The Four Fitnahs Of Surah Al-Kahf And The Adab Of Knowledge

The Four Fitnahs of Surah al-Kahf

In Surah al-Kahf, Allah talks about four major fitnahs — four major tests and trials that a person will go through, and how to deal with each of them. Each of these four fitnahs comes with a story. From that story we see how others dealt with them, and what's the correct way to do so.

The first of the four is the story regarding the fitnah of your deen, of your Islam, of your iman. And in that fitnah, we see the story of the people of the cave and how they resorted to Allah. You'll find in each of these stories there is a discussion on what's the solution.

The second fitnah is the fitnah of wealth, and what a person should do when they're given wealth. Is it bad to have wealth? Is it not? All of this is explained. And so in the story, we talk about the people that had two gardens, the two companions — one of them was blessed and the other was not — and how a person's relationship with Allah should be in regards to those fitnahs.

The third is the fitnah of ilm, which we'll expand on in a minute. And the fourth being the fitnah of sultanate — authority, power — that Dhul Qarnayn alaihissalam shows and expresses his opinion towards Allah.

The Fitnah of Knowledge (Ilm)

Coming back to the third — it's the fitnah of ilm. And ilm is a fitnah in what sense? Ilm is a test from Allah. This story that we're going to go through is the story of Musa alaihissalam with Khidr alaihissalam.

It's very interesting how this story reflects another story that was mentioned a little bit earlier in the surah. Earlier in Surah al-Kahf, for those of us who are familiar with the context, the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam was asked a few questions, and in his response, he neglected to say insha'Allah. And so he went through a little bit of difficulty — wahy was delayed for a bit. But that story was mentioned, and the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam was reminded regarding the importance of saying insha'Allah.

Surah al-Kahf of course mentions the importance of saying insha'Allah, the importance of saying masha'Allah, the importance of saying Allahu a'lam in our day-to-day alfaz — the way we talk to each other, the way we communicate. Surah al-Kahf emphasizes this:

We talk about these ayat about how it's important to remember Allah in your conversations. And so, for the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, his story is one where he acknowledges that ilm is from Allah. He's asked a question and he recognizes that that knowledge is only by Allah — "but I'll tell you tomorrow" — and what he forgets is the dhikr aspect of it.

This in a time and in a context when the mushrikeen and the Jews were using every excuse to throw the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam under the bus, to sully his name as far as they could. Part of that sullying is them saying that the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam could not possibly be a true prophet — a true prophet is someone like Musa alaihissalam, someone who doesn't make mistakes, someone who's perfect. And so this mistake shows that he's not a prophet.

And so Allah brings these ayat telling us that although they are prophets and although they are ma'soom — they do not commit sin — humans still forget. And so we go now into the story of Musa alaihissalam and his etiquettes. That's the primary discussion — the etiquette of ilm. You want to learn how to study, you want to learn how to be with knowledge. What's your relationship with knowledge? Learn the prophetic way.

The Adab of Seeking Knowledge: Lessons from Musa and Khidr

First Adab: Setting Your Intentions

The story starts:

Musa alaihissalam sets out his goals. He sets out his intentions, which each one of us should have. Interestingly, Musa alaihissalam is not saying this at the beginning of his journey — he's already an alim. He is the most knowledgeable, he knows the most shari'ah out of anyone in his time. And yet as the most knowledgeable person, he's setting goals for himself.

This tells us that our niyyah and our intentions are something that are to be refreshed regularly, no matter how far ahead you get. Your niyyah is something that you should always have a pulse on. Where is my niyyah? What am I doing? Why am I doing it? Why do I stay up late? Why do I try? Why do I fight so hard? Why do I convince my family to keep me here? What's your niyyah?

Second Adab: Travel and Seek Knowledge Beyond Your Locality

He says: we're going to go, and we're going to travel, and we're not going to stop.

The second adab we learn here is the importance of traveling, and that there's only so much you can do at home. There's only so much you can get at home. You really need to go out there. Get as much ilm as you can in your locality, and then you move, you go out, you attend. There are so many classes, mashaAllah, that are going on. Go out and travel.

You will not get ilm while you're comfortable. That's just the reality.

Third Adab: Work Hard and Embrace Difficulty

As the story progresses, Musa alaihissalam says to his companion:

"We've gone through a lot of difficulty in getting to where we are right now." This is what we mean — you cannot get ilm with ease. Knowledge is an intricate skill. Understanding Arabic to learn, to be able to manipulate the ibarat, to be able to put things together, to be able to analyze, to compare — all of that is not something that's going to walk up to your door and knock and say, let me in. That requires effort.

You really will not be able to be a dedicated, in-depth student sleeping eight hours a day. It's not going to happen. Whatever you're trying to get done, you're going to have to make sacrifice. The poet says:

"I've never seen any deficiency in people like the deficiency of the capable person not fulfilling his potential." You are capable. You can. You are doing it, maybe. But you have so much more potential. There's so much further you should go. And Musa alaihissalam tells us and shows us in his travels and his interactions with ilm that you have to go through that effort and pain.

Fourth Adab: Correct Your Mistakes and Do Not Stay Content with Them

As they continue their travels, Musa alaihissalam at one point realizes that they've gone too far. The fourth etiquette of knowledge is: when you notice your mistakes, you fix them. You don't let them be. You don't see your mistakes and just stay content with them. He sees the mistake, they turn back, they go back to where they were supposed to go. They pass by that location where they were supposed to be, and they find now the slave of Allah — Khidr alaihissalam.

Fifth Adab: Approach Knowledge with Humility, Not Entitlement

When Musa alaihissalam meets Khidr alaihissalam, he asks permission. This is etiquette number five: we do not approach ilm with a sense of entitlement. We approach ilm with a recognition that ilm doesn't need me. Ilm will continue. Deen will continue. Islam will continue. I need it.

And so he goes — he's Musa alaihissalam, he's the prophet, he's the scholar, he could have gone to Khidr and said, "I'm a nabi. Who are you to say no to me? I'm verified by Allah, known to be pure. Come and do what I say." No — he comes with permission. He asks: Can I be with you?

Sixth Adab: The Importance of Company (Sohbat)

He asks: "May I follow you? May I have your sohbat? May I have your company?" This is the next etiquette — the importance of company, of being with the person. Online is well and good, and if that's all you have, then keep it up. But the importance of having sohbat — our ulema emphasize on tulūs sohbat. You have to be with the ustad. You have to be with the person that you're learning from. This is exactly what Musa alaihissalam is asking for. Can I follow you? Can I be with you?

That first step of that is being inside the classroom — being present in class. These are adab, these are etiquettes Allah is telling us. If you want ilm, you want knowledge, you want an understanding of deen, this is how you're supposed to do it. This is the way Musa alaihissalam did it. This is how the prophets did it. This is how those who follow Allah did it. We all require sohbat. We are all in need of deen. We are all in need of ilm.

Seventh Adab: Seek Beneficial Knowledge (Ilm al-Nafi')

And finally, the last part of the ayah — مِمَّا عُلِّمْتَ رُشْدًا — "that by which you will be guided." There are all types of things you could learn. The poet says:

"There is so much you could learn — you'll never be an expert on every single thing, you'll never manage to be an expert on every single science. But if you're going to make the effort to do something, if you're going to make the sacrifice, get out of your house, get out of your comfort zone — then you might as well do what's most beneficial for you." So when you're studying ilm, there's a focus on making sure it's ilm al-nafi' — beneficial knowledge. And beneficial knowledge comes with khashiyah.

The Unifying Factor: Tawadu' (Humility)

The underlying and unifying factor that we see in all of these adab is a dedication to tawadu' — a dedication to attributing ilm and fadl and honor to Allah. We are here because we need Allah. We are here because we need ilm. It helps us to reach jannah. It helps us. We don't help ilm.

We see this in the adab and the respect — not only from the student, but from the teacher as well. In Khidr alaihissalam, the way he speaks about his own knowledge when discussing the different events they went through:

The first stage — Khidr alaihissalam creates damage to the boat they're riding. You start with a boat that works perfectly well and end with a boat that is damaged. There is nuqsan, there is deficiency. And so he attributes that to himself alone.

The second instance — a child is taken and replaced with another child. You start with a child and you end with a child. He attributes that to both himself and Allah: together we wanted to do this.

The third — there is only benefit, only increase. You start with a wall that's in danger and by the end of the story you have a wall that is out of that danger. There is only khayr. And in that he says:

"Your Lord wanted this." And so there is an adab, there is a respect, there is a humility. May Allah give us the tawfiq to practice these adab. May Allah give us the tawfiq to benefit from the knowledge that we learn.