Problems Associated with Seeking Ilm in the modern times: Part 2

Assalaamu ‘alaykum warahmatullaah!

We are all welcome to this week’s Halqah Session!
Baarakallaahu feekum!

We discussed last week some of the problems the student of Knowledge faces when it comes to his pursuit of learning in this era.  We paused at our discussion on the Media Noise that the Student of knowledge needs to deal with in this era
Especially when it comes to the use of the Internet

Especially when it comes to dealing with the multi-billion volumes of data our there in the data sphere
Alhamdulillah!

We will inshaa Allaah begin tonight by mentioning an effective way of dealing with that problem.

This is an information Age. There is at all, no doubt about that. As a Muslim, in the midst of this web traffic can only help not been distracted if he is efficient and disciplined You must be disciplined in the amount of time that you allocate to the internet, and more important, highly selective in the contents that you give your precious time to reading In that case, you must first of all, ask yourself what exactly you want to find out about.
Then you must stick to that and avoid looking/peeping into other things Shaykhu Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah – rahimahullaah – mentioned in the Majmu’aat that Islam was against people who cannot stick to the goals they set aside for themselves Like a student of knowledge who picks us a book of Tafsi because he needs to find out the meanings of a verse But before he opens the verse he intends at, he stumbles across other verses
Then he reads the tafsir of those verses even though he hasn’t done what brought him, And led him to open the Book in the first place Such a person may end up spending hours on that Book of Tafsir, and losing touch of what he was studying before he opened his book of Tafsir Youths who behave like this form the majority of students of knowledge today. They don’t even know how to manage their time and how to be efficient in what they do We ask Allah to make us people of discipline, efficiency and Then we have to discuss ‘Managing with Tight Schedules’ utility, aameen! Most of us – 21st Century Muslims – are held up in a quagmire of highly tight schedules It is worse if that tightness is for matters of the dunya.

This is one thing a Muslim cannot survive with if he is sincere with himself. Firstly, on this matter, we all have to remember something:
That we were created in the first place for the worship of Allah solely Most of us live lives that are simply a mirage and a pursuit of imaginations If you were to sit down to measure and categorize the lives of yourself and that of others, you would realize that about 90% of what they do are done for the sake of other people.
They are either trying to impress others or trying to meet up certain standards that has been set by others or trying solely to meet up to expectations. Either in their way of life, their modes of dressing, their way of speech or their schedules.

For instance, a man who some members of the community have attached richness to will try hard, and work harder to ensure that he meets up to expectation and keeps that reputation.

Brothers and Sisters! Look well, you will notice that most of your schedules are things which are aimed at meeting up to certain expectations which are not even compulsory on you right from the onset.

Now, let us take a look back at the time of Aadam – alayhissalaam – the first man that was created. His only assignment on earth was to render Ibaadah to Allaah And to seek for food simply to sustain his Ibaadah! He didn’t carry any other burden caused by expectations and reputations as opposed to what people in this era find themselves doing.

The first thing you must realise is that the matter of Knowledge is a matter of Din It takes overall preference over anything for you not to, within your 24Hours, have time for seeking for knowledge and rendering Ibaadah to your Lord, is highly pathetic and then most of us are timid to break traditions And cowardly in breaking the schedules that we have been used to carrying out for years that is not how a Muslim behaves.
A Muslim does not allow traditions and schedules to dictate for him Traditions and schedules were made to serve you, not vice versa. Time-tables and to-do’s were made to serve and make things easy for you. So, why should you become a slave to them?
Why should they dictate to you and chain you down If your tight schedules do not allow you to learn your Din and to struggle to establish Islam, then change them
And, immediately don’t waste any time on that If you notice your life and the lives of others, you will, irresistibly conclude that most times when people say they were busy, they are actually busy doing nothing.

Because most of those ‘busy’ acts are in a attempt to maintain certain reputations that are just imaginations. It is like what Americans call ‘Political Smiles’ which are just aimed at making everyone feel everything were alright whereas the worst are happening.

A sister just raised concerns over parents preventing a Muslimah from learning her deen outside the home.

The Ulamaa are at a consensus that no Parent has the legal right in Islam to hinder their children access to studying the Knowledge of the Deen that is Fard ‘Ayn (individually obligatory)
If you are a beginner in learning the basics of the Din such as the rulings of Salaat, Sawm, etc. no parent has a right to prevent you from that In fact, majority of the Ulamaa consider it the case also for the one who intends to learn what is Fard Kifaayah knowledge

However, there are rules in Islam for a Muslimah to leave the house whether her reason for going out is Islam or not she needs the permission of her parent/guardian and must not stay out to sunset.

Therefore, in the situation she depicted, conditions and situations have to be considered. However, whenever the situation becomes so severe, then she must break that shackle and go out and learn her Din. This is the verdict of the Ulamaa and we should all know and realise something here: for Islam to move ahead, we must all be ready to make sacrifices our parents and grandparents could not make for Islam in their own years of youthfulness
No matter the odds.

Let us all form a determination today, especially if you are male, that we will break the chains and shackles of tradition and schedules to accommodate the work of the Din.

These are things we must do if we intend to move Islam forward. Did not the Companions of the Messenger of Allaah – salallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam – sacrifice all they had for Islam to move forward? Without those sacrifices, Islam would not have reached us. We may all be kaafirs by now.

Answer to @as; when we said ‘we will all be kaafirs by now’ we mean: If not for the effort of the Sahaabah, we may all not be Muslims today.

Lastly; we ask Allaah to grant succor to those in need, to grant guidance to us all, to bless all of our time and efforts, to grant health to the ill, to forgive our dead, and to free the Muslim captives, aameen!

سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك أشهد أن لاإله إلا الله نستغفرك ونتوب إليك

This is the end of our Session tonight,

Assalamu ‘alaykum warahmatullaah wabarakaatuh

Jazaakumullaahu khayran!

Baarakallaahu feekum!