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As mentioned earlier, the educational philosophy is an important screen for selecting and eliminating educational objectives. In this section, three important elements that are necessary ingredients in the formulation of a philosophy of Islamic education - namely, learner, knowledge, and means of instruction - will be discussed briefly.
The learner, being human, is made up of a dual nature of spirit and body. The spiritual faculty is known as the ruh (soul), ‘aql (mind or intellect), qalb (emotion), or nafs (self) according to the function that is ascribed to it. ‘Aql (the faculty of reason), unique to human beings, elevates them above the rest of creation.[1] The soul could be elevated to the noblest of positions but it could also be debased to the lowest of the low.[2] The body consists of several faculties corresponding to the physical senses. The nature of the learner with regards to learning has been the subject of study in psychology. It is common knowledge that the learner is inquisitive and flexible and can be molded especially at a tender age. The learner has physical needs for food, activity, and sex; social needs for affection, belonging, and status within a social group; and spiritual needs relating to something larger and beyond one’s self, that is, the need to reach for God.
Islam believes in the possibility of obtaining knowledge of Truth and Reality. In Islam there has not been much debate on this matter, unlike in the Western philosophical tradition where there has been constant debate since Greek philosophy, as demonstrated by Plato’s Theatetus. We know that man is equipped with a soul and physical senses and prepared by Allah to acquire knowledge. According to Al-Attas, ‘ilm (knowledge) is the arrival of the ma‘na (meaning) of an object in the soul or the arrival of the soul at the meaning of an object of knowledge.[3] Thus the soul is not merely passive but active too.
Wahy (revelation) and intuition are received by the soul. The five physical senses are the windows of the mind, particularly for obtaining empirical and the rational knowledge.
In the Islamic worldview, there exists a hierarchical structure to knowledge, and, just as there exists a dual nature in mankind, there exists two categories of knowledge, the ‘ilm alnaqliyah (revealed)—some of which is fard ‘ayn, individual duty—and the ‘ilm alnaqliyah—which is fard kifayah, which is a communal duty. These correspond to the different degrees of certainty of knowledge and the means of procuring it. Fard ‘ayn knowledge is finite, certain, and obligatory for every individual Muslim to acquire. It includes the knowledge about the pillars of the religion, the articles of faith, and the Shari’ah. On the other hand, fard kifayah knowledge is obligatory upon the community. Each community should ensure that there are some people who are knowledgeable in the acquired or intellectual knowledges essential for the survival of the society, such as medicine, mathematics, natural and applied sciences, and social sciences. In this manner, Islam ensures that every individual is anchored to his faith while exploring new horizons. The analogy of flying a kite can be used to describe the relationship between faith and reason, where faith is the string and reason is the kite itself. There is always tension between faith and reason just as there is between the kite and the string; if for some reason the string is broken, the kite will fly off in any direction. Similarly, if reason is not grounded in faith, then it will wander in all directions without knowing its limit.[4]
Knowledge is integral or holistic as suggested by the "tawhidic" worldview. There is no compartmentalization of knowledge into religious and secular spheres. Both fard ‘ayn and fard kifayah knowledge have the purpose of strengthening faith, the former through careful study of the words of Allah in the Holy Qur’an and the latter through a meticulous, systematic study of the world of man and nature.
Knowledge is integral to action, spirituality, and ethics.[5] The nature of the knowledge that provides the content of education is the major concern of the curriculum, and these views of man and knowledge have a great bearing upon Islamic education.
Education (ta’dib, disciplining; some still prefer tarbiyah, upbringing) is adab (proper way or virtue), progressively instilled in man.[6] Adab refers to the discipline of body, mind, and spirit. It endows the possessor with the knowledge of the proper places of things or objects (hikmah) in the scheme of Creation and subsequently to act in a just manner (`adl).
Al Attas defines “education” as the progressive instilling of “the recognition and acknowledgment of the proper place of things in the order of creation, such that it leads to the recognition and acknowledgment of the proper place of God in the order of being and existence” of mankind.[7] Therefore the primary goal of education is to lead man to recognize and acknowledge his Creator. This acknowledgment is manifested in obedience and adherence to His commandments. In other words, the primary goal of Islamic education is to produce the good being, who, by developing all his/her potentials accordingly, ensures him or her to be the servant (`abd) and the vicegerent (khalifah) of Allah who has undertaken the amanah (trust) of maintaining prosperity on earth. To this effect education is designed to produce the God-fearing (taqwa) servant of Allah who is aware of his individual vertical relations with Allah (hablun min Allah) and his social horizontal relations with his fellow man (hablun min al-nas). Thus, in effect the primary goals of education include spiritual, moral, social, intellectual, and physical development with specific goals. There is no conflict between societal and individual aims because there is unity of purpose.
Just as knowledge is a reflection of man, ideally the curricular framework of an Islamic educational institution, particularly at the tertiary level, should reflect knowledge. The figure below illustrates the relationship between man, knowledge, and curriculum. Just as man is of a dual nature - having a body and a spirit - so also the curriculum should possess a center or a core consisting of revealed knowledge (‘ilm alnaqliyah), which fulfills the spiritual needs of the individual, and acquired knowledge (‘ilm alnaqliyah), which fulfills the physical and intellectual needs necessary for societal development radiating from it.
Both knowledges, fard ‘ayn and fard kifayah, are essential for happiness in this world and the next. The balance between them must be preserved. Being the core of the curriculum, fard ‘ayn (revealed knowledge) will be required of all students. To fulfill the requirement of fard kifayah (acquired knowledge), however, students will choose to specialize in at least one field of study.
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