عہدِ نبوی میں نظامِ تعلیم و تربیت : دارِ ارقم اور صفہ کے مدرسوں کا علمی و تاریخی مطالعہ

The System of Education and Training in the Prophetic Era: An Academic and Historical Study of the Schools of Dar al-Arqam and al-Suffah

Abstract

            This research paper explores the establishment and educational significance of the earliest Islamic learning centre’s — Dar al-Arqam in Makkah and Suffah in Madinah — which laid the intellectual and spiritual foundations of Islamic civilization. The primary objective of the study is to highlight how the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ initiated a revolutionary and holistic system of education and moral training that transformed ordinary individuals into exemplary scholars, leaders, and reformers. Using a descriptive, analytical, and historical methodology based on classical and contemporary sources such as Al-Rahiq al-Makhtum, Al-Mustadrak, Lisan al-Arab, Hilyat al-Awliya, and Seerat Ibn Hisham, the paper examines the curriculum, teaching methods, spiritual environment, and moral discipline established by the Prophet ﷺ. It further explores how these institutions served as centres of revelation, reflection, and reform, nurturing the first generation of believers with deep faith and strong character. The role of the Ashab al-Suffah is discussed in detail, who despite poverty and hunger, devoted themselves entirely to the acquisition and transmission of sacred knowledge, ultimately becoming the torchbearers of prophetic wisdom. The findings reveal that the Prophet’s educational philosophy uniquely integrated intellectual instruction with spiritual purification, emphasizing sincerity, patience, humility, and love for learning. This comprehensive model of prophetic pedagogy not only harmonized faith and knowledge but also established the framework for all future Islamic educational systems. The study concludes that the system of Dar al-Arqam and Suffah remains an eternal and universal model of Islamic education, embodying the inseparable bond between knowledge, ethics, and spirituality.