Reconstructing Al-Ghazali's Character Education Through A Tri-Center Framework: A Conceptual Response To Contemporary Moral Challenges

Ahmad Iqbal Fathoni; Ahmad Barizi; Nur Syam; Mohammad Gresma Assegaf Rizqi Alhazami; Anas Musthofa

doi:10.61994/taqrib.v4i2.2253

Authors

Ahmad Iqbal Fathoni Ibrahimy University of Situbondo
Ahmad Barizi Maulana Malik Ibrahim State Islamic University of Malang
Nur Syam Maulana Malik Ibrahim State Islamic University of Malang
Mohammad Gresma Assegaf Rizqi Alhazami Maulana Malik Ibrahim State Islamic University of Malang
Anas Musthofa Nasyatul Muta’allimin Islamic College, Sumenep

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61994/taqrib.v4i2.2253

Keywords:

Imam al-Ghazali, Character Education, Three Centers of Education

Abstract

This study reconstructs Imam al-Ghazali's character education thought through the tri-center framework (family, school, and society) as a conceptual proposition responding to contemporary moral challenges such as digital disruption and value fragmentation. Employing qualitative library research, the study applies thematic content analysis to three primary works—Iḥyā' 'Ulūm al-Dīn, Ayyuhā al-Walad, and Bidāyat al-Hidāyah—via paragraph-level close reading, open-to-axial coding that separates pedagogical methods from core values, and interpretive mapping onto the three educational arenas. The findings identify three methods (ta'wīd/habituation, uswah/role modeling, mujāhadah/spiritual struggle) and two core values (adab and amānah), revealing an implicit ecological logic: the family initiates moral habituation, the school systematizes ethical instruction under the teacher as murabbī, and society reinforces or undermines prior moral learning. The novelty lies in systematically operationalizing al-Ghazali's classical concepts within the tri-center architecture, a mapping not previously attempted. Theoretically, this study bridges classical Islamic pedagogy and contemporary educational ecology; practically, it offers a propositional basis—pending expert validation and empirical testing—for Islamic education policy development.

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