The importance Islam attaches to education and teachers

Probably, pedagogical activity is as old as the history of mankind. All great religions and civilizations paid great attention to it, writes Ibrahim Ozen.

Today, the concept of “education” implies only the acquisition of a certain level of knowledge, but in the history of the Islamic world it had a different meaning. In Islam, education has always meant upbringing , developing abilities, teaching knowledge, respect and ethical standards (adab). Also, this concept was used in the meaning of morality, politeness, knowledge of life.

Islam attaches great importance to knowledge and education, understanding them as enlightenment of the mind and heart. Our religion aims to destroy ignorance and darkness. In the first verses that Allah revealed, He commands His Messenger (peace be upon him) and all people in his person to read and learn: “Read [revelation] in the name of thy Lord, who created [all creatures], created man from a clot [of blood] … Proclaim, because your Lord is the most magnanimous, who taught [a person to write] by means of kalam, taught a person what he [previously] did not know ”(Alyak, 96 / 1-5).

In addition, the Qur’an says: “Are those who know and those who do not know are equal” (Zumar, 39/9). This verse tells us that knowledge endows a person with positive qualities and makes him realize his responsibility to Allah.

Our Prophet (peace be upon him), following the first words of God’s revelation, attached great importance to education. He devoted his entire life to educating his community, which involved not only studying the norms of Islam, reading and writing, but also religious and moral education. When he moved to Medina, the first thing he did was build a mosque, allocating one part of it for teaching people. This part of Masjid al-Nabawi , called Suffa (Canopy), was used as a school during the day and as a shelter for the night for those who had nowhere to go. It is called the first boarding university founded by our Prophet (peace be upon him). It was there that the foundations of the educational system of Islam were laid.

The core of this system is teachers. They are not just conductors of dry information. Teachers in Islam are respected people who inspire their students. A spiritual bond is formed between teacher and student. Education was carried out more through spiritual communication, rather than material elements. Today, a student who is connected to a teacher only by the fear of getting a bad grade may still receive high marks, but does not receive the love, blessing and grace of his teacher.

Islam gives high priority to teachers who take on the task of education and upbringing. For their work, they receive mercy from Allah in this and the afterlife and the respect of people. Teaching is one of two things in this world that you are allowed to be jealous of. Our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) expressed this as follows: “One should not be envious of anyone but two: a person to whom Allah has given wealth and the opportunity to spend it properly, and a person to whom Allah has given wisdom, and who judges on the basis of (this wisdom ) and passes it on to others. “

We would like to remind pupils and students of the following statement by Burkhan ad-din al-Zarnuji so that they know and understand the value of our teachers: “If the teacher and the doctor do not receive due respect and respect, they will not be able to benefit the patient and the student. If you torture your doctor, then you have to endure your illness. If you torture the teacher, you will have to be content with your ignorance. “

Taking this opportunity, we express our gratitude to those of our teachers who are still alive, and we remember those who went to eternity with gratitude and a sense of duty to them for the benefits rendered to us.

Islamosphere