ISLAM TORCHBEARER OF EDUCATION AND MODERN SCIENCES (original) (raw)

The ancient Greece and China are said to make extraordinary progress in the field of education and art but they also did not favour the education for all. Plato has dreamt of democracy and equality but he also could not go beyond education for some particular segments of the society. 1 Education in India, before the advent of Islam, was considered to be the monopoly of a particular class. The lower-class people were excluded and deprived of knowledge. The Indian society was divided into four categories; (1) Brahmins who worked as priests, scholars and teachers. (2) Kshatriyas who served as rulers, warriors and administrators. (3) Vaishyas who were supposed to be agriculturalists and merchants. (4) Shudras who served as laborers and service providers. Only the Brahmins, among them, had right to get education even when their civilization was on its full swing. Though there were mass revolts against the notion and later took the shape of Buddhism and Jainism, but soon these religions grew weaker the previous condition returned. None can deny the glory of Nalanda and Taxila universities, but after all, the fact is that the common people were always deprived of education in ancient India. The lower-caste person was not even allowed to hear the scriptures. If sometimes a lower-caste person happens to gain a hearing by steal used to be put melted lead in his ears. As if it was a heinous crime for him to listen the Vedic verses. 2 Likewise, the Europe, those days, was passing through dark ages of history. The churches fully controlled the affairs of the citizens. The scientists, artists and men of learning were tortured and sometimes even torched to death. Galileo was sentenced to death because he came up with the idea that the earth evolves round the sun. Bruno was burned alive for he was of the opinion that the universe has some other planets like earth. 3 Similarly, ignorance was prevailing all over Arabia. Not only that the entire tribes were illiterate but also some of them used to feel proud of being unlettered. Quraish, the head of all tribes in Arabia, had only 17 persons who knew writing. Those who were assigned to write the revelation they also were 43 out of all thousands of the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him. 4 In 570 (AD), when the sun of Islam rose from the horizon of Arabian Peninsula in its fullest blaze the entire world was shrouded by darkness and steeped in ignorance and long slumber. The first slogan that Islam chanted in this horrible atmosphere was about 'education'. The earliest verses that revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) invited people to education: "Read in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher who created. Created man out of a (mere0 clot of congealed blood. Read and thy Lord is Most Bountiful. He, Who taught (the use of) the pen. Taught man that which he knew not." [AlQuran 96:1-5] These five verses of the holy Quran along with many others are considered to be fountainhead of education in post-Islamic history. They created a remarkable eagerness towards education and filled the