Sikander Hashmi – Impactful Knowledge KMA Friday Message
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School has started for a week or 2
weeks, so I'm gonna start off with a
little,
school story of myself.
So I remember
when I was younger, about 30 years ago,
when my teacher assigned me a project,
something that I needed to do research
for, and this was probably the case for
many of us.
There was no concept of Google.
Right? There was no search engines. There were
hardly any computers.
Internet access was not very common.
So in order to do research,
where was the first place you would go
in school?
You'd go to the library.
And in the library, there would be
multiple
varieties of encyclopedias,
usually 10 volumes, 12 volumes, maybe more. Right?
And then you would go and take out
look for the letter and, you know, find
the word that you're looking to research and
read 1 and read the other and maybe
photocopy the page, take some notes,
find some other books, you know, go speak
to the librarian.
Right? Actually, in my time, there was one
computer they had in the office in the
library,
so you could go there and, you know,
they had some sort of encyclopedia or or
some sort of resource on there so you
could search the terms.
So
this was my experience, you know, with doing
research pre Internet, pre Google. And, if you
were fortunate, you had maybe the encyclopedia at
home,
so you didn't have to be dependent on
the library. You could come home and you
can, you know, do more research.
The CD ROM made the encyclopedia,
in terms of printed volumes, obsolete.
Okay? The CD came along. There was one,
you know,
Microsoft. What was it? Incarta, I think. Right?
It was 1 CD,
and the entire encyclopedia was there. It was
mind boggling.
Right? This entire volume. Right? Like, 12 volumes,
15 volumes,
so heavy. Right? If you're moving or something,
it was like a headache, if you had
it in the basement or something. You know,
it's like such a heavy, you know, valuable
and expensive too. It wasn't cheap. Right? It
probably cost upwards of $1,000, right, if not
more.
And all of that in one CD ROM.
Right? You just pop in the CD into
your computer and the entire
encyclopedia
is there, and not just text, but of
course videos and sounds and everything else as
well. Right? So it was revolutionary.
It was mind blowing.
And then
access to the Internet and search engines,
right, and high speed Internet basically made the
CD ROM obsolete as well. And today we
find
that knowledge is available at our fingertips, not
even fingertips, you can just ask. You can
ask a virtual assistant
and it will find information for you and
tell you. Right? So knowledge and information has
become
widely available,
easily easily accessible
to almost, you know, I don't want to
say everyone, but the majority of the world
or many people in the world who can
easily access information.
So you might think that, you know, from
an Islamic perspective, that's,
you know, a very
positive thing, because in Islam we are encouraged
to acquire knowledge,
We are encouraged
to become educated,
and, there are so many interesting things to
learn about.
So this is something to appreciate and to
celebrate.
And what I say to that is maybe,
not necessarily.
Today, my brothers and sisters,
wanna take a few moments to explore
the Islamic perspective on knowledge. Of course, this
is relevant because the school year has started
and, the academic year has started,
and,
you know, maybe
you have children who are thinking about careers,
maybe you're thinking about your own career and
what you have studied already or what you're
planning to study.
So let's talk a little bit about knowledge.
And indeed there is no question that there
is great encouragement
to seek knowledge.
In some cases, it's even obligatory.
Right. It's even obligatory. So generally, yes, we
are encouraged absolutely
to gain knowledge
and to be educated.
But it's not
for, you know, just for any and every
type of knowledge.
There is some criteria.
There are some guidelines.
Not every type of knowledge
is knowledge which we are encouraged to acquire.
There are certain qualities we can say of
the types of knowledge that is obligatory
or that is praiseworthy
to seek. So first of all, we find
the hadith of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
In Sunan ibn Majah Jaber radiAllahu anhu reported
that the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said
ask Allah
for knowledge that is
nafya, that is
beneficial
from that gives you benefit.
And seek refuge in Allah
from knowledge without benefit.
So this gives us a really important principle.
First of all, you know that there can
be knowledge which is beneficial and which is
not beneficial.
Secondly, that we should be asking Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala for knowledge which is beneficial
but also
that there is a type of knowledge or
there is knowledge that can be so not
beneficial
rather it can be so harmful
that you should be asking
or seeking refuge in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
from some such knowledge.
Right? Generally, we say ta'awwud and we say
awwudubillah. Right? We say what? Awwbillahimash shaitanarajim.
We know how evil shaitan is. We seek
the protection of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We
seek refuge in Allah from shaitan. But in
this case, the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam is
telling us
Seek refuge in Allah from
knowledge
without benefit. Knowledge that does not give you
benefit, meaning knowledge which can essentially end up
being harmful for you. So we understand
that not all knowledge is equal. There is
knowledge that is beneficial, but there's also knowledge
which is not beneficial for which we should
be seeking
protection, seeking refuge in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
from it. Zaydumnu'arkam
also related as narrated by my Muslim in
the Sahih that the messenger of Allah sallallahu
alaihi wasallam said, Allah.
Oh Allah, I seek refuge. He's making dua.
Oh Allah, I seek refuge in you from
knowledge
that does not benefit.
And he goes on, and
from a heart that is not reverent
of the fear of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
From a soul that is not content.
And from a supplication that is not answered.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So here the
prophet salallahu alayhi wasallam is making dua
for protection,
seeking the refuge of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
from multiple things, and he starts off with,
a knowledge
that
is not benefit, that does not benefit. Now
the scholars and our pious predecessors
have stated
that
beneficial knowledge essentially
is knowledge
that leads to actions.
What is it? Beneficial knowledge is knowledge which
leads to actions.
So
simply learning, compiling data and information
that makes us feel good, that makes us
feel knowledgeable, and we don't really do anything
with it, that's not really the the that's
not what we are encouraged to do. That's
not the purpose of being encouraged
to seek knowledge.
So i'il knowledge is not really the goal
you can say, but rather it is the
means
to the goal.
And what is the goal? It is seeking
the pleasure of Allah
It is seeking success in the hereafter,
1st and foremost.
So, essentially, if knowledge
does not make you a better Muslim,
does not make you a better servant of
Allah, does not make you a better person
through your character and your worship,
then it's not really benefiting to you.
So what should knowledge do for us?
What should be our intent and what should
be the effect?
So there could be different things, right, because
this was general. So diving a little bit
deeper to knowledge
that helps bring you closer to Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala.
It gives you the qurb of Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala. You feel you are getting closer
to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. You have a
deeper appreciation
for the greatness of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
You have a stronger connection with Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala because of this knowledge
or knowledge that reminds you of Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala. Right? And all of this is
dependent on intention. Okay. So for example, somebody
who's studying the science sciences, right, studying biology,
studying medicine,
whichever other science they're studying, right, they're essentially
studying the creation of Allah
Right. And if they make the intention that
I am studying this and in the process
of studying this I want to be reminded
of the greatness of Allah
I want to be reminded of the greatness
of the creation of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
The majesty of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. The
beautiful and perfect design that Allah Subhanahu wa
ta'ala has made this universe with. So that
can be a good thing then.
Right? Or knowledge that helps you improve and
rectify yourself for the sake of Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
Rectify yourself for the sake of Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala. A lot of times,
right, we are engaging
in,
personal development.
We're engaging in self help material.
Right? You're attaining development courses, right, getting coached,
a lot of stuff, and it's not necessarily
bad. But is it really for the sake
of Allah,
or is it because, you know, I wanna
be a better speaker, I wanna be a
better salesperson,
you know, I wanna be a better
influencer on social media, you know, I wanna
have better sales. Not necessarily
bad intentions or objectives if, you know, you
you you channel it in the right way.
Right? If you're not doing it for fame,
if you're doing it because you wanna sustain
your family, you wanna earn a halal income,
and so on. Right? So there's ways to
to navigate that those intentions or or tweak
those intentions
and and make them permissible.
But really, ideally, when we talk about beneficial
knowledge,
should be bringing you
or bringing improvement inside of you for the
sake of Allah Subhanahu wa
ta'ala. Or at the very least, at the
very least brings you some, you know, permissible
worldly benefit. K. So maybe it's not anything
directly related
to your relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Okay.
But
it's a worldly benefit that you get that
you that is permissible and that you can
use to serve Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
or to serve his creation with the aim
of earning his pleasure.
Right? So it's important that whenever
we think of knowledge,
when we think of career choices, when we
think of anything
in terms of information and knowledge that is,
that we're going to take in, we try
to link it as much as possible with
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
We link it with our relationship with Allah
as much as possible
as much as possible.
Sure, everyone has strengths and weaknesses, has interests,
so you don't wanna be stuck doing, I
firmly believe, you don't wanna be stuck doing
something you hate doing for rest of your
life as a career. Right? I wouldn't encourage
you to do that. So, yes, you want
to consider your choices your preferences. You wanna
consider your interests. You wanna consider your skills.
But at the same time, you want to
ideally couple it with
ways
of earning the pleasure of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
The prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam has also told
us, and I think it's a famous hadith,
Anas Subhanahu Wa'alaahu anhu relates recording in Surah
Al ibn Majah
that Qala rasulallahu
alayhi wasalam that
seeking of knowledge,
the seeking of I'm is obligatory
for every Muslim.
Seeking of knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim.
Now this does not mean that everyone must
become a scholar,
that everyone must excel in terms of their
acquisition and their seeking of knowledge.
Rather,
it points us towards the obligation
of learning
the rules and regulations of the things which
are obligatory and prohibited upon us.
Right. So as an adult Muslim,
what is required of me? What does Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala want from me in my
situation?
Right. So
you know what is required of me? How
do I do it?
What can I do, what can't I do,
right? So of course there's some types of
knowledge which is,
obligatory for everyone,
right, as adults, as Muslim adults. So when
it comes to the essential worship
rules and guidelines, regulations regarding wudu as an
example,
a ritual priority of tahara,
of salat, of offering prayer, of giving zakat,
of, you know, the 5 pillars, all the
things which are obligatory upon us of fasting
and so on and so forth.
Secondly,
also what rules apply
to you in your situation?
What does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala want from
you and how does he want you to
behave
in the situation that you are in? Okay.
So you're a business person. Masha'Allah. Very good.
Okay. Honest business is, you know, like the
best, the the the means of income with
the most barakah, sha Allah. Right? Honest halal
business. So you're in business.
Okay. So what rules apply to you? Right?
What guidelines apply to you? What type of
transactions are halal? Which ones are not?
What type of business should you be engaged
in? Which types of business business and transactions
should you not be engaged in? Right? So
finding out the rules that apply to you
in a particular situation. If you're in finance,
same thing. You're a doctor. You're,
you know,
you studied medicine. You're dealing with patients.
K. What sort of rules apply to you?
What are the ethics
and guidelines?
Islamic teachings in dealing with illness and dealing
with patients.
You're married. Okay. So what are the guidelines
regarding marriage that apply to you, right, in
your role as a husband or as a
wife?
You do social interactions. What are the guidelines
of social interactions, of dress, you know, of
responsibilities
that you have upon yourself, and so on
and so forth? You need to buy food.
Because what are the guidelines of halal and
haram? Right? Particularly pertaining to the location you
are in. Right? So all of this type
of knowledge becomes obligatory upon a person because
it applies to them directly.
It directly applies to them in terms of
their situation, their circumstances, what they do, and
where they are, and it relates to their
relationship
with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So this is
the bare minimum brothers and sisters that we
required to know that it's obligatory to learn,
but there are great virtues for going beyond
and seeking
beneficial
knowledge. And remember what we discussed about what
actually qualifies as beneficial
knowledge.
Now the question is what's the best way
to learn?
K. Because listening to this, you know, and
you're saying, okay. You know, I should maybe
take some steps to learn this type of
knowledge because let's face it. Right? I'll be
honest. Like, I think for for the vast
majority of people,
right, our focus on education
is really
to
earn a living
and to establish our careers.
And if you have the right intention, that's
not a bad thing. Right? Because
especially the men are required. Right? By
By Allah to sustain their families, to support
their families with a halal income. Right? So
to be concerned about your career and to
spend time studying and building skills,
so that you can trade, and you can
work, and you can earn a halal income
is not a bad thing. You can have
that intention, and that's actually a good thing.
You're actually, you know,
fulfilling a responsibility and obligation that Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala has put upon you. Right?
But is that really it? Is that going
to be the limit of our knowledge?
Is that the only thing we're going to
be seeking knowledge for?
Or are we going to try to go
beyond
and increase our knowledge in a way that
is pleasing to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala that
has impact
upon us, that is positive, that brings us
closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that makes
us more useful for the deen of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala so that we can serve
Allah azza wa jal and we can serve
his creation. Right. So question,
best way to learn, right? Is it reading?
Is it listening?
You know, is it online courses? Right? That's
a big question that often comes up because,
you know, online learning is is huge. I
think after covid maybe people are realizing the
value of in person learning.
So my brothers and sisters, the divine method,
the prophetic method
is to learn from a teacher,
is to learn from
a teacher. This is what we learn
from
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and Sayna Rasoolallahu
alaihi wa sallam.
The first word was
ikra.
Right?
Ikra. Read. But that word was taught.
That word was
taught.
Right? And it was continuously sent from Allah
to Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
through a teacher, Sayyidah Jibreel Alaihi Wasallam. And
then
the prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was the teacher
for the companions radiAllahu Alaihi Wasallam.
Right? And then they taught those who followed
them. Right? So the indication here is that
reading is obviously important.
Right? Books, reading is important because the first
word is. Right? So, of course, absolutely reading
is important,
but having a teacher is equally important.
Having a teacher is just as important because
spiritual knowledge, especially the knowledge of the deen
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
it is said that it goes heart from
heart to heart.
Where does it go?
Or how does it transmit?
From
heart to heart because it's spiritual in nature.
Right? It is spiritual in nature. Yes, of
course, it requires the use of the mind.
Yes, of course, it has an intellectual component
to it, but the essence of it is
spiritual.
And spirituality
has to do with
the heart, has to do with taqal.
Right? So it goes from heart to heart
because it is supposed to have an effect.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells this in the
Quran.
It is only those who are knowledgeable among
his servants
that have the kashiyyah, that have the fear
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Right. So here we understand
that having knowledge,
right, true knowledge
should lead should have an effect.
What should it do? It should have an
effect and the greatest effect it can have
is the fear of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So a true a'alim, a true scholar
should be one who is fearful of Allah
Subhanahu wa ta'ala and true beneficial knowledge should
have this effect.
And
the fear of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala
then affects,
impacts
every action
and behavior of the of the believer.
Right? It has a a a a holistic
impact.
It has an all encompassing impact because a
person who is
fearful of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
who is conscious of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
who is fearful of standing in front of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on the day of
judgment
and has that at the forefront of their
of their hearts and their minds,
their actions are going to be impacted accordingly
because they know they have to face accountability
one day, right. The day when even the
prophets the are
going to be afraid.
So, of course, having that understanding and having
that belief
will certainly impact a person's behavior,
their actions. So my brothers and sisters,
ideally seek a a teacher
who is a person of knowledge
and piety.
A person of knowledge
and piety. When we talk about the deen
of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and we talk
about the knowledge of deen, the knowledge which
is gonna bring you closer to Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala. K. You want to have if
especially if you're if you're learning the the
the the the various
branches of religious knowledge, seek a teacher who
is not only a person of knowledge but
also a person of piety.
And a true person of piety is not
going to announce it.
That doesn't happen in our tradition.
Right.
A person of piety of knowledge
is not going to have
degrees and certificates lined up on their walls
when you go to see them.
No. You're probably gonna find them at the
masjid, and you probably won't even realize that
they're a person of knowledge.
K? So it's a little bit harder than
in the western tradition.
Right? So one of the main, you know,
differences between the western and and the classical
Islamic
tradition is that. Right? Is that a person's
accomplishments,
their knowledge, their taqwa is not something which
is advertised. You have to search for it.
You have to look for it.
It takes a bit of effort. You have
to ask around.
You have to go and experience, meet people,
listen to people. Right. Listen to lectures, listen
to talks, and you have to search for
it. You have to find it. Right. It's
not openly advertised,
or at least it shouldn't be. Right. So
you want to be taking your knowledge from
a person of knowledge, a person of taqwa
who is a lover of Allah and his
messenger
Now knowledge
can be harmful as well, of course.
Let's talk about that briefly. If it leads
a person to haram or something which is
harmful,
a type of knowledge perhaps that creates doubts
with regards to faith
or leads to criminal activity
or opens the door to a particular type
of sin. Right? Imagine a person seeks, acquires
a certain type of knowledge, and because of
that knowledge, that information,
they actually end up committing haram. They end
they are introduced to a new type of
sin, and then they continue sinning for the
rest of their lives. They become addicted to
that sin.
Right? This is harmful knowledge. It can never
be beneficial.
Right? Knowledge can also be harmful if it
leads to spiritual ills. So if it leads
a person
who becomes knowledgeable
to becoming
a show off, they started
engaging
in in in riya or kibr, in arrogance.
Right?
I remember someone telling me
that knowledge,
right,
is like
a high dose high voltage electricity.
And if you don't have something to control
it,
right, if you don't have a mechanism to
control it, it will end up burning you
spiritually. So a person learns,
but they become a show off
and they become arrogant and prideful.
It burns them spiritually even though they have
the knowledge.
So that is why
tazkiyah is so important
so that we have the regulator,
the spiritual regulator
so that the influx,
the surge of knowledge, just like the electricity
surge. What happens if in a thunderstorm or
all of a sudden there's a surge of
electricity? It's gonna burn your electronics. Right? If
you don't have protection, it's gonna burn your
your equipment.
It's gonna fry it. Right? So similarly, the
heart is the same way. If knowledge comes
in, high knowledge, high, you know, level of
knowledge coming in, but there's there's nothing to
control that that voltage.
Right? So end up burning a person spiritual
spiritually. So that is why we have tazkiyah,
the importance
of rectifying and controlling oneself and being aware
of one's feelings,
so that as one acquires knowledge,
they are not being affected in a negative
way. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us
all.
Of course, it can also be harmful if
it is done with the wrong
intention.
The prophet
said, whoever seeks knowledge to impress the scholars,
to argue with the foolish, or to attract
the attention of people, Allah will admit him
into the * fire.
Protect us all. Seeking knowledge to impress the
scholars, to argue with the foolish,
especially social media nowadays, or to attract the
attention of people.
Right. These are big no no's when it
comes to to to knowledge.
Prophet
also said whoever seeks knowledge that should be
sought for the sake of Allah almighty,
but only to gain some worldly benefit,
he will never don't know the fragrance of
Jannah
on the day of resurrection.
Right. So to use the knowledge of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, the knowledge that is related
to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala directly, the knowledge
of deen for
purely worldly benefit, this is also something which
has been prohibited for us. May Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala protect us and forgests forgets all
forgive us all and remember that Allah
is the true bestower of knowledge. Turn to
him and do not forget him and his
pleasure when seeking knowledge.
Make duaa as the prophet
was instructed.
Right? Allah
commanded him to ask increase in nothing else
except knowledge, except
The prophet
would make this and we end with that.
Oh Allah, benefit me from that which you
taught me, and teach me that which will
benefit me and increase me in knowledge. My
brothers and sisters, do an audit of all
your studies that you have done so far.
Do an audit of anything that you continue
to learn or information that you continue to
absorb,
and see how it fits in this criteria.
How beneficial is it, or is it not
beneficial? What effect is it having on you
spiritually?
And how can you change that to improve
it so that you continued on the path
of seeking knowledge for the pleasure of Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
grant us purity in our hearts and our
minds. May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala grant us
beneficial knowledge, and may he protect us from
all types of knowledge which is harmful for
I mean