Education
By Mukhtar Muhammad
FAMACO Publishers
FAMAPUB@aol.com
![Text Box: [Adapted from the book Genesis of New American Leadership: A Muslim Commentary. (2000) by Mukhtar Muhammad. Jacksonville: Qalam Books Division, FAMACO Publishers, ISBN 0967272416. All rights reserved. Used with permission of the publisher.]
The Role of Education
“Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave.”
—Henry Brougham, Baron Brougham and Vaux
There cannot be a serious discussion of Islam and organization, leadership, management, rights, responsibilities, shuraa, democracy, etc. without a discussion on education. Knowledge is the fuel of the intellect, while education is its vehicle—a vehicle that becomes the driving force for social, economic, and political justice. There are many texts written on education in Islam; the purpose for its discussion here is to emphasize the importance of education to the group intellect and to the functional competency of a community.
We have previously discussed that there are essentially three sources of decision making in Islam, the most subordinate of which is the human intellect. Perhaps on first examination of this idea [intellect as the most subordinate authority], an uniformed observer might say that the only source of decision making is the intellect, that is the intellect must read the Qur’an and the observed traditions of the Prophet and then apply reasoning to arrive at any conclusion or implementation. Obviously, that argument has merit but it is simplistic in light of the fact that there are certain issues (for Muslims and others) that have already been resolved for all time (abortion, alcohol, gambling, homosexual marriages, legalized crack or heroin, etc.). Many of the social issues being debated now in America have already been dealt with (defacto) in our religion. Some of the cases coming before the state Supreme Courts and the nation’s Supreme Court are nothing short of a trifling away of intellectual energy. If we obey Allah (the Creator), then among our blessings are greater opportunities for using our intellectual capacities for productively improving our society—enter the role of education.
Contrary to popular opinion, education’s primary role is not simply to increase one’s personal access to greater wealth or to make one feel better by adding initials at the end of a surname; no more importantly, its role is to increase a society’s access to greater productivity and greater fairness for its citizenry. Education is the social equalizer critical to the attainment and endurance of effective democracy and a sound social system protected from the injustices and underutilization caused by illiteracy and prejudice. Finally, it is through education foremost that Muslim society or any society truly progresses.
That Islam is credited with the renaissance of the human intellect and the forming of the link between the old world is without question. The positive influence of Al-Islam on the world is a matter of historical record. Our religion is credited with the birth of the scientific method which lead to the rapid expanse of science and technology throughout Arabia, Africa, Europe, and the world from antiquity to today. Before we discuss how a man, unlettered could build such an enduring institution [for only through such a discussion can we hope to emulate what our Prophet (SAW) achieved] that brought equality, appreciation for learning, and intellectual access for all citizens, common and uncommon, to a level previously unattained, we review the results through the words of authors, Prince Aga Khan and Dr. Zaki Ali in their work, Glimpses of Islam:
‘‘Thanks to the enlightened and tolerant Caliphs, to their patronage and support of science, the intense intellectual movement which began at Baghdad, extended over the Muslim Empire. This movement began at the end of the 8th century. From the 8th to the 13th century, Muslims alone held the scepter of the sciences and philosophy. Muslims played a vital role in the evolution of humanity by advancing all learning and preserving the treasures of ancient Greek science and philosophy, transmitting them to Europe, and beginning the European Renaissance. Islam formed the link between the modern world and antiquity, ushering in the era of modern civilization and culture. Differences of creed were no barrier to progress as Christians and Jews were equally welcomed. Colleges and public libraries were established on a magnificent scale. From the court of the Caliph al-Mansur, Jirjis ibn Jibril ibn Baktishu wrote on medicine, while Ali at-Tabari published the medical work Paradise of Wisdom. Hunayn ibn Ishaq wrote the earliest existing treatise on ophthalmology and Kitab al-Masa’il fil Ayn (Book of Questions on the Eye). Spain’s Islamic civilization reached historic heights of brilliance and elegance. The most vast city was Cordova with a million inhabitants. No western European city could equal its scientific and cultural splendor. The Muslims’ success was greatest in mathematics, astronomy, geography, mechanics and optics, chemistry, pharmacy, medicine, botany, and mineralogy. brilliance and elegance. The most vast city was Cordova with a million inhabitants. No western European city could equal its scientific and cultural splendor. The Muslims’ success was greatest in mathematics, astronomy, geography, mechanics and optics, chemistry, pharmacy, medicine, botany, and mineralogy. Hygiene reached a high stage of development, particularly with daily ablutions for prayer, dietary laws, and the prohibition of alcohol. The establishment of Zakat and Sadaqah encouraged the wealthy to fund hospitals, orphanages, homes for the aged, potable drinking fountains, public baths and kitchens for the poor, and cultivation of medicinal plants. Jabir ibn Hayyan laid the foundations for new methods of filtration, evaporation, sublimation, distillation, and crystallization in chemistry. Europe owes the discovery of the following remedies to the Muslims: medicinal alcohol, senna, rhubarb, tamarind, musk, cassia, camphor, nutmeg, cloves, saffron, fennel, liquorice. The words alcohol, syrup, naphtha, alkali, and alembic are Arabic. Muslim botanist Abu Muhammad ibn al-Baytar wrote a treatise on 1400 drugs of which 300 were new to pharmacology. Ala’ad-Din ibn an-Nafis described pulmonary circulation 300 years before Servet. The greatest physician of Islam is Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariyya ar-Razi (Rhazes in the West), first to write on pediatrics, smallpox and measles; he wrote on medical psychology, gynecology, embryotomy. There were women physicians among the Muslims in the East and Spain.”
For those who are familiar with world history, you may have studied the tremendous advances Islam gave the modern world, yet the Islamic peoples impact evoke awe given the circumstances of the Arabian Peninsula and the world community prior to the advent of the Qur’an. How did Muhammad (SAW) change an entire peninsula within twenty years? How did the early Muslim ummah advance the message of Islam within a few centuries such that Islam became a world religion and a competing socio-political power? There are of course multiple elements attributable to the early community’s phenomenal success not the least of which is Islam’s emphasis on intellectual pursuit for every citizen. Under Islam, ‘education would become the lost property of every Muslim,’ regardless of wealth, position, or gender. An esoteric privilege became a public right and an individual obligation—and a driving force for transforming society.
There is a very familiar saying accorded to the Prophet (SAW) emphasizing the value Islam places on intellectual development. The saying is: “The ink of the scholar is more valuable than the blood of the martyr.” Note that the comparison is made not between persons, but rather between the tools or contributions of the persons. There is a lot of wisdom in the few words of this hadith. Why is the ink of the scholar more valuable? I assert first that the egalitarianism of intellectual pursuit places it above martyrdom. In Al-Islam, we do not send our women or children into battle; war is primarily an adult male responsibility. Hence the probability of being a martyr is almost exclusively relegated to men. Note however, that the Qur’an makes no distinction between the spiritual and intellectual equality of men and women. Furthermore the obligation to seek knowledge, to become educated is a fard (obligatory) duty on every member of the Muslim society. Hence, elevating the ink of the scholar above the blood of the martyr promotes the collective power of intellectual reasoning through inclusiveness; simultaneously, it removes any artificial barriers of superiority and discrimination used to subjugate groups and deny them access to learning, and participation in the political process and governmental leadership. Islam established merit not based upon physical attributes, but upon spiritual and intellectual equality for all people. It was Muhammad (SAW) via the Revelation and his personal example that elevated women to a unparalleled status of respect and intellectual inclusion, and hence her personal worth was equal to any other citizen’s. Secondly, victory on the battlefield is at best temporal; true victory is sustained by diplomacy, a meeting of the minds through negotiation, treaties, and mutual cooperation, etc. Lastly, knowledge if preserved, gives insight into the past and allows the next generation to benefit and improve upon the work of the previous generation. Again, the Prophet did not say the scholar was better than the martyr or vice versa; the Prophet indicated that the tools or methodology that each uses to advance the cause of justice are not equal. The degree of superiority belongs to the method that continues to fight injustice, ignorance and corruption long after its author is gone—that method is the published word, the written knowledge, preserved despite the passing of time, the conquering of nations or the rise and fall of civilizations. It is the written word that preserves a historical account for posterity and provides a point of departure for the future. Education through analytical, creative, and practical thinking, serves to open new pathways to continuous improvement.
The success of the early Muslim community under the Prophethood of Muhammad (SAW) was gained through faith in Allah (S.W.T.), trust in leadership and allegiance, interdependence, and respect for intellectual development. Muhammad was the society builder responsible for giving to the world, the same command that Allah had given to him—“Read! In the Name of thy Lord and Cherisher . . .” The Prophet sought for every citizen to be able to read (for him or herself) Allah’s Revelation. Only through mass literacy can the collective intellect achieve its potential. The first words revealed to the unlettered Prophet sound the death knell to exclusivity in learning, establishes the comparative standard by which all knowledge is measured, mandates even those without education to become literate, and promises immeasurable reward for intellectual pursuit (think for surely thinking profits the thinker). That is how Muhammad (SAW) built the ummah. In doing so, he established the quintessential link of interdependence—the pursuit of learning and the sharing of knowledge. Once a society or organization values this vital link of interdependence then each individual is valued not for how they look or speak, or what they call themselves, or from where they come, but the appreciation will be for the contribution that each person brings to the group intellect and the collective spirit. The Caliphs, Imams, Amirs, etc. who came as administrators after the Prophethood of Muhammad assumed the duty to preserve the right of public education, respect for intellectual accomplishment, and the sharing of religious and other knowledge. Today, our leaders must assume the duties performed by the earlier leaders of Islamic Government if we are to assure the success of our respective Islamic organizations.
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