Since the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) knew people’s spiritual states very well, he would treat them accordingly. He would never forego moderation. He would not always give them sermons and look for suitable times in order to keep their desire and enthusiasm for learning alive. (Bukhari, ‘Ilm, 12)
In fact, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) expressed that such behavior was the method of the prophets:
“Good way, dignified good bearing and moderation are the twenty-fifth part of Prophecy.” (Abu Dawud, Adab, 2)
Contents of a lesson and its teaching method must be in moderation and should not cause the student weariness. On the contrary, it must increase a student’s enthusiasm. According to Abu Salama’s report, the Companions of the Prophet (pbuh) were people that neither deviated from moderation nor showed laziness. They would sometimes recite poetry and sometimes narratetheir recollection from the Age of Ignorance. (Ibn Abi Shaybah, al-Musannaf, V, 278)
According to Abu Bakr al-Thaqafi’s report, the Companions would sometimes recite from the Qur’an and sometimes from poetry. (Kattani, II, 236)
There method shows that it is necessary to animate the students by poetry, stories, or something relaxing when they begin to get tired, because when the mind and soul get tired, it becomes hard to comprehend the meaning, which likewise causes lose of attention and distraction.
When Ibn Abbas (r. anuhuma) sat with his students, for a while he would narrate from the sayings of the Prophet (pbuh) and then would say “Increase our appetite! Tell us some jokes, for the soul gets tired just like the body.” And then he would begin to talk about Arabic proverbs. Then he would go back to his lesson and repeat this whenever it was necessary. (Kattani, II, 237)
A teacher is like a master of decoration and his students are the white surfaces ready to be decorated. Mistakes in decoration do not belong to the surface but to the decorator. Therefore, the decorator must look at his mistakes and correct himself continuously.
Therefore, programs of education should be prepared in consideration of people’s spiritual states and weaknesses. Class hours, methods of presentation, break times, and vacations must be arranged in accordance with these weaknesses. Education is a process, and as such, it requires a long time, patience, and effort. Boredom and getting tired is the greatest obstacle for development. The only way to overcome these problems is to get the utmost benefit from the enlightened guidance of the Prophet (pbuh), our Excellent Exemplar.