The Concept Of Personal Perfection In Sufi Teaching And Its Resonance In Modern Pedagogy

Abstract

This article examines the Sufi concept of personal perfection (al-insān al-kāmil) as a pedagogical and anthropological idea and analyses its resonance with the value-oriented tendencies of modern pedagogy. Classical Sufi sources present human formation not as a merely cognitive process but as a holistic tarbiya aimed at transforming consciousness, moral character and social behaviour through remembrance, service, self-discipline and companionship with a spiritual guide. Contemporary education, especially in the context of globalization and the digitalization of learning, is increasingly confronted with the problem of fragmentation of personality, loss of meaning and moral relativism. On this background, the Sufi ideal of a balanced, God-oriented and socially responsible person offers a conceptual framework for humanistic, learner-centred and reflective models of instruction. The article employs a descriptive-analytical and comparative approach, correlating Sufi notions such as tazkiya (purification), adab (ethical comportment), suhba (educative companionship) and muḥāsaba (self-assessment) with modern pedagogical categories like value education, experiential learning, dialogic pedagogy and teacher as moral model. It is argued that while Sufi education is rooted in a theocentric worldview, many of its pedagogical mechanisms can be adapted to secular educational settings to strengthen character education, interior motivation and community-based learning.