The Method of Muslim Learning

The Method of Muslim Learning as Illustrated in al-Zarnuji's Ta'lim al-Muta'allim Tariq al-Ta'allum

By combining a descriptive method with a comparative one, this work attempts to understand the ideas of method of Muslim learning as illustrated in a medieval Muslim treatise,  Ta‘lîm al-Muta‘allim Tarîq al-Ta‘allum  (Instruction of the Student: the Method of Learning), of Burhân al-Dîn al-Zarnûjî (flourished circa 620/1223).  It is apparent throughout the present study that the method of Muslim learning is not simply a technique by which a student seeks to deal, in an appropriate manner, with any academic assignment, but rather, an approach, the very heart of which rests on the problem of ethics, which brings  a student into a situation where he maintains his commitment to God, his respect to his teacher, and his invigorated desire in the search for knowledge. The fundamental reason for such an approach to learning is that knowledge (‘ilm)  in Islam is placed in a religiously special position in that it is recognized as derived from God and given by Him for the nobility of human beings, so that the search for knowledge is a part of the Muslim’s religious manifestations of submission to God (‘ibâdah li-Allâh).
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Mochtar structures his study around two main issues: the problem of knowledge and aspects related to the method of learning. In the first part of the work, Mochtar proceeds with a presentation of the significance and division of knowledge, since the problem of knowledge is where “the basic nature of al-Zarnûjî’s theories is essentially found.” Mochtar shows how al-Zarnûjî’s epistemological reflection is guided by religious concerns ... Mochtar’s work remains exemplary.

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