The Reform of Arab Education: Between What Was and What Should Be

An Address to the Students of Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama

5/5/2026

Dear students gathered in a house intended by its founders to be the intellect of the nation, not just another wall, and the spirit of knowledge, not merely a repository of books, I speak to you today with words that may lack adornment but carry the sincerity I hope will awaken thought within you and stir deep reflection on the meaning of your current journey and the path ahead.

You are not in an ordinary educational institution; you are part of an establishment founded on a grand idea: that knowledge is not true knowledge unless coupled with reform, and that thought is not truly alive unless its impact extends to society, illuminating its darkness, correcting its deviations, and restoring some of its lost balance between heritage and contemporary life.

Here, in this context, I must recall, not merely as a historical note but as a tribute and a meaningful reminder, the men who carried this message before it became a slogan and lived for it, not off it. These were not merely scholars of books but minds that thought and hearts that beat with the concerns of the public, such as the esteemed Shibli Nomani, Abdul Hayy Hasani, Syed Sulaiman Nadwi, and Abul Hasan Nadwi, may Allah have mercy on them all.

Despite their varied backgrounds and diverse methods, they united on one truth: that knowledge, when divorced from life, dies, and that heritage, when frozen in blind sanctification, loses its spirit. The nation cannot rise unless it possesses a mind that combines loyalty to the past with a conscious understanding of the present. They read books, but they were not enslaved by them. They revered heritage, but they did not close it off from criticism and contemplation.

Dear students, one of the greatest trials a seeker of knowledge faces is the belief that knowledge is acquired through rote memorization and that scholarly virtue is measured by the fullness of memory, as if the mind were created to be a repository rather than a tool for insight. This is not the essence of true knowledge; true knowledge transforms into an ability to understand, a faculty for analysis, and a discernment that distinguishes between what is said and what ought to be said.

I do not diminish the value of memorization nor deny its importance, for it holds an undeniable place in building the beginner’s mind. However, it is not the ultimate goal, nor should it become a prison that shackles thought, hindering its movement. The real danger lies in a student stopping at the limits of what has been told to them, without venturing to ask why it was said, how it was said, and whether something else could be said.

Here begins the living mind, here the scholar’s character is born, and here emerges thought that thrives not on repetition but on creativity.

Those great scholars I mentioned were not content to be mere transmitters or repeaters of what was in books. They placed texts before their minds as one places an object before a mirror, examining, turning, and extracting hidden meanings, and rephrasing them in the light of their era’s needs. Thus, they were not captives of the past but loyal to it in the correct manner: through understanding, not stagnation.

Know that the great heritage you hold is not an idol to be worshipped but an inheritance to be understood. It does not mean closing minds to it but opening it to life. Many a nation has revered its heritage only to make it a shackle on its thought, dying in place while believing it lives. Conversely, many a nation has read its heritage well, making it a ladder to the future, not a wall blocking it.

True reform, dear students, is not merely in changing books or altering curricula but in transforming the spirit with which a student receives knowledge. If a student continues to seek ready-made answers, fears questioning, and shuns discussion, then no matter how much books change, the mind remains the same. However, if the mind is liberated, accustomed to questioning, and familiar with thinking, even the simplest book can become a gateway to knowledge, and the simplest lesson a beginning to deep understanding.

Understand that a teacher is not merely a conveyor of knowledge but a creator of minds. If the teacher is bound by tradition, they transmit tradition as it is. If they are free in thought, they offer their students a measure of this freedom. Teaching is not a function to be performed but a message to be carried, a responsibility that does not end at the classroom and lesson.

Knowledge that does not bear fruit in behavior, does not manifest in thinking, and does not reflect in interactions with people and life is incomplete, no matter how abundant. The true scholar is one who, when they speak, enlightens; when silent, reflects; when differing, their difference is a mercy, not a conflict; and when teaching, opens doors of the mind that cannot be closed.

Dear students, the nation that expects much from you is not just a nation of books but also a nation of the future. Today, you hold a great heritage and a rich history, but the greatest demand upon you is not to carry it as it is but to understand it, to recreate it, and to add to it what makes it a living force in a world that changes daily.

Do not be content to be an echo of what predecessors have said. Be a new voice emerging from the depths of this heritage, proclaiming that the Arab intellect has not died, that it can think anew, create anew, and participate in shaping humanity’s future.

I conclude my words not as a farewell but as a reminder: the road is long, knowledge requires patience, and thought is a responsibility. Whoever wishes to be truly among the people of knowledge must make themselves a perpetual seeker, a mind that does not settle for stagnation, and a heart that does not lose its connection to truth.

May Allah have mercy on those scholars who preceded us, making them beacons of guidance on your path. Be an extension of them, not a mere replica, an addition, not a repetition, a new intellect in a nation still in need of thinking and rethinking anew.