Taleem in Dawah, an endeavour to break the ego
Ta’leem is one of important deed of Dawah. It is the deed of strive and struggle with two to three hours of long stay in the Halqa. It is more important than bayan in which there is direct teaching and learning process.
In Taleem there is direct teaching of Ahadith read from the book of “Muntakhib Ahadith”, keep in view there is direct receiving of ‘Noor’ or light from the Ahadith. It should be listened with great interest and concentration otherwise there will be no tazkiy- i- Nafs.
The purpose of our Ta’leem is to divert our convictions from the visible promises of the world to the promises of Allah. It is to affirm our convictions. Therefore we need to participate daily in the halqah of Taleem. The objective of Taleem is based on the three features: To develop the actual pronunciation of Quran, belief on promises and punishments of doing and not doing deeds and discussion about six principles.
The main purpose of Taleem is to discuss the virtues of different good deeds, how much and what rewards he/she will get from Allah if he/she will perform certain good deeds.
At the same time what punishment he/she will receive if any obligatory Amal is missed.
The goal is to read again and again to:
1. Create respect and greatness of the sayings of Allah and His Rasul (SAW).
2. Create fikr/faith on the promises and punishments of Allah.
3. Put into actions whatever heard/learned and give Da’wah.
In the time of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), Ta’leem consisted of promises that went against which was apparent.
Since the purpose of Ta’leem is not before us but it develops the intention of an individual to be stick on deeds to achieve the promises which were assured by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in here and hereafter.
In Dawah work, two Ta’leems are mandatory, one in the home and one in the Masjid. This is to eradicate the false convictions that develop in the heart during the day when we’re in the shops or at work. At locality some of the followers do Taleem after Magrib or Eisha in combination with Dawat,Taleem and Istakbaliya upto the commencement of next Nimaz. In this Dawah, Taleem and Istakbaliya couple of followers go outside and call the people from outside to the Masjid. In this Taleem the Masjid remains involved in prophetic deeds without expiring time in world convictions. If the followers of Dawah are in ‘kharooj’ then the Taleem starts after Mushwara in which the Amoor of Taleem is fixed to any person.
The Taleem which is done at home among the family members is one in which the women are also involved. In this Taleem the schedule starts like this: First of all there is Qurani Halqa in which there is teaching and learning process of Quran, Second is “kitabi Taleem”, third is discussion of six principles, Fourth part of Ta’leem at home is “Tashkeel” and fifth one is Mushwara.
By doing Taleem in our homes, we will be saved from the punishment of Allah. If there is no Taleem in the house, then there will be all types of (unmindful activities) like television, videos, magazines, radios, games, idle talk of dunya, etc. which all can draw punishment of Allah.
Taleem is creating the fear of Allah inside us and develops belief on the promises of deeds. We should sit in Ta’leem with wadhu and not lean. To sit with mujahida (strive) against the nafs throughout the Taleem will result in the noor of Hadith entering the heart and the capability to perform virtual deeds.
In the Taleem each Hadith should be read thrice. This is the actual way adopted by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) when conveying an essential message.
The first time the Hadith is read, the words will be heard; on the second occasion the Hadith will be understood and on the third reading the words will affect the heart. To read each Hadith three times is Sunnah.
The person conducting the Ta’leem must conduct it like a teacher. He must ensure that the gathering imbibes the message. For this, he must ensure that he is giving as opposed to reading the ta’leem. The person conducting Ta’leem should not have his head down and just keep reading.
His ‘state’ must be such that fulfilment of Allah’s promises are before him, i.e. he is visualising the promises of Allah being fulfilled for the Sahabah.The reader should try, where possible, to look at the audience in order to draw and keep their attention.
The halqah of ta’leem is the halqah of Eeman because it brings us on to the commands of Allah. If after participating in taleem, the conditions of the world are still preventing us from fulfiling the commands of Allah, then know this is the trait of the hypocrites, because Allah’s promises are only with those who have full conviction. The promises of Allah came with the Sahabah in times of difficulty so that they could be distinguished from the hypocrites.
For example in the Battle of the Trench, the Sahabah, in the condition of extreme fear and hunger, dug a trench for their protection. At this juncture Allah promised them the palaces of the Persians and the Romans, at which point the Munafiqs (Hypocrites) questioned, where is the help of Allah now or why is he not giving us this now?
The workers in this effort, let alone others, are taking greater effect from reading the newspaper than from the Qur’an and Ta’leem.
Making Ta’leem a ritual and methodical will not change convictions. We need to sit with the intention that I want to rid myself of the conviction that wealth, weapons and means are doing and that Allah’s promises are true.
With Ta’leem, there is Ta’leemi gusht, which is the Sunnah of Sahabah, e.g. Abu Hurairah (Radiallahu Anhu) would pick up people from the bazaar and send them to the Masjid.
Make new people listen to virtues/promises so that it creates a desire inside them and make old workers listen to punishments (waeed); this will create steadfastness in them. If we make new people listen to punishments etc. this will create despondency inside them.
The purpose of Ta’leem is to create the conviction of promises and reprimands inside our hearts. Ta’leem is to be done with 6 points and the 6 points are to be delivered with reference to Muntakhab Ahadith.
The minimum duration of Taleem at Masjid is 30 minutes. In fact, the objective, according to Maulana Yusuf Rahmatullah Alayh, is that ta’leem in one’s local Masjid should be an hour and a half and in the Path of Allah it should be 3 hours.
Ta’leem should continue for the full 30 minutes even if everyone gets up and walks away, because Ta’leem is not dependent on musallis (worshipers), the musallis are dependent on the Ta’leem. Today we have ‘new workers’ who are shortening the Amal of Nabowat on the basis that people cannot sit that long because they don’t have talab (desire) for the Amal of Nabowat. We should never take effect from people departing. Ta’leem is the Amal of the Masjid and should be completed in full. Ta’leem is not limited to what the Majma (gathering) wants. This is our work. There is no limit.
One day Ta’leem should take place from Fazail Aamal/Fazail Sadqah; the next day it should take place from Muntakhab Ahadith.
Three persons came to the halqah of Taleem of Nabi ﷺ. Two stood nearby, One left. From the two, one sat at a distance due to shyness, the other sat close. Rasulullah ﷺ said to the nearest, one of them came close, Allah brought him close. One became shy, so Allah also shied away. The third turned his back, so Allah also turned his back on him.
The Hadith read should be according to the needs & circumstances of the time. If the Majma is devoid of Salah and Dhikr, read from these sections of the book. If they are not going out in the Path of Allah, put greater emphasis of reading from Virtues of Tabligh.
Taleem is also important because it equips us with proper understanding of Islam and develops a kind of inclination towards doing good deeds. It also develops the affection of all Suhabah and knowing about them helps us how to tread on the path of Almighty Allah.
(The author is a teacher and a scholar. He hails from Kuchmulla Tral)
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