To reach his goal...

To reach his goal, he must know that he must be open-minded and solicitous, patient concerning the student's weak points and outbursts. He must not be pessimistic and unfocused in a way that makes him digress in his teaching and instruction, using harsh methods.

We can understand this from the method of the Prophet: " As part of the mercy of God, you deal with them gently; if you were severe and hard-hearted, they would have broken away from you" (Al-Imran, 3:159), and in the words of God: " A Messenger has come to you from amongst yourselves, he is deeply concerned about you, and to the believers he is kind and merciful " (al-Tauba, 9:128).

The basic characteristic of the Messenger was that of a teacher and nurturer, and as such, God says to him: " He it is who has sent among the unlettered ones a messenger from amongst them, reciting to them His signs and purifies them, and teaches them the Scripture and Wisdom " (al-Jumuah, 62:2). These traits are the characteristics of a teacher and a nurturer, for sanctification is a function of education and nurturing.

Between Seminarian and Academic Education There are those who hold that the methods of instruction by imitation, followed in such seminaries as in Najaf and al-Azhar, are superior because they have produced great scholars. But there are also those who point to the need for new methods of education, arguing that university and academic methods are better. Our position on these two viewpoints is as follows.

It is a mistake to assume absolutely that the methods of the seminary are the best, as it is a mistake to assume this for the academic approach. Seminary methods have their positive and negative points, as does the academic approach. We may find that the method of instruction in the seminary is conducive to using the mind and contemplation more than the academic method. But we find that in the academic approach better structure of ideas than in the seminary.

We note that seminary methods inculcate several sanctified principles. I do not mean religious here, but rather the educational "sanctified ideas" which cause some jurists to reject certain ideas in modern education. Failing to use them, they have in their minds that some old or famous scholars are hallowed. We do not find such glorification in the university approach.