www.ummatunwahida.

com
6 July 2010
Islamic-Oriented Schools:
In Defence of Our Future
Mohammed S. Mahmud
Chairman, Kubwa Muslim Community (KMC)

“It is He Who has created you from dust then from a sperm-drop then from a
leech-like clot; then does He get you out (into the light) as a child; then lets
you (grow and) reach your age of full strength; then lets you become old
though of you there are some who die before; and lets you reach a Term
appointed: in order that ye may learn wisdom.”
Surah Al-Mu'min, 67

Assalamu alaikum.

This is intended to be a brief nasiha to fellow brothers and sisters regarding the
education of our children in the formative years of nursery and primary schools.
Many Muslim parents ignore the consequences of enrolling their children into non-
Islamic nursery and primary schools. I wish to draw our attention to the
implication of our attitudes towards this development.

Previously, Muslims in urban areas like Abuja hardly had a choice regarding the
schooling of their children of nursery/primary school age, due to the paucity of
private schools owned by Muslim proprietors and run by Muslims. Now, with such
institutions beginning to takeoff, parents refuse to send their children to the
schools with various excuses. For instance some of these excuse include:
a. The schools are sub-standard
b. The schools are new, as such have no experience
c. The schools are not “modern” enough

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 d. We are only sending them to other schools temporarily
These and more are offered as reasons by parents to ignore the Islamic
nursery/primary schools. I daresay, not all the excuses are baseless – but the
purpose of this short discourse is to propound that if Muslims do not support the
Islamic oriented school to overcome some legitimate shortcomings, nobody will.

Raison d’etre

This is all about children, so let’s see what Islam says regarding them. Allah (SWT)
says:
“I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me.”
51:56

This verse warns us not to forget our true purpose; that of worship and dedication
to Allah (SWT) alone.

“And know that your worldly goods and your children are but a trial and a
temptation, and that with Allah there is a tremendous reward.” 8:28

This verse clears any false impression regarding the meaning of worldly
attainments and specifically, children.

Since the sole purpose of our creation is worshipping Allah (SWT), then we should
observe everything he bestows upon us – including children – within that context.
The Qur’an proclaims:

“To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He creates
what He wills (and plans). He bestows (children) male or female
according to His Will (and Plan).” 42:49

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And again:

“Wealth and children are an allurement of this world: but the things that
endure, good deeds are best in the sight of thy Lord as rewards and best
as (the foundation for) hopes.” 18:46

In essence, we should not get carried away with the idea that our children must
get the best in so called ‘western education’ at the expense of the more important
Islamic education.

Is it ok with you if your child closes his or her eyes – in the Christian manner - to
pray before dinner? Do you find his/her comments like “in the name of Jesus”
amusing? Or is it entertaining when he or she comes home singing church songs?

Examination of Purpose

If your aim in life is to ensure that your child gets good western education simply
so that you may guarantee the good life for him or her then lend an ear to this
Ayah:

Say: “Behold, my Sustainer grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in

scant measure, unto whomever He wills: but most men do not understand
[Allah’s ways]” 34:36

Nobody has the power to guarantee either himself or anybody else wealth. Most of
us, being brought up in rural life now abhor it and wish to change it for the better
regarding our offspring; not inherently bad aspiration if we do so Islamically. It is
Allah (SWT) Alone that can do that. Believing this, we should then endeavour to
please Allah (SWT) and pray to Him for a good future for our children.

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The majority of private schools are owned by non-Muslims in this country. We
should not deceive ourselves that elements of non-Islamic teachings do not find
their way into our children’s psyche, simply because we are assured by the
proprietors that the schools “are secular”. In the first place, Muslims are required
to raise their children as Muslims, not atheists.

Our Prophet Muhammad (SAW) instructed us regarding marriage partners:

“Choose a mother for your children.”

That is, choose a woman of Islamic knowledge, good manners and from a good
Islamic background. This indicates the emphasis Islam places on the importance of
children. The choice of a wife is been linked to her upbringing and comportment,
as the mother in Islam is considered the first “school” of a child.

If you leave your children to chance and pretend they will come to understand
Islam after the formative years of their lives – during the nursery and primary
school years, then you are sadly mistaken. Consequently, leaving them to the
designs of mushriks is certainly not a viable option.

Abu Huraira, narrated that the Prophet (SAW) said, "Every child is born
with a true faith (i.e. to worship none but Allah Alone) but his parents
convert him to Judaism or to Christianity or to Magainism, as an animal
delivers a perfect baby animal. Do you find it mutilated?" Then Abu Huraira
recited the holy verses: "The pure Allah's Islamic nature (true faith i.e. to
worship none but Allah Alone), with which He has created human beings."
(30.30).

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I am flabbergasted by parents that find it odd when, later in life there daughters
decide to marry non-Muslims which is haram and unacceptable before Allah (SWT).
The parents suddenly become aware, much to their chagrin, that they lost the
child a long time ago. Our religion values children; but certainly not children that
lose the path to Islam due to the negligence of their parents.
Recommendations

I wish to proffer suggestions regarding some of the issues raised about Islamic
oriented nursery/primary schools.

a. Initially all schools go through a phase of commencement problems; we

should be at the forefront in helping our schools to overcome these
stages, through PTAs, investing in the schools both in terms of time and
donations of feesabeelillah to them.

b. Funding is usually at the top of the list of problems for these schools. If
we do not patronize the schools, how will they overcome problem (a)
above? We do not seem to realize that we inadvertently invest in the
non-Islamic schools running into the billions*, thus becoming major
customers of a kufr system to the detriment of our children and our
future. I know people that are paying over N100,000 per child in such
secular schools. This figure is not accounting for the truly rich that are
doing similar exercises overseas, in dollars or pound sterling. Only our
patience with the shortcomings of our own schools and hard work from
both parents and school authorities will see us through.

*Lets do some rough arithmetic: investment in school fees, books, etc in non-
Islamic schools for 1 million Muslim children at N30,000 per child/annum =
N30 billion.

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c. School Policy & Management: It should be the focus of the Ummah to
generate and maintain a policy that outlines that:
i. The policy as a whole, should aim for achieving the unification of the
traditional Islamic institutes with the ‘modern’ Islamic primary
schools.

ii. A policy for the advancement of Arabic & English languages by

teachers in the institutes becomes a prime requirement. Lack of
communication is one of the major divisive components in the Ummah,
which tends to promote sectional institutes; Hausa or Yoruba, Igbo,
etc. Even our mosques are divided down those lines!

iii. Both the traditional Islamic schools and Islamic should be regulated by
well established and focused Islamic organizations that have a clear
policy of relying on the Qur’an and Sunnah of our beloved Prophet
(SAW).

iv. The Government at all levels should be encouraged to accept the

organized Islamic body as a recognized regulator in this cause.

v. The organization may be made up of several well known Islamic bodies

that will contribute to the objective, intellectually and in terms of
resources.

vi. Guidelines should be proposed and adopted on requirements for

setting up Islamic schools.

vii. The organization should be proactive in promoting the objectives of

the policy through seminars and presentations to the Ummah.

viii. The use of technologies like SMS and the Internet should be embraced.

ix. The policy should include clear objectives for achieving the above
within a realistic timeframe.

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d. The rich amongst us should invest seriously in the education of our
children by setting up schools of refinement in every respect, since they
have the necessary funds. Firstly, they have invested in a low risk
business and secondly, they will get Allah’s (SWT) reward for the effort.
It may turn out to be sadaqatul jariyah. They should also invest in the
implements of education e.g. books and writing materials and create
education foundations to offer scholarships to fellow Muslims not so well-
off.

e. We should always bear in mind that the purpose is not to compete with
our Christian counterparts in setting up a school and making enormous
profit; the purpose should be to provide an Islamic setting for our
children to learn, practice and finally become ambassadors of Islam.

f. In any Islamic undertaking, Da’awah should be a major component either

explicit or implicit, depending on the circumstances at hand. Our
institutes should aim to promote the benefits of an Islamic upbringing
through visible programs that allow children to proudly express Islam in
all their affairs.

g. Muslim legislators should consciously make an effort to stay alert and

avert dangerous laws that make it difficult for Muslims to practice their
religion or that seek to secularize the regulation of education. This
alone, is yet another major issue for discussion in a separate paper.

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Benefits

The benefits of specifying a policy such as the above are numerous:

1. The proposed organization to implement such a policy can become a unifying

body for the disparate and sectional Ummah we have become.

2. A clear objective with implementable plans will encourage investment in the

Islamic education sector as a viable business for all involved.

3. Merging the 2 systems of traditional and regulated educational system will

encourage and support our traditional teachers to learn both Arabic and
English as basic requirements and act as a primary unifying factor inshaAllah.

Finally, we should always try to aim higher than the fleeting luxuries of this world
and fix our target on the hereafter. It is never too late to make the right decision;
assuming it is too late is defeat in itself. We have to extricate ourselves from the
self-centred nature of capitalism and of benefit in this world as an ultimate aim
and objective. We must remind ourselves that we have the big houses and fancy
cars not because we studied and strived hard for PHDs, but because it is Allah’s
will.

The last of the prophets, Muhammad (SAW) informs us:

“The life of this world, compared to the Hereafter, is just like when one of
you dips his finger in the sea, let him contemplate how much of it his finger
would carry.” Imam Ahmad, Muslim.

May Allah (SWT) reward me and you for the concern we show to this matter and
give us strength to change for the future of our children. I welcome any
comment/correction you may have.

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