Curriculum content based on intellectual knowledge in Holy Quran
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International Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Research. Vol., 3(1), 71-32, 2014
Available online at http://www.ijpbrjournal.com
ISSN 2322-4002 ©2014 Victor Quest Publications
Curriculum content based on intellectual knowledge in Holy Quran
1 1 1
Gholam Hosein Alayi , Seyed Hashem Golestani , Narges Keshti Ara
1- Islamic Azad University, Khorasegan Branch, Khorasegan, Isfahan, Iran.
Corresponding author email: hosseinalaei42@yahoo.com
Abstract
The present research aimed at identification of the content of religious
educational curriculum based on the intellectual knowledge in the verses of
Holy Quran according to Tafsir Al-Mizan. The whole of Holy Quran was analyzed
and the verses with intellectual knowledge were selected and categorized based
on the content of religious education curriculum as apriority using qualitative
content analysis; the content of religious education curriculum based on the
related intellectual knowledge in the verses of Holy Quran and according to
Tafsir Al-Mizan are as follows: topics of theology and monotheism (invitation to
unity), discussions of prophecy, Quran and Koranic teachings, qualities and
attributes of wise men (their patterns and features and characteristics), topics of
nature and creation system with monotheistic approach, discussions of
resurrection, day of judgment and hereafter life, topics and contents related to
divine commands, piety and righteousness, past history and civilization (history
of religions and ethnicities) with monotheistic approach, topics of critical
thinking, and issues of comparative (comparison of divine and non-divine
values)
Keywords: Intellectual knowledge, Holy Quran, curriculum aims, religious education.
Introduction
The effectiveness of education and curriculum in general and more particularly, religious
education curriculum requires increasing emphasis on logical, rational and religion-related information
in the era of globalization and the borderless world in which we evidence accelerated and evolutionary
development of information technology and symbiosis of cultural needs.
Regarding the logical approach within the curriculum of religious education in the globalization
movement doesn't mean that religious education is solely regarded as the transference of a set of
religious beliefs and faith but also to accept a religion with knowledge and rationalism; a subject matter
that not only causes an individual to enter the realm of religion knowledgably and with deep
understanding, but also to declare and signal the necessary readiness for rational confrontation and
wise acceptance of beliefs and values (Mazroughi, 2009, p 53) knowledge or rationalism is regarded as
the first assumption of religious education in the era of globalization (Mazroughi, 2009, p55).
One of the most basic parameters of religious education is rationalism due to the fact that the
transference of information and various viewpoints is facilitated and its impacts can lead to doubtfulness
over the validity of religion. Within such an extensive domain of questions and dubiousness, religion
and religious education continue to exist as acceptable and proved existence not only as a desired
affair. Generally, religious education takes on a truly rational aspect either when espousing the belief
and morality or when obeying the orders and worshipping God (Bagheri, 2009, p73).Intl. J. Phys. Beh. Res. Vol., 3(1), 17-23-2014
In Holly Quran many verses have focused on the subject of reasoning and thinking, phrases
such as »( «افال تعقلونdon't they reason), »( «افال یتفکرونdon't they think), »( «لعلکم تعقلونmay you reason),
»( «لعلکم تتفکرونmaybe you think), »( «ان کنتم تعقلونif you reason), (maybe they think), »( «لعلهم یتفکرونmaybe
they think), »( «افال یتدبرونdon't they think), »( «افالیتذکرونdon't they remind), »( «لقوم یتفکرونfor people who
think), »( «لقوم یعقلونfor people who reason) (Nejati, 2009, p200). Also the Holly Quran reminds intellect
th
with words like protection and prohibition and call wise people as Zihajr (Surah Al-Fajr, verse 5 )
th
Ololalbab (Baqarah, verse 79 ) Ololabsar (Surah Aal-'Imran, verse 13) and Olonahi (Surah Ta-Ha,
th th
verses 54 and 128 ) and beside those who don't reason » «ال یعقلونare called as deaf people
th
(Baqarah, verse 171 ) the worst moving creature (Surah Al-Anfal, verse 22th) and unsanitary due to
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abomination (Surah Yunus, verse 100), God in the 58 verse of Surah Al-Ma'idah has expressed that
submitting oneself to God and believing in the monotheism is the consequence of intellect and being
boastful to God and the polytheism is the result of the lack of reasoning (Alidoust, 2006, p 30).
Considering the fact that the main treasure of the educators is knowledge and educators mainly
think about the mental development of their students along with being keen on their physical and
affective health and making judgments based on valid knowledge (Neler, 971, p29). A crucially
important kind of knowledge is rational knowledge. We will refer to the supporting hypotheses that will
support the intellectual knowledge across the curriculum.
Ayzner (1994) regards rational humanism as one of six important ideologies of curriculum.
According to him the historical concept of the rational humanism stems from Plato’s thought and its new
stem is located in the enlightenment. Recently, its clearest manifestation can be observed in the book
of Paideia proposed by Adler (1982) and during the decades of (1930-1950) in the book of Great Books
Program which was published by Hachinz and Adler. According to their viewpoint, the difference
between the human beings is their reasoning capacity. They believe that reasonable thinking can be
improved through providing two educational conditions in classroom. Firstly, the content of curriculum
should consist of valid works that can demonstrate the highest human achievements in the area of
rationalism. As demonstrated by the Great Books Program of the western world, the programs that
Hajinz and Adler started in1938, are the reflection of this belief. The second condition emphasizes a
method through which important human works are studied; therefore, it is necessary to use what Adler
(1982) calls the process of deep thinking for the development of rational powers. This process involves
students to deeply reason and think about what they are studying. In this process the teacher displays
reasonable not educative behavior (Mehrmohammadi, 2009, p 119).
In recent years many studies have been carried out in the realm of rational knowledge and
religious education, some of which can be mentioned here. Mazroughi (2009), Jabbari and sajjadi
(2009), Sobhaninejad and et al (2007), Rahnama (2007), Sajjadi (2005), Beheshti (2005) and Bagheri
(2001). The results of the above-mentioned studies have been employed in this research.
The content of the curriculum is one of the important elements of the curriculum that all the
experts such as walker, Tiler, Eash Taba, Eisher, Klein, Akker have the same idea about (Fathi,
Vajargah and shafiei, 2007; cited in Abyazi and et al, 2009, p144).
Therefore, based on the theoretical background that was mentioned, this research aimed at
identifying the Curriculum content Based on Intellectual Knowledge in Holy Quran. And we also attempt
to provide an answer to this question that what content can be deducted from the verses of holy Quran
in which rational knowledge was introduced for the curriculum of religious education?
Method and Material
The method of the current research is qualitative content analysis and this method was selected
due to the fact that the problem of current research can be better considered and analyzed by a
qualitative method specially the method of qualitative content analysis. The area of current research
was all the verses of holy Quran that had rational knowledge-related keywords which were used for the
interpretation of the verses of Tafsir Al-Mizan. Therefore, a total number of 214 verses were analyzed
for the extraction of the concepts in Tafsir Al-Mizan. In this method, flash cards and a two-page content
analysis form were employed as the research tool. Content analysis, chapter name, chapter number,
verse numbers, context of the verses, keywords related to the rational knowledge, the Arabic text of the
verse and the translation of the verse were mentioned in the first page of the form and the interpretation
points of Tafsir Al-Mizan were mentioned in the second page. Finally, the knowledge-based content
71Intl. J. Phys. Beh. Res. Vol., 3(1), 17-23-2014
analysis was derived from the analyzed verses, concepts and extracted categories which were
validated according to the following method.
1- Extraction of the obvious and hidden meanings of the verses, verses which associated with
intellectual knowledge were interpreted with care and patience.
2- Evaluation of the supervisor and advisor perspectives on the extracted concepts.
3- Re-evaluation of the views of some of the Quran scholars and experts of curriculum planning on the
extracted concepts.
4- Re-evaluation of the researcher in terms of the extracted concepts.
5- Supervisor’s and advisor’s re-evaluation of the extracted concepts.
6- Preparation and analysis of the extracted concepts and continuing the process of content analysis.
In order to analyze the results obtained from the research tool (content analysis form), the data
were categorized and organized based on the keywords and the extracted concepts and with regard to
the research question. In other words, inductive categorization was used to extract and categorize the
concepts and categories.
Table 1. The method of the analysis and categorization of the concepts related to rational knowledge in
holy Quran
1. Specifying the keywords associated with rational knowledge based on the reliable
sources and previous studies
2. Keyword Search in the Quran
3. Specifying the relevant verses with rational knowledge and recording them in the form
of content analysis
4. Studying the identified verses and recording their extracted concepts in the form of
content analysis
5. Studying the translation of certain verses and recording their extracted concepts in
the form of content analysis
6. Studying the interpretation of certain verses and recording their extracted concepts in
the form of content analysis
7. Concepts’ extraction and their reasoning with regard to the educational curriculum
based on the rational knowledge
8. Validation of the extracted concepts
9. Review and modification of the extracted concepts
10. Studying, investigating and analysis of the concepts with their relevant examples
11. Derived categories
12. Validation of the derived categories
1-subject related to theism and monotheism: in many of the analyzed verses, the subject of
theism was introduced in different forms and the subject of theism is the most important subject in the
content of rational knowledge, out of which, a verse is mentioned here.
ٌ
)مسخرات بامره ان فی ذلک آلیات لقوم یعقلون (و س ّخر لکم الیل و النهار و الشمس و القمر و النجوم
(And he has pressed into service for you the night and the day, and the sun and the moon; and
the stars too have been pressed into service by His command. Surely, in that are Signs for a people
who make use of their reason).
2- Subject related to prophecy: The subject of prophecy is one the most important subject in the
content of rational knowledge, out of which, a verse is mentioned here. The god has told the prayer of
th
Ibrahim for prophetic mission of Mohammad 129 verse of Al-Baqarah Surah.
)( ربنا و ابعث فیهم رسوال منهم یتلو علیهم آیاتک و یعلمهم الکتاب و الحکمه و یزکیهم انک انت العزیز الحکیم
71Intl. J. Phys. Beh. Res. Vol., 3(1), 17-23-2014
(And, our Lord, raise up among them a Messenger from among themselves, who may recite to
the Thy Signs and teach them the Book of Wisdom and may purify them; surely, Thou art the Mighty,
the Wise).
3-subject of Quran and Quarnic education: In many of the analyzed verses, the subject of Quran
and Quarnic education was introduced in different forms and the subject of Quran and Quarnic
education is one of the most important subjects in the content of rational knowledge, out of which, a
verse is mentioned here.
nd
God in 82 verse of Surah An-Nisa asks the opponents to think deeply about Quarnic verses
(every possible verdict). Briefly, those who reason find this meaning of Quran sensibly that includes all
the humanity-related dignity, such as knowledge of the origin, post-death life, and the creation in the
belief phase; General human virtue in the phase of morality; and social and personal rules in the phase
of action.
(ً)افال یتدبرون القرآن و لو کان من عند غیرهللا لوجدوا فیه اختالفا ً کثیرا
Will they not, then, meditate upon the Quran? Had it been from anyone other than Allah, they
would surely have found therein much disagreement.
4-subject related to the features of wise people: In the analyzed verses, the characteristics and
qualities of the wise people are mentioned as following: remembering God all the time, thinking about
the creation of the sky and the earth, paying attention to the future life and Resurrection, accepting
prophecy, asking for forgiveness for sins, uniting with the good people on the Resurrection day, fulfilling
the promise, strengthening the bonds with relatives, fear of God, patience, daily prayer, charity, doing
good deeds, having good future, paying alms, avoiding idolatry, returning to worship God and theism,
remaining on divine nature, distinguishing right and wrong, beauty and indecency, and development
and perversion, choosing the best words and acting accordingly, holding wisdom from Quran and its
inspirational teachings are among the attributes of the wise people. A verse is mentioned here. The
th
128 verse of Taha surah.
ٍ (افلم یهدلهم کم اهلکنا قبلهم من القرون یمشون فی مساکنهم انّ فی ذلک الیا
)ت الولی النهی
(Does it not afford guidance to them how many generations We destroyed before them, in whose
dwellings thy not walk? Therein verily are Signs for those who are endued with reason).
5-subject of creation system with monotheism approach: in the analyzed verses, the subjects
related to the creation system and the monotheism have been emphasized, out of which is mentioned
th
here. The 24 verse of Al-Rum Surah.
)(ومن آیاته یریکم البرق خوفا و طمعا و ینزل من السماء ما ًء فیحیی به االرض بعد موتها ان فی ذلک الیات لقوم یعقلون
(And one of His signs is this, that He shows you the lightning as a source of fear and hope and
He sends down water from the sky, and quickens therewith the earth after its death. In that surely are
Signs for a people who understand).
6- Subject related to the future life, the Day of Judgment: The subject related to the future life, the
Day of Judgment, is one the most important subject in the content of rational knowledge, out of which, a
th
verse is mentioned here. The 35 verse of Al-Naziat.
((The day when man will call to mind all that he strove for).)یوم یتذکر االنسان
7- The subject related to education of divine verdict: The subject of education of divine verdict is
one the most important subjects in the content of rational knowledge, out of which, a verse is mentioned
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here. The 197 verse of Al-Baqarah Surah.
(الحج الشهر معلومات فمن فرض فیهم الحج فال رفث و ال فسوق و ال جدال فی الحج و ما تفعلوا من خیر بعلم هللا و تزودوافان خیرالزاد
)التقوی اتقون یا اولی االلباب
(The months of the Hajj are well known; so whoever determines to perform the Pilgrimage in
these months, should remember that there is to be no foul talk, nor any transgression, nor any
quarrelling during the Pilgrimage. And whatever good you do, Allah knows it. And furnish yourselves
with necessary provisions, and surely, the best provision is righteousness. And fear Me alone, O men of
understanding).
8-subject related to virtue: The subject of virtue is one the most important subjects in the content
th
of rational knowledge, out of which, a verse is mentioned here. Then 10 verse of Al-Talaq.
)(اعدهللا لهم عذابا شدیدا فاتقوهللا یا اولی الباب الذین امنوا قد انزل هللا الیکم ذکرا
(Allah has prepared for them a severe punishment; so fear Allah, O ye men of understanding,
who have believed. Allah has indeed sent down to you a Reminder).
9-subject related to past history and civilization with monotheistic approach: The subject of the
past history and civilization with monotheistic approach is one the most important subjects in the
32Intl. J. Phys. Beh. Res. Vol., 3(1), 17-23-2014
content of rational knowledge, out of which, 6 verses are mentioned here. The verses of 133 to 138 in
Al-Saffat Surah.
و باللیل/ و انکم التمرون علیهم مصبحین/ ثم امرنا اآلخرین/ اال عجوزا فی الغابرین/ اذ نجیناه و اهله اجمعین/(و ان لوطا ً لمن المرسلین
(And assuredly Lot too was one of the Messengers/ When We delivered him and all his family/ )افال تعقلون
Except an old woman who was among those who stayed behind/ Then We utterly destroyed the
others/And surely you pass by them in the morning/And by night. Then why do you not understand?)
10-subject of critical thinking: The subject of the critical thinking is one the most important
subjects in the content of rational knowledge, out of which, one verse is mentioned here.
)(فبشرعباد الذین یستمعون القول فی ّتبعون احسن اولئک الذیم هدیهم هللا و اولئک هم اولوااللباب
(Who listen to the Word and follow the best thereof. It is they whom Allah has guided, and it is
they who are men of understanding).
11- Comparative subject (comparing divine and non-divine values): In many of the analyzed
verses, the subjects related to malicious and virtuous and its inequality in the view of intellect,
comparing 2 tribes of God believers and polytheist, inequality of the creator and non-creator and
inequality of virtuous and wicked people, out of which a verse is mentioned as an example.
)(قل ال یستوی الخبیث و الطیب و لو اعجبک کثره الخبیث فاتقوهللا یا اولی الباب لعلکم تفلحون
(Say, ''The bad and the good are not alike,'' even though the abundance of the bad may cause
thee to wonder. So fear Allah, O men of understanding that you may prosper).
In the following diagram, the educational content of the religious curriculum based on the rational
knowledge has been designed.
Diagram1: the educational content of the religious curriculum based on rational knowledge.
Results and Conclusion
One of the most important elements of the curriculum is content. Content is often the target for the
achievement of specific objectives. Therefore, the selection of the content has always been regarded as
an important element of the curriculum. Content is the collection of facts, concepts, principles,
generalizations, activities, processes, values and attitudes in relation to one another which is predicted
based on the learning goals of the learners (Maleki, 2008: 68).
37Intl. J. Phys. Beh. Res. Vol., 3(1), 17-23-2014
In order to select the content of the curriculum, three sources have been outlined that include
lesson subjects, students and community of the lesson subjects which are the most common source of
information for the selection of the content. These subjects are the basis of the curriculum and are
reflective and representative of the collective wisdom and cultural heritage of mankind. Learning this
comprehensive set of human knowledge is considered as an indicator of an educated person. (Mousa
Pour, 2006: 113).
In this research, the researchers aimed at identifying the content of religious educational
curriculum based on the intellectual knowledge in the verses of Holy Quran according to Tafsir Al-
Mizan. The whole of Holy Quran was analyzed and the verses with intellectual knowledge were
selected and categorized based on the content of religious education curriculum as apriority using
qualitative content analysis. The religious education of the educational curriculum based on the rational
knowledge can be discussed with regard to three perspectives.
Firstly, curriculum based on rational knowledge has strong historical roots and some current
educational theories such as the tendency for the stability of rationalism in schools' curriculum which
has gained especial attention (Gootech 1997, Cited in Mehrmohammadi, 2009).
Secondly, one of the basic parameters in religious education is rationalism in many of the studies
carried out in the realm of religious education (Bagheri, 2009 and Mazrooghi, 2009).
Thirdly, the element of thinking and reasoning has gained considerable attention as the first
element amongst the five basic elements of religious education within the curriculum.
Regarding the fact that the most important principle which dominates the educational curriculum is
the principle of religion-orientation, it can be concluded that the basis and values of Islam should
dominate all the principles, approaches, purposes and contents of the curriculum and educational
method. Moreover, one of the important elements in the curriculum beside thinking and reasoning is the
element of faith (gaining monotheism attitude, understanding the value of creatures and belief in
purposefulness of creatures) (the same reference p 11 & 17). Overall, the findings of this research that
emphasize the curriculum based on rational knowledge in Quran with emphasis on the content of
religious education are of great value. Therefore, the subjects and important contents that can be
deducted from the verses’ analysis for the curriculum of religious education are as following:
1-subject related to theism and monotheism
2-subjects related to prophecy
3-subject of Quran and Quarnic education
4-subject related to characteristics of wise people
5-subject of creation system and nature with mono theistic approach
6-subject related to feature life and the Day of Judgment
7-subject related to virtue
8- Subject related to divine verdict
9- Subject related to the history and past civilization with monotheistic approach
10- Subject related to critical thinking
11-comperative subjects (subjects related to comparison of divine and non divine values)
The identified and prioritized subjects based on the findings of the current research is consistent
with the subjects introduced in the subsystem of transforming cycles’ curriculum (theatrical principles of
fundamental changes in formal and general education system of Islamic republic of Iran, 2011, p 416).
Moreover, this research is also in harmony with the report of the general and formal education system
issued in the bulletin of the fundamental transformation of education. Therefore, the authorities and
executives of the curriculum development can prioritize the content of the religious education, in
particular in the curriculum content of lessons such as biology (plant and animal), geology, geography,
astronomy, physics, physiology, and ... With monotheistic approach. Hence, more light can be shed
upon these subjects if they have been overlooked in the development of the educational contents and
educational curriculum.
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