Studying Islam is a duty upon all Muslims as
one tries to perfect themselves in following Allah SWT and His messenger ﷺ and perfect themselves as proper, upright
Muslims. Devoting one's life to studying
Islam though is largely a community obligation and not required of every person
as specializing in various skills, trades and professions is a blessing for our
Ummah so we can be productive, diverse and help each other in various ways.
Intention, intention, intention
The key to Islamic studies though becomes the
intention. One is immersed in a lifelong
struggle to keep pure intentions, from training oneself how to purify the
intentions, to maintaining those pure intentions and knowing the pitfalls.
Abu Hurairah RAu reported: The Messenger of
Allah ﷺ said, "He who does not acquire
knowledge with the sole intention of seeking the Pleasure of Allah but for
worldly gain, will not smell the fragrance of Jannah on the Day of
Resurrection." Abu Dawud.
Unlike in the everyday tradecrafts and
occupations, where intention to do harm or good is limited to a set of
guidelines for the specific circumstances of ones business dealings and
necessary acts of worship, for a student of Islam who will guide people, every
hour of the day, and every day of the month becomes a struggle to practice what
one intends to preach. And with the
seemingly endless and never-ending corruptions, misconceptions and challenges
of the world, the pitfalls are endless.
When you intend to guide others, your rewards and punishment are multiplied
by your correctness.
It was narrated from Abu Hurairah RAu that:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Whoever
calls people to true guidance, will have a reward equal to that of those who
follow him, without that detracting from their reward in the slightest. And
whoever calls people to misguidance, will have a (burden of) sin equal to that
of those who follow him, without that detracting from their sins in the
slightest.'" Sunan Ibn Majah, The
Book of the Sunnah, Book 1, Hadith 211.
Grade : Sahih (Darussalam).
Motivation and love of learning, teaching and
helping others
Islamic studies requires one to be self
motivated ultimately unless your parents put you in very structured programs
from childhood. Especially online
studies like we engage in with a virtual classroom at Islamic Online University
requires one to structure their own day, their own week, and figure out the
best pattern for reading, watching lectures, writing out assignments, attending
live sessions and such while of course not effecting the obligatory duties of
prayer, or fasting Ramadan and such. One
must be motivated to integrate all of the knowledge into their life piece by
piece, step by step and act by act as the knowledge learned will by and large
have a direct implication in ones daily and personal life as well as how one
interacts and teaches or helps others.
The knowledge is far from being only something for ourselves but it is
for the betterment of the community, the nation and all mankind. An obligation to teach it and as a servant of
Allah SWT, help others becomes ever present and pressing especially when there
is a lot of injustice and problems everywher.
Topics of learning are multi-faceted so one
must love learning and studying as a focus in Islamic studies is not derived or
achieved until after a solid foundation is built. Some people love the more mathematical rules
of Arabic grammar (nahw) or rules of recitation (tajweed). Others love the more deep thinking that goes
on with deriving legal rulings (fiqh) or Quranic exegesis (tafseer). Still others love the amazing life of our
beloved Prophet ﷺ in his biography
(seerah) and statements, actions and tacit approvals (hadiths).
The common reason people state for motivation
that "my parents are making me do it" is not a motivation of oneself
but a motivation of ones parents and is not a good pathway to success. The Qur'an and Sunnah should be enough to
answer the key motivating question of "why?" Yet sometimes external factors and forces
drive people down pathways that are not meant for them. Which leads right into the next quite related
topic.
A pure hearted and long lasting interest
The pure heart and long lasting interest go
hand in hand as real genuine interest is heart felt and all temporary passion
will fade away unless one has a true love for Allah SWT and His messenger ﷺ.
Islam should have a profound and deep effect and place in one's
life. Not everyone is meant or required
to be a student of Islam just like not everyone is meant to be a doctor or
scientist. One must look deep inside the
heart and ask themselves if they want to spend their entire life forsaking
other disciplines and occupations to stay on a mission to guide people to the
truth.
Further one must choose to live their life as
an example and role model of Islam or live in the foulness of hypocrisy and corruption. Those whose hearts go un-pure in this regards
and take knowledge of Islam for worldly gain and benefit, are going to be in
the depths of the fire and the lowest ones if indeed it was hypocrisy. It is a field where you choose to make your
life a situation of nearly all or nothing.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah RAu, who
said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
say: ...[Another] will be a man who has studied [religious] knowledge and has
taught it and who used to recite the Quran. He will be brought and Allah will
make known to him His favours and he will recognize them. [The Almighty] will
say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I studied [religious]
knowledge and I taught it and I recited the Quran for Your sake. He will say:
You have lied - you did but study [religious] knowledge that it might be said
[of you]: He is learned. And you recited the Quran that it might be said [of
you]: He is a reciter. ... 40 Hadith Qudsi, Hadith 6.
Strength, patience and perseverance
In the context of today's world, where
misconceptions and misattributes to Islam and our Prophet ﷺ are rampant and done by the media and organized Islamaphobic
groups, one must be ready to face persecution, struggles and abuse by the
system or errant individuals like the desert Bedouins who unjustly murdered a
number of great companions (sahaba) of the Prophet ﷺ
who would go out on missions with no goal or reason except to spread the word
of Islam.
As a student of Islam, one is a natural target
for the forces of evil in the world who have fixed their schemes and mischief
on the Muslim world, profiting over wars and making chaos therein as we have
seen in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and now even Yemen. After the steady decline of the Ottoman
empire, the Muslims have been in the radar of the big powers for persecution
and trials. In fact that the
difficulties are faced by Muslims and the persecution is so incredibly severe
as many scandals and incidents or horrible treacherous imprisonments have shown
in recent years, that it is a sign of the truthfulness and correctness of
Islam. But these are times of not just
patience, but general perseverance. We
must be ready to struggle, not just today and tomorrow, by next year and next
decade or until the help of Allah comes and grants us some relief. The prophets and their people were tried and
tested in this manner and the Quran promises: "Do the people think that
they will be left to say, "We believe" and they will not be tried?"
(Al-Ankabut, 29:2).
A desire to do more and research and advance
our religion (deen) further is also important.
Though it is not for the current discussion, the more master's and
doctorate students of Islam, the more we can properly and intellectually and
carefully defend our core beliefs in the face of ever increasing modern
deviance, controversy and complexity.
Islamic sciences are still open for some developments for those willing
to take those various tasks and topics and devote their lives to such advancement
even if it is just rearranging what is there in a new perspective. The computer and internet have opened the
door to more organization and analysis then ever has been previously seen.
To sum it up
Islamic studies is a great multiplier and thus
ones life becomes a battle of pure intent.
An intent that could be multiplied in any amount as the truth from Allah
SWT transcends through generations until it is halted by the forces of
disbelief or Allah SWT's will; or misguidance that transcends until the truth
sets it aright.
The internal aspects are so greatly emphasized
as all the categories show. The external
acts of Islam are a given as with the internal faith so installed, one will
barely need to explicitly think about these acts from an external perspective
as they are truly such a part of one's identity, self and soul and the fear of
Allah SWT out of love and respect which we call taqwa is elevated to the point
of one who come to master such physical obedience. But the inner struggle is never guaranteed
until the time is up and we pass from this life. With that in mind we do what Allah SWT has
instructed us to do via His messenger and make supplication: "My Lord,
increase me in knowledge." (Ta-Ha, 20:114).
It was narrated from Umm Salamah RAaa that
when the Prophet ﷺ performed the Subh
(morning prayer), while he said the Salam, he would say: ‘Allahumma inni
as’aluka ‘ilman nafi’an, wa rizqan tayyiban, wa ‘amalan mutaqabbalan (O Allah,
I ask You for beneficial knowledge, goodly provision and acceptable deeds).’” Sunan Ibn Majah, Book of Supplication, Book
5, Hadith 978. Grade : Sahih
(Darussalam).
Those who engage in Islamic studies should be
ready to beg Allah SWT their entire life to continue granting precious
guidance: "Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us
and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower." (Aali
Imran, 3:8).
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