What Every Muslim Should Know about their Deen

What Every Muslim Should Know about their Deen

By Habib Ahmad

Prophet Muhammad (saws) said:
"Seeking Knowledge
is obligatory upon every Muslim."

(Related by Ibn 'Adiyy, Al-Bayhaqi & Al-Tabarani)
Though this Hadith is known and memorised
by most Muslims, the essence,
the amount, and the kind of knowledge referred
to in this Hadith
remains misunderstood by many.
If it is true that the knowledge incumbent upon
every Muslim pertains to religious knowledge,
or al-'Ilm al-Shar'i, how deeply does one have
to pursue his quest of this knowledge
to fulfil his duties and discharge the
learning obligations placed upon him?
In other words, what are the minimum teachings
that every Muslim - male or female -
is required to know about his Deen?

TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE IN ISLAM
Muslim scholars classify knowledge into
two categories:
Obligatory Knowledge
(fardh 'ayn)

This refers to knowledge of the fundamentals
of Islamic beliefs which every Muslim must know
Seeking this knowledge is an obligatory duty
upon every Muslim.
All obligatory knowledge deal exclusively
with al-'Ilm al-Shari'i, that is,
knowledge pertaining to
Islamic faith, acts of worship,
and the necessary transaction in the
daily dealing of a Muslim.

Optional Knowledge
(fardh kifayah)
This is not a duty required of every individual,
but rather it falls upon the community as a whole.
Hence, if a group of individuals in the community
undertake to acquire this kind of knowledge,
all other individuals will be exempted from
this duty, and the whole community
will be free from responsibility
or negligence to acquire this kind of
knowledge.
Examples of such knowledge include studying
Islamic law and other basic sciences,
industries and professions
which are vital for the welfare of the society.
Unlike obligatory knowledge,
optional knowledge
covers part of Islamic knowledge and
all worldly knowledge.
The former is called al-'Ilm al-Shar'i al Kifa'i
(optional Islamic knowledge),
while the latter is called al-Ilm al-dunyawi
(worldly knowledge).
Religious sciences: These cover all branches of
Islamic Shariah, such as: tafsir
(Qur'anic exegeses),
fiqh, hadith sciences (known as mustalah al-hadith or
'Ilm usul al-hadith),
seerah (the Prophet's biography),
Islamic political science,
(As-siyasah al-shar'iyah),
Islamic history, etc.
Each of these sciences may require
knowledge of other sciences to fully and
comprehensively cover the substance of
the matter studied.
For example:
tafsir needs Arabic grammar,
Arabic literature,
and other linguistic skills;
Hadith sciences need the
science of criticism
(which looks at the narrators' credibility,
trustworthiness, power of memorisation, etc.),
called 'Ilm al-jarh wat-ta'deel.

The natural and applied sciences:
These are all the basic sciences,
industries and professions which are of vital necessity
for the welfare of the community.
Examples of such fields include: engineering;
agriculture, fisheries, food sciences, etc.
Leaders of every Muslim community should
always do their best to procure the necessary
number of scholars, professionals
and qualified men and women
in all fields of optional knowledge needed
by the community. For example,
Muslims in America must train sufficient
number of Shariah scholars to answer questions
raised by members of the community.
They must also prepare enough educators –
administrators, teachers and counsellors
to fill the growing needs of Islamic schools
in this country.
Both male and female Muslim doctors are needed
in every city to care for male and female
Muslim patients,
respectively.
From the above discussion,
we can fully understand the responsibility
that lies upon the shoulders of Muslims
in this continent.

Any community which does not take the
necessary steps to satisfy its own needs in
all fields of optional
knowledge becomes subject to the punishment
of Allah.
Consequently, all its members will share
the blame and the sins for their shortcomings.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR ISLAMIC SCIENCES
First, the understanding fundamentals of Iman:
This is also called 'Ilm Usul ud-Deen
(Fundamentals of Deen),
or 'Ilm al-Tawheed
(the Oneness of Allah),
or simply 'Aqeedah
(Islamic faith).

Every Muslim must have a general knowledge
of all matters pertaining to his faith.
He should have a clear understanding of
the Lord he worships,
the Prophet he follows and
the Deen to which he committed himself.

Needless to say, one should exert the best of
one's effort to acquire these fundamentals.
Second, understanding Islamic rules and conduct
(fiqh al-ahkam):
This is also called fiqh al-'Ibadat
(understanding of acts of worship).
This field covers all aspects of the
Islamic acts of worship
that are necessary for the correct practice
of one's Salat, Zakat, Sawm, and Hajj.

It also covers all aspects of family issues,
such as marriage, divorce,
children's education,
as well as rules and regulations for
one's business transactions such as,
buying, selling, borrowing
and lending, etc.

A Muslim is obligated to learn from
fiqh al-ahkam
only matters that are related to
Ibadah (worship)
he needs to perform;
and rules of a particular transaction
he wants to undertake.
For example,
if a Muslim has not reached the age for prayer
or fasting,
he does not have to learn about them
though the may be encouraged to do so.
Also, if one does not have the necessary means to
perform Hajj,
one does not need to learn its rituals until
one becomes able to undertake the
Hajj journey.

By learning those two branches,
a Muslim will know
His Lord by all His beautiful names and
Most High attributes.
He will renounce all imperfections that ignorant
and deviant people attributed to Allah.

He will know the status,
function and rights of
the Prophets and, thus,
will not elevate them to a divine status,
nor will he degrade them to a status that
does not befit their prophethood as many
heretics had done.
He will follow a similar course
when dealing with other required beliefs,
such as the belief in the Angels,
the Books,
the Predetermined Decree,
the Last Day,
the punishment in the grave, etc.

On the other hand, before performing
any act of worship,
a Muslim should know the requirements,
the conditions and the desirable actions pertaining
to that act. Hence,
He will never practice any act of worship
or undertake any transaction not sanctioned
by the Qur'an or Sunnah.

Just by contemplating the
Islamic knowledge of
Muslims today,
the reader will realise how much those two disciplines,
which are required of every Muslim,
have been neglected, if not totally ignored.

Unfortunately, there are many Muslim professors,
doctors, and engineers,
who hold the most advanced academic
or professional positions in their respective
institutions, yet do not possess the minimum
knowledge of the Islamic sciences.
Ironically, while it takes only a few weeks
or even a few days to acquire the obligatory
Islamic knowledge,
it may take at least two years
to obtain a basic degree in any worldly field.

Though these brothers and sisters are to be
thanked and encouraged for their worldly endeavour,
they are undoubtedly sinful due to their
shortcomings in learning the required
Islamic knowledge.

Every Muslim should know that once he has
corrected his beliefs, and Ibadah,
through knowledge,
and cleansed his devotions from any type of
Shirk
(i.e. Showing off, pleasing others
besides/other than Allah, etc.),
he can aspire and hope for his reward
from Allah (Most Exalted is He).

Indeed, it is through knowledge and sincerity
that one can enter paradise.
This is how we can understand the Hadith
of our beloved Prophet :
"Whoever adopts the path of seeking knowledge,
Allah eases for him the
way to Paradise."
(Related by Ahamad, Tirmithi,
Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, and al-Darami)

MUSLIMS SHOULD TEACH WHAT THEY LEARN
A Muslim who has learned the requirements of
his individual duties is responsible for
disseminating the knowledge he has acquired
to his family members first;
then to his friends, co-workers, neighbours, etc.
Allah (Most Exalted is He) says:
"O you who believe! Ward off from yourselves
and your families a Fire (Hell)
whose fuel is men and stones…"
(Qur'an, Al-Tahrim 66:6)

The only way to save one's family members
from Hell is to teach them the Islamic obligations
and instruct them to observe them consistently.

The Messenger of Allah also emphasised
this responsibility.
He said: "Every one of you is a steward
and is accountable for that which is committed
to his charge.

The ruler is a steward and is accountable
for his charge,
a man is a steward and is accountable
for his charge,
a man is a steward in respect
of his household,
a woman is a steward in respect of her
husband's house
and his children.
Thus, everyone of your is accountable
for that which is committed to his charge."
(Related by Bukhari and Muslim)

The following Hadith is a strong reminder
for anyone of us whom Allah has blessed
with some Islamic knowledge:
"Whoever is asked about a knowledge that
he knows about and then hides it and keeps it away,
he will be bridled on the day of judgement
with a bridle of fire."
(Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and
Al-Tirmidhi)CHOICES TO STUDY FURTHER

Whether one who has acquired the requisite
knowledge and committed himself
to spreading it, will further his study
or be content with that level is left to
his decision.

One should realise, however,
that not all people possess the aptitude

and diligence to enter the depths of
Islamic knowledge, for this is a favour
that Allah gives to whomever He pleases.

Nevertheless,
one should keep in mind the virtues and merits
of disseminating the knowledge of Islam.

The Prophet said: "Allah and His angels
and the creatures
of Heavens and earth,
even the ant in its dwelling
and the fish in the sea,
do send Salat to the one who teaches people
(good) beneficial knowledge."
(Related by Al-Tirmidhi)

The Salat of Allah is His mercy that he
bestows on His slaves;
Salat of the angels and other creatures
is to ask Allah to forgive these servants