WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:08.740 A Summary of the Concepts of Ahl as-Sunnah 00:00:08.740 --> 00:00:10.740 Leadership is an innate talent. 00:00:10.740 --> 00:00:19.019 It is not enough for an educator to merely possess the capacity to monitor and care for the student. 00:00:19.019 --> 00:00:27.019 Rather, alongside that, he must possess a natural leadership ability that reassures the learner without being authoritarian. 00:00:27.019 --> 00:00:28.019 Accordingly, 00:00:28.019 --> 00:00:33.020 the presence of educational leadership is a communal obligation (fard kifayah) upon the Ummah. 00:00:33.020 --> 00:00:41.020 It may even become an individual obligation—like all communal obligations—for anyone who possesses the foundational talent for leadership. 00:00:41.020 --> 00:00:48.020 In that case, he is required to nurture himself and refine his skills through management and leadership training, 00:00:48.020 --> 00:00:55.020 and subsequently employ those skills in educating the Ummah, both individually and collectively. 00:00:55.020 --> 00:00:58.530 Education by Example 00:00:58.530 --> 00:01:05.010 Setting a good example is one of the most paramount and essential characteristics of an educational leader. 00:01:05.010 --> 00:01:12.010 It is the most effective of all means in the educational process and exerts the greatest influence on its success. 00:01:12.010 --> 00:01:18.299 While the character of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, serves as the ultimate role model, 00:01:18.299 --> 00:01:26.299 it remains an example that a Muslim can realize in practice to the extent that he draws inspiration from it, 00:01:26.299 --> 00:01:30.299 and to the extent that he patiently strives toward noble heights. 00:01:30.299 --> 00:01:39.299 Thus, his example, peace be upon him, is not a mere fantasy for souls to adore without practical emulation. 00:01:39.299 --> 00:01:44.290 Essential Traits of an Educator 00:01:44.290 --> 00:01:52.829 Since it has become clear from the foregoing that leadership and setting a good example are essential traits of an educator, 00:01:52.829 --> 00:01:56.829 we can add to them the following: 00:01:56.829 --> 00:02:05.829 First, the educator's standing in knowledge, wisdom, and soundness of judgment must exceed that of the learner. 00:02:05.829 --> 00:02:09.830 It is not a prerequisite that he be older in age, 00:02:09.830 --> 00:02:14.830 even though advanced age usually exerts an influence on the learner's acceptance— 00:02:14.830 --> 00:02:19.830 but only as a supporting factor that aids acceptance, 00:02:19.830 --> 00:02:21.830 not as a strict condition for it. 00:02:21.830 --> 00:02:28.090 Second, the educator must possess substance to impart to the student. 00:02:28.090 --> 00:02:34.280 Third, the educator must excel in the method of imparting what he possesses. 00:02:34.280 --> 00:02:44.379 Fourth, he must possess the ability to care for those he educates, continually following up with them and guiding them. 00:02:44.379 --> 00:02:50.409 These are the traits that an educator needs to realize with whomever he educates, 00:02:50.409 --> 00:02:56.409 whether that student is a young child or an entire nation. 00:02:56.409 --> 00:03:03.409 Yet, how vast is the difference between the two in their need for these traits in their educator! 00:03:03.409 --> 00:03:08.409 For as the domain of education expands and the number of students increases, 00:03:08.409 --> 00:03:13.409 the required degree of these traits becomes greater and deeper. 00:03:14.409 --> 00:03:19.009 The Muslim Teacher 00:03:19.009 --> 00:03:24.009 The Muslim teacher is, in truth, an educator of his students, 00:03:24.009 --> 00:03:31.009 in addition to being their instructor in the academic subject he teaches them. 00:03:31.009 --> 00:03:37.009 Therefore, he must embody the characteristics of an educator that we have mentioned, 00:03:37.009 --> 00:03:40.009 practice Islam in actual reality, 00:03:40.009 --> 00:03:44.009 and embody the character of the Qur'an in his behavior, interactions, 00:03:44.009 --> 00:03:47.009 appearance, demeanor, and overall conduct. 00:03:47.009 --> 00:03:50.009 To achieve this, it is required of him 00:03:50.009 --> 00:03:56.780 to be knowledgeable in the principles, values, and concepts of Islam. 00:03:56.780 --> 00:04:00.610 The Islamic School 00:04:00.610 --> 00:04:05.610 The Islamic school, by encompassing Muslim teachers, 00:04:05.610 --> 00:04:08.610 ought to serve as a nurturing environment 00:04:08.610 --> 00:04:14.610 that raises Muslim generations who know their religion, love it, and practice it— 00:04:14.610 --> 00:04:21.610 understanding its breadth, comprehensiveness, and integration, and living and practicing it in the real world. 00:04:21.610 --> 00:04:25.639 However, the reality of today's schools is quite the opposite, 00:04:25.639 --> 00:04:31.639 as they tie students and generations merely to the desire for obtaining certificates and jobs 00:04:31.639 --> 00:04:34.639 for purely worldly benefit. 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:38.470 The Female Educator 00:04:38.470 --> 00:04:43.529 Among the primary roles of a woman in Islam 00:04:43.529 --> 00:04:45.529 is the upbringing of children. 00:04:45.529 --> 00:04:50.529 Hence, she is tasked with safeguarding Islamic values and principles 00:04:50.529 --> 00:04:53.529 and disseminating them within society. 00:04:53.529 --> 00:04:58.529 She also fulfills the child's innate need for love, affection, 00:04:58.529 --> 00:05:00.529 and the care required 00:05:00.529 --> 00:05:03.529 so that the child grows up in a sound manner, 00:05:03.529 --> 00:05:06.529 achieving psychological balance. 00:05:06.529 --> 00:05:11.529 No one other than the mother can provide this to the child. 00:05:11.529 --> 00:05:16.589 All of this necessitates that she possess knowledge of the religion, 00:05:16.589 --> 00:05:19.589 experience regarding societal conditions, 00:05:19.589 --> 00:05:22.589 and training in dealing with them. 00:05:22.589 --> 00:05:25.589 Thus, she should study what assists her in this 00:05:25.589 --> 00:05:28.589 and grants her this knowledge and experience. 00:05:28.589 --> 00:05:31.620 For a woman is a specialized mother, 00:05:31.620 --> 00:05:34.620 except in cases of compelling necessity 00:05:34.620 --> 00:05:38.620 which rarely occur in a Muslim society. 00:05:42.199 --> 00:05:44.199 According to Ahl as-Sunnah.