By Nik Nayly
GOMBAK, 13 October 2021: A murabbi must have a convincing and effective way of delivering the knowledge in a manner that is filled with wisdom, a Murabbi talk series was told yesterday.
Delivering a talk on how to be an effective murabbi in conjunction with IIUM Academia 2021, Prof. Emeritus Dato’ Dr. Md. Tahir shared that a good murabbi has to be an expert and an exemplary teacher.
“In the knowledge that you have and the speciality that you mastered, you have to be exemplary. There are people who are an expert, but they are not exemplary,” he said.
According to the Professor, an effective murabbi must be an educator who has a good personality and character, and realises that teaching is one of the noblest forms of a profession as it requires giving time to others and educating them.
“Being eloquent in a positive way, well-crafted, truthful and accurate is the hallmark of words coming from a true murabbi,” he added.
The talk highlighted the qualities and characteristics of an effective murabbi.
A physician and consultant in clinical oncology, Prof. Emeritus Dato’ Dr. Md. Tahir is the founding dean of Kulliyyah of Medicine (located in Kuantan) and first director of the Kuantan campus, IIUM.
He urged the IIUM community, especially educators to not only be good at teaching but to also set themselves as a good example to follow in an attempt to be an effective murabbi.
Some of the attributes of a good murabbi, he shared, one must be a master of a subject or knowledge and a murabbi only gives truthful and factual knowledge to their students or followers.
Further, Prof. Emeritus Dato’ Dr. Md. Tahir listed out the things that he believed should be within a murabbi which include having knowledge, skills, specialisation, being the role model, instilling good values, inspirational, visionary, creative, proactive, leadership qualities and good judgement.
He told the audience that to have a semblance of a good murabbi, one should be aware that their teacher and educator role is not limited to the education area, but is also in the workplace, family, religion and in all social institutions.
According to him, the core values that we all must have as a murabbi include having Taqwa, Amanah, Accountability and Justice in all situations and at all times for everyone.
Prof. Emeritus Dato’ Dr. Md. Tahir said, “In our efforts to become a good murabbi, we should emulate positive qualities in a way that will make us an effective, well-loved, exemplary and inspirational teacher.”
He further added that it is the task of all great murabbis to make people see the higher purpose of things.
“A murabbi does not only teach, but also administering, nurturing, and ensuring the well-being of the learner to flourish and develop fully on their own.”
The murabbi talk series, conducted through online platform Zoom and IIUM Official Youtube Live, was organised by the Office of Knowledge for Change and Advancement and moderated by Prof. Dr. Ahmad Hafiz Zulkifly, the Deputy Rector Responsible for Research and Innovation (RRRI). ***