Education Under the Khilafah: Raising Future Visionaries

While the seed of Islam – love and obedience to Allah (swt) and His Rasool (saw)-is first planted and nurtured in the child’s home with his or her parents, in the mosques, and any part of society which the young child is a part of it is further nourished until matured through their years in school, university and beyond. The education of Muslims is one of the cornerstones of the Khilafah (Caliphate) State because it is through the education system that the Islamic identity is further cultured by the state’s education policies. One of the key concepts that will be inculcated into the young students is that being Muslim requires us to strive to be servants of Allah (swt), rather than slaves to our desires. It is not enough to call oneself a Muslim and follow a few Islamic obligations. This requires children to understand their purpose in life–to worship Allah (swt). So that children will comprehend this completely, the education curriculum will ensure to convey accurately what ‘worshipping Allah (swt)’ actually means–submitting in obedience to His (swt)’s every command and basing each one of our actions, viewpoints, and judgements upon His (swt)’s laws and limits alone. This should be the vision that we present to our children as the ultimate goal in life. Seeking and gaining knowledge will then become part and parcel of the daily life of Muslims facilitated by the State.

Islam promotes a clear understanding that seeking knowledge is an act of worship that will raise your rank in this life and the hereafter. Allah (swt) says,

[أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ آنَاء اللَّيْلِ سَاجِدًا وَقَائِمًا يَحْذَرُ الْآخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُو رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِ قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ إِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَّرُ أُوْلُوا الْأَلْبَابِ]

“Is one who is devoutly obedient during periods of the night, prostrating and standing [in prayer], fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, [like one who does not]? Say, "Are those who know equal to those who do not know?" Only they will remember [who are] people of understanding.” [TMQ: Surah Az-Zumar:9].

The Prophet Muhammed (saw) said,

«وَمَنْ سَلَكَ طَرِيقًا يَلْتَمِسُ فِيهِ عِلْمًا سَهَّلَ اللَّهُ لَهُ بِهِ طَرِيقًا إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ»

“Allah makes the way to Jannah easy for him who treads the path in search of knowledge.” (Reported by Muslim)

This understanding of success motivated Muslim rulers to promote widespread literacy so people could read, understand, and follow the Quran and Sunnah. The first Islamic state in Madinah began a tradition of public education at the Prophet’s Mosque where both young and old learned together. The mosque also served as a social center for the Muslim community. In fact, after the Battle of Badr, the Prophet (saw) allowed prisoners of war from Mecca, who were literate, to ransom themselves by teaching a number of Muslims in Madinah how to read. This highlights the importance of literacy and education in Islam. Reading and understanding the Quran and the world around us, truly enables the believer to develop taqwa and a practical and beneficial understanding of the world via the lens of Islam. Allah (swt) says,

[وَمِنَ النَّاسِ وَالدَّوَابِّ وَالْأَنْعَامِ مُخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوَانُهُ كَذَٰلِكَ ۗ إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ غَفُورٌ]

“Just as people, living beings, and cattle are of various colours as well. Of all of Allah’s servants, only the knowledgeable ˹of His might˺ are ˹truly˺ in awe of Him. Allah is indeed Almighty, All-Forgiving.” [TMQ-Surah al Fatir:28].

And of course, this path is taken to the next level via the education system of Islam.

The people of the Ummah are shaped by one shared culture that brings them together and makes them different from other nations. This culture is based on the Ummah’s core belief– the Islamic aqeedah–and the rules, solutions, and systems that come from that belief. It also includes the knowledge and sciences built upon it, which are, but not limited to, the science of tawheed, fiqh, usul, Quran tafseer, hadith, Arabic language, history of Islam, and the empirical sciences. The Ummah’s culture creates the character of its individuals. It molds the individual’s intellect and his or her method of judging things, statements and actions just as it molds his inclinations, thereby influencing his or her mentality, disposition (nafsiyyah) and behavior.

The State's education system will seek to lead the world and genuinely serve its people and humanity. It will seek to build an abundance of well-trained and well-paid teachers and lecturers, as well as fully-equipped, state of the art schools, colleges, universities, research centres, libraries, laboratories, observatories and much more, using the wealth of its Bayt-al-Mal (State Treasury). One of the goals is to strengthen the Islamic personality of higher education students to make them leaders and visionaries who guard and serve the Ummah’s vital issues. It will seek to produce teams able to take care of the Ummah’s essential interests such as securing sufficient and quality food, water, housing, security and healthcare for the people, as well as to produce sufficient doctors, engineers, teachers, scientists, nurses, translators, etc., to take care of the affairs of the Ummah.

It is via this education system, that enabled the Islamic Ummah to give birth to extraordinary leaders and visionaries in politics, ruling and jihad such as Abu Bakr (ra), Khalid bin Walid (r), and Salahuddin, as well as, raised extraordinary scholars in fiqh and sciences such as Nafisa bint Hassan, Ash-Shafi’i, Al-Bukhari, Al-Khawarizmi and Al-Haytham, Amrah bint Abd al-Rahman, and Fatima al Fihri. The purpose of teaching this knowledge in school is to develop the Islamic student’s personality and prepare him or her for practical life or higher education, so that he or she becomes a capable individual who helps raise the Ummah’s intellectual and scientific level and enables it to lead the world once again.

For a more detailed look into the Khilafah states education policy, please visit https://www.hizb-ut-tahrir.org to download the booklet, Foundations of the Education Curriculum in the Khilafah State.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Sarah Mohammed – America

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