Islamic Thought as a Horizon for Rethinking the Question of Contemporary Education

Abstract

The concept of education in contemporary thought is witnessing profound transformations that have affected its semantic structure and societal function. It has shifted from being a project for building the integrated human being to becoming a tool for producing employable competencies within the logic of the market. This shift has led to the dominance of the technical/instrumental dimension, which has contributed to reducing the human being to their functional aspect and weakening their value-based and existential presence within the educational act. This research begins from a critical questioning of these transformations, seeking to uncover their philosophical backgrounds and educational implications, and then to explore the potential of Islamic thought in reconstructing the educational question on foundations that restore the centrality of the human being as a dignified being and a vicegerent on earth (mustakhlaf). The research adopts a critical analytical approach that utilizes the tools of educational philosophy, while invoking the higher objectives (maqāṣid) in Islamic thought. This research employs a critical analytical methodology by deconstructing the transformations that have affected the concept of education in contemporary thought, while invoking the maqāṣid approach in Islamic thought to rebuild the educational question on humanistic and value-based foundations. The study concludes with two main findings: first, that the dominance of the instrumental and technical dimension has led to reducing the human being to their economic function and weakening the value dimension within the educational act; second, that Islamic thought offers an alternative educational horizon based on the centrality of the human being as a dignified being and a vicegerent. The study also recommends the necessity of reintegrating values and meaning into educational policies, and moving beyond approaches that reduce education solely to the logic of employable competencies.