Discussion on the obligation of sincerity in seeking knowledge in obedience to the command of Allah, and the means of calling to Allah.
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The Shaykh : How many is the episode? Hmm.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : The thirty-third after the hundredth. We have reached, if Allah wills.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. As for what follows:
This is the thirty-third episode after the hundredth of the weekly meetings, referred to as the Open Meeting, or the Open Door Meeting, which takes place every Thursday of every week. This is the twenty-ninth Thursday of the month of Rabi' al-Thani, 1417. Since people are about to start the regular academic term next week, we direct our brothers to the following matters:
The first matter: Sincerity of intention in seeking knowledge. This is because seeking knowledge is one of the acts of worship, and acts of worship require two things:
First: Sincerity for Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
Second: Following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
Sincerity in seeking knowledge is achieved through several things:
The first thing: That the servant intends by seeking knowledge to obey the command of Allah, because Allah the Exalted commanded knowledge in His saying:[Muhammad 47:19] Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said in the heading of this verse: "Chapter on Knowledge before Speech and Action" Then he cited the verse.
Second: That he intends by seeking knowledge to preserve the Shari'ah of Allah the Exalted, because seeking knowledge is one of the greatest means of preserving the Shari'ah. The Shari'ah is preserved in the compiled books, and it is also preserved through seeking knowledge, which includes knowing the Shari'ah.
Third: That he intends by seeking knowledge to defend the Shari'ah and protect it from its enemies. The Islamic Shari'ah has enemies who lie in wait for it. There are enemies who openly declare their enmity, and enemies who do not declare their enmity but conceal it. These enemies are more harmful than the first type, because the first type shows their enmity, and a person can guard against them and know what they have, so that the doubt in it can be removed. But the problem is when one conceals enmity behind the appearance of a friend or the guise of a friend. You cannot know what he has until you expose him, and you cannot know what he has until you guard against him. The Islamic Shari'ah has enemies who lie in wait for it, whether in creed, or in morals, or in bad ideas, or otherwise. So a person must intend by seeking knowledge to protect the Shari'ah and defend it against its enemies.
Third, that he intends—no, fourth, that he intends—no, third: that he intends by it. Yes, in any case, so let us say from it, the best, so that the number does not confuse us.
Also included in this is that a person intends by seeking knowledge to remove ignorance from himself, because the default state of a human being is ignorance, as Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:[An-Nahl 16:78] And ignorance cannot be removed from the self except through learning. Therefore, you feel now that if you sit in a gathering of knowledge, you realize in that gathering what you did not have before. For example, read a book that you read from the beginning; you gain knowledge, but you do not know what is in the end until you reach it. Therefore, seeking knowledge involves removing ignorance from the self.
Also included in this is that you intend to remove ignorance from others, because people need to seek knowledge. They need scholars who guide them and direct them to the Shari'ah of Allah, encourage them to it, and warn them against what contradicts it. For this reason, Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Nothing is better than knowledge for one whose intention is sound. They said: How is the intention sound? He said: He intends by it to remove ignorance from himself and from others."
And the student of knowledge must, after that, be a caller to Allah the Mighty and Majestic. Calling is different from teaching. The teacher sits in his chair, and whoever comes to him, he teaches, or he sits in his place in the mosque, and whoever comes, he teaches. But the caller is the one who—do not close the door, my brother, open the door, open the door, come here, come here, you who are behind the door, come here, come closer, come closer, open the door, good—must be a caller. The caller is the one who travels through villages and cities and calls to Allah the Mighty and Majestic, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to present himself to the tribes during the season, the season of Hajj, before he migrated, and call them to Allah. So the caller to Allah the Exalted must have movement; he must move.
Then it is obligatory for him to avoid what leads to confusion and delving into it and into his opinion. For example, if he has things that contradict what people are upon, he does not spread them among people until he is able to have a value such that his word is accepted. Because if he is young and brings what people do not know and do not recognize, he becomes a target for talk and gossip, and perhaps nothing will be accepted from him after that. And it is also obligatory for the student of knowledge to act upon what he has learned, because this is the fruit of knowledge. What fruit is there for knowledge if you know and do not act? Nothing. In fact, the one who knows and does not act is more harmful to the community than an ignorant man, because he will be a role model, and people mostly take from imitation and following the action of the scholar. If this scholar spreads the Shari'ah to the servants of Allah and calls to it, but does not act upon it, people will not trust his knowledge or his calling. And he is among the first of those for whom the Fire will be kindled on the Day of Resurrection. We ask Allah for safety.
And what is also obligatory for the student of knowledge is that he have insight and wisdom in his calling to Allah the Mighty and Majestic, such that he places things in their proper places. He may come to a people where the good in calling them is to encourage them to good and not mention the threat. And it may be that with a people, the good is to mention the threat to them so that they repent to Allah and return from what they are upon. So for every occasion, there is a suitable word. If a person uses wisdom in his calling to Allah the Mighty and Majestic, he will have a great and far-reaching effect. And let him know that the more a person acts upon his knowledge, the more Allah increases him in knowledge. Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:[Muhammad 47:17] And in the athar: "Whoever acts upon what he has learned, Allah will make him inherit knowledge of what he did not know."
And it was said:
"Knowledge calls out to action *** If it responds, and if not, it departs"
We ask Allah for you and for us success in what is good and righteous, and that He make us leaders of guidance and reform. Indeed, He is capable of all things. As for what we want to discuss from the tafsir, we had previously reached the saying of Allah the Exalted:
The student: ...
The Shaykh : It appears to me that we have reached [Qaf 50:17] the important point: it is upon your guarantee and your responsibility.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : The thirty-third after the hundredth. We have reached, if Allah wills.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. As for what follows:
This is the thirty-third episode after the hundredth of the weekly meetings, referred to as the Open Meeting, or the Open Door Meeting, which takes place every Thursday of every week. This is the twenty-ninth Thursday of the month of Rabi' al-Thani, 1417. Since people are about to start the regular academic term next week, we direct our brothers to the following matters:
The first matter: Sincerity of intention in seeking knowledge. This is because seeking knowledge is one of the acts of worship, and acts of worship require two things:
First: Sincerity for Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
Second: Following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
Sincerity in seeking knowledge is achieved through several things:
The first thing: That the servant intends by seeking knowledge to obey the command of Allah, because Allah the Exalted commanded knowledge in His saying:
So know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah and ask forgiveness for your sin
فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لِذَنْبِكَSecond: That he intends by seeking knowledge to preserve the Shari'ah of Allah the Exalted, because seeking knowledge is one of the greatest means of preserving the Shari'ah. The Shari'ah is preserved in the compiled books, and it is also preserved through seeking knowledge, which includes knowing the Shari'ah.
Third: That he intends by seeking knowledge to defend the Shari'ah and protect it from its enemies. The Islamic Shari'ah has enemies who lie in wait for it. There are enemies who openly declare their enmity, and enemies who do not declare their enmity but conceal it. These enemies are more harmful than the first type, because the first type shows their enmity, and a person can guard against them and know what they have, so that the doubt in it can be removed. But the problem is when one conceals enmity behind the appearance of a friend or the guise of a friend. You cannot know what he has until you expose him, and you cannot know what he has until you guard against him. The Islamic Shari'ah has enemies who lie in wait for it, whether in creed, or in morals, or in bad ideas, or otherwise. So a person must intend by seeking knowledge to protect the Shari'ah and defend it against its enemies.
Third, that he intends—no, fourth, that he intends—no, third: that he intends by it. Yes, in any case, so let us say from it, the best, so that the number does not confuse us.
Also included in this is that a person intends by seeking knowledge to remove ignorance from himself, because the default state of a human being is ignorance, as Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:
And Allah has extracted you from the wombs of your mothers not knowing a thing, and He made for you hearing and vision and intellect that perhaps you would be grateful.
وَاللَّهُ أَخْرَجَكُمْ مِنْ بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ لا تَعْلَمُونَ شَيْئاً وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَالْأَفْئِدَةَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَAlso included in this is that you intend to remove ignorance from others, because people need to seek knowledge. They need scholars who guide them and direct them to the Shari'ah of Allah, encourage them to it, and warn them against what contradicts it. For this reason, Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Nothing is better than knowledge for one whose intention is sound. They said: How is the intention sound? He said: He intends by it to remove ignorance from himself and from others."
And the student of knowledge must, after that, be a caller to Allah the Mighty and Majestic. Calling is different from teaching. The teacher sits in his chair, and whoever comes to him, he teaches, or he sits in his place in the mosque, and whoever comes, he teaches. But the caller is the one who—do not close the door, my brother, open the door, open the door, come here, come here, you who are behind the door, come here, come closer, come closer, open the door, good—must be a caller. The caller is the one who travels through villages and cities and calls to Allah the Mighty and Majestic, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to present himself to the tribes during the season, the season of Hajj, before he migrated, and call them to Allah. So the caller to Allah the Exalted must have movement; he must move.
Then it is obligatory for him to avoid what leads to confusion and delving into it and into his opinion. For example, if he has things that contradict what people are upon, he does not spread them among people until he is able to have a value such that his word is accepted. Because if he is young and brings what people do not know and do not recognize, he becomes a target for talk and gossip, and perhaps nothing will be accepted from him after that. And it is also obligatory for the student of knowledge to act upon what he has learned, because this is the fruit of knowledge. What fruit is there for knowledge if you know and do not act? Nothing. In fact, the one who knows and does not act is more harmful to the community than an ignorant man, because he will be a role model, and people mostly take from imitation and following the action of the scholar. If this scholar spreads the Shari'ah to the servants of Allah and calls to it, but does not act upon it, people will not trust his knowledge or his calling. And he is among the first of those for whom the Fire will be kindled on the Day of Resurrection. We ask Allah for safety.
And what is also obligatory for the student of knowledge is that he have insight and wisdom in his calling to Allah the Mighty and Majestic, such that he places things in their proper places. He may come to a people where the good in calling them is to encourage them to good and not mention the threat. And it may be that with a people, the good is to mention the threat to them so that they repent to Allah and return from what they are upon. So for every occasion, there is a suitable word. If a person uses wisdom in his calling to Allah the Mighty and Majestic, he will have a great and far-reaching effect. And let him know that the more a person acts upon his knowledge, the more Allah increases him in knowledge. Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:
And those who are guided - He increases them in guidance and gives them their righteousness.
وَالَّذِينَ اهْتَدَوْا زَادَهُمْ هُدىً وَآتَاهُمْ تَقْوَاهُمْAnd it was said:
"Knowledge calls out to action *** If it responds, and if not, it departs"
We ask Allah for you and for us success in what is good and righteous, and that He make us leaders of guidance and reform. Indeed, He is capable of all things. As for what we want to discuss from the tafsir, we had previously reached the saying of Allah the Exalted:
The student: ...
The Shaykh :