In the Name of Almighty
Allah
Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Assalamualaykum
Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu
Alhamdu Lillaahi
Rabbil 'Aalameen was Salaatu was
Salaamu 'alaa Ashrafil Ambiyaa'e wal
Mursaleen.
Wa Ba'd:
It is said that
knowledge is power, yet it has turned a deaf ear to the warning that "Knowledge is the greatest of veils"
and if we do not plant it while young, it will give us no shade when we grow
old. Knowledge is two-fold, and consists not only in an affirmation of what is
true, but in the negation of that which is false. One who lacks knowledge has
nothing but surmise and conjecture to guide him or her. But surmise and
conjecture cannot be true guides on the path of humanity. The greatest
misfortune of those who do not authentically and sincerely seek knowledge is to
follow the blind guide of conjecture.
Like knowledge, ignorance also has various forms and levels. The greater our
knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds. The more I read, the
more I meditate; and the more I acquire, the more I am enabled to affirm that I
know nothing. Any piece of knowledge I acquire today has a value at this moment
exactly proportioned to my skill to deal with it. Tomorrow, when I know more, I
recall that piece of knowledge and use it better.
It is said that the teacher of knowledge among you receives the reward of the
student and has a merit over the latter. So seek knowledge from its possessors
and teach it to those all around you in the same way as the learned taught you.
We are instructed to seek knowledge and to adorn it with forbearance and
dignity. Be humble to those who you teach and to those from you you learn.
Don't be tyrannical in your teaching conduct, for you will forfeit that to
which you are entitled on account of it. It is reported that our Beloved Nabee
Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam said:
"Of the believers that die, the death
of none of them
is so much loved by Shaytaan as the death of a learned
scholar in the Din."
And he is also reported to have said:
"I forbid you from two qualities which
destroy men:
don't worship Allah with false (doctrines) and don't
give out legal verdicts [Fatwa's] to people about
something you do not know."
The one who gives legal verdicts to people without knowledge and guidance
is cursed by the Malaa'eeka of [Divine] mercy and [Divine] chastisements, and
on him or her rests the burden [of the sins] of those who act upon such
verdicts. Be honest with yourself and with all those around you. Tell [the
people] what you know, and when you don't know say: "Almighty Allah knows best." It happens that
someone singles out a verse from the Most Holy and Noble Qur'an [ interpreting
it in isolation from the rest of the Holy Heavenly Book] deviating in it [from
the truth] to an extent greater than the distance between the heaven and the
earth.
Our Beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam said Almighty Allah has specified
(the limits of the duty of) His creatures by two verses of the Most Holy and
Glorious Qur'an: That they speak not until they know and they reject not what
they don't know. Almighty Allah tells us in verse 169 of Surah Al A'raf:
"Was not the covenant of the Book taken
from them,
that they would not not ascribe to Allah anything but
the Truth?"
And in verse 39 of Surah Yunus Almighty Allah tells us very clearly:
"Nay, they charge with falsehood that
whose knowledge
they cannot compass, even before the elucidation thereof
hath reached them."
These verses speak of the people who praised justice with their
tongues and violated it [with their deeds]. To halt when in doubt is better
than dashing into ruin. To abstain from [narrating] a tradition which is
obscure to you is better than narrating something of which you are not sure.
When something comes to you that you don't know, your duty in such a case is
nothing but to halt, to verify it and refer it to the Imaam for guidance
[A'immat-al-huda], who will lead you to what is right, clarify that which was
obscure for you and acquaint you with the truth therein. Almighty Allah also
tells us in verse 43 of Surah Al Nahl:
"Ask of those (the Ahl-al-Dhikr) who
possess the Message."
Human beings are like stars. There are some who generate their own light while
there are others who reflect the light they receive. The world is riddled with
people who form the second category. They lack initiative and their knowledge
is derivative. They go through life with eyes half shut, with dull ears and
with dormant thoughts. This incalculable majority of people probably derive
support and sustenance from the pervasive dullness and dreary uniformity of
their routine as they are quite allergic to originality and diversity.
They are emotionally and spiritually dead. The uncreative torpor of their lives
has divested them all of vitality. And the height of irony is that they are not
even aware of their hollowness. If the lack of self-confidence, which is the
sign of belief in one's incapacity to perform tasks, were to take root in
someone's mind, it would be rendered incapable of getting to the heart of
anything. Such a person's power of thought would be paralyzed and one cannot
expect him or her to attain any kind of human perfection and sublimity. How
often does it happen that outstanding capacities and talents die in their
infancy as a result of lack of knowledge and self-confidence, and how often
brilliant aspirations remain sterile and unproductive for this reason.
There are many people who possess only an average level of abilities, but who
advance in life and succeed brilliantly due to their faith and spirit of
self-confidence. In critical situations they take resort in their genuine inner
powers in order to rescue themselves from dangers and thus remain unharmed by
this means. Someone who reaches a firm decision with all his or her being will avoid
negative thoughts with all his or her power, and he or she will resist any
false idea of weakness and inadequacy.
That is because it is a human right to obtain success, and achievement of a
goal is definite if pursued with a positive and constructive frame of mind and
with faith, self-confidence, discipline and trust in Almighty Allah Azza
Wajjal. Faith, self-confidence and trust in Almighty Allah Rabbul Ala'meen are
a creative, constructive and positive force, while the lack of it is a
negative, retarding and destructive force. Some people have the capacity to
poison the entire atmosphere around them.
They infuse doubt and uncertainty into the minds of other people who have the
capacity to grow into free and happy human beings. Persons with a negative bent
of mind are like weeds in society who do not perform any function except
weakening the creative spirit of others. It is natural that when there are a
large number of such people in an environment, not only happiness and success
will not flourish in it, but also self-confidence and determination will be
cast into oblivion and there will be a general lack of interest in anything
vital.
On the other hand, life becomes quite intolerable for the dynamic people who
are forced into direct and continuous contact with such people. They feel light
and relieved as soon as they get a chance to get away from them, as if a great
burden has been removed from their shoulders.
The greater the degree of one's knowledge, one's faith and
self-confidence, the more is the amount of confidence placed by others in one,
as the influence one has on others depends on one's self-assurance and the
strength of one's faith in one's capacities. If you have self-assurance and are
confident of your abilities, you can acquire the confidence of those who come
into contact with you. But as soon as your self-confidence is shaken and doubt
and hesitation take hold of your mind, you will immediately find others losing
their faith in you. Ultimately, any move on your part, whether it is inspired
by self-assurance or doubt, will be echoed back to you in the form of other's
reaction.
Self-reliance is not only not contrary to trust in Almighty Allah Exalted, the
reliance one places in the Glorious and Exalted Creator of the heavens and the
earth and the faith one has in the eternal Divine Power strengthen and develop
one's personality. A human being having faith, while possessing the assets of
self-reliance and an independent personality, utilizes all the available
opportunities and means fully and carefully. He or she does not waste any
opportunity, but, at the same time, he or she does not confine his or her
spirit within the walls of material causes and factors. His or her
humanity is not limited by them.
Rather, the horizons are always open, to ascend to newer heights, and the scope
of his or her activity are devoted to higher purposes of life. The human being
with a heart full of faith relies upon Almighty Allah Jallah Wa'ala, Who
directs all affairs with His Infinite power and has no partner or collaborator
in any of His Works. We are told in verse 2 of Surah Fatir:
"What Allah out of His Mercy doth
bestow on mankind
there is none who can withhold: What He doth withhold
There is none who can grant, apart from Him: and He
is the Exalted in Power, Full of Wisdom."
Where can mankind find a refuge that is beyond the realm of Almighty
Allah's Power? Taking refuge in something other than Almighty Allah Rabbul
Ala'meen will have no result except disappointment and humiliation. How can any
creature be master and arbiter of other's affairs, while it itself stands in
need of Allah for everything, and owns nothing that pertains to itself, and has
no power that is its own, nor is capable of offering refuge to anyone?
When one surrenders one's soul and mind to Almighty Allah Jallah Wa'ala, to the
degree that one is capable of, one becomes infused with a spirit of submission
to Almighty Rabbul Ala'meen and resignation towards His decrees.Reliance upon
Almighty Allah Tabaraka Wata'ala never leads to any kind of weakness or
indifference. Rather, it gives a self-confidence that strengthens the will and
removes all traces of doubt and vacillation from the heart.
The unrelenting struggles of people of Allah in the face of unfavourable
circumstances and against the destructive elements and degenerate ideas in
their communities, derived their strength from the Infinite Truth. They sought
the help of this invisible agent for pursuing their plans of reform and
guidance of the people. That is because their souls had an unbreakable bond
with the indestructible power of Almighty Allah Azza Wajjal and then pursued
their goals resolutely to the very end. As Muslims, we must all evaluate our
situation in life and identify the road that we have chosen through the terrain
of our existence. We should find out whether we are going towards felicity and
goodness or towards wretchedness and deprivation.
Could life not go on in human society without religion and belief in Almighty
Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala? Is it not true that someone is called religious who
affirms the Glory of an Exalted and Glorious Creator in the world that carries
out special acts to please Him? It is possible for each individual in a society
to be made responsible for determining what is beneficial and what is harmful
in accordance with laws of human design. In such a case, human laws would have
been supplanted Divine Laws and
there would be no further need for religion.
Finally, it has secured the happiness of the individual in human society from
every standpoint, to the greatest possible degree, as any fair-minded person
will affirm. Almighty Allah Most Exalted explains Islam in the Most Noble
Qur'an in accordance with the limited compass of human understanding in verse
19 of Surah Al-I-Imran:
"Truly, religion before Allah is
Surrender (Islam), and those
who received the Book did not differ until after knowledge
reached them, through transgression among themselves, and as to
whoever disbelieves in Allah's Signs, Allah is swift in reckoning."
The foregoing makes it very clear that knowledge, faith,
self-confidence and trust in Almighty Allah, in Qur'anic terms, is a way of
life ordained by the Most Glorious Creator that man cannot avoid. A society
that is not bound to a religion gives up realism and intellectualism and wastes
its precious life on waywardness, superficiality, and negligence. Almighty
Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala tells us very clearly in verses 9 and 10 of Surah
Al-Shams [The Sun]:
"One prospers who tends it, and
one fails who leaves it stunted."
That is, one who keeps oneself from corruption is saved, whereas one
who associates with any other sort of illicit pursuit fails to reach his or her
object, happiness and deliverance. Of course, one must know that human
happiness and individual and social prosperity are based upon practice of
religious commandments. Apart from that, merely nominal attachment to religion
is useless, since what has value is the Truth
itself, not summons to the Truth.
Faith, knowledge and complete trust in Almighty Allah is the strongest and
firmest assurance against fear and anguish amid life's ebb and flow. Believers
do not give up on themselves to be attached to the limitless power of the
Exalted and Glorious Creator of the heavens and the earth. That which is certain
is that one cannot succeed in overcoming life's hardships through fear and a
lack of faith, self confidence and trust in Almighty Allah. Those who lack
courage, faith and trust in Almighty Rabbul Ala'meen do not find refuge from
the awesome tempests of life for has it not be said that worthy men are
reserved for times of adversity?
And Allah knows best.
Baarak
Allaahu Feekum wa-sal Allaahu wa-salam 'alaa Nabiyyinaa
Muhammad Sallallahoo Alayhi
Wasallam.
Was Salamualaykum Warahmatullahi
Wabarakatuhu
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Islamic Surf Group
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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