“The best among you who learns holy Quran and teach it to others”
“My Lord! Increase me in
knowledge" [20:114]
Islam
on Education:
Islam is the religion of peace and has given us guidance
in every aspect of life. Islam has given us education with knowledge which has
no limits. One of the most important aspects of Islam is Education. Knowledge
and Education are highly emphasized in Islam. Islam has made it a duty on every
Muslim male and female to gain knowledge, which is considered to be a superior
act of worship in Islam. Knowledge is identified in Islam as worship. The
acquiring of knowledge is worship, reading the Quran and pondering upon it is
worship, traveling to gain knowledge is worship.
Knowledge is the most important thing in one’s life.
Education makes man a right thinker and a correct decision-maker. Without
education, the training of the human mind is incomplete. No individual is a
human being in the proper sense until he has been educated. Education is thus
the starting point of every successful human activity.
This is why Islam attaches such great importance to
knowledge, learning and education. In Islam, one of the aims of acquiring
knowledge is that of becoming more conscious of Allah. Knowledge is not only
limited to the religious knowledge but includes all forms of knowledge.
Education is the knowledge of putting one's potentials to maximum use. Without
education, no one can find the proper right path in this world. Acquiring knowledge
enables Muslims to get a better perception and understanding of the world
around us and make us more conscious of Allah. So everything we seek knowledge
for, better be for good cause to humanity.
Islam, in theory as well as in practice, has always promoted
knowledge Islam attaches such great importance to knowledge and education The
Prophet(pbuh) did not only preach about importance of knowledge; he also gave
practical examples of promoting knowledge. One of the criteria of releasing the
POWs devised by the Prophet was that those who were literate among the prisoners
could go free if they teach ten Muslim children how to read and write.
The Qurân and the Hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
both obligate Muslim men and women to acquire knowledge and education
Women’s
Education in Islam:
One of the most important rights
granted to women by Islam is the right to education. Islam strongly encourages
the education of women both in religious and social areas. Knowledge and
education are highly emphasized in Islam.
In conclusion, when Islam enjoins the seeking of knowledge upon Muslims
it makes no distinction between man and woman.
Hence, the Prophet Muhammad introduced his followers to educate the women in any position in the society by saying “A man who educates his slave girl, frees her and then marriages her, this man will have a double reward”. Also there is no limitation of women’s education in Islam. They are allowed to learn all the branches of science and also are free to choose any field of knowledge which interests them.
Hence, the Prophet Muhammad introduced his followers to educate the women in any position in the society by saying “A man who educates his slave girl, frees her and then marriages her, this man will have a double reward”. Also there is no limitation of women’s education in Islam. They are allowed to learn all the branches of science and also are free to choose any field of knowledge which interests them.
The Qur'an and Hadiths of the Holy
Prophet Peace be upon Him both obligate Muslim men and women to acquire
knowledge and education. It is a duty for every Muslim. For example, concerning
knowledge and education the Qur'an states as follows;
“Those
truly fear Allah, among His Servants, who have knowledge”. (Sura 35 Verse 28)
Prophet's Hadiths repeatedly emphasizes the acquirement
of education and knowledge for every Muslim male and female. For example, one
Hadith states that;
“Seeking
knowledge is a duty of every Muslim, man or woman”. (Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 218)
Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him) again
said;
"If a daughter is born to a person and he brings her up, gives her a good education and trains her in the arts of life, I shall myself stand between him and hell-fire." (Kanz al-Ummal, reported by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud).
"If a daughter is born to a person and he brings her up, gives her a good education and trains her in the arts of life, I shall myself stand between him and hell-fire." (Kanz al-Ummal, reported by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud).
Another
Hadith states that, “The Father, if he educates his daughter well, will enter
Paradise”.
Yet
another Hadith states that, “A mother is a school. If she is educated, then a
whole people are educated”.
In the Islamic world, at the beginning of Islam, there
were no restrictions or prohibitions towards women to seek knowledge and
education. There were many women scholars in the fields of religion,
literature, music, education, and medicine. For example, a woman named Nafisa
who was related to Ali, the fourth caliph, had a vast knowledge of Islam and
was an expert on the Hadiths of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad Peace be upon
Him. Many famous Muslim scholars of the time, such as Imam Shafi-ai
participated in Nafisa's scholarly discourse and learn from her
In early stages of Islamic history there were many women
scholars who had very significant roles in the Islamic world. For example
Ayesha, the Prophet's wife was one of the most famous Muslim scholars. Not only
was she very intelligent, she had an exceptional memory. That is why she was
considered one of the most important sources of Hadith. It has been stated in some
Islamic reports that the Prophet of Allah Hazrat Muhammad peace be upon Him
told the Muslims to go to Ayesha for guidance and learning of religious duties.
The Prophet Hazrat Muhammad peace be upon Him also told the Muslims to trust
Ayesha's teachings and guidance.
Historically, women played an important role in the
foundation of many Islamic educational institutions, such as Fatima al-Fihri's founding of the University of Al Karaouine in 859 CE. This continued through to the Ayyubid dynasty in
the 12th and 13th centuries, when 160 mosques and madrasahs were established in Damascus, 26 of which were funded by women through the Waqf(charitable trust or trust law) system. Half of all the royal patrons for these institutions were also women.
According to the Sunni scholar Ibn Asakir in
the 12th century, there were various opportunities for female education in what is known as the medieval Islamic world.
He writes that women could study, earn ijazahs (academic degrees), and qualify as scholars (ulamā’) and teachers. This was especially the case for learned and scholarly
families, who wanted to ensure the highest possible education for both their
sons and daughters. Ibn Asakir had himself studied under 80 different
female teachers in his time. In nineteenth-century West
Africa , Nana Asma’u was a leading Islamic scholar, poet, teacher and an
exceptionally prolific Muslim female writer who wrote more than 60 works.
Female education in the Islamic world was inspired byMuhammad's wives: Khadijah, a successful business woman, and Aisha, a renowned hadith scholar and military leader.
The education allowed was often restricted to religious instruction. According
to a hadith attributed
to Muhammad, he praised the women of Medina because of their desire for religious knowledge:
"How
splendid were the women of the ansar;
shame did not prevent them from becoming learned in the faith."
While it was not common for women to enroll as students
in formal classes, it was
common for women to attend informal lectures and study sessions at mosques, madrassas and other
public places. For example, the attendance of women at the Fatimid "sessions of wisdom" (majālis al-ḥikma)
was noted by various historians including Ibn al-Tuwayr and
al-Muṣabih. Similarly, although unusual in 15th-centuryIran, both women and men were in attendance at the
intellectual gatherings of the Ismailis where
women were addressed directly by the Imam.
While women accounted for no more than one percent of
Islamic scholars prior to the 12th century, there was a large increase of
female scholars after this. In the 15th century, Al-Sakhawi devotes an entire volume of his 12-volume biographical dictionary Daw al-lami to female scholars, giving
information on 1,075 of them.
Recently there have been several female Muslim scholars
including Sebeca Zahra Hussain who
is a prominent female scholar from the Sunni sect.
Women’s Education & Empowerment
Islam considers the women as an integral part of the
society. Without education and empowerment of the women, nations cannot get
development and progress in a real way.Education is an essential element of the
empowerment of girls and women. A good quality education, designed on the basis
of women and girls' immediate and strategic needs, builds women's capacities
and prepares them to seize opportunities in the public and private domains.
Education and training of girls and women is a human
right and an essential element for the full enjoyment of all other social,
economic, cultural and political rights. The Millennium development goals
(2000), the EFA and Dakar
Women education and empowerment in the society for the
betterment and development of the nations. Women education and empowerment
plays a vital role in the prosperity and development of the nations. Striving
to empower the women to make them contributing member of the society, women and
girls have equal opportunities to be educated, to participate in government, to
achieve economic self-sufficiency and to be protected from violence and
discriminationThe empowerment of women is crucial to change some of the
societal attitudes and behaviors that discriminate against girls and women. The
empowerment of women is therefore linked to the development of the nations and
the societies.
.
Conclusion:
Knowledge is pursued and practiced with modesty and
humility and leads to beauty and dignity, freedom and justice. The main purpose
of acquiring knowledge is to bring us closer to God. Knowledge must be linked
with values and goals. One of the purposes of acquiring knowledge is to gain
the good of this world, not to destroy it Another purpose of knowledge is to
spread freedom and dignity, truth and justice. Four characteristics are essential
for a Muslim ruler, Knowledge, Piety, Justice and Administration. Tolerance is
the first step towards learning. The real knowledge makes us tolerant,
civilized and rational.
The
following Hadith shows how important and how rewarding knowledge is.
"He
who acquires knowledge acquires a vast portion." and "If anyone going
on his way in search of knowledge, God will, thereby make easy for him the way
to Paradise."
Six
Etiquettes of learning
"There
are six stages to knowledge:
Firstly:
Asking questions in a good manner.
Secondly:
Remaining quiet and listening attentively.
Thirdly:
Understanding well.
Fourthly:
Memorizing.
Fifthly:
Teaching.
Sixthly:
and it is its fruit: Acting upon the knowledge and keeping to its limits."
“O
Lord, increase us in knowledge.” (Quran, 20:114] Aameen.
Reference:
·
The Holy Quran.
·
Hadith
·
Education in Islam
by Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi
·
Woman Education in
Islam- Samina Yaqoob.
·
The Concept of
Education in Islam- Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas
·
Concept of Reality,
Knowledge and Value in Islam - Sultan Muhammad.
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