Muhammad (PBUH): A phenomenal teacher
Mohammad Hussain Khan
In class rooms all over the world, it is a common practice for teachers to separate the strong students from the weak but Prophet (SAW) made no distinction between students on intelligence level or any other classification that separates them in society. Prophet (SAW) was methodical in his teaching methods and never rushed his lessons.
Muhammad (SAW) said that education is not only the right but the duty of every Muslim, male or female. His (SAW) teachings will always keep on imparting the societies and hearts of people. In recent years, teaching has become a challenging activity due to modernization and globalization.
Teachers exercise a variety of modern motivational techniques to deliver knowledge in educational institutes. Motivation is considered a central key in the process of teaching and learning. The same has been derived from the techniques of Muhammad (SAW).
The motivational techniques for teaching and educating applied by Prophet (SAW) had made the most primitive and illiterate people into the masters and teachers of the world in twenty three years. Adhering to Prophetic motivational techniques for teaching and educating teachers may play a more useful role in educational institutes. The Prophet’s (SAW) teachings methods are exemplary to improve the abilities of humans who are born with knowing nothing from the wombs of their mothers. Let us throw light on such rare teaching techniques.
1. Teaching by giving examples: The Prophet (SAW) said, “if there was a river by the door of one of you and you bathed in it five times daily, do you think that there would remain any dust?” People said, “No”. The Prophet (SAW) said, “The five prayers are like that. Allah wipes out the sins with them”. In this example Prophet (SAW) tried to tell that people who perform five prayers will be purified from dirt. Also he (SAW) started asking questions so that listeners would not be passive, distracted and would be more motivated for the subject.
2. Teaching by comparison: The Prophet (SAW) would sometimes tell by making comparison in order to both actualize more active and permanent learning e.g by saying “The hand which gives is better than the hand which wants and takes”. He (SAW) compared the hand which gives sadqah and the hand which takes it and emphasized the importance of giving sadqah.
3. Teaching by demonstration method: The Prophet (SAW) asked a companion who wanted to learn times of prayers to be with him for two days. So, companion learnt when and how to perform prayers by observing himself and implementing what Prophet (S.A.W) did, through demonstration.
4. Question and Answer method: When a companion asked to the Prophet, “Whom should I do favour? “The Prophet (SAW) answered, “Do firstly your mother, then favour your father”. This method stands out as one of the most used methods in Hadiths. Companions would ask questions to the Prophet (SAW) about various subjects that they wanted to learn. The Prophet (SAW) encouraged them to ask questions with sayings like “knowledge is treasure, its key is question. “Cure of ignorance is to ask’ and “Good questions are half of the knowledge”.
5. Teaching-learning by face to face method:-“Abdullah bin Amr from the companions tried to fast every day with the desire of being closer to Allah and spent the nights performing prayers. The Prophet (SAW) told him, “Oh, Abdullah! I heard you always fast during the day and perform prayer at night. Do not do that, your body, your family have rights on you”. This shows that Prophet (SAW) was teaching companions by adopting face to face learning-teaching method.
6. Learning-Teaching by writing method:- The Prophet (SAW) was reporting incoming revelation to companions and asking them to write. So dictating and teaching by writing was peculiar to Prophet (SAW).
The Prophet’s (SAW) teaching methods were distinctive and are worthier for all times to come. His teachings are not a system of education that takes only the human soul in consideration but deal with mind and heart. This great teacher has brought about a very civilized society out of a wild tribe that buried young girls alive. Islam provides great impetus for the human pursuits of knowledge. The Prophet (SAW) said, “when a man dies, nothing lives on after him, except three things, a continuing charity, knowledge he imparted that can benefit others or a pious child, who prays for him”.
“Woh Dana-e-Subul Khatam-ur Rusul Mola-e-Kul, Jis ne Ghubar-e-rah ko baksha firogh-e-wadi-e-sena”.
“Nigah Ishq Masti Mein wohi awal wohi aakhir, wohi Quran, wohi Furqan, wohiYyaseen, wohi Taha”.
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