The Courage of the Teacher

many readers might find this title strange. some of them might ask: “what does courage have to do with education or teachers?” the kind of courage we mean here is the moral courage as some might call it. yet, the issue here is not to argue about the expression. when we hear the word “courage,” we will have in mind the state of being brave, such as in battles. as for this kind of courage, prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) was the bravest in battles. he was so brave that some of his companions used to seek protection by taking cover behind him in the midst of fierce confrontations. as mentioned above, we mean the moral courage which is to be brave to say the truth despite the risk of adverse consequences. the courage to admit making mistakes and clarifying the intentions. no one is free from making mistakes; the issue here is to avoid deception, tergiversation and cowardliness which are dispraised traits. the teacher should not be characterized with any of them. it will be clearer after giving the next examples:

1 – narrated by rafi' ibn khadij that the prophet (pbuh) came to al-madinah when the people were grafting the male bud of a date tree into the female in order to produce greater abundance of fruit, and he said, 'why do you do this?' they replied, 'it is an ancient custom.' the prophet said, 'perhaps it would be better if you did not do it.' and then they left off the custom, and the trees yielded but little fruit. the people complained to the prophet, and he said, ' i am no more than a man. when i order anything respecting religion, receive it; but when i order you about the affairs of the world, then i speak only as a man.' (sahih ibn habban: 23 – good isnad [chain of transmission]) in some narrations of this hadith the prophet (pbuh) said: “you know best about the affairs of your world”. (sahih muslim: 4358). the context of the hadith shows the humanity of prophet muhammad (pbuh), as he gave muslims the space to decide what to do in terms of worldly issues like agricultures, commerce and in battles like when he used to consult and listen to the companions to reach the best strategy. but, he is faultless in terms of clarifying sharia (islamic law) and delivering the teachings of islam to believers as almighty allah says: “your companion [muhammad] has not strayed, nor has he erred, nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. it is not but a revelation revealed, taught to him by one intense in strength.” (an-najm: 2-5). it happened that he forgot in minor situations, but it was only to teach his ummah (islamic nation) what to do if they forget while worshipping almighty allah like if one adds to or subtracts from what is required during the salat (prayer), out of forgetfulness or lack of attention, then one must perform two extra prostrations at the end of the salat which is called sujud asahu. so, even when the prophet (pbuh) forgot it was by the will of allah to teach muslims what to do in such situations.

so, the prophet (pbuh) is a human and he encourages his ummah (muslim nation) to decide and see what is best for them in terms of worldly matters. in imam nawawi’s narration “you know best about the affairs of your world,” scholars explain the prophet’s saying as it relates to affairs of daily life not commands and sharia of islam. as the teachings of islam that the prophet (pbuh) educates and teaches to muslims, should be followed. grafting palm trees is a worldly issue related to agriculture, so farmers and workers in agriculture would know more about this matter. so, in the previously mentioned hadith we can notice that the prophet (pbuh) did not seek an excuse; he said: 'i am no more than a man. when i order anything respecting religion, receive it; but when i order you about the affairs of the world, then i speak only as a man.' so, he explained to them that he is human and they might know better about their profession as farmers and date trees growers.

let’s look at the companions of the prophet (pbuh) to see how they followed the footsteps of the teacher of humanity, prophet muhammad (pbuh):

umar ibn al-khattaab-may allah be pleased with him-, the second caliph, ascended the minbar (pulpit) of the messenger of allah and said, “o people! do not go to excess in the matter of women’s dowry… and we never knew of a man who gave more than 400 dirhams as dowry.” then he stepped down. a lady of the quraysh from the congregation objected to umar saying, “o ameer al-mu’mineen(emir of the believers)! have you told the believers not to exceed 400 dirhams in giving the dowry?” to which umar replied “yes.” she said, “did you not hear that allah says, ‘if you have given one of them a heap of gold, then take not from it anything; would you take it by slandering (her) and (doing her) manifest wrong?’” (al nisaa: 20) to this umar said, “o allah forgive me, all the people have more understanding of religion than umar.” then he went back and ascended the minbar, and said: “o people, i forbade you to increase women’s dowries to more than four hundred dirhams. but whoever wishes may give as much as he wants of his wealth.”

3- narrated mohamed ibn kaab al qurazy “a man asked ali ibn-abu-taleb about a matter. ali answered him. the man said to ali (ra): ‘that is not correct ameer al-mu’mineen, it should be so and so.’ ali (ra) said to the man: ‘you are right and i am wrong, over all those endowed with knowledge is the all-knowing.’”

allahu akbar (god is the greatest)! the students of muhammad (pbuh) are setting the best examples of moral courage and righteousness even if it means admitting their own mistakes. such brave attitude ennobles the person and dignifies him, it never lessens his position. people with true insight know this fact. given the nature of teaching, the teacher might face such situations when he makes a mistake. so what would the teacher say or do if he makes a mistake, then one of his students disagrees with him and the teacher realizes his error. would he thank the student and admit his mistake or he would act in an elusive way and turn words upside-down to avoid the truth, fabricating it to claim his words are right? this is for you to answer. ibn abdel barr says: “the blessing of knowledge requires justices in using and teaching this knowledge. those who are not just did not understand it and will not understand it.”

conclusion:

the quality of moral courage is required in every teacher.


admitting making a mistake, does not diminish the erring person, on the contrary it makes him stronger and braver.


admitting making a mistake means fixing the situation, while insisting on the blunder would make it worse.

The Modesty of a Teacher

 modesty is a good favorable manner that adds honor and dignity to those characterized by it. if anyone thinks that modesty is weakness or a negative quality that should be evaded and get rid of, he would be mistaken and should reconsider the way he recognizes modesty. the evidence of the goodness of modesty and humbleness is that our beloved prophet muhammad (pbuh) was characterized by those traits. humility is part of being humble, but it should be towards the almighty allah. if the person is humble and submissive to the almighty allah, then it is the right and best kind of humility. worshipping is not complete without being humble and submissive to allah. as for being modest towards creatures, it should be only with believers. almighty allay says: “humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers” (al-ma’idah: 54). humble towards the believers because of their love, leniency, forbearance, clemency and mercifulness to each other. the believers are easy and lenient with one another.the teacher needs to have the trait of humbleness the most, because it is following the footsteps of the ashraful mursaleen[1]and for the great value that would be gained by the learners due to the humbleness and approachability of their teacher. if the muslim needs humbleness to succeed in his relationship with allah then with the society, the teacher needs such trait more and greater than any other person. his educational and instructive work requires constant contact with his students and learners and closeness to them so that they will not feel embarrassed of asking him any question and open up to him by telling him what concerns them. spirits do not feel comfortable with an arrogant conceited person who is full of himself.

here are some examples of the humbleness of the prophet muhammad (pbuh):

the prophet (pbuh) said: “allah has revealed to me that youmustbehumble, sothatno one oppresses anotherandboastsoveranother”. (sahih muslim: 2865)


humayd ibn at-tawil related that anas ibn malik-may allah be pleased with him- said, “if one of the slave girls of the madina took the hand of the prophet, peace and blessings of allah upon him, she could take him wherever she liked.” (sahih bukhari: 5724)


narrated by abu huraira-may allah be pleased with him- that the prophet muhammad (pbuh) said, “allah did not send any prophet but that he herded sheep.” his companions said, “including you?” he said, “yes, i used to herd them for money (qirats) for the people of makkah.” (sahih bukhari: 2143)


narrated by abu huraira-may allah be pleased with him -that the prophet (pbuh) said, “if i were invited to eat no matter whether it is a shoulder or merely a trotter, i would accept and if i were given a gift of a shoulder or merely a trotter, i would accept either.”


narrated by qais ibn masoud that when a man entered to him and, being in awe of him, was trembling, the prophet muhammad (pbuh) said: "be at ease, for i am not a king. rather i am the son of a woman of the quraysh who used to eat dried meat in makkah." (recorded by al-hakim in mustadrak al-sahihain: 3733)


the utmost humbleness of the prophet (pbuh) was shown on the day of opening makkah. the prophet (pbuh) entered makkah with his head lowered in thanks giving to almighty allah for the victory granted to him, his beard almost touching the saddle of his dromedary. al baihaqi reported that anas narrated that on the day of opening makkah the prophet (pbuh) entered while lowering his chin to the saddle in humbleness. is there more humbleness than this?! a triumphant leader entering the land of the people who drove him out, fought him and abused him. he is victorious over them and he has the upper hand on that day, yet he lowers his head to be humble and thankful to almighty allah for this victory and honor. what a glorious leader and a marvelous educator!!


humbleness contradicts with arrogance which is a dispraised trait that does not lead to any goodness. some of the effects of some teachers’ arrogance in islamic societies are:

denying righteousness and refusing to accept it.


feeling conceited for the knowledge he possesses even if it is a limited knowledge.


abandoning to seek and pursue knowledge, because he thinks that he knows everything and understands everything. the snobbish teacher cannot reach his educational goals. his ego will hinder him from knowing the goals he achieved because he does not socialize with his students, and keeps a distant between himself and them so he does not know their problems or what aims they have achieved. that way he would not know what information he should revise, update and simplify to them. students do not feel comfortable with the snobbish conceited teacher; they would not open up to him to tell him their feelings and what difficulties they face. students would not get the supposed value and knowledge from their teacher due to having such distant relationship with their teacher.


conclusion:

the effect of humbleness and modesty by the teacher is not only related to the teacher, it is reflected on students too in a positive way.


humbleness is the reason for removing any barriers between the teacher and his students which makes them connected and close.


snobbishness and self conceit cause students to be estranged and distant from their teacher, they even would refuse receiving knowledge and information from him.


the closer the student to the teacher, the greater knowledge he receives from him. humbleness builds such closeness and approachability.

Having Good Manners

no doubt good positive words do wonders and leave such a good impression on the listeners. they bring hearts together and wash away grudges and venoms from the bosoms. bad words do the opposite; they plant hatred and negative feelings. the same applies to what the teacher says to his students whether in a positive or negative way. his conduct, features and expressions of his face while talking affect students as a smiling cheerful face would lead to relaxation and comfort, while a frowning grumpy one would lead to repulsion and estrangement.

the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) was the kindest sweetest human spirit for he had the best morals as almighty allah says about his character: “and verily, you (o muhammad) are on an exalted standard of character.” (al-qalam: 4). the prophet (pbuh) was not rude or harsh in heart; he was rather lenient, benevolent, propitious and merciful with his ummah (muslim nation). this is reflected in what allah says in the holy qur’an: “verily, there has come unto you a messenger (muhammad) from amongst yourselves (i.e. whom you know well). it grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty. he (muhammad saw) is anxious over you (to be rightly guided, to repent to allah, and beg him to pardon and forgive your sins, in order that you may enter paradise and be saved from the punishment of the hell-fire), for the believers (he pbuh is) full of pity, kind, and merciful.” (al tawbah: 128). almighty allah also says about his apostle: “and by the mercy of allah, you dealt with them gently. and had you been severe and harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from about you.” (al-imran: 159)

narated by ata bin yasar : i met abdullah bin 'amr bin al-'as and asked him, "tell me about the description of allah's apostle which is mentioned in torah (i.e. old testament.") he replied, 'yes. by allah, he is described in torah with some of the qualities attributed to him in the quran as follows: “o prophet (muhammad)! verily, we have sent you as witness, and a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner” (al-ahzab: 45). as guardian of the illiterates. you are my slave and my messenger (i.e. apostle). i have named you "al-mutawakkil" (who depends upon allah). you are neither discourteous, harsh nor a noise-maker in the markets and you do not do evil to those who do evil to you, but you deal with them with forgiveness and kindness. allah will not let him (the prophet) die till he makes straight the crooked people by making them say: "none has the right to be worshipped but allah," with which will be opened blind eyes and deaf ears and enveloped hearts." (sahih al-bukhary, the book of sales and trade, hadith number: 2166, narrated by: abdullah ibn-salam).


these were some of the qualities of prophet muhammad (pbuh) who is described by almighty allah as having an exalted standard of character, anxious over the believers, neither severe nor harsh in heart. these traits are necessary for dawah (call to believe in allah), as those whom the prophet (pbuh) calls need a lenient mentor to teach them their religion. bearing in mind that their circumstances are different, some of them are ignorant, young and old, and they all need leniency, forbearance, patience, kindness and prudence. otherwise, they would have been broken away from about the prophet (pbuh), disliked and rejected the guidance he was calling for. the prophet (pbuh) represents the best example of good manners. we have the best evidence of the high morals of the prophet (pbuh) in the qur’an when almighty allah addresses him: “and verily, you (o muhammad) are on an exalted standard of character.” (al-qalam: 4). the mother of believers aisha –may allah be pleased wit her-said, “his character was the qur'an.” (musnad ahmad, hadith no. 24139). now let’s shed light on an incident that reflects the exalted manners of prophet muhammad (pbuh).

narated by anas bin malik: “while i was walking with the prophet who was wearing a najrani outer garment with a thick hem, a bedouin came upon the prophet and pulled his garment so violently that i could recognize the impress of the hem of the garment on his shoulder, caused by the violence of his pull. then the bedouin said, ‘order for me something from allah's fortune which you have.’ the prophet turned to him and smiled, and ordered that a gift be given to him.” (sahih al-bukhary, the book of one-fifth of war booty, hadith number: 3185, narrated by: anas ibn-malik).


these were the noble manners of the prophet (pbuh) and this is how his exalted character was. he could have disciplined the bedouin for his attitude with him, but he was not an avenger. harshness was not in the nature or manners of the first teacher; the prophet (pbuh). he would have never punished the bedouin or got angry as he is the one who said: “whoever controls his anger at the time when he has the means to act upon it, allah will call him before all of mankind on the day of resurrection, and will let him choose of the hur al-’ayn whoever he wants.” [reported by abu dawud (4777), sahih al-jami' (6518)].

the best for teachers and educators is to pursue the steps of the first teacher; prophet muhammad (pbuh) in terms of following good manners, politeness and decency. these are the best methods of education and teaching, as the student is usually affected by the manners of his teacher, and he is ready to learn from him and look up to him more than anyone else. if the teacher has such good manners, no doubt it will affect his students positively. such positive effect will change them to the better more than any advices or lessons would ever do. this is how we can easily understand the meaning of what prophet muhammad (pbuh) said “nothing will be heavier on the day of resurrection in the scale of the believer than good manners.” [recorded by at-tirmidhy (no. 2003) and corrected by al albani]. he also said, "the person of good manners will get the same reward as the person who prays during the night and fasts during the day" (sahih al-jami).

all this praise to good manners is because it is a quality that do wonders in wining and softening the hearts and capturing the spirits. it spreads amibility and love among the people. teachers should be the first among us to follow good manners, they should be worthy and eligible for to such fine trait.

conclusion:

the teacher should be characterized by good manners, to be effective and persuasive to encourage his students to follow good manners.


uttering a kind word, affability and a smiling face are reasons that would remove any psychological barrier between a teacher and his student.


the teacher should meet the students’ ignorance and unawareness with patience, forbearance and tolerance.

Justice & Equality

allah the almighty said:

1- (indeed, allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. he admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded) (an-nahl:90).

2- (and i have been commanded to do justice among you) (as-shura: 15).

3- (do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. be just; that is nearer to righteousness. and fear allah; indeed, allah is acquainted with what you do) (al-ma'eda: 8).

4- (and when you testify, be just, even if [it concerns] a near relative. and the covenant of allah fulfill. this has he instructed you that you may remember) (al-an'am: 152).

5- (o you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. whether one is rich or poor, allah is more worthy of both. so follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just. and if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it], then indeed allah is ever, with what you do, acquainted) (al-nisa': 135) …

in the first verse, allah the almighty ordered his servants to be just and deal with people justly. each ruler should deal justly with his people and should perform his duty toward them. this includes the deputy rulers, judges, deputy judges and the persons who assume any kind of authority. they all should deal justly with people. the teacher also has a kind of authority on his students and should deal justly with them.

in the second verse, allah the almighty ordered his prophet, peace be upon him, to deal justly with the people of the scripture (jews & christians) and not to let enmity prevent dealing justly with them.

in the third verse, allah the almighty ordered people to be just in dealing with each other and not to let hatred prevent them from dealing justly with the enemies. the verse demonstrated also that doing justice, even with the enemies, will make us nearer to righteousness.

in the fourth and fifth verses, allah the almighty ordered the believers to be just in their statements and deeds toward their relatives and other people alike, without bias, and not to follow their inclinations. these verses demonstrated the importance of dealing justly with people and treating them equally.

the prophet, peace be upon him, set several supreme examples for dealing justly with people and treating them equally.

1- aisha, may allah be pleased with her, reported: the quraish people became very worried about the makhzumiya lady who had committed theft (as her hand will be cut off as a punishment for stealing). they said, "nobody can speak (in favor of the lady) to the prophet, peace be upon him, and nobody dares do that except usama who is the closet man to prophet, peace be upon him. "when usama spoke to the prophet about that matter, the prophet, peace be upon him, said: ((do you intercede (with me) to violate one of the legal punishments legislated by allah?)) then he got up and addressed the people, saying: ((o people! the nations before you went astray because if a noble person committed theft, they used to excuse him, but if a weak person among them committed theft, they used to inflict the legal punishment on him. by allah, if fatima, the daughter of muhammad committed theft, muhammad will cut off her hand!)) al-bukhari (3288), muslim (1688).

2- nu'man bin basheer reported: my father donated to me some of his property. my mother, amra bint rawaha said: i shall not be pleased (with this act) until you make the prophet - peace be upon him- a witness to it. my father went to the prophet, peace be upon him, in order to make him the witness of the donation given to me. the prophet, peace be upon him, said to him: (have you done the same with every son of yours?) he said: no. thereupon he (the prophet) said: (fear allah, and observe equity in case of your children). my father returned and got back the gift. in another narration for the same hadith, the prophet, peace be upon him replied: (then don't call me to be a witness, for i cannot be witness to an injustice). muslim (1623)

teachers have a kind of authority over their students in terms of assigning them with homework, making tests, determining their scores and other powers; therefore, teachers should deal justly with their students and should treat them equally, without any bias toward relatives or friends.

if the teacher practiced any kind of discrimination toward his students, this action will cause confusion, tension and hostility between the students and will widen the gap between the teacher and his students; therefore, the teacher should be keen to deal justly and equally with all of his students in order to ensure spreading love, respect and brotherhood among them.

Act the way you advise others to

allah the almighty said: {o you who have believed, why do you say what you do not do? great is hatred in the sight of allah that you say what you do not do}(as-saf: 3) i.e. why do you speak about good things and urge others to do good deeds while you do not do that? why do you tell others to avoid bad deeds and allege that you don't do bad deeds while you do them? the right believers don't do that. the believer who tells others to do good deeds should be the first one in doing such good deeds. similarly, the one who tells people to avoid bad deeds should be far away from such bad deeds. allah the almighty said: {do you order righteousness of the people and forget yourselves while you recite the scripture? then will you not reason?} (baqara: 44). shu'ayb, peace be upon him said: {and i do not intend to differ from you in that which i have forbidden you;} (hud: 88). our prophet, peace be upon him, was advising people to do good deeds and he was doing such good deeds firstly. he was advising them to avoid bad deeds and he was avoiding bad deeds firstly. these are the morals of mohammad, peace be upon him. he translates his statements into good manners and the best example for this is what happened to the prophet, peace be upon him, and the muslims at al-hudaybiyah. when the polytheists entered into treaty with the muslims pursuant to certain conditions, including the condition that the muslims shall return from makkah this year and come to do pilgrimage in the next year.

ibn al-qayyem said:

1. when the prophet, peace be upon him, finished the issue of the letter, he said to his companions: "go ahead and slaughter your sacrifices then shave". however, no one of the companions responded although the prophet, peace be upon him, repeated the order three times. seeing that, the prophet, peace be upon him, went to the room of um salama and narrated to her what happened. um salama said: o prophet of allah, i recommend that you go out without speaking to any one of them, then slaughter your sacrifice and shave your hair. the prophet, peace be upon him, worked according to the consultancy of um salama. he went out and did not speak to any person until he finished slaughtering his sacrifice and shaving. when the people saw that, they stood up immediately to slaughter their sacrifices and they started shaving for each other. al-bukhari (2581).

the companions at the beginning delayed implementing the orders of the prophet, peace be upon him, but when they saw him doing the rituals, they started implementing their rituals quickly.

this is a great method in life. the teacher should adhere to this method in his life because he is an example and the students will take morals, behaviors and science from him. therefore, what is the benefit which the students can gain from the teacher if his deeds are contradicting his statements. what should the student follow? the deeds or the statements of the teacher? the teacher may say that lying is bad habit but we may see him lying to others several times.

therefore, allah said: {great is hatred in the sight of allah that you say what you do not do}.the teachers should fear allah and bear the trust of teaching our children as required. they should teach themselves firstly and they should act as per their statements in order to be able to educate the generations on the right manner.

al-ghazali said: the eighth function: the teacher should apply what he has learnt. his deeds should not contradict his statements because by that no one will believe him. if some person eats something and says to people this is a poison; don't eat it. the people will not believe him and will say if it is really poison why he eats? surly it is a good food and he wants to take it alone! abu al-aswad al-do'ali said:

"before teaching others teach yourself. don’t' tell others to avoid certain bad deeds and you do such bad deeds. you will be like the one who prescribe medicine to others while he is sick and needs medicine to cure himself. start from yourself. try to reform yourself first. by that, if you advise others they will hear your advice and they will follow your example".

summary:

1) it is bad manner to say what you don't do {great is hatred in the sight of allah that you say what you do not do}.

2) if the teacher says what he does not do, the student will feel confused and will not be able to maintain stability in his manners.

3) the mission of the teachers is very important.

The Teacher's Honesty

honesty is a crown on the head of a teacher; if it is lost people will lose their trust in his knowledge and science because most probably the student takes all what his teacher says for granted.

if a student was to discover that his teacher is lying in some matters this will be directly reflected on the teacher who will soon lose his credibility totally. honesty saves a man in this world and in the hereafter. allah (the almighty) had praised the honest and urged the believers to follow its path by saying: "o you who have believed, be pious to allah and be with the sincere." (at-tawba 119)

our first teacher (pbuh) had instructed us that sincerity leads to paradise saying "truth leads one to paradise and virtue leads one to paradise and the person tells the truth until he is recorded as truthful, and lie leads to obscenity and obscenity leads to hell, and the person tells a lie until he is recorded as a liar." (al-bukhari 5743 & muslim 2607).

on studying the personal biography of allah's messenger (pbuh) we find out that he was called the honest and the loyal. the makkan pagans never heard a single lie from him. when he was given the message, makkah's lords and masters antagonized him not because they didn't trust him but such act was out of mere insolence and haughtiness. in addition they feared loosing their prestige and their stature should be diminished among the arab tribes, some of their lords even admitted that openly.

due to his honesty and sincerity many people had joined islam. once a companion upon seeing allah's messenger (pbuh) for the first time said: "when i saw him first i knew that his face isn't that of a liar".

the honesty of the teacher leads the students to trust his sayings and lets him win their respect and lifts his stature up high. the honesty of the teacher is represented in the necessities of his responsibility, among which comes the truthful transfer of knowledge including the facts and info to the coming generations. if the teacher is not honest then the knowledge being transferred will be incomplete and missing. the result will be facts and info that are different from the truth that must be transmitted. if a student gets acquainted to accept such bad attitude from his teacher, he might adopt such behaviour and here lies a great danger to society.

an example of the effect of the teacher's lying on his students is stated by sheikh mohammed jameel zino who says :“a student asked a teacher in denunciation about another teacher who was smoking. the teacher, in defence of his colleague, replied that it was a physician's advice for him. when the student left the classroom he said: the teacher had lied to us. mohammed jameel commented that how nice it would have been if he was honest and clarified the mistake of his colleague. he should have clarified that smoking is forbidden as it is harmful for the body and the neighbour, damaging for the money. if he had done so he would have earned the trust & love of his students. he could have simply said that the other teacher is merely one of the people who can be right and can be wrong.

conclusion:

honesty is the savoir of the teacher in this world and in the hereafter.

lying to students is a hindrance to understanding and a cause to loss of trust.

the effect of lying exceeds the limits of the liar impacting the whole society.

Knowledge for the Sake of Allah

there is a great manner that many teachers and instructors are unaware of, which is establishing the principle of working and learning only for the sake of allah. this principle is disregarded because some people are away of their religion. i may swear that the doers of many useful knowledge and great deeds haven’t gain any benefit out of their inventions and they’ve gone with the wind, because they neither work nor learn for the sake of allah. they did not care to work or learn for the welfare of other muslim brothers, they rather intended to gain position, glory, therefore their deeds deserve to become nonsense. the only benefit they might have is the others’ praise and compliment in the present life which is a temporary thing.

this we can understand better from a hadith narrated by abu hurairah, in which the prophet (pbuh) said:

“allah the almighty asks a man in the day of judgement about his deeds. he answered that he learned and taught and read the holy quran all for allah’s sake. allah says: you are a liar; you learned in order to make others praise you, and read the quran in order to let others say how great he is reciting, and they did. then he is pull on his face and thrown in the hell”. reported by muslim (1905)

thus, teachers and instructors must teach their students how to learn and work for the sake of allah only, and seek the reward and the recompense from him. then, if people praise and compliment him, this is one of allah’s favor and blessing and all praises be to allah.

ibn rajab said: if one works for the sake of allah only, then allah makes people praise him, and he becomes happy and pleased of allah’s favor and mercy, there is no wrong in that. as abu thar narrated that he asked the prophet (pbuh) about a man who works for the sake of allah then people praise him, the prophet answered him: “this is a kind of an immediate reward for the believer in the present life”. reported by muslim (2642). and this depends on one’s intention which is placed in the believer’s heart which no one knows what he hides except allah. allah says: (say (o muhammad pbuh): “whether you hide what is in your breasts or reveal it, allah knows it, and he knows what is in the heavens and what is in the earth. and allah is able to do all things”. [al-imran:29]. so, anyone with pure intention for allah only, his deeds will be accepted and will be rewarded.

omar bin alkhattab said: “i heard the prophet (pbuh) saying: “"deeds (their correctness and rewards) depend upon intentions, and every person gets but what he has intended. so whoever emigrated for worldly benefits, or for a woman to marry, his emigration is for what he emigrated for." reported by al bukhari(1) and muslim (1919).

conclusion:

the instructor has to teach his students basically the reality of working for the sake of allah only.

and he has to remember this reality every time he starts a work, and remind others to do so.