Learning is the way to gain the knowledge that is the light to all hearts and minds. The first word that was revealed in the Qur’an is “Iqra"" (Read), which occurs in Surat Al- 'Alaq:
{Read: In the Name of your Lord Who created) (Surat
Al-'Alaq 96:1).
So the word “Read” was the first light revealed to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). All those who do not learn are considered dead, while those who learn are living.Learning benefits man in this life and the life to come, and the one who learns can benefit others from what he knows. Allah says {Say: “My Lord, increase me in knowledge”) (Surat Ta-Ha 20:114) and {Say: “Can those be equal, they who know and they who know not?”) (Surat Az- Zumar 39:9) and {Allah will raise up in rank those of you who believe and who have been granted knowledge) (Surat Al-Mujadalah 58:11) and {Surely those of His servants who have knowledge fear Allah alone) (Surat Fatir 35:28). This ayah shows that the most Allah-fearing are those who are the most learned.
The best behavior is also found in those who are best learned because they reach this degree of knowledge through piety. The Companion Abud-Darda’ said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say, “Whoever among you seeks a way of gaining knowledge, Allah will ease for him his way to Paradise, and the angels will spread their wings for the knowledge seeker out of satisfaction for what he is doing. All inhabitants of the skies and the earth, even the fish in the sea, ask Allah’s forgiveness for the scholar. The excellence of the scholar over the worshiper is like the excellence of the moon over the rest of the planets.
The scholars are the heirs of prophets because prophets did not leave behind them any wealth of dinars or dirhams (money), but they left behind a wealth of knowledge. So whoever has taken from their inheritance has taken a big share.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood).
Seeking knowledge was made desirable by making it a method of facilitating the way to Paradise, which is difficult enough. The one who yearns for Paradise has to avoid tens of errors and to overcome tens of the desires of the heart. But Allah makes it easier for the knowledge seeker so that it is not as difficult for him as for others. The angels carry him gently on their wings and raise him above all those errors and desires. In addition, there are those inhabitants of the skies and the earth — even the fish and whales in the sea — who ask Allah’s forgiveness for the scholar, who is higher in rank than a worshiper.
When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) died, people started to be busy with life and worldly gains. The Prophet’s Companion Abu Dhar Al- Ghifari was disturbed by this new preoccupation. He stood on a rock and shouted, “O people, are you busy with your money and trade while Muhammad’s inheritance is being distributed in the mosque?” People started to run wildly to the mosque, but they only found a person prostrating and another bowing.
They also found a worshiper, a scholar and a student. They returned to Abu Dhar and told him, “We didn’t find anything of what you had told us about!” He answered them in order to remind them of what they had forgotten, “What you saw is Muhammad’s inheritance.”
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Learn knowledge and learn how to learn it with respect and tranquility, and humble yourselves to your teachers.” (Narrated by At-Tabarani). Also, Anas ibn Malik, the Prophet’s servant, reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever among you goes out for learning, he is in the cause of Allah till he comes back.” (Narrated by At-Tirmidhi).
If we let our children read the biography of Imam Muhammad Idris Ash-Shafi'i, they will realize how intelligent he was. When he wanted to learn a book by heart, he would cover the left page so that he would not memorize it at a glance before the right page! [Remember Arabic is written from right to left.] When he was a young boy of seven, he used to attend the class of Imam Malik in Madinah in the mosque where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is buried. Imam Malik, while reading the hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to his students, used to point at the grave and say, “So-and-so narrated from the one in that grave. ...
” One day while he was turning to the grave, he glanced at Ash-Shafi'i, who was holding a straw In this hadith the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) compares learning to the noblest principle of Islam, which is jihad (fighting in cause of Allah), (translator) that he had taken from the straw mat and wetting it with his saliva. He appeared to his teacher to be playing with the straw in his hand. Imam Malik was sad to see this. After he had finished teaching the people forty hadiths, he called the boy and said, “You, Muhammad ibn Idris!” The boy went to his master and sat down. Imam Malik started to criticize him saying, “Why were you playing while I was reciting the Prophet’s hadiths?” The boy answered, “I was not playing, sir. I was writing what you said on my hand with my saliva so that I wouldn’t forget it. I’m too poor to buy a pen and paper.”
Imam Malik was amazed and said, “If you are true, read me one of the hadiths that I taught you today.” Ash-Shafi'i copied his master in the way he pointed at the grave and said, “So and- so narrated from the one in that grave...” and he recited the whole forty hadiths. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) knew that his people were poor and he was always praying for them saying, “O Allah, my people are hungry, so feed them; and they are naked, so cover them with clothes.” Despite this extreme poverty, the Prophet did not ask for money as a ransom for the war prisoners in the Battle of Badr, but instead he asked that each prisoner should teach ten Muslims in return for his freedom.
Islam made education obligatory. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Seeking knowledge is a religious duty (J'ard) on every Muslim.” (Narrated by Ibn Majah). The word “Muslim” in this hadith includes males and females alike. One day the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made a speech. He said, “How about some people who do not teach or preach their neighbors, they do not want to enjoin on them what is good or forbid them from what is evil?
And how about some people who do not want to leam or take advice from their neighbors? By Allah, unless people teach their neighbors and their neighbors leam and take advice, I will hasten their punishment.” (Narrated by At- Tabarani). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also said;
“Whoever concealed his knowledge from people to benefit from it, Allah will fetter him with a fetter of fire on the Day of Judgment.” (Narrated by Ibn Majah).
These facts — that seeking knowledge is obligatory on each Muslim male and female, that the one who is reluctant to seek knowledge is threatened to be punished by Shari 'ah (Islamic Law), and that the one who hides his knowledge from others will have a fetter of fire on the Day of Judgment — prove that Islam encourages education and makes it free for people. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) — as all prophets before him — established this principle of free education. The Qur’an says (And 1 do not ask you for any reward for it, surely my reward is only with the Lord of The Worlds)
(Surat Ash-Shu'araa 26: 109).
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “If Allah wants to do good to a person, He makes him comprehend the religion.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari). And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said,
“When the son of Adam dies, all his deeds in life terminate except for three: a continuing charity that he left, useful knowledge that he left for people to benefit from, and a good son who prays for him after he dies.” (Narrated by Muslim).
Children should be taught to respect their teachers. Every boy and girl is required to grow up with those manners towards their education, especially if the educators are known to be pious and noble.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) — who himself is the educator of all humanity — established the principles of honoring scholars and teachers. He enlightened people on the excellence of educators and directed their students to remain polite with them. He said, “He is not one of us (the Muslims) who does not respect our elder and have mercy on our youngster and give our scholar his due respect.” (Narrated by Ahmad).
He (peace and blessings be upon him) also said, “There are three things whose value is not underestimated except by a hypocrite: the Muslim white head (old man), the one who has knowledge, and the just imam (ruler).” (Narrated by At-Tabarani).
And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “1 hope 1 don’t reach a time when no one follows the steps of scholars, and when the gentle and patient people are not treated moderately. At that time the hearts of people will be those of foreigners though their tongues are those of Arabs.” (Narrated by Ahmad).
It is also reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) collected every two martyrs of Uhud in one piece of cloth, then asked, “Which of them knew more of the Qur’an?” When one of them was pointed out for him, he would put that one first in the grave. (Narrated by Al- Bukhari).
Therefore, the student should be modest and should humble himself to his teachers and should not disobey their instructions. He should be like a patient to his intelligent doctor. He should consult and satisfy his teachers and should consider his humbleness towards his teachers as something to be proud of. Imam Ash-Shaffi was once criticized for being overly modest with the scholars, so he answered in the following lines of poetry:
I humble myself to them
This is my way to win honor.
The venerable scholar Ibn 'Abbas respected the scholars. He was once walking while Zaid ibn Thabit was riding on his camel. Ibn Abbas offered to drive the camel.
Ibn Thabit said, “Don’t do that, please, Prophet’s cousin.’’ Ibn 'Abbas answered, “We are told to do that with our scholars.”
Ibn Thabit said, “Give me your hand.”
Ibn 'Abbas did, and Ibn Thabit kissed his hand and said,
“We are told to do that with our Prophet’s family members.”
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal once said to Khalaf Al- Ahmar, “I don’t sit anywhere except between your hands2
.We are directed to humble ourselves to those who educate us.”
Also, Ash-Shafi'i said, “When 1 sat with Imam Malik to learn, I turned the pages very lightly so as not to disturb him by the sound.”
In turn, Ash-Shafi'i’s student Ar-Rabi' said, “I never dared to drink water in front of Ash-Shafi'i out of reverence to him.”
One day a son of the Caliph Al-Hadi came to Shuraik, a scholar. He leaned against the wall and started asking Shurai about a hadith. The scholar did not look at him. The son repeated the question, and the scholar kept ignoring him.
The - The teacher would sit on a chair or platform while the students sat on the floor in front of him. (editor) The caliph's son said, “Do you treat the children of the caliphs with such contempt?”
Shuraik said, “No, but knowledge is too valuable for me to waste.” He referred to the impolite way the boy was standing.
The student should not call his teacher by his name alone, but should use a title such as Mr. or Ms., Brother or Sister, or a title alone such as sir or ma’am. Brother or Sister.
Such titles should also be used when talking about the teacher in his or her absence.
In addition to this, the student should be thankful and grateful to his teacher. Ahmad Shawky, the poet laureate, wrote:
Stand up for your teacher
And pay him his due respect,
He’s like a prophet or a preacher
In honor, a fact we can’t suspect.
As his work is to feature
Minds and make them perfect.
A student should concentrate fully on his teacher. He should not look around or get distracted by any noise, or even keep moving his hands or feet. He should not laugh for no reason. If there is a reason, he should not laugh but only smile. A student should not enter the teacher’s house or classroom before asking permission. He should knock at the door gently but not more than three times.
A student should start the lesson with a clear mind that is not preoccupied by any emotions so that he gets the full understanding of what he learns. If the student reaches the teacher’s place and does not find him, he should wait but not wake the teacher up. Ibn 'Abbas used to sit at the door of his teacher, Zaid ibn Thabit, when he was sleeping and when someone would ask him, “Do you want me to wake him up for you?” he would answer in the negative and preferred to wait till he got sunburned.
Islam makes education desirable to people. Seeking knowledge is a religious duty no matter what sex or race the child is because the true advanced society is the one whose individuals are educated and knowledgeable.
Children are required to be independent. The right of the parents to direct and instruct their children should not lead to the devastation of the child’s personality so that in the end he becomes passive, waiting for his parents to think for him and regulate his life. The limits that Islam puts on the parents’ role is to monitor and follow up from a distance the child’s behavior at school so that he does not become hesitant in his personal life.
The child’s participation in decision-making, however silly, simple or out of context his opinion might be, shapes his character in a better way. The following are some of the benefits of this method:
• To make the child accustomed to having an opinion in the various problems and to react towards them;
• To explain to the child the errors in his opinion in a way that teaches him how to reach a better decision;
• To make the child listen to the adults’ opinions, which will teach him how to make a decision;
• To make the child get accustomed to appropriate ways of discussing and reaching correct answers;
• To overcome simple mindedness and weak personality in some children.
An example of this type of independent life is this incident that happened to 'Abdullah ibn Umar when he was young. He narrated: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Among the trees there is a tree, the leaves ofwhich do not fall and it is like the Muslim. Tell me the name of that tree.” Everybody started thinking about the trees of the desert areas. And I thought of the date-palm tree, but I felt shy. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) then replied, “It is the date- palm tree.” After my father and I had left, I said to him, “I knew the answer before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said it.” Then my father( Umar ibn Al-Khattab) told me, “If you had given the answer it would have been better to me than any wealth in the world.”
The aim of educating children in Islam is to attain both benefit and happiness, not only for the individuals but also for the whole society. I pray to Allah to make us benefit from knowledge so that we can benefit others as well.
