7. Defining the Central Concepts in the Guide :  

7.1. The Concept of Islamic Education :

Allah -be He exalted- has created in man a set of feelings, energies, modes of thinking and working methods, but He did not put them at man’s whim to do as he likes with them, because He has created man for a purpose :  “I have only created Jinns and men, that they may serve Me”(6).  It is, thus, necessary that these energies be directed towards total harmony with the purpose of this creation. In this context, Islamic Education is associated with an integral system of orientations that chart the way for man. These orientations may be summed up as follows :

- Belief in Allah: with all the self-control it creates and which emanates from the worship aspect that links the earth to the heavens, and man’s work to the philosophy of recompense (reward and retribution), which positive law has failed to achieve because it is associated with external control and with the providing of corroborative evidence ; 

- Balance and complementarity between the spiritual, psychological, material and mental aspects : “But seek, with the (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on thee, the Home of the Hereafter, nor forget thy portion in this World : but do thou good, as Allah has been good to thee, and seek not (occasions for) mischief in the land : for Allah loves not those who do mischief.” (7) ;

- Establishing a link between education and the principle of Istikhlaf (vice-regency) “Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of power)”(8).

Therefore, Islamic Education is “guiding man’s creative energies to realize devotion to Allah, be He exalted, and to get rid of the worship of material components which, from the perspective of Islamic Education, are viewed as a means, not a goal.(9)”

If this is a broad view of Islamic Education within its theoretical framework, “the realities of Islamic Education as a teaching subject is limited to memorizing, reciting and explaining verses of the Holy Qur’an and some Prophetic Sayings, the Prophet’s Biography and some interpretations of the works of some scholars and so on and so forth. This does not do justice to the concept of Islamic Education as an integral system. Because of its bases and goals, Islamic Education is characterized by features and rules which have been defined according to its overall view of the universe, man and life. Regarding the aspects of the individual’s direct education, Islamic Education has comprehensively and evenly covered all the aspects of his development : his mind, his body, his soul, and his spiritual and material life, as well as all his cognitive aspects, such as religious and universal sciences in clear harmony derived from religious bases(10)” .

As a teaching subject, Islamic Education programs and curricula should therefore reflect this integral, comprehensive conception, and focus on emotional, behavioral and cognitive education instead of excessive delving into theoretical Islamic subjects, as is the case today with the contents of Islamic Education in many Arab and Islamic countries. 

With regard to the concept of Islamic Education curriculum, it is a mere educational effort, broader than the program as it translates the previous concepts and orientations into a teaching and learning system made up of goals, competencies, contents, teaching and learning activities, animation techniques and evaluation methods.

7.2. The Concept of Population Education :

The basic concepts to be incorporated in the Guide of Islamic Education are defined on the basis of the general framework of the scientific and educational subject, namely “Population Education”. Islamic countries have adopted this educational activity to shore up their population programs. Each country has not only put a definition for this education, it has also defined its purposes and its general and qualitative goals on the basis of its priorities and development strategies, and population and educational policies, taking into consideration each country’s cultural characteristics and respecting its religious values. 

On the basis of the common denominators of these definitions, ISESCO has suggested the following definition : “School population education is an educational response to population, health, social gender, environment and development issues along the lines of the goals of Islamic Sharia and its rulings. This multi-specialization educational response aims at imparting to the learners information, skills, orientations and true values, which would help them to understand the universal and social laws of human development, and to grasp their essence and their repercussions on population phenomena in the various aspects of life ; the purpose being to enhance the learners’ positive orientations that would enable them to perform their role as vicegerents on earth to improve the quality of their individual and family life, as well as that of their community, country, nation and world in the present and the future”(11) .

This definition may be viewed as a summary of the definitions adopted by the Arab countries, such as Jordan, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, which have population education programs in formal education, bearing in mind that the goals and objectives of population education emanate from the development needs and the urgent issues and problems in each country”(12) .

On the basis of the literature collected from the Development and Population Conferences and the Executive Plans which the countries have put forth through local and regional conferences and meetings, new issues have come to the fore, such as :

- Reproductive health and reproductive rights ;

- Human Rights and development ;

- Social gender and the empowerment of women ;

- Youth and elderly issues ;

- Poverty ;

- Environment and sustainable development.

These fields can all be incorporated in the various subject matters, including Islamic Education.

7.3. The Concept of Social Gender from an Islamic Perspective :

God created the human being from a single pair of a male and a female, like all creatures. God says : “And of everything We have created pairs : that ye may receive instruction”(13). From the specifics of his environment, each spouse acquires economic, religious, cultural and social characteristics which vary, become numerous and change according to time and space. “If we want to understand the meaning of ‘male’ and ‘female’, meaning man and woman outside the scope of the secondary sexual characteristics, it will have to be from the perspective of social gender”. By ‘social gender’ we mean the civilizational, cultural and social specifications pertaining to any sex of the human race. These specifications are the result of a complex historical process. This is why it is not a constant situation ; that is, it can change in terms of space and time, contrary to the biological specifications which do not change”(14) and which manifest themselves in the primary and secondary sexual characteristics(15) .

Accordingly, the concept of social gender means the following :

 - The distinctive roles played by the woman and the man in society, and which are consolidated by the social, cultural and civilizational components in a given society.

- The man-woman relationship in that society at a given time and space in terms of the distribution of their social roles in acquiring resources, of the ability to control them, and of meeting their needs to carry out these matters(16) .

Dr. Abdelhamid Joukhadar adds the following point :

- Giving equal opportunity to the man and the woman to discover their hidden potentialities and to teach them new skills that would benefit them in performing new roles which can serve society.

The concept of social gender also rests on three main factors :

a) Being aware of the differences between the two genders, and analyzing them.

b) Identifying the causes of the defect that exists in the relationship between the two genders and its nature, and trying to find out ways of dealing with this defect.

c) Improving the relationship between the two genders and developing it to insure justice and equality between them, not only between the man and the woman, but also amongst all the members of society ('equality' means equal opportunity for women and men to participate in the development effort and to reap its benefits)(17) .

Whether in Beijing or Cairo, Population conferences stressed these social gender dimensions. The Arab Women Declaration at the Forum of the Non-Government Organizations tied the implementation of the recommendations of the Beijing Conference with respecting divine religions.

Regarding the religious, lawful dimension, the Holy Qur’an has defined the origin of the creation of the two sexes, male and female, in the Words of Allah : “O mankind! reverence your Guardian-Lord, who created you from a single Person, created, of like nature, his mate, and from them twain scattered (like seeds) countless men and women”(18). Allah, be He exhaled, has also defined the relationship between the male and the female as He says : “And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts: verily in that are Signs for those who reflect”(19) .

Islam acknowledges the independent social, economic and cultural responsibility of each sex of the human race, laying down reward and punishment laws for every gender each according to what they have earned. It has defined the complementary roles of the man and the woman in building society, warning against the defects that might occur in it and identifying the ways to remedy them. God says : “Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has Faith, verily, to him will We give a new Life, a life that is good and pure, and We will bestow on such their reward according to the best of their actions(20). He also says : The Believers, men and women, are protectors, one of another : they enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil”(21) .

In the first Verse of Sura an-Nisa’, Allah, the Great and Almighty, speaks of equality between man and woman. In other verses, He makes it clear that the diversity of the creation is one aspect of Divine Power, as well as a foundation for the complementarity of human life. Allah, to Whom belongs Might and Majesty, bestowed on man and woman characteristics that do not mean discrimination between them in terms of human rights, but that prepare them for complementing each other’s efforts in building life and peopling it.

This underscores the woman’s role within the family and society. This means that Islam has guaranteed the woman’s fundamental rights, preserved her dignity and established equality between her and man, except for some matters that are due to the conditions and circumstances each one of them goes through. Here are some aspects of this equality :

1. The unity of religious discourse through Sharia commandments and the ensuing reward when performed and punishment when neglected, whether these commandments pertained to belief or worship or transactions or morals.

 2. Urging the man and the woman to acquire knowledge and to reflect on the universe, to learn and disseminate knowledge. The Prophet (PBUH) advocated paying attention to woman, and educating her.

 3. Pushing for economic independence of the man, the woman and for the right to conclude contracts in all types of economic transactions, the right to movable and non-movable property, the right to inheritance which she had been denied. 

 4. Striving to secure a decent living and a comfortable life. If the type of work which man does should be proportionate to his abilities and experience, this should also apply to the woman and her circumstances, too.

 5. Both the man and the woman assume family responsibility ; The man’s obligations are part of his Qiwama responsibility.

 6. Respecting the human race, for dignity is for all human beings. 

 7. Participating in political life as is compatible with the ability to honor responsibility. 

 8. Assuming leadership positions within the limits of the abilities and experiences of each of them.

9. Islam did not require from the woman to do a particular work, except what her nature allows her to do.

10.  Avoiding parental discrimination between boys and girls.

It is according to this system and this standpoint that the concept of social gender is defined from an Islamic perspective which is based on the unity of Creation, background characteristics, the variety and complementarity of duties, and on responsibilities to carry out the principle of God’s vice-regency on earth between the male and the female on the basis of equality and absolute divine justice.

7.4. The Concept of Reproductive Health : 

Allah, to Whom be ascribed all Perfection and Majesty, has bestowed on man evident and hidden blessings ; one of the most lofty graces is that of health about which the Prophet (PBUH) said that it is one of the two blessings for which many people are not thankful enough. God’s law on His Graces is constant and unchanging : “Because Allah will never change the Grace which He hath bestowed on a people until they change what is in their (own) souls”(22) .

If man puts the blessing of health to good use, preserves and consolidates it, he will grasp the most trustworthy handhold, enjoy the blessings of good health, and avoid all kinds of illnesses and diseases. For him to succeed in this, he will have to take good care of his health, to adopt a healthy way of life, and to adhere to the principle of ‘prevention is better than cure’(23) .

This general dimension of healthcare from an Islamic perspective delineates the fields in which Islam takes good care of the human being’s physical and mental health in terms of its relationship to the well-being of society. Reproductive health constitutes this solid bridge between the individual’s health and the well-being of society when we are aware of the fact that the aim of Islamic orientations in this very field is to build generations that are as strong as their individual members. This is clearly articulated in the Hadith of the Prophet (PBUH) : “The strong believer is more loved and better favored by God than the weak believer and in every good thing”(24). This can be achieved through securing the good health of children, and rationalizing reproductive health behavior. This is the reason why Islam attaches great importance to the preservation of progeny : “It is one of the most fundamental goals of Sharia after self-preservation, the preservation of the mind, religion and wealth which comes after it.” In many instances, the Holy Qur’an mentions human procreation, the loving relationship between the spouses, the request of permission to enter people’s homes, and cleanliness. In the attributes of the servants of Allah, the Holy Book links the attribute “Believer” to abstinence from sex, to responsibility pertaining to his reproductive behavior, and to abstinence from fornication.

The Holy Qur’an describes the stages of embryo development ; it mentions the close relationship between the spouses on the night of the fasting day until the period of menstruation, and the order to keep away from women during the menstrual flow until they are clean. Islam acknowledges the sexual instinct and controls it in a way that guarantees the human being’s happiness and that of society. It does not condemn lawful sexual intercourse ; on the contrary, Islam rewards the believer for it. Likewise, the Holy Qur’an mentions the period of suckling, as well as the child’s weaning. Sharia speaks in detail of the women with whom intimacy is forbidden, of lowering one’s gaze, and of the rules of decorum with regard to entering people’s homes for the children who have not yet reached the age of puberty. The Holy Qur’an also speaks of the people of Lut and homosexuality, and threatens severe punishment against those who practise it. It mentions excellent examples of chastity and purity in Surat al-Anbiya’, Surat at-Tahrim and Surat Youssuf , and other matters related to sexual instinct(25) .

Sharia also defines the bases and rules of reproductive health planning of the family, starting with the choice of one’s spouse, and family planning through birth spacing using lawful means. It urges looking after the pregnant mother and the baby, and calls for curing sterility. Sharia contains many other Islamic directives regarding reproductive health, the purpose of which is to disseminate these matters and inculcate them in the minds of the young generations and spouses so that they can vent their sexual drive naturally to realize the goal of preserving progeny, its continuity and the response to the trust of vice-regency.

It is within this framework that we can understand reproductive health as “a situation of total physical, mental and social well-being in all matters pertaining to the reproductive system and its functions, and not only a situation of being free of all diseases and handicaps. It also includes sexual health whose aim is to improve the quality of life and personal relationships, and not only to provide consultation and medical care on matters relating to reproduction and the sexually transmitted diseases”(26) .

In this context, we would like to mention that the comprehensive Islamic conception of health includes in addition to body health and the well-being of society, the health dimension of a safe environment, thus making environment and health two sides of the same coin ; this is why it calls for public hygiene, the preservation of animal and plant environment, the rationalization of the use of natural resources, and the fight of pollution, while tying all this to securing the well-being of the family and society, which leads to an effective and balanced sustainable development.

In this Guide, discussion will be limited to two fields as a basis for incorporating these concepts in Islamic Education curricula. These fields are :

- Reproductive health and reproduction rights, including adolescent educational health.

- Social gender and the empowerment of women.