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| (Part No. 2; Page No. 316) |
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In pursuit of knowledge 
All praise be to Allah Alone. May Allah's peace and blessings be upon the Last Prophet.
Undoubtedly, knowledge is the basic foundation of human life, and the knowledge which is most worthy of care and attention is that of Islamic Shari`ah. Knowledge of the Islamic Shari`ah helps the individual to grasp the wisdom for which Allah (Glorified be He) created us and sent His messengers. It is the knowledge through which man knows Allah (Exalted be He) and how to worship Him. Allah (Exalted be He) says:  And I (Allâh) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone). He (Exalted be He) also says: And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (community, nation) a Messenger (proclaiming): “Worship Allâh (Alone), and avoid (or keep away from) Tâghût (all false deities i.e. do not worship Tâghût besides Allâh).” These two Ayahs (Qur'anic verse) reveal the wisdom behind the creation of man and jinn and sending the messengers. Any nation that does not adopt a sound creed or follow a true religion is certainly ignorant. This is so regardless of the level of development and the progress they may achieve in different walks of life. Allah (Glorified be He) says: Or do you think that most of them hear or understand? They are only like cattle - nay, they are even farther astray from the Path (i.e. even worse than cattle). The good life is that of the people of knowledge and faith. Allah (Exalted be He) says: O you who believe! Answer Allâh (by obeying Him) and (His) Messenger when he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) calls you to that which will give you life He (Glorified be He) says:
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| (Part No. 2; Page No. 317) |
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Whoever works righteousness - whether male or female - while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islâmic Monotheism) verily, to him We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision), and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter).Beneficial knowledge is only acquired through a teacher, who must be well aware of the subject he is teaching, since the one who lacks something cannot give it. Scholars are the inheritors of the prophets. Therefore, teaching has proved to be the most difficult task due to the perfect qualities a teacher should have in terms of beneficial knowledge, good morals, continuous righteous deeds, patience and the ability to bear difficulties for the sake of correcting the student and giving him a pure Islamic upbringing. The more qualities of perfection a teacher has, the more successful he will be in teaching.
In this regard, the ideal example and the leader of all is Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) ibn `Abdullah Al-Hashimy, Al-Araby, Al-Makky, then, Al-Madany. He was the most perfect in all good qualities. He encountered many difficulties and suffered great hardship in teaching and instructing people. However, he patiently endured all difficulties for the sake of conveying his message to bring the Ummah out of darkness to light - may Allah give him the best reward! The Prophet (peace be upon him) raised a righteous generation that is considered the best generation in human history. The reason lies in the outstanding upbringing and instruction the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave his Companions, his tireless patience, and helping them come to Allah (Glorified be He) Who guided them first of all.
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| (Part No. 2; Page No. 318) |
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Therefore, the most necessary duty of the teacher is to follow the footsteps of the first teacher i.e. Muhammad (peace be upon him) and try his best to know how to carry out this task and then apply it to his students as much as he can. The Ummah desperately needs righteous teachers whose knowledge and approach are based on the Qur'an and Sunnah, particularly at a time in which advocates of destruction prevail and callers of reconstruction and reform are rare. Moreover, they should disseminate the morals of the Salaf (righteous predecessors) such as truthfulness, honesty, sincerity, respect of commands and prohibitions, competition in virtues, and avoiding vice.
Teaching is one of the most difficult careers; yet, it is the most decent, fruitful and magnificent as long as the teacher is sincere, has a good intention, and works hard. By doing so, he will receive a reward that is similar to that of those who benefited from his knowledge.
In an honorable Hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) directs:  The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it. He (peace be upon him) said: If Allah guides aright even one man through you that is better for you than to possess the most valuable camels The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said: Whoever guides to something good will have a reward similar to that of its doer. Certainly, the teacher brings up the spiritual side of the student. Thus, he should have high morals and good standing so that his students may imitate him. Also, he should observe the commands of the Shari`ah and keep away from prohibitions. He should manage his time; joke a little; be patient, smiling, happy, open-hearted, handsome, self-sufficient, competent, knowledgeable; and master a great deal of the Arabic styles that enable him to do his job perfectly.
Undoubtedly, the person, who is concerned with all aspects of study of the human soul and looks for the means that help him know
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| (Part No. 2; Page No. 319) |
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the way through which he can easily implant the sciences in that soul, will reap good results in unveiling its secrets, inherent emotions, and feelings and its capacity to receive information.
This study and research will provide the teacher with information that is essentially the basic rules on which education depends. These rules may be summarized as follows: When a teacher wants to implant a piece of information in the mind of his students, he should first know everything about the lesson he is going to teach, and how to teach and introduce it, and draw the attention of his students to the main subject. He should do this by focusing on the topic of the lesson without discussing irrelevant points that may distract the students or deprive them of its benefit. In teaching the sciences, he should utilize his powers of persuasion through using good presentation and similes, and concentrate on the key points that represent the main components of each lesson. The teacher should inculcate the general points first and then move gradually to the details, since the general points constitute the most important part of everything and the details come next in importance. A teacher should prepare intensive materials and explain them to his students, make them like the lesson that is being taught, encourage them to listen to it and acquaint them with the benefits and objectives. He should take into account that he is teaching each student in an appropriate manner and in the language s/he understands, since students are not equal. He should allocate time for discussion and tolerate any mistakes because these mistakes are made
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| (Part No. 2; Page No. 320) |
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in the quest for truth. He should encourage students to conduct research that leads to the truth, taking into consideration factors of the environment, human nature, habits and climate. These matters greatly affect the psychology of the students and reflect on their understanding, records of achievement and endeavors.
Unquestionably, an intelligent teacher who takes these matters into consideration greatly influences his students more than his colleagues. A teacher is like a doctor, so it is his duty to know the tendencies of his students and the level of intelligence of each of them. In the light of this knowledge, he should evaluate the basic criteria for addressing the minds and understanding his students. This is one of the main reasons behind the success of the teacher.
In fact, the most important knowledge that must be taught is that which deals with correcting man's `Aqidah (creed) in the light of the Qur'an and Sunnah and the guidance of the Salaf. After that, they should care about the rest of the Shari`ah sciences and the other sciences that are indispensable for man on condition that they do not divert man from the fundamental knowledge for which Allah (Exalted be He) created all things. Another condition is that these sciences should serve the public interest without prejudice to the beneficial knowledge. Allah (Exalted be He) guided some people to acquire and teach beneficial knowledge for great wisdom that He knows, so He benefited humanity everywhere through those people who, subsequently, gained a good reputation and fame, a doubled reward, and a happy ending. Other people are deprived of all these things because they swerved from the straight path, so that their knowledge brought them and their students evil consequences. Not only are they lost in the maze of disbelief, atheism and heresy, but they also misled other people and shared the same sin. The utmost justice and wisdom of Allah (Exalted be He) and His punishment is for whoever deviates from the truth
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| (Part No. 2; Page No. 321) |
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and the straight path or follows his whims. All this necessitates that he will have only loss and deviation. Allah (Glorified be He) says: So when they turned away (from the Path of Allâh), Allâh turned their hearts away (from the Right Path). He (Exalted be He) also says: And We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away (from guidance), as they refused to believe therein for the first time, and We shall leave them in their trespass to wander blindly. There are many Ayahs (Qur'anic verses) to that effect.
We implore Allah (Exalted be He) to endow us and all Muslims with beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds. We ask Him to shower us with mercy and grant us understanding of Islam and steadfastness on it. We ask Allah (Exalted be He) to correct the Muslim rulers and leaders and support the truth with them - indeed, Allah is over everything Competent. May peace and blessings be upon His slave and Messenger Muhammad, his family, Companions, and those who followed their guidance until the Day of Resurrection!
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