WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:09.310 A summary of the concepts held by the Ahl al-Sunnah. 00:00:09.310 --> 00:00:15.140 The purpose of categorizing knowledge into religious and worldly branches. 00:00:15.140 --> 00:00:21.140 Knowledge can be categorized, in terms of terminology only, into religious knowledge and worldly sciences. 00:00:21.140 --> 00:00:29.179 Religious knowledge is the knowledge of what Allah revealed to His Messenger, peace be upon him, in the Book. 00:00:29.179 --> 00:00:35.179 It also includes what has been transmitted from the Messenger, peace be upon him, in terms of his sayings, actions, and approvals. 00:00:35.179 --> 00:00:42.179 This knowledge manifests clear proofs, establishes monotheism, guidance, and the criterion between truth and falsehood. 00:00:42.179 --> 00:00:49.179 It also secures people's interests in this world and the Hereafter and establishes the proof of Allah over mankind. 00:00:49.179 --> 00:00:56.179 Included under religious knowledge are what are termed "servant sciences" or "instrumental sciences." 00:00:56.179 --> 00:01:04.180 Such as linguistics, the principles of jurisprudence (usul), the terminology of hadith, and everything that serves the study of the Book and the Sunnah. 00:01:04.180 --> 00:01:13.269 It clarifies their implications, while worldly sciences encompass everything that benefits people in their worldly life. 00:01:13.269 --> 00:01:21.269 It contributes to development and prosperity, such as the sciences of medicine, engineering, physics, and so on. 00:01:21.269 --> 00:01:36.290 All knowledge is a gift from Allah; therefore, it is fitting for every person of knowledge to recognize its source and praise Allah for it. 00:01:36.290 --> 00:01:42.290 One should also employ it in ways that please Allah; when worldly sciences are linked to piety and faith, 00:01:42.290 --> 00:01:50.290 they then fall under the category of praiseworthy knowledge for which Allah praises both the knowledge and its possessors. 00:01:50.290 --> 00:02:02.290 Allah the Almighty says: ﴿Do you not see that Allah sends down rain from the sky, and We produce thereby fruits of varying colors?﴾ 00:02:02.290 --> 00:02:16.289 ﴿And in the mountains are tracts, white and red of varying colors and [some] extremely black. And among people and moving creatures and grazing livestock are various colors likewise.﴾ 00:02:17.289 --> 00:02:26.289 Thus, He mentioned matters of worldly science, then praised those who know them and benefit from them in their fear of Allah the Almighty. 00:02:26.289 --> 00:02:35.289 “And of men and beasts and cattle, in like manner, divers hues? The erudite among His bondmen fear Allah alone. Lo! Allah is Mighty, Forgiving.” (35:28) 00:02:35.289 --> 00:02:43.379 As for the knowledge that distances the heart from its Lord, it is corrupt knowledge, straying from its source and purpose. 00:02:43.379 --> 00:02:52.379 It does not yield true happiness for its possessor or for people; rather, it results in destruction and misery for all of humanity. 00:02:52.379 --> 00:03:00.379 The aftermath of atomic and hydrogen bombs and weapons of mass destruction is not far from us. 00:03:00.379 --> 00:03:06.280 Most people prioritize worldly sciences over the Hereafter. 00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:16.080 Because people have magnified the world and preferred it over the Hereafter, they have prioritized the worldly sciences that preserve their bodies and livelihoods 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:23.080 over the religious knowledge that preserves their Hereafter and their worldly life and heals their hearts. 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:31.080 This is despite the fact that worldly sciences demand payment from them, while religious knowledge comes to them for free. 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:41.080 Allah the Almighty says: ﴿And when their messengers came to them with clear proofs, they rejoiced in what they had of knowledge.﴾ 00:03:41.080 --> 00:03:46.080 ﴿And they were encompassed by what they used to ridicule.﴾ 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:51.039 The inability of science to grasp matters of the Unseen. 00:03:51.039 --> 00:03:58.870 Science and scientists should acknowledge their inability to grasp matters of the Unseen. 00:03:58.870 --> 00:04:03.870 This is not only regarding the Hereafter, Paradise, and Hellfire. 00:04:03.870 --> 00:04:11.870 Rather, it applies to everything considered unseen to them, even within their own reality and daily life, such as the soul (ruh), for example. 00:04:11.870 --> 00:04:18.870 Allah the Almighty says: ﴿And they ask you, [O Muhammad], about the soul. Say, "The soul is of the affair of my Lord."﴾ 00:04:18.870 --> 00:04:22.870 “They are asking thee concerning the Spirit. Say: The Spirit is by command of my Lord, and of knowledge ye have been vouchsafed but little.” (17:85) 00:04:23.939 --> 00:04:30.939 Scientists must realize that the knowledge they possess is nothing in comparison to the knowledge of Allah, 00:04:30.939 --> 00:04:35.939 except like what a bird takes with its beak from the ocean. 00:04:35.939 --> 00:04:48.540 The inability of science to grasp certain matters does not necessitate rejecting them. 00:04:48.540 --> 00:04:50.540 Nor does it mean rejecting them outright. 00:04:50.540 --> 00:04:53.540 Just as it does not mean accepting them outright, 00:04:53.540 --> 00:04:58.540 or submitting to every superstition and chasing after every myth. 00:04:58.540 --> 00:05:02.569 Rather, science and its people should adopt a middle path regarding such matters. 00:05:02.569 --> 00:05:10.569 They should suspend judgment until they are able, through available means, to grasp what they might have been unable to understand, 00:05:10.569 --> 00:05:15.569 or acknowledge that there are things in the matter beyond their capacity and limits. 00:05:15.569 --> 00:05:19.569 They must account for the unknown in this universe. 00:05:19.569 --> 00:05:25.569 Among the examples that clarify this is that a person may see a vision in their sleep, 00:05:25.569 --> 00:05:28.569 and it occurs in the future just as they saw it. 00:05:28.569 --> 00:05:32.569 Worldly science is unable to explain such a thing, 00:05:32.569 --> 00:05:36.600 yet the religious law has testified to the validity of its occurrence. 00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:38.600 The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: 00:05:38.600 --> 00:05:43.600 "When the time draws near, the dream of the believer will hardly be false." 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:49.600 "And the dream of the believer is one of forty-six parts of prophecy." 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:51.660 Narrated by al-Bukhari. 00:05:51.660 --> 00:05:57.759 Among the examples that clarify this is what is known as the phenomenon of telepathy, 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:03.759 where thoughts occur between two people despite the distance between them. 00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:09.889 An example of this is what occurred between 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, 00:06:09.889 --> 00:06:14.889 and the Companion Sariyah ibn Zunaym al-Du'ali, may Allah be pleased with him. 00:06:14.889 --> 00:06:20.889 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, was delivering the Friday sermon on the pulpit in Medina. 00:06:20.889 --> 00:06:26.889 At the same time, Sariyah was fighting the Persians in Nahavand. 00:06:26.889 --> 00:06:31.889 It occurred to 'Umar that Sariyah was being besieged by the Persians, 00:06:31.889 --> 00:06:34.889 and that his army was about to be defeated. 00:06:34.889 --> 00:06:36.889 So 'Umar called out at the top of his voice: 00:06:36.889 --> 00:06:39.889 "O Sariyah, the mountain, the mountain!" 00:06:39.889 --> 00:06:42.889 Meaning: seek protection by the mountain. 00:06:42.889 --> 00:06:46.889 There was a mountain next to Sariyah and his army. 00:06:46.889 --> 00:06:51.889 Sariyah heard a voice calling out what 'Umar had said, 00:06:51.889 --> 00:06:54.889 so he took refuge by the mountain and confronted the Persians. 00:06:54.889 --> 00:06:59.889 It was only an hour later that Allah granted him victory. 00:06:59.889 --> 00:07:03.980 Science is also unable to explain such an event. 00:07:03.980 --> 00:07:06.980 It is considered one of the miracles (karamat) of the saints (awliya'). 00:07:06.980 --> 00:07:12.980 It is among the extraordinary occurrences that Allah manifests at the hands of some of His saints, 00:07:12.980 --> 00:07:16.980 to strengthen them upon the truth and to grant it victory. 00:07:16.980 --> 00:07:23.139 The condition for the validity of a miracle is that it must come from a saint of Allah the Almighty. 00:07:23.139 --> 00:07:28.139 Every pious believer is one of the saints of Allah the Almighty. 00:07:28.139 --> 00:07:30.180 Allah the Almighty says: 00:07:30.180 --> 00:07:36.180 “Lo! verily the friends of Allah are (those) on whom fear (cometh) not, nor do they grieve?” (10:62) 00:07:36.180 --> 00:07:40.180 ﴿Those who believed and were fearing Allah.﴾ 00:07:40.180 --> 00:07:44.269 Perhaps such telepathy or other things may occur, 00:07:44.269 --> 00:07:48.269 such as influencing people's senses and thoughts, 00:07:48.269 --> 00:07:51.269 which may be of the nature of magic and sorcery, 00:07:51.269 --> 00:07:54.269 and seeking the assistance of the jinn devils. 00:07:54.269 --> 00:07:57.300 The Qur'an has confirmed both magic, 00:07:57.300 --> 00:08:00.300 and the extraordinary feats performed by the jinn, 00:08:00.300 --> 00:08:04.300 and has provided guidance on how to seek protection from that. 00:08:08.009 --> 00:08:12.129 Knowledge must precede action. 00:08:12.129 --> 00:08:17.129 Because knowledge is the scale by which sayings and actions are weighed. 00:08:17.129 --> 00:08:21.129 This is a fundamental principle in the methodology of the salaf. 00:08:21.129 --> 00:08:25.129 Al-Bukhari included a chapter in his Sahih, in the Book of Knowledge, 00:08:25.129 --> 00:08:29.129 titled: "Knowledge precedes speech and action." 00:08:29.129 --> 00:08:32.129 He provided as evidence the saying of Allah the Almighty: 00:08:32.129 --> 00:08:36.129 “So know (O Muhammad) that there is no Allah save Allah, and ask forgiveness for thy sin and for believing men and believing women. Allah knoweth (both) your place of turmoil and your place of rest.” (47:19) 00:08:36.129 --> 00:08:41.129 “So know (O Muhammad) that there is no Allah save Allah, and ask forgiveness for thy sin and for believing men and believing women. Allah knoweth (both) your place of turmoil and your place of rest.” (47:19) 00:08:41.129 --> 00:08:44.129 where Allah the Almighty mentioned knowledge, 00:08:44.129 --> 00:08:48.129 and placed it before seeking forgiveness, which is an action. 00:08:49.129 --> 00:08:52.669 Knowledge is the insight for calling to Allah (da'wah). 00:08:52.669 --> 00:08:57.629 Whoever rushes to call to Allah without knowledge, 00:08:57.629 --> 00:09:01.629 calls without insight and will not achieve their goal. 00:09:01.629 --> 00:09:04.629 Even if they claim sincerity in their call, 00:09:04.629 --> 00:09:07.659 their call will not bear fruit. 00:09:07.659 --> 00:09:09.659 Allah the Almighty says: 00:09:09.659 --> 00:09:13.659 “Say: This is my Way: I call on Allah with sure knowledge. I and whosoever followeth me - Glory be to Allah! - and I am not of the idolaters.” (12:108) 00:09:13.659 --> 00:09:16.659 ﴿I and those who follow me.﴾ 00:09:16.659 --> 00:09:20.730 “Say: This is my Way: I call on Allah with sure knowledge. I and whosoever followeth me - Glory be to Allah! - and I am not of the idolaters.” (12:108) 00:09:20.730 --> 00:09:24.730 Thus, He stipulated insight, which is the requirement of knowledge, 00:09:24.730 --> 00:09:28.240 for following the path of da'wah. 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:32.909 Learning knowledge does not hinder action. 00:09:32.909 --> 00:09:36.909 Learning religious knowledge does not hinder action; 00:09:36.909 --> 00:09:41.909 rather, learning itself is an action necessary for the beginning of the path. 00:09:41.909 --> 00:09:44.909 The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: 00:09:44.909 --> 00:09:48.909 "Whoever follows a path seeking knowledge therein," 00:09:48.909 --> 00:09:52.909 "Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise." 00:09:52.909 --> 00:09:56.620 Narrated by Muslim. 00:09:56.620 --> 00:10:00.450 The requirement of knowledge is action. 00:10:00.450 --> 00:10:03.450 The primary purpose of religious knowledge 00:10:03.450 --> 00:10:07.450 is to act upon what one learns of their religion. 00:10:07.450 --> 00:10:11.450 In that is elevation from Allah for the possessor of knowledge, 00:10:11.450 --> 00:10:14.450 and protection for them from Satan. 00:10:14.450 --> 00:10:17.450 As for the one who abandons acting upon what they have learned, 00:10:17.450 --> 00:10:20.450 they give Satan power over them, 00:10:20.450 --> 00:10:24.450 and they follow their own desires, thus descending to the lowest of the low. 00:10:24.450 --> 00:10:27.450 Allah the Almighty says: 00:10:27.450 --> 00:10:31.450 “Recite unto them the tale of him to whom We gave Our revelations, but he sloughed them off, so Satan overtook him and he became of those who lead astray.” (7:175) 00:10:31.450 --> 00:10:35.450 “Recite unto them the tale of him to whom We gave Our revelations, but he sloughed them off, so Satan overtook him and he became of those who lead astray.” (7:175) 00:10:35.450 --> 00:10:38.450 ﴿So he became of the deviators.﴾ 00:10:38.450 --> 00:10:41.450 “And had We willed We could have raised him by their means, but he clung to the earth and followed his own lust. Therefor his likeness is as the likeness of a dog: if thou attackest him he panteth with his tongue out, and if thou leavest him he panteth with his tongue out. Such is the likeness of the people who deny Our revelations. Narrate unto them the history (of the men of old), that haply they may take thought.” (7:176) 00:10:41.450 --> 00:10:44.450 “And had We willed We could have raised him by their means, but he clung to the earth and followed his own lust. Therefor his likeness is as the likeness of a dog: if thou attackest him he panteth with his tongue out, and if thou leavest him he panteth with his tongue out. Such is the likeness of the people who deny Our revelations. Narrate unto them the history (of the men of old), that haply they may take thought.” (7:176) 00:10:44.450 --> 00:10:48.059 ﴿And followed his desire.﴾ 00:10:48.059 --> 00:10:51.059 The environment has an effect on the type of knowledge and its characteristics. 00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:55.080 The people of the Hijaz, 00:10:55.080 --> 00:10:58.080 because they were close to the place where revelation descended, 00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:01.080 and because events and occurrences among them 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:04.080 were somewhat limited, 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:07.080 the school of the people of hadith emerged among them. 00:11:07.080 --> 00:11:10.080 Exegetes and hadith scholars became numerous among them, 00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:13.080 and they were the people closest 00:11:13.080 --> 00:11:16.080 to the texts of revelation, 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:19.110 and the traditions of the Companions and the Tabi'un. 00:11:19.110 --> 00:11:22.110 As for Iraq, it was a land of disagreement and sects, 00:11:22.110 --> 00:11:25.110 and it was afflicted with the Rawafid and the doctrine of Qadar (predestination). 00:11:25.110 --> 00:11:28.110 Translation (of foreign works) was common among them, 00:11:28.110 --> 00:11:31.110 from the philosophers and the theologians (mutakallimun), 00:11:31.110 --> 00:11:34.110 and there was much mixing with non-Arabs. 00:11:34.110 --> 00:11:37.110 Numerous incidents arose from that. 00:11:38.110 --> 00:11:41.110 When all of that happened, 00:11:41.110 --> 00:11:44.110 the school of opinion (ra'y) emerged, 00:11:44.110 --> 00:11:47.110 and analogy (qiyas) and ijtihad became frequent for issuing rulings 00:11:47.110 --> 00:11:50.110 on the events and new issues that arose, 00:11:50.110 --> 00:11:53.139 for which there was no specific text. 00:11:53.139 --> 00:11:56.139 The land of the Levant (al-Sham) was a land of jihad and ribat (guarding the frontiers), 00:11:56.139 --> 00:11:59.139 so among its people and scholars, there emerged 00:11:59.139 --> 00:12:02.139 discussion of the great battles and tribulations (fitan). 00:12:02.139 --> 00:12:05.370 Just as the environment influences the scholar, 00:12:05.370 --> 00:12:08.370 it may even change some of their opinions and ijtihad. 00:12:08.370 --> 00:12:11.370 Imam al-Shafi'i, for instance, has two schools of thought: 00:12:11.370 --> 00:12:14.370 one in Iraq, 00:12:14.370 --> 00:12:17.370 and the other in Egypt.