Curriculum & Instruction of 'Ulum Naqliyyah : Pusat Pendidikan al-Amin's Experience

This is a glimpse of Pusat Pendidikan Al Amin's experience at introducing a relevant and dynamic approach in the curriculum and instruction of ‘Ulum Naqliyyah (revealed sciences). The five most salient features adopted in the curriculum & instruction of 'ulum naqliyyah are :

i) the absence of a traditional division of subjects into ‘aqidah (Islamic creed), fiqh (jurisprudence), sirah (life of the Prophet SAW), akhlaq (Islamic character. ii) the emphasis in presenting principles, concepts, and hikmah (underlying reason) in teaching and learning.
iii) the effort to inculcate love and internalization of Islamic principles and concepts, and ‘izzah (self esteem) with respect to being a true and practising Muslim.
iv) the emphasis on the end products as to be shabab du’at (youths as callers to faith) equipped with the necessary skills to tackle the challenges of a contemporary society.
v) evaluation of students is based on written, oral, practical assessments and reports by teachers and parents. This innovative and significant effort is embodied in the school curriculum project paper, which is Projek MERKURI (2001).

Rationale

Education being the main vehicle of civilization, undoubtedly occupies the attention of serious Muslim minds. The state of backwardness and weakness of the present Muslim Ummah (community of Muslims) is thought to be partly attributed to the system of education in the Muslim worlds. Muslim intellectuals and scholars are most concern with the pivotal role to be assumed by the Islamic system of education as means to revitalize the Ummah. They discussed issues on Islamic education ranging from simply establishing an Islamic school to the complexities of designing the right curriculum. Efforts at repositioning and empowering Islamic education system culminate in the staging of the Makkah World Conference of Islamic Education in 1977. Thereafter, rigorous actions in the form of a series of conferences, seminars and workshops discussed and proposed ideas and work plans in an effort to raise the Ummah to a level of dynamism that once characterized Muslim intellectual, cultural, and scientific traditions. In the fast changing world and its challenges, the solution does not stop short at having more Islamic schools, its’ effective management and administration, implementing islamization of contemporary knowledge but it extends to designing and developing the right curriculum for Islamic studies and its instruction.

Muslim scholars and intellectuals observe that element of high intellectualism portraying analytical, critical, and innovative thoughts are missing in today’s Islamic studies curriculum and its instruction. Sardar (1985) states that, ‘both the classical and the modern approaches to Islamic studies concentrate on Islam as a religion and culture. Be it memorizing the Qur’an or Hadith, mastering the opinions of the classical jurists or learning Islamic history, the emphasis is on rote learning and collecting facts’, thus amounting to students being vast storehouses of facts and opinions. Contemporary literature on Islamic education also highlights the traditional approach to curriculum and instruction of Islamic studies. Among the practices are the emphasis on memorization (hifz) than understanding (fiqh), memorization of facts than internalization, fiqh originally intended to mean religious insight and discernment becomes restricted to mean jurisprudence, and becoming huffaz (those who know the Qur’an by heart) assumes as the primary objective as compared to the early generation of huffaz’s engagement towards understanding al Din. Al Qardhawi (1996) boldly states that the existing Islamic education system gives preference to hifz and thus be a silent witness than deep comprehension. This methodology of learning corresponds to the lowest level of obtaining knowledge, thus the Muslim mind does not have enough courage to analyze its intellectual legacy or what it holds as sacred resulting in not understanding what is really important, distinguishing between what is fundamental and absolute, and what is temporary and limited as emphasized by AbuSulayman (1993). On the other aspect, Al Attas (1999) attributes the present state of confusion and error in knowledge to adopting a wrong epistemology and methodology as effected by loss of adab and rise of false leaders. To add to the injury, the use of force, emotional and psychological means on the Ummah in order to keep them in check by certain quarters of Muslim leaderships also has an effect of inhibition of their minds (AbuSulayman, 1993).

It is timely to note the point made by Rahman (1982) that Islamic intellectualism should be the essence of especially higher Islamic education for the growth of genuine, original and adequate Islamic thought is the real criterion for judging the success or failure of an Islamic education system. Thus, Sardar (1985) proposes that Islamic education system should aim at producing insan whose ‘strength lies in the ability to perceive Islam not as a mere religion but as a dynamic world-view, to synthesize the historical and the modern, and to appreciate the concerns of the traditional sectors of the Muslim population while possessing the intellectual apparatus to communicate with the modernists’. This kind of insan is further refined by al Attas (1999) as man of adab (insan adabi), that is a man with a disciplined body, mind, and spirit with respect to his obligations towards his Creator, Allah SWT. Of late, the issue of designing and developing the right curriculum and its instruction for Islamic education system has claimed the attention of Muslim intellectuals and scholars. A number of models were proposed of which are ‘Islam for Life’, ‘Constructing Moral Personality’, and ‘Integrated Islamic Studies Curriculum’ (ISNA Education Forum, 2005 and 2006). These initiatives are towards generating a new breed of Muslim intellectuals, scientists, technologists, scholars, specialists and others with the ability to deal with challenges of the contemporary world by providing Islamic solution to the problems of their time in an effort to play their roles as ‘ibad (Allah’s SWT obedient servant) and khulafa' (Allah’s SWT vicegerant on earth) in their respective fields of specialization. The intent of this paper is to have an overview of the effort of Pusat Pendidikan Al Amin (Al Amin Education Center) in implementing changes in the existing Islamic studies curriculum and its instruction.

Background Setting : Pusat Pendidikan Al Amin (PPAA)

PPAA constitutes three privately run Islamic schools namely Sekolah Menengah Islam Al Amin Gombak, SMIAAG (Al Amin Islamic Secondary School), Sekolah Rendah Islam Al Amin Kuala Lumpur, SRIAA KL (Al Amin Islamic Primary School Kuala Lumpur), and Sekolah Islam Al Amin Gombak, SRIAAG (Al Amin Islamic Primary School Gombak). The establishment of SRIAA KL in 1986 was itself a significant milestone in the history of an integrated Islamic education system in Malaysia. With a view of producing students exemplifying an integrated personality, the previous PPAA Board of Governors made a conscious decision in offering national school curriculum and ‘Ulum Naqliyyah curriculum in one school session. The overwhelming response from parents became the catalyst for developing the integrated system further. Hence, the birth of SMIAAG in 1991 and SRIAAG in 1993 helps to fulfill their aspiration. Thereafter, PPAA Board of Directors is committed to bring this Integrated Islamic Education Institutions to a level of high competency and professionalism.

In line with PPAA’s mission to produce salih wa muslih (good and enjoining good) students, the Board envisages that they will in future develop into a new breed of specialists in their respective fields, who are also fuqaha (well versed in matters of Din al Islam) and muttaqin (God consciousness). As practitioners of Islamic education system, one of the commitments of PPAA Board of Directors is to continuously be sensitive to the needs of time with respect to the products of the school system. In view of the complex society and the world that we live in, traditional approach in the curriculum and instruction of ‘Ulum Naqliyyah needs a revisionist’s viewpoint. This bold move is propelled by the capacity to differentiate between beliefs (principles) and thoughts (ideas) so as to be able to move forward without the fear of transgressing the limits as prescribed in Din al Islam.


Further Reading @ http://www.al-amin.edu.my