Shaykh Nisar Chaudhry

Winter is here. The nights are long and the days short. This is the easiest time of the year to make up your missed fasts!

Whether the fast was missed because of the monthly cycle, pregnancy, travel, or anything else, make them up now or they'll only pile up more!

الشتاء ربيع المؤمن
Winter is spring season for the person of Iman!
Its nights are easy for Ibadah & its days easy for fasting.

Mufti Hashim Saheb's Parting Advice for Those Who Aspire to be Teachers (with some added points from me):

-Always be punctual and never miss work/class for any unwarranted reason.

-Come prepared.
If you're a teacher, you MUST know the lesson inside out and more before presenting to the students.
Your salary will only be halal if you actually fulfill what is required of you.

-Class time is NOT for gupp shupp/chitter chatter with students. It is for teaching.
Tarbiyyah may permit light talk, but it must always be meaningful and purposeful.

-Maintain decorum before your students. You are their role model.

-Always be in pursuit of new skills. To remain relevant, you must always climb the ladder of knowledge and new skills.
MUST have a healthy daily reading routine to continuously expand your academic horizons.

-Eloquence is not only wahbiyy (naturally-gifted), it may be kasbiyy (acquired through effort), too.
Work on your articulation of ideas. Listen to and be around seriously intelligent people.
Avoid buffer words and phrases. Speech must have precision.
Listen to good speakers and pay attention to their strengths in speech/articulation/eloquence.

-Never allow your shortcomings to persist. Be vigilant in always removing your shortcomings.

-Tadrees/Teaching entails ihtisaab (taking accountability) of the students.
Everyday quiz them briefly on their previous lesson. Keep the students on their toes.
They must prepare the previous lesson and next lesson everyday.
Sometimes task them to prepare from extracurricular sources, like Bahar-e-Shariat while they are studying Nur-ul-Idah.

کامیاب تدریس کے لیے بہترین نظامِ احتساب ضروری ہے۔
A succesful teacher is he who has an excellent method of holding students accountable.

باقاعدہ، مستقل احتساب ہو۔
The accountability of students must be predictable and consistent i.e. the students should know what to expect in this revision exercise.
Don't try to catch them by surprise or change your method of student-accountability. They should know what to prepare for. This will prepare good students.

The objective is not to entrap them. It's meant to instill good study habits.
Stay away from gotcha tactics.

The student must always be progressing academically.

-The teacher must balance his intimidation and expression of care and empathy for the students.
Neither should the student be carefree in class nor fearful to seek clarification from the teacher.

رعب بھی ہو اور شفقت بھی۔
Be both firm and kind.

- Don't engage in pointless banter and humor.

The regard the student holds for the teacher must not be damaged when the teacher lightens up before the student. If there is humor, it must be dignified and respectable.
Basically, the student should not be led to take the teacher lightly.

قہقہ اور مسخرہ پن استاد کو زیب نہیں دیتا۔
It is not befitting a teacher to be comical neither does it befit him to laugh aloud/cackle.

- بعض اوقات ڈانڈ ڈپٹ ہونی چاہیے۔
Sometimes, reprimanding the student is called for.
But, unless it's understood, combine this with gently later explaining why you're upset, so it's not seen as unwarranted or unjust.

تدریس میں جلال کا اظہار بھی ضروری ہے۔
Sometimes, teaching demands strictness and sobriety.

-Avoid reprimanding when you're in a foul mood. Be level-headed when you reprimand.
Make the students stand as a disciplinary exercise, if need be.
Hitting is not allowed!

-ماحول کو خوشگوار رکھا جائے روحانی ابحاث کے ذریعے یا خوشطبع موضوعات کے ذریعے۔ مگر کسی نامناسب بات کی اجازت نہیں۔
Sometimes, keep the atmosphere jovial.
Share stories with good morals, like stories from the Mathnavi.
No undignified/unbefitting speech is allowed!

-Ensure while you're speaking that the students are engaged. Mention their name as you teach or address them here and there as you teach.
Maintain eye contact, sweep your gaze across the classroom.

-Share words of praise.
It is natural to love better students more than worse students, but don't allow this to translate into unfair preference. Be vigilant in keeping this in check. Be fair to all, but do reward good behavior.

ترجیح بلا مرجح کا تاثر نہ جائے۔
There should always be a good reason for rewarding one student over another. If one student is being shown love, everyone should know it's because of that student's efforts.

-Avoid taking unreasonable gifts from students.

مظنہ تہمت نہ بنے۔
No behavior of the teacher should be a cause for allegation.

-Never comment negatively about your colleagues/fellow teachers. Have a closer relationship with your colleagues than your students. You'll avoid a lot of interpersonal mess this way.
(Another teacher of mine used to say: It's the bacbiting of students that leads to infighting/grievances between teachers/colleagues. Be wary of such students and put a stop to such discussions around you.)

-Keep dumb phones during work hours or a phone with just WhatsApp. Avoid smartphones during work hours. Your salary is in exchange of your time and work, so don't allow excessive and unwarranted cellphone use to damage the integrity of your salary.