BASIC PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING IN ISLAMIC EDUCATION
We will set forth the basic principles for
instruction o[ children, quoting some Muslim scholars like Al-Ghazali, Avicenna, Al-Zarnuji, Al-Abdari and Ibn
Khaldun.
i. — Lack of age limit for beginning education :
No age limit has been prescribed for a child
to begin his education. Some parents sent
their children for education at the age of 5, and sometimes
6 or 7. The government did not oblige them to be sent
at a certain age. In Islam the pursuit of knowledge was
obligatory for every Muslim man and woman. The parents
were at liberty to send their children to school when
they thought fit.
Al-Abdari; ion his book "Introduction
to the Holy Law", criticised parents who sent their
children to school before the
age of seven, saying that our pious ancestors sent their children to schools at
seven, which was the age at which the authorities had assigned teaching
children prayers and good morals.
But now children go to schools at
an early age. The teacher should beware of teaching them to read at am
early age, since early education at four or
five overburdens physically and
mentally. In fact, parents send their children to schools a: an early age not to be taught reading and writing,
but because they want to be free of their inconvenience and keep them: away
from the house.
Modern education supports the views expressed by the early Islamic
scholar Al-Abdari, in. criticising sending children to school at the early age
of four or five. If they are sent at this age they must be sent to
kindergartens to play end leam through playing.
2. — Lack of limiting
time spent by the child in "Kut-tab" (Elementary School) :
There was no limited period for the child to stay to learn at the
elementary school. The child was sent there to learn the principles of reading
and writing, and then began to memorise short chapters of the Qurani and two
sections of it which contain the smaller chapters. He had to continue
memorising the Quran until he had learned some or all of it by heart. A child
might continue in that school until adolescence. He studied religion, some
traditions, arithmetic, grammar and poetry.
3. — Differences in educational
methods:
The method of teaching children is different from that followed in
teaching adults. Al-Ghazali supported this principle, since there is a
difference between the comprehension of children and that of adults; he said:
"One of the primary duties of the teacher is to teach the child what is
easy enough for him to understand, since difficult subjects lead to mental
confusion and make the child shun learning." This is 'considered one of
the most important principles of modern education in .the twentieth century.
Ibn Khaldun shares this principle. He also believes in observing
the child's comprehension, and his educational level, saying: "We have
observed many teachers of this age whom, we realised were ignorant of the
methods and benefit of education!; from the beginning they prepare difficult
problems for the student and demand that his intellect solve them. They
consider this the right way to carry on, education... But the capacity to
accept knowledge, and inclination towards it, 'grow gradually. _ At first the
student is capable of understanding only the least amount, by way of approximation
and summarisation with tangible examples. Then his inclination progresses
gradually little by little as he is confronted with the problems of a subject
and their repetition and with passing from the approximation to the comprehension
which is above it, until he acquires readiness and ability to learn..."
Ibn Khaldun and others believe that a child's thinking is different from that
of a man, and that this must be taken into consideration in the method of education.
4. — Two subjects must not be mixed together:
To guarantee facilitation of the teacher's work, Ibn Khaldun
believes that "the teacher must not mix two subjects together, since then
he rarely succeeds in either of them, because of their division of the mind and
distracting it from each- one towards understanding of the other."
5. — Concern with
tangible examples to bring the meaning closer to the child's mind; this is
what educators mean when they
advocate moving from things
perceived by the senses to those perceived by the mind, so as to facilitate the
student's understanding and comprehension.
6. — Observing the children's inclinations towards some
subjects of study in order to facilitate their understanding of them. Ibn
Khaldun has explained that requiring children to study difficult problems which
are above their comprehension leads to serious mental strain and to their
continual dislike of learning and education. He advocates that the ease or
difficulty of the subject must be in proportion to the child's understanding,
and criticises those who advise forcing difficult subjects on the children) on
the assumption that this will help strengthen their mental faculties. This is
what today's educators mean when they speak of transition from ease to
difficulty. In Khaldun therefore is in agreement with the philosophers of
modern education who demand that the child's inclinations be taken into
consideration and made the basis of his education. They emphasize that the
child's success in any task aids him in succeeding in other tasks, since
success leads to success, and also helps him to succeed in satisfying his
natural disposition towards love of progress and mastery.
If the lessons are difficult and the material above his level, it
will be difficult for the child to understand them, and his self-confidence
will weaken, because he does not find the mental nourishment suitable for his
growth and advancement.
We cannot forget here the psychological views presented by Ibn
Khaldun and his minute observations concerning the stages of growth; they do
not differ from those of modern psychologists. He explained that the stage of
childhood is characterised by obedience, quietness and stability; therefore at
this stage Islamic education is concerned with the students' natural instincts
and inclinations and natural abilities when guiding him towards the occupation
which he will choose in his future life in the service, of his country.
Avicenna advocated care '.n studying the child's inclinations and making them the
basis of his guidance and education, saying: "Every trade which a boy
desires cannot be suitable to him, only those which resemble and are
appropriate lo his nature. If the humanities and trades responded and yielded
to wishes and desires, with no resemblance or consistence with however
ignorant one might be of literature, or devoid of skill, in that case, everyone
would have chosen the most noble of the arts and the most elevated trade... Or
perhaps men's natures would have rejected all arts and sciences and been
concerned with none of them... Therefore he who directs the child should — if
the child wants to choose a trade — first evaluate the boy's nature, then
examine his talent, test his intelligence, and choose trades for him in accordance with all this..”
This is a valuable advice by Avicenna, counseling guardians,
teachers and parents who wish to choose any profession for any child, to
evaluate and recognise the child's nature or inclination and examine his talent
ad intelligence, so as to choose a profession suitable to his leanings and
intellect. This is one of the most valuable views in Islamic education and
conforms with the most recent trends in modern education, considering that it
is necessary to look for that which suits the child's inclinations and nature,
and observe them in selecting what he may wish to specialise in, in future. If
he is inclined to religious study, direct him towards it; if he is inclined
towards a practical field, encourage him; if he likes intellectual or
scientific study, guide him to it, and give him the opportunity 1o study what
he wishes. This is what is advocated in the educational world today. Whoever is
naturally inclined towards mathematics cannot excel in the lion, although
trained when young, will not cease to be a beast of prey." This means that
intelligence and stupidity have a great influence on the success or failure of
a student in the intellectual field. The superior, intelligent one is
benefitted by training, can study it and succeed in its study; but the beast of
burden — the dull-witted and stupid —is not benefitted by training, and cannot
succeed in subjects requiring superiority and intelligence, nor excel in them.
The lion is a beast of prey by nature; training will not change him from a
predatory animal to a tame one, quiet and gentle and harming no one, because
nature always triumphs over training. An Arab poet said : " The man who is
not born intelligent is not benefitted by age," meaning that age and
maturity do not benefit or influence a man born without intelligence. If a
wealthy person has an extremely stupid son, his wealth, careful instruction,
and providing him; with the best teachers cannot change him from a stupid person
to one of superior intelligence (i). Intelligence is hereditary and a natural gift of God by which
man is able to solve the problems which confront him in life. The individual's
proportion of intelligence is limited and is neither increased nor decreased by
instruction. The intelligent person is so by nature, as is the stupid one; the
intelligent person, is so when a boy and when a mam, and he who is stupid in
his childhood will be so in his manhood.
Al-Z,arnuji, in his book "Education of the Student",
advised that the student should not Delect by himself the subjects in whose
study he wishes to specialise, but that the teacher, with his experience, must share with the student
in selecting the field of knowledge suitable to him. There is nothing to
prevent the student from selecting subjects towards which he is inclined,
guided by his teacher in this choice, on condition that the student's
inclinations in the scholarly field are not neglected.
All these are valuable views which show the greatness of the
Muslim philosophers and their sound ideas about the education and psychology of
the child, heredity, natural instincts and leanings, at a time when minds were
generally closed and views rather crude.
9 — Play and recreation
The Muslim educators felt the child's need for play and recreation
after finishing his lessons, since the classroom was dominated by quiet and
attention to study and the effort of learning; the child felt bored and tired
and needed to play, relax and move about refreshing himself. For this reason,
outside the classroom they allowed the boy to talk. move about and be active,
be lively and play to refresh himself and get rid of .the boredom and
tiredness he felt. Islamic education considers the child's playing important
and beneficial to the child from the mental, physical, and moral aspects. This
is not surprising; Al-Ghazali advised that after his lessons the child be
allowed to play relaxing, not violent games, in order to renew his activity, on
condition that he does not tire himself; "For preventing the child from
playing and continually burdening him with learning, will kill his soul,
frustrate his intellect, and make life distasteful to him."
Al-Abdari also supports the necessity of play and recreation for
the child after his studies. This is why all Muslim, educational institutions
have a weekly holiday from the noon of each Thursday up to the end of Friday,
and also the summer vacation and the holidays of Eid al-Fitr, and Islamic
religious occasions like the first of the year, and the holy Prophet's
birthday. Al-Ghazali said : "He (the child) must be permitted, after
leaving his books, to play pleasant games to refresh him from the fatigue of
school, in a manner which will not make him tired from play; preventing the
child from playing and oppressing him with continual study kills his spirit,
thwarts his intellect, and makes him dislike life, so that he resorts to
deception to be free from it..." This corresponds completely to the demands
of modern education today.
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