Tarbiyah for Teachers

To learn more about tarbiyah, please continue reading below.

Click here to enter the tarbiyah project directly.

If you haven't heard of tarbiyah yet, this is a good time to learn. Tarbiyah will likely have a significant impact on the way you teach and what you teach. Tarbiyah is the Arabic term for an approach to education that addresses the heart, mind, body, and soul of a child. As a teacher, you know about reading and writing across the curriculum. Well, tarbiyah is sort of like faith across the curriculum.

Let's look at an earth science lesson about pollution as an example of how tarbiyah might be applied. The lesson would cover the same basic information about pollution that you normally teach. However, as an integrated part of that lesson, you, the science teacher, would also address the concept of the khalifah, for example. The Qur'an teaches us that God gave humans a purpose on this earth, and part of that purpose is to be responsible for the earth. What does that mean to the students? What should it mean to the students? What is the student's role and responsibility as a Muslim in regards to pollution? In what ways can the student impact the world around him/her to make this happen? The lesson on pollution isn't complete until the students explore all the possible ways the concept of the khalifah might apply. The teacher guides the students in their discovery of this knowledge.

If Islamic schools are going to prepare students to excel in the 21st century, they must integrate Islam into all subjects and skills. There are many ways to achieve this integrated learning (tarbiyah). A few schools have already created an integrated curriculum for themselves. Some schools are in the process of working on this, and they might have certain parts of their curriculum adjusted. Most Islamic schools, for a variety of reasons, prefer to use a program that has already been created.

If you would like more information about a program that has already been created, we have The Tarbiyah Project designed by Br. Dawud Tauhidi for you to explore.