Should I Teach Islamic Subjects If My Teacher Suggests It, despite My Reservations and Personal Problems?
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
I’ve been studying with Shaykh for numerous years. He wants to develop some students into teachers; I can pursue this path. I’m scared to do so, but I also feel it would be a missed opportunity. I have OCD & I’m getting treatment; the Shaykh is aware of this. I struggle with doubt, fear & pinning down a single good intention.
I’m also mindful of the diseases of the heart, e.g., riya’. I fear becoming arrogant & proud. I’ve noticed these things in myself at times. I don’t want to teach if it’ll hurt my aakhira. Conversely, part of me is inclined toward teaching. I’ve been given knowledge, Alhamdulillah, and it might be nice to share it. I’ve done istikhara, but I need advice. I seek your independent counsel & dua, please.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
Teaching is one of the loftiest personal acts of worship and means of service to the community and calling to Allah Most High.
The Virtues of Teaching Sacred Knowledge
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it.” [Bukhari]
‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) went out one day and entered the mosque. There were two gatherings. One was of people reciting the Quran and supplicating Allah – exalted and majestic – and the other was acquiring and disseminating knowledge. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Each of these (groups) is good: they are supplicating Allah – exalted and majestic – and reciting the Quran. If He wants, He will give them (what they seek) or not. And they are acquiring and disseminating (Sacred) knowledge. I was only sent as a teacher.” And He (may Allah bless him and give him peace) sat with them (i.e., the latter group). [Ibn Majah]
Ibn Mubarak mentions this narration in his book on asceticism with the additional words of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace), “and they are the best of the two groups.” [Tibi, Sharh Miskhat al-Masabih]
It is narrated that Hasan al-Basri (Allah be pleased with him) said, “For me to learn one chapter of Sacred knowledge and teach it to a Muslim is more beloved to me than to have the world in its entirety and give it all in charity for Allah’s sake.” [Khatib Baghdadi, al-Faqih wa al-Mutafaqqih]
Conditions for Teaching
In order for one to take on the immense role of teaching Sacred knowledge, one must meet or strive to meet the following conditions:
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Authorization (Ijaza):
One should not teach a subject until their teachers either expressly or implicitly verify their ability to do so.
Imam Malik (Allah be pleased with him) said, “No one who desires to sit in the mosque to teach hadith and fatwa can do so until he has consulted people of soundness and excellence and the people in charge of the mosque. Only when they consider him worthy of it may he sit there. I did not sit until seventy shaykhs of the people of knowledge had testified that I was ready to do so.” [Abu Zahra, The Four Imams]
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Competence (Dabt):
One must have an accurate grasp on the subject matter one will teach. Along with this, one must abstain from interjecting opinions that one has not verified with one’s teacher or other scholars.
One must take care to transmit the knowledge just as one was taught. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “May Allah illuminate the one who hears my statement, understands it, and conveys it just as he heard it.” [Tirmidhi]
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Sincerity and Self-Suspicion (Ikhlas wa Ittiham al-Nafs):
One must only take on the role of a teacher for the sake of attaining the pleasure of Allah Most High and other such intentions that serve that goal. In this vein, one must constantly oversee themselves to make sure that the intention in teaching does not waver from its pure beginnings.
One should check their intention prior to teaching, constantly revisit their intention throughout, and regularly seek forgiveness from Allah Most High for any deviation of intentions.
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Humility (Tawad’u):
In line with the above, one of the qualities of a teacher that one must strive to inculcate is humility. Humility is the symbol of the sincere. We find this quality manifested in great scholars and teachers to the highest extent.
Imam Malik (Allah be pleased with him), along with others, have summarized this quality in the following statement:
Haytham bin Jamil (Allah have mercy on him) said, “I’ve seen Malik being asked 48 questions; in 32 of them he said, ‘I don’t know.’” It was also narrated that he would be asked 50 questions and not reply to a single one. He would say, “Whoever replies to a question should present Heaven and Hell to themselves before answering: how will he fare in the Hereafter – then he should reply.” [Ibn Hamdan, Sifat al-Mufti wa al-Mustafti]
Fulfilling the Need and Obligation of Teaching
Despite the gravity of the role of teaching and the conditions one should strive to inculcate to do justice to it – it is of great importance and need of the Muslim community that someone who is able must take up this role.
For this, there are immense rewards promised for those who teach the religion. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Indeed Allah, His Angels, and the inhabitants of the Heavens and Earths, even the ants in their holes and the fish bestow blessings on those who teach people of the good.” [Tirmidhi]
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
