Mirroring Through Some Ghazalian Thoughts on Education

  Moral and ethical deterioration is one of the major dilemmas faced by our current educational system. The excess presence of modern class structure has somehow drained most of the humanitarian values that are targeted through acquiring education.  Deprived of his dignity as a moral being; man has reached a state where he is controlled mainly by material forces. Ultimately, this scenario is against the much-admired ideals of education. So, looking for an alternate educational thought that can cure these problems; Al‐Ghazāli and his theory of education are very significant today because he stressed the all-around development of personality and emphasized the need for a complete re-orientation of human values.

   Al‐Ghazāli (1058 –1111) was one of the most influential Muslim thinkers. A mystic, philosopher, theologian, jurist, logician, he is well-known on the title of ‘Hujjatul-Islam’ (the Proof of Islam). He is the author of  Iħyā’ UlÅ«muddÄ«n (The Revival of Religious Science), which later became the most frequently recited Islamic text after the Qur'an and the hadith. Among his several works, he proposed a theory of education based on his principles aiming for humanizing education. Here, a brief account of his philosophy of education is drawn.

   To Al-Ghazali, education is not just limited to feeding brains with information; rather it covers all areas of intellectual, religious, ethical and physical aspects of the personality of the learner. It is not just to memorize theories; moreover, it is simply all about applying what was learned into practice. Therefore, true learning is that which affects behaviour. Hamid Reza Alavi explains in his journal entitled “Al‐Ghazāli on moral education”, it is an interaction between a teacher and a student, which proceeds gradually, developmentally and continuously throughout the student’s life, the purpose of which is to cultivate harmoniously and conclusively all that God has created in the student for his or her happiness and spiritual benefit (Alavi, 2007, p. 312). Al‐Ghazāli sees education as a skill or technique, instead of a science in itself.

   That’s why Al‐Ghazāli is arguing for separating the child off from the world and its inducements for him to reject it, and get him used to a simple, rough life in poverty and modesty. Likewise, education is a communication affecting and benefiting both teacher and pupil equally, the earlier getting merit for educating and the latter enlightening himself through gaining the knowledge. 

   Similarly, for Al-Ghazali, the purpose of knowledge is to facilitate man to achieve happiness and attain eternal blissfulness-the happiness of the hereafter-by drawing nearer to Allah. So, the function of society through seeking knowledge is to apply Sharia while every individual has to try for achieving happiness by getting close to Allah. Al‐Ghazāli asserts that the process of education should result in the purification of the heart, as a result of which the ‘light of knowledge’ will brighten his heart.

   As well, the objective of education is usefulness and utility. So, varieties of knowledge that is useful for self and others are regarded legit. Otherworldly aspirations, such as the quest for wealth, pursuing social status or power are unacceptable.

   Hence, Al‐Ghazāli says: “O Disciple! How many sleepless nights have you passed reading science and poring over books-but you does not know its purpose. If it was for worldly ends, to gain its baubles, win its honours and to boast over your contemporaries and equals, woe to you, and again woe! But if your purpose was to vitalize the sacred law of the Prophet, to develop your character and break ‘the soul commanding evil' (annafsul ammāra bissÅ«’), then blessing on you and again blessings”. Al‐Ghazāli asserts that the process of education should result in the purification of the heart.

   Al‐Ghazāli considers the seeking of knowledge as a form of worship, and teaching as a responsibility and an obligation, and certainly a most excellent profession. Teachers are indispensable to each and every society. Emphasizing on teacher’s role in educating society; Al‐Ghazāli declares that a person has three fathers: one who begot him, another who fostered him, and a third who educated him, and the last is the best of all. The teachers should not drive the pupils out of their capability and capacity, nor try to take them to a level of knowledge that they cannot understand.  For him, the teacher should be a model, not just a medium of knowledge. Teachers should apply scientific ways of teaching by simplifying the lessons, moving from simple to complex and equipping them with innovative techniques of teaching.

   Calling attention to the necessity of moral education that should be carried out by teachers; Al‐Ghazāli draws an example of a garden. A garden before planting flowers, its ground must be cleared of weeds. Similarly, teachers must purify the students’ souls by removing filthy thoughts and immoral deeds from them before teaching moral goodness and then all acts should be carried out for the sake of Allah. In his view, teaching is not just the duty of scholars and teachers alone; anyone who learns something has a duty to teach it. Thus, he is opening doors to the universalisation of education. Meanwhile, since transmission of some certain types of knowledge may end up in harmful effects and adverse consequences, he makes restrictions on imparting such forms of knowledge to common people. Thereby, he compiled his work of Iljām al-‘awām ‘an ‘Ilm al-kalām (The Reining of common people from the science of kalam/ theology).

   Al‐Ghazāli has made a sharply outlined framework regarding the stages of attaining knowledge. Humans are born in FiÅ£rah (comparable to the Latin term of tabula rasa), a state of purity and innocence. Children form their character and behaviour through living in society and interacting with their environment. The family is teaching children their languages, customs and other religious traditions. Thus, a major responsibility of educating children lies with parents. Just for this, Al‐Ghazāli is repeatedly stressing on the importance of childhood in character formation. Children must be taught to abide by their parents, teachers and elders, and to act well towards their classmates. So, good nurturing will lead children to righteous life whereas a bad upbringing will ruin their character and future.

   Moving on to curriculum planning, Al‐Ghazāli divided the curriculum into two parts; Obligatory (Farz ‘ain), which is the compulsory educational curriculum. It is learning of what is necessary for a Muslim to establish his religion and to worship Allah, or to interact with His servants.  It has been enjoined upon every Muslim - after learning what makes their belief in correct terms - to learn the acts of worship such as ablution, prayer, fasting, Zakath and so on.

   The second part is that of optional (Farz Kifāya), which are studied according to the wishes and capacities of the student. It is learning every science that is indispensable for leading a better life in this world such as medicine, arithmetic, grammar and language. It is noteworthy that Al‐Ghazāli has made his classification of knowledge on the basis of nature, origin, effects and purposes. Simply put, the criterion governing the choice of subjects is their usefulness for the student and society.

   In discussing arts and arts education, Al‐Ghazāli deals with the general principles of education. Music and songs are permissible as long as it does not arouse desire or encourage sinful acts. When addressing women’s education, Al‐Ghazāli states that men, whether it is father or husband, had to bear the responsibilities of educating her. However, if they do not educate her, she may go outside the home to seek education, and the man who would prevent her from so doing is at fault.

In simple terms, awareness and knowledge are the most important characteristics of humankind. The holistic view of Islam on education is adhering to a value-based educational system. More significantly, it is all about the purification of the heart from evil rather than grabbing higher ranks or marks. After being influenced by these ideas, Al‐Ghazāli put forth his theory of education that is ultimately targeting eternal blissfulness (sa’āda abadiyya).

References:

1. Iħyā’ UlÅ«muddÄ«n, Al-Ghazali

2. Ayyūhal valad, Al-Ghazali

3. Al-Ma ‘rifatul Tarbawiyya ‘iinda Al-Imam Al-Ghazali, Dr. Badriyya Binth Swālih Al-Maymān

4. Al-Fikr Al-Tharbawi ‘inda Al-Ghazali, Dr. Muhammed FarÄ«d

5. Al-Ghazali’s theory of education, Nabi Nofal

6. Educational philosophy: Imam Al-Ghazali’s perspective, Prof. Dr Fazli Rabbi

7. Al-Ghazali’s aims and objectives of Islamic education, Sajid Ullah Sheikh, Prestige Academy, Pakistan & Muhammad Abid Ali, Bahria University, Pakistan

8. Al‐Ghazāli on moral education, Hamid Reza Alavi