Malfuzat - Volume VIII — Page 245
26 December 1905 245 this question. But yes, I also see that the children who come to our seminary do not do so in vain. They have sincerity and love; therefore, changing this current situation and arrangement is inappropriate. In my opinion, the routine practice should have been that on the children’s day off, Maulaw i Syed Muhammad A h san or Maulaw i H ak i m Noor-ud-Deen teach them through spoken lectures the Holy Quran, the sciences of Hadith, and the tech- niques of debate, and at the very least, set aside two hours for this work. I affirm without a doubt that the practice of teaching by word of mouth has always been in use, and medical educa- tion has similarly been carried out verbally. Education by word of mouth, in and of itself, acquaints the students with the man- ner to express and articulate the knowledge as well, particularly if the teacher is eloquent and fluent. Such benefits sometimes accrue from verbal training that even a thousand books could not provide. Therefore, arranging for this is essential. They must be taught on their days off. Then the Holy Quran should be recited to them regu- larly. Its verities and insights should be set forth, and a ha d i th should be presented in support of them. Rebuttals to the objec- tions Christians raise about Islam should be given to them. As against this, the true nature of the religion of Christians should be exposed to them so that they become completely acquainted with it. Similarly, they should be made aware of the objections of atheists and Aryas, along with their refutations. And all this should be done successively; that is, something one week and something else another week. If this is done assiduously, I am sure much preparation will be accomplished. Familiarity with the Arabic language alone is of no help. When the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was not born, what effect did this language have on the morals, habits, and faith of the Arabs? And now, what