Seeking Knowledge - Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Khutbah Opening

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا، مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ، وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا

أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَخَيْرَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا، وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ، وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ، وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ.

The Only Du'a of Increase in the Quran

The Book of Allah, the Quran, contains many du'as. It is mentioned on numerous occasions, the different du'as that Allah narrates to us from the du'as of the Prophet ﷺ, or the other du'as that Allah relates to us in the Quran. Whether it's du'as for forgiveness and mercy, du'as for guidance and steadfastness upon the religion, du'as for the righteousness of your family and your children.

But there is only one du'a in the Quran in which the Prophet ﷺ was ordered and commanded to seek an increase in something, to seek more of something. And that is the du'a that is mentioned towards the very end of Surah Taha, in which Allah says, commanding our Prophet ﷺ, and then, therefore by extension, me and you:

"And say: O my Lord, grant me an increase in knowledge." That's the only time in the Quran that the Prophet ﷺ is told to ask more of something, an increase in something.

And it shows to you the importance of knowledge in this religion, how it is the cornerstone of many of the things that we do. If a person doesn't have knowledge, they don't know how to differentiate between what is tawhid and what is shirk. They don't know the difference between what is sunnah and what is bid'ah and innovation. They can't tell the difference between halal and haram, what is pleasing to Allah, or what is displeasing to Him.

And that is why as Sufyan ibn Uyaynah said, that the Prophet ﷺ, once he was given that instruction in the Quran, he continued to increase in knowledge ﷺ until the day that he died. Not only did he increase in seeking knowledge, but anyone who studied the sunnah, anyone who's picked up a book of hadith, anyone that's looked at the different stages and events in the life of the Prophet ﷺ will know very clearly that one of the major roles that the Prophet ﷺ played in his life was the role of a teacher.

The Prophet ﷺ as a Teacher

He taught, not only from the minbar or at the front of the masjid, but he taught in every single situation, every single event that he was in. Whether he was at home with his family and his children and grandchildren, or whether he was with his close friends and companions, or whether a Bedouin man just came from the desert seeking something. Each one of those instances and many more in between were opportunities of learning and teaching.

And that is because Allah gave this command to him ﷺ. The whole community of Medina, the whole generation of the companions were students of knowledge. We only know the more famous from amongst them because they are the ones who were known for this. They were the ones who excelled in this. They were the ones who memorized the sunnah and related it to us. But the very many hundreds in between whose names you probably don't know, you've never heard of, but they're narrated and they're recorded in the books of the scholars — the vast majority of them we don't know enough about. They were still students of knowledge. Because the Prophet ﷺ didn't allow his community, didn't allow the Muslims to be people of ignorance.

That's what makes this ummah different from any nation that came before it or after it. What makes Muslims different from any other religion is that we practice our religion based upon knowledge. Not just based upon culture or customs, based upon what someone says or thinks, based upon trends and patterns that take place around us. It is based upon what Allah said, what the Prophet said ﷺ.

The Warning of Ibn Mas'ud رضي الله عنه

And that is why Abdullah ibn Mas'ud رضي الله عنه, in what is collected and narrated by Al-Imam Malik in his Muwatta, he said addressing the people of his time — and Ibn Mas'ud رضي الله عنه was one of the early Muslims, one of the major companions, one of the most senior in knowledge. He died only two decades after the time of the Prophet ﷺ. He said to the people of his time:

(Muwatta Imam Malik)

"You are fortunate to be living in a time in which the scholars are many, and the people who read without understanding are very few and far between." Because if you don't go to Ibn Mas'ud, you find Ibn Abbas. And if you don't find Ibn Abbas, you find Ibn Umar. And if you don't find Ibn Umar, you find Abu Hurairah. And if you don't find Abu Hurairah, you go to Aisha رضي الله عنها. And if you don't find any of those companions, their students from amongst the most senior of them of that time — each one of them was a mountain of knowledge and piety.

But then he said:

(Muwatta Imam Malik)

"There will soon come a time upon people where the scholars will be few and far between, but those who read without understanding will be many — they will become the majority." And that's because we know that the Prophet ﷺ in a number of hadiths told us that that is one of the signs of Yawm al-Qiyamah. He is warning people that a time will come where the scholars are few. Not because people can't read — the people who read will be many. Whether they read the Quran and they don't understand it, whether they pick up a book of hadith and they don't understand it, whether they're listening to lectures or whatever they're doing, but they don't really understand what it is that they're reading. And that is when things become dangerous. That is why Ibn Mas'ud رضي الله عنه is telling his people to beware of that time.

The Three Men in the Gathering — A Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ

The Prophet ﷺ didn't allow anyone to go away without seeking knowledge. Even the people who would come from far distances, delegations that would arrive — they only had a week, ten days, two weeks, a month in Medina. That's all they had. That's the sum total of their interaction with the Prophet ﷺ. He didn't allow them to leave and go back until they had sought enough knowledge that they needed for their religion. No one was considered to be an ignorant person. And if someone was ignorant, they didn't know, they made a mistake, they learnt, people taught them. Because that is what makes this religion different. That is what makes the shari'ah different. That's what makes us as Muslims different from everyone else around us.

In what is collected by Imam al-Bukhari رحمه الله in the Sahih, on the authority of Abu Waqid al-Laythi رضي الله عنه — just to show you how the Prophet ﷺ categorized people when it comes to this issue of learning and seeking knowledge. Abu Waqid said: we were sitting once with the Prophet ﷺ and he was teaching us. And as he was teaching, three men entered. The first one saw a space within the gathering, so he came and he sat down. The second one was shy, so he sat at the very back of the masjid. And as for the third one, he didn't sit — he just looked at what was going on and he left.

After the Prophet ﷺ finished teaching, he said to them:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 66; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2176)

"Shall I not inform you about these three people who entered? As for the first from amongst them — the one who came, found a space and sat down — he wanted to seek closeness to Allah, so Allah drew him closer. He sought nearness to Allah, so Allah brought him near. He sought protection in Allah, so Allah protected him. He wanted to lift off from himself that difficulty of ignorance — when you don't know what's right or wrong, you commit an action, you perform something and you don't know: will it bring me closer to Jannah or closer to the Fire? So you go back to Allah and seek knowledge, you seek guidance, you make du'a, you try, you make an effort, you seek to learn. Not because you're a scholar or you want to be an imam or you want to give the khutbah next week, but because it's what's best for you in your religion. It's what's going to protect you in this life — your family, your children. It's what gives you that confidence, insha'Allah, that you're worshipping Allah upon basira — insight and knowledge."

The One Who Was Shy

"And as for the second man — the one who was shy, who sat at the very back, didn't feel he could be part of the gathering, but at the same time didn't want to leave — he was neither here nor there. He didn't want to study, but he didn't want to leave. So he sat at the very far back. As for the second, he was shy and embarrassed, so Allah treated him with that same type of embarrassment."

You're too shy, you're too embarrassed to learn your religion. Allah doesn't have need of me or you. He doesn't gain anything. Your knowledge is based upon how much you are willing to learn.

And that's why Imam al-Bukhari رحمه الله mentioned the statement of Mujahid رحمه الله, the famous student of Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه:

(Cited by Imam al-Bukhari in the introduction to Kitab al-'Ilm, Sahih al-Bukhari)

Two types of people don't seek knowledge, they don't learn: the one who is too embarrassed to learn, and the one who is too arrogant to learn. Those two people don't learn, they don't seek knowledge.

And that is why Aisha رضي الله عنها said — and Imam al-Bukhari collects this:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 130; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 332)

"The best of women were the women of the Ansar." Because the women in the time of the Prophet ﷺ learnt as well. It wasn't just for a few select people — the women would come and they would learn. They would ask the Prophet ﷺ to teach them. They would want times when he would come and address them. And if they had questions, they would seek him out ﷺ.

The most blessed of women, she said, were the women of the Ansar. Their natural shyness didn't stop them from learning their religion. They would come, even if they were shy, even if it was a sensitive topic, even if it's something which you don't normally speak about in front of strangers, let alone men. But they had to learn. And they wanted to know the halal and the haram. So they would come and they would speak to the Prophet ﷺ.

The One Who Turned Away

The Prophet ﷺ said: "And as for the third man, the one who just turned away, didn't stay — that man turned away, so Allah turned away from him."

If you don't have the humility to learn and study, if you don't have within you that desire and that passion to want to learn about your religion, that shows something about your nature, shows something about your willingness to learn and come close to Allah. Because it is human nature that when you love something, when you're passionate about something — there's not a single one of us here who doesn't have a hobby, an interest, a passion — except that that passion drives us to learn about it, to want to know more, to engage in it. That's why we've taken that passion on. That's why we have that interest, that hobby.

But if, as Muslims, there is nothing more beloved to us than Allah, then the Prophet of Allah ﷺ, then the Book of Allah, the Quran, the religion of Allah, Islam — that has to show in the way that we're willing to interact, to engage, to learn, to seek knowledge concerning it.

The Young Must Not Be Excluded

And that is why even in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, the young were not excluded. The Prophet ﷺ would encourage the youngsters to come to learn, to seek knowledge. The Prophet ﷺ would see from amongst them those that he thought were most able, those that he thought had the most potential, and he would pick them out, and he would teach them, and he would give them time. He would encourage them and motivate them. Because the children of today are the scholars of tomorrow. Those youngsters of today are the leaders of the ummah tomorrow. And if knowledge stops and becomes stagnated with just one generation, and the people that come after don't see any benefit or any need to learn, that is when knowledge starts to disappear from this ummah.

The Date Palm Tree — A Lesson in Humility

In the hadith that Imam al-Bukhari رحمه الله collects in the Sahih on the authority of Abdullah ibn Umar رضي الله عنه, he said that once the Prophet ﷺ said to them:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 61; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2811)

"Indeed, from amongst all of the trees there is a tree whose leaves never fall. Its example is like the example of the Muslim. What is that tree?" The Prophet ﷺ posed this question to a number of companions. Ibn Umar was from amongst them. Abdullah ibn Umar رضي الله عنه at that time was a young man, a teenager. And he felt shy and embarrassed that he should speak in front of people who were older than him, more senior in knowledge than him, had been Muslims longer than him. So he didn't say anything.

He says that the different companions started mentioning the different trees of the desert. As for him, he thought to himself that it was going to be the date palm tree. But he was too shy to speak. So the Prophet ﷺ then said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 61; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2811)

"It is the date palm tree." Ibn Umar said that he went home and told his father Umar رضي الله عنه what had taken place, and that this is what he thought but didn't say. Umar رضي الله عنه said: "Oh my son, had you spoken, it would have been more beloved to me than any type of wealth. That would have been more beloved to me."

Because there is a time to be shy and embarrassed. You sit in front of your parents, you sit with elders, you sit with certain groups of people — it is good and it is from true character to show a level of respect and shyness before them. But there are times when you can't be shy. And one of those times is when it requires you to learn about your religion. There are times when you can't allow your arrogance or your pride or what you consider to be your self-respect to stop you from learning about your religion.

And that is why the companions and the scholars of Islam used to say: the one who can't humble himself will never learn knowledge. It requires humility. Whatever you learn, whoever you learn from, in any type of science that you learn — it requires humility to sit in front of a teacher and to take knowledge from them. But if we do it for the dunya, we do it for our careers, we do it for our education — what about when it comes to the religion of Allah?

The Inheritance of the Prophets

And that is why from the moment that the Prophet ﷺ was sent with the command to seek knowledge in this religion — iqra, read, learn — from the very first moment until the Prophet ﷺ died and passed away, he spent his life teaching people and spreading knowledge of this religion. And that is why the Prophet ﷺ told us that knowledge is the inheritance of the Prophets. That's what they left behind.

Each and every single Muslim, therefore each and every single member of this community and this ummah, has the opportunity and the ability to take — not from the inheritance of your mother, your father, your grandfather — but the inheritance of the Prophet of Allah ﷺ, the best of mankind and the best of creation. As the scholars would say after they would narrate this hadith: it is up to you how much of that inheritance you want, or how little of it you want.

Ask Allah that He makes us from the people who take beneficial knowledge and put that knowledge into action, and that Allah raises us through knowledge in terms of our deeds and in terms of our ranks and our status.

Second Part of the Khutbah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ، أَمَّا بَعْدُ

The statement that I mentioned to you of Ibn Mas'ud رضي الله عنه shows to us a reality that we're very familiar with — living in a time when the people of knowledge are few, but the people who seek or who pretend to have knowledge, or who can simply read but with very little understanding, are many. And the difference between the two is always those who are willing to learn and put in the time and effort, and those who aren't.

We live in a time when we are surrounded by difficulties and trials and tests — tests that affect us and our family, our children and our religion. And it is difficult in this time because of the way that we're bombarded with information, with how easy it is to access different types of information — to differentiate between what is correct and what is incorrect, what is authentic and what is weak, what is actually something substantiated from the Quran and Sunnah and what isn't. But the only recourse that we have is then to seek knowledge and to learn.

And that is why one of the initiatives that we're starting insha'Allah from tomorrow in this masjid is a new study program called Al-Isnad. As you go out of the masjid you'll see the banners by the entrances. All you have to do is scan that QR code, go to the website and learn from it.

I don't expect every single person here to attend the course. Nor do I expect every single person to have that same passion and zeal for knowledge that I may have, or maybe others have. But what's something that we should all reflect upon is that it is our level of knowledge that brings us closer to Allah. The more effort that you're willing to put in, the more that you're willing to learn.

And remember, as I said, that the companions were not all the most senior people of knowledge. But what made them special was that each and every single one of them was willing to learn what they could, when they could, and how they could. It is something which we need to reflect upon — not only for ourselves, for me and for you, but more importantly for our children and for the generations that will come.

Ask Allah that He guides us to what is best and that He showers His mercy and forgiveness upon us. Ask Allah that He keeps us steadfast upon this religion and protects us from the traps of Shaytan. Ask Allah that He gives us life upon iman and death upon iman and resurrects us with the people of iman, under the leader of the people of iman, the Prophet ﷺ.