al-Tarbiya al-Ibdaaiya fi Manzur al-Tarbiya al-Islamiya
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- Editions
- The Islamic University of Madinah
al-Tarbiya al-Ibda'iyya fi Manzur al-Tarbiya al-Islamiyya (Creative Education from the Perspective of Islamic Pedagogy) is an academic treatise on educational theory by the Saudi scholar Khalid bin Hamid al-Hazimi, published in the journal of the Islamic University of Madinah . The work examines the concept of creativity and innovation within an Islamic pedagogical framework, articulating how Islamic education nurtures human intellect and technical progress while anchoring them in religious and ethical boundaries .
Background and Purpose
The author composed the study while serving as an associate professor in the College of Da'wah and Usul al-Din at the Islamic University of Madinah, and it was published in issue 116 of the university's journal in 1423 AH (2002 CE) .
Al-Hazimi's stated motivation was the recognition that creativity (ibda') is essential for scientific, technical, economic, and administrative advancement, as well as for the civilizational self-reliance of the Muslim community . However, he warns that unguided creative intellect can lead to destructive outcomes if detached from moral constraints . The treatise aims to demonstrate that Islamic pedagogy provides a balanced methodology: fostering innovation and preserving the intellect (hifz al-'aql)—one of the five essential objectives of Islamic law (al-daruriyyat al-khams)—while subordinating human reason to divine revelation rather than allowing either extreme of rationalist excess or total dismissal of intellectual investigation .
Scope and Contents
The treatise is arranged into structured thematic sections addressing the definitions, historical precedents, boundaries, and psychological aspects of creativity:
Concept and Historical Applications of Creativity
The study defines creativity linguistically as originating something unprecedented and technically as preparing learners to invent, refine, and produce novel and authentic ideas or solutions across scientific, administrative, economic, and problem-solving domains .
To demonstrate how early Islamic society fostered creativity, the author highlights four primary areas:
- Scientific Creativity: The transformation of a largely illiterate society into one that established new fields of religious and linguistic sciences—such as the formulation of legal theory (usul al-fiqh) by al-Shafi'i, codification of jurisprudence by Malik ibn Anas, Quranic lexicography by Abu 'Ubayda Ma'mar ibn al-Muthanna, Arabic prosody by al-Khalil ibn Ahmad, and grammar by Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali—as well as breakthroughs in experimental disciplines, including pharmacology by al-Razi and Ibn al-Wafid, the discovery of pulmonary circulation by Ibn al-Nafis, and advances in logarithms by Muslim mathematicians .
- Military Tactical Planning: The Prophet Muhammad's ﷺ adoption of innovative tactical ideas from his companions, such as al-Hubab ibn al-Mundhir's counsel regarding the wells at the Battle of Badr and Salman al-Farsi's suggestion to excavate a trench at the Battle of the Trench (al-Khandaq) .
- Vocational and Craft Creativity: The encouragement of practical professions and trades, illustrated by the construction of the Prophet's ﷺ pulpit (minbar) proposed by Tamim al-Dari, the artisanal backgrounds of various prophets (e.g., Dawud as an armor-maker, Nuh as a carpenter, and Idris as a tailor), and the commercial pursuits of scholars such as Abu Hanifa in the silk trade and Ahmad ibn Hanbal .
- Literary and Poetic Creativity: The utilization of poets such as Hassan ibn Thabit, Ka'b ibn Malik, and 'Abdullah ibn Rawaha to direct verbal and poetic talents toward constructive communal objectives .
Boundaries and Conditions of Creativity
The author outlines three primary boundaries for creative activity in Islamic thought:
- Theological and Ritual Inviolability: An absolute restriction against innovation (bid'ah) in matters of creed ('aqidah) and acts of worship ('ibadat), citing the textual completeness of the religion .
- Quantitative and Structural Balance: Addressing imbalances in modern education where theoretical and humanities enrollments far outweigh experimental and applied sciences, urging educational systems to expand technical fields .
- Ethical Restraint: The requirement that technological innovation remain bound to moral values, arguing that unguided creativity produces harmful outcomes, such as weapons of mass destruction or unethical genetic manipulation like human cloning .
The Intellect and Impediments to Creativity
The treatise explores the nature of the intellect (al-'aql), distinguishing between basic innate perception ('aql al-idrak) and acquired intellectual faculties, and notes that educational curricula must focus on cultivating the latter .
Al-Hazimi identifies major impediments to creative development, including blind conformity and imitation (al-taqlid al-a'ma), complacency with existing methods rather than seeking superior alternatives, and settling for minimum thresholds of work rather than striving for professional excellence and mastery (itqan) . The study concludes by reiterating that Islamic pedagogy uniquely harmonizes the development of the inventive mind with moral orientation and adherence to divine guidance .
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