Having a teacher on the path of spiritual wayfaring

Why it is important to have a teacher when being on the path of spiritual wayfaring?

When talking about the topic of spirituality, it is important to make sure that when spirituality is mentioned in this article it is to be understood that it is the development of spirituality governed by Islamic principles. This is so that this article is not to be misunderstood or taken out of context.

When people strive to improve on a certain matter that is dear or important to them, they rationally look for a mentor – these mentors are people who are there for you to improve in that field in all ways that this mentor can help you with. Today we call these mentors “teachers”.

It is important to have a teacher at every stage in our lives, and this is because as we progress and develop ourselves we face new challenges and decisions that are hard to make on our own and therefore we seek the wisdom, knowledge, and experience of that teacher. This is done for us to feel comfortable and for us to be able to say to ourselves that this is the decision that I made so I bear the responsibility. For every human being to develop themselves, they have to have a teacher so that they can be successful on that path as well. This is because when we invent something new, we have to have some sort of background knowledge.

We cannot hope to really truly move forward in our fields of knowledge without the backing of a teacher who can help us with the basics to help form our full understanding. Take the smart phones for example, when the inventor of the smart phone came up with the idea, he had to learn what was before it and that is where the teacher comes in. Anyone who wants to move forward in whatever field they are studying will need a teacher at some point to help guide them.

We must all admit that we have to seek the knowledge of our seniors in whatever field we are interested in to be able to improve it. Everything now is the result of the knowledge of our predecessors. The exact same thing is applied in spiritual development, as we have to have our seniors tell us where to improve – as they have gone through similar situations and know what type of people we are, so they would know what is best for us.

We have to be able to understand that when we talk to our teachers in spirituality, we have to be able to understand that when they give us something to improve on, they have given us tasks within our capacity, and it is important not to overdo things as too much good turns negative as well.

When having a teacher in spirituality, it is easier and most importantly better for us to develop in that manner following what they give us as they know what our capacity is like and that for us to be able to improve their work in future we have to know and experience what their work entails first – and this is why we need them to teach us their knowledge.

As young Muslims today, in a world where the internet and quick answers are always there at our fingertips, it remains more important than ever to take a step back and remember the importance in having a trusted and respected teacher to be able to guide us on our spiritual journeys. We cannot hope to become fully proactive and truly practising Muslims if we do not learn from our elders, leaders, and teachers.