Teaching by Reasoning & Logic

people are different in terms of their ability to understand and respond quickly. they are different also in terms of their ability to accept and surrender to the orders of allah the almighty; some of them accept and believe in such orders as soon as they receive them while others may need to discuss matters in order to know the purpose for which such orders were revealed.

this is also applicable on the students; some of them may not accept the rules or principles set by scholars and scientists unless they know the purpose and the point behind them. some of them can understand only after summing up the rules while others may need to have a discussion.

1- imam ahmad narrated that abu umama reported the following: a young man came to the prophet, peace be upon him, and said: o prophet of allah, let me commit adultery. hearing that, the companions proceeded toward him quickly and said: “hush! hush!” as an expression of anger for such shameless request. the prophet called the young man to come closer. the man sat down. then the prophet asked him: “do you accept adultery for your mother?” he said: no, i swear by allah that i don’t accept it. the prophet said: “and so people do not accept adultery for their mothers.” the prophet asked: “do you accept adultery for your daughter?” he said: no, i swear by allah that i don’t accept it. the prophet said: “and so people do not accept adultery for their daughters.” the prophet asked: “do you accept adultery for your sister?” he said: no, i swear by allah that i don’t accept it. the prophet said: “and so people do not accept adultery for their sisters.” the prophet asked: “do you accept adultery for your paternal aunt?” he said: no, i swear by allah that i don’t accept it. the prophet said: “and so people do not accept adultery for their paternal aunts.” the prophet asked: “do you accept adultery for your maternal aunt?” he said: no, i swear by allah that i don’t accept it. the prophet said: “and so people do not accept adultery for their maternal aunts.” then the prophet, peace be upon him, put his hand on that young man and said: ((o allah, forgive him, purify his heart and help him to keep his chastity)). thereafter, such young man refrained completely from looking for such (bad) things.

this hadith shows how the prophet, peace be upon him, was very kind in dealing with others. he did not scold or reproach the young man for his shameless request as the companions did. he did not tell him that adultery is forbidden and there is a severe punishment waiting for the adulterer at the hereafter; contrary, he followed a logical method to convince the young man how adultery is abhorred by all people and no one can accept it to his mother, daughter, sister or aunt. the prophet, peace be upon him, knew that the best mean to handle such case and convince such young man to abandon such bad thoughts is to use logic and reasoning.

al-bukhari narrated in his book that abu huraira reported: a man came to the prophet and said, "o prophet of allah! a black child has been born for me (although i and his mother are not black)." the prophet asked him, "do you have camels?" the man said, "yes." the prophet asked him, "what color are they?" the man replied: "red." the prophet said, "is there a grey one among them?' the man replied: "yes." the prophet said, "how that happened?" he said, "may be it is because of heredity." the prophet said: "may be your latest son has this (black) color because of heredity."

this man was surprised and astonished how he got a black child although he and his wife are white? the prophet, peace be upon him, made a dialog and discussion with him by using a logical method and giving a logical example. he set a simple example which can be easily understood by the bedouin man i.e. camels. he demonstrated to him how she camels may sometimes deliver baby camels different than their color and told him that it is a matter of heredity. the prophet, peace be upon him, opted to follow a logical discussion with that simple man so that he can reach a better understanding.

2- ibn abbas narrated that a woman from the tribe of juhaina came to the prophet and said, "my mother had vowed to perform hajj but she died before performing it. may i perform hajj on my mother's behalf?" the prophet replied, ((yes, perform hajj on her behalf. had there been a debt on your mother, would you have then paid it or not? so, honor your duties toward allah as his rights are worthier of being performed)).

summary:

1) using logic and reasoning is a good mean to provide better understanding to others.

2) the simplicity of the logical discussions and involving the students in them are essential factors to achieve interaction and understanding.

3) the dialogue and examples should be suitable to the mental level of the student, such as choosing the example of “camels” to make the bedouin man understand the matter easily.

4) before making a logical dialogue with a person, it is better to ensure whether such method is suitable to him or not.

Addressing Students in the Language they Understand

it is known that there are individual differences between students. some students may respond quickly to certain questions while others cannot. abu sa’eed al-khudri reported that the prophet, peace be upon him, sat on his pulpit and said: ((allah gave a choice to one of his servants (worshipers) that he may opt the beauties of the world or the reward of allah at the hereafter, and the servant chose allah’s reward at the hereafter)). thereupon, abu bakr wept bitterly and said: let our fathers and our mothers be taken as ransom for you. it was the prophet, peace be upon him, who had been given the choice and abu bakr knew it better than us.

an-nawawi said: abu bakr, may allah be pleased with him, knew that the person who was given such choice is the prophet, peace be upon him, therefore, he wept for the fact that the prophet, peace be upon him, will die. the prophet, peace be upon him, said “one of his servants” without specifying a certain person so that the clever companions can know that the prophet is the meant person. ibn taimiyah said: abu bakr, may allah be pleased with him, was very close to the prophet, peace be upon him, and knows best the meaning of the prophetic traditions and he reads between the lines.

there are several means helping in delivering information to the students and such means can be determined according to the individual differences and the students’ level of understanding. therefore, the teacher should be accurate in choosing such means in a way to facilitate understanding information by all students.

1- aisha, may allah be pleased with her, reported: (i asked the prophet, peace be upon him, about the wall (outside the ka'ba). "is it regarded as part of the ka'ba?" he replied, "yes." i said, "then why didn't the people include it in the ka'ba?" he said, "(because) your people ran short of money." i asked, "then why is its gate so high?" he replied, ''your people did so in order to allow whom they want to enter and forbid whom they want from entry. were your people not still close to the period of ignorance (pre-islam period), and were i not afraid that their hearts might deny my action, then surely i would include the wall in the ka'ba and lower the level of its gate to the level of the ground”). this hadith shows how the prophet, peace be upon him, canceled the idea of re-building the ka’ba on its original foundations just to avoid disorder and for fearing that the people will not understand the matter correctly. to elaborate more, here are other two examples:

first: al-bukhari narrated that ali bin abi taleb, may allah be pleased with him, said: “only narrate what people can understand (from the prophetic traditions) because people tend to deny what they cannot understand”.

second: muslim narrated that abdullah bin mas’oud said: “if you narrate a hadith which cannot be understood by people, you will surly confuse some of them”. these two statements emphasize the importance of addressing people in the language they can understand in order to avoid causing them confusion. the teachers should simplify things and use simple clear words to ensure that all students have the right understanding and no confusion happens to them.

al-ghazali said: the teacher should address his students in the language they can understand so that they will not hate learning or have any confusion. the prophet, peace be upon him, said: ((we, all prophets of allah, are ordered (by allah) to respect the social ranks of people and address them in the language they can understand)).

al-hakem narrated that ibn qudama heard an-nadher bin shamil saying: i asked al-khaleel about a certain issue and waited for a while without receiving an answer. i said then, this question does not need such long time to think. he replied: i have already thought and found the answer for your question, but i am thinking how to give you an answer that you can understand. in another example, ash-shafe’i said: “should mohammad bin al-hasan (one of the chief hanafi jurists) had been teaching us according to his high mentality, we would have understood nothing; however, he was teaching us in the language that we can understand”.

summary:

1) students are different in their level of understanding and learning.

2) the skillful teacher is the one who can deliver understandable information to his students, not stuffing their minds with non-understandable texts and issues.

3) the teacher should evaluate the mental capacity of his students then he can teach them according to their capacity.

4) stuffing the student’s mind with information beyond his understanding will cause him more confusion and puzzlement.

Practical Methods in Teaching

the theoretical aspect of the learning process is not enough to achieve the educational objectives. there should be a practical aspect in order to enhance and complement the theoretical aspect. combining between such two aspects helps the students to get more understanding of the information they receive and facilitate remembering and applying them in the best manner. the practical aspect is useful to both teachers and students, as the following:

a) practical examples by the teacher:

1- the hadith narrated by sahl bin saad (about how the prophet taught his companions to perform the prayer while he was standing on his pulpit), he said:

“then i saw the prophet, peace be upon him, standing on the pulpit, he raised his hands saying “allahu akbar”, then he bowed, prostrated and then he stood up facing us and said: ((o people, i performed a prayer in front of you so that you can learn and pray like me)).

2. anas bin malik narrated that the prophet, peace be upon him, saw some sputum in the direction of the qibla (on the wall of the masjed) and he disliked that and the sign of disgust was apparent on his face. so he got up and scraped it off with his hand and said, "whenever anyone of you stands for the prayer, he is speaking in private to his lord or his lord is between him and his qibla. so, none of you should spit in the direction of the qibla but one can spit to the left or under his foot." the prophet then took the corner of his sheet and spat in it and folded it and said, "or you can do like this”. al-hafez commented on this hadith saying: this shows that practicing something in front of the learner helps him to get better understanding.

3- al-bukhari narrated that othman bin affan made wudu’ (ablution) and said when he finished: "the prophet, peace be upon him, said ((if anyone performs ablution like that of mine and offers a two-rak'at prayer during which he does not think of anything else (not related to the present prayer) then his past sins will be forgiven)). ibn hijr said: this hadith shows the importance of teaching by practice because it makes the learner masters the required action. another example; the prophet, peace be upon him, said at the pilgrimage: ((learn your rituals by seeing me performing them)). these hadiths shows that the teacher should take care of practice in order to save time and efforts and help the students to get better understanding. for example, instead of speaking theoretically about wudu’ (ablution) and consuming long time in explanation, the teacher can bring some water and perform wudu’ in front of his students and allow them to perform wudu’ in front of him. by this way, they will understand and will never forget wudu’.

sometimes the practical method cannot be applied in all fields of knowledge; however, the teacher should exert all out efforts to apply this method as long as it is possible.

b) practical examples by the students:

abu huraira, may allah be pleased with him, reported: the prophet, peace be upon him, entered the majed and a person also entered therein and offered prayer quickly, and then came and paid salutation to the prophet, peace be upon him. the prophet, peace be upon him, saluted him in return and said: “go back and pray, for you have not offered the prayer”. he again prayed as he had done before, and came to the prophet, peace be upon him, and saluted him. the prophet, peace be upon him, saluted him in return and said: “go back and pray, for you have not offered the prayer”. this (act of repeating the prayer) was done three times. upon this the person said : by him who has sent you with truth, whatever better i can do than this, please teach me. the prophet, peace be upon him, said: “when you get up to pray, recite takbir, and then recite whatever you conveniently can from the koran, then bow down and remain quietly in that position, then raise your- self and stand erect; then prostrate yourself and remain quietly in that attitude; then raise yourself and sit quietly; and do that throughout all your prayers.” the prophet, peace be upon him, taught that person how to perform the prayer quietly and gave him a chance to discover his mistake by himself. moreover, he let the person try three times so that all companions learn how to avoid such mistake and to enable such person to think more and find his mistake.

1- anas bin malik reported that a man asked the prophet, peace be upon him, about the time of fajr prayer. the prophet, peace be upon him, answered: “come here tomorrow to perform fajr prayer with us”. on the next day, the prophet, peace be upon him, performed fajr prayer at beginning of dawn (while darkness is still prevailing), and on the second day, he performed farjr prayer at the daybreak. the prophet asked then: “where is the man who asked about fajr prayer time?” the man answered: i am here o prophet of allah. the prophet asked him: “did you attend fajr prayer with us yesterday and today?” the man said: yes. the prophet said then: “fajr prayer should be performed between such two times”. this hadith shows how the prophet, peace be upon him, taught the man by practice.

summary:

1) combining between the theoretical and practical aspects enhances education and learning.

2) practice helps saving time and efforts for the teacher.

3) allowing the students to practice enables them to have better understanding.

4) it is advisable that the teacher let his student discover the mistakes in his homework by himself.

5) practice helps the students to keep information and never forget them.

Teacher & Student Verbal and Visual Communication

the verbal and visual method of teaching is deemed the most effective way of communication between the teacher and his students.

this method helps the teacher to have more control on the classroom and to deliver information to the students in an effective manner. we will explain hereinafter some rules for the verbal and visual communication to help teachers in performing their task efficiently and we will quote the prophetic examples in this regard.

first: the verbal communication

a) the manner of speaking (narration – explanation):

aisha, may allah be pleased with her, said: “the prophet, peace be upon him, does not speak (narrate) quickly like you; contrary, he speaks clearly and gives intervals. it was easy for people to understand and memorize what he says”.

explaining the academic subjects quickly causes confusion for the student and deprives him from benefiting from his study. similarly, speaking slowly causes boredom and drowsiness.

the best delivery method is to speak clearly, separate words from each other and avoid overlapping of words in a way that the narration/ explanation should not be very quick or very slow.

b) avoid ranting & rhyming:

ranting means high-sounding language, without importance or dignity of thought; and the ranting person is the one who uses artificial language and moves his lips and mouth in strange manner while speaking and exaggerate in pronouncing the letters.

1. jaber, may allah be pleased with him, narrated that the prophet, peace be upon him, said: “the best and closest of you to me at the day of judgment are those who have good manners and morals, and the most abhorred and farthest of you from me at the day of judgment are those who chatter, drawl and behave in haughty manner".

2. abdullah bin amr, may allah be pleased with him, narrated that the prophet, peace be upon him, said: "allah the almighty abhors the eloquent man who drawls/exaggerates moving his tongue (while pronouncing words) like a cow moves its tongue".

al-gazali said that the abhorred eloquence is that when the man exaggerates in using the artificial rhyming language, drawls, and exaggerates moving his mouth and tongue while pronouncing words. speech should be limited to the words which convey the message and demonstrate the meaning, without using artificial contexts.

c) raising voice (or changing the tone):

abdullah bin amr said: once we travelled with the prophet, peace be upon him, and he was a distance behind us. he reached us while we were making ablution (wodu’) to perform the prayer and “out of tiredness”, we wiped our feet instead of washing them. seeing that, the prophet said with high voice: ((woe to heels from hell-fire)) two or three times. from this hadith, the scholars concluded that there is no problem for raising the voice in teaching when necessary due to distance or large number of people. the high tone can be used also when delivering sermons. jaber, may allah be pleased with him, said: “when the prophet, peace be upon him, delivers a sermon and speaks about the day of judgment, he becomes angry and raises his voice …). narrated by muslim.

this shows that it is recommended sometimes to raise voice while teaching in order to illustrate important issues and attract the attention of the audience. sometimes, raising voice may serve as sign for simulating, reminding or warning any student if the teacher doesn’t want to stop delivering information.

d) continuous delivery of lesson:

some students may interrupt their teacher while explaining the lesson in order to inquire about certain point or to request repeating some ideas. the teacher may respond and may not, but if he responds, several negative effects will happen: first: by responding to such student, the teacher is giving the priority to one or two students on the account of the other students in the classroom. second: the context of speech will be affected and will not be spontaneous or continuous. third: the other students will be disturbed or confused due to such interruption. fourth; the teacher himself will be confused and will lose the sequence of his ideas.

1. abu huraira, may allah be pleased with him, said: while the prophet was saying something in a gathering, a bedouin came and asked him, "when would the hour (doomsday) take place?" the prophet continued his talk, so some people said that the prophet had heard the question, but did not like what that bedouin had asked. some of them said that the prophet had not heard it. when the prophet, peace be upon him, finished his speech, he said, "where is the questioner, who enquired about the hour (doomsday)?" the bedouin said, "i am here, o prophet of allah ." then the prophet said, "when honesty is lost, then wait for the hour (doomsday)." the bedouin said, "how will that be lost?" the prophet said, "when the power or authority comes in the hands of unfit persons, then wait for the hour (doomsday). narrated by al-bukhari. this hadith demonstrates that the prophet, peace be upon him, answered the question after he finished his speech.

e) keeping silence for a while

while delivering a lesson, it is recommended sometimes to keep silence for a short while in order to attract the attention of the students. when the teacher speaks about certain topic and stops talking suddenly, such thing will attract the attention of the students. such short period of time will help the student to get short rest and will give the teacher a chance to arrange his ideas within few moments.

1. abu bakra, may allah be pleased with him, narrated that the prophet, peace be upon him, asked, "which month is this?" we said, "allah and his prophet know better." he kept silent so long that we thought that he would call it by a name other than its real name. he said, "isn't it the month of dhul-hijja?" we said, "yes." he said, "which town is this?" we said, "allah and his prophet know better." he kept silent so long that we thought that he would call it by a name other than its real name. he said, "isn't it the town (of makkah)?" we replied, "yes." he said, "what day is today?" we replied, "allah and his prophet know better." he kept silent so long that we thought that he would call it by a name other than its real name. he said, "isn't it the day of nahr?" we replied, "yes." he then said, "your blood, properties and honor are as sacred to one another as this day of yours, in this town of yours, in this month of yours …”

you can notice here how the silence of the prophet, peace be upon him, attracted the attention of the companions and made them eager to know what will follow.

second: visual communication:

a) the continuous visual communication between the teacher and his students:

keeping visual communication with the students helps the teacher to keep control and follow up. the teacher can notice the students who don’t pay attention or the drowsy students and can urge them to pay attention. it is recommended that the teacher looks at all directions so that each student will think that the speech is directed to him. some teachers focus on one direction, but this will cause losing control and will make the other students not attentive. it is recommended also that the teacher stands on a higher place to see all students and to enable all students to see him. that is why the pulpit in the mosque is high. the pulpit of the prophet, peace be upon him, was three steps higher than the normal ground so that all congregations and the prophet, peace be upon him, can see each other easily.

jaber bin abdullah, may allah be pleased with him, narrated that a man entered the mosque and sat down directly while the prophet, peace be upon him, was delivering the friday sermon. seeing him, the prophet said: o man, have you prayed (before sitting down)? he said: no. the prophet said: “stand and pray ….”. this hadith demonstrates that the prophet, peace be upon him, was looking at the congregation from all directions of the mosque.

2. abu saeed al-khudri, may allah be pleased with him, said that “the prophet, peace be upon him, sat once on his pulpit and we sat down around him”. ibn hijr commented on this hadith saying: it is recommended that the imam sits in front of the congregation so that the congregation can hear his speech and see his manners. this will help them to understand his sermon in the best manner.

b) using facial expressions:

most of teachers don’t pay attention to using the facial expressions in the teaching process. the facial expressions help the teacher to avoid speaking in many cases. like using the facial expressions to express pleasure, comfort, denial, anger ...etc. for some students, giving them smiles is better than saying “excellent”. the prophet, peace be upon him, used this method.

1. aisha, may allah be pleased with her, said: “the prophet entered upon me while there was a curtain reflecting pictures (of animals) in the house. his face got red with anger, and then he got hold of the curtain and tore it into pieces. the prophet said, "the people who paint these pictures will receive the severest punishment on the day of resurrection ."

2. anas bin malik narrated that the prophet, peace be upon him, saw some sputum in the direction of the qibla (on the wall of the mosque) and he disliked that and the sign of disgust was apparent on his face. so he got up and scraped it off with his hand and said, "whenever anyone of you stands for the prayer, he is speaking in private to his lord or his lord is between him and his qibla. so, none of you should spit in the direction of the qibla but one can spit to the left or under his foot." the prophet then took the corner of his sheet and spat in it and folded it and said, "or you can do like this”. when the companions saw the sign of disgust on his face, they understood that the prophet, peace be upon him, was angry for such action. even if we supposed that the prophet, peace be upon him, did not demonstrate the reason of his anger, the companions would understand from such sign that he is angry for such action.

smiling:

3. jarir bin abdullah al-bujali said: “the prophet, peace be upon him, did not screen himself from me since i embraced islam, and whenever he saw me he would receive me with a smile”. this demonstrates how such smile was having positive effect on jarir.

summary:

1) it is recommended to speak moderately, not too quick and not too slow, while giving a lesson.

2) speaking moderately will help the students to receive information and understand.

3) the religion and logic are against using artificial speech.

4) using artificial strange words causes disconnection between the teacher and his students.

5) raising voice is good mean to attract the attention of the students and to object against any action.

6) interrupting the delivery of a lesson confuses the students and confuses the teacher’s sequence of ideas.

7) the teacher should ask his students to delay the questions until finishing the explanation of the lesson.

8) keeping silence for a short while, during the lesson, attracts the attention of the students and helps in arranging the ideas.

9) exchanging visual communication helps the teacher to have more control and helps the student to have more understanding.

10) using facial expressions helps the teacher to achieve his objectives.

11) the individual differences should be taken into consideration while using the facial expressions, because it is feasible for some students and not so for others.

Preparing Students for Learning

it is well known that if the student did not pay attention or did not care about his teacher for any reason, he will not be able to receive or understand information from him, and if the student pays attention well, he will understand and will achieve high scores; therefore, it is advisable that the teacher attracts the attention of his students from time to another by using the best methods and means, like, but not limited to, the following three ones:

a) requesting listening: it means asking the students to keep silence and listen carefully. this method can be used directly before starting the lesson when the use of the other indirect means is not possible.

jarair bin abdullah al-bujali narrated that the prophet, peace be upon him, said to him at the farewell pilgrimage (hijatul wadaa): “ask the people to listen”, then he said: ((after my death, don’t return disbelievers again killing one another …). al-hafez bin hijr said: the said sermon took place at the farewell pilgrimage and there were large numbers of people gathering to throw pebbles; therefore, it was appropriate to ask them to keep silence and listen. it is known that pilgrimage season is witnessed by large number of people and that people during pilgrimage are very busy in performing their rituals; so, it is impossible to deliver a sermon without asking people to keep silence and listen, and that’s why the prophet, peace be upon him, asked one of his companions to let people listen.

b) calling (directly): it means calling the students before or during the lesson. this is a widely used method among the teachers and here is an example:

abdullah bin abbas, may allah be pleased with him, said: once the prophet ascended the pulpit and it was the last gathering in which he took part. he was covering his shoulder with a big cloak and binding his head with an oily bandage. he glorified and praised allah and said, ((o people! come to me." so the people came and gathered around him and he then said: "from now onward the ansar will decrease and other people will increase. so anybody who becomes a ruler of the followers of muhammad and has the power to harm or benefit people then he should accept the good from the benevolent amongst them (ansar) and overlook the faults of their wrong-doers)). the prophet, peace be upon him, attracted the attention of the people by calling them and asking them to listen.

c) indirect motivation to listen: this is a good method to attract people to listen because people in general don’t like direct orders; therefore, it is useful for the teacher to use this method to attract the attention of his students. the prophet, peace be upon him, was the best of who applied this manner:

ubada bin al-samet, may allah be pleased with him, narrated that the prophet, peace be upon him said: ((receive (teaching) from me, receive (teaching) from me. allah has ordained a way for those (women). when an unmarried male commits adultery with an unmarried female (they should receive) one hundred lashes and banishment for one year. and in case of married male committing adultery with a married female, they shall receive one hundred lashes and be stoned to death)).

he started by saying “receive (teaching) from me” and repeated it in order to attract the attention of people and motivate them to listen.

summary:

1) the student can be prepared to receive information by using direct or indirect methods.

2) asking students to keep silence and listen is one of the strongest methods of attracting attention.

3) teachers can use the method of direct calling like saying (o students! pay attention) or any similar phrases.

4) the method of direct calling can be used at the beginning and during the lesson.

5) the indirect method needs special skills from teachers and it can be used at the beginning and during the lesson.

Rewarding Learners

giving rewards to learners has a great positive effect in motivating them to learn; therefore, the teacher should follow this method whenever he feels that his students lack interest or for any other useful purposes.

there are several kinds of rewards, but all of them have the same motivating effect. here are some of these kinds:

 

a) material rewards: this type has the greatest motivating effect on the students because it demonstrates that the rewarded student excelled his friends and gained the pleasure of his teachers. the prophet, peace be upon him, used this type of rewards:

1) abdullah bin al-hareth said: the prophet, peace be upon him, arranged abdullah, obaidullah and several boys of bani al-abbas in rows, then said: “the one who reaches me first will get so and so”. then, the boys raced toward him, fell on his back and chest. the prophet, peace be upon him, kissed them and sit with them.

b) reward by supplication “doaa”: it means asking allah to bless the student and grant him more success. this type of rewards is rarely used by the teachers but it was used by the prophet, peace be upon him:

 

1- ibn abbas, may allah be pleased with him, said: once the prophet, peace be upon him, entered the bathroom and i prepared the ablution water for him. when he saw the water he said: who put this water here? i said “me”. he said: “o allah, give him the fiqh (jurisprudence) in religion”. al-taimi said: this demonstrates that the reward by doaa is desirable. ibn al-munier said: ibn abbas was hesitant in choosing one of three options:

1- giving water to the prophet, peace be upon him, while he was in the bathroom,

2- putting the water beside the door so that the prophet, peace be upon him, can pick it up,

3- just wait and do nothing. he chose the second option because the first one is not appropriate and the third one will cause difficulty for the prophet in demanding water; therefore, after this clever way of thinking, the prophet, peace be upon him, asked allah to grant ibn abbas more jurisprudence in reward for his clever choice.

c. reward by commendation: this type includes giving positive feedback like: excellent, very good, great …etc. this method helps the student to be more confident about his efforts and abilities.

1- ubai bin ka’b narrated that the prophet, peace be upon him, said: “o aba al-monther! do you know which is the greatest verse of the holy koran? i said: (allah! la ilaha illa huwa al haiul qaiyyoum)(allah – there is no deity except him, the ever-living, the sustainer of [all] existence) the prophet, peace be upon him, hit my chest and said: right, you have really good knowledge. al-nawawi said: this is a great merit for ubai and it demonstrates his vast knowledge. moreover, this hadith demonstrates that it is allowed to laud or commend any person in his presence if such person is pious and don't take pride.

abo mousa al-ashari, may allah be pleased with him, said: i came to the prophet, peace be upon him, while he was at al-bathaa (name of place). he asked me: did you perform pilgrimage? i said: yes. he said: what type of pilgrimage did you intend when you assumed ihram? i said: o allah, i intend to perform haj as your prophet, peace be upon him, did. he said: well done…

mohammad jamil zino said: the successful teacher should commend his students if he noticed any improvement in their conduct or learning efforts. for example, if the student gives a correct answer, the teacher can give him the following feedback: well-done, bless you, great. this kind of feedback encourages the student to continue and enhance his morale; therefore, he will love his teacher and school and will be ready for learning more. moreover, he will encourage his friends to follow his example to get such commendation and encouragement.

summary:

1) rewards create positive effects for motivating the student to learn more.

2) the rewards should be a mean, not a target.

3) reward by doaa is recommended. it is good to choose the appropriate doaa which matches the commended deed.

4) reward by commendation is good method to encourage the student to learn more.

The Use of Disciplinary Actions while teaching

all teachers agree that the student should be punished when he commits or repeats a wrong action, but they disagree upon using the method of physical punishment. some of them believe that the method of physical punishment is not feasible because it causes psychological disorders, makes the student fear his teacher in all things, and encourages the student to lie in order to escape punishment; therefore, they said that this method should be prohibited completely. on the other hand, the advocates of such method stated that cancelling the physical punishment completely will cause negative consequences, such as disregarding the teachers and not caring about learning. consequently, we will have a generation not caring about the teachers and the noble principles of the teaching/ learning process.

to tackle this issue fairly, we should deal with several aspects. firstly, cancelling the physical punishment completely is something unacceptable. similarly, allowing the teacher to practice the physical punishment method openly is also unacceptable; therefore, we should balance between the two. the prophet, peace be upon him, said: “urge your children to perform their prayers when they attain seven years (i.e. without using physical punishment), but when they attain ten years, beat them (lightly) if they do not perform their prayers and separate the sleeping spaces of your male and female children”.

commenting on this hadith, al-alqami said: beating is allowed when the child attains ten years because he can bear at such age, but the violent beating and slapping on the face should be avoided. therefore, the physical punishment method is subject to the above mentioned conditions and it can be practiced when the child attains ten years for the purpose of disciplining him. the teacher or the educator should bear this in mind and should avoid beating out of revenge. some teachers misunderstand the physical punishment method and beat their student violently under the pretext of disciplining them, while the truth is that they are taking revenge. moreover, the teachers should avoid slapping on the face because the prophet, peace be upon him, said: “if any of you decided to beat, let him then avoid slapping on the face”.

in this regard, sheikh mohammad jameel zino mentioned the following useful disciplinary steps:

1) advice and guidance (sometimes, giving advice is more effective for some students).

2) frowning (as a sign of dissatisfaction)

3) scolding.

4) turning away (turning away from his students or one of them so that he feels his mistake)

5) reproaching.

6) making the student squat (or stand up and raise his hands …etc).

7)  assigning the student with some homeworks or the like.

8) hanging up a stick, according to the hadith: "hang up the whip in a place where all your family members can see for it will discipline them".

9) as a final option, beat lightly.

the teacher should follow such steps gradually i.e. he should not beat before trying the other options which help in handling the mistakes without applying the beating option. moreover, if there was no way except using the physical punishment, the above conditions should be taken into consideration.

therefore, the physical punishment can help a great deal in education, subject to the above mentioned conditions, and it is not valid to prohibit such effective disciplinary action completely.

summary:

1) it is useful to follow gradual punishment methods and make beating as a final option.

2) the violent beating and slapping on the face should be avoided.

3) the purpose of beating is to discipline and educate, not to relieve anger.

Opening and Ending the Lessons by As-Salam (Islamic Greeting)

as-salam greeting (saying assalamu alaikum) is one of the great sunna’s (prophetic manners) but most of the teachers do not apply this sunna and most of them use other types of greetings instead. it is not a problem if you say good morning or good evening, but such kind of greetings should not be said before as-salam. therefore, saying any kind of greetings without making as-salam firstly is not valid. moreover, some teachers instruct their students to stand up for them when they enter the classrooms on the ground that such standing is a sign for good manners and respect toward their teachers; however, such standing cannot be regarded as a sign of respect because it goes against the islamic teachings. 

1 anas bin malek, may allah be pleased with him, said: (although the companions were of high respect and love to the prophet, peace be upon him, they never stood up when he enters because they know that such action is abominable).

2- the prophet, peace be upon him, said: “he who likes people to stand up for him, let him know that his seating will be in the hell".

saying as-salam greeting whenever you meet or leave people is great source for increasing your merits and good deeds; therefore, the prophet, peace be upon him, instructed his companions and urged them to keep doing this great sunna.

3- the prophet, peace be upon him, said: “if you meet your (muslim)brother, greet him (by as-salam greeting), and if a tree, wall or stone separated you (while walking together), greet him when you meet him again”.

extending as-salam greeting to others helps in spreading love and respect between individuals and groups; therefore, it is more recommended to use this greeting by the teacher upon entering to and departing from his classrooms.

4-the prophet, peace be upon him, said: “you will not enter paradise until you believe, and your belief will not be perfect until you love each other; so, shall i tell you about something which makes you love each other? extend as-salam greeting among yourselves”.

if the feelings of respect and love were exchanged between the teacher and his students, the students will be more ready to accept their teacher and learn from him because every one of us is more ready to accept anything that he loves.

another important matter is that the teacher should say as-salam greeting upon departing the classroom.

5- the prophet, peace be upon him, said: “when any of you reaches his seat (in any gathering, meeting or place), let him firstly extend as-salam greeting to others. then if he likes to sit down he can do so, and when he decides to leave, let him say again as-salam greeting, because extending as-salam greeting is of the same importance upon coming in and going out".

summary:

1) it is recommended to extend as-salam greetings to the students upon entering the classroom.

2) extending as-salam greeting is a reason for gaining the forgiveness of allah and increasing the good deeds.

3) extending as-salam greeting is a reason for spreading love and respect between the teacher and his students.

4) it is recommended extend as-salam greeting upon entering to and departing from the classroom.

Censure without Specifying Names

censure usually affects the feelings of the censured person, especially if the censure took place publicly; therefore, the prophet, peace be upon him, followed a gentle manner in dealing with the mistakes or wrong actions made by his companions. the prophet, peace be upon him, was demonstrating and denouncing the wrong actions publicly but without mentioning the name of the doer. the purpose of mentioning the wrong action publicly is not distorting the picture of the wrongdoer; contrary, it is to demonstrate the wrong action and warn the others to avoid it in the future. here are some examples:

anas bin malek, may allah be pleased with him, said: (a group of three men asked the wives of the prophet, peace be upon him, how the prophet worshipped (allah)? when they were informed about that, they considered their worship insufficient and said, "where we are from the prophet as his past and future sins have been forgiven." then one of them said, "i will offer the prayer throughout the night forever." the other said, "i will fast throughout the year and will not break my fast." the third said, "i will keep away from women and will never marry." when the prophet, peace be upon him, heard their story, he praised allah and said to the congregation:  ((why some people said so-and-so? by allah, i am more submissive to allah and more afraid of him than you; yet i fast and break my fast, i do sleep and i also marry women. so he, who does not follow my tradition in religion (sunnah), is not from me (not one of my followers)).

the prophet, peace be upon him, said “why some people …”. he did not mention their names although some of the companions know them well. he just demonstrated the wrong action to warn the companions to avoid it. al-nawawi commented on this hadith saying: this sublime way is usual in the speeches of the prophet, peace be upon him. he does not mention the name of the wrongdoer; contrary, he addresses the wrongdoer and all people in order not to harm the feelings of the wrongdoer.

here is another example. the prophet, peace be upon him, appointed a man from the tribe of asd, called ibn 'al-lutbiyya for collecting the zakat. when he returned back with zakat returns he said, "this share (of zakat returns) is for you and this (part of the returns) has been given to me as a present. the prophet, peace be upon him, stood on his pulpit, praised allah and then said, ((why is it that  some a person sent to collect zakat comes saying this share of zakat is for you and this  share was presented to me as a gift, why hadn't he stayed in his house to see whether he would be given presents or not?… etc” (i.e. it is because of his position as zakat collector he got such presents and gifts as bribe; otherwise, if he was not a collector, he would not receive such gifts)).

the prophet, peace be upon him, said “some a person”. he did not mention his name although many companions knows such person well because he meant to warn them all, not only the wrongdoer, so that they will know the consequences thereof and avoid it in the future.  ibn hajar said: this hadith demonstrates also that if you see someone making incorrect explanation or interpretation for certain issue in a way which can harm or cause negative consequences to any person adopting such explanation or interpretation, you can then demonstrate such wrong explanation or interpretation to the people so that they can avoid acting according to it.

the teachers should follow this way in dealing with the mistakes of their students. they should demonstrate the wrong action, explain its consequences and warn the students to avoid it without mentioning the name of the student who committed the mistake, especially if the mistake was unintended. by that, the teacher will save the student from those who may disregard him due to his mistake and he can avoid any hatred by the student toward him. the teacher has the discretion to evaluate whether or not to mention the name of the wrongdoer in front of the other students to deterhim, or  shall he  follow other ways to deal  with such mistake. in all cases, the teacher should be neutral and avoid any feeling of revenge. anyway, the task of demonstrating the wrong action without mentioning the name of the doer is not an easy issue. the teacher should be smart enough to deal with the wrong action without hurting the feelings of the student. he should demonstrate the wrong action implicitly, not explicitly. in this regard, it is better to be kind with the student and avoid any statements which may unveil him. 

summary: 

1) the purpose of demonstrating the mistake is not to defame the doer thereof; contrary, it is to warn the doer and the others to avoid it in the future.

2) it is recommended not to mention the name of the person who committed the wrong action even if such person is known to some people.

3) if the student committed a mistake deliberately, the teacher can use another method to deal with and discipline such student.

4) the teacher should be smart enough to deal with the mistake of the student without mentioning his name.