At Noor Ul Islam, we place much importance to building the characters and mannerisms of the students to become respectful individuals in today’s society, with the timeless teachings of the pious predecessors regarding the refinement of the character. This is especially important since the students will be going out into the world and, thus, should know how to carry themselves in a suitable manner as Muslim women within a society in which Muslim women are often scrutinized. When the wider community is able to see that the student of Noor ul Islam is one who has beautiful character and mannerisms, they will be attracted towards studying the Deen, more.

One of the books which is taught to the younger years, namely years 1 and 2 – Min Adabil Islam ‘From the Manners of Islam’ by Sheikh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah.

This book covers the basic etiquettes of how an individual must carry out simple daily actions. It covers a range of topics from something as simple as the correct etiquettes regarding entering and leaving the home and manners of eating to more challenging actions such as social manners and the correct way to communicate with Non-Muslims, with much more in between. Through this we learn the simple etiquettes of how one must carry out daily actions in a way which will cause the most ease and reward for them, by following the way of the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) and cause least inconvenience to others.

One of the other book covered in the syllabus for Tarbiyyah is a bit more extensive and detailed, suitable for the elder years, namely years 3, 4 and 5. ‘Bidaayatul Hidaayah – the Beginning of Guidance’ by the world renowned scholar and Sufi, Imam Ghazali. In this book, Imam Ghazali also covers the etiquettes of each and every action we carry out, right from the beginning of our day, such as the correct etiquettes when waking from sleep and using the bathroom etc. He splits the book into a few different chapters and also covers much more profound subject matters, such as the chapter of refraining from disobedience, in which he covers the sins of each limb. The final chapter sees Imam Ghazali use his Sufi skills to teach the reader regarding the correct etiquette of the Companionship with Allah, in which he covers the best ways to carry oneself when adopting means to get closer to Allaah, whether it be as a student through the studies and teachers, or a child through the parents.

We teach our students how to conduct themselves in a manner which befits not only today’s society but also follows the ways of the pious, so that we do not get lost in the glamour of the world and remain steadfast on the deen and call others towards it in a beautiful manner.