Online Education Gaining Popularity

Online learning has gained popularity over the past several years simply because it makes the students life easier. Though it may not really provide the socialization process that one can get by attending school the traditional way, in online learning students can complete their program in their own convenience and pace.

With the advent of the Internet getting an education now is easier and more convenient than before. You have an option to complete your degree in two ways. There's the traditional way where you attend classes in your colleges or universities with the other students. And there's the distance learning where you can get your degree online.

Online education is suitable when you are living in a region where there is no such school from where you could learn the desired course. As if you are living in a Non-Muslim country and you want to get Islamic education, what you can do is to join an online Islamic School where you can easily learn Quran Recitation and other Islamic knowledge sitting at your home. It is seen that many people in US, UK, Canada and other countries opt this method to get religious education because it is trustworthy and easily.

Online education will provide student the independence to complete their work in their own pace since there's no deadline. Schedules are flexible and you have full control of time. They have the choice to finish one module in a short period of time or do the same module for several days. It has always been the case that people will tend to delay their work to the point where it's impossible for them to even continue.

Online learning requires you to attend online classes, online discussions, downloading learning materials and uploading the completed assignments. You need to know how to do conferencing, logging in to servers to download materials and uploading content or finished materials to the same server.

Character Building in Schools

Character development is a fundamental part of Islamic education and a primary interest in Muslim family's agenda for educating their children. Character building should be the ultimate goal of education followed by professional skills and knowledge. A perfect Islamic School should be a platform where children can learn to be the good citizens.

The role of parents is pivotal in nurturing the development of a child's aptitude toward learning at the most early stages of its growth. That’s why Muslim parents are focused to give the their children teaching of Qur’an. What is it that we actually want our children to learn? Obviously, we would like our children to eventually become professionals in a particular field. But during the early stages, what do we want our children to develop most? It is of course a child's character.

A child's character is a key-indicator and provides distinctive qualities which may indicate their level of development. These qualities may also be used to distinguish between strong or weak progressions. Likewise, in adulthood we use character to identify and distinguish an individual or groups from one another.

It is observed that in Quran Recitation schools, teachers are more concerned about the moral character of the children than scientific and modern education.

Forgiveness

Islam attaches great importance to the concept of pardoning of sins by Allah so that one may be saved from Hellfire. On several occasions, the Qur’an gives such prayers as ‘Pardon us, forgive us our sins, and have mercy upon us’ (Qur’an 2:286). Allah assures us that no matter what our sin, if we truly repent and seek His forgiveness, and take steps to put right our wrongs, He will forgive us. The Prophet Muhammad said, "My heart is clouded until I have asked God’s forgiveness seventy times during the day and night."

By Quran Recitation we come to know that we are likewise asked to show mercy to our fellow men. (90:17) Since God is Himself forgiving, He desires that people should cultivate this attribute and show forgiveness to other human beings. (The Qur’an, 24:22; 64:14).

The Prophet Muhammad taught his followers that the individual who pardons his enemy, even while having the power to extract revenge, will be nearest to God in the Hereafter. Once the Prophet was asked, "How many times are we to forgive our servants’ faults?" He remained silent. The questioner repeated his question. But the Prophet gave no answer. But when the person asked a third time, he said, "Forgive your servant seventy times a day." So the Islamic School of thought is very clear regarding the importance of forgiveness.

The Qur’an makes it clear that a strong, adverse, emotional reaction such as anger does not befit the true believer, and instead cites as a mark of excellence the quality of forgiveness: "When they become angry, they are forgiving." (42:37)

Worship as a Social Service for Muslims

Worship in Islam is not only for the remembrance of God but it serves for humanity in great deal. Serving for humanity is always the first priority for a true Muslim as the rights of humans in Islam are of immense importance. The Holy Qur'an declares that they have been made "in the best of moulds"

The equality between the people is established with Salat (Prayer). In congregational salat Muslims say their prayers standing in rows five times a day. Big and small, rich and poor, powerless and powerful, literate and illiterate all stand in the same rows without any discrimination. The lesson of equality is also taught in Islamic Schools when all the children are irrespective of their status are dealt equally.

Fasting is to live without food and water from dawn to dusk. A man may be very rich, but he has to go hungry and thirsty just like any common man. In this way by observing the fast in the process of worshipping God, a Muslim personally experiences human need as well.

Hajj, too, is essentially a form of worship. During Hajj many different kinds of people come together, but the pilgrims are forbidden to fight. The pilgrim must avoid all friction lest his pilgrimage become unacceptable in the eyes of God. Similarly Quran Recitation makes a man to think about the teachings of Islam and acts upon them to worship and to serve for the humanity.

Zakat is a form of worship of God along with a form of service to humanity. By apportioning a share of one’s wealth to God, man acknowledges God as the giver, while at the same time he trains himself to fulfill his responsibilities towards human beings.

Existence of God

Humans are superior creation of God, provided with the knowledge and strength to discover and invent. When we see the entire universe we are forced to believe in its existence. Now the question is when and how did it come into being? Explaining its existence as the creation of God is no final answer, so it is generally held--since the very next question which arises is if God made the universe, then who made God?

Well the idea of the creation of universe and the concept of God is mentioned in the Qur’an and by thorough Quran Recitation and understanding we come to know that there is one God who created the universe and every other thing.

Sometimes it is argued that belief must rest on proof. But, from the purely scientific standpoint, nothing in this world can be proved or disproved. So far as believing in anything is concerned, the option is not between the proved and the unproved, but between the workable and the non-workable.

What Islamic school of thought says is that the universe itself does not have the ability to create. It can neither increase nor decrease itself by so much as a particle. As with all other scientific concepts, we must choose not between the universe with God and the universe without God, but between God and a non-existent universe. Since a non-existent universe is unconceivable, we must perforce opt for the concept of the universe with God.

Muslims, the Ambassadars of Islam

Islam is propagated in the whole world due to the proper mechanism of preaching. Muslims went everywhere to spread the teachings of Qur’an and the knowledge of Islam and by the Grace of God they succeeded in their mission. They proved to be the best ambassadors of Islam and impressed others with their beliefs, behavior and way of conduct.

At the time of the Prophet’s demise, his companions numbered more than one hundred thousand. However it is worth noting that if you go to Mecca and Medina you will find only a small number of graves there. The reason for this is that these companions left Arabia and spread to various countries far and beyond its borders. They established Islamic Schools to spread islam. The majority of them breathed their last in various Asian and African countries, where their graves still exist.

Why did this happen? It was because during his last days the Prophet gathered his companions together in the mosque in Medina and addressed them in these words: God has sent me as his messenger for the entire world. So you do not differ with one another. And spread in the land and communicate my message to people inhabiting other places besides Arabia. (Seerat Ibn Hisham 4/279).

It was this command of the Prophet that led to the Sahaba (companions of the Prophet) settling in foreign lands. In those countries either did business or earned their living by hard work, all the while communicating to their non-Muslim compatriots the message of monotheism which they had received from the Prophet. Every one of them thus became a virtual ambassador of Islam. People learnt Quran Recitation and followed the rules of Islam. This resulted in Islam spreading across the globe. Its evidence can still be seen in the inhabited world of that time.

Spiritualism and Mysticism

The concept of spiritualism or mysticism has existed in the world for thousands of years. It has many schools of thought, which must be dealt here, albeit briefly, in order that the Islamic School of thought about spiritualism can come out clearly vis-à-vis other schools of spiritualism.

Three basic concepts are worth mentioning here. According to the first concept, spiritualism means to establish contact with one’s own inner personality. To them man’s inner existence is akin to a mysterious ocean, which remains, under normal circumstances, undiscovered for man.

The spiritual quest means from the Islamic point of view that the servant (of God) wants to join/contact God, his Creator. Islamic spiritualism is in actual fact a realization of God. Whatever man gains at the level of his heart and mind through the realization of God is known as Islamic spiritualism. This is all related to the worship and Quran Recitation in depth. Islamic spiritualism has come to have two schools of thought, one may be called Qur’anic school of thought and the other is commonly known as tasawwuf.

The other concept of spiritualism is basically produced under the influence of the philosophy of monism. According to the concept of monism, leaving the details aside, all forms of existence are in actual fact manifestations of the same source. According to this concept of spiritualism, to put it in simple words, it is for the part to realize its whole in order that it may join it by discovering it.

From Islamic viewpoint man’s existence has two aspects/levels to it. One is man’s visible body which is in need of a number of material things. Without providing the material things like food, water, clothes, home etc. physical body cannot survive. The other aspect of human personality is that in it there is an invisible being called soul. The soul too requires certain things, but these are not of material nature. These are entirely of non-material nature, hence its requirements too was to be fulfilled.