Role of Islamic System of Education in Moral Behavior and Spiritual Identity of Muslims

Humans have always had the curiosity to know themselves, to know the world around them, and to know their place in the world. Morality, spirituality and religion are closely intertwined, ‘certain moral ideas became united with certain religious and spiritual ideas to such an extent as to become indistinct from them’. The role of religion in educational institutions is one of the most sensitive and volatile topics on the political and legal landscape now a days especially in country like Pakistan which has been created on religious ideology. The Islamic Way of Life is based on this unique approach to life and a peculiar concept of man's place in the Universe. Islam has provided mankind with the highest possible standard of morality. This moral code, which is both straightforward and practical, provides the individual with innumerable ways to embark upon and then continues the path of moral evolution. By making divine revelation the primary source of knowledge, moral standards are made permanent and stable. The first part of the paper is about the relationship between education and its role as spiritual and moral tool of training. Second part deals with the concept of education in Islam and third part will present types of knowledge in Islam and their application as moral and spiritual tool of education. Last part will give moral and spiritual training methodology in Islamic education. The relationships between ‘moral’, ‘spiritual’ and ‘religious’ seem to be akin to the relationships between the cluster ‘social’, ‘human’ and ‘political’. In each of these clusters, only beings of the kind appropriately described by the middle term can engage in activities which could be properly described by the first and third terms. Islam as religion of spirituality and morality gives a frame work to educate and train the students in modeling their life as more moral and spiritual with practical application in this life and success in the hereafter. The chief characteristic of the Islamic Concept of Life is that it does not admit a conflict, nay, not even a significant separation between life-spiritual and life-mundane. It does not confine itself merely in purifying the spiritual and the moral life of man in the limited sense of the word. Its domain extends to the entire gamut of life. It wants to would individual life as well as the social order in healthy patterns, so that the Kingdom of God may really be established on the earth and so that peace contentment and well-being may fill the world as water f ills the oceans.  

Investigations in to the Effects of Exogenous Corticosterone on Responses to Stress, Addiction and Cognition in Rat Models

Glucocorticoids, the major stress hormones play a regulatory role in responses to stress. Evidence suggests that smaller increase of glucocorticoids is adaptive and help to cope with the stress. On the other hand, higher increase of glucocorticoids impairs adaptation to stress. The present study was initially designed to understand the role of corticosterone, the principal glucocorticoids in rats; in stress responses. In view of a role of stress in the modulation of cognitive functions and facilitation of reinforcing effects of drugs of abuse, effects of corticosterone on learning and memory and reinforcing effects of drugs of abuse were also monitored. Important findings of the present study are as follow: 1. Corticosterone facilitates memory retention at doses of 10, 25 &50 mg/kg but impairs learning acquisition at 10mg/kg. Food intake is decreased at 25 & 50 mg/kg of corticosterone. Higher dose (50 mg/kg) increases locomotor activity that is associated with an increase in the concentration of dopamine in the striatum. 2. Exposure to daily 2hr immobilization stress decreases food intakes and growth rates but adaption occurs after 5 days. While administration of corticosterone (10 mg/kg) impairs this adaptation. Exposure to 2h Immobilization stress impairs acquisition and facilitates memory extinction but stress effects on learning and memory are attenuated in corticosterone treated animals. 3. Repeated administration of apomorphine produces sensitization in the motor behavior. Sensitization effects of apomorphine are attenuated in rats repeatedly injected with corticosterone. Although both apomorphine and corticosterone impair memory extinction but administration of corticosterone in apomorphine treated animals does not potentiate this effect. 4. Administration of ethanol impairs learning acquisition and retention of memory. Administration of corticosterone (50mg/kg; daily for 1 week) produces impairment of memory reconsolidation in ethanol treated rats. At this dose, corticosterone also potentiates ethanol intake. It is suggested that glucocorticoids can cause memory impairments in alcoholics. We conclude that corticosterone improves cognitive functions and attenuates stressinduced memory impairments. Moreover, the administration of corticosterone can potentiate the reinforcing effects of drugs of abuse and memory impairments in abusers. Findings suggest an important role of glucocorticoids in cognition, addiction and adaptation to stress.