حروف مقطعات کے حوالے سے مستشرق نولڈ یکے اور آٹو لوتھ کی آراء کا تجزیاتی مطالعہ

Mystical letters are among the miracles of Quran. These mystical letters are present at the start of Quranic Surah’s (Chapters). These are among the mutashabihat (Analogies) of Quran. Muslim scholars tried to define their meanings. Like other aspects of Quran and Hadith orientalists talk about mystical letters of the Quran. This article analyses the theories of Noldeke and Otto Loth regarding mysterious letters of Quran. What are their views about mystical letters of the Quran? Are their views according to the Islamic point of view of mystical letters? What are the deviations and differences as compared to traditional Islamic point of view of mystical letters? This research has been analytical by nature, both qualitative and analytical methods have been implemented.  Analyses of the views of both of the scholars in the light of traditional Islamic concept of mystical letters, shows that Orientalists including Noldeke and Otto Loth thought that mystical letters are not the part of revelation. According to them these are the names of the sources from which different chapters of the Quran had been taken during its compilation. These are on the same pattern as mystical letters are present in the Jewish books. Holy Prophet had copied them. The present study argues that Quran being the book of Lord is unchanged and mystical letters are a part of it. It is further highlighted that even some orientalists argue that the opinion of Noldeke and Otto Loth is not correct.

Exploring the Early Childhood Education Teachers’ and Grade I Teachers’ Perceptions Regarding School Readiness for Children’S Transition to Primary School: A Quantitative Study in the Context of Private Schools in Karachi

Early childhood years are significant for the development of young children and for later life. Children’s school readiness is an integral part for their holistic development consisting of physical well-being, social and emotional development, cognitive and language skills, understanding of the world, mathematical skills, and creative arts and so on. Given the scarcity of empirical studies on early years of children’s school readiness transitioning to primary education globally and specifically in the context of Pakistan, this study sought to explore early childhood education (ECE) and grade I teachers’ perceptions regarding school readiness for children’s transition to private schools across Karachi, Pakistan. A cross-sectional survey was carried out within the quantitative research paradigm. A total of 275 (162 ECE and 113 grade I) teachers selected through stratified random sampling technique, participated in the study. To fulfill the purpose of the study, a contextually relevant tool was developed, based on six key learning areas stated in the National Curriculum for Early Childhood Education (NC for ECE) 2017 for school readiness. A descriptive analysis was employed and the non-parametric ‘Mann Whitney U test’ was applied to explore the differences or similarities between the ECE and grade I teachers’ perceptions. The findings of the study reveal that both ECE and grade I teachers highly regarded all the competencies stated in NC for ECE 2017, as fundamental for young children’s school readiness. The results of the comparisons between these two groups of teachers were not significant for all six key learning areas. Whereas one comparison was significant (p = < 0.014) for the competency within Basic Mathematical Concepts i.e. number operations. This implies that grade I teachers regarded number operations more important for children starting grade I as compared to ECE teachers. The results of the study show that the similarities and differences in teachers’ perceptions suggest that opportunity must be provided to ECE and primary teachers to meet together to discuss the NC for ECCE for its effective use and also for the vertical alignment of curriculum. The study recommends further research in this area, especially qualitative inquiry for an in-depth understanding of school readiness, its opportunities and perceived challenges in the context of private schools in Karachi, Pakistan.