When we talk about productive work, development and builing, we have to keep in mind that building the human being should be our first priority. Keeping up with technology and develping the infra-sttructure and institutions should not make us forget that building the human being is our greatest task.
Having this in mind, we see that our nation is suffering from failure, deviation in manners, weakness, and passivity. This is because of the imbalance and defect inherent in the building processes of the human being.
It seems that on all levals we are witnessing corruption whether in teaching, legal judgement, public sector institutions, police, and army. Such a situation indicates that we have lagged much behind in the proper building of man.
We have come across a lot of Western and Eastern theories in addition to several specializations discussing the notion of building the human being. But, we are sure that the divine guidance dictated by the Creator is the most perfect, wholesome, and useful among all other theories.
Our Prophet Mohammed (P.B.U.H.) reported to us the ,how, of building the human being starting from the early stages of formation and ending up with being externally straight and internally pure. Such a divine guidance takes care of the human being since his early life so that he will be a distinct example in his external behavior and internal faith. But the problem is that when we do not care about building the human being externally and internally, we will not get the desired result. We thus end up having a crisis in manners and behavior in every institution in spite of all the modern media, development, and technology. Such is the world,s crisis and OURS.
We have lagged behing in technology as well as in building the human being at the time other developed countries have surpassed us in these fields. Still, we strongly believe that the divine guidance interpreted by our Prophet Mohammed (P.B.U.H.) is more perfect and can surely render the most useful results.
The principles set forth by the revealed law of Islam are a fact we should understand and adopt. But, we have unfortunately changed a lot.
I ascertain that we do not mind making use of any successful experience adpted in any of the countries East and West, provided such an experience does not conflict with our general basics. We are an open nation and we seek wisdom even if we have to travel to China.
Moreover, if we come across a successful method in technological education that does not conflict with our basics and virtues, we can adopt it. This is because man should examine whatever exists in the universe, trying to discover Almight God,s laws, which have already been examined and understood by other nations.
On the whole, it is agreed upon that all educators believe that building the human being should start since his early childhood. Such a building has its own terminology which should be understood. That is why we should give specialization much care so that theories can be implemented in our real life.
Building the child should start the moment the man chooses his partner and vice versa because a good choice will definitely lead to having a suceesful child.
In this respect, I am going to tell you about an experience of a family I met when I was on my visit to the last capital of the Islamic caliphate where Othman,s kinsfolk meet and represent the last group who took over power. I am going to tell you how this family takes care of both males and females through education, teaching, and good breeding. Howerver, we do not aim at adopting the upbringing of a certain family or a race, as we are a universal humanitarian nation. Still, it is an experience that attracted my attention.
In this family, the one who should assume the burden of the government should pass through certain disciplinary and educating processes. I saw the places through which both girls and boys used to move after taking a disciplinary, educational, and instructional test.
The West portrays ,the Haramlek, (the place where women gather) as a place for debauchery or enjoyment of women where, to your surprise, such a place is actually for education, discipline, and learning. No one of the men can enter this palce unless he has completed his education and received good breeding.
As for men, their upbringing starts in the kitchen where food is served and cooked and where cooking utensils are washed, so that they will later practrice politics. Men are also taught professions. All this takes place before the person recieves any natural or divine science that is necessary for him.
This is the experience I came across in one family. But, we do not want to adopt the experience of a single family. We rather want an experience that is on the level of the society we want to build.
Today, we talk about development, innovation, advancement, and building. But, if we do not care about building the human being, all our efforts will be of no value. If man is not properly built, he/she will be destoryed.
So, the first step in building the human being starts the moment the father and mother choose each other. In this connection, our Prophet Mohammd (P.B.U.H.) says: “Blood will tell.”
When the baby is born, Islam decsribes his life wholly and briefly. God says: “GOD is the One Who brought you forth from your mothers, wombs knowing nothing.” (An Nahl 78)
In what follows, I am going to talk about other important stages in the life of the human being and show how Islam takes care of them in its own way: hearing the call to prayer, getting named, etc.
At birth, the first thing the baby hears is the call to prayer, which is the baby,s first coming to life. The call to prayer goes like this:

God is Ever-Great, God is Ever-Great, God is Ever-Great.
I bear witness that there is no God but Allah.
I bear witness that there is no God but Allah.
I bear witness that Mohammed is God,s Messenger.
I bear witness that Mohammed is God,s Messenger.
Come to prayer, come to prayer!
Come to work, come to work!
God is Ever-Great, God is Ever-Great.
There is no God but Allah.
I bear witness that Mohammed is God,s Messenger, come to prayer, come to work!
The time of prayer has come! The time of prayer has come!
God is Ever-Great, God is Ever-Great. There is no God but Allah.
This call, when first heard by the baby, is just like a lesson condensely presented and can be sotred in the baby,s memory. It is known that the baby accumulates in memory whatever he hears and such accumulations can be later elaborated in his life. Can man find a more elaborated staring point than the one we have just presented: starting with man,s creed and being on the right path heading towards success and hard work? This is the epitome presented to the baby as our Prophet Mohammed (P.B.U.H.) says. We also ask God to save the baby from damned Satan, because Satan will be his lifelong enemy. God says: “Indeed Satan is your mortal enemy, so beware of his enemity to you.” (Fatir 6)

My brothers! This is the starting point of building the human being. This happens prior to ,teaching, or any other modern pedagogic concepts.
The second stage is when the baby is given a name, which has an optimistic indication as the name gives the baby his identity and personality. In this respect, our Prophet Mohammed (P.B.U.H.) used to change the names of babies. For example, he called a she-baby ,Jamilah, instead of ,Asia,, and called a he-baby ,Zayd Alkhayr, instead of ,Zayd Alkhayl,, and so on and so forth.
Nowadays, names are arbitrarily chosen without knowing why such a name is given to a baby. The names of dancers and singers are blindly used and given. Names such as ,Khadijah, or ,Alkhansa, are no longer given to our girls.
The name ties the human being to his past, future, and his own identity. But what if man has lost his identity, not knowing his belonging! This is the problem which our society is living these days. Our children do not know why they are named; they want to listen to foreign words even if they do not understand the meaning. They are unable to realize that the name is but a start and a title which are to be actualized in the future. Our Prophet Mohammed (P.B.U.H.) tells us that: “لكل اسم من مسماه نصيب” (The name has an influence on the human being.”
The third stage is when the baby starts his observations. The first thing to observe is the parents, behavior. That is why if you want your child straight, you should watch your behavior. If the parents are perpetrating what is not in line with straightness, the child will definitely not be straight. For example, if lie, falseness, and deception exist, the child will be characterized by them. On the contrary, if he observes integrity, straightness, and seriousness, he will end up marked by such traits.
My brothers, you are responsible for every child in your family. You should not think that the baby does not observe what is going on around him. Actually, whatever the child observes and accumulates in his surrounding will reflect on his future behavior.
My brothers, you should consider that the child might misinterpret what is happening even though it is good. Because of this, you have to be clear with your child so that he can develop his personality and learn distinctness. But, if we teach our children manners like: “Close your ears or your eyes!”, the child will misinterpret such maners.
So, if respecting rules and glorifying virtues are implanted in the inside of the child, he will continue caring about such things. But, if with his own eyes, the child finds out that rules and virtues are traversed, he will surely traverse them in the future. In a refined environment, the child will learn how to be free not repressed.
In line with the above argument, let,s consider how our Prophet Mohammed (P.B.U.H.) behaves with children.
When Alhasan and Alhsayn, together with the Companions, children, used to play with the master of the universe, our Prophet Mohammed (P.B.U.H.), they used to imagine him, while prostrating, that he was a camel. They used to get on his back saying: “You are our camel.” He never said to them: “Woe unto you, am I a camel? Don,t you know that I am the master of the universe? Don,t you know that Gabriel is sent down to me? Don,t you know that I am the most perfect person and master of prophets and messengers? Be polite and get down of your grandfather,s back.” On the contrary, he used to say to them: “What a wonderful camel you have, and what wonderful riders you are!”
Unlike our Prophet Mohammed,s (P.B.U.H.) upbringing style, our present generation is incorrectly brought up so that the little would tremble at seeing the elderly. Our country has once witnesses such a reality where repression and silence are to be excersised on the little. The elderly are just like idols to be worshipped, which has nothing to do with our religion. You have to distinguish between the Aleppine and Damascine manners and those of Islam, which introduce special pedagogic terminology.
In the world of children, a further example of our Prophet Mohammed,s (P.B.U.H.) upbringing style was when his Companions, children imagined that they were in war and our Prophet became a captive. They ran around him saying: “We have captivated you.” For children, this is an imagined pleasure where there is the desire of war not hostility. It is the heroic war not the agrresive one. It is a war where one defends his honor and country and does not surrender to defeat. In the captivation scene, our Prophet Mohammed flattered them saying: “Yes, I am a captive and I have to redeem myself.” He started giving them dates as a ransom. This is the way our Prophet Mohammed dealt with children. He raced with them, wrestled with them, and rewarded the competitors. In this way, the child would learn how to be free and how he can have a will.
On the opposite side, our governors repress the citizens, the parents their children, and the director his staff. The public safety forces silence people and thus the child proceeds in the repression march.
Things should never go this way because the future should be based on freedom so that our children will be free; they should be able to have strong personalities which enable them to say “This is wrong, and “This is right.,
We might succeed in bringing up a generation which may pray for us in the future. Then, such a generation might hold the flag of glory in hand. But, we have unfortunately missed such a noble deed. We have been taught to be silent, humble, low, and repressed. Our children should not be brought up this way. We are responsible.
You should not repress your children. Teach them freedom within the domain of virtues. Teach them that freedom, in Islam, is required provided it does not exceed virtues. Islam also calls for freedom provided it does not surpass the affairs of the others. Islam teaches us to respect principles and people who have these principles.
A further stage in building up the human being is when the child it to be acquainted with his surroundings. In this connection, I still remember that when I was a child, my father used to accompany me in his travels where he introduced me to people and friends. He said: “This is Mr. so and so. Such was my story with him.”
The child,s existence should be esteemed as he will be the starting point of life and renaissance in the future. He will surely be a leader if you teach to be as such.
After all the above-mentioned stages comes the role of the educational and instructional building outside the family life: schools, Qur,anic and educational institutes.
Today, I invited the parents of those children who are receiving Qur,anic instruction and I wanted to attract their attention to a specific point which is that we should reward the ,gifted,.
In our country and other neighbouring countries, the official systems do not care about the ,gifted,. They rather take care of the ,outstanding,. As you know there is a lot of difference between the ,gifted, and the ,outstanding, as an outstanding child might be and might not be gifted. He might have achieved success through the traditional method. There are, as you know, some tests administered by specialists and based on academic rules that can discover ingenuity and gift.
What I want to say is that we should take care of the ,gifted, who have no one to take care of them these days. Why? One ,gifted, child can be of more benefit to his country than a hundred thousand ordinary children.
Takign care of the ,gifted, should be built on certain bases; the mosques, the Qur,anic institutes, and the schools should be the right palce for the ,gifted,. Such bodies should be supported by a supervising association.
The ,gifted, are as valuable as petroleum, gold, and diamond. They can make a great wealth to their country.
If the ,gifted, are discovered, they should not be required to assume the material consequences of their genius. What is happenning is that the ,gifted, are indirectly punished because they need the money which they do not have.
In this respect, I want to address those involved in building the highly-decorated mosques. I want them to consider more the proper charitable works which insure advancement. It is time to realize that building the human being is better than building the Kaaba, because God Almighty made the believer much more sacred than the Kaaba.
Taking care of the ,gifted, should be through the following three processes:
First, we have to discover the ,gifted, and we have specislized pedagogists, rules, and criteria to achieve this. There should be no place for exceptions, the thing which our society is suffering from. For instance, if people hear about an institution which taking care of the ,gifted,, both the people in authority and the ordinary people try, right away, to have their children enrolled in this institution even though their children are not categorized among the ,gifted., Our motto should be honesty in admission. We should not distinguish between the rich and the poor. In this institution, there should be complete freedom where no pressure is excersised. The people in charge should be able to say: “NO.” Other pedagogic bodies taking care of the child can be opened, but the ,gifted, should receive special care.
Second, there should be a reliable, straightforward, and knowlegeable association to supervise such an institution.
Third, such an institution should receive material support in order to guide all potentials and use technology to utilize and develop the ,gifted,.
On several occasions, I said to the owners of capitals: “You are spending your capitals here and there not knowing that this is a scattering, dispersing, and an unproductive policy.”
These days, capitals are spent on ,patching,. For example, two hundred thousand Syrian pounds might be spent in order for a person, suffering from a cardiac problem, to have an operation. This is ,patching, in the sense that we do not try to develop ourselves or make positive steps towards the best. What we are doing is just trying to let the wall not fall down. We are dwelling in the domain of ,patching,, fearing that the wall might fall down, and trying to erect this worn-out wall instead of building sound anti-shocks walls. There is no harm if we take care of what is worn out, but we actually need new blood. We are badly in need of a new instituiton through which we will be able to hold the rein of glory.

أسأل الله العظيم رب العرش العظيم أن يردنا الى ديننا ردا جميلا, وأن يجعلنا ممن يستمعون القول فيتبعون أحسنه، أقول هذا القول وأستغفر الله.