Puzzle

Nov 2020

I'd like to share a small observation, and a call to empathy.

We are aware that virtue requires effort. We cannot reach a proficient level in a certain skill without consistent, persistent efforts.

Some people can complete a task in eight minutes. For other people, the same task may take twenty minutes, or even an hour. Within one classroom, there will be an 'average' task completion time. Those who take longer may feel left behind, frustrated or overwhelmed. These feelings are enhanced if you can see that everyone else has finished.

The time we require to complete an Arabic to English translation, or an Arabic writing task, will vary from person to person. Those who were born Muslim and brought up recognising Arabic symbols may be more comfortable. The reading aspect is not as challenging and they can fit pieces together like a puzzle.

Think of a puzzle board game. Some puzzles have ten pieces in them, and others have one thousand. A convert is completing the same puzzle as the born-Muslim, but with one thousand pieces instead of ten. This is nothing to do with intelligence, nor is it related to ability. In fact, through this detailed study and extensive time, converts may even overtake their born-Muslim peers when it comes to studying Arabic. It requires sheer determination to complete the task. A born-Muslim might be used to 'coasting', so when the content gets a bit more difficult, and they have say, one hundred pieces in their puzzle task or perhaps four hundred, they give up. They might decide it's too difficult and give into shaytān's whispers.

Something I've observed that really, really upsets me is when a person teaching/instructing fails to recognise how much effort a person has put into their work. If a person spends twice as long on the homework as the average student, you should spend twice as long giving them feedback. You should give them double your attention. This is also why 100% on a test (i.e. puzzle) is not the same for each student. Someone who is from an Arab background may get 100% without as much effort as someone from England or Pakistan. Some people are older and need more time to get the same result, or a result they are satisfied with. Some people have SEND challenges.

I will give a scenario, based on a real incident. A homework task was given: Translate this 1200 word Arabic text into English, focusing on the quality of your translation. Ensure that the English flows smoothly and doesn't feel awkward, the way some literal translations do. The time period given was one week. Some people spent three hours on the homework, others finished it within two hours. But one person spent twenty-one hours working on it. She barely slept. She worked so incredibly hard to make sure every word was perfect. When she handed it in, the teacher spoke with her for a few minutes but provided no real feedback. He skimmed through her ten or twelve page document and said, "it's very good". She wanted more. She wanted to know what she could do to improve. This put her off completing more work for the same person.

If you're an instructor, you should notice how long a person spends working. You absolutely must match your efforts to theirs. One of the benefits we extract from Sūrat ʿAbasa is to give time to those who are keen to learn from you. I'll keep office-hours for the majority of the class, but for some people, any time of day or night, they'll have a response from me. I see their efforts and I can't reply later.

A teenage daughter told me, ❝We catch mum on her laptop in the mornings, doing your homework...❞

This image has imprinted itself firmly in my mind. Her effort may be far higher than others. Therefore, my effort needs to reflect this.

Allāh grant us tawfīq and barakah.