The Meaning of Holistic Education

As-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah. Praise and Glory be to Allah Most High and peace and blessings upon the Chosen One, Muhammad al-Mustafa, sallalahu alaihi wa sallam, whom God sent as a Mercy to the Worlds. 

It is becoming fashionable in schools to talk about ‘holistic education’. But it is not often clear to parents or to schools what they really mean by this.

How many of us understand the Arabic sermon (khutba) given by the Imam on Fridays? Unicity College boys attending jumuah prayers last Friday found that the usually unintelligible Arabic of the Imam had suddenly taken on meaning. They recognized the hadith the imam recited as part of his sermon, and if you were to ask them, they would be able to elaborate on some its finer points found in traditional commentary. This is inspiring and humbling. The words of our beloved Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa salaam) are part of Allah’s revelation to us. How different this is from the prevailing winds of ignorance that have shipwrecked many of the young people in the community as they have grown older in secular schools. As our children grow older, their connection to the deen grows stronger and they learn to understand the words of Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessing be upon him).

Deenway Upper Elementary pupils started work on their history journals this week beginning with an exploration of the ‘Glory that was Rome’. So far they’ve learnt that the Roman empire extended throughout the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. That it was one of the biggest empires of its time and that the emperors of Rome were very powerful. At the same time, in seerah, they came across the expedition to Tabuk led by the Prophet (salalahu alaihi wa sallam) when news reached them of a potential Roman invasion, and also of the letter our Prophet (salallahu alaihi wa salaam) wrote to the Roman emperor Heraclius.  

In time they will, insha’Allah, come to see that the world is a bigger and better place than most people imagine. It is the place of the unfolding of Allah’s Majesty and Beauty. It is the place of the unfolding of His love for His creation. And its most salient sign is the unfolding of the life of His beloved: our liege-lord Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) who was born in this blessed month of Rabi-ul-Awwal and who alone, amongst all creation, was able to convey to us the Speech of Allah.

Wa ma tawfeeqi illa billah

 Wa salaam

Munawar Karim

(this article originally appeared in the school circular on 8th February 2013 during the blessed month of Rabi-ul-Awwal, the month of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him).