The courage to lead.
“The world is held up by four pillars: The wisdom of the learned, the justice of the great, the prayers of the righteous, and the valour of the brave.”
“The world is held up by four pillars: The wisdom of the learned, the justice of the great, the prayers of the righteous, and the valour of the brave.”
When the great battle of Badr ended in victory for the Muslims, the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) told the POWs (Prisoners of War) that to attain freedom they should teach the companions to read and write. They agreed and in that exchange of knowledge many embraced Islam and understood the courage to lead. It meant the ability to anticipate a future and the future being the might of knowledge relevant to the societal needs. The courage to lead stems from circumstances beyond your control.
A newly wed couple gave birth and it was celebrated differently and little did they know they were prepared in the courage to lead. Their child was born and termed a miracle baby because of the length of time spent in hospital from birth until his mother could hold him in her arms. Later it was determined that the miracle baby had cerebral palsy and therefore would need special education. The initial phases of learning were dramatic but somewhat eased by the fact that there was an institution that catered for children like Ahmed* (*not his real name). Later, when Ahmed could mimic sounds, talk with some difficulty, crawl and pull himself here and there his good parents realized that his habits were not all they wanted in a child. Ahmed was taught how to dance to music as a means to learn and conditioned to learn in ways that did not promote any Islamic values. It was and is no fault of the institution because it was not an Islamic institution of learning and teaching for challenged children like Ahmed. For the parents it was like Badr. The parents then took their child out of this school because they believe that their child can learn with Islam all that he needs to learn and not through music, song and dance as mediums of learning. It began here, in their minds to establish a institution for Muslim children like Ahmed. Their ideas has since grown. Read on!
The point made here is Hasan & Haseena* (*not the couple’s real names) needed to find a school for their child that would also teach Islam to their child but, they could find none in the 5 years of their search. Yes, other people have made strides in establishing institutions that would cater for children that needed special education but, in the establishment of all the Muslim schools we have not identified the need to establish a school for children like Ahmed. It needs courage to lead!
Hasan & Haseena have now embarked on a mission with the Jamiat Ulema under the guide of Moulana Ebrahim Bham to set up at least one such school professionally. However, we need, like in the aftermath of Badr find people who would be willing to teach us the tools of the trade save that this time we are in no victory lane. Therefore, we need to look into our ummah and find who are the qualified people in the broad field of education who can set up this school such that we are not seeking handouts from people nor, do we look like having our cap in hand – meaning that we don’t have to beg anyone to teach us because Allah and HIS Messenger, Nabi Muhammad (S.A.W) have taught us everything we need to know! It takes courage to lead.
Allah says in the holy Quran that ‘Ask those in authority those who know if you don’t know.’ Therefore, we need to at this time ask those who have set up institutions of learning for special children like Ahmed how to teach and then train our Muslims to do the job. This all sounds so easy, right? However, you should know that it is not. In conversation with the parents of Ahmed it dawned upon me that they really want the best for their child like every parent for their child save that Ahmed’s situation is not like every normal child. Ahmed needs physiotherapy on a daily basis as part of his learning programme, more intense vocalization of words and sounds, more structured play to learn, more skilled training to learn how to walk, talk and just about every thing because he is not physically able like all of us. In fact, he needs to be on horseback regularly to enhance his psychomotor skills as well as his self-esteem. The problem is: as Muslims we have don’t have the skilled personal for the job. If we have them, it is like finding a needle in a haystack. Time and money we have and now we need to channel it into the establishment of such a school. It can be done! Please look at the number of Muslim schools the ummah have put up and the remarkable reputation they have in terms of results – even to the cynic of Muslim schools, he is caught shameful to admit one truism like the atheist, who in the stormy waters on a shipping bobbing like a cork in the vastness of the ocean cried ‘Oh God!’, that Muslim schools have done very well – alhamdulillah.
When you look at the great battle of Badr i.e. in the aftermath, Nabi Muhammad (S.A.W) was shown by Allah the needs of the ummah and one such need was to be educated because the revelation of the Quran was going to increase and the Islamic state was to be established in time to come. Therefore, the ummah at the time already were being trained to take on a challenge they could only dream of. Believe it or not, in 23 years the destiny of humanity was changed and the world saw a new way of life. In one part, people were educated for the time they lived in and their knowledge was relevant then and now. It had the moral base to spur people on to lead.
Today it is no different and we need to, in this instance, see how we can pool our resources and establish a school for special children like Ahmed. You will be shocked to realize just how many Muslim children like Ahmed are at home doing nothing! Either their parents are to shy to expose their children to the world and still see them as being incapable and not functional human beings. Face the facts, as Muslims we have shunned the disable people in our societies in many ways than one. Just one point to illustrate the above, how well have our masjid’s, as a case in point, been planned for those brothers who are disable to make wudu, use the toilet and make salaah with ease? You judge for yourself. Remember one masjid is not good enough – we need to show constancy and consistency because that is the sunnah.
It takes courage to lead! Therefore, Hasan & Haseena want to establish such a school with Muslim personal, Muslim expertise, Muslim finance for MUSLIM CHILDREN like Ahmed. The need of the hour is to put our minds together and get this school started. We have the courage of two parents to lead us on and we would have the backing of the hundreds if not thousands of mothers whose children are challenged to support us when and if we intend to open this school for special children.
Imagine the courage it took for Nabi Muhammad (S.A.W) to stare reality in the face after Badr. The Prophet (S.A.W)’s knew that his companions needed to learn how to read and write and Prophet (S.A.W)’s Prisoners of War could have been wealthy ransom to alleviate poverty but, the Prophet (S.A.W) chose to get his companions educated. The courage allowed the Prophet (S.A.W) to foresee a future where good education would be paramount in the strife to enjoin in good and forbid evil. Therefore, in many ways, this special child needs the very same education but, in a different and special way and the jihad is to rid our mindset of the false notion that these special children cannot learn. Let me shatter the false notion.
Allah blessed me with the friendship of a young boy (10 years old) who is Down syndrome. This boy is just too good to be true – he is punctual with all his salaah, very caring, has a sound mind, can make a good conversation with spurts of very mature comment, he can sing along a nazm of the 99 names of Allah, he can take a joy-ride in a theme park and can play like all children on the beach but, again for children like him, we Muslims don’t have special schools that would enable him to be part of society when he becomes of age. The very few schools that we have for Down Syndrome (DS) children are not advanced in our Muslim communities such that they can prepare their pupils for life when they come of age. However, I have seen special low key industries that only employ DS people. These DS people then make things that we NP (Normal People) use in our homes. By the way how did it feel being labeled an NP? The point made here is that we need to start working with our potentials in our ummah for the establishment of such institutions for the special people in our society. This would also be a primary source of spreading the word of Islam in that it will prove again that Islam means peace and submission to the will of Allah. To the extreme mind it will register that how can a people who are branded as terrorists have the heart to spend their health, wealth and time to assist the physically and mentally challenged people of the world. In effect, changing his/her mindset of Muslims by way of example and seeing Islam in action should be the order of the day! The courage to lead demands the action of the dedicated therefore, to all those people who share in the dream of these parents it is time to muster up the courage to lead.
To make this dream a reality an appeal is made to all and sundry particularly to those parents who are gifted with special children like Ahmed to contact Moulana Ebrahim Bham at the Jamiat offices in Johannesburg and lend your support. Thereafter, contact with the above parents will be set up and as a team of dedicated and courageous parents begin to PLAN and ACT. In your planning you will make the intention to do this for Allah’s sake only with valour, make dua to Allah seeking HIS help and guidance, work on a Needs Survey, a SWOT analysis, a Plan of Action and a Time Frame work plan to ensure that this year will see to the implementation and establishment of a Muslim school for children who are challenged. Let the badge of honour you wear read: I AM BRAVE. Your planning will lead you, in the future, to scale your institution nation wide – inshallah.
The courage you will show in beginning this institution with little resources and tremendous ‘yakeen’ in Allah will reap great results in this world and the hereafter. Remember, the first school in Prophet (S.A.W)’s time began after Badr and its first classroom was the raised platform outside the Prophet (S.A.W)’s masjid in blessed Madina. Really, you and I do not have to go into battle, we need to get off our seats and do something worthwhile and battle our lethargic mindset. Remember, the critics will be there but know this: people will only climb on big trees with strong branches because weaker ones cannot take their weight. So imagine the strength of the school the day it opens and every other day too. In the end, people fall off trees but, the trees remain!
So the challenge is on you. The statement below that was inscribed in Muslim Spain is presented with the intention that it will inspire you to be part of a wining formula – Islam:
“The world is held up by four pillars: The wisdom of the learned, the justice of the great, the prayers of the righteous, and the valour of the brave.”
Abdullah Sujee
A newly wed couple gave birth and it was celebrated differently and little did they know they were prepared in the courage to lead. Their child was born and termed a miracle baby because of the length of time spent in hospital from birth until his mother could hold him in her arms. Later it was determined that the miracle baby had cerebral palsy and therefore would need special education. The initial phases of learning were dramatic but somewhat eased by the fact that there was an institution that catered for children like Ahmed* (*not his real name). Later, when Ahmed could mimic sounds, talk with some difficulty, crawl and pull himself here and there his good parents realized that his habits were not all they wanted in a child. Ahmed was taught how to dance to music as a means to learn and conditioned to learn in ways that did not promote any Islamic values. It was and is no fault of the institution because it was not an Islamic institution of learning and teaching for challenged children like Ahmed. For the parents it was like Badr. The parents then took their child out of this school because they believe that their child can learn with Islam all that he needs to learn and not through music, song and dance as mediums of learning. It began here, in their minds to establish a institution for Muslim children like Ahmed. Their ideas has since grown. Read on!
The point made here is Hasan & Haseena* (*not the couple’s real names) needed to find a school for their child that would also teach Islam to their child but, they could find none in the 5 years of their search. Yes, other people have made strides in establishing institutions that would cater for children that needed special education but, in the establishment of all the Muslim schools we have not identified the need to establish a school for children like Ahmed. It needs courage to lead!
Hasan & Haseena have now embarked on a mission with the Jamiat Ulema under the guide of Moulana Ebrahim Bham to set up at least one such school professionally. However, we need, like in the aftermath of Badr find people who would be willing to teach us the tools of the trade save that this time we are in no victory lane. Therefore, we need to look into our ummah and find who are the qualified people in the broad field of education who can set up this school such that we are not seeking handouts from people nor, do we look like having our cap in hand – meaning that we don’t have to beg anyone to teach us because Allah and HIS Messenger, Nabi Muhammad (S.A.W) have taught us everything we need to know! It takes courage to lead.
Allah says in the holy Quran that ‘Ask those in authority those who know if you don’t know.’ Therefore, we need to at this time ask those who have set up institutions of learning for special children like Ahmed how to teach and then train our Muslims to do the job. This all sounds so easy, right? However, you should know that it is not. In conversation with the parents of Ahmed it dawned upon me that they really want the best for their child like every parent for their child save that Ahmed’s situation is not like every normal child. Ahmed needs physiotherapy on a daily basis as part of his learning programme, more intense vocalization of words and sounds, more structured play to learn, more skilled training to learn how to walk, talk and just about every thing because he is not physically able like all of us. In fact, he needs to be on horseback regularly to enhance his psychomotor skills as well as his self-esteem. The problem is: as Muslims we have don’t have the skilled personal for the job. If we have them, it is like finding a needle in a haystack. Time and money we have and now we need to channel it into the establishment of such a school. It can be done! Please look at the number of Muslim schools the ummah have put up and the remarkable reputation they have in terms of results – even to the cynic of Muslim schools, he is caught shameful to admit one truism like the atheist, who in the stormy waters on a shipping bobbing like a cork in the vastness of the ocean cried ‘Oh God!’, that Muslim schools have done very well – alhamdulillah.
When you look at the great battle of Badr i.e. in the aftermath, Nabi Muhammad (S.A.W) was shown by Allah the needs of the ummah and one such need was to be educated because the revelation of the Quran was going to increase and the Islamic state was to be established in time to come. Therefore, the ummah at the time already were being trained to take on a challenge they could only dream of. Believe it or not, in 23 years the destiny of humanity was changed and the world saw a new way of life. In one part, people were educated for the time they lived in and their knowledge was relevant then and now. It had the moral base to spur people on to lead.
Today it is no different and we need to, in this instance, see how we can pool our resources and establish a school for special children like Ahmed. You will be shocked to realize just how many Muslim children like Ahmed are at home doing nothing! Either their parents are to shy to expose their children to the world and still see them as being incapable and not functional human beings. Face the facts, as Muslims we have shunned the disable people in our societies in many ways than one. Just one point to illustrate the above, how well have our masjid’s, as a case in point, been planned for those brothers who are disable to make wudu, use the toilet and make salaah with ease? You judge for yourself. Remember one masjid is not good enough – we need to show constancy and consistency because that is the sunnah.
It takes courage to lead! Therefore, Hasan & Haseena want to establish such a school with Muslim personal, Muslim expertise, Muslim finance for MUSLIM CHILDREN like Ahmed. The need of the hour is to put our minds together and get this school started. We have the courage of two parents to lead us on and we would have the backing of the hundreds if not thousands of mothers whose children are challenged to support us when and if we intend to open this school for special children.
Imagine the courage it took for Nabi Muhammad (S.A.W) to stare reality in the face after Badr. The Prophet (S.A.W)’s knew that his companions needed to learn how to read and write and Prophet (S.A.W)’s Prisoners of War could have been wealthy ransom to alleviate poverty but, the Prophet (S.A.W) chose to get his companions educated. The courage allowed the Prophet (S.A.W) to foresee a future where good education would be paramount in the strife to enjoin in good and forbid evil. Therefore, in many ways, this special child needs the very same education but, in a different and special way and the jihad is to rid our mindset of the false notion that these special children cannot learn. Let me shatter the false notion.
Allah blessed me with the friendship of a young boy (10 years old) who is Down syndrome. This boy is just too good to be true – he is punctual with all his salaah, very caring, has a sound mind, can make a good conversation with spurts of very mature comment, he can sing along a nazm of the 99 names of Allah, he can take a joy-ride in a theme park and can play like all children on the beach but, again for children like him, we Muslims don’t have special schools that would enable him to be part of society when he becomes of age. The very few schools that we have for Down Syndrome (DS) children are not advanced in our Muslim communities such that they can prepare their pupils for life when they come of age. However, I have seen special low key industries that only employ DS people. These DS people then make things that we NP (Normal People) use in our homes. By the way how did it feel being labeled an NP? The point made here is that we need to start working with our potentials in our ummah for the establishment of such institutions for the special people in our society. This would also be a primary source of spreading the word of Islam in that it will prove again that Islam means peace and submission to the will of Allah. To the extreme mind it will register that how can a people who are branded as terrorists have the heart to spend their health, wealth and time to assist the physically and mentally challenged people of the world. In effect, changing his/her mindset of Muslims by way of example and seeing Islam in action should be the order of the day! The courage to lead demands the action of the dedicated therefore, to all those people who share in the dream of these parents it is time to muster up the courage to lead.
To make this dream a reality an appeal is made to all and sundry particularly to those parents who are gifted with special children like Ahmed to contact Moulana Ebrahim Bham at the Jamiat offices in Johannesburg and lend your support. Thereafter, contact with the above parents will be set up and as a team of dedicated and courageous parents begin to PLAN and ACT. In your planning you will make the intention to do this for Allah’s sake only with valour, make dua to Allah seeking HIS help and guidance, work on a Needs Survey, a SWOT analysis, a Plan of Action and a Time Frame work plan to ensure that this year will see to the implementation and establishment of a Muslim school for children who are challenged. Let the badge of honour you wear read: I AM BRAVE. Your planning will lead you, in the future, to scale your institution nation wide – inshallah.
The courage you will show in beginning this institution with little resources and tremendous ‘yakeen’ in Allah will reap great results in this world and the hereafter. Remember, the first school in Prophet (S.A.W)’s time began after Badr and its first classroom was the raised platform outside the Prophet (S.A.W)’s masjid in blessed Madina. Really, you and I do not have to go into battle, we need to get off our seats and do something worthwhile and battle our lethargic mindset. Remember, the critics will be there but know this: people will only climb on big trees with strong branches because weaker ones cannot take their weight. So imagine the strength of the school the day it opens and every other day too. In the end, people fall off trees but, the trees remain!
So the challenge is on you. The statement below that was inscribed in Muslim Spain is presented with the intention that it will inspire you to be part of a wining formula – Islam:
“The world is held up by four pillars: The wisdom of the learned, the justice of the great, the prayers of the righteous, and the valour of the brave.”
Abdullah Sujee
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