fiṭrah

One of the essential needs of any civilization is human education, and every educational system requires a theory. Educational theories are shaped by specific philosophical perspectives, which negate other theories of education based on their philosophical foundations. In this regard, the present study aims to address the question: what are the types of incorrect and harmful educational practices in the path toward developing the perfect human, and how can they be classified? The study focuses on Shahid Motahhari's significant role in contemporary Islamic theorization. To this end, all of Shahid Motahhari’s works were analyzed using a qualitative analytical method. The findings reveal that in the process of educating the perfect human, four types of harmful educational practices may occur: Non-human education, which deviates from innate human tendencies (fiṭrah), leading to individuals conforming to the desires of the educator rather than aligning with their creation. Incomplete education, which focuses only on certain aspects of human existence rather than a comprehensive approach. Unhealthy education, which lacks balance, ultimately producing a caricature-like personality. Imperfect education, which results in a model of human development that falls short of achieving true perfection.

The concept of Fitrah is the central element of the anthropological thought of many thinkers of Islamic sciences. The meanings adopted from this concept, however, contrary to its word, are numerous and have caused differences in the explanation and results of it in other fields of humanities. Among the thinkers, Martyr Motahari considered Fitrah to be the "Umm al−Ma'arif" of the Quran and Islamic thought and made it the center of his thought. Therefore, dealing with education in the thought of Martyr Motahari is limited to dealing with the theory of Fitrah in his view. This research was conducted to analyze the meaning of education based on Shahid Motahari's view of the theory of Fitrah. For this purpose, the content analysis method was used and all his written works were examined. The results obtained from the stages of data collection have been classified and analyzed by the content analysis method. The results of this research show that two meanings of Fitrah can be inferred from his thought, one is Fitrah as the way of human creation and the other as the human dimension of man. Each of these interpretations of Fitrah causes various educational implications. As a result, the meaning of education in his thought can be found in the explanation of different themes such as amendment, prosperity, guidance, evolution, and growth.