Manhaj, or curriculum, broadly defined

Abstract

I come from a language whose word for curriculum, manhaj, is used far more richly than is common in English. Lexically and etymologically, manhaj demonstrates to us an episteme from which the point of departure for curriculum is broadly defined. Almost all Arabic words have a triconsonantal root from which families of words are built according to set patterns, and for manhaj, that root is na-ha-ja, pronounced nahaja 1 (Al-Ma'any, n.d.-a; Ba'albaki, 1995 Ba'albaki, , p. 1193. A root like nahaja defines the heart of all nouns and verbs built on its forms and extensions, carrying connotative shades of meaning beyond the word and denotative shared uses of the basic meaning. The root nahaja ‫ﻥ‬ ‫ﻩ‬ ‫ﺝ‬ is a verb that means "to follow, pursue, take, enter upon; to proceed, act," "to clarify, make clear," as well as to become vivid, and "to pant, gasp, be out of breath" (Al-Ma'any, n.d.-a; Ba'albaki, 1995 Ba'albaki, , p. 1193. Its expression as the noun nahj ‫ﻥ‬ ‫ﻩ‬ ‫ﺝ‬ means "open way; plain road" and "method, procedure, way; and course, manner, approach" (Ba 'albaki, 1995, p. 1193). Common phrases that are based on the root nahaja in education and research include manhaju al-ta'al im or al-dirasa, the manhaj of learning or of study, which is used to refer to school curriculum (Ba'albaki, 1995(Ba'albaki, , p. 1130; 'ilmu al-manhaj, the knowledge of manhaj, which means "methodology" (Ba'albaki, 1995, p. 1130); as well as manhaju al-bah : th, which means "the methodology of research, research methods, research procedures" (Ba'albaki, 1995, p. 1130); or, colloquially in educational contexts, manhaj or minh aj (Al-Ma'any, n.d.-a). Nahaja is often used in conjunction with nahaja al-mas'alah, which means to make the issue clear (Al-Ma'any, n.d.-a), or when referring to a person who embodies considerable knowledge and ethics such that they are now an expert, role model, or manhaj h : aq (Hawramani, n.d.). It shows up every day as manhaj h : ayah, and in the Quran as minh aj, to mean a way of life (such as faith is a way of life, reading is a way of life, this is my way of life, etc.), in addition to many other uses.Thus, nahaja conveys not only to follow a path, similar to the Latin root currere, but also to clarify, to be intentional, to know, embody, and pursue; literally and linguistically nahaja involves a strenuous breathing that clings to an essential function of life. Using the root nahaja in any one of the forms links to its use in any of the other forms, pointing to how embodiment, intentionality, action, and attaining clarity are all interwoven. Its Arabic usage underscores how knowing and being are not easily categorized into separate realms, as they are in humanistic onto-epistemology, and how non-western worldviews have historically recognized curriculum as broadly defined.