MUSLIM PHILOSOPHERS’ PERSPECTIVE ON EDUCATION:

Muslim philosophers have made significant contributions to education. Religion is not necessarily a topic of discussion. The importance of logic, reality, free choice, sources of knowledge, and many other concepts was stressed by Muslim philosophers. Muslim thinkers have been greatly affected by both the Quran and Greek philosophy. Muslim philosophers made an effort to reconcile Islamic principles with the philosophical tenets of Greek philosophy. Muslim philosophers have generally striven to combine philosophy, science, and religion, and have defined their respective fields in ways that are deemed to be complementary rather than antagonistic to one another. Muslim philosophers made an effort to address the perennial issues in philosophy. Philosophers have always debated the nature of reality, the roles and boundaries of human reason, truth, freedom, ethics, and, ultimately, the best way to live.

IMAM GHAZALI (1058-1111)

One of the most prominent figures in Islamic thought is Abu Hamid Al-Ghazzali. He was a theologian, philosopher, scholar of law, and mystic. Imam Ghazali was an authority on Kalam al-Asy'ari and fiqh al-Syafii. He attempted to heal the rifts that existed at the time between philosophers and theologians, rationalists and traditionalists, and the Mystical and the Orthodox. His IhyaUlum al-Din, The Revival of Religious Sciences, launches an extensive search for the ideal middle ground between all of these conflicting trends. At Baghdad's University of Nidzamiyah, Imam Ghazali served as a professor. Al-educational Ghazali's philosophy is founded on the Islamic view of education, and it demonstrates Al-propensity Ghazali's for comprehending and integrating various intellectual systems. He gained notoriety as a legal, philosophical, and pedagogical thinker. According to Al-Ghazali, education should cultivate people, so they follow religious beliefs and are subsequently rewarded in the hereafter. Children pick up lessons from society and their surroundings. These factors are essential for the growth of their personalities and behaviors.

The children's families, cultures, traditions, language, and religious practises all have an impact on them. As a result, parents bear the bulk of responsibility for their children's education. On the other hand, the teachers thereafter share this duty. Al-Ghazali highlighted the value of early life experiences in developing moral character. A good upbringing will produce a good character and enable a person to lead a decent life, but a poor upbringing will ruin a child's character and make it challenging to steer them back in the right direction. So that children can be dealt with in a sound and successful manner, it is vital to understand the key features of this time.

Al-Ghazali placed a strong emphasis on early education. He emphasized that from birth, parents should be involved in their children's education. Al-Ghazali asserts that parents are responsible for their offspring. Children who are raised in a good environment with good manners will grow up to be good people.

However, if children are exposed to bad behavior and their education is neglected, they will grow up to be bad people, and their sins will be paid for by their parents and caregivers. Al Ghazali recommended parents to enroll their kids in school so they can learn the Quranic recitation, comprehend Hadith, and hear the biographies of devout people so that the kids might look up to them.

Al-Ghazali emphasized that education encompasses all facets of the student, including their religious, intellectual, physical, and moral selves. It is not just about developing or filling the mind. True education changes a learner's behavior. It helps the learner to put his or her knowledge into practice. The religious education must be the focus of the teachers. Children must also be taught everything they need to know about religious law's tenets, as well as how to follow them by abstaining from forbidden foods, stealing from others, behaving dishonorably, and other inappropriate behaviors. According to Al Ghazali, teachers should treat each student fairly and take into account their differences in skill and character. The teachers shouldn't push the students over their limits or attempt to raise their level of information above what they can comprehend.

Al-Ghazali described the following divisions of the sciences:

1. 'Nature'-based categorization:

 a. theology and religious theory, and

 b. practical (home economics, politics, and ethics);

2. Sorting objects based on their "origin":

 a. revealed sciences (exegesis, the oneness of God, conventions, ceremonies, and morality), which are taken from the prophets, and

 b. Al-Ghazali believed that the revealed and rational sciences were complementary. The rational sciences are those that result from human thought and reason (such as the natural sciences, mathematics, and theology).

3. classification based on goal or purpose

a. Transnational science (regulating human behavior and actions—the sciences of traditions and rites) and

 b. Six categories are used by Al-Ghazali to categories the philosophical disciplines: logic, mathematics, natural sciences, politics, metaphysics, and ethics.

 Al-Ghazali highlighted that education is more than just the mechanism through which the instructor disseminates information. Instead, it is a "interaction" that benefits both the teacher and the student equally; the former is rewarded for imparting knowledge, while the latter develops by learning.

Al-Ghazali also underlined the importance of the environment in which teaching occurs and the types of relationships that are necessary for it. Al-Ghazali believed that a teacher should serve as an example and a role model. The teacher should take into account all facets of the student's personality and life rather than being restricted to teaching only one subject. The pupil also has a responsibility to treat the teacher with the respect and deference due to a father figure. Al-Ghazali emphasizes that knowledge is only useful when it is put into practice and that the goal of learning should be to instill good habits rather than merely remembering facts. Al Ghazali advised teachers to wait until their students had a firm grasp of the previous subject before moving on to the next. Teachers should take into account how knowledge is connected and how its diverse branches relate to one another.

Al-Ghazali advocated early exposure to religious principles through memory, inculcation, and repetition for religious education. Understanding, justification, and deliberate practice must be done in the next level. Al-Ghazali perished at the age of 55. He is unquestionably regarded as one of the most important and insightful Islamic scholars. He had incorporated a lot of philosophical and logical ideas into the fields of fiqh and kalam. Al Munqidh min A-alal, Ihya' 'Ulum ad-Din, and Tahafut al-Falasifa are three of his most well-known works.

IBNE-KHALDUN (1332-1406 AD) :

Ibne Khaldun was the first social scientist and a historian. Three of Ibn e Khaldun's major contributions to social sciences stand out. He received his fundamental education from his father, a respected academic. He had a strong interest in law, language, poetry, grammar, and tradition. He also studied other Islamic studies as well as philosophy, theology, and logic. He memorized the Qur'an. Ibn e Khaldun was knowledgeable in the fields of philosophy, poetry, rhetoric, hadith, and nehus. Ibne Khaldun had discussed the educational process from the standpoint of societal development. He emphasized on education from a religious and ethical point of view, but at the same time he also stressed the importance of other factors. His concentration was on the education from a religious and ethical point of view, but he also stressed the sociological point of view. He presented his theory of education within the context of Islamic civilization.

The Muqaddima presents philosophy of history in a methodical manner. In addition, it includes his opinions on the government, society, and educational systems. Ibne Khuldun claimed that the capacity for thought is a special gift from God to humans. The capacity for introspective thought is where knowledge comes from. It sets man apart from other animals. There are three varieties:

Experimental intelligence: it teaches a person how to be open to other people's perspectives and how to follow social norms.

Discerning intelligence: it helps a person understand the natural order of things.

Speculative intelligence: It sheds light on the broad concept of objects existing in accordance with species, classes, and their main and secondary causes.

Ibne Khaldun placed emphasis on the need for UlumNaqliyyai-e The Quran, Quranic interpretations, tradition, jurisprudence, and speculative theology. Ibne Khaldun also placed a strong emphasis on the natural sciences and UlumAqliyyai-e philosophy. Ibne Khaldun cautions the scholar to take a closer look at the desired sciences as a whole. Ibne Khaldun thought that as humans are endowed with the capacity for reason and thought, acquiring knowledge was a natural drive. In contrast to philosophers, he thought that knowledge of reality should come through revelation rather than through intellectual effort. Therefore, for Muslims, the Quran and the prophet Muhammad are the first requirements for understanding reality (P.B.U.H). Through the study of the Quran and religious studies, Ibne Khalun hopes to solidify Muslims' belief in God.

Muslims will become aware of reality through knowledge of God and confidence in Islamic law, which will enable them to act morally and acquire good character. It was suggested by Ibne Khaldun that children shouldn't be taught complex concepts. Ibne Khaldun had highlighted that in order to help youngsters learn, the drill method and teaching aids must be used. Additionally, ideas must be introduced gradually, moving from the simpler to the more complex. Additionally, kids shouldn't be asked to do tasks that are above their capacity. Ibne Khaldun had spoken on the ideas of reinforcement, learning readiness, and motivation. . According to Ibne Khaldun, education is a social activity that comprises methods for raising children in accordance with strict laws. Ibne Khaldun combined the educational and behavioral programmed. Ibne Khaldun suggested that math instruction for kids be first. Ibne Khaldun says that training must begin with calculation since it deals with basic information and methodical justifications and develops an enlightened intellect. Additionally, calculating has a firm foundation and calls for self-control, soundness, and self-control.

 Ibne Khaldun separated the sciences into two groups:

Mental sciences: Also known as the sciences of philosophy and wisdom, they are the first disciplines that man discovered instinctively.

Secondary sciences: learned through schooling.

These were divided into four intellectual or natural sciences:

1. Logic shields the mind against error as it makes decisions based on the information that is currently known.

2. Physics is the study of fundamental substances that can be perceived by the five senses.

3. Metaphysics: This branch of knowledge focuses on spiritual and metaphysical topics.

4. Measurement consists of four distinct sciences: Mathematical sciences, geometry, arithmetic, music, and astronomy are only a few examples.

Each category of science, together with its subjects and goals, had been described by Ibne Khaldun. Education and child rearing were divided into three categories by Ibne Khaldun.

Psychological data serves as a foundation for ideas of education and learning.

Historical information reveals how education and childrearing are carried out in various nations.

Recommendations for action: These established guidelines that parents and educators ought to abide by.

The philosophy of "specialization and excellence in learning" was introduced by Ibne Khaldun. It served as the foundation for Ibne Khaldun's views on education and upbringing.

 Ibne Khaldun did not confine his realistic observations to only people; he also looked at how organizations and societies affected people psychologically. In his book, Ibne Khaldun used the phrase "first and second education." He described the first stage of learning as occurring prior to adolescence and the second stage as occurring beyond adolescence. Ibne Khaldun had outlined a number of educational tenets.

The following is a summary of a few of these:

a. In order to be effective, education should be pursued progressively.

b. It is necessary to teach various sciences at various periods.

 c. A kid who excels in one science will be able to pick up another one quickly.

d. In order to prevent youngsters from forgetting what they had learnt, the educational process should be carried out permanently and within set time frames.

e. Being strict with students would have unfavorable effects, such as lowering their motivation and promoting indolence, encouraging lying, and instilling dishonesty and wickedness.

f. People would learn more if they travelled to seek information, education, and to interact with scholars since each person would add to his or her own means of research and investigation.

g. Basic sciences like theology, physics, fiqh, hadith, shari'a, and tafsir should be studied and researched extensively.

On the other hand, supplemental courses in secondary sciences like Logic, Arabic, and Mathematics should be taken. The best education, in Ibne Khaldun's opinion, is the result of intellectual dialogue between individuals from various vocations, religions, civilizations, and social classifiable Khaldun highlighted that the primary goal of education was to give students access to the sciences that would enable them to live happy, fulfilling lives rather than to produce specialists in specific, constrained fields. Early childhood education philosophy has been offered by Ibne Khaldun. He highlighted the significance of individual diversity, practice, and observation. Ibne Khaldun held that the Quran must be taught to young children. He prohibited teachers from instructing students in tafsir, laws, and other subjects aside from recitation until the youngsters are old enough.

 Ibne Khaldun also provided strategies for instructing kids. He forbade parents or teachers from teaching children cruelly since doing so would drive them to become lazy, liars, or arrogant in an effort to disguise the reality. Children might lose their sense of humanity if such an attitude were to become ingrained. According to Ibne Khaldun, too protracted learning sessions would cause kids to forget what they had learned. Better learning could result from teaching in a short amount of time utilizing the appropriate methodology. Speaking of language, he asserted that it serves as the basis for all knowledge. Writing and reading were the foundation for language instruction before words and their meanings were connected.

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