Islam’s message is all about kindness and mercy. The Quranic teachings emphasise understanding, reflection, and morality rather than oppression, coercion, and self-inflicted hardship. We can only find compassion, love, and patience in the blessed life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as an example of education and training. The Prophet (PBUH) said, “God is a friend who loves to be kind in all things.” “Indeed, Allah is kind and loves kindness in all things.”

Hazrat Anas bin Malik (RA) said that he worked for the Holy Prophet (PBUH) for eleven years and that during that time, the Prophet (PBUH) never yelled at, hit, or got mad at him. This is how we expect people to act. Unfortunately, some of our schools, especially religious seminaries (madrasas) and government schools, have events that go against what we teach.

For many years, I have been looking into this sensitive issue in the hopes of finding a complete way to make changes. Sadly, every year, many kids are sexually harassed, physically abused, and mentally tortured in both religious and government schools. Most of these events never get reported, and for those that do, justice is still a dream.

This problem affects more than just one part of society. Some Qari sahibs (teachers of the Quran) abuse children in some madrasas, and we also see teachers in government schools do terrible things.

The recent tragic event in Khwazakhela Chalyar, Swot, where a 14-year-old innocent student named Farhan died from alleged teacher violence, is not just a sad event but also a time for our whole education system to think about itself. After this happened, other students spoke up, and it also came to light that the teacher in question had a specific room where kids were regularly hurt.

The question now is: Why didn’t the parents or the madrasa staff know about this place of pain? Or if they did, did they keep quiet because they were scared or thought it was better for their kids’ self-respect, safety, and dignity?

This crime was not only the teacher’s fault, but also the fault of all the parents, students, and madrasa officials who stayed quiet about it for years. The people in the area are just as guilty of this crime because the violence would not have stopped after one day. It’s time to stop just feeling sorry, angry, and upset. We need reforms that work and are useful for everyone. Without them, we can’t protect children or keep the school system going.

Recommendations for Educational Reform and Child Protection

Wafaq-ul-Madaris or another reliable board must register all religious seminaries (madrasas) so that their performance, finances, curriculum, and discipline can be monitored. Madrasas should have a single complaint system that lets parents and students file complaints and get them fixed. This cell should have to listen to and deal with parents’ complaints in complete privacy.

Some Qari sahibs are under a lot of mental and emotional stress, or they are very set in their ways. For these people, training courses are very important. They learn how to teach children about Islam, how to train them, and how to keep their minds in balance.

There should also be a separate religious organisation that keeps an eye on the work and behaviour of Qari sahibs and religious teachers and takes action when people complain. Teacher training should be based on the way the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) taught. His patience, kindness, compassion, and behaviour should be shown as real-life examples.

In Malaysia, Turkey, and the UK, madrasas are not only places to learn about religion, but also places to learn about morals and how to get along with others. These countries make sure that teachers get regular training, that all teachers have the right educational qualifications, and that children’s rights are fully protected. This is because they have a strong and well-connected system of education and training that doesn’t allow any incompetent person to hold such a sacred position.

Another sad fact is that mental and psychological illnesses have become more common in our society. So, be careful when you pick someone to raise your kids; at the very least, make sure they are mentally stable. It’s also sad that a lot of parents send their kids to these places of pain.

A Call for Leadership and Action Right Now

I respectfully ask Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani Sahib Damat Barakatuh, a well-known, respected, and knowledgeable person in Pakistan, to step up and take charge through this writing. Due to a few unfortunate events, our religious seminaries, which have been trusted by the Ummah for centuries, are now being criticised and not trusted.

In this situation, you should lead a group of scholars who have been given the authority to understand how serious these issues are and come up with a clear, strong, and complete code of conduct. At the same time, lawmakers should suggest that if someone does immoral things while pretending to be a religious seminary or a religious person, their credentials should be taken away, and they should be brought under the Sharia and the law.

The major madrasas in academic and religious centres like Karachi also have a moral and Sharia duty to admit that these kinds of things happen in madrasas. All over the country and come up with practical, long-lasting, and effective ways to stop them. These problems are not only hurting Islam’s reputation, but they are also damaging the trust that people have had in scholars and madrasas for hundreds of years. My plea comes from a place of pain, and I hope that someone as smart as you will take this issue seriously and do something useful about it.