any profession, especially professions that deal with serving people, there will be difficult days and times when giving up seems like an easy way out – but just like when we pray 5 times a day.... We start the prayer standing straight, in front of Allah. Then, we kind of fall, we bow your heads from humiliation and hold our knees, glorifying Allah. Finally, we fall down to the ground, our forehead hits the ground, but we still glorify Allah and sit up, find strength and ask for forgiveness, and prostrate again. Humbling ourselves gives us strength and allows us to reflect and recuperate, where we stand in Qiyyaam and ask for guidance once more. This is a reflection of our life and how we handle our daily obstacles. Concept Meaning Implementations Goals Khalqq The Creator and creation. Teach your students to contemplate the creation wonders, reflect on the amazing powers of the perfect Originator, and connect this with the purpose of creation. Discuss with them the difference between the Creator and His creatures. Your students grow with clear and sense-making belief, not confused between the Creator and the creatures. Your students are fully persuaded that the Creator alone must be worshipped, not His creation. Tawheed To sincerely worship Allah alone without any partner by sincerely following the model of Prophet Muhammad, Salal’laahu A’layhi Wasal’lam. The daily assembly Dua’a (daily reminder) The Jumua’h khutbah (weekly reminder). The congregational prayer (daily reminder). The inspirational stories of Prophets and Sahaabah. Eidul-Fitr and Ramadhaan, Hajj (seasonal reminders). Students grow loyal to Allah and His final Messenger, Muhammad. Students clearly understand the purpose of existence: to worship Allah alone as He required. Students understand that every good action and every good word become E’baadah (act of worship) if it is purely for the sake of Allah. Students understand that they live as practicing Muslims and die as strong believing Muslims.
Sunnah and what Allah has prepared for them. Sidqq Truthfulness Teach your students that the Muslim is not a liar, the Muslim is always truthful. Over-praise your students when they say the truth. Do not embrace students publicly. Remind them about the importance pf truthfulness with stories from the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Students will not make up stories against each other. Students will not falsely testify against anyone. Students grow worshipping Allah truthfully and behaving truthfully. Hayaa Modesty Teach your students the humility and modesty in the way they speak, behave, dress, think, and deal with others. Your students will make sure that their speech, behavior, clothing, thinking, and dealings are Hayaa-compliant. Your students will have in private as well as in public. Amaanah Teach your student the importance and rewards of being a trust-worthy Muslim and citizen. Your trust-worthy students will be seen as noble Muslims, citizens, parents, employers, employees. Rahmah Mercy Instill in your students the noble quality of being merciful, compassionate, and kind with everyone. Your students will be living examples of showing mercy to others. Maghfirah Forgiveness Forgive your students and encourage them to forgive one another. Your students will become easy-going leaders, teachers, parents, and citizens. They forgive others’ shortcomings and constantly ask Allah to forgive their own shortcomings. Your students will be strongly attached to Allah. Tawbah Repentance Teach your students that there is no unrepairable mistake if Tawbah is made. Your students grow having a great hope in the vast mercy of Allah. They will repent all the time, even for the smallest sin.
Train your students that a sincere repentance requires: regret, asking Allah forgiveness, and giving people the rights your owe them. Constantly remind your students how happy and joyful Allah is when people repent. They will remind others to repent to Allah. This will become one of their life-time noble tasks. Sabr Patience Train your students that patience is a major key in the academic, social, and professional success. Your students will grow practicing patience with their teachers, parents, siblings, colleagues, and other citizens. They will also remind and encourage others to have patience. Okhowwah Brotherhood Teach your students that all Muslims, regardless of their ethnic, political, and economic backgrounds, are brothers and sisters in Islam. Teach your students that all Prophets, Messengers and their sincere followers who died as true believers are brothers and sisters in Islam. Constantly remind your students that the eternal homeland of all believers from all times is Jannah (Paradise) Your students grow loving and caring about all Muslims. They become pro-Muslim unity. They will advocate for unifying Muslim efforts to serve Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Your students are well informed about the religion of all Prophets and Messengers. Nobody can confuse them spiritually and theologically. They grow strong in religiosity and religious history. They are well immune to debate, and discuss comparative religion. References Elsegeiny, S. (2005). American Muslim School Leadership: Principal and Teacher Perspectives (PhD dissertation), pp. 1-73. Retrieved from: http://scholarworks.uno.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgiarticle=1293&context=td