How was Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) as a teacher?

 

The miracle given to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH was a book. This book made Islam the religion of knowledge. The first verses sent down by the mighty God to Prophet Muhammad PBUH were, "Proclaim! (Or Read): in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created man out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood. Proclaim (or Read): and thy Lord is most bountiful, He Who taught (the use of) the pen." (Qur'an, 96:1-5) Allah SWT has advised repeatedly the believers to study, to let go of ignorance, to teach even if it is one verse and to seek knowledge whenever one can.

Prophet Muhammad PBUH being the walking Qur'an held onto the teachings of Islam and hence also gave preference to learning and teaching. "It was narrated that 'Abdullah bin 'Amr said: The Messenger of Allah PBUH came out of one of his apartments one day and entered the mosque, where he saw two circles, one reciting Qur'an and supplicating to Allah, and the other learning and teaching. The Prophet SAW said (Ibne-Majah, 2004, Vol.1, Hadith No.229, p.136): 

'Both of them are good. These people are reciting the Qur'an and supplicating to Allah, and if He wills He will give them, and if He wills He will withhold from them. And these people are learning and teaching. Verily I have been sent as a teacher.' Then he sat down with them." 

The messenger of Allah is an ideal mentor. He had the characteristics of a fatherly teacher. He used different methods and teaching styles to shape the Muslim ummah.

Modeling

Everything he said was reflected in his actions. Praying in the congregation, doing ablution was all done by the prophet with his companions following his lead. They practiced after him in his activities. It helped the prophet PBUH in observing them and correcting them if they made mistakes. Abu Hanifa said that (Ahmad, 1979, p. 91): 

"The purpose of learning is to act by it, while the purpose of the action is the abandoning of the perishable for that which lasts forever." 

Practical knowledge

To better teach the students, the prophet used to demonstrate his methods. For instance, he called for water to teach people the way of doing ablution.

Not complicating things

Prophet PBUH repeated thrice, "Teach the religion and make it easy." (Bukhari, 1971, Vol.1, p.60) He used to always select the easy thing. He used to keep his lectures short with easy words to not bore the listener. He used to introduce Islamic teachings gradually to his people. It was done so to help the people root out the complexities of habits and change their hearts. The prophet also understood the differences in the capability of understanding and therefore taught the religion differently at different levels of intelligence.

Patience

The prophet SAW dealt with queries easily and calmly. He never got frustrated or annoyed by the students. He understood the importance of clearing doubts. He showed love even when the questions made his companions angry.

Parables and narrations

He PBUH used to broaden Islamic concepts by making parables from them. It made it easy for people to comprehend his ideas. To make his class interesting and to involve children with short attention spans, he used to narrate stories with illustrations and descriptions.

Teaching style

The messenger of Allah SAW used creative techniques to better teach his students. He used to give consistent lectures to instill punctuality. He used to ask questions to bring about curiosity and used to leave the questions for a time so people may ponder and gain insight.  To emphasize his point, he used to repeat it three times or take oaths. Abu Shurayh reported  (Bukhari, 1971, Vol. 8, p.28), 

"The Prophet said, 'By Allah, he does not believe! By Allah, he does not believe! By Allah, he does not believe!' The companions asked him, 'Who is that person, O Allah's Messenger?' He said, 'That person is he whose neighbor is not safe from his evil'."

Similes and metaphors

"Avoid envy, for envy devours good deeds just as fire devours fuel". (Abu Dawud,2003, Vol.3, p.1366) "If you entirely depend on God, He will give you food as he gives to the birds. The birds set out in the morning with empty stomach but return in the evening with their stomach filled".(Tirmidhi, 2000, Hadith No. 1403)

 

The teaching quality in the prophet that is quite great and impressive is his love for his students. "He developed a system that melded the moral, ethical, and legal constructs into one dynamic structure that became a way of life, as opposed to handing down rigid governing laws of rights and prohibitions."( Alwani, Z., 2019) Instead of teaching them stern rules and creating an aura of superiority, he was humble and kind. He often used humor to lighten up the situation. He motivated others to do well. He described heaven and the rewards for doing good, he taught people about the previous prophets. He cried for his love for Allah and the beauty of the Mighty God. For every deed, he explained its rewards and the status one can achieve thereof.  He said, "The most superior among you are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it." (Bukhari, 1971, Vol.6, p.502).

He also appreciated the ones who did well. He motivated them by giving them beautiful names. Like "'Saifullah (The Sword of God)" to Khalid bin Waleed, " 'Ameenul Ummat' (The Protector of the Community)" to Abu Ubaidah among others. 

He stressed the point of brotherhood and sisterhood and gave commands to treat everyone equally. ( Alwani, Z.,2019) writes, " His mission shows us how to implement the Qur'an in our life practically and develop thereby a compassionate community."

"Children should be nurtured rather than educated. Children need space and freedom to develop according to their true nature." (Hamilton, 1992, P. 84) Prophet PBUH  gave his students the freedom to follow his instructions according to their capability. "Whenever you see evil, try to stop it with your hands, if not with your tongue, and if you are not able to do so, at least hate it in your heart. However, the third position indicates the weakest status of the believer." (Muslim, 1999,Vol.2, Hadith No.175, p.212)

 "Sayings by the Prophet reveal two very essential principles of modern education – the concept of life-long education and that of the democratization of education by making it available equally to men and women."   (Al-Khalediy, K., 2011)  Prophet Muhammad PBUH was a phenomenal teacher who used techniques which that western education is trying to figure out. Children loved to play around him and study with him and adults loved to stay by his side. He made others love him and created a healthy environment which further facilitated his teachings.  This power of the messenger transformed the pre-Islamic Arabians to the noble servants of Allah SWT.