A Holistic and Institutional Analysis of Islamic Education

Abstract

Introduction Knowledge is the source of economic, social, and political energy as well as divine enlightenment. An individual or a nation succeeds only by gaining and using beneficial knowledge. Gaining useful knowledge and using it for a proper cause for the pleasure of Allah is emphasized in Islam. The Qur’an mentions repeatedly the importance of knowledge (Qur’an 30:22, 36:36, 39:9, 58:11). The Prophet also emphasized the importance of acquiring knowledge in many contexts: “A person who follows the path of acquiring knowledge, Allah will make easy for himher the passage to paradise” (Muslim) and “A person who goes out of hisher house in search of knowledge, he/she is on Allah’s way till the person returns” (Tirmidhi). The Prophet encouraged Muslims to be unrelenting in their search for useful knowledge and considered an ‘dim (learned person) superior to an ‘abid (worshiper) (ibid.). In the Qur’an, Allah reserved higher ranks for people of knowledge (Qur’an 58:11). The Prophet said: “Wisdom is the lost property of the faithful, who deserve it most wherever it may be found.” Muslim scholars accepted all useful knowledge that is consistent with Shari‘ah (al Faruqi 1992). We acquire knowledge through formal and informal education systems. Schools, colleges, and universities are institutions that provide formal education. In addition to schools and universities, we gain knowledge from such informal sources as the family unit, social ‘ groups, and personal undertakings. Islam made the acquisition of ...