A word on knowledge and the importance of acting upon knowledge.

The Shaykh : ... except by seeking knowledge. Today, most people are preoccupied with seeking the worldly life, and it is very, very rare to find anyone who seeks knowledge. And along with this obligation, which is that they should be occupied with seeking knowledge, they must act upon this knowledge. Right now, we cannot find a Muslim who is unaware that riba (usury or interest) is among the major sins and not merely among the forbidden things. And yet, you will find that riba is going on and is widespread. The greatest proof of this is the spread of banks, especially the Housing Bank, which has occupied the entire country. I am telling you, it has occupied the whole country; you do not enter a village without finding an advertisement. So, it is necessary to return to the religion. Without this means, the desired goal will not be achieved, which is that the Muslims return to being strong and honorable.

The questioner : Next to the Haram in Makkah are the banks, the American bank.

Another questioner : Seeking knowledge is the means, but where do we seek knowledge? From the schools, or from the shaykhs? The scholars are not present; we consider them absent because they are not present in society. And I know the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): and the scholars are the salt of the nation. If the nation loses its scholars, it loses all its strength. What is the path of knowledge? If we seek knowledge from specialized scholars, it will be called a cluster, and this talk will be forbidden. It is as if I see us going in a circle. A person lives twenty or thirty years of his life listening to the Islamic situation, listening to the seeking of knowledge in Islam, listening to the support of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), and listening to the fact that the Muslims must return to Islam. But what is the method?

The Shaykh : The paths, may Allah reward you, are made easy. The paths today are easier than in the past. I will give you an example. The printing presses that print books now—did they exist in the past? I am asking you about the printing presses. In the past, it was handwriting. If you wanted a book, it would take you years to get it. Now, in a few days, thousands of copies are printed for you. So, the market of knowledge is open and common, but the market of knowledge has various forms and colors. Sacred knowledge is stagnant, while worldly knowledge is the driving force. Our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) says in the Noble Qur'an: The Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) who accompanied him, each according to what was facilitated for them. Some of them accompanied him for a few days, some for months, some for years, and so on. Among those who accompanied the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for years was Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah al-Ansari. He was informed that one of the Companions in Egypt, who was a governor, had a hadith that he had heard from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So he rode a camel, followed him, and went to Egypt just to hear this hadith from him. Today, you make a trip to the market and buy a copy of Sahih al-Bukhari or Sahih Muslim, which contain thousands of hadiths. But where is the one who wants to read? Where is the one who wants to devote himself to reading? So, if a virtuous scholar who can teach you Islamic jurisprudence is not available, the books, praise be to Allah, are abundant and accessible. And if something is difficult for you, you can contact a scholar, either personally or by phone. I mean, I am giving you an example with myself. Besides the books, I have two hours every night after the 'Isha' prayer where the phone does not stop with questions and answers. And our brothers around us who attend these gatherings do so only to learn knowledge through the method of question and answer. This is a method that is now easy, whereas it was absolutely not available in the past. Therefore, our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) establishes the proof against His servants so that they do not make excuses or plead ignorance, saying, "There is no scholar here to teach us." No, the scholar is present. They call from America, they call from Canada, they call from France, from Germany, and so on. Who are they? Those who are eager for knowledge. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) clarifies in a hadith that I consider an interpretation of His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): The question is either by direct oral communication or by phone. The first method was only at the beginning; now there is a much easier method, which is calling by phone. And this is what happens now, two hours after 'Isha' every night. So, you can, by this method, if a question arises for you, direct it. You can direct a question to the Saudi shaykhs who sometimes broadcast questions and answers and fatwas. So, praise be to Allah, the path of knowledge is easy. But as they say in our region in the Levant, it requires shaking the shoulders, meaning it requires determination for a person to care, ask, and learn. So His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): A hadith came in the interpretation of this verse. That is, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a detachment for jihad in the path of Allah, and a battle took place between the Muslims and the polytheists. One of the Muslims was wounded, and night fell, and the battle stopped, and they slept. One of the wounded Companions woke up and found that he had emitted semen, so he was obligated to perform ghusl (the full ritual bath). "Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah." The man was confused about his situation. He knew that he was obligated to perform ghusl and that it was necessary, but his body was wounded from the strikes of swords, arrows, spears, and the like. So he asked those around him, "My story is such and such. I emitted semen, and I am obligated to perform ghusl, but my body is wounded. Tell me, is there a dispensation so I do not perform ghusl?" They said to him, "You must perform ghusl." So he performed ghusl. When the water touched these wounds, they became infected, his fever rose, and he died. When the news of his death reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he became very angry and said: So, Therefore, it is possible to learn knowledge. And the problem is not limited to the general people; it is limited to the scholars themselves, as you pointed out. The problem is in the entire nation, with no difference between the young and the old, the scholar and the ignorant, every person of legal age. So you will find many scholars, or shaykhs, or doctors, and so on, who are themselves contrary to the Shari'ah that they taught. You will find many doctors who are like the Westerners; they do not wear the Islamic attire. You will find many of them whose women are displaying their adornment and are not wearing the Shari'ah-prescribed jilbab (outer garment), and so on. So they have knowledge, but they do not act upon it. Their knowledge becomes a proof against them, whereas it should have been a proof for them. Therefore, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in a long hadith: The scholar did not seek knowledge for the sake of Allah, but so that people would say, "Mashallah, so-and-so is a scholar, there is no one like him in knowledge." And so is the mujahid who fights; people say about him that he is brave and a hero. And the rich man also gives charity with his wealth, not intending the face of Allah by it, but so that people would say, "Mashallah, so-and-so is the Hatim al-Tai of his time." So he loves what? Showing off. And it was said in the past, "Love of showing off breaks the showing off." So, may Allah reward you. If knowledge is made easy, but the Muslim must follow its path, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: But on the condition that he is sincere to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) first in his seeking of knowledge, and second, that he acts upon his knowledge. And therefore it was said, based on the previous hadith: "And a scholar with knowledge who did not act upon it *** is punished before the worshippers of idols." Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: