Contemporary Curriculum Design for Higher Education: An Islamic Appraisal

Education is a key to developing positivity in human beings. It helps to become a good citizen. In Islam, education has a central role that every Muslim must seek. Islamic education is centered on the teaching of the Quran and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The Quran is revealed in Arabic, therefore sources of the teachings of Islam are in Arabic. It is the religious duty of the Muslim Ummah to learn Arabic and have command in it. The Quran is the only Book that provides complete guidance to humanity, whether the matters related to social life, economic matters, political issues, or religious life. Keeping this in view, the curriculum should also be prepared in the light of the teachings of the Quran and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). Focusing on the contemporary curriculum design for Islamic studies for higher education, this paper describes the missing material in the existing curriculum and suggests that the use of modern resources, arranging conferences, and an expansive transformative framework for Islamic studies are the key tools for its implementation. It stresses the curricular designers to approach the existing curriculum more comprehensively which covers Islamic Law, comparative studies, contemporary trends in world traditions, peace dialogue, and practical involvement of students too. This goal can be gained through amendments or revising the existing curriculum. The outcome of it will results in students' critical thinking, positivity, comprehensive knowledge, language proficiency, and character building.

Isolation, Structure, Elucidation and Phytotoxicity of Allelochemials from Cocks Comb Celosia Ergentea .

Laboratory experiments were conducted to screen plants i.e. Celosia argentea, Celosia cristata, Mirabilis jalapa, Mangifera indica, Moringa oleifera, Ziziphus jujuba, Ziziphus mauritiana, Delonix regia, Morus alba, Albizia procera and Albizia lebbek, for their allelopathic potency on Lepidium sativum. Maximum inhibition (97%) to root elongation was observed at 10% concentration of Celosia argentea extract; however, Mangifera indica at 10% concentration totally inhibited the germination of seeds. On the basis of results of present studies and literature survey, Celosia argentea was selected for further study. Different concentrations of Celosia argentea parts i.e. roots, stem, leaves and flowers were compared for their; (a) allelopathic potential (b) total phenolic contents and (c) individual phenolic compounds through Mass Spectrometry (MS). Based on literature survey and present studies, leaves of Celosia argentea were selected for isolation, purification and identification of herbicidal compounds using bioassay guided isolation method. Solvent extraction method using different solvents and High Performance Liquid Chromatographic (HPLC) method using different solvent systems were optimized. Finally, two types of extraction methods i.e. aqueous and methanolic extractions were used. Aqueous and methanol extracts were partitioned with n-hexane, then with ethyl acetate and the remaining extracts were divided into two parts. One part of each extract was subjected to acid hydrolysis to release the phenolic compounds from sugar moieties and then extracted with ethyl acetate, while second part was lyophilized. All the organic solvents were evaporated and residues were dissolved in methanol to prepare 4000 ppm solutions and were used for bioassay study against Lepidium sativum. The highest inhibition of seed germination (100%) was caused by acid hydrolyzed and ethyl acetate fractions followed by lyophilized fraction. Fractions with inhibitory potency i.e. ethyl acetate, acid hydrolyzed and lyophilized fractions were used for analysis through Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LCMS). More than 60 compounds including quercetin, quercetin 3-O-glucoside, quercetin pentose glucuronide, gallic acid, gallic acid 4- O-glucoside, m-hydroxybenzaldehyde, pholoroglucinol, phloroglucinol glucoside, mcoumaric acid, catechol etc. were identified as allelopathic agents. Most inhibitory fractions i.e. ethyl acetate and acid hydrolyzed fractions of methanolic extract were further divided into five fractions through Preparative Thin Layer Chromatography. Different concentrations of five fractions that were obtained from this separation were subjected to bioassay study against Lepidium sativum. The active fractions i.e. F2 and F5 were further separated on Preparative Thin Layer Chromatography in order to purify individual compounds. Active compounds were then analyzed with LCMS and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). To our knowledge compounds such as 3,5-dihydroxybenzaldehyde, p-coumaric acid were first time identified as herbicidal compounds in Celosia argentea. In addition to this work, Mirabilis jalapa, Mangifera indica, Delonix regia, Morus alba and Moringa oleifera leaves were also subjected to bioassay guided isolation method and active fractions were analyzed for allelopathic compounds using HPLC and MS.