21/11/2025
A Moment of Counselling
I wanted to share an incident from my lively Grade 5 class — the kind of class full of energy, shifting chairs, unstoppable whispers, and those mischievous smiles that never fail to keep us alert. 😄
Yesterday, a group of students came to me together, genuinely upset, complaining that a boy had been making bad names of them and constantly hurting their feelings. Their emotions were intense, and calming them down was not easy. I assured them I understood their pain and would handle him myself, but as you know, Grade 5 emotions are not equipped with a slow or quiet mode.
Now, the boy they complained about…
He is genuinely very innocent and cute. To be honest, whenever I see him, I naturally feel lovely feelings because of his innocent face and his little tricks. He is always smiling. So having a soft corner for him in my heart, I called him with a surprised expression and told him gently, “I did not expect this behaviour from you.”
And yes — I expressed a little extra sadness, intentionally acting, just to make him realise the seriousness. Immediately, he softened, and he almost became emotional.
I recited the verse from Surah Al-Hujuraat to him:
﴿وَلَا تَنَابَزُوا بِالْأَلْقَابِ ۚ بِئْسَ الِاسْمُ الْفُسُوقُ بَعْدَ الْإِيمَانِ﴾
Translation: “And do not insult one another with nicknames. How evil is such a name (derived from) disobedience after one has believed.”
Then I explained the consequences of such behaviour on our personality.
I told him that whenever we taunt someone, make bad names, bad-mouth, or make fun of others, it affects our faces. The noor slowly vanishes. People start disliking us. Nobody wants to sit with us. And as a result, we lose friendships, relationships, trust, and even the love of our close ones.
Now here’s the interesting part —
My otherwise extremely hyper, action-packed Grade 5 class suddenly became as silent as a screen frozen on 1% battery.
All eyes were on us. They were actually listening.
But the moment I finished…
Their calmness cracked open again:
“Sir, he is STILL wrong!”
And the protest restarted in full volume. 😄
So then I shifted to counselling them.
I told them that if we don’t forgive someone, we only make him worse. If the whole class gangs up, mocks him, or taunts him, then we become the reason he turns bitter. I shared the central jail example — how a young criminal goes in and comes out a monster because of the harsh environment, constant taunting, and bullying.
I reminded them that this is not who we should be.
Our role is counselling and tarbiyah, considering these students as our own children, helping them grow with kindness, not pushing them into bitterness.
With younger students, sometimes one sincere talk — mixed with a little humour and a little drama — works far better than any punishment ever could. Especially when our purpose is their tarbiyah, their emotional growth, and treating them with the compassion we would offer our own children.
May Allah make us among the forgiving ones. Aameen.
Sharing this as a reminder of how much influence our gentleness and wisdom can have inside an energetic, unpredictable, but beautiful classroom.
Thank you for reading this till the end. 🙂
Waqas Ahmed Shah
History Teacher
The Intellect School
21-11-25
