Mirza Yawar Baig – Teaching to Transform – The Prophetic Method
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Welcome to the seminar teaching to transform by following the prophetic method
I want to say to you that teaching is not a job selling lottery tickets a job.
Teaching is a calling.
Can you ask yourself this question? Can you imagine not teaching.
If you can imagine not teaching and doing something else,
then teaching is not for you.
A teacher is not somebody who has a bumper tag, bumper sticker saying I would rather be anything else. I'd rather be golfing, fishing, whatever. If you would rather be something else, then my advice to you is go be that teaching needs passion.
A teacher teachers for the joy of teaching.
A teacher is somebody who simply cannot imagine doing anything else.
A teacher is someone who will not only teach without pay, but will even pay to teach.
I want to say to you,
the secret of teaching is to become a lamp.
A lamp doesn't light a room by doing anything to the room.
It lights it up simply by being true to itself, and fulfilling its own purpose in life.
Because in the end,
the student is the only true measure of the teacher.
So I said you or teacher, stop teaching and start learning.
I have been a teacher for over 40 years now.
And Hamdulillah, I've been an extremely successful teacher,
I teach in an extremely extremely competitive environment, which is the corporate world.
Most teachers get annual appraisals, I get a daily appraisal.
Most teachers job does not depend on the annual appraisal right away. Meaning that at the end of the year, if you had an appraisal, which was you know a little bit different this way and that way, you still wouldn't lose your job.
In my case,
in my rating
is less than 98.5%
then I have no job.
I submit to you that animals are born, humans are made.
And those who make humans are teachers.
Not necessarily teachers as in school, but those who teach them which of course, includes first the parents
teach values, because values drive behavior and behavior drives results.
If you want to change the result, you must go to the value and see what is it that you believe in because your beliefs
determine your behavior and your behavior determines what you get in return from the world.
And remember, values cannot be legislated they must be inculcated.
So what should you do? monitor yourself daily, continuously.
start discovering and learning and enjoying.
Start by appreciating this fact that the child is the best thing that happened to you. And every single day, try to become the best thing that happens to that to that child to him or her.
And one good way of doing that is to look for good stories. collect stories, good stories of what your children do. And I'm using the word your children in a very specific sense.
Because your children as in those who teach
are just like your biological children, those who give birth
finally, I say to you, I say to myself, people listened with their eyes. Children listen with their eyes. They don't care what we say until they see what we do.
Think of yourself as ashes, people guiding others.
In a vast museum
what quietly with your students over one door? Show them inside what is their their eyes open pop open with surprise with wonder. It's a wow so Halla
shut the door, give them the key,
take them to another door, open that door, show them what's inside there. Let them wander at this, jump the door, give them the key so that they can come back and explore that.
In the wrong good time.
The thing to ask yourself is, is every day exciting?
It should be it can be. There's nothing more exciting than learning. The question is, how do you present that?
You present that as an exciting discovery? Or do you project that as a mundane thing at the end of which is an examination where you pass or fail and you will punish them or
think about this? In my view, teaching is not about answering questions, but about raising questions, opening doors for them in places that they could not even imagine.
Ask questions. And you want the best question? You know, what's the best question? The best question is the one that left you speechless, for which you have no answers. The teacher who gives answers has failed. Let them find the answers and be prepared. And you'll be prepared for answers. You didn't even think about
the minds of children go into places that you did not even imagine with it. And that's a beautiful thing.
Ask yourself this very important question. Do you really want to teach? Do you really want to teach? And if you really want to teach, set extraordinary goals for yourself? Why extraordinary? Because it is the nature of extraordinary goals to inspire extraordinary effort.
Good enough never is. When you are saying good enough. You're looking at mediocrity. mediocrity is a cancer and like cancer, it kills from within the body does not fight cancer cells because it sees them as part of itself.
But cancer cells will kill the body.
mediocrities cancer with one difference. Cancer is not infectious. mediocrity is
so tell yourself if something is worth doing, it's worth doing well. And that is why you need passion to do well as a teacher
asked me this question. What's your brand?
What is your brand?
To create brand, you must differentiate.
Differentiation creates brand. Brand inspires Loyalty. Loyalty enables influence if we repeat that, differentiation creates brand brand.
Inspire inspires Loyalty. Loyalty enables influence without brand. You are a grain of rice in a sack. Still rice, but you're wondering
I want to remind myself I knew that it's not about today. Teaching is not about today. Teaching is not about passing exams. Teaching is not about completing a syllabus. Teaching is about keeping the excitement of learning alive, all lifelong.
Which brings me to the profiting method. How did Rasul Allah is Allah Selim teach
in one place,
Rosa Selim said we're in nama words too violent, and I have been sent as a teacher. In another place, he said, voice to legal team, personnel o'clock or whatever the law no reported, this or this. Whatever Malik that Rasulullah saw Selim said, I have been sent to perfect good character.
That is the fundamental goal of all teaching to perfect good character to create good character perfect good character. We have sadly reduced teaching into filling minds with random bits of information that is not teaching.
That's not easy. That's bottle bottle filling the children logical bottles to be filled with random bits of information. They have to be molded
that human beings as I said animals about humans are made
And you are the ones to make those humans into humans
in the dizzying especially in teaching, Islamic teaching,
the fundamental teaching is the Quran, Al Quran, Nikita Allah and everything else we teach is a reflection of the Kitab of Allah. It's a it's a derivation of the Kitab of Allah. Islamic studies
also affect also Hadith that is a vicar itself. And of course obviously as we proceed so on, so on, all of these are from the Quran and that is the fundamental source that is the the the power generating source.
In that context, I want to share with you this famous Hadith sahih Hadith in Makati and as my fond of the Alana
call and unabIe Salah highly values Zilla
pada Pedro Pedro come MONDAI lemon Khurana or Ando
of man may not follow the law and report it that also relies on self said the best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it
in other places at our level who learn or teach
the West we've I want you to think of yourself as the best people because of what you teach you.
Never let that
sense of
worth
leave you and leave your heart. You are doing something which the Prophet of Allah Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam called the best thing that you can do.
Unless you're married that I mentioned, as well as SLM as his blessing, as the blessing of Allah. Allah says Allah Allahu Allahu Mina is by Saffy, him Rasool Amin and fusi him yesterday he made it he will use a key for your living will get
when can omit all of you the logic will be Allah said, Indeed Allah subhanaw taala convert a great favor on the believers, when you send among them the messenger, a messenger which is Muhammad salah, from among themselves, reciting unto them as if and purifying them, internal and external.
And teaching them the book the Quran, and aliqua which is the wisdom and as soon as
while before that they had been manifest, hello,
hello engine four things, four steps. All these four are critical to success as
to teach the Kitab of Allah and to teach Islam
number one you have to do Allah He mighty
recite for them the eyes of the Quran.
Inform them in the information is very important. Inform them the benefit of learning. It starts with their wi I fm what's in it for me, the FM station that everybody listens to start from their wi FM.
Why must Allah we have the unreasonable Selim, who said that when when a person recites the Quran, Allah subhanaw taala gives him 10 Hazara 10 rewards for every letter of the Quran. And then he he emphasized and he clarified and he said, I do not say that I just love me with one letter alif is one letter lambs one letter beam is one. So when we recite the Quran, we are saying I mean, we already have 3030 rewards. What is the value of one? Hassan? What has Anna is the difference between Jana Jana? That is how important it is.
So, teach the children put yourself in their minds here, the child sitting there and he's asking himself why masala? What do I get to find out?
Where can I apply this stuff? They're teaching me all this away? Can I apply it? Is it any practice? Is there any practical value that
he was also understand the opposite, which is what is the problem with not learning?
If I don't go to the school, if I don't learn this, what's the harm? Very, very important. We start from there. Because context makes meaning and context is motivating for the ill of the hammer,
the benefits of the deed, when I know the value of what I'm doing, I get motivated to do that. It's not a routine mundane task. There's something which has value which is worthy
of doing something worthwhile. It is our job as teachers to make this very clear to the students. How do we do that? By making it clear to ourselves it's only when we make it clear to ourselves that
We can make it clear to the students.
Second one, we use a key,
purify that repair. Think of this as a farmer, this farmer has the best see possible that best seed is the kingdom of Allah. Allah subhanaw taala the teachings of Muhammad Rasulullah sallallahu Sallam best seed, you give this farmer the best seed and say well planted, what's the first thing you're going to do is really simply go and do all of the garden put is no.
The first thing he will do is he will keep the seed safely and then he will prepare the soil into which the seed is supposed to go. He will detox the soil, he will check his BS value we will if there are any obstacles and stones and rocks and tongs and whatnot and weeds, he will do all of that.
Right? He will majority will make spay make the preparations to irrigate it as one when the soil is ready only then does the plant he spent a lot of time in preparing the soil. Because he's a farmer he understands that if the even if the best seed even if he has the best seed if it is planted into soil which is toxic soil which is inert soil which is negative, then it will kill the seed. And even if it doesn't kill the seed, the seed might germinate but you will never get the kind of crop, the kind of harvest the seed was capable of getting. So in the context of the religion of Allah in the context of his lab,
teaching in the prophetic method consists of informing this is what almost Valterra tells us this is what we know this is the kalam of Allah and then preparing the heart to receive that beautiful seed and that is external verification which is the hara muscle, although clean clothing clean place and internal cleaning the heart from all kinds of negativity. Second one is make God as a teacher you must make dua for your students for your children every single day.
As a parent, you must make dua for your children every single day.
Tell me how many of you how many of you tonight last night have been before the night before you're watching this video? How many of you in the head God you made dua for your own children, children you teach and the children to give birth to?
I won't even ask if you cried before almost. You should really but even if you did, it didn't make
so ask ALLAH ask Allah subhanaw taala to put his eye on the hearts ask Allah to give you the words that can reach their hearts a lot make it easy for them to apply.
Then third, one other but other Bombora via the bibra. The one who has other he's successful, the one who does not have other is a failure.
But Husar is relevant to the burning bush where Allah subhanaw taala gave him the what
what is the first thing Allah said to him and Musa alayhis salam landed there
he said FAFSA and Alec in Nicaragua dill makan This is a take off your shoes. You are in a holy place. You are in a sacred place.
Clothing, posture.
No big problem here with people. They wear anything they sit anywhere. That's it with their feet extended the soles of the seat of the of the soles of the feet, pointing at the face of the teacher in Manila and then how will you how will they ever learn?
Please laws, the rules of teaching do not change because you are living in different countries and other sisters like flying.
Whichever plane you fly from whichever airport you take off, you have to follow the rules of flight.
You have to fulfill the rules of aerodynamics and flight. It doesn't matter what plan you have like doesn't matter which airport the rules are changed in America they don't change in Russia they don't change in India they don't change in the Middle East. Same rules. You have other you will your daughter you will not learn
then as
speech and behavior, how you treat your treat them with kindness. There's no other way to treat them. Treat them with kindness.
Demonstrate other if you behave with other they will be available. How are you dressed? What do you do?
You are in a Muslim school? Do you look like a Muslim?
It's not a question of of, you know, I wear hijab I don't it's a question is as a Muslim what I was supposed to do. What are you demonstrating?
Prevent prepare for the class.
your lesson plan your class repairable because, as they say, fail to prepare
you'll prepare to fail. The one who fails to prepare is preparing to fail.
So preparation, first one, information second one preparation to receive that information and benefit from it. Third one, but you only will get up is the teaching actual contextual teaching. So ask yourself, what is the what am I teaching? And what is the best way of teaching that? Think about if you're selling perfume, and your way of selling perfume was to make a PowerPoint presentation my perfume, I would say that's a very stupid way of selling perfume. The best way to sell perfume is to give people a whiff of that perfume, put it on the rest of the app is valid. You don't have to sell it the perfume sells itself.
What is the best way? If I'm teaching somebody recycling? What's the best way? show them a video? No, put them on a cycle, put them on a bicycle?
What is the best way to teach what you are teaching? And then how can you enable and reinforce the learning? How can you make it possible for them to learn groom but each child will have a different way of learning?
Each child will have that's the reason why the children they teacher ratio beyond a point it makes it has no meaning.
So
each child, what is their preferred way of learning some some general respond to being spoken to other children need to see and rights other children need to they need to respond.
And final point is how will you test your understanding? Our standard method of examination is garbage.
Random recall,
is not understanding.
The standard method is random recall, in a time window.
The same answer the child cannot answer the question in that time. We know he knows the answer five minutes later an examination time is over. They've taken the people from it. He knows the answer you finish.
That What's the meaning of that? Does he know the answer doesn't know? Does he not know the answer? What is the sanctity of knowing the answer within that specific timeframe. The exam systems are designed to help teachers to be more lazy. That's it.
And sadly, the world accepts it. It's a completely useless system. It must be trashed, abolished. What we need to create is a system to test understanding and run against exempt and against the way exams are done.
To test understanding,
we teach Quran we say we am teaching Quran what are you teaching? You're teaching somebody to to make some sounds
in a particular way.
Do stop and ask what did that do to your heart?
What did I do to your heart? We just talked about the greatness and glory of Allah subhanaw taala we just decided to AYATUL kursi.
We just decided Oh Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah, who, Ali molvi Mujer Shah, who are Rafa or he
connected to the earthquake that has happened in in Syria and Turkey.
A human being
if he is deprived of water, will die of thirst in between three and five days. And it's a very horrible day.
Because there is massive dehydration. Because of that there is huge fatigue.
Blood gets concentrated. Sodium and potassium salts increase the blood and you get dementia. You go crazy, go bad. The tongue sticks to the palate. The whole throat and his whole gut is like it's on fire.
And then your kidneys fail. And then there is general organ failure and your heart stops.
Three to five days. Very slow, agonizing, terrible way to die.
But in those Wait, what do we see? We see five and a half days after the earthquake. Little two month old baby
infant pulled out of the rubble alive and well. By himself. There's no one that
we see a mother as she has given birth to a to a baby to the baby girl. 10 hours after the earthquake. The baby is still attached to the mother who by the umbilical cord.
The Rescuers they cut the umbilical cord and take the baby on Mother's Day. Babies arriving with
a mother and two children 10 days 10 days digital bright two times 10 days after pulled out of the rubble alive and well.
little toddler
comes out loving
after five days comes out loving.
Not hungry, not thirsty. What I'm seeing here
you see here the manifestation
of have Hola Hola Hola Hola. Hola, Ana yoka? Yo.
When you're teaching Quran, ask yourself this question. We focus on that aspect of it very good, please go ahead. But if you are telling me that the Quran was revealed
to connect your marriage,
and I will say going nuts
the Quran was revealed to bring this Hazama of Allah subhanaw taala into our hearts and said, This is my rub one law.
When I say lie, in fact, what I will do real Allah, there's no one who can harm and no one who can benefit except Allah. Allah subhanaw taala is showing us that in so many words in in so many sites in this earthquake.
How do you teach? What I teach in what is the best way?
For the January's adding the What are you asking the child the child stop for a second year? What do you feel in your heart?
You're resenting where it is the beautiful, fantastic, wonderful. Are you feeling anything inside your heart?
Or are you stuck on the pronunciation and this or that?
What are you teaching? And how are you using that? Are you only me we'll get up while hikma
the application.
Remember, you succeed or the teacher only if they can apply it.
If you are teaching Quran, and you are teaching these and you're doing lectures, and you're doing all kinds of things, and then they're going and running smoke shops, and they're working in convenience stores and they're selling lottery and they're selling all kinds of horrible stuff, believe me, you have failed. And I have failed.
If they're eating anything without thinking, is it halal haram, Zambia, nonsevere. If they're trying to find loopholes, convenient,
compliant olives, we're giving them fatawa. We sued them, then we have failed
application.
The knowledge of the eyelid, the knowledge of the teacher must be visible in themselves in their appearance and their actions.
So demonstrate how
show the benefit of applying, not talking about it
and got its questions and current dissent and current disagreement. Let them come and tell us check my teacher, I have not understood this. Or you know, I don't agree with this. Sit with them. Don't argue don't browbeat them. Explain to them. Why don't you agree? What is your doubt?
solve their problems. Because remember, you succeeded only if they can apply. It doesn't matter what you taught them. If they cannot apply it. It's your failure.
It is your failure. It's not the failure of the student.
To understand this, let me take you to training animals, if you are training a horse
to jump over an obstacle course, and the horse fields who stay whose failures that is the failure of the trainer. Let me take you to the sports world where the coach of a soccer team basketball team, any team and your team fails, your team does not score whose failure is that failure of the coach. It's not that if the court says oh, you know what I did my best. But these people are useless. That coach is useless as a coach will respect because the job of the coach is to ensure that the team wins. And when the team is playing the coach is not on the field. The coach is off the field. That is our challenge as teachers. What will they do when I'm no longer there? And if they do the right
thing that I've I have succeeded. If they do the wrong thing. It is my failure. It's not their fault, my failure.
That is why Surah Surah Salam, the beautiful heavies Malik bin, Al waited for the alarm reported that also Rossella set up such a beautiful law this, but just the last part of it. He said pray as you have seen me praying Sanlucar I only
pray as you have seen me praying. You didn't say pray as you as I told you to pray as you have seen me praying.
He told them also what you demonstrate to them.
Pray as you have seen me pray
about other sisters.
Seriously, ask yourself this question.
As a teacher, what difference can I make?
And for that, I will tell you one of my favorite stories. It's a true story of Lauren Isley, the writer, and he says that he was walking on a beach one morning, early morning
after a straw had happened the previous night and his or the beach was littered with all kinds of debris from the sea in which there were hundreds, maybe 1000s of starfish. He said, as he was walking around, he saw the distance look like a small child
who was doing some things look like advance, bending down and standing up. And he said, as he got, as he got closer, he saw this child was picking up starfish from the sand and throwing them into the sea.
So long as they went up to him, and he asked him, like people have they see some somebody doing something, but this is a problem. This is what I do.
Jaleo elder starfish in his hand, he said, I'm throwing this into the sea, because on the sandy drought in the day, and throwing it into this into the sea, so that it will live longer. He said I laughed at this little boy. And I said to him say look it turn around, look here, see how many hundreds, maybe 1000s or hundreds of 1000s of starfish on the same beach? When I think about this? How many millions of square miles of beaches there in the world and strong happen and how many zillions of starfish are being taught. He said, What difference can you make
your one time on this one beach? What difference can you make?
Nicely said the child looked at me and looked at the starfish in his hand. He threw it into the waves.
And he said it made a difference to that one.
It made a difference to that one.
That's what I say to you. You might say, Well, I'm one teacher, what difference can I make? Believe me, you can make the biggest difference in the life of the child. And if we make a difference in the life of one child, believe me, your life
has been worth it.
That's why my gift to you is
to say to you that in the life of every person comes a time when a window opens and they can make a difference. Our window is open now. To succeed. Save yourself what I say to myself. I will not allow what is not in my control. To prevent me from doing what is my control. I will not allow what is not in my control to prevent me from doing what is in my control.
That is my gift to you.
I wish you all the very best I hope you become the best teachers the world has ever seen. The best teacher that your children have seen.
Or sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa Sahbihi article