Importance of Education

all its windows open towards outside world. This is why Islam attaches such great importance to knowledge and education. When the Quran began to be revealed, the first word of its first verse was ‘Iqra,’ that is, read. Education is thus the starting point of every human activity. A scholar (alim) is accorded great respect in the hadith. According to a hadith the ink of the pen of a scholar is more precious than the blood of a martyr. The reason being that a martyr is engaged in defense work while scholar builds individuals and nations along positive lines. In this way he bestows a real life to the world. The Quran repeatedly asks us to observe the earth and the heavens. This instills in man a desire to learn natural science. All the books of hadith have a chapter on learning (ilm). In Sahih Bukhari there is a chapter entitled “The virtue of one who acquires ilm and imparts that to others.” How great importance is attached to learning in Islam can be understood from an event in the life of the Prophet. At the battle of Badr in which the Prophet gained victory over his opponents, seventy people of the enemy rank were taken prisoner. These prisoners of war were literate people. In order to benefit from their education the Prophet declared that if one prisoner teaches ten Madinan children how to read and write, this will serve as his ransom and he will be set free. This was the first school in the history of Islam established by the Prophet himself with all its teachers being non-Muslims. Furthermore, they were all war prisoners. There was all the risk that after their release they will again create problems for Islam and Muslims. This Sunnah of the Prophet shows that education is to be received whatever the risk involved. On the one hand