You have spoken about purification, so we ask you to speak in detail about education and to explain the sound methods in this regard.

The questioner : I spoke, O Shaykh, may Allah reward you with good, at the beginning of the session about the issue of purification and education, and that many students of knowledge took the side of purification and left the side of education. So I would like fromThe Shaykh : Nasser, may Allah reward him with good, to speak about this topic at length and to explain the sound methods in this regard.

The Shaykh : The topic, in my view, does not require elaboration or explanation, because the meaning of education is acting upon what one has learned. Knowledge, in relation to action, is like the premise in relation to the result. Therefore, our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) addressed His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or addressed the Ummah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) through the person of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), when He said: So knowledge precedes action and is necessary for it. Knowledge, in relation to action, as I said just now, is like the means in relation to the goal, and like the premise in relation to the result. So whoever knows and does not act, he has not benefited from his knowledge at all. In my view, he is like the one who performs wudu' but does not pray; he performs wudu' but does not pray. Because wudu' is the means and the premise for prayer, and it is not permissible for a Muslim to draw near to Allah with wudu' without prayer. Likewise, a Muslim does not draw near to Allah with knowledge without accompanying it with action. Therefore, the texts in the Shari'ah, in the Book and the Sunnah, rebuke those who know but do not act, such as the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): And the hadiths that encourage acting upon knowledge are numerous and very numerous. It is sufficient for us to mention the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), which Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih, namely the saying of the Prophet (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him): to the end of the hadith. The point is that this scholar knows, among what he knows, the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): This is part of his knowledge, but he did not make his knowledge sincere for Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Therefore, he was among those three people with whom the Fire will blaze on the Day of Resurrection. So when we say that the principle is reform, especially in this time when directions and parties have multiplied, and so on, even among many Islamic groups, there is no way to achieve reform except through correct knowledge and beneficial action. Correct knowledge is that which is based on the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih, and action is acting upon what one has learned. It has come in some hadiths that are not authentic in terms of their chains, but their meaning is correct: This is a well-known hadith in its narration, but its chain is weak and its meaning is acceptable, as you see. Therefore, the topic of education does not require much elaboration and explanation; rather, such a verse is sufficient in this topic to draw the attention of those who are currently working to achieve what they can of what we call purification. They must act upon their knowledge. One of the most important things that they should act upon is that they make their work sincere for Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Sincerity in their work for Allah requires them to be brothers who love one another for the sake of Allah, and not to hate one another, and not to be hostile toward one another for the most trivial reasons and the simplest disagreements that may occur between them. The Salaf al-Salih were not of one opinion in many issues, some of which related to the validity or invalidity of prayer, yet that disagreement did not divide them, because they knew each other; they knew that they were sincere. So one would say, for example, that touching a woman breaks the wudu', and another would say it does not break it, and another would take a middle position: if it is with desire, it breaks it, and if it is without desire, it does not break it. There was even one who held that a man may have intercourse with his wife, then not emit semen, and then he does not have to perform ghusl, but only wudu', and so on. Therefore, disagreement did not arise between them. And I have heard in past sessions that Ibn Mas'ud used to pray four rak'ahs behind Uthman, while he held that this contradicted the Sunnah. When asked about that, he would say, "Disagreement is evil." So these people of the awakening today must keep before their eyes acting upon their knowledge, and from their knowledge is that disagreement is evil. On this basis, we say that education does not require detail, but rather: And this amount is sufficient, especially since they do not gather for the lesson and the review. Abu Suhayb, what do you have? He is raising his hand. He is raising his hand.