The First School

The First School

1990 5 May 7 The First School (359) Islam attaches paramount importance to the acquisition of learning: education as a first priority overrides all other considerations. It is ironic, therefore, that in the field of education Muslims have been left far behind by other communities. One fundamental reason for this is that Muslims in the main, have opted not to send their children to modern institutions, where the majority of the teachers are non-Muslims, for fear that the latter will exert a baneful and ineradicable influence upon them. The consequences should have been foreseeable, i.e. the Muslims ultimately lagging far behind others in education.

This turning away from modern education because of possible “harmful” influences on Muslim children was inappropriate and uncalled-for. An incident from the life of the Prophet will make this clear. The first school1 set up by the Prophet of Islam in Medina was entirely staffed by non-Muslims – prisoners of war, who were idolaters and the avowed enemies of Islam. We learn from Musnad of ibn Hambal that the teaching of reading and writing was fixed as a ransom for these prisoners of war by the Prophet himself.’ (Ibn Kathir, Seerah, Vol.II, p. 512.)

As all these prisoners of war were avowed enemies of Islam, there was great risk involved in setting them free once they had fulfilled the conditions of their ransom. And, indeed, they did later re-organize themselves, attacking Medina again within the space of a year. Yet, such a high value was placed upon, education, that it was considered well worth running this risk. Incarcerating these prisoners for life would simply have meant losing the opportunity to avail of their teaching skills.

The importance of learning in Islam is so great that it has to be acquired at all costs.

There is evidence of a school having been set up prior to this at Saffa (Saffa was a platform outside the first mosque built by the Prophet at Medina). But this was a training centre, rather than an educational centre, and was meant for migrants from Mecca with no homes in Medina, Thus the first proper educational centre was that in which all the teachers were non-Muslim prisoners of war. – Editor