Muhammad Iqbal’s Educational Thought in Islamic Education

Abstrak

Muhammad Iqbal’s educational thought offers an important philosophical foundation for developing Islamic education that is responsive to modern challenges while maintaining spiritual and moral values. This study aims to analyze and reconstruct Muhammad Iqbal’s Islamic educational thought through an integrative framework. A qualitative approach with library research was employed by examining Iqbal’s primary works and relevant recent scholarly literature. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis through the identification, categorization, interpretation, and synthesis of key concepts. The findings reveal five interconnected dimensions of Iqbal’s educational thought: khudi as the foundation of self-development; the integration of reason and spirituality as the basis of knowledge; freedom and creativity as principles of learning; dynamism and ijtihad as foundations for educational renewal; and moral-social responsibility as the orientation of human development. Iqbal’s philosophy emphasizes active learning, critical thinking, creativity, self-reliance, problem solving, and the development of intellectual, spiritual, physical, and social potential. These dimensions indicate that education should not merely transmit knowledge but should strengthen learners’ personalities and prepare them to respond constructively to social, scientific, and technological change. The novelty of this study lies in integrating these previously fragmented dimensions into a coherent framework of Islamic education. The study concludes that Iqbal’s educational philosophy remains relevant for developing contemporary Islamic education that is spiritual, rational, creative, progressive, adaptive, and socially responsible.