In the name of Allah, the all merciful, the very merciful.
The Madrassa System
The country’s Prime Minister, Mr Cameron, made some controversial comments about the Madrassa system at the Conservative party conference in October. These comments lead to the prime minister being criticised by many from the Muslim community as well as other groups. Mr Cameron said: “Did you know, in our country, there are some children who spend several hours each day at a Madrassa? Let me be clear: there is nothing wrong with children learning about their faith, whether it’s at Madrassas, Sunday Schools or Jewish Yeshivas. But in some Madrassas we’ve got children being taught that they shouldn’t mix with people of other religions; being beaten; swallowing conspiracy theories about Jewish people”.
The prime minister was criticised for these comments because he is implying that the Madrassa system somewhat leads to segregation and radicalisation of young Muslims. The reality is that there is no evidence supporting this claim. Rather our experiences tell us that those who went to Madrassa in their childhood, often mould into hard working, taxpaying, law abiding, community loving and integrated citizens of the our country. Furthermore, those who are radicalised towards extremist’s ideas often do not have any link with the Madrassa system. They tend to isolate themselves from their communities and become radicalised online.
So the prime minister’s contentious comments has ignited anger and created a feeling of victimisation in the Muslim community. These emotions have been further compounded with the impending threat of Madrassas being inspected and facing closure if found “teaching intolerance”. This is not the first time this has occurred and probably not the last. One can certainly understand these sentiments and emotions but we as Muslims need to reflect, learn and take lessons from everything in life.
Certainly the prime minister’s comments give us an opportunity to reflect on our Madrassa system. Do we as parents, who send our children to Madrassas, play an active role with Madrassas? Do those who have graduated from Hifz and Alim courses, have any interest in working in and running Madrassas? Are teachers in Madrassa passionate about their roles? Do we as the Muslim community, even value the Madrassa system? These are serious question we need to ask ourselves. Perhaps there is some hidden wisdom on this issue being raised at this time. Perhaps Allah is giving us a message, if we do not value and look after the Madrassas, as a consequence, Allah will put others in charge and only then will we start to cherish our Madrassas, but by then it may be too late. Allah mentions in the Quran:
“Calamities have appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of people have earned, so that he (Allah) makes them taste some of what they did, in order that they may return (to the right way)”.
Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani explains that Allah is teaching us that the calamities befalling people, either on land or in the sea, are all because of their evil deeds. These are warnings given by Allah, so that the people may take a lesson and return to the right path.
Similarly, the increasing pressure we are facing on the Madrassa system can be viewed as a calamity. The Muslim community need to ponder, reflect and ask ourselves where we can improve ourselves and work to find solutions before this calamity worsens.
Let us remind ourselves of our great Madrassa system. Children as young as five attend and learn how to recite the book of Allah. How many Christians are able to read the bible in its original text? How many from the Jewish community are able to read the Torah in its original Hebrew text? Alhamdulillah, the majority of Muslims are able to recite the Quran in its original Arabic text. This is due to the blessing of having a Madrassa system which places great emphasis on preserving the Quran in its original form. The great Muslim scholars in the world today also are greatly indebted to Madrassas, without which they would not have been able to study the major Islamic sciences. Alongside recitation of Quran, children are taught the essentials for a Muslim. This includes Tenants of faith or Aqeeda. Purity, ablution, prayer, charity and fasting are all topics which are discussed over and over again. These ideas are reinforced to the children; after all they will need to refer back to these things pretty much for their entire life as a practising Muslim. Alongside the academics, there is also an emphasis on developing our children in a moral and spiritual sense. Children are encouraged to be honest, kind hearted, patient, truthful… and the list goes on. These are qualities which develop our children in to good young people and put them in good shape in order to tackle the challenges of adult life.
Just the mere atmosphere of a Madrassa is unique and beautiful. Our messenger (Allah’s peace and mercy be upon him) mentioned that “There is no group of people who gather together in the house of Allah, reciting and learning the Quran, except angels encircle this gathering, Allah’s mercy surrounds it and tranquillity descends upon this gathering”, (Muslim). So the Madrassa is a centre attended by angels, a place where blessing, mercy and tranquillity descend. Is there a better environment to send our children to?
Overall we have a lot to be proud of with our Madrassas. But we also need to be active and endeavour to play a key role in supporting our Madrassas. If we are parents, we should continue to send our children to local Madrassas. At times difficulties come in the way, picking up and dropping the children may be problematic, home tuition sometimes seems like the easy option. However, a few years of sacrifice and Insha’Allah parents will reap the fruits with a child who is well versed in religion as well as someone who has developed in a moral and spiritual sense. Alongside sending children to Madrassas, parents need to take a keen interest in their child’s learning. This can be done by simply asking the child on a regular basis on what he / she have learnt. This can also be in assisting children with homework and memorisation of surahs and duas. Furthermore, generally encouraging the child to attend and work hard in Madrassa can go a long way in getting the best out of a child during his/ her Madrassa years. Finally, parents should attend parent’s days where they can monitor progress of their children, voice any concerns to teachers and generally give any feedback. Parents are a key factor on how children perform at Madrassas.
Graduates from the Hifz and Alim courses should consider applying for teaching roles in the Madrassa system. There is a great shortage of Madrasssa teachers; it seems as if every Madrassa is looking for a teacher. But in many areas, there is not a shortage of Hufaaz and Alims. So why the big demand in teachers? Perhaps graduates are overlooking the importance of this role. The elders have always said that one, who teaches basic Islamic studies, is most dear to Allah, even more so than those who lecture in the so called “big” books, because of their sincerity. A Madrassa teacher is someone who takes on a great responsibility and an important trust, that of preserving the religion of Allah. If our Hufaaz and Ulamaa are not prepared to preserve the religion, who else can the Muslim community turn to for taking on this huge role?
Those employed in the Madrassa system as teachers or in any other role, need to be passionate and enthusiastic regarding their work. The Prophet (Allah’s peace and mercy be upon him) informed us that “The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it” (Bukhari). Teachers of the Quran are regarded as the best of people, hence such teachers need to be professional in their attitude, have high expectations of themselves and their pupils and take their roles seriously.
Support for our Madrassa system can be done through many other ways. But one way we can all use is asking Allah to preserve our Madrassa system from all sorts of evil and bad intentions. May Allah allow our Madrassas to flourish and may it be a means of producing God fearing and well rounded Muslims. Ameen.
