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|BaKhabar  Download pdf
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| Changes
in Madrasa Curriculum Is a Must
… By Dr. Mohammad Ghitreef
(Shahbaz Nadwi)*
There are tens of thousands of small and big Islamic Madrasas in the country, including some big historical and famous seminaries in sub continent, like Darul Uloom Deoband, Mazahir Uloom Saharanpur and Nadwatul Ulama Lucknow and others. Every year tens of thousands of graduates come out from them holding degrees of Alim ,Fazil and of Mufti in their hands. The sad side of the story is that when this madrasa product comes out of madrasa boundaries and steps into the real cruel world it is a bewildered lot, having no clue where to go. Hence apart of a small section, who seek higher studies in pet subjects as Urdu, Arabic and Islamic studies, the majority has no option other than to resort to be Imams in mosques and teachers in the same or other madrasas. More aspirants to a luxurious life go and establish their own madrasas; their fiefdoms, in most cases with crook ways. These madarsas by and large are being run with big community support, as  Muslims traditionally have been spending on Madrasas and mosques with enthusiasm , great heart and huge generosity. For, the zealots see in them the citadels of Islam simply because Mulim leadership, bearded and non-bearded alike ,boast this and brainwash the poor innocent community day in and day out. As a matter of fact madrasas have many merits also for example they should be credited that they provide admirably free education and shelter to poor community children, especially in rural areas, where secular education system is yet to come and provide the people the basic education. However,in the multicultural society like India, some observe and comment that our Ulema as a human beings generally show good behavior, rather a pious conduct in individual life, yet they are very parochial in their views, mindset and outlook as a community leader. There may be some exceptions and may be cases the other way round, but at least we can safely say that their attitude to look into the world is usually very different from that of a common man, more specifically when it comes to issues such as rights of women in Islam, freedom of expression ,free thought, relations between Muslims and Non Muslims, Democracy and Secularism among others.  It seems that Ulema lack in common sense because they have no understanding of modern world around them, and yet ironically claim and also are supposed to be the religious leaders of Muslim community and sole representatives of Islam. What is reason behind all this pathetic state of affairs? Yes, to my way of thinking, there is a reason, and that is the curriculum of Arabic Islamic madrasa system .This curriculum is centuries old now, which was set by some Iranian scholars in Mughal period namely Mullah Nizamuddin Sahalwi, and hence this was called Darse Nizami.  As a matter of fact we should say that it was very apt and relevant to those times when it was set up. But in today’s world, in changed religious-politico-social scenario this curriculum is no more relevant to our times. This curriculum is classified into two categories, say, Uloom Aliya (higher sciences) that are said to be ends in themselves and Uloom Aliyya (arts as a means) which are not meant in themselves. The first category is meant originally and includes Quran, Hadith, fiqh, Usuluddin, (principles of religion)etc. As this category is concerned, I think there is no need to change it wholly, only we have to change the methodology of teaching this kind of arts and sciences. Because the current methodology of teaching nowadays became so parochial, so biased and so sectarian that it very often, leads to the horrific attitude in some Ulema to attacking others and dubbing each other as kafir and infidel and with other similar derogatory names and abuses, which result in indulging in sectarian quarrel to no end. With these gory conditioning of Ulema, poor Muslim masses are bitterly divided on sectarian lines and are on the receiving end. This horrible situation demands a change of mind which only hopefully could be done by creating a milieu of comparative and academic traits and strong intellectual ethos in the madrasa students. As teaching the fist kind of arts that is uloom Aliyya, is concerned, The present teaching method is so bizarre, lengthy, burdensome, boring and yet unfruitful that it is totally unable to develop good language aptitude and linguistic capability in students that on one hand, they are not able to successfully communicate their views to the public and, on the other, most of the curriculum books are old fashioned, written in the style wrought with Greek logic and ancient philosophical terms, which made it fully ambiguous, unclear and mind boggling. Of course that trend was once prevalent in Islamic world in the decadent era, and may be good and somehow useful in those circumstances but now in the changed situation it is no longer apt nor relevant. Isn’t strange that a student in a seminary generally studies for a whole 12 years or more and he is not capable to correctly read or write a sentence of modern Arabic (with exception to Nadwa graduates to a great extent), not to mention English or Hindi. One most important aspect is that madarsa curriculum is lacking in modern knowledge altogether. It is much needed,therefore, that at least social sciences, such as History, Geography, Economics , political science and comparative study of religions should be taught in Alim or Fazil stages of this curriculum, because knowledge of the contemporary world is not gained without knowing these sciences, and without that, I am puzzled, how can one leads public and gives them Sharia guidance in a good and understandable manner, so at least introductory knowledge of modern social sciences is a must for every student of Islamic learning.  A complete century has passed ,since luminaries of the stature of Shibli Numani and Abul Kalam Azad, voiced their concern in this regard and advocated to bring about the desired changes in madrasa curricula, yet all along Uelema have been vehemently resisting this noble move, seeing in it as a conspiracy against Islam and Muslims. But in spite of that the need of the hour is that this task must be done with Ulema if they give in, and without them too if they resist.  ----------------------------- *Dr.Mohammd Ghitreef is the director of Foundation for Islamic Studies, New Delhi, he can be contacted on: mohammad.ghitreef@gmail.com |
FRESH
WATER: IMPORTANT GIFT FROM ALLAH ... By M.A. HAQUE  It is prophesied that if by any chance the Third World War will be fought, it may be for some small puddle of water. This prophecy looks extremely contradictory that there will be large scale fighting for some small source of water. We know that 70% earth’s surface is covered by water. That is why when earth is seen from space or its satellite images are seen the earth looks mostly blue and a common term for the earth is the “Blue Planet”. Obviously the earth has huge quantity of water, although it is not unlimited. Scientists say that quantity of water present on the earth is almost fixed. That is why it is commonly remarked by the scientists that the water we consume today may be the same which has been there since the time the dinosaurs lived on the earth, i.e. for hundreds of millions of years. Water on the earth has been changing its form. But it has always been there in one form or another. The tragedy is that out of the total water about 97.5% is salt water. Only about 2.5% is “Fresh Water” i.e. which is not saline and which can be directly consumed by us and most of the organisms present on the earth. The fresh water is not pure water. In fact if we drink pure water, we may not remain healthy. We will suffer from deficiency of certain elements which we receive with the water that we drink. That is why good quality drinking water is commonly labeled as “Mineral Water”. Another important issue is that all of the fresh water that is present on the earth is not available for use. Only a small fraction of it is available to us. Finally, it works out to the level that only 0.007 percent of the total water on the earth is available to meet all the requirements of more than 7.1 billion people living on the earth and also of the other types of living organisms living outside the oceans. Apart from direct consumption, water is required for producing food, for dilution and treatment of wastes, and to keep the environment in healthy condition. Even industrial activities need water for their operations. At times it is needed as ingredient, at times as solvent, at times as carrier of materials and quite often as a coolant. The issue is that we have trained ourselves to consider water as a renewable resource. That is why in recent time we are extracting more water than what the water bodies receive. Result is that the water bodies are shrinking and many of them dry up immediately after the rains or snowfall is over. Also, there is large scale misuse and wastage of water. For example, for producing just one average sized hamburger about 2,400 liters of water is consumed. Similarly, water intensive crops like rice, cotton, sugarcane etc. are being cultivated in areas which are not having adequate water. Net result is that during the last century water use grew at more than double the rate of population growth. During the last 50 years the water withdrawals have grown three times on global scale. Nations which are politically or financially strong extract much more water than the others. Consequence is that almost 1/3rd of the total number people on the earth cannot get sufficient water to meet even their drinking requirements. By the middle of the current century about 2/3rd of the world population will face scarcity of water. United Nations has confirmed that by 2025, about 1.8 billion people will live in areas beset with water scarcity. Most of them will be in poor and underdeveloped nations. Another dimension is that water availability and its quality and health status are closely related. That is why people living in poor regions have large numbers of health related problems. India is one of the worst sufferers in terms of fresh water availability and its low quality. Reason is that the lack of adequate water availability is an important factor in many areas of the country. Another issue is that most of the fresh water sources in the country are contaminated due to sewage and effluents. Result is that infectious diseases continue to be serious threat for the population, especially in case of children. Large number of people, mostly children, die every year on account of water related infections. It is estimated that 21% of communicable diseases in the country are related to water quality and available quantity. As per UNICEF every year diarrhea and other diseases caused by contaminated water kill some 600,000 children. Now let me come to the point why I am emphasizing on water so much. Reason is that we are not careful about the use and consumption of water. Secondly we do not protect water sources against contamination. As Muslims we need to understand the value and importance of water. If we go by the Qur’an, we find that Allah says: وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ ۖ أَفَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ We made from water every living thing. Will they not believe? (Qur’an 21:30) It is clear that water is the main ingredient from which all the living organisms have been created by Allah. Now science has also made it clear. Many organisms are 95 to 99% water. Again Allah says: وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَ كُلَّ دَابَّةٍ مِّن مَّاءٍ ۖ فَمِنْهُم مَّن يَمْشِي عَلَىٰ بَطْنِهِ وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَمْشِي عَلَىٰ رِجْلَيْن وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَمْشِي عَلَىٰ أَرْبَعٍ ۚ And Allah has created every animal from water. Of them there are some that creep on their bellies; some that walk on two legs; and some that walk on four. (Qur’an 24:45) Also, about ourselves Allah has made it clear that we are created from water: وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ مِنَ الْمَاءِ بَشَرًا فَجَعَلَهُ نَسَبًا وَصِهْرًا ۗ It is He who has created man from water. Then has He established relationships of lineage and marriage. (Qur’an 25:54) Also, Allah made it clear in Qur’an that the salt water is not palatable. That is very important. If we could use the sea water as such, there was no issue of water scarcity. Even contamination could not be such a problem as most microorganisms cannot survive in saline water: وَهُوَ الَّذِي مَرَجَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ هَـٰذَا عَذْبٌ فُرَاتٌ وَهَـٰذَا مِلْحٌ أُجَاجٌ وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَهُمَا بَرْزَخًا وَحِجْرًا مَّحْجُورًاً It is He who has let free the two bodies of flowing water. One palatable and sweet and the other salt and bitter. Yet has He made a barrier between them. A partition that is not to be passed. (Qur’an 25:53) Then Allah created aquatic organisms and we consume many of them as food and also for other purposes. In fact seafood provides sustenance to large numbers of people in different countries. Also, nutritionally, the seafood is superior to many others: وَمَا يَسْتَوِي الْبَحْرَانِ هَـٰذَا عَذْبٌ فُرَاتٌ سَائِغٌ شَرَابُهُ وَهَـٰذَا مِلْحٌ أُجَاجٌ ۖ وَمِن كُلٍّ تَأْكُلُونَ لَحْمًا طَرِيًّا وَتَسْتَخْرِجُونَ حِلْيَةً تَلْبَسُونَهَا ۖ Nor are the two seas alike. The one palatable, sweet, and pleasant to drink and the other, salt and bitter. Yet from each kind of water do ye eat flesh fresh and tender. (Qur’an 35:12) We know that rain or snowfall is the main source of fresh water. Allah is kind enough to bring rains which contain fresh water and not saline water. He says if the rain water was saline, could we survive? أَفَرَأَيْتُمُ الْمَاءَ الَّذِي تَشْرَبُونَ ِ أَأَنتُمْ أَنزَلْتُمُوهُ مِنَ الْمُزْنِ أَمْ نَحْنُ الْمُنزِلُونَ ِ لَوْ نَشَاءُ جَعَلْنَاهُ أُجَاجًا فَلَوْلَا تَشْكُرُونَ ِ See ye the water which ye drink? Do ye bring it down in rain from the cloud or do We? Were it Our Will, We could make it saltish and unpalatable. Then why do ye not give thanks? (Qur’an 56:68-70) Allah has made clear the value and contribution of the rain or fresh water. Due to the rains the barren areas become productive and produce different kinds of vegetation on which we depend directly or indirectly: يَعْلَمَ مِن بَعْدِ عِلْمٍ شَيْئًا ۚ وَتَرَى الْأَرْضَ هَامِدَةً فَإِذَا أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْهَا الْمَاءَ اهْتَزَّتْ وَرَبَتْ وَأَنبَتَتْ مِن كُلِّ زَوْجٍ بَهِيج ِ And further, thou seest the earth barren and lifeless. But when we pour down rain on it, it is stirred to life, it swells, and it puts forth every kind of beautiful growth in pairs. (Qur’an 22: 5) We can easily understand that fresh water is extremely valuable resource on this earth. We need to appreciate the real value of good quality fresh water. But we are hardly concerned. If water is available, we waste it at every step: be it in agriculture, be it for washing, be it for bathing or in industry. Also, if we look at different Ahadeeth we can find innumerable examples where the value and conservation of water have been emphasized. I am not going to refer to all of them. Just one instance: Prophet (SAW) consumed only one “Mudd” (less than half litre) water for wadhu. May be we cannot do so. But that does not mean that we should waste litres of water for wadhu. Same is the case for bathing. One bucket (about 10 to 15l) should suffice for purifying ourselves. But how much we consume? We need to introspect. At times we consume even hundred litres for bath. We, as Muslims must be concerned about these wastages. Also, Allah has time and again warned in Qur’an against wastages of all kinds. But we do not heed. On the contrary we should be examples for others to emulate. Also, whenever possible, we should tell others why we are so concerned about wastages. That will be an important lesson for others. |
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