Let's Read Surah Kahf Today (Friday) -- Acquiring Beneficial Knowledge

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Islam is a treasure chest of wisdom totally relevant to our daily life. It is amazingly beautiful that Allah makes seeking knowledge an obligation upon every Muslim.

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “The seeking of knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim.” [At-Tirmidhi] What is meant by knowledge here is knowledge of shari’ah (Islamic knowledge). It is the knowledge of how a servant should behave with respect to his Lord. Al-Thawri said: “It is the knowledge for which no person has any excuse for not knowing.”

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: Allah, His angels and all those in Heavens and on Earth, even ants in their hills and fish in the water, call down blessings on those who instruct others in beneficial knowledge. [At-Tirmidhi]

This shows us the great excellence of the seekers of knowledge. For whoever sets right his intention in seeking knowledge and desires only Allah's pleasure, is on a road to salvation and happiness.

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, "Whoever goes down a path searching for knowledge, Allah will make it easy for him the road to Paradise." [Muslim]

If seeking knowledge is easy, then so many people would be doing it. The fact is that those who are on the path of knowledge are blessed but you need patience to keep going. So many people fell by the wayside because they don't have patience.

The story of Musa and Al-Khidr (peace be upon them) in Surah Kahf is teaching us patience in seeking knowledge. Thus, we are being reminded about this every week for those who follow the Sunnah of reading Surah Kahf every Friday and reflecting on the verses.

Musa (peace upon him) has a distinct position in the comity of prophets. This has been mentioned explicitly in the Qur'an, 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, knowledge that he did not have, 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]

Had it been the will of Allah that Musa should meet al-Khidr at that spot, He could have arranged that easily. Or, if Musa himself was Divinely destined to travel, he could have been given a clear address to help him reach it without any bother. But, what happened here was different. The address given to him was far from being precise - 'when you reach the place where the dead fish stirs and disappears, that will be the place you will find Our servant.

The address of al-Khidr was left imprecise in a manner that it would not remain easy to pinpoint it. Obviously, this too was nothing but a trial and test for Musa. As though this was not enough, when they had reached the exact spot but then they forgot the fish. This was yet another test. After having reached the projected destination, the fish came alive and disappeared into the sea. The reality had unfolded and the place was pinpointed. But, that was not the end. The seeker of knowledge had to undergo yet another test -- hunger and fatigue, and there is no food. When Musa finally saw Al-Khidr and followed him so he could learn from him, this was when he faced the most difficult test.

We should be constantly be acquiring knowledge. Knowledge is that reality whereby the unknown becomes known within us and it is knowledge and worship for which the reason Allah created the heavens and the earth. If this is the reason, every single one of us should have a great portion of it.

First, we should all understand what knowledge is. Second, we strive to seek it, and third, we should strive even further to make it a reality within ourselves. Knowledge is something great. If you give it all of yourself it will give you  part of it. If you give part of yourself, it won’t give you anything. This is the general principle. This is the Sunnah of Allah relating to knowledge. Seeking knowledge is not easy. You have to make sacrifices, which means you have to get out of your norm in order to attain knowledge. We all have gone through this to some degree. When test time, we stop everything, get sleep deprivation, we eat whatever it is  quickly so we can get back to study. Knowledge require a lot of exertion and effort to acquire it. 

All of that effort we put in to achieve knowledge, any type of knowledge especially religious knowledge, putting that knowledge into practice in a religious sense, making that knowledge a reality within ourselves, is even more difficult. Even though we learn, review and teach, there isn’t a sense of a special relationship to that knowledge. Knowledge doesn’t fully become a reality within us and we don’t really have true possession until we are living by it. So when we spend our time in learning we should also spend just as much time putting the knowledge we have into practice,  constantly seeking forgiveness from Allah for falling short in them. 

Not only do we need to seek knowledge, implement the knowledge that we seek, there is also the element of being save from our knowledge. So it is a struggle to seek knowledge, but a greater struggle is to implement that knowledge and a much greater struggle is to be save from our knowledge.

Beneficial knowledge is going to open the door for us to be save us from our knowledge. In order to do that we have to have a sound heart (qalb salim), free from all blemishes, free from all diseases whereby we might either become impress of ourselves, lead to ostentation or arrogance, or other disease of the heart that might appear as a result of our knowledge. 

So we should have a wird of reading useful (beneficial) knowledge.

A sign of a life community or city is that there are numerous of gatherings of knowledge and remembrance of Allah. If there is no gatherings of knowledge and remembrance, it is a sign of that place is dead.

Knowledge relates to sacred law and other than sacred law. All religious knowledge are praiseworthy except to the extent that some people who misunderstand certain aspects of religious knowledge and use them for some other purpose. When that happens, the way it is used becomes blameworthy. 

As for knowledge that is not related to sacred law, they either be praiseworthy, blameworthy or permissible.  Praiseworthy knowledge is knowledge that we need in order for us to establish benefits in this world, e.g. mathematics, medicine, agriculture, hijama. Knowledge that is blameworthy in of itself is like magic. Permissible knowledge is like poetry and history. All knowledge which related to sacred law is in of itself praiseworthy. 

Beneficial knowledge will remove from you the love of this fleeting world and will lead you to the love of the next world, which is permanent. The more that you love the next world, the less that you love this world. It will lead you to zuhd (to renounce, to turn away, to abstain from the various things in the world and a desire for the akhirah) and give you knowledge and insights into your faults. Most people don't want to confront their faults, their dark aspects of their ego. If we want to take the path seriously, we have to have courage to confront our faults. Remember, shaytan is an apparent enemy and he is trying to lead us astray and making our bad actions and sins look good. So we have to learn about his tricks and plots. 

Knowledge of tauhid, fiqh, spiritual excellence and correct practice, is the essence of what is considered beneficial knowledge.  Beneficial knowledge is not mental gymnastics. Beneficial knowledge is knowledge that is accompanied and followed by righteous actions and it is cast into the heart. By this definition, in the age of information today, much of what people are learning today, in reality, is not considered to be knowledge.

May Allah purify our intentions for seeking knowledge, help us be steadfast and productive seekers of knowledge, and increase us in beneficial knowledge and keep us away from blameworthy knowledge.

رَ‌بَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَ‌حْمَةً وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِ‌نَا رَ‌شَدًا

Our Lord, grant us from Yourself mercy and prepare for us from our affair right guidance.

Ameen.

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