Journal of European Baptist Studies, 2017

ccess it, and as a non-essential kind of study, its value diminished in the view of many of his interpreters. The Prioritisation of Topics within Education A number of contemporary educationalists draw attention to the prioritisation of topics in Islamic education as an expression of al-Ghazali's binary valuation of forms of knowledge. 86 Essentially, al-Ghazali prioritises learning into the following hierarchy: 1st: Necessary sciences (religious). These are studies which enable the faithful to believe and act according to God's will. Al-Ghazali prioritised gaining thorough knowledge of the Qur'an, Hadith , ijma‘a (scholarly consensus), and fiqh. 2nd: Supporting sciences (non-religious). This category includes studies that support understanding of ‘necessary’ sciences (such as Arabic language and rhetoric), and studies which are generally beneficial to the community (such as agriculture, astronomy, and medicine). 3rd: Unimportant sciences. Topics of study included theology, philosophy, and mysticism. Al-Ghazali considered any essential content from these disciplines to be available in the religious sciences studied under the first category (such as Qur'an, taqlid, shariah). These non-necessary sciences were neither essential for acquiring knowledge of God nor beneficial for people’s welfare. Therefore, as a domain of study they held the lowest priority of learning. 87 This prioritisation reflects the binary categorisation of forms of knowledge in al-Ghazali’s epistemology. Underpinning al-Ghazali's taxonomy is a fundamental division between beneficial and non-beneficial forms of knowledge. The test of whether a given topic of study is beneficial concerns the extent to which it supports and is congruent with Islamic principles. 88 In practice, this results in memorisation of sacred texts and their 85 Shaw, ‘Madrasa and Church’, p. 219. 86 e.g. Alkanderi, p. 104; Yasin and Jani, p. 4; and Shaw, ‘Madrasa and Church’, p. 219. For an example of this pattern in al-Ghazali’s writing, see Ihyd bk. 1, p. 1 Iff. 87 Shaw (‘Madrasa and Church’, p. 219) identifies this threefold categorisation and offers a list of older Islamic educational sources utilising this taxonomy including Abdul Latif Tibawi, ‘Philosophy of Muslim Education’, in Education and Philosophy, ed. by George Z. F. Bereday and Joseph Lauwerys (New York: World Books, 1957); A. S. Tritton, Materials on Muslim Education in the Middle Ages, (London: Luzac, 1957). 88 Shaw, ‘Madrasa and Church’, p. 220. 70 Journal of European Baptist Studies 17:1 (2017) interpretation being valued and given priority over understanding them. From the earliest stages of children’s education, al-Ghazali held to the importance of both religious and non-religious studies, and would emphasise the benefits of maintaining balance between the two. 89 Considering al-Ghazali's Influence on Contemporary Arab Education Finally, we return to the question of al-Gha