Recognising the Relevance of Our Tradition
Recognising the Relevance of Our Tradition: From Imam al-Ghazali to Khairabad and the Ottoman Tradition
Initially, Dars-i Nizāmī was not just a curriculum but a pedagogy—a method of teaching and learning that focused on developing intellectual depth. After preparing a specific portion of a text, students would study it not by mere memorisation but by researching and uncovering the underlying principles embedded within it.
In other words, the text served as a tool through which scholarly discussions, debates, and discourses would emerge. Mullā Nizamuddin included two of the most challenging texts in each subject. Why?
If students could study these difficult works properly, they would develop expertise and essential skills, enabling them to engage with the vast library of Muslim scholarship and extract insights and knowledge from any text.
By mastering these books, students would gain expertise & cultivate crucial skills. If they wished, they could become students of Imām Rāzī by reading his works. Or, they could become disciples of Shaykh Muhyiddīn Ibn ‘Arabī through studying his Fuṣūṣ al-Hikam.
The goal of this curriculum was not to memorise lines but to refine the intellect. For this reason, texts and commentaries that provided excessive clarification were deliberately excluded from the syllabus.
For example, Mullā Mubīn wrote an extensive and precise commentary on Sullam al-‘Ulūm by Mullā Muhibbullāh Bihārī. Because of its clarity, teachers often advised against reading it early in one's studies.
"Mubīn is mubīn," they would say—meaning, "At this stage, don’t read Mubīn’s commentary because it’s too clear and easily comprehensible, which won’t challenge your intellect."
Similarly, when studying Sharh al-Aqā'id al-Nasafiyyah, only the sections on the Necessary Being and His Divine Attributes were deeply analysed. In contrast, the sections on eschatology were often left untouched.
Once this intellectual acuity developed, students became truly erudite scholars.
Over the past century, unfortunately, the original objective of Dars-i Nizāmī has been lost.
As Muslims, we fell prey to modernity, making unnecessary changes. Subjects like principles of jurisprudence, logic, scholasticism, the science of eloquence, astronomy, medicine, and philosophy, once central to the curriculum, have now diminished.
As a result of this unfamiliarity, we have become orphans of genuine academic rigour.
There is an essential relationship between these sciences. They are interconnected, with a strong association among the plethora of passages found in the various sciences. These fields, along with their languages, are the foundation of our culture.
Yes, we must continue progressing and moving forward, but we must also remember: A structure is built only on solid foundations! Our foundation lies in the rich intellectual and spiritual inheritance of Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali and his spiritual successors, spanning from Khairabad to the Ottoman tradition and everything in between!
𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐝𝐢 𝐏𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐠𝐲 & 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝟐𝟑.𝟑𝟎: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3ObKn1Y5gY&t=703s