وَقُل رَّبِّ زِدۡنِي عِلۡمٗا
“And say: My Lord, increase me in knowledge.”
(Surah Taha Verse 114)
طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيْضَةٌ عَلٰى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ
“To seek sacred knowledge is an obligation on every Muslim.”
It is fard-ayn (individual obligation) upon every Muslim to seek as much knowledge to allow themselves to fulfil their religious obligations. Example a Muslim must have knowledge of his creator and his oneness, the prophethood of his messengers and he must know how to pray, fast etc.
Higher level knowledge such as the knowledge required to issue legal opinions are not obligatory upon each Muslim. It is fard-kifaya (communal obligation) and so therefore it is necessary upon very community to have access to scholars, who can provide guidance in advanced issues.
اَللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ عِلْمًا نَافِعًا, وَ رِزْقًا طَيَّبًا, وَ عَمَلاً مُتَقَبَّل
“O Allah, I ask you for knowledge that is of benefit, a good provision and deeds that will be accepted”
It is our duty as a Muslim to go and seek knowledge about the deen so that we can live our lives in accordance with the Qur’an and Sunnah. No matter what your age is, it is never too late to seek knowledge, it is never too late to start learning how to recite the Qur’an with correct tajweed, note that no one has perfect recitation and therefore we should strive to rectify and better our recitation. It is never too late to study the Arabic language, so that we may understand the Quran and implement what Allah is telling us into our lives.
For those who are parents, we are so focused in providing our children with the best Islamic education because we want them to learn and we put a lot of effort in helping them to achieve this. However, what are we as parents doing to acquire knowledge in order to better ourselves. If we want our children to do something good, we need to show it in ourselves first, it is vital we are their role models. We are to seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave.
Written by Umm Amaarah, mother of 2, qualified solicitor and Aalimiyyah student.