Teaching Mechanisms of Prophet SAW | Shaykh Dr. Yasir Qadhi | EPIC Masjid

Teaching Mechanisms of Prophet ﷺ

So as most of you are aware, one of the projects that I'm doing is about the seerah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, examining the seerah from multiple angles. And one of the projects, which is a summary today inshallah I'm going to be doing that, looking at the seerah and extracting from it the teaching mechanism of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. How did he effectively teach? What are the pedagogical tools? Like if you look at the seerah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, you can extract everything from it, right? So let's look at it from the lens of mu'allim, mudarris, teacher. What are the effective techniques that we can see that he employed?

And when you do this, one thing you will find is that subhanAllah, all of this that you extract, modern pedagogical tools are mentioning the same things as effective teaching mechanisms for students. So this is one of the projects I'm doing. So a summary today inshallah of that project, and obviously the goal today. So what my goal is to give you maybe 10, 15, however much time permits specific scenarios of how the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم taught, and then give one example because we don't have time for lots of examples. And then contrast this or not contrast, but explain the same idea is used by modern PhDs in education, modern professors who teach you how to teach, right? The teaching tools we find, mashaAllah, subhanAllah, understandably, we don't even say this, that he صلى الله عليه وسلم is the ideal role model in all of these fields.

So in no particular order, and as many of you are aware, I'm writing multiple books. So one of the books I'm writing inshallah is just being published now, leadership from the seerah. Leadership from the seerah. What does the seerah teach us about leadership, right? Another book I'm writing is undergoing trials from the seerah. So what does the seerah teach us about trials, tragedy, grief, tribulation. This is another project. These are all projects on my computer. One day inshallah, you'll see the light of day. So this is, the project is pedagogical tools from the seerah. How was the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم the best teacher?

1. Beginning with Questions - The Socratic Method

So let's begin in no particular order. The first of them, many times the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would begin a lecture with a question or begin an information with a question. So instead of just handing the information, you begin with a question. And by the way, this is well known in pedagogical teaching mechanisms. This is called the Socratic method. Socrates, he was famous for this, but our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم didn't need to study Socrates. This is something that he did because it is the effective mechanism. You begin with a powerful question. The question causes you to think. And then while you're thinking, then the Prophet will give you the right answer. And when you get the right answer, you will remember it for the rest of your life. But in the process, your brain was forced to think.

And again, many examples. Again, today's lecture, we're only going to give one or two examples. We don't have time for all the examples. The goal is the template of the examples. Actually, I should quiz you. Let me quiz you. Let me follow this right here. Let me see. Do you have an example in mind when he began an information by not handing it, but by asking the question, he begins the hadith with the question? Excellent, excellent example.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم asked the question, who is the bankrupt person? And everybody thought bankruptcy with the banks, bankruptcy with money, bankruptcy with declaring default. And then the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "No, no, the real bankrupt person, the one who comes on the Day of Judgment," and then hadith goes on, right? He has good deeds like mountains, but ضرب هذا وشتم هذا وأكل مال هذا. He did so much dhulm, and all of his good deeds will be given until he's left with nothing. That is the bankrupt person. Now you tell me if you had been in that audience, how can you forget this ever? The impact, right, of this teaching mechanism. And this is the same thing as the Socratic method. You tease the answer via question back and forth, right? And this is the modern educational equivalent of it is also called guided inquiry, guided inquiry series of questions until you get to the answer that you want.

2. Using Analogies and Metaphors

Another teaching mechanism is and this is very common, there's at least a dozen examples in the Sahihain and other authentic books. Another very common technique is you begin the piece of information by an analogy by a metaphor. So again, you begin with a completely different topic, you start with an analogy, you start with a metaphor, and then from it, you extrapolate the information that you need.

So for example, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "There is a tree that is equivalent in its efficiency to the Muslim, the mu'min. What is that tree?" There's a tree that its analogy, it's metaphorically, it's like a mu'min. What is that tree? So it is the date palm. But again, none of the Sahaba could answer, none of the Sahaba could answer. And then the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم explained.

Another example that he gave, for example, is that can you imagine if there was a river next to your house, and you would just dip in it regularly, would you have any dirt left on you? And that was the ideal house. This is like the luxury, luxury house for the people of that time, the biggest luxury is running water. For us, this is even the lowest house has running water, right? How times have changed. For them to have a river right next to your house, this was the highest form of luxury. So he said, "Can you imagine if you had that, and you would just dip into your river few times a day, would you have any dirt left?" And everybody's like, obviously, the imagery is there in their heads, who doesn't want such a house, then the Prophet is basically saying, "All of you have such a house, because that river, it is the daily salawat. And if you pray five times a day, you won't have a speck of dust left." So again, this is an analogy, this is you're giving a metaphor, and then teaching from there.

3. Gradual Learning and Scaffolding

Another, you know, this is again, very common throughout the seerah. And this is the way we all learn our facts. And in fact, the entirety of the seerah is an example of this. And that is gradual learning, or it is called scaffolded learning, or it is called progressive disclosure, you teach the people a basic fact, let it sit with them, then you go higher, let it sit with them, then you go higher. And this is the default of how every Islamic teacher should teach any person, you start with the basics, and then you build up. And this is called scaffolding learning. And our entire Western system is based upon this.

Look at any science, or even history, or mathematics, what do you study, you know, in grade three of science, really basic stuff, then in grade seven, a little bit more, then in high school, then in your biology class in university, you keep on going back to the same detail, but then you build and you build and you build. And of course, the entirety of the seerah, this is how the religion of Islam is, you begin with small, and then you work your way up until you have more and more.

And this is again, well known that even when the Prophet ﷺ sent Mu'adh to Yemen, he taught him this technique. He said, "When you go to Yemen, then begin with the basics, teach them just how to pray. Once they learn how to do this, then go on. Once they do this, then go on." And he gave them the tiered system of learning. So again, the notion of what is called scaffolding learning, or gradual progression. This is a well known technique, and the Prophet ﷺ himself, he embodied this.

4. Beginning with Stories

Another example of the Prophet ﷺ in teaching is to begin his lectures, to begin his teaching with a story, a story, and stories, subhanAllah, we never grow out of stories. You know, it is in our nature, we love a story. If you take any class on public speaking, if you listen to any lecture about public speaking, if you listen to any effective TED talk, it always begins with an anecdote, a story, because it doesn't matter how old you are, how many white hairs we have, we are children at heart when it comes to stories, we all love a good story.

And the Prophet ﷺ would many times begin a hadith that has a moral. The lesson is at the end, but the beginning is a story. Again, I can quiz you any example comes to mind of a hadith that has a lesson, teaching point, but it begins with a story. There's so many. The story of the three people, the three people in the cave that were blocked, very good. The man who killed 99. Excellent. So all of these stories are there, right? So there's so many stories that the Prophet ﷺ said, and of course, everybody's mesmerized. And at the end, you get the moral, the lesson, you get the anecdote, the fact that you need, you're never going to forget it, because the story has driven that point home.

This is a teaching mechanism we can use. And by the way, when we were kids, what did our parents do? Tell us some story. And then at the end of the story, the kid who cried wolf, right? They tell us a story, then at the end of the story is the lesson, though you shouldn't do that as well. So this is a very well known technique. And of course, the Prophet ﷺ is mastering it.

5. Practical Demonstration

Another mechanism of teaching is practical demonstration. Uthman ibn Affan رضي الله عنه, Uthman ibn Affan رضي الله عنه, he was sitting with, in the time of his Khilafah, sitting with a group of people, said, "Bring water for me." So they brought water for him, he sat down, and he started doing wudu, and he did wudu perfectly. And then he said, "This wudu that I have done, the Prophet ﷺ demonstrated it for me, he showed me how to do it," right? And the hadith is well known, I don't have time to get there, but to go into the details. But this is the most famous hadith where Uthman ibn Affan رضي الله عنه practically demonstrates. How did he practically demonstrate? Because he said, the Prophet ﷺ practically demonstrated for me, he literally sat down, showed me bit by bit. And of course, this is education via demonstration. This is hands on learning, which is, of course, you know, that's how you learn, your teacher does it, and then you see how the teacher does. So this is practical demonstration.

Also, for example, the Prophet ﷺ would say, "Pray as you have seen me pray." And he would say, "Take from me how to do hajj, pray as you've seen me pray, follow my hajj." So he is doing it. And then he wants the sahaba to observe and pay attention. This is also of the learning techniques of the teaching mechanisms of the Prophet ﷺ.

6. Visual Aids and Drawing

And again, we find at least half a dozen such hadith is that he would use and this is very interesting, very rare for that timeframe, visual aids and drawing. He would use visual aids and drawing. So for example, multiple times, he would take a stick, and he would draw something in the sand. And then he would begin his teaching from that drawing over there.

So for example, he said, "This is the life of man," he drew a straight line. And then he pointed right and said, "This is shayateen calling you here and there." And he gave the whole hadith again, I don't have time for the details. I'm just telling you what he did that he's demonstrating this reality by a visual diagram. And of course, I mean, modern teaching mechanisms, PowerPoint and all of the visual tools, you need some image so that the fact is in your head. And the Prophet ﷺ multiple times he used that imagery.

In fact, hand gestures while you're teaching. This is again, I do this a lot. I speak with my tongue with my hands as well everywhere, they're going everywhere. At least I can say there is prophetic sunnah to do so. So the Prophet ﷺ is giving the khutbah, hadith is in Nasa'i.

Physical Demonstration and Hand Gestures

And he literally uses his hands to make the point. He says, the hadith is in Nasa'i, he said:

(Sunan an-Nasa'i)

He used his left hand, whoever humbles himself, he put himself down, whoever humbles himself for Allah, then he took his right hand, Allah raises him up. Now you tell me if you saw the Prophet ﷺ using his hands like this, how can you forget the imagery? How can you possibly forget? That's why when the Sahabi is telling us, he literally says, I saw the Prophet ﷺ put his left hand down, مَن تَوَاضَعَ لِلَّهِ رَفَعَهُ اللَّهُ Then take his right hand, رَفَعَهُ اللَّهُ Look, he's using, this is even imagery in the air, right? Hand gestures in the air to bring the point across so that you learn the lesson.

The Power of Repetition

Another teaching mechanism of the Prophet ﷺ, and again, this is the norm, Aisha (radiyAllahu anha) actually says this was his sunnah, and that is repetition. And this is well known, repetition. You hardly learn a fact the first time you hear it. To hear it over and over and over. Our mother Aisha said the Prophet ﷺ would generally repeat himself three times. And we learned this in so many traditions that the Prophet ﷺ would keep on saying the same thing over and over again.

So for example, another hadith in Bukhari, he said, shouldn't I tell you the biggest sins? They said, yes. He repeated the question, shouldn't I tell you the biggest sins? Yes. Shouldn't I tell you the biggest sins? Yes. Why is he repeating? You're not going to forget now. So repetition and every teacher knows this. You have to repeat so that your students understand.

Emotional and Physical Connection

Another core of the Prophet ﷺ teaching mechanism is using emotional and physical cues. Now this is something that we have to be a bit careful in our modern world because of all of the controversies and issues. But if you're close to somebody, like the real Shaykh figure, let's not talk about corrupt teachers that are evil, whatnot. The real Shaykh figure is not some distant, disconnected person. He cares about you. And there is a physical interaction as well.

There are so many instances in the seerah where the Prophet ﷺ physically held on to a person, physically held on to his shoulders. And he said that, Oh Ibn Umar:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6416)

He held him by the shoulder. Can you imagine the Prophet ﷺ walks up to you? He puts his hand on you. How are you going to feel? How can you forget? And then he says, be in this world as if you're a stranger or you're just passing by. So that physical, that emotional involvement, looking straight at you, speaking to you in endearing terms.

Direct Personal Address

Another, you can say this is a part of this tactic or another tactic, but using names directly to your students. How many times he would speak directly, يا أبا المنذر, you know, يا أبا بكر, he would speak directly to his students, forming that one-on-one bond and connection with them. And again, how can you ever forget when the Prophet ﷺ is literally encouraging your student.

So he says to Ubayy ibn Ka'b, he says, what is the greatest verse in the Qur'an? And Ubayy says, يا رسول الله, I don't want to answer. Who am I that you ask? No, no, tell me. He literally forces it out of him. Tell me what is the greatest verse in the Qur'an? Then Ubayy says:

And then the Prophet ﷺ again physically taps him on the shoulder and he says, knowledge has been made light and easy for you. Allah has blessed you with knowledge. Now, how can Ubayy ever forget this fact, right? That the Prophet ﷺ is literally, you know, bringing it out of him, that one-on-one speaking to him.

Student Encouragement and Praise

And then, you know, another tactic you can say, encouragement, student encouragement, right? When the teacher encourages you, when the teacher praises you, I guarantee you, every one of you, one of your most vivid memories of your school will be a time when you raised the hand and you answered the question and the teacher praised you. Isn't that the case? One of your most vivid memories of your youth, without a doubt, will be something that the teacher praised you for when you were a child. This is human nature. You will remember it till you're 80 years old. Why? Because psychologically that is now literally seared in your head. This is teaching mechanism of the Prophet ﷺ. He literally is student-oriented, interacting with the students one-on-one, praising them one-on-one.

Context-Based Learning

Another teaching mechanism of the Prophet ﷺ is through context-related, real-life situation, looking at what's happening, immediately assessing the situation and then using it to bring about something of benefit, to teach something. So for example, a famous hadith in Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim that somebody passed away, they all walked to his qabr, lo and behold the grave has not yet been dug. So they all sat down. This hadith, then the Prophet ﷺ began saying a hadith which is a page long and he described the journey of death and the journey of the soul. This hadith is considered to be the foundational text of barzakh. And when was it done? Situation. Everybody's waiting for the qabr to be dug. Who can possibly forget? That's why this hadith is like a page long and it's full of detail because the mind is going to absorb all of this. How can you not when you're at the qabr, you're at the graveyard and the Prophet ﷺ says, and the hadith is famous, when I did my barzakh series so many years ago, that was the fundamental hadith that we based the entire, you know, so many lectures on. That when the person is about to pass away, the angel of death comes and hadith goes on and on. When did he say this? Context. Everybody's waiting.

In the battlefield, he passes by and he sees, you know, a mother screaming, where's my baby? Where's my baby? Until when she finds the baby, she jumps for joy and she screams a shriek of joy and she jumps on the child and immediately the child is crying and she gives it milk and everybody's in awe. What a sight to see. Immediately what does the Prophet ﷺ say? He says, do you ever think this woman with her love for her child will harm the child, throw the child into a fire? He said, no way ya Rasulullah. Then he said, so then know that Allah is more merciful to his creation, to his servants, than this woman is to her child. Context based, right? You take advantage of something that your memory, you're gonna never forget that incident. You use it to teach something, to teach a life lesson. You're gonna keep it until you pass away. So again, this is called context based learning or situated learning. And by the way, this is extremely common, especially in graduate level. They'll give you a scenario, you know, they're gonna begin the class with an entire, even medical school, right? Medical school, they give you an entire scenario and then you extrapolate from that. So this is situation based learning.

Appropriate Humor in Teaching

Another technique of the Prophet ﷺ, light humor, little bit of laughing. Because again, go back to your middle school, high school, the teachers that had a little bit of humor were always your most favorite teachers. The teachers who brought some levity to the classroom, they made you smile, they made you laugh, always your favorite teachers. And our Prophet ﷺ, believe it or not, he would crack jokes, halal jokes, all of them halal. But he would say things that would make the people smile. And that memory and never did he say something that was false.

Because remember, the Prophet ﷺ's quote unquote jokes, his humor was always what we would call linguistic puns. So because he cannot say something that is incorrect, because of his high status, we are it's going to be allowed to because it's not. So for example, we will say, oh, there were three people in a plane, you know, this and this and this and then they had to jump out. Everybody knows it's a joke. We start off like this, you know, oh, there are a lot of times we make fun of some nationalities, you know, Indian, Pakistani, this, that will make a joke like this, right? Obviously, our Prophet ﷺ cannot do this. Obviously, it's too high maqam. Obviously, he cannot say something that is actually incorrect. There were three people. No, everything he has to say has to be 100% correct. So his level of humor is very different than ours, right? And I have a whole lecture about the reality of humor in Islam and the conditions we have to have because even, even if we don't have to be that high, we still have a bar we cannot go underneath.

As for our Prophet ﷺ, he would always use linguistic, you know, double meanings that is factually correct, but the point is to be made. And there are many hadith like this. Of them, the famous one where the old lady comes, right? And says, you know, Ya Rasulullah, you know, I've done this and that and I make dua that Allah causes me to enter Jannah. And the Prophet ﷺ said, oh, my Amma, my Khala, oh, my elderly auntie, don't you know, you know, elderly aunties will never enter Jannah, right? They're not going to enter Jannah. And she's like, well, well, she's like, what, how am I going to, what happened this and that? And of course, then the Prophet ﷺ said, don't worry, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will transform you until you will be at your prime and your youngest and your most beautiful and healthy, then Allah will cause you to enter Jannah, right? Little bit of humor. And subhanAllah, how powerful the imagery, how powerful the, the happiness that would come. So a little bit of humor when you teach, this is something that, and again, there's a famous hadith.

I don't have time to get into all of the, you know, the technicalities. Imam Shafi'i said, I thought of this one hadith, you know, one night tossing and turning in bed, I couldn't sleep the whole night, I extracted over 100 benefits from this hadith. And that is when the child lost its pet. There was a child, two and a half, three, four years old, maybe, right? Lost its pet, pet bird, and he was so sad. And so the Prophet ﷺ, he would, you know, this is a child coming, and imagine that this whole audience, right? A child sitting in the back, and the child is intimidated. The Prophet ﷺ, you know, is very intimidated, you understand? And the Prophet ﷺ sees the child crying, right? And so the Prophet ﷺ makes the child happy with a little joke, يا أبا نُغَير ما فَعَلَ النُّغَيْر, right? That the cracked a joke at him. Again, I don't have time to get into the technicalities, but it caused the child to feel special, and to laugh and smile. Again, a little bit of humor to cheer him up, and then, you know, to make him feel special. So a little bit of happiness, levity, to make the person happy, and then, you know, teach something. This is also from the Prophet ﷺ.

Teaching at Appropriate Levels

Another mechanism of the Prophet ﷺ is, let's see, time is coming up here, let us see here, which one we're going to do? Ah yes, differing between speaking to people, so teaching people at the level they are used to, and not becoming too advanced on them. So I'll give you two examples, each one will contrast with the other. In other words, the teacher tailors the lecture, or the benefit, to the person directly.

So for example, look at two incidents in the seerah. Both of them, mistakes, or minor mistakes, or big mistakes. How did the Prophet ﷺ react? The Bedouin urinating in the masjid, versus Mu'adh ibn Jabal reciting Surah Al-Baqarah in Fajr, or sorry, Surah Al-Isha. Mu'adh ibn Jabal recited Surah Al-Baqarah, or a long portion of Surah Al-Baqarah in Isha, and the Bedouin urinated in the masjid. Two separate incidents.

How did the Prophet ﷺ react in each one? Even though technically, urinating in the masjid is a much bigger deal, much bigger deal. But when the man, the Bedouin, came in, and he lifted his thawb, and he sat down in the middle of everywhere, and he just started urinating, right? And as you know what happened, that the Sahaba began throwing things at him, telling, what are you doing, get out of here, right?

Teaching Through Patience and Understanding

And what are you going to do, you began urination, what are you going to do, you cannot do anything. The Prophet said, let him be, let him be, don't interrupt him now, as you know. And then he called the man after he was done, and he said, oh so and so, this is a house of Allah, it is not befitting that in the house of Allah, we urinate or defecate, and we honor and respect it. What did the man say?

He didn't beat me, he didn't hit me, he didn't make me feel any humiliation. The man himself said:

I never saw a teacher better than the Prophet. This is the Bedouin, I never saw a teacher who taught me this lesson better than the Prophet. Look, you teach at that level.

Adapting to Different Levels of Understanding

Now, Mu'adh ibn Jabal, the scholar of the Sahaba, the scholar of the Sahaba, when he led Salatul Isha, as you know, he recited Surah Al-Baqarah, and a man just said Salam, went, prayed four rak'ah, and went back. And then the next day he complained to the Prophet that, ya Rasulullah, Mu'adh in my masjid, he started Salatul Isha with Surah Al-Baqarah, we have to go to sleep, we have to go to work the next day, right? So he called him, and he was angry. His eyebrows you could tell was anger. He said:

Are you making the religion difficult? When you want to pray and tahajjud, pray as long as you want. But when you recite, then you recite, سَبِّحِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ الْأَعْلَىٰ. You recite with وَالسَّمَاءِ وَالطَّارِقِ. Notice, Mu'adh, he didn't commit a sin, but the Prophet is visibly angry. And the Bedouin commits a sin, and the Prophet is smiling. Look at the difference. Why? Because you treat people as Ibn Mas'ud said:

Speak to the people at their level. And the Prophet said, hadith is in beginning of Sahih Muslim, that the Prophet commanded us to deal with people at their level. أَمَرَنَا رَسُولُهُ Whatever is the manzil of the person, you deal with him at that manzil.

So one of our problems, and I'm saying this bluntly, a lot of times when we preach, when we teach, we expect everybody to be like Mu'adh rather than the Bedouin. And we make Islam super strict and tight. And when you're teaching the average person, you need to lower the bar as low as you can. I've said this multiple times. The general rule of scholars, when they preach and teach, lower as much as you can. And in your private life, do as high as you want.

When the Bedouin comes and says, ya Rasulullah, how many salawats? You all know what he said. Only five. Do I have to pray any sunnahs? You don't have to pray any sunnah. Any nafil? No nafil. The Sahaba were shocked because none of them around him have abandoned the sunnah and nafil. None of them. They're shocked. Ya Rasulullah, how much? And you know the hadith. Contrast this to his advice to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, to his advice to Uthman, his advice to Mu'adh ibn Jabal, is that pray tahajjud and sleep some. He's telling them, pray tahajjud and sleep as well. That advice is not given to the Bedouin. That advice is not given to the new convert. Make sure you pray tahajjud. You don't need to tell that. The new convert, the new Muslim, the new practicing, just pray your five prayers. This is muallim. This is the teacher. You look at students where they are and you teach them according to their level.

Strategic Timing in Teaching

Again, so much more can be said. I don't want to go on and on. I know it's also a weekday. I'll just give you two more inshaAllah and then we'll call it a day. Another example that I can give of his techniques, of the Prophet's techniques, and this is interesting. To delay the response so that curiosity is peaked. Everybody's even more interested. To delay, don't answer the question. This happened multiple times. I have a number of examples of this.

So the man comes and the adhan has been called, but not iqama. The man comes, says in the crowd, Ya Rasulullah, I have committed a sin. I did this and that and I kissed a lady and I did this and that. How embarrassing. Everybody's, you say this. Again, you have to understand, not everybody's cultured, not everybody. There are people, they just barge in and ask the question. And the Prophet is sitting and it's time for salah, a few minutes left. He doesn't even respond. No response. Everybody's curiosity. What is going to happen now?

Then adhan iqama is called. He gives the iqama. When the prayer finishes, he turns around, goes, where is that man who shouted that question? Where is that man? The man stands up. I am the one who asked the question. Then the Prophet said, didn't you do wudu and come to the masjid? Yes. Didn't you walk all the way? Yes. Didn't you pray with us? Didn't you do salah and iqama? Yes. Then don't you know that إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ. Don't you know when you do a good deed, it will cause your bad deeds to be wiped away. The man became so happy, so overjoyed. He said, Ya Rasulullah, is this verse Allah revealed only for me? He goes, no, for you and everybody else as well, right? But the happiness that the man felt and the way the Prophet responded to him, right? This is teaching technique. The man will never forget. And even this hadith makes us happy as well. The way that he responded. So simply by looking at the time, delaying and then giving the response at the right time.

Teaching Through Actions

We can go on and on. I'll just conclude with obviously the main mechanism which is the most powerful mechanism and that is to teach with action and not with words. This is without a doubt the sabr, the dignity, the ibadah, the tawakkul in Allah. I mean, I don't need to even give you this, right? The role model that he was:

The role model that he was. The best way to teach is not via lectures. It is via your actions. It is via your lifestyle, your living and the entirety of the seerah from the beginning to the end. How he walked, how he acted, how he lived, how he interacted with the kuffar, how he interacted with the bedouins, how he interacted with the elite of the sahaba. Everything about him. He was the best teacher in his actions before in his speech. And this is really the most effective mechanism of teaching.

So these are some and of course there are much more than this. And indeed the Prophet is a perfect role model in every field and facet of human existence. And may Allah bless us all to take him as a role model and to allow our own lives to be affected by his character, his akhlaq, his teachings and may he make us follow the sunnah of the Prophet.