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Imam Zijad’s Corner: Islam and Moderation:  What should come first – primary or secondary issues?

Imam Zijad’s Corner:  Islam and Moderation:  What should come first – primary or secondary issues?

It is very obvious from the Qur’an and the tradition of the Messenger Muhammad (S) that to be overly occupied with marginal issues at the expense of major ones could adversely affect not only any given individual, but the very existence, identity and destiny of our Canadian Muslim community and even that of the entire Ummah.

Indeed, any approach to life that allows us to become preoccupied only with peripheral matters undermines the core logic of Islam.

Yet even though proof of the virtues of enlightened moderation abounds in Islamic lore and tradition, ironically the opposite mode of behavior prevails throughout much of our community at home and all over the world.

We are plagued with excessive and unnecessary talk about secondary issues such as: sighting (which became fighting) Hilal, the length of beards, whether clothing should come below or above the ankle, moving the finger during the tashahhud in prayer, polygamy, burga/niqab, the acquisition of photographs and so on … to the point where many Muslims (especially youth) and even non-Muslims, have come to believe that such matters are of utmost importance to Islam – as important as, for example, prayer or fasting and that Muslims cannot be good Muslims if they do not adhere to them.

Why? Not because they are really the most important and fundamental in our tradition, but because we expend so much time and energy being unnecessarily passionate about them while the major matters then are lost from the agenda! It is ok to give them the time and we should, but not at the expense of prayers and our children’s future.

And then Muslims take to labeling one another as spiritually inferior (fasiqs or kafirs) because of minor differences on such secondary topics. This kind of attitude was unimaginable at the time of the Prophet Muhammad (S), for he and his companions lived Islam in its spirit, not bound to irrelevant minutiae.

Unfortunately, such time-wasting disputes persist in our era. They preoccupy and distract our thinking at a time when our youth are losing their sense of identity, feeling lost and confused, without direction…whey are confronted by negative images throughout the social media and even hear them from some politicians.

Opportunities – especially those for our youth — are shrinking, not because of Canadian policies or societal prejudice, but rather because we, Canadian Muslims, ourselves have collectively mismanaged our priorities and resources.

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Imam Zijad’s Corner: Moderation in Islam: Is such a balance possible?

Moderation in Islam:  Is such a balance possible? Islam calls upon Muslims to choose a middle ground between those who sanctify the literal texts and traditions of Islam and those who opt for rational thinking and Ijtihad (the art and skill of independent analytical explanation and reasoning) in reading, comprehending and understanding the verses of the Qur’an and the sayings or recorded wisdom of the Messenger Muhammad (S). Moderation or balance is not merely a general characteristic of Islam – it is in fact Islam’s fundamental mark of identity; its key distinguishing feature, which makes true balance possible. The Qur’an affirms that God Almighty described the Muslim community as one of moderation: “Thus, We have made you an Ummah (a nation) justly balanced (moderate).”  {Al Baqarah 143} Islam thus comprises a holistic approach to life which originated in the recommendation to seek moderation and balance in all fields of human endeavour: in worship, conduct, legislation, personal interaction, and so on. It might surprise many today (Muslims and non-Muslims alike) that Islam does not agree with any extreme: rightist or leftist. It upholds the path of the golden median – the only normal and balanced way; however, the most challenging at the same time. In compliance with Islamic intellectual traditions, most Muslims do adopt the Qur’anic concept describing the Muslim Ummah as “Ummatan Wasata” – the community that is “just,” “balanced,” “temperate,” and firmly adhered to the “mid-ground.” So “Ummatan Wasata” could be then translated to mean: a just community, a moderate nation, a justly balanced nation and a temperate people. In all of this, Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (S) is our role model, for his life was shaped and directed wholly by the Qur’an. His words and actions are evidence of this middle path. Let us look into three of his sayings and judge ourselves where he stood in this regard. Once he said: “The religion of Islam is indeed easy. Whoever makes it tough is a loser. Hence, follow it with moderation; be close (to it), and give glad tidings.” (Bukhari) The Messenger of Allah Muhammad (S) cautioned believers: “Beware of excessiveness in religion. People before you have perished as a result of such excessiveness.” {Ahmad, Ibn Majah, Nasai in their Sunan} The Prophet also informed us of the importance of dealing with matters of daily life in a moderate way: “The best of all the dealings is the one which is moderate.” {Baihaqi}

Therefore, it is made very clear that the Muslim community ought to be a community of balance, moderation and justice in all its affairs. Islamic formative principles – the Qur’an and the Sunnah – call upon Muslims to exercise moderation and to reject and oppose all kinds of extremism: guluww (excessiveness), tanattu’ (making a religion hard and tough), or tashdid (strictness and rigidity).

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Imam Zijad’s Corner: Islam and Moderation:  What should come first – primary or secondary issues?

Imam Zijad’s Corner:  Islam and Moderation:  What should come first – primary or secondary issues?

It is very obvious from the Qur’an and the tradition of the Messenger Muhammad (S) that to be overly occupied with marginal issues at the expense of major ones could adversely affect not only any given individual, but the very existence, identity and destiny of our Canadian Muslim community and even that of the entire Ummah.

Indeed, any approach to life that allows us to become preoccupied only with peripheral matters undermines the core logic of Islam.

Yet even though proof of the virtues of enlightened moderation abounds in Islamic lore and tradition, ironically the opposite mode of behavior prevails throughout much of our community at home and all over the world.

We are plagued with excessive and unnecessary talk about secondary issues such as: sighting (which became fighting) Hilal, the length of beards, whether clothing should come below or above the ankle, moving the finger during the tashahhud in prayer, polygamy, burga/niqab, the acquisition of photographs and so on … to the point where many Muslims (especially youth) and even non-Muslims, have come to believe that such matters are of utmost importance to Islam – as important as, for example, prayer or fasting and that Muslims cannot be good Muslims if they do not adhere to them.

Why? Not because they are really the most important and fundamental in our tradition, but because we expend so much time and energy being unnecessarily passionate about them while the major matters then are lost from the agenda! It is ok to give them the time and we should, but not at the expense of prayers and our children’s future.

And then Muslims take to labeling one another as spiritually inferior (fasiqs or kafirs) because of minor differences on such secondary topics. This kind of attitude was unimaginable at the time of the Prophet Muhammad (S), for he and his companions lived Islam in its spirit, not bound to irrelevant minutiae.

Unfortunately, such time-wasting disputes persist in our era. They preoccupy and distract our thinking at a time when our youth are losing their sense of identity, feeling lost and confused, without direction…whey are confronted by negative images throughout the social media and even hear them from some politicians.

Opportunities – especially those for our youth — are shrinking, not because of Canadian policies or societal prejudice, but rather because we, Canadian Muslims, ourselves have collectively mismanaged our priorities and resources.

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Imam Zijad’s Corner: MUSLIM COMMUNITY: THE COMMUNITY OF MODERATION

 MUSLIM COMMUNITY: THE COMMUNITY OF MODERATION

Islam calls upon Muslims to choose a middle ground between those who sanctify the literal texts and traditions of Islam and those who opt for rational thinking and Ijtihad (the art and skill of independent analytical explanation and reasoning) in reading, comprehending and understanding the verses of the Qur’an and the sayings or recorded wisdom of the Messenger Muhammad (S).

Moderation or balance is not merely a general characteristic of Islam – it is in fact Islam’s fundamental mark of identity; its key distinguishing feature, which makes true balance possible. The Qur’an affirms that God Almighty described the Muslim community as one of moderation: “Thus, We have made you an Ummah (a nation) justly balanced (moderate).”  {2:143}

Islam thus comprises a holistic approach to life which originated in the recommendation to seek moderation and balance in all fields of human endeavour: in worship, conduct, legislation, personal interaction, and so on. It might surprise many today (Muslims and non-Muslims alike) that Islam does not agree with any extreme: rightist or leftist. It upholds the path of the golden median – the only normal and balanced way; however, the most challenging at the same time.

In compliance with Islamic intellectual traditions, most Muslims do adopt the Qur’anic concept describing the Muslim Ummah as “Ummatan Wasata” – the community that is “just,” “balanced,” “temperate,” and firmly adhered to the “mid-ground.”

So “Ummatan Wasata” could be then translated to mean: a just community, a moderate nation, a justly balanced nation and a temperate people.

In all of this, Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (S) is our role model, for his life was shaped and directed wholly by the Qur’an. His words and actions are evidence of this middle path.

Let us look into three of his sayings and judge ourselves where he stood in this regard.

Once he said: “The religion of Islam is indeed easy. Whoever makes it tough is a loser. Hence, follow it with moderation; be close (to it), and give glad tidings.” (Bukhari)

The Prophet also informed us of the importance of dealing with matters of daily life in a moderate way: “The best of all the dealings is the one which is moderate.” {Baihaqi}

The Messenger of Allah Muhammad (S) cautioned believers: “Beware of excessiveness in religion. People before you have perished as a result of such excessiveness.” {Ahmad, Ibn Majah, Nasai in their Sunan}

Therefore, it is made very clear that the Muslim community ought to be a community of balance, moderation and justice in all its affairs. Islamic formative principles – the Qur’an and the Sunnah – call upon Muslims to exercise moderation and to reject and oppose all kinds of extremism: guluww (excessiveness), tanattu’ (making a religion hard and tough), or tashdid (strictness and rigidity).

These are textual and historic proofs on the topic, the evidence for those who ponder!

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Imam Zijad’s Corner: 2019 ELECTION: CANADIAN MUSLIMS & STRATEGIC VOTE  

2019 ELECTION: CANADIAN MUSLIMS & STRATEGIC VOTE

Strategic vote of Canadian Muslims will make a huge impact on which party will be elected in this election as well as who will be our PM for the next 4 years.

There are 113 Federal ridings in Canada where the Muslim population is larger than the projected margin of victory.

We, Canadian Muslims, if we vote strategically, can make a huge difference… under one condition – if we do not split our vote among the similar candidates.

Vote splitting will distribute votes among multiple similar candidates then reduce the chance of winning for any of the similar candidates, thus increasing the chance of winning for a dissimilar candidate.

In this election, Canadian Muslims, must put the communal and societal benefits first over our own personal advantages.

And that means that in this election, Canadian Muslims must vote smart and strategic!

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Imam Zijad’s Corner: HOW TO START “SMART” GOAL SETTING: A MUSLIM PERSPECTIVE

Imam Zijad’s Corner:  HOW TO START “SMART” GOAL SETTING: A MUSLIM PERSPECTIVE

If you are not in the habit of setting resolutions and goals, you should review the direction of your life and assess how your actions are contributing to your betterment and to your loved ones and the larger community in accordance with the teachings of your Creator?

Setting goals and resolutions therefore enable you to step away and analyze the clutter in your life; they let you rise above the daily chores that keep you busy …

The process is therefore about prioritizing and highlighting what is more important to make your life more meaningful. How to do it?

It is about self-assessment and self-evaluation – The Prophet Mohammad has said: “He whose two days (of life) are equal (in achievement/accomplishment) is at loss.” (Hadith)

The Second Caliph, `Umar ibn Al-Khattab said, “Criticize and appraise yourselves before you are criticized and appraised….”.

Therefore, setting goals and making resolutions is all about self-improvement and to instill that attitude within ourselves.

Abraham Lincoln once commented, “I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.”

The truth indeed is that you can not be better today if you did not set out to become better yesterday and took the necessary actions for that betterment.

It is about “actions” and execution – Setting a resolution is much more than dreaming, thinking and planning about what you want to change.

It is about real execution – about doing something – about undertaking a course of action that actually starts bringing you closer to what you want to achieve.

Many a people, organizations and countries fail in their lives and in their pursuits simply because of lack of execution. They plan but then can’t follow through; they talk but they can’t perform;

Even in the religion of Islam that emphasizes asking your Creator and Sustainer about your needs, there is an equal and parallel importance of your personal actions and deeds. Dr. Aaidh Al-Qrani in his famous book, “Don’t be Sad” says that once Umar bin Khattab got very angry with youth who were simply spending time in the mosque and told them: “Go out and seek sustenance, for the sky does not send down rain of gold or silver.”

How many times have you planned but failed to execute? Isn’t it time to actually get on with a sustained course of action?

It is about using time wisely – Setting resolutions helps us maximize our time in life instead of squandering the valuable moments away.

We all know how time flies but unfortunately many times we do not make full use of our time and life in general.

Mu`adh ibn Jabal quotes the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as saying: “A servant of Allah will remain standing on the Day of Resurrection until he is asked about four things: his life and how he spent it, his youth and how he used it up, his property and how he acquired and managed it and his knowledge and how he utilized it.”

We should therefore remind ourselves that we too have an end that is approaching. So, why squander our time away on nonessential pursuits?

It is about focused actions and tasks – Resolutions and goals help you focus on the right actions and tasks.

Think about when you are about to take a long trip away from home.

Our productivity in the number of tasks we complete before we take a trip is phenomenal simply because we have a deadline to meet and our energies are extremely focused.

The closer you get to your time of travel, the more you ensure that you utilize each and every second available to you.

Can you imagine how much you will be able to accomplish daily only if you became half that productive and efficient?

It is about behavioral change – Setting goals and resolutions involves completely stepping away from behaviors you want to change – In Islam, this parallels the concept of “Repentence” or “Tawbah” because the psychological, spiritual and physical dynamics is almost the same.

Repentance in Islam entails stopping bad behavior, regretting past indulgence in that behavior, understanding the need to shy away from the bad behavior, making a strong intention not to return to the old behavior and finally substituting bad with good behaviors (better deeds).

Why not then apply the same dynamics to change any of your undesirable behaviors and habits, and embark on a major journey of personal progress?

It is about clarity of vision – Setting goals requires that you are clear about who you are and what you want to achieve. A confused mind cannot set meaningful goals.

A person not confident in his beliefs and values is rarely successful in charting out a meaningful course of action.

The best example in this regard is Muadh (r.a). He was able to get that clarity at such a young age where he was chosen by the Prophet (S) to lead a group of mentors and teachers to a foreign land. Why we should not get clearer on who we are and what are our goals?

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Imam Zijad’s Corner: THE IMPORTANCE OF SETTING GOALS IN OUR LIVES

Imam Zijad’s Corner: THE IMPORTANCE OF SETTING GOALS IN OUR LIVES

Studies have shown that the majority of people fail to set any type of goals in their life and hence drift through the oceans of life like a raft on an uncharted stormy sea.

It seems that human beings take life as it comes…for granted and without serious planning.

However, some of us, at some stage of our life, have set mini goals for ourselves; we call them new resolutions. We set a goal to be more patient with family members (never to yell and embarrass ourselves, we set a goal to lose weight or earn more money or stop smoking, or volunteer 20 hours for SNMC, pay $250 a year…

However, we often find that soon after making these ‘promises‘ to ourselves, we either forget about these goals, or we find that we simply do not have the time to carry them out, or sometimes we simply forget.

Another year passes, and history repeats itself, we break our own promise and we once again set out to make a list of new/the same resolutions or goals that we would like to accomplish in our lives.

But how many of us really accomplish our goals? How many of us really take the time to plan our goals? How many of us really know which goals are important?

When we plan a long awaited overseas (back home) journay for a holiday or even a weekend trip (or a wedding), we usually go through much planning regarding every stage of the trip (e.g. tickets, itinerary, baggage, clothes etc).

However, even though we plan a holiday in such detail, it is ironic that we sometimes don’t take the time to plan our life…

Let us check ourselves and we will notice that we know how to plan in some areas of our lives…not in all. Let us ask a few questions about a journey to the lands of origins:

Do you know where you are going?

Do you know when you are going?

Do you know when you will be returning?

Do you have the opportunity to say farewell to friends & family before you go?

Do you know what currency to take?

Do you know what provisions to take?

Have you planned adequately for the journey?

A life without a plan is a plan for failure.

People who do not set goals, drift aimlessly in life, from one day to the next, not really knowing where they are going and not knowing if they have arrived to their destination.

Setting goals is important since it gives direction, meaning and purpose to our life.

Goals can be long term, medium term and short term.

Ultimately, the short term and medium term goals must link up to the long-term goals so that there is harmony and direction in our daily activities.

We will never know what we are capable of achieving if we do not set high enough goals for ourselves!

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Imam Zijad’s Corner:THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN ISLAM

THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN ISLAM
The history of education in Islam, both formal and informal, provides a rich insight into how and why the system developed and progressed as it did, while also revealing its underlying social and moral aims.
This article will briefly outline education in Islam in the historical and cultural settings in which its theory, system, aims and purpose evolved.
As far back as the dawning of the seventh century C.E., Muslims understood education as being a life-long process within the system of Islam.
In fact, the Qur’an stresses the importance of knowledge (‘ilm) more than 750 times, making this the third most-frequent Qur’anic term after Allah (God), which occurs 2,800 times, and Rabb (Lord) which is used 950 times.
This fact alone affirms the central importance of the Islamic intellectual tradition. The first word of the Qur’an (91:1) as revealed to Prophet Muhammad was also related to the acquisition of knowledge. It was the imperative (command) “iqra,” which means “read” and “recite,” carrying the implication, “do it!”
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) actively encouraged Muslims to seek education as evidenced by the Sunnah (the collected customary practices and sayings of the Prophet): “Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave,” for “it is an obligation on every Muslim (male and female)” (Ibn Majah).
Education in the context of Islam means “the whole world of the intellect” that engages the interest of Muslims more than anything else in their communities.
The importance of education in early Muslim societies and building of the basic learning system of these societies became almost universal. It was this great literality that Muslims displayed in educating their people in the schools which was one of the most potent factors in the brilliant and rapid growth of their civilization. Education was so universally diffused that it was said to be difficult to find a Muslim who could not read or write.
During the time of Prophet Muhammad (S) and of his four successors (the Khulafa), the essentials of Islamic education were established in the mosque (masjid), which played a very important role in the spread of education among early communities of Muslims. These special buildings were the “first schools in Islam.”
The basic format of mosque education was the study circle, better known in Islamic pedagogy as halaqat al-‘Ilm, or in brief, halaqah, which was portrayed by the Prophet’s Companions, who would sit around him listening as he expounded upon sacred texts and scriptures. Similarly, the Encyclopaedia of Islam defines halaqah (transliterated as halqa) as “a gathering of people seated in a circle,” or “gathering of students around a teacher.” The teacher usually seated himself on a cushion against a wall or pillar, while the audience formed a circle in front of him.
In the circles of learned men, usually held in mosques, discourse, questions and answers were the received method. The halaqah format was very simple: on its floor sat preachers and teachers surrounded by adults and children seeking learning and instruction.
For this reason, the mosque is considered the first and the oldest institution of learning par excellence and a natural development of the Masjid.
There were two types of mosques. The first is the congregational or jami’ mosque, with halaqahs (study circles) where “various Islamic sciences were taught.” The second type of mosque functioned more as an Islamic college. Such mosques, dating mostly from the period 800 to 900 C.E., were used for the teaching and learning of Islamic sciences and essential ancillary subjects, including grammar, philology and literature. This was all in place even before the advent of the madrasah.
It is fair to say that the Qur’an was the first textbook of Islamic education and that the close association of Qur’an and mosque remained one of the most influential characteristics of Islamic education throughout history. In the mosques, Tafsir, critical interpretation – or “exegesis” – of the Qur’an and Sunnah became the standard pedagogical method.
It is clear from many references in both historical and modern-era literature, that besides being a place for worship, the mosque was the main center of learning for both men — and women — throughout early Islamic history.
Thus whenever or wherever teachings of Islam were established, mosques were established simultaneously with the initiation of basic education. As mosques developed into places of learning some would attract hundreds, even thousands, of students, as was the case with Cordoba Mosque and University in Spain, founded in 785 C.E. Similarly famous were the Qarawiyyin Mosque and University in Fez, Morocco, founded in 859 C.E.; the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, founded in 972 C.E.; and many other advanced Islamic institutions throughout Asia, Africa, the Middle East and parts of Europe.
The impact of the mosque circles on their local communities was obvious. The life that evolved in the mosques spread outward to put its marks upon influential circles everywhere. While mosque education focused at first on one or more sciences of Islam and literary arts, after the mid-ninth century C.E. (when Islam had been established for some three centuries), these early educational institutions devoted an increasing proportion of their curricula to the legal sciences, as was the case with the Cordoba, Qarawiyyin and Al-Azhar mosques.
As well as expanding beyond the study of scripture and theology and branching out into legal sciences, advanced Islamic education soon embraced subjects such as philosophy, grammar, chemistry, physics, arithmetic, algebra and geometry. This absorption of classical traditions set the pattern for educational instruction during subsequent centuries, leading to a gradual transformation from the simple halaqah study circles to the growth of more formal madaris (singular = madrasah) at the end of the 10th century C.E. (fourth century A.H).
In the changing world of the 10th and 11th centuries C.E., the more formalized and rigorous madrasah system met new challenges and demanded for more advanced learning. It should be noted, however, that for a long time there was much overlapping between the halaqah and madrasah. Despite the growth of madaris (plural of madrasah) and other educational institutions over the course of Islamic history, the local mosque retained its community educational function and this remains so, even down to the present day.
The continuing evolution of Islamic educational institutions is obvious now at the dawn of the 21st century, especially in the West where Muslims from across the globe have devoted their resources and energies into establish institutions that adhere to core Islamic principles of faith, while at the same time undergoing continual reformation within changing social contexts – a challenging but rewarding task!

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Imam Zijad’s Corner: A DISPUTATION OF AIMS IN EDUCATION: HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED!

A DISPUTATION OF AIMS IN EDUCATION: HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED!

Even today, confusion about the aims of education is not new, in spite of philosophers’ efforts down through the ages to define what is basic to true knowledge and dispel uncertainties associated with it. Even the great Aristotle had to deal with this issue in his day, when he wrote:

“For mankind are by no means agreed about the things to be taught, whether we look to virtue or the best life. Nor is it clear whether education is more concerned with intellectual or with moral virtue. The existing practice is perplexing; no one knows on what principles we should proceed. Should the useful in life, or should virtue, or should the higher knowledge, be the aim of our training; all these opinions have been entertained.”

Now if people were questioning current definitions of education back in ancient Greece, imagine the challenges we face in our 21st-century world. In our age of heavy industry, automation, materialism, and galloping technical complexity and social media, it seems our only certainty is that we can look forward to even more confusion about the aims of education and its consequent impact upon individual and societal morality.

Various postmodern scholars argue that educational institutions merely fill students’ heads with raw data and information, without imparting knowledge in the classical sense — which included mental training and discipline, preparation for practical life, and the raising of intellectual faculties (Estava and Prakash, 1998; Illich, 1998; Prakash, 1993; Gajardo, 1993).

Some contemporary scholars such as Wendell Berry (1992) have explained the intent of education from a postmodern viewpoint. In an interview concerning his response to today’s educational aims and concerns, Berry wisely observed:

“My approach to education would be like my approach to everything else. I’d change the standard. I would make the standard that of community health rather than [the] career of the student. You see, if you make the standard the health of the community that would change everything. Once you begin to ask what would be the best thing for our community, what’s the best thing that we can do here for our community, you can’t rule out any kind of knowledge (Smith, 2000).”

Berry concluded his remarks by saying, “we are teaching as if the purpose of knowledge is to help people have careers or to make them better employees, and that’s a great and tragic mistake (Smith, 2000).”

Islamic perspectives on this issue are similar to those so passionately espoused by Berry. Al-Ghazali, a Muslim scholar who lived during the eleventh century C.E., encouraged students to seek knowledge in order to contribute to the entire community, not just for personal gain (Faris, 1991).

In this light, researchers might reasonably inquire whether today’s educational institutions are more oriented towards preparing students for successful careers or towards fulfilling both the students’ career goals and the interests of the total community’s health. The views of Gionatti (2000) coincide with Al-Ghazali’s, and he in fact mentions Al-Ghazali’s philosophy as one that upholds the ultimate goal of learning and knowledge to be the welfare of one’s community, society, and all of humanity.

This was the original intent of today’s educational institutions, which Gionatti states were “built to educate emerging professionals and leaders” but which have “degenerated into something of an ego factory, encouraging scholars to be more concerned with their publication record, grant applications, and public notoriety than mentoring their students and serving the wider non-academic community” – in other words, serving the world.

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Imam Zijad’s Corner: THE ROLE OF EDUCATION IN ISLAM

THE ROLE OF EDUCATION IN ISLAM: THE THREE “T’s” ~ TA’LIM, TARBIYAH & TA’DIB

Our children are back to school again! That means more books, more learning and more commitment on the part of parents, children, the community and the larger society.

In my first message to parents and children of the SNMC school I want to explain where Islam stands in terms of education of our children within the larger Canadian context.

Education is about the harmonious development of mind, body and soul. It helps equip human beings with the required skills and experiences needed to meet the challenges of a competitive society; it prepares children to live as caring human beings in a pluralist society such as Canada is. Thus, with effective dissemination of these roles students attain peace in personal life, within the community, larger society, the global village as well as they gain the pleasure of God.

Muslims mostly use following three terms to describe education — ta’lim ,tarbiyah and ta’dib. Each bears a slightly different connotation but embodies various dimensions of the educational process as contained in the primary sources of Islam – the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Any one of these terms would sufficiently convey the meaning of education as it is generally accepted in the world today. A more detailed etymological study, however, will reveal an instructive cross-section of various nuances that can help to refine the meanings they all bring to the broad concepts of practical and theoretical education.

Ta’lim

This term is widely used in a formal sense, stemming from the Arabic root ’alima which means to know, to be aware, to perceive, or to learn; it relates to knowledge being sought or imparted through instruction and teaching. Ta’lim refers to types of instruction whose mental activities and disciplines result in the gaining of knowledge the learner did not previously possess. It could also be defined as the process of transmitting or imparting knowledge to a person that will help in training his or her mind and in developing reasoning powers. Thus, ta’lim is central to the process of instilling knowledge in such a way that both the giver (teacher) and recipient (student, or learner) add meaning and value not only to their own lives, but to the total enrichment of their community, society, and to all of human existence.

Tarbiyah

The word tarbiyah comes from the root raba, which means to increase, to grow, to nourish, or to perform the gradual process of growing of something to the stage of completeness or maturity. In contemporary Arabic usage, the tarbiyah is often used to denote education. It is associated with the purposeful intention of putting affairs into a right and proper state or order. At this level, the term applies to the growth process of humans, plants and animals. Among Muslim educators, tarbiyah is perceived as an educational process by which the human personality is brought up through one stage to another, until the stage of complete maturity is attained. In short, tarbiyah refers to education in its broadest sense, meaning the development of the human personality and the nurturing and rearing aspects of education, especially as applied to the young.

Both ta’lim and tarbiyah are used in contemporary administrative affairs, particularly in predominantly Muslim societies. Tarbiyah is seen as distinct from ta’lim in that the latter has a closer semantic relationship to ‘ilm – knowledge that is generally understood to be the result of formal education. For Nasr (1987), tarbiyah is the highest level of education in that it embraces the development and education of the whole being.

Ta’dib

The third term used in Islamic education is ta’dib. Its origins are in the root adaba which means to be cultured, refined, or well mannered; disciplined and trained in mind and soul. Ta’dib suggests the social dimensions of a person’s development, being a process by which the most desirable attributes of mind and soul — in terms of proper behaviour and ethical conduct — are acquired. This is the rationale of Islamic education that emerged historically in the teaching systems developed through mosques and madaris. Some describe adab as education that focuses at the highest level on the development of the whole human being. It involves discipline of the mind and spirit in order to attain recognition and acknowledgement of each individual’s proper place, appropriate to their physical, intellectual and spiritual capacity and potential. This means that in Islam, education can never be separated from adab in its most profound sense, because adab encompasses the spiritual level of human awareness. Some Muslim scholars suggest that an emphasis on adab, which includes action (‘amal) in the educational process ensures that ‘ilm (knowledge) is being put to good use in society. Thus, these three terms together — t’alim, tarbiyah and ta’dib — fully define the goals of education in Islam.

Modern Muslim scholars see education in Islam as a wholistic process, one involving the complete personality (insan kamil), including one’s rational, spiritual and social dimensions.

This comprehensive and integrated approach to education strives to produce a morally good and well-rounded person through balanced training of the spirit, the intellect, the rational self, the emotions and the bodily senses.

This approach is wholly coherent with Islamic educational theory, in which the objective of gaining knowledge is attained through striving for perfection of all dimensions of the human being.

Thus if the goal of education in Islam is the balanced growth of human character, the soul should receive equal attention with the intellect. The separation of human spiritual development from the rational temporal aspects of personality is the main cause of psychic degeneration and loss of identity.

Education in Islam must therefore be a twofold process involving acquisition of intellectual knowledge as well as spiritual experience, for the two are fundamentally inseparable for the healthy nurture of the whole human being.

Acquiring knowledge in Islam is not endorsed as an end in and of itself, but as a means to stimulate increased moral and spiritual consciousness, making education not merely a destination, but a life-long journey. It is, in reality, the art of justly dealing with human nature at various levels and in diverse contexts, thus ensuring healthy growth and maturation of each person’s identity and self-awareness within the framework of his or her society.

In this vein, we can see that a wholistic understanding of education ultimately benefits both the individual and the wider community. Thus, education must aim both at those who are fulfilling and fulfilled, who engage in a society where they can both give and receive strength and nourishment.

Unless education is shaped to be a truly fertile ground for the entire human and communal life cycle, it will not have explored or fulfilled its true aim.

Let me conclude by stating the following: It is evident that education in Islam comprises much more than formal schooling – it is a life-long process. The Islamic educational theory acknowledges that education takes place continually, not only in the classroom. This insight is evident in the words ta’lim, tarbiyah, and ta’dib, all of which refer to different aspects of the Islamic education process. These three inter-woven terms express multivalent concern for individuals, the environment and society as a whole, thus representing the comprehensive scope of both formal and informal education in Islam. For Muslims, then, the entire world becomes their classroom – the abundant and diverse theatre in which one’s journey to moral perfection and intellectual excellence are embodied to the benefit of all society (humanity).