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Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
“Recite in the name of your Lord who created – (1) Created man from a clinging substance. (2) Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous – (3) Who taught by the pen – (4) Taught man that which he knew not. (5) No! [But] indeed, man transgresses.” [Al-Alaq: 1-5]
1. INTRODUCTION
The culture (thaqafa) of any nation is the backbone of its existence and survival. Based on this culture, the Ummah’s civilisation (hadhara) is founded, and its goals and objective are defined, and its way of life is defined. The individuals of the Ummah are moulded by this culture in one melting pot such that the Ummah becomes distinguished from the other nations. This culture is: The Ummah’s intellectual doctrine (‘aqeedah) and the rules, solutions and systems emanating from this intellectual doctrine. It is also the knowledge and sciences built upon it, as well as the events linked to this intellectual doctrine such as the Ummah’s conduct (Seerah) and history. If this culture is wiped out, this Ummah, as a distinct Ummah, would disappear; thus its objective and way of life would change, and its allegiance would shift, and it would stumble in its path following other nations’ cultures.
The Islamic culture is the knowledge (ma’arif) stimulated by the Islamic intellectual doctrine. This is regardless whether this knowledge includes the Islamic doctrine like the science of “tawheed”; or is built upon the intellectual doctrine such as jurisprudence (fiqh), exegesis (tafseer) of the Qur’an, and the Prophetic traditions (hadith); or whether it is a prerequisite to understand the rules emanating from the Islamic intellectual doctrine such as the knowledge required for ijtihaad (scholarly exertion) in Islam, such as the sciences of the Arabic language, classification of the Prophetic traditions (mustalah al-hadith), and the science of the foundations of jurisprudence (Usul). All of this is Islamic culture because the Islamic intellectual doctrine is the motive for its research. Similarly the history of the Islamic Ummah is a part of its culture due to what it contains of news about its civilization (hadhara), men (rijal), leaders and scholars. Pre-Islamic Arab history is not part of Islamic culture whereas pre-Islamic Arab poetry can be considered part of this culture due to what it contains of evidences that help understanding of the words and syntax of the Arabic language, and consequently help in the making of ijtihaad, tafseer of the Qur’an and understanding hadith.
The Ummah’s culture creates the character of its individuals. It moulds the individual’s intellect and his method of judging things, statements and actions just as it moulds his inclinations, thereby influencing his mentality, disposition (nafsiyya) and behaviour (sulook). Thus, the preservation and spread of the Ummah’s culture in the society is among the chief responsibilities of the State. The Soviet Union historically fostered its children upon Communist culture and attempted to prevent any infiltration of capitalist or Islamic thought into its culture. The entire West nurtured its children upon its capitalist culture that is built upon separation of religion from life. It organised and founded its life upon that basis, and waged wars -as it continues to do so today – to prevent the Islamic culture from penetrating its doctrine and culture. The Islamic State endeavoured to implant the Islamic culture into its children and prevented anyone from calling within the state for any thought not built upon the Islamic intellectual doctrine within the State. The state also carried its culture to other States and nations via Da’wah and Jihad. This will continue until Allah inherits the earth and whoever resides on it (i.e. until the Day of Judgement).
Among the most important guarantees of the preservation of the Ummah’s culture is that its culture be memorised in the hearts of its children and preserved in books, together with the Ummah having a State ruling over it and taking care of its affairs according to the rules and canons emanating from the intellectual doctrine of this culture.
Education is the method to preserve the Ummah’s culture in the hearts of its children and the pages of its books, whether it is a formal or non-formal education curriculum. The education curriculum means education regulated by State adopted systems and canons, with the State responsible for implementing it e.g. setting the starting age, subjects of study and education method. Whereas non-formal education curriculum is left to Muslims to teach in homes, mosques, clubs, via media, periodical publications etc without being subjected to the organisation and canons of the education curriculum. In both cases, however, the State is responsible to ensure that the thoughts and knowledge (being taught) either emanate from the Islamic intellectual doctrine or are built upon it. We present herein the foundations of the education curriculum in the Khilafah State.
2. EDUCATION POLICY AND ITS ORGANISATION IN THE KHILAFAH STATE
The education system in the Khilafah State is composed of the totality of the Shari’ah rules and administrative canons related to the education curriculum. The Shari’ah rules related to education emanate from the Islamic ‘aqeedah and they have Shari’ah evidences, such as the subjects of study and separating between male and female students. As for the administrative canons related to education, they are the permitted means and styles which the ruler in authority considers beneficial in implementing the system and achieving its goals. They are worldly matters susceptible to development and change according to what appears most suitable to implement the Shari’ah rules related to education and the Ummah’s basic needs. Likewise they can be adopted from the experiments, expertise and permitted research of other nations.
This system of Shari’ah rules and adminstrative canons requires an alternative apparatus with the competence to achieve the basic objectives of education in the Khilafah State, namely building the Islamic personality. This apparatus oversees the supervision, organisation and accounting of all aspects of education with respect to setting the curriculum, selecting qualified teachers, tracking the advancement and progress of students’ learning, and supplying schools, institutes and universities with the required laboratories and necessary educational tools.
We now present most of the articles of the “Education Policy” from “The Introduction of the Constitution” (Muqaddimat Ad-Dustoor) which is the draft constitution of the Islamic State.
Article 170
The Islamic creed constitutes the basis upon which the education policy is built. The curriculum and methods of teaching are all designed to prevent a departure from this basis.
Article 171
The purpose of education is to form the Islamic personality in thought and behaviour. Therefore all subjects in the curriculum must be chosen on this basis.
Article 172
The goal of education is to produce the Islamic personality and to provide people with the science and knowledge related to life’s affairs. Teaching methods are established to achieve this goal; any method that leads to other than this goal is prevented.
Article 174
A distinction must be drawn in education between the empirical sciences on the one hand and all that is related to them such as mathematics, and the cultural sciences on the other. The empirical sciences, and all that is related to them, are taught according to need and are not restricted to any stage of education. As for the cultural sciences, they are taught at the primary level before the secondary level according to a specific policy that does not contradict Islamic thoughts and rules. In higher education, these cultural sciences are studied like other sciences provided they do not lead to a departure from the stated policy and goal of education.
Article 175
The Islamic culture must be taught at all levels of education. In higher education, departments should be assigned to the various Islamic disciplines as will be done with medicine, engineering, physics etc.
Article 176
Arts and crafts may be related to science, such as commerce, navigation and agriculture arts and crafts. In such cases, they are studied without restriction or conditions. Sometimes, however, arts and crafts are connected to culture when influenced by a particular viewpoint of life, such as photography or sculpture. If this viewpoint of life contradicts the Islamic viewpoint of life, such arts and crafts are not adopted.
Article 177
The State’s curriculum is one. No curriculum other than that of the State is allowed to be taught. Private schools are allowed as long as they adopt the State’s curriculum and establish themselves on the State’s educational policy and accomplish the goal of education set by the State. Teaching in such schools should not be mixed between males and females, whether for students or teachers; and they should not be specific for a certain deen, madhab, race or colour.
Article 178
It is an obligation upon the State to teach every individual, male or female, those things that are necessary for the mainstream of life. This should be obligatory and provided freely in the primary and secondary levels of education. The State should, to the best of its ability, provide the opportunity for everyone to continue higher education free of charge.
Article 179
The State provides libraries and laboratories and all means of knowledge outside schools and universities, to enable those who want to continue their research in the various fields of knowledge, like fiqh, Hadith and tafseer of Qur’an, thought (fikr), medicine, engineering and chemistry, inventions, discoveries, etc. This is done to create in the Ummah an abundance of mujtahideen, outstanding scientists and inventors.
