The Link Between Knowledge and Action, and the Importance of Adorning Oneself with Good Morals

The Shaykh: Praise is to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our own selves and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide, and whomsoever He leaves to misguide, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger.
, , , and after that:
We have mentioned more than once that the purpose of knowledge is action, and that any knowledge not accompanied by action becomes a burden upon its owner. Therefore, it is no wonder that it was reported from some of the Salaf that he said: "Woe to the ignorant person once, and woe to the knowledgeable person seven times." The purpose of knowledge is action. For this reason, it is not befitting for you to have your concern be knowledge only; rather, action must be accompanied by knowledge. Among the knowledge that has become widespread and prevalent among all Muslims, with no distinction between a scholar, a student of knowledge, or others, is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): . This is the wording of the hadith in "al-Sahihayn" (the two authentic collections). Then the hadith came with an addition that clarifies the intended meaning of the hadith in the clearest way, which is his saying (peace be upon him): ; meaning: None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself of good. It is obligatory for every Muslim to love for people what he loves for himself of good. This love for good for every Muslim is among the noble morals, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explicitly stated regarding them: . And I observe, with regret, that people today are concerned with the first aspect, which is knowledge, and are not concerned with the other aspect, which is morals and behavior. If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) almost restricted his call to the beauties and nobilities of morals when he used the tool of restriction and said: ; then that means that noble morals are an essential part of the call of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). In fact, at the beginning of my pursuit of knowledge and Allah’s (Mighty and Majestic) guidance of me to pure tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and my reading about what the Islamic world was experiencing in terms of distance from this tawhid, I used to think that the problem in the Islamic world was only their distance from understanding the reality of the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah). But with time, I came to realize that there is another problem in this world added to the first, fundamental problem, which is their distance from tawhid. The other problem is that most of them do not adorn themselves with the true morals of Islam except to a very small degree.
Many hadiths have come in succession from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanding good character. In some of them, it is reported that a man advised or asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for advice, and he said to him (peace and blessings be upon him): . And in another hadith, which is a very great hadith, which is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . Many of the worshippers are seen fasting and standing in prayer at night while people are sleeping, and yet they do not adorn themselves with the morals of Islam except to a very small degree. His saying (peace and blessings be upon him): is a very great command; because whoever is good in his behavior with the Muslims is as if he stood in prayer at night and fasted during the day. Therefore, we, the Muslims, must link knowledge to action, and action is good character with your Muslim brother. While I am pleased with your intense crowding to sit for the pursuit of knowledge, as much as this pleases me, it saddens me your pushing and shoving, to the point that a small child might be crushed between your feet. So I remind you, and the reminder benefits the believers, that you must be characterized and adorned with composure. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned in the authentic hadith: .
Mosques are the houses of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), and they are intended not only for prayer, but also for knowledge. You have often heard from the lecturers and preachers that in early Islam, mosques were not only for prayer, where a man would pray four rak'ahs or less or more and then leave, but mosques were also schools where people learned knowledge, behavior, and morals. If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commands the Muslim that when he leaves his house for the mosque, he should not rush, but walk with composure and dignity; then you are coming to this gathering to receive such knowledge that came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so you must walk with composure and dignity. How is it that you are running—not the running of beasts, but running that is not befitting you, considering that you are students of knowledge? I hope to see you living up to the good expectation of acting upon what came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and among that is not pushing each other, not shoving each other, and having composure and dignity when you intend a gathering of knowledge by which you seek to draw near to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He).
This is a reminder, and the reminder benefits the believers. I hope I will not see you again except as we should see you, with good character towards one another.
Now, bring forth what you have of questions.
Please proceed.