Superiority Complex Leads to Evil CONTENTS

of war. According to the standards of that time, these people were educated, whereas the Madinans were not. So the Prophet of Islam, instead of asking for ransom money from these prisoners of war, asked each of them to educate ten Madinan children. After educating ten Madinan children in reading and writing, they would be set free. Therefore, many prisoners of war taught Madinan children and thus secured their release. (Sirah Ibn Kathir, v. 2, p. 512) This was the first school in the history of Islam. This was the first occasion on which some system was established for the education of Muslim youths. All the teachers of this school were non-Muslims, that is, they belonged to the Quraysh, the tribe that had turned hostile to the Prophet. This shows the great importance attached to education in Islam. In the light of this event one can conclude that education had to be sought in all situations, even if all the teachers belonged to the “enemy” community. A person, by birth, is gifted with many kinds of abilities but to avail these abilities and put them to use, education is a must. Education gives a person awareness. Education teaches him to make proper use of his abilities. Education enables a person to keep himself informed of the world all around