Knowledge and action
Advice
“My dear son... Knowledge without action is insanity, and action without knowledge is insanity.”
Imam Al Ghazali addresses you in a tough, clear, straight-to-the-point method, and this shows how sincere he is as an advisor. Such a person must be true to his word and act upon his own advice, and when he gives advice- he only gives this advice for the sake of Allah. The reason he is so clear in his words is because he loves you and wants to give you advice for the sake of Allah, such as a father would talk to his son when giving advice about something important. Our souls need to be addressed in this direct way.
When we seek knowledge, we do not seek knowledge just for the sake of acquiring knowledge, we must also seek the light of knowledge. We will not attain this knowledge and light until we put the knowledge that we already attainted into action. You may see a person who is starving and has severe hunger pains, and food is put before him, but he does not take from the food and he dies of hunger. What would you say about this person? You would say he's crazy because he did not eat of the food in front of him. Likewise for a sick person who has the medicine in front of him, who then dies of this sickness even though he had the cure, you would call this person mad. What is more important than all of this? - Divine knowledge- such as the Quran, the Shariah, the knowledge from the Prophet. We would be even crazier not to take this knowledge.
So how do we benefit from the knowledge that we seek to require? We learn from our sheikhs and teachers. If a student wants to acquire knowledge from anywhere such as from a university or school, you need to go back to your intention, and you direct your intention in such a way that all the knowledge that you require, you intend to put it into action. Whoever is true and sincere with their intention will be granted two gifts from Allah; the first is Allah will give that person a clear understanding according to Allah and the Prophet and how they would interpret the knowledge, and the second gift is Allah will enable you to put this knowledge into action. If you have to ask yourself "I've learnt so much, but why am I finding it difficult to put it into action?" You have to go back to your intention you made while you were acquiring that knowledge. And every intention we have, we will be rewarded accordingly.
So what should we intend when we are seeking knowledge, whether worldly or Islamic. We can have numerous intentions for one action.
1- When we are seeking knowledge that we are imagining that we are linking ourselves with the chain of the Ulema (inheritors of the Prophet) who have taken their knowledge which has been put in their hearts from generation to generation going back to the Prophet.
2- To benefit ourselves- by improving our own condition and others- by teaching them.
3- To seek closeness to Allah.
For example- we go to a Quran class, yet we lose many benefits because we have not made our intentions. Some may just want to memorise the Quran for the sake of it, but imagine you said before the class "Oh Allah, I am attending this class to memorise the Quran and also to gain closeness to you." Allah will say to us on Judgement Day to those who are regular in reciting the Quran "Recite of the Quran and keep reciting as you recited in the dunya". While you are reciting you will keep ascending, then you will stop at the point according to how much you recited in the dunya.
"Action is nothing without knowledge."
Any action without the required knowledge needed, is not an accepted action. Unless you intended to perform an action with an intention of following the Prophet Muhammad.
Example: Maybe someone doesn't know anything about how to perform Salaah or perform Wudu, and all of their requirements, yet he saw somebody else praying, so this person just imitates the person next to him who already has the knowledge of salaah, he's just imitating and not knowing what it is he is doing and why. Is this person's salaah accepted? No. It was just a matter of him making bodily movements. He had no intention to make salaah, he was just imitating. But if that person intended to pray to Allah until he acquires the knowledge needed, then it can be classified as salaah because the intention itself is knowledge.
Advice
"Know that knowledge today will not distance you from sins, nor bring you into obedience, nor distance you from the Hell fire of tomorrow."
Just by having the knowledge of halal or haraam, will not distance you or bring you closer to jahanamah of jannah.
- We all know that if we read the Quran, for every letter Allah grants us 10 hasanaat (rewards). By having this knowledge, has Allah given us these 10 hasanaat? No. Only when we start reading the Quran do we receive these hasanaat per letter.
- Gheebah (Backbiting). If we make an intention to avoid backbiting at any cost and in any situation, for the sake of following the Prophet Muhammad and to follow the command of Allah then we will be rewarded for this intention straight away. It is also be required when in such a situation where backbiting is happening then you must put this knowledge into action, because you know the dangers of this act.
So what is the definition of Haraam? It is which you will be rewarded by avoiding it, and which you will be punished by you acting upon it. Reward comes with avoiding haraam, and punishment comes with acting upon haraam.
For example :
- We all know that we must lower our gaze when we see someone of the opposite sex. But does a blind person need to lower their gaze? What gaze is there to lower? If the blind person sensed there was a need to lower their gaze, and then they made the intention 'Oh Allah I am lowering my gaze for the sake of following the Prophet and obeying Your command'. Then the blind person will also be rewarded for lowering their gaze, because of the intention they made.
- None of us here have an intention to drink alcohol. Also there is no alcohol present, so the challenge is not here. But if right now we said" I intend to stay away from alcohol, with the intention to follow the Prophet and to follow the command of Allah" then we will be rewarded straight away, by linking our intention with Allah and His messenger.
Whenever we leave the home, we are advised to make a broad intention, such as- "Oh Allah, I intend today as I leave my home to obey every single command that You have commanded me to do and to avoid all the haraam that You have advised me to avoid." So if a person is true in his intention that he made, then he will be rewarded for every good deed he was able to do and also every good deed he wasn’t able to do. This person will also be rewarded for avoiding any kind of haraam he was exposed to and even rewarded for avoiding the haraam he wasn’t exposed to.
For example- not gazing at a woman who is haraam to you. The whole day may of passed by and not a single woman passed you that you weren't allowed to look at, but Allah will still reward you for this intention you made of lowering your gaze if you were to see a woman.
Sometimes we can be really sincere in our intention. For example we can intend with all of our strength not to look at a woman who is haraam to us and two things can befall us.
1 - One is Allah will protect you, because of your sincere intention, so Allah will not put you through this test today of haraam women passing your way or haraam photos coming your way.
2 - The second is - Allah tests your intention. So all of a sudden the mixing of women has increased and has become much harder to control, without you even wanting it. This is a test from Allah and Allah says in the Quran- "We test those who believe." So if even under this severe test, you lower your gaze and conduct yourself with the best of manners, then Allah will raise you in rank in His site, and Allah will not expose you further to such tests in the future Insha'Allah.
Whoever makes this intention that they intend to do good deeds and stay away from haraam, yet you have a fear that Allah will test you in this intention, you can at the end of this intention request from Allah not to test you because you are not strong, and not to expose you to such a test, and Allah may through His mercy not test you Insha'Allah.
Advice
"If you do not act today and do not derive lessons from your past days, you will say on the Last Day: 'Return us to our previous life and we will do good deeds,' and it will be said to you: 'Oh fool, it is from there that you have come'".
So we all know that the life in which we live today, this is the life in which we sow the seeds. If we die, we will not be coming back, so why will you ask to come back when you know Allah will not send us back, only a fool asks such a question. So you now know that once you die you will not be coming back, so why don’t you act now when you know you won't be coming back? Try as much as possible to put you sacred knowledge into action, even if it's just once in your life, just so you can be counted as those who have put into action that which they have learnt. For the one who puts into action the knowledge which he has required, even just once, he will be granted intercession from the Prophet Muhammad on the Day of Judgment. We know the Prophet will intercede for his ummah, and you will be brought into this general intercession. But if you want to be treated better and be closer with the Prophet in Jannah, then you need to do extra deeds.
In some lessons of the past, we have talked about when we should put into action the knowledge that we've required. Firstly what we do is
1- Intend to put into action the knowledge that you have required.
2- Write down the main points that you have learnt. We've been taught that all knowledge can be categorised into two types, one being knowledge that calls upon you to do something, and the other being knowledge that enjoins you to avoid something. Something encouraged to be put into action should be done as soon as possible and knowledge that enjoins you to avoid something, such as bad traits and haraam, then you should avoid such situations and characteristics as soon as possible.
Know that anything good is from Allah and anything bad is from us.
“My dear son... Knowledge without action is insanity, and action without knowledge is insanity.”
Imam Al Ghazali addresses you in a tough, clear, straight-to-the-point method, and this shows how sincere he is as an advisor. Such a person must be true to his word and act upon his own advice, and when he gives advice- he only gives this advice for the sake of Allah. The reason he is so clear in his words is because he loves you and wants to give you advice for the sake of Allah, such as a father would talk to his son when giving advice about something important. Our souls need to be addressed in this direct way.
When we seek knowledge, we do not seek knowledge just for the sake of acquiring knowledge, we must also seek the light of knowledge. We will not attain this knowledge and light until we put the knowledge that we already attainted into action. You may see a person who is starving and has severe hunger pains, and food is put before him, but he does not take from the food and he dies of hunger. What would you say about this person? You would say he's crazy because he did not eat of the food in front of him. Likewise for a sick person who has the medicine in front of him, who then dies of this sickness even though he had the cure, you would call this person mad. What is more important than all of this? - Divine knowledge- such as the Quran, the Shariah, the knowledge from the Prophet. We would be even crazier not to take this knowledge.
So how do we benefit from the knowledge that we seek to require? We learn from our sheikhs and teachers. If a student wants to acquire knowledge from anywhere such as from a university or school, you need to go back to your intention, and you direct your intention in such a way that all the knowledge that you require, you intend to put it into action. Whoever is true and sincere with their intention will be granted two gifts from Allah; the first is Allah will give that person a clear understanding according to Allah and the Prophet and how they would interpret the knowledge, and the second gift is Allah will enable you to put this knowledge into action. If you have to ask yourself "I've learnt so much, but why am I finding it difficult to put it into action?" You have to go back to your intention you made while you were acquiring that knowledge. And every intention we have, we will be rewarded accordingly.
So what should we intend when we are seeking knowledge, whether worldly or Islamic. We can have numerous intentions for one action.
1- When we are seeking knowledge that we are imagining that we are linking ourselves with the chain of the Ulema (inheritors of the Prophet) who have taken their knowledge which has been put in their hearts from generation to generation going back to the Prophet.
2- To benefit ourselves- by improving our own condition and others- by teaching them.
3- To seek closeness to Allah.
For example- we go to a Quran class, yet we lose many benefits because we have not made our intentions. Some may just want to memorise the Quran for the sake of it, but imagine you said before the class "Oh Allah, I am attending this class to memorise the Quran and also to gain closeness to you." Allah will say to us on Judgement Day to those who are regular in reciting the Quran "Recite of the Quran and keep reciting as you recited in the dunya". While you are reciting you will keep ascending, then you will stop at the point according to how much you recited in the dunya.
"Action is nothing without knowledge."
Any action without the required knowledge needed, is not an accepted action. Unless you intended to perform an action with an intention of following the Prophet Muhammad.
Example: Maybe someone doesn't know anything about how to perform Salaah or perform Wudu, and all of their requirements, yet he saw somebody else praying, so this person just imitates the person next to him who already has the knowledge of salaah, he's just imitating and not knowing what it is he is doing and why. Is this person's salaah accepted? No. It was just a matter of him making bodily movements. He had no intention to make salaah, he was just imitating. But if that person intended to pray to Allah until he acquires the knowledge needed, then it can be classified as salaah because the intention itself is knowledge.
Advice
"Know that knowledge today will not distance you from sins, nor bring you into obedience, nor distance you from the Hell fire of tomorrow."
Just by having the knowledge of halal or haraam, will not distance you or bring you closer to jahanamah of jannah.
- We all know that if we read the Quran, for every letter Allah grants us 10 hasanaat (rewards). By having this knowledge, has Allah given us these 10 hasanaat? No. Only when we start reading the Quran do we receive these hasanaat per letter.
- Gheebah (Backbiting). If we make an intention to avoid backbiting at any cost and in any situation, for the sake of following the Prophet Muhammad and to follow the command of Allah then we will be rewarded for this intention straight away. It is also be required when in such a situation where backbiting is happening then you must put this knowledge into action, because you know the dangers of this act.
So what is the definition of Haraam? It is which you will be rewarded by avoiding it, and which you will be punished by you acting upon it. Reward comes with avoiding haraam, and punishment comes with acting upon haraam.
For example :
- We all know that we must lower our gaze when we see someone of the opposite sex. But does a blind person need to lower their gaze? What gaze is there to lower? If the blind person sensed there was a need to lower their gaze, and then they made the intention 'Oh Allah I am lowering my gaze for the sake of following the Prophet and obeying Your command'. Then the blind person will also be rewarded for lowering their gaze, because of the intention they made.
- None of us here have an intention to drink alcohol. Also there is no alcohol present, so the challenge is not here. But if right now we said" I intend to stay away from alcohol, with the intention to follow the Prophet and to follow the command of Allah" then we will be rewarded straight away, by linking our intention with Allah and His messenger.
Whenever we leave the home, we are advised to make a broad intention, such as- "Oh Allah, I intend today as I leave my home to obey every single command that You have commanded me to do and to avoid all the haraam that You have advised me to avoid." So if a person is true in his intention that he made, then he will be rewarded for every good deed he was able to do and also every good deed he wasn’t able to do. This person will also be rewarded for avoiding any kind of haraam he was exposed to and even rewarded for avoiding the haraam he wasn’t exposed to.
For example- not gazing at a woman who is haraam to you. The whole day may of passed by and not a single woman passed you that you weren't allowed to look at, but Allah will still reward you for this intention you made of lowering your gaze if you were to see a woman.
Sometimes we can be really sincere in our intention. For example we can intend with all of our strength not to look at a woman who is haraam to us and two things can befall us.
1 - One is Allah will protect you, because of your sincere intention, so Allah will not put you through this test today of haraam women passing your way or haraam photos coming your way.
2 - The second is - Allah tests your intention. So all of a sudden the mixing of women has increased and has become much harder to control, without you even wanting it. This is a test from Allah and Allah says in the Quran- "We test those who believe." So if even under this severe test, you lower your gaze and conduct yourself with the best of manners, then Allah will raise you in rank in His site, and Allah will not expose you further to such tests in the future Insha'Allah.
Whoever makes this intention that they intend to do good deeds and stay away from haraam, yet you have a fear that Allah will test you in this intention, you can at the end of this intention request from Allah not to test you because you are not strong, and not to expose you to such a test, and Allah may through His mercy not test you Insha'Allah.
Advice
"If you do not act today and do not derive lessons from your past days, you will say on the Last Day: 'Return us to our previous life and we will do good deeds,' and it will be said to you: 'Oh fool, it is from there that you have come'".
So we all know that the life in which we live today, this is the life in which we sow the seeds. If we die, we will not be coming back, so why will you ask to come back when you know Allah will not send us back, only a fool asks such a question. So you now know that once you die you will not be coming back, so why don’t you act now when you know you won't be coming back? Try as much as possible to put you sacred knowledge into action, even if it's just once in your life, just so you can be counted as those who have put into action that which they have learnt. For the one who puts into action the knowledge which he has required, even just once, he will be granted intercession from the Prophet Muhammad on the Day of Judgment. We know the Prophet will intercede for his ummah, and you will be brought into this general intercession. But if you want to be treated better and be closer with the Prophet in Jannah, then you need to do extra deeds.
In some lessons of the past, we have talked about when we should put into action the knowledge that we've required. Firstly what we do is
1- Intend to put into action the knowledge that you have required.
2- Write down the main points that you have learnt. We've been taught that all knowledge can be categorised into two types, one being knowledge that calls upon you to do something, and the other being knowledge that enjoins you to avoid something. Something encouraged to be put into action should be done as soon as possible and knowledge that enjoins you to avoid something, such as bad traits and haraam, then you should avoid such situations and characteristics as soon as possible.
Know that anything good is from Allah and anything bad is from us.