Rabbana Zidna ‘Ilma!!

 

The Sincere

Praise be to Allah who revealed to His servant the Book and placed therein no crookedness. He has made it straight in order that He may warn of a terrible punishment from Him and that He may give glad tidings to the believers who work righteous deeds that they shall have a great reward wherein they shall abide forever.

The Muslim ummah is eager and desires to acquire true knowledge; it desires to quench its thirst in the fountain of the Quran and Sunnah. The ummah passionately longs to bring its state back to the genuine foundation of true Islamic teachings. It is a quest that every student of knowledge has taken, it is a journey that every lover of deen wishes to endure, it is the sweetness of the fruits of knowledge that the seekers of truth wishes to taste. It is this knowledge, which every educated Muslim feels is the medicine, and remedy for the state of the ummah.

The answer to all the problems of this ummah is knowledge, as this is the answer given by the scholars of haqq. But, there is an aspect of knowledge that the majority of the seekers have abandoned, forgotten, and neglected. It is the most important portion of knowledge, for the one who memorizes the Quran and masters all the sciences of Islam but neglects this facet is surely destroyed. So what is this phase of knowledge that can destroy a man, even if the verses of The Quran flow from his tongue? It is the heart.

There are three types of student of knowledge; there is the one who seeks knowledge not to acquire the provisions of this world, rather the fruits Akira and the life to come, then it is he who will rejoice. It is he who will receive guidance from Allaah the most High to a Mansion of eternal life, such a seeker of truth is indeed successful, in his heart lies nothing but to seek the pleasure of his Lord.

Then there is the one who seeks knowledge for worldly gains, for power, wealth, and prestige. But at the same time his soul is content to the truth, his heart realizes his folly, and longs to attain the truth, knowing the wickedness of his aims. Such a man is in need of repentance, tauba, for if death approaches him in such a state, a state of confusion, a bad end is expected, for his fate depends only in the Mercy of Allaah. But if he repents before his appointed term, and acts upon that becoming the seeker of truth in the first category, quenching the thirst in his heart with the fountain of truth, such a man is saved and will rejoice in the couches of jannat.

And finally there is the man, who seeks knowledge for nothing more then to feed his desires.To achieve something for himself, to outshine his fellow friends, and to attract attention. Knowledge is only a means to pride himself, boast about himself, and to gain the wealth of this world. Such a man believes he has a lofty position in the eyes of Allaah, for he bears the stamp of scholarship, he maybe the grand mufti or alim of such docile followings. Such a man has destroyed himself, for he has sold an eternal reward for this temporary one. He is overcome by shaytan and his own stupidity that he will never realize the importance of his repentance, and leave such manners. They are the students and scholars of knowledge, who tell others what to do, but when it comes to them, it is as if the sayings from their own tongues do not apply to them. As Allaah The Most High says:

O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do? Suraah As-Saff: 2

And as the Prophet (SAWS) said: “I fear on your account one who is not Dajjal, more than Dajjal, and when someone said to him (SAWS), “Who is that?” he replied, “An evil scholar.” It is Dajjal who will lead men astray, and it is the responsibility of the scholars to guide and direct the people to the truth. However it is this student of knowledge, this dawie, this scholar, who calls men to the truth, but his actions calls them to the falsehood, for a man’s actions is clearer, expressive, and more persuasive then his words. It is this man who is consumed by the love of this dunya, why because his heart was never inclined towards the pleasure of His Lord, it never submitted through Ikhlas, and sincerity to Allaah. Such a mans knowledge is of no use for this ummah, for his ignorant heart and soul remains convinced that he is treading the right path, a path which does not lead to salvation. Such a heart is surely destroyed.

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