Suhaib Webb – The Way Of The Worshippers (New Part Six) The Importance of Education
AI: Summary ©
AI: Transcript ©
Welcome back to our readings of of
Imam Abuhamdul alwazari
New York
that we've read from this text, and I
apologize. I hope we can get it done.
It's a very important text, but it is
a slow drip.
It is a slow drip. It takes time.
There's 2 ways to teach this text and
how I'm teaching it to you now is
dirasa and alsiyah. I'm going through each word
of the text.
But there's another way that we can teach
it what's called dirasa mawdu'i. This is the
method of al Azhar where we go through
the topics
and we kind of skim over them.
That's also a very good way for someone
to become familiar with the text before they
delve into, like, each word. But just be
patient. Be patient and don't get frustrated and
stick with me inshallah.
The sheikh
began the first valley, and the first valley
is knowledge. Although we wanna use the word
obstacles, what he means by valley,
is of course an obstacle.
And and and that's the meaning here, almost
like a hurdle. Things you're gonna find in
front of you on a life dedicated to
faith and devotion
and the acquisition of knowledge.
So he says
after saying
the importance of knowledge and the importance of
worship and using those 2 verses from Sholt
Palak and Sholt Azaria
now he says something very powerful that we
need to think critically about and we wanna
investigate and unpack.
He says
you have to know that anything other than
the acquisition of knowledge and worship is false.
There's no good in it.
He says
that anything else besides the acquisition of knowledge
and worship is false and there's no good
in it. That needs to be unpacked because
certainly
someone may misunderstand
this to think he means
prayer, fasting, hajj, and acts of devotion but
what he means here is the broader definition
of worship
which includes how we deal with others,
our character,
as we'll talk about later on, our spiritual
states, all of those things are gonna fall
under worship.
Although not all of them are going to
fall under the designation of shirk.
If someone, you know, does it incorrectly
or or or miss
applies it or
that's something we'll talk about in our pita.
We have to be very careful here of
this definition but he says
what he means here is the acquisition of
knowledge the opposite of the acquisition of knowledge
is ignorance. There's no good ignorance.
Allah will make in me a also become
while I seek knowledge you from knowledge that
has no benefit.
Say
the Musa says seek refuge in you from
being the ignorant ones. It's very clear
And the opposite of
is going to be negligence,
or shirk,
or haram, or a sin.
None of those are good things.
So
or a waste of time that's not going
to bring any benefit.
And so now what he's gonna say is
which one is better knowledge or worship?
Knowledge or worship. So he says if you've
understood what I've said now then you need
to know that the most important is knowledge.
Why?
I want you to think
why would you say that knowledge
is the most important
because without knowledge how can you worship? Without
knowledge how do you know who to worship?
So knowledge
to worship is like wudu to salah it's
like a condition of prayer we have the
axiom that we took
in the beginning of Al Qidat Al AOEM
level 2 in theology I talked about this
axiom but then you find it in Osolafik
here at Swiss
whatever leads to an obligation became obligatory so
knowledge is key to worship
go and look at the definition of
in
Apiruto AOEM, Theology Level 2 here at Swiss
and when I talk about how do we
know God how do we know Allah
And look at that 1.6
or 1.7 in the book his definition or
his
his description of how we learn.
It's not something inferred. It's not something I
feel. It's not something about me as an
individual. In the letter and will be to
I have to acquire this knowledge.
So he says,
then you must
know
that knowledge is the most honored of the
2 and the most blessed of the 2,
the most virtuous of the 2.
Prophet
said that the virtue of a knowledgeable person
over a non knowledgeable person
or over someone who just worships without knowledge
is like the prophets
virtue compared to the lowest of us from
his Ummah, the lowest person from his Ummah.
And we learn from this hadith that the
so what he means doesn't mean here means
financially
the lowest of you in financial status the
lowest of you in race
or those kind of things Islam doesn't even
entertain. A'uzhubillah.
What he means is
what really is an issue with the lowest
of you in Taqwa.
So here we understand that there is to
Taqwa and Ibadah.
Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said that to look
at the face of a scholar is more
beloved to me than fasting and prayer for
a year.
If you speak Arabic
of what?
He said
and prophet said to the Sahaba
hey should I not show you who's the
most honored of those in paradise?
He said so these things make it clear
to you that knowledge is the most virtuous.
However,
however,
there has to be worship with ill.
There has to be worship with knowledge. Don't
think he's saying what I'm saying is you
could just have knowledge
without practice knowledge without devotion
that that's
that's those,
who have, like, donkeys. They have books on
their back, but they're like donkeys. There's no
there's no fa'idin.
Recently, I met one of my teachers from
Al Azhar in in Canada.
Very impressive
shayikh.
And we were talking and and he said
to me he gave me nasiha which I
appreciate and he said to me, you know,
knowledge isn't like about memorizing this and quoting
this and bringing this text and bringing that
text. At the end of the day, knowledge
is knowing when to act correctly, when to
worship, when to stand up for justice, when
to speak the hap.
That's really the thumborah of knowledge. So the
sheikh,
Mohammad says, wait wait. Don't get it twisted.
I'm not saying just learn, learn, learn.
And you think learning is sufficient.
And that's what I love about Imam Abuhammed.
That is what I love about Imam Abuhammed
al Fazari. People try to portray him as
being extreme.
No doubt he had some ideas at times
that were a little far off of center.
But his usual
is that you can tell he's a Usuling,
that he is
that he is someone who comes from a
background in Islamic law because he's always very
balanced usually.
If that's the case the person just has
knowledge without actions.
What
you
learn?
If
that's the case then that person's knowledge is
just going to be like carded wool. Like
it's gonna look nice but it has no
value to it.
I just said this should be written in
gold what he said.
He says
because knowledge
is like a tree.
And that worship is like the fruit of
the tree.
From the the fruit of that knowledge is
is is that is that fruit?
There's a printing mistake here. He says
So the fruit is really that what brings
the the honor and the notoriety to the
the tree. He'll heal also.
So the tree is no doubt is the
foundation,
but its benefit comes from the fruit that
people take from it.
He said so so therefore every seeker has
to have a little of both knowledge and
worship knowledge and worship knowledge and worship, not
just knowledge without worship, passion without principles
And not just principles without passion. You have
to have them both.
Not just
or both.
Moderation.
Listen to the statement of Al Hasan Abbasri.
So
good.
Hurt your worship and seek worship as long
it doesn't hurt you seeking knowledge.
We're gonna stop here and shout it. Next
time, we'll pick it up. If you can
see each, like, little paragraph,
there's so much we can take out of
it. So
what do we learn here? We learn, number
1, the importance of of of worship and
knowledge
but then knowledge takes precedence
it has to be the beginning
but then there has to be also worship
for there to be fruit
in our lives.
Fruit in the tree.
And now he's gonna move back to talking
about knowledge again.