Islamic studies curriculum

Islam means submitting to Allah. Our will precedes and determines our actions. To submit ourselves to Allah, we need to will submission to Allah. The Islamic Studies / Islamiyat curriculum in Pakistan is not designed for this. Its focus is on imparting knowledge whose reflection in actions shows submission to Allah but what will cause this submission is completely ignored. This fundamental flaw in the Islamic studies / Islamiyat curriculum must be removed if we want learners to benefit from this subject. This is of utmost importance as Allah reveals through the Quran:

Verily, this (Verse of the Qur’ân) is an admonition, so whosoever wills, let him take a Path to his Rabb (Allâh). But you cannot will, unless Allâh wills. Verily, Allâh is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise. (Al-Quran 76:29-30)

To whomsoever among you who wills to walk straight. And you cannot will unless (it be) that Allâh wills - the Rabb of the ‘Âlamîn (mankind, jinn and all that exists) (Al-Quran 81:28-29)

So how is a person able to will submission to Allah? Allah tells us that it is only possible if He guides.

So whoever Allah wants to guide - He expands his breast to [contain] Islam; and whoever He wants to misguide - He makes his breast tight and constricted as though he were climbing into the sky. Thus does Allah place defilement upon those who do not believe. (Al-Quran 6:125)

Whoever Allah guides - he is the [rightly] guided; and whoever He sends astray - it is those who are the losers. (Al-Quran 7:178)

And Allah invites to the Home of Peace [i.e., Paradise] and guides whom He wills to a straight path. (Al-Quran 10:25)

So how does one get guidance from Allah? Allah guides those who believe in Him and hold fast to Him, 

So those who believe in Allah and hold fast to Him - He will admit them to mercy from Himself and bounty and guide them to Himself on a straight path. (Al-Quran 4:175)

No disaster strikes except by permission of Allah. And whoever believes in Allah - He will guide his heart. And Allah is Knowing of all things. (Al-Quran 64:11)

He guides those who turns towards Him,

And those who disbelieved say, "Why has a sign not been sent down to him from his Rabb?" Say, [O Muḥammad], "Indeed, Allah leaves astray whom He wills and guides to Himself whoever turns back [to Him] (Al-Quran 13:27)

He guides those who seek His pleasure,

......There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book [i.e., the Qur’ān] By which Allah guides those who pursue His pleasure to the ways of peace and brings them out from darkness into the light, by His permission, and guides them to a straight path. (Al-Quran 5:15-16)

He guides those who strive from Him,

 And those who strive for Us - We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good. (Al-Quran 29:69)

He guides those who fear Him and remember Him,

...... so fear them not but fear Me. And [it is] so I may complete My favor upon you and that you may be guided. (Al-Quran 2:150)

 Indeed, those who fear Allah - when an impulse touches them from Satan, they remember [Him] and at once they have insight. (Al-Quran 7:201)

 Only those fear Him who are knowledgeable,

Only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Forgiving. (Al-Quran 35:28)

For guidance, belief in Allah is a prerequisite and for belief, knowledge about Allah is a prerequisite. Allah reveals that no person can believe in Him without His permission or will.

And even if We had sent down to them the angels [with the message] and the dead spoke to them [of it] and We gathered together every [created] thing in front of them, they would not believe unless Allah should will. But most of them, [of that], are ignorant. (Al-Quran 6:111)

And had your Rabb willed, those on earth would have believed - all of them entirely. Then, [O Muḥammad], would you compel the people in order that they become believers? And it is not for a soul [i.e., anyone] to believe except by permission of Allah, and He will place defilement upon those who will not use reason. (Al-Quran 10:99-100)

A person who doesn't use reason or reflect on the signs in Allah's creation is deprived of the blessing of emaan. What does the person need to do so that Allah wills belief/emaan in the person’s heart? The person must make effort to develop belief/emaan. Allah says in the Quran that He has willed: 

And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives (Al-Quran 53:39)

Like all other blessings are from Allah, belief/emaan, the priceless blessing is also from Allah. Just like we need to make effort and ask Allah for the various blessings we yearn for, similarly we need to make effort and ask Allah for this priceless blessing. The effort required is constructing belief/emaan based on the authentic knowledge (evidence based), reason and through reflection on signs of Allah specifically mentioned in the Quran and then showing it in actions. 

The Islamic Studies / Islamiyat curriculum must provide opportunities to the learner to make effort that nurtures belief/emaan so that Islam becomes relevant because of Allah's guidance. It must do this through learning experiences that enable the learner to construct a belief (emaan) schema that takes root in the heart and influences the aql for submission to Allah. It is for this purpose deen has been given to mankind.

So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. [Adhere to] the fitrah of Allah upon which He has created [all] people. No change should there be in the creation of Allah. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know. (Al-Quran 30:30)

The learning experiences design must be well grounded in learning theories and Islamic pedagogy so that the conditions for emaan development and its reflection in actions are fulfilled.

Invite to the way of your Rabb with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Rabb is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of who is [rightly] guided. (16:125)

At present Pakistan's Single national curriculum of Islamic Studies/ Islamiyat has been designed on a knowledge banking model that pedagogically relies on didactic approach promoting command and compliance culture in the classrooms that is evaluated through summative assessment. This approach cannot be used to nurture emaan or to develop character as it treats learners as passive recipients of knowledge. It is because of this approach the focus is not on engaging the learners with knowledge for reflection of the testification (Shahadah) in our actions mentioned in the Quran.

And [mention] when your Rabb took from the children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], "Am I not your Rabb?" They said, "Yes, we have testified." [This] - lest you should say on the day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were of this unaware." (Al-Quran 7:172)

All that we need to do from a curriculum perspective is to build upon this tawheed embedded in the fitrah and lying dormant by designing learning experiences that will awaken it and enable the person to get guidance from Allah. For this to happen, the Islamic Studies/ Islamiyat curriculum must develop the spiritual competency and the five core competencies of social emotional learning (Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management and responsible decision making) based on deen as they enable guidance from Allah that leads to submission to Allah. The learning experiences should focus on reconstruction of knowledge through experience for development of these competencies while assessing learners conceptual understanding, misconceptions and misunderstandings. 

Emaan is the foundation on which the whole structure of Islam is built, and it is this foundation on which the Islamic studies / Islamiyat curriculum must be designed if we want the learners to benefit from this subject.