'O my dear son, associate with the Learned and sit respectfully in their presence. For, Allah gives life to hearts by the light of His wisdom, as He revives the dead-earth by life-giving rain from the heavens'---Luqman, the Wise.
With the Holy and august presence and continuous guidance of Khalifatul Muslemeen Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius, the Jamaat ul Sahih Al Islam International today seeks to revive and renew amongst its members the great Islamic tradition of learning and seeking wisdom in the company of the Righteous. In this context, Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam- India organized a number of Tai’lim/ Tarbiyat/ Study-Circle meetings in recent weeks for the benefit of its members in Tamil Nadu, and also in Kerala, including by women’s wing of the Jamaat, Siraj Makin Djawaharatul Kamal. In view of the continuing (Covid- 19 related) restrictions on physical meetings in several places, the Jamaat members have used both Online and Offline methods of collective learning, Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah.
Likewise, on 26 September 2021, a Tarbiyyat meeting was organized at the Melappalayam Masjid under the Chairpersonship of Mukarram Noor-ud-Din Saheb, the respected Tarbiyyat Secretary of the Jamaat in Tamil Nadu. Janab Sabeer Saheb recited the Holy Qur’an; Sofiya Banu Saheba recited a Nazm from the blessed pen of our beloved Imam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (aba) of Mauritius. Different speakers such as Muhammad Rafi Saheb, Naseer Saheb and the Chair of the session Noor-ud-Din Saheb covered important topics for expanding the spiritual knowledge and awareness levels of fellow brothers and sisters in the community. The holy teachings of Islam as taught by Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) and the Imam-e-Inquilab Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) were broadly explained by the discussants on the occasion, Alhamdulillah.
Significance of Collective Learning
In
the Islamic ideational world, Allah conferred extraordinary favours and
blessings on humans as a species when He created man in His own ‘image’;
breathed into him from His own Spirit; taught him what he knew not and made him
His trustee in this world. Given the bounteous blessings in the boon of his
very existence, man needs to be aware of his duties to God. And he also needs
to respect the rights of his fellow human beings and be a ‘trustee’ to our
common habitat- the earth and all its living creatures. Hence, Islam postulates
the idea that man’s freedom of conduct is balanced, regulated and constrained
by responsibilities and duties enshrined in humanity’s Covenant with God when
He originally created us in this world.
Notwithstanding the mantle of heavy responsibilities and duties on his shoulders, at the deepest and most intimate level, humans are profoundly weak and vulnerable to the trials of Satan- listening to physical impulses, absorbing flawed social influences, prone to wrong-doing and sins. To navigate through the waters of life in all its complexity in this world, man requires sure knowledge and clear guidance in his struggle against the self, and in his quest to be truly human- without which he is bound to fall and drown in to the abyss.
Indeed, it’s knowledge alone that can help him to live with a
wider consciousness about the world around him, and his place in it. It is only
with the help and grace of God that one can follow and remain in the correct
and straight Way of life approved by God. That is why Elects of God appear with
the light of Divine guidance for the benefit of their peoples. The Light of God
(that the Prophets bring in) contains true knowledge vital for the construction
of refined individuals, civilized communities and prosperous nations- both
materially and spiritually.
Learn Qur’an & Sunnah
The greatest Prophet of all times, Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (sa), has left behind a legacy of enduring teachings for the benefit of all mankind. Indeed, the Qur’anic revelations vouchsafed to the Holy Prophet (sa), and the Prophetic practices (Sunnah) can lead man from earthly darkness to heavenly illumination. Thanks to the continuing vital presence of Divine revelations through the true heirs of the Holy Prophet (sa) in this era in the person of Hazrat Saheb (aba), and our own God-gifted faculty of learning as sources of knowledge, man can hope to comprehend and recognize God’s exalted station, and become a ‘Muslim’ (abiding by His will and plan as a matter of conscious self-surrender to the Shari’ah), Insha Allah, Aameen.
The
sacred Ahadith records:
The
Holy Prophet (sa) recognized the role of reading and writing as vital
instruments for transmitting Divine revelations among the people: to make them
gain knowledge and understanding, wisdom and enlightenment. The Holy Qur’an points
to the faculty of speech and reasoning in human persons- the art of intelligent
and distinct speech, and swears by the symbol of knowledge- the Pen- as signs
of God.
Just
as Allah (swt) created the Universe and spread the humans around this small
planet, the Most Bountiful One also instilled in us, humans, the faculty of
reading, writing, speaking and communicating with one another. Indeed, the Islamic
spiritual mission literally began with a Divine revelation that directly
addresses the role of revelation in the shaping of minds: 'Read! In the name of
your Lord who created: He created man from a clot (-germinating-cell).
Read! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One who taught knowledge by [means of]
the pen, who taught human being what he did not know.' (96:2-6)
Islam
upholds the primacy of ethical values and spiritual education in society, and fosters
a culture of learning in its broadest sense for the benefit of mankind. Whereas
ignorance leaves one in the depths of darkness of varying kinds, true knowledge
can liberate one from all earthly shackles. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) envisaged
the Ummah to promote collective
learning. Muslims are obliged to be the
agents of education in its widest sense: be a ‘learner’ always, and become a
‘teacher’ to others as well. For, the acquisition of true knowledge is central
to individual reform and social benefit. For instance, the Holy Prophet (sa)
said: ‘Whoever takes a
path upon which to obtain knowledge, Allah makes the path to Paradise easy for
him.’— Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2646.
Likewise, the Messenger of Allah (sa) is also reported to have said: ‘Whoever goes seeking
knowledge, then, he is in Allah’s cause until he returns.’ — Jami`
at-Tirmidhi 2647
“The best form of Charity
is when a Muslim man gains Knowledge, and then he teaches it to his Muslim
brother.”— Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 1, Book 1, Hadith 243
Many
other Prophetic traditions and sayings of the pious Caliphs also point to the
exalted space of knowledge and wisdom in the Muslim life:
‘One Faqih (knowledgeable man) is more
formidable against the Shaitan than
one thousand devoted worshipers.’— Sunan
Ibn Majah, Vol. 1, Book 1, Hadith 222.
‘The
ink of scholar is equal to the blood of martyr’.
The fourth Caliph Hazrat Ali ibn Abu Talib (ra) is reported to have said. accentuating the importance of knowledge: ‘I would be slave of a person who teaches me a letter.’
Hisham bin Hassan narrated from Al-Hasan (ra) concerning the Verse
of Allah: ‘O Our Lord, give us good in this world, and good in the Hereafter’;
he said: “Knowledge and worship in this world, and Paradise in the Hereafter.”—
Jami` at-Tirmidhi, 3488.
When ‘Ilm’ is Snatched Away
The
Holy Prophet of Islam (sa) had penetrating insights into the future conditions
of the world, especially of the vents in the ebb and flow of time among his
people, the Muslims in the Later Days.
A close reading of those statements and sacred Ahadith would leave no one in doubt about their fulfilment in the
stark realities of our own times-in many different ways. Consider the Ahadith on the decline and fall of Muslim
spirituality, and the significance of reclaiming true knowledge for remaining
in the Path of Allah (swt):
Abu Darda’ related that the Prophet gazed at the sky and said, “These are times when knowledge is snatched away from the people such that they cannot make use of it at all.” Ziyad bin Labid al-Ansari asked him, “How can it be snatched away from us, as we recite the Quran? For by God we recite it, our women and children as well.”
He said, “Shame on you, Ziyad. I counted you among the learned of Madinah. The Torah and Gospel are with the Jews and Christians. Does it avail them anything?” ~ Sunan al-Tirmidhi no. 2865, Kitab al-‘Ilm.
“God
does not withdraw knowledge from the people, but takes the learned and with
them knowledge disappears. What remains among the people are ignorant leaders
who make religious decisions for them without knowledge. They misguide and are
misguided.” ~ Sahih
Muslim no. 6974, Kitab al-‘Ilm
“Beware of excessiveness in religion. Those before you perished only for excessiveness in religion.” ~ Sunan al-Nasa’i no. 3070, Kitab Manasik al-Hajj
(When) the time
would draw close to the Last Hour, knowledge would be snatched away; turmoil
would be rampant; miserliness would be put (in the hearts of the people) and
there would be much bloodshed. The companions asked: What is al-Harj ? Thereupon the Holy Prophet (sa)
said: “It is bloodshed; killings”.— Sahih Muslim 157.
Hazrat Abu Hurairah (ra) reported: The Messenger of Allah (sa) said, “The world,
with all that it contains, is accursed except for the Remembrance of Allah and
that which pleases Allah; and the knowledgeable persons and seekers of
knowledge.”
It was narrated that Abu Umamah reports: ‘The Messenger of Allah (sa)
said: ‘You must acquire this knowledge before it is taken away, and its taking
away means that it will be lifted up.’ He joined his middle finger and the one
that next to the thumb like this, and said: ‘The scholar and the seeker of knowledge will
share the reward, and there is no good in the rest of the people.’— Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 1, Book 1, Hadith
228.
“The religion will gather itself up in the Hijaz as a snake gathers itself up in its burrow, and the religion will take refuge in the Hijaz as a goat does on a mountaintop. The religion began a stranger and is returning a stranger. Blessed are those who set right my Wont (Sunnah) when people seek to corrupt it.” ~ Sunan al-Tirmidhi no. 2839, Kitab al-Iman.