Sunday, May 17, 2015

Habib Ahmad Hussein Aideed on beneficial knowledge

Bismillah.

Alhamdulillah, thanks to Brother Mohamed Sidek from Radical Middle Way Asia from whom we received recordings of the tausiyah by Habib Ahmad Hussein Aideed, held in KL last month.

Below is a partial transcript of the Habib's tausiyah:

Habib Ahmad Hussein Aideed began by praising Allah for bringing the attendees together in a gathering of remembrance and gathering of knowledge. He said, Muslims, male and female, none is independent of the need for zikir and knowledge. We all are in need of remembrance of Allah and knowledge. What we strive for is knowledge, that is knowledge that brings benefit. Knowledge that brings benefit is knowledge that increases the believer in his awe, respect and reverence for Allah. So that everytime he increases in knowledge, he increases in reverence and awe for Allah.

Allah subhanahu wata'ala commands the Prophet salallah alaihi wasalam to seek all of it and He taught him to say: "O our Lord, increase me in knowledge." He is the most knowledgeable of the creations of Allah without conditions. Without conditions means the Prophet is the most knowledgeable of creations including the angels, jinns and everything else. And even the most knowledgeable of Creations was commanded by Allah to make du'a to seek more knowledge.

What is the knowledge that Allah commanded Prophet Muhammad to seek more of? It is the knowledge that brings a servant of Allah closer to Him. This is what is called beneficial knowledge. Knowledge that brings a servant closer to Allah.

For that reason, Allah commanded the Prophet: Qul Rabbi zidni 'ilma - O our Lord, increase me in knowledge and in another ayah: Fa'lam annahu laila haillallah - Know that there is no God except Allah. In the second ayah, Allah uses the word know alluding to knowledge. Knowledge is what brings us to the realization that there is no deity except Allah. 

It is obligatory upon all Muslims, male and female to learn this knowledge. Knowledge is that you know what is the meaning of la ilaha illallah. How many believing men and women say la ilaha illallah without knowing the reality of la ilaha illallah? The meaning of la ilaha illallah is that there is nothing to be worshiped, who deserves to be worshiped in existence, except Allah. Therefore, someone can continue his entire life learning and discovering the light of la ilaha illallah

The first step in the pursuit of happiness is the seeking of knowledge. According to Imam Ghazali knowledge is divided into three categories. The first of this three knowledge is knowledge of Allah or knowing Allah. So it is obligatory upon all Muslims to learn the qualities (sifat) of Allah. All the existence and everything that happens in it is a manifestation of the act of Allah, it is the act of Allah. All of it is the creation of Allah even the actions of the creations is in reality the acts of Allah. 

For that reason, Allah says in the Quran: 'Allah created you and that which you do' meaning even your actions that you do is from the creation of Allah. Therefore, it is a must for us to believe that all of existence is one act or the acts of Allah.

So then you know that Allah possess great qualities. Allah is the All-Powerful. He is Grand. He Hears and Sees. Everything that is in the heaven and earth is in His knowledge. The other quality that is necessary for all Muslims to know and this knowing affords the believer certainty in Allah. 

Certainty is a light from Allah that Allah places in the heart of human beings. For this reason Prophet Muhammad says: 'Saidina Abu Bakar is not better than you because of his prayers or fasting but because the light that Allah places in his heart.'

The path or the way to happiness (saadah) is through certainty in Allah. So, it is obligatory upon all Muslims to seek certainty in Allah. Certainty in Allah is divided into three categories: certainty on the basis of knowledge (ilmu yaqin); certainty on the basis of seeing (ainul yaqin) and certainty on the basis of experience (haqqul yaqin). These are three categories of yaqin. And where does yaqin comes from? It comes from iman

This is the first category of the obligatory knowledge that Imam Ghazali spoke about i.e. knowledge of Allah. This knowledge is extremely important. A mistake in this knowledge leads to disbelief. Ignorance or deviation in the knowledge of tauhid and the knowledge of aqidah takes someone out of the deen of Allah. As opposed to knowledge of fiqh, if somebody is ignorant of it and make a mistake, we say it's haram to be ignorant of fiqh but at least you remain in the fold of Islam. But ignorance in aqidah takes you out of the fold of Islam. For that, we seek protection from Allah. 

Where can somebody find certainty? Where is the source of certainty? Certainty is a power in iman, it is what gives energy to iman, in the same way the body cannot move without energy, light bulb cannot be lit without energy, in the same way iman cannot go without certainty...



Credit: Majlis Arraudhah 

No comments:

Post a Comment