al-Tarbiya al-Islamiya Usuluha wa Tatawwuruha fi al-Bilad al-Arabiya
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- Editions
- ‘Ālam al-Kutub
al-Tarbiya al-Islamiya: Usuluha wa-Tatawwuruha fi al-Bilad al-Arabiya (Islamic Education: Its Foundations and Development in Arab Lands) is an academic treatise on the pedagogical foundations, historical evolution, and key figures of Islamic education by the Egyptian scholar and educationalist Muhammad Munir Mursi (b. 1933) .
Composition and Publication
The work was composed to address a perceived deficiency in contemporary Arabic literature regarding comprehensive, specialized studies on Islamic education that trace its trajectory from the advent of Islam to modern times . The author noted that Western histories of education frequently neglected Islamic education during its peak eras, while modern Arabic writings often confined the subject strictly to the medieval period without following its subsequent development .
The first edition was published in Cairo by 'Alam al-Kutub in 1977 . Later revised and expanded editions included further pedagogical treatments of historical figures, such as al-Mawardi, Ibn Miskawayh, Ibn Taymiyyah, and Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab .
Structure and Content
The book opens with a preliminary study addressing the methodological problems involved in writing about Islamic education and navigating the scattered nature of pedagogical material within classical heritage . It is divided into twelve thematic chapters :
- Introductory Foundations and Philosophy: Chapters 1 through 3 examine introductory concepts of Islamic pedagogy, its objectives, foundations, and educational methods. The third chapter articulates the philosophy of Islamic education across three dimensions: ontological (Islam and the cosmos), epistemological (the nature of knowledge in Islam), and axiological (Islamic ethics) .
- Applied Educational Roles: Chapters 4 through 6 treat child rearing in Islam, women's education, and the roles, duties, and standing of the teacher .
- Historical Evolution and Institutions in the Middle Ages: Chapters 7 through 9 explore the historical evolution of Islamic education, dividing its classical development into distinct developmental phases—including the foundational stage up to the end of the Umayyad era and the classical golden age in the Abbasid era . They examine institutions and centers of learning, alongside dedicated studies of classical pedagogical thinkers: Ibn Sahnun, al-Qabisi, Ibn Miskawayh, al-Mawardi, al-Ghazali, Ibn Taymiyyah, and Ibn Khaldun .
- Modern Education and Reform: Chapters 10 through 12 cover the educational history of the modern Arab-Islamic East. They analyze key reformers of the modern educational renaissance—Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Rifa'a al-Tahtawi, and Ali Mubarak—and survey contemporary educational trends, including the adaptation of educational systems, the emergence of the modern education movement, teacher training programs, the founding of modern universities, and the modernization of al-Azhar .
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