Elementary Education and Motivation in Islam: Perspectives of Medieval Muslim Scholars, 750

Elementary Education and Motivation in Islam: Perspectives of Med ...

Chapter 1:

Discourse on Motivation and Children

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‘I have the intention to study for the sake of God,’ or ‘I eat for the sake of God,’ and believing that such is the intention. That is not the case for that is simply the person talking to his self, or the speech of the tongue, or thought or movement from one stage to another. The intention is entirely different from that [i.e., it lies in the heart].⁷³

Irda in Children

The question of whether irda exists in children was mainly addressed by Muslim jurists in the medieval Muslim period. There was a general consensus among them that individuals are not held responsible for their actions until they reach the age of maturity (bulgh) and become bligh (mature). This position is based on the following Hadith:

The pen [responsibility] is lifted from three: the one who is asleep until he wakes up; the child until he attains puberty (hatt

talim); and the insane person until he regains sanity [or the unconscious one until he regains consciousness].⁷⁴

In commenting on the Hadith, al-Shib (d. 790/1388) stated, ‘All of these classes of people have no intention (qad), which is the reason for removing the rulings of taklf [responsibility and obligation] from them’. He also mentioned the scholarly consensus on this.⁷⁵ A person who is not completely rational (‘qil) does not possess the kind of ‘want’ that will make him accountable for his actions. Thus, his deeds cannot possibly be classified as permissible, prohibited, obligatory, and so forth.⁷⁶

Based on the aforementioned reasons, irda appears to be fully developed only when an individual reaches puberty. This is also the view of al-Ghazzl, who stated, ‘Initially, a child does not possess irda; rather, it occurs after bulgh and that is also the case with the ‘aql [faculty of reason]’.⁷⁷ Nevertheless, the medieval Muslim jurists differed as to when a person actually attains maturity, thereby reaching the age of taklf and becoming a mukallaf (one who is burdened with responsibility and is held accountable for his or her actions in Islam).