An Educational Analysis of the Book “The 250-Year-Old Man” Based on the Process of Self-Development, Community-Building, and Civilization-Building

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 , Department of Educational Affairs, Faculty of Educational Sciences, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran (Corresponding Author);

2 M.A. Graduate in Philosophy, Faculty of Literature, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad Branch, Najafabad, Iran

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to delineate the educational process of self-development (khodsāzī), community-building (jāme‘eh-parḍāzī), and civilization-building (tamaddon-sāzī) as presented in Ayatollah Khamenei’s “The 250-Year-Old Man” and the “Second Step Statement of the Revolution,” to uncover their interrelationship in individual-social-historical education, and to extract the Qur’anic foundations of this educational program.
Method: A qualitative, inductive approach was adopted, employing content analysis of the two primary texts, the Leader’s other statements, and relevant Qur’anic verses. Data were interpreted to construct a coherent educational framework.
Findings: The analysis reveals that self-development constitutes the foundational axis of transformation, mirroring the Qur’anic concept of tazkiyah (purification). Community-building emerges as the actualization of collective righteousness (ṣāliḥiyyah) within society, guided by the model of the Infallible Imams’ socio-political struggle. Civilization-building represents the strategic, macro-level management of history toward a new Islamic civilization, anchored in the Qur’anic promises of istikhlāf (vicegerency) and the inheritance of the earth by the righteous. The educational pattern in both works is deeply rooted in the twin Qur’anic principles of tazkiyah and ta‘līm (teaching), forming a coherent, phased trajectory from individual piety to global reform. The “250-Year-Old Man” functions as a historical-exegetical blueprint, while the “Second Step Statement” translates it into a contemporary national-educational roadmap.
Conclusion: The Leader’s articulation offers a comprehensive, Qur’an-based educational paradigm where self-development, community-building, and civilization-building are inseparably linked. This integrated model provides concrete guidance for educational policymakers and activists, showing how the Prophetic and Imamic legacy can be operationalized to achieve the new Islamic civilization.
 
 

Keywords

References

  1. The Holy Qur’an.

    1. Nahj al-Balāghah.
    2. Āshtā, Somayyeh and Dorūghī, Ruqayyah. “Influential Components of Self-Development in the Formation of Islamic Civilization from the Perspective of the Holy Qur’an.” Journal of Contemporary Islamic Studies Research 1, no. 8 (1402 Sh/2023): 65–85.
    3. Jalīlī, Sa‘īd. “Requirements and Strategies for the Realization of the New Islamic Civilization in the Second Step of the Revolution.” Ḥabl al-Matīn Journal (1398 Sh/2019).
    4. Javādī Āmolī, ‘Abd Allāh. Imam Mahdī: The Promised One Present. Qom: Isrā’, 1398 Sh/2019.
    5. Khāmene’ī, Sayyid ‘Alī. The 250-Year-Old Man. Qom: Ṣahbā Publications, 1396 Sh/2017.
    6. ———. The Second Step Statement of the Revolution. 1397 Sh/2018.
    7. ———. Statements of the Leader of the Revolution. https://farsi.khamenei.ir.
    8. Khomeinī, Rūḥ Allāh. Ṣaḥīfah-ye Imām. Vol. 8. Tehran: Institute for Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini’s Works, 1385 Sh/2006.
    9. ———. The Path of the Imam from the Words of the Imam. Booklet 22. Tehran: Amīr Kabīr, 1362 Sh/1983.
    10. Sādāt, Fāṭimah and ‘Alavī ‘Alīābādī, Fāṭimah Sādāt. “An Inquiry into the Role of the Concept of Self-Development in the Expansion of the New Islamic Civilization.” Ta’ammol Journal 4, no. 8 (1398 Sh/2019): 19–32.
    11. Ṭabāṭabā’ī, Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Tafsīr al-Mīzān. Vol. 19. Tehran: Rajā’, 1367 Sh/1988.
    12. Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir. Biḥār al-Anwār. Vol. 75. Beirut, 1362 Sh/1983.

     

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 07 March 2026
  • Revise Date: 05 April 2026
  • Accept Date: 05 May 2026

Share

How to cite

Statistics