aims and objectives of madrasa education in...
TRANSCRIPT
CHAPTER-2
Aims and Objectives of Madrasa Education in India
Some educational system emphasised on the submergence of
individual's identity into the totality of the society, whereas there are
other systems that insist on the maintenance of individuality of a
person. Contrary to both, Islam effected a balance between the two.
To the Muslim scholars, neither the individual excellence should be
sacrificed for the welfare of the society nor the social issues be
given a secondary place. The balance under discussion ranges through
all aspects of education particularly aims and objectives. 1
Muslim educationists unanimously agree that education is not to
cramp the pupil's minds with facts but to prepare them for a life
of purity and sincerity. The commitment for preparation is completely
based on ethical and moral values of Islam which are of immense
significance, for it insists on the indoctrination of the pupil's on the
line of belief and faith right from the very inception.2
The problem of aims and objectives of education is as old as
the civilization itself. This has been addressed differently during
different periods of human history. Unfortunately, we are mentally
hegemonised by the rising supremacy of the west. And we are
accustomed to accept the western thoughts and ideas without
any critical analysis. Perhaps we are faulty because the western
thoughts and ideas are flowing like flood where we are being
swept away along with other communities of the world.
1. Aims and objectives of Islamic education P. 104 2. Ibid P. 104
42
The basic idea we must keep in mind is that the educational policy
of all communities corresponds to their philosophy of life, political
system, status of morality and their culture. Within the framework of
philosophy of life, apart from relations between God and individual,
individual and universe, individual and society, we include morality,
law, cultural values and all sorts of affairs that, some way or the
other, influence the human life, that is why we should not discuss
knowledge without discussing wisdom, grace, realisation and feelings.
We should also bear in mind that the Muslim philosophers have
always defined knowledge as transmission of experiences.
In the opinion of Imam Ghazali, the best interpreter of Islamic
ideas on education, knowledge without purpose is meaningless. If
the human life is God's wisdom, it can't be without scheme, and
scheme has to be meaningful and purposeful. Knowledge thus
has to be purposeful. In other words, the objectives of knowledge
are identical to that of the objectives of life. In his opinion, the
purposes of Muslim education are the attainment of closeness to
God and understanding the relations of mankind with Him. 1 And
in the opinion of Syed Reyasat Ali Nadvi, the purposes of education
in the eyes of Islam are to seek the happiness of God without any
worldly interest, to decorate oneself and others with good morality
to remove the darkness of illiteracy, to guide the misguided to
disseminate the truth and to uproot the false. 2
1. Aims and objectives of Islamic education P. 104
2. I hid P. 104
43
As above, Imam Ghazali pointed out that education is nothing
more than transmission of both personal as well as collective
experiences from one generation to another in the forms of folklore,
customs, traditions, literature, arts etc.
However, the system of Islamic education can't well be
understood without the complete comprehension of the concept of
man, because the Islamic concept of man is altogether different
from the concepts of the religion. This is also worth mentioning
here that Islam, unlike other religion, does not believe in the theory
of original sin. Thus, one's status in the society can't be determined
by birth. According to Islam, every child like his primordial
grandfather is born in the state of innocence. It does not believe
that some children are doomed by reason of their birth and race to
exist at the level of beasts, whilst others, again by virtue of their
birth and race, are disposed to excellence. Without going into
variant interpretations of varna system of Hinduism or the
interpretations of exit of Adam from paradise according to the
Christianity, I think it will suffice to point out at this juncture that
Islam does not believe in the theory of original sin. Not only that,
Islam removed the great mental block i.e. the society based on the
theory of original sin", from the path of learning but Our' an
frequently described man as His viceroy on the earth. And to run
the Godly affairs and to implement His commandments on His
creatures He conferred on human being wisdom and knowledge.
By rising him to this elevated position God made him accountable
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and answerable before Him for each and every activity. Now this
conception of human's responsibility to God solved the problem of
the nature of education in the Muslim society.
The system of education which has been the hallmark in the
intellectual history of Muslims, down the ages, has always been
committed to certain values. Thus, essential goodness of human
nature and man's accountability to God forms the basis of Muslim
education. As a result, we observe that a society, completely
different, emerged out" of odd circumstances wherein different
generations occupations and strata lived together in harmony and
peace binding themselves by a common faith. In this light, we
observe that Islamic education aims at producing men who have
faith as well as knowledge, one sustaining the other. Islam insists
that pursuit of knowledge alone without spiritual goal can't do
much service to humanity. Knowledge, devoid of faith in God is
partial, can even be termed as new ignorance and will lead to
nowhere. The man who has lost faith in God is not a knowledgeable
man in the eyes of Islam, he may be bookish but not a learned
man, because he has fragmentary view of the universe. At any
point of time, he may commit to immoral unethical and socially
dangerous behaviour, because he is far away from the fear of
God and only state law can't stop him from doing subversive and
destructive activities.
It is from this premise that Islam, more often than not,
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emphasised that piety and faith must be given a due place as an
aim to be systematically pursued. And, invariably an awareness
of the divine presence in the universe should be tested in the
students. It is in this backdrop, the insistence on the study of
scripture at the first step comes up, where because indoctrination
on the level of faith is an easier task than any point of time in the
career. Once the pupil strengthened his foundation of faith, he
can proceed to higher studies without fear of loosing his faith.
Thus, faith and piety are two important points in the Islamic
system of education which distinguish it from the western mode
of education. In the west, the aim of education is to produce
good human beings and good citizens, Islam does not contradict
these two either, because through the God's fear these two
come along. The problem does not lie in the good human being
and good citizenship but it lies in the sterilization of educational
structure: that is no place for moral or ethical values. In the
absence of moral and ethical values, society has to face immorality
and social anarchy. The result is obvious everywhere. The west
and its followers in the field of education are facing identical
problems, which ultimately will lead to disintegration of entire socio
political fabric. As it is said above, knowledge is transmission of
experience and transmission of experience can be divided into two
clear cut categories: (i) experience in the form of skills and technical
. knowledge whose nature is liable to change from one place to
another as per the requirement of space and time and (ii) Experience
46
based on certain specific values embodied in religious scripture.
These eternal values are not subject to change. Islam is more
concerned with the transference of experience of latter categories.
And that is why, it aims at the creation of good and righteous
man who worships God in the true sense of the term and builds
up the structure of his earthly life according to Shariah (Islamic
Law). Education should also aim at the balanced growth of the
total personality of man through the training of man's spirit,
intellect, the rational self feelings and bodily senses. Education
should, therefore, cater to the growth of man in all its aspects:
spiritual, intellectual, imaginative, physical, scientific, linguistics
both individually and collectively .1
To further clarify the aims and objectives of Islamic education,
we should have a glance on the development of educational
philosophers in the west. It appears, after a critical and analytical
assessment That entire educational theories, some way or the
other, based on certain aspects of human nature: social, material,
biological and so on so forth, being non-challant to the
comprehensive and dynamic character of the human beings. This
partial base of the education makes it feeble and short-lived. Apart
from partial base, each and every educational philosophy lacks a
liberal and broad minded concept of education. That is why, they
all easily succumb to criticism, and sometimes replacement in
totality. Besides, conflict is on among different political ideas.
1. Crisis in Muslim education PP. 36-38
47
From traditional point of view, however, the situation is grim and
critical, because due to the conflicts, lots of confusion are propping
up in the domain of education. The confusion is not confined to
nature, rather it involves the whole educational set up, including
the aims and objectives. As a rational being, one has to admit that
any educational system, devoid of certain values, is destined to
die its natural death. The confusion reached to an extent that a
group of educationists outrightly rejected the value-based education
and pleaded the cause, saying, like other sciences, the science of
education also should be natural to the values and rationality must
be given a top priority.
On the contrary to the western v1ews, Islam insisted on the
centrality of the heart in the human beings and asserted on interior
changes more than exterior ones because, to Islam, the human
being in relation to his unity and comprehensive nature, is not
purely a rationalistic creature, for, love, affection, emotion,
sympathy, miracle and death can't be defined in a rationalistic
paradigm. However, neglecting or negating the centrality of the
heart in education amounts to forgetfulness of the transcendental
dimension of human life and to captivating our thinking to a limited
sphere. To Islam, heart is not merely a piece of flesh rather it is
the centre of all human activities. If the heart is reformed, the
entire human activities will be put on the right track. As a result,
peace and tranquillity will be maintained not in the world but in
the universe as a whole.
48
The scientists view the heart as an organ of the body, which
is supposed to perform certain functions to maintain the body but
the Islamic philosophers, especially Imam Ghazali interpreted heart
in a different way. To him, heart means Rooh (spirit) and to some
other it means Nafs (soul). So long the Rooh is inside the body,
man executes his day-to-day routine and the moment it leaves the
body, the man is declared dead. Thus, it is Rooh which is important
not the body because body without Rooh is meaningless and
nothing more than skeleton. As far as Nafs is concerned, it plays
a significant role in regulating the human life. It is of two kinds: (i)
Nafs ammarah (Evil soul) and (ii) Nafs lawwamah (Virtuous soul).
If a man is governed by the earlier, he ushers in chaos and turmoil
in the society. Hence, Islamic education system pays due attention
to heart and gives it a supreme position so that Nafs Lawwamah
may become a guiding force in the life of human being.
Education Knowledge and philosophy are integral parts of human
life. Their integration with the human life brings human being,
close to the ultimate reality or absolute truth through the channel
of spiritual training. This unique feature distinguishes Islamic
educational system or for that matter, any traditional educational
system, from the existing modern one. Because of this unity,
peace and harmony appear in the human life.
Through aforementioned features, a kind of stability is
maintained in the human society. Without the interference of God
through the channel of spiritual training, neither harmony can be
49
established nor the human society can last for long.
Western system of education concentrates on the external
changes or outer development. We witness that outer development
or apparent progress is taking place in each and every corner of
the world. The world indeed is improving by leaps and bounds.
Material prosperity is at its saturation point. The day-to-day
developments, taking place everywhere, ratify the success of modern
education. But at the same time, chaos, turmoil, terrorism, disruption
destruction and the like, rampant throughout the world, are pointing
out to the sheer failure of the education system due to the negligence
showed to the inner change in the existing modern education
system. The fact is that it is the inner change which converts a
rational animal into a perfect human beings and that is what
Islamic education is based on. Through the process of inner change,
Islam enables man to be His viceroy on the earth. 1
Certainly, each and every person in the traditional society may
not have reached the state of perfect man, but at the same time,
this is also true that the entire traditional society also may not be
without a single perfect man. Existence of one perfect man suffices
to serve as a living example for the whole society. But since one
has to go a long way for the attainment of perfection in accordance
with his capabilities and capacities he has to be contended with
his pursuit till the last moment.
1. Crisis in Muslim education PP. 47-48
50
Since the foundation of Islamic education stands only on Our' an
and Hadith (Tradition) it is all but natural that it has to be inclined
towards religion; religion in a particular sense of the term not in
a sense of rituals and customs. It has to be aimed at the
understanding of relations between creator and creature as directed
by the holy Our'an. All educational activities of Madrasa have to
be governed by this aim only and nothing else. In fact, the
religious aim of Islamic education is the service of God, the
highest articulation of learning.
The aims and objectives of Madrasa education have been
changing due to the changing immediate causes. Some Islamic
educationists are of the opinion that the foundation of early
Madrasas was to counter the Mutazilites *, an intellectual and
philosophical sect in Islam originated from the debates between
the two disciples of Imam Jaffar Sadique Sixth Imam of Shii sect;
Hasan Basri, the Islamic mystic and philosopher and Wasil Bin Ata,
the founder of Mutazila sect. Some others are of the opinion that
formal Madrasas came into existence to counter the Brothers of
purity (lkhwanus-Safa) a secret organisation operating down the
middle east through its 51 booklets (Rasael) replete with the
philosophical ideas particularly Greek. And finally, there are men
who believe that Madrasas really came into existence just to
* The Mutazilites are called the followers of divine justice and unity they are also known as Qadariya and Adaliya. The views of all the Mutazilites of Baghdad on the prophethood and Imamate differ from those of the Mutazilites of Basra. Some of their leaders incline to the Rafidites and others to the Kharijites.
51
counter aforementioned ideologies. To my mind, this may be an
immediate aim but the main aims and objectives were to cater to
the increasing educational needs of the society, because, had it
been the sole aim as I pointed out above, then after removing
their influences the Madrasa activities would have been stopped
for good.
As I made it explicit in the previous chapter that Madrasa
Nizamia at Baghdad was not the first Madrasa in the Islamic
history as widehy believed, because it came into existence after
many Madrasas down the Muslim empire. Nishapur in the east
was only second to Baghdad in the domain of education and
culture. This is also quite interesting to note that Nishapur has
been dominated by Shafi school of thought. Thus, all the Madrasas
at Nishapur were the centres of Shafii school of thought. To have
a clear-cut picture, I think it would be better to quote lbn-ul-lmad
ai-Hanbali who says in his monumental work "Shadharaat-udh
dhahab" that a Madras a was founded by Al-lmam Abi-Bakr bin
Faurik-al-lsfahani, (d. 1n 1014 AD.) He himself taught various
sciences over there. This was perhaps the first Madrasa ever
established in the traditional sense. Then the people of Nishapur
built a Madrasa for Abu lshaqe Ibrahim Asfaraini. (d. in 1027 AD)
to teach the principles of Fiqh. He was succeeded by Allama
Baihaqi (d.in 1 065 AD), once a student of Asfarani who taught
Hadith and Fiqh. He was comparatively a very staunch supporter
of Shafii Madhhab. Very soon, the Madrasa came to be known as
52
Madrasa Saadia. The Madrasa of Imam Abu Mansur Abdur Rahim
bin-Muhammed-ai-Baihaqi (d. in 1061 AD), in Nishapur was already
on the move. He was a rich man who left a large property as
endowment for his Madrasa. Amir Nasr bin Subuktagin, brother of
Sultan Mahmud, during his governorship at Nishapur, built Madrasa
Saadia. Due to adequate number of Madrasa, Nishapur gained the
reputation of being the second important city after Baghdad in the
eastern Muslim world. As the Madrasas at Nishapur were controlled
by Shafii Sunnis, it consequently became a centre of Sunnism,
particularly of Shafii shade which carried on a crusade against the
Shii institutions and their influence on the social and religious life
of the Muslims.
Thus, we can conclude that the Shafiis were the founders of
Madrasa system of education in the world of Sunnite Islam.
However, the Madras a system of education that originated from
Nishapur in central Asia, very soon, spread throughout the width
and breadth of the Islamic empire. All kinds of private and public
Madrasas started coming up particularly in the Islamic east. At the
same time, it is worth-mentioning that the curriculum of these
Madrasas was quite different from their counterparts in Shii Muslim
world. Especially Hadith developed a content which has nothing to
do with the Hadith text book taught in the Madrasa of Shii sect.
The Shii movement which had led a life of Subjugation till the
middle of the 1Oth century, attained political power at the hands
of Bani Buwaihids in the middle-east and Fatimids in Africa by
53
giving a crushing defeat to the Sunni Kingdom Aghlabids, whose
Capital was in Tunis, began to propagate its ideas. Sunni ulemas
opine that the Shiis have fabricated a bunch of Hadith to justify
their empowerment for Imamate. Similarly, they ventured out in
the Islamic jurisprudence. Moreover, after closing old Islamic
institions, they established new ones to fulfil their long-awaited
desire. On the basis of their political power, they turned all instutions
into a propaganda machines for which they had long experience
out of political power. In the year 972 AD the University of AI
Azhar was founded by Fatimids in Cairo, a great seat of Shii
learning which later turned into a Sunni institution and was devoted
to the study of law according to the Shafii system. The Darul
Hikhmah, on the pattern of Baitul Hikhmah, was one of the most
remarkable foundations of the Fatimids which was established by
AI-Hikim in 1 005 AD for the teaching and propagation of the
extreme Shiite doctrine.
Thus, fairly commonly held view that the Madrasas in the Sunni
world started as a reaction to the Shii missionary propaganda does
not seem to be correct, because Sunni Madrasas had already
existed as lbn-al-lmad ai-Hanbali pointed out. But at the same time
it is true that the hostile attitude of Shii Madrasas compelled the
Sunni rulers- especially Saljuques ( 1 037-1157) in the middle east
and the Aiyubids in Syria and Egypt to lend state support, after the
overthrow of Shii rule, to Sunni educational instutions. The first of
these new Madrasa "Madrasa Nizamia" was founded by Nizamul
54
Mulk Tusi, the great viazier of Saljuque rulers, Alp Arsalan and
Malik Shah (956-1157) in Baghdad and Nishapur, who was
assassinated in (1 092 AD) by lsmaili agents due to his hectic
academic patronage to the Sunni doctrine. As a result, these
Madrasas became fortresses of Sunni Oxthodoxy. Similarly, Sunni
Ash a rites* became so powerful that they eliminated the influences
of Shii doctrine propagated by Banibuwaihids to a large extent and
undermined the impacts of Mutazilites and Hanbalites.
Since we are dealing with the aims and objectives of Madrasa
education, we have to assess the educational views of the Shafii
school within Sunni Islam and its impact on the Hanafi school,
which is a dominating class in India. As it is said earlier that the
basic aim of Islamic eduction is to understand the relations between
God and His creature in the light of Ouranic injunctions. But even
in the . case of similarity of aims between the two schools the
methodology may differ. Allam a Burhanuddin ai-Zirnuji in his
monumental work 'Talimul Mutaallim' cities the statement of Imam
Azam Abu Hanifa saying, "the objective of education is to act
according to the knowledge received and the objective of action
is to renunciate the mortal for immortal. The man should not be
* The Asharites are followers of Abu/ Hasan Ali-b-!smail al-Ashari who is one of the attributists or belonged to Sifatiya school. Most of the pious leaders of the early community maintained eternal attributes of God, such as knowledge, power, life, will, hearing, speech, majesty, glory, generocity, beneficence etc. Moreover they did not differentiate between essential and operative attributes but spoke of both in the same way. They also believe in such Qur'anic descriptives as "two hand\·" and a ''face".
55
non-challant to the spiritual life. He should adopt things useful to
his spiritual life and leave the harmful, failing of which, his intellect
and knowledge may witness against him and his punishment may
be multiplied, God forbid. 1
The use of rationality in the Hanafi school is not only permitted
but-encouraged in fact. It persuaded the human beings to understand
the natural power and apply rationality for the progress of human
beings. Blind faith is not acceptable to the Hanafi school at any cost.
It is known to all that Imam Abu Hanifa strongly supported the
use of rationality in all spheres of life including religion and he
had keen interest in philosophy and theology. On the other hand,
Imam Shafii was a Muhaddith (Traditionist), had no truck with
philosophy and theology. This sheer contrast in the background
of two Imams parted their ways on all disciplines particularly
theology and philosophy. Knowledge from sources, other than
divine revelation, either has no importance or very little importance
in Shafii school. Use of rationality is strictly prohibited. Qadi
Badruddin Ibn Jamaah, usually known as Ibn Jamaah, maintains
in his famous work that education is meant to bring the masses
close to God, to keep the Shariah alive and to disseminate it
among the people. To the mind of this school of religious scholars,
Ulemas: are the heirs of prophet's knowledge received through
the divine revelation and it is their duty to enlighten the minds of
1. Ta!eem-ul-Matal/im P 2-1
56
their disciples with divine revelation. Contrary to the Hanifa school,
they believe that it is useless to take refuge to the rationality in
believing God and teachings of prophet. That is why, they dislike
philosophy and theology. Not to speak of the followers, Imam
Shafii himself was quite annoyed with these disciplines. His
statement reflects his disdain towards them. Once he said, "it is
better to involve in all kinds of sin (excluding Shirk) rather to
dedicate oneself to the study of philosophy and theology under
any circumstance."
On the other hand, Ulemas wanted to present the issues of faith
in the rational paradigm for, 'ilm-ui-Aqaaid' was in greater demand
in the society. To cater to the needs of the hour and to address
the challenges facing by them, study of these disciplines was
inevitable. Besides, there were individuals in the Shafii school itself
who did not endorse the extremists views of their Imam and some
followers with the passage of time, a group of Shaffi Ulemas
formed a moderate and vaibale view on the subject and evinced
their keen interest in the field. Imam Ghazali, as a Shafii Mujtahid
brioged this yawning gap between the two schools of Islamic law.
He thought that man should study all kinds of disciplines which
could help understanding relations between God and human being
and lead to good morality. He protested the view that Theology is
completely useless. He clarified that different subjects which
apparently look against each other, they are not, intact, they are
complementary to each other and very much interlinked. 1
1. Islam P. 86
57
As a matter of fact, Imam Ghazali neither supported blind
conformity nor relied on human Intellect for real knowledge. That
is why he made an attempt for some kind of adjustment between
mysticism and theology. Imam Nawawi, another Shafii scholar
also opposed the view of Imam Shafii Dr. Fazlur Rahman observe
" The synthesis thus achieved by ai-Ghazali between Sufism and
Kalam was largely adopted by orthodoxy and confirmed by
consensus. Its strength lies in the fact that it gave a spiritual bias
for the moral practical ilm of Islam and thus brought it back to its
original religious dimensions. But the balance was delicate and
could be maintained only within the limits of strictly moral ethos.
Within orthodoxy, there were two groups which did not adopt al
Ghazali's synthesis. One of these which actually opposed ai
Ghazali's synthesis was the right Wing Ahl-ui-Hadith, the
traditionalists, who considered both parts of synthesis, the Kalam
and Sufism, as foreign, and therefore suspected elements, and
actually attacked ai-Ghazali for using weak and even forged
traditions to support this sufic interpretations. The other, the more
intellectualist, Mutakallims, could not accept the plea for a reduced
and purely practiced Kalam which did not satisfy demands of
formal intellectualism. They, thus expanded the thesis of the
Kalam to reckon with the new philosophical challenge and reinforce
the Islamic Creed.· 1
1. !.slam P.86
58
II
The beginning of 8th Century AD. marked the advent of Islam
in India. The arrival of Islam significantly marked the dawn of new
age. The original invaders of Sind were not other than Arabs.
Muhammed bin Qasim, the conqueror of Sindh and Baluchistan did
not come to India only with weapons to fight in the battle field but
also with a system of education prevalent, at that time, in
Damascus, the Capital of Ummayyid dynasty, and other prominent
cities of Muslim empire. The new system of education, alien to
Indians, became operational firstly in Mansura and Mahfooza, the
tow cities built by Muhammad bin Qasim, and later on other
territories of the newly established Muslim empire. This new system
of education continued during the five other successive dynasties
till the final blow at the hands of Mahmud of Ghanzna ( 1 025 AD)
and Muhammad of Gaur in (1192 AD) 1 However, the aims and
objectives of education remained unchanged due to the continuity
of the administrative affairs at the hands of the Arabs, for obvious
socio-political reasons.
With the full-fledged establishment of Muslim authority in 1206
AD, mad rasa system of education took a new turn. Yusuf Hussain
says, "before the advent of Muslims in India, they had already
developed a system of education suited to their genius. By the
eleventh century AD, the institutions of higher learning in the
1. See for detail Hindustan meen Arbon ki Hukumateen
59
Muslim Countries, called madrasa, had developed into centres of
learning with a distinct religious bias. There were essentially schools
of theology, with auxiliary linguistic studies. These madrasas were
the stronghold of orthodoxy and were subsidized by the state with
suitable recruits for the posts of Oadis (Judges) Muftis (experts on
Islamic law) and other administrators. Theology being the mode of
thought of medieval times, politics, philosophy and education were
brought under its control and adjusted to a technical theological
terminology. Men brought up theologically, and expressed
themselves theologically, but when we penetrate into this fromal
expression we find their aims and hopes at bottom not very different
from our own." 1
Besides, S.M. Jaffer maintains that the a1m of education
imparted during the Muslim India was to bring out the latest
faculties of students, to discipline the forces of their intellect and
to develop their character, to equip them with all that was required
for their material as well as moral improvement. Education was
regarded as a preparation for life after death, and hence it was
that religion that was at the root of all study. 2
The aims and objectives of madrasa education during the Muslim
India can be described under the following heads ...
Subservience of material approach to the spiritual one: The
1. Glimpses of Medicral Indian culture P. 69
2. Some Cultural aspects of Muslim rule in India PP. 79-80
60
holy Ouran prescribes that the life after death is better and
permanent whereas the worldly life is to be finished. It does not
mean that Islam denied the importance of the world in totality
rather it balanced the two ... spiritual and material. To Islam, the
wordly life is for the preparation of hereafter, hence this life is
like means to achieve the ends. In other worlds, it is a necessity
not the aim. Once prophet said that worldly life is like a dream
which has nothing to do with the reality. Reality is something
which is not visible, but one has to prepare for that invisible life,
this is what I man is all about. Anyway, Islam neither supports
ultra spiritualism nor pure materialism rather it wants synthesis of
the two maintaining the superiority of the spirit to the matter.
Through education, Islamic faith and beliefs were communicated
to all the sections of the society. Once again I would like to cite
Jaffar (SM) who says, "Education was regarded as a preparation
for life and for life after death. " 1
Character Building : Contrary to the widely commonly held
view that intellect and characters are two different things, and
both necessarily may not go side by side, because character is a
personal property of a person which has nothing to do with the
intellectual public life. Islam through its educational system
disciplines the intellectual force of the students with all concerned
for their moral and spiritual programme. In the words of Herbert
1. Some Cultural a.~pects of Muslim rule in India P. 28
61
Spencer, one and whole work of education may be summed up
in the single concept of morality. Thus, Muslim education is
based on the reconciliation of the two. It will not be out of place
to quote welton who says as follows:
"A compromise which gives intellectual training one hour and
religious and moral training at another, does not meet the needs
of the case, for in life intelligence and morality are not separable." 1
Indeed, the true education system can't be devoid of character
and morality. Education system devoid of character and morality
can be anything but not education in the true sense of the term.
Welton further stresses that;
II Education, then is more essentially the cultivation of character
than the training of intellect: As wives put it: II He who knows
none of the arts yet has a practiced knowledge of virtue, and has
formed and ordered his life by its rules, is so far from being
blamed that he is deserving of praise. On the other hand, he is
worthy of ignoring and dishonour who is learned and instructed in
human arts but is destitute of virtue. " 2
In the ·light of the above statement by a moralist western
writer, one can assess the importance of character in the formation
of a corruption free society and make a comparative study of
Western education system (Modern education system) and the
1. What do we mean hy education P. 56
2. What do we mean hy education PP. 57-58
62
Islamic education system (Traditional education system) and their
impact on their respective societies keeping in view their
contributions to the social control. Fortunately or unfortunately
Mad rasa education system aimed at the coordination of both ...
cultivation of intellect as well as character building.
Communal-Cum-Cultural Harmony: Before the advent of Islam
education was confined to a privileged religious class i.e. Brahamins
who were, according to the scriptures, meant for intellectual
activities. Due to the varna system, the lower castes i.e., Shudras
who were meant to serve Duaij (who had the right to thread) were
deprived of the fruits of education. Islam, due to its opposition to
the "theory of sin", attached immense importance to the
generalisation of education irrespective of religion, community,
gender, caste and creed. Since the time of Sikandar Lodi, the
Hindus got admission in all madarsas without any discrimination.
This created a fellow-felling, mutual understanding and peaceful
co-existance among the various sections of the society. The ties
between the two wheels of the nation: the Hindus and the Muslims
were also strengthened due to this educational policy. The whole
education imparted by the institutions aimed at fostering the cultural
unity of India. Jaffar says:
"Hindus and Muslims studying side by side in the same state
schools without any restrictions of rank, race or religion, compulsory
education in Persian, cultivation of Sanskrit and Hindi, mutual
63
exchange, adoption and incorporation of words, thoughts and
ideas ... all these things combined and cumulatively contributed
to the cultural unity of India during that period. 1
He further says, "The doors of all educational institutions were
thrown open to them and often their own national and religious
books were included in their courses of study. Muslim Kings also
encouraged education among their Hindu subjects by granting Jagirs
to deserving teachers, by making liberal allowances to them and
creating endowments for temples associated with their educational
institutions and by ordering translations of Sanskrit ,books into
Arabic and Persian and patronising Sanskrit Literature as a whole." 2
According to the caste system, knowledge was an exclusive
monopoly of the Brahamins. Here knowledge means spiritual
knowledge or sacred lore to which none but they could have free
access. Though, against these, there were some reactions, yet are
not sure of their results. One thing is nevertheless certain:
"When Musalmans appeared in India they found the same state
of affairs. I am not aware of the Universities of Nalanda, Taxila
etc, but my point is that mass education was unknown to India
even during the best days of ascendency. The famous universities
just named were not open to all, admission being restricted to a
very limited number. Referring to them, Prof. K.T.Shrah says,
"Students were not admitted unitil they had proved themselves 1. Some Cultural a~pects of Muslim rule in India P 33 2. Some Cultural aspects of Muslim rule in India P 15
64
men of parts and well-red in books, old and new, by word public
discussion: and that of ten cadi dates for admission seven or eight
were rejected." 1
Moreover, education during the Muslim India, though,
inadequate, from the modern point of view, was the best suited
to the social condition of the country. The impact of Sufis and
the emergence of Bhakti movement during that era clearly indicate
the spiritual dominance in the system of education. Further, the
education of ruling class and the ruled together without any racial
and religious antagonism speaks volumes of the climax of
humbleness and morality. In other words, the enhancement of
certain religious and social values which helped the divergent
groups and various sections of the society to lead a harmonious
life. The objective of education. was, thus, further communal as
well as cultural harmony among the Indians.
To train the officials: Last but not the least, training of the
officials, bureaucrats, judges and other functionaries was also one
of the motive of madrasa education. During the Muslim India, all
sorts of recruitment were made from the madrasa graduates, for
that time there was no compartmentalisation of education. During
early and later medieval period, madrasa curriculum was enough
competent to cater to the needs of the society.
1. The wonder that was India P 111
65
Ill
By the end of 17th century declining trend in the mighty
Mughal Empire started coming to the fore with the demise of
Aurangazeb in ( 1707 AD). The disintegration process of vast
Mughal empire came into effect. Regional powers raised their
heads against the Central authority. There was none among the
successors of Aurangazeb who could unite the dissatisfied sections
or crush the scattered rebellion down the kingdom. With the ever
increasing weakness of the central rule, entire socio-cultural fabric
of the ruling Muslim community was at stake.
On the external front, the later Mughal kings had to check the
increasing interference of the East India Co .. that wanted to take
advantage of the weakness of internal strife of the indigenous
forces. This external enemy was more dangerous than any of the
internal foes like Maratha, Sikh and others. At this crucial juncture,
it was imperative on the part of the intellectuals to ponder over
the situation and find a way out of the problem. In this given
backdrop, new kind of madrasas owed their existence to private
efforts through public contributions. First madrasa of this kind
was founded in 1962 AD. by a great savant, Maulana Abdur
Rahim father of Shah Waliullah and named after himself "Madrasa
Rahimya". Though. at the outset, it was worth the name and
nobody including the founder, could well predict that this simple
madrasa, started in a small residence, would, in the coming days,
66
guide the whole nation and convert into a centre of freedom
fighters. This coincided with the foundation of Darul ulum at Firangi
Mahal, Lucknow. Both the madras as introduced a syllabus in
consonace with the requirements of age, different from the
curriculum in vogue during the medieval times. (The curricula of
both the madras as will be dealt with in chapter 4). After the death
of his father, Shah Waliullah took the charge of the madrasa,
though at a young age, and started his career as teacher. He was
highly depressed with the anarchy rampant in the country. For all
chaotic situations, he blamed atheism and monopoly of handful
section of the society. For a strong and united India, he evolved
three point principle ... {i) confederation of princely states (ii) Uniform
Civil Code* and (iii) Economic equilibrium. On the basis of above
points one can estimate that he was a social democrat well before
100 years of Marx or any conceptualisation of Socialism. To
propagate his revolutionary ideas he founded an organisation
II Jamiya Markaziya II (Central Committee). With the wholehearted
assistance of his disciples like Maulana Muhammad Hussain Phulti,
Maulana Ashique Phulti, Maulana Nurullah Burhanwi and Maulana
Muhammad Amin Kashmiri he propagated his ideas. He writes in
his monumental work IIHujjatulla hil balighahll with the continuous
progress of wealth within certain sections their industry and
handicraft touch the pinnacle. With that much of affluence, if the
* The concept of Shah Sb. was entirely different from the conceopt prevalent today. See for detail Budur Bazigha.
67
1. Jidda - Jehad - e- Azadi P. 124
ruling class acclimatize to the luxurious life, the burden falls on
the working class so heavily that the majority of the population
destine to live like animals. At that point of time, the collective
morality of the humanity gets ruined. Under that economic pressure,
masses work like asses for their livelihood. Under such
circumstances, God shows the human beings, a way to get rid of
it and divine power paves the way to revolution. " 1
Nevertheless, his organisation actively participated in the
advancement of the nation. And today, after such a long gap, the
organisation is not only alive but has been involved in nation
building. From Shah Waliullah to Asad Madani its history is full of
sacrifices.
From Shah Sb. onward Madrasa Rahimya functioned as a fort
to fight against the British imperialism. And the aims and objectives
of madrasa did not remain the same as they used to be during the
medieval period. During the later Mughal period as well as under
the colonial India, freedom of the country was the prime motive
of madrasa education. To achieve this prime goal, madrasa has to
go a long way. When Shah Abdul Aziz, the son of Shah Waliullah
came at the helm of affairs of madrasa, he continued the freedom
struggle under the banner of "Jamia Markazia" (Central Committee).
He issued a Religious decree according to which. all the provinces
where sovereignty did not exist as such, were given the status of
1. Jidda Jeha-e-Azadi P. 124
68
1. Ibid, see for detail PP. 132-141
"Darul Harb (State of War) means; either fight against the British
Imperialism or migrate. To further the cause, he formed a military
council consisting of Syed Ahmed of Bareilli as President, Shah
Ismail as Vice President and Maulana Abdul Hai as assistant Vice
President, and handed over the civil affairs to Shah Muhammed
lshaq, who later on became the head of the organisation. As the
head of the organisation he followed the footprints of his immediate
predecessor. In his military Council, he included Maulana Mamluk
Ali from Deoband (at that time professor in Delhi College) as
President, Maulana Muhammad Husain from Kandhala as Vice
President and Maulana Abdul Ghani as additional Vice President.
The President was replaced later on by Haji lmadudaulah who
fought a heroic battle at the war front of Shamli during the first
war of independence 1857 AD. 1
After the martrydom of Syed Ahmad of Bareilli, the revolutionary
organisation got a setback, as unfortunately, it split between Shah
lshaq who wanted to continue the war against British and Maulana
Wilayat Ali Sadiqpuri (Patna) who wanted to fight against the
forces of Raja Ranjit Singh who were commiting astrocities on the
Muslim populace of the region. Nevertheless, Haji lmdadullah, the
successor of Shah Muhammad lshaqe, as the head of the
organisation, continued his fight against the British with the
assistance of his close friends like Maulana Abdul Ghani, Maulana
1. Ibid, see for detail PP 132-141
69
Muhammad Yaqoob, Maulana Muhammad Qasim and Maulana
Rasheed Ahmed of Gangoh, under whose headship, the first War
of Independence (1857 AD) was fought tooth and nail. The
graduates of madrasa Rahimya were deployed at all the critical
points in the Capital and outside the Capital. Haji Sb. himself along
with his afore-mentioned colleagues showed his bravery and
invincible chivalry at the battle field of Shamli near present
Saharanpur. It will not be out of place to say that 185 7 has
witnessed the martrydom of a huge number of ulemas alone, not
to speak of the Muslim Community, unfortunately their sacrifices
were put to the biased mentality of the Indian history, and their
rewards have been burried in official files which gather dust. 1
To ponder over the critical and Chaotic situation in India after
1857 all the leaders of the organisation assembled at Hejaz, (KSA).
After a long speculation and hectic deliberations, it was decided
on the instance of Haji lmdadullah that the way Shah Waliullah
started anti-British movement through his Madrasa Rahimya and
supporting organisation "Central Committee" to propagate his views
and ideas, a new madrasa should be established at a distant
place, inaccessible to the British to continue the liberation spirit,
to counter the socio-cultural impact of the British to continue the
liberation spirit, and to enhance the morale of the Muslims who
have been badly affected in 1857. To execute the resolution
1. Ibid, see for detail PP. 143-152
70
passed in Hejaz, Maulana Qasim of Nanauta (a village in Saharanpur
District) was appointed as the successor of Haji lmdadullah in the
organisation, but in the critical atmosphere of post 1857, when
the Muslims had been hiding themselves from one place to another
due to the British terror unleashed on them it was not an easy
task. Secondly, the emergence of a pro-British class among the
Muslims under the leadership of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, without
suspecting his intention to the betterment of the Muslim
Community, made it an uphill task. Against the storm of opposition
Maulana Muhammad Oasim, with the help of Maulana Rasheed
Ahmad of Gangoh, Maulana Mahtab Ali and Maulana Zulfiqar Ali
of Deoband, laid the foundation of Darul ulum at Deoband in
1867, just after ten years of first war of independence. 1
The aims and objectives of Darul ulum in the words of Z.A.
Desai are as under: 2
(i) To provide the Indian Muslims with direct access to the
original sources of Islamic learning.
(ii) To Produce learned men with missionary zeal and to work
among Muslim masses to create a truly religious awakening towards
original Islam, riding the prevalent one in India of innovation and
unorthodox practices, observations and beliefs that have crept into it.
1. Ibid, Seefordetail PP. 152-156
2. Centres of Islamic learning P.22
71
(iii) To impart instructions in original Islam.
Ratan Lal Bansal, Firozabadi, however, put the a1ms and
objectives of Darul ulum in a different way. According to him
Darul ulum was founded to achieve the following targets.: 1_
(i) Pronouncement of truth with the freedom of expression
without any greed for gold medal or concessions from the well
off persons.
(ii) Strenghtening the ties with the Muslims masses to create
a discipline among them so that they can stick to their faith and
beliefs.
Apart from above motives, I have other points too in my mind.
To me, in addition to the above aims, Darul ulum aimed at the
following objectives ...
(i) To counter the British sponsored Christian missionary
propaganda against l_slam and to give them crushing reply through
debates and discussions (Munazarah & Mabahatha)
(ii) To produce a group of Mujahids who can sacrifice their lives
at the altar of nation as well as religion.
Dr. Z.A. Desai says, "To achieve the above goals, Darul ulum
combined the characteristics of three different branches of religious
education which were earlier emphasized at three different centres:
1. Jiddo-Jehad-e-Azadi P. 158
72
Exegesis and tradition at Delhi, Islamic Law (Fiqh) at Firangi
Mahal (Lucknow) and scholastic philosophy and Philosophy at
Khairabad. Apart from bringing about specialised teaching of these . important branches in one place, the main emphasis in Darul ulum
is on traditions established by the Delhi school of traditionists
founded by Shah Waliullah. " 1
Moreover, Maulana Oasim being despicably called Wahabi,
reactionary, conservative, status-quoist, anti-national and anti
British by his own community as well as others, remained stick to
his principles. On the invitation by Sir Syed to join hands with
him and to say good bye to the British animosity, he did not
budge even an inch. The correspondence between the two is
wei-recorded in a famous book "Tasfiyatul Aqaid".
Rasheed Ahmed of Gangoh wanted to convert Deoband into a
cantonment of freedom fighters. Once he said that it is needless
to teach philosophy at Deoband because our immediate aim is to
train soldiers not to produce Ulemas. Hence, only those disciplines
should be taught Which could foster love for nation, Religion and
character building. 2
When Sir Syed established "Anjuman-i-lslam" to check the
increasing popularity of congress among the Muslims and invited
them to join Anjuman, Maulana Rasheed Ahmed vehemently
1. Centres of Islamic Learning PP 21-22
2. Jiddo Jehad-e-Azadi P. 165
73
opposed the move and appealed to the Muslims to join congress.
It does not mean that Maulana was pro-congress and anti-Anjuman.
It simply means that he was against the British and pro-India. At
that time, the congress started asking for a kind of autonomy for
India, while Sir Syed was inclined to favour the British, of course,
for obvious reasons.
When Maulana Saduddin Kashmiri and Maulana Amanullah asked
Maulana Rasheed Ahmad about the status of India, he said that
India was Darul Harab. To have a clear cut picture, I would like
to give here under the translation of his text in Persian:
"See the condition of the country and the high-handedness of
the Christian infidel laws, if an ordinary collector bans the collective
prayer in the mosque none ... rich or poor can venture to perform
prayers at the mosque." 1
He further elaborates his religious decree with the addition of
the following text:
"The power of the infidels nevertheless has reached a point
beyonq which one can never imagine in Darul Harb. The Muslims
can't perform their religious duties without the permission of the
infidels. The Muslims are the most discriminated lot. " 2
In the light of the foregone paragraphs, one can evaluate the
1. Ibid P. 167
2. Ibid P. 167
74
revolutionary spirit of Darul ulum under the patronage of Haji
Rasheed Ahmed. He pronounced these words at the time when
the concept of Swaraj was a dream and the capital punishment
was meted out to those whose writings or speeches smacked
national feelings.
With the appointment of Maulana Mahmudul Hasan, the first
graduate of Darul ulum, as patron of the organisation, freedom
struggle has been reactivated through different channels. Maulana,
popularly known as "Shaikhul Hind" since the day one, tried to
co-ordinate the revolutionary activities of different associations,
organisations and groups involved in this process. He sought the
help of "Jamiyat Siyasia" (Political Association) run by Shahzada
Nasrullah Khan in Afghanistan. Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi, the
new convert Muslim and the obedient disciple of Shaikhul Hind
founded Jamiatul Ansar (The Association of the helpers) and a
madrasa named "Nazzaratul Maarif" in Delhi, with the assistance
of Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari and Hakim Ajmal Khan in 191 0 AD
at the instance of his Shaikh. 1
Just after 14 years, in 1919 AD the first World War broke out
in Europe. Its flames engulfed the whole world. The Whole World
was divided into two blocks - Triple Alliance and Triple Entante.
It was the golden opportunity for Indian to liberate itself from the
bloody claws of the British-Shaikhul Hind and chalked out the
1. Ibid PP. 169-172
75
whole scheme and wanted to capitalise the situation. In this
move, he was opposed by his own community. Maulvi Abdul
Haque Haqqani along with other Maulvis legalised the British
Colonisation in India. Heedless to the response of these kinds of
Maulvis, Shaikhul Hind paid attention to the frontier where a
section of the followers of Syed Ahmad Barailvi was already
active and Afghanistan where a puppet Govt of Amir Habibullah
was in power, but Amanullah Khan, one of the members of the
royal family was busy in digging the grave for the British power.
Shaikhul Hind made a collaboration with Haji Fazl-e-Wahid,
popularly known as "Haji Tarang Zai" for his domicile at Tarang
Zai (a village in frontier), the pioneer of liberation movement in
frontier, who brought Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, popularly known
as "Sarhadi Gandhi" in politics as his successor, and Amanullah
Khan in Afghanistan. After enacting this military strategy, he
went to Mecca along with his disciple Maulvi Muhhamad Mian
Mansur Ansari where he met Ghalib Pasha, the Turkish Governor
of Hijaz, Anwar Pasha, the Turkish defence minister and Jamal
Pasha a commanding officer. Ghalib Pasha assured his help and
gave letters addressed to the Amirs of frontier and Afghanistan.
The letter is known as "Ghalib Namah" in the Indian history and
was sent to the addressee by Maulvi Muhammad Mian who met
there Maulana Ubaidullagh Sindhi who was already there for this
purpose for long. Moreover, they established an interim Govt
over there with Mahendra Pratap as its President, though the
76
Govt could not last for a long time because Afghanistan got its
independence from colonial Britain. 1
Nevertheless, one should not forget, heedless to the success
and failure, that Shaikhul Hind fought till his last breath for the
liberation of the country from Darul Ulum only. Thus, one can not
say that the liberation of nation was not one of the prime motive
of Darul Ulum during freedom struggle.
The motive of independence was not confined to Darul-ulum,
but it was shared by other madrasas founded after Madrasa
Rahimya till the final blow of the British on the Indian soil.
For instance, Haji, Fazl-e-Wahid about whom we have discussed
in the foregone paragraphs founded many madrasas in the frontier
which were apparently the seats of learning like Darul ulum and
others but they were main centres to disseminate the message of
independence. Nadwatul Maarif, a madrasa in Delhi, founded by
Maulana Ubaidullh Sindhi, was also running for the same purpose.
1. Ibid PP. 173-189
77
IV
With the partition of the Country in 194 7, the well-to-do sections
of the Muslims migrated to Pakistan while the poor & backward,
the downtrodden Muslims remained in India. Understandably the
condition of madrasa also started declining because their fate
was linked to the fate of the Muslims. With the sudden socio
political developments in the immediate post-independent India,
all the hopes and aspirations of the Muslim Community were
belied. The Britishers left India but their nightmare remained in full
spirit. All the voices of communal harmony which were sounding
in the air of Pre-Independent India disappeared with the wink of
an eye. The life and property of the Muslims were put at stake.
In the field of economic benefits they were left high and dry. And
finally they became insecured. Highlighting the problems of Muslim
education Kuldeep Kaur says:
"Between 1940 and 1950, emerged the problem of language
of instruction as source of division between Hindus and Muslims.
As various Government schools adopted Hindi as medium of
instruction, so the Muslims felt threatened as they identified
themselves with Urdu. The Muslim children had no alternative but
to learn through the Hindi Medium. Muslims all over the country
perceived a grave threat to their identity. That was the reason
that many Muslim parents withdrew their children from Govt
Schools and started sending them to the madrasa, where they
78
could easily learn Urdu as well as Arabic and could keep in touch
with their tradition." 1
Apart from the issue of Urdu, this is also but the fact that
each and every community is running its own schools and colleges
with its own particular ideology, for example DAV, Khalsa Schools
and Colleges, Christian Public Schools/ Colleges and others, but
the Muslim have no school/College of this kind. Furthermore, in
Govt. schools, the culture of Hinduism is imposed on each and
every student indiscriminately. Surprisingly enough, in the name
of Indian national heritage, Hindu culture and civilization are
indoctrinated in the immature minds of the pupils. Hindu mythology
is being taught as an integral part of the curriculum. The paragraphs
of the text book, particularly history are biased and governed by
sub-conscious notions. The current controversy of Saraswati
Vandana and Vande Matram can be assessed in this light. The
introduction of Sanskrit in all the schools of Uttar Pradesh as
compulsory subjects points to the ill designs of the Govt.
In the given situation, the multiplication of madrasas in India is
all but natural, that too without Govt's aid, because Govt-aided
madrasas in any state ceased to be considered as madrasas by
the Muslims. With the changing scenario, the aims and objectives
of madrasas can't remain unchanged and untouched; the insecurity
of the Muslims on all fronts compelled the Muslim intelligentsia to
1. Madrasa education in India P. 203
79
take up the issue and find a way out to the problems faced by
the community. Thus, with all their differences on many points
they agree on the widening of madrasas network throughout the
country for the following reasons:
Preservation of Islamic Identity : The way Muslim identity was
threatened by the Christian Missionary under the colonial India it
is being threatened now through a well planned scheme operated
not only by rightist reactionary forces but also by seudo secularists.
Thus, apart from the aims and objectives of madrasas mentioned
above, this has also become a prime invisible aim of madrasa
education due to the suspicious nature of successive Indian Govts.
On the other hand, the traditional schools of Hindus (Pathshalas)
Buddhists (Viharas) and Jainies have either become extinct or
marginalised. Why is it so that the number of madrasas is increasing
day by day? The answer is linked to the Govt's policy in
independent India. Had the insecurity feeling which the Muslims
had been suffering from for a long time, been wiped out, they
would have rushed towards the new education policy introduced
by the British, because they would have conceived that this new
education policy will have to be the order of the age willy nilly.
Contrary to their breathren, the Muslims had been expecting a
miracle till the final decline of Mughal Empire. Thanks to Sir Syed
who could realise the need of the hour well before other intellectuals
of the Muslim Community could.
80