Allah made the Prophet (ﷺ) our role model in all aspects of life. He possessed exemplary
qualities, much of which is displayed through his role as a teacher. We find
examples of this throughout the Seerah, especially in his dealings with
children.
A good teacher is one that recognizes
the potential in his student and accordingly guides him to the appropriate
field.
We find this quality
affirmed in our Prophet (ﷺ), when his tribe informed him that Zaid ibn Thabit, who was
then a young boy, had learnt more than 17 chapters in the Qur’an.
Narrated Zayd ibn
Thabit: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) ordered me (to learn the writing of the Jews), so I learnt for
him the writing of the Jews. He said: I swear by Allah, I do not trust Jews in
respect of writing for me. So I learnt it, and only a fortnight passed before I
mastered it. I would write for him when he wrote (to them), and read to him
when something was written to him.[1]
We can also extract from the previous Hadith that our
Prophet (ﷺ) would establish the motive behind learning. This
was achieved when he explained the reason behind asking Zayd to seek knowledge.
He, (ﷺ),
opened up dialogue with his students
and asked questions which provoked thinking.
Ubayy b. Ka'b said:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)
said:
O Abu' al-Mundhir, do you know the verse from the Book of Allah which,
according to you, is the greatest? I said: Allah and His Apostle (ﷺ) know
best. He again said: Abu'l-Mundhir, do you know the verse from the Book of
Allah which, according to you, is the greatest? I said: Allah, there is no god
but He, the Living, the Eternal. Thereupon he struck me on my breast and said:
May knowledge be pleasant for you, O Abu'l-Mundhir! (Muslim)[2]
He (ﷺ) would show appreciation to correct answers and
positive behaviour through encouragement and praise.
This shows us the caring nature of our Prophet (ﷺ).
Nel
Noddings, an educationalist, emphasized the importance of care, and even went
on to call it the foundation of teaching activity. She said, “First, as we listen to our students, we gain their
trust, and, in an on-going relation of care and trust, it is more likely that
students will accept what we try to teach. They will not see our efforts as
“interference” but, rather, as cooperative work proceeding from the integrity
of the relation. Second, as we engage our students in dialogue, we learn about
their needs, working habits, interests, and talents” [3]
The Hadith also shows us that the Prophet (ﷺ) would also frequently
use repetition as a means of emphasis
and clarification.
Narrated Anas bin
Malik: that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would repeat a statement three times so that it could be understood.[4]
Taking information in small amounts and repeating it encodes it in your memory. Aristotle commented on the role of repetition in learning by saying “it is frequent repetition that produces a natural tendency”[5]
David
Ausubuel, an American Psychologist, proposed that “Discriminability of new materials could be
enhanced by repetition”[6]
Dr. Gretchen L.
Schmelzer, also a psychologist, stated that “Repetition
creates long term memory by eliciting or enacting strong chemical interactions
at the synapse of your neuron (where neurons connect to other neurons)”[7]
The
Prophet (ﷺ) possessed a repertoire of skills
which have only recently been recognized and implemented by educationalists and
teachers. He (ﷺ) was the perfect definition of a pedagogue, caring for and
guiding by both speech and practical example. He (ﷺ) was not just a teacher to
his students, but a teacher to all other teachers.
He (ﷺ) truly is
as Allah described him in the Qur’an:
“Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) you have a good example to
follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and
remembers Allah much.”[8]
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