An Analysis of the Traditional Syllabus of Islamic Schools (Madrasahs)

Abstract

The prevailing syllabus in Madrasahs is characterized by a combination of books from
different eras. The different subjects along with the books in the syllabus will be analyzed
comprehensively in this article. This analysis takes into account the nature of the subjects,
the relevant books’ histories, and the context that facilitated understanding the relevance
of these subjects in the current era. This article examines and analyzes the books written
centuries ago with their specific contexts which are still relevant and considered significant
as part of the syllabus. This article also demonstrates through some data how the Madrasah
curriculum started and evolved during different times in the previous few centuries. All
subjects, except the Quran and Hadith, currently studied in Madrasahs belong to different
schools of thought such as the Deobandi, Brelvi, Ahl-e-Hadees, Jamaat-e-Islami and Shia
are categorized along with their authors and their periods of time. This analysis shows that
most of the Madrasah books were written almost 5-7 hundred years ago. These books
contained all emerging social sciences of that time, and they are still included in the
Madrasah syllabus. This is a very rich analysis in terms of looking at the historical origins
of different curricular themes.