Beating children to learn

Respected scholars, as-salamu`alaykum.

Is there any sahih (authentic) hadith stating that a person can beat children to learn?
Jazakum Allahu Khayran.


Name of Mufti answering: Ahmad Kutty
Wa`alaykum as-salamuwa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.Dear sister in Islam, we really appreciate your seeking knowledge of the teachings of your religion and humbly pray to Allah to help us serve His religion and meet the expectations of our audience.

For many reasons, often unacceptable ones, children suffer at the hands of adults. A remarkable pretext for their verbal and/or physical abuse is to teach and educate them. Instead of looking for the reasons as to why he fails to educate a particular child, the teacher simply pours his venomous anger upon the poor little creature. Such a belligerent attitude can never be justified or sought evidence for in the sublime teachings of Islam.

Answering your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario , Canada . said:

There is no such hadith that is considered as authentic. Furthermore, teaching through corporeal punishment was never the method followed by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
It is well-known that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was recognized as the best of teachers by his Companions: he taught men and women, and young and old. He did so primarily through role modeling and practical examples.

We learn from `A’ishah, his beloved wife, and mother of the faithful, “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never struck anyone with his hands: neither a man, or a woman, or a servant, or anyone else for that matter...”

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was known for his extreme gentleness, tolerance, and humor as a teacher; he never used threats or condemnation to correct anyone: Anas, who worked for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for ten years to do errands for him, said, “I served Allah’s Messenger for ten years; yet not even once did he condemn me for anything I failed to do or a mistake I made...”

In conclusion, we should never use beating as a method of teaching our children; we should, rather, use effective methods of teaching as demonstrated by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who is our perfect role model. I suggest you better get hold of the excellent work on the Prophetic manners by Imam al-Bukhari, which is available in English under the title: Imam Bukhari's Book of Muslim Morals and Manners translated by Yusuf Talal Delorenzo.

source: www.islamonline.net