Importance Of Education

The importance of education lies primarily in the centrality that Islam accords it in the scheme of the Prophetic mission: the Prophet, blessings and peace be on him, “conveys to you His messages, he purifies and develops you, he teaches you the Law and Wisdom, he teaches you what you knew not” [Al-Qur’an 2:151].

At the core of Islamic ideals and values lie reading (iqra’), writing (qalam), educating (‘allama and ta’lim), knowledge (‘ilm) and the Book (al-kitab). All this creates the responsibility and generates the urge to learn to live as Muslims.

We often talk of Islamic education. It is important to distinguish it from teaching of Islam, for we often confuse the two. Imparting complete knowledge in an Islamic framework and developing persons who strive to live in surrender to God is Islamic education. It is something more comprehensive than mere religious instruction in the faith and practices of Islam.

While education is the key to our future, the future is inextricably linked with what our dreams are about ourselves; it will be defined by those dreams. This may sound too poetical, but only good dreams have the power to generate long-range, fruitful strategies.

I have little doubt in my mind what our dream should be: to bring to the society that we live in the peace (islam) and justice (qist) which we believe lie only in surrendering (Islam) to the One God and in following His prophets.

Our education strategy for the youth should therefore aim to make that dream come true. Put simply: while they know Islam, they also know how to understand their world in its light; while they live by Islam, they are also equipped to invite their fellow human beings to live in surrender to their Creator.

Khurram Murad (1932-1996)