Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!
Bi’idhnillah everyone is of good health and eeman, ameen.
Some quick questions:
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when people ask us what we hope our children would pursue as a profession (or vocation) when they grow up? Why?
Reflecting on our daily ‘school’ time with our children, what appears to be our priorities—the ‘secular’ or the ‘islamic’?
These are important questions that we need to ask ourselves as part of this privilege and responsibility of shepherding our own flocks. Whether we know it or not, our goals for our children and the values that we communicate whenever we interact with them—and especially when we are facilitating learning for them—will have a big influence on what they will in turn value and aspire to become. Remember: we are not only tasked to take care of their physical and cognitive development, but more importantly their moral, emotional and social development…all for the sake of The One Who entrusted them to us.
Going back to those questions, we might find that some of us tend to focus more on what is often called the ‘secular’—language, math, science, history…don’t worry about Arabic and Islamic studies, that can be done once a week at the nearby madrasah. Then, there are those who stress what they believe to be the ‘islamic’—we don’t need to save up for their college degree, that’s so ‘western’, anyway; Qur’an memorization is the way to go.
Are these two so distant from each other, really? Perhaps, this is the best time to review what is required of us as Muslims when it comes to acquiring knowledge.
Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “Acquire knowledge, for he who acquires it in the way of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala (swt) performs an act of piety; he who speaks of it, praises the Lord; he who seeks it, adores Allah; he who dispenses instruction in it, bestows charity; and he who imparts it to others, performs an act of devotion to Allah.” (Bukhari; Muslim)
From the above hadith, it is quite clear how important and beneficial learning and teaching is when done with the right intention; i.e, for the sake of gaining the pleasure of Allah swt. However, what types of knowledge are required of us to acquire? Is this limited to religious knowledge?
Islamic scholars have classified knowledge as fard al-ayn, or personal obligation, and fard al-kifayah, or communal obligation. Speaking of fard al-ayn, it is obligatory for each Muslim to acquire knowledge that will allow him to carry out all religious duties related to his state—most common examples of which are knowledge of prayer or salah, fasting, and zakat. If one decides to start his own business, it becomes his obligation to know the Islamic rulings on business. The same applies to all other professions. If one is to get married, then it becomes obligatory for that person to know the rulings on this matter. It should be noted that along with the requirement of acquiring knowledge on these matters is the obligation to apply them so that we can avoid what is haram and fulfil our religious duties to the best of our abilities for His sake.
As for fard al-kifayah, scholars have explained that while this primarily talks about religious knowledge that is more than what is needed for our basic individual duties (i.e, Islamic sciences), it also includes all branches of knowledge that are essential for a community’s well-being in this world—such as medicine, mathematics (e.g, engineering), language, trade or commerce and all other fields needed for the growth and preservation of the community. Acquiring knowledge under these branches is a communal obligation in that as long as there are members of the community who take on the responsibility of learning these sciences and applying them for the benefit of their community, then other members are not obliged to acquire them. An important note about this, however, is that if it is left unfulfilled, members are considered accountable for the paralysis or weakening of their community.
MashaAllah subhanAllah! How beautiful is Islam, don’t you think? Not only are we required to take care of our own selves but also to look out for one another in our communities. Just like personal obligations, these communal obligations made sense then and they definitely have become even more critical today. Imagine your own little community during this coronavirus pandemic, for example. How hard has it become to seek medical help? How important is it to have pious leaders who will not just implement the law but more importantly address the pressing needs of the very people they serve? Suddenly, we realize the importance of certain professions in our society. Who can and will continue cultivating our lands and seas? Who will ensure our rights are upheld and protected? And yes, who will explain to us that while others may not believe in wearing a mask and social distancing for everyone’s safety, it is our basic duty as a Muslim member of society to obey our scholars who’ve consulted one another and thought about the issue thoroughly before releasing rulings and guidelines that are for the best interest of the community?
So, going back…are these two—‘secular’ and ‘Islamic’—so distant from each other? I believe we can now all agree that it’s time to change how we view all these fields of study. After all,
“And whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is Allah’s; and Allah encompasses all things.” Noble Qur’an, An-Nisa (4):126
Everything is His; and if we keep this in mind coupled with the right intentions and actions, everything we learn becomes Islamic, bi’idhnillah. What we hope our children will pursue as their profession or vocation gains a deeper, a more collective, meaning. It becomes a religious responsibility. What does our community need? Who will take on the responsibility?
Reflecting even more, we also learn that for our children to develop love and eagerness to fulfil both personal and communal obligations, it takes more than just imparting and facilitating the acquisition of knowledge. We cannot talk about Allah swt and Islam as if it’s just another school subject. Our deen, after all, is not merely a component of the social-cultural. Islam encompasses all areas of our lives—physical, cognitive, moral, emotional, social. We realize that shepherding means character building. It means giving importance to core Islamic values such as piety, sincerity, patience, gratefulness, compassion, cooperation, and steadfastness on a daily basis—making them see and feel this not just during ‘school’ time, but all the time through our daily interactions.
This is the beauty of adopting an integrated Islamic approach in our children’s education: everything is connected to Him and our relationship with Him. Islamic education is not limited to Arabic and Islamic Values Education. It is reflected in every subject as they are connected to enriching our lives personally and fulfilling our obligations communally. It is training our children’s hearts to see a manifestation of His Names and Attributes as they learn about His different creations. It also means making our schedules adjust to the times of salah, for example, and not the other way around. It is training them to strive to be servant leaders starting in our very own homes and extending to our communities and societies, the way our beloved Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) did.
Shepherds, we are, mashaAllah Alhamdulillah. It may not be an easy task, but Alhamdulillah we have not been left without guidance, right? It truly is not an easy task, but bi’idhnillah it will always, always, be an opportunity to gain the pleasure of Allah swt.
Allaahumma inna nas’aluka ‘ilman naafi’an, wa rizqan tayyiban wa ‘amalan mutaqabbalan.
(Oh, Allah! We ask You for knowledge that is of benefit, provision that is good, and deeds that will be accepted.)
Ameen.