The Transformation of Islamic Education Curriculum in The Umayyad-Abbasid Era: Structure, Materials, and Methodology
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56874/edb.v6i2.93Keywords:
Curriculum Transformation, Islamic Education, Umayyad Dynasty, Abbasid Dynasty, Historical Analysis, Learning MethodologyAbstract
This study aims to analyze the transformation of the Islamic education curriculum from the Umayyad Dynasty (661-750 CE) to the Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258 CE), focusing on three main aspects: institutional structure, curriculum content, and teaching methodology. The novelty of this research lies in three fundamental aspects. First, this study offers an integrated three-dimensional analytical framework (structure-content-methodology) that has never been regularly employed in comparative studies of classical Islamic education. Second, this research identifies the "Abbasid Curriculum Transformation Model" as a historical paradigm demonstrating how cross-civilizational knowledge integration can be achieved without sacrificing religious identity—a finding with direct relevance to contemporary Islamic education reform discourse. Third, this study synthesizes recent literature (2019-2025) with classical sources to produce a more comprehensive historiographical reconstruction compared to previous studies that tend to be descriptive-fragmentary in nature. Using a qualitative approach with historical-comparative analysis methods, this research examines primary and secondary sources to identify significant patterns of change in the Islamic education system during these two caliphate periods. The findings reveal that the transformation of the Islamic education curriculum underwent substantial evolution from an informal education system centered on mosques and kuttābs during the Umayyad era to a structured institutional system with the establishment of institutions such as Bayt al-Hikmah during the Abbasid era. Curriculum content evolved from an exclusive focus on Qur'anic and Hadith studies to a comprehensive curriculum integrating philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. Teaching methodology transformed from a didactic, memorization-based approach to interactive methods emphasizing discussion, debate, and critical thinking. These findings contribute significantly to the historiographical understanding of Islamic education development and offer new perspectives for contemporary Islamic education curriculum reform.
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