Concept of Teacher in Islam Group1

7/27/2019 Concept of Teacher in Islam Group1

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CONCEPT OF TEACHER IN ISLAM

Joey

Farah

RaudahYana

Hawa


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The usual approach in Muslim schools is toemploy separate teachers for Islamic Studies.

These are not the main class teachers whose roleis to teach all other subjects.

This only serves to strengthen this dichotomy ofIslamic and Secular education.

If a child perceives that all other knowledge istaught by their main class teacher and that aspecial ustadh comes in to teach them Islam,

they will quickly believe that learning about Islamis only for some special people whilst all otherknowledge is for everyone.


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She must understand that this is her primary task inteaching, further she must have the necessary knowledgeand skills to achieve this.

It is not enough that such a teacher should be well read inIslamic material, or that he should possess an insight intoIslamic beliefs and fundamental judgments. In addition hemust be endowed with two essential qualities. Firstly, he

should have true academic and intellectual capacity; that ishe should have a good grounding in the sciences of Islamand should be well read in the general culture of Islam.Secondly, he should have the moral ability to be able toeducate his pupils in such a way that they will become fully

aware of the perfect accord between their teachers wordsand his actual behaviour.

[Teacher Training The Islamic Perspective, M. Zafar Iqbal,1996]


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Teachers in Islam are given a number of

different titles such as shaykh, or alim in

Arabic and mullah or hoja in Persian and

Turkish. A teacher is often also a legal scholar

(faqih), a specialist in prophetic traditions

(muhaddith), a jurisconsult (mufti), a judge(qadi), or mystic (sufi). Many teachers are

polymaths who excel in more than one of

these positions.


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Whatever their title or area of expertise, teachers inthe Muslim world are beloved and respected. The

status and role of teachers in Islam is rooted in theQuranic concept of knowledge and its importance. Thefirst verses said to have been revealed to the ProphetMuhammad contain the command Read! (Quran

96:1) and also delcare that God teaches humanity bythe pen (96:4). Studying and promulgating knowledge,especially religious knowledge, is portrayed as acommunity responsibility that is an important part ofmobilizing for the cause of God (9:122). The Prophetic

traditions (ha-dith) also emphasize the importance ofknowledge. Popular sayings attributed to the Prophet


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Muhammad tell Muslims that seeking

knowledge is an obligation for believing men

and women even if that means traveling to

China. These ideals have led Muslims to travel

in search of knowledge to study with various

teachers throughout the world. Such a journey

was historically called a riha in Arabic.


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Students would study in public or private madrasas,institutions of advanced religious learning, or in privateseminars. In both madrasas and private study circles,

learning was always very personalized. Throughout theearly and medieval periods, students read to (qaraala) and heard material from (samaa) their teachers.Teachers would formally certify students who had

mastered their subjects. The certification (ijaza) waspersonally inscribed by the teacher on the topic astudent had mastered, and it granted the studentpermission to teach the material. In many cases, the

topic was the work of the teacher himself. Many of theworks of Islams great early teachers were passed on inthis way by their students. In other cases, studentswere certified to teach topics their teachers hadmastered under the instruction of their own teachers.


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The importance of the student/teacher relationship isevident in Islamic biographical dictionaries that containsketches of Muslims spanning centuries and coveringmuch of the Muslim world. An important element insuch biographies is the list of an individuals teachersand students. The teachers roleas described by thethirteenth-century mystic Nasir al-Din al-Qunawiis tooffer glimmers of illumination in a dark world (Renard201). The ideal of a students respect for and devotionto his teacher is perhaps best illustrated by theeleventh-century Persian teacher, jurist, and mystic,Ayn-al-Qudat Hamadani, who admonished students to

attend the sandals of teachers; he considered suchdevotion to teachers more important than service tothe ruler (Safi 187).


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Teachers are exemplars:

Teachers are indisputably their pupils none

such exemplars. Pupils acquire the good traitsand sound trends, as well as the virtuous

behavior and equanimity, from their teachers

whose guidance and conducts penetrate to

their hearts. On that account, teachers must

overdiscipline themselves and train on

virtuous and noble morals and manners to be

the best exemplars of their pupils.


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Summary

Islam has paid considerable attention to teachers

for their being the first brick in the structure ofsocial development and perfection and the causeof guiding and developing behaviours andmentalities of individuals and communities.

The Prophet cared for teachers and showed theirelevated standings. Once, he passed by twocircles of people; the first was supplicating to Godwhile the other listening to a teacher. He

commented, The first is begging God who mayor may not give them. The second was learning. Ihave been sent as teacher. Hence, he joined thesecond. This is the best example of the Prophetsencouraging education and teaching.

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Concept of Teacher in Islam Group1