There are many people who memorise Qur’an, because there are many Qur’an teachers, and who learn fiqh, because there are many shaykhs and teachers, but the problem that we have noticed and are aware of is that when they are mixing and dealing with people, their manner reflects a bad attitude or, in other words, a terrifying and destructive kind of illiteracy in the field of manners and attitude. Where are the teachers who can teach proper manners and attitudes, and how can we reach them?
How can we include teaching proper manners and attitude in the curricula for Islamic studies? What is the benefit of knowledge without proper manners and attitude? What we do not understand is: how could educators neglect to teach their students good manners and attitudes? Why did they choose to work in the field of education? As for the role of the family, it is quite dismal, for the family is not playing any role at all in teaching proper manners and attitude! How should the educator – male or female – be? Is the teaching of manners and good attitudes a science in and of itself, or could such matters be learned from people of knowledge and understanding?
How did the scholars, kings and sultans among the early generations, and prominent figures and common people raise their children?
Praise
be to Allah
It is obvious to
anyone who reflects that there has arisen a division and separation between
knowledge and action, between knowledge and proper manners and attitudes, in
the minds of many of the ordinary people and of the elite. As a result of
that, many of them think that the issue of good manners and morals is purely
theoretical, and that it is connected to the parents’ ability to fill their
children’s minds with all kinds of knowledge and memorisation of texts, in
addition to their efforts to acquire and read the greatest possible number
of books and research material that discuss approaches to teaching morals
and manners, and the like – to the extent that in their minds, dealing with
Islamic texts has become something purely theoretical and academic, without
thinking that those texts should have an impact on people’s behaviour and
attitude, and on their deeds and actions.
One example of
that is their interpretation of the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted,
says (interpretation of the meaning): “Only
those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge”
[Faatir 35:28].
They interpret this verse as referring to everyone who has knowledge of
shar‘i rulings, or of empirical science, even though the verse does not mean
that every knowledgeable person fears Allah; rather it means that everyone
who fears Allah is knowledgeable.
Shaykh al-Islam
Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa
(7/539):
Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “Only
those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge”
[Faatir 35:28].
This indicates that everyone who fears Allah has knowledge, and this is
true; it does not indicate that everyone who has knowledge fears Him. End
quote.
Elsewhere
(7/21), he (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
What is meant is
that no one fears Him except one who has knowledge. Allah tells us that
everyone who fears Allah has knowledge, as He says in another verse
(interpretation of the meaning):
“Is
one who is devoutly obedient during periods of the night, prostrating and
standing [in prayer], fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his
Lord, [like one who does not]? Say, ‘Are those who know equal to those
who do not know?’”
[az-Zumar 39:9].
End quote.
This second
verse is the other verse to which Shaykh al-Islam was referring, and which
is misinterpreted as being praise for knowledge and understanding, even if
they are disassociated from righteous deeds and good manners and attitude.
That is because they quote the last part of the verse, and not the first
part. The words “Say,
‘Are those who know equal to those who do not know?’”
are to be understood in the light of what comes before them: “Is
one who is devoutly obedient during periods of the night, prostrating and
standing [in prayer], fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his
Lord, [like one who does not]?”
Therefore “those who know”, in this instance, are those who stand and pray
to Allah during the night, out of fear of His fire and hoping for His
paradise and His mercy; those who do not know are who are heedless of that,
so think about this! Hence Imam Ibn al-Qayyim said in Miftaah Dar
as-Sa‘aadah (1/89), affirming an important guideline in this regard:
The early
generations only used the word fiqh (lit., understanding) to refer to
knowledge accompanied by action (and not just theoretical knowledge). End
quote.
This is the real
meaning of fiqh according to our righteous predecessors: Knowledge which is
accompanied by action. But when many daa‘iyahs and educators overlooked this
fact, they ended up focusing on knowledge as something theoretical and
academic, and they did not think of it as a means of correcting behaviour,
purifying hearts, striving against one’s evil inclinations and developing
right attitudes, because they thought that the academic side of knowledge
and fiqh was all there was to it and was all that one should seek – but that
is not the case.
Raising the
young generation and teaching them good morals and attitudes, and how to
adhere to religious teachings, is something that cannot be achieved except
by pious people, whether they are scholars, daa‘iyahs, reformers or
teachers. The word translated here as pious scholar (rabbaani) refers to one
who is greatly devoted to the Lord, may He be glorified, in his knowledge,
his deeds and his teaching of others.
Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“…but [instead, he would
say], ‘Be pious scholars of the Lord because of what you have taught of the
Scripture and because of what you have studied”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:79].
Imam
ash-Shawkaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Fat-h al-Qadeer
(1/407):
The word
translated here as pious scholar (rabbaani) refers to one who is
devoted to the Lord (ar-Rabb). The suffix -aani is added by way of emphasis,
just as one who has a large beard (lihyah) may be described as
lihyaani, and so on.
And it was said
that the pious scholar (rabbaani) is the one who teaches the people
minor issues of knowledge before major issues, as if he is following the
approach of the Lord, may He be glorified, in making things easy.
End quote.
Conclusion:
Education is not
mere words that have no impact on people’s behaviour and attitude, and it is
not mere theory separated from belief. Rather the aim of education is to
help the student to develop a strong character, and to both acquire
knowledge and develop patience, acquire understanding and develop wisdom, so
that he acts upon what he learns and teaches others about it.
Hence Imam
ash-Shawkaani said regarding the words “because
of what you have taught of the Scripture [bima
kuntum tu‘allimoona al-kitaab]”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:79]:
Those who read
it as
tu‘allimoona
[so that the phrase means:
because of what you have taught of the Scripture]
must interpret the word rabbaani [translated above as pious scholar]
as meaning one who has something in addition to knowledge and teaching; he
should also be sincere or wise or patient.
Those who read
it as ta‘lamoona [so that the phrase would mean:
because of what you know of
the Scripture]
may interpret the word rabbaani as meaning a knowledgeable person who
teaches the people. Thus the meaning is: be teachers, for you have
knowledge, and because you have studied knowledge.
This verse
offers the greatest motivation for the one who has knowledge to act upon his
knowledge, and one of the best ways of implementing what one knows is to
teach it and to be sincere to Allah, may He be glorified.
End quote from
Fat-h al-Qadeer (1/407)
Thus it becomes
clear that the essence and foundation of proper education is to educate by
example, not by mere empty words that are detached from one’s behaviour and
deeds.
Hence al-Haafiz
Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his interesting essay,
Fadl ‘Ilm as-Salaf ‘ala ‘Ilm al-Khalaf (p. 5):
Many seekers of
knowledge among the later generations got it wrong when they thought that
one who speaks a great deal about issues of religion, and argues and
debates, is more knowledgeable than one who is not like that. This is pure
ignorance; look at the senior Sahaabah and the most knowledgeable among
them, such as Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Ali, Mu‘aadh, Ibn Mas‘ood and Zayd ibn
Thaabit, and how they were. They spoke less than Ibn ‘Abbaas, but they had
more knowledge than he did.
Similarly, the
Taabi‘een spoke more than the Sahaabah, but the Sahaabah had more knowledge
than they did.
Similarly, the
followers of the Taabi‘een spoke more than the Taabi‘een, but the Taabi‘een
had more knowledge than they did.
Knowledge does
not mean memorising a lot of religious texts or speaking a great deal in
khutbahs and lessons; rather knowledge is a light that is instilled in the
heart, by means of which a person may understand issues on the basis of
truth and be able to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and he
expresses that in concise words that serve the purpose. End quote.
This is the
greatest calamity that has befallen Muslim households and educational
institutions, namely their lack of righteous and pious teachers who could
educate and guide them by example, not only by their words, and when
teaching would be able to combine sound words and sound deeds, using a wise
approach and proper understanding of the religion of Allah, may He be
exalted, and what He wants from His slaves.
Ibn al-Jawzi
(may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It should be
understood that this education is like a seed and the educator is like the
soil; if the soil is of poor quality, then the seed will be lost and wasted,
but if the soil is good, the seed will grow and develop.
End quote from
al-Adaab ash-Shar‘iyyah by Ibn Muflih (3/580).
Because of the
above, some of the scholars and reformers were able to raise righteous
children and teach them good morals and attitudes, and many fuqaha’ and
educators were able to discipline their students. Here we may confirm that
there is a limit to causes and measures that may be taken, and all matters
are to be entrusted to the Lord of Lords, the Creator of people’s deeds, the
One Who guides to the straight path. All that educators and parents can do
is discipline their children and teach them morals and manners. As for
making a person truly righteous and purifying his heart, no one can do that
except Allah.
Hence it is said
that all that parents can do is teach their children good manners;
righteousness may be attained by the help of Allah.
End quote from
al-Adaab ash-Shar‘iyyah by Ibn Muflih (3/552)
Finally:
The way to
achieve this, realistically, may be summed up in a few brief points:
1.
Daa‘iyahs and teachers should be made aware of what education
means in a comprehensive sense.
2.
Reformers who work
with ordinary Muslims should be made aware of various approaches to
education.
3.
Reformers should
cooperate with people of virtue and prominence in Muslim societies to
establish educational institutions that focus on manners and behaviour, to
work in conjunction with existing educational institutions, and to train
some people to carry on the mission of educating people and teaching them
proper manners, morals and behaviour.
And Allah knows
best.
