Student Character Building and Behaviour Through Islamic Value-Based Teaching: A Reference to Islamic School Organizations in Malaysia

Introduction

Education is a cumulative teaching and learning process to transfer and obtain knowledge. Education can indirectly influence and assist students in their efforts to improve their physical, moral, spiritual, cognitive, mental, and intellectual abilities, which can gradually empower these students to reach the highest level of quality (Amin-Mt and Mustaffa 2019). Islamic education plays an important factor in this transit. It is beneficial first to review the general meaning of education from Arabic terms. The word education is known as tarbiyah in Arabic. “Ibn Mandhur maintains in Lisan Al-‘Arab that tarbiyah means “addition up, growth, nourishment, care, and preservation” (Mandhur, 2003, p. 83). Learning involves two things تعليم teaching and تربيّة educating. Ta’lim from the root علم (to know, to perceive, to learn) which means to transfer knowledge and tarbiyah from the root ربّ (to increase, to grow) bringing up, polishing the potential, implies a state of spiritual and ethical nurturing following the will of God.

According to Salleh (2009) and Yasin (2013), education is conceptualised can be categorised into three; 1) Al-tarbiyyah, 2) Al-ta’alim and 3) At-ta’adib. Al-tarbiyyah emphasises on individual’s physical and intellectual development, Al-ta’alim emphasises on conducting teaching and learning while At-ta`adib emphasises on good morals and ethical values cultivation. These concepts and definitions are used to elaborate on the centrality and the meaning of Islamic education. No doubt, Islamic education plays an important role in the lives of Muslims. This is due to the fact that, it is not acquiring or seeking for knowledge that is deemed important in Islam but it is how the knowledge is used to prepare for the hereafter. There is no separation between Islam and character as Islam laid high emphasis on good character. It is part and parcel of Muslim to apply ethics in their daily lives and activities. Ethics or character distinguishes one person from another and its part of human and its considered as a way of thinking and behaving that has to do with the individual, family, community, nation and state. (Asmara, Isbandiyah and Rahayu, 2020).

Furthermore, a good character of an individual is the ability of making decisions and ability of accepting of any outcomes of his or her decisions. Character building is an ongoing process which does not based on heredity, but through formal and informal education process. The main objectives of Islamic religious education are to infuse Islamic values in teaching for Muslim students. Teachers are expected to go beyond academics and inculcate adab (morality) into young children (Badrasawi, 2018). Hence, they play a big role in engaging students in learning as well as creating effective and attractive learning for students (Mazwati, Shakour, Lina, 2018). Furthermore, when it comes to religious education and moral, Islam has laid a strong emphasis on moral education due to its strong connection with the Islamic religion. Islamic teaching is full of guidance for man and a way to the perfection of belief and moral. Hence, as a guide, from the Islamic teaching, there are some theoretical and practical programs and training that can boost a man’s morality as well as its community. Islamic teaching and infusing Islamic values in teaching have a big impact and positive influence on students’ moral development and their community. Thus, it can be considered as a tool for the individual’s character development and nurture minds as well as souls.