I should study because..................


Many years ago in Uzbekistan, a baby boy was born blind. His Mother, the
strong Mu'minah that she was, did not lose sight of He who had the Power to
cure him. She prayed and prayed for her sons sight. And within a few years
the boy regained his eyes.

She was widowed, the boy an orphan. She traveled with him to Makkah so that
he could receive an Islamic Education. She arranged that he attend the
circles of the scholars, and in those circles, he began excelling in the
science of Hadith. He traveled to distant villages in search of the most
authentic sayings of Rasul Allah (pbuh). He would pray two raka'at before
accepting a hadith. His mother named him: Muhammad ibn Isma'il. And many of
us know him today by the book he compiled, the book that stands after the
Quran in authenticity: Saheeh Al-Imam Al-Bukhari!

In another land, in another time, chilly Baghdad winds would wake up
another
boy. Much before Fajr, his mother would bundle him in warm shawls and
escort
him through the darkness, making sure he reached the Masjid safely. After
Fajr, she would wait for him as he read Hadith to the biggest scholars of
the land. Then, long after the sun had come up, she would meet him outside
and together they would walk home. She was a strong mother indeed, for her
son grew up to become an Imam of the Muslim Ummah, an Imam by the name of
Ahmad ibn Hanbal.- (Manaaqib Ahmad, by Ibn Al-Jowzee)


Every Islamic revival that takes place is built on something. Some revivals
are built on emotions, others on politics. Do you know which shall remain
firm when the wind of woe blows? It shall be the one that was built on
sound
knowledge of the words of Allah and the Sunnah of Rasul Allah.

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


Rasul Allah told us that when a person seeks out a path to learn about
Islam, this is a sign that Allah loves them and that He wants good for them
in this life and the next.

From Mu'aawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, the Prophet (pbuh) said, "Whoever Allah
wishes good for, he grants them Fiqh (understading) of the Deen."

And Rasul Allah told us that the sincere scholars have a place with Allah
that no one else can reach, and that they are the inheritors of the
Prophet'
s estate in passing it on to the world.

The position of the people of Islamic knowledge reached such a level that
Allah (Jalla Thanaa'uhu wa taqaddasat Asmaa'uhu) and the Angels pray for
them!

From Abu Umaamah: Rasul Allah said, "Verily Allah and His angels, even the
ant in its hole and the fish in the sea, verily (they all) pray for he who
teaches people good." - authentic, narrated by Tabraanee.

Rasul Allah prayed for them also. He said, as narrated by Zayd ibn Thabit,
"May Allah grant light (and happiness and beauty in the face) of someone
who
hears a hadith from us and memorizes it until he passes it on to others!" -
authentic, narrated by Tirmidhi.


 We must be sincere in our desire to learn Islam. We are learning
this Deen to rid ourselves, firstly, of ignorance and then to help others
to
rid themselves of ignorance.

 "Verily Actions are >(judged) by their intentions..."thebeginning of our
path to learning, is that it must be for the >sake of Allah.Allah ordered us
to be sincere to Him in what we do.

"And they have been commanded no more than this: to worship Allah, offering
Him sincere devotion, being true (in faith)" Al Bayyinah, 5

Rasul Allah said, "Whoever studies that which is meant for the sake of
Allah, desiring only a piece of the Dunya, he shall not smell the
frangrance
of Jannah on the Day of Judgement." - authentic, narrated by Ahmad, and
Tirmidhi.

Ibn Abbas said, "Verily a man shall be protected (by Allah) in proportion
to
his niyyah (intention for doing what it is he is doing)."

And this issue of intention is not an easy matter. Sufyan ath-Thowree said,
"I have never nursed something more rebellious than my intentions." - from
the book, Al-Ja'mi' li akhlaaq al-Raawee, by Al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadi.

Listen to the advice of Imam Ibn Jamaa'ah if you want to know what it takes
to correct your intention, "A proper and sincere intention when studying
Islam is to intend to win the pleasure of Allah by what you are doing. You
should intend to practice what you learn, to resurrect the Shariah, hoping
that this knowledge will shine light on your heart, cleanse your soul, and
bring you closer to Allah on the day of Judgement...Your intention for
studying Islam should not be to win any worldly commodity, like leadership
or fame or riches. It should not be learnt so that you can show off to your
colleagues or so that people will revere you and sit you in a chief
position
in their gatherings, and so on..." - from Imam Ibn Jamaa'ah's book,
Tadhkirat as-Saami' wal Mutakallim.

Secondly: We should understand that we are in a continuous war with
Shaytaan, and he does not want us to succeed in this studying. Allah
ta'aala
says, "When thou does read the Qur-an, seek Allah's protection from Satan
the Rejected One." An-Nahl, 98

The Shaytaan shall sit in the face of every good thing that you try to do.
Rasul Allah told us, "The Shaytaan sits in the path (of every goodness)
that
the son of Aadam (may try to take). He sat in front of him when he took the
path to Islam and told him, 'how could you leave the religion of your
fathers and your fore-fathers?' But he disobeyed him and became Muslim.
Then
Shaytaan sat in front of him in his path to Hijrah and said, 'How could you
leave your land and your sky?' But he disobeyed him and migrated (from
Makkah). Then he sat in front of him in his path of Jihaad and said, 'Why
should you do Jihad? It will only exhaust your wealth and body. You'll be
killed, your wife will marry someone else, and your wealth will be divided
(to others).' But he disobeyed him and went for Jihad." Rasul Allah then
said, "Whoever does this, it is a duty upon Allah that He shall enter him
into Jannah!"

How will the Shaytaan sit in your face:
He will tell you to study tomorrow, and when tomorrow comes, study
tomorrow.

Procrastination is from the Shaytaan!

Shaytaan will tell you that you are busy now and that later in your life
you
shall take the time out to study Islam. After marriage, after graduation,
after you get a job. Life shall pass and the 'after' shall live forever.

Shaytaan will tell you that the situation of the Ummah is lost and that you
studying will not help anything, so don't waste your time. Combat this with
what you've seen from the Jihad of knowledge and teaching that Rasul Allah
and those that came before us did.

Shaytaan will tell you that there are enough scholars, they don't need you.
Combat this with the fact that scholars shall die, and if the knowledge is
not passed on to the next generation, it shall die in the community. There
are 1.4 billion Muslims and the problem that always comes up is that there
are not enough teachers and scholars. Everyone is a shepherd and everyone
shall be responsible for his or her flock!

Thirdly: We should never forget to pray to Allah to bless us with His Mercy
in succeeding in our intentions to learn Islam for His sake.

Allah ta'aala says: "When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed
close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth
on Me..." Surah AlBaqarah, 186

Let us pray to Allah now to make this effort we are doing to learn His
Deen,
to learn His Shariah, sincere for His sake. And that He blesses us by His
Mercy to succeed in what we intend. Verily, he has the Power to do
anything.

Ameen.

Muhammad al-Shareef