‘ILM to the power of two
So much has been said about the integration of knowledge. I remembered reading from Ismail Faruqi, Naquib al- attas etc… and trying to practise it while in school (with much much difficulty) and with my students (when I was teaching in PADA) and of course while doing TEENS alive.
I remembered clearly when it was first mentioned in my 1st FMSA camp… i was like.. what the heck was that??
Alhamdulillah, i have been ‘tarbiyahed’ slowly and especially today with the workshop by Bro Dawud, i found something more real and practical and foundational about integration of knowledge. The challenge now is to get back to thinking and practising it… after ‘flip-flopping’ with the concept for a few years now.
If any educators are out there reading this, i implore you to attend his workshop.. (of course when he comes here next time :))
Basically, we all know that most education systems that currently exist do not make us better human beings. And i mean better as in wholesomely better. In Singapore, we reward those ‘clever’ ones.. though they are not necessarily the kinds of human beings we would want our children to be. Everyone wished they were smarter… every parents wished their kids were smarter, just so that they could get into the universities and get better jobs, better pay and better living conditions.
In my contemplation, having to go to schools for certain businesses in my life, this is just not right. ..
I was touched when he said that the heart of the matter when we speak about education is the heart and not the mind. The heart when inspired, moves and excites the mind to find out and explore. The mind when spoonfed, breeds laziness… when praised, becomes bloated. I remind myself to put education in the proper perspective i.e. developing a wholesome person with the ‘ilm and ‘aml, to submit himself to the One God and serve his community.
With this, i think i still have a lot to educate myself!
