The pursuit of religious knowledge is the highest form of worship and the only way to distinguish oneself from unbelief and misguidance and to attain Paradise.
The text is an Islamic sermon (khutbah) that emphasizes the central importance of religious knowledge (ilm) for spiritual and social life. The preacher argues that the pursuit of knowledge is a form of worship that separates the believer from unbelief and from innovations (bid'a). It is explained that true knowledge must come from the Quran and the Sunna and must not be based on personal opinion. The sermon warns against false intentions in the acquisition of knowledge, such as the pursuit of fame or material goods, and praises the self-sacrifice of parents and scholars. A contrast is drawn between the 'Straight Path' of Allah and the paths of misguidance, the latter being associated with devils. The listeners are called upon to seek knowledge with the right intention in order to be successful in this world and the Hereafter. The text concludes with supplications for guidance, safety, and justice for the community.
Koran 48:70-71 · Koran 96:1-4 · Koran 58:11 · Koran 12:108 · Koran 6:153 · Koran 7:43 · Sahih Muslim 2699 · Sahih al-Bukhari 1
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Full text in English
(The Virtue of Knowledge)
The First Sermon
Praise be to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our own selves and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can mislead, and whomsoever He misleads, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, in affirmation of Him and in singling Him out for worship. And I bear witness that our Prophet Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger, whom He sent as a bringer of good news, a warner, a caller to Allah by His permission, and a manifest lamp. May the prayers and salutations of Allah be upon him, upon his family, and his companions, and upon those who preceded him among the messengers, and upon those who followed their path, tracked their footsteps, loved them, and defended them until the Day of Judgment, and may abundant salutations be upon them.
O servants of Allah, after this:
Fear Allah with true fear, and do not die except while you are Muslims. “O you who have believed, fear Allah and say words of appropriate justice. He will amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has attained a great success” [Al-Ahzab: 70-71].
O believers! There is a form of worship that is interwoven with all other forms of worship, which has been the curriculum of this religion and of the religions of the prophets before it, peace and blessings be upon them. This form of worship has been and remains the criterion and the differentiator between the people of faith, between the people of the Sunnah and the Quran, and the people of disbelief and hatred, and between the people of innovation and new practices. It is the worship of knowledge, the worship of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, with knowledge and insight. For seeking knowledge is among the shortest means of entering Paradise, as it is narrated in the authentic collection of Muslim [1] from the Prophet, may the prayers and blessings of Allah be upon him, that he said: “Whoever travels a path in order to seek knowledge, Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, will facilitate for him a path to Paradise.”
Through knowledge, Allah elevated our Prophet Muhammad, may the prayers and blessings of Allah be upon him, from the rank of the general servants to the rank of the chosen and the righteous. “Read in the name of your Lord who created. He created man from a clinging substance. Read, and your Lord is the most generous. Who taught by the pen” [Al-Alaq: 1-4]. And the noblest of knowledge, O servants of Allah, is the knowledge that leads you to the pleasure of Allah and distances you from the causes of His anger and His punishments. This is the beneficial knowledge in this world, and it is the beneficial knowledge in the Hereafter. Yes, O servants of Allah, and with this knowledge, Allah distinguished His servants and His friends, distinguishing some from others. “Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees” [Al-Mujadilah: 11].
Through knowledge, the people of Islam are distinguished from the people of disbelief, and through knowledge, the people of the Sunnah are distinguished from the people of innovation. Through knowledge, the banners of calling to Allah are established, and judgment is rendered among people in disputes, and elevation is achieved in this world, and eternal happiness in the Hereafter. Allah, the Glorious and Exalted, said at the end of the Surah of Yusuf: “Say, ‘This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me. And exalted is Allah above those who associate others with Him in worship” [Yusuf: 108]. Do you know what insight is? It is the knowledge inherited from the Book of Allah, from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, may the prayers and blessings of Allah be upon him. By it, the people of ignorance are distinguished from the people of knowledge and insight. Therefore, whoever calls to Allah with knowledge and insight is among the companions of our Prophet Muhammad, may the prayers and blessings of Allah be upon him, and among the people of his methodology and his path. But whoever calls to Allah based on his own opinion, without knowledge and without insight, then it is merely the propaganda of innovation, which leads its owner to the paths and ways of misguidance.
While the Prophet, may the prayers and blessings of Allah be upon him, was sitting with his companions, he drew a straight line and drew lines on its sides, and said: “This is the path of Allah, this is the path of Allah – meaning Islam – and these are paths, and on every one of these paths there is a devil calling to it. Whoever responds to them, they will throw him into the Fire.” Then he recited the saying of Allah, the Glorious and Exalted, from the end of Al-An’am: “And that this is My straight path, so follow it and do not follow the ways [of others] that will cause you to stray from His path. That He has enjoined upon you that perhaps you will be righteous” [Al-An’am: 153] [2].
And all of this, O servants of Allah, is not possible except by acquiring knowledge, seeking it, and striving for it, for it is the longest form of worship, from the inkwell to the grave. For this reason, intention is needed repeatedly, because intention is the mount. In the two authentic collections [3], it is narrated from the Prophet, may the prayers and blessings of Allah be upon him, that he said: “Actions are only by intentions, and every person will have only what he intended.” So your intention in acquiring knowledge, O servant of Allah, is a mount for you to the steps of righteousness and success in this world, and then thereafter in the Hereafter. Whoever’s intention in knowledge is to obtain a degree, or to obtain a position, or to obtain fame and promotion, or to obtain wealth, then he will have with Allah only what he intended. But whoever intends by knowledge to first remove ignorance from himself, then to remove it from the servants of Allah, and to serve with it the religion of Allah and the servants of Allah, and to elevate his country and homeland, then this is a righteous intention, and it is hoped for its owner that rewards will be multiplied and accepted by the Lord of the worlds.
May Allah benefit me and you with the Great Quran and what it contains of verses and wise remembrance. I say what you have heard, and I seek forgiveness from Allah for myself and for you, so seek His forgiveness; indeed, He is the Oft-Forgiving.
The Second Sermon
“Praise be to Allah, Who guided us to this, and we would not have been guided had it not been that Allah guided us. Indeed, the messengers of our Lord have come with the truth” [Al-A’raf: 43]. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that our Prophet Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger. May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, upon his family, upon his companions, and upon those who preceded him among the messengers, and upon those who followed their path until the Day of Judgment, and may abundant peace be upon them.
O servants of Allah, knowledge is not attained through ease and comfort, but rather through diligence, striving, sacrifice, standing in prayer during the night, staying awake at night, and enduring the day. It is through these means that a person ascends the rungs of knowledge. And it is among the wonders, O servants of Allah, that a person strives to educate his children and ensure their attendance at school, which is his right, yet he neglects their standing for the Fajr prayer in congregation, their fulfillment of the rights of Allah, their performance of the obligatory acts of his religion, and their cessation from what Allah has forbidden them. This is the greatest contradiction, and its owner will face its consequences and punishment in this world and the Hereafter if he does not return to his Lord, Exalted is He and Glorified.
Know, O servants of Allah, that this knowledge is not a tool for attaining the interests and adornments of this worldly life, but rather it is a tool for benefiting the servants of Allah, fulfilling these duties, and establishing the civilizations of nations and states. This is only achieved through correct and beneficial knowledge. Know, O servants of Allah, that the first people to be tormented by the Fire on the Day of Judgment are: a learned man who recited the Quran, but only to be praised, to be called a scholar, and to be called a reciter. Similarly, the first to be tormented is a man who spent wealth, but only to be called a spender and a giver. And likewise, the knight who only sought to be praised for his horsemanship and to be called brave. All of these sought with these acts of worship something other than the Face of Allah and other than benefiting the servants of Allah, so it became a ruin for them in the Hereafter. There is no power and no strength except with Allah.
This Imam al-Bukhari, O servants of Allah, the Imam of the believers in Hadith, who has the most authentic book after the Book of Allah by the consensus of Muslims, among the reasons for this and for his acquisition of knowledge is: his mother, the righteous woman, who continued to stand over him, spending on him, and raising him in knowledge until she produced this unique great figure among the unique scholars of the Muslims. And not less in status is Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, for his mother sold him a farm, and she continued to spend on him from its yield until he became an Imam among the Imams of the Muslims. And this urges you, O fathers, O mothers, O guardians, O teachers and educators, to fulfill what is incumbent upon you regarding the acquisition of knowledge, its bestowal, its dissemination, its broadcasting, and the preparation of its means, as is required of you.
Then know, O servants of Allah! That the truest speech is the speech of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him. And the worst of matters are their innovations, and every innovation is a bid’ah, and every bid’ah is misguidance. And hold fast, O servants of Allah, to the congregation, for the hand of Allah is upon the congregation, and whoever strays will stray into the Fire, and the wolf does not eat except from the distant sheep. O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim in the worlds; indeed, You are Praiseworthy, Majestic. O Allah, be pleased with the four Caliphs, and with the ten (promised Paradise), and the companions of the Tree, and with the Muhajireen and the Ansar, and with those who follow them in goodness until the Day of Judgment, and with us along with them by Your grace and Your mercy, O Most Merciful of the merciful.
O Allah, grant honor by which You honor Your allies, and humiliation by which You humble Your enemies. O Allah, finalize for this Ummah a matter of guidance by which You honor those who obey You, and by which You guide those who disobey You, and by which good is commanded and evil is forbidden, O Possessor of Majesty and Honor. O Allah, keep us and the Muslims safe in our homelands. O Allah, reform our Imams and our rulers. O Allah, make our rule and that of the Muslims in the hands of those who fear You, revere You, and follow Your pleasure, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, whoever has harmed us and the believers, harm him. And whoever has plotted against us, plot against him. And whoever has schemed against us, scheme against him, O Best of Plotters, O Possessor of Majesty and Honor. O Allah, whoever intends evil against our lands, or against our security, or against our rulers and scholars, or against our people, O Allah, then occupy him with himself, and make his plot return to his own neck. O Allah, make his planning destruction for himself. O Allah, protect us from before us and behind us, from our right and from our left, and from above us, and we seek refuge in Your greatness from being assassinated while You are our Guardian. O Allah, accept our fasting, our zakat, our prayer, our bowing, and our prostration. O Allah, accept from us the fasting, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, be a Guardian, a Helper, and a Supporter for the oppressed among the Muslims everywhere, for us and for them, O Possessor of Majesty and Honor. O Allah, have mercy on the Muslim men and women, the believing men and women, the living among them and the dead. O Allah, make the best of our deeds their endings, and the best of our deeds their conclusions, and the best of our days the day of meeting You, O Possessor of Majesty and Honor. O Allah, we ask You for guidance and piety, and chastity and self-sufficiency. And we ask You for honor for Islam and its people, and humiliation for disbelief and its people, O Possessor of Majesty and Honor. Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of Majesty, above what they describe. And peace upon the messengers. And all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
[1] (2699) In this manner.