Thursday 30 May 2019

Ramadan 2019/1440: Thought of the Day 24

The quote for Day 24 of Ramadan from my box of things to think about is:

“O beloved disciple, knowledge without action is madness and action without knowledge can’t be” ~ Imam Ghazali (RA) from Ayyuha ’l-Walad al-Muhibb (Advice to the Muslim Youth)

Alhamdulillah, one of the things we often bring up in the weekly ladies Islamic circle is a reminder about the importance of knowledge.  Enough knowledge to practice the basics of our faith in the right way – knowing what is obligatory, what is halal (allowed) and haram (forbidden) and what is pure or impure.

But we also talk about how knowledge alone is not enough.  There are lots of people who have lots of knowledge but don’t act on any of it.  There are people know the religion in detail including all of the laws and rulings, but don’t even pray.  So what needs to go with knowledge? It is dhikr or remembrance of Allah (SWT). There is a tradition that dhikr purifies and softens the heart:

Prophet Muhammad ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “There is a polish for everything that takes away rust; and the polish for the heart is the remembrance of Allah.” (Bukhari)

This is the idea that remembrance if Allah softens the heart enough so that even if we have a little knowledge we are disposed to act on it. That dhikr or remembrance can be in the form of recitation of the Quran, adhkar, salutations on the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

Prophet Muhammad ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “For you to go in the morning and learn a single verse from the book of Allah (SWT) is better than you offering 100 rakat of Salaah. For you to go in the morning and learn a single chapter of knowledge, whether it is practiced or not, is better than offering 1000 rakat in Salaah.” (Sunan ibn Majah)

Prophet Muhammad ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said: “For him who goes out in search of religious knowledge. Allah (SWT) shall make easy the way to heaven.” (Muslim)


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