Seeking Knowledge

Arshad Gamiet

3rd October 2003 

“As-salámu 'alaikum wa rahmatul láhi wa barakátuh!”  [Wait for adhán]

“A-úthu billáhi minash shaytánir rajeem.  Bismilláhir rahmánir raheem.

Al hamdu lillahi nahmaduhu wanasta’eenahu, wanastagh-firuhu, wanatoobu ilayhi, wana’oothu Billaahi min shuroori an-fusinaa, wamin sayyi aati a’maalinaa.

May- Yahdillahu fa huwal muhtad, wa may- yudlill falan tajidaa lahu waliyan murshida. Wa ash-hadu an Laa ilaaha ill-Alláh, wahdahoo laa shareeka lah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhoo warasooluh”

All Praise is due to Alláh, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds.

Anyone who is guided by Alláh, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him.

I bear witness that there is no god but Alláh, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, sws, is His servant, and His messenger.

 My respected Brothers and Sisters in Islam,

 Our Holy Prophet Muhammad sws, laid great emphasis on the quest for knowledge, and he urged Muslims to ‘seek knowledge, from the cradle to the grave, and to seek knowledge, even unto China’.

 There are some new faces here today. I would therefore like to welcome all the new students, and non-students who have come to our Jum’ah for the first time. You will find in the coming days and weeks, as we approach Ramadan, that we have a very special community at Royal Holloway University. Our community is a wide cross-section of the Muslim world, and all the families here have a close and caring relationship towards each other, and towards our students. We hope you will make the best of your time at Royal Holloway, and when you graduate and return home, you will take with you, many fond memories. We also hope that your formal education will be enriched by your wider experience of the people you meet here, through the Islámic society, by attending Friday prayers and by participating in other community events.

 Br Amr Shokry, who gave us many excellent khutbahs last year, described our community as the ‘Ansar’ or ‘helpers’ and the students as the ‘Muhajireen’ or ‘those who migrated.’ Just like those Ansar of Madina who helped the Muhajireen of Makka during the Hegira of Prophet Muhammad sws. That was a very kind and generous compliment.

 In a way, every student is also making a kind of Hegira, a migration by travelling far from their homes and loved ones, in search of knowledge. At a deeper level, those who go forth in search of knowledge are making the Hegira or migration from ignorance towards knowledge, and hopefully towards Understanding and Wisdom. This is a noble ambition very strongly encouraged in Islám. It was this quest for knowledge, activated by The Holy Qur'án and the Prophetic Sunnah that made our noble and illustrious ancestors the torchbearers of learning, at a time when most of Europe was gripped in superstition and darkness.

 Dear Brothers and Sisters, as you commence this great adventure of learning at University, remember to be critically aware of any cultural bias in your study material. The Euro-centric view is often found in subjects like History. In its crudest form, it is as if the entire history of mankind is simply an enlarged history of Europe or Greco-Roman culture, and other civilisations are only studied for the way they impinged on the West. For example, you may be told that Columbus ‘discovered’ America. But really, the truth is that Christopher Columbus was looking for India and he lost his way. The native Americans discovered him, gave him some potatoes and tobacco before he returned home!

 Be aware also of subliminal messages and hidden agendas in your study material. Sometimes unproven theories are presented as hard truths. If you are studying the natural sciences, be mindful of the pervasive influence of Darwinism.  You know, scientific theories and assumptions are there to be questioned. Don’t take anything at face value. Do engage with your tutors in a healthy intellectual discourse.

 For example, the commonly held modern scientific view of Creation is that the whole universe, matter, energy, space and time began with a ‘big bang’ some 14 billion years ago. The theory is that everything began purely by a chance, and it flatly denies the possibility of a Creator having brought things to life as a deliberate plan.

 If indeed everything began with a ‘big bang’ we Muslims know that it happened between the Arabic letters, Kaaf and Nuun: “Kun!” “Be!” “fayakuun!” and it “IS!”  Alláh the Glorified and Exalted, tells us in The Holy Qur'án, in the last 3 verses of Sura Yasin:

                    Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem!

“Awalaysal lathee khalaqas sama wati wal arda biqaa dirin ‘alaa ay-yakh luka mith lahum. Balaa, wahuwal khal-laaqul aleem!

Inna maa amruhoo ithaa araada shay-an Ay-yaqoola lahum, Kun! Fayakuun!

Fasoob’ haanal lathee biyadihee malakootu kulli shay-in wa ilayhi tur-ja’oon.”

“Is not He Who created the heavens and the earth, able to create the like thereof?

Yea, indeed! For He is the Creator Supreme, of infinite skill and knowledge!

Truly, when He intends a thing, His Command is: “BE” and it IS!

So Glory to Him in Whose hands is the dominion of all things, and to Him will you all be brought back.”

Here in these beautiful and eloquent verses from the heart of the Qur'án, we discover the simple truth about the beginning and the end of everything. I promise you, if you take all the scientific theories and lay them side by side with the Quranic view of Creation. You cannot find a simpler, more logical and rational explanation. The idea that all the marvellous complexity of the universe, all began by chance, is very difficult to accept. All the complex laws of phyics, of motion and gravity are so finely balanced. Living cells have such an intricate design, that they simply cannot have formed by chance. The famous British astronomer/mathematician, Fred Hoyle, says that if you can believe that everything began by chance, without a Creator, then it’s like saying that a tornado can rip its way through a junk-yard, and assemble a complete Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet, as it passes. If you can believe that, you can believe anything!

[Pause]

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I do hope you will enjoy your learning adventure. Remember, as Muslims and Believers, you will have a great advantage over others. You have a spiritual dimension, which informs your search for knowledge, and gives it a context and meaning. Whether you are studying Petroleum Geology or Mathematics, Computer encryption or Medieval History, Astronomy or Management, you are really exploring Alláh’s wonderful world, in order to make a positive contribution to humankind. Remember always, that with every step you take on this exciting journey, with every new idea that swims into your mental horizon, you should say, Sub-haanalah, Alhamdu lillah, Allahu Akbar!  Glory to Alláh, Praise Alláh, Alláh is the Greatest! All beneficial knowledge comes from Alláh, because we live in a purposive universe. Alláh has created everything for a purpose. Remember that every time you learn something new and useful, Alláh has lifted a veil, and uncovered another sign or Ayaat for you, from his wonderful unwritten Qur'án, the world of Nature.

Verse 190 of Sura Al-‘Imraan makes this very clear:

“Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem!

Inna fee khalqis samaa waati wal ardi, Wakhtila fil layli wan-hah-haari, la-aayaatil li-oolil albaab. Al-latheena yath-kuroonal-laaha qiyaamaw waqu-oodaw wa ‘alaa junoobi him wayata fak-karoona fee khalqis samaa waati wal ard,

Rabbanaa maa khalaqta haa-thaa baatilan, Soob’haanaka, faqinaa athaaban naar.”

“Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs, for men of understanding. Men who celebrate the praises of Alláh, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the wonders of creation in the heavens and the earth, with the thought: Our Lord! Not for nothing have you created all this! Glory to You! Save us from the penalty of the fire!

Alhamdu lillahi Rabbil ‘Aalameen. Was-salaatu was-salaamu alaa Khairil mursaleen. Muhammadin-nabeey-yil Ummiy-yee, wa-‘alaa aalihee, wasah-bihee, aj-ma’een.

All praise is due to Alláh, the Lord of all the Worlds; may the greetings and peace be upon the best messenger, Muhammad, the unlettered prophet; and upon his family and upon all of his companions.

Ammaa ba’ad:
Innalláha wa malaaikata yusallúna alan nabi. Yá ay yuhal latheena ámanu sallú alayhi wasalli mú tas leema. 

Behold, Alláh and his angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O you who believe! Ask for blessings on him, and salute him with a worthy greeting. 

Allahumma salli alá Muhammad, wa ala áli Muhammad, kama salayta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali Ibrahim. Allahumma barik ala Muhammad, wa alaa áli Muhammad, kama barakta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali ibrahim. Fil ála meen, innaka hameedun majeed. 

O Alláh! Send your greetings upon Muhammad and his family, just as you sent your greetings on Ibraheem, and his family. O Alláh, send you blessings on Muhammad and his family, just as you blessed Ibraheem and his family. In both worlds, you are praiseworthy and exalted. 

Second Khutbah: 

Sub’ hanallahi wal hamdu lillah, wala hawla wala quwwata illah billah yu althi yual theem. 

Dear Brothers and Sisters 

There are 2 kinds of university. Royal Holloway belongs to the first kind, where you study and your hard work is rewarded by a Degree or a Doctorate. This kind of university is something you can choose to enter or not.

 The other kind of university is the University of life. This is where we all acquire our informal education, which can be as important as any degree or doctorate. We all have to pass through this one, we have no choice in the matter, and the main section is the Faculty Hard Knocks, also known by other names like the Department of Distress and Endurance. All of the most distinguished human beings, the Prophets, the Sages, the Friends of Alláh and great leaders of history have graduated from this faculty.

 How we perform has a lot to do with our preparation. How well are we equipped, physically, emotionally and spiritually?

 We can consider our Jum’ah khutbah, and our study of Qur'án and Sunnah as part of our course materials for the University of Life.

 These 2 kinds of university are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they compliment and reinforce each other.... Your formal university should be an extension of your university of life, and vice versa. When our beloved Prophet Muhammad sws urged his followers to seek knowledge he was not just talking of formal education, as we know it today.  In Islám, there is no artificial barrier between formal and informal learning, just as there is no artificial barrier between secular and sacred learning. If you pursue knowledge that leads to a better understanding of God’s wonderful creation, and you use that knowledge for the benefit of humankind, you are given a very high status. Listen to what the Holy Prophet Muhammad sws had to say about those who seek knowledge:

 Mu'ath bin Jabal narrated that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:

 “Acquire knowledge, for surely it leads to fear of Alláh [Taqwa]. Seeking it is an act of worship ('ibadah); studying it is praising Allah; seeking it is jihad; teaching it to whomever doesn't known it is an act of charity (sadaqah); and giving it to its people draws one closer to them. Knowledge points to the permissible (Halaal) and the forbidden (haraam); and it is a shining light pointing the way to paradise. It comforts the lonely, it befriends the estranged, and it talks to you in seclusion. It is a guide through prosperity and adversity; it is a weapon against enemies; and it is the best of friends. With knowledge, Alláh raises people to high stations, making them leaders in goodness, whose steps are traced. Their example is emulated, their opinion followed. The angels like to sit with the people of knowledge, surrounding their wings; and everything dry or wet, -fish of the sea and animals on land, - will ask Allah to forgive them. [repeat] The angels like to sit with the people of knowledge, surrounding their wings; and everything dry or wet, -fish of the sea and animals on land, - will ask Allah to forgive them!

 Knowledge gives life to the heart in the midst of ignorance, and illumines vision in the darkness. With knowledge, God's servants become the elite and reach the highest degrees in this life and in the hereafter. Contemplation with knowledge [tafakkur] is equivalent to fasting (sawm); spending time to study it is equivalent to standing at night in prayer (qiyam); duties to relatives are fulfilled by it; and through it the halaal and haraam are known. Knowledge precedes action ('amal) and action always follows it. The fortunate ones attain it and the miserable ones are deprived of it.”

 My dear brothers and sisters in Islám, I sincerely hope that you will pursue your lifelong quest for knowledge, in the true Islámic spirit of seeking to please Alláh, glorifying His name, and serving all His creatures with love and compassion. Make it your main goal, to seek and find Alláh’s good pleasure, and consider your work, your career, as simply the practical way in which you have chosen to do this. Whatever you do, make sure that material things and creature comforts do not become your main concern. If by Alláh’s grace, you acquire a high salary, a comfortable home or a nice car, make sure you enjoy these  at arm's length. Do not hold them close to your heart.  Let these material things remain the by-products of serving Alláh. It should never become your main agenda.

 Let us try to be like those wonderful human beings, our noble ancestors, who pursued knowledge with energy and passion, but never lost sight of their Faith.

 These remarkable individuals like Ibn Khaldun who laid out the foundations of modern Sociology and Historiography.

Ibn Sina, whose Qanun Fit-tibb or Canon of Medicine was a standard medical textbook for six hundred years.

Al Khawarizmi, whose work in mathematics gave us Algorithms that underpin the work of computers and space travel.

Ibn Hazm, who was a brilliant jurist, mathematician, logician, linguist and scholar, a true Renaissance Man, three centuries before the rebirth of learning in Europe!

The list goes on and on. I cannot imagine any of these great and noble scholars saying, “well, that’s good enough. It’s more than by job’s worth!” These men worked tirelessly until they achieved excellent results. Quality and excellence was a passion. Let us not be ashamed to do well. Don’t be satisfied with just getting by on the minimum results.

Reach for the sky! Aim for the stars!

 Let us pray to Alláh, to spiritualise our quest for knowledge, so that every path we take brings us closer to him.

 “Rabbana atina fid duny hasanatan wafil akhirati hasanatan waqeena athaaban naar.”

 “O My Lord, give us the best of this world, and the best of the next world, and save us from the torment of the fire!”

 Let us be like those beloved and noble ancestors, whom Alláh’s angels surrounded with their wings, and let all creatures wet or dry, on land and sea, pray forgiveness for us, in our quest for Alláh’s knowledge.

 Ameen!           Aqeemus salaah!

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