The Distinctive Features of Religious Schools

students read outside the curriculum generally focus on the Quran as their central theme. In this way, all students, practically speaking, receive lessons from the Quran daily, either directly or indirectly. The same applies to Hadith. It remains a mandatory subject in the curriculum of religious seminaries. In most major seminaries, the Sihah Sitta (the six authentic collections of Hadith) or selected portions of it are taught. Additionally, in the seminary environment, students hear references to or discussions about Hadith on a daily basis. In this way, every student is consistently nourished intellectually with the teachings of the Prophet’s Hadith throughout their seminary life. This is no simple matter. It means that religious seminaries provide their students with intellectual and spiritual training that is entirely unmatched in any other educational system. While other institutions base their education on human knowledge, religious institutions ground their education in divine knowledge. Here, I will present a few comparative examples to illustrate the differences between religious seminaries and non-religious educational institutions. These examples will highlight the distinctive qualities that set religious seminaries apart from their non-religious counterparts. 1. Secular educational institutions, whether within the country or abroad, are practically established with the objective: to enable students to secure good jobs in the world. Everywhere, job-oriented education is the norm.