A Change in View About Education
By Linta Mustafa
In the present time, education has become a significant part of our lives. Commonly, education brings us the acknowledgement of being respectable members of the society. But, in this endless pursuit of education, people have forgotten why education was considered important in the first place.
Recently, I listened to Raja Zia-ul-Haq’s lecture entitled “Highly Educated Fools.” It was like an eye opener for me: by being engrossed in studies, I had forgotten that education was not about cramming facts or worrying for the marks – not succeeding in schooling did not mean that it was the end of life. This lecture made me realized my forgotten purpose. In the starting, Raja Zia-ul-Haq recites an Ayah: “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” (Adh-Dhaariyat 51:56)
The moment I heard this, I felt a sudden rush of excitement. My mind was literally screaming that this is what is truly our purpose of life. Something that we have lost in the pursuit of this materialistic world. Unfortunately, we are a part of society, where success is not measured by character. According to Raja Zia-ul-Haq, “the papers of students are judged and marked by a person, who has never met them in their entire life”. This statement is absolutely true. It is senseless for a person to grade students only based on what they were able to produce in a limited time period. Such evaluation touches only on a small part of their performance and may shatter their confidence.
Our education system is constructed in a way that does not allow students to think outside the box. After listening to the lecture, I reflected on it for quite some time. I realized a few things. The first was my intentions in gaining worldly knowledge: while initially it had been because of my passion to learn new things, over the span of a few months, it had changed into something akin to materialism. The second was my connection to Allah (swt). I am ashamed to admit that due to stress and mental pressure, I had solely been focusing on the degree I was pursuing. As a result, I only took the time to ensure that my Salah was not missed. In the end, I immediately begged for forgiveness from Allah (swt) and changed my intentions for gaining education.
Change always starts from ourselves. Today, education has become the sole purpose of achievement for so many, so I would encourage everyone to listen to this lecture for getting a better understanding regarding the direction our education should be steered into.
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