Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim
1. Introduction
Friends beloved by Allah, in the sphere of education and da‘wah, magnificent physical facilities mean little if they are not supported by their main driver: human resources (HR). An external barrier widely faced by the ummah today is the limited number of competent and experienced teachers or ustādhs. Scientifically and from the perspective of developmental psychology, an educator who lacks mastery of the material or is immature in methodology tends to breed boredom, trigger misunderstandings about religion, and can even extinguish the great potential that students possess. Yet acknowledging this barrier is not to make us blame one another. Islam views the teaching profession as a trust that is extremely heavy and yet noble. Collective awareness is needed to continuously refine ourselves and upgrade our capacity, because teaching is not merely transferring memorized texts—it is shaping ways of thinking and the character of the soul.
Allah SWT reminds us of the importance of entrusting the matter of teaching and learning to those who truly possess scholarly authority and competence in their field:
فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
“So ask the people of knowledge if you do not know.” (QS. An-Naḥl: 43)
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ also gave a stern, scientific warning about the sociological impact that occurs in society when the task of guiding with knowledge is entrusted to human resources who lack adequate competence: إِذَا وُسِّدَ الْأَمْرُ إِلَى غَيْرِ أَهْلِهِ فَانْتَظِرِ السَّاعَةَ
“When a matter is entrusted to someone not qualified for it, then await the Hour (of destruction).” (HR. Bukhārī)
2. Lessons and Message
Let us reflect on a real portrait in a remote area or a suburban madrasah. There is a sincere young man forced to be appointed as the sole ustādh simply because, in that village, he is the only one who can read the Arabic letters—even though he himself has never studied tajwīd or how to educate children. With all his limitations, he tries to teach. One day, a critical young student asks him about a heavy life problem or a doubt in religion. Due to his lack of experience and low competence, this young ustādh feels cornered, then rigidly scolds the child, “Don’t ask too many questions! Your question could lead you astray!” The child falls silent, lowers his face with teary eyes. His curiosity shatters instantly, and from that day on he loses his appetite to study his religion any further. How sad it is to see a bright seed of faith wither—not because the child was naughty, but because of the limited capacity of the teacher who was not ready to guide him. This limitation in a teacher’s competence and experience is like a “Bus Driver Who Just Learned to Drive Yesterday Afternoon, Yet Is Immediately Told to Drive a Bus Full of Passengers Through Steep, Winding Mountain Roads.” The driver’s intention is very good—he wants to get the passengers to their destination—and the bus is also fine, like the noble religious material. But because he lacks skill, flight hours, and expertise in handling the wheel, every sharp turn becomes a threat that makes all the passengers inside scream in fear, or may even end in a mass accident. Sincerity alone is not enough as capital for teaching. Sincerity is the main engine, but competence and experience are the steering wheel. We must equip the da‘wah warriors on the frontlines with thorough training and guidance so they do not err in steering the direction of the ummah’s thinking. Sometimes we see an amusing phenomenon on social media or in our surroundings. There is someone who just returned from a religious crash course or training lasting three days and two nights, yet his style when teaching in a study circle is already like that of a great scholar who has mastered dozens of classical texts. When a congregant asks about a complicated contemporary fiqh issue, out of pride and not wanting to say “I don’t know,” he instead answers with a “super creative” response—in other words, he guesses the ruling himself. As a result, the congregation goes home carrying a new fatwa that makes them shake their heads.
This is a humorous yet wise jab for us: being a teacher or instructor is not about how confident we look on stage in beautiful robes, but about how deep our well of knowledge is—so that when the congregation comes with empty buckets, they go home carrying clear water, not mud of doubt!
3. Conclusion and Closing
Brothers and sisters, the external barrier of limited human resources and low teacher competence is a great responsibility we must bear together. We cannot let our teachers and ustādhs struggle alone in classrooms without efforts to upgrade their capacity (up-skilling). Continuous training curricula, sound competency certification, and mentoring from the experienced are the main keys to safeguarding the quality of the ummah’s education. For those of us entrusted as teachers, let us humble our hearts to keep learning and gaining experience. Never stop being a student, even when we are already standing in front of the class as a teacher.
والله أعلم بالصواب
الحمد لله رب العالمين
Wassalamu’alaikum Warahmaullahi Wabarakatuh.
ِAbu Sultan Al-Qadrie
