Summary of Sunni concepts | 50- Concepts about methods, means and characteristics of education

0:00 Summary of the concepts of Ahl al-Sunnah

0:08 Nurturing and development is continuous and never ends.

0:13 It is in the nature of the human soul

0:15 to fluctuate between obedience and disobedience,

0:18 and between guidance and astrayness.

0:21 Therefore, it requires constant supervision,

0:25 and it is not enough to cast it into the mold of guidance and obedience just once,

0:30 assuming that it will remain upright ever after.

0:34 Rather, it constantly transgresses the boundaries of that disciplined mold,

0:38 time and time again.

0:41 Thus, each time, guidance is necessary to reset and realign it.

0:46 Through this, the hardship and gravity of the nurturing process become evident,

0:51 as does its enduring necessity.

0:54 For the choice is either this tireless effort,

0:57 or utter ruin.

1:01 The learner's missteps: between overlooking and negligence

1:06 Sometimes, there arise from the learner

1:09 certain missteps that the mentor dislikes,

1:12 yet he may deliberately overlook them,

1:15 realizing that continuous reprimand for every single slip

1:19 may provoke an adverse reaction of resentment and alienation.

1:24 There is no harm in such overlooking,

1:27 provided it is restricted to minor lapses,

1:30 not outright, blatant offenses,

1:33 and that it is done with the intention of balancing priorities and deferring correction until the learner matures

1:40 and comprehends the root of the error.

1:44 Moreover, this overlooking must never lead to neglect and heedlessness,

1:50 for neglecting to admonish is just as harmful as persistent badgering.

1:54 And the mentor's wisdom

1:56 is what guides him as to when overlooking is best and when correction is best.

2:01 Employing both leniency and firmness in upbringing

2:09 Leniency in its proper place is essential,

2:12 and firmness in its proper place is equally essential to the very same degree.

2:17 What is prohibited is harshness and hard-heartedness, which never bring any good.

2:23 Allah Almighty said:

2:25 “It was by the mercy of Allah that thou wast lenient with them (O Muhammad), for if thou hadst been stern and fierce of heart they would have dispersed from round about thee. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult with them upon the conduct of affairs. And when thou art resolved, then put thy trust in Allah. Lo! Allah loveth those who put their trust (in Him).” (3:159)

2:29 "And had you been severe and harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from about you."

2:34 Firmness in no way means harshness;

2:37 rather, it is the educator's steadfastness upon the right decision

2:41 and an insistence on carrying it out,

2:44 while observing the best manner

2:46 and imbuing it with gentleness and love.

2:49 What the mentor truly needs

2:51 is discernment regarding the occasions for leniency and the occasions for firmness,

2:55 grounded upon an enduring foundation of love.

3:00 Training in the restraint of desires

3:03 Restraining desires is a skill that a person can be trained in,

3:08 and a habit that can be cultivated.

3:11 The earlier one trains in it during childhood,

3:14 the more capable and proficient one becomes at it,

3:18 readily finding that self-control when it is needed.

3:22 A Muslim cannot call people to Allah Almighty

3:25 or strive in His cause

3:28 without disciplining his passions and desires,

3:31 even those within the realm of the permissible

3:34 that carry no sin in and of themselves.

3:37 Allah Almighty said:

3:39 “Say: If your fathers, and your sons, and your brethren, and your wives, and your tribe, and the wealth ye have acquired, and merchandise for which ye fear that there will no sale, and dwellings ye desire are dearer to you than Allah and His messenger and striving in His way: then wait till Allah bringeth His command to pass. Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.” (9:24)

3:43 "And your brothers, your spouses, your kindred,

3:47 the wealth you have acquired,

3:49 the commerce you fear may decline..."

3:52 “Say: If your fathers, and your sons, and your brethren, and your wives, and your tribe, and the wealth ye have acquired, and merchandise for which ye fear that there will no sale, and dwellings ye desire are dearer to you than Allah and His messenger and striving in His way: then wait till Allah bringeth His command to pass. Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.” (9:24)

3:55 “Say: If your fathers, and your sons, and your brethren, and your wives, and your tribe, and the wealth ye have acquired, and merchandise for which ye fear that there will no sale, and dwellings ye desire are dearer to you than Allah and His messenger and striving in His way: then wait till Allah bringeth His command to pass. Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.” (9:24)

3:59 “Say: If your fathers, and your sons, and your brethren, and your wives, and your tribe, and the wealth ye have acquired, and merchandise for which ye fear that there will no sale, and dwellings ye desire are dearer to you than Allah and His messenger and striving in His way: then wait till Allah bringeth His command to pass. Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.” (9:24)

4:03 "And Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people."

4:07 Everything mentioned in the verse

4:10 is fundamentally permissible,

4:13 yet it becomes forbidden and sinful

4:16 when it turns one away from the duty of da'wah and striving in the cause of Allah.

4:20 Restraining desires does not mean total deprivation of them,

4:24 so long as they are permissible;

4:26 rather, it means training the soul to forgo them

4:30 whenever the need arises.

4:32 Accordingly,

4:34 the educator can nurture the learners

4:37 through periodic exercises in which he withholds from them certain permissible desires

4:40 of the self for a limited time,

4:43 to accustom them to doing without them when necessary.

4:52 Punishment is neither inherently reprehensible nor forbidden,

4:57 nor is it inherently harmful to the development of the individual or the child,

5:00 as claimed by certain educational doctrines of contemporary Jahiliyyah.

5:05 For the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

5:08 commanded that the child be disciplined for neglecting prayer,

5:11 saying:

5:13 "Command your children to pray when they are seven years old,

5:16 and discipline them for neglecting it when they are ten."

5:19 However, what we need to establish and emphasize is the following:

5:24 First:

5:26 Punishment—in both its physical and psychological forms—should not

5:31 be the first resort of the educator;

5:34 rather, he must begin with reward and encouragement,

5:37 and if that proves ineffective,

5:39 he may move to punishment,

5:41 beginning with moral reprimand before physical discipline.

5:46 Second:

5:48 Individual differences between children must be respected,

5:51 and the type and measure of punishment must be decided with wisdom.

5:56 For there is a child who considers turning away from him to be a sufficient deterrent,

6:01 one that touches him to the core;

6:03 so do not escalate beyond that punishment to something else,

6:08 nor unnecessarily prolong the period of shunning,

6:11 if a brief period suffices.

6:14 Yet another child is not deterred except by physical discipline,

6:19 and with such a child, one employs what is effective for him.

6:23 Third:

6:25 The educator must ensure that the punishment is proportionate to the offense in its degree as well;

6:32 he should not have a uniform measure of punishment applied equally to every case,

6:39 for that emboldens a child to commit a major offense

6:44 as long as its punishment is the same as that of a minor one.

6:48 Fourth:

6:50 It is generally better to threaten punishment than to actually carry it out,

6:55 because that preserves its lasting deterrent dread within the child's soul,

7:00 unlike frequent execution,

7:02 which may breed familiarity and cause the child to lose all fear of it.

7:08 Upbringing through direct guidance and instruction

7:13 First:

7:16 The necessity of guidance and direct instruction.

7:19 Setting an example alone is not sufficient in the process of upbringing,

7:23 nor does it fulfill all that is required.

7:26 The Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, though the supreme role model for humanity,

7:31 did not rely solely on his conduct in educating his Companions;

7:34 rather, he was constantly guiding and instructing them,

7:38 to the point that an immense wealth of hadiths was established,

7:42 which became one of the two primary sources of legislation.

7:46 Likewise, the Noble Qur'an is entirely composed of guidance and direct instruction;

7:51 thus, upbringing must combine both exemplary conduct and verbal instruction.

7:56 Second:

7:58 The source of guidance and instruction.

8:01 It is evident from the preceding point

8:03 that the source of guidance and instruction

8:06 must be the Book and the Sunnah.

8:09 Accordingly, we do not derive our guidance for our children—

8:13 in values, worldviews, morals, or patterns of behavior—

8:18 from the ignorance (Jahiliyyah) surrounding us across the globe.

8:22 This does not mean that we should close our minds

8:26 to beneficial human experiences,

8:29 for wisdom is the lost property of the believer:

8:32 wherever he finds it, he has the greatest right to it.

8:35 Rather, the intent is that we beware lest Jahiliyyah entice us away

8:40 from what has been revealed to us, or from part of it.

8:43 Allah Almighty said:

8:45 "And judge between them by what Allah has revealed

8:49 and do not follow their desires..."

8:52 “So judge between them by that which Allah hath revealed, and follow not their desires, but beware of them lest they seduce thee from some part of that which Allah hath revealed unto thee. And if they turn away, then know that Allah's Will is to smite them for some sin of theirs. Lo! many of mankind are evil-livers.” (5:49)

8:57 The implication of this is

8:59 that we must never derive fundamental principles except from the Book of Allah

9:02 and the Sunnah of His Messenger, peace be upon him.

9:06 As for applications—

9:08 that is, the practical methods of execution and delivery—

9:11 there is no harm in adopting any beneficial method or technique,

9:15 so long as it does not conflict with the foundational principles derived

9:19 from the Book and the Sunnah,

9:21 while holding the firm conviction

9:23 that Jahiliyyah, in terms of foundational principles, possesses only one of two things:

9:28 either values and principles similar to those in Islam,

9:32 in which case let us take them from their original, divine source;

9:37 or values that contradict Islam,

9:40 from which no good can ever emerge,

9:44 even if at first glance they appear glittering and attractive.

9:49 Channeling energies and emotions

9:53 Islam directs human energies, drives,

9:58 and diverse emotions toward their proper destination,

10:02 channeling them into their designated fields so they bear fruit.

10:07 If, for instance, the capacity for hatred builds up within a person—

10:11 which is an innate capacity—

10:14 Islam directs it toward hating Satan and his allies,

10:18 and toward every evil they instigate.

10:22 Similarly, Islam channels the capacity for love toward the love of Allah,

10:27 the love of the believers, the good, and the lawful.

10:31 Say the same regarding all other faculties,

10:34 such as striving, cultivation, production, and development,

10:38 where Islam channels all of that into doing good and dismantling falsehood,

10:44 thereby safeguarding the soul from being derailed by its energies into turmoil and vice.

10:56 Knowledge stripped of spiritual upbringing and self-purification

11:01 becomes an argument against its possessor rather than a benefit;

11:06 indeed, it may drive its possessor to spread corruption in the land

11:10 instead of reforming it.

11:13 Therefore, students throughout the stages of education must be linked to noble, exalted goals,

11:20 and steered clear of base aims and trivialities.

11:25 Educational curricula should be formulated in light of this vision,

11:29 especially in the field of the so-called humanities and theoretical sciences,

11:34 such as history, language, literature, and pedagogy.

11:38 In history, for example, students study the biographies of the heroes of the Ummah of Islam,

11:43 highlighting the role models within their lives,

11:47 while the wicked are mentioned with an exposure of the roots of their evil and deviations

11:53 and their adverse impacts upon the Ummah, so as to discern the path of the wicked.

12:01 Collective upbringing

12:04 Although individual upbringing has its importance and role in cultivating exceptional individuals,

12:11 it is never sufficient on its own;

12:15 rather, collective upbringing—or nurturing the individual within a group—is indispensable.

12:21 For the human soul, as we have explained regarding the nature of the learner,

12:26 has two innate inclinations:

12:29 an individual inclination and a collective one;

12:33 he is an individual within a group.

12:35 Accordingly, an individual will not develop in a wholesome manner

12:40 unless we nurture those facets within him that do not mature or function

12:45 except within a group alongside other individuals.

12:49 The school and its student activities represent a form of collective upbringing;

12:56 likewise, Qur'an memorization circles in mosques

13:00 and their accompanying excursions and educational camps are a form of collective upbringing,

13:07 in which the learner is trained in wholesome coexistence with others,

13:12 constructive interaction with them,

13:16 setting shared goals,

13:19 and achieving teamwork—

13:21 which yields great results in areas that cannot be achieved through individual effort.

13:28 The environment that influences upbringing:

13:32 A child, or anyone being nurtured in general, is influenced by the surrounding environment;

13:38 they are shaped by the home, the street, the school, and society.

13:44 Therefore, if we want the educational and upbringing process to be successful and fruitful,

13:49 we must have a Muslim home,

13:53 a Muslim street,

13:55 a Muslim school,

13:57 a Muslim society,

13:59 and Islamic media.

Summary of Sunni concepts | 50- Concepts about methods, means and characteristics of education | Concepts (811-820)

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