Education and Islam
Author: G.M. WaniBy Prof Ghulam Mohyuddin Wani
Islam means peace .
Islam has started with the word Iqra meaning read ,thus education , knowledge ,research,wisdom and patience are the basics to Islam.The first concept of an secular educational set up other than the formal religious madrasas were started by the holy prophet in his initial days .It is said that when educated Jews were captured and brought to Muhammad tied down by his army.He ordered all to be treated equally as his other soldiers .He further declared all those prisoners as free, who teach ten muslim children , how to read and write.
Here we may say it was the knowledge which was stressed and not the theology which was unknown to these first professors of the modern world .He allowed them same food as was given to his army .He directed his Islamic soldiers to remove the ropes immediately.This should serve as guidance and give messages to the humanityThus abduction or ill treatment to the captured soliders is unislamic and never perpetuvated by prophets army under his command. However later some rulers and invaders with muslim names forgot these rules and devine commandments .
Even now the civilized too have Gotamalla PRISONS and harsh human rights violatios ,but might is right is the order of the world leading to destruction of the humanity.Thus education and peace is the unifing code for the humanity. 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.
EDUCATION AND INNER PURITY
This importance of education is basically for two reasons. Education makes man a right thinker. Without education, no one can think properly in an appropriate context . It tells man how to think and how to make decision. The second reason for the importance of education is that only through the attainment of education, man is enabled to receive information from the external world. It is well said that "Without education, man is as though in a closed room and with education he finds himself in a room with all its windows open towards outside world." This is why Islam attaches such great importance to knowledge and education. When the Quran began to be revealed, the first word of its first verse was 'Iqra' that is, read..
The reflective book of Holy Quran is so rich in content and meaning that if the history of human thought continues forever, this book is not likely to be read to its end. Every day it conveys a new message to the humanity. Every morning, it gives us new thoughtful ideas and bound us in the boundaries of ethics.
QURANIC MESSAGES
Islamic Education is one of the best systems of education, which makes an ethical groomed person with all the qualities, which he/she should have as a human being. The Western world has created the wrong image of Islam in the world. They don't know that our teachings are directly given to us from Allah, who is the creator of this world, through our Prophets.Muslims believe in 144 thousand prophets in this world and Muhamad being the last one .Quran says all regions,tribes and parts of the universe have had God message through their prophets.
Thus it testifies all prophets be itHAZRAT Noah,ESSA,MUSA,OR any one unmanned like Krishna,Ram or many others who all preached divine love of humanity and peace not war.It is tryany of the devine gospels or Ayats being misinterpreted and misused by the evil to capture worldly luxury and riches. We all are the progeny of Adam and thus equal and brothern.Whole universe needs care and protection from evil.Soone or later we have to recognize it .
The Muslims all over the world are thirsty of acquiring quality education. They know their boundaries and never try to cross it. It is the West, which has created a hype that the Muslim are not in a path of getting proper education. They think that our education teaches us fighting, about weapons, etc., which is so false. This is true that there are certain elements, which force an individual to be on the wrong path, because as we will mould a child, they will be like that, but it doesn't mean that our religion teaches improperly to us. Our Holy Prophet (SAW), said, Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave. And: Seek knowledge even [if it is to be found in a place as distant as China. At the battle of Badr, in which our beloved Holy Prophet (SAW) gained victory over his foes, seventy people of the enemy rank were taken to prison.
These prisoners were literate people. In order to benefit from their education the Prophet declared that if one prisoner teaches ten Muslim children how to read and write, this will serve as his ransom and he will be set free. This was the first school in the history of Islam established by the Prophet himself with all its teachers being non-Muslims. The Sunnah of the Prophet shows that education is to be received whatever the risk involved.
