Research Institute of Hawzah and University "Hawzah wa Dāneshgāh Research Institute" Journal of Islamic Education 1735-4536 20 54 2025 12 22 Innovations in the Educational Thought of Āyatullāh Ḥāʾirī Shīrāzī Innovations in the Educational Thought of Āyatullāh Ḥāʾirī Shīrāzī 185 217 2479 10.30471/edu.2026.11322.3097 FA Mohammad-Taha Esfandiari Level 4 (PhD) Seminary (Hawza) Student in Moral Education, Mishkāt Seminary Institute of Higher Education, Qom, Iran 0009-0007-4326-3977 Hamed Tahavvori Institute of Higher Education of Ethics and Education 0009-0009-1498-0648 Journal Article 2025 06 13 Extended Abstract Introduction and Objectives: In recent decades, the knowledge of Islamic education has experienced significant development and vitality. This development owes much to the efforts of leading Muslim thinkers who, through innovative engagement with the Qur’an and Sunna, have sought to articulate an education rooted in revealed knowledge. Among these figures, Āyatullāh Ḥāʾirī Shīrāzī occupies a distinctive position. He combined theoretical and ijtihad-based reflections on education with rich practical experience in student training and in living an educational lifestyle. However, his thoughts on education have not been systematically analyzed or presented at universities or at the Islamic Seminary (Ḥawza). At the same time, his dynamic and practical ideas—shaped by novel Qur’anic interpretations and enriched with illustrative metaphors—offer insights that have attracted the attention of many educational practitioners. This study aims to extract the educational innovations of Āyatullāh Ḥāʾirī Shīrāzī from his works and views, and to reflect them within contemporary scholarly discourse, thereby demonstrating their potential for reconstructing the knowledge of Islamic education. Method: The research adopts a descriptive–analytical approach. First, the written works of Āyatullāh Ḥāʾirī Shīrāzī were collected and indexed. The data were then organized and analyzed within a coherent framework. Since the corpus was defined and limited, no sampling was undertaken; all relevant works were included. From his wide-ranging discussions on education, the most significant innovations were selected and systematically categorized. Findings: The study identifies two principal axes of innovation in his thought: (1) presuppositions and theoretical foundations, and (2) educational issues and discussions. Presuppositions and Theoretical Foundations: 1. Critique of reliance solely on Western human sciences and emphasis on epistemic independence in Islamic human sciences. 2. Belief in the comprehensiveness of the Qur’an in addressing all matters related to humanity and education. 3. Affirmation of the principle of “return of multiplicity to unity” (rujūʿ al-kathra ilā al-waḥda) as a governing rule of existence and human sciences. 4. Stress on the necessity of making Islamic thought competitive with other intellectual systems by rendering concepts sensory and communicable. Educational Issues and Discussions: • Anthropological Foundations: He introduced fundamental dualities such as mā fī al-insān wa mā fī al-sharāʾiṭ (“what is within the human being and what is within circumstances”), fiṭra and ṭabīʿa (original innate, and nature), and posited that attachments and aspirations drive human movement. These bases, especially the fiṭra–ṭabīʿa distinction, influence not only the analysis of human identity but also the formulation of goals, principles, methods, and stages of education. • Objectives of Education: The central objective is enabling the dominance of humanity over animality, leading ultimately to servitude (ʿubūdiyya). Other goals include developing rationality, independence, and self-sufficiency; fostering divine aspiration; strengthening trust in God; and cultivating responsibility. • Principles of Education: The educational principles, in his view, are reinterpreted in accordance with these very anthropological foundations. Principles such as freedom and the avoidance of coercion, moderation in methods, simultaneous attention to fiṭra and ṭabīʿa, respect for the learner, and the educator’s self-control are foundational. Observance of these principles strengthens fiṭra and ensures its governance within the human being. • Methods of Education: While emphasizing love and respect as central methods, he reinterprets other approaches—encouragement and discipline, storytelling, assigning responsibility, and exposing learners to hardship—through the lens of fiṭra’s sovereignty. Thus, even traditional methods acquire new meaning and function in his educational system. • Stages of Education: Drawing on the sabʿat al-sinīn narrations, he analyzed three stages of education through the fiṭra–ṭabīʿa theory: the first seven years as the period of satisfying ṭabīʿa, the second seven years as the period of restraining ṭabīʿa, and the third seven years as the stage of fiṭra’s ijtihād. Conclusion: The findings reveal that Āyatullāh Ḥāʾirī Shīrāzī’s thought on education (tarbīyya) has significant potential to enrich Islamic education. By articulating novel anthropological foundations, redefining the objectives and principles of education, and creatively reinterpreting methods and stages, he opened new horizons for the advancement of Islamic education. Systematic recognition and organization of his ideas can serve not only as an inspiring source for future research but also as a starting point for designing practical models in national education systems and for policy-making aimed at addressing contemporary educational challenges at macro levels. Extended Abstract Introduction and Objectives: In recent decades, the knowledge of Islamic education has experienced significant development and vitality. This development owes much to the efforts of leading Muslim thinkers who, through innovative engagement with the Qur’an and Sunna, have sought to articulate an education rooted in revealed knowledge. Among these figures, Āyatullāh Ḥāʾirī Shīrāzī occupies a distinctive position. He combined theoretical and ijtihad-based reflections on education with rich practical experience in student training and in living an educational lifestyle. However, his thoughts on education have not been systematically analyzed or presented at universities or at the Islamic Seminary (Ḥawza). At the same time, his dynamic and practical ideas—shaped by novel Qur’anic interpretations and enriched with illustrative metaphors—offer insights that have attracted the attention of many educational practitioners. This study aims to extract the educational innovations of Āyatullāh Ḥāʾirī Shīrāzī from his works and views, and to reflect them within contemporary scholarly discourse, thereby demonstrating their potential for reconstructing the knowledge of Islamic education. Method: The research adopts a descriptive–analytical approach. First, the written works of Āyatullāh Ḥāʾirī Shīrāzī were collected and indexed. The data were then organized and analyzed within a coherent framework. Since the corpus was defined and limited, no sampling was undertaken; all relevant works were included. From his wide-ranging discussions on education, the most significant innovations were selected and systematically categorized. Findings: The study identifies two principal axes of innovation in his thought: (1) presuppositions and theoretical foundations, and (2) educational issues and discussions. Presuppositions and Theoretical Foundations: 1. Critique of reliance solely on Western human sciences and emphasis on epistemic independence in Islamic human sciences. 2. Belief in the comprehensiveness of the Qur’an in addressing all matters related to humanity and education. 3. Affirmation of the principle of “return of multiplicity to unity” (rujūʿ al-kathra ilā al-waḥda) as a governing rule of existence and human sciences. 4. Stress on the necessity of making Islamic thought competitive with other intellectual systems by rendering concepts sensory and communicable. Educational Issues and Discussions: • Anthropological Foundations: He introduced fundamental dualities such as mā fī al-insān wa mā fī al-sharāʾiṭ (“what is within the human being and what is within circumstances”), fiṭra and ṭabīʿa (original innate, and nature), and posited that attachments and aspirations drive human movement. These bases, especially the fiṭra–ṭabīʿa distinction, influence not only the analysis of human identity but also the formulation of goals, principles, methods, and stages of education. • Objectives of Education: The central objective is enabling the dominance of humanity over animality, leading ultimately to servitude (ʿubūdiyya). Other goals include developing rationality, independence, and self-sufficiency; fostering divine aspiration; strengthening trust in God; and cultivating responsibility. • Principles of Education: The educational principles, in his view, are reinterpreted in accordance with these very anthropological foundations. Principles such as freedom and the avoidance of coercion, moderation in methods, simultaneous attention to fiṭra and ṭabīʿa, respect for the learner, and the educator’s self-control are foundational. Observance of these principles strengthens fiṭra and ensures its governance within the human being. • Methods of Education: While emphasizing love and respect as central methods, he reinterprets other approaches—encouragement and discipline, storytelling, assigning responsibility, and exposing learners to hardship—through the lens of fiṭra’s sovereignty. Thus, even traditional methods acquire new meaning and function in his educational system. • Stages of Education: Drawing on the sabʿat al-sinīn narrations, he analyzed three stages of education through the fiṭra–ṭabīʿa theory: the first seven years as the period of satisfying ṭabīʿa, the second seven years as the period of restraining ṭabīʿa, and the third seven years as the stage of fiṭra’s ijtihād. Conclusion: The findings reveal that Āyatullāh Ḥāʾirī Shīrāzī’s thought on education (tarbīyya) has significant potential to enrich Islamic education. By articulating novel anthropological foundations, redefining the objectives and principles of education, and creatively reinterpreting methods and stages, he opened new horizons for the advancement of Islamic education. Systematic recognition and organization of his ideas can serve not only as an inspiring source for future research but also as a starting point for designing practical models in national education systems and for policy-making aimed at addressing contemporary educational challenges at macro levels.

https://islamicedu.rihu.ac.ir/article_2479_d754a247bc8758ceb66fa01ea8a5e6f3.pdf