur'an and the Sunnah of our Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam. So far, that it will take a course of action similar to that followed by the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, in the early stages of Islam, namely The Makkan Phase, to revive them and prompt them into action.
Most of the Qur'anic verses of that period stressed the principles of Tawheed and subjective Islamic morals like patience, truthfulness, loyalty, pride, grace and perseverance. The first Muslims had to be drilled in the principles of faith in order to graduate with all the necessary tools, the required knowledge to propagate Islam, and the steadfastness upon this torturous trek.
Muslims living in the West have a golden opportunity to start this educational revival process. They are in total control of their mosques and schools. They can structure the curricula that best serve their purposes, and emphasize the aspects that attain the same objectives set by our Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam.
The steering factors in any such curriculum should be building a strong Muslim character and instilling in our children and ourselves, the pride of our Islamic identity; and while our children should be the focus of our attention, education of the parents is a powerful runner-up. Chairmen, presidents, directors, and above all, Imams of Islamic centers and mosques must make this their prevailing priority.
Our children are bombarded with all sorts of corrupt concepts and are pushed into a side array of evil activities, which magnifies and multiplies our responsibility. We cannot bury our heads in the sand and pretend that all is well. We have to start taking concrete steps towards the immunization of our children and ourselves from the diseases that infest the immoral, materialistic societies of the present.
Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, in the Surah of at-Tahreem orders us: "O you who believe! Ward off yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are appointed angles, stern and severe, who disobey not the commands they receive from Allah and do that which they are commanded." Our beloved Prophet also told us that: "Everyone of you is a shepherd and each one of you shall be responsible for his herd."
This makes it obligatory upon us, as Muslims, to engage in any and all the necessary activities that will accomplish this crucial task. The building process is a long, slow, and painful one but is also greatly rewarding both on the individual and community level.
Fifteen to twenty years ago our priorities were to build masajid. With the grace and blessings of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, we have taken giant strides towards that end. Mosques and Islamic centers in the US and Canada have exceeded 2000 in number.
Although I do not have exact statistics from the UK, I am aware that the number of masajid in that part of the world would have now surpassed that of the US and Canada. There has to be a major shift in our priorities towards education. Ultimately, it is educating the masses that will fill our mosques and schools. Only by education will we have the ability to energize our communities with talents and expertise that they will otherwise be deprived of!
--------------------------------------------------
The Importance of Education
Islam is a religion of institutions. If we put matters in their right perspective we will see that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, and the rightly guided Khalifas after him built powerful and vital institutions that struck roots deep into the future up to our present day.
After the grace of Allah, it is those institutions that are largely credited with enabling Islam to make the quantum leaps which it has made through the different phases and eras of history, thus making it the only religion fit for all people, times, and places.
Typically, a society is built on six major pillars that constitute its foundation and the main factors of its stability. They are the orders by which society functions and if any of these orders should malfunction or become corrupt, it can threaten the stability of the whole society. Indeed, it can threaten its very existence and cause it to collapse. These six major orders are Social, Political, Economical, Judicial, Educational, and the Military.
Through divine revelation, our Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, laid the cornerstones of these orders. But it was through his wisdom, patience, and perseverance that he slowly started the actual building process of the institutions that helped to maintain those orders. A process that his Khalifas continued after him, and was constantly modified and developed in accordance with Shari'ah (Islamic Law) through history.
In this article, I would like to focus on some of these institutions. I will examine the principles upon which they were built, the role they played in the early Muslim society, and the vital need that we as Muslims have today to re-instate many of these institutions that have faded away or disappeared altogether. In these short presentations, I shall not be following any particular order.
Among the Prophet's first priorities in Da'wah was education (Tarbiyah). It was necessary at the dawn of Islam to ensure the proper molding of the early Muslim personality. It later proved to be the backbone of all future activities as well as the source of strength that Muslims drew from when they faced the persecution and tortures of Quraish.
Dar-ul-Arqam is considered by many to be the first university of Islam; it was certainly one of the first institutions of Islam. In Dar-ul-Arqam, the first Muslims underwent an intensive course in Islamic principles of faith and high morals, but the process of education continued well beyond the Makkan Phase.
The prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, recognized that every human being has many potentials, and that the human character is multi-dimensional: The human body and its energy, the brain and its energy the soul and its energy and the potential of great good and great evil in everyone.
He, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, was able to devise the guidelines of building a well-balanced, well-rounded Muslim personality and Muslim identity, and he was a role model, an example, in every aspect of the building process. The evidence for this from the Seerah is overwhelming, and it shows the great care and attention the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, gave education and setting the right examples to his followers.
Many will argue that we as Muslims today are living another Makkan phase. Muslims have drifted far away from the teachings of The Qur'an and the Sunnah of our Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam. So far, that it will take a course of action similar to that followed by the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, in the early stages of Islam, namely The Makkan Phase, to revive them and prompt them into action.
Most of the Qur'anic verses of that period stressed the principles of Tawheed and subjective Islamic morals like patience, truthfulness, loyalty, pride, grace and perseverance. The first Muslims had to be drilled in the principles of faith in order to graduate with all the necessary tools, the required knowledge to propagate Islam, and the steadfastness upon this torturous trek.
Muslims living in the West have a golden opportunity to start this educational revival process. They are in total control of their mosques and schools. They can structure the curricula that best serve their purposes, and emphasize the aspects that attain the same objectives set by our Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam.
The steering factors in any such curriculum should be building a strong Muslim character and instilling in our children and ourselves, the pride of our Islamic identity; and while our children should be the focus of our attention, education of the parents is a powerful runner-up. Chairmen, presidents, directors, and above all, Imams of Islamic centers and mosques must make this their prevailing priority.
Our children are bombarded with all sorts of corrupt concepts and are pushed into a side array of evil activities, which magnifies and multiplies our responsibility. We cannot bury our heads in the sand and pretend that all is well. We have to start taking concrete steps towards the immunization of our children and ourselves from the diseases that infest the immoral, materialistic societies of the present.
Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, in the Surah of at-Tahreem orders us: "O you who believe! Ward off yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are appointed angles, stern and severe, who disobey not the commands they receive from Allah and do that which they are commanded." Our beloved Prophet also told us that: "Everyone of you is a shepherd and each one of you shall be responsible for his herd."
This makes it obligatory upon us, as Muslims, to engage in any and all the necessary activities that will accomplish this crucial task. The building process is a long, slow, and painful one but is also greatly rewarding both on the individual and community level.
Fifteen to twenty years ago our priorities were to build masajid. With the grace and blessings of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, we have taken giant strides towards that end. Mosques and Islamic centers in the US and Canada have exceeded 2000 in number.
Although I do not have exact statistics from the UK, I am aware that the number of masajid in that part of the world would have now surpassed that of the US and Canada. There has to be a major shift in our priorities towards education. Ultimately, it is educating the masses that will fill our mosques and schools. Only by education will we have the ability to energize our communities with talents and expertise that they will otherwise be deprived of!