RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN MADRASAS'
Role and Importance
IN the early period of Islam, wherever Muslims spread, they established large centres of learning in the form of madrasas'. This opened up a new chapter in the history of humankind, inspired by Islamic teachings, for the Quran stresses education for all. If the Quran is studied with an open mind, it is evident that it places great emphasis on knowledge and education. It can be claimed, without any exaggeration, that the Quran was the first book to remove restrictions on the acquisition of knowledge beyond a narrow class of priests and to make it available to all. It was thus the first to present the concept of mass education.
The Quran was the first book to remove restrictions on the acquisition of knowledge beyond a narrow class of priests and to make it available to all.
The first revelation to the Prophet, in the year 610 C.E., was the instruction to ‘read’ (iqra). It is said that the Angel Gabriel asked him to ‘read’, but he replied that he did not know how to do so. The Angel Gabriel asked him to read a second time, and again he gave the same reply. When the Angel Gabriel instructed him the third time, he recited the Quranic verse that the Angel Gabriel had delivered as the first divine revelation to him.
In this respect, Islamic culture can be termed as an ‘iqra culture’ or what can be called an ‘educational culture’. This makes education and learning an integral and central part of Islamic culture.
The Madrasa Movement in Nineteenth Century Colonial India
After the British captured India, for a while Muslim leaders believed
that the British must first be ousted from the country, and that only
after that would Muslims have the chance of engaging in any religious
work. The Revolt of 1857 was a product of this thinking, but it failed in
its objectives. This led the ulema or Islamic scholars to realize that it was
pointless to seek to counter the British through military means. The
only practical way out, they came to realise, was to avoid conflict and
confrontation, and to engage, using peaceful means, in constructive
activity, focussing particularly on the education of the community.
Consequently, numerous madrasas' were established across India in the second half of the 19th century. This soon assumed the form of a mass movement for Muslim educational awakening.
One could say that the madrasas' shifted the struggle of the community from violent conflict to peaceful educational activism. This represented the choice of a peaceful option over a violent one. The ulema reviewed their position, and, without terming it as such, issued what can, in some sense, be called a fatwa: declaring, as it were, that India should be considered as Dar ut-Ta‘leem or ‘abode of knowledge/learning’ and that now all Muslims must get involved in the field of education. This was an extremely important decision.
One could say that the madrasas' shifted the struggle of the community from violent conflict to peaceful educational activism.
After considering India as what can be called Dar ut-Ta‘leem, a vast number of madrasas' and other educational institutions were set up across the country, the result of the efforts of literally thousands of dedicated ulema. They sacrificed themselves so as to keep the community alive and to maintain the tradition of religious knowledge, surviving on meagre incomes and leading simple lives without expecting worldly rewards. The madrasas' they established provided free education, which helped the poor particularly. The ulema decided that they would depend on community donations, and not on government funding, so that they could retain their autonomy. They thus faced numerous hurdles, including financial, but yet they carried on with their work with a sense of mission and dedication.
Peaceful Methods of Educational Activism
This world runs on the basis of certain fixed laws. One of these is that
non-violence is more powerful than violence. This is illustrated in a
tradition attributed to the Prophet according to which he is said to
have declared that God blesses gentleness with that which he does
not give to harshness. This relates, in fact, to all actions, including
the sphere of social or collective action. Problems always come along
with opportunities. The correct approach is for us to ignore or not be
intimidated by the hurdles in one’s path, and, through peaceful means,
to make use of the available opportunities.
This wise strategy was also adopted by the madrasa movement. The 19th century ulema who led this movement could have thought of first removing the major hurdle that they faced — British rule — by seeking to militarily destroy it and also by uprooting the British system of education, in the belief that only after this could they establish a system of education of their choice. Had our ulema thought in this way, the movement that they launched would have died out shortly after it was spawned, and it would have produced no positive results for the community — as was the case of numerous violent movements before this.
However, God provided the ulema with the vision to adopt the right course. They avoided the useless path of destruction and focused all their energies on constructive activities, using entirely peaceful means, mainly by setting up madrasas' and other related institutions. These institutions were able to sustain themselves in the long-run and to expand vastly in number. They had a very positive impact on society, which could not have been produced by short-lived violent movements.
The Missionary Role of the Madrasas'
Ideally, Islamic madrasas' should prepare scholars who, once they
graduate, should engage in dawah, communicating the message of
God to others, besides providing religious guidance to Muslims. This is
what madrasas' used to do in the past. However, over time, this dawah
orientation of the madrasas' was overtaken by a polemical approach.
Because of this, madrasas' have become ineffective in doing any
practical work as far as dawah is concerned.
Every year, our madrasas' produce thousands of graduates, but they are not in a position to fulfil the requirements of dawah. Madrasa students are trained to engage in some sort of missionary work, but this training is entirely on polemical lines, not on the lines of dawah or invitation to the faith, as correctly understood. Consequently, madrasa graduates can become good polemicists, but not good missionaries.
The past was an age of polemics, a product of the ‘age of the sword’. He who was victorious on the battlefield was regarded as successful, while the one who was defeated was regarded as having failed. It was in that particular milieu that religious polemics emerged. Fiery polemics were a common phenomenon in the past. But this is the age of scientific exploration and investigation, not polemics. Hence, the place of polemics has been taken by serious dialogue. This shift demands that madrasas' suitably modify their approach and system. They must prepare their students for scientific discussions, instead of heated polemics.
The crucial difference between polemics and dialogue is that in the former case, the other party is regarded as an enemy. There is no concern for the welfare of the other party in the polemicist’s heart. He seeks more to defeat him than to improve or reform him. And this is why polemics generally become a sort of battle, characterised by hardhitting arguments bereft of gentleness. Indeed, often the polemicist is not concerned with what is right and what is wrong: his only concern, like that of a skilled lawyer, is to defeat his opponent.
It was due to the setting up and expansion of madrasas' that today Muslims in India can be said to have a vast and strong non-political religious and communitarian foundation.
This, however, is not in accordance with the practice of the prophets. In contrast to the polemicist, the aim of the ideal missionary of Islam is to appeal to the heart of man. Hence, it is very necessary to institute necessary changes in the madrasas' in this regard so that their approach comes to be based on the Quranic principle of conveying the divine message, instead of engaging in polemics.
Madrasas' and the Transmission of Islamic Learning
Through the medium of madrasas', the tradition of Islamic learning is
carried on and transmitted to future generations. This is one of the
major contributions of the madrasa system, and it is indispensable for
the community to stay alive.
The case of Muslims in medieval Spain is instructive in this regard. It is often thought that in 1492, when the 800-year-old Muslim political rule in Spain came to an end, the Muslims of the country were also wiped out — that they were all killed or forced to flee. But in actual fact, even after Muslim rule ended, several thousand Muslims remained in the country. What happened was not that Muslims suddenly disappeared from Spain, but, rather, that the tradition of Islamic learning and its transmission to the future generations was destroyed. It is a matter of common knowledge that education was actively promoted in Muslim Spain, but this was done under the patronage of the Muslim rulers.
Hence, when Muslim rule came to an end, so too, did the educational system that the Muslim rulers had supported. Because of this, future generations of Muslims were cut off from the tradition of Islamic education. Over the years, they gradually lost their identity, so much so that they even forgot that their ancestors had once been Muslim. Ideally, Islamic madrasas' should prepare scholars who, once they graduate, should engage in dawah, besides providing religious guidance to Muslims.
In the 19th century, when Muslim political power in India collapsed, the Indian Muslims were faced with the same danger. Here, too, the educational system had been under the direction and patronage of the rulers. Fortunately, at this delicate juncture, the ulema stood up and decided to establish a system of religious education for Muslims that would not depend on government assistance, but which, instead, would be funded by the community. With the grace of God, this project was successful, so much so that in a few years a large number of madrasas' were set up across the country. It was because of this that India was saved from meeting the same fate as Spain. It was due to the setting up and expansion of madrasas' that today Muslims in India can be said to have a vast and strong non-political religious and communitarian foundation, which is more important, useful and meaningful than political power was once in the past.
All this happened through the use of peaceful and constructive means that focused on institution-building. Modernity made this possible, because modern developments have relegated political power to a secondary status. Today, the real concentration of power is in institutions, and through them much more can be done than was possible in the past through political power. Political empires are formed on the basis of military power, while non-political empires are based on institutions and organizations. While political empires serve the interests of individuals or small groups, such non-political empires can serve the entire community. Political empires are based on subjugation of others, while non-political empires can, through community-based institutions, work for the welfare of the whole of humankind.