What knowledge are you grateful for?
I am grateful for the opportunity to gain an education and put it
to use in different ways throughout my life alhamdulillah, but the knowledge I
am truly grateful for is that of my faith and how to live it. I grew up in a fairly
religious household and with a dad that studied the faith with passion, albeit
as a layman rather than a scholar. This meant that we were taught Quran at home,
but also the sunnah (Prophetic tradition, ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam, peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the basics of the faith.
As I got older, I learned my faith from the following sources
amongst others:
Namaaz
& Du'aas: The Beginner's Guide to Prayer by Naeem Tariq
Behishti
Zewar (Heavenly Ornaments)
I find that a large part of the way the faith is traditionally shared
or taught centres around being told about things you can’t do. One book I came
across, The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam by Yusuf al-Qaradawi turned this thinking on its head. It
confirmed that we can do most things, except those that are specifically and
clearly prohibited. I found this way of looking at things quite liberating and
a move away from the South Asian authoritarian approach of everything is haram
(or prohibited).
I believe that gaining knowledge is a lifelong endeavour for
everyone, but essentially so for a Muslim. In Islam it isn’t enough to profess faith and
try to act on the main part of it (alms, pilgrimage, prayer etc), it’s
essential to learn the right way to practice and the rulings and methods for each
part of the faith.
At the moment, I am attending a daily half hour online tafseer
class, explaining the Quran a very small part at a time. I can’t explain how
grateful I am to have the opportunity sitting at home, with an amazing young
teacher, in small amounts I can digest.
I am grateful for the knowledge I have been raised with and the grounding
my parents gave me. I pray that I keep learning
about Islam throughout my life and I am included in the ranks of the students
of Islam insh’Allah at my reckoning.
Narrated Ibn
Mas`ud (radhiallahu‘anh): “I heard the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) saying, “There is no envy
except in two: a person who God has given wealth and he spends it in the right
way, and a person whom Allah has given wisdom (ie religious knowledge) and he
gives His decisions accordingly and teaches it to the others. " (Sahih
al-Bukhari 1409)
Narrated Abu Hurairah (radhiallahu‘anh): that the Messenger of
Allah ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever takes a path upon which to
obtain knowledge, Allah makes the path to Paradise easy for him.” (Jami`
at-Tirmidhi 2646)
“All humans are dead except those who have knowledge; and all
those who have knowledge are asleep, except those who do good deeds; and those
who do good deeds are deceived, except those who are sincere; and those who are
sincere are always in a state of worry.” ~ Imam Shafi’i (rahimullah)
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