4. PARENTS and CHILDREN

Relationship between the Generations

 

From the scientific point of view the purpose of life is reproduction since many of its characteristics can be explained by this. But some of its characteristics can also be explained by the urge for self-preservation and also for evolution. Reproduction does, for instance, require the kind of hierarchies into which some animals are organised where only the dominant pair are allowed to reproduce, and that there is learning, growth and expansion. Reproduction is the method by which Life overcomes the death of the individual. Permanence or conservation of life could, of course, have been achieved if there was no death and no reproduction. The one is connected with the other. The idea that adaptation and evolution are due to accidents or mistakes in the copying of genes must be rejected on the grounds that there are causes, both environmental and inherent, for these changes and these are inevitable. We would not have been here if it were otherwise.

What is the purpose of reproduction, we may ask, and how does it come about? Clearly, it could not have come about if there was no process of evolution in the world. There are at least three causes:- The fact that there are constant radiations coming from the rest of the cosmos which cause mutations; the fact that reproduction also leads to multiplication which continually changes the conditions of life and creates competition for resources; the fact that experience is transmitted and accumulates down the generations. Evolution took place ever since the Universe was created in the Big Bang and continues to expand. The phenomena of growth, emergent order and the striving in the organism to accumulate experiences and to extend its capabilities are explicable by an urge to evolve. In particular, there is no purely self-preservative or reproductive explanation for the great potentialities of the human brain of which only a fraction is needed for the normal business of living. The cycle of birth and death has the function not only of perpetuating life, but also of facilitating adaptation to changing environments.

Thus, the procreation, welfare and development of children becomes a primary concern. Indeed, there would be little value in a religion or any other cultural achievement if it were to end with the present generation. However, though individuals die, the society, species or race continues. Therefore, the concern with children is identical with concern for the human race. In so far as any particular race is also a transitory phenomena in a still greater context, this concern becomes much more universal. It clearly transcends self-centred aims, and these impersonal aims become linked with personal aims only through the forces which link parents and children.

It may be argued that Islam is concerned with the spiritual growth of the individual rather than with social progress or the physical evolution of humanity. But these three are inter-dependent, and the Quran certainly refers to them all. It regards humanity as one (4:1). It points to the destruction of civilisations (36:31), the growth of human souls (3:164) as well as to the possibility of man being replaced by some other creature (35:16). The progress of man is limited by his inherent abilities and vice versa, and the both are limited by his efforts and value systems, and vice versa. It does not, therefore, matter which of these views is taken.

The duty of the parents and children to each other flow from these facts. The duties of the parent are to prepare the children for life as understood by these functions, and that of the children is to honour their parents through the same functions.

The purpose of life, and therefore of education, is spiritual development. These two are identical. This purpose can be defined as the goal that the individual should become an independent autonomic self-regulated integrated individual, controlled only by the spirit within as a Vicegerent obedient only to Allah and free from all other things, having the creativity, initiative, responsibility and the powers that derived from Allah.

Three interdependent things are necessary for life:- (a) knowledge (outer material, inner psychological as well as interactive or social), (b) motivations (purposes, directions and goals) and (c) abilities to manipulate and apply it. These are interdependent and must be correct and appropriate and co-ordinated. Knowledge by itself is useless if it cannot be applied correctly and the motives are incorrect. Good motives are also futile without knowledge and ability, and great ability and power is dangerous without good motives and appropriate knowledge. Knowledge, therefore, means Wisdom rather than mere information, and motives mean Love and ability means Co-ordination and self-control. However, a great number of other physical, social and psychological conditions are required to achieve these results.

 

The Quran and the Hadith do not appear, on the surface, to have a great amount to say about the relationship between the parents and children, But the general principles can be derived from the following important points:-

(a) The Quran reiterates on several occasions the stages in the development of human beings. The purpose of this seems to be to show that life is not static, and not even merely dynamic but has a third dimension, namely development. It shows also that the condition of the person at each stage follows from that which has been laid down in previous stages.

(b) The need to instruct children in the principles of religion to enable them to live a good and purposeful life.

(c) As Islam is a teaching about the principles of life in general, it applies to both adults and children.

(d) The importance given to marriage.

(e) The function of the Quran itself is an educational one. Much can be learnt from its structure and the methods it employs.

(f) The Prophet is reported to have said:-

“Every person is born a Muslim, but it is his parents (or the society) which makes him into something else.”

The implication of this is that we may distinguish between two parts in the human constitution - that which is inherent and that which is acquired through training. The word “Muslim” refers to one who behaves according to his inherent nature which was made perfect. The education of children, therefore, should be such that it does not go against their inherent nature.

“Surely, We have created man in the best of moulds. Then We reduced him to the lowest of the low; save those who believe and act right; for theirs is a reward unfailing.” 95:4-6

“Then set your purpose for religion as a man upright by nature - the nature made by Allah in which He has made men; there is no altering (the laws of) Allah's creation; that is the right religion, but most people do not know -  turning to Him only, and be careful of your duty to Him and keep up prayer and be not of those who ascribe partners to Him (polytheists), of those who split their religion and became schismatic, every sect rejoicing in its own tenets.” 30:30-32

It is, however, observable that the behaviour of children is not virtuous. They are often very selfish, greedy, stupid, aggressive, quarrelsome, thoughtless and cruel. How are we to understand this contradiction? The solution to this lies in the recognition of the natural stages of development. Human development is said to take place through the same stages as those undergone by the whole of humanity, as, in the embryonic stage, it undergoes the stages similar to those undergone by the whole biosphere. Perfection lies in the potentialities.

The defective condition of the human beings is due to defective education, learning and training. Children learn not merely from physical, emotional and intellectual experiences provided for them, from pain and pleasure, approval and disapproval, but also from observation, trial and error, imitation of examples, and thinking. It is not merely a question of what they learn, but also how they learn, how they interpret, relate, assimilate and integrate it, the external and inner conditions in which they learn, their stage of development, and the order in which it takes place. Some things depend on other, previous conditions. Development can be arrested at various stages, channelled or distorted. It is not too difficult to see that most people suffer from one or more of these three conditions. An unbalanced, one sided development, particularly, is a sign of the specialist age. Since the parents were also subject to this distortion we must assume that this process has been taking place for many generations, each transmitting it to the next, thereby causing a cumulative effect. It is, therefore, difficult to eradicate. Indeed, those who have been conditioned by such an upbringing may not even recognise the defects. The scriptural description of the Fall and its causes may refer just to this process.

 

Defects may arise in several ways.

(a) The child is fed ideas which draw attention to certain features of experience to the exclusion of others. This affects the way experiences are interpreted and related. Prejudices may be formed in this way.

(b) Certain frameworks or models are provided which determine how experiences are organised.

(c) The relative frequencies with which certain kinds of events occur. Similar things reinforce each other while opposites cancel each other out.

(d) A child may show natural sympathy or generosity but the child may be punished for this by parents or by circumstances or inner conflicts. He may go hungry because he has given away something. Thus he associates pain with such impulses, and represses them. On the other hand reward and approval may cause him to associate pleasure with some evil action.

(e) The natural urges such as the self-preservative can be satisfied in many ways. It is, for instance, possible to satisfy hunger by different kinds of foods. Tastes can be acquired through association. Desires can be strengthened, weakened, diverted or even inverted. Training establishes the way these urges are channelled. But Intelligence can overcome these limits.

(f) A desire leads to action designed to fulfil it. The baby cries when hungry to draw the mother’s attention. The methods adopted may become a habit. The child has to learn other methods through training and these, too, may become habits, Food can be acquired by different activities, hunting, agriculture and great variety of professions. It is possible to do this also by stealing. But eventually he must learn to use his own intelligence to create appropriate methods himself to suit changing situations.

(g) Frustration of a desire creates aggression towards the source of the obstruction, the purpose of which is to get rid of the obstruction. But this depends on how the situation is interpreted. The aggression may be wrongly directed. The purpose of aggression is to solve the problem created by the opposition, but this problem may not be solved correctly and the aggression turns into hate. It may be turned inwards to the person himself.

(h) Thinking depends on the ability to analyse, perceive relationships, and synthesise data into concepts, on the ability to differentiate and discriminate. This in turn depends on how wide the experience is, how observant a person is, how conscious and how well the data of experience has been compared, processed, and integrated. Children are naturally curious and are constantly experimenting, testing and questioning, but this is often suppressed by parents.

(i) Consciousness can become disintegrated into several compartments each containing a complex of memories and behaviour patterns when contradictions are not solved. Strong desires and emotions caused by traumas may act as a binding force for a number of experiential data to form fixations. This is like over-sensitizing and activating a part of the mind while other parts are less active. In the presence of the brilliance of the sun we cannot see the stars. Interpretation of later experiences is now done by these centre. They attract other data to strengthen them even further. The ego, the ideas of self, is like this. Parents often cultivate egos of various types in their children. These fixations may be of various strengths and limit consciousness to various degrees. Traumas are often caused by either strengthening desires and sensitivities too much, by shock or by ignoring the child’s natural sensitivities.

(j) The greatest cause of malfunctions is escape or repression of memories and problems into the unconscious mind, or the withdrawal of consciousness. Obviously, problems so repressed cannot be solved and become a permanent feature, and experiences become unavailable for use. This takes place when it becomes an advantage because of its association with self-preservation.

We have a self-perpetuating condition. The present generation is malfunctioning because it has been formed by a malfunctioning previous generation which itself has been formed by the previous malfunctioning generation. That is why human beings remain primitive, immature and barbaric. Development comes about only very slowly mainly because of the introduction of developmental forces through the Messengers and other enlightened souls. It takes knowledge and experience, guidance, effort over time for transformation to take place. The cause of defective upbringing is therefore the fact that children are brought up by inexperienced young parents who also have other concerns such as making a living and the more experienced and presumably wiser elders, the grandparents who also have greater leisure are ignored. The upbringing and education of children ought ideally be left to the grandparents.

We notice, however, that there are three inter-dependent trends within all contemporary communities that are causing the progressive worsening of the situation:- (a) There is a tendency towards social disintegration, individualisation, destabilisation of families and the formation of what are called “Nuclear Families”. The previous “Extended Families” provided advice and help to young parents from the more experienced grandparents and other elders. (b) There is what might be called a “Youth Culture” that places value and emphasis on youthful vigour, physical strength and beauty, and ignores the elderly and their experience, skills and wisdom, depriving them of all social functions. (c) There is the erosion of sexual differences and roles which takes the mothers out of the families and homes where the development of children is best done, into the labour market. All these trends have the single cause, namely Materialism – the emphasis on material gain and the neglect of social and psychological welfare and development. Besides causing increasing psychological and social problems, this attitude has also brought increasing environmental problems, those of pollution, wastage and exhaustion of resources, disruption of the ecological system. These in turn create widespread injustice, exploitation, poverty, disease and deprivation leading to international conflicts, death and destruction. These trends must be reversed if progress is to be made.

It is necessary, therefore, to correct the way children are brought up, the educational system and, indeed, the whole cultural system which also has an educational purpose. The purpose of education should be to bring out and develop inherent potentialities, to inculcate an awareness of and empathy with, the person’s own nature, human beings and the society in general, life, nature and the totality of existence, the development of abilities in connection with all these, and correct motivations. This requires control over the culture (the ideas, attitudes, motives and stimuli which it provides) and it requires also that parents, in particular the mothers, should not only develop the same qualities, but that they should acquire an expertise in how to bring up children. All this should be understood as part of Surrender.

There are three aspects to this subject.

1. The duties of both parents and children to Allah, hence to nature or reality. This also defines their relationship to each other.

The relationship between parent and child is a permanent one. The children are the continuation of the parents genetically. Mentally, they are a product of the wider society. Spiritually they are all equally informed by the Spirit of Allah, and, therefore, independent human beings. That is, they have their own volition, intelligence and conscience. These three aspects of the human being must be respected. There is no time when a person ceases to be a son or daughter to a parent and vice versa. Or ceases to be part of society or becomes independent of Allah.

 

2. The duties of the parents towards the children. The parents are to the child representatives of Allah.

The development of mankind depends on three factors:-

(a) Genetic. Duties to the child begin even before conception.

(b) Environmental. This may be further divided into (i) upbringing (ii) education (iii) the physical, cultural and ideological environment.

(c) The personal efforts made by people to learn, to select and modify their environments.

 

The parents ought, therefore, to provide the following:-

            (a) Good genetic material.

            (b) Good material, social and psychological environments.

            (c) Prepare themselves with a good education. This includes knowledge, skills and motivation in general and in child care in particular.

 

Duties after conception, during pregnancy, should also be considered. The development of the embryo depends on the kind of foundation it receives in the womb.

(a) The good health, nutrition and physical wellbeing of the mother.

(b) The emotional and psychological condition of the mother will also affect the child, It is essential for the proper development of the child in the womb that the mother is free of tensions, anxieties and stresses and feels happy and secure. This requires a stable marriage and a good husband and wife relationship. Conditions of stress have an adverse affect, while those of love and affection encourage balanced growth. The respiration rate, the heart beat, blood pressure and so on are all affected by the moods and emotions of the mother and have their effects on the child. This depends not only on economic circumstances and education but also on the social and domestic relationship the mother has with others including the husband, It is obviously part of the duties of the husband to provide the correct psychological conditions as well as the social and economic ones. An unwanted child, perhaps because it is illegitimate, is disadvantaged from the very beginning. The philosophy or attitude to life existing within the family is also important in dealing with reactions to problems and this is formed by religion.

(c) It is possible to affect the development of the embryo through special techniques. These may work indirectly by affecting the activity of the mother’s hormones, electrical activity in the nervous system or even through some hitherto scientifically unknown psychic force. Good thoughts and intentions, not only in the mother, but among surrounding people is said to have good effects on the development of the child.

For instance speaking to the unborn child is known to be effective. It is the rhythm, intonation and other qualities of the sound which have their effects.

 

Duties after birth consist of:-     

            (a) Looking after their immediate welfare, physical, social and psychological,

            (b) Preparing them for life. The word ‘education’ should refer to this duty, and we shall use the word in this sense. It does not refer to training for a career or the restricted instructions in schools and colleges, though these are included. It also refers to the whole situation in the home and the whole of the culture.

            (c) Facilitating their continuing development by giving them the motivation, purpose, values and goals.

 

 Preparation for life requires the development of three abilities:-

(a) To relate and deal with the environment, including materials, plants and animals.

(b) To relate and deal with other human beings and the society in general.

(c) To relate and deal with their own psyche. The child must learn to deal with frustrations and disappointments and acquire control over his thoughts, emotions and actions.

 

3. The duties of the children to the parents. The children owe their being, lives and welfare to the parents, psychologically, socially and physically. Their nature is formed from the genes they inherited, but also from their experiences in the family. The son is moulded on the father and the daughter on the mother, and both on the relationship between the parents. The self image of the individual cannot be independent of how they see their parents. Respect for parents is integral to self-respect. It is also essential for willingness to learn. The frame work of reference with respect to which all experiences are interpreted and organised is provided by life in the family. The idea of God grows out of the image of the father, and vice versa. The children are required to honour and obey their parents, but the parents are required to earn this status.

 

4. The duties of the siblings to each other. Islam recognises a hierarchy within the family. The younger children are required to honour the older because of their greater experience, ability and knowledge, and the older are required to assume a certain amount of responsibility for the welfare of the younger. It is, of course, normal for the younger to look up to the older and to try to emulate them. This adds to their responsibility. As Allah, who is Truth, is supreme for Muslims, then respect must be given to people in proportion to their experience and knowledge, not for the benefit of those who are so respected but for those who give it.

 

The new born child can at first distinguish nothing. As its discrimination begins to develop it learns to distinguish between its own body and the world, between “me” and “not-me”. Later it also distinguishes between inner mental processes and its body, between “I” and “not-I”, between the subjective and objective. A third stage is also found but not often reached. Here a distinction is made between consciousness itself and thoughts or the contents of consciousness, between “Self” and “Not-self”. This usually requires religious techniques. An individual sits, as it were, within his body, and looks out on the world. In so far as he has identified himself with his Self, his body and mind are also part of the external world. He is himself the centre of the world. He creates it by the way he interprets experience. But he is controlled by, and dependant on the outer world. Learning can only take place from experience of both the outer and the inner world. It seems fairly obvious that all Selves are ultimately identical and equally the centre since discrimination applies only to the body and mind.

The world for the child is at first the family. The parent, normally the father, is the centre of control for this world. But the mother is the source of his nourishment. As the child develops he also learns to distinguish between the family or home and the Social World, and later still, the Greater World beyond. Thus the image of the parent produces two effects. On the one hand it leads to his image of himself, and on the other to an idea of God, and hence the nature of reality. The nature of self and of Reality will be seen differently according to which parent controls the family, their function and behaviour. These are inter-dependant. The image of the parent may later give way to the image of a Leader or Hero of the society or nation or even the world, e.g. the Prophet. The point to be understood here is that the experience and existence of an “I” and of the parent are fundamental facts. That is how things are. And this is what is incorporated in the notion of God with regard to reality as a whole, whether expressed or not. If reality were not thus, that is, if God did not exist, then there could be no parent or “I”, and vice versa. The experience of Self, Father, Leader and God are inter-related. The one refers to a psychological entity, the next two to the family and society, and the last refers to the universe as a whole, and not merely to its material aspect. Though God is not either male or female, the masculine pronoun ‘He’ is applied in order to establish the relationship with the Universe, which may be regarded as ‘She’. All things arise in the womb of the Universe by fertilisation and control from forces beyond it. In matriarchal societies the attitude will differ. Mother earth or nature will be regarded as more important, and life, consequently, will be more passive and instinctive. No external power which can bring about change and development will be recognised. The child will need guidance in interpreting his or her experiences.

One of worst aspects of the Industrial Revolution has been the removal of the father from the home into the factory, shop or office. The boy and girl learn only from the mother and nothing from the father, thereby becoming unbalanced. Though the child develops his or her masculine or feminine tendencies, he or she still requires guidance as to how to interpret and apply them. They learn it by observing the interactions between their parents and also by interaction with each other. This is because human behaviour does not depend only on instincts but also on experience, thought and awareness. Even among birds and animals the young have to learn from the example of the parents. It is a fact that Human beings have interests and faculties which, unlike animals, go far beyond those required for mere survival and reproduction. They also need to recognise, explain and apply.

 

The Quran speaks of the individual as having been dead before he receives life, going through different stages of development, dying and being brought to life again. It would appear that death does not mean non-existence, and that life does not only mean physical existence. This has to do with how we view Time, Space and Order. That there are different ways of seeing these is now well known. Since all things are subject to the Law of Causation, a human being can be seen as existing in a state of potentiality before his birth. He could not be born if nature did not contain suitable conditions for this happening. Suitable circumstances are being prepared before his birth.

The following stages in life can be recognised:-

1. The period before birth. A person is affected by what he inherits genetically from his ancestors and from the accumulated activities of past generations which create the present culture.

2. The period of individual life on earth. This has three periods, creating three generations. They are not only different periods of life but also different aspects of daily life:-

(a) Childhood. This is the period of learning and preparation.

(b) Adulthood. During this period the individual is occupied with the business of making a living and controlling social affairs; application of what has been learnt; meaningful interaction and cooperation in the life of the Society.

(c) Seniority. A certain amount of capital in resources and experience has accumulated. The individual should have developed the wisdom and power to control affairs and to teach what he has learnt. This period is often wasted in most cultures. Most of the elderly become redundant though the Leadership of a nation belongs to this group. The individual should by this time have developed sufficient experience, wisdom and detachment from the ordinary concerns of life to devote himself to what is beyond personal life, that is, to the higher values, to that which is Universal, to the cultural and spiritual life. This should be the truly religious stage. The education of the children and the Society should ideally be undertaken by this generation.

3. The period after death. To say that life upon earth is a period of learning and preparation for the Hereafter is also to say that within a society the present determines the future. Genetically speaking we do not die since our genes continue in our descendants. Nor do we die Socially or Culturally speaking since the effects of all our actions continue down the ages through the law of cause and effect. Spiritually speaking, all religions assure us, we also do not die. The individual is like a wave in the ocean of the collective consciousness. That which he has made of himself returns into the general store and no doubt affects the next waves. Time is but a dimension along which we travel. The past and the future are not non-existent. The discovery of permanence depends on the separation between the timeless “self” and the fleeting “not-self”.

If the human race is to continue and to develop then life must have three inter-related and equally important aspects, namely:-

1. The welfare and proper development of the children, the next generation.

2. The welfare and proper functioning of the present generation, who teach and affect the children.

3. The welfare and proper role of the senior generation.

Though the responsibility for all these belongs to each individual, there is a difference of emphasis. The welfare of the present generation is mostly the responsibility of men, and the responsibility for the next generation is mostly that of women. The senior generation has an overall responsibility.

The Islamic family has a defined structure which is not different from that taught in most religions including Christianity. The father is the leader of the family. The mother respects and obeys the father, and the children obey the mother. The younger children respect and obey the older, recognising their higher development and experience. The father also obeys the leader of the community, who obeys Allah. It is also assumed that each fulfils the responsibility which this position implies. However, the word “obedience” refers to respect and love rather than to a master/slave relationship. From a religious point of view it simply means voluntary surrender, recognition or acceptance of something. That is to say the obedience is not imposed and does not imply dictatorship or tyranny.

The relationship of the mother with the father is a personal, physical and social one, but the relationship between father and Allah is more abstract, a psychological or spiritual one, though Christianity and Islamic Sufism tend to make them identical. Allah is not a person and has no sex. Thus two different kinds of relationships are being inculcated. It is generally supposed that the notion of God is a projection into the outer world of the father-image. But it is also true to say the reverse. The father is the representative of God for the child. The world for the child is the home, while the mother’s womb is the world for the embryo. Birth projects the person from the womb world into the family world. Adulthood projects him from the family world into the social world, and death projects him into the greater world of reality. Each world is a preparation for the next.

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Education consists of the techniques for the development of:-

(a) Correct knowledge which requires the correct development and use of the faculties.

(b) Correct motivation which requires a correct set of values and purposes, and interactions.

(c) Correct skills and abilities, physical, emotional and intellectual.

 

Whereas knowledge is certainly given in schools and colleges, and training is given to develop physical, intellectual and some social and managerial skills, almost nothing is done about the cultivation of correct motives. In fact the three go together. The advance of knowledge depends on the cultivation of the correct skills of observation, experimentation, calculation and many others. It also depends on the desire to know what is true rather than the desire to prove some prejudice or serve some interest such as profit, prestige or power. Social and managerial skills are relatively rudimentary judging from the amount of social, industrial and political conflicts which exist. In particular psychological skills whereby an individual learns to deal with his own emotions and mental states and reactions have been almost thoroughly neglected or left to chance. Educational systems usually concentrate attention on that which is required for the industrial system only.

But in Islam education has a much wider meaning. It is to teach how to live in harmony and adjustment to Reality, to develop inherent potentialities and to facilitate the fulfilment, as Vicegerent, of a responsible function towards mankind, the biosphere and the planet as a whole. It means:-

1. The development of integration. This implies three inter-dependant aspects:-

            (a) That the individual is self-integrated

            (b) That he is well integrated in the society

            (c) That he is well adjusted to the environment and the cosmos.

 

2. Development of consciousness, conscience and will. Human beings have far greater abilities than those which are at present evident. Only a very small part of the brain is normally in use. It is perfectly possible to become aware of, and control, physiological functions which are unconscious and automatic at present as Yogis and others demonstrate. It may even be possible to control objects and events in the environment directly through the mind because the same forces and laws are involved. The human being is the most sensitive and versatile of all instruments which human beings have not yet learnt to know and operate. Many of the technologies, organisations and ideologies which exist today are produced because of human limitations and could become redundant or be modified if such limitations were to be removed. The main purpose of developing these faculties, however, is to enable self-realisation. A person ought to know his own nature, what his function is with respect to Reality. This alone gives meaning and purpose to all his actions. One of the great problems of the world is purposeless, futile and self-contradictory thoughts, interests and activities. It wastes an enormous amount of human energy and effort. Certainly, the ability to do anything follows from the ability to control ones own mind and body through which we affect the world.

3. Development of initiative, responsibility and creativity. These may be regarded as the divine qualities introduced into man by the Spirit of Allah which also make him into the Vicegerent. All human achievements depend on these. Creativity is much admired in the West, but responsibility is ignored and initiative is repressed by an authoritarian organisation. Irresponsible creativity is destructive.

4. The cultivation of hope, love and faith - enterprise, compassion and wisdom. To remove despair, hopelessness, depression, fear, anxiety, confusion, indecisiveness, hate, antipathy, antagonism, cruelty, indifference, callousness, selfishness, intolerance, apathy, pride, anger, vanity, greed. Nothing can be done without confidence and faith. False faith in something is also responsible for a great number of psychosomatic diseases and even death among the superstitious. Voodoo appears to work in this way. On the other hand faith can also cure diseases. The affect of the mind on the body and even the environment must not be under-estimated. Given a sufficiency of faith almost anything is possible. Love can be regarded as the capacity for interest, enthusiasm and empathy. Attention is directed and concentrated by it. It governs perception, motivation as well as action. The world we see and create, therefore, depends on it. It determines the reaction of others. Without hope nothing at all can be attempted or endured.

5. The development of character. To instil self-confidence, self-reliance, courage, endurance, stability, equanimity, determination, the ability to deal with adversity and fortune, success and failure, frustration and fulfilment, leadership and cooperation, industriousness, enthusiasm and interest, versatility, resourcefulness, purposefulness, single-mindedness, persistence, patience, straightness, tolerance, consideration and sensitivity, calmness under pressure, presence of mind in emergencies. 

6. Development of the ability to think, feel and act. This does not mean simply developing habits, but also methods of enhancing and controlling the faculties. And this must be done in three directions, towards things, people and ideas. Action, for instance, includes skills in general rather than specific skills required in the various crafts. It also includes social, managerial skills, and intellectual skills. Feelings are involved in cooperation, compromise, patience, tolerance, command and obedience. It includes certain general principles such as the avoidance of tension, cultivation of flexibility, gentleness, bending with the wind.

The ability to think does not only refer to logic, dialectics, systematics, mathematics and so on, taking into consideration the negative as well as the positive, but also to the correct assessment and interpretation of experiences, the development of personal interactions and to the performance of tasks and dealing with materials.

The training of feelings includes the development of sensitivity and appreciation, sympathy, empathy, consideration, charity, control of anger, greed, lust, laziness, pride etc, and such general principles as regarding both fortune and misfortune, pain and pleasure as opportunities to learn.

Religious education is most important in this respect. Unfortunately, religious education is thought of as merely the inculcation of certain dogmas, stories and rituals. We shall categorically deny this view of religion. Conversely, if the word religion is used in this sense then we shall deny that Islam is a religion and we will have nothing to do with it.

7. The skills and practices of living, in its psychological, social and physical aspects; the hygiene of body, mind and spirit. Life consists of three aspects:-

(a) Maintenance of life and making a living. This includes exercise, work, entertainment and rest. 

(b) Social life. This has three aspects:-

 (i) That the individual is given a correct image of himself and a sense of purpose and responsibility. The notion of vicegerency is important.

 (ii) That the relationship between the sexes is correct. Each should know his or her function with regard to the other and have proper respect for this. Marriage and family life. Sexual education, as found in the West, is inadequate as it is not within a proper context and has not been able to solve the problems of sexual malfunctions. It has encouraged immorality.

 (iii) That the individual learns correct manners, etiquette and consideration for others. This requires that a person should be aware of how he is affected by the treatment of others, how he wishes to be treated and treat others accordingly. A set of recognized rules of conduct are also required which smooth relationships, and prevent misunderstandings and conflicts.

 

(c) Higher cultural and spiritual interests. Science, Art, Philosophy. These should be comprehensively included in Religion in a unified manner.

As Islam recognises a difference of function between the sexes, coeducation is not compatible with it. But as each sex must understand and adjust to the other there cannot be an absolute distinction in their education, only a difference in emphasis. It is also well known even in the West that educational performance and achievements are much higher in single sex schools where no sexual distractions exist. Coeducational schools often lead to sexual promiscuity and illegitimate pregnancies which ruin lives. Children must, of course, learn about the opposite sex and how to adjust to them, but this takes place better in the home, specially in an extended family. However, higher education, when students are presumably more mature and have already received a good moral grounding, could be mixed.

This also provides the opportunity for contacts to make good marriages. The Universities and Colleges in the West, however, are known to be dens of sexual iniquity.            

8. The expansion of experience. This includes:-

 (a) The training of the senses.

 (b) The development of powers of observation and attention.

 (c) Increasing the amount of experience through the coordination of thinking, feeling and action. Children who are confined to schools and colleges are made to concentrate on a certain areas of experience at the expense of those experiences which they would have had had they not been confined in this way. The effect is channelling rather than expansion. Experiences should be expanded in the following fields:-

             (i) With respect to the environment and nature.

             (ii) With respect to intercourse with people.

            (iii) With respect to a person’s inner psyche.

 

9. Knowledge. This has three aspects:-

 (a) Intellectual knowledge. Knowledge of facts and their causes, inter-relationships and significance, techniques, and values. There are three kinds of knowledge.

            (i) Natural sciences,

            (ii) Histories, including current events,

            (iii) The humanities, which include art and literature, law, economics, ethics, politics, business and the various crafts and trades.

 

Knowledge should be given in a comprehensive manner to create a unitary world view. Depth and details can be progressively filled in, and specialisation should only be gradual when the ground work has been achieved in order to ensure that it is seen in its true context.

 (b) The knowledge of feelings, motives, inner states.

 (c) Physical Knowledge. Working with metals, wood and other materials. The coordination of the senses and motor abilities.

10. The development of a profession, career or calling. Here, too, a degree of versatility should be achieved. A person ought not to rely on one profession otherwise he cannot adjust to the demands of the society or to changing circumstances. A profession is not carried out in a vacuum.

            (a) It requires certain material resources.

            (b) It is carried out in a certain social context.

            (c) It takes place in a certain what might be called cosmic situation. That is, in a certain state of knowledge, and historical, political, geographical or climatic condition. It is not enough, therefore, to merely learn the skills of the trade. A person must know whether, what, how, when and where it is needed, how things are changing and so on. Many a worker does not know what is required or possible, many do not know how best to manufacture, and many a good manufacturer does not know how to sell.

 

11. The techniques of preventing disease, maintaining health and development. This includes (a) physical, mental and moral Hygiene (b) modes of social interactions (c) the spiritual techniques of religion.

12. The whole of life can be comprehended in terms of four values, namely, Ethics, Aesthetics, Science and Economics (including commerce, industry, finance, business and trades). Everything and every human action or institution, has a positive or negative value in goodness, beauty, truth or usefulness. It is necessary to cultivate the awareness of these and the ability to deal with things from all these angles.

 

Children in the developed countries learn a great amount about science and technology from comic books, children’s television programs and computers. These rather than the parents instil enthusiasm into them. They also learn a primitive and naive kind of morality from them. But apart from these they also inculcate an attitude to life and a world view. Though it has expanded their view to include the whole Universe, it is seen as a hostile place demanding violence and competition. The ambition it inculcates is for expansion and the conquest of space rather than personal development. It is, however, possible and necessary to use the same means to instil into the new generation three inter-dependant motives, namely:-

            (a) The desire to care and enhance the environment.

            (b) The desire to contribute something to the development of the society.

            (c) The desire to improve, grow and develop in every respect.

 

A distinction should be made between Knowledge, understanding and consciousness or being - Ilm-ul-Yaqin (102:5), Ain-ul-Yaqin (102:7) Haqq-ul-Yaqin (69:51). It is perfectly possible for children and adults to learn by rote without understanding what they have learnt. This, in fact, happens in the vast majority of cases. This shows itself as an inability to explain the idea in other words or to apply it. Understanding requires inner digestion, the linking of what has been learnt with all other experiences and with motives and actions, the creation of a system of which the idea forms a part. It requires insight. The next stage, as in the case of professionals, is that it becomes part of the nature of a person. It is assimilated. He can manipulate data and knows things not specifically learnt intuitively because they are consistent with the system. There are errors due to inadequate, superficial or partial experience or awareness which act as obstructions to this development. It is essential that these errors in judgement should be known and extracted by questioning in order to rectify them. If the foundations are wrong then the structure built on them will be weak, unstable and distorted. This applies to cognition as well as affect and habits of action which cooperate in every act of learning whether it be ideas, motives or behaviour. The assumption that it is possible to provide an adequate education by simply introducing ideas or skills in isolation from one another and from the education of feelings, motives and emotions is false and should be rejected.

 

Teaching must be done by

(a) Providing suitable conditions for learning, environmentally, socially and psychologically. The surroundings as well as the process of learning must be pleasant, not too strenuous or exhausting, and distractions must be minimised.

(b) There must be respect for teachers.

(c) Correct motivation and reinforcement.

(d) Verbal instruction should be given in a multiplicity of formats and associations, and accompanied with illustrations.

(e) Providing exercises and experiences. Arranging situations where principles can be applied.

(f) Personal example and demonstration.

(g) Engaging the correct faculties. You cannot learn reasoning, for instance, by rote.

(h) In terms of the temperaments, capacities and interests of the pupils. Different people need different approaches. Standardisation of an educational system is a mistake.

 

Examples are effective in accordance with the relationship between those who set them and those who learn. Antipathy or lack of respect for teacher is not conducive to learning. Examples are set by teachers, neighbours and friends, parents and the relationship between the parents, between the parents and the child, and between the children.

Children need security, love and dignity, but also discipline, standards of behaviour, and the uncertainty of change. There must be experience of both femininity, masculinity and their interaction and mutual respect, to create a balanced attitude to life. They also have to learn the distinction and application of leadership and obedience, personal relationships and impersonal ones.  

The development of individuals depends on the development of the Society. And the development of a society depends on the accumulation of experience. Experience accumulates when it can be adequately passed down from one generation to the next. And this depends on the relationship which exists between the generations. Experiences affect people according to how they are interpreted and this depends on their value systems. The accumulating experience and the value systems current in a society affect behaviour which transforms the social and material environment. These, in turn, exerts a selective pressure as to which characteristics are advantageous to a person and which are detrimental. The ability to marry and have children will be affected. Those who are better adjusted will tend to reproduce themselves while those who are not die out. Thus, the effect of education is not merely the way the material and social environments develop, but also how human beings develop.

There is, however, a negative side to this. Conditions and circumstances do change and humanity has to adapt itself to these. When certain habits of thought, feeling and behaviour become established and reinforced they prevent such adaptation. Death and birth came into the world originally precisely because of the need to adapt to changing circumstances. It would have appeared evolutionarily more reasonable that a very long living or even immortal beings should arise because their accumulating experience would have made them fitter to survive. But it is precisely because such experiences caused them to become rigidly conditioned that they could not adapt and died out. It was, therefore, a matter of good fortune for them, and the kindness and foresight of the Creator, that they were able to overcome their death through reproduction and renewal. And, indeed, this is itself a lesson to which the Quran points. We ought to undergo constant renewal and rebirth. We ought to cultivate that in ourselves which is permanent and underlies changes instead of becoming identified with that which changes. Education should be based on this principle rather than on regimentation and conditioning.

The conditioning process, however, also has value. It produces efficient and fast reactions to repeating situations and does not require great effort. It creates conditions which are permanent and secure enough to prevent back-sliding and to enable developmental activities which could not otherwise have been possible. Therefore, the creation of good habits is also important.

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Experience takes three forms, intellectual, emotional and physical. Intellectual experience mostly takes the form of knowledge. Methods have been devised to consolidate and transmit this kind of experience through the invention of language, writing and records. This takes the form of books and now also electronic devices, telephones, television, tapes and discs. Islam is the first and only religion where the written word is an integral part of Religion. The Prophet was exhorted to read and the revelations were required to be written down. Islam is, therefore, not dependant on a class of priests. The writing down of all agreements and contracts is one of the distinguishing features of Islam. However, a higher stage of development has been reached with the production of sound and visual records.

The written word allows the thoughts and experiences of even very remote people in space or time to have an effect, and it allows the diffusion, mixing, interaction, synthesis, multiplication and further development of such thoughts and experiences among a great many people. It removes the danger of forgetfulness and of corruption. But it can also transmit errors and cause the fixation of ideas. It creates the possibility of misinterpretation and misunderstanding. This is because words are ambiguous and the writer cannot know or correct how the reader will understand his words. The spoken word is always accompanied by a relevant situation, gestures, intonations and facial expressions which give the words added meaning. All these are absent in the written words. Audio and visual records overcome this, but only to a limited extent, because of the bias and selectivity of those who do the recording and those who receive it.  The Quran, however, compensates for these defects by the requirement that it should be recited with certain rhythms and under certain conditions.

While the written word has the advantage of freeing people from the prejudices and errors of their elders, the refinement of feeling and motivation cannot be transmitted by the literal word. It has to be learnt in situations where provision is made for direct experience. It takes place best in the secure and loving environment of a family. Experiments have been made in orphanages and in State run institutions under Communism and other systems to replace the family. But this has always proved a failure. Strangers cannot offer the same facilities as parents. They do not have the genetic interest and cannot devote their whole day and life to the child. Some types of literature, poetry and other forms of art do touch the feelings and conscience of people. The Quran is also one of these.

The third aspect of experience is physical skills. Whereas instructions can be transmitted by the written word, skills cannot. The guidance of a teacher who has such skills as well as the ability to teach is needed. He may be a stranger. A skill is learnt only where the appropriate talent exists, a proficient expert can be found, and personal interest and effort exist. Visual devices allow the few experts to transmit their skills much more widely than was ever possible, but this is not possible without motivation and effort of the learner, and these can be induced by a good teacher.

The existence of formal educational institutions, of schools and colleges and training centres does not guarantee that such experts will, in fact, be found there. The creation of such institutions does, however, encourage people to acquire such skills to various degrees and to offer them. Most often they are private persons who take on promising pupils. It is necessary to create an atmosphere within the Society in which there are both seekers and providers of high skills. This depends on what kind of value system is current in a society. It is unlikely to exist where people are predominantly interest in games and sport, entertainment, money making, politicking, gambling, alcohol and drugs, sexual adventures, gossip and rivalry.

 

Learning depends on self-interest, and this depends on what a person thinks the nature of his self to be. This is learnt from the context in which they see themselves existing. People do not learn things which have no significance for them. The significance to a person of a subject needs to be inculcated.

Children learn not only from instruction but also from direct experience, deliberate observation, trial and error, imitation and reasoning. All these must be catered for. The teacher must encourage the inquiring mind and induce interest and enthusiasm in the pupil, provide wide experience together with guidance in how to interpret and apply it. He must encourage questioning, provide explanations, but above all provide the pupil with ways in which he can himself arrive at the explanations and solutions to the problems. He must practice and apply it. Learning is effective only when it is incorporated into the person by dint of his own effort. Mere reading or learning by rote or imitation produces only superficial results. It is possible to learn more from failures than successes. It has to be paid for by effort and sacrifice otherwise it cannot become one’s own. And if it is not one’s own it is worthless. Merely accepting what the teacher says does not constitute such knowledge. The teacher must not be reluctant to admit that he does not know, thereby giving a false impression or inventing lies. He is human and fallible, and this is also part of the lesson. The distinctive feature of Islam is that the Prophet Muhammad was just such a teacher. He did not consider himself, did not want others to consider him, and should not be considered, to be other than human who did make mistakes.

Learning depends on the existence in the learner of sufficient humility and respect for the teacher or parent, and on the existence in the parent or teacher of sufficient love and ability. It also requires discipline. The two generally reinforce each other. Respect causes the recipient to try to live up to it, and this in turn inspires respect in the giver. It is also necessary that the parents devote sufficient time and attention to the children.

Above all teacher and parent must be examples and this requires high quality in them.

The life of a person can be divided into the following 7 inter-dependent aspects:-

(1) A career by which a person earns his living. (2) Adjustment to the Community and the human world; the ability to form and maintain good social relationships. (3) Marriage and family life (4) Parenthood. (5) The ability to adjust to the physical environment, the earth. (6) The relationship of the individual with himself; the ability to control his inner psychological life. (7) The relationship of the individual with Allah - that is, with the whole of reality in a consistent manner.

A correct educational system is one which enables a person to live in an increasingly more effective and efficient manner. It must, therefore, include all the above features.

    It is also necessary to remember that life is a unity and learning involves the whole of life. It has, therefore, three aspects:- (a) Domestic or family life. (b) Formal education in schools and colleges. (c) The whole Culture, Political and Economic conditions of the Society. The results of the efforts in only one or two of these spheres will be unpredictable and uncontrollable owing to influences from the other spheres. It is, therefore, impossible to provide good education without taking actions to provide a good private home life as well as controlling the cultural, political and economic systems.

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NOTES

 

The bringing up of children from the earliest times should include the cultivation of the following characteristics:-

Self-confidence, helpfulness, generosity, tolerance, patience, persistence, industriousness, conscientiousness, friendliness, cheerfulness, optimism, calmness, gentleness, politeness, etiquette, manners, courtesy, self-control in action, emotions and thought, consideration for others, social graces, cooperation, friendly competition, the ability to make stable relationships, responsibility for their own action, for each other and things in their care; a sense of duty, keeping trusts and promises, honesty, sincerity. ability to make and carry out commitments, discipline and self-discipline;

The ability to deal with frustrations, opposition, difficulties, challenges, temptations, inner conflicts;

The practice of self-criticism, self-confrontation; skills in solving inner and outer problems, the application of knowledge; the appreciation of correct priorities, efficiency and appropriateness, unwastefulness, frugality, economy;

Skills in communication, to speak and write fluently, clearly and appropriately, elegance in conversation, behaviour and social relationships, self-expression, articulation, to explain, question, adapt, concentrate and direct attention, ability to think, reason, calculate, apply;

To understand themselves, other people, the world they live in, awareness of their needs and functions and how to obtain them, cleanliness, neatness, physical moral and mental hygiene;

Versatility, flexibility, initiative, adaptability, non-attachment, ability to learn, empathy, exploration, curiosity, enterprise, resourcefulness, creativity;

Care and respect for person, rights, law, morality, property, resources, living things, the environment, family members and family life, parents, teachers, elders those possessing knowledge, virtue and important social functions;

High ideals, a purpose in life and good self-image as Vicegerent, self-respect, wide interests and enthusiasms, a love of knowledge, truth, virtue and beauty, excellence, a sense of order, harmony, elegance and perfection, the cultivation of the awe, wonder, mystery and reverence connected with religious experiences.

It is clear that this is a great and important task which requires expertise, devotion and a great amount of time. It should be the task of mothers to cultivate the required techniques and expertise to produce these characteristics in their children singly and in cooperation with each other and by consultation of specialist experts from among themselves.

 

Owing to social changes, particularly the employment of mothers outside the home, the bringing up of children has become a problem which has led to some intensive studies by experts. The result is that much more is known about it than was known in the past. Whereas it was left to unconscious instincts in the past, now it has to be done consciously. But not everyone can be an expert in a widening specialist subject especially when they have other careers to occupy their mind and time. Yet almost everyone has a child and there are not enough experts to deal with all the children. The tendency to leave their children to the care of experts who can only devote part of their time to the child, the great number of pupils and with whom they have no personal interest has not proved successful. It is true that they can give a more objective attention to them, but we are dealing with an area where subjectivity is also important.

It will be necessary, as part of the educational system, that the older children be instructed in the sciences and arts of bringing up children. They can also learn this in a practical way by the requirement that they deal with younger children, particularly with their younger brothers and sisters under supervision of parents and teachers. They ought to be able also to learn these skills from their parents. Experts in this field will also exist, but their task is mainly to advise parents.

 

Children also have certain requirements. They need security, love, respect, trust, incentives, stimuli, a sense of self-value, values, goals, discipline, time and attention to them and something to pay attention to, interest in them and something to interest them, occupation, approval and disapproval, support, encouragement, fun, games, happiness but also frustrations so that they can learn to deal with these and develop self-knowledge and self-control, a role model or hero whom they emulate or imitate, questioning, explanation, instruction, advice, supervision, cooperation but also opposition, competition, challenges, difficulties to overcome but not enough to discourage them, goals, opportunities, variety, growing independence, self-reliance, confidence.

Since children associate not only with their own families but also with other children and their families, it is impossible to control the development of the child unless the whole community is like minded, or a like minded one is chosen, or some control is exerted on who they and the family befriends. It is also necessary to remember that the child has an inner life. It is not merely the case that temperament is genetically determined but that experiences are processed in the mind where the self-same experiences can produce a great number of alternative results, some of them undesirable. This cannot be controlled unless the relationship between parent and child is intimate enough to produce sufficient trust so that the child will reveal what is going on in his or her mind, and the parent has sufficient interest and observational skills to notice the subtle outer behavioural manifestations of inner processes.

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Some of the major problems facing the western industrial civilizations are the mistreatment of children by parents and other adults, the rebellion of children against their parents, and the consequent delinquency, hooliganism and terrorism of modern youth. It produces much distress and unhappiness. Modern youth treats its elders with very little respect. This, in fact, means that knowledge, ability, experience and responsibility are not held in high regard, and this prevents the transfer of experience and knowledge down the generations and the continuity of tradition is impaired. There seems to be little point in propagating any religion, ideology or social movement if it is to end with the contemporary generation. Children have become indifferent to their source and disobedient to parents. This affects their self image and obstructs the emotional and moral development of the new generation. Since the new generation lacks the experience they are more liable to go astray, often causing irreversible damage to themselves. Morality and self-discipline are, therefore, declining and delinquency and crime are increasing. One of the consequences is the arising of a separate popular or Youth Culture which is rapidly replacing the older more sophisticated culture developed over a long history. It is comparatively crude and requires little self-discipline and training either to create or appreciate, and its effects are often psychologically and morally harmful. And even when not themselves harmful, they do harm by distracting and absorbing effort and attention from what is potentially beneficial. It consists of exotic and outrageous fashions in dress and hair styles, mindless orgies created by loud, rhythmic music, dancing, lighting, the use of alcohol and drugs, and free sex. Psychological energies are squandered. These conditions are affecting Muslim communities existing in the West, and will no doubt, spread throughout the Muslim world unless something positive is done, and done quickly before the damage is irreversible.

However, it has to be pointed out that:-

1. The developing child will at some time assert its independence from the parents, and the form this takes is often transitory and not harmful. They grow out of it.

2. If learning and adaptation to developing conditions are to take place then there must, inevitably, be some difference between the generations. If the older generation does not recognize this, and tries to obstruct it, then they will cause much damage or provoke the revolt of the new generation. It is a question of assessing what is and what is not beneficial or harmful.

3. The difference between the generations has become prominent mainly owing to the rapidity with which technological and organizational changes are taking place and cultural changes must keep up with these. The need for adaptation to these changes causes a difference between the two generations, as each has been conditioned by a different set of circumstances.

4. Youth has a great amount of energy and has to learn how to apply and control it. This is done through experimentation and testing. But in a profit and consumer orientated society very little is provided for youth to occupy and direct this energy. In the absence of a discipline this energy is destructive rather than constructive.

 It may be argued that the differences are not only inevitable, but also a good thing. Humanity, and indeed all life, could not adjust to changing conditions if the possibly for adaptation did not exist in the new generation. Nothing new would ever come about and evolution would be impossible. None of the religions could have made any headway either. On the other hand three counter arguments can be advanced:-

Firstly, the difference could be seen as due to the conditioning, lack of adaptability and flexibility, and failure to learn on the part of the parents. This is not inevitable.

Secondly, a large section of the new generation has not, in fact, adapted itself to the new conditions but is in revolt against it.

Thirdly, there is something corrupt and inherently unnatural about the social system established in the modern industrial nations. This has been recognized by the young, not yet having been conditioned by it. But it has conditioned the older generation away from their more natural traditions.

 

There are several factors in the modern world which militate against the proper education of children:-

1, The emancipation of women and exaggerated individualism has led to the collapse of the integrity of the family. The relationship between husband and wife is now so loose as to be almost indistinguishable from the relationship between two independent strangers. They do not feel obligations, duties and responsibilities towards each other. The children likewise are treated, and regard themselves, as independent individuals without responsibilities.

2, Since the wives also pursue an independent career and both parents go out to work, the children are partly abandoned to the educational establishments and teachers, to strangers as baby sitters, partly to their own devices and partly to the immature influence of their peers and their leaders. The parents come home tired and take little interest in the doings and progress of their children.

3, Illegitimate births and divorce has become universally acceptable. This means there are many more single parent families. Since this parent has to go out to work the children are neglected and receive little guidance. They in turn affect the children who may still belong to stable families.

4, The absence of the father implies that the sons have no role models and the daughters do not learn how to adjust to the opposite sex. Thus the new generation is also unable to form stable relationships.

5, There is much more argumentation and conflict between the parents. This makes united and consistent guidance impossible. The children are bewildered and able to play parents against each other, and parents use children against each other.

6, Discipline has been undermined because the status of the father has been reduced. The emancipated wife wants to assert herself and sets an example of disrespect for the father. And the same attitude is reinforced by television plays. The father has little control and the children have lost respect for him, Since authority was combined with love in the father, it was much more acceptable than it is now without the qualification of love and responsibility.

7, The teacher is a poor substitute for parents specially as his interest is confined to certain subjects during only a certain part of the day and he has to divide his attention between a great number of pupils in whom he has no biological or emotional interest. The schools teach only facts and skills but provide no emotional education, do not inculcate moral values or educate motives. The consequence of this is the ever widening gap between values and facts, motives and ability, being and doing.

8, The development of children is left to the increasing influence of Television, children’s magazines, video games and so on, which are created not for educational purposes but for the commercial advantages of sponsors. Children have acquired economic power and independence due to increasing prosperity. Their wants and demands create their own lucrative industries. These interests tend to be in popular music, records and associated technologies, fashion in clothing, in the opposite sex and in low quality magazines and literature. These have a greater influence on youth than the values of their parents or any serious matters such as Politics, Science, Art, Philosophy or Religion.

9, The conditions of life have weakened the parental impulses and this often leads to parental irresponsibility and cruelty to children. The State is, therefore, forced to increasingly take over responsibility for the children away from the parents. But the State can do this only through formal, impersonal and standardized laws which are quite inadequate. By the kinds of laws it passes the responsibilities and rights of parents have been eroded and particularly that of the fathers. It, therefore, creates powerlessness and irresponsibility.

10, The speed of change in the society, the environment and in knowledge has increased. The parents are no longer able to teach their children.

 

These problems cannot be counteracted without some radical changes in the social system. There are three ways of dealing with it:-

1. The responsibility is returned to the parents, individually and collectively. This means that marriages and families have to be strengthened and the time and energy devoted to money making and the profession has to be reduced. This requires a change in the industrial and economic systems. A greater sense of responsibility for the young must be inculcated which requires a change in the educational and cultural systems.

2. The responsibility is given to a class of specialist. Teachers, Youth organization and Social workers and even police are employed to do this in Western countries, but their responsibilities are very limited. These functions will have to be co-ordinated and made much more comprehensive. The removal of children from their parents care into special institutions which have the task of bringing them up has also been tried. These are like orphanages. This, however, creates uniformity and mental conditioning. Employed strangers are not emotionally involved and can give only a small part of their time to their work All institutions, in order to prevent abuse, must be run through rules. The application of rules is not flexible. It is not the same thing as the application of intelligence, reason, understanding and compassion.

3. A hierarchy should be created among children such that Adults supervise the older children, and older children supervise the younger children.

The three can be combined. In Islam it is the father who is the head of the family and the mother has the responsibility for the children. The older children have responsibility for the younger. All adults in the community have responsibility for all children. The community may also appoint special officers for Youth Affairs. Their responsibility will be to provide centers where youth may gather, where sports, games and other activities are undertaken under supervision. Children in the area should be organized into a hierarchy in which they are given special responsibilities according to their age, both at home and in the community. The planning of all housing estates, towns and cities must cater for the needs of children. They must have safe, traffic free areas where they can play, and these should be appropriately equipped. Parents will have greater control if they spend more time with their children, take greater interest in their activities, more activities are undertaken as families, the culture provides a greater variety of such activities, and the social system is designed to involve children in all its affairs, economic, political, and cultural.

Although the different stages of development must be taken into consideration children should be treated as adults rather than as babies since this is the ultimate aim. Parents ought to be able to take the children, as part of their education, with them to their places of work. This is not possible where the business is owned by others who have an exclusive interest in profits. When the businesses are owned by the workers then the case is quite different. They should be given increasing amounts of work and responsibilities for which they will be equivalently paid. Unearned Pocket money should not be allowed. Differences of opinion between parents should not be aired in front of children; there should be cooperation and consultation; discussion rather than argumentation; and there should be a strict understanding that each has the right of final decision in a different field and what that field is. Islam recognises hierarchies in the family but not dictatorship.

 

Because of their enormous influence, the contents of television programs, magazines and so on should be strictly controlled. This does not imply absolute censorship but the inculcation of social responsibility and the right and ability to select. Some things are beneficial, harmful or neutral for all, or only to children, or to certain sections of the population according to their level of understanding, interests or characters. Programs and literature may, therefore, be classified on a scale from 1 to 10, as medicines and poisons are. Special channels, sections in libraries or book shops, for instance, may still provide anything under license to those who have special needs.  

Religious education must be delivered from the earliest days by (a) instruction, (b) discussion and (c) example. Without discussion no thinking takes place and the ideas remain superficial instead of being incorporated. Without example a contradiction arises between action and thought. The purpose of the religious instruction is to (a) inculcate a system of values, (b) create a framework of reference within which experiences are interpreted and organized in a consistent manner (c) to create a sense of the sacred with respect to the universe and oneself, a worshipful attitude. These three are inter-dependent. The emphasis should be on moral motivations rather on dogma and ritual, though these two are necessary to reinforce the first. Thought, motivation and action must be coordinated.

The rearing and education of children is a specialist subject. Here only general principles can be given regarding values and goals. These are by no means exhaustive or definitive. The new parent cannot rely on his or her past experience to learn this craft because any mistake does not become obvious until much later when it is too late to make amends. The prospective parent must have learnt before hand from example, education and from the experience of others, and must have help from his or her own parents, the older generation and contemporaries. They must be aware of their own instincts and conscience without obstruction, and their intelligence must be unhampered by fixations, obsessions and phobias. They must have the guidance of a framework of reference which provides a comprehensive world outlook, correct mental orientation and a proper set of values.

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Western Education may be criticized on the grounds that it is disintegrated and compartmentalized in several ways.

1. It is separated from the processes of living. It takes place in special institutions, the schools and colleges which are kept apart from the rest of life. The daily life of the child is divided into a period which he spends in school and a period when he does everything else. The life of the individual is divided into an age where he is educated and an age when he goes to work. Life is compartmentalized. The subjects he learns in schools often have little to do with his activities outside school.

2. The educational system tends to be too formal. The subjects are seen as separate from one another. It does not inculcate a unified world view.

3. It is too rigidly structured. The pupils are required to attend each class for one year only and then graduate to the next class. This does not take into consideration the fact that individuals differ in the rate at which they can or do learn, and that the same pupil will have different rates of learning and interests at different stages of his life. The pupils are expected to conform to the system rather than the system being constructed to suit the pupils.

4. Education is separated from work and industry.

5. Education creates class division. There are those who having undergone compulsory education to a certain level, leave school and take the inferior jobs. Only a small percentage goes on to colleges and enter the higher professions. These two groups are entirely separate. There are nurses and doctors, there are engineers and mechanics, scientists and technicians and so on.

6. Religion is taught as a separate subject. It is taught in a purely theoretical manner. Religion, however, if it has any meaning should be practical, not merely in its rituals but in its morality and attitudes to life. It should be sufficiently comprehensive to include everything else.

7. The teachers and students have different aims. The teacher often has no experience in the field for which he is preparing the students.

 

An educational system based on Islamic principles, since it emphasizes unity, harmony and balance, would be quite different. Though education must obviously be graduated, the students should be required to participate in the industrial, political and social life of community as well as in its academic life from the very earliest. The students at one level should be the teachers for a lower level, and all teachers at one level should be students at a higher level. No time limit for graduation to a higher level should be necessary. Each individual could make progress according to his ability, and no distinction of professional or social class should arise. It is necessary not only to incorporate religion into education, but all other aspects of education should be regarded as part of religion. Values, morality and motivation is more important for human beings than anything else. It is this which determines not only what we do but also how we feel and think and see the world.

The problem of different religions in a multi-cultural society is not insurmountable. The morality they teach is universally the same. It is only doctrines and rituals which are different. Each religion could have its own teachers for this purpose. It should be pointed out that different people have different tastes in food, in general behaviour, in their talents and the way they think, in their personalities. These differences are regarded as quite natural and tolerable. Indeed, they are regarded as valuable since they increases the range of ability and overcomes the limits contained within the individual. It is also known that the selfsame idea can be presented in a great many different verbal forms. Let a group of people describe the same room or an event and see what you get. The same should apply to religion. Enlightenment and intelligence should overcome religious prejudices and misunderstandings.

The division which exists between education and the rest of life must be removed. This, as all other dichotomies is un-Islamic. There is no need for it to be confined within the walls of a school or college. Education has to be academic, practical as well as moral. Indeed, the cultivation of correct motivation and self-control must be considered an even greater priority than the academic and the practical on the grounds that, unless there are proper goals and purposes, knowledge and ability can be at best useless and is usually very harmful and destructive. In particular we need to know what man is and what his function in the world is, otherwise it is impossible to state that something is good or evil, worthwhile or not.

The whole life of the individual can be divided into three interacting parts:- (a) the educational (b) the professional (c) the social. Each part should be integral to the others. It should be part of his professional life to continue his education and take part in the life of the community and vice versa. It should be part of his social life to conduct his profession and education, and vice versa. It should be part of a person’s educational life to conduct his profession and take part in the social and cultural life of the community.

 

Military training should be part of the educational system. Defense is a duty for every citizen. Military training also develops self-discipline, resourcefulness, courage, endurance, hardiness, skills, initiative and cooperation. These qualities are useful in all walks of life.

Schools and Colleges should be financed and run by local communities in consultation with the teachers, rather than by individuals or States. This will ensure variety and freedom from the control and bias of central authorities as well as expertise, the teachers being specialists, not in any particular subject, but in the development and application of educational techniques. The members of the community will themselves be the teachers.

The teachers must work in cooperation with parents and the schools and colleges must work in cooperation with industry, government and all other social institutions. Part of the school activity must consist of actual work in industries and government and in other institutions so that what is taught verbally can be given some reality in actual experience. It is essential that knowledge is not merely verbal. Social interactions of all kinds, in politics, business and law, and in various Societies, not merely on playing fields, have to be cultivated.

Education must, primarily be very broad and general so that it becomes possible for the learners to see the whole of life as a unity, and see the parts in their proper place with respect to the whole. Specialization must come only much later after general education has reached a high standard. This should normally take place after maturity.

A human being learns from everything which affects him, and from his own actions and the reactions which those actions cause. This includes the whole of culture, social life and the environment in which we live. These must not remain accidental. The word education implies that the learning is done deliberately and intelligently under the correct conditions.

Thus the modification of these systems is also a concern of the educational system.

Education should have several layers, each depending not only on age but on progress and achievement at each level.

1. The first 3 to 5 years of the child are spent in the home. The foundations are laid during this period. The younger the child the more flexible he or she is and the greater the capacity for learning. The ability to learn slows down with age. The mothers could organize themselves to carry out intensive ground work. The mothers ought to have developed the knowledge and skills, the qualifications to do this. It should be part of the educational system of girls to develop such knowledge and skills.  Some women could specialize in these subjects and undertake to advise mothers in the community. They can create special centers where such work can be carried out or visit others in their homes.

2. Primary Schools. Here the structure begins to be laid on the foundations. This should last about 8 to 12 years, until the age of adolescence. The broadest possible framework is now laid down. There should be cooperation between schools and both parents. The parents, themselves, could be the teachers in the school taking certain classes occasionally in rotation.

3. Secondary schools. These should cater for another 5 to 10 years. The details are progressively filled in until the structure is complete. Specialization should begin here by increasing the emphasis on one or a group of subjects. However, it should be possible for a student to change his specialty as he begins to discover his talents and interests. Coeducation should cease. Coeducation is only possible if education is defined narrowly as instruction in some science, for instance. It is not possible if it is defined as enhancing a person’s capability of fulfilling their function and nature. Each sex has its own needs and functions.

4. Universities. These can be attended on a part time basis as part of the professional life. Full specialization can now take place. However, even now a number of other related subjects need to be studied though with a bias towards the specialty. There is no time or age limit. A person may go through a course at a pace depending on his circumstances and abilities. There may be 10 levels of qualifications. Every individual will be regarded as being at some stage in the educational ladder. That is, no one will be regarded as having finished his education and having left the University. The University is an essential aspect of the total life of the community, just as his profession and his politics are. The University will have Assessors whose job it is to keep track of the achievements of everyone and to advise them in various ways regarding both their educational and professional progress. They may advise them as to where their talents may best be used to their personal and social advantage.

One of the Specialties should be complete universality. This implies that a new subject needs to be created which abstracts all the common elements from all the other specialties, thereby creating a bridge between them all and providing a means of coordinating them. Persons with such qualifications may then be employed in the role of Coordinators.

At each stage certain Titles may be bestowed on those who pass the appropriate qualifications. All individuals will be generally known by these Titles. The qualifications required for these Titles include:-

(a) an assessment of performance over the educational period by Assessors applying impartial standards.

(b) special comprehensive examinations which will be written, oral, and practical. The element of chance must be removed by requiring that all aspects of the subject should be known, not just an arbitrary selection.

(c) the examinee will not only be required to know his subject but must also have been able to apply it in an innovative manner. He must have the ability to solve a problem. He is assessed on his capability for thinking, initiative and creativity.

(d) the examinee is assessed for his sense of social responsibility, wisdom, motivation, character, and actual achievements throughout his life.

 

The Title is not, therefore, merely an academic, but a social honour. Every person in the community will have a Title by which he can be judged. The qualifications required for such Titles must be open to discussion and determination widely to prevent the creation of self-propagating classes. Appointments and salaries will depend on Titles. So will prestige and influence. It is only necessary to ensure that this reflects and propagates the Social good.

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The future of a nation and the human race depends on the education of children. But the education of the children depends on the quality of the parents and teachers. If the parents of one generation are ignorant, they cannot educate their children. The new generation remains ignorant and cannot educate the following generation. A community is then trapped in a vicious circle. Its direction of development is also fixed. Educationally backward nations are likely to fall behind other nations to an ever increasing extent unless something is done deliberately to reverse this trend. This is because the rate in the increase of knowledge and skills is proportional to the amount which already exists. Education depends to a large extent on economic development and the resources available, and this depends on the level of education. The smaller the number of the educated the fewer are the people whom they can educate. There appear to be only three ways out of this dilemma, and they are often interdependent.

(a) Either there is a change in the environment which forces people into new modes of behaviour.

(b) Or there are social and political conditions such as the domination by other advanced cultures.

(c) Or a society contains forces which bring about changes. The capitalist system, for instance, requires scientific research and innovation. This changes ideas as well as the physical and social environment.

Usually people cannot adapt to new conditions unless they are given a system of ideas by means of which they adapt. This system of ideas must provide them with a way of seeing the world as well as guidance as to motivations and techniques for action. This is what religions do. It is also what political ideologies and leaders of thought provide. But the higher the quality of these people the less are they understood by the generality of people.. Fortunately every generation contains people of varying amounts of knowledge and ability. The ideas filter down gradually. It becomes a matter of motivation, techniques and organization that the education of the next generation is undertaken by the most able. The teacher must be able and honoured for it, and this depends on the value given to knowledge by the community in general. The greater the value given to knowledge the greater will also be the striving for knowledge and the greater the number of those who acquire it. The greater will be their educational influence. Education increases down the generations at an increasing rate. The smaller the number of the learned we start with, and the less organized it is, the less efficient the techniques, and the poorer the motivation, the longer will the spread of education take. Backward nations cannot, therefore, catch up with educationally advanced nations if all these factors are equal. They do not tend to be equal because the motivation, techniques and organization also depend on the quality of the education.

Three things can be done:-

1. A greater proportion of the resources of the community should be diverted to the education of all those who show an ability to absorb it. Such people should be sought and scholarships given to them.

2. A greater proportion of those who are educated should be diverted to the education of the young.

3. The new technologies, particularly television should be used intensively to widen the educational influence of the teachers.

 

Governments in backward countries should finance the mass production and distribution of television receivers and video players and set up Universities which broadcast teaching courses and programs and also provide suitable video tapes. Courses should be of three kinds:- (a) Some should be directed at the parents, particularly mothers, on how to bring up children and help their development and education. (b) Other courses should be directed at adults to help them in their businesses and professions, give them new ideas and help them in the running of the affairs of their communities. (c) Others should be directed at children. Courses should be well balanced in that they teach skills, knowledge as well as morality, character and ideals.

These courses should consist not merely of lectures and instructions, but also demonstrations, plays and drama. They should invite questions from viewers to be answered by experts, and arrange for televised group discussions. Education can be made entertaining, pleasurable and exciting as well as inspiring. The use of television in frivolous, useless and often psychologically and morally harmful ways should be discouraged. It can hardly be denied that this media is presently devoted in most countries mainly to games and works of fiction which appeal to the baser instincts and at best are a waste of resources. Obviously an intensive program of education is required. The best resources have to be applied to it. The most able people have to concentrate their attention to this subject. The training of teachers must be the first priority. A great proportion of these will again have to concentrate their efforts on producing even more teachers. Not only the young but also the parents have to be educated. All media of communication, radio, television, magazines and even newspapers and cinemas have to be devoted to it. The backward nations cannot afford a frivolous press.

The problem, however, is that in most poor nations the number of educated people, though small, is still larger than the number of vacancies there are for them to fill. This must also be regarded as a failure of the educational system. It creates dependant specialists. What is needed is people who possess not only practical knowledge and skills, but also enterprise, initiative and creativity and thirdly, are capable of organizing together into cooperative groups.

Though it is true that there is some inter-dependence between educational level, population level and the existing resources, so that poorly endowed lands where populations are large will find development difficult, the fact is that the ingenuity of people can find uses for materials which were not useful before and can both control and utilize populations. Thus the other two factors are largely more dependant on the first than the other way round. This is, after all, the meaning of Vicegerency. The importance of borrowing from, and investments by, foreign countries is not, therefore, as great as is supposed. Indeed, many nations who have relied on this, have found themselves trapped, enslaved and in a worse condition than before. They were paying out more than they produced or received. While other nations which pulled themselves up by their own boot straps made progress much faster.

It is not difficult for an impartial observer to determine that particularly in the Muslim countries the most urgent task for an educational system has to be an intensive program for the development and application of:-

1, A wide range of skills. This may be done best by the development of the common factors underlying skills. These can then be adapted to specific tasks.

2, Practical and comprehensive Knowledge based on the results of modern scientific and technical research.

3, The ability for rational thinking and discrimination. It should also point out areas of ignorance and uncertainty, the distinction between reality, experience and verbal formulations, and between values, meanings and facts.

4, A set of moral values and ideals to strive for. Correct motivation. interest and enthusiasm, the love of knowledge, one’s fellow human beings and nature; compassion, empathy, tolerance, charity and other positive emotions.

5. The building of character, endurance, courage, uprightness, tenacity, cooperation, qualities of leadership

6, Awareness, self-awareness, self-criticism, self-control.

7, A new spirit of faith, self-confidence, significance, purposiveness, positivity, hope and enterprise.

8, The development of a comprehensive but flexible world view which incorporates everything else in a consistent manner. A modern re-interpretation and adaptation of religion.

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There is a controversy about the physically chastisement of children. It is thought that this teaches them that violence is an acceptable method of dealing with their problems and getting their own way. In some countries it has been made illegal not only for teachers, but also for parents. The result has been that an increasing number of children have become wild, undisciplined, uneducatable, and violence against teachers and parents has become a problem. Violence which does irreparable damage to children must, of course, be prevented, but apart from the fact that it flouts the right of parents over their own children, such a law would be unwise for a number of reasons:-

1. Children will learn that violence pays only if the parents or teachers are seen to administer such punishment either to get their own way or because of frustration. They will not do so if they can see that the punishment is fair and that there are good reasons for it, these are explained to them and the punishment comes from someone who loves them and cares for them.

2. Physical punishment would be substituted with emotional or intellectual punishment which is potentially much more damaging.

3. Presumably the children or others can take their parents to court. This can hardly be to the child’s benefit. The child is also given power over the parent to provoke him and flout discipline. The foundation is then laid for social disorder, crime and moral degeneration.

4. If correct learning is to take place then children must learn from experience that certain types of behaviour have certain consequences. They are otherwise unable to adjust to life later. Physical punishment teaches this.

5. The child must be prevented from self-damaging experiences. He cannot be allowed, for instance, to learn about fire by putting his hand into it. A substitute consequence may have to be provided.

6. The development of children takes place through stages. It is not possible to reason with small children in whom reason has not developed. Learning at one stage when emotional and intellectual development has not yet taken place, takes place better by physical experiences.

7. Children must learn to endure pain and deal with it. Otherwise they will tend to escape from hardship.

8. They must also know what effects they are having on others. Everyone lives in in a community consisting of other people. They cannot always have their own way. Without this psychopathic tendencies tend to develop. The experience of frustration and how to deal with it are part of life which must be learnt if self-discipline is to develop later.

9. Children explore and test their parents to discover where the limits are. The absence of such limits produces insecurity. Children fail to respect their parents whom they can manipulate. Respect is needed if learning is to take place.

10. Violence is a fact of life. There are always people who cannot be prevented from doing evil except by the fear of physical consequences. There is crime and war. Those unused to violence are at a disadvantage in the face of those who use violence.

However, it is necessary to ensure that the punishment is not administered without at the same time providing the assurance of love. The two opposite factors must remain in balance.

 

Discipline can be induced and maintained by several methods:-

(1) By the use of approval and disapproval,

(2) By showing anger or pleasure.

(3) By offering incentives and disincentives,

(4) By providing or withdrawing of privileges,

(5) By manipulating the environment to channel energies by remove temptations while providing beneficial outlets,

(6) By creating good habits of behaviour,

(7) By the example of parents, teachers and other people in the community,

(8) By teaching through illustrating stories and reason.

(9) By discussion and explanation

(10) By making agreements, contracts and treaties.

(11) By constant repetition of an idea.

(12) By creating a liking and enthusiasm for certain things and the opposite for others,

(13) By the kind of heroes and villains which children are taught to admire or abhor.

(14) By providing experiences in which the child can learn first hand about the consequences of his action e.g. if he steals, something can be taken away from him and he may be asked how he feels about this.

(15) By confrontation with his victims.

(16) By the requirement that he makes amends for all misdemeanours.

(17) By punishments such as confinement for a period or the requirement to fulfill certain tasks.

(18) By the removal of bad influences and situations and the child from such influences, while providing situations and influences which are good.

(19) By providing the child with inner resources by which it can judge, counteract bad influences or seek good ones.

(20) By physical chastisement.

Physical punishment is only one of many methods. It’s role should not be exaggerated nor diminished. Nor should it replace other methods which may be more effective. The problem is that it is easier to punish physically, that many parents have neither time nor patience to use other methods, nor do they have the knowledge or wisdom to apply them. It is, therefore, essential that the educational system itself should include a course on parenthood.

 

The purpose of the educational system is to develop self-discipline. That is, to provide the ideas, motives and techniques by which the child will be enabled to control himself. The parents must not impose their will on them to the extent where the child’s individually and will are suppressed, nor indulge their freedom to such an extent that they ignore the desires, needs and wishes of others. As always Islam requires a balance between opposites. Islam recognizes three forms of interactions ;- (a) Obedience to authority, which is exercised on behalf of Allah. In this case this reduces to authority on behalf of the welfare of the family. (b) consultation, negotiation and agreements between the members of the family. (c) the personal responsibility of each member. Though all three operate within a family, the emphasis should gradually pass from the first to the second and then to the third as the child develops.

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To summarize:-

1. The whole of education is fully comprehended in the word Religion. This refers to reality as a whole, the nature of man, and his relationship, function and goal with respect to reality.

2. The point in having children is to educate them to a higher developmental level than the previous generation. This is because the continuation of the race has no meaning except such development.

3. The purpose of education is firstly to develop the qualities and potentialities inherent in human beings, secondly to produce the physical, social and psychological knowledge, motivation and skills required by life; and thirdly to apply these to specific or specialist careers and professions, industrial, socio-political or cultural.

4. It is necessary to create a secure solid and comprehensive foundation in order to build higher educational structures. It is necessary, therefore, to place greatest emphasis on these foundations.

5. Education is best carried out within the family where security, significance and love is provided and there is sufficient interest, effort and time for the child.

6. It is a fact that one learns more through goals, incentives, interest, demonstration, doing, applying and teaching than merely through instruction.

7. It should be part of the education of all, particularly women, to learn the skills of teaching and bringing up children. Women can specialize in various aspects of this.

8. Children should be educated from the very earliest by their parents, particularly by the mothers and cooperatively by an organization of women.

9. The educational system should be a hierarchy so that all workers are also students and those at the higher level will educate those at the lower. Thus the older children should be encouraged to educate the younger.

10. Industries should be partnerships of the workers in which the families are involved. This should allow all children to participate to various degrees in the industries and to be paid accordingly. This ensures that there is no conflict between the theory and practice, and there is coordination between the intellectual, emotional and motor faculties.

11. The industrial, social and cultural system must provide incentives for development and application and remove all obstructions. This requires unrestricted promotion through merit and the encouragement of initiative, responsibility and innovation of all.

12. The system will work only if sufficient respect is inculcated in all for knowledge, experience, ability, quality and excellence and those who have these to a greater degree. This includes the ability to earn such respect.  

All this should produce (a) a better environment, (b) a better economic, social and cultural system, and (c) better psychological and spiritual health. These things are inter-dependant and the malfunction in any of them will eventually disrupt all the others.  

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