Pedagogy in Islamic Education

The Madrasah Context

Glenn Hardaker, Aishah Ahmad Sabki

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781787547186
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Multicultural Education

In Islamic education, the development of teaching and learning for the physical and spiritual training of humanity places equal importance on revealed and acquired knowledge. This book provides a greater understanding of Islamic pedagogy from a spiritual perspective, which requires empathy with the Islamic premise of the inseparable nature of knowledge and the sacred. The book is intended to provide a particular insight into the relationship between Islamic pedagogy and embodied learning and associated common features that are seen in Madrasahs, and related educational institutions.
The first part of the book traces key moments in madrasah history and their formation; diversity of Islamic institutions, and the notion of the scholastic community. It identifies the rise of the Islamic education institutions and the diversity within their formation. Despite the partial disappearance of the spiritual in many Islamic education institutions, the authors argue that the spiritual construct is still deeply implicated in the reification of Islamic pedagogy and in the process of embodiment. The second part of the book draws on unravelling knowledge and the sacred that considers the philosophy of Islam and knowledge, spiritual understanding of Islamic education, and knowledge and the sacred as an educational compass. Finally, the book explores the implications of Islamic pedagogy and embodied learning, the universal nature of Islamic pedagogy, and reflections for the future.
By bringing to bear a variety of Islamic and educational studies research, relative to Islamic pedagogy, this book opens up new avenues for research into Islamic education. The book will be of particular interest to scholars investigating Islamic education, Islamic pedagogy, and embodied learning.

PART 1
ISLAMIC EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTION

Chapter 1

The Rise of the Islamic Institution

There are a number of hadiths regarding the learning method in Islamic education. The Prophet Muhammad said that, ‘seeking knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim’ (Al-Ghazali, 1997). Al-Ghazali referred to engaging in the learning method as the most sincere form of worship (Al-Ghazali, 1997). Knowledge and its quest were of the greatest importance to Prophet Muhammad. With the very first revelation from God through the angel Gabriel, the messages emphasised the importance of learning, particularly reading and writing. From a Muslim perspective, this means the search and obtaining of knowledge is a mandatory duty for all Muslims. Knowledge acquisition is central to Islam and the search for sacred knowledge is an integral part of the process and for Muslims this includes sacred scriptures such as the Qur’ān (Anzar, 2003). This illustrates the priority placed on knowledge and also touches upon some of the complexity in researching Islamic education.

Islam is often referred to as ‘the religion of the book’. The book here is referring to the Qur’ān, which is the revealed scripture of Islam to Prophet Muhammad. Islam believes that the first prophet was Adam, and the final seal of the prophet was Muhammad. The main Islamic sources of knowledge are the Qur’ān,¹ Sunnah² and Hadith.³ Knowledge is seen to be a religious obligation and is comparable with for example prayer, fasting and charity. There are many statements identifying the importance of knowledge and its implications such as ‘are those who know and those who do not know to be reckoned the same?’ Qur’ān (39:9). Education in the context of Islam is regarded as a process that involves the complete person, including the rational, spiritual and social dimensions. Prophet Muhammad explained to people that we do not exist on this planet alone; rather, we live in a society that has a natural order and discipline with our surroundings and the cosmos (Al-Attas, 1980). As noted by Syed Muhammad Al-Naquib Al-Attas (1980), the comprehensive and integrated approach to education in Islam is directed towards the

balanced growth of the total personality […] through training man’s spirit, intellect, rational self, feelings and bodily senses […] such that faith is infused into the whole of his personality. (Al-Attas, 1979, p. 158)

Islamic education is driven by the motivations of human beings to avoid what is seen to be wrong and the main aspiration is to do what is seen to be right. For Muslims, these two motivations are like two wings by which human beings can fly, providing a way to cross into the ‘next life’ and reach an Islamic understanding of truth (Al-Ghazali, 1997). Islamic literature reveals that many scholars (e.g. Al-Ghazali, 1997; Suwayyid, 1988) have investigated various aspects of the Prophet’s teachings. As time passed, the volume of information on Prophet Muhammad grew exponentially and provided a well-documented account of his behaviour and practice. Different scholars then began to focus on specific content areas to show how these teachings could be applied to particular areas and phases in one’s life. Worship of God has always been the cornerstone of every religion and places of worship occupy an important position in the daily life of all religious communities. From an Islamic perspective, the first place of worship to be built was the Kaabah⁴ which was constructed by Prophet Adam. A verse from the Qur’ān, the sacred book of Islam, reads that:

The first House (of worship) appointed for men was that at Bakka⁵: full of blessing and of guidance for all kinds of beings. (Qur’ān 3:96)

The word mosque⁶ or ‘masjid is mentioned in the Qur’ān 27 times – 21 times as the singular ‘ijaza and six times as the plural masajid. Both signify a humble place before God and an important part of prayer when referring to the House of Allah (bait Allah), as the following verse from the Qur’ān illustrates,

[Lit is such a Light] in houses, which Allah hath permitted to raised to honour; for the celebration, in them, of His name: In them is He glorified in the mornings and in the evenings, [again and again], by men whom neither traffic nor merchandise can divert from the remembrance of Allah, nor from regular prayer, nor from the practice of regular charity; Their [only] fear is for the day when hearts and eyes will be transformed [in a world wholly new […]. (Qur’ān 3:96)

According to the hadith, Prophet Muhammad encouraged the building of mosques by emphasising the great spiritual rewards. He said that ‘whoever builds a mosque, God will build for him a similar place in paradise’ (Sahih Al-Bukhari).⁷ In Islam, once a mosque is built, it does not belong to any human and its owner is God, not figuratively but legally under Islamic law, and all Muslims have equal rights to use the mosque. In the early periods of Islam, the building of mosques was a social obligation of rulers as the representatives of communities and tribes. But as Islam grew, this obligation became more mainstream in Muslims communities. As a consequence, this developed the mosque further in taking on responsibilities for general community needs. It then became the heart of the community serving the role of a spiritual, educational, social, governmental and administrative institution (Winter, 2016). This research is particularly interested in the context of a mosque in its support for educational development where knowledge and the sacred were one. The mosque and its role in education also provides an insight into how education developed over time and the centrality of the sacred in all aspects of teaching and learning.

1.1. Definition of Madrasah

Historically, the emergence of madrasahs was a response to the social, political, cultural and religious issues of the time. They emerged as an alternative to the existing institutions and often complemented them, and this will be discussed later in this chapter. The related institutions of learning were clearly well established in Islam but it was the fifth century when the madrasah as an institutional type became recognised (Anzar, 2003). The rise of these institutions can be seen in eleventh-century Baghdad and this was a pivotal place for the development of madrasahs in the Muslim East. Baghdad was a major centre of learning in the Muslim East and scholars from all parts of the Muslim world visited this location of the Abbasid Caliphate where the central government was based in Iraq. It was a regular place to visit for Muslim scholars on their way to or from their pilgrimage to Makkah (Makdisi, 1970). According to Makdisi (1970), the madrasah originated from the word ‘dar’ which means the teaching of sacred law but they were also known to teach ancillary subjects. The Arabic terms madhab and madrasah are usually translated into English by the single term a school or a place of study. This convergence of terms needs to be understood in the context of the former, referring to the schools of jurisprudence, and is best understood as referring to a school of thought, while the latter refers to the school as an institution that relates to buildings or structures in which educational activities take place. The madrasah was a physical institution, in addition to being an educational community, and it was one among many such institutions in the same city, each independent of the other, each with its own endowment (Makdisi, 1970). Both the madhab and madrasah had a long evolution as institutions. Makdisi (1970) explained how the madrasah was a natural development from previous institutional types. For example, the masjid⁸ operating not as a house of worship but as a college of law, with its nearby khan⁹ acting as the residence of the law students in attendance. Makdisi (1970) explains this development in three stages: the masjid, the ‘masjid-khan complex that is essentially a law college, and finally the emergence of the madrasah.

The most striking difference of the early madrasahs, compared to Western places of learning, was that the madrasahs focused on an individualistic and personalised approach. Owing to the complexity of the early madrasah structures, most remained autonomous in their operations in Islamic cities and this was reinforced by many institutions being led by the ulama¹⁰ (Makdisi, 1970). Another significant difference in the early Islamic madrasahs was how certification was integral to the education process and provided an opportunity to gain a licence to teach: the ijaza, or authorisation. This certification remained a personal matter, rather than state controlled, and it was strictly between the master teacher and student. The master granted an individual the right to teach a particular book or specific subject and this was by an ijaza that authorised the student to transmit his knowledge. The master’s teacher who authored the teaching of a book was either its author or a person duly authorised to teach it and typically having received his authorisation (ijaza) through a transmitter or chain of transmitters leading back to the author. The ijaza was a personal matter and the sole entitlement of the person granting it. In the tenth and eleventh centuries, this new environment of teaching Islamic knowledge that was established as a ‘madrasah’, a school or a place of study, was very significant and was acknowledged as an extension to the practices of the mosque. As we have explained, the mosque and madrasah differ in terms of their purpose. To reiterate, the madrasah is an institution created for the purpose of education and hence it is different in the context of architecture, organisation, staff, students, curriculum and funding (Kadi, 2006). The Al-Azhar,¹¹ Egypt, and Al-Qarawiyyin,¹² Morocco, are widely accepted as the first degree-granting higher education institutions and are instrumental in the rise of madrasahs. In particular, Al-Qarawiyyin remains an educational institution rooted in the traditions of a madrasah teaching style. It is important to see how the madrasah developed as an institution with a specific mode of teaching and certification that is shaped by a personalised approach to the teaching and learning process.

From an Islamic perspective, the scholar who teaches in a madrasah is an heir of the prophet and this reinforces the importance of learning from teachers that have a clear chain of transmission from Prophet Muhammad. The significance of madrasah teachers is exemplified in the influence of Nizam Al-Mulk in Iraq (d.485/1092) who made the madrasah institution a mainstream institution in the central provinces of the Islamic empire, especially in Persia. Nizam Al-Mulk was the influential vizier (leader) of the Seljuq¹³ sultan and was one of the earliest rulers that donated to the establishment of madrasahs in a way that involved the state in this educational development of institutions. In Iraq, this led to madrasahs becoming an important function of the Islamic State. His approach motivated other ruling classes to contribute generously to similar madrasah initiatives. His foundation became a model for all the later Iraqi madrasahs, as well as for those established in Syria. Nizam Al-Mulk remains known for his support for the Nizamiyyah Academy, Baghdad, which is associated with the prominent scholar Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali.¹⁴ Al-Ghazali is a major Islamic scholar who learned all the religious sciences and a wide range of ancillary subjects (Tibawi, 1972). In 1091, Nizam Al-Mulk appointed Al-Ghazali as the principal professor in the Nizamiyyah Academy, Baghdad, where he worked for four years. Al-Ghazali attracted a major following through his teachings at Nizamiyyah Academy (Al-Ghazali translated by Faris, 1962). Another significant development of madrasahs was in 1095 when Al-Ghazali underwent an emotional and spiritual crisis that rendered him unable to teach. Al-Ghazali had become increasingly aware that he was teaching others because it brought him prestige and status rather than a compulsion to share sacred knowledge with his students. This provides a key moment in history of the centrality of the inseparable nature of knowledge and the sacred in madrasahs. He felt himself questioning his intentions and this led to him leaving Baghdad on a spiritual quest, travelling to Damascus and many other places of Islamic significance. After spending two years travelling to Damascus, Jerusalem and Makkah, he began work on his most important book, Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences). This work contains a major concentrations of Al-Ghazali’s thoughts about education, and it deals with every aspect of the inner and outer life of Muslims (MacDonald, 1953, 1965). After two years, Al-Ghazali returned to Baghdad in 1097 and he resumed teaching while continuing to work on Ihya Ulum al-Din. In 1104, Al-Ghazali returned to his position at the Nizamiyyah Academy in Baghdad at the request of the Seljuq minister, Fakhr al-Mulk, and taught for another five years. Al-Ghazali was known to be a Sufi¹⁵ representing the spiritual and esoteric traditions of Islam. His Sufi approach to his teachings was very self-evident as a teacher at the Nizamiyyah madrasah and this also manifested in his books. By the twelfth century, madrasahs, such as Nizamiyyah, had become the main institutional type for teaching Islamic sciences; Al-Ghazali represents the prominence of the madrasah institution and he is also illustrative of the style of transmission where the sacred elements are integral to knowledge transmission.

1.2. Phases of Islamic Educational Reform

From as early as the fifth century until the nineteenth century, Islamic societies had developed educational institutions and this we will now continue to discuss. This period is also known for the different phases of ed...