The Aim of Education
How widespread are the misconceptions people harbour about education, and how grave is their error when they imagine it to be merely a path to employment, a means of acquiring a trade, or a ladder by which an individual might ascend to wealth, status or power. Those who think this way—and they are many—look upon education in the same way a trader looks upon his merchandise, a labourer upon his wage, or a market-savvy person upon profit and loss. But education belongs neither to that domain nor to that genre nor to that framework.
Were education to be nothing more than a means of earning a living, its status would be akin to commerce and crafts—subject to the laws of supply and demand, and its value determined by the revenue it generates or the returns it yields. What a base conception this is! What a narrow vision! How deserving it is of denunciation and censure! For it devalues education, distorts its true nature, and extinguishes its spirit and purpose. Education, at its core, is neither a trade to be acquired, nor a certificate to be displayed, nor an ornament with which one embellishes himself in society. Education is a summons to light, a call to liberation, and a journey in search of truth—not sought for utility, but for truth itself.
In the ages wherein civilisations flourished and the human spirit soared, education was regarded as a form of worship—not because it merely filled the mind with information, but because it purified the soul of the grime of ignorance, refined the character, and strengthened the heart to believe in truth even if it opposed the whims of men. The teacher was seen as a messenger, the learner as a seeker of salvation, and the school as a pulpit of truth—not a corridor to employment. Today, however, education has been overtaken by the logic of the marketplace, dominated by utilitarianism, and ruled by a philosophy that does not ask, “What is good?” but rather, “What is profitable? What yields income? What secures prestige?” If truth brings no tangible return, it is deemed unnecessary; if virtue yields no material benefit, it is dismissed as irrelevant.
Pragmatism, and the array of cold utilitarian tendencies it has spawned, has overtaken many minds, reducing education to mere training, transforming students into instruments, and turning teachers into functionaries rather than nurturers. The intellect is no longer measured by the clarity it brings, but by the profit it procures. Thus, the face of education has changed, disowning its mission and straying from its lofty aim. It is no longer taught for the sake of truth, but for benefit; no longer nurtured in virtue, but tailored for the market; no longer does it awaken the soul to the light of īmān, but seduces it with fleeting gains. And thus, education has become an industry without spirit, a profession without conscience.
And what a perilous transformation this is! For it is not education alone that becomes corrupted, but the entire nation. Education is the mirror in which the society of tomorrow is reflected. If we raise generations who see knowledge only as a means to wealth, who seek truth only insofar as it serves their interests, who know no values beyond what is traded in the market, then we shall produce a nation capable of calculation but incapable of judgement; skilled in technique but destitute in insight; proficient in earning yet blind to justice. Are nations built upon profit? Are civilisations founded upon interest? Or are they built and raised upon īmān, sincerity, sacrifice, and a true love for truth? History teaches us that the nations that became great did not do so because they were profitable, but because they believed in values, clung to the truth, and remained steadfast upon it—even if it defied the inclinations of people.
How many educated individuals are there who believe in nothing? How many skilled professionals who care only for themselves? And how few there are who love the truth for its own sake, who strive for good even if unrewarded, who live by values even if deprived of material gain! These are the true fruit of education. And how true is the saying: knowledge that does not lead to good, that does not plant mercy in the heart, that does not yield noble character in the soul, is blind knowledge—no matter how well its possessors articulate, and how precise their calculations.
We do not seek an education that merely produces technical experts in their fields, nor one that churns out professionals who dazzle companies and are enticed by high salaries. Rather, we seek an education that produces human beings—free individuals, with awakened intellects, vibrant consciences, and luminous hearts. We want an education that plants within the student the tree of wisdom, its roots firm in the earth, and its branches reaching into the heavens. We seek an education that nurtures in a person the love of truth—even if it costs him; the preference for justice—even if it harms him; the service of others—not for what he might gain from them, but for the sake of its loftiness, serenity, and fidelity to truth.
This is our mission, and this is the aspiration for which we accept no substitute and are content with no lesser alternative. If our determination is sincere, our intentions pure, and the voice of truth rises above the clamour of the market, then we shall establish an education that does not produce clever machines, but wise human beings—possessing an awareness that elevates them, a character that purifies them, and a courage that makes them warriors of truth, not slaves of benefit. If we achieve this, we will not merely be an educated nation, but a living one—radiating light, overflowing with wisdom, and gifting the world a new kind of human being—one who thinks with his mind, feels with his heart, and lives guided by truth and conscience.
Disclaimer: This article was translated by AI. Original post: https://t.me/DrAkramNadwi/6433
