بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
In the story
of Musa in Surah Al Kahf, we should be inspired to seek knowledge. Knowledge
will bring us closer to Allah. Prophet Musa (peace upon him) has a distinct
position in the comity of prophets. This has been mentioned explicitly in the
Quran and Sunnah. The special distinction of having conversed with Allah is his
hallmark. Allah had blessed Musa (peace be upon him) with an intense desire to
seek knowledge. As soon as he smell the scent of knowledge elsewhere too, he was
all set to go for it, traveling like an ardent student and it was Allah Himself
that he turned to for the address of that servant of His, al-Khidr.
وَإِذْ قَالَ
مُوسَىٰ لِفَتَاهُ لَا أَبْرَحُ حَتَّىٰ أَبْلُغَ مَجْمَعَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ أَوْ
أَمْضِيَ حُقُبًا ﴿٦٠
And [mention] when Musa to his servant, "I will not cease
[traveling] until I reach the junction of the two seas or continue for a long
period." (60) [Quran, Al-Kahf 18:60]
Allah will raise the ranks of those who
have Imaan and also those who have knowledge by degrees.
يَرْفَعِ اللَّـهُ
الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ ۚ وَاللَّـهُ
بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ ﴿١١ ....
... Allah will raise those who have believed
among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees. And Allah is
Acquainted with what you do. [Quran, Al Mujadila 58:11]
Of the ways to increase
our chances to get not only into Paradise but to get to a high place of Paradise
is to study the beautiful sciences of Islam, the knowledge of our shariah because
it is that knowledge that will help us draw closer to Allah. We will be able to
worship Allah upon knowledge that is based in the heart. Our actions of worship
will no longer be monotonous rituals but rather based on a type of knowledge
that bring about its own spirituality and its own joy. We will worship knowing
who we are worshipping and how to worship Him.
There so many blessings to knowledge.
When Allah created this new creation called human being and told the angels
that, the angels were very concerned.
وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ
إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً ۖ قَالُوا أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ
فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَاءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۖ
قَالَ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٣٠
And [mention, O Muhammad], when
your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive
authority." They said, "Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein
and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?" Allah said,
"Indeed, I know that which you do not know." [Quran, Al Baqarah 2:30]
Allah
wanted to pefer Adam who was made of clay over the angels who were created from
light. How did Allah show that preference?. Allah preferred Adam via the medium
of knowledge. He taught Adam language and speech even the angels did not know.
By giving Adam knowledge, the angels understood truly Allah has blessed that
entity over them.
وَعَلَّمَ آدَمَ الْأَسْمَاءَ كُلَّهَا ثُمَّ عَرَضَهُمْ عَلَى
الْمَلَائِكَةِ فَقَالَ أَنبِئُونِي بِأَسْمَاءِ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ إِن كُنتُمْ
صَادِقِينَ ﴿٣١﴾ قَالُوا سُبْحَانَكَ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَا إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا ۖ
إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ ﴿٣٢
And He taught Adam the names - all of
them. Then He showed them to the angels and said, "Inform Me of the names of
these, if you are truthful." (31) They said, "Exalted are You; we have no
knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You who is the Knowing,
the Wise." (32) [Quran, Al Baqarah 2:32]
Allah metions in the Quran that it is
the people of knowledge who understand the Quran and worship Allah properly and
has true fear of Allah.
وَتِلْكَ الْأَمْثَالُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ ۖ وَمَا
يَعْقِلُهَا إِلَّا الْعَالِمُونَ ﴿٤٣
And these examples We present to the
people, but none will understand them except those of knowledge. (43) [Quran, Al
Ankabut 29:43]
Allah reminds us in the Quran that true knowledge will bring
about a fear of Allah and a perception of who Allah is and why we worship Allah.
The only people who have the genuine fear of Allah that is based from the heart
and that is based upon knowledge are people of knowledge.
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ
وَالدَّوَابِّ وَالْأَنْعَامِ مُخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوَانُهُ كَذَٰلِكَ ۗ إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى
اللَّـهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ عَزِيزٌ غَفُورٌ ﴿٢٨
And
among people and moving creatures and grazing livestock are various colors
similarly. Only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge.
Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Forgiving. [Quran, Fatir 35:28]
It is the
people of knowledge who can see through shallow slogans and issues that others might
not see through. They are not deceived by the outer shells. They are able to see
through the waves that go through humanity. It is the people of knowledge who
are rise above those fads that come and go. This is best demonstrated in the
story of Qarun as mentioned in the Quran.
Qarun was blessed with abundant wealth
but he was arrogant, boastful, evil overall. The peole saw his wealth and were
salivating and wishing that they could have what Qarun had been given. But the people of
knowledge reminded them of the reward of Allah is better for those with Imaan and the righteous.
فَخَرَجَ عَلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ فِي زِينَتِهِ ۖ قَالَ
الَّذِينَ يُرِيدُونَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا يَا لَيْتَ لَنَا مِثْلَ مَا أُوتِيَ
قَارُونُ إِنَّهُ لَذُو حَظٍّ عَظِيمٍ ﴿٧٩﴾ وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ
وَيْلَكُمْ ثَوَابُ اللَّـهِ خَيْرٌ لِّمَنْ آمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا وَلَا
يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا الصَّابِرُونَ ﴿٨٠
So he came out before his people in his
adornment. Those who desired the worldly life said, "Oh, would that we had like
what was given to Qarun. Indeed, he is one of great fortune." (79) But those who
had been given knowledge said, "Woe to you! The reward of Allah is better for he
who believes and does righteousness. And none are granted it except the
patient." (80) [Quran, Al Qasas 28:79-80]
The point is that the people of
knowledge see what others can’t see. They stand above the crowd. That's why the
Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said,
"The scholars are the inheritors of the
prophets (peace be on them). The prophets (peace be on them) do not leave behind
gold coins nor silver coins. They only leave behind knowledge, so whoever takes
hold of it has taken an ample share." [Abu Dawood]
Everyone can become the
richest person on earth through the legacy of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi
wasallam, by studying knowledge. That’s why in the entire Quran there is
only one du'a that Allah told our Prophet sallalllahu alayhi wasallam to say,
that is to ask Allah to increase something he already has.
فَتَعَالَى اللَّـهُ
الْمَلِكُ الْحَقُّ ۗ وَلَا تَعْجَلْ بِالْقُرْآنِ مِن قَبْلِ أَن يُقْضَىٰ
إِلَيْكَ وَحْيُهُ ۖ وَقُل رَّبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا ﴿١١٤
So high [above all] is
Allah, the Sovereign, the Truth. And, [O Muhammad], do not hasten with
[recitation of] the Qur'an before its revelation is completed to you, and say,
"My Lord, increase me in knowledge." [Quran, Ta-ha 20:114]
Therefore knowledge is
one of the best and easiest way to come close to Allah. In fact the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wasallam said,
"Whoever follows a path in the pursuit of
knowledge, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise. The angels lower
their wings in approval of the seeker of knowledge, and everyone in the heavens
and on earth prays for forgiveness for the seeker of knowledge, even the fish in
the sea. The superiority of the scholar over the worshipper is like the
superiority of the moon above all other heavenly bodies. The scholars are the
heirs of the Prophets, for the Prophets did not leave behind a Dinar or Dirham,
rather they left behind knowledge, so whoever takes it has taken a great
share.'"
One scholar is like the moon and all the worshippers together is not
equal to the moon. One moon eclipses all the stars. A worshipper only benefits
himself at the end of day, which is good and he is a star. But a scholar comes
and change the course of the society. Look at Imam al Bukhari, Imam Abu Hanifa,
Imam Malik, and the others. Who remembers the billionaires, the khalifah, the
politicians and the princes and princesses of their time? They all had gone in
the dustbins of history. But every Muslims on earth know the names of these Imams
and all other scholars like them because the impact they brought is something
cannot be purchased for all the power and money in this world.
Therefore always
be eager to seek knowledge. Let no day of your life go by except you learn
something about this religion of islam. These days there is so much ease to
access knowledge. You don't have to become a scholar but you don't remain a
jaahil (ignorant). Learn and become a student of knowledge. This is a middle
category. Listen to lectures, start reading some basic books, start associating
with your local circles of knowledge. With the internet you can fnd so many teachers
out there who are willing to teach. Learn something new everyday. You will
be surprised of how quickly you will learn, by leap and bounds, and every little
bit of knowledge that you gain you will see how it will impact you in a positive
manner.
May Allah increase us in knowledge. Aameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala
Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most
Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
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