Manners - TARBIYAH - تربية
Some days ago, I had some discussion with a Malaysian Ustaz (Arabic: USTATH أُستاذ is a man with Islamic Education), as we always do. The Ustaz X (Prefer not to mention names) is a friend of mine and he always asks me about my opinion in some society and Islamic matters. Anyway, after the last discussion he asked me, saying:
"Brother Maythem, I really like talking to you and having your opinion as you always say them straight away and most of the time you could convince me about your decision/opinion because you bring an evidence from Qur'an or Hadeeth. and I like they way you deliver it. So, Why don't you have your own Halaqah or Maybe sharing sessions with other people so they get some of your knowledge?" and then he suggested to me "Why don't you try to get a certificate for being Ustaz?! so that will ease your way to approach people in Malaysia to deliver your knowledge."
Ok, honestly I felt flattered and got shocked at same time because, for me, I thought we were discussing some general topics about life, and honestly I was not thinking that I was delivering a speech or a lesson as in class, Even though some times I bring evidences from Qur'an and Hadeeth. So I thanked Ustaz X for admiring me and told him what I thought then I added:
"Actually, I do not think of myself as an Ustaz as I do not have the deep knowledge about the Islamic science. Another thing, I do not memorize the whole Qur'an nor Hadeeth in my mind. I just remember their principles that I have learnt during my life."
Then he replied:
"The last sentence you just said, this is exactly what any man needs to become a successful Ustaz. As long as you know the Principe behind the Qur'an and Hadeeth and you can use them to make decision, then you can be a successful Ustaz. and do you know, that is exactly what a lot of Ustaz and Ustazah (a woman with Islamic Education) missing although they are very famous."
Then he gave me some examples of what we have discussed before and showed to me the difference between my opinion and a famous Ustaz (called as Ulamaa' or Scientist in Islam) and that he believes in my opinion not in that Ulamaa' Opinion (as he feels it is a wrong opinion).
At the end, we decided that we might do, together, some kind of Halaqah or Discussion Area online. But I kept thinking with myself about what he said about me...then I do believe that during my life and since my childhood, I have gained TARBIYAH from many different sources; especially my parents, teachers, friends, life experiences, summer-army-school (most of Iraqis were pushed to go and participate in), self reading and self thinking,...etc. each of them have given me some manners and abilities to think logically and to deliver information honestly. In addition to that, my mother tongue language is Arabic, and that might be a reason that I could understand the Islamic teachings easier than those Ustaz and Ustazah (Ustaz X told me about before).
In the near future, On my Blog, I will put some of the problems those Ustaz X and me have discussed before, and I hope to receive opinions from friends IN SHA' ALLAH.
Anyway, as a conclusion, We have to teach our children correct Manners, give them proper knowledge, share Experiences with them and teach them to practice thinking through what they have learnt.. as forcing or encouraging our children to follow procedures without understanding the purpose of doing them or to memorize texts without understanding their contexts is just useless for their thinking side.
