Tips to maximize our reward (ajar) during the last days of school

Dear Teacher,

It has been a long year of planning, teaching, redirecting, and grading. Summer is tantalizingly close yet seems so far away! You are tired, stressed, and ready to “coast” or even thinking about throwing in the towel! But wait, not yet! The last days of school are absolutely crucial in ensuring that our hard work bears the most fruit.

I will focus on two main reasons why we need to pay attention to what we do as the school year comes to a close:

1. Deeds are judged by how they end

One may run an amazing race but most races are judged by how they end. We may have enjoyed the different plays during a game but the ending usually colors our final perception of the game. Our beloved Prophet Muhamamd ﷺ would remind his companions about the importance of the endings of deeds by saying,

…وَإِنَّمَا الأَعْمَالُ بِخَوَاتِيمِهَا
“…and verily, the (results of) deeds done, depend upon the last actions.”¹

This saying is part of a much larger hadith where the Prophet ﷺ declared a man to be from the dwellers of hell even though he was fighting bravely on the battlefield because he ended up committing suicide upon being injured.

Allah ﷻ too judges deeds according to their endings. Therefore, it is extremely important that we pay attention to how we end the school year if we want to preserve our reward with Allah ﷻ.

2. Last impressions are most remembered

Much like a sour bite at the end of a sweet dessert can skew our opinion about the dessert, students will judge the year by how it ends. This is known as the peak-end rule, a heuristic where we judge an experience based on how we feel at its peak and/or at its end rather than on the totality of the experience.

Kahneman and his colleagues provided evidence to the peak-end rule in a study where participants were subjected to two different versions of an unpleasant experience.² In the first trial participants were asked to submerge their hands in 14 degrees celsius water for 60 seconds and in the second trial they were asked to submerge the other hand in 14 degrees celsius water for 60 seconds and for an additional 30 seconds during which the water temperature was raised to 15 degrees celsius. Subjects were more willing to repeat the second trial when asked which trial they wanted to repeat. From this and other similar studies, Kahneman et al. concluded that subjects opted for the second trial simply because they liked the memory of it better or disliked it less than the alternative.

Emotionally charged last impressions

Another aspect of the peak-end rule posits that people better remember more intensely emotional events than less intensely emotional events. An emotional and good ending to a school year will influence students to reconsider even their negative experiences during the year in a positive light or at least dismiss them as irrelevant. If we want students to cherish, remember and perhaps even practice what we taught them it is imperative that we leave them with an emotionally charged good impression of the school year.

So here are some tips to maximize our ajar during the last days of school:

Tip 1: Renew our intentions

Remind ourselves why we are here. Why are we working in an Islamic school? What is the purpose? Is it to please Allah ﷻ and an expression of our devotion to Him OR is it a career choice? Do we hope that through this Allah ﷻ will have mercy on us and will bless us with jannah OR are we seeking the praise of people or some other worldly gain? We are here because we want to serve Allah ﷻ by serving others OR is it to help ourselves?

Most of us know the famous hadith on intentions where the Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said:

إنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى، فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ فَهِجْرَتُهُ إلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ، وَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ لِدُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا أَوْ امْرَأَةٍ يَنْكِحُهَا فَهِجْرَتُهُ إلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إلَيْهِ

Actions are according to intentions, and everyone will get what was intended. Whoever migrates with an intention for Allah and His messenger, the migration will be for the sake of Allah and his Messenger. And whoever migrates for worldly gain or to marry a woman, then his migration will be for the sake of whatever he migrated for.³

Sincere intentions are like a catalyst that can render the most insignificant deeds into sources of great ajar and without them even the most admirable deeds can be rendered worthless. The reward for deeds done with pure intentions is limitless.

Pure intentions bring peace of mind

Pure intentions make us steadfast and bring us peace of mind. This is especially the case when the going becomes difficult, as it usually does during the end of a school year. The reward for our efforts is preserved with Allah ﷻ no matter the outcome if our intention is sincerely for the sake of Allah and we have put in the proper effort. This understanding helps us to remain steadfast and not to become devastated by unexpected results.

Maintaining sincere intentions requires continuous effort. One may start with pure intentions but then a variety of factors may pollute our intentions. That’s why it was the habit of the pious to renew their intentions before, during, and after doing something. One of the duas of the Prophet ﷺ that can help us maintain the sincerity of our intentions is:

اللهم مصرف القلوب صرف قلوبنا على طاعتك

O Allah! Controller of the hearts, direct our hearts to Your obedience.⁴

Tip 2: Be humble and seek Allah’s forgiveness

As Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ mission was coming to an end, Allah ﷻ revealed to him ﷺ Surah An-Nasr in which He ﷻ says:

بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
إِذَا جَآءَ نَصۡرُ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡفَتۡحُ (١) وَرَأَيۡتَ ٱلنَّاسَ يَدۡخُلُونَ فِى دِينِ ٱللَّهِ أَفۡوَاجً۬ا (٢) فَسَبِّحۡ بِحَمۡدِ رَبِّكَ وَٱسۡتَغۡفِرۡهُ‌ۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ ڪَانَ تَوَّابَۢا (٣)

In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. 1. When there comes Allah’s victory, and conquest. 2. And you see the people entering Allah’s religion in multitudes. 3. Then celebrate the praise of your Lord, and seek His forgiveness. He is the Acceptor of Repentance.⁵

In fact Abdullah ibn Abbas (ra) states that this is the last complete Surah of the Quran to be revealed to the Prophet ﷺ.⁶ In it Allah ﷻ enjoined His beloved ﷺ to busy himself in praising and glorifying Allah ﷻ by Whose bounties and help he had been able to achieve such a great victory and that he ﷺ should beseech Allah’s forgiveness in whatever failings and weaknesses he may have shown in the performance of his mission. None of us can match the Prophet ﷺ in terms of his sincerity, commitment, and hard work and who was protected from Shaytan by Allah ﷻ. What about us?

Be humble

People tend to boast and brag about their successes attributing them to their own excellence. By praising Allah, we remind ourselves that all success is solely due to Allah’s favor and mercy. Allah has many soldiers and He could have blessed others with this work but He ﷻ chose us. Accordingly, we must humble ourselves and increase Allah’s praise as the school year comes to a close. We should remind ourselves and each other of this and the school halls and rooms should reverberate with the praise of Allah ﷻ during the last days of school.

Seek Allah’s forgiveness

The thought may also come at the end of a successful school year that we have fulfilled Allah’s rights on us with our “superb” efforts and abilities and this is enough for us to get into jannah. This is how shaytan traps those he is unable to dissuade from doing good. We can never fulfill Allah’s rights over us even if we were to live a thousand lifetimes of perfect servitude to Him ﷻ! Therefore, the mindset of a believer is that of seeking Allah’s forgiveness while reflecting on one’s own weaknesses and missed opportunities where we could have done better.

It is this etiquette of humility and seeking forgiveness that we must inculcate in ourselves and our students. An expression of this is to remain open to feedback from others. End of year student and parent surveys can provide insights into our efforts that can be humbling while at the same time help us identify areas of growth. This is also an opportunity for us to train students in the art of providing constructive feedback in a mutually respectful manner, an important skill to have in the consumer driven societies we live in.

Many frustrations come to the surface as the end of the school year approaches and complaints come more easily to our tongues. It is important to remember that a complaint, unlike constructive feedback, comes from a place of ungratefulness where the blessings we enjoy are not taken into consideration. As such, complaints are not only effective in realizing the change we are seeking but can also diminish our reward with Allah ﷻ. Use this End of Year Report template to make sure your concerns are communicated in a constructive manner.

Tip 3: End on positive relationships

Positive relationships for teachers are important for two main reasons: 1. Positive student-teacher relationships have been identified with high academic success and as a means through which students feel more confident and engaged in academics.⁷ 2. The reward for our deeds is directly tied to how we treat others.

“Do you know who is a muflis?”

Once the Prophet ﷺ asked his companions, “Do you know who is a muflis (bankrupt)?”⁸ The companions responded that a muflis is someone who doesn’t have neither dirham (money) nor wealth. Then the Prophet ﷺ corrected them by saying that a muflis from my ummah is someone who would come on the Day of Resurrection with prayers, fasts, and zakah but would find himself without any reward since he had insulted someone, falsely accused so and so, eaten someone’s wealth, spilt someone’s blood, and struck someone. His virtues will be credited to those who suffered at his hands. And if his good deeds fall short of clearing what he owes to others then their sins would be entered into his account until he is thrown into the Fire.

We intuitively know the power of relationships and work very hard throughout the year to build positive relationships with our students, parents, and other stakeholders. But tensions and conflicts are inevitable and unavoidable. Sometimes we may unknowingly hurt others in our zeal to get the point across or redirect one of our students in a manner that hurts them. It is important that we make amends with those whom we may have hurt knowingly or unknowingly not only to ensure an optimal academic learning environment but also to secure the reward from Allah ﷻ.

Making amends

End of year celebrations are an excellent opportunity to make amends. A gift, a card, a hug, or a kind word given at the right moment can heal and mend relationships like no other. Teachers can set up opportunities in the form of end of year class parties where students have the opportunity to say a kind word or exchange kind notes. Award ceremonies and graduations are excellent opportunities for teachers to recognize and acknowledge something positive about their students. Principals and school leaders should also organize staff appreciation events where staff have the opportunity to do the same. One thing that has always worked well for me is to have staff anonymously submit something positive about a colleague of theirs that made a positive impact on them. I would then share those messages at an end of year staff meeting as a way to recognize them. You can always share your own words of kindness for those staff that may not have received any positive feedback from their colleagues and since all comments were submitted anonymously, no one is the wiser!

Tip 4: Tie up any loose ends

Do your best to tie up any loose ends and leave things organized as much as possible not only to ensure a smoother start in Fall but also because Allah has prescribed ihsan (excellence) in everything that we do.⁹ This End of year checklists can help us to make sure that we minimize any loose ends.

There are many more ways to maximize and preserve our reward as the school year comes to an end. If you have any related tips then please do share in the comments!

I ask Allah ﷻ to help all of us to end the school year successfully, on a positive note, to accept our efforts and to reward us immeasurably. I end with this beautiful dua of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (ra):

اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ خَيْرَ زَمَانِيْ آخِرَهُ، وَخَيْرَ عَمَلِيْ خَوَاتِمَهُ، وَخَيْرَ أَيَّامِيْ يِوْمَ أَلقَاكَ

O Allah, let the best of my lifetime be its ending, and my best deed be that which I seal [my life with], and the best of my days the day I meet You.¹⁰

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References

1. al-Bukhari, M. (n.d.). Sahih al-Bukhari: Hadith 6493. Sunnah.Com. Retrieved June 7, 2023, from https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6493
2. Kahneman, D., Fredrickson, B. L., Schreiber, C. A., & Redelmeier, D. A. (1993). When more pain is preferred to less: Adding a Better End. Psychological Science, 4(6), 401–405. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1993.tb00589.x
3. Hadith 1: Actions are by intentions. (n.d.-a). 40HadithNawawi.Com. Retrieved June 9, 2023, from https://40hadithnawawi.com/hadith/undefined
4. Sahih Muslim: Hadith 1470. (n.d.). Sunnah.Com. Retrieved June 9, 2023, from https://sunnah.com/riyadussalihin:1470
5. Itani, T. (n.d.). Quran in English—Clear and Easy to Read. Retrieved May 28, 2023, from https://www.clearquran.com
6. Maududi, S. A. A. (1988). An-Nasr: Tafhim ul Quran. In Z. I. Ansari (Trans.), Towards Understanding the Quran-English translation of Tafheem ul Quran. The Islamic Foundation. https://islamicstudies.info/tafheem.php?sura=73&verse=1&to=20
7. Zee, M., Rudasill, K. M., & Bosman, R. J. (2021). A cross-lagged study of students’ motivation, academic achievement, and relationships with teachers from kindergarten to 6th grade. Journal of Educational Psychology, 113(6), 1208–1226. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000574
8. Sahih Muslim: Hadith 2581. (n.d.). Sunnah.Com. Retrieved June 9, 2023, from https://sunnah.com/muslim:2581
9. Hadith 17: Prescription of Ihsan. (n.d.-b). 40HadithNawawi.Com. Retrieved June 10, 2023, from https://40hadithnawawi.com/hadith/undefined
10. Suleiman, O. (2018, May 17). Episode 1: The Best of My Days. Islamicity.Org. https://www.islamicity.org/15270/episode-1-the-best-of-my-days/