Sulaimaan Ravat – The role of the parent in Education

			Mr.
		

			Mr. McMahon, Mr. Heyman?
		

			Firstly, let me just say that when I was watching the different presentations, and the different
performances by these very impressive young children, it reminded me of a quote that I read
somewhere recently. And the quote says, if you want to be happy in life, then spend more time with
those people who are above the age of 70. And under the age of seven,
		

			those above the age of 70, I'm in good company, right? Those above the age of 70, will give you the
wisdom. And those under the age of seven will remind you about the innocence of life, the purity of
life, it is when you are with children that you truly de stress it, they may be cute, but at the
same time, they still impressionable, and they are so impressive. And we unlock the particles
element, each one of these young boys and girls through flagbearers of Islam. So Sunday morning,
it's raining, but let's have some life in the army, the kids do not need.
		

			Actually, you know, I go to a number of shelters and programs and you have two main challenges. One
is to keep the children attentive, and the other is to keep the better, half attentive, or the you
know. And I will say that I'm very impressed that the kids here have been really focused, Mashallah,
they have been very disciplined. So I want to make a deal with them. You just been through exams,
right? So you listen attentively to whatever I have to say, for the next few minutes. And you go
home this afternoon and take your parents exam. You sit down at the table lunchtime and separate
time and say, right, mom, dad, what do you wanna speak about, we want minimum five points, and see
		

			how accurate they are. So you take the exam, my address in this particular session is to the
parents. And I just want to say a few things. I don't want to keep it too lengthy, no, too formal,
but just a few thoughts with regards education, because this is what it's all about, whether it's
the the nursery phase, or whether it's the primary phase. And in order to do that, I think we need
to go back, we need to go back to the era of janelia, the era of ignorance you boys know about
earlier, you studied in medicine, right? So we know what that era was synonymous for. You had people
making the loss of the copper naked, you had people burning their daughters alive, you have people
		

			fighting wars for years on end, without any proper or justified reason. And the list goes on and on
to such an extent that even the superpowers of the time as we know as we have learned from the time
that we were young, even the superpowers of the time did not want to rule over the Arabs of Arabia,
they were so backward. They was so you know, bad in terms of their behavior in terms of the customs
in terms of the rituals, and 600 years that passed from the time the last Nabhi had come to earth.
He Salli Salatu was Salam. So 600 years, no communication from Allah, no revelation, and human can
come to this very low level. We have father who take his daughter who's alive and bury her with his
		

			own hands, put a pin in the soil. Today, Allah forbid for those people who go through the process of
whose children pass away. They find it so difficult to put the corpse into a ground because this is
my own child. And yeah, you have a live, breathing, smiling daughter, and humanity had come to such
a level that you are willing to put their own daughter, that piece of flesh, that smiling talking
human being into the ground, just imagine for a moment, what was the state of humanity, and that was
sort of less than the money, goes into the cave of Hira and receive the first revelation. Now you
and I, we would have thought that Okay, the first revelation is coming now. The people are
		

			worshipping idols. They put idols in the Kaaba, they making tawaf of the Kaaba, naked, what this
respect, they bring their daughters alive, how inhumane, maybe the first revelation will be a
condemnation of idol worship. But what's wrong with you? How can you worship idols? What's wrong
with you? How can you play your daughter's life or make the top of the Kaaba naked? We would assume
logically and understandably, that the first revelation would be about talking with regards the
evils with regards the different challenges facing the time. But the first revelation as we know a
lot about a quota. Let's face it, Allah read recites, because education is the foundation for you to
		

			solve the problems of the Arabs and education will take you and make you leaders of humankind. So it
all starts with education. It starts here. Some of us as adults, it may be a little you know, we may
3d this is now a bit kind of boring for us. Some may find it cute when it's your own son or your own
grandson, but after a while, it becomes tedious. But the amount of effort that they put in is
something we need to acknowledge number one, number two, this is what is making an impression on
these young children. If you
		

			want them to be united despite the diversity, and it these these kind of plays, they talk their
language, that make them understand that irrespective of your language or your culture, your race,
or your background, you are one. And especially if you say the kalama, La Ilaha Illa, then that is
the bond. And that is a relationship that's stronger even than the blood relation, and even the
relation of family. So education is the foundation for all success. And education is the solution to
all problems of the community. That's why when Mandela came out of jail after 27 years, and they
asked him, what's your plan of action? What's your plan of action? He said, education, education,
		

			education. And then he elaborated and said, education is the most powerful weapon, which can cause
you to change the world. And that is exactly what the Quran said 1400 years ago that it
		

			don't we don't the Quran doesn't talk about the different ills in the society, educate yourself. And
that becomes the tool with which you solve your problems. And that sets the foundation for all
success and all prosperity. So congratulations to the students, to the teachers, to the parents, to
all the administrators for the hard work for the accomplishments because it's a great investment.
It's an investment in education. Having said that, let us ask ourselves the question we are Muslims,
right? What I've told you is a basic preamble to the whole concept of education. What does Islam
say? What does Islam say about education? I'll share with you due to the brevity of time what is one
		

			Hadith? the ayah is a rhetorical question. And what is rhetorical question when you ask the
question, and the answer is obvious. So unless it's cold, * yes, the will levena Yala moon will
leadin Allah, Allah moon, those who know meaning those who have knowledge, those who are educated?
Are they equal to those who don't know those who don't have knowledge, those who are not educated?
They even give an answer because there's no need to give an answer. The answer is obvious. And then
there's the famous hadith of Rasulullah, sallAllahu, Alayhi, wa sallam, thiruvalla, elemi, farinata,
Nanakuli, Muslim and Muslim to seek knowledge is compulsory upon every male or female. Now, just
		

			give me your attention, especially because there's always this confusion about the different types
of knowledge and how to prioritize, and how to synergize between the two types of knowledge. And
it's really simple. If you just bear with me, give me your undivided attention for two and a half
minutes. They are primarily two types of knowledge. The first is and I'm trying to go beyond the
semantics. So it's either what people call worldly knowledge or secular knowledge or non revealed
knowledge. That's the first category. And the second category is what they call Dini knowledge, or
religious knowledge or revealed knowledge or Islamic knowledge. Now, let's understand both we take
		

			the first one first, what is worldly knowledge or secular knowledge or non revealed knowledge? It's
Firstly, there's two layers. The first layer is to learn the basics, to learn how to read, to learn
how to write, to learn how to count, this is compulsory. Why, because these are required for you to
function as a human. For you to function as a human, it is compulsory for you to know how to read,
how to write, and how to come these simple aspects. So when you send your child with that intention,
even though it is seen as a worldly knowledge, but it's important, it's necessary for these to them
to have these tools. The second aspect is the higher level of knowledge, like what we would call,
		

			say, high school, or even university or tertiary education, that Adel keyfile, meaning it may not be
compulsory upon every individual, but it is compulsory upon the community as a whole, to have that
knowledge as well why this is a key point. Because if you do not have Muslims who are proficient and
who are experts in different fields, you as the Muslim community will not be able to become
independent, you will always be dependent on others for skills for expertise, and for professional,
professional resource. So if we look at the height of the glory days of Islam, we had our own
doctors, our own technicians, our own engineers, our own everything that made us independent of
		

			others, therefore, we will not let will leave we will leading now when we when we fall behind in
those error areas, then we become dependent on others then rather than us leading them, they lead us
because in order for us to prosper as a community, as the oma, you live in this world, you need all
of that infrastructure, you need all of those sciences to benefit you. So therefore you become
dependent on others. So that's the first category called working knowledge secular knowledge or non
revealed knowledge. Then you have the other category, which we call t knowledge or religious
knowledge or revealed knowledge. The one is necessary for you to exist properly in this world. The
		

			other is necessary for you to be successful both in this world as well as
		

			your Dini knowledge is imperative. In as far as your salvation in both worlds are concerned, number
one
		

			Number two, when we say we are Muslims, what does it mean? It means that at every juncture in our
lives, we need to do what Allah wants us to do. Whether you're in business, whether it's in your
marriage, whether it's with your children, whether it's interaction with your friends, if you don't
have religious knowledge, how will you know what Allah wants from you at every juncture in your
life, so that
		

			a Muslim and non Muslim applies, that each Muslim doesn't mean you have to become a scholar
necessarily, but each Muslim male or female needs to know that much that they can live their lives
as a Muslim, that in every aspect of their existence, they know what Allah wants and what Allah
doesn't want. And this is the beauty part this is an aspect of Tini knowledge, you need your
religious knowledge to be able to guide your worldly knowledge. Otherwise, what what difference will
it be between a Muslim doctor or a non Muslim doctor, a Muslim architect in a non Muslim architect,
the difference will be this, that the Muslim will have the right intention, he will work within the
		

			right parameters, he'll have the right goals and objectives within the profession. Why? Because his
religious knowledge will guide his worldly knowledge. So both are important, they need to work in
tandem, and you get reward for both. Islam does not only say that you get rewarded for that which
has to do with your idea or the spiritual side of your existence. If you send your child to crash to
nursery to primary school, to read and to learn how to read and write into all of those things are
going to help them with Koran, it's going to help them with Islamic literature, it's going to help
them in terms of their functions on this earth. So for that, if your intention is right, you get
		

			rewarded for that those teachers if their intentions are right, it's not just really a job, it's an
education process, you get rewarded for that, but understand the role of both. And understand that
obviously, the religious aspect is going to get priority, because that guides the worldly aspect,
and then has to do with the celebration of very often. I always give this one example and a wrap up
on this point. I say to parents, you cannot take pride in your child if they become the foremost
expert in their field. But the Salah is not in order. They are making such mistakes in the salon,
it's breaking the salon.
		

			By all means give your child the best education, let them go into the field that they desire.
Because as Muslims, we need experts. And we need leaders in every field in every environment for us
to prosper. But they need to be equally passionate, and they need to have the equally minimum and
adequate knowledge of Islam. So be the best doctor, architect, lawyer, politician, whatever you want
to be, but you must know the fundamentals of your faith, it cannot be that you are the master of
your science, when you come to the master general performing your Salah correctly, when you reading
the Quran, you're making such mistakes, that's changing the meaning. So that's the second point.
		

			That is one third point. And that's the last but perhaps the most important point that I want to
share with you. But you know, again, it's a Sunday morning and it's all the weather is is somewhat
glum and gloomy. So let me share with you when I was sitting I was thinking of one incident that
took place when I was in school and I want to share this with you on somewhat of a lighter note.
When I was in the thick I don't know what you guys call it here. But that's the last year of school
right? So there was the last holidays which was the June July holidays and after that the trial exam
starts and then the main exam starts. So our science teacher Rahim Allah was a very pious man, very
		

			involved in the effort of doubting the bleed and he was the one in school already who inculcated and
this is the importance of teaching. Well, I can remember one word of signs that he told me not one
word, but I can remember his dedication to him. I can remember how every day second break all the
boys he would round us up and take us to the masjid and we'd make our own Jamaat because the mercy
Jamaat would not stop and he wouldn't accept any excuse he would say but when was when he said at
first break separate no Mark me to instance they will get both in the first place. But second break,
you will come with me and you will perform salsa anyway. He said was use of sushi and he told us
		

			Okay, now you guys don't embarrass me in the matric exam. So June, July, you're going to come for
tuition. I'm going to give you free tuition, just to prepare you for the exams one hour every day.
Okay, what times tend to live in. So the first day we picked up the whole class is they except one
guy. His name was menzi was from Soweto. The teacher says swizzy. So we don't know. He comes in 10
minutes before the end of the lesson. So the teacher suits he looks at him and tells him What's
wrong with you. I'm giving my free time in the holiday to give you tuition and you come late. So
hence he looks a bit confused. But he doesn't say anything he sits down. So the next day we start
		

			the lesson again. 10 o'clock. We all there. Everybody's there except Menzie. And just before the
lesson ends, he walks in again. So Mr. Suji, erupts. And he lets go and he lets loose and he tells
him a whole lot of things. And hence he looks at him and says But you said tend to live and it's not
10 to 11 it's 10 minutes before 11.
		

			So sometimes the stitches you know, we must make to give them the benefit of the doubt they didn't
understand what we thought that they understood. It was like the teacher who said plus tell me how
was my lesson. So the one youngster and I mean youngsters can be cheeky and they can
		

			They can have a very sharp tongue when they want. I was saying last night, the biggest shift we'll
have in life is young children. The way they'll make your slide set you sleep like nobody else can.
So this one chap puts up his hand, the teacher said, How was the lesson? See, so it had a happy
ending. Everyone was happy that it ended.
		

			My third point, and perhaps the most important point is what is the role of parents in education? I
think the world over the problem is this. Parents have abdicated their responsibility when it comes
to education. As parents, we tend to think also parents that okay, I send my child to school, I send
my children to madrasah I send my child to useless, I pay the fees. So I have now by virtue of the
fact that I'm paying, everything is about money. So because I am pay, it's now the ultimate and hold
and exclusive responsibility of the teacher. If the child does well is my child. If the child the
child doesn't do well, it's the fault of the teacher. It's the fault of the school, you will get
		

			some people back in South receipt. Your child is like 13 years old. My wife is also in education,
she runs amok. And sister You know, he's already fixed with the restaurant. Every time something
goes wrong with the child, the parent cannot say, you know what, maybe I need to check in house must
be the teacher's fault. It must be the mother of stressful to move the child. And every time they
come to new medicine. You know, my child is so intelligent. My child is so talented. I don't know
what was wrong with it. You try? And if a child does well, okay, you great if the child doesn't do
so well, we move on. So we have abdicated our responsibility as parents, but they don't realize
		

			education is a three way alliance in South Africa. We like to use the use of the word tripartite
Alliance, AMC secp. And casado for those of you who follow politics, right. So it's the teacher,
it's the student, and it's the parent, and each one has an equal role to play. Now we understand the
role of the teacher and we understand the role of the student. But as parents, we don't want to
understand our own role. Firstly, we need to start with our intention. Why do you send your child to
school? Why do you send your child to mothers? or Why do you want to have your child educated so
that they can get good marks and bring good a good profile to the family? Perhaps Okay, no problem
		

			with that, so that they can educate themselves, get a degree and earn a livelihood. That is a
correct intention, but it is an incomplete intention. It is a correct intention. But it is an
incomplete intention. There's nothing wrong in saying my child must get education so you can get a
degree so you can earn a livelihood. So he's not dependent on others, but it's incomplete. Why?
Because Islam sees things in a much bigger picture of a greater prison. It's not saying so what you
must study for 10 years at school, now the seven years in medical college, and the only objective is
to earn a livelihood know
		

			the objective needs to be broader than that, then how am I as a doctor? Or how am I as a lawyer or
an accountant or whatever? How am I going to make a difference to the lives of others? Why are we
known as hybridoma Quantum
		

			reject the mass, the speciality and the hallmark of this oma is that you make a difference to the
lives of others. Firstly, the lives of your fellow Muslims, and then other humans as well the entire
creation of Allah. That is the intention with which you need to send your children to seek
education, both worldly education as well as religious education that my child was come out and my
child was have a greater purpose in life. Make money by all means, make yourself financially
independent, but also see how you will utilize your wealth and your your knowledge and your
expertise to make a difference to the lives of others. If that is the intention of the parents, and
		

			if there is the drought, the parents, Allah will put Baraka and inshallah the child will turn out to
be a good teacher, there is no greatness in earning livelihood for yourself making mega bucks, and
it stays between you and your progeny. There's no greatness in that fight. Fair enough. He didn't
stretch your hands to others. But greatness is when you can take that wealth that accrues from the
profession, or when you can take that expertise and make a difference to others because then it will
bring you success in this world. But it will also be your profession, it will be a worldly
profession, but it will become a means for you on a daily basis to invest in your skill of good
		

			deeds. And if that was the intention of the parent, the child goes out and fulfills that role. The
parent will be long gone in the grave, but every day in the existence of that child, there will be
reward accruing in the book of good deeds of the parent because the intention was right. And the
approach to all of it was was right. So that should be our our approach in terms of parents right.
And there's one more aspect that I want to touch on another conclude under the same aspect of the
role of parents in education. It is very difficult you can send your child to the best teacher to
the best school. But if your environment at home, if your example at home is not in alignment with
		

			what is being taught at school at madressa then you're fighting a losing battle. is no use the child
comes here and does a play on respect for the elders and the same child goes home and sees that
		

			The mother is gossiping about the mother in law, which is the child's grandmother, and the kind of
words that have been used. And the kind of defamatory descriptions that have been used, your mother
in law may be wrong, but in front of the child, what example are you setting? It's no use the child
comes to school, and is told that you shall not lie. But in the home lies are being spoken between
the parents, parents are lying to each other. So if the environment is not there at home, you see it
many times As parents, we fall into this mistake, we only worry about the report card. How many A's
how many bees first place the second place? But what about therapy?
		

			What about the conduct of my child? What about the values of my child? What about the good habits in
the life of my child, that's also part of the education process. Actually, that's the most important
part. If your child comes out with an average mark, but they have good conduct, the therapy is
solid, the values are solid, they have a strong identity as Muslims, because today we live in a very
hostile world, ideologically, it's a global village, everything is shrinking. You can be sitting in
Zimbabwe, but what is happening in America has an influence on your child. What's happening in
Europe has an influence on your child, you cannot totally separate them from the rest of the world,
		

			the only way you can protect them as if they have a strong sense of Islamic identity. In other
words, they don't see Islam as a burden. They don't see Islam as the police force that I must check
this to in that way and see what is the next injection that's going to be the fall that falls upon
me. No, they see Islam is the passion. They are proud to be Muslims. They understand the value in
the different teachings of Islam, and the different prohibitions of Islam. And the greatest role
play there is not the teacher. It's not the syllabus. It's not the school, it's you, the parent, and
especially the mother. And
		

			if you want to make your child through investment of Islam, you have to play your part in the
alliance of education. How sad it is today, that we have to tell the man who's in public aid, don't
judge Islam by the conduct of Muslims. Don't judge Islam by the conduct of Muslims. Look at Islam in
terms of what the Quran says in terms of what the student says, to look at our actions. It's an
indictment against us. What's the how I used to be opposite Sahaba didn't have to open the Quran.
They didn't have to share any statements of Rasulullah sallallahu Sallam the way they did business,
the way they did business, and they conduct and they brought Islam to Africa. If you read about the
		

			history of Islam in Africa, it was via the trade caravans of Sahaba and their progeny, they fairness
and justice in business dealings, they leniency and they miss in interacting with others the o'clock
and collecting showed their values as Muslims in what is what impressed the non Muslim they after
then once they are impressed they come and say teachers put on teachers who's the Nabhi teachers the
Sunnah of Rasulullah sallallahu sallam. So Sahaba could say don't read Quran, look at our lives. And
you see what Islam is today. We have to say don't look at our lives quran quran if you want to know
what is through Islam, because we are not living Islam, why are we not living Islam? Because we have
		

			faltered at this stage. We have faltered in the education process, and we have halted in the
process. I'll conclude Firstly, on a lighter note, and then with a serious message, you know, they
say that this student came to the teacher and said, How could you give me zero? I don't think this
is fair. How could you give me zero I don't think this is when the teacher says I agree with you. He
said I couldn't find any number lower than zero. I couldn't find any number lower than zero.
		

			The key message this morning that I want to share with you is about the role of parents in
education, and about instilling in the child more than the knowledge or the theory from the books.
It's about the values of what it is to be a Muslim to be human, the character of Islam so that they
can become through flag bearers of Islam and and visit of Islam. No matter which career path they
choose away in the world we go, I read a quote, which kind of encapsulates this, and I'll conclude
with this it says, education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.
Education is what remains after what you have forgotten in terms of what you learned in school. I
		

			can't remember a word of what was taught in that science lesson. But that man's picture that man's
image, that man's character, that man's dedication, that man's instruction on Salah is, is imbibed
within me it's inscribed in my heart, in my mind, in my psyche, it remains an example probably till
I will leave my last breath. So if we want young Muslims to emerge to have the right values, we have
the right character with the right mindset, we have the right attitude, and we have the right
intentions, who will be the next generation of good Muslims, who will make a difference not only to
the robot will take humanity out of the doldrums, then we need to approach education from a
		

			perspective of values and tarbiyah. And the foremost player in that regard is the parent may or may
not have as the topic was
		

			hammered
		

			while others Special Thanks for those wonderful words. And I'm sure