Social Effects of Pollution in The Educational System
By Dr. Zafar Darik Qasmi, New Age Islam
12 May 2026
Abstract:
The article discusses the harmful effects of pollution in the educational system and its impact on society. It explains that education is essential for the progress, identity, and balanced thinking of nations and communities. Unfortunately, many Muslim-majority areas in India still suffer from poor educational facilities, especially for girls. The article criticises the division between religious and worldly education, which has created confusion and social imbalance. According to Islamic teachings, knowledge should be divided into beneficial and non-beneficial knowledge, not religious and worldly categories. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) encouraged beneficial knowledge and warned against useless knowledge. The article stresses that scholars, wealthy people, and society must work together to improve education and remove divisions within the educational system.
Main Points:
· Education plays a vital role in the development, identity, and intellectual balance of every society.
· Many Muslim areas in India still lack proper schools, colleges, and affordable educational institutions for children.
· Dividing education into religious and worldly categories has created confusion, imbalance, and educational pollution within society.
· Islam encourages beneficial knowledge and discourages useless knowledge that provides no advantage to humanity or society.
· Society, scholars, and wealthy individuals should cooperate sincerely to improve education and remove harmful educational divisions.
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Acquiring knowledge is not only a good and noble act, but it also plays a fundamental role in the development and progress of nations and societies. Education gives society balanced thinking, positive ideas, and intellectual moderation. Therefore, it is necessary to seek knowledge, research, awareness, and understanding with sincerity and positive effort. The actions and achievements of nations become part of history and civilisation only when they are connected with education. Without knowledge, no society can protect its existence or maintain its identity. In the same way, such a society fails to leave any meaningful mark on history. Serious efforts for education can help societies regain their lost greatness in a constructive way.
Unfortunately, today, especially among the Muslim community, the passion for education is weak. If we study those areas in India where Muslims are in the majority, we will find that the educational level is very low. One example is the town of Sahaswan in Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh. The surrounding villages, such as Bhawanipur Khairu, Bhawanipur Khalli, Nadail and many others, are mostly populated by Muslims. This whole region is known as Vaishwara. The level of education there is almost zero. Some boys are studying, but girls are hardly receiving any education. One major reason is that there is no proper educational institution in the area. In such a large region, there should have been at least three to five intermediate colleges. Sadly, not only is there no college, there is not even a single junior high school. Government primary schools do exist, but their condition is well known to everyone.
Therefore, there is an urgent need for at least one institution where children can receive education at a low cost. I am trying to work towards this goal, and God willing, positive steps will soon be taken. Such an institution needs the support and cooperation of the people. There are many other areas where Muslims are educationally backward. Wealthy and capable people of the country should identify such areas and come forward to promote education. The educational condition of Indian Muslims presented in the Sachar Committee Report is not hidden from anyone.
It is commonly understood in our society that education has two separate systems: madrasas on one side and schools, colleges, and universities on the other. Sadly, especially among religious circles, such a division has been created between the two that has greatly harmed society. Generally, people now believe that education in colleges is only for earning money in this world, while education in madrasas is only for success in the Hereafter. This concept is completely against the teachings of the Qur’an, Sunnah, and the practice of the early Muslims. This division has deeply polluted the educational environment.
The division of knowledge into “religious” and “worldly” knowledge is itself wrong. The Qur’an and Hadith speak only about beneficial (علم نافع) and non-beneficial knowledge (علم غیر نافع). Therefore, if society wishes to protect itself from educational pollution, it must remove this division between religion and worldly education so that knowledge can spread widely. Islamic sources never divide knowledge into worldly and religious categories. Instead, they emphasise “beneficial knowledge”.
The importance of beneficial knowledge can be understood from the following Hadith. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:
عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، قَالَ: " إِنَّ مَثَلَ مَا بَعَثَنِيَ اللَّهُ بِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِنَ الْهُدَى وَالْعِلْمِ، كَمَثَلِ غَيْثٍ أَصَابَ أَرْضًا، فَكَانَتْ مِنْهَا طَائِفَةٌ طَيِّبَةٌ قَبِلَتِ الْمَاءَ فَأَنْبَتَتِ الْكَلَأَ وَالْعُشْبَ الْكَثِيرَ، وَكَانَ مِنْهَا أَجَادِبُ أَمْسَكَتِ الْمَاءَ فَنَفَعَ اللَّهُ بِهَا النَّاسَ، فَشَرِبُوا مِنْهَا، وَسَقَوْا، وَرَعَوْا، وَأَصَابَ طَائِفَةً مِنْهَا أُخْرَى، إِنَّمَا هِيَ قِيعَانٌ لَا تُمْسِكُ مَاءً، وَلَا تُنْبِتُ كَلَأً، فَذَلِكَ مَثَلُ مَنْ فَقُهَ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ وَنَفَعَهُ بِمَا بَعَثَنِيَ اللَّهُ بِهِ، فَعَلِمَ، وَعَلَّمَ، وَمَثَلُ مَنْ لَمْ يَرْفَعْ بِذَلِكَ رَأْسًا وَلَمْ يَقْبَلْ هُدَى اللَّهِ الَّذِي أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِ. ( الصحیح المسلم ، کتاب الفضائل ، باب بيان مثل ما بعث به النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم من الهدى والعلم)
that the guidance and knowledge given to him by Allah are like rain falling on the earth. Some land absorbs the water and produces greenery and crops. Some hard land stores the water, allowing people and animals to benefit from it. But some barren land neither stores water nor grows plants. The Prophet ( peace be upon him) explained that the first type is like the person who understands religion, benefits from knowledge, learns it, and teaches others. The last type is like the person who ignores the guidance of Allah.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) himself used to pray for beneficial knowledge. According to a hadith, after the Fajr prayer he would say:
أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يَقُولُ إِذَا صَلَّى الصُّبْحَ حِينَ يُسَلِّمُ:" اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ عِلْمًا نَافِعًا، وَرِزْقًا طَيِّبًا، وَعَمَلًا مُتَقَبَّلًا". (سنن ابن ماجہ ، کتاب كتاب إقامة الصلاة والسنة، باب :ما يقال بعد التسليم)
“O Allah, I ask You for beneficial knowledge, pure provision, and accepted deeds.”
Similarly, the Prophet ( peace be upon him) sought refuge from knowledge that does not benefit humanity. He said:
عَنْ جَابِرٍ , قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:" سَلُوا اللَّهَ عِلْمًا نَافِعًا , وَتَعَوَّذُوا بِاللَّهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ لَا يَنْفَعُ".
(سنن ابن ماجہ ، کتاب كتاب إقامة الصلاة والسنة، باب :ما يقال بعد التسليم)
“Ask Allah for beneficial knowledge and seek refuge in Allah from knowledge that is of no benefit.”
These teachings clearly show that Islam presents a very broad and meaningful concept of knowledge. By dividing education into religious and worldly categories, we have not only polluted the educational system but have also kept many people away from education. Even today, many people avoid colleges and universities because they believe such education only leads to worldly gain. On the other hand, many avoid madrasas because they think there is no worldly benefit in them. This misunderstanding is against both religion and history. Scholars and educated people need to pay serious attention to this issue.
The pollution in the educational system has created dangerous effects on society. Sadly, this pollution is increasing day by day, and little effort is being made either to end it or reduce it. History tells us about a golden period when there was only one type of educational institution where all necessary sciences and subjects were taught together. Those institutions produced great scholars, researchers, and experts in every field who fulfilled the needs of society.
Today, however, the educational system is based on division and separation. Speaking about the old Muslim educational system is often considered outdated or inappropriate. This division has damaged the universal concept of education and has polluted society to such an extent that people are still confused about whether studying in schools and colleges is better or studying in religious seminaries is better. Society remains trapped in this conflict. The only way to overcome this confusion is to promote the concept of beneficial and non-beneficial knowledge instead of dividing education into religious and worldly categories.
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Dr. Zafar Darik Qasmi is an Islamic Scholar, author and Regular Columnist for New Age Islam.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-society/social-effects-pollution-educational-system/d/139993
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