Seerah
Found 15 Posts

Madrasa 14: Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Aligarh
SYED JAWED ANWAR DURING the complete destruction and occupation of India under British rule in 1857, over 7,000 Muslim scholars and educationists were executed, and the rest were deported or forced to leave. This left an abnormal situation in which to revive the Muslim education system. The only alternative for remaining Muslims was to adjust and compromise as they accepted the harsh reality that Muslims were eliminated from government, politics, business, and education and that the Muslims of greatest ge

Madrasa 15: Deoband and Its Movement
SYED JAWED ANWAR AFTER British occupation, India was in a situation in which financial resources were completely under control of the new government and it was extremely unfavorable to run an Islamic educational institution. There was a danger of discontinuation of Imams and educators of Qur’an, Hadith and Fiqah. A group decided to establish institutions in which Imams and Mudarris (teachers) could be continuously produced. This group decided to separate itself from the affairs of politics and business a

Madrasa 16 & 17: Efforts of Merger of Two Systems
SYED JAWED ANWAR VARIOUS efforts have been made to merge the two systems --secular, Western education and Islamic education in India-- but unfortunately most of them failed. Here are two examples:

Madrasa 18: Pakistan
SYED JAWED ANWAR MUSLIMS had their comprehensive education system during the period of their rule in India. The system was uniform, cohesive, and provided the people with in-depth knowledge with a holistic look in different fields of life. When British occupied India, they ruined the economy of Muslim education, de-educated the masses and massacred the intellectuals. After a gap of about a century, a small group of people was educated under the new policy of British educationalist Lord Macaulay in 1835. Th

American Kids, Dumber than Dirt
MARAK MORFORD Warning: The Next Generation Might Just Be the Biggest Pile of Idiots in U.S. History I HAVE this ongoing discussion with a longtime reader who also just so happens to be a longtime Oakland high school teacher, a wonderful guy who's seen generations of teens come and generations go and who has a delightful poetic sensibility and quirky outlook on his life and his family and his beloved teaching career.

Nelson Mandela: A Product of “Christian Madrasahâ€
By SYED JAWED ANWAR Rolihlahla Mandela died on December 5, 2013 at the age of 95. He was the leader of global repute, and everyone on this planet who has some interest in news and current affairs knows Mr. Mandela well. Mr. Mandela was born in the land that was under the act “The Natives Land Act of 1913†that separated South Africa into areas in which either blacks or whites could own land. Blacks, constituting two-thirds of the population, were restricted to 7.5% of the land. Whites, making up o

Allama Shibli and Aligarh Movement
By Prof. Ishtiyaq Ahmad Zilli Director Darul Musannefin Shibli Academy, Azamgarh (UP) India MUHAMMAD Shibli Nomani (1857-1914) more popularly known as Shibli Nomani or even simply as Shibli was born in a respected family of landed aristocracy in Bindawal, a village of Azamgarh district in eastern U.P. in 1857. Thus Shibli was born while the first war of independence was at its peak. Azamgarh and surrounding areas were particularly affected by its patriotic fervour.

The Masjid-School Concept
By CRISTINA (MARYAM) IGNAT DURING the early days of Islam – and when Islam started being strong, or “the Golden days of Islam†– the education system of the child was “complete†– right from the beginning. The role of the Masjid was to introduce the kids to Qur’an and Hadith (which is still being maintained in the madrasahs nowadays) – but also to provide necessary education to the potential students (children and adults) with the “dunia education (Math, Arabic, science, medicine, etc.

4 Reasons to Change the Way We Think About School
By MARY HICKCOX THE way in which we view education has a lot to do with our past; how we grew up, societal influences, and the way we were schooled ourselves. It is the legacy that we pass on to our children. Tragically, the current way our education system is engineered, it appears our children seem doomed to be unsuccessful.

Do Animals Have Rights?
KLYDE was an old camel who had worked hard for many years. He had been faithful in carrying heavy packages for his owner Bar Barak. Klyde was standing under the blazing sun of a scorching day. The camel’s reins were tightly tied to a post. Bar Barak had forgotten to leave any water or grain for Klyde. Besides being thirsty and hungry, Klyde was beginning to feel uneasy. He could hear his owner and the owner’s wife in another of their many arguments. Klyde remembered that he had been beaten many times af

Muhammad (s.a.w.): The only Hope of Mankind
By SHAMIM A. SIDDIQI AT the end of sixth century AD, humanity had lost all the guidance that came from its Creator and Sustainer as how to live, act and behave on earth. There were no human rights anywhere in the world. Under the domination of both the superpowers of the time, the Roman and the Persian Empires, only the ruling class was enjoying rights and privileges. The common man had no rights worth and was treated as serfdom. Women were treated in Christianity as “untouchables.†Under the fold

Shebe-Abi-Talib: Oppression of Quraish Arab
THE exile of the entire clan of Banu Hashim, to which Prophet Mohammadï·º belonged, is the worst example of trials and tribulations faced by him and his Companions (R.A.). When the Quraish came to know that the Abyssinian Christian ruler Najashi welcomed the Muslim migrants from Makkah and was moved by the Dawah of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), they became sad as well as furious. They came down heavily on the Prophet and his Companions and even secretly planned to kill him. A pledge was taken that they would not

Prophet Muhammad’s Methodology of Revolution
THE Qur’anic verses revealed on Prophet Muhammadﷺ in the first thirteen years of prophethood in Makkah dwell heavily on one topic. Only the way of address, the syntax, style, and approach differed in accordance with the situation. According to the Qur’an, the Oneness and Unity of Allah and subordination of human beings before Him and the relationship between the two are the most central issue of this Deen (Way of life) called Islam. The very foundation of this faith depends on this s

Evidence of Prophet Muhammad's Prophethood
ALL prophets came with signs and evidences furnished by God to show that the prophets were truly who they claimed to be. Among these signs were miracles that defied the laws of nature and were witnessed by the people. Generally, miracles are experienced only by the people who were there when the miracles actually occurred. Allah, however, furnished Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with a miracle that would endure for all time. That miracle is the Qur'ân.

The Rights and Duties of Workers in the Light of the Teachings of Muhammad (PBUH)
ONE of the characteristics of the teachings of Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) and the commandments of Islamic Shariah is that they are compatible with the conditions and requirements of all ages. The events and annals from the time of the advent of Islam bear testimony to this fact. The world has witnessed catastrophic events through the vicissitude of time and life, but the teachings of Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) are still fresh, vibrant, and relevant.