The saying of Allah the Exalted in Surat al-Fatir (Only those of His servants who have knowledge fear Allah) and the interpretation of the verse in Surat al-Baqarah (And fear Allah, and Allah will teach you)
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The questioner : This is a questioner for the program Al-Haqiqa who sent a set of questions. In this question, he says: In the noble verse in Surat al-Fatir [Fatir 35:28] and the interpretation of the verse in Surat al-Baqarah [Al-Baqarah 2:282], does taqwa come before knowledge, or does knowledge come before taqwa? And how can there be taqwa without knowledge, based on what came in the interpretation of the noble verse , meaning fear Him, watch Him, follow His command, and leave what He forbids? May Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said:[Fatir 35:28] And khushu' (fear) is the strength of fear of Allah Blessed and Exalted is He, due to the perfection of His greatness and His authority. This does not occur except from a person who has knowledge of Allah, His names, and His attributes. For this reason, He said: [Fatir 35:28] meaning that none fear Him with complete fear except the scholars. The intended meaning is scholars of Allah, His names, His attributes, and His rulings, not scholars of the layers of the earth, the atmosphere, physics, and the like. For the knowledge of these people does not affect them regarding the fear of Allah. For this reason, we find among these great scholars those who are leaders in disbelief, may Allah protect us from that. But the intended meaning of scholars here is scholars of Allah, His names, His attributes, and His rulings. They are the ones who fear Allah the Exalted with the true fear of Him. And fear is built upon knowledge; so the more a person knows of Allah, the greater his fear of Allah and the greater his love for Him, Blessed and Exalted is He. As for His saying, the Exalted: [Al-Baqarah 2:282], many people think that His saying is based upon His saying , and that is not the case. Rather, the command to fear Allah is an independent command, and it is not possible to fear Allah except with knowledge of Allah. Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) translated this meaning in his Sahih with the chapter: "Knowledge before speech and action," and then he cited as evidence for it the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Muhammad 47:19]. And on this basis, there is no contradiction between the two verses, because His saying is an independent command to fear Allah, and a person cannot fear his Lord except if he knows what he is to fear. As for His saying , it is a new sentence that conveys that the knowledge we attain is only from Allah alone. So we have no knowledge except what Allah Blessed and Exalted is He has taught us.
And Allah's teaching of us is of two types: innate and acquired.
So the innate is what Allah the Exalted grants to the servant of knowledge that does not require learning. Have you seen the infant whom his mother gives birth to and how he finds his way to take her breast to suckle from it without anyone teaching him? And likewise, animals know what benefits them and what harms them without any prior teaching from anyone.
As for acquired teaching, it is what Allah bequeaths to the servant through his learning of knowledge and engaging in its causes, where he learns from the shaykhs, from the contents of books, from the voices of recorded tapes, and the like. For this reason, when they asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about the soul, what it is, even though it is the substance of life and there is no life for the body except by it, Allah commanded His Prophet to say:[Al-Isra 17:85] And this includes rebuking them for asking about the soul, as if He said: The soul is from the command of Allah, and there remains for you to ask about nothing except the soul. There remains for you of the sciences to grasp except the knowledge of the soul. For this reason, He said: [Al-Isra 17:85] And the conclusion is that His saying [Fatir 35:28] conveys that whoever is more knowledgeable of Allah is more fearful of Him.
As for the verse in al-Baqarah[Al-Baqarah 2:282], it does not state that taqwa is prior to knowledge, because it is not possible to have taqwa except with knowledge of what is to be feared, and the sentence has no connection to what came before it. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you, O honorable Shaykh.
Only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge.
إِنَّما يَخشَى اللَّهَ مِن عِبادِهِ العُلَماءُAnd fear Allah. And Allah teaches you
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللَّهُAnd fear Allah
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَThe Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said:
Only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge.
إِنَّما يَخشَى اللَّهَ مِن عِبادِهِ العُلَماءُOnly those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge.
إِنَّما يَخشَى اللَّهَ مِن عِبادِهِ العُلَماءُAnd fear Allah. And Allah teaches you
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللَّهُAnd Allah will teach you
وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللَّهُAnd fear Allah
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَSo know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah and ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and believing women
فَاعلَم أَنَّهُ لا إِلهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَاستَغفِر لِذَنبِكَ وَلِلمُؤمِنينَ وَالمُؤمِناتِAnd fear Allah.
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَAnd Allah teaches you.
وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللَّهُAnd Allah's teaching of us is of two types: innate and acquired.
So the innate is what Allah the Exalted grants to the servant of knowledge that does not require learning. Have you seen the infant whom his mother gives birth to and how he finds his way to take her breast to suckle from it without anyone teaching him? And likewise, animals know what benefits them and what harms them without any prior teaching from anyone.
As for acquired teaching, it is what Allah bequeaths to the servant through his learning of knowledge and engaging in its causes, where he learns from the shaykhs, from the contents of books, from the voices of recorded tapes, and the like. For this reason, when they asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about the soul, what it is, even though it is the substance of life and there is no life for the body except by it, Allah commanded His Prophet to say:
The soul is of the affair of my Lord. And mankind have not been given of knowledge except a little."
الرّوحُ مِن أَمرِ رَبّي وَما أوتيتُم مِنَ العِلمِ إِلّا قَليلًاAnd mankind have not been given of knowledge except a little."
وَما أوتيتُم مِنَ العِلمِ إِلّا قَليلًاOnly those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge.
إِنَّما يَخشَى اللَّهَ مِن عِبادِهِ العُلَماءُAs for the verse in al-Baqarah
And fear Allah. And Allah teaches you
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللَّهُAnd Allah teaches you.
وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللَّهُThe questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you, O honorable Shaykh.