"On Teaching" by Maulud Sadiq Allah

Learning how to teach is not an endeavor for the weak @ heart. I certainly am no authority nor do I believe I can provide anything outside of my own testimony. My schooling was in Radio/television/and Film and my natural temperament is jokingly sarcastic. Yet, when I first read the Autobiography of Malcolm X, my life was transformed and I wanted to find a way to have the same affect on others.

As stated before, upon first getting knowledge, many of us are angry - defensive, chomping at the bit and ready to attack anyone that challenges our views. I recall only having Supreme Math, Supreme Alphabets, The 12 Jewels, and Student Enrollment - backed by the Bible and Qur'an and feeling like I was armed with a semi-automatic weapon.

And I was quick to fire. One day, while me and a few other Brothers were leaving the mall, a Fellow Student approached me and asked, "Why you call yourself Allah - ain't that God?" You would've thought he said something about my mama the way I tore into him. And none of the Brothers that were with me stopped me or interrupted me. Knowing that what I was saying was right, I felt confident that their silence was approval.

Boy was I wrong.

As soon as I was done belittling the curious Student, one of the Brothers that acted as my Enlightetener said, "You don't know how to talk to people." It wasn't a question. I felt two feet tall.

The next day he gave me a few sheets of paper that I studied heavily called How To Properly Handle People (or something to that affect). And, while I'm still subject to being emotional at times because of my love of Islam, that was one of The Most Important Lessons in my life.

In the end, it's not about whether what you say is right or not - most of us know the truth, in the end it's knowing How to Convey the Message The Right way to Audience to which you are speaking. And, if it's your Brother or Sister, doing so with love (love doesn't have to be "soft," surely we've all heard of tough love) - because if the person that you're aiming to teach is being handled properly, the words that you're saying are true, and with love - if and when they object, it will because they are rejecting the truth - not you. In which case, the Qur'an provides clear guidance for those walking blindly in their inordinacy