The Lesson That Moved the 11-Year-Old's Heart. - By Sharmeen Kazi

As a tarbiyah program that taps into the innate fitrah, the Muslim Nation Builders Maktab leaves a heartwarming impact on students. Stories continue to pour in, shared by both teachers and parents. Alhamdulillah, these small steps pave the way for transformation. Let me share a poignant realization from an MNB student, conveyed to his mother after a Maktab session. The teacher's seerah-inspired lesson deeply resonated with him, prompting thoughtful reflection, as recounted by an MNB parent. Below is her recollection of the meaningful exchange with her son.

The mother was leaving the parking lot when her son, a sixth grader, began sharing a story he had heard from his teacher. He said, 'You know how we all teased one of our friends for his stuttering since grade one? Well, Br. Wael told us about this time when Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi wasallam’s grandson Husayn (ra) used to stutter. Prophet (sws) would listen without impatience or boredom, waiting until Husayn (ra) finished his thought.”

The child recounts to his mother how the Sahabah empathized with Hussayn (ra) struggling to complete sentences due to stuttering. In contrast, Rasulallah ﷺ,  patiently waited for his grandson to express himself. He tells her that his teacher, Br. Wael shared that Rasulallah ﷺ informed the Sahabah that Husayn (ra) inherited his stuttering from his uncle, Musa.

The child then says, "You know, Mumma, I need to fix this now. I’ve got to tell the other boys. We will have to tell our friend whom we tease."

On the way home, the mother says she picked one of her son’s friends, and he shared the entire conversation again, explaining how they needed to apologize to their friend, '...because, bros just better!'

Upon observing the boys engrossed in their conversation, the mother interjected, mentioning how it brought to mind another lesson her son had learned at the Maktab regarding things being mukhayyar (in control of) and musayyar (not in control of).

She questioned whether their friend's stuttering was something he was mukhayyar over or musayyar. In response, her son suggested that their friend could practice and try to fix it. The mother gently countered, expressing that it might not be as simple as that. Her son agreed, acknowledging the complexity of the situation. The mother went on to share an anecdote about a teacher who had a rule in her classroom – if a person couldn't change something about themselves in 30 seconds or less, it shouldn't be mentioned to them. The thoughtful discussion between the boys during the car ride prompted the mother to express her gratitude to the teacher.

Subhanallah! Muslim Nation Builders was launched with the vision of inspiring such precious moments of internal realizations and God consciousness. The key aspect to understand about tarbiyah is that it cannot be measured by counting milestones. It is akin to a carefully sowed seed that requires constant attention and nurturing, understanding that the fruits of tarbiyah will only yield gradually."

How does this work at the Maktab? 

Here’s a glimpse of the lesson our teacher, Br. Wael shared.

Lesson: Are You a Bully?

By Wael Abdelgawad

Ibn Masood (ra)

As part of our recent lesson, we talked about an incident in the life of Abdullah ibn Masood (ra).

Ibn Mas’ud reported that he was harvesting toothsticks from an arak tree and he had tiny shins. The wind blew and made him fall over, so people laughed at him. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “What are you laughing at?” They said, “O Prophet of Allah, he has tiny shins.” (His legs are skinny). The Prophet said, “By the one in whose hand is my soul, they will both be heavier on the scale than the mountain of Uhud.” (Source: Musnad Aḥmad 3991)

It helps in understanding this lesson to know that Ibn Masood (ra) was the son of a desert Arab and that from his youth he worked as a shepherd. He was someone with no social standing and no wealth. In addition, he was a small man, very short and thin, dark-skinned, and with little facial hair. By pre-Islamic standards, he was a nobody.

There are many lessons to be learned from this incident. One is that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was not shy about confronting bullies. Though the intention of the sahabah was not to bully Ibn Masood, as they all loved and respected him, nevertheless they did laugh at him, perhaps not realizing how this would hurt him.

But the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was committed to treating all people with respect, especially those early sahabah like Ibn Masood, who suffered with him and stood by him from the beginning. His words served three purposes:

1. To correct the sahabah and tell them, “This is not how we treat our respected brothers and sisters in Islam. You must reevaluate how you weigh a man’s status. By focusing on the size of his legs, which are insubstantial, and neglecting his tremendous heart and spirit, which are monumental, you are missing the picture.”
2. To support and comfort Ibn Masood and let him know that though other people might not see his true worth, Allah SWT does.
3. To praise Ibn Masood and to state that this physically small man is one of the giants of this Ummah. He (Ibn Masood) was one of the very first Muslims, and it is said that he was the sixth man to become Muslim. He was the first to recite the Quran to the public (for which he was beaten almost to death), the first to recite the Quran to the Messenger (ﷺ) himself (and he made the Prophet weep with his recitation), and one who learned the Quran directly from the mouth of the Prophet (sws). And so it has gone down in history that Ibn Masood was the preeminent Quranic scholar of the sahabah, and the school of learning he later founded in Kufa influenced generation after generation of stellar Islamic scholars, and his influence on our understanding and recitation of the Quran continues today. No wonder his legs weigh more than Uhud. His legacy is enormous.

So, following the example of the Prophet (ﷺ), a Muslim is not a bully but an anti-bully.

Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever among you sees evil, let him change it with his hand. If he cannot do so, then with his tongue. If he cannot do so, then with his heart, which is the weakest level of faith.” (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 49)

We talked about this hadith in the context of being bullied and of witnessing someone being bullied. We even acted out some role plays where someone is being verbally abused or pushed and how we might respond.

Examples

We watched a short video that gave some examples of how the Prophet (ﷺ) was an anti-bully. When Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl became Muslim, the Prophet asked the sahabah not to refer to Ikrimah’s father as “Abu Jahl,” as it might hurt his feelings. And when the Prophet’s grandson Husayn (ra) used to stutter, the Prophet (ﷺ) would listen, never showing impatience or boredom, until Husayn finished his thought. And he (ﷺ) made a comparison between Husayn and Musa (as), in order to turn Husayn’s disability into something to be proud of. And so on.

Bully or Anti-Bully?

At this point, I presented a question to the students. I told them:

“I want you to answer this question for yourselves. Don’t answer out loud. Look within yourselves and be honest: are you a bully or an anti-bully?”

Predictably, the students all answered out loud.

Some said, 

“Both.”

 One female student said,

"I'm a verbal bully sometimes.”

I thanked the students for their honesty and gave them the mission of eliminating their bullying behaviors and becoming dedicated anti-bullies. I asked them to consider their own actions when they are tempted to bully someone physically or verbally and to ask themselves:

“What do I hope to gain from this? Am I doing this to impress someone else? To increase my popularity? To make someone laugh? Is it worth it to trade my honor and my status in front of Allah for any of these things? Am I following the example of the Prophet (ﷺ), or the example of Shaytan?”

Allahu Akbar!

So many gems from just a portion of the Maktab session. Alhumdolillah for the blessed opportunities we can have to inspire the youth of our Ummah. The Muslim Nation Builders Maktab System is an onsite and online model offering weekly live classes to nurture the unique talents and potential of Muslim children. Our goal is to provide the resources and guidance for children to become confident Muslims and to thrive and succeed by utilizing their unique talents. We also hold monthly workshops and provide community and personalized support for Muslim children aged 7–16 and their parents.

If you would like to know more about our Maktab system, please visit https://www.muslimnationbuilders.com