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

because the actions of human beings are governed by knowledge, want, and ability. Knowledge arouses the irda, the irda stimulates the ability to act, and that ability carries out the irda.⁵⁶

Al-Ghazzl viewed all voluntary, motivational acts as being ‘the outcome of competing and conflicting inclinations, notions, inspirations, inner whisperings and thoughts’.⁵⁷ His views on motivation appear to be amongst the most comprehensive of any medieval Muslim scholar, demonstrating his knowledge and abilities in theology, philosophy, and law.⁵⁸ Al-Ghazzl also stressed the link between want and action, discussing how want comprises biological, psychological, and social aspects. If the psychological aspect is incongruent with the physical aspect, no action transpires; a person does not do what he cannot. Al-Ghazzl also affirmed how a person does not always act on his wants, especially if he is unable to. He stated in his Iy’:

Himma

Another term that features in the medieval Muslim discourse on motivation is himma. Himma is derived from hamma, whose noun is hamm, meaning ‘intention, interest, or desire’.⁶⁰ Himma may sometimes be seen as a component or near-synonym of want in Arabo-Islamic terminology. Ibn al-Qayyim, however, mentioned that hamm is used exclusively to signify the foundation, or starting point, of irda, whereas himma is its culmination.⁶¹ According to Ab Lw, the prophetic hamm can also be seen as part of the Sunna of Prophet Muammad. This hamm is defined as ‘every action the Prophet wanted to do but was unable to; or, that he desired to do something but was not destined to carry it out’.⁶²

The above definitions are mainly for theoretical study. According to al-Ghazzl, the reality is that ‘a person is hardly able to distinguish between the himma to act and the action itself…which one precedes the other’.⁶³