What is real education?

The purpose of education is to civilize the individual. To connect the human being to his Creator, so that he recognizes Him, has a relationship with Him, strives to please Him, relies on His Mercy, and looks forward to His Forgiveness. The purpose of education is to give the child ethics, values, and morals which are timeless and fundamental and the confidence to live his life by those values. Without this it is not education. To learn a skill to make a living, no matter what that skill is, is ‘training’. Not ‘education’. They’re as different as chalk and cheese. Flying a plane, driving a 16-wheeler, designing software, operating on someone’s heart or brain, building a table, fixing an air conditioner or kitchen sink, and countless more are all essential skills. We need all of them. But they’re all training, not education. Education begins with ethics, morals, and values. That is the ‘WHY’, which drives the ‘HOW’ in the world. We must teach those who know ‘HOW’, to ask ‘WHY’, so that technology and resources are used for the right causes.

This is what Rasoolullahﷺ did in Makkah. He changed people’s thinking and decision-making criteria. When they changed their focus from this life to the Aakhira, their speech and actions changed, and society was transformed. Just ask how our society would be different if we defined economic well-being not by the number of billionaires but the absence of poverty. That is why GDP is such a misleading number. Instead, if we look at disposable household income or buying power we will get a far more accurate picture of our society. Rasoolullahﷺ gave us proof of concept. Ours to implement it.

We need education, which is relevant, current, and rooted in the foundation of Islam. Education in which those being educated are fully involved in all decision making because it is their future which is at stake. Education which prepares them for a world about which we really know nothing and so the only thing we can give them are tools and the framework of ethical and moral values to use them effectively. We must be coaches who teach them how to play the game but when they are playing, we can only watch from the sidelines and if we did a good job, then we can rejoice in seeing how well they learned the lessons and apply them to be victorious. To succeed, we need to educate ourselves and learn how to be good coaches. This is the generation gap thanks to which many parents have been reduced to being ATM machines which provide funds for what their children want to do. They can’t guide the children because they don’t understand their world, have no communication with them, and the children don’t look up to them as guides and mentors. I am not talking about showing respect. I am talking about actual respect which will make the child come to the parent as first port of call, when he/she needs guidance. Not just money.

Allahﷺ defined for us the meaning of education and the way to do it.

إِنَّ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱخْتِلَـٰفِ ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍ لِّأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَلْبَـٰبِ

ٱلَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ ٱللَّهَ قِيَـٰمًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَـٰذَا بَـٰطِلًا سُبْحَـٰنَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ

A’al Imraan 3:190-191    Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the day and night there are signs for people of intelligence. ˹They are˺ those who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth ˹and say, “Our Rabb! You did not create this in vain. Glory be to You! Protect us from the torment of the Fire.

Please note that in this Ayah, Allahﷺ described people of intelligence. He said that they are those who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth. Allahﷺ used the preposition AND. Not OR.