Questioning in Religious Education
Abraham, who was one of the Ulul-Azm messengers (arch prophets) of God, strived hard for educating the people of his time.
Among the methods he used was question and answer. He employed it to convince disbelievers.
He tried to convey to the unbelievers the fact that God must have two fundamental qualities in order to be called God, otherwise He would not be worthy of worship: He must be alive, and He must be aware of human needs.
The people of that time were idolaters. They worshiped idols that they made with their own hands. One day, when the people went out of town for a ritual, Abraham went to the idol house. He took an axe and broke every one of the idols except the big one. He then left the axe hanging around the neck of the largest idol.
When the people returned, they saw what had happened and realized that Abraham had done it.
They asked him if he had destroyed the idols. Abraham took the opportunity to teach them a lesson.
He used reasoning and logic and invalidated all of their questions with one question: “He replied, ‘I think the biggest among them has broken the smaller ones. Ask them if they are able to speak.” (Verse 63 of Surah Al-Anbiya)
Therefore, he raised questions in their minds that turned their mental structure upside down:
1- If this idol is God, why can't it speak?
2- Why can't it defend itself and say that it hasn't destroyed other idols?
3- It is not alive and shows no reaction to what happens around it. How can it fulfill the needs of people?
With one sentence, Abraham (AS) challenged their weak reasoning and made them realize they were wrong. Although they realized the truth, they refused to believe and insisted on remaining on the wrong path.
One of the most important things a teacher does is to ask students deep questions to make them think. By thinking deeply about a subject, they learn about other aspects of that subject and move toward lofty goals.
