Ma al-Muallimin

Ma al-Muallimin (With the Teachers) is an educational treatise by the Saudi scholar Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Hamad, completed in 1417 AH (1997 CE), that offers ethical guidelines, pedagogical reflections, and practical advice for teachers and educators Ma al-Muallimin+1.

Composition and Purpose

The author completed the treatise on 27 Dhu al-Hijjah 1417 AH in al-Zulfi, Saudi Arabia Ma al-Muallimin. In the introduction, the author states that teaching is a heavy trust, whose practitioners guard intellectual and moral frontiers and build future generations Ma al-Muallimin. The book was compiled as a collection of personal reflections, curated maxims, and classical and contemporary scholarly citations to address teachers' inner cultivation, pedagogical responsibilities, and interactions with colleagues and students Ma al-Muallimin.

Structure and Content

The work opens with an introduction and concludes with an epilogue, between which the author arranges fifty-two numbered topical guidelines and reflections Ma al-Muallimin+1:

• Ethical Foundation and Spiritual Preparedness: Opening chapters emphasize internalizing the virtue of knowledge and teaching, maintaining a profound sense of responsibility, holding steadfast to piety (taqwa), engaging attentively with the Quran, and embodying exemplary character as role models for students Ma al-Muallimin+1.
• Personal Demeanor and Collegiate Ethics: The text addresses personal conduct, including academic humility, refraining from answering when uncertain by saying "I do not know" (la adri), respecting scholarly disagreements, avoiding envy, exercising moderation in dress, avoiding excessive or inappropriate joking, and maintaining patience and tolerance Ma al-Muallimin+1.
• Pedagogical Strategy and Student Upbringing: The author discusses classroom management through firmness combined with gentleness, nurturing students upon high moral virtues, fostering pride in Islamic identity, steering students away from blind imitation of foreign customs, cultivating critical thinking and logical reasoning, and encouraging exceptionally gifted pupils Ma al-Muallimin+1.
• Expatriate Living and Post-Career Life: Later sections offer guidance for teachers working away from their hometowns, urging them to treat colleagues well, show goodwill toward the local community, and remember former students after graduation Ma al-Muallimin+1. The final chapter addresses life after retirement, encouraging continued engagement in charitable activities, reading, and advising fellow teachers Ma al-Muallimin.

Method and Sources

The author relies extensively on scriptural texts, citing Quranic verses and Prophetic hadiths alongside classical Islamic adab literature and modern reformist writings Ma al-Muallimin+1. Frequent citations are drawn from classical works, such as Ibn Jamaah's Tadhkirat al-Sami wal-Mutakallim, Ibn Hazm's al-Akhlaq wal-Siyar, al-Khatib al-Baghdadi's Iqtida al-Ilm al-Amal, al-Mawardi's Adab al-Dunya wal-Din, and Abu al-Walid al-Baji's counsel to his sons Ma al-Muallimin+1. Among modern figures, the author quotes heavily from the Algerian reformist scholar Muhammad al-Bashir al-Ibrahimi (notably from his Uyun al-Basair), Abd al-Rahman ibn Nasir al-Sadi, and Muhammad al-Khadir Husayn, alongside poetic verses from classical and modern poets such as Ahmad Shawqi and Abu Ishaq al-Ilbiri Ma al-Muallimin+1.