Our commitment

KEY NOTE 1

OUR COMMITMENT

Dec 11 at 12:39 PM

Assalamu Alaikum sisters and brothers,

When one commits for the sake of Allah subhana wa ta'ala, s/he is not left with any other option than to be sincere in the cause. Allah's job has to be done with Ehsan and Itqan, that is to ones best, with His love and fear. Just imagine if we work with this motivation, there is no reason why we cannot deliver.

Since you have voluntarily agreed to participate in this project of developing education from Creator's perspective, which is Islamic and natural perspective; if you still keep some reservations you can pull back now rather to be onlookers only.

Having said the above we should also realize that each one of us has other important commitments as well; many of which are having a higher level of priority in Allah's deen. What is expected is that since each one of us will be involved for Allah's sake only we have to give due priority to this work.

This group has to move with due participation from each one of us and with due consultation, which is called Shura. We do not have to rush into taking decisions or actions. Insha'Allah I will try my best to explain my objectives and my theories in education. I am not new on this platform and most of you are well aware of my approach to education and the rationale behind this approach. Insha’Allah I will keep my mind open to other views and we will discuss and proceed in our project with mutual consent and decisions. At some instances we will have to resort to majority opinion too. We should give every member enough time to present her/his case if it be so, and listen with open minds.

If you agree we will proceed ahead Insha’Allah, and if you disagree you can gracefully withdraw from the group.

I will appreciate if this email is acknowledged by all the participants.

...Unquote.

I request your patience for any further proceedings as the initial job is not yet complete. Also I request that though I have read the new email of the group members but I will not be able to respond for the time being. Also I request members to show extreme restraint to the opinions of others. These are the colors of Allah's creation - a rainbow of perceptions.

Br. Abid

KEY NOTE 2

RECOMMENDED STEPS FOR OUR PROJECT

Assalamu Alaikum!

Let me suggest steps to reach our objective:

1) Discussions on setting of clear objectives

2) Definition of education and other related terms

3) Explanation of some concepts – if required during this phase some sessions will be held at a convenient venue and transmitted online Insha’Allah.

4) Nomination of responsibilities and training of persons for establishing facilitation center for children at Karachi and or other cities of Pakistan.

5) Continuous monitoring and development of facilitation centres.

Some Clarification:

Though the end goal may be to establish a children’s facilitation, but prior to that the educational processes and methodologies will be discussed in details which will benefit all home-schoolers, and accordingly they can develop their strategies to educate their children at home. Where we have substantial home schooling families they can develop the proposed facilitation centers to enable their children access to learning resources, conduct healthy activities, and socialize with other children.

Br. Abid

KEY NOTE 3

SET OBJECTIVES OF THE GROUP

18.12.2013

Assalamu Alaikum,

Today we will discuss the most important topic: setting of objectives. If the objectives are clear and realistic, Insha’Allah our efforts will bear fruits and we will not fall into confusion. On the other hand, if the objectives are not clear we keep on beating about the bush as I observe presently happening.

The Goal is to design and establish an education facilitation center for home-schooled children.

Keeping the above goal in view, we will endeavor for following objectives:

1) To define education as clearly as possible. Since we have been discussing on this for some times on the Home Schoolers’ group and I have posted quite a few of these discussions in my blog I will often be providing links to refer to those posts. We may also be using some relevant links to articles on the subject. Nevertheless, I will request to please be contemplative on definitions that I will be presenting which I will be substantiating with rational arguments, Qur’an and Sunnah. I say this because this is the topic where I find most of the Islamic educationists confused in. Once the consensus is reached we move forward to the second objective.

2) Discussions on the natural learning faculties of Children. Unless we appreciate and acknowledge different learning faculties blessed by our Creator to each child, it is useless to design any education system. Our objective is to elaborate natural learning processes to most effectively, and expeditiously communicate and facilitate learning. I am very sure home schooling mothers can contribute a lot in this respect. This is a very important aspect when we talk of any learning facilitation center.

3) Discussions and consensus on the aims and objectives of education or tarbiyah process: I feel Iqbal’s educational model can be of great help in this respect.

4) Discussions on methodologies to use for facilitation of learning: I do not perceive that this discussion will be more than a few emails. As these will have already been discussed when we discuss on the learning faculties of children. Let us see how it goes.

5) Establishment of training for parents and facilitators to run the facilitation center. There are resource institutes which can also be utilized for this objective. During the above steps, we shall have already identified the training requirements.

6) Based on above objectives developing a practical and sustainable model of a learning facilitation center. Discussing and elaborating the role of the learning facilitation center. Assessing the resources required for the establishment of learning facilitation center.

7) Establishment of a model facilitation center, Insha’Allah.

KEY NOTE 4

PREMISE TO DEFINITION OF EDUCATION

20th December 2013

Assalamu Alaikum,

Today Insha’Allah I will take up probably the most crucial topic of this whole exercise and I request all of you to scrutinize thoroughly on the definitions of education that I will be presenting, and also to present your own understanding of the definitions.

But before we discuss the definitions we will have to decide what should be the end goal of education and whether this goal should be independent of the aim or goal of your life?

The education as a process is to prepare a person in all aspects for achieving objectives of life. Since the main objective of a person’s life is to be successful in A’akhira, as such the main objective of education is to prepare a person to succeed on the day of judgment the yom uddin. Now since Islam is a complete religion and deen denotes the total way of life and living, all the activities in a human’s life fall within the scope of deen, be it relationships, profession, sports, amusements, politics, earning activities, profession, hobbies, learning languages, etc, etc. We see that education relates to all these objectives and activities of life, as well.

The above implies that all that is being done in the name of education has to fall within the boundaries of deen, or permission by our Creator. Anything outside the boundary is harmful for our a’akhira.

We look from another perspective. We are the created or ‘toys’ (in the sense of created only) of Allah subhana wa ta’ala, and he knows best how we have been designed, what are our requirements, and what are our needs to best function in this life which he has given us to prove ourselves worthy of his abd, and to function as his Khalifa (vicegerent) on earth – which again requires full compliance with abdiat. This should make us realize that all activities in education has to be taken from this perspective and no activity has to be outside this state of abdiat (state of obedience), or all the activities have to be deen compliant. This also indicates that Islam as a deen covers each and every aspect of life over here. How can any activity in education be out of this concept of abdiat (obedience)? Can we use any tool or methodology in education which is against this spirit?

I will like you all to please reflect on what I have stated above and provide me with your views.

Education is not limited to training the mind and filling it with information, but involves all aspects—intellectual, religious, moral and physical—of the personality of the learner. It is not enough to impart theoretical learning; that learning must be out into practice. The learning is that which effects behavior and whereby the learner makes practical use of his knowledge. – Al- Ghazali

KEY NOTE 5 (amended 11.02.2014)

DEFINITION OF EDUCATION FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE

Assalamu Alaikum,

Let us move to defining education from our perspective. Two things have to be considered for this definition:

1. 
   Natural growth of a child
   
2. 
   The preparation of Khalifat ullah fil ard in all aspects of living here
   
3. 
   Education is the process which clearly manifests/explicates the position of human before her/his Creator and prepares a human for complete submission to the Creator and to bow down to His commands—with full conviction, contentment and motivation—which He revealed upon us through His last Messenger Muhammad (SAW).
   

So we define education as ‘a process through which a child/person is developed in all respects to discharge her/his duty most efficiently as Khalifa of the Creator’.

Subsidiary definitions can be:

1. 
   The formal and informal processes of preparing a person to succeed in this life as well as a’akhira.
   
2. 
    A process of establishing direct contact with the Creator, Allah subhana wa ta'ala, for seeking continuous guidance in the development of self, in discharging all her/his affairs in this life as per His commands and in the establishment of Allah's deen on earth.
   
3. 
   The process to develop ability to understand Qur’an and Sunnah.
   
4. 
   Education is acquiring of ilm un nafey ( beneficial knowledge) according to the dictates of Quran and Sunnah.
   
5. 
   The process of perception/worldview development through study of Qur’an and Sunnah.
   
6. 
   The process of developing realization of the Creator by reflecting on His Ayahs—developing Taqwa
   
7. 
   The process of inculcating adab and tehzeeb in a person.
   
8. 
   The process of personality development through acquiring ilm un nafeh.
   
9. 
   Transferring of Islamic values and practices from one generation to another.
   
10. 
    Transfer of the legacy of Pakistan to younger generation, to develop a realization that our focus should be on the establishment of  model Islamic state in Pakistan for the greater benefit of ummah, as visualized by the founding fathers and thousands who sacrificed their lives for this cause.
    
11. 
    The process of developing various life skills.
    
12. 
    Education is a learning that leads to action according to what is learnt.
    

I will request the members to add to these subsidiary definitions.

The issue is that the education was not a word used before a few centuries. This was basically introduced in the present educational realm. Earlier in the Islamic world Tarbiyah, Taleem and Tadeeb were among the terms used for this process.

Tarbiyah is derived from raba meaning to grow, or to increase and refers to individual potential and the process of nurturing and guiding young people to maturity.

Taleem is derived from alima, which means to know or to be informed and refers to the imparting and receiving of knowledge, usually through teaching.

Tadeeb is derived from Aduba, which conveys the sense of being refined, disciplined, or cultured. Tadeeb refers to the process of character development and learning the principles of social and moral behavior within the community.

“In summary then, Islamic education covers individual development and God-consciousness, the transmission of knowledge, and the development of an understanding of society and its social and moral rules. This comprehensive approach to education means that no aspect of a Muslim’s life can remain untouched by religion, and thus the acquisition of knowledge and education is, quite simply, a religious duty. Ultimately education is necessary in order to attain success in this life and the next (Muslim Childhood: Religious Nurture in a European Context, By Jonathan Scourfield, Sophie Gilliat-Ray, Asma Khan, Sameh Otri).

I will go a step further to say that actually the success of next life is dependent on the success in this life from Islamic context. Success is a relative word and will be different for each thinking group.

Br. Abid