Document Type : Paper Resulting from Theorizing

Authors

Department of the Quran and Hadith, Faculty of the Quran and Hadith, Al-Mustafa Open University, Qom, Iran.

Abstract

SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: The stages of social education in the Holy Qur'an have often been analyzed on the basis of linear variables such as age. However, social education is a multidimensional construct that also encompasses class structures and levels of socialization. The present study aims to discover and comprehensively reinterpret the stages and criteria of social education in Sūrah Ṭāhā in order to propose a systematic and multidimensional model of the process of religious socialization.
METHOD & FINDING: This study adopts an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on Qur'anic studies and sociology, and employs qualitative content analysis together with contextual analysis of the verses of the blessed Sūrah Ṭāhā. The educational propositions and narratives of the surah—particularly the grand narrative of Prophet Moses—are analyzed on the basis of the reciprocal relations among the dimensions of education. The findings indicate that Sūrah Ṭāhā presents social education within the framework of a three-dimensional structural model, rather than necessarily as successive linear stages. These dimensions are the developmental-age dimension, namely the transition from affective, family-centered education to social responsibility; the dimension of class-based exigencies, namely the differentiation of educational patterns of agency across various levels of power structures and the masses; and the dimension of socialization dynamics, namely the stages ranging from the internalization of values to collective law-abidance. These three dimensions are organically interrelated and determine the position of the educatee within the context of social relations.
CONCLUSION: In contrast to traditional studies that have offered one-dimensional descriptions of developmental stages, Sūrah Ṭāhā presents a comprehensive model in which social education is a dynamic process influenced by the structural context of society and the class position of the educatee. The originality of this study lies in presenting an indigenous analytical framework that demonstrates how revelatory guidance redefines the agency of the educatee in confrontation with diverse social classes and the stages of active socialization.

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