380   AMERICAN Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education        www. grnjournal.us  

 

AMERICAN Journal of Language, Literacy and  
Learning in STEM Education 

Volume 02, Issue 12, 2024  ISSN (E): 2993-2769 

 
  

Especially the Textbooks Created by Sadriddin Ayniy 

 
  

Maftuna Shomurodova 

Republic of Uzbekistan, Academy of Sciences, Uzbek language, literature and folklore, independent 

researcher of the institute 

 

 

Abstract. This article is devoted to the research of Sadriddin Aini's practical efforts in the field of 

education in the beginning of the 20th century, in particular, his significant work in opening new 

style schools and creating textbooks. In particular, the textbooks "Zaruriyoti diniya" and "Tahsib-us 

Sibyon" are mentioned. The article focuses on the important aspects of Ayni's unique style and 

opinions. 

Key words: newspaper, school, textbook, ethics, religion, modernity, enlightenment, literature. 

 

Sadriddin Saidmurodzoda Aini (1878-1954) was one of the leaders of Jadid literature, an 

accomplished scholar and researcher of classical Turkish and Persian literature. Although Aini is 

usually considered the founder of 20th-century Tajik literature, in fact, his invaluable contribution to 

laying the foundation of Uzbek literary criticism and Jadid literature should also be recognized. Aini 

lived and worked in the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, which were extremely complex 

conditions and processes, both historically, politically, and culturally, and in terms of literature. From 

this point of view, it is impossible to give a one-sided assessment of Aini's work. 

Aini, who had made a name for himself at the beginning of the 20th century with his thoroughness of 

education and was in the spotlight with his broad worldview, was entrusted with a responsible task 

in 1900 by Sharifjon Makhdum Sadri Ziya (1868-1931), one of the leading intellectuals of Bukhara. 

This task was to participate in the correction of discrepancies by comparing the original copy of the 

great work “Navodir ul-vaqoe” by Ahmad Donish (Ahmad Kalla, 1827-1896) with the copy copied 

by Mirzo Abdulvahid Munzim. “This book had such an impact on us that our view of the emir, vizier, 

mullahs, and life of that time in general completely changed” [1, 62], - Aini expressed his impressions. 

In addition, initially, Aini's poet friend Muhammad Siddiq Hayrat (1878-1902) would find the 

Persian-language newspaper "Hablul Matin" published in India, the Persian-language newspaper 

"Chehranoma" published in Egypt, and another classmate, the newspapers "Tarjiman" and 

"Parvarish", and they would read and analyze newspaper reports together. Later, Aini, who became 

a regular reader of such newspapers and magazines, also became acquainted with the work 

"Sayohatnamai Ibrahimbek" by Zaynulobiddin Maroghi. It criticized some aspects of Iranian life that 

were very similar to Bukhara life. These factors served as a catalyst for Aini's growing sentiment 

against the unjust suffering of the people, the chaos of taxes imposed arbitrarily by emirs and officials, 

and the inadequacy of the education system. During his years of study, Sadriddin Aini, sometimes 

out of necessity, sometimes as a kind of impartial help, taught his peers, younger brother, and 

acquaintances, helping them to strengthen their literacy. This, of course, gave impetus to the 

development of Aini's pedagogical abilities and was an important factor in determining the direction 

of his subsequent social activities. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Aini was an educator-

writer. Along with his dedication to a number of pedagogical works, he never forgot the goal of 

educating the people in his artistic works. His significant works in the field of pedagogy have been 

studied in monographs by scholars such as Abduhalim Ganiyev. During the first decade of the 19th 



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century, conflicts began to arise in Bukhara between the “new” and “old” movements. The 

educational system of the madrasas, which for centuries had produced such outstanding scholars as 

Al-Farabi, Al-Biruni, Ibn Sina, Al-Bukhari, and Al-Khwarizmi for the Eastern countries and the 

world community, has become less effective in recent times in accordance with the requirements of 

the time. In particular, according to Aini: “until three or four centuries ago, it was considered one of 

the scientific centers of the Islamic world worthy of its time” [2,184]. By the end of the century, 

Bukhara’s status “remained only a hollow glory for its science and religion in the eyes of the people 

of Turkestan” [2,185]. There were many reasons for this, and Aini also points out a few. For example, 

in 1585, Abdullakhan built a madrasa in Bukhara that was named after him. The Khan also found a 

way to strengthen his sphere of influence among the scholars, namely, he organized a debate between 

Mawlavi Sadriddin from Bukhara and a foreigner from Shiraz, Mawlavi Mirzajon, on the 

appointment of a mudarris to the madrasa. As a result, Mawlavi Mirzajon was appointed mudarris. 

He surpassed other mullahs in Bukhara and voluntarily changed the lesson schedules, gradually 

removing classes such as hadith and tafsir from the official schedule, and subjects such as arithmetic, 

geometry, history, medicine, and the like completely disappeared. The problem of the curriculum in 

schools and madrasas, which had been worrying Sadriddin Aini for a long time, made him one of the 

activists of the Jadid movement. Together with his comrades Abdulvahid, Hamidkhoj, and Ahmadjon 

Makhzum, they planned to open a school after Ramadan. “In the month of Shawwal 1326 AH (1908 

AD), in the city of Bukhara, in the house of Mirza Abdulvahid, in the house of Darbozai Salakhona, 

the first special school of the new method for Bukhara people in Persian was opened” [2,201]. Mirza 

Abdulvahid Munzim was appointed as the teacher of this school. Within two months, the number of 

students in this school reached 12. However, the organizers faced a number of difficulties due to the 

lack of textbooks, the imperfect system, and their lack of full knowledge of new methods of 

organizing classes. Seeking specific help, he asked the Tatar mullah Nizam Sobiti to help him find a 

textbook. On the advice of Mulla Nizam, a man named Khalid Burnashev, opposite the Attar 

madrasah, said that he had a new method Tatar school in his house, and that he could get advice on 

textbooks and teaching from him. Aini says: "We schoolchildren were unaware of the Tatar school 

in Bukhara until today" [2,201], and without missing the opportunity, he quickly goes there. Along 

with Tatar children living in Bukhara, there were also local Bukhara children who studied there 

without knowing the Tatar language. In the spring of 1908, Aini and Hamidhoja Mehriy first came to 

Samarkand, where Mirzo Abdulkadir Munzim was working at the Demurov printing house. During 

this trip, Aini met Abdukadir Shakuriy, Ismatulla Rahmatullazoda, and Mahmudhoja Behbudiyil. He 

visited Shakuriy's new Usul school in the village of Rajabamin in Samarkand, and after that he came 

to Samarkand every year for the exams of this school. Aini, Mehriy, and Munzim went to Tashkent 

to get acquainted with the new Usul schools. After returning from there, Aini worked as a translator 

for six months without receiving any salary at the Tatar school in Bukhara, with the permission of his 

teacher. Aini, who learned the Tatar language through the press, worked as a teacher, translating 

lessons for children into Tajik and, at the same time, their language into Tatar. He applied what he 

learned there and the impressions he gained from his trip to Samarkand and Tashkent to his own 

schools, achieving considerable success. The next step was to create a textbook. Aini: “Therefore, 

with the dream of preparing a book, we formed a company among ourselves. The name of the 

company was “Shirkati Bukharayoi Sharif”. Our company was founded in the middle of the month 

of Rabbul Awwal 1327 AH (March 1909 CE), and it was decided to publish, first of all, the rules of 

tajweed under the name “Tartibul-Qur’an” [2,202]. This book was Aini’s first textbook. Then the 

textbooks "Tahsib us-sibyon" and "Zaruriyyoti diniya" were also published. 

Textbooks and study guides for the new method schools established in Central Asia at the beginning 

of the 20th century were mainly published in the printing houses of cities such as Tashkent, 

Samarkand, Kokand, and Kagan. One of the leading authors who wrote such textbooks was 

Munavvarqori Abdurashidkhanov, whose textbooks include “Adibi avval. Alifbo”, “Adibi soniy”, 

“Adibi talib”, “Charog’i diniya”, “Tajvid”, and “Kitab ul-atfol”. Although Aini mentions in his 

memoirs that he edited an alphabet book with Munzim, he does not mention his name. S. Tabarov 

says that “Mirzo Abdulvohid Munzim was the first among the Bukhara educators to publish an 

alphabet book called “Rahbari khat” in 1908” [3, 6], ¬-. 



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“Sadriddin Aini’s book “Tahsib us-sibyon” was published twice. The first edition was published in 

1909 in Orenburg, and the second in 1917 in Samarkand at the foundation of the “Ma’rifat” library. 

Unfortunately, it is not known whether the 1909 edition of the work has been found or has not reached 

us through the tests of time. The copy of “Tahsib us-sibyon” published in Samarkand in 1917 is 

currently kept in Tashkent, in the rare manuscripts department of the Alisher Navoi National Library 

of Uzbekistan, as well as in Aini’s house museum in Samarkand and in the Kukaldash madrasah in 

Bukhara, in the room where scholar Aini once lived and worked - the Aini Khujra Museum” [4, 225-

230]. It should be noted that the book was reprinted by Sahib Tabarov in 1994 at the Dushanbe 

“Maorif” publishing house based on the second edition of “Tahsib us-sibyon”. In his preface, Tabarov 

clearly shows the differences between the first and 1917 editions of “Tahsib us-sibyon”. The first 

edition of the textbook is still a valuable treasure in the spiritual treasury of the fraternal Tajik people. 

“Tahsib us-sibyon” has a number of unique features in terms of structure. It is noteworthy that the 

textbook combines the foundations of secular and religious knowledge, practice and theory, prose 

and poetry. The textbook covers issues such as the formation of a child’s religious beliefs, the growth 

of his mind, the purification of his soul, and the determination of his relationships in society. All of 

them are dedicated to the upbringing of a mature person. After theoretical information about concepts 

such as the qualities of a well-mannered child, the personality of parents, teachers and attitudes 

towards them, and school, there are poetic passages, stories on these topics, as well as questions and 

answers to test and consolidate the child's knowledge. Another work by Sadriddin Aini that has a 

special reputation in the Islamic world is “Zaruriyyoti diniyya”. While observing literary studies, we 

came across different views about the writing, title, and year of publication of this work. There is 

information that the work was written in 1908, 1910, and 1914. In our opinion, although the writing 

of the work began much earlier, it was completed in 1914, because its ideological and artistic height 

and structure indicate that it was created at a time when the author’s pedagogical skills were perfected. 

However, this method of compiling textbooks is still in practice. The main thing is that the content of 

“Zaruriyyoti diniyya”, which reflects the most comprehensive rules and principles of Islamic law, 

testifies to Aini’s being one of the first Islamic scholars of the 20th century. Aini deeply studied the 

religious materials and textbooks created before him, skillfully analyzed them, and based on his 

excellent madrasa education and pedagogical experience, he managed to create a new type of 

textbook that combined education, religion, and upbringing. This work describes in detail three of the 

five pillars of Islam - faith, prayer, and fasting - and all issues related to them. "Zaruriyyoti diniyya" 

was published in large numbers in Samarkand in 1914, Lahore in India in 1927, Mecca in 1990, 

Moscow in 1991, Tashkent in 1991, and Dushanbe in 2000. The value of the work is also determined 

by these publications. The copy of the book, which is in the museum in the Soktare neighborhood 

where Aini was born, contains the following inscription on the cover, signed by Kamal Aini: “Ustad 

Sadriddin Aini was a perfect Muslim. During the time of the Amir, he wrote three Islamic books, one 

of which is “Zaruriyyoti diniyya.” In the edition of the book published in Dushanbe in 2000 (editor 

in chief Muhammadjon Shukurov - son of Sharifjon Makhdum Sadri Ziya), Abdulhai Saidzodai 

Muhamadamin has a very substantial preface (80 pages) that discusses in detail the creation and 

publication of the work, its content and structure, its worldwide fame, and the differences found in its 

editions, and provides valuable information. The textbook consists of three main sections in terms of 

structure. The first part of the book is called “Education of Faith” and is devoted to a statement of 30 

(theoretical) issues, each of which is titled. S. Aini fulfilled a great historical task with the 

classification of “Zaruriyyoti diniyya” and made a great contribution to the improvement and 

expansion of Islamic sciences” [5,55], says researcher Abdulhai Saidzodai Muhamadamin. The 

breadth of the sphere of influence of these works is directly determined by Aini’s writing and poetry. 

Poetic excerpts from the works of such great poets as Hafiz, Jami, and Bedil also increased the value 

of the work. Aini’s unparalleled skill in writing textbooks was ensured by his poetry, thorough 

mastery of literary and mystical sources. The ideological and artistic aspects of these works, as well 

as the study of Aini’s stylistic skills, are also important for our literary studies. In addition, today the 

role of these works in the education of the younger generation is incomparable. 

Literature 

1. Sadriddin Aini. A brief biography of my life. – T.: Publishing House of Literature, 1960. 



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2. Sadriddin Ainiy. Works. Eight roofs, first roof. - T.: Literary Publishing House, 1963. 

3. Sadriddin Ainiy. Tahzib-us-sibyon (Ba print now by Sahib Tabarov) - Dushanbe.: Maarif, 1994 

4. Temirov F. About Sadriddin Ayni and his work "Tahsib us-sibyon" // Republican scientific and 

practical conference on the issues of Bukhara history. –Bukhara. 2021. 

5. Syed Sadriddin Khojai Ain. The necessity is religious. - Dushanbe: Dilovar, 2000. 

6. Ganiev A. Sadriddin Ainiy's pedagogical activities and thoughts on education. - T.: Teacher, 

1965. 

7. https://journal.buxdu.uz/index.php/journals_buxdu/article/view/3411/2165