Student of Knowledge

...Being a 'Student of Knowledge' is one of the most blessed blessings ever - according to me and all the great students of knowledge throughout history.

The Prophet (pbuh) said, “Whoever seeks out a path to acquire knowledge (of the deen), Allah makes easy a path for them to Jannah!” – Muslim

Being a student - though at times difficult - is so rewarding - not only in duniya but for our akhira also - as we can read from the hadith above.

We should be studious and study always as this is the only way we can grow as humans and fulfil our true potential here on planet Earth.

The Prophet (pbuh) said, “Whoever Allah wishes good for, he grants them Fiqh (understading) of the Deen.”

We should excel in our studies - not just school, college university - but also in Islamic sciences - learning about our deen, about Allah and how we can spread the message of Islam.

The great scholars of the past devoted their entire lives - many from childhood - to studying Islam and they traveled many lands. They had sabr - patience and they made dua - supplicated - to Allah to bless them and subhan'Allah, they were truly blessed.

Allah (swt) put barakah in their time and in their lives. They left so much for us to learn - treasure which is worth more than any amount of gold!

However, there is a trend amongst the students of knowledge today to learn everything quickly and they are looking for 'quick-fix' solutions.

Many embark on this noble mission with little or no prior knowledge of the vast depths of this ocean - and they fail to realise that to swim in the deep end one needs experience!

Our great scholars from the past spent years studying 'manners and etiquette's' and the Arabic language before they moved on to any other sciences such as hadith, fiqh, philosophy, etc.

Even our scholars today spent the first couple of years learning Arabic, tajweed, manners and etiquette's, before they moved on to the next stage.

But unfortunately they have failed to implement this in their Western Islamic institutes and they are rushing students through all the sciences - as if it take a couple of years to become a scholar!

Some of these students have the worst of manners and believe that by passing with a top grade they have now become superior to all others and start looking down on the rest - when truly they have their own diseases of the heart to deal with!

Ofcourse we are all human - 'to err is to human to forgive divine' - but to take someone from the shallow end and throw them into the deep when they still need help to stay afloat in the shallow end is ridiculous!

I believe that ALL leading Islamic institutes in the west need to teach all their students of knowledge 'manners, etiquette's, Arabic and tajweed' for a whole year before they can move on to fiqh.

Many of these students feel that because they have a first degree they are now able to handle the study of Islam and in a couple of years they will become great daees - callers to Islam.

It doesn't work like that! As many still need heartful and soulful therapy to fix-up and then move on to being great students of knowledge.

We have issues in our Ummah today - serious issues - especially in the west and we need to fix-up now!

***Reflection Moment***

Being a student of knowledge is the best thing ever - we need to start off on this path with the correct intentions and the correct tools - 'Manners and Etiquette's'!