The Principles of "Thanatology" and its Educational Implication in the Holy Quran and Nahj-al-balaghah

It might be that “death” has never been discussed as much as “life.” Thus, the concept of thanatology and its position in Islamic education, requires more serious investigation. The goal of this research is to identify the characteristics of death from the Qur’an and Nahj al-Balaghah’s viewpoint, and then deduce the effects and results of them in education. In other words, the major objective of this research is to study the principles of Islamic education on thanatology and clarify their relevant educational implications. To accomplish this goal, a descriptive- analytical research method has been in the form of a theoretical, qualitative and library research. The results of the research show that, from the viewpoint of the Qur’an and Nahj al-Balaghah, it is possible to determine such characteristics as the followings for death: death is for all people, death may occur wherever, death has its definite time, death is God’s definite command, death includes all the universe, death makes one eternal (the martyrs), death is fearful (for the bad), death is taking one’s spirit (not destruction). It is also possible to deduce the relevant educational implications according to each of these characteristics.