2 February, 2026
This is the first in a series of three life lessons about benefiting most from your teachers and mentors.
Behaviors, according to psychology, are based on attitudes that emanate from beliefs.
If you believe that humans are the best of the creations and Allah (SWT) loves them deeply, your attitude will include love, respect, benevolence, and compassion.
The resulting behavior will constitute acts showing love, respect, and willingness to help people in distress.
You would respect your employees, maids, and drivers. You will be happy to offer your seat on the bus to others.
A significant behavior change is not possible without changing the underlying beliefs. We shall look at the three elements (beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors) for taking the maximum dividends from our teachers.
First, we must believe that:
- All knowledge belongs to Allah (SWT). He (SWT) has bestowed it to our teachers. Any benefit from our teachers is ultimately from Allah (SWT).
- A true and sincere teacher will not only share his knowledge and wisdom with us but will go out of his way to see us enlightened and succeed.
- A teacher is like a father whose shortcomings must be gracefully overlooked.
- Just like a father, a teacher should be obeyed as long as he is within the ambit of Shariah.
Next, we shall discuss the attitudes that emanate from these beliefs.