The Importance of Teaching and the Duties of Teachers 

part 3

Only two ways exist and, thus, one is either in the service of Allah or then he is enslaved into the service of his carnal self. If one frees himself from enslavement to others and submits himself to the service of Allah – Who is worthy of no less – all his actions will end up being free of deviation, or in other words, he will not have any deliberate deviation.

   These small children who are entrusted into the hands of the school teachers of the lower classes have the potential to emerge as human beings; they have the potential of becoming “human”‌ in the fullest sense; and they also have the potential to turn either into devils or into beasts.

   It is upbringing that causes a child to traverse either the path of humanity or the path of beastliness. If a child is taught to focus only upon worldly positions and if his heart is filled with attraction towards worldly positions, posts, statuses, etc. he will grow up focusing simply upon such things. Since he has only learnt these things, only they are reflected in his heart - because the heart of a child is very pure and luminous and is very vulnerable - and so in the later stages of life, he strives to legitimize all his lawful and unlawful actions.

   If you fill the minds of children only with worldly concerns and incentives like positions, statuses, material possessions etc all their attention comes to be diverted only to such matters. As if nothing else matters! However, even if you train them to live in their country with human dignity and to serve Allah, they will finally be able to achieve all that others gain through unlawful means. But there is a difference between these two. While one has managed to build a house through treacherous means, the other has gained the same through service of Allah. His focus was not upon gaining a house but since it was a legitimate need, he has attained it. For the other, his entire focus was only on attaining the house and he was not concerned about anything else. If one is not guided to the Straight Path that Allah Almighty has shown us, all the other paths lead to deviation and crookedness. If the reins of the country fall into the hands of corrupt and deviated elements, the country heads towards deterioration and deviation. And if virtuous and accomplished scholars take the matters of the country into their hands, the country is bound to be filled with human values. This is because people are generally accustomed to giving importance to people of high position and their words have a powerful influence on the minds of the masses. An influential person could easily lead a society either towards corruption or towards welfare. You honorable teachers play an important role in this matter. Do not relate to your students as insignificant individuals. This same ordinary-looking child may end up as the head of a country and reach to high positions in the future. That will be the acid test. If he has emerged as a deviated person and has become crooked under your training as well as the training of those who influenced him in the higher levels and onwards, even though he is only a single individual, he could corrupt an entire society. Each of the prophets (A.S), too, were only a “single individual”‌ but since they had attained their Messengership through the course of serving Allah, all their qualities were human and they succeeded in reforming large societies during and even after their own times. They were “just one person”‌ but a person who could reform his society. If the world and humanity were devoid of divine messengers (A.S), we could have been facing unimaginable indignities. Similarly, all the blessings that are present in the world, too, are because of the endeavors of the prophets (A.S) who honored the human race with their teachings and training, despite all the opposition they faced at the hands of the deviated people who invited people to their crooked paths. If you were to scrutinize all the countless cases that are left pending in the world courts, you would discover that none of them belonged to the believers and followers of the divine teachings of the prophets of Allah (A.S). All the cases of crime - material and non-material - belong to people who have ignored the training of the prophets (A.S), and even if they spent a lifetime in prayer, their prayers were not in the service of Allah. And even if they indulged in some good deeds, they did not stem from traversing the Straight path of service to Allah. All their actions stemmed from selfishness and self-love.

   Wake up to the fact that although the profession that you have chosen is very noble, you also need to pay due attention to the responsibility that lies inherent in it. It is moral and ethical training which is of importance. Mere knowledge does not benefit anyone and in fact is very dangerous. When rain, which is divine mercy, falls upon flowers, a fragrance emanates; and when the same rain fall upon filth, a stench arises. Such is also the case for knowledge. If it enters the heart of a virtuous person, its benefits reach the entire world. And if it enters a corrupt heart, it corrupts the entire world. It is said that “a corrupt scholar corrupts the world”‌. Conversely, a virtuous scholar emanates peace, goodness, and welfare for mankind. You are in charge of such affairs. You are responsible for carrying the world from darkness to light. You are vested with the responsible of bringing out the inner luminosity of children. You are charged with the important responsibility of giving them a proper Islamic training so that, God willing, your country will find its way towards prosperity.

And may peace, mercy, and the blessings of Allah be upon you.

Source: imam-khomeini.com

Other Links:

Kolineh and Seyyed Sadeq offensive operation (2) (March 6th, 1981)   

Democracy in an Islamic Community   

The Concept and Principles of Democracy   

Roqabieh offensive operation (March 19th, 1980)     

Chaghalvand offensive operation (March 20th, 1980)