Maududi on Muslim Educational Reform
Yoginder Sikand
Syed Abul Ala Maududi (1903-79), founder of the
Jamaat-e Islami, is regarded as one of the chief
architects of modern-day Islamist revivalism. He was a
profuse writer, and is credited with literally
hundreds of works on a diverse range of issues.
Although he not a graduate from a traditional madrasa,
he wrote considerably on the subject of madrasa
reform. His reformist educational views are summed up
in a book recently published by the Jamaat-e Islami
Hind, titled 'Islami Nizam-e Talim' ('The Islamic
System of Education'). The book is actually a document
sent by Maududi to the Pakistani Educational
Commission, probably sometime in the 1950s. Although
thus considerably dated, its relevance in terms of
contemporary debates about madrasa reform is obvious.
Maududi begins by noting the existing dualism in
Muslim education—between madrasa-trained ulema, on the
one hand, and university-trained graduates, on the
other, who have almost nothing in common between them.
He argues that Islam does not countenance any rigid
dualism between 'religious' and 'secular' knowledge,
and, therefore, that this dualism must be bridged.
Maududi then goes on to critique the existing system
of traditional madrasa education. He writes that it is
incorrect to claim, as many ulema do, that it
represents the Muslims' traditional system of
religious education, which, therefore, should remain
untouched. Instead, he writes, it is actually a
remnant of the system of education of the medieval
ages, of the period of Muslim rule, that was geared to
the training of civil servants. This is why he refers
to the existing madrasa system as 'the old system of
education' (qadim nizam-e talim), rather than as the
'system of religious education' (dini talimi nizam),
which is how most traditional ulema describe it.
"The usefulness of this system", Maududi opines, "was
finished the day British rule was established in
India", because, as a consequence, its graduates were
unable to gain a place in the new administrative
set-up under colonial rule. "Because this system
contains our centuries'-old cultural heritage, and it
contributed in a limited way to fulfilling our
religious needs", Maududi notes, "many Muslims think
that it should be preserved as it is so that Muslims'
don't loose their ancestral heritage and maintain
their cultural identity".
That, however, so Maududi argues, is not the right
attitude to adopt. Today's rapidly changing
circumstances have led to what he sees as the 'rapid
decline of the usefulness of the system', its
graduates being 'unable to cope with the demands,
conditions, problems and needs of the times'. Today,
he notes, the overwhelming majority of madrasa
graduates have no option but to take up careers as
imams in mosques, teachers in madrasas, delivering
public lectures and even 'fanning all sorts of
religious conflicts so as to impress upon their
audience that they are indispensable'. Consequently,
Maududi adds in a bitter critique of the traditional
ulema, 'Although they do some good, spreading a bit of
religious knowledge, this is far outweighed by the
damage that they do, because they cannot properly
represent Islam or guide the community on the lines of
religion or solve its problems'. 'In fact', he goes on
to add, 'I would say that instead of working for
promoting the glory of Islam, the opposite is
happening, for the way they are today representing
Islam is causing people to increasingly distance
themselves from it'. 'This', he laments, 'has led to a
decline in the honour of Islam, and due to them
sectarian conflicts continue to thrive'. He explains
this by arguing that 'the necessities of life of these
people forces them to keep these conflicts alive'.
A second reason for the urgent need for reform of the
existing system of madrasa education, Maududi writes,
is that, contrary to common perception, its
specifically religious component is 'very limited'.
This is because when it was formulated, in the
medieval period, it was not intended to produce
religious scholars, although this is how it is
generally perceived today. Rather, its purpose was
essentially to produce civil servants to man the
administrative apparatus of Muslim-ruled states. The
main reason for having a limited religious component
in the curriculum was that Islamic jurisprudence was
administered by medieval Muslim rulers in some
spheres, and, therefore, civil servants needed to have
a basic understanding of the subject. They also needed
to learn subjects such as philosophy, logic, etiquette
and grammar, and, in fact, Maududi says, these
subjects are given more importance in the madrasa
curriculum than the Quran and the Hadith, the
traditions attributed to the Prophet. This, he claims,
continues even today in many madrasas.
Although several madrasas now give more attention to
Hadith than in the past, Maududi writes, they
unfortunately give 'particular importance to those
Hadith reports related to sectarian conflicts, and to
the nitty-gritty and minor details of jurisprudential
rules'. Little attention is given to the history,
development, principles and methodologies of Islamic
jurisprudence or fiqh. However, Maududi stresses,
these neglected subjects are essential, for without
them it is not possible to engage in ijtihad or
creative and independent articulations of
jurisprudential responses concerning a whole host of
issues, particularly those of contemporary concern
which are obviously not directly dealt with in the
works of traditional fiqh. In this way, Maududi
argues, 'it appears that the existing madrasa syllabus
perhaps reflects an understanding that ijtihad is a
sin'. Yet, he adds, without ijtihad, Muslims cannot
progress. 'Consequently', he says, concluding his
sharp critique of the existing madrasa system, 'the
madrasas are unable to fulfill even those religious
functions for which they were retained'.
Maududi is equally critical of the existing system of
secular or Western-style education, or what he
describes as the 'modern system of education' (jadid
nizam-e talim). Introduced in South Asia by the
British, it was geared not to promote Islam or the
interests of the Muslim community, but, rather, to
rear a class of servants to staff the lower orders of
the British Indian administration. Consequently,
Maududi says, the system had no place for Islam. The
various subjects that were taught in the system, such
as the natural and social sciences, were framed in
such a way as to exclude God and His existence
completely, having been developed by people who were
anti-religious. Not surprisingly, most of those who
studied in this system also lost their faith in
religion. Furthermore, Maududi adds, this system 'is
bereft of even basic moral values', as it encourages
fierce competition, selfishness and individualism, and
is concerned only with the promotion and fulfillment
of worldly desires.
Maududi thus sees both systems of education as being
desperately in need of reform, and so calls for a
'revolutionary change', to replace both of them by a
single system that, he says, should aim at promoting
'a free and progressive Muslim community'. Such a
system should produce pious, practicing and committed
Muslims who excel in all fields, and who see God's
existence and purpose in all that they study. This
system would end what Maududi describes as the
'un-Islamic' division between 'religion' (din) and
'this world' (duniya). It would, in fact, be
'completely religious and worldly at the same time',
for Islam, far from preaching renunciation of the
world, sees the world as the 'field for the hereafter'
(akhirat ki kheti). This ideal Islamic educational
system, Maududi explains, 'should enable Muslims to
understand the world, make them capable of properly
conducting their worldly lives, but training them to
see the world through the lens of Islam and inspiring
them to work run its affairs in accordance with
Islam's teachings'.
This means, therefore, that religious education cannot
be a small supplement tagged on to a basically secular
syllabus. Instead, Maududi calls for what he describes
as the 'Islamisation of all social, natural and
physical sciences', cleansing them of their atheistic
assumptions. They should, instead, he advocates, be
based on the teachings of the Quran, and those who
study thus Islamised subjects must be encouraged to
'implement' Islam in their respective fields of study
and expertise. Further, rather than focusing on the
accumulation of bookish knowledge, this system,
Maududi proposes, must seek to promote
'character-building' on Islamic lines.
Maududi provides a brief blue-print of the new,
uniform system of education that he proposes for
Muslims to follow. At the primary stage, the usual
subjects that are taught in schools today would
continue, although suitably 'Islamised', along with
basic Islamic education. This would carry on in the
secondary and high school stages as well, with the
addition of Arabic and more detailed learning of
Islamic beliefs, teachings and practices, seeking to
relate Islam to daily life concerns. Thereafter,
students would be able to specialize in one or other
branch of learning, be it the Quran, Hadith or Islamic
jurisprudence, or (suitably Islamised) History,
Politics, Chemistry and so on. Specialists of all
these subjects would be considered as ulema and would
have the same employment opportunities.
Girls's education is as important as that of boys,
Maududi writes. 'No community can advance if its
females are ignorant', he says. He recommends that
girls learn the same subjects as boys, but he opposes
co-education. The medium of instruction, for both boys
and girls, he writes, should be the mother tongue, and
English should be taught just as any other subject,
rather than being privileged as the medium, as is the
case in most elitist schools and colleges.
In this way, Maududi suggests, the rigid dualism that
characterizes contemporary Islamic education would be
ended, and what he sees as Islam's holistic philosophy
of education could be put into practice.
Sukhia Sab Sansar Khaye Aur Soye
Dukhia Das Kabir Jagey Aur Roye
The world is 'happy', eating and sleeping
The forlorn Kabir Das is awake and weeping
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