14. Ibrahim/Prophet Abraham
I/We begin by the Blessed Name of Allah
The Immensely Merciful to all, The Infinitely Compassionate to everyone.
14:01
Alif. Lam. Ra’.
This is the Divine Book - The Qur’an - WE have sent it down upon you - O The Prophet-
so that you may lead people out of the darkness into the light by the Permission of their Rabb - The Lord,
onto the Path of the Almighty, the All-Praised ….
14:02
…. Allah, to WHOM belongs whatever is within the celestial realm and whatever is within the terrestrial world.
Are you going to reject it?
Do not forget that for those who reject it, there is a doom of a terrible punishment.
14:03
Those who love the life of this world more than the life of the Hereafter,
and obstruct the Path of Allah, seeking to make it appear crooked and faulty-
they are far straying from the truth.
14:04
And WE never assigned any Messenger to a community with a message except in the language and idiom of his people, so that he could make the Message clear to them.
But despite this Allah lets go astray whoever wills to go astray, and HE guides whoever wills to be guided.
And HE is the Almighty, the All-Wise.
14:05
And, indeed, WE assigned Moses with OUR Miraculous Signs to Pharaoh, instructing:
‘Lead your people – Descendants of Jacob - out of the darkness into the light, and
remind them of Allah’s Days.
Truly in that are messages for every steadfast in adversity and grateful’ person.
14:06
And recall when Moses said to his people:
‘Remember Allah’s favors...
Many assume that people who have grown up do not have the opportunity to memorize the Qur'an because of the difficulties that will be faced in the process of memorizing it rather than in childhood. This research aims to find out (1) the application of the takrir method in Ponpes Matholib As-Suluk. (2) factors that affect students' ability to memorize by takrir method, (3) the quality of memorization of the holy verse of the Qur'an using the takrir method. This study uses descriptive qualitative methods. Through the technique of interviewing, observation and documentation studies, several findings were obtained: (1) the application of the takrir method in Ponpes Matholib As-Suluk was applied through the repetition of santri memorization in four ways: individual takrir, collective takrir with friends, takrir with teachers, and takrir at prayer time; (2) there are 2 factors that affect the application of takrir methods: internal (santri mood) and external factors (pesantren environmental support); and (3) the application of this method succeeded in improving the quality of santri memorization because the students were able to improve their memorization quite quickly and they were also able to reread verses and surahs that had been memorized quite smoothly.
Teacher empowerment emerged as a strategy for school reforms in the mid-1980s as a result of falling state of education standard in the USA. However, it is not given due importance nor is implemented in the developing countries because of the centralized education system. The decisions are made at the higher level and teachers' voice is left out from the curriculum development, policy formation and school management despite the fact that teachers are the main pillars in restructuring the school and student learning. A phenomenological study was conducted in Karachi, Pakistan to explore the lived experiences of the principal, head teachers and teachers regarding the effects of teacher empowerment strategies on teachers' motivation. A qualitative inquiry was used to seek information from three private secondary schools which are working under one system. The sample size included one principal, three head teachers and twelve teachers who are holding some leadership positions in the schools. The process of data collection was done through semi- structured interviews, focused group discussions and document analysis. The study found that teacher empowerment is an important element in school improvement. The stakeholders (principal, head teachers, teachers) in the schools understand teacher empowerment as involvement in decision making, problem solving, taking and fulfilling their responsibilities in their schools. It was also found that the principal plays a crucial role in implementing teacher empowerment in schools while involving teachers in the schools' management. Empowerment builds the leadership skills and professional competencies of teachers when they are provided with opportunities to be part of the school management. Teacher empowerment also increases teachers' job satisfaction, teachers' self-efficacy and professionalism which becomes a motivating factor for them to stay and give their best in their profession. However, challenges were also faced by the principal and teachers in executing teacher empowerment such as lack of resources, disagreement in opinions, repetitive professional development trainings, domestic issues etc. The study recommended that policy makers, teacher educators and school leaders should promote teacher empowerment, so that their voices can be included in educational affairs. Also teachers networking should be extended so that they learn from each other and share their ideas to improve the process of teaching and learning.