Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim
1. Introduction
Friends beloved by Allah,
When an educational institution or community faces a limited number of teachers or ustadz, we must not let the learning process stall. Scientifically, especially in developmental psychology and social cognitive theory, there is a highly effective method called peer-to-peer learning or a mentorship system. When senior students or those who have mastered the material guide their juniors to study together, knowledge transfer becomes more organic and faster. Why? Because the psychological barriers of fear or awkwardness usually vanish when someone learns with peers. Islam practiced this concept of mentorship from the earliest days of da‘wah in Madinah through the system of _Mu’ākhāh_—brotherhood between the Muhājirīn and Anṣār—to guide one another in life and Sharia. The solution to the shortage of teaching staff is to revive a mentorship ecosystem: let those who understand lead those who do not yet understand, and let institutions exchange students or experiences to advance together.
Allah Subḥānahu wa Ta‘ālā speaks of the beauty of the believers’ brotherhood that strengthens one another:
إِنَّمَا ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ فَأَصْلِحُوا۟ بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ
“The believers are but brothers, so make settlement between your brothers. And fear Allah that you may receive mercy.” (QS. Al-Ḥujurāt: 10)
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ also emphasized that a true believer must be both a mirror and a guide of goodness for his brother:
الْمُؤْمِنُ مِرْآةُ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُ أَخُو الْمُؤْمِنِ يَكُفُّ عَلَيْهِ ضَيْعَتَهُ وَيَحُوطُهُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ
“A believer is a mirror to another believer. And a believer is a brother to another believer; he safeguards him from loss and protects him from behind.” (HR. Abu Dawud)
2. Lessons and Message
Let us picture an emergency madrasah that has only one ustadz to teach dozens of students across various levels. In the corner of the room, we see a little orphan boy who has just lost his family to a severe life trial. He sits in deep thought, struggling to sound out the letters in his textbook, while the ustadz is busy teaching another group up front. The little boy begins to shed tears, feeling neglected and hopeless because no one is guiding him. But the scene becomes deeply moving when a senior student—an upperclassman only a few years older—approaches with a sincere smile. He sits beside the little boy, pats his shoulder, and says, “Little brother, don’t cry anymore. Starting today, I’m your big brother, and I’ll stay with you and help you learn to read until you can.” Seeing the two children sitting side by side, listening to each other and giving encouragement amid limited facilities, the ustadz’s tears also fall at the front of the class. A mentorship system does not merely transfer knowledge; it is stitching back a broken heart through compassion.
Friends, the analogy is like a formation of teal or geese migrating across the ocean. Why can they travel thousands of kilometers without falling from exhaustion, even though they have no wind-breaking engine? The key is the V-formation. The strongest and most experienced bird flies at the very front to break the wind. The air resistance behind it becomes much lighter. The young or weary birds fly in the back rows, riding the updraft from the wingbeats of their seniors in front. If the bird in front tires, it falls back, and another bird takes its place to lead. A mentorship system among students or institutions is that “flying formation.” We do not need to wait for one teacher to become a hero who exhausts himself alone at the front. Flap the wings of whatever knowledge we have, no matter how small, to help lighten the load of the brothers and sisters behind us, so we can all reach the destination safely.
There is a unique story in a pesantren that lacked language teachers. The ustadz implemented a mentor system where senior dorm students were required to teach practical Arabic to junior dorm students every night before bed. One night, a very sleepy student mentor was teaching his junior haphazardly because he wanted to sleep quickly. He said, “The quick rule is this: if a noun is preceded by the preposition ‘fī’, the ending vowel must be kasrah [sound ‘i’]. For example: fil masjidi.” The critical junior asked, “Big brother, if the sentence is ‘The lion entered the river,’ what would it be?” With his eyes half-closed, the mentor replied, “It would be… ‘_fil sungaii_’! That’s enough questions—the lion is sleepy too and wants to sleep in the river!” We smile at that innocence. Yet the wisdom behind it is profound: in the mentorship process, both the mentor and the mentee are forced to keep thinking, learning, and self-evaluating. Through this closeness, the scholarly quality of a community will mature together without anyone feeling lectured down to.
3. Conclusion and Closing
Brothers and sisters, the limitation of formal Human Resources is not a dead wall that stops the progress of the ummah’s education. The most blessed and self-reliant solution is to revive the mentorship movement and a culture of peer learning. Let us educate our children who have greater ability to become foster siblings for their juniors. Let us open the doors of inter-institutional collaboration to complement one another’s shortcomings. When we hold hands and become mirrors of goodness for each other, the shortage of teachers will turn into an explosion of brotherhood energy that births a resilient golden generation. Let us strengthen our ranks together, and fly together toward the pleasure of Allah Subḥānahu wa Ta‘ālā
والله أعلم بالصواب
الحمد لله رب العالمين
Wassalamu’alaikum Warahmaullahi Wabarakatuh.
ِAbu Sultan Al-Qadrie
