Ethical Dimension Of Child Education: An Early Example Of Islamization In Reference to Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali

Author: Asmaa' Mohd Arshad
Publisher: Pertubuhan Pendidikan Futuwwah
ISBN: 9789671663745
Weight: 
Pages: 153ppp
Year: 2023
Price: RM48

Every child is born in the state of 'fitrah, an innate disposition and potentiality to recognize and acknowledge the true Lordship of Allah, and in turn to bear the responsibility or trust (al-amanah) of acknowledgment, which originally ingrained in each descendant of Bani Adam (a.s.). Therefore, family institution is the basic foundation where religious worldview and ethical values are inculcated in the process of children's upbringing. The underlying worldview of educators, including parents and teachers are naturally embedded in the process of children's character formation. As far as childhood education is concerned, a proper upbringing and learning process should begin with the right conception of knowledge and worldview of the educators themselves; followed by their right decisions and actions based on the true knowledge. However, as the influence of secular-materialists worldview began to infiltrate the Muslim minds, the religious and spiritual essence of character formation has no longer become the main priority of childhood education. Our basic educational framework of education has been challenged by the impressively packaged technological and industrial advancement. In response to the above critical challenges, this preliminary work aims to revive the wisdom of al-Ghazali (1058-1111 A.D.) in relation to child education. The main focus and priorities for children's character formation are reinstated; and al-Ghazali's major key terms that projected the worldview of Islam on education are primarily studied, before his further discourses on the ethical dimension of child education.