Al-Ghazali is a scholar who lived between 450-505/1058-1111. He has produced important works in many fields from fiqh to kalam, from philosophy to logic, from sufism to morality (akhlaq), and from education to al-usul. One of his works is “Ayyuhal Walad”. The work has been translated into Turkish and printed several times so that those who do not speak Arabic can easily read and understand it. It contains some explanations about religion, morality and decency written by alGhazali to a student as a recommendation. In his work, Ghazali gave his student information about what sciences to learn and how to follow the right path. He answered almost all questions that can be answered by fulfilling the wishes of his student, and he addressed him as, “O son”. In this work, al-Ghazali dealt with the basic religious and moral rules that the individuals living in the society may encounter most often, and he explained how a Muslim should spend their daily life on the axis of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. It is a fact revealed by the pedagogy that each child has a unique learning ability. Experts who set out on this fact stated that providing education in accordance with the development periods and the own abilities of each child will contribute to effective learning. AlGhazali paid attention to this fact in his work years ago and used all the subjects, examples, stories and concise words in the simplicity so that his interlocutor could understand for educational purposes. The application of such a method provided both easy comprehension of the subject and a more fluent reading of the work.
Purpose and Importance
In this study, it was aimed to determine how the work of al-Ghazali named Ayyuhal Walad, which guides people in many subjects from worship to prayers and from family life to daily life, constitutes a source for today’s religious education. Although the works and influence of Ghazali, who is one of the important scholars in Islamic world, were analyzed from different aspects, no study was found about his work named Ayyuhal Walad except for a few studies. One of these studies is related to the field of hadith and the other is to literature. In the work written by Orhan Yılmaz, the hadiths in the author’s work have been evaluated in terms of sources and chain of transmitters (sanad). In this context, it is emphasized whether the hadiths are compatible with the understanding of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. In the study made by Sevim Seda Yıldıray, the text of the work was written in transcriptional form, and the sentences in imperative and optative moods in the work were determined. In this study, the work named Ayyuhal Walad will be evaluated pedagogically in terms of its content, teaching methods, and techniques.
Method
In this study, before going on to pedagogical evaluation, the work was generally introduced from the printed version in our hands. Later on, both Ayyuhal Walad and the views of the author were evaluated by taking into consideration other works of the author. While making this evaluation, we benefitted from his education views as well. Attention was paid to base and classify the analyzes and evaluations according to the importance of the subject. In this context, one of the copies we have used in our study and have found the opportunity to compare is the work titled “Tercüme-i Eyyuha’l-Veled” which was translated by Süleyman b. Cerağ, consists of 104 pages and was published in Istanbul in 1302/1884. Another one is the work titled “Eyyuha’l-Veled”, which was examined by Ali Muhyiddin Ali el-Karadâğî, consists of 158 pages and was published in Beirut in 1985.
Conclusion
In this study, the work named Ayyuhal Walad by al-Ghazali by addressing his student was pedagogically examined and evaluated by taking into account today’s education approach. When the work was analyzed in terms of content, it has been observed that it has innovative and pedagogical features compared to the terms and educational understanding of the time it was written. Besides, many similarities have been found with today’s education and training methods. In his expressions, al-Ghazali frequently referred to verses, hadiths, stories and quotations in order to make the subject more comprehensible. Although the author has written his work to his interlocutor, it is seen that he addresses everyone. One of the most important aspects seen in his work is that he started his recommendations with a sincere addressing by taking into account the level of his interlocutor. Such an addressing is quite important in terms of education and winning the heart of the interlocutor. This can be evaluated under the principle of “relativity to the student” according to today’s teaching principles and methods. Therefore, the work can be evaluated in accordance with the principle of “vitality”, one of today’s teaching principles and methods. On the other hand, the author aimed to put the theoretical knowledge into practice. For this reason, the practical dimension of education rather than theoretical was prioritized in the work, followed by an applied method as if it was a face-to-face education. In this context, it is seen that his views and thoughts about education are in conformity with today’s educational principles. Although nine centuries have passed since then, it has been found that his ideas remain fresh and practical.
