How to Teach

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Teach! Make things easy! And do not make things complicated! He repeated this three times and then he added: And if you get angry, keep quiet!” [Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani, Al-Matalib Al-Aliyah; Ahmad Ibn Hanbal]

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) came with the most important of teachings. He was sent by none other than the Supreme Most Being, the Creator of all that exists. Therefore, it stands to reason that Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) must have chosen Muhammad (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) because he would be the best teacher for this all important message. Considering this, let’s see what we can learn from this hadith regarding the qualities of excellent teachers:

1a. Make things easy for the students. A teacher should not try to complicate matters. In order to teach effectively, the teacher must know his/her material very well. For this adequate preparation is necessary.

1b. In order to communicate effectively, it is essential to keep the intellectual level of the audience in mind. Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) would teach people according to their level of understanding.

1c. Keep the message short. Few ahadith can be found that are more than a few sentences long. When the message is short, the most important thing is clearly spelt out and it is easy to keep the attention of the target audience. Some days the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) would not teach the Sahabah. They asked him why. He answered that he did not want to bore them or make it too much for them.

2. Repeat important things (three times).

3. Keep your cool. If the teacher gets frustrated, he or she should remain quiet and under no circumstances vent on the students.

These are some techniques we can start practicing when trying to communicate with others.