In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
“Is he who payeth adoration in the watches of the night, prostrate and standing, bewaring of the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, (to be accounted equal with a disbeliever)? Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Are those who know equal with those who know not? But only men of understanding will pay heed.” (39:9)
The Splendor of Knowledge in Wisdom.
By Dr. Hamzah Ibn Fayi' Al Fathi.
May Allah preserve him.
Believing in an Idea.
The Irish writer George Bernard Shaw,
who passed away in 1950 AD, said:
"You can work eight hours a day for a salary,
and ten hours for a new manager,
and twenty-four hours for an idea you believe in."
The greatest group that believes in ideas,
whose actions and conduct are driven by them,
are the scholars in every field.
That is why they are always devoted to reading or research,
or teaching, or scientific and experimental investigation.
Time is consumed by them in effort, work, reflection, and refinement.
Therefore, they are more dedicated to their ideas than anyone else,
as they find their pleasure in them, fulfill their purpose through them,
and savor their own essence.
Hence, they have transmitted to us the fruits of their long study,
their attachment to books, their staying up through the nights,
their persistence in authorship,
and their repetition of scholarly works, as previously mentioned.
You find some of them revising books hundreds of times,
and the reason is their dedication to the idea,
their scholarly ambition,
their intellectual nourishment,
their scholarly deduction,
and their analytical discernment.
This intellectual dedication
cannot be purchased with money or coins,
but rather with concern and inner taste.
We have seen the works of commercial scientific institutions,
and the works of other individuals,
and the difference was clear to anyone with intellect and fairness.
So, live for an idea, O seeker of knowledge,
and compete with time for its sake.
Learn from the projects of those who came before,
how they began with an idea,
and culminated in monumental projects
and profound encyclopedias,
such as Sahih al-Bukhari,
the Tafsir of Ibn Jarir,
the Mughni of Al-Maqdisi,
the Fath of the Hafiz, and similar works.
And Allah is the Grantor of success.