After our bond with Allah, in believing in His Oneness, comes the bond of the Prophet Muhammad, as a practical example of Islam; an ideal model to follow. Then come parents, the bond of which should be maintained as long as it does not go against the obedience of Allah as shown by the Prophet. We love our parents, because they deserve it, as we are their children. The parent-child bond is different from that of other bonds. It involves physical and mental factors...
For over a decade or two we develop under a bond without which our life in this world is just animalistic, without which we pass off as unpolished. This bond gains memento only when it’s treading and also makes us tread the path of Islam, committed to hard work, involving physical and mental exercise, and all other such factors which help mold us as a polished individual whose existence is a boon to the society at large. This vital bond is well played, when in the garb of a teacher, who makes a persona out of us, rather than teaches for a price.
In this role comes Allah as our First Teacher, who places the knowledge of His Oneness in our conscience and intuition. Second, come the Prophets and Messengers through their teachings and traditions. Third, come those who are reliable scholars. Then come, parents, and teachers proper.
Allah should be our First Teacher, by virtue of He being the Creator; Prophets and Messengers, the first teachers of the human kind, by virtue of their being appointed by Allah to guide the mankind. Reliable scholars, as third kind of teachers, by virtue of being knowledgeable and who are acknowledged as intellectual authorities; parents, the first teachers by direct contact, by virtue of being the procreators. And, teachers proper, by virtue of being qualified to shape us on the right mold.
“From the point of view of education, the personality of teacher is of crucial importance. If the teacher embodies and reflects the values he is teaching then the impression he leaves on his pupil is very deep and indelible. The success of the Prophet as a teacher lies in the fact that he practiced whatever he taught to others and, as such was the model for his Companions, both in profession and practice. Once ‘Aishah was asked about his conduct. She replied that his conduct was the Qur’an.” [Alam, Zafar, Education in Early Islamic Period, Markazi Maktaba Islamic Publishers, Delhi, p. 37]
In the same book page 73, Dr. Zafar Alam writes in “Education under the Pious Caliphate,” “… the teachers attracted very large number of students to their circles. The teachers were highly respected and much regard and respect was paid to them. The teachers on their part treated the student with love and affection and went out of their way to help and encourage them. They considered it their bounden duty to communicate their knowledge and learning to others.”
The role of a teacher is a heavy responsibility whose traits can be felt on those under their circle. This trait has a telling effect on the applications used by their wards. This serves as a message to those playing their role as teachers to develop the love of Allah, and His Prophets and Messengers, and develop sincerity, honour the trust of their students’ parents, and be true to their duty, and towards their protégé.
To understand the role of a teacher further, a piece of advice by the ‘Abbasid Caliph, al-Rashid, to “…the tutor of his son al-Amin: Be not strict to the extent of stifling his faculties or lenient to the point of making him enjoy idleness and accustom himself thereto. Straighten him as much as thou canst through kindness and gentleness, but fail not to resort to force and severity should he not respond.” [Hitti, Philip K, History of the Arabs, Macmillan: London (10th ed., 1974), p. 409]
The duty of the educational protégé towards the teacher is such that of Yahya ibn-Yahya of Islamic Spain, a student of Imam Malik ibn-Anas, who remained seated and listening to the imam’s lecture, while his classmates rushed out without permission, to see a rare animal in that part of the world, Baghdad, the elephant!
Last update : 07-10-2004 12:41
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