LIFE

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...

It is a fact that individuals with strong abstract thinking abilities are creative and better problem solvers. Similarly, individuals who behave in a socially responsible way perform better in academics and in the workplace . The challenge being faced by the present education system is the effective development of abstract thinking abilities and performance of socially responsible behaviour.  The most effective way of achieving this is by focusing on the category of knowledge that engages children's abstract thinking from an early stage and also aids in behaving in a socially responsible way . The category of knowledge that makes this happen is “tenets of emaan”. Firstly, it is abstract , and secondly, it plays a pivotal role in the development of spiritual competency that aids in intending actions for Allah, nurtures state of Ihsan and provides the strength and resolve to behave in a socially responsible way.  Allah reveals through the Quran the critical role of tenets o...

How does our society define an educated person? Is it someone who has the ability to read, write and comprehend certain skills and then apply them in daily life to earn a living? Or is it someone who has the ability to read, write and comprehend certain skills and then apply them in daily life in a morally correct way to earn a living? Should education aid, assist and motivate the person to behave in a socially responsible way while putting the skills developed through the academic system into practice? Or should it just develop the skills required to earn a living without aiding, assisting or motivating the child to behave in a socially responsible way? An education system that nurtures people who are experts in their fields but have no sound understanding of life is bound to evolve a dysfunctional society. Education has to take into account the multiple dimensions of this life if it intends to achieve the desired results. One of the verses of Quran tells us what education should ...