Gifts of Knowledge

Previous post here. The Shaikh said in closing:

Conclusion

And so this is what I have deemed appropriate to record here from the statements of the people of knowledge to demonstrate the importance of this issue. It is, as you can see, an extremely serious matter since the majority of the Muslims today have preoccupied themselves with those opinions, leaving the texts of the Quraan and Sunnah behind them, abandoned.

And it is as if I can already hear someone saying, ‘The Muslims have not abandoned the Book of their Lord, nor have they neglected it. In fact, in recent times the broadcasting of the Noble Quraan has spread throughout the capitals of the Muslim world, and Quraan memorisation madrasahs have likewise spread throughout most cities. Indeed, the Islamic University of Madinah has even established a college dedicated to the Quraan and its various sciences. How, then, can it be said that the Muslims have abandoned the Quraan under such circumstances?!’

The answer is that what has been mentioned is indeed a reality, and it is a great and beneficial undertaking, inshā Allaah. However, this is not everything that the Muslims are required to do with regard to the Quraan. 

Rather, all that was mentioned is merely the means.

And one should not stop at the means before reaching the goal, because the purpose of broadcasting the Quraan, memorising it, and studying its sciences is to preserve it as the constitution of the Ummah, which must be upheld, just as it must be referred back to in every area of life.

It is not sufficient at all merely to memorise and broadcast it, without it being sought for judgment in anything. Rather, it must be the ruling authority in everything. Believing otherwise is a mistake or a fallacy, because failing to judge by the Quraan and judging by other than what Allaah has revealed is considered a form of disbelief in the Quraan and an abandonment of it.

The abandonment of the Quraan takes many forms and is of varying degrees.

Ibn al-Qayyim says, “Abandoning the Qur’an is of five types:

The first: abandoning listening to it, believing in it, and paying attention to it.

The second: abandoning acting upon it and abiding by what it declares lawful and unlawful, even if one reads and believes in it.

The third: abandoning referring to it for judgment and making it the basis of judgment in the fundamental and subsidiary matters of religion, and believing that it does not provide certain knowledge and that its evidences are merely verbal and do not yield knowledge.

The fourth: abandoning pondering over it, understanding it, and knowing what the One who spoke it intended.

The fifth: abandoning seeking healing and treatment through it for all the diseases and ailments of the heart, and instead seeking the cure for one’s illness from something else and abandoning treatment through it.

All of this falls under the Most High’s statement, “The Messenger has cried, ‘O my Lord! My people have indeed received this Quraan with neglect,’” [25:30] even though some forms of abandonment are lighter than others.”

This is what I mean when I speak about the Muslims abandoning the Book of their Lord and neglecting it. The words of Ibn al-Qayyim are clear and comprehensive and there is no doubt that the most dangerous form of abandoning the Quraan is abandoning its authority as a basis for judgment, replacing it with something else, and believing that it is unsuitable for resolving the problems of the modern age. This also includes the atheistic expressions uttered by some atheists today, which indicate a lack of faith in the Quraan and a failure to regard it as anything more than verses recited on certain occasions.

To confirm what I have mentioned, I shall quote what an Arab official holding the rank of ‘minister’ [wazīr] said about Islamic law when he was asked the following question, “What is the stance of the Baʿath Party regarding the logic which had the Islamic spirit running through it and which was presented by some conservative Arab states as their view of Arab problems today?! Does the party still maintain its secular perspective toward them?!”

That was the wording of the question.

The official answered, “We disagree with those who think that salvation from the predicaments in which the Arab ummah finds itself lies in Islam. As for those who work to revive Islamic movements and Quranic law, they hold an outlook that is incompatible with ours. We do not believe in these things, and we are certainly a secular party.” He continued, “And at this historical stage in which we are living, we believe we must find scientific and practical methods to implement more than religions.”

So this is what the leadership of the Islamic Ummah has come to in many countries. This makes it incumbent upon students of knowledge to devote themselves to studying the Quraan and Sunnah, so that they may equip themselves with the weapons of knowledge and understanding and thereby prepare themselves for leadership after completing their studies, with the aim of rectifying what has become corrupt in the affairs of this pitiful Ummah, which has fallen prey to atheistic communism that has begun to encircle it from every direction, seeking to corrupt its religion and distance it from its Islaam, its Quraan, and the Sunnah of its Prophet.

They must also aim to change the prevailing notion in many circles that studying the Quranic Sharīʾah does not qualify a person for leadership, reform, and solving the problems of the modern age, and that anyone who assumes leadership must necessarily have ‘Washingtonian’ thinking, be ‘Londonian’ in outlook, have ‘Parisian’ or ‘Roman’ morals, and finally possess ‘Moscowite’ or ‘Beijingese’ beliefs.

Students of religious knowledge must change this atheistic conception in order to show the people that someone who studies Islaam and the Quranic Sharīʾah is indeed fit for leadership. Rather, it should be a condition for anyone who assumes leadership of the Islamic Ummah that he be far removed from the aforementioned characteristics. He must believe in Allaah as his Lord and the only One worthy of worship, in Islaam as his religion and methodology, in the Quraan as his constitution and in Muhammad as his Messenger, leader, and example ﷺ. And he must possess insight and understanding of the religion, and have Muhammad-like character, conduct, and creed.

And with Allaah lies success.

If we study the Quraan and Sunnah with this determination, and Allaah sees that we are sincere and truthful in doing so, Allaah will grant us success and crown our efforts with success by His permission. For the entire affair belongs to Him: whatever He wills comes to pass, and whatever He does not will does not come to pass.

This type of study is a form of striving. So let Allaah see sincerity and truthfulness from you in your striving, “As for those who struggle in Our cause, We will surely guide them along Our Way. And Allaah is certainly with the good-doers.” [29:69]

What I ultimately wish to convey to you is that you should understand that the foremost objective of studying this curriculum taught at the Islamic University of Madinah is to produce genuine scholars for the world after they have completed their studies, so that they may contribute to the movement of building and reform and help establish an Islamic society, a society built on firm foundations derived from the study of the great religion of Islaam. These foundations are:

1. Being content and pleased with Allaah as the sole Lord and the One worthy of worship, He who alone possesses authority, judgement is His, the command is His and creation belongs to Him.

2. Being content with Islaam as one’s religion, methodology, and path to honour and dignity. It is Islaam that contains the solution to all contemporary problems, despite those who claim that it offers no solution to these problems and no way out of predicaments, “What a terrible claim that comes out of their mouths! They say nothing but lies.” [18:5]

3. Being content with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as the Messenger, exemplar, model, and leader of those mindful ˹of Allaah˺, and they are those who follow him.

4. Being content with the Noble Quraan as the constitution and methodology for a dignified life, a life of honour and nobility.

5. Being content with the Prophetic Sunnah as the second source of Islamic legislation, upon whose explanation the first depends in many of its texts and rulings.

The society which has this as its foundation is the Islamic society. Any society in whose structure one of these foundations is absent is a society of ignorance, whether it likes it or not.

And Allaah alone is the Guide and Allaah is the One who grants success.”

END.

May Allaah have mercy on Shaikh Muḥammad Amān al-Jāmī.

Tagged: Hadith Rejectors, quraniyoon