We are a group of young men on the threshold of the university gate, and we have heard and read your Excellency’s fatwa
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The questioner : May Allah reward the honorableThe Shaykh : We are a group of young men on the threshold of the university gate. And we have heard and read a fatwa, and we have heard and read your Excellency’s fatwa: that seeking Islamic knowledge is better than seeking other sciences. And that the one who possesses Islamic knowledge is the one who obtains, who obtains more reward than others. And this means that many of the sons of Muslims will prefer seeking Islamic knowledge and abandoning other sciences?
The Shaykh : What is it?
The questioner : Many of the sons of Muslims will prefer seeking Islamic knowledge and abandoning other sciences, such as the study of natural science, which would necessitate the disbelievers holding the reins of life and surpassing the Muslims in various fields. This has left us in confusion. So our question, O honorableThe Shaykh : If we turn to the study of natural science with the intention of serving Islam, do we deserve the reward in the Hereafter and the benefit to the servants of Allah, like the one who possesses Islamic knowledge? We ask for your guidance in this matter. May Allah reward you with the best reward and bless you and your knowledge.
The Shaykh : Yes. In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
We, if I may say: If it is said that this is better than that, it does not mean that the lesser is abandoned and neglected. Rather, some people are suited to Islamic sciences. Some people are suited to Arabic sciences. Some are suited to physics. Some are suited to natural science. Some are suited to industrial science. People are like the fingers of the hand; every finger assists the other. And through the cooperation of the fingers, the grip becomes strong on what is in the person’s hand. So if we say that learning Islamic knowledge is the best of sciences, that does not mean that the other sciences have no virtue. Rather, they have virtue. And a person, by his will, may benefit Islam and the Muslims and obtain a great reward.
The preference between sciences is a preference of the sciences themselves, one over the other. As for the other matters that interact with them, it may happen that the lesser one presents something that makes it better than the preferred one. For example: Medical science is undoubtedly a science that contains good for the nation; it involves saving human lives, restoring the health of the sick, and the like. Industrial science also contains much good for the nation; the scholar fulfills the needs of his nation and assists them in the affairs of their worldly life. So which is better and more beneficial? Sometimes we say this is more beneficial, and sometimes we say that is more beneficial, according to what the pressing need requires. The Islamic nation, at the height of its glory, held the reins of everything in Islamic, Arabic, industrial, astronomical, medical, and other sciences. This is known by one who reads history and reflects on the life of the Islamic nation at the height of its glory and honor. Yes.
The Shaykh : What is it?
The questioner : Many of the sons of Muslims will prefer seeking Islamic knowledge and abandoning other sciences, such as the study of natural science, which would necessitate the disbelievers holding the reins of life and surpassing the Muslims in various fields. This has left us in confusion. So our question, O honorableThe Shaykh : If we turn to the study of natural science with the intention of serving Islam, do we deserve the reward in the Hereafter and the benefit to the servants of Allah, like the one who possesses Islamic knowledge? We ask for your guidance in this matter. May Allah reward you with the best reward and bless you and your knowledge.
The Shaykh : Yes. In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
We, if I may say: If it is said that this is better than that, it does not mean that the lesser is abandoned and neglected. Rather, some people are suited to Islamic sciences. Some people are suited to Arabic sciences. Some are suited to physics. Some are suited to natural science. Some are suited to industrial science. People are like the fingers of the hand; every finger assists the other. And through the cooperation of the fingers, the grip becomes strong on what is in the person’s hand. So if we say that learning Islamic knowledge is the best of sciences, that does not mean that the other sciences have no virtue. Rather, they have virtue. And a person, by his will, may benefit Islam and the Muslims and obtain a great reward.
The preference between sciences is a preference of the sciences themselves, one over the other. As for the other matters that interact with them, it may happen that the lesser one presents something that makes it better than the preferred one. For example: Medical science is undoubtedly a science that contains good for the nation; it involves saving human lives, restoring the health of the sick, and the like. Industrial science also contains much good for the nation; the scholar fulfills the needs of his nation and assists them in the affairs of their worldly life. So which is better and more beneficial? Sometimes we say this is more beneficial, and sometimes we say that is more beneficial, according to what the pressing need requires. The Islamic nation, at the height of its glory, held the reins of everything in Islamic, Arabic, industrial, astronomical, medical, and other sciences. This is known by one who reads history and reflects on the life of the Islamic nation at the height of its glory and honor. Yes.