Personal Development
Personal Development is the translation of the Arabic word “Tarbiya” that linguistically means the increase, growth, and loftiness. Conventionally, Personal Development means the development and the training of people in various aspects. The word is commonly used to describe children upbringing as the parents provide them with physical, educational, moral and spiritual needs to help them grow up and become useful parties in the society.
In MAS terminology, Personal Development means the systematic development and training of human resources conforming to Islamic guidelines and standards. This means that the goals that the process is supposed to achieve in individuals conform to Islamic teachings and the means used to establish such goals are Islamic or Islamic compliant means. In MAS, all members are subject to this comprehensive way of development and training in all aspects such as physical, educational, moral, and spiritual aspects. The Personal Development process exceeds the level of individuals to the level of the group trying to establish team spirit that Islam teaches such as love, brotherhood, and mutual trust.
At MAS, the Personal Development process is considered the most important process and the Tarbiya department is one of the permanent departments in the national organization. This belief traces its origin to the teachings of Prophet Mohamed as he -peace be upon him- invested a lot of effort in leading his companions through the tarbiya process. As a result of his effort, he not only left a great message, but also left a great generation that carried the message and conveyed it to most of the known world, bringing the light from Islamic teachings to much of humanity. As one great leader, Hassan Al-Banna said, “Whenever you find a good Muslim you find with him all means for great success.”
MAS delivers a rigorous educational curriculum to its current and potential members that focuses on the systematic development of the Muslim individual, the Muslim family and the Muslim community.
For more information, please contact: tarbiya@MASUrbana-Champaign.org.