The purpose of education is to civilize the individual. To connect the human being to his Creator, so that he recognizes Him, has a relationship with Him, strives to please Him, relies on His Mercy, and looks forward to His Forgiveness. The purpose of education is to give the child ethics, values, and morals which are timeless and fundamental and the confidence to live his life by those values. Without this it is not education. To learn a skill to make a living, no matter what that skill is, is ‘training’. Not ‘education’. They’re as different as chalk and cheese. Flying a plane, driving a 16-wheeler, designing software, operating on someone’s heart or brain, building a table, fixing an air conditioner or kitchen sink, and countless more are all essential skills. We need all of them. But they’re all training, not education. Education begins with ethics, morals, and values. That is the ‘WHY’, which drives the ‘HOW’ in the world. We must teach those who know ‘HOW’, to ask ‘WHY’, so that technology and resources are used for the right causes.
This is what Rasoolullahﷺ did in Makkah. He changed people’s thinking and decision-making criteria. When they changed their focus from this life to the Aakhira, their speech and actions changed, and society was transformed. Just ask how our society would be different if we defined economic well-being not by the number of billionaires but the absence of poverty. That is why GDP is such a misleading number. Instead, if we look at disposable household income or buying power we will get a far more accurate picture of our society. Rasoolullahﷺ gave us proof of concept. Ours to implement it.
We need education, which is relevant, current, and rooted in the foundation of Islam. Education in which those being educated are fully involved in all decision making because it is their future which is at stake. Education which prepares them for a world about which we really know nothing and so the only thing we can give them are tools and the framework of ethical and moral values to use them effectively. We must be coaches who teach them how to play the game but when they are playing, we can only watch from the sidelines and if we did a good job, then we can rejoice in seeing how well they learned the lessons and apply them to be victorious. To succeed, we need to educate ourselves and learn how to be good coaches. This is the generation gap thanks to which many parents have been reduced to being ATM machines which provide funds for what their children want to do. They can’t guide the children because they don’t understand their world, have no communication with them, and the children don’t look up to them as guides and mentors. I am not talking about showing respect. I am talking about actual respect which will make the child come to the parent as first port of call, when he/she needs guidance. Not just money.
Allahﷺ defined for us the meaning of education and the way to do it.
إِنَّ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱخْتِلَـٰفِ ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍ لِّأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَلْبَـٰبِ
ٱلَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ ٱللَّهَ قِيَـٰمًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَـٰذَا بَـٰطِلًا سُبْحَـٰنَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ
A’al Imraan 3:190-191 Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the day and night there are signs for people of intelligence. ˹They are˺ those who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth ˹and say, “Our Rabb! You did not create this in vain. Glory be to You! Protect us from the torment of the Fire.
Please note that in this Ayah, Allahﷺ described people of intelligence. He said that they are those who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth. Allahﷺ used the preposition AND. Not OR. For a person to be intelligent, he/she must recognize their Creator, have a relationship with Him and remember Him in every aspect of their lives AND research the creation of the heavens and earth. Allahﷺ also described the sequence in which this must be done. First know the Creator. Then research in the creation. When this sequence is followed, the individual spontaneously says, “Our Rabb! You have not created this without purpose. Glory be to You! Protect us from the torment of the Fire.” When we invert the sequence, we have scientists who are atheist or theologians who don’t know how the world functions. We don’t have a behavioral problem. We have a systemic problem. We don’t need tinkering. We need to redesign. A locomotive is a million times more powerful than a microlight aircraft, but it can never fly. Not because it doesn’t have enough power but because it is not designed to fly. Money and power will not help us, because we have a connection problem. Factor Allahﷺ into the equation because He is in it anyway. Then see how your life will be transformed.
We are living today in a Forking Time in history. Forking times are opportunities to choose, to change our destiny. They are characterized by turmoil. Epidemics, wars, economic collapse, political instability, civil war and so on. But it is precisely for that reason that the foundations of the structures of society are shaken, and for a short time, it is given into the hands of ordinary people to change the path of destiny. The Industrial Revolution (1760-1840), the War of Independence in India (1857), the American Civil War (1861-65), the two World Wars, were all Forking Times. All these are historical markers of changes in the paths of destiny. There are others but this list will suffice for us to see how the decisions of people of the time, leaders, and followers, changed the path of destiny for others. We don’t have the time today to do an analysis of each of these events to point out what the decisions were. But we must do it because now, we are living in another revolution and what we choose to do or not will define the path of destiny for coming generations. Believe me, our destiny is in our hands. In the hands of adults. Not in the hands of children. It is we adults who created this society and we adults who must act to change it. That is why Rasoolullahﷺ focused on teaching adults. He didn’t run a primary school or Maktab. He taught the parents. Children learn from adults, parents, teachers, and others. Today add social media which is one of the most powerful means of learning. Powerful but usually very harmful. What adults learn; they teach their children. Children listen with their eyes. They don’t care what you say until they see what you do. Ask, ‘What are they seeing?’
This is a world of cause and effect. Allahﷺ stated this clearly and said:
وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلْإِنسَـٰنِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىٰ
Najm 53: 39 – 40 And that each person will only have what they worked for.
If you want to change something you must address the cause. Not the effect or symptom. If you want a good harvest, you must prepare the soil before you plant the seed. If you want children to obey and serve you in your old age, you must treat them with kindness and respect when they are young. If you want peace, you must establish justice because peace is the outcome of justice. If you want to learn, you must approach learning from the position of a supplicant, as someone in need. Remember that water always flows downhill. Arrogance has only one result, which is the first lesson we learned from our inception as humans in the story of Adam (AS). The question therefore for us is, do we truly believe that we need Allahﷺ to succeed? I say, ‘truly believe’, because this is a question that each one of us must answer for himself/herself. The answer will be reflected in our lives. If the answer is yes, then see how much we are obeying Allahﷺ in our lives. Our relationship with Allahﷺ is only one – as Ibaad – slaves. Not as partners in His Majesty. La hawla wala quwwata illa billah. If we believe this, then we must submit ourselves without reservation or question to whatever Allahﷺ ordered us in His Book and the Sunnah of His Messengerﷺ. Everything happens only by the Will of Allahﷺ. Then why have we become the world’s footballs?
Civilizations rise or fall because of strong or weak philosophies and ideologies. Not because of a profusion or lack of money. The Arabs of the 7th century were poor people, but they had an ideology which was simple enough to be understood by everyone and which fitted the aspirations of diverse people. They were passionate about it and totally committed to taking their ideology to the ends of the world. They were faced with the two superpowers of the time, the Byzantian Empire of Rome and the Sassanian Persian Empire. They took on both and defeated them. The rest is history.
This is the reason that Islamic education has a very special importance in our society today, especially given the assault on ethics, morals, and values that has been happening in the last two decades. Islamic education is not theory. It is not an attempt of making Islam user-friendly or compatible with our Nafs and toxic lifestyle of disobedience. It is to return to the foundation of Tazkiyya wa Tarbiyya, taught by high quality teachers who are role models for their students and supported by parenting which is fully in sync with the teaching. It must begin from the given that the Qur’an and Sunnah are not changeable, and our lifestyle must be modified to leverage the strength of both. Not try to reinterpret the Qur’an and Sunnah to suit our whims and fancies. We are standing at the threshold, the doorway to success or failure. It is our decisions and subsequent action with total commitment which will decide what the world will be for our children. If not, we are looking at a collapse of our culture and values in the next generation. The choice is ours.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:59 — 20.8MB) | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | Youtube Music | RSS