بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Religion is only preserved through knowledge, particularly Islam.
In the Qur'an, Allah Almighty states that prophets are obliged to deliver His messages and describes prophets as an "instructor and trainer:
لَقَدْ مَنَّ ٱللَّهُ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ يَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَإِن كَانُوا۟ مِن قَبْلُ لَفِى ضَلَـٰلٍ مُّبِينٍ ﴿١٦٤
Certainly did Allah confer [great] favor upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom, although they had been before in manifest error. (164)
[Qur'an, AleImran 3:164]
هُوَ ٱلَّذِى بَعَثَ فِى ٱلْأُمِّيِّـۧنَ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَإِن كَانُوا۟ مِن قَبْلُ لَفِى ضَلَـٰلٍ مُّبِينٍ ﴿٢
It is He who has sent among the unlettered a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom - although they were before in clear error - (2)[Qur'an, Al-Jumu'ah 62:2]
These verses tell us that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was a teacher assigned the duty of delivering the message of Allah.
Indeed, the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) himself emphasized that his primary duty as a Prophet was to teach by saying, "I have been sent only as a teacher to you." To explain his duty he also said, "I have been sent only to complete moral virtues."
In this sense, the duty of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was to reach and communicate with people and carry out educational activities.
Certainly the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was not alone in carrying out the educational activities which would encompass all humanity alone. Just as it was not possible for him to reach everyone and everywhere, it was not possible for him to reach everyone in exactly the same way. Therefore, he worked on educating people with his Companions. Every Muslim was responsible for learning the religion and teaching what he learned to others. So every Muslim was a student and a teacher at the same time within the limit of his opportunities and capabilities.
Many Muslims today, unfortunately, don't pray, don't fast, don't do ghusl (ritual bath), eat like non-Muslims, wear like non-Muslims, named their children by European names, etc. There is a great danger that after a few decades their children will not identify themselves as Muslims except that they will say, "My grandparents were Muslims." We have seen so many examples of that. Don't let that happen to you and your family.
Moreover, history tells us that there were many parts of the world where Islam once predominated but had died out. Why? Because Islamic knowledge was not taught and if it was taught, it was not taught properly.
The first branch of knowledge to be taken away from the ummah is knowledge of inheritance. The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), said: “Learn inheritance and teach it for it is half the knowledge and it will be forgotten, and it is the first thing to be ripped from my Ummah” (Ibn Majah 2710).
This is happening now. Students of knowledge either shy away from learning inheritance law or they couldn't find qualified teachers to teach them the inheritance law. And even well known Islamic colleges and universities don't put much emphasis in teaching inheritance law. If you survey the graduates in Islamic studies, you will find that most of them don't even understand the basics of the Islamic inheritance law.
He (Allah bless him and grant him peace) also said: “Learn inheritance and teach it to people for I am a mortal being and knowledge will decrease until two people would differ among themselves over inheritance, but wouldn’t find an arbitrator” (al Nisa’i 6305).
Look around you. You will see the truth of the Prophet’s statement — families divided over property, children hurt over parental preference in wills, siblings no longer on speaking terms with each other.
It is very critical for the preservation of Islam that there be a preservation of Islamic knowledge and teaching and to connect Islamic knowledge with the communities of believers.
We have to continue the Prophet's mission and tradition (Allah bless him and grant him peace). We must acquire Islamic knowledge and impart that knowledge.
It was said that Umar said (in the meaning of), if you want to have play, play archery, if you want to speak, speak about mirath (inheritance).
May Allah strengthen our iman, teach us His knowledge and help us teach others, and grant us tawfiq to practice what we know and spread His Deen. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Related Archive
Forgotten Knowledge
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