Challenges In Universities and School Life Haya and Companionship

INTRODUCTION

Acquiring beneficial knowledge is not only highly encouraged but is somewhat a vital part of being a Muslim. Ilm is mentioned around 750 times^[1] in the  Quran.Though it purely  signifies the utter importance of gaining knowledge of the deen.But deen in itself is a complete way of life,and for that, gaining of worldly knowledge,alongside not only for the purpose of survival but with the intention of benefitting the ummah,is what explains why education is an important step towards the strengthening of the muslim ummah.

Now, for accessing educational resources in today’s world,and for imparting them,we broadly have three options,namely

TRADITIONAL SCHOOLING-The traditional form of learning with a fixed curriculum,studying hours,and a certain time frame,an infrastructure dedicated for the purpose and a formal recognition in the form of a degree,certificate or a diploma.This form of learning focuses on formal education,or what Rousseau mentions as positive learning^[2]One of its features involves in-person peer interaction.

ONLINE SCHOOLING/HOMESCHOOLING-a homeschooling curriculum includes the same things as any normal school or university, just with the absence of peers and physical attendance.

Though online schooling is emerging as an alternative to traditional schooling,the majority still adhere to the traditional form of learning,due to various reasons involving social recognition(a formal degree),financial reasons,lack of awareness,or resources,lesser  options,and so on and so forth.

Both forms of learning have their own challenges.In this article,we will try to understand the challenges that Muslims face in schools and universities in relation to Haya (modesty) and suhbat(Companionship)

Firstly,let’s begin with what is Haya?

An-Nawawi said in Riyadh as-Saliheen (p. 295): The scholars said: The definition of haya’ is a characteristic that prompts a person to refrain from what is reprehensible and bad, and prevents him from falling short in fulfilling the rights of others who have rights over him.^[3]

Most of you might wonder what Haya has to do with education?It simple means covering yourself up and lowering the gaze,and there should be no haya in gaining ilm.Wait,let’s clear this misconception first,there is a difference khajal(shyness) and haya(modesty).Khajal might refrain you from gaining beneficial knowledge and doing good deeds,but Haya is modesty,that  refrains you from doing wrong,that reminds you of your boundaries whether you are in a family gathering or at school/universities.

Maintaining haya,as important as it is,the society today has been attempting all possible efforts to make it difficult to observe modesty.Co-education has further elevated these challenges,propelling the deterioration of a modest environment for gaining education.According to Wikipedia,“Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, or co-education, is a system of education where males and females are educated together.This pertains to the norm that males and females,are taught together in a single setup,without any distinction.

In modern society, free mixing is regarded as natural; men and women sitting together, dining together, working together and studying together. However, this wasn’t so in the past. Old school buildings still have entrances with engravings, ‘Boys Entrance’ and ‘Girls Entrance’. However, with disregard for traditional moral values after the Second World War, free mixing has become the norm.^[4]

In 2006 the last women’s only college at Oxford University opened its doors to men and universities opened their halls of residence for men and women with shared toilets and shower rooms. The lax views of the liberal society  on decency and modesty poses a challenge to people of all faiths but particularly to practising Muslims.Today,when sisters and brothers go out of their houses seeking knowledge,two of the greatest challenges that they face are of Haya and Good companionship.

Narrated by Abu Huraira, the Prophet of Islam (pbuh) said: “Belief (Faith) consists of more than sixty branches, and Modesty (haya) is a part of belief.” (Bukhari)

The importance of modesty (haya) can also be found in this hadith of the Prophet (pbuh):Prophet (pbuh) said: “Haya does not bring anything except good.” (Bukhari)

“Indeed from the teachings of the first prophets which has reached you is, ‘If you do not have shyness, then do as you please.” (Al-Bukhari)

Isn’t the modern co-education system in schools and other educational institutions going against the spirit of the hadith? Isn’t the mixed education system in Muslim society likely to promote immodesty?What seemingly might appear to parents as normal,or not a big deal,steadily removes Haya from the hearts of the youngsters that are easily vulnerable to the glitter of the modern society which promotes  the appeasement of the desires.This does not occur all at once,but as insignificant little changes that may be visible sometimes,but are usually left unentertained.

In the Quran,Surah-An-Nur,Ayat 30-31,Allah SWT says

“O Prophet!˺ Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their chastity. That is purer for them. Surely Allah is All-Aware of what they do.And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity, and not to reveal their adornments1 except what normally appears.2 Let them draw their veils over their chests, and not reveal their ˹hidden˺ adornments3 except to their husbands, their fathers, their fathers-in-law, their sons, their stepsons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons or sisters’ sons, their fellow women, those ˹bondwomen˺ in their possession, male attendants with no desire, or children who are still unaware of women’s nakedness. Let them not stomp their feet, drawing attention to their hidden adornments. Turn to Allah in repentance all together, O  believers, so that you may be successful.”

Why are we commanded first to lower our gaze?Because “it all starts with a glance”.

The first challenge to maintaining haya,is that instinctive one glance that the opposite genders tend to have.The schools and universities,not only facilitate this,but much more than this.I remember the junior school seating arrangements,where in the name of equality or peer interaction,a boy was made to sit with a girl,against his will.This shows the natural tendency of a child where he is ashamed to sit with the opposite gender and is more comfortable with the same gender.But schools,at a very low level,do all possible attempts to change this tendency,under the banner of inclusiveness and interaction.

With increasing westernisation and widespread liberal ideas ,it is now a common norm where opposite genders shake hands with or hug each other,or hang around together.It was narrated that Ma’qil ibn Yassaar said: the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “For one of you to be stabbed in the head with an iron needle is better for him than that he should touch a woman who is not permissible for him.”We all know how commonly we see people defying this hadith,merely in the name of socialisation or even sometimes ‘manners’

The so-called curricular activities that are arranged in schools and colleges ranging from romantic plays,concert nights,dance performances to what not.Shaytaan does not always make a person commit a grave sin all of a sudden.He appeases the nafs with phrases like ‘It’s just a freshers party’, ‘You are also allowed to have some fun’, ‘The world won’t just end if you just see these performances’ so on and so forth.

Al-Munāwī says, “Ḥayāʾ consists of two types. There is the natural type which is created within every soul, like that which is triggered by a private part becoming uncovered or having sexual relations in public. Then there is the faith-based, which is what prevents a Muslim from committing the forbidden out of fear of Allah.” ^[5]

It gradually fills the heart with so many desires that haya somewhat starts exiting to the extent that even the natural form of Haya,is left,which can today be seen in the universities in the form of PDA and utterly immodest ways of dressing.

We are living in a  generation where everything is “normalised” merely because xyz feels like.The interaction between the opposite sexes is considered a vital part of the process of gaining education and developing one’s personality.Yet,in this so called ‘inclusive’ environment,those who strive to draw their boundaries for maintaining modesty,are alienated and stated as extreme This often affects young minds mentally and emotionally,as well as their psyche,where in order to ‘fit-in’ they tend to resonate the practices that identify with the rest,leaving aside the moral and ethical aspects of faith in general and modesty in particular.

Allah (Glory be to Him) says in the Glorious Qur’an:

“ يا أيها الذين آمنوا اتقوا الله و كونوا مع الصادقين” ( التوبة : 119)

    (O you who have believed, fear Allah and be with those who are     true.)(At-Taubah:119)

Allah commands us to maintain righteous company that facilitates walking on the path of haqq(truth)and yet another challenge that the present day institutions pose,is maintaining good companionship.

As we all know,the tendency of humans to live in isolation,is  not natural.When possible,they tend to carry interactions,form bonds and relationships,share interests and ideas and seek mental and emotional support.And healthy social relationships do contribute to psychological well-being.Hence,making friends in schools  and colleges is not something unusual.

Sohba is related  with the Arabic term aṣ-ṣaḥābah (Arabic: الصحابة‎, “the companions”; from the verb صَحِبَ, “accompany”, “keep company with”, “associate with”).

Companion comes from Old French compagnon “fellow, mate, friend, partner” from Latin com- “with” + panis “bread”,i.e.,the  one who shares bread with another “cum,” with, “and panis,” bread.The purpose of elaborating the linguistic meaning so much here,is to explain how close an association a companion has and how important it is to choose your company wisely.The type of company we have,the groups we sit with,the topics we discuss,the level of interaction with them,each and every thing,contributes to our personality and our character.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) says:“The example of a good companion and an evil companion is like that of a seller of musk and a blacksmith. The seller of musk either sells you (perfume), gives you free samples or you get a pleasing smell from him. As for the example of an evil companion – such as a blacksmith – he either burns your clothes or you get a nasty smell from him.” [Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim on the authority of Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari].

And the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) says:

“A man is upon the method of his close friend, so let each of you look into whom he takes as a close friend.” (Reported by At-Tirmidhi).

This is the extent to which companionship defines a person.In schools and colleges,it is regarded cool to make friends with people who are rebellious to teachers,who hang out with the opposite gender and who openly represent the immodest way of living.The vulnerable minds fail to understand the trap where casual friendship,leads to one sin after the other.:”You become what you listen,what you say,what you do.”When you constantly remain in company of those who are too much into this Dunya,you start losing your faith gradually.

Disrespect towards parents,Partying culture,Haraam relationships,Consumption of intoxicants are somewhat common problems nowadays.Today,the problem has become so grave that muslim brothers and sisters are even becoming murtad(apostate),incline towards atheism,or other religions just because of their companionship.

CONCLUSION

How can we as muslim students and parents overcome these challenges?Though,there is no defined checklist to this.There might be different issues,different scenarios,not all children can be dealt with similarly,parents might not be able to identify what’s happening with their ward in schools or colleges ,and so on and so forth.

But,when we say Islam is our Deen,Allah has perfected it for us,we must understand the fact that it has the solution to every possible problem we might think of today,or even 100 or 1000 years later.Some very important steps that I understand,muslims need to take,in order to save themselves and their children from these challenges of Haya and companionship are:-

:-SAME-SEX EDUCATION:Researches prove that students in same-sex school tend to be more focused in their studies due to lesser distractions.Co-education not only makes it difficult to observe proper hijab for both men and women but also has no significant benefit  it their education as well.A medicine has 3 advantages and 7 disadvantages,and you know that it will gradually kill you,but the world is consuming it;would you still consume it?Ask yourself.In some places,this might be a compromise with the quality of education,but who would you prefer,a morally corrupt,well educated child who has compromised his/her modesty or a morally developed,lesser educated child who has preserved his/her modesty?

:-ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF EDUCATION-Let’s not get into the numerous benefits of homeschooling.Simply stating,until your child understands what is right or wrong,you might not want to send him/her to a place where you ‘actually’ don’t know what he faces.Online schooling is emerging as an amazing alternative to traditional schooling.You might argue health issues and stuff that happened in Covid.But I wonder “Poori nasl kharaab hone se behtar thodi aankhe kharaab hona nahi hai?”(What is more concerning,a bit of eyesight deteriorating or an entire generation becoming corrupt).If there are no single sex institutions available,we must look for online alternatives for children,at least until they are mature enough with basic knowledge of deen.Make ease for observing hijab for both.

:-KNOWLEDGE OF DEEN-This is something that is so,so easily neglected by the parents today and later they complain of their children disrespecting them,having illicit relations and what not.They do understand that a strong foundation is important but they fail to recognise what that foundation has to be.Until faith,and it’s branches which precisely includes Haya,is ingrained into their hearts,any amount of education cannot do good to them.

:-IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS-Never be ignorant of the company your child is in.Know where he/she goes,whom he/she plays with,what does he watch,what does he read.In the name of freedom,don’t let your child burn in the fire of sins.

:-MAKE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS-At the higher level,Muslims should unite to establish institutions that make ease for overcoming these challenges that muslim students face in educational institutions nowadays.

The constant effort of liberal forces to brainwash the students into developing a  weak,immodest society can be evidently seen as one of the greatest challenge that Muslims face today and if this isn’t dealt,the repercussions might be so severe that negating them would not be possible.