GSalam.Net

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. And may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon our Holy Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and companions, at all times.

As schools have reopened in some countries, every student is likely to have set targets for his/her grades in each individual subject of studies. Some even go farther to engage their parents to put down their signatures “of witness and approval” at the end of the target lists.

This exercise has been going on for some time. Upon observation, we can see many students –if not all- who are able to hit their targets and beyond, but in reality and practically, we may find a contrary image.

It is important for us (students) to realize that, although we need to set targets and try to achieve them and beyond, the real objectives of these targets are not “the numbers”, but they are rather the practical application. We may be able to achieve the targeted “numbers” (grades), but it may not be able to make us “We” unless we have applied them in our life.

It saddens when some of us (students) can excel in Tarannum and Tahfeez (Al-Qur’an) for example, and yet fail to apply the basic ‘adabs’ (values) of Al-Qur’an in our daily life.

It saddens when some of us can hit the highest grades in Arabic Language, and yet are unable to converse in Arabic Language for five minutes continuously.

It saddens when some of us can be outstanding in Fiqh for example, and yet fail to properly perform ablution, not talking about performing salat (prayer) which is the backbone of our Islamic religion.

How shame it is, when some of us are able to reproduce 100s of Hadeeth in ‘Akhlaq’ (Morals) during examinations, seminars and congregations, and yet, we are the first to show bad attitudes once we step into the crowd to deal with them practically!

It’s is very obvious that some things are wrong somewhere, but we are going to highlight on one single thing and try to apply it since we are still in school and receiving education. The remaining may be highlighted in different posts or platforms.

We may consider setting two targets for each subject rather than the one traditional target. The first target will be in grades (in form of #s, As and *s), and the second target should be in real practical life.

Islam and Islamic religious knowledge is to be practiced more than be theorized. We may memorize all the knowledge of all planets, but if we fail to practice them, all that knowledge can be considered as ‘non-beneficent’ to us, to the society and to mankind as whole.

Therefore, our practical targets are not less importance than our theoretical ones, although we have to put effort to achieve the latter effectively.

I wish all my brothers and sisters who are back to school all the best! May Allah shower us with knowledge that is beneficial and can bring peace to mankind once extended to them. May this academic year 2010 be better than 2009 in terms of achievement, theoretically and practically.

Allah knows best.
Wassalam.