2015 10 09 Sheikh Mokhtar Maghroui

The Adhan

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

Four Kinds of People

One of our early Salaf, rahimahum Allah Ta'ala — a great mind, a wise and sage man — said: there are four kinds of people.

One person who knows, who is learned, who knows — and does not know that he knows, and is not aware that he knows. He says: that is a dreamer. Wake him up.

And a person who knows and knows that he knows, in the true sense of the word — that is a learned man, a man of ilm. Follow him.

And a person who does not know and knows that he or she does not know — that is a seeker, that is a learner. Help him.

And one who does not know and does not know that he or she does not know — that is a fool. Keep away from him, or keep him away from you.

Ignorance is Not Bliss

We do not reach Allah, we do not worship Allah, we do not serve Allah with ignorance. They say ignorance is bliss — I say ignorance is not bliss.

In our way we say:

We do not say al-jahlu rahma, or al-jahlu baraka, or al-jahlu fadl. We say: an-naasu a'daau maa jahilu — human beings are enemies to that which they do not know. Ignorance is not bliss.

Allah tells us:

Are they the same, or are they equal — those who are learned and those who are not? Those who know and those who do not know? The answer is so obvious that He doesn't even mention it; He leaves it as a question. A question, sometimes in the way it is formulated, is more powerful than an answer or an affirmation.

And Allah also says:

Verily, of the servants of Allah, those who truly have awe — reverent awe — inside of themselves for Allah, are those who are learned. Those who have ilm, those who are knowledgeable. And that is why they are not the same. Because those who have ilm have awe — reverent awe — for Allah. And those who do not, do not have that awe.

And that is why they are not the same. Because the ultimate wisdom and the ultimate ma'rifah is khashyatullah. It is related that Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is related to have said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 20; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2356)

I am the one among you most knowledgeable of Allah, and I am most reverent in awe of Him. The ultimate fruit of true knowledge is reverence for the Divine. And reverence for the Divine implies, consequently, character — in our relationship to the Divine and in our relationship to the creatures of the Divine. Those with us or those against us. With animals and with birds, let alone with human beings. Khashyatullah.

A person who has khashyatullah, and therefore who has ilmun billah, does not conduct himself in ways that are treacherous, injurious, harmful, hurtful, arrogant, or deluded in relationship with others.

The ignorant one, the fool, does of harm to his own brother or sister that which an enemy does to another enemy.

Seeking Knowledge is Obligatory

And therefore we are required to pursue ilm — talab al-ilm. As Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is established to have said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 224)

Seeking of ilm, learning ilm, is mandatory upon every Muslim — whether male or female. Mandatory. No one improves, no one advances in this life — and the improvement in this life and the advancement in this life is to be more conscious of the Divine, more aware of the Divine, more reverent of the Divine, and therefore more moral and ethical in one's life in this world. As that person who knows, knows that Allah knows, and that one will be held to account in this world or in the hereafter.

Seeking Knowledge for the Right Reasons

We do not seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge alone. We do not seek knowledge only for the sake of worldly advancement — even though some of that is halal, some of it is good. But if we do it only for that purpose, we are fools. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is related to have said, by Imam Tirmidhi and others:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2654; also reported by Ibn Majah, Hadith 258)

Whosoever seeks ilm, learns ilm, not for the sake of Allah — let that person already be given the tidings and the news of his seat in hell. To seek ilm not for the sake of Allah; not for that — especially sacred ilm, sacred knowledge. Knowledge about the Divine, knowledge about the laws of the Divine, knowledge about our relationship with the Divine, knowledge of the Quran, knowledge of the Sunnah of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — if we seek those for some other benefit, or some other worldly gain, or some other personal priority or aim or objective or gain, then — wal-ayyadhu billah — we are told to await our seat in hell. Because some of us do learn for those reasons. Some of us do learn even religion — whatever religion it is, but especially Islam — for those reasons.

He also said, sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2654)

Whosoever learns knowledge with the aim of being celebrated amongst the scholars, or with the aim of argumentation with the sufaha — with those who are not so smart. Mumara: you talk, I talk, you argue, I argue back. Just for the sake of having my argument prevail — that is mumara. A person who wants to do that is a safih; in other words, lacks wisdom, lacks maturity intellectually and spiritually and morally. If we learn ilm in order to do that — li mumarati as-sufaha — or to attract the attention of people to oneself, then he, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said that person will be entered into hell.

Because ilm is about knowledge toward the Divine. And the Divine is beautiful. The Divine has the most beautiful names and attributes. Ugliness inside of us — of intent — is not consistent with divine beauty. You do not seek knowledge for those ugly motives and aims and objectives.

And worst of all, perhaps, is one who seeks no knowledge at all. One who does not know, does not know, and does not want to know that he or she does not know. Fadhalika jahilun farfuduhu.

Knowledge Must Lead to Action

Then we must learn ilm for amal. We must learn ilm to act upon that ilm. As they said early on, of our Salaf rahimahum Allah Ta'ala:

Ilm invites amal — action. Knowledge invites action. Imagine it standing at the door of the house of this person called amal, and ilm comes and knocks: "Ya amal, come out! I am inviting you to come out!" So if amal responds to the call of ilm, it is excellent. If it does not respond, then al-ilmu yurhal — knowledge will depart and leave. And the blessedness and the barakah of ilm will not be in that person's life. Or even the depth of that ilm, and the inner dimensions of that ilm — that person will be deprived of it. It will be only superficial, only external — as Allah says:

There will be only external, superficial knowledge of this world — but of the ultimate world, the most sophisticated of worlds, the infinite of worlds by the creative act of Allah, that world of the beyond they have no knowledge of, no ilm of, and they are heedless. We seek knowledge to change — in our character, in our relationship with Allah, and the creatures of Allah.

My dear brothers and sisters, Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam also says:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2699)

Whosoever takes on a path by which he or she seeks ilm — beneficial ilm, true ilm — then Allah will facilitate and ease for that person a path, of the many paths that is, a path to jannah, to paradise. And many of you know, of course, the many virtues of ilm. But ilm demands that amal accompanies it. Ilm demands that action — action in accordance with that ilm — accompanies it. Not ilm without amal. Not ilm without ikhlas. And worst of all, no ilm at all.

Seek the forgiveness of Allah. What an excellent abode awaits those who sincerely seek the forgiveness of Allah.

Second Khutbah: Knowledge, Forbearance, and Patience

My dear brothers and sisters, Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam also said, in accordance with this authenticated hadith by the ulama:

(Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat of al-Tabarani; also reported by al-Khatib al-Baghdadi in al-Jami' li-Akhlaq al-Rawi)

What does this mean? Ilm, knowledge, is attained by struggling to learn. At-ta'allum — the struggle to learn. If there is opposition inside of us or in life, a struggle that we have to counter — he says: ilm comes by ta'allum. That is the general rule.

And connected to that, he said: wa al-hilmu bit-ta'allum. And to be halim — I know perhaps many of you know what halim means, but many may not. Halim is that character, that sifa, that attribute, that internal khuluq of a person who responds to harshness and to ignorance and to foolishness with composure, and strength in character, and kindness. He said that character of hilm is acquired by ta'allum — by struggling to be halim. Just as you struggle to learn, to be knowledgeable, to develop a beautiful character, such as hilm — we need to struggle against the odds inside of us and outside of us that would make us react not in hilm, but like everybody else.

Wa man yatasabbar yusabbirhu Allah — and whosoever struggles to learn to be patient, then Allah will make him or her patient. And the struggle happens when we have challenges. Life is a field for learning. If the mu'min looks at the challenges — at home, in the masjid, outside of the masjid, close to the masjid, far from the masjid, wherever — if you look at challenges as a field to learn this character that Allah loves, and you know it is going to be difficult, then you are that mu'min.

Between Knowledge and Forbearance

Today, it just happened — I did not plan this, and this lecture — because of what is happening. On one hand, over there in this masjid, in the gym, we have a book fair: ilm. We have knowledge there. And we have outside, a fair of harshness — let's put it this way — of jahl, of foolishness and ignorance. Now remember: innama al-ilmu bit-ta'allum. Go and learn. Wa innama al-hilmu bit-ta'allum. And when you are there on the other side, that is the challenge. Struggle for hilm. That is a chance for you and me. That is a field of action for you and me — to learn to be halim.

And halim is one who responds to those who are harsh and rude and ignorant and foolish with wisdom, and composure, and kindness, and peace inside. Just look and say سُبْحَانَ اللهِ, and leave. Do not talk. Between ilm and hilm, we shall live. And the person with ilm shall be halim. And the person among us without ilm — or included — will not be halim.

Every time, any time — if you see me, or if you see anybody else, reacting in other than hilm, then know that at that moment, I have lost my composure of ilm. At that moment, I have lost the fruit of ilm, the essence of ilm. I am not at that moment a person of ilm.

May Allah help us. May Allah guide us. May Allah help us be of those who listen to the words of admonition and follow the best of them. May Allah give us ilm, and ilm, and ilm, until that ilm is so deeply rooted in our hearts that — with the presence of Allah in our quloob by that ilm — it gives us the ultimate peace and serenity inside, by which we face the ugly challenges, and the unfortunate yet necessary challenges, of this life.

Remember Allah, and He will remember you. Rise to your prayers — may Allah have mercy upon you.

The Iqamah and Prayer

Please keep the lines straight and guard your hearts.

Announcement: Janazah Prayers

We have the father of our dear brother Abu Hayya — Muhammad Abu Hayya — who passed away yesterday in Bangladesh.

And we have brother Sunaz's aunt in Pakistan, who passed away earlier today.

Salat al-Jumu'ah — Recitation