زويل : نحتاج لنهضة في التعليم والإعلام بدلا من التركيز على الفيديو كليب
آخر تحديث: الجمعة 23 اكتوبر 2009 11:35 ص بتوقيت القاهرة
ه للنشر - خالد موسى -
قدم الإعلامى أحمد المسلمانى فى برنامجه الطبعة الأولى من السعودية الدكتور أحمد زويل بكلية اليمامة بالرياض لإلقاء محاضرته والتى تدور حول «حالة العلم والتكنولوجيا فى العالم العربى».
وقال المسلمانى إن زويل تعدى حيثية العالم وأصبح ظاهرة، وأنه فى مجمل ظاهرة أحمد زويل كان هناك من يفهم إنجازاته ويعى إضافاته للعلم وكان هناك من يرى فى ظاهرة أحمد زويل فرصة لانطلاق الحضارة بعد أن عجزت السياسة، وكان هناك من يقدم ذلك على العاطفة الشخصية والشعور الإنسانى تجاه الدكتور زويل، وكان جليا أن يلازم الحب التقدير وأن الارتياح يلازم الاحترام.
وأكد المسلمانى خلال تقديمه لزويل أن الأخير جاء فى ميعاده نتيجة لتمتعه بمكانة استثنائية فى تاريخ العلم وحاضره ويعد إضافة نفسية لحياة العرب الذين التفوا حوله كما لم يفعلوا مع رجل بلا سلطة من قبل، وأنه جاء فى علم الكيمياء بما كان يبدو مستحيلا قبل ظهوره وحين يشير علم الكيمياء إلى رجلين كان لهما الإسهام الأكبر فى بنائه واستعلائه طيلة القرن العشرين، فليس غير لينس بولنج الحائز على جائزتى نوبل وأحمد زويل، وهو رأى جون تومس المدير السابق لمؤسسة الملكية لبريطانيا العظمى وقال فيه: «إن زويل مثل بوليج فقد منح جائزة نوبل منفردا من أجل انجاز علمى كبير وابتداعه الفمتو، وحتما سيغير فى علوم القرن الواحد والعشرين. وقال ربورت رودسكى الأستاذ فى جامعة روشستر للتكنولوجيا: «أصبح زويل كرستوفر كولمبس لعالم الفانتم»، وقال البروفيسور بينجت نوردن رئيس لجنة جائزة نوبل للكيمياء فى الأكاديمية السويدية للعلوم أن استخدام زويل لتقنية الليزر فائق السرعة فانت سكوب يمكن وضعه فى سياقه التاريخى جنبا إلى جنب مع استخدما جاليلو التلسكوب والذى صوبه شطر كل شىء مضىء فى القبة السماوية الزرقاء، أما زويل فقد صور ليزر الفمتوثانية على كل شىء يتحرك فى عالم الجزيئات.
وفى مقدمته لكتاب عصر العلم يقول الأستاذ نجيب محفوظ: «لقد أعطا لنا الدكتور زويل دروسا وآراء مفيدة فى نهضتنا نرجو أن نستفيد منها وأن تكون منارة للجميع وأنى لأتنبأ له أن يأخذ جائزة نوبل مرة أخرى فى بحثه العلمى الجديد».
وقال المسلمانى إن وجود زويل فى الرياض هو دليل على علاقة الود والدفء بين العاصمتين وفصل جديد فى الوظيفة الحضارية التى ينهض بها زويل فى العالم العربى.
وإلى نص المحاضرة التى ألقاها زويل:
إننى أعتبر هذا اليوم خاص لأنه يتم الاحتفال فيه بمناسبة ثقافية فى المملكة العربية السعودية، وكما سمعنا عن عقول مبدعة فأنا مؤمن بوجود عقول مبدعة فى العالم العربى وهم آلاف أحمد زويل. وتمثل الرياض لى معزة خاصة، حيث كان أول لقاء لى فيها عام 1989 عندما حصلت على جائزة الملك فيصل وكنت أول عربى يحصل عليها فى العلوم والطب، وكان القائمون على جائزة الملك فيصل قد رتبوا لمقابلة زوجتى وكنت أعزب وقتها وتزوجتها من عام 1989 إلى وقتنا هذا وأنا أشكر مدينة الرياض، وأنا سعيد بالمشاركة فى الوقت الذى يتم فيه تغيير كبير فى قضية التعليم واتجاه تطوير البحث العلمى وبعضكم يعلم أننى عضو المجلس الذى تكون لإنشاء الجامعة الجديدة، وهى جامعة الملك عبدالله للعلوم والتكنولوجيا.
وأنا فى اعتقادى أن هناك ثلاثة أسئلة محورية لنكون أمناء ونتفهم حالة العالم العربى، السؤال الأول أين نحن من الخريطة العالمية، والسؤال الثانى كيف يستطيع الإنسان القيام بنقلة حضارية من حالة التخلف أو حالة عدم التطور إلى حالة التطور السريع حتى على المستوى الشخصى، أما السؤال الأخير فكيف يمكن للعالم العربى والإسلامى أن يصنع التاريخ ويصنع النقلة إلى العالم المتطور.
ونحن فى محاولتنا الإجابة عن هذا الموضوع، أرجو ألا نأخذ الموضوع من ناحية التشاؤم، وأنا أقول دائما إن من يعانى من مرض السرطان لا يصلح أن تعطيه أسبرين يجب أن تحاول معالجته بطريقة علمية وآمنة، وأنا أريد توضيح الرؤيا وهى كيف نقوم بنقلة تاريخية.
وإذا نظرنا إلى الوضع الحالى فى العالم العربى وأنا مهموم بهذه القضية من 20 سنة وهى قضية التطور فى العالم العربى والإسلامى، فمن ناحية التعليم هناك بعض الدول العربية نجد أن نسبة الأمية انخفضت بس التقدير من الأمم المتحدة أن العالم العربى ككل الأمية 30% يعنى تقريبا ثلث العالم العربى، واليوم فى العالم المتقدم الأمى الآن هو الذى لا يعرف التعامل مع الكمبيوتر، وآخر إحصائية حول أفضل 300 جامعة على مستوى العالم غابت عنهم الجامعات العربية، ولا نملك فى العالم العربى مؤسسة علمية قوية مثل مؤسسة «التتنيم» بإسرائيل، وأنا مازلت أصف وضعنا على الخريطة العالمية فقد زرت كوريا وزرت معهد علمى من أعظم المعاهد العلمية المتخصصة فى «الروبتكس» وكوريا الآن دخلت العالم المتقدم، والهند أيضا بها معهد الهند التكنولوجى وهو شىء مشرف جدا.
أما بالنسبة للتنمية فى العالم العربى فالعالم يعتبر بلاد العالم العربى من أقل البلاد فى الدخل القومى للفرد، وهناك مشاركة فقيرة فى الاقتصاد العالمى، ولا أعتقد أن هناك ناتجا عربيا من السوق العالمية، فنحن نعرف بعض الماركات العالمية لكن لا نعرف شيئا من الإنتاج العربى المعروف عالميا.
وأعتقد أن وضعنا السياسى على الخريطة العالمية خفيف أو ضعيف لأن القوة هى التى تحدد وضعك السياسى، فالعواطف وغيرها لا تصلح فى العالم الذى نعيش فيه، وإذا شاهدنا الخريطة العالمية سنجد معظم المشكلات موجودة عندنا مثل الأحداث فى العراق وفى لبنان وفى السودان وغيرها.
فهل نتيجة هذه الأشياء المؤلمة لأننا عرب أو مسلمون؟، وهل هذا يدخل فى تركيبتنا كعرب وكمسلمين؟ والإجابة قطعا بالنفى، وقد كتبت مقالات فى هذا الموضوع ونشرت فى كتب وفى غيره.
وإذا حاولنا معرفة الأسباب الدقيقة لهذه المشكلات، يجب أن ننظر أولا من الناحية الجينية، الـDNA الموجود فى خلية جسد كل منا 99% من خواصه موجودة فى القردة، فليس من المعقول هذا التشابه بين الإنسان والقرد، وهذا الاختلاف الكبير بيننا كعرب وبين الغرب، والأمر الثانى الذى يثبت كلامى أنه عندما يخرج شخص عربى من هذه المنظومة، ويذهب لمنظومة واضحة ودقيقة يبدع والأمثلة كثيرة جدا.
أما بالنسبة للإسلام هناك الآلاف من المقالات فى الغرب، والتى تقول إن الإسلام رجعى وأن الإنسان لا يستطيع عن طريقه أن ينتج خاصة بعد 11 سبتمبر، وأنا كتبت مقالات كثيرة فى هذا الموضوع، وأقول إن هذا مستحيل، فلو نظرنا إلى ما فعله المسلمون منذ 1000 سنة مضت نجد أنهم المتربعون على عرش العلوم والتكنولوجيا، لكننا الآن لا نستطيع إظهار علمائنا مثل ما يفعل الغرب، ونحن لا نملك القوة الفكرية بالفعل على الرغم من امتلاكنا للكتب وللمراجع، وهناك كتب كثيرة جدا لم تصل للغرب، فهناك حسن بن الهيثم وجابر بن حيان، فالهيثم معروف بكتب الطبيعة، وعندنا أيضا ابن سينا وابن خلدون مؤسس علم الاجتماع وغيرهما، وكان الإسلام وقتها فى أوج عظمته.
وإذا نظرنا لدولة ماليزيا مثلا فكانت نسبة الفقر فيها 57% أوائل السبعينيات اليوم ماليزيا انعدم فيها الفقر تقريبا، وأصبحت من الدول المتقدمة الأولى أو الثانية، وهم أغلبهم من المسلمين 58%، والباقى صينيون وهنود وغيرهم.
وأعتقد أن ما وصلنا له الآن هو لأننا تأخرنا كثيرا فى مشكلة التعليم لأن التعليم دينامكى متغير، وليس ثابتا ويتغير مع تغير الشعوب والحضارات والصناعات والتكنولوجيا، ونحن توقفنا ولم نفهم أن التعليم الحديث يحتاج لفكر ويحتاج مراعاة الإبداع من الحضانة إلى الجامعة.
أما بالنسبة للثقافة فقد حدث ما يسمى باختلاف ثقافى لأنها لم تفرز بالطريقة، التى كان يفرز بها العالم العربى قبل ذلك. وهناك بالطبع بعض المشكلات السياسية ونحن منطقة حساسة جدا من ناحية الحروب وتعرضت لكثير من الملابسات فى نظام الحكم، والاستعمار الذى دخل مناطق الشام ومصر والعراق وغيرهم من البلاد وكلها عوامل أدت للتأخر.
وبالتالى المشكلات التى نعانى منها لا هى جينية ولا هى من الإسلام لكن لدينا مشكلات.
وسأشير إلى بعض المحطات الخاصة فى حياتى لمعرفة الطريق الصحيح. ولو كانت جائزة نوبل موجودة قبل ثلاثة آلاف سنة لكانت مصر قد حصلت على 90% لأنها كانت متقدمة فى كل المجالات.
والسؤال الآن: كيف يأتى شخص مثلى من دولة نامية وينجح فى الخارج؟، وأنا اعتقد أن أول محطة مررت بها ألا، وهى التربية والتعليم فى مصر كانت الجزء الأساسى فى تركيب شخصية أحمد زويل، فليس من السهل أن تحصل على شخصية لديها تعليم جيد ولديها مبادئ وعقيدة فمثلا مسجد عبدالرحيم الدسوقى كان بالنسبة لنا محوريا، وكنا نتلاقى فى المسجد لكى نحصل على أفضل تعليم حتى من أمام المسجد، والمسجد بالنسبة لنا لم يكن للصلاة فقط ولكن كان مهما للقاءات الفكرية والعلمية، وأتذكر هذا كما لو كان بالأمس، ففى رمضان كنا نتلاقى بعد الإفطار وإلى السحور ندرس الرياضيات وفيزياء وغيرها، وكانت هذه محطة مهمة جدا أعطته لى مصر من قيم سواء كانت أسرية أو قيما اجتماعية أو دينية، أما المحطة الثانية فكانت وقت ذهابى للولايات المتحدة وكنت قد ذهبت لها بعد أن كنت أول دفعتى، وذهبت هناك للحصول على الدكتوراه وأعود لمصر لأكون أستاذا بالجامعة، وقد أعطتنى أمريكا مناخ التفوق بمعنى أن هناك بعض الثقافات تساعد على النجاح وهناك بعض الثقافات تعطل النجاح، وهناك فى الولايات المتحدة منظومة يقومون مثل ما يقولون فى مصر بـ«غربلة» حتى يجدوا ما يريدونه ويعرفوا الجيد من المتوسط من الممتاز ولا يتبعوا مبدأ الاشتراكية فى الإبداع أو الشيوعية فى الإبداع فليس لديهم هذا الكلام.
ومناخ الإبداع معناه تعلم العلوم الحديثة بالطريقة الصحيحة فلم يكن مطلوبا منى الحفظ أو أبحاثا لكى أحصل على ترقية، فهذا كله مناخ، ولم يكن مطلوبا منى لكى أذهب لمؤتمر أن احصل على 12 إمضاء، وهذا مناخ أيضا، وإذا قمت بعمل جيد يعطونى أكثر وأشعر بأنى قمت بشىء جيد، والمكتبات تعمل والمعامل تعمل وحتى التعاون، فالكل مقتنع بالعمل الجماعى.
وأنا أتذكر لما كنت معيدا بجامعة الإسكندرية كانوا يرسلوا إلينا كيماويات باهظة الثمن، ولأننا لم يكن لدينا الكثير من النقود كنا نأخذها ونضعها فى المكاتب ونغلق عليها ونضع عليها الأقفال، وعندما ذهبت للولايات المتحدة وجدت الكثير من هذه الكيماويات فقمت بجمعهم ووضعتهم فى مكتبى وأغلقت عليهم، وكان الجميع مندهشا من فعلتى هذه، فالكل يتعاون ويستفيد من الآخر، وعملية النجاح أيضا فقبل أن يقوم شخص بإحباط آخر يجب عنه مساعدته.
أما المحطة الثالثة التى أدت لاكتشافات علمية فهى أنه لا تصدق أى أحد يقول لك «أنا عملت»، وأنا لا أقول ذلك تواضعا لأنه لو عالم حقيقى لا يقول ذلك لأنه لو عالم حقيقى يجب أن يعترف بالناس الذين عملت معه واشتغلت معه. فأنا لا أقول إننى حصلت على نوبل لأننى كنت أعمل بمفردى، فقد كنا 200 عالم حصلوا على الدكتوراه والآن فريق العمل وصل لـ300، وهذا معناه أنك لا تستطيع أن تقول إن تلك المنظومة العلمية هى التى تؤدى إلى بيئة الإبداع فأنا عملت مع مجموعة كبيرة جدا وتوافرت لنا بعض الأشياء التى نبحث فيها، والمهم أننا كانت لدينا حرية الإبداع، فنحن فى المجموعة كنا نعمل سويا، ولم يأت رئيس القسم قبل ذلك وقال لى إنه ليس لديه نقود لى أو أن ما أقوم به كلام فارغ، فحرية الإبداع التى أخذتها مع منظومة عمل جماعى هو الذى أدى إلى حصولى على جائزة نوبل، فكيف أنه فرد يستطيع العمل من منظومة لأخرى ويستطيع الحصول على شىء والعالم كله يعترف بها.
هناك ثلاثة أشياء أود طرحها، أولها هناك عوامل سياسية لا بد من تغييرها من الدستور وتطبيق القانون، فى العالم العربى كله والعالم الإسلامى، ويحتاج لنظرة جديدة وأمينة وصادقة حتى يكون مستقبل أبنائنا واضحا.
وهناك موضوع ثقافى حضارى جديد لابد من النظر إليه نظرة جديدة فى العالم العربى، ونحن نحتاج لنهضة فى التعليم ونهضة فى الإعلام، وكل التفكير فى التعليم هو كيف يتم استخدام أفضل الأشياء، التى أعطاها الخالق وهى العقل البشرى، وليس الحفظ والتلقين ودخول الامتحان ووضع كل الإجابات والانتقال للمرحلة الأخرى، فقضية التعليم قضية أمن قومى، أما بالنسبة للميديا أو الإعلام فأنا شخصيا مهتم بالفن وكوكب الشرق أم كلثوم، لكن عندما ننظر الآن فى العالم العربى نجد أن الفضائيات وصلت لـ300 أو 400 قناة مهتمة بالفيديو كليب، وأين المحطات التى تحوى مناقشات ثقافية ونحن نذهب إلى أين، وأين هذه المحطات التى تغذى العقل البشرى ولا تسطح العقل البشرى، فالإعلام يحتاج لنهضة وثورة كبيرة جدا، ونحن فى القرن الواحد والعشرين.
وأنا أعتقد أن الشىء الأخير الذى أدعو إليه هو الاستثمار فى المستقبل، وسأذكر بعض الأشياء التى يسير إليها العالم، فإذا لم نقم بعملية الاستثمار لأولادنا فليس فقط أننا سنترك لهم الوضع الحالى، بل ستكون الفجوة كبيرة بيننا وبين العالم المتقدم.
كنت قد سمعت من بيل كلينتون وقت حصولى على جائزة نوبل كلمة من أعظم الكلمات التى سمعتها من رؤساء الدول وكانت حول مستقبل أمريكا فى ضوء البحث العلمى للقرن الواحد والعشرين، بمعنى أن الولايات المتحدة أعلنت تخوفها من التطور العلمى الحديث، وأنه يجب أن تكون جزءا من هذا التطور وسريعة التحرك.
وإذا تطرقنا إلى أهم ثلاثة أشياء بالنسبة للإنسان سنجدها الصحة والتعليم، الدفاع، وهناك أمثلة على ذلك ففى الصحة مثلا فإذا أصيب شخص بالزهايمر أو السرطان، بالماضى لم نكن نفعل شيئا لمساعدته، لكن العالم الحديث اليوم رفض ترك هذه الأمراض دون علاج وليس بطريقة نقل الأعضاء أو طريقة التشخيص التقليدية، فيجب أن نكون بطريقة حديثة جديدة ونفهم مصدر هذه الأمراض، وبدأ العلم الحديث الدخول حتى على مستوى الذرة والجزئ، فكان تفهم هذه الأمراض هو جزء من عملنا الآن، وبعد نوبل حاولنا أن نرى فى الخلية الإنسانية أو الحيوية، وكيف هذه الخلايا تصاب بهذه الأمراض، وهل نستطيع رؤيتها فى المكان والزمان؟، وهذه الفكرة قد حصلنا على براءة اختراع عالمية فيها، فهل نستطيع بالفعل أن نراها فى المكان والزمان، وأصبحت الآن هناك الكثير من الحلول لكثير من الأمراض فمن الممكن الآن نقل الخلايا الجذعية وإعطاء المركبات والأدوية، والتى تستطيع التعامل مع المادة التى تكونت على الخلايا، أو الرجوع للجين الأصلى الذى تسبب المشكلة ونتعامل معه من أول ولادة الطفل.
هناك الكثير من الدول النامية التى تنادى لبناء المستشفيات والاهتمام بالجانب الطبى، لكن لو لم يكن لدينا قاعدة علمية، وبالتالى سنكون خلف العالم بخمسين سنة، وفى رأيى أنا فى المنظومة العلمية المتكاملة أنه لا يمنع الإنسان أنه بالتعامل مع الإمكانات الموجودة بقاعدة علمية سنلاحق التقدم العلمى مع الدول المتقدمة.
والآن هناك تعامل مع الجين مباشرة ويعالج بأدوية الواحد منها يكلف بليون دولار، واليوم بالأبحاث التى تقدم على مستوى الجزئ والذرة من سيستطيع أن يكتشف دواءنا من غير تجارب سيقوم بثورة علمية هائلة لأنه سيتعامل مع الجين مباشرة.
أما بالنسبة للتعليم فهناك بعض الأشياء أود الإشارة إليها مثل انتشار الهاتف المحمول بصورة كبيرة والغرض فقط التسلية، والآن العالم المتقدم يصنع ما يسمى بالذاكرة السليكون، والتى إذا نجحت وتم تطبيقها ستغير فكرة التعليم كلية، فلن يحتاج أحد للحفظ لأن هذه الذاكرة واسعة التخزين، وحتى تعريف الذكاء يجب أن نفكر فيه بطريقة مغايرة. وأريد أن أوضح أن التعليم الآن أصبح متغيرا نتيجة التغيرات الهائلة فى العالم المتقدم، ونحن لا نستطيع أن نتعلم سوى على الطريقة الكلاسيكية، فمثلا هناك أقسام كانت ثابتة فى كلية العلوم مثل نبات وحيوان نرى أنها غير موجودة فى جامعة مثل كالتاك وأصبحت جزءا من البيولوجية الحديثة وانتهت الحوائط العريضة بين الفروع.
أما بالنسبة للدفاع فإذا نظرنا إلى الثورة المعلوماتية فى العالم الحديث فقد ذكرت مسبقا فى القاهرة أننا وفى جامعة كالتاك نرى صورا للمريخ تنتقل فى 15 دقيقة للأرض فحين أن المسافة ملايين الكيلومترات.
من الممكن أن يأتى الوقت الذى يذهب فيه الكثير من الدول لاحتلال كواكب ويشاهدوننا كعالم متنامى نصنع دبابة أو طائرة إف 16، وما رأيكم أن هناك من يقوم بتصنيع بكيتريا على نوع معين، فالحروب القادمة قد تستعمل أجزاء بسيطة من هذه البكيتريا أو الفيروس عوضا عن الأسلحة الثقيلة، والأمر الآن يشكل خطورة حقيقية خاصة بعد 11 من سبتمبر، والآن يتم تصنيع ملابس للحرب ضد بعض المواد الخارقة للحديد.
أود أن أختم ولكن بالإشارة لبعض النقاط، أولا لابد من التعامل مع العالم الحديث، وهذا العالم الحديث ينكمش فى الزمان والمكان وأصبح العالم الحديث الآن متشابكا، ولا تصلح عملية العزل أيا كان شكلها سواء اقتصادية أو علمية أو سياسية.
العالم الآن يعتمد على المصالح المتبادلة فلا وقت لما يسمى بصراع الحضارات أو صراع الأديان أو غيرها وأنا أؤمن بعدم وجود صراع الحضارات وكله كلام إنشاء وكلام للتسويق للمشكلات بعد 11 سبتمبر، أما العولمة بالنسبة للتعليم فقد أصبح الأمر غاية فى الأهمية، وكذلك فى الاقتصاد فأى رجل أعمال إذا لم يكن على قدر من العلم أمام من يتعامل معهم من الدول المتقدمة فلن يستطيع تحقيق النجاح، وحتى الثقافة أصبح بها مزج، فالثقافة اليابانية لم تكن معروفة جيدا، اليوم من الممكن أن تجد مطعم «سوشى» أصبحت الثقافة اليابانية حتى فى الطعام تنتشر فى العالم الغربى، فالمزج بين الثقافات والشعوب لن يأتى سوى بالفعل.
وأهم شىء للعودة للنهضة الإسلامية العظيمة، التى غزت العالم كله أعتقد انه ليس هناك حل سوى لاستثمار المستقبل، ولابد من حرية الإبداع، ولابد من تحسين التعليم، والاهتمام من مرحلة الطفولة إلى الجامعة ولن يحدث ذلك إلا عندما يحدث استثمار فى العقل العربى
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
هناك 40 طريقة لجعل حياتك افضل بإذن الله
هناك 40 طريقة لجعل حياتك افضل بإذن الله
There are 40 ways to makes your life better:
1- خصص من وقتك 10 الى 30 دقيقه للمشــي .... . . و أنت مبتسم
2- أجلس صامتاُ لــمدة 10 دقائـــق يـــومياُ
3- خصص لنومك 7 ساعات يوميا
4- عش حياتك بــثلاث أشياء : (( الطاقة + الحماس + العاطفه ))
5- إلعب ألعاب مسلية يوميا
6- أقرأ كتب أكثر من التي قرأتها سنة 2008
7- خصص وقتا للغذاء الروحي : (( صـــلاة ..... تسبيــح.....قران.... ))
8- أقض بعض الوقت مع أشخاص أعمارهم تجاوزت الـ 70 سبعين عام ........ و آخرين أعمارهم أقل من 6 أعوام
9- أحلم أكثر خــلال يقظتك بما تحب ان تراه فى حياتك
10- أكــــثر من تناول الأغذيه الطبيعيه ........... و أقتصد من الأغذية المعلبه والماكولات السريعه
11- أشرب كميات كبيره من الماء
12- حاول أن تجعل 3 أشخاص يبتسمون يوميا وانت معهم
13- لاتضيع وقتك الثمين في الثرثره
14- أنسى المواضيع ...... ولا تذكر شريكة\ شريك حياتك بأخطاء قد مضت لأنها سوف تسئ للحظات الحاليه
15- لاتجعل الأفكار السلبيه تسيـــطر عليك .. و وفر طاقتك للأمور الإيجابيه
16- أعلم بإن الحياة مدرســـه .. و أنت طالب فيــها .. و المشاكل عبارة عن مسائل رياضية يمكن حــلـــها
17- كل إفطارك كــالـملـك ...... و غدائــك كـالأميـــــر ....... و عشـــائك كـالفقيــــــر ..
18- أبتسم .. و أضحك أكــــثــــر
19- الحياة قصيرة جــــدا .. فـــلا تقضـــها في كـــــره الأخــــريـــن وكثرت الاعداء
20- لا تأخذ (( جـمـيـع )) الأمور بجــديــه .. { كــن سـلـسـا و عـقـلانـيـا }
21- ليــس من الضروري الفوز بجميع المناقسات والمجادلات .. (( حاول أن توافق على الخطــأ ))
22- أنسى الماضي بسلبياته وهمومه ........ حتى لا يفسد مـــســـتــقــبــلك
23- لاتقارن حيــاتك بغـــيرك .. ولا شريكة\شريك حياتك بالأخريــــن ..
24- الوحيـــــد المســـؤول عن سعـــادتك (( هو أنــــــت !! ))
25- سامح الجميع بدون استثناء حتى اعدائك
26- ما يعتقدهـ الأخرين عنـــك .. لا عــــلاقة لك بـــه
27- أحــســن الــظــن بالله .
28- مهما كانت الاحوال .. (( جيــده أو سـيـئـه )) ثق بأنها ستتغـــــير
29- عملك لن يعتني بك في وقت مرضك ... بل أصدقائــك .. لذلك أعتـــنــي بــهــم
30- تخل عن جميع الأشياء التي ليس لها متعة أو منفعة أو جمـــال
31- الحســد هو مضيعة للوقت (( أنت تملك جميــــع احتياجاتك ))
32- الأفـــضــــل قادم لا محاله
33- مهما كان شعورك .. فلا تضعف .. بل أستيقظ .. و أنطلق ..
34- أعمل الشي الــصح دائماٌ
35- كن برا بوالديك .. واتصل بعائلتك دائـــماُ
36- كن متفائــــلاٌ .. وســـعـــيدا ...
37- أعطي كل يوم .. شيئا مميزاٌ و جيـــداٌ للأخريــــن ..
38- أحــــــفـــــظ حــــــدودك ........ وحدود الله
39- عندمـــا تستيــــقظ في الصبــــاح .. و أنت على قــيد الحياة .. فأحمد الله على هذه النعمه
40- أبعث هذه الرسالة الى كل من لديك
Prof.M.Soliman Selim,
The head of Electron Microscope &Thin Film Dept.
Physics Division.
National Researche center
Dokki, Cairo,Egypt.
tel, Office: +2 33335977
mobil: +2 0163596732
FaX:+2 02 333 70 931-
temfilm@nrc.org.eg
There are 40 ways to makes your life better:
1- خصص من وقتك 10 الى 30 دقيقه للمشــي .... . . و أنت مبتسم
2- أجلس صامتاُ لــمدة 10 دقائـــق يـــومياُ
3- خصص لنومك 7 ساعات يوميا
4- عش حياتك بــثلاث أشياء : (( الطاقة + الحماس + العاطفه ))
5- إلعب ألعاب مسلية يوميا
6- أقرأ كتب أكثر من التي قرأتها سنة 2008
7- خصص وقتا للغذاء الروحي : (( صـــلاة ..... تسبيــح.....قران.... ))
8- أقض بعض الوقت مع أشخاص أعمارهم تجاوزت الـ 70 سبعين عام ........ و آخرين أعمارهم أقل من 6 أعوام
9- أحلم أكثر خــلال يقظتك بما تحب ان تراه فى حياتك
10- أكــــثر من تناول الأغذيه الطبيعيه ........... و أقتصد من الأغذية المعلبه والماكولات السريعه
11- أشرب كميات كبيره من الماء
12- حاول أن تجعل 3 أشخاص يبتسمون يوميا وانت معهم
13- لاتضيع وقتك الثمين في الثرثره
14- أنسى المواضيع ...... ولا تذكر شريكة\ شريك حياتك بأخطاء قد مضت لأنها سوف تسئ للحظات الحاليه
15- لاتجعل الأفكار السلبيه تسيـــطر عليك .. و وفر طاقتك للأمور الإيجابيه
16- أعلم بإن الحياة مدرســـه .. و أنت طالب فيــها .. و المشاكل عبارة عن مسائل رياضية يمكن حــلـــها
17- كل إفطارك كــالـملـك ...... و غدائــك كـالأميـــــر ....... و عشـــائك كـالفقيــــــر ..
18- أبتسم .. و أضحك أكــــثــــر
19- الحياة قصيرة جــــدا .. فـــلا تقضـــها في كـــــره الأخــــريـــن وكثرت الاعداء
20- لا تأخذ (( جـمـيـع )) الأمور بجــديــه .. { كــن سـلـسـا و عـقـلانـيـا }
21- ليــس من الضروري الفوز بجميع المناقسات والمجادلات .. (( حاول أن توافق على الخطــأ ))
22- أنسى الماضي بسلبياته وهمومه ........ حتى لا يفسد مـــســـتــقــبــلك
23- لاتقارن حيــاتك بغـــيرك .. ولا شريكة\شريك حياتك بالأخريــــن ..
24- الوحيـــــد المســـؤول عن سعـــادتك (( هو أنــــــت !! ))
25- سامح الجميع بدون استثناء حتى اعدائك
26- ما يعتقدهـ الأخرين عنـــك .. لا عــــلاقة لك بـــه
27- أحــســن الــظــن بالله .
28- مهما كانت الاحوال .. (( جيــده أو سـيـئـه )) ثق بأنها ستتغـــــير
29- عملك لن يعتني بك في وقت مرضك ... بل أصدقائــك .. لذلك أعتـــنــي بــهــم
30- تخل عن جميع الأشياء التي ليس لها متعة أو منفعة أو جمـــال
31- الحســد هو مضيعة للوقت (( أنت تملك جميــــع احتياجاتك ))
32- الأفـــضــــل قادم لا محاله
33- مهما كان شعورك .. فلا تضعف .. بل أستيقظ .. و أنطلق ..
34- أعمل الشي الــصح دائماٌ
35- كن برا بوالديك .. واتصل بعائلتك دائـــماُ
36- كن متفائــــلاٌ .. وســـعـــيدا ...
37- أعطي كل يوم .. شيئا مميزاٌ و جيـــداٌ للأخريــــن ..
38- أحــــــفـــــظ حــــــدودك ........ وحدود الله
39- عندمـــا تستيــــقظ في الصبــــاح .. و أنت على قــيد الحياة .. فأحمد الله على هذه النعمه
40- أبعث هذه الرسالة الى كل من لديك
Prof.M.Soliman Selim,
The head of Electron Microscope &Thin Film Dept.
Physics Division.
National Researche center
Dokki, Cairo,Egypt.
tel, Office: +2 33335977
mobil: +2 0163596732
FaX:+2 02 333 70 931-
temfilm@nrc.org.eg
Friday, October 23, 2009
هل سبق وشاهدت زبد البحر did u ever see the the sea froth
ذات يوم تأملت أمواج البحر وتأملت تلك الرغوة البيضاء التي تأتي بنهاية الموجه
فتخيلت لو أن ذنبي كزبد البحر وكيف أن الله سيغفر لي
لو رددت كلمات لن تكلفني شيئا
لكني صعقت وذهلت لما رأيت زبد بحر حقيقي
لدرجة أنني ...............لن أخبركم وشاهدوا بانفسكم
انتظروا فالصور القادمه مذهله أكثر
هل تتسائل ماذا أردد حتى يغفر الله لي
تأمل معي
قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
((ماعلى الأرض من أحد يقول:
لا إله إلا الله والله أكبر ولا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله إلا كفرت خطاياه ولو كانت مثل زبد البحر))
قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
((من قال حين يأوي إلى فراشه:
أستغفر الله الذي لا إله إلا هـو الحي القيوم وأتوب اليه ثلاث مرات غفر الله له ذنوبه وإن كانت مثل زبد البحر))
قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
((من حافظ على صلاة الضحى غفرت له ذنوبه , وإن كانت مثل زبد البحر))
نستكمل الصور المذهله ثم نتابع
"سبحان الله وبحمده"
من قالها مائة مرة غفرت له ذنوبه وإن كانت مثل زبد البحر
ولكن هل سبق أن رأيت زبد البحر؟
قال صلى الله عليه وسلم
من قال:
لا اله الا الله وحده لاشريك له
له الملك
وله الحمد
وهو على كل شي قدير
ولا حول ولا قوه الا بالله العلي العظيم
وسبحان الله
والحمد لله
ولا اله الا الله
والله أكبر
غفرت له ذنوبه
ولو كانت كزبد البحر
كيف أن زبد البحر قارب أن يغطي مدينة بأكملها ؟..!!!
سبحانك ربي لا إله إلا أنت أستغفرك وأتوب إليك
فــ من أسباب غفران ذنوبك التي كزبد البحر*
مصافحتك لأخيك المسلم
قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
إن المسلم إذا لقي أخاه فأخذ بيده تحاتت عنهما ذنوبهما كما
يتحات الورق عن الشجرة اليابسة في يوم ريح عاصف وإلا غفر لهما
ولو كانت ذنوبهما مثل زبد البحر
ادعو الله لي ولكم أن يغفر ذنوبنا ويقضي عنا ديننا ويختم بالاعمال الصالحات اعمالنا
فتخيلت لو أن ذنبي كزبد البحر وكيف أن الله سيغفر لي
لو رددت كلمات لن تكلفني شيئا
لكني صعقت وذهلت لما رأيت زبد بحر حقيقي
لدرجة أنني ...............لن أخبركم وشاهدوا بانفسكم
انتظروا فالصور القادمه مذهله أكثر
هل تتسائل ماذا أردد حتى يغفر الله لي
تأمل معي
قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
((ماعلى الأرض من أحد يقول:
لا إله إلا الله والله أكبر ولا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله إلا كفرت خطاياه ولو كانت مثل زبد البحر))
قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
((من قال حين يأوي إلى فراشه:
أستغفر الله الذي لا إله إلا هـو الحي القيوم وأتوب اليه ثلاث مرات غفر الله له ذنوبه وإن كانت مثل زبد البحر))
قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
((من حافظ على صلاة الضحى غفرت له ذنوبه , وإن كانت مثل زبد البحر))
نستكمل الصور المذهله ثم نتابع
"سبحان الله وبحمده"
من قالها مائة مرة غفرت له ذنوبه وإن كانت مثل زبد البحر
ولكن هل سبق أن رأيت زبد البحر؟
قال صلى الله عليه وسلم
من قال:
لا اله الا الله وحده لاشريك له
له الملك
وله الحمد
وهو على كل شي قدير
ولا حول ولا قوه الا بالله العلي العظيم
وسبحان الله
والحمد لله
ولا اله الا الله
والله أكبر
غفرت له ذنوبه
ولو كانت كزبد البحر
كيف أن زبد البحر قارب أن يغطي مدينة بأكملها ؟..!!!
سبحانك ربي لا إله إلا أنت أستغفرك وأتوب إليك
فــ من أسباب غفران ذنوبك التي كزبد البحر*
مصافحتك لأخيك المسلم
قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
إن المسلم إذا لقي أخاه فأخذ بيده تحاتت عنهما ذنوبهما كما
يتحات الورق عن الشجرة اليابسة في يوم ريح عاصف وإلا غفر لهما
ولو كانت ذنوبهما مثل زبد البحر
ادعو الله لي ولكم أن يغفر ذنوبنا ويقضي عنا ديننا ويختم بالاعمال الصالحات اعمالنا
INFO: Nano Petroleum, Gas and Petro Chemical Industries Conference November 18-19 2009, CAIRO, Egypt
Nano Petroleum, Gas and Petro Chemical Industries Conference
November 18-19 2009, CAIRO, Egypt
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sabry Abdel-Mottaleb
Date: Thu, Oct 22, 2009 at 6:17 AM
Subject: Fwd: Nano Petroleum, Gas and Petro Chemical Industries Conference in Cairo, Egypt, November 18-19 2009, CAIRO
To: nadia
Dear Ms. Nadia,
This is a very important conference announcement. Please circulate.
Thank you very much for your assistance.
Sabry
Dr. Sabry Abdel-Mottaleb, Professor of Chemistry,
Principal Investigator, NanoPhotochemistry and Solar Chemistry Lab
Sabry's Profile
www.photoenergy.org
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science,
Ain Shams University, 11566 Abbassia, Cairo, Egypt
Fax: + 202/ 2634 7683 Or 26389725
Tel: + 2010 168 6244
November 18-19 2009, CAIRO, Egypt
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sabry Abdel-Mottaleb
Date: Thu, Oct 22, 2009 at 6:17 AM
Subject: Fwd: Nano Petroleum, Gas and Petro Chemical Industries Conference in Cairo, Egypt, November 18-19 2009, CAIRO
To: nadia
Dear Ms. Nadia,
This is a very important conference announcement. Please circulate.
Thank you very much for your assistance.
Sabry
Dr. Sabry Abdel-Mottaleb, Professor of Chemistry,
Principal Investigator, NanoPhotochemistry and Solar Chemistry Lab
Sabry's Profile
www.photoenergy.org
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science,
Ain Shams University, 11566 Abbassia, Cairo, Egypt
Fax: + 202/ 2634 7683 Or 26389725
Tel: + 2010 168 6244
صلاة الإستخارة
كل شيئ عن صلاة الإستخارة
ماهي الاستخارة ؟
الاسْتِخَارَةُ لُغَةً : طَلَبُ الْخِيَرَةِ فِي الشَّيْءِ . يُقَالُ : اسْتَخِرْ اللَّهَ يَخِرْ لَك.
وَاصْطِلَاحًا : طَلَبُ الاخْتِيَارِ . أَيْ طَلَبُ صَرْفِ الْهِمَّةِ لِمَا هُوَ الْمُخْتَارُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَالأَوْلَى , بِالصَّلاةِ , أَوْ الدُّعَاءِ الْوَارِدِ فِي الِاسْتِخَارَةِ .
وهي : طلب الخيرة في شيء
حكمها :
أَجْمَعَ الْعُلَمَاءُ عَلَى أَنَّ الاسْتِخَارَةَ سُنَّةٌ
متى يحتاج العبد إلى صلاة الاستخارة ؟
فإن العبد في هذه الدنيا تعرض له أمور يتحير منها وتتشكل عليه ، فيحتاج للجوء إلى خالق السموات والأرض وخالق الناس ، يسأله رافعاً يديه داعياً مستخيراً بالدعاء ، راجياً الصواب في الطلب ، فإنه أدعى للطمأنينة وراحة البال . فعندما يقدم على عمل ما كشراء سيارة ، أو يريد الزواج أو يعمل في وظيفة معينة أو يريد سفراً فإنه يستخير له .
يقول شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية: ما ندم من استخار الخالق ، وشاور المخلوقين ، وثبت في أمره . وقد قال سبحانه وتعالى : ( فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللّهِ لِنتَ لَهُمْ وَلَوْ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لاَنفَضُّواْ مِنْ حَوْلِكَ فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الأَمْرِ فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللّهِ إِنَّ اللّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ ) (سورة آل عمرا ن : 159) ، وقال
دعاء صلاة الاستخارة
عَنْ جَابِرٍ رضي الله عنه قَالَ : كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُعَلِّمُنَا الاسْتِخَارَةَ فِي الأُمُورِ كُلِّهَا كَمَا يُعَلِّمُنَا السُّورَةَ مِنْ الْقُرْآنِ يَقُولُ : إذَا هَمَّ أَحَدُكُمْ بِالأَمْرِ فَلْيَرْكَعْ رَكْعَتَيْنِ مِنْ غَيْرِ الْفَرِيضَةِ ثُمَّ لِيَقُلْ : ( اللَّهُمَّ إنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ , وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ , وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيمِ فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلا أَقْدِرُ , وَتَعْلَمُ وَلا أَعْلَمُ , وَأَنْتَ عَلامُ الْغُيُوبِ , اللَّهُمَّ إنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ (هنا تسمي حاجتك ) خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي أَوْ قَالَ : عَاجِلِ أَمْرِي وَآجِلِهِ , فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيهِ , اللَّهُمَّ وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ (هنا تسمي حاجتك ) شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ وَاقْدُرْ لِي الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ ثُمَّ ارْضِنِي بِهِ ( رَوَاهُ الْبُخَارِيُّ (1166)
كيفية صلاة الاستخارة ؟
1- تتوضأ وضوءك للصلاة .
2- النية .. لابد من النية لصلاة الاستخارة قبل الشروع فيها .
3- تصلي ركعتين .. والسنة أن تقرأ بالركعة الأولى بعد الفاتحة بسورة (قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ) ، وفي الركعة الثانية بعد الفاتحة بسورة (قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ) .
4- وفي آخر الصلاة تسلم ثم ترفع يديك متضرعا ً إلى الله ومستحضرا ً عظمته وقدرته ومتدبرا ً بالدعاء .
5- تم تقرأ دعاء الاستخارة : ( اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ ... إلى آخر الدعاء .
6- إذا وصلت عند قول : (اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ (( هنا تسمي الشيء المراد له
مثال : اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ (( سفري إلى بلد كذا أو شراء سيارة كذا أو الزواج من بنت فلان ابن فلان أو غيرها من الأمور )) ثم تكمل الدعاء وتقول : خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيهِ
ولا مانع من تكرار الدعاء والإلحاح فيه ولا يشترط رؤية المنام أو الحلم وإنما يأتي بالغالب بتسهيل الأمور من الله وتيسير طلب الداعي
وإن كانت هناك مضار أو أحداث لا يرغبها الشخص المستخير فهي كلها لخير لا يعلمه إلا الله
والله الموفق...
hala-abdelhady@hotmail.com
ماهي الاستخارة ؟
الاسْتِخَارَةُ لُغَةً : طَلَبُ الْخِيَرَةِ فِي الشَّيْءِ . يُقَالُ : اسْتَخِرْ اللَّهَ يَخِرْ لَك.
وَاصْطِلَاحًا : طَلَبُ الاخْتِيَارِ . أَيْ طَلَبُ صَرْفِ الْهِمَّةِ لِمَا هُوَ الْمُخْتَارُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَالأَوْلَى , بِالصَّلاةِ , أَوْ الدُّعَاءِ الْوَارِدِ فِي الِاسْتِخَارَةِ .
وهي : طلب الخيرة في شيء
حكمها :
أَجْمَعَ الْعُلَمَاءُ عَلَى أَنَّ الاسْتِخَارَةَ سُنَّةٌ
متى يحتاج العبد إلى صلاة الاستخارة ؟
فإن العبد في هذه الدنيا تعرض له أمور يتحير منها وتتشكل عليه ، فيحتاج للجوء إلى خالق السموات والأرض وخالق الناس ، يسأله رافعاً يديه داعياً مستخيراً بالدعاء ، راجياً الصواب في الطلب ، فإنه أدعى للطمأنينة وراحة البال . فعندما يقدم على عمل ما كشراء سيارة ، أو يريد الزواج أو يعمل في وظيفة معينة أو يريد سفراً فإنه يستخير له .
يقول شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية: ما ندم من استخار الخالق ، وشاور المخلوقين ، وثبت في أمره . وقد قال سبحانه وتعالى : ( فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللّهِ لِنتَ لَهُمْ وَلَوْ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لاَنفَضُّواْ مِنْ حَوْلِكَ فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الأَمْرِ فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللّهِ إِنَّ اللّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ ) (سورة آل عمرا ن : 159) ، وقال
دعاء صلاة الاستخارة
عَنْ جَابِرٍ رضي الله عنه قَالَ : كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُعَلِّمُنَا الاسْتِخَارَةَ فِي الأُمُورِ كُلِّهَا كَمَا يُعَلِّمُنَا السُّورَةَ مِنْ الْقُرْآنِ يَقُولُ : إذَا هَمَّ أَحَدُكُمْ بِالأَمْرِ فَلْيَرْكَعْ رَكْعَتَيْنِ مِنْ غَيْرِ الْفَرِيضَةِ ثُمَّ لِيَقُلْ : ( اللَّهُمَّ إنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ , وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ , وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيمِ فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلا أَقْدِرُ , وَتَعْلَمُ وَلا أَعْلَمُ , وَأَنْتَ عَلامُ الْغُيُوبِ , اللَّهُمَّ إنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ (هنا تسمي حاجتك ) خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي أَوْ قَالَ : عَاجِلِ أَمْرِي وَآجِلِهِ , فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيهِ , اللَّهُمَّ وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ (هنا تسمي حاجتك ) شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ وَاقْدُرْ لِي الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ ثُمَّ ارْضِنِي بِهِ ( رَوَاهُ الْبُخَارِيُّ (1166)
كيفية صلاة الاستخارة ؟
1- تتوضأ وضوءك للصلاة .
2- النية .. لابد من النية لصلاة الاستخارة قبل الشروع فيها .
3- تصلي ركعتين .. والسنة أن تقرأ بالركعة الأولى بعد الفاتحة بسورة (قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ) ، وفي الركعة الثانية بعد الفاتحة بسورة (قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ) .
4- وفي آخر الصلاة تسلم ثم ترفع يديك متضرعا ً إلى الله ومستحضرا ً عظمته وقدرته ومتدبرا ً بالدعاء .
5- تم تقرأ دعاء الاستخارة : ( اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ ... إلى آخر الدعاء .
6- إذا وصلت عند قول : (اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ (( هنا تسمي الشيء المراد له
مثال : اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ (( سفري إلى بلد كذا أو شراء سيارة كذا أو الزواج من بنت فلان ابن فلان أو غيرها من الأمور )) ثم تكمل الدعاء وتقول : خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيهِ
ولا مانع من تكرار الدعاء والإلحاح فيه ولا يشترط رؤية المنام أو الحلم وإنما يأتي بالغالب بتسهيل الأمور من الله وتيسير طلب الداعي
وإن كانت هناك مضار أو أحداث لا يرغبها الشخص المستخير فهي كلها لخير لا يعلمه إلا الله
والله الموفق...
hala-abdelhady@hotmail.com
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Abdurrahman bin Sakhr
name is Abdurrahman bin Sakhr, he is the master of retainers and endurance, and the companion of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
Abu Hurayrah received a lot of knowledge from the Prophet (PBUH).
Through his great efforts, hundreds of Hadiths or sayings of the Prophet (PBUH) were transmitted to later generations. His is the foremost name in the roll of Hadith transmitters. Next to him comes the names of such companions as Abdullah the son of Umar, Anas the son of Malik, Umm al-Mumininin Aicha, Jabir ibn Abdullah and Abu Said al-Khudri all of whom transmitted over a thousand sayings of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
Aat-Tufayl ibn Amr the chieftain of the Daws tribe helped Abu Hurayrah tp became a Muslim . The Daws tribe, which Abu Hurayrah belongs to, lived in the region of Tihamah which stretches along the coast of the Red Sea in southern Arabia. When at-Tufayl returned to his village after meeting the Prophet (PBUH) and becoming a Muslim in the early years of his mission, Abu Hurayrah was one of the first to respond to his call and embrace Islam. He was unlike the majority of the Daws people who remained stubborn with their old beliefs for a long time.
When at-Tufayl visited Mekkah again, Abu Hurayrah accompanied him. There he had the honored to meet the noble Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
The prophet asked him:
"What is your name?"
"Abdu Shams - Servant of a Sun," replied Abu Hurayrah.
"Instead, let it be Abdur-Rahman - the Servant of the Beneficent Lord," said the Prophet (PBUH).
However, he continued to be known as Abu Hurayrah, "the kitten man", literally "the father of a kitten" for he was fond of cats and since his childhood often had a cat to play with.
Abu Hurayrah stayed in Tihamah for a long time and it was only at the beginning of the seventh year of the Hijrah that he arrived in Madinah with others of his tribe. The Prophet (PBUH) had gone on a campaign to Khyber. Being poor, Abu Hurayrah took up h is place in the Masjid. He was single, and had no wife or a son. With him however was his mother who was still an atheist. He longed, and prayed, for her to become a Muslim but she stubbornly refused. One day, he was trying to convince her to have believe in Allah alone and embrace Islam, but she uttered some words about the Prophet (PBUH) which hurt him greatly. With tears in his eyes, he went to the noble Prophet (PBUH) who said to him:
"What makes you cry, O Abu Hurayrah?"
"I have not let up in inviting my mother to Islam but she has always rebuffed me. Today, I invited her again and I heard words from her which I do not like. Do make supplication to Allah Almighty to make the heart of Abu Hurayrah's mother incline to Islam."
Responding to Abu Hurayrah's request, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) prayed for his mother. Abu Hurayrah said:
"I went home and found the door closed. I heard the splashing of water and when I tried to enter my mother said: "Stay where you are, O Abu Hurayrah." And after putting on her clothes, she said, "Enter!" I entered and she said: "I testify that there is no god but Allah and I testify that Mohammad is His Servant and His Messenger."
"I returned to the Prophet, peace be on him, weeping with joy just as an hour before I had gone weeping from sadness and said: "I have good news, O Messenger of Allah. Allah has responded to your prayer and guided the mother of Abu Hurayrah to Isl�m."
Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him) had great love and respect for Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and found favor with him. He was never tired of looking at the Prophet whose face appeared to him as having all the radiance of the sun and he was never tired of listening to his words. Often he would praise Allah for becoming a Muslim and having the chance of being near the Prophet (PBUH), he used to say:
"Praise be to All�h Who has guided Abu Hurayrah to Islam." Praise be to Allah Who has taught Abu Hurayrah the Qur'an."
"Praise be to Allah who has bestowed on Abu Hurayrah the companionship of Mohammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace."
On reaching Madinah, Abu Hurayrah decided on attaining knowledge. Zayd ibn Thabit the notable companion of the Prophet (PBUH) narrated :
"While Abu Hurayrah and I and another friend of mine were in the mosque praying to Allah Almighty and performing dhikr (mentioning Allah�s names) to Him, the Messenger of Allah appeared. He came towards us and sat among us. We became silent and he said: "Carry on with what you were doing."
"So my friend and I made a supplication to Allah before Abu Hurayrah did and the Prophet (PBUH) began to say Ameen to our supplication.
"Then Abu Hurayrah made a supplication saying: "O Lord, I ask You for what my two companions have asked and I ask You for knowledge which will not be forgotten."
"The Prophet, peace be on him, said: 'Ameen.' "We then said: 'And we ask Allah for knowledge which will not be forgotten, and the Prophet replied: 'The Dawsi youth has asked for this before you."
With his startling memory, Abu Hurayrah memorized in the four years that he spent with the Prophet (PBUH), the gems of wisdom that emanated from his lips. He realized that he had a great gift and he set about to use it fully in serving Islam.
Unlike many of the Muhajirun(those who migrated from Mekkah to Madinah) he did not spend his time in the market-places, with buying and selling. Also he had no land to cultivate nor crops to tend. He spared the time to sit with the Prophet (PBUH) in Madinah and went with him on journeys and expeditions.
Many companions were amazed at the number of Hadith he had memorized and often questioned him on when he had heard a certain Hadith and under what circumstances.
Once Marwan ibn al-Hakam wanted to give Abu Hurayrah's a small test to see how strong his memory was. He sat with him in one room and behind a curtain he placed a scribe, unknown to Abu Hurayrah, and ordered him to write down whatever Abu Hurayrah said. A year later, Marwan called Abu Hurayrah again and asked him to recall the same Hadiths which the scribe had recorded. He was amazed when he found out that he had forgotten not a single word.
Abu Hurayrah devoted his life to teaching and transmitting the Hadiths he had memorized and knowledge of Islam in general. It is reported that one day he was passing by some people engrossed in the business of buying and selling.
"How feeble are you, O people of Madinah!" he said.
"What do you see that is feeble in us, Abu Hurayrah?" they asked.
"The inheritance of the Messenger of Allah, peace be on him, is being distributed and you remain here! Won't you go and take your portion?"
"Where is this, O Abu Hurayrah?" they asked.
"In the Masjid," he replied.
Quickly they left. Abu Hurayrah waited until they returned. When they saw him, they said: "O Abu Hurayrah, we went to the Masjid and entered and we did not see anything being distributed."
"Didn't you see anyone in the Masjid?" he asked.
"O yes, we saw some people performing Salah, some people reading the Qur�an and some people discussing about what is halaal and what is haraam."
"Woe unto you," replied Abu Hurayrah," that is the inheritance of Mohammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace."
Abu Hurayrah went through much hardship and difficulties as a result of his dedicated search for knowledge. He was often hungry and destitute. He said about himself:
"When I was afflicted with severe hunger, I would go to a companion' of the Prophet (PBUH) and asked him about an ayah (verse) of the Qur�an and (stay with him) learning it so that he would take me with him to his house and give food. "
Abu Hurayrah spent most of his time in spiritual exercises and devotion to Allah. Staying up for the night in prayer and devotion - was a regular practice of his family including his wife and his daughter, (for he was married and has a daughter at that time). He would spend a third o f the night prayer, his wife for another third and his daughter for a third. In this way, in the house of Abu Hurayrah no hour of the night would pass without worshiping Allah and praying.
During the caliphate of Umar, Umar appointed Abu Hurayrah as governor of Bakrain. Umar was very careful about the type of persons whom he appointed as governors. He was always concerned that his governors should live simply and frugally and not acquire much wealth even though this was through lawful means.
In Bahrain, Abu Hurayrah became quite wealthy. Umar heard of this and recalled him to Madinah. Umar thought he had acquired his wealth through unlawful means and questioned him about where and how he had get such a fortune. Abu Hurayrah replied: "From breeding horses and gifts which I received."
"Hand it over to the treasury of the Muslims," ordered Umar.
Abu Hurayrah did as he was told and prayed: "O Lord, forgive the Amir al-Muminin." Subsequently, Umar asked him to become governor once again but he declined. Asked about the reason behind his refusal, Abu Hurayrah said:
"So that my honor would not be besmirched, my wealth taken and my back beaten."
And he added: "And I fear to judge without knowledge and speak without wisdom."
Throughout his life Abu Hurayrah used to be kind and courteous to his mother. Whenever he wanted to leave home, he would stand at the door of her room and say: As-salaamu alaykum, mom, wa rahrnatullahi wa barakatuhu, peace be on you, mother, and the mercy and blessings of Allah." She would reply: "Wa alayka-s salaam, son, wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu - And on you be peace, my son, and the mercy and blessings of Allah." Often, he would also say: "May Allah have mercy on you as you cared for me when I was small," and she would reply: "May Allah have mercy on you as you delivered me from error when I was old." Abu Hurayrah always advised people to be kind and tender to their parents.
Abu Hurayrah took good care to accompany the Prophet peace be upon him to wherever the Prophet peace be upon him goes; whether to pilgrimage or to war (jihad). Abu Anas Malik bin Abi A�amir says:
�Once a man came to Talha bin Ubaydillah and said: �O� father of Mohammad! Do you know this Yamani � Abu Hurayrah �? Is he more knowledgeable about the Prophet�s hadeeth than you? Because we hear things from him that we do not hear from you. Or does he narrate what the Prophet did not really say?� Ibn Ubaydillah answered: �That Abu Hurayrah heard from the Prophet peace be upon him what we did not hear then there is no doubt about it. Let me tell you about it. We always had to take care of our houses, goats and works. We used to visit the messenger of Allah peace be upon him at the two folds of daylight and Abu Hurayrah was there and poor. He was a guest at the Prophet�s house, and had nothing in his hands. Therefore we do not doubt it that he heard from the Prophet what we did not hear, and you would never find a man who has goodness in his self that he would say what the messenger of Allah did not say.�
Source: sunnahonline.com
Abu Hurayrah received a lot of knowledge from the Prophet (PBUH).
Through his great efforts, hundreds of Hadiths or sayings of the Prophet (PBUH) were transmitted to later generations. His is the foremost name in the roll of Hadith transmitters. Next to him comes the names of such companions as Abdullah the son of Umar, Anas the son of Malik, Umm al-Mumininin Aicha, Jabir ibn Abdullah and Abu Said al-Khudri all of whom transmitted over a thousand sayings of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
Aat-Tufayl ibn Amr the chieftain of the Daws tribe helped Abu Hurayrah tp became a Muslim . The Daws tribe, which Abu Hurayrah belongs to, lived in the region of Tihamah which stretches along the coast of the Red Sea in southern Arabia. When at-Tufayl returned to his village after meeting the Prophet (PBUH) and becoming a Muslim in the early years of his mission, Abu Hurayrah was one of the first to respond to his call and embrace Islam. He was unlike the majority of the Daws people who remained stubborn with their old beliefs for a long time.
When at-Tufayl visited Mekkah again, Abu Hurayrah accompanied him. There he had the honored to meet the noble Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
The prophet asked him:
"What is your name?"
"Abdu Shams - Servant of a Sun," replied Abu Hurayrah.
"Instead, let it be Abdur-Rahman - the Servant of the Beneficent Lord," said the Prophet (PBUH).
However, he continued to be known as Abu Hurayrah, "the kitten man", literally "the father of a kitten" for he was fond of cats and since his childhood often had a cat to play with.
Abu Hurayrah stayed in Tihamah for a long time and it was only at the beginning of the seventh year of the Hijrah that he arrived in Madinah with others of his tribe. The Prophet (PBUH) had gone on a campaign to Khyber. Being poor, Abu Hurayrah took up h is place in the Masjid. He was single, and had no wife or a son. With him however was his mother who was still an atheist. He longed, and prayed, for her to become a Muslim but she stubbornly refused. One day, he was trying to convince her to have believe in Allah alone and embrace Islam, but she uttered some words about the Prophet (PBUH) which hurt him greatly. With tears in his eyes, he went to the noble Prophet (PBUH) who said to him:
"What makes you cry, O Abu Hurayrah?"
"I have not let up in inviting my mother to Islam but she has always rebuffed me. Today, I invited her again and I heard words from her which I do not like. Do make supplication to Allah Almighty to make the heart of Abu Hurayrah's mother incline to Islam."
Responding to Abu Hurayrah's request, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) prayed for his mother. Abu Hurayrah said:
"I went home and found the door closed. I heard the splashing of water and when I tried to enter my mother said: "Stay where you are, O Abu Hurayrah." And after putting on her clothes, she said, "Enter!" I entered and she said: "I testify that there is no god but Allah and I testify that Mohammad is His Servant and His Messenger."
"I returned to the Prophet, peace be on him, weeping with joy just as an hour before I had gone weeping from sadness and said: "I have good news, O Messenger of Allah. Allah has responded to your prayer and guided the mother of Abu Hurayrah to Isl�m."
Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him) had great love and respect for Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and found favor with him. He was never tired of looking at the Prophet whose face appeared to him as having all the radiance of the sun and he was never tired of listening to his words. Often he would praise Allah for becoming a Muslim and having the chance of being near the Prophet (PBUH), he used to say:
"Praise be to All�h Who has guided Abu Hurayrah to Islam." Praise be to Allah Who has taught Abu Hurayrah the Qur'an."
"Praise be to Allah who has bestowed on Abu Hurayrah the companionship of Mohammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace."
On reaching Madinah, Abu Hurayrah decided on attaining knowledge. Zayd ibn Thabit the notable companion of the Prophet (PBUH) narrated :
"While Abu Hurayrah and I and another friend of mine were in the mosque praying to Allah Almighty and performing dhikr (mentioning Allah�s names) to Him, the Messenger of Allah appeared. He came towards us and sat among us. We became silent and he said: "Carry on with what you were doing."
"So my friend and I made a supplication to Allah before Abu Hurayrah did and the Prophet (PBUH) began to say Ameen to our supplication.
"Then Abu Hurayrah made a supplication saying: "O Lord, I ask You for what my two companions have asked and I ask You for knowledge which will not be forgotten."
"The Prophet, peace be on him, said: 'Ameen.' "We then said: 'And we ask Allah for knowledge which will not be forgotten, and the Prophet replied: 'The Dawsi youth has asked for this before you."
With his startling memory, Abu Hurayrah memorized in the four years that he spent with the Prophet (PBUH), the gems of wisdom that emanated from his lips. He realized that he had a great gift and he set about to use it fully in serving Islam.
Unlike many of the Muhajirun(those who migrated from Mekkah to Madinah) he did not spend his time in the market-places, with buying and selling. Also he had no land to cultivate nor crops to tend. He spared the time to sit with the Prophet (PBUH) in Madinah and went with him on journeys and expeditions.
Many companions were amazed at the number of Hadith he had memorized and often questioned him on when he had heard a certain Hadith and under what circumstances.
Once Marwan ibn al-Hakam wanted to give Abu Hurayrah's a small test to see how strong his memory was. He sat with him in one room and behind a curtain he placed a scribe, unknown to Abu Hurayrah, and ordered him to write down whatever Abu Hurayrah said. A year later, Marwan called Abu Hurayrah again and asked him to recall the same Hadiths which the scribe had recorded. He was amazed when he found out that he had forgotten not a single word.
Abu Hurayrah devoted his life to teaching and transmitting the Hadiths he had memorized and knowledge of Islam in general. It is reported that one day he was passing by some people engrossed in the business of buying and selling.
"How feeble are you, O people of Madinah!" he said.
"What do you see that is feeble in us, Abu Hurayrah?" they asked.
"The inheritance of the Messenger of Allah, peace be on him, is being distributed and you remain here! Won't you go and take your portion?"
"Where is this, O Abu Hurayrah?" they asked.
"In the Masjid," he replied.
Quickly they left. Abu Hurayrah waited until they returned. When they saw him, they said: "O Abu Hurayrah, we went to the Masjid and entered and we did not see anything being distributed."
"Didn't you see anyone in the Masjid?" he asked.
"O yes, we saw some people performing Salah, some people reading the Qur�an and some people discussing about what is halaal and what is haraam."
"Woe unto you," replied Abu Hurayrah," that is the inheritance of Mohammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace."
Abu Hurayrah went through much hardship and difficulties as a result of his dedicated search for knowledge. He was often hungry and destitute. He said about himself:
"When I was afflicted with severe hunger, I would go to a companion' of the Prophet (PBUH) and asked him about an ayah (verse) of the Qur�an and (stay with him) learning it so that he would take me with him to his house and give food. "
Abu Hurayrah spent most of his time in spiritual exercises and devotion to Allah. Staying up for the night in prayer and devotion - was a regular practice of his family including his wife and his daughter, (for he was married and has a daughter at that time). He would spend a third o f the night prayer, his wife for another third and his daughter for a third. In this way, in the house of Abu Hurayrah no hour of the night would pass without worshiping Allah and praying.
During the caliphate of Umar, Umar appointed Abu Hurayrah as governor of Bakrain. Umar was very careful about the type of persons whom he appointed as governors. He was always concerned that his governors should live simply and frugally and not acquire much wealth even though this was through lawful means.
In Bahrain, Abu Hurayrah became quite wealthy. Umar heard of this and recalled him to Madinah. Umar thought he had acquired his wealth through unlawful means and questioned him about where and how he had get such a fortune. Abu Hurayrah replied: "From breeding horses and gifts which I received."
"Hand it over to the treasury of the Muslims," ordered Umar.
Abu Hurayrah did as he was told and prayed: "O Lord, forgive the Amir al-Muminin." Subsequently, Umar asked him to become governor once again but he declined. Asked about the reason behind his refusal, Abu Hurayrah said:
"So that my honor would not be besmirched, my wealth taken and my back beaten."
And he added: "And I fear to judge without knowledge and speak without wisdom."
Throughout his life Abu Hurayrah used to be kind and courteous to his mother. Whenever he wanted to leave home, he would stand at the door of her room and say: As-salaamu alaykum, mom, wa rahrnatullahi wa barakatuhu, peace be on you, mother, and the mercy and blessings of Allah." She would reply: "Wa alayka-s salaam, son, wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu - And on you be peace, my son, and the mercy and blessings of Allah." Often, he would also say: "May Allah have mercy on you as you cared for me when I was small," and she would reply: "May Allah have mercy on you as you delivered me from error when I was old." Abu Hurayrah always advised people to be kind and tender to their parents.
Abu Hurayrah took good care to accompany the Prophet peace be upon him to wherever the Prophet peace be upon him goes; whether to pilgrimage or to war (jihad). Abu Anas Malik bin Abi A�amir says:
�Once a man came to Talha bin Ubaydillah and said: �O� father of Mohammad! Do you know this Yamani � Abu Hurayrah �? Is he more knowledgeable about the Prophet�s hadeeth than you? Because we hear things from him that we do not hear from you. Or does he narrate what the Prophet did not really say?� Ibn Ubaydillah answered: �That Abu Hurayrah heard from the Prophet peace be upon him what we did not hear then there is no doubt about it. Let me tell you about it. We always had to take care of our houses, goats and works. We used to visit the messenger of Allah peace be upon him at the two folds of daylight and Abu Hurayrah was there and poor. He was a guest at the Prophet�s house, and had nothing in his hands. Therefore we do not doubt it that he heard from the Prophet what we did not hear, and you would never find a man who has goodness in his self that he would say what the messenger of Allah did not say.�
Source: sunnahonline.com
Ibn Batuta
14/06/2004 12:00:00 AM GMT
He is Abu Abdullah Mohamed, known as IBN BATUTA, the greatest of Muslim travelers, was born at Tangier in 1304. He entered on his travels at twenty-one (1325) and closed them in 1355. No other medieval traveler is known to have journeyed so extensively like Ibn Batuta did.
In an attempt to rediscover the contributions of Muslims in fields such as science, medicine, engineering, architecture and astronomy, we will try to shed more light on the life and travellings of Ibn Batuta, the great Muslim traveler. This will encourage contemporary young Muslims to strive in these fields and not think that major success is beyond their reach.
Ibn Batuta, one of the most remarkable travelers of all time, visited China sixty years after Marco Polo and in fact traveled 75,000 miles, much more than Marco Polo. Yet Batuta is never mentioned in geography books used in Muslim countries, let alone those in the West. Ibn Batuta's contribution in geography is unquestionably as great as that of any geographer yet the accounts of his travels are not easily accessible except to the specialist. The omission of reference to Ibn Batuta's contribution in geography books is not an isolated example. All great Muslims whether historians, doctors, astronomers, scientists or chemists suffer the same fate.
The narratives of Ibn Batuta cover various aspects of life in Bengal. He provides a geographical account of some important places he visited, such as Sudkawan, 'a vast city on the coast of the great sea', Habank 'one of the most glorious and beautiful cities', Sunarkawan, 'a very inaccessible city'. He has given accounts of some rivers he traversed, such as the Ganga (Padma), Jun (Jumna) and Nahr ul-azraq (Surma). The traveller was enamored of the picturesque landscape, the greenery and beautiful fields, water-wheels, gardens and villages on both banks of the Surma, and comments that passing through villages and orchards was like going through a mart.
Ibn-Batuta provides some information on the political history beginning from the time of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud till the assumption of sovereignty by Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah and Alaauddin Ali shah. His narratives include information on the life of Sheikh Shah Jalal (R), influence of sufi saints on both Muslims and non-Muslims, existence of slavery in Bengal, practice of magic and witchcraft by the people of Kamarupa, abundance of food grains and cheap prices of commodities of daily use. He refers to the brisk internal and external trade of this region.
Ibn Batuta noticed marketplaces on the banks of the rivers and innumerable boats carrying men and merchandise. He has mentioned the practice of beating drums from every boat on the river as a signal for identifying inland merchant boats and for detecting stranger boats as a safeguard against piracy. He also mentions the sea-borne trade-links of Sonargaon with China, Java and Maldives. In view of the abundance of the necessaries of life and its soothing scenery on one hand, and the wet atmosphere and oppressive vapour bath on the other, the traveller justifies the attitude of foreigners who call Bangladesh a dozakh-i-pur az n'imat, which means an inferno full of gifts.
Ibn Batuta began by traversing the coast of the Mediterranean from Tangier to Alexandria, finding time to marry two wives on the road. He stayed in Cairo for a while, and an unsuccessful attempt to reach Mecca from Aidhab on the west coast of the Red Sea, he visited Palestine, Aleppo and Damascus. He then made the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, traveling thence to Basra, and across the mountains of Khuzestan to Isfahan, thence to Shiraz and back to Kufa and Baghdad. After an excursion to Mosul and Diarbekr, he made the Hajj a second time, and stayed in Mecca for three years.
Afterwards Ibn Batuta sailed down the Red Sea to Aden (then a place of great trade). Then he continued his journey down the African coast, visiting Mombassa and Quiloa (Kilwa) together with other places. Returning north he passed by the chief cities of Oman to New Ormuz (Hurmuz), which had about 15 years, before, c. 1315, been transferred to its famous island-site from the mainland (Old Ormuz). After visiting other parts of the gulf he crossed the breadth of Arabia to Mecca, making the Hajj (Pilgrimage) for the third time. Crossing the Red Sea, he made a journey of great hardship to Syene and thence along the Nile to Cairo. After this, traveling through Syria, he made a circuit among the petty Turkish states into which Asia Minor was divided after the fall of the kingdom of Rum (Iconium).
He now crossed the Black Sea to Kaffa. His next stop was Kipchak (the Mongol khanate of Russia), and joined the camp of the reigning khan Mohamed Uzbeg, from whom the great and heterogeneous Uzbeg race is perhaps named.
Among other places he visited was Boighar, he witnessed the shortness of the summer night, and desired to continue his travels north into the band of Darkness (in the extreme north of Russia).
Returning to the court of Uzbeg, at Sarai on the Volga, he crossed the steppes to Khwarizm and Bukhara; thence through Khurasan and Kabul, and over the Hindu Kush (to which he gives that name, its first occurrence).
Ibn Batuta was the only medieval traveler who is known to have visited the lands of every Muslim ruler of his time. The mere extent of his travels is estimated at no less than 75,000 miles, a figure which is not likely to have been surpassed before the age of steam.
Source: 1911encyclopedia.org
He is Abu Abdullah Mohamed, known as IBN BATUTA, the greatest of Muslim travelers, was born at Tangier in 1304. He entered on his travels at twenty-one (1325) and closed them in 1355. No other medieval traveler is known to have journeyed so extensively like Ibn Batuta did.
In an attempt to rediscover the contributions of Muslims in fields such as science, medicine, engineering, architecture and astronomy, we will try to shed more light on the life and travellings of Ibn Batuta, the great Muslim traveler. This will encourage contemporary young Muslims to strive in these fields and not think that major success is beyond their reach.
Ibn Batuta, one of the most remarkable travelers of all time, visited China sixty years after Marco Polo and in fact traveled 75,000 miles, much more than Marco Polo. Yet Batuta is never mentioned in geography books used in Muslim countries, let alone those in the West. Ibn Batuta's contribution in geography is unquestionably as great as that of any geographer yet the accounts of his travels are not easily accessible except to the specialist. The omission of reference to Ibn Batuta's contribution in geography books is not an isolated example. All great Muslims whether historians, doctors, astronomers, scientists or chemists suffer the same fate.
The narratives of Ibn Batuta cover various aspects of life in Bengal. He provides a geographical account of some important places he visited, such as Sudkawan, 'a vast city on the coast of the great sea', Habank 'one of the most glorious and beautiful cities', Sunarkawan, 'a very inaccessible city'. He has given accounts of some rivers he traversed, such as the Ganga (Padma), Jun (Jumna) and Nahr ul-azraq (Surma). The traveller was enamored of the picturesque landscape, the greenery and beautiful fields, water-wheels, gardens and villages on both banks of the Surma, and comments that passing through villages and orchards was like going through a mart.
Ibn-Batuta provides some information on the political history beginning from the time of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud till the assumption of sovereignty by Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah and Alaauddin Ali shah. His narratives include information on the life of Sheikh Shah Jalal (R), influence of sufi saints on both Muslims and non-Muslims, existence of slavery in Bengal, practice of magic and witchcraft by the people of Kamarupa, abundance of food grains and cheap prices of commodities of daily use. He refers to the brisk internal and external trade of this region.
Ibn Batuta noticed marketplaces on the banks of the rivers and innumerable boats carrying men and merchandise. He has mentioned the practice of beating drums from every boat on the river as a signal for identifying inland merchant boats and for detecting stranger boats as a safeguard against piracy. He also mentions the sea-borne trade-links of Sonargaon with China, Java and Maldives. In view of the abundance of the necessaries of life and its soothing scenery on one hand, and the wet atmosphere and oppressive vapour bath on the other, the traveller justifies the attitude of foreigners who call Bangladesh a dozakh-i-pur az n'imat, which means an inferno full of gifts.
Ibn Batuta began by traversing the coast of the Mediterranean from Tangier to Alexandria, finding time to marry two wives on the road. He stayed in Cairo for a while, and an unsuccessful attempt to reach Mecca from Aidhab on the west coast of the Red Sea, he visited Palestine, Aleppo and Damascus. He then made the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, traveling thence to Basra, and across the mountains of Khuzestan to Isfahan, thence to Shiraz and back to Kufa and Baghdad. After an excursion to Mosul and Diarbekr, he made the Hajj a second time, and stayed in Mecca for three years.
Afterwards Ibn Batuta sailed down the Red Sea to Aden (then a place of great trade). Then he continued his journey down the African coast, visiting Mombassa and Quiloa (Kilwa) together with other places. Returning north he passed by the chief cities of Oman to New Ormuz (Hurmuz), which had about 15 years, before, c. 1315, been transferred to its famous island-site from the mainland (Old Ormuz). After visiting other parts of the gulf he crossed the breadth of Arabia to Mecca, making the Hajj (Pilgrimage) for the third time. Crossing the Red Sea, he made a journey of great hardship to Syene and thence along the Nile to Cairo. After this, traveling through Syria, he made a circuit among the petty Turkish states into which Asia Minor was divided after the fall of the kingdom of Rum (Iconium).
He now crossed the Black Sea to Kaffa. His next stop was Kipchak (the Mongol khanate of Russia), and joined the camp of the reigning khan Mohamed Uzbeg, from whom the great and heterogeneous Uzbeg race is perhaps named.
Among other places he visited was Boighar, he witnessed the shortness of the summer night, and desired to continue his travels north into the band of Darkness (in the extreme north of Russia).
Returning to the court of Uzbeg, at Sarai on the Volga, he crossed the steppes to Khwarizm and Bukhara; thence through Khurasan and Kabul, and over the Hindu Kush (to which he gives that name, its first occurrence).
Ibn Batuta was the only medieval traveler who is known to have visited the lands of every Muslim ruler of his time. The mere extent of his travels is estimated at no less than 75,000 miles, a figure which is not likely to have been surpassed before the age of steam.
Source: 1911encyclopedia.org
Khula’
12/12/2008 08:52:01 AM GMT
What is the procedure of khula, and when does it become complete?
(Khalid)
Khula’ is the name given to the termination of marriage at the wife’s request. It is different from an application for divorce. From the Islamic point of view, a woman can apply for divorce for anyone of a variety of reasons, such as ill-treatment by the husband, his being miserly, or negligent of duties, etc. Such an application is put to a judge who looks into the case. If he rules in favor of a divorce, the woman is divorced and receives all her rights, including any outstanding portion of her dowry. In khula’, the woman does not have to give any reasons for her desire to end her marriage. She must refund her husband all the dowry he had paid her.
What Islam requires in cases of khula’ is an application to a judge or a person in competent authority. The judge will then call the husband in and settle the matter, outlining the rights of the two parties.
In both divorce and khula’, the woman must observe a waiting period of three menstrual periods or three cleanliness periods. The husband can reinstate the marriage during this waiting period if he so wishes, but this applies to a revocable divorce that he has initiated. If it is a khula’ case, he cannot reinstate the marriage. When the waiting period is over, the process is complete. Needless to say, all material rights of both parties should be settled within this period, unless the two parties willingly agree on some other procedure.
What I have outlined is the process that meets Islamic requirements. The family laws of Muslim countries differ in their details. I cannot answer according to the law in force in any Muslim country. The person concerned should consult a competent scholar or lawyer. There are also some differences among schools of thought concerning the details that result from khula’, but these need be looked into according to each individual case.
Is the punishment decreed for homosexuals mentioned in the Qur’an? Please give references.
(S. Abd Al-Raheem)
No punishment is mentioned in the Quran for homosexuality, but it is treated as one of the worst crimes against Islamic morality. Islam is indeed very serious in matters of social morality. Therefore, fornication and adultery are considered very serious offences and strict punishments are prescribed for them, when certain conditions apply. Homosexuality is viewed as even more ghastly than adultery. The way the Qur’an speaks about Lot’s people, who were the first to practice this heinous offence, leaves no doubt as to how it should be viewed in Islamic society.
The fact that no specific punishment is mentioned in the Qur’an does not mean that this offence can go unpunished when it is proven. Islamic legislation is taken from two main sources: the Qur’an and the Sunnah, which includes the statements and practices of the Prophet. The Prophet ordered the death penalty for anyone who is guilty of this crime. He is quoted as saying: “If you find someone doing what Lot’s people used to do, then kill both partners.” (Related by Abu Dawood, Al-Tirmidhi, Al-Nassaie and Ibn Majah). He is also reported to have cursed such offenders in clear terms.
Scholars have different views on how a sodomist should be punished. However, the overwhelming majority are of the view that the death penalty applies, even though they differ as to the method of execution. Whichever method is chosen, the punishment should be one that provides a deterrent so that this offence is viewed in its true colors: a stark aggression against human decency, morality and God’s creation.
¬
Source: Arab News
What is the procedure of khula, and when does it become complete?
(Khalid)
Khula’ is the name given to the termination of marriage at the wife’s request. It is different from an application for divorce. From the Islamic point of view, a woman can apply for divorce for anyone of a variety of reasons, such as ill-treatment by the husband, his being miserly, or negligent of duties, etc. Such an application is put to a judge who looks into the case. If he rules in favor of a divorce, the woman is divorced and receives all her rights, including any outstanding portion of her dowry. In khula’, the woman does not have to give any reasons for her desire to end her marriage. She must refund her husband all the dowry he had paid her.
What Islam requires in cases of khula’ is an application to a judge or a person in competent authority. The judge will then call the husband in and settle the matter, outlining the rights of the two parties.
In both divorce and khula’, the woman must observe a waiting period of three menstrual periods or three cleanliness periods. The husband can reinstate the marriage during this waiting period if he so wishes, but this applies to a revocable divorce that he has initiated. If it is a khula’ case, he cannot reinstate the marriage. When the waiting period is over, the process is complete. Needless to say, all material rights of both parties should be settled within this period, unless the two parties willingly agree on some other procedure.
What I have outlined is the process that meets Islamic requirements. The family laws of Muslim countries differ in their details. I cannot answer according to the law in force in any Muslim country. The person concerned should consult a competent scholar or lawyer. There are also some differences among schools of thought concerning the details that result from khula’, but these need be looked into according to each individual case.
Is the punishment decreed for homosexuals mentioned in the Qur’an? Please give references.
(S. Abd Al-Raheem)
No punishment is mentioned in the Quran for homosexuality, but it is treated as one of the worst crimes against Islamic morality. Islam is indeed very serious in matters of social morality. Therefore, fornication and adultery are considered very serious offences and strict punishments are prescribed for them, when certain conditions apply. Homosexuality is viewed as even more ghastly than adultery. The way the Qur’an speaks about Lot’s people, who were the first to practice this heinous offence, leaves no doubt as to how it should be viewed in Islamic society.
The fact that no specific punishment is mentioned in the Qur’an does not mean that this offence can go unpunished when it is proven. Islamic legislation is taken from two main sources: the Qur’an and the Sunnah, which includes the statements and practices of the Prophet. The Prophet ordered the death penalty for anyone who is guilty of this crime. He is quoted as saying: “If you find someone doing what Lot’s people used to do, then kill both partners.” (Related by Abu Dawood, Al-Tirmidhi, Al-Nassaie and Ibn Majah). He is also reported to have cursed such offenders in clear terms.
Scholars have different views on how a sodomist should be punished. However, the overwhelming majority are of the view that the death penalty applies, even though they differ as to the method of execution. Whichever method is chosen, the punishment should be one that provides a deterrent so that this offence is viewed in its true colors: a stark aggression against human decency, morality and God’s creation.
¬
Source: Arab News
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Abu Abdullah Al-Battani
Abu Abdallah Muhammad Ibn Jabir Ibn Sinan al-Battanial-Harrani is a great Muslim astronomer mathematician and astrologer. He was of Sabian origin. His name in Latin is Albatenius, Albategnus, or Albategni.
He was born around 858 A.D. in Battan, a State of Harran. Battani received his first education through his father Jabir Ibn San'an al-Battani, who was also a well-known scientist. After this he moved to Raqqa, situated on the bank of the Euphrates, where he received advanced education and later on flourished as a scholar.
He migrated to Samarra at the beginning of the 9th century, and over there he worked till the end of his life in929 A.D.
He is one of the most prominent astronomers in the Islamic history. He contributed in a number of important discoveries in astronomy, which was the result of a long career of 42 years of research beginning at Raqqa when he was young.
His greatest discovery is the remarkably accurate determination of the solar year as being 365 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes and 24 seconds, which is very close to the latest estimates. He found that the longitude of the sun's apogee had increased by 16�, 47' since Ptolemy. This implied the important discovery of the motion of the solar upsides and of a slow variation in the equation of time. He did not believe in the trepidation of the equinoxes, although Copernicus held it.
Al-Battani pointed out with unbelievable accuracy the obliquity of the ecliptic, the length of the seasons and the true and mean orbit of the sun.
He rectified several orbits of the moon and the planets and propounded a new and very ingenious theory to determine the conditions of visibility of the new moon. He proved, in sharp contrast to Ptolemy, the variation of the apparent angular diameter of the sun and the possibility of annular eclipses. Dunthorne used his excellent observations of lunar and solar eclipses in 1749 to determine the secular acceleration of motion of the moon. He also provided very clear solutions by means of orthographic projection for some problems of spherical trigonometry.
In the field of mathematics, he was the first to replace the use of Greek chords by singes, with a clear understanding of their superiority. He also developed the concept of cotangent and furnished their table in degrees.
Abu Abdullah Al Battani wrote a number of books on astronomy and trigonometry. His most famous book was his astronomical treatise with tables, which was translated into Latin in the 12th century and flourished as De scienta stellerum � De numeris stellerum et motibus. An old translation of this is available at the Vatican.
What he wrote on astronomy was extremely influential in Europe till the Renaissance, with translations available in several languages. His original discoveries both in astronomy and trigonometry were of great help in the development of these scientific fields.
Source: members.tripod.com
He was born around 858 A.D. in Battan, a State of Harran. Battani received his first education through his father Jabir Ibn San'an al-Battani, who was also a well-known scientist. After this he moved to Raqqa, situated on the bank of the Euphrates, where he received advanced education and later on flourished as a scholar.
He migrated to Samarra at the beginning of the 9th century, and over there he worked till the end of his life in929 A.D.
He is one of the most prominent astronomers in the Islamic history. He contributed in a number of important discoveries in astronomy, which was the result of a long career of 42 years of research beginning at Raqqa when he was young.
His greatest discovery is the remarkably accurate determination of the solar year as being 365 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes and 24 seconds, which is very close to the latest estimates. He found that the longitude of the sun's apogee had increased by 16�, 47' since Ptolemy. This implied the important discovery of the motion of the solar upsides and of a slow variation in the equation of time. He did not believe in the trepidation of the equinoxes, although Copernicus held it.
Al-Battani pointed out with unbelievable accuracy the obliquity of the ecliptic, the length of the seasons and the true and mean orbit of the sun.
He rectified several orbits of the moon and the planets and propounded a new and very ingenious theory to determine the conditions of visibility of the new moon. He proved, in sharp contrast to Ptolemy, the variation of the apparent angular diameter of the sun and the possibility of annular eclipses. Dunthorne used his excellent observations of lunar and solar eclipses in 1749 to determine the secular acceleration of motion of the moon. He also provided very clear solutions by means of orthographic projection for some problems of spherical trigonometry.
In the field of mathematics, he was the first to replace the use of Greek chords by singes, with a clear understanding of their superiority. He also developed the concept of cotangent and furnished their table in degrees.
Abu Abdullah Al Battani wrote a number of books on astronomy and trigonometry. His most famous book was his astronomical treatise with tables, which was translated into Latin in the 12th century and flourished as De scienta stellerum � De numeris stellerum et motibus. An old translation of this is available at the Vatican.
What he wrote on astronomy was extremely influential in Europe till the Renaissance, with translations available in several languages. His original discoveries both in astronomy and trigonometry were of great help in the development of these scientific fields.
Source: members.tripod.com
'Indeed, your Lord is the Doer of What He Wills'
Allah says: “And He created all things and determined them in full determination.” [Sûrah al-Furqân: 2]
Therefore, everything that takes place in the universe is according to His decree.
People have a right to ask: Does Allah really want from those of us who do wrong that we do wrong. Does he want from us our acts of oppression and injustice? Is He pleased with these things, and is He pleased when some of us reject Him or disbelieve in Him?
The answer to this is that Allah is not pleased with evil and with unbelief. When we speak of His will, there are two aspects to it. One is the aspect of what Allah brings about in Creation – what He decrees in His infinite wisdom to take place. The other is what Allah commands of us to carry out of our own free will and what He is pleased with.
Allah's will – This attribute of Allah is discussed in many verses of the Qur'ân. Each of the two aspects to Allah's will are addressed by different verses.
Allah says: "Indeed your Lord is the Doer of what He wills" [Sûrah Hûd: 107] and "(He is the) Doer of what He wills." [Sûrah al-Burûj: 16]
Here Allah is referring to His existential, creative will. It is existential, since it means that everything in existence occurs because Allah wills it to be.
The other aspect of Allah's will is His prescriptive or legislative will. This is His will with respect to what He commands us to carry out and prohibits us from doing. This is referred to in verse like: "Allah wants ease for you and does not want difficulty for you." [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 185] and "They want the provisions of the world, while Allah wants the Hereafter." [Sûrah al-Anfâl: 67]
Allah's existential will is general and absolute. Nothing in existence ever happens that is contrary to it. Whatever Allah wills must come to pass. Whatever He does not will to be will never happen. Allah says: "But you will not, except as Allah wills; for Allah is full of Knowledge and Wisdom." [Sûrah al-Insân: 30]
By contrast, his prescriptive, legislative will, refers to what Allah loves and what He commands from us. In other words, it constitutes what He wants and is pleased with of the Law, which He set forth in the Qur’ân and Sunnah.
For instance, Allah commands us to: "establish prayer". This is a religious injunction for prayer to be established. Allah wants us to carry it out. However, Allah has made it so people act according to their own free will. Some of them will obey Allah and establish prayer while others will disobey Him and refuse to do so. Therefore, Allah's legislative will that people carry out their prayers might or might not take place in any given instance.
Though everything that takes place in creation is by Allah's decree, He does not love everything that takes place. Allah has given us free will to believe in him or disbelieve. Consequently, it is His will that some people will choose to believe in Him and that others will choose not to.
Therefore, we can rightly say about Abû Lahab that Allah willed for him to die an unbeliever, since his death upon unbelief is confirmed to us by the Qur'ân. This is with reference to Allah's existential will. In other words, Abû Lahab's unbelief is what Allah willed to actually take place in Creation according to His eternal decree.
At the same time, we can say that Allah wants from an unbeliever to believe in Him., and this command to believe was addressed to Abû Lahab as much as to anyone else. In this case, we are talking about Allah's prescriptive, legislative will.
We cannot say that it is Allah's will that all people on Earth will in actually believe, since He says: "If it had been your Lord's will, they would all have believed,- all who are on Earth! Would you (O Muhammad) then compel people, against their will, to believe!" [Sûrah Yûnus: 99]
However, with respect to Allah's legislative will, we can say that Allah wills from each and every person to believe, meaning that Allah commands belief from each and every person.
Allah's existential will is synonymous with what actually takes place in existence, while His legislative will is synonymous with what He enjoins upon us and commands us to do.
Both aspects of Allah's will come together in the person of a believer, for indeed Allah has willed for that person to believe with respect to both His predetermined, existential will as well as His prescriptive, legislative will.
These two aspects of Allah's will part company with respect to an unbeliever – like Abû Lahab – for indeed Allah did not will for him to believe. Abû Lahab's disbelief was in accordance with Allah's determination. All the same, Allah, in accordance with His prescriptive, legislative will, Allah had commanded Abû Lahab to believe.
And Allah knows best.
--> We know that Allah created everything. Allah says: “Allah is the Creator of all things.” [Sûrah al-Zumar: 62 and Sûrah al-Ra`d: 16]
Allah says: “And He created all things and determined them in full determination.” [Sûrah al-Furqân: 2]
Therefore, everything that takes place in the universe is according to His decree.
People have a right to ask: Does Allah really want from those of us who do wrong that we do wrong. Does he want from us our acts of oppression and injustice? Is He pleased with these things, and is He pleased when some of us reject Him or disbelieve in Him?
The answer to this is that Allah is not pleased with evil and with unbelief. When we speak of His will, there are two aspects to it. One is the aspect of what Allah brings about in Creation – what He decrees in His infinite wisdom to take place. The other is what Allah commands of us to carry out of our own free will and what He is pleased with.
Allah's will – This attribute of Allah is discussed in many verses of the Qur'ân. Each of the two aspects to Allah's will are addressed by different verses.
Allah says: "Indeed your Lord is the Doer of what He wills" [Sûrah Hûd: 107] and "(He is the) Doer of what He wills." [Sûrah al-Burûj: 16]
Here Allah is referring to His existential, creative will. It is existential, since it means that everything in existence occurs because Allah wills it to be.
The other aspect of Allah's will is His prescriptive or legislative will. This is His will with respect to what He commands us to carry out and prohibits us from doing. This is referred to in verse like: "Allah wants ease for you and does not want difficulty for you." [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 185] and "They want the provisions of the world, while Allah wants the Hereafter." [Sûrah al-Anfâl: 67]
Allah's existential will is general and absolute. Nothing in existence ever happens that is contrary to it. Whatever Allah wills must come to pass. Whatever He does not will to be will never happen. Allah says: "But you will not, except as Allah wills; for Allah is full of Knowledge and Wisdom." [Sûrah al-Insân: 30]
By contrast, his prescriptive, legislative will, refers to what Allah loves and what He commands from us. In other words, it constitutes what He wants and is pleased with of the Law, which He set forth in the Qur’ân and Sunnah.
For instance, Allah commands us to: "establish prayer". This is a religious injunction for prayer to be established. Allah wants us to carry it out. However, Allah has made it so people act according to their own free will. Some of them will obey Allah and establish prayer while others will disobey Him and refuse to do so. Therefore, Allah's legislative will that people carry out their prayers might or might not take place in any given instance.
Though everything that takes place in creation is by Allah's decree, He does not love everything that takes place. Allah has given us free will to believe in him or disbelieve. Consequently, it is His will that some people will choose to believe in Him and that others will choose not to.
Therefore, we can rightly say about Abû Lahab that Allah willed for him to die an unbeliever, since his death upon unbelief is confirmed to us by the Qur'ân. This is with reference to Allah's existential will. In other words, Abû Lahab's unbelief is what Allah willed to actually take place in Creation according to His eternal decree.
At the same time, we can say that Allah wants from an unbeliever to believe in Him., and this command to believe was addressed to Abû Lahab as much as to anyone else. In this case, we are talking about Allah's prescriptive, legislative will.
We cannot say that it is Allah's will that all people on Earth will in actually believe, since He says: "If it had been your Lord's will, they would all have believed,- all who are on Earth! Would you (O Muhammad) then compel people, against their will, to believe!" [Sûrah Yûnus: 99]
However, with respect to Allah's legislative will, we can say that Allah wills from each and every person to believe, meaning that Allah commands belief from each and every person.
Allah's existential will is synonymous with what actually takes place in existence, while His legislative will is synonymous with what He enjoins upon us and commands us to do.
Both aspects of Allah's will come together in the person of a believer, for indeed Allah has willed for that person to believe with respect to both His predetermined, existential will as well as His prescriptive, legislative will.
These two aspects of Allah's will part company with respect to an unbeliever – like Abû Lahab – for indeed Allah did not will for him to believe. Abû Lahab's disbelief was in accordance with Allah's determination. All the same, Allah, in accordance with His prescriptive, legislative will, Allah had commanded Abû Lahab to believe.
And Allah knows best.
Therefore, everything that takes place in the universe is according to His decree.
People have a right to ask: Does Allah really want from those of us who do wrong that we do wrong. Does he want from us our acts of oppression and injustice? Is He pleased with these things, and is He pleased when some of us reject Him or disbelieve in Him?
The answer to this is that Allah is not pleased with evil and with unbelief. When we speak of His will, there are two aspects to it. One is the aspect of what Allah brings about in Creation – what He decrees in His infinite wisdom to take place. The other is what Allah commands of us to carry out of our own free will and what He is pleased with.
Allah's will – This attribute of Allah is discussed in many verses of the Qur'ân. Each of the two aspects to Allah's will are addressed by different verses.
Allah says: "Indeed your Lord is the Doer of what He wills" [Sûrah Hûd: 107] and "(He is the) Doer of what He wills." [Sûrah al-Burûj: 16]
Here Allah is referring to His existential, creative will. It is existential, since it means that everything in existence occurs because Allah wills it to be.
The other aspect of Allah's will is His prescriptive or legislative will. This is His will with respect to what He commands us to carry out and prohibits us from doing. This is referred to in verse like: "Allah wants ease for you and does not want difficulty for you." [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 185] and "They want the provisions of the world, while Allah wants the Hereafter." [Sûrah al-Anfâl: 67]
Allah's existential will is general and absolute. Nothing in existence ever happens that is contrary to it. Whatever Allah wills must come to pass. Whatever He does not will to be will never happen. Allah says: "But you will not, except as Allah wills; for Allah is full of Knowledge and Wisdom." [Sûrah al-Insân: 30]
By contrast, his prescriptive, legislative will, refers to what Allah loves and what He commands from us. In other words, it constitutes what He wants and is pleased with of the Law, which He set forth in the Qur’ân and Sunnah.
For instance, Allah commands us to: "establish prayer". This is a religious injunction for prayer to be established. Allah wants us to carry it out. However, Allah has made it so people act according to their own free will. Some of them will obey Allah and establish prayer while others will disobey Him and refuse to do so. Therefore, Allah's legislative will that people carry out their prayers might or might not take place in any given instance.
Though everything that takes place in creation is by Allah's decree, He does not love everything that takes place. Allah has given us free will to believe in him or disbelieve. Consequently, it is His will that some people will choose to believe in Him and that others will choose not to.
Therefore, we can rightly say about Abû Lahab that Allah willed for him to die an unbeliever, since his death upon unbelief is confirmed to us by the Qur'ân. This is with reference to Allah's existential will. In other words, Abû Lahab's unbelief is what Allah willed to actually take place in Creation according to His eternal decree.
At the same time, we can say that Allah wants from an unbeliever to believe in Him., and this command to believe was addressed to Abû Lahab as much as to anyone else. In this case, we are talking about Allah's prescriptive, legislative will.
We cannot say that it is Allah's will that all people on Earth will in actually believe, since He says: "If it had been your Lord's will, they would all have believed,- all who are on Earth! Would you (O Muhammad) then compel people, against their will, to believe!" [Sûrah Yûnus: 99]
However, with respect to Allah's legislative will, we can say that Allah wills from each and every person to believe, meaning that Allah commands belief from each and every person.
Allah's existential will is synonymous with what actually takes place in existence, while His legislative will is synonymous with what He enjoins upon us and commands us to do.
Both aspects of Allah's will come together in the person of a believer, for indeed Allah has willed for that person to believe with respect to both His predetermined, existential will as well as His prescriptive, legislative will.
These two aspects of Allah's will part company with respect to an unbeliever – like Abû Lahab – for indeed Allah did not will for him to believe. Abû Lahab's disbelief was in accordance with Allah's determination. All the same, Allah, in accordance with His prescriptive, legislative will, Allah had commanded Abû Lahab to believe.
And Allah knows best.
--> We know that Allah created everything. Allah says: “Allah is the Creator of all things.” [Sûrah al-Zumar: 62 and Sûrah al-Ra`d: 16]
Allah says: “And He created all things and determined them in full determination.” [Sûrah al-Furqân: 2]
Therefore, everything that takes place in the universe is according to His decree.
People have a right to ask: Does Allah really want from those of us who do wrong that we do wrong. Does he want from us our acts of oppression and injustice? Is He pleased with these things, and is He pleased when some of us reject Him or disbelieve in Him?
The answer to this is that Allah is not pleased with evil and with unbelief. When we speak of His will, there are two aspects to it. One is the aspect of what Allah brings about in Creation – what He decrees in His infinite wisdom to take place. The other is what Allah commands of us to carry out of our own free will and what He is pleased with.
Allah's will – This attribute of Allah is discussed in many verses of the Qur'ân. Each of the two aspects to Allah's will are addressed by different verses.
Allah says: "Indeed your Lord is the Doer of what He wills" [Sûrah Hûd: 107] and "(He is the) Doer of what He wills." [Sûrah al-Burûj: 16]
Here Allah is referring to His existential, creative will. It is existential, since it means that everything in existence occurs because Allah wills it to be.
The other aspect of Allah's will is His prescriptive or legislative will. This is His will with respect to what He commands us to carry out and prohibits us from doing. This is referred to in verse like: "Allah wants ease for you and does not want difficulty for you." [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 185] and "They want the provisions of the world, while Allah wants the Hereafter." [Sûrah al-Anfâl: 67]
Allah's existential will is general and absolute. Nothing in existence ever happens that is contrary to it. Whatever Allah wills must come to pass. Whatever He does not will to be will never happen. Allah says: "But you will not, except as Allah wills; for Allah is full of Knowledge and Wisdom." [Sûrah al-Insân: 30]
By contrast, his prescriptive, legislative will, refers to what Allah loves and what He commands from us. In other words, it constitutes what He wants and is pleased with of the Law, which He set forth in the Qur’ân and Sunnah.
For instance, Allah commands us to: "establish prayer". This is a religious injunction for prayer to be established. Allah wants us to carry it out. However, Allah has made it so people act according to their own free will. Some of them will obey Allah and establish prayer while others will disobey Him and refuse to do so. Therefore, Allah's legislative will that people carry out their prayers might or might not take place in any given instance.
Though everything that takes place in creation is by Allah's decree, He does not love everything that takes place. Allah has given us free will to believe in him or disbelieve. Consequently, it is His will that some people will choose to believe in Him and that others will choose not to.
Therefore, we can rightly say about Abû Lahab that Allah willed for him to die an unbeliever, since his death upon unbelief is confirmed to us by the Qur'ân. This is with reference to Allah's existential will. In other words, Abû Lahab's unbelief is what Allah willed to actually take place in Creation according to His eternal decree.
At the same time, we can say that Allah wants from an unbeliever to believe in Him., and this command to believe was addressed to Abû Lahab as much as to anyone else. In this case, we are talking about Allah's prescriptive, legislative will.
We cannot say that it is Allah's will that all people on Earth will in actually believe, since He says: "If it had been your Lord's will, they would all have believed,- all who are on Earth! Would you (O Muhammad) then compel people, against their will, to believe!" [Sûrah Yûnus: 99]
However, with respect to Allah's legislative will, we can say that Allah wills from each and every person to believe, meaning that Allah commands belief from each and every person.
Allah's existential will is synonymous with what actually takes place in existence, while His legislative will is synonymous with what He enjoins upon us and commands us to do.
Both aspects of Allah's will come together in the person of a believer, for indeed Allah has willed for that person to believe with respect to both His predetermined, existential will as well as His prescriptive, legislative will.
These two aspects of Allah's will part company with respect to an unbeliever – like Abû Lahab – for indeed Allah did not will for him to believe. Abû Lahab's disbelief was in accordance with Allah's determination. All the same, Allah, in accordance with His prescriptive, legislative will, Allah had commanded Abû Lahab to believe.
And Allah knows best.
Al-Fârâbî as a Source of the History of Philosophy and of Its Definition
This article by Professor Mubahat Turker-Kuyel, was first published in the Turkish review Erdem, 18 (1990). Ankara 1992, pp. 737-747. We are grateful to Imran Baba, editor of Erdem for allowing publication.
Al-Fârâbî says that philosophy comes to us from the ancient Greeks,[1] especially from Plato and Aristotle who have founded and perfected it.[2]
Historians of philosophy begin their topics, after citing the name of Homer, with those of the "Seven Sages" among whom Thales is cited first. All the people who are interested in philosophy know that the word philosophy is composed of philia, that is quest and love and sophos that is wisdom. It seems that the word philosophy is an invention of the Pythagoreans.[3]
In the literature, the following questions have been asked rather frequently: "What is wisdom?" "What is the relation between wisdom and philosophy?" "Is this wisdom invention of ancient Greeks or contributions from other cultures?" It seems to me that it is possible to ask these questions now with reference to Plato, Aristotle, Beressos, Ibn Newbakht, al-Fârâbî, Ibn Maymun, Roger Bacon, Miklosh Daczi Yanos,[4] and, to the recent studies on ancient Mesopotamia.[5]
With this article, we ask all these questions and we utilize the works of al-Fârâbî, his definitions and his terms as a referable source. And we see, that according to him, wisdom has come to us from the Chaldeans; and that it is the basis of philosophy and science, as well as religion, and, that it makes the distinction between that which is intelligible with certainty, and religion which lets us know the truth by image through similitude and offers us conviction, belief and persuasion. The starting point of al-Fârâbî in these subjects is certainly found in his very important little book, entitled "The Conditions of Certain Truth."[6] All these aspects reveal the beginning of the history of philosophy.
As regards to the ancient or new bibliographic and bio-bibliographic sources[7] it is well known that al-Fârâbî has written many treatises on the definitions of philosophy, its appearance in the world, its transmission from one culture to another and the meaning of the philosopher's names, as well as which things are necessary before beginning to study philosophy.[8] We have at hand some of these books, while we do not have some others.[9] But al-Fârâbî has, always, taken these subjects into consideration directly or indirectly in his main books.[10] At the same time he has given to us the definitions of wisdom and philosophy. The following are the definitions of the not divine but human wisdom given by al-Fârâbî to us:
1. "Wisdom is the knowledge about the First One from whom all the creatures have gotten their virtues and perfections." [11]
2. "Wisdom is the knowledge about the ultimate and supreme principles of creatures." [12]
3. "Wisdom is the veneration before the most venerable subject by knowing it by means of the most venerable knowledge." [13]
4. "Wisdom is searching on the ultimate happiness." [14]
5. "Wisdom is the virtue of the parts of the rational soul [15] such as intelligence, reason, understanding, cleverness, just as courage, righteousness and altruism are the virtues of the parts of the animal soul like lust and passion."[16] Indeed, according to al-Fârâbî, the virtues are either "theoretical" or "deliberative" or "moral" or "practical" for all people or "nations" (Milla).
All previously mentioned definitions of wisdom are the same by essence although they seem different at first glance. This is because the theoretical virtue of man and his searching for "certain truth" is wisdom in itself. [17]
We could appreciate this point also in taking into account the outlines of the philosophy of al-Fârâbî and his definitions of philosophy.
It is well known that, according to the philosophical views of al-Fârâbî, existence per se is only for God Himself. This means that God exists necessarily, while His creatures are existent only by God. God is the one and absolute existent per autrui whose essence is His own existence. [18] God possesses wisdom and intellect. Thinking His essence, God, gives their existence to His creatures as well as to man. Therefore, from the First One emanates the Intellect, the Soul and the Matter. The essence of God being wisdom, and since Intellectus, Intelligens and Intellectum, all the Universe, including men, are emanated from His knowledge, all the Universe should be constructed according to divine wisdom. For this reason, the knowledge of man about God, and His creatures as they are, is human wisdom itself and the search of man for knowledge of these subjects is the theoretical virtue itself.
The drawing of Ibn Sînâ on the Pakistan stamp. The stamp reads: Hakim Ibn E-Sina (980-1037), Health from Herbs.
The wisdom of God is identical with His life i.e. God's wisdom is "the intellection about the most venerable subject by means of the most venerable knowledge." "The most venerable subject" is God Himself. According to the philosophical view of Ibn Sînâ man finds, the "ultimate happiness" in the searching for knowledge about God. This means that man comes to imitate God's wisdom and life and that the response of man to the "Creatio Dei"(God's creatures) is only by "Imitatio Dei"(imitation of God). For example, the response of man to the "Tajallî" (manifestation) of God is only by the "Ittisâl" (contact, conjunction) of man with Him. "Imitatio Dei" is then, man's theoretical virtue itself. According to al-Fârâbî, the purpose of man to study philosophy is to know God in order to imitate Him as much as possible. [19] Further, "philosophy is to know the being as being."[20] "The end of philosophy is to know all beings as they are."[21] Philosophy concerns all being, as in theoretical or practical philosophy. Mathematics (including Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy and Music), Physics and Theology are theoretical philosophy, while moral, economical and political sciences are practical ones.
With all these views, al-Fârâbî establishes a parallelism between wisdom and philosophy on the one hand and a connection between wisdom and moral and political sciences on the other. He proposes wisdom as the way to the "attainment" of the ultimate happiness which is also attainment to the "certain knowledge" about God. One could attain to knowledge with certainty about God, when one studies all beings as they are or being as being. These topics are studied in the "Book of Lambda", part of the Metaphysics of Aristotle. These subjects are called sometimes "metaphysics", sometimes as "theology". [22] Theologies come "after" physics. Its place is "higher" than it. For, to study the principles of beings and the subjects whose separation from matter is not imagery like those of Mathematics, but ontological, is the most venerable thing to do for man. All these subjects are the most venerable ones. One knows all these "most venerable subjects" by mean of the "most venerable science" which is both the "certain truth" andthe "theoretical virtue". One attains to the "ultimate happiness" by integrating his "theoretical virtue" with the "deliberative" and "moral" virtues as well as with the "practical arts".
With these considerations, al-Fârâbî puts together wisdom based on philosophy, and science, as well as that of religion. Then, it is clear, why in the Turkish language Physics and Biology have been called for a long time "the wisdom about nature" or "the natural wisdom" (Hikmet-i tabiiyye).
For, according to al-Fârâbî, man possesses the "certain truth" as the human intellect concerns a being and the knowledge about it is exactly being the same as it is. Both this being and the knowledge about it are called "truth" or "truthfulness". When there is no doubt within the human mind about the knowledge about a being that it is exactly the same as this thing itself, this "truth" becomes "certain". Then, this state of human mind is called "certain truth". When any human intellect is not concerned about any being this being does not become "truth", it rests alone as a being. When the human intellect is concerning with the Eternal Being; with certainty, manhas then, the "certain truth" the "true science", the "most venerable science".
Man attains to it by asking the following questions and taking their "certain" responses which are similar to the mathematical definitions: "Whether the thing is", "What is it?", "By which, from which, for which is it?", "Why is it?" These questions and their responses are called the "Principles of instruction". Man attains to the First Principle by asking all the time to himself the following questions: "Whether the thing is", "Why the thing is", and having their "certain" responses. [23] The "Principles of Being" are the following questions and their "certain" responses: "What", "By what" and "How the thing is", "For what it is." In some subjects, like the mathematical ones, the "Principles of instruction" are the same as the "Principles of being", while in some subjects it is not. [24] There is not any "true science" about the changing objects, of course, [25] Man attains to the "true science" through "apodeictic", that is, "certain demonstration' starting with premises which are true, general, and necessary. To attain to the "true science" orthe "most venerable science" isto attain to the "certain truth".
A calligraphy that mentions about wisdom (hikma): Ra's al-Hikmatu mahâfatullah.
According to al-Fârâbî, this "most venerable science" that the ancient "Greeks used to call the true wisdom, is the highest wisdom. They call the acquisition of it science and the scientific state of mind philosophy, by which they meant the quest and the love for the highest wisdom. They held that, potentially, it subsumes all the virtues. They called it science of science, the mother of sciences, the wisdom of wisdoms and the art of arts. They meant the art that makes use of all the arts, the virtue that makes use of all the virtues and the wisdom that makes use of all wisdoms. Now wisdom may be used for consummate and extreme competence in any art whatsoever when it leads to performing feats of which most practitioners of that art are incapable. Here wisdom is used in a qualified sense. Thus, he who is extremely competent in art is said to be wise in that art. Similarly, a man with penetrating practical judgment and acumen may be called wise in the thing regarding which he has penetrating practical judgment. However true wisdom is this science and state of mind alone. [26] When the theoretical sciences are isolated and their possessors do not have the faculty for exploiting them for the benefit of others, they are defective philosophy. To be truly a perfect philosopher, one has to possess both the theoretical sciences and the faculty for exploiting them for the benefit of all others according to their capacity. Were one to consider the case of the true philosopher, he would find no difference between him and the supreme ruler."
According to al-Fârâbî, "There are two ways of making a thing comprehensible; first by causing its essence to be perceived by the intellect — this is the method of "certain demonstration"— and, second, by causing it to be imagined through the similitude that imitates it — this is the method of persuasion —. When one acquires knowledge of the beings or receives instruction in them, if he perceives their ideas themselves with his intellect and his assent to them this is by means of certain demonstration; then, the science that comprises these cognitions is philosophy. But, if they are known by imagining them through similitudes that imitate them and assent to what is imagined of them is caused by the persuasive method, then the Ancients call what comprises these cognitions Religion. And, if those intelligibles themselves are adopted and persuasive methods are used, then, the religion comprising them is called popular, generally accepted, and external philosophy. Therefore, according to the Ancients, religion is an imitation of philosophy. Both comprise the same subjects and both give an account of the ultimate principles of the beings. For both supply knowledge about the first principle and cause of the beings, and both give an account of the ultimate end for the sake of which man is made — that is the supreme happiness — and the ultimate end of every one of the other beings. In everything of which philosophy gives an account based on intellectual perception or conception, religion gives an account based on imagination. In everything demonstrated by philosophy, religion employs persuasion. [27] Philosophy gives an account of the ultimate principles as they are perceived by the intellect. Religion set forth its images by means of similitudes of them taken from corporal principles and imitates them by their likeness among political offices. It imitates the divine acts by means of the functions of political offices. It imitates the actions of natural powers and principles of their likeness among the faculties. States and arts have to do with the will, just as Plato does in the Timaeus. It imitates the intelligibles by their likenesses among the sensible: For instance, some imitate matter by abyss or darkness or water, and nothingness by darkness. It imitates the classes of supreme happiness by their likenesses among the good that are believed to be the ends. It imitates the classes of true happiness by means of the ones that are believed to be happiness. It imitates the ranks of the beings by their likenesses among spatial and temporal ranks. And, it attempts to bring the similitudes of these things as close as possible to their essences. Also, in everything of which philosophy gives an account that is demonstrative and certain, religion gives an account based on persuasive arguments. Finally philosophy is prior to religion in time, [28] and the subjects of wisdom or philosophy are more comprehensive than those of religion. In the last analysis, the meanings of "Milla", "Sunna", "Umma" and "Sharî'a" should be the same.[29] Likewise, the "ultimate happiness" should be the same for all umma's, while their symbols are different. [30] This means that the essence of all the religions is the same, although their external forms or their symbols are different. The idea of the true philosopher, supreme ruler, prince, legislator and Imam is but a single idea. But, religion is the instruction of people by persuasion and imagination. Because according to al-Fârâbî, when the logic, with which one searches what is common for all languages is used in the parts of philosophy, one attains to the certainty. Thus, the "certain demonstration" is used in philosophy. The "certain demonstration" is a kind of syllogism formed with premises which are certain. [31] The "certain demonstration" is attainable only through the "certain affirmation".[32] There are also other lands of affirmations which are nearest to the certainty, giving to us opinion or persuasion or conviction. All these other kinds of affirmations are used by religions as rhetorical, popular and generally accepted arguments. [33]
Ibn Sînâ drawing by A. Suheyl Unver
The "certain demonstration" is other than the certainty itself. Therefore, the "certain demonstration" is a scientific syllogism formed with the premises which are general, true and necessary, while certainty is a state of mind to which one attains by starting from the premises which are true, necessary, general, primary, immediate, indemonstrable, first, more intelligible than and prior to the conclusion and causes of the conclusion. [34]
The proposition, which informs us of the necessary existence of a thing, is invertible with the proposition that is necessarily certain and informs us about it.[35] There is not any being which is necessary with the exception of God. The only being that is necessary is God Himself. Other beings are possible in the different degree of majority, equality, minority and eventuality. The natural things are not necessary but possible in the degree of majority. The thing, which is possible in the degree of equality, is called neither contingent, that is not possible to say neither "is" (true) nor "is not" (true) about it. They who give us "true demonstration" about creation and attain to the "certain truth" about it, are the philosophers, they who give us the "persuasive demonstration" are theologians. [36] But, the "true demonstrations" of philosophers are superior and most venerable. [37]
According to al-Fârâbî, man knows God and divine subjects by means of intellect.[38] The intellect is the nearest being to God. It is a part of the "most honourable world".[39] It is the "most honourable part of human soul."[40] It is a part and a faculty of the human soul by means of which man comprehends the "certain truth".[41] When. God created the beings; He gave the most convenient nature to man to receive the intellectual soul. . The first place for the human soul is in the heart [42] which is one of the parts of the human body.[43] The knowledge about the First One is the attainment to the ultimate happiness which is the specific perfection of man.[44] This is the First and Eternal One who gives to the beings as well as to the man their virtues and perfection.[45]
The Supreme Ruler prepares his people to the virtuous city by instruction with "certain truth". There is a parallelism between God, Universe, Society and Peoples. The people of the virtuous city are those who know wisdom and justice. One attains to the Milla through the "certain truth" or similitude as we said before. It is clear now from all these explanations that, "true wisdom" is the "most honorable science" or the "certain truth" according to al-Fârâbî. According to him "it is said that this science existed anciently among the Chaldeans [46] who are the people of Iraq, subsequently reaching the people of Egypt, from there transmitted to the Greeks, where it remained until it was transmitted to the Syrians, and then to the Arabs. Everything comprised by this science was expounded in the Greek language, later in Syriac and finally in Arabic."[47] We have also very detailed information coming from al-Fârâbî, included in cUyûn al-Anbâ' and appreciated by Max Meyerhof on the transmission of philosophy from the Greeks to the world of Islam. [48]
Ancient and new archeological studies on the literature of wisdom and science in Ancient Mesopotamia and especially in Sumer made by many cuneiformists, especially by Thureau-Dangin, Neugebauer, Thomson, Arno Poebel, Landsberger, Van Dyck, Kramer, affirm the main thesis of al-Fârâbî.
As a result, we could say that, although al-Fârâbî says that philosophy comes to us from the Greeks, especially from Plato and Aristotle, both the definitions and the history of wisdom, in the light of works of al-Fârâbî as well as those of cuneiform literature, point out to us that the main conceptions of Greek philosophy and philosophers are included in the Mesopotamian, especially Sumerian literature of wisdom.
[1] Tahsîl al-Sa'âda, 49; Muhsin Mahdi, Alfârâbî's Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, Agora, Free Press of Glencoe, New York. 1962.
[2] Kitâb al-Cam' Bayna Ra'yayn al-Hakimayn, 1, Dieterici, Leiden 1890.
[3] Lalande, Vocabulaire Technicue et Philosophique.
[4] Plato, Timaios; Aristotle (Eudemos, Matematik Tarihi); Pseudo-Hippocrates, Yedi Sayisi Uzerine 4, 2, 6; Berossos, (Conteneau, Le Deluge, 32-33, Payot, Paris 1952); Ibn Nawbakht, Kitâb Nahmutân; Ibn Nadîm, al-Fihrist, Flugel, Dodge; Al-Fârâbî Tahsîl 43; Ibn Maymun, Dalâlat al-Hâ'irîn, Fs. 54, 183, Atay, Ilâhiyât Fakultesi, Ankara 1974; Roger Bacon, Opus Maius; 0. Tertium. (Gilson, La Philosophie au Moyen Age 477-78). Huseyin Namik Orkun, Eski Turk Tazilari, III, 1940, T.D.K., 302 vd.
[5] Borger, Handbuch der Keilshriftslitteratur, De Gruyter, 1975-1977, Berlin 1979.
[6] M. Turker-Kuyel, "Sarâ'it al-Yakîn d'al-Fârâbî," Arastirma, i, 1963, 173-194, Ankara 1964. Ayrica bk. A.K.M., Fârâbî Kulliyati, no: 2.
[7] Ibn Nadîm, al-Fihrist; Ibn Abî cUsaibica, 'Uyûn al-Anbâ'; al-Kiftî, Ihbâr al-Ulama; Brockelmann, GAL, 1 Suppl, 1; F. Sezgin, Shriftstum; Ates, "Fârâbî'nin Eserleri'nin Bibliyografyasi," Belleten, 1951, XV, 57, 175-192; Pearson, Index Islamicus; N. Rescher, al-Fârâbî, Pittsburgh, 1962; M. Mahdi; La Filosofia della Natura nel Medioevo, Milano 1966, s. 772-776.
[8] Ates, no: 20, 72. Fîmâ yanbagî Kabla Ta'allum al-Falsafa.
[9] Ates, no: 24, 44, 45, 151; Sayili, "Fârâbî'nin Tefekkur Tarihindeki Yeri," 43-44, Belleten, 57, XV, 1951; Max Meyerhof, Von Atexandrien nach Bagdad, 1930, La Fin de l'Ecole d'Alexandrie, 1933; On the Transmission of Greek and Indian Science to the Arabs, Islamic Culture, X, 1, Hyderabad 1937
[10] Tahsîl; al-Siyâsat al-Madaniyya; Kilâb al-Hurûf (Muhsin Mahdi); Kitâb al-Milla, (Muhsin Mahdi); Muhtasar al-Mantik; K. al-Cam‘ fî Ma'ânî'l-‘Akl.
[11] Fusûl Muntaza'a, 62.
[12] Fusûl Muntaza'a, 52.
[13] Arâ' Ahl Medîna, 5. Fasl. (Dieterici).
[14] Fusûl Muntaza'a, 62; Arâ, 62.
[15] Fusûl Muntaza'a, 30.
[16] Fusûl Muntaza'a, 30.
[17] Tahsîl, 1.
[18] Agrâz al-Hakim, 36.
[19] Kabla Ta'allum, 52.
[20] Cam', 1.
[21] Cam', 1.728
[22] M. Turker, L'lmportance et l'Origine de la Metaphysique chez al-Fârâbî, Die Metatphysik im Mittelalter, 1963, 418-427. De Gruyter, Berlin.
[23] Fusûl Muntaza'a, 30.
[24] Tahsîl, 15-16.
[25] Fusûl Muntaza'a, 54.
[26] Fusûl Muntaza'a, 53-54; Tahsîl, 43; Ibn Maymun, Dalâlet, Fs. 54.
[27] Tahsîl, 44.
[28] Dîn—Milla—Madîna, sunna—shari' a, Muhsin Mahdi, Tahsîl, VII, 86.
[29] Siyâsa Madaniyya, 47
[30] Arâ' 69-70.
[31] Muhtasar Mantik, Kitâb al-Burhân, 221, 228, Arastirma, 1. 1963 (1964).
[32] Muhtasar Mantik, Kitâb al-Burhân, 213-222.
[33] Muhtasar Mantik, 223; al-Kiyâs as-Sagîr.
[34] Serâ'it al-Yakîn, 195-204, 205, 212.
[35] Muhtasar al-Mantik, Kitâb al-Burhân, 216-224.
[36] Cam', 26.
[37] Arâ', 69-70.
[38] Cam', 31.
[39] Cam', 31.
[40] Cam', 31.
[41] Fî Maâni'l-Akl, 40.
[42] 'Uyûn, 22. Bh.
[43] 'Uyûn, 22. Bh.
[44] Arâ', 62.
[45] Arâ'.
[46] Tahsîl, 43.
[47] Tahsîl, 43.
[48] Ibn Abî "Usaibi'a; 'Uyûn, II, 134. Max Meyerhaf, Von Alexandrien Nach Bagdad; La Fin de l'Ecole d'Alexandrie; On the Transmission; Sayili, Fârâbi'nin...; Majid Fakhry, History of Islamic Phihsophy; 126-127, Columbia Press. New York.
by: Prof. Mubahat Turker-Kuyel, Fri 11 March, 2005
Ibn Sina on Education
By Abd al-Rahman al Naqib1
Table of contents
1. Introduction
2. The man and his age
3. The philosophical foundations of Ibn Sina's educational views
3.1. His view of the human being
3.2. The relationship between the mental faculties and the body
3.3. Is the human being good or evil by nature?
3.4. The social nature of the human being
3.5. The divine nature of society
3.6. The gate of ijtihad must be left open
3.7. The choice of the Caliph
4. His view of knowledge and ethics
4.1. Knowledge
4.2. Ethics
5. Ibn Sina's educational views
5.1. The aims of education
5.2. The educational stages
6. Teaching methods
6.1. Infants under 6 years
6.2. Methods at the ‘primary' stage (6 to 14 years)
6.3. Methods of higher instruction (age 14 onwards)
6.4. The teaching of girls
7. Methods of instruction
7.1. The method of learning the Qur'an, calligraphy and Arabic literature
7.2. Styles of moral education
7.3. Various methods of higher education
7.4. Practical application
7.5. Teacher training
* * *
Note of the editor
The following text was originally published in Prospects: the quarterly review of comparative education (Paris, UNESCO: International Bureau of Education), vol. 23, N° 1/2, 1993, p. 53-69. ©UNESCO: International Bureau of Education, 2000. Our republishing of the article relies on the authorisation embedded by the publisher according to which the document may be reproduced free of charge as long as acknowledgement is made of the source. The version we republish hereafter was redited and revised; we publish it with a slightly different title, new images and captions. Click here for the original version (PDF format).
1. Introduction
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Figure 1: Modern portrait of Ibn Sina (Source).
This study attempts to present the educational aspects of an Ibn Sina, known in the west as Ibn Sina (370?-428H - 980?-1037 CE), considered by ancient and modern scholars alike as the most famous of the Muslim philosophers [2]. Thus al-Dhahbi describes him as ‘the leader of Islamic philosophy' [3]. George Anawati has prepared a full bibliography of Ibn Sina's writings [4]. In 1950, to commemorate the thousandth anniversary of his birth, the Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya (Egyptian National Library) published a printed list of the titles of his works and their commentaries which are preserved there. We need only consult this list, containing more than 150 printed works and manuscripts and including all the branches of knowledge in his day, even poetry, to evaluate the extent of the culture which Ibn Sina acquired and handed on to us.
Ibn Sina's most famous works are those on philosophy and medicine. His philosophical views have engaged the attention of Western thinkers over several centuries, and his books have been among the most important sources in philosophy. In medicine, his great work, al-Qanun (The Canon), was translated into Latin towards the end of the twelfth century CE, and became a reference source for medical studies in the universities of Europe until the end of the seventeenth century [5].
Ibn Sina has attracted the attention of scholars, past and present, who have written books, treatises and articles on him. One of these aspects, however, has not been very widely discussed, namely his views on education. Although Ibn Sina's writings on this subject, in comparison with his vast output on other subjects, are in fact considered to be very scarce, we do nonetheless find he deals with the same problems that confront educators today. He speaks about humanity, society, knowledge and ethics. He devoted a treatise entitled ‘Politics' to education; and he speaks at some length in ‘The Canon' about the upbringing of infants. Thereby, Ibn Sina represents a lively illustration of the meeting between philosophy and education, for the educator and the philosopher are both faced with the same problems: truth, goodness, the nature of the world, the meaning of knowledge and human nature, and so on. Obviously, Ibn Sina the philosopher has his own views on education. In addition, if we consider that Ibn Sina undertook teaching on a practical level for a considerable length of time, we realize that we have here a thinker whose philosophy was transformed into an educational theory that he himself practiced.
2. The man and his age
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Figure 2: Ibn Sina drawing by A. Suheyl Unver (Source).
The Sheikh al-Ra'is Sharaf al-Mulk Abu ‘Ali al-Husayn b. ‘Abd Allah b. al-Hasan b. ‘Ali Ibn Sina (known in Europe as Avicenna) was born in the village of Afshana in the vicinity of Bukhara (in what is now Uzbekistan), in 370 H / 980 CE —the generally accepted date [6]— of an Ismailian family concerned with intellectual sciences and philosophical inquiry, all of which had its effect upon the scientific career of Ibn Sina [7].
Ibn Sina lived in the fourth century of the Islamic era, the most flourishing Abbasid period in respect of learning and knowledge, which stands in complete contrast to the political situation at that time. Learning was much in demand, scholars were numerous, libraries were filled with the outpourings of the scholars of Islam, and with translations made from the sciences of other nations in accordance with the desires of caliphs and viziers.
It was just around the time of Ibn Sina's birth and in the subsequent years that Islamic Arabic culture reached its peak. Since the Arabic language was the accepted vehicle for the transmission of knowledge in this era, Ibn Sina studied Arabic under Abu Bakr Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Barqi al-Khwarizmi. As soon as he had mastered Arabic (his mother tongue was Persian), his father obtained for him a teacher of the Qur'an and another for literature. The young pupil learned quickly from his two teachers, and before he was 10 years old he knew the Qur'an and a considerable amount of literature as well, becoming ‘almost a prodigy', as Ibn Sina says of himself [8]. Next he developed a leaning towards philosophy, geometry and mathematics, so his father sent him to the school of Mahmud ‘al-Massah' (the surveyor), a man learned in arithmetic, algebra and the movement of the heavens, as reported by al-Bayhaqi [9]. He also studied fiqh (Muslim law) and the Sufism movement with Isma'il al-Zahid al-Bukhari. And no sooner had Abu ‘Abdallah al-Natli, the philosopher, arrived in Bukhara than Ibn Sina's father invited him to his house, hoping that the boy would learn intellectual subjects from him. If al-Natli had any noticeable success, it is that he diverted the boy from a preoccupation with law and Sufism in favour of the theoretical sciences and philosophical studies.
Before long, the professor sensed that the boy no longer needed him, for Ibn Sina was very anxious to acquire learning and had a real craving for the sciences of wisdom. He was then attracted by medical science, and devoted himself to it for a brief time, until he surpassed all the scholars of his age in this science. Ibn Sina says: ‘Then I desired to study medicine, and took to reading the books written on this subject. Medicine is not one of the difficult sciences, so naturally I became proficient in it in the shortest time, until the excellent scholars of medicine began to study under me. I began to treat patients, and through my experience I acquired an amazing practical knowledge and ability in methods of treatment' [10].
Ibn Sina was not content with the theoretical study of medicine, but he also practiced it from humanitarian motives and in order to put his learning to good use. He achieved all this while still no more than 16 years of age. Then he devoted himself to intensive study and reading for a year and a half, in which time he read through logic and all known sections of philosophy. Before Ibn Sina had reached the age of 18, his scholarly fame for philosophical inquiries and medical knowledge had spread far and wide [11].
It is clear from Ibn Sina's biography that he was quick to learn, with a vast memory, and wrote with ease. When he was 21 years old, he composed the book al-Majmu' (The Compendium), at the request of some of his pupils; in this he dealt with all of the theoretical sciences, except mathematics. Despite the political turmoil reigning in the land of Transoxania [the portion of Central Asia corresponding to the region between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers; the editor], which obliged him to move house a number of times, and the fact that he was acting as minister for certain princes, this did not prevent him from both studying and teaching science. He always had his own students and his study circles wherever he went, and this continued right up to the time of his death, Friday during Ramadan 428 H (1037 CE). He was buried at Hamadan in Persia [12].
3. The philosophical foundations of Ibn Sina's educational views
3.1. His view of the human being
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Figure 3: A class at the Gazanfer Aga Madrasa founded in 1566 (image from Divan-i Nadiri, Topkapi Palace Museum Library, H. 899) (Source).
The human being, in Ibn Sina's view, consists of both hidden (sirr) and open (‘alan) elements. Known to us is the perceptible human body with its organs and its cells. ‘Sensory perception stops at its exterior, while anatomy (dissection) enables us to learn about the interior; the hidden part consists of the powers of its mind' [13]. These mental powers motivate the human being, and cause it to carry out its various activities and behave as a human being'. To Ibn Sina, the human is a tangible body on the outside, revealed within by means of anatomy —as we see in his books, such as Al-Qanun (The Canon)— and we do not find any difficulty today in accepting this. We still have to look at the mental powers or faculties that motivate this body.
What are the mental powers, and what is their function? Ibn Sina classifies these mental faculties into three groups.
First, the group of vegetative faculties, which humans and plants both share. They are concerned with the survival of the human being, growth through nutrition, and preservation of the species through reproduction. They thus comprise three faculties: feeding, growth and reproduction [14].
This group is followed by the faculties that make animals superior to plants, and are shared by human beings and animals. Typically, they allow the human being to be attracted to what it desires, and to be repelled by anything harmful arousing fear or anger. They comprise, in his view, two faculties: a faculty of motion and a faculty of comprehension or perception. Each is, in its turn, divided into other faculties: the motive faculty consists of an instinctive reaction, and a rational movement, permitting the human either to act or desist from action; comprehension is also divided into a perceptive faculty of the exterior world through the five senses —sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch— and one directed from within, by way of common sense, imagination, memory and reflection [15].
Finally, there is the group of faculties which distinguish the human being from the animal. In Ibn Sina's view they comprise two faculties: an active faculty directing the human's practical conduct, and a cognitive faculty directing his intellectual conduct. Both are given the name ‘intelligence', but the first is practical and the second is contemplative [16].
3.2. The relationship between the mental faculties and the body
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Figure 4: Page from the oldest copy of the second volume of The Canon Of Medicine by Ibn Sina, preserved in The Institute of Manuscripts of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences; part of Memory of the World Project sponsored by the UNESCO (Source).
All these faculties are merely different functions of the human soul. For the human soul is one, and those three powers are different functions of it [17]. To Ibn Sina, the soul is immaterial, and is quite different from the substance of the body [18]. It is not pre-existent, coming into being together with the body [19]; but it survives and does not perish when the human being dies. Ibn Sina says: ‘When the body dies and decays, the substance of the soul is released from its connection with the body; and if it is perfected in knowledge, wisdom and good deeds, it is drawn towards the divine lights, the lights of the angels and of the heavenly kingdom, just as a needle is drawn towards an enormous mountain by magnetic force; the divine presence flows over it, and it achieves real tranquillity, as the call comes to it from the heavenly beings: 'Oh soul at complete rest, return to thy Lord, well pleased and well pleasing. Enter then among my devoted servants! Enter My heaven!'.' [20]
3.3. Is the human being good or evil by nature?
Ibn Sina is of the opinion that the human being is born ‘upon the natural disposition' and is neither good nor bad by nature, although tending more to good than to evil; and this human being changes and adapts according to the influences of the environment and its education systems. If he is accustomed to evil, he will become evil; if accustomed to good, he becomes good. On this point, Ibn Sina says: ‘When the child is weaned, then his education and his moral training begin, before he is attacked or overcome by blameworthy morals or objectionable characteristics. For evil morals so quickly take over the young boy, and bad habits soon prevail; and if any of these gain influence over him they overcome him, and then he cannot separate himself from them nor struggle against them' [21]. Ibn Sina emphasizes this elsewhere by saying: ‘All moral characteristics, the good and the bad, are acquired; and it is possible for the human being, when he has as yet no specific moral character, to obtain them for himself; and when his soul also chances upon some specific characteristic, he may move, by his own volition, away from it towards its opposite' [22].
When we refer to Ibn Sina's writings on this subject, we are given an insight into an Avicennian social theory based on two clear fundamental principles:
3.4. The social nature of the human being
The human being, as created by God, is not able to live in isolation but needs society for his survival, his growth and his education. Ibn Sina says: ‘The human being differs from all other animals in being unable to live well as an isolated individual [...] with no partner to help him satisfy his needs. He must be supported by another of his kind, who, in turn, must also be supported by him and by his like, so that, for instance, one will provide vegetables for another, while the other makes bread; one will sew when the other provides the needle. When they join forces they are complementary. This is why human beings are compelled to found societies' [23].
3.5. The divine nature of society
The whole of society must submit to the righteous holy law of God, through the Prophet who legislates, guided by divine revelation. For society needs someone to legislate its affairs and this legislator must be a human being who stands out from the others through qualities which ensure that his word is obeyed and the whole people follow him. This is Ibn Sina's justification for the existence of the Prophet, the specific miracles with which God distinguished him, and the need for the prophecy. Ibn Sina says: ‘So it is necessary that there should be a Prophet, and necessary that he should be a human being, and also that he should possess a special quality not found in other people, so that they are aware of something in him not found in themselves; thus he is set apart from them and has miraculous powers' [24].
3.6. The gate of ijtihad must be left open
Since the Prophet, in the Avicennian scheme of things, is the one to lay down laws governing society by revelation from God, it is necessary that the gate of ijtihad (personal interpretation of Islamic law) be left open to allow for any new events and circumstances in the following eras, and especially anything connected with political and practical affairs. The Prophet defines the general principles in these matters, while particular implementation is left to the circumstances. Ibn Sina says: ‘A great deal of concerns, especially in social affairs, must be entrusted to personal interpretation; for there are judgements concerning special circumstances, which cannot be precisely determined. [...] Particular rules should not be laid down for them, and making such laws would lead to confusion, for they change with the times' [25].
3.7. The choice of the Caliph
Since the Prophet was a human being with a limited life span, he must have a successor or khalifa (caliph). This successor is the one to rule after the Prophet, his mission being to implement ‘the teachings of the Prophet'. This means that every ruler in Islam is a successor.
So how is this successor to be chosen? This has been one of the greatest problems in Islamic thinking throughout the ages. Ibn Sina's solution was for the choice to be made by the Prophet's command in his life time, and by consultation and consensus of those in authority after his time. ‘The Prophet did not appoint a successor, and did not wish the people in authority to choose anyone unless they were sure he alone had political power; that he was able, courageous, virtuous and with an ability to organize, knowledgeable in the holy law so as to be unsurpassed in understanding its secrets and fathoming its depths.' Obedience will be paid to the ruler who fulfils these conditions and possesses these qualities. When these conditions are contravened, then it is obligatory for all to oppose him; if they do not, they disobey God and are unbelievers [26].
From all the above it is clear that society, as seen by Ibn Sina, is a collection of individuals very differently endowed with skills and capacities. This differentiation requires some kind of specialization, and this demands co-operation between the individuals in society and interaction between them. If this co-operation and interaction take place haphazardly, the social system may break down. Thus there is a need for ‘a ruler' who governs life in society. His task is to implement the principles of the law, wherever there is a text, and he is an independent interpreter (mujtahid) who consults people in authority where there is no text. The ruler or the prince has an urgent and very real need to conduct this consultation [27].
Although this allegorical picture of society, as Ibn Sina saw it, differed in certain respects from the Iranian society in which he lived, this was in fact the society on which he based his educational thinking, for in this field we see him maintain the inheritance of this ‘divine society' represented in its beliefs, rites of worship and its ethical code. He would recommend that this was the inheritance to be presented to the child in the first stages of his education.
4. His view of knowledge and ethics
4.1. Knowledge
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Figure 5: Front cover of Ibn Sina, Avicenne: la vie & l'œuvre by Sleim Ammar (Tunis: L'or du temps, 1998) (Source).
Ibn Sina considered that the soul, with its various faculties, is the path to knowledge or perception for it distinguishes between sensory perception and intellectual perception. The means of sensory perception, as already stated, are the five external senses and the five internal senses. These external and internal senses are especially relevant to sensory perception. Sensory perception occurs when sensory stimuli reach the organs of perception and are registered and comprehended by the sensory faculties. Ibn Sina says: ‘It appears that every perception is the acceptance of the picture of the thing perceived, in one way or another' [28]. And he says of sensory perception itself: ‘The pictures of all the things perceived by the senses are conveyed to the organs of perception and are impressed upon them, and are then perceived by the sensory faculties' [29]. Sensory knowledge, in Ibn Sina's view, is acquired knowledge, its source being the sensed stimuli, and its means the external and internal faculties of sense. The subject of intellectual knowledge is then simply the thing perceived, and its means is the human's speculative faculty entrusted to him by God, which is capable of acquiring that rational knowledge.
In order that intellectual knowledge should be effective, it must have a particular structure and an instrument to regulate its operation, and also to verify the soundness of the thought and reasoning; this instrument is logic. For logic is the theoretical art or the instrument which protects the intellect from making a mistake [30].
4.2. Ethics
Ibn Sina saw moral character as an expression of ‘a natural disposition whereby certain actions issue from the soul with ease, without prior thought' [31]. This means that character is not merely the practice of good behaviour, but the practicing of it at every appropriate occasion because the person has accustomed himself to it and is unable to act otherwise. We can describe a man as truthful only when he is habitually truthful in his speech, and the same applies for other admirable moral characteristics. In the same way, we can describe a man as a liar only when he habitually tells lies, and the same for other character failings.
For the human being to achieve an excellent morality, he must govern his reason well in all his conduct, and punish his soul if it departs from the right path, and reward and encourage it when it follows the path of virtue. Ibn Sina says: ‘The human being must prepare for his soul both reward and punishment, and govern it thereby' [32].
It is also obligatory for the human being, if his soul encounters a moral evil, to recognize its opposite, and force his soul to go towards this excellent virtue and accustom it to that extreme path, in order that his soul shall eventually acquire the middle path.
In all this, the reference point is reason. When the human being knows how to obey the commands of reason, he is on the road to being educated or virtuous. Reason is what defines good conduct, and the standards by which it is defined are the middle path on the one hand and equity on the other. Reason can itself recognize the middle path for every virtue, since virtue stands in the middle between two bad characteristics. Reason recognizes equity from the harmony among these virtues, so that no virtue is dominant over the others, and the human being can maintain an even balance in all his morality, without exaggerating one virtue at the expense of the others. It is to be noted here that, while the foundation of spiritual and ethical values found in the Qur'an and the Sunnah (the words and deeds of the Prophet) is based on the religious constraint deep in the human soul, for Ibn Sina it arises from the domination of reason over the faculties of wrong-doing. Now it is clear that to comprehend moral values, their simple acceptance by reason is not enough. It is necessary rather that they should take root in the heart, where the ‘moral sense' becomes a part of the human beings behavioural structure.
Ibn Sina did grasp the fact that such a conception of ethics is that of scholars or philosophers, or at least of an élite. He is not concerned with the common people in this ethical theory, since they do not act because they are persuaded by, or respect, reason, but rather through dread of punishments, in this world and in the hereafter [33].
In Ibn Sina's view, then, morality is an acquired matter, not inborn, and it is within a person's capacity to acquire any such morality he wishes through ‘habituation', ‘imitation', ‘fear' or ‘wisdom'. Ibn Sina considered that the process of acquiring morality began from ‘the infant's birth', because the child is exposed to problems and difficulties soon after birth and in the early stages of childhood, and these influence his psychology and temperament, and hence his ethical development. For this reason Ibn Sina paid great attention to the early stages of childhood and everything connected with it: the morality and culture of the wet nurse, the teacher, and the child's companions in school or the place where he studies.
5. Ibn Sina's educational views
5.1. The aims of education
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Figure 6: Page from an illuminated manuscript of the Latin translation of the Canon of Medicine by Ibn Sina (Source).
Ibn Sina sees the aims of education as the overall growth of the individual: physical, mental and moral; followed by preparation of this individual to live in society through a chosen trade according to his aptitudes. So Avicennian education does not neglect physical development and everything implied by it: physical exercise, food and drink, sleep and cleanliness [34]. It does not aim exclusively at intellectual development and the amassing of knowledge; likewise Ibn Sina does not devote his attention to the moral aspect alone, but aims at the formation of a personality complete in body, mind and character. He does not restrict the task of education to creating the complete citizen, but rather sees that education must also prepare him for a profession whereby he can contribute to the social structure, because society, in Ibn Sina's view, is built entirely on ‘co-operation', on the specialization of each individual in a craft or profession and on the mutual exchange of services between its individuals.
Although Ibn Sina was a philosopher and thus belonged to a group of people who believed that Greek thought was that of an educated élite such that philosophers had an undisputed superiority over all others, yet for him the aim of education was not restricted to the training of philosophers. This was particularly because he lived in the fourth century of the Islamic era, quite apart from the fact that this Greek idea was that of an élite. Therefore Ibn Sina makes ‘the education of the philosopher' one of his educational aims among others at the specialization stage, to which anyone who wished could direct himself in accordance with his aptitudes and inclinations. This was the difference between his education system and that of al-Ghazali, for example, or al-Qabisi; for while we find that ‘the education of the philosopher' was hardly included in their writings, Ibn Sina goes into great detail about it, the sciences which should be studied, and the aim and the benefits of each one of them.
We can say then that education in Ibn Sina's opinion is the making of an upright citizen, sound in body and mind, and preparing him for some intellectual or practical work. Intellectual work could be connected to the traditional sciences or to the theoretical sciences that Ibn Sina esteemed so highly. He counts ‘industry' or ‘crafts' as a kind of instruction requiring vocational preparation and specialization. He says: ‘Instruction and learning include the practical, like carpentry and dyeing, for it is only acquired by practice of that craft' [35].
5.2. The educational stages
The infant stage: from birth until the second year
Ibn Sina's concern with the child begins from birth. ‘When he is born, the child's umbilical cord must be cut at once, above four fingers' length, and tied with clean, fine wool twisted lightly, so as not to cause pain; if we wish to swaddle him, then the midwife must first massage his limbs gently; she must inspect his body where this is necessary, moving every limb into the best position; all of this by gentle touching with the tips of her fingers which should become a regular habit, and she should often wipe his eyes with silk or something similar' [36].
Ibn Sina is greatly concerned with everything connected with this stage: sleep, bathing, suckling, exercise suitable to the infant's age. About the infant's sleep, Ibn Sina says: ‘He should be put to sleep in a room with a mild temperature, not cold; the room should be fairly well shaded, with no direct rays of light. When he lies in his cot, he head should be higher than the rest of his body. Care must be taken that the cot does not allow his neck or limbs or his spine to be twisted in any way' [37].
Ibn Sina is insistent that the infant should be bathed more than once a day, and that the mother should herself suckle her child: he speaks at length on the mother's milk, the normal length of breast-feeding, the number of feeds per day, and weaning, which should be undertaken gradually. From his long discourse we shall mention briefly the following extracts: When the infant sleeps after feeding, the cradle should not be rocked violently, which would disturb the milk in his stomach, but only gently. To cry a little before feeding is beneficial. Breast-feeding normally lasts two years, and when the infant desires something besides milk this should be given gradually without forcing him. When his teeth begin to appear, he can move in gradual stages from being fed on mother's milk to stronger food. At first this can be bread chewed by the nursing mother, then bread soaked in water and honey, juice or in milk. This should be given to him in small quantities and he should gradually be kept from the breast. As Ibn Sina says, ‘weaning should be gradual and not take place all at once' [38].
The stage of childhood
This lasts from the third to the fifth year, at the time when ‘the child's body strengthens, his tongue is free, and he is ready for instruction, and his hearing is attentive' [39]. In ‘The Canon', he defines the start of the sixth year as the end of that stage, whereupon he enters ‘the stage of primary teaching'. Ibn Sina says: ‘And when he has reached the age of 6 years, he should be brought to the tutor and the teacher' [40]. We see Ibn Sina not concerned here with any specific kind of teaching, but merely with creating a happy childhood as regards physical, mental and moral health. Therefore he concentrates here on three educational concerns:
(i) The child's morals, and keeping him away from any harmful influences which might affect his soul and his morals.
(ii) Development of the body and movement. Regarding the need for play and exercise in that stage, Ibn Sina says: ‘When the child wakes from sleep, it is best for him to be bathed, then let him play for an hour; then he is given a little food to eat, then he is allowed to play for a long time, then he is bathed, then fed. Children should not be allowed to drink water straight after food, for then it would go into their system raw without being digested' [41]. Games form a necessary element in the child's life at this stage, whereby he acquires various physical and motor skills. He also learns how to live in a group and benefit from that life.
(iii) The development of taste and behaviour. Ibn Sina had an interest in music and considered it necessary for the child to listen to it, so that from the time he is in the cradle, he goes to sleep to the sound of music. That prepares him later to learn music; and this education in taste will be further refined in the next stage, when he learns simple poetry with easy rhymes, bringing the child pleasure as well as encouraging him to appreciate virtue.
The first stage of teaching
This begins at the age of 6 and ends approximately at 14 years of age. It is on reaching this age that the child must begin receiving education of a more serious kind, gradually moving away from games and sport, and beginning organized study. ‘Until [children] complete their fourteenth year, they must gradually decrease their sporting activities' [42].
At this stage, children learn ‘the principles of Islamic culture', from the Qur'an and Arabic poetry, calligraphy, and Islamic rules of good conduct. This is a common stage for all children, since preferences have not yet appeared. Later, aptitudes make their appearance, and in accordance with these every individual can be given particular instruction.
Ibn Sina considers that group instruction and not individual instruction is best at this level. He advises that the child be brought up with others, saying: ‘The child should be taught alongside the children of the nobility (the great or the rulers) whose conduct is good and whose habits are acceptable. For one child will teach another, learning from him and becoming his friend. If one child is left alone with the teacher, that is most likely to be unsatisfactory for them both; when the educator moves from one pupil to another, the risk of boredom is less, the pace of activities is more rapid and the child is eager to learn and succeed' [43].
The specialized education stage (age 14 onwards)
This comes after the child has completed general primary teaching, and his aptitudes have become apparent either to continue in the field of education or to learn a craft and earn a living. In the light of these aptitudes, the young person defines for himself the type of study or the type of vocational work that appeals to him during the higher or specialized stage.
Ibn Sina emphasized the need to have regard for the young person's preferences at this level when defining his future, his studies and the choice of profession; he insists that young people should not have any kind of study or work forced on them that does not correspond to their abilities and inclinations. The teacher must know ‘that not every craft the child desires is possible nor opportune for him, but the one that conforms to his nature and suits him. If skill and crafts were simply obtainable on demand, without question of appropriateness or suitability, then no one would be devoid of them, and people would all agree to choose the most noble skills and the highest of crafts' [44].
What then are the standards for defining educational and vocational inclinations among students at this stage? And how can the teacher direct the student to a type of learning or profession that he sees as suitable for him?
Ibn Sina considers that this is evident directly from the conduct of the child, and ‘the boy's guide', either his father or his teacher, will notice specific inclinations. From the practical angle, this can be ascertained by observing the student's conduct. Defining the true origin of inclination or ability is for Ibn Sina a difficult matter: ‘These choices and these suitabilities and conformities have obscure and hidden causes which tax human understanding, and are too subtle to be measured or identified, so only the Almighty knows them' [45].
Ibn Sina remarks that students differ in their aptitudes and abilities, and sees the need of educational and professional guidance at that stage. There is nothing unusual about that in an age when science and knowledge were in full expansion, when crafts and professional groups abounded, and when trade guilds were found everywhere. Likewise Ibn Sina was aware of the ‘mentally retarded' and the ‘simple-minded', who were incapable of benefiting from any kind of theoretical or practical education. He considers that they and their like must be given a special place apart where they would live under the supervision of a warden. Those for whom there was no hope of improvement should have their care and their sustenance guaranteed. Ibn Sina says: ‘It may happen that a person's nature is incompatible with any culture or attention, and he learns nothing from them. This can be seen from the fact that people of intelligence have wished to educate their sons, and have expended much effort and expense on that purpose, without attaining their objective' [46].
Ibn Sina points out very clearly the necessity for educational and vocational guidance. He appreciated the very close connection between education and the economic and social needs of society, as well as the role of individual aptitudes and abilities in defining the type of learning or trade in which each student should specialize; thus, he makes the higher stage of education that of specialization. Each student would then specialize in the science or the trade which he wished to be his future occupation, and the source of his income in working life. Ibn Sina perceives too that this specializing stage comes only after a period of general education in which all students participate, and where they learn the principles of Islamic culture, before allowing their talents and special aptitudes to come to the fore when all that is completed. So it is on this basis that the higher specialized stage follows.
6. Teaching methods
6.1. Infants under 6 years
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Figure 7: Commemorative medal issued by the UNESCO in 1980 to mark the 1000th birth anniversary of Ibn Sina. The obverse depicts a scene showing Avicenna surrounded by his disciples, inspired by a miniature in a 17th-century Turkish manuscript; whilst on the reverse is a phrase by Avicenna in Arabic and Latin: "Cooperate for the well-being of the body and the survival of the human species" (Source). The UNESCO established the Avicenna Prize for Ethics in Science in 2002 (see brochure: Avicenna and the ethics of science and technology today, UNESCO, 2004).
We have pointed out that Ibn Sina is concerned at this stage with the child's sensory and motor development and with moral and emotional training. We are not aware of Ibn Sina having indicated any specific methods at this stage, apart from physical exercise and music; one for the child's growth and his physical and motor development, so that he should acquire thereby a great many moral and mental habits; and the other to refine his feelings and to heighten his emotions.
Ibn Sina is very much concerned with games at this age, as well as in primary education. He shows us the role of exercise in education and its necessary place in the child's life, and explains that exercise differs according to age, and also with the child's ability. For exercise may be much or little; it can be very vigorous, demanding considerable physical strength; it can also be slight; swift or slow; it can be rapid, combining strength and speed; and again it can be relaxing. Each of these types has its own appropriate place and necessity in the life of the young child [47].
But Ibn Sina is as concerned with play and exercise at this level of education as he is with ‘musical education'. We know that Ibn Sina was skilled in this art, both as a composer and a performer [48]. So it is in the capacity of an expert that he mentions the feelings of pleasure, joy, purity and the sense of exaltation which music brings about in the child: and also the way the child can learn to perceive harmony and discord, treble and bass, and how this comes about. Ibn Sina speaks at length about music, its composition and rhythm, and the instruments used [49].
So sport and music are the most important components of the method in this stage. They are the two methods of instruction which prepare the child for organized ‘primary teaching' in the next stage, when he reaches 6 years of age.
6.2. Methods at the ‘primary' stage (6 to 14 years)
The components of study in this stage are the Qur'an and its memorization, learning to read and write, acquiring the outlines of religion and study of some Arabic poetry; besides which he is again aware of the need for play and exercise. Ibn Sina says: ‘When the boy's joints strengthen, and his tongue is apt, and he is ready for instruction, and his hearing is attentive, he begins to learn the Qur'an, and is shown letters of the alphabet, and is instructed in the outlines of religion. The boy should recite the rajaz (poetic verse), then the qasida (classic ode); the rajaz is easier and is more quickly learned because its stanzas are shorter and its rhythm lighter' [50].
The child should first recite the rajaz, since it is easier to remember. The verses the child memorizes must make plain the usage of good manners and of learning, and the disgrace of ignorance and foolishness; it must encourage respect towards parents, acceptable behaviour, hospitality to guests, and high moral standards [51]. This means that the poetry which Ibn Sina wants to be presented to the child at this stage is literature with a message, which contributes to the boy's training, and giving him that moral education which Ibn Sina considers to be the human being's goal and the source of his happiness.
The curriculum put forward by Ibn Sina reminds us of society's concern at that time with Islamic culture and its basic elements: the Qur'an, poetry, devoutness and ethics. On the other hand, he does not ignore the child's need for play, movement and diversion, so that his curriculum does not really differ very much from that followed by the modern child in the majority of Islamic countries today, except for its concentration upon ‘memorizing the Qur'an' and in giving this learning ‘absolute priority'.
6.3. Methods of higher instruction (age 14 onwards)
Instruction at this stage is specialized according to the pupil's future occupation that has been chosen depending on his inclinations and aptitudes. This is an open-ended education, meaning that it continues throughout life. Ibn Sina says: ‘When he has finished learning the Qur'an and memorizing the fundamentals of the language, at that time one should look into what occupation is desired for him, and he should be directed on this path; if [his teacher or guardian] wishes him to study literature, then to the study of language he adds that of epistles, speeches, argument and dialogue, and similar subjects; calculation is explained, and he is initiated into administration through a practical course; care is taken with his handwriting; and if he seems destined for another discipline, he is guided accordingly' [52].
Ibn Sina divided the education of his day into theoretical instruction and manual or practical instruction (trade, jewellery making or another craft). This practical learning ‘is acquired by diligent practice in the activity of that craft' [53], or by being trained in it. Theoretical education, on the other hand, is that which is acquired from ‘speech heard or understood, which naturally conveys a belief or an opinion, or creates an impression which did not exist before' [54]. This theoretical teaching is also made up of two kinds: ‘transmitted' theoretical teaching, and intellectual or philosophical theoretical teaching. Each type of theoretical or practical teaching—and likewise every form of transmitted or intellectual teaching—has its means and methods which prepare the individual for specialization in the chosen field. We would wish that Ibn Sina had spoken in greater detail about these three methods of teaching (transmitted, intellectual and vocational). Unfortunately, he restricted himself to drawing attention to them, which does, however, indicate their existence at that time. His subsequent writings speak at greater length about the methods by which the students of the intellectual sciences were taught [55].
6.4. The teaching of girls
Ibn Sina did not speak about girls as much as he did about boys. However, the fourth century of the Islamic era witnessed great activity in the field of education from which women shared to a certain extent since there were some outstanding women lawyers, poets and singers at that time [56]. Perhaps this is due to the fact that, in Ibn Sina's view, a woman did not need to earn her living like a man, but he made it clear that the man was expected to protect and care for her, and support her financially [57]. Thus women did not need to follow specialized or higher education, such as the man needed in order to prepare him for work or a craft from which he would earn his living in the future.
The teaching required by a woman was such as to fit her to be a wife, mother and sister. It appears that it was customary in Ibn Sina's day for this education to be carried out at home and to be taken care of by the girl's family or by a private tutor assigned to this task. It is clear that Ibn Sina acknowledged this individual style in teaching girls, and left their teaching to their families, who would give them whatever moral, religious and cultural preparation they desired.
Footnotes
[1] At the date of publication of this article (in 1993), Abd al-Rahman al-Naqib was Professor and Director of the Department of Educational Fundamentals at Mansoura University in Egypt. Author of numerous articles and books, he has participated in several national and international conferences on education. Among his works are: Ibn Sina's Educational Philosophy; Muslim Theoretical and Practical Medical Training; Studies on Islamic Education; The Degree of Islamic Involvement among Students; and Islamic Education: Vocation and Structure (all in Arabic).
[2] Ahmad F. al-Ahwani, Ibn Sina, Cairo: Dar al-Ma'arif, 1958, p. 17; P. Sa'd, Ibn Sina al-faylasuf ba'd sittmi'a sana ‘ala wafatih, Beirut, 1937, p. 62.
[3] Al-Dhahbi, Siyar a'lam al-nubala, Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya, MS no. 12195/2 (microfiche), Part I, p. 119.
[4] George C. Anawati, Mu'allafat Ibn Sina, Cairo: Dar al-Ma'arif, 1950.
[5] A. Wolf, ‘Ard ta'rikhi li-l-falsafa wa-l-'ilm, trans. by Muhammad Abd al-Wahid Khalaf, Cairo: Lijnat al-ta'lif wa-l-tarjama wa-l-nashr, 1944, p. 38; A. Mielli, al-'Ilm ‘inda al-'Arab wa-athruhu fi tatawwur al-'ilm al-'alami, trans. by Abd al-Halim al-Najjar, Muhammad Yusuf Musa, Cairo: Dar al-Qalam, 1962, p. 197-98.
[6] Baihaqi related this in Tarikh Hukama' al-Islam; al-Qifti in Akhbar al-'ulama', and Ibn Khallikan in Wafayat al-a'yan. Ibn Abi Usaybi'a in ‘Uyun al-anba' is alone in saying that he was born in the year 375 H. There is another source saying he was born in 373 H.
[7] Ibn Abi Usaybi'a, 'Uyun al-anba' fi tabaqat al-atibba', Cairo: al-Matba'a al-Wahhabiyya, 1299 H, vol. II, p. 2.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Al-Bayhaqi, Tarikh hukama' al-Islam, Damascus: Matba'at al-Taraqqi, 1946, p. 53.
[10] Ibn Abi Usaybi'a, op. cit., p. 3.
[11] Ibid. See: A. Sohiel, Avicenna: His Life and Works, London: Unwin, 1938, vol. 8, p. 201.
[12] A. al-Naqib, Falsafat al-tarbiyya ‘inda Ibn Sina, Cairo: Dar al-Thaqafa, 1954, 38.
[13] Ibn Sina, Risalat al-Quwwa al-insaniyya wa idrakatuha, in: Majmu' al-Rasa'il, Cairo: Matba'at Kurdistan al-'ilmiyya, 1328 H, p. 212; Tis' rasa'il fil-hikma wat-tabi'iyat, Bombay: Kalzar Husna, 1318 H, p. 30.
[14] Ibn Sina, Al-Najat, Cairo: al-Babi al-Halabi, 1357 H, p. 158; and Al-Shifa, Tehran: Hajar, 1353 H, vol. I, p. 294.
[15] Ibn Sina, Al-Najat, op. cit., p. 159-63; Al-Isharat wal-tanbihat, Leiden, 1892, vol. I, p. 125; Al-Shifa, op. cit., vol. I, p. 333; Muhammad ‘Uthman Najati, Al-Idrak al-hissi ‘ind Ibn Sina, Cairo: Dar al-Ma'arif, 1961, p. 117.
[16] Ibn Sina, Al-Najat, op. cit., p. 164; Risalat al-quwwa al-insaniyya wa-'idrakatuha op. cit., pp. 215-216.
[17] Ibn Sina, Ahwal al-Nafs, ed. by A.F. al-Ahwani, Cairo: Dar Ihya al-kutub al-'arabiyya, 1371 H, p. 108-110; Al-Najat, op. cit., p. 189 ff.
[18] Ibn Sina, Al-Shifa, vol. I, p. 248-57; Risalat fi ma'rifat al-nafs al-natiqa, ed. by A.F. al-Ahwani, Cairo: Dar Ihya al-kutub al-'arabiyya, 1371 H, pp. 183-185.
[19] Ibn Sina, Risalat al-auwwa al-insaniyya wa-'idrakatuha, op. cit., pp. 97-98.[20] Ibn Sina, Risala al-shifa min khawf al-mawt wa-mu'alajat al-ihtimam bihi, in the collection Jami' al-badi', Cairo: Matba'at al-Sa'ada, 1335 H, pp. 37-38.
[21] Ibn Sina, Kitab al-siyasa, ed. by Louis Ma'luf, Majallat al-Sharq (Cairo), 1906, p. 1074.
[22] Ibn Sina, ‘Ilm al-Akhlaq, in Majmu' al-Rasa'il, op. cit., p. 198.
[23] Ibn Sina, Al-Najat, op. cit., p. 303; Al-Shifa, op. cit., vol. II, pp. 556-557.
[24] Ibn Sina, Al-Najat, op. cit., p. 304.
[25] Ibn Sina, Al-Shifa, op. cit., vol. II, p. 563.
[26] Ibid., p. 564.
[27] Ibn Sina devotes a long account of the consultation and on the sciences which ‘people of consultation' should master. See: al-Majma' aw al-hikma al-'arudiya fi ma'ani rituriqa, Cairo: Maktabat al-Nahdha al-Misriyya, 1950, p. 34-42.
[28] Ibn Sina, Al-Shifa, op. cit., vol. I, p. 295.
[29] Ibn Sina, Al-Najat, op. cit., p. 160.
[30] Ibn Sina, Al-Isharat wal-Tanbihat, op. cit., p. 2-3.
[31] Ibid., p. 296.
[32] Ibn Sina, Kitab al-siyasa, op. cit., p. 1039.
[33] Ibn Sina, Al-Shifa, op. cit., vol. II, p. 565.
[34] A. al-Naqab, Falsafat al-tarbiya ‘ind Ibn Sina, op. cit., p. 109-12.
[35] Ibn Sina, Al-Burhan min al-Shifa, Cairo: al-Matba'a al-Amiriyya, 1375 H, p. 57.
[36] Ibn Sina, Al-Qanun, vol. I, Cairo: Matba'at Bulaq, 1294 H, p. 150.
[37] Ibid., p. 151.
[38] Ibid., p. 153.
[39] Ibn Sina, Kitab al-siyasa, op. cit., p. 1074.
[40] Ibn Sina, Al-Qanun, op. cit., vol. I, p. 150.
[41] Ibid., p. 157.
[42] Ibid., p. 158.
[43] Ibn Sina, Kitab al-siyasa, op. cit., p. 1074-75.
[44] Ibid., p. 1075.
[45] Ibid.
[46] Ibid., p. 1075-76.
[47] Ibn Sina, Al-Qanun, op. cit., vol. I, p. 159.
[48] Z. Yusuf, "Musiqa Ibn Sina", in: Al-Kitab al-Dhahabi li-'l-Mahrajan al-alfi li Ibn Sina, Cairo:Matba'at Misr, 1952, pp 123-35.
[49] Ibn Sina, Risalat al-Musiqa, in: Majmu' al-Rasa'il, op. cit., pp. 2-12.
[50] Ibn Sina, Kitab al-siyasa, op. cit., p. 1074.
[51] Ibid.
[52] Ibid., p. 1075.
[53] Ibn Sina, Al-Burhan min al-Shifa, op. cit., p. 57.
[54] Ibid.[55] Avicenna wrote at length on these sciences in his book Aqsam al-'Ulum al-'Aqliyya, in: Majmu' al-Rasa'il, op. cit.
[56] A. Fahmi, Mabadi' al-Tarbiya al-Islamiyya, Cairo: Lajnat al-Ta'lif wal-Tarjama wal-Nashr, 1366 H, p. 148-50.
[57] Ibn Sina, Al-Shifa, op. cit., vol. II, pp. 562-63.
by: Abd al-Rahman al Naqib, Sat 17 January, 2009
Table of contents
1. Introduction
2. The man and his age
3. The philosophical foundations of Ibn Sina's educational views
3.1. His view of the human being
3.2. The relationship between the mental faculties and the body
3.3. Is the human being good or evil by nature?
3.4. The social nature of the human being
3.5. The divine nature of society
3.6. The gate of ijtihad must be left open
3.7. The choice of the Caliph
4. His view of knowledge and ethics
4.1. Knowledge
4.2. Ethics
5. Ibn Sina's educational views
5.1. The aims of education
5.2. The educational stages
6. Teaching methods
6.1. Infants under 6 years
6.2. Methods at the ‘primary' stage (6 to 14 years)
6.3. Methods of higher instruction (age 14 onwards)
6.4. The teaching of girls
7. Methods of instruction
7.1. The method of learning the Qur'an, calligraphy and Arabic literature
7.2. Styles of moral education
7.3. Various methods of higher education
7.4. Practical application
7.5. Teacher training
* * *
Note of the editor
The following text was originally published in Prospects: the quarterly review of comparative education (Paris, UNESCO: International Bureau of Education), vol. 23, N° 1/2, 1993, p. 53-69. ©UNESCO: International Bureau of Education, 2000. Our republishing of the article relies on the authorisation embedded by the publisher according to which the document may be reproduced free of charge as long as acknowledgement is made of the source. The version we republish hereafter was redited and revised; we publish it with a slightly different title, new images and captions. Click here for the original version (PDF format).
1. Introduction
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Figure 1: Modern portrait of Ibn Sina (Source).
This study attempts to present the educational aspects of an Ibn Sina, known in the west as Ibn Sina (370?-428H - 980?-1037 CE), considered by ancient and modern scholars alike as the most famous of the Muslim philosophers [2]. Thus al-Dhahbi describes him as ‘the leader of Islamic philosophy' [3]. George Anawati has prepared a full bibliography of Ibn Sina's writings [4]. In 1950, to commemorate the thousandth anniversary of his birth, the Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya (Egyptian National Library) published a printed list of the titles of his works and their commentaries which are preserved there. We need only consult this list, containing more than 150 printed works and manuscripts and including all the branches of knowledge in his day, even poetry, to evaluate the extent of the culture which Ibn Sina acquired and handed on to us.
Ibn Sina's most famous works are those on philosophy and medicine. His philosophical views have engaged the attention of Western thinkers over several centuries, and his books have been among the most important sources in philosophy. In medicine, his great work, al-Qanun (The Canon), was translated into Latin towards the end of the twelfth century CE, and became a reference source for medical studies in the universities of Europe until the end of the seventeenth century [5].
Ibn Sina has attracted the attention of scholars, past and present, who have written books, treatises and articles on him. One of these aspects, however, has not been very widely discussed, namely his views on education. Although Ibn Sina's writings on this subject, in comparison with his vast output on other subjects, are in fact considered to be very scarce, we do nonetheless find he deals with the same problems that confront educators today. He speaks about humanity, society, knowledge and ethics. He devoted a treatise entitled ‘Politics' to education; and he speaks at some length in ‘The Canon' about the upbringing of infants. Thereby, Ibn Sina represents a lively illustration of the meeting between philosophy and education, for the educator and the philosopher are both faced with the same problems: truth, goodness, the nature of the world, the meaning of knowledge and human nature, and so on. Obviously, Ibn Sina the philosopher has his own views on education. In addition, if we consider that Ibn Sina undertook teaching on a practical level for a considerable length of time, we realize that we have here a thinker whose philosophy was transformed into an educational theory that he himself practiced.
2. The man and his age
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Figure 2: Ibn Sina drawing by A. Suheyl Unver (Source).
The Sheikh al-Ra'is Sharaf al-Mulk Abu ‘Ali al-Husayn b. ‘Abd Allah b. al-Hasan b. ‘Ali Ibn Sina (known in Europe as Avicenna) was born in the village of Afshana in the vicinity of Bukhara (in what is now Uzbekistan), in 370 H / 980 CE —the generally accepted date [6]— of an Ismailian family concerned with intellectual sciences and philosophical inquiry, all of which had its effect upon the scientific career of Ibn Sina [7].
Ibn Sina lived in the fourth century of the Islamic era, the most flourishing Abbasid period in respect of learning and knowledge, which stands in complete contrast to the political situation at that time. Learning was much in demand, scholars were numerous, libraries were filled with the outpourings of the scholars of Islam, and with translations made from the sciences of other nations in accordance with the desires of caliphs and viziers.
It was just around the time of Ibn Sina's birth and in the subsequent years that Islamic Arabic culture reached its peak. Since the Arabic language was the accepted vehicle for the transmission of knowledge in this era, Ibn Sina studied Arabic under Abu Bakr Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Barqi al-Khwarizmi. As soon as he had mastered Arabic (his mother tongue was Persian), his father obtained for him a teacher of the Qur'an and another for literature. The young pupil learned quickly from his two teachers, and before he was 10 years old he knew the Qur'an and a considerable amount of literature as well, becoming ‘almost a prodigy', as Ibn Sina says of himself [8]. Next he developed a leaning towards philosophy, geometry and mathematics, so his father sent him to the school of Mahmud ‘al-Massah' (the surveyor), a man learned in arithmetic, algebra and the movement of the heavens, as reported by al-Bayhaqi [9]. He also studied fiqh (Muslim law) and the Sufism movement with Isma'il al-Zahid al-Bukhari. And no sooner had Abu ‘Abdallah al-Natli, the philosopher, arrived in Bukhara than Ibn Sina's father invited him to his house, hoping that the boy would learn intellectual subjects from him. If al-Natli had any noticeable success, it is that he diverted the boy from a preoccupation with law and Sufism in favour of the theoretical sciences and philosophical studies.
Before long, the professor sensed that the boy no longer needed him, for Ibn Sina was very anxious to acquire learning and had a real craving for the sciences of wisdom. He was then attracted by medical science, and devoted himself to it for a brief time, until he surpassed all the scholars of his age in this science. Ibn Sina says: ‘Then I desired to study medicine, and took to reading the books written on this subject. Medicine is not one of the difficult sciences, so naturally I became proficient in it in the shortest time, until the excellent scholars of medicine began to study under me. I began to treat patients, and through my experience I acquired an amazing practical knowledge and ability in methods of treatment' [10].
Ibn Sina was not content with the theoretical study of medicine, but he also practiced it from humanitarian motives and in order to put his learning to good use. He achieved all this while still no more than 16 years of age. Then he devoted himself to intensive study and reading for a year and a half, in which time he read through logic and all known sections of philosophy. Before Ibn Sina had reached the age of 18, his scholarly fame for philosophical inquiries and medical knowledge had spread far and wide [11].
It is clear from Ibn Sina's biography that he was quick to learn, with a vast memory, and wrote with ease. When he was 21 years old, he composed the book al-Majmu' (The Compendium), at the request of some of his pupils; in this he dealt with all of the theoretical sciences, except mathematics. Despite the political turmoil reigning in the land of Transoxania [the portion of Central Asia corresponding to the region between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers; the editor], which obliged him to move house a number of times, and the fact that he was acting as minister for certain princes, this did not prevent him from both studying and teaching science. He always had his own students and his study circles wherever he went, and this continued right up to the time of his death, Friday during Ramadan 428 H (1037 CE). He was buried at Hamadan in Persia [12].
3. The philosophical foundations of Ibn Sina's educational views
3.1. His view of the human being
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Figure 3: A class at the Gazanfer Aga Madrasa founded in 1566 (image from Divan-i Nadiri, Topkapi Palace Museum Library, H. 899) (Source).
The human being, in Ibn Sina's view, consists of both hidden (sirr) and open (‘alan) elements. Known to us is the perceptible human body with its organs and its cells. ‘Sensory perception stops at its exterior, while anatomy (dissection) enables us to learn about the interior; the hidden part consists of the powers of its mind' [13]. These mental powers motivate the human being, and cause it to carry out its various activities and behave as a human being'. To Ibn Sina, the human is a tangible body on the outside, revealed within by means of anatomy —as we see in his books, such as Al-Qanun (The Canon)— and we do not find any difficulty today in accepting this. We still have to look at the mental powers or faculties that motivate this body.
What are the mental powers, and what is their function? Ibn Sina classifies these mental faculties into three groups.
First, the group of vegetative faculties, which humans and plants both share. They are concerned with the survival of the human being, growth through nutrition, and preservation of the species through reproduction. They thus comprise three faculties: feeding, growth and reproduction [14].
This group is followed by the faculties that make animals superior to plants, and are shared by human beings and animals. Typically, they allow the human being to be attracted to what it desires, and to be repelled by anything harmful arousing fear or anger. They comprise, in his view, two faculties: a faculty of motion and a faculty of comprehension or perception. Each is, in its turn, divided into other faculties: the motive faculty consists of an instinctive reaction, and a rational movement, permitting the human either to act or desist from action; comprehension is also divided into a perceptive faculty of the exterior world through the five senses —sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch— and one directed from within, by way of common sense, imagination, memory and reflection [15].
Finally, there is the group of faculties which distinguish the human being from the animal. In Ibn Sina's view they comprise two faculties: an active faculty directing the human's practical conduct, and a cognitive faculty directing his intellectual conduct. Both are given the name ‘intelligence', but the first is practical and the second is contemplative [16].
3.2. The relationship between the mental faculties and the body
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Figure 4: Page from the oldest copy of the second volume of The Canon Of Medicine by Ibn Sina, preserved in The Institute of Manuscripts of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences; part of Memory of the World Project sponsored by the UNESCO (Source).
All these faculties are merely different functions of the human soul. For the human soul is one, and those three powers are different functions of it [17]. To Ibn Sina, the soul is immaterial, and is quite different from the substance of the body [18]. It is not pre-existent, coming into being together with the body [19]; but it survives and does not perish when the human being dies. Ibn Sina says: ‘When the body dies and decays, the substance of the soul is released from its connection with the body; and if it is perfected in knowledge, wisdom and good deeds, it is drawn towards the divine lights, the lights of the angels and of the heavenly kingdom, just as a needle is drawn towards an enormous mountain by magnetic force; the divine presence flows over it, and it achieves real tranquillity, as the call comes to it from the heavenly beings: 'Oh soul at complete rest, return to thy Lord, well pleased and well pleasing. Enter then among my devoted servants! Enter My heaven!'.' [20]
3.3. Is the human being good or evil by nature?
Ibn Sina is of the opinion that the human being is born ‘upon the natural disposition' and is neither good nor bad by nature, although tending more to good than to evil; and this human being changes and adapts according to the influences of the environment and its education systems. If he is accustomed to evil, he will become evil; if accustomed to good, he becomes good. On this point, Ibn Sina says: ‘When the child is weaned, then his education and his moral training begin, before he is attacked or overcome by blameworthy morals or objectionable characteristics. For evil morals so quickly take over the young boy, and bad habits soon prevail; and if any of these gain influence over him they overcome him, and then he cannot separate himself from them nor struggle against them' [21]. Ibn Sina emphasizes this elsewhere by saying: ‘All moral characteristics, the good and the bad, are acquired; and it is possible for the human being, when he has as yet no specific moral character, to obtain them for himself; and when his soul also chances upon some specific characteristic, he may move, by his own volition, away from it towards its opposite' [22].
When we refer to Ibn Sina's writings on this subject, we are given an insight into an Avicennian social theory based on two clear fundamental principles:
3.4. The social nature of the human being
The human being, as created by God, is not able to live in isolation but needs society for his survival, his growth and his education. Ibn Sina says: ‘The human being differs from all other animals in being unable to live well as an isolated individual [...] with no partner to help him satisfy his needs. He must be supported by another of his kind, who, in turn, must also be supported by him and by his like, so that, for instance, one will provide vegetables for another, while the other makes bread; one will sew when the other provides the needle. When they join forces they are complementary. This is why human beings are compelled to found societies' [23].
3.5. The divine nature of society
The whole of society must submit to the righteous holy law of God, through the Prophet who legislates, guided by divine revelation. For society needs someone to legislate its affairs and this legislator must be a human being who stands out from the others through qualities which ensure that his word is obeyed and the whole people follow him. This is Ibn Sina's justification for the existence of the Prophet, the specific miracles with which God distinguished him, and the need for the prophecy. Ibn Sina says: ‘So it is necessary that there should be a Prophet, and necessary that he should be a human being, and also that he should possess a special quality not found in other people, so that they are aware of something in him not found in themselves; thus he is set apart from them and has miraculous powers' [24].
3.6. The gate of ijtihad must be left open
Since the Prophet, in the Avicennian scheme of things, is the one to lay down laws governing society by revelation from God, it is necessary that the gate of ijtihad (personal interpretation of Islamic law) be left open to allow for any new events and circumstances in the following eras, and especially anything connected with political and practical affairs. The Prophet defines the general principles in these matters, while particular implementation is left to the circumstances. Ibn Sina says: ‘A great deal of concerns, especially in social affairs, must be entrusted to personal interpretation; for there are judgements concerning special circumstances, which cannot be precisely determined. [...] Particular rules should not be laid down for them, and making such laws would lead to confusion, for they change with the times' [25].
3.7. The choice of the Caliph
Since the Prophet was a human being with a limited life span, he must have a successor or khalifa (caliph). This successor is the one to rule after the Prophet, his mission being to implement ‘the teachings of the Prophet'. This means that every ruler in Islam is a successor.
So how is this successor to be chosen? This has been one of the greatest problems in Islamic thinking throughout the ages. Ibn Sina's solution was for the choice to be made by the Prophet's command in his life time, and by consultation and consensus of those in authority after his time. ‘The Prophet did not appoint a successor, and did not wish the people in authority to choose anyone unless they were sure he alone had political power; that he was able, courageous, virtuous and with an ability to organize, knowledgeable in the holy law so as to be unsurpassed in understanding its secrets and fathoming its depths.' Obedience will be paid to the ruler who fulfils these conditions and possesses these qualities. When these conditions are contravened, then it is obligatory for all to oppose him; if they do not, they disobey God and are unbelievers [26].
From all the above it is clear that society, as seen by Ibn Sina, is a collection of individuals very differently endowed with skills and capacities. This differentiation requires some kind of specialization, and this demands co-operation between the individuals in society and interaction between them. If this co-operation and interaction take place haphazardly, the social system may break down. Thus there is a need for ‘a ruler' who governs life in society. His task is to implement the principles of the law, wherever there is a text, and he is an independent interpreter (mujtahid) who consults people in authority where there is no text. The ruler or the prince has an urgent and very real need to conduct this consultation [27].
Although this allegorical picture of society, as Ibn Sina saw it, differed in certain respects from the Iranian society in which he lived, this was in fact the society on which he based his educational thinking, for in this field we see him maintain the inheritance of this ‘divine society' represented in its beliefs, rites of worship and its ethical code. He would recommend that this was the inheritance to be presented to the child in the first stages of his education.
4. His view of knowledge and ethics
4.1. Knowledge
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Figure 5: Front cover of Ibn Sina, Avicenne: la vie & l'œuvre by Sleim Ammar (Tunis: L'or du temps, 1998) (Source).
Ibn Sina considered that the soul, with its various faculties, is the path to knowledge or perception for it distinguishes between sensory perception and intellectual perception. The means of sensory perception, as already stated, are the five external senses and the five internal senses. These external and internal senses are especially relevant to sensory perception. Sensory perception occurs when sensory stimuli reach the organs of perception and are registered and comprehended by the sensory faculties. Ibn Sina says: ‘It appears that every perception is the acceptance of the picture of the thing perceived, in one way or another' [28]. And he says of sensory perception itself: ‘The pictures of all the things perceived by the senses are conveyed to the organs of perception and are impressed upon them, and are then perceived by the sensory faculties' [29]. Sensory knowledge, in Ibn Sina's view, is acquired knowledge, its source being the sensed stimuli, and its means the external and internal faculties of sense. The subject of intellectual knowledge is then simply the thing perceived, and its means is the human's speculative faculty entrusted to him by God, which is capable of acquiring that rational knowledge.
In order that intellectual knowledge should be effective, it must have a particular structure and an instrument to regulate its operation, and also to verify the soundness of the thought and reasoning; this instrument is logic. For logic is the theoretical art or the instrument which protects the intellect from making a mistake [30].
4.2. Ethics
Ibn Sina saw moral character as an expression of ‘a natural disposition whereby certain actions issue from the soul with ease, without prior thought' [31]. This means that character is not merely the practice of good behaviour, but the practicing of it at every appropriate occasion because the person has accustomed himself to it and is unable to act otherwise. We can describe a man as truthful only when he is habitually truthful in his speech, and the same applies for other admirable moral characteristics. In the same way, we can describe a man as a liar only when he habitually tells lies, and the same for other character failings.
For the human being to achieve an excellent morality, he must govern his reason well in all his conduct, and punish his soul if it departs from the right path, and reward and encourage it when it follows the path of virtue. Ibn Sina says: ‘The human being must prepare for his soul both reward and punishment, and govern it thereby' [32].
It is also obligatory for the human being, if his soul encounters a moral evil, to recognize its opposite, and force his soul to go towards this excellent virtue and accustom it to that extreme path, in order that his soul shall eventually acquire the middle path.
In all this, the reference point is reason. When the human being knows how to obey the commands of reason, he is on the road to being educated or virtuous. Reason is what defines good conduct, and the standards by which it is defined are the middle path on the one hand and equity on the other. Reason can itself recognize the middle path for every virtue, since virtue stands in the middle between two bad characteristics. Reason recognizes equity from the harmony among these virtues, so that no virtue is dominant over the others, and the human being can maintain an even balance in all his morality, without exaggerating one virtue at the expense of the others. It is to be noted here that, while the foundation of spiritual and ethical values found in the Qur'an and the Sunnah (the words and deeds of the Prophet) is based on the religious constraint deep in the human soul, for Ibn Sina it arises from the domination of reason over the faculties of wrong-doing. Now it is clear that to comprehend moral values, their simple acceptance by reason is not enough. It is necessary rather that they should take root in the heart, where the ‘moral sense' becomes a part of the human beings behavioural structure.
Ibn Sina did grasp the fact that such a conception of ethics is that of scholars or philosophers, or at least of an élite. He is not concerned with the common people in this ethical theory, since they do not act because they are persuaded by, or respect, reason, but rather through dread of punishments, in this world and in the hereafter [33].
In Ibn Sina's view, then, morality is an acquired matter, not inborn, and it is within a person's capacity to acquire any such morality he wishes through ‘habituation', ‘imitation', ‘fear' or ‘wisdom'. Ibn Sina considered that the process of acquiring morality began from ‘the infant's birth', because the child is exposed to problems and difficulties soon after birth and in the early stages of childhood, and these influence his psychology and temperament, and hence his ethical development. For this reason Ibn Sina paid great attention to the early stages of childhood and everything connected with it: the morality and culture of the wet nurse, the teacher, and the child's companions in school or the place where he studies.
5. Ibn Sina's educational views
5.1. The aims of education
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Figure 6: Page from an illuminated manuscript of the Latin translation of the Canon of Medicine by Ibn Sina (Source).
Ibn Sina sees the aims of education as the overall growth of the individual: physical, mental and moral; followed by preparation of this individual to live in society through a chosen trade according to his aptitudes. So Avicennian education does not neglect physical development and everything implied by it: physical exercise, food and drink, sleep and cleanliness [34]. It does not aim exclusively at intellectual development and the amassing of knowledge; likewise Ibn Sina does not devote his attention to the moral aspect alone, but aims at the formation of a personality complete in body, mind and character. He does not restrict the task of education to creating the complete citizen, but rather sees that education must also prepare him for a profession whereby he can contribute to the social structure, because society, in Ibn Sina's view, is built entirely on ‘co-operation', on the specialization of each individual in a craft or profession and on the mutual exchange of services between its individuals.
Although Ibn Sina was a philosopher and thus belonged to a group of people who believed that Greek thought was that of an educated élite such that philosophers had an undisputed superiority over all others, yet for him the aim of education was not restricted to the training of philosophers. This was particularly because he lived in the fourth century of the Islamic era, quite apart from the fact that this Greek idea was that of an élite. Therefore Ibn Sina makes ‘the education of the philosopher' one of his educational aims among others at the specialization stage, to which anyone who wished could direct himself in accordance with his aptitudes and inclinations. This was the difference between his education system and that of al-Ghazali, for example, or al-Qabisi; for while we find that ‘the education of the philosopher' was hardly included in their writings, Ibn Sina goes into great detail about it, the sciences which should be studied, and the aim and the benefits of each one of them.
We can say then that education in Ibn Sina's opinion is the making of an upright citizen, sound in body and mind, and preparing him for some intellectual or practical work. Intellectual work could be connected to the traditional sciences or to the theoretical sciences that Ibn Sina esteemed so highly. He counts ‘industry' or ‘crafts' as a kind of instruction requiring vocational preparation and specialization. He says: ‘Instruction and learning include the practical, like carpentry and dyeing, for it is only acquired by practice of that craft' [35].
5.2. The educational stages
The infant stage: from birth until the second year
Ibn Sina's concern with the child begins from birth. ‘When he is born, the child's umbilical cord must be cut at once, above four fingers' length, and tied with clean, fine wool twisted lightly, so as not to cause pain; if we wish to swaddle him, then the midwife must first massage his limbs gently; she must inspect his body where this is necessary, moving every limb into the best position; all of this by gentle touching with the tips of her fingers which should become a regular habit, and she should often wipe his eyes with silk or something similar' [36].
Ibn Sina is greatly concerned with everything connected with this stage: sleep, bathing, suckling, exercise suitable to the infant's age. About the infant's sleep, Ibn Sina says: ‘He should be put to sleep in a room with a mild temperature, not cold; the room should be fairly well shaded, with no direct rays of light. When he lies in his cot, he head should be higher than the rest of his body. Care must be taken that the cot does not allow his neck or limbs or his spine to be twisted in any way' [37].
Ibn Sina is insistent that the infant should be bathed more than once a day, and that the mother should herself suckle her child: he speaks at length on the mother's milk, the normal length of breast-feeding, the number of feeds per day, and weaning, which should be undertaken gradually. From his long discourse we shall mention briefly the following extracts: When the infant sleeps after feeding, the cradle should not be rocked violently, which would disturb the milk in his stomach, but only gently. To cry a little before feeding is beneficial. Breast-feeding normally lasts two years, and when the infant desires something besides milk this should be given gradually without forcing him. When his teeth begin to appear, he can move in gradual stages from being fed on mother's milk to stronger food. At first this can be bread chewed by the nursing mother, then bread soaked in water and honey, juice or in milk. This should be given to him in small quantities and he should gradually be kept from the breast. As Ibn Sina says, ‘weaning should be gradual and not take place all at once' [38].
The stage of childhood
This lasts from the third to the fifth year, at the time when ‘the child's body strengthens, his tongue is free, and he is ready for instruction, and his hearing is attentive' [39]. In ‘The Canon', he defines the start of the sixth year as the end of that stage, whereupon he enters ‘the stage of primary teaching'. Ibn Sina says: ‘And when he has reached the age of 6 years, he should be brought to the tutor and the teacher' [40]. We see Ibn Sina not concerned here with any specific kind of teaching, but merely with creating a happy childhood as regards physical, mental and moral health. Therefore he concentrates here on three educational concerns:
(i) The child's morals, and keeping him away from any harmful influences which might affect his soul and his morals.
(ii) Development of the body and movement. Regarding the need for play and exercise in that stage, Ibn Sina says: ‘When the child wakes from sleep, it is best for him to be bathed, then let him play for an hour; then he is given a little food to eat, then he is allowed to play for a long time, then he is bathed, then fed. Children should not be allowed to drink water straight after food, for then it would go into their system raw without being digested' [41]. Games form a necessary element in the child's life at this stage, whereby he acquires various physical and motor skills. He also learns how to live in a group and benefit from that life.
(iii) The development of taste and behaviour. Ibn Sina had an interest in music and considered it necessary for the child to listen to it, so that from the time he is in the cradle, he goes to sleep to the sound of music. That prepares him later to learn music; and this education in taste will be further refined in the next stage, when he learns simple poetry with easy rhymes, bringing the child pleasure as well as encouraging him to appreciate virtue.
The first stage of teaching
This begins at the age of 6 and ends approximately at 14 years of age. It is on reaching this age that the child must begin receiving education of a more serious kind, gradually moving away from games and sport, and beginning organized study. ‘Until [children] complete their fourteenth year, they must gradually decrease their sporting activities' [42].
At this stage, children learn ‘the principles of Islamic culture', from the Qur'an and Arabic poetry, calligraphy, and Islamic rules of good conduct. This is a common stage for all children, since preferences have not yet appeared. Later, aptitudes make their appearance, and in accordance with these every individual can be given particular instruction.
Ibn Sina considers that group instruction and not individual instruction is best at this level. He advises that the child be brought up with others, saying: ‘The child should be taught alongside the children of the nobility (the great or the rulers) whose conduct is good and whose habits are acceptable. For one child will teach another, learning from him and becoming his friend. If one child is left alone with the teacher, that is most likely to be unsatisfactory for them both; when the educator moves from one pupil to another, the risk of boredom is less, the pace of activities is more rapid and the child is eager to learn and succeed' [43].
The specialized education stage (age 14 onwards)
This comes after the child has completed general primary teaching, and his aptitudes have become apparent either to continue in the field of education or to learn a craft and earn a living. In the light of these aptitudes, the young person defines for himself the type of study or the type of vocational work that appeals to him during the higher or specialized stage.
Ibn Sina emphasized the need to have regard for the young person's preferences at this level when defining his future, his studies and the choice of profession; he insists that young people should not have any kind of study or work forced on them that does not correspond to their abilities and inclinations. The teacher must know ‘that not every craft the child desires is possible nor opportune for him, but the one that conforms to his nature and suits him. If skill and crafts were simply obtainable on demand, without question of appropriateness or suitability, then no one would be devoid of them, and people would all agree to choose the most noble skills and the highest of crafts' [44].
What then are the standards for defining educational and vocational inclinations among students at this stage? And how can the teacher direct the student to a type of learning or profession that he sees as suitable for him?
Ibn Sina considers that this is evident directly from the conduct of the child, and ‘the boy's guide', either his father or his teacher, will notice specific inclinations. From the practical angle, this can be ascertained by observing the student's conduct. Defining the true origin of inclination or ability is for Ibn Sina a difficult matter: ‘These choices and these suitabilities and conformities have obscure and hidden causes which tax human understanding, and are too subtle to be measured or identified, so only the Almighty knows them' [45].
Ibn Sina remarks that students differ in their aptitudes and abilities, and sees the need of educational and professional guidance at that stage. There is nothing unusual about that in an age when science and knowledge were in full expansion, when crafts and professional groups abounded, and when trade guilds were found everywhere. Likewise Ibn Sina was aware of the ‘mentally retarded' and the ‘simple-minded', who were incapable of benefiting from any kind of theoretical or practical education. He considers that they and their like must be given a special place apart where they would live under the supervision of a warden. Those for whom there was no hope of improvement should have their care and their sustenance guaranteed. Ibn Sina says: ‘It may happen that a person's nature is incompatible with any culture or attention, and he learns nothing from them. This can be seen from the fact that people of intelligence have wished to educate their sons, and have expended much effort and expense on that purpose, without attaining their objective' [46].
Ibn Sina points out very clearly the necessity for educational and vocational guidance. He appreciated the very close connection between education and the economic and social needs of society, as well as the role of individual aptitudes and abilities in defining the type of learning or trade in which each student should specialize; thus, he makes the higher stage of education that of specialization. Each student would then specialize in the science or the trade which he wished to be his future occupation, and the source of his income in working life. Ibn Sina perceives too that this specializing stage comes only after a period of general education in which all students participate, and where they learn the principles of Islamic culture, before allowing their talents and special aptitudes to come to the fore when all that is completed. So it is on this basis that the higher specialized stage follows.
6. Teaching methods
6.1. Infants under 6 years
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Figure 7: Commemorative medal issued by the UNESCO in 1980 to mark the 1000th birth anniversary of Ibn Sina. The obverse depicts a scene showing Avicenna surrounded by his disciples, inspired by a miniature in a 17th-century Turkish manuscript; whilst on the reverse is a phrase by Avicenna in Arabic and Latin: "Cooperate for the well-being of the body and the survival of the human species" (Source). The UNESCO established the Avicenna Prize for Ethics in Science in 2002 (see brochure: Avicenna and the ethics of science and technology today, UNESCO, 2004).
We have pointed out that Ibn Sina is concerned at this stage with the child's sensory and motor development and with moral and emotional training. We are not aware of Ibn Sina having indicated any specific methods at this stage, apart from physical exercise and music; one for the child's growth and his physical and motor development, so that he should acquire thereby a great many moral and mental habits; and the other to refine his feelings and to heighten his emotions.
Ibn Sina is very much concerned with games at this age, as well as in primary education. He shows us the role of exercise in education and its necessary place in the child's life, and explains that exercise differs according to age, and also with the child's ability. For exercise may be much or little; it can be very vigorous, demanding considerable physical strength; it can also be slight; swift or slow; it can be rapid, combining strength and speed; and again it can be relaxing. Each of these types has its own appropriate place and necessity in the life of the young child [47].
But Ibn Sina is as concerned with play and exercise at this level of education as he is with ‘musical education'. We know that Ibn Sina was skilled in this art, both as a composer and a performer [48]. So it is in the capacity of an expert that he mentions the feelings of pleasure, joy, purity and the sense of exaltation which music brings about in the child: and also the way the child can learn to perceive harmony and discord, treble and bass, and how this comes about. Ibn Sina speaks at length about music, its composition and rhythm, and the instruments used [49].
So sport and music are the most important components of the method in this stage. They are the two methods of instruction which prepare the child for organized ‘primary teaching' in the next stage, when he reaches 6 years of age.
6.2. Methods at the ‘primary' stage (6 to 14 years)
The components of study in this stage are the Qur'an and its memorization, learning to read and write, acquiring the outlines of religion and study of some Arabic poetry; besides which he is again aware of the need for play and exercise. Ibn Sina says: ‘When the boy's joints strengthen, and his tongue is apt, and he is ready for instruction, and his hearing is attentive, he begins to learn the Qur'an, and is shown letters of the alphabet, and is instructed in the outlines of religion. The boy should recite the rajaz (poetic verse), then the qasida (classic ode); the rajaz is easier and is more quickly learned because its stanzas are shorter and its rhythm lighter' [50].
The child should first recite the rajaz, since it is easier to remember. The verses the child memorizes must make plain the usage of good manners and of learning, and the disgrace of ignorance and foolishness; it must encourage respect towards parents, acceptable behaviour, hospitality to guests, and high moral standards [51]. This means that the poetry which Ibn Sina wants to be presented to the child at this stage is literature with a message, which contributes to the boy's training, and giving him that moral education which Ibn Sina considers to be the human being's goal and the source of his happiness.
The curriculum put forward by Ibn Sina reminds us of society's concern at that time with Islamic culture and its basic elements: the Qur'an, poetry, devoutness and ethics. On the other hand, he does not ignore the child's need for play, movement and diversion, so that his curriculum does not really differ very much from that followed by the modern child in the majority of Islamic countries today, except for its concentration upon ‘memorizing the Qur'an' and in giving this learning ‘absolute priority'.
6.3. Methods of higher instruction (age 14 onwards)
Instruction at this stage is specialized according to the pupil's future occupation that has been chosen depending on his inclinations and aptitudes. This is an open-ended education, meaning that it continues throughout life. Ibn Sina says: ‘When he has finished learning the Qur'an and memorizing the fundamentals of the language, at that time one should look into what occupation is desired for him, and he should be directed on this path; if [his teacher or guardian] wishes him to study literature, then to the study of language he adds that of epistles, speeches, argument and dialogue, and similar subjects; calculation is explained, and he is initiated into administration through a practical course; care is taken with his handwriting; and if he seems destined for another discipline, he is guided accordingly' [52].
Ibn Sina divided the education of his day into theoretical instruction and manual or practical instruction (trade, jewellery making or another craft). This practical learning ‘is acquired by diligent practice in the activity of that craft' [53], or by being trained in it. Theoretical education, on the other hand, is that which is acquired from ‘speech heard or understood, which naturally conveys a belief or an opinion, or creates an impression which did not exist before' [54]. This theoretical teaching is also made up of two kinds: ‘transmitted' theoretical teaching, and intellectual or philosophical theoretical teaching. Each type of theoretical or practical teaching—and likewise every form of transmitted or intellectual teaching—has its means and methods which prepare the individual for specialization in the chosen field. We would wish that Ibn Sina had spoken in greater detail about these three methods of teaching (transmitted, intellectual and vocational). Unfortunately, he restricted himself to drawing attention to them, which does, however, indicate their existence at that time. His subsequent writings speak at greater length about the methods by which the students of the intellectual sciences were taught [55].
6.4. The teaching of girls
Ibn Sina did not speak about girls as much as he did about boys. However, the fourth century of the Islamic era witnessed great activity in the field of education from which women shared to a certain extent since there were some outstanding women lawyers, poets and singers at that time [56]. Perhaps this is due to the fact that, in Ibn Sina's view, a woman did not need to earn her living like a man, but he made it clear that the man was expected to protect and care for her, and support her financially [57]. Thus women did not need to follow specialized or higher education, such as the man needed in order to prepare him for work or a craft from which he would earn his living in the future.
The teaching required by a woman was such as to fit her to be a wife, mother and sister. It appears that it was customary in Ibn Sina's day for this education to be carried out at home and to be taken care of by the girl's family or by a private tutor assigned to this task. It is clear that Ibn Sina acknowledged this individual style in teaching girls, and left their teaching to their families, who would give them whatever moral, religious and cultural preparation they desired.
Footnotes
[1] At the date of publication of this article (in 1993), Abd al-Rahman al-Naqib was Professor and Director of the Department of Educational Fundamentals at Mansoura University in Egypt. Author of numerous articles and books, he has participated in several national and international conferences on education. Among his works are: Ibn Sina's Educational Philosophy; Muslim Theoretical and Practical Medical Training; Studies on Islamic Education; The Degree of Islamic Involvement among Students; and Islamic Education: Vocation and Structure (all in Arabic).
[2] Ahmad F. al-Ahwani, Ibn Sina, Cairo: Dar al-Ma'arif, 1958, p. 17; P. Sa'd, Ibn Sina al-faylasuf ba'd sittmi'a sana ‘ala wafatih, Beirut, 1937, p. 62.
[3] Al-Dhahbi, Siyar a'lam al-nubala, Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya, MS no. 12195/2 (microfiche), Part I, p. 119.
[4] George C. Anawati, Mu'allafat Ibn Sina, Cairo: Dar al-Ma'arif, 1950.
[5] A. Wolf, ‘Ard ta'rikhi li-l-falsafa wa-l-'ilm, trans. by Muhammad Abd al-Wahid Khalaf, Cairo: Lijnat al-ta'lif wa-l-tarjama wa-l-nashr, 1944, p. 38; A. Mielli, al-'Ilm ‘inda al-'Arab wa-athruhu fi tatawwur al-'ilm al-'alami, trans. by Abd al-Halim al-Najjar, Muhammad Yusuf Musa, Cairo: Dar al-Qalam, 1962, p. 197-98.
[6] Baihaqi related this in Tarikh Hukama' al-Islam; al-Qifti in Akhbar al-'ulama', and Ibn Khallikan in Wafayat al-a'yan. Ibn Abi Usaybi'a in ‘Uyun al-anba' is alone in saying that he was born in the year 375 H. There is another source saying he was born in 373 H.
[7] Ibn Abi Usaybi'a, 'Uyun al-anba' fi tabaqat al-atibba', Cairo: al-Matba'a al-Wahhabiyya, 1299 H, vol. II, p. 2.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Al-Bayhaqi, Tarikh hukama' al-Islam, Damascus: Matba'at al-Taraqqi, 1946, p. 53.
[10] Ibn Abi Usaybi'a, op. cit., p. 3.
[11] Ibid. See: A. Sohiel, Avicenna: His Life and Works, London: Unwin, 1938, vol. 8, p. 201.
[12] A. al-Naqib, Falsafat al-tarbiyya ‘inda Ibn Sina, Cairo: Dar al-Thaqafa, 1954, 38.
[13] Ibn Sina, Risalat al-Quwwa al-insaniyya wa idrakatuha, in: Majmu' al-Rasa'il, Cairo: Matba'at Kurdistan al-'ilmiyya, 1328 H, p. 212; Tis' rasa'il fil-hikma wat-tabi'iyat, Bombay: Kalzar Husna, 1318 H, p. 30.
[14] Ibn Sina, Al-Najat, Cairo: al-Babi al-Halabi, 1357 H, p. 158; and Al-Shifa, Tehran: Hajar, 1353 H, vol. I, p. 294.
[15] Ibn Sina, Al-Najat, op. cit., p. 159-63; Al-Isharat wal-tanbihat, Leiden, 1892, vol. I, p. 125; Al-Shifa, op. cit., vol. I, p. 333; Muhammad ‘Uthman Najati, Al-Idrak al-hissi ‘ind Ibn Sina, Cairo: Dar al-Ma'arif, 1961, p. 117.
[16] Ibn Sina, Al-Najat, op. cit., p. 164; Risalat al-quwwa al-insaniyya wa-'idrakatuha op. cit., pp. 215-216.
[17] Ibn Sina, Ahwal al-Nafs, ed. by A.F. al-Ahwani, Cairo: Dar Ihya al-kutub al-'arabiyya, 1371 H, p. 108-110; Al-Najat, op. cit., p. 189 ff.
[18] Ibn Sina, Al-Shifa, vol. I, p. 248-57; Risalat fi ma'rifat al-nafs al-natiqa, ed. by A.F. al-Ahwani, Cairo: Dar Ihya al-kutub al-'arabiyya, 1371 H, pp. 183-185.
[19] Ibn Sina, Risalat al-auwwa al-insaniyya wa-'idrakatuha, op. cit., pp. 97-98.[20] Ibn Sina, Risala al-shifa min khawf al-mawt wa-mu'alajat al-ihtimam bihi, in the collection Jami' al-badi', Cairo: Matba'at al-Sa'ada, 1335 H, pp. 37-38.
[21] Ibn Sina, Kitab al-siyasa, ed. by Louis Ma'luf, Majallat al-Sharq (Cairo), 1906, p. 1074.
[22] Ibn Sina, ‘Ilm al-Akhlaq, in Majmu' al-Rasa'il, op. cit., p. 198.
[23] Ibn Sina, Al-Najat, op. cit., p. 303; Al-Shifa, op. cit., vol. II, pp. 556-557.
[24] Ibn Sina, Al-Najat, op. cit., p. 304.
[25] Ibn Sina, Al-Shifa, op. cit., vol. II, p. 563.
[26] Ibid., p. 564.
[27] Ibn Sina devotes a long account of the consultation and on the sciences which ‘people of consultation' should master. See: al-Majma' aw al-hikma al-'arudiya fi ma'ani rituriqa, Cairo: Maktabat al-Nahdha al-Misriyya, 1950, p. 34-42.
[28] Ibn Sina, Al-Shifa, op. cit., vol. I, p. 295.
[29] Ibn Sina, Al-Najat, op. cit., p. 160.
[30] Ibn Sina, Al-Isharat wal-Tanbihat, op. cit., p. 2-3.
[31] Ibid., p. 296.
[32] Ibn Sina, Kitab al-siyasa, op. cit., p. 1039.
[33] Ibn Sina, Al-Shifa, op. cit., vol. II, p. 565.
[34] A. al-Naqab, Falsafat al-tarbiya ‘ind Ibn Sina, op. cit., p. 109-12.
[35] Ibn Sina, Al-Burhan min al-Shifa, Cairo: al-Matba'a al-Amiriyya, 1375 H, p. 57.
[36] Ibn Sina, Al-Qanun, vol. I, Cairo: Matba'at Bulaq, 1294 H, p. 150.
[37] Ibid., p. 151.
[38] Ibid., p. 153.
[39] Ibn Sina, Kitab al-siyasa, op. cit., p. 1074.
[40] Ibn Sina, Al-Qanun, op. cit., vol. I, p. 150.
[41] Ibid., p. 157.
[42] Ibid., p. 158.
[43] Ibn Sina, Kitab al-siyasa, op. cit., p. 1074-75.
[44] Ibid., p. 1075.
[45] Ibid.
[46] Ibid., p. 1075-76.
[47] Ibn Sina, Al-Qanun, op. cit., vol. I, p. 159.
[48] Z. Yusuf, "Musiqa Ibn Sina", in: Al-Kitab al-Dhahabi li-'l-Mahrajan al-alfi li Ibn Sina, Cairo:Matba'at Misr, 1952, pp 123-35.
[49] Ibn Sina, Risalat al-Musiqa, in: Majmu' al-Rasa'il, op. cit., pp. 2-12.
[50] Ibn Sina, Kitab al-siyasa, op. cit., p. 1074.
[51] Ibid.
[52] Ibid., p. 1075.
[53] Ibn Sina, Al-Burhan min al-Shifa, op. cit., p. 57.
[54] Ibid.[55] Avicenna wrote at length on these sciences in his book Aqsam al-'Ulum al-'Aqliyya, in: Majmu' al-Rasa'il, op. cit.
[56] A. Fahmi, Mabadi' al-Tarbiya al-Islamiyya, Cairo: Lajnat al-Ta'lif wal-Tarjama wal-Nashr, 1366 H, p. 148-50.
[57] Ibn Sina, Al-Shifa, op. cit., vol. II, pp. 562-63.
by: Abd al-Rahman al Naqib, Sat 17 January, 2009
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