THE ROLE OF ASKING QUESTIONS IN ISLAMIC PEDAGOGY AND MUSLIM TEACHERS PRACTICE

Abstract

Questioning among teachers and learners plays an important role in teaching. The modern teaching and learning literature suggest that asking questions both by teachers and students lead to enhanced understanding, digestion of material, better recall, and content retention. Questioning can also be used as a tool to engage students and increase collaboration among them. In some Muslim cultures and schools of thoughts, the public is expected to follow the scholars without the need for asking question or enquiring to investigate the source. However, this appears contradictory to the guidance provided by the Quran and the Sunnah where people are encouraged to actively ask questions and seek clarifications. The study delves into both Islamic and Western perspectives on the topic, and through a thorough analysis, presents a comprehensive discussion of the views to uncover common ground and areas of disagreement. Both Islamic and Western perspectives agree that questioning is a useful tool and technique in teaching with many benefits such as motivation, engagement, encouragement, interest creation, and increased effective learning. Western secular literature also suggests that excessive questioning is counterproductive, may hinder the learning process and that a balance must be struck between zero questioning and asking too many questions. The data from the Quran, the Sunnah and the Muslim teaching practices suggest that Western academic literature agrees with and confirms the Islamic perspective both on the importance of asking questions and the counterproductivity caused by excessive questioning.