Knowledge & Education - Elixir of Life.

Education is the Key to everything. Education is the Key to our Salvation. Is it any wonder then that Allah’s final revelation started with the words “READ!”? How can we forget that our beloved Prophet –Pbuh asked us to go even to China in search of Knowledge? [1]

Muslim Mothers & Fathers should understand this thoroughly. The success of their Children (In this world & the Next) depends on them answering Allah’s & the Prophet’s- Pbuh call to pursue Knowledge. Knowledge starts with the Koran & Hadis. Let us get a sound knowledge of these revelations by Allah. Lets teach our children well. Lets give our children the tools and the yardstick with which they can meet the world. [2]

Before we send our Children out in the pursuit of Knowledge to faraway lands let them learn Islam. With this Knowledge flows the Love of Allah -swt & love of His Prophet –Pbuh, love of his parents and love of his neighbor. With this Knowledge, when in a University in Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard, Sorbonne, Lumumba or Peking, our child Insha allah would be a Muslim and his/her life itself would be a “Da’wah” and he/she would realize that this was an opportunity that Allah had opened to him to spread Allah’s religion by the example of his/her life. [3]

Such a child Insha Allah would not return to us saying “Mom, I’m 16 or 21 and an adult so you my mother or father has nothing more to tell me”. He would not be hooked on a bottle, drugs, some Internet social networking platform or be the town’s most experienced licentious young man or woman. Is there anything as hilarious to see as Maldivians who try to imitate the Western people with their put-on accent and aping what they assume to be the cultural norms of that region? [4]

The many problems of Maldivian society today can be put to the failure of Maldivian parents to impart a sound knowledge base to their children. A sound Knowledge base implies & touches both the letter and spirit of the teachings of Islam. All too often, quite sadly, children learn by rote learning and there is a distinct disconnect between the letter & spirit of what they are learning. This inevitably leads to the aping of foreign experiences without the "inherent breaks” existent in those foreign societies, resulting in "moral mutants" easily identifiable in the Maldivian streets. [5]

Interestingly some Maldivians end up with the worst of both worlds. After spending 5-10 years in England or Australia some become ambassadors to licentious living, wittingly or unwittingly become the breaker of traditional family ties. They pose the greatest threat to the down-grading of the nuclear family and sadly end up producing cesspits or breeding grounds of the drug culture with its associated theft, violence, STD’s. Not surprisingly they take on themselves the task of fighting Islam because they know Islam stands in their way to lead a life as they pleased - eating, drinking, dressing and importing the sexual habits from far off lands. These "desires" are often coated with a coating of liberal idealism, so that the glitz and glamour surrounding a life living to fulfill ones own desires offers to many an inevitable downward slide to an egress of self destruction.. [6]

These liberal Guru’s willfuly ignore that some 1400 years ago Islam gave man the example of living life according to the rule of law, where both the rulers and ruled all lived subject to the same laws - where every man & woman, had self and property, as sacred & inviolable. Every individual was given rights recognized by law and also commensurate to obligations. In this Muslim society Muslims enjoy God-given opportunities to fully realize his/her potential without at any point of time forgetting that he/she had to be submitted to the Will of God. [7]

For the Muslim, Good is what Allah has allowed and Bad is what Allah has forbidden. In this Islamic society - whenever more than one person is involved the golden standard in decision making is by mutual consultation & duties of Islamic brotherhood pervade his/her Consciousness. [8]

What is truly amazing in the Islamic system is that frameworks are provided in the Koran & Hadis and the challenge for Muslims in different Generations is to lead their lives within the framework provided by Allah. Thus the Prophet –Pbuh discouraged his companion Omar – May Allah be pleased with him, to refer to the Bible for Guidance concerning life, because all that he could extract from the Bible in this regard was already in the Koran in an undisputed pristine crystal clear form. In this example is demonstrated the limits of the framework within which one has the liberty to act in an islamic context. [9]

Knowledge & Education thus is the elixir to all our problems. If we approach education donning the mantle of Thauheed, Insha Allah it would earn us “the here & hereafter”. The key to the wholesome development of future generations depends on the proper assimilation of this Knowledge. In this task, women with our psyche & temperament rightfully are at the forefront to take the leadership role in turning out God fearing, God loving and altruistic generations whose life aim is to serve his neighbor in answer to Allah’s call to love his/her neighbor. [10]

In preparation for this key role, together with her mate; women has obviously to by Allah's Grace acquire all forms of Knowledge especially knowledge of the Koran & Hadis. It is not sufficient from an Islamic perspective that one has a narrow, speciallised field of education, the ideal of the Western model. Fulfiling this need of Islamic youth for a comprehensive all embracing, "seeking of knowledge with Thauheed at the head" is the job that our most adept intelectuals and educationalists, should undertake so that Insha Allah the Islamic youth could once again rise to the challenges that changing circumstances pose from century to century - Just as the first Generation of Companions did and emerge victorious by Allah's leave. [11]

We cannot help but see the so-called secularists trying to take root in the Maldives. They seem to be at all levels of the Maldivian Society trying to get a toehold and the political arena is no exception. Their aim to start with is to banish Islam from ALL Collective life to a place reserved only at the level of the individual -- and then to destroy all Islamic values and Islamic ideals from our lives altogether at an opportune moment. The things that stand between them and their aims & goals are the Holy Koran & the Hadis of the prophet-Pbuh. This explains why no efforts are being spared in a lot of quarters to create in the minds of youth enmity towards the Koran & Hadis, specifically implying that rules set by Allah 1400 years ago in the Arabian dessert cannot be applicable in modern day life in states that are not Arabic. [12]

The Secularists preach this position having embraced the Western experience where the Westerners had blindly followed the saying “" Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." - with disastrous consequences: where millions of young people experienced the fruits of such a position in the form of a degrading life or infringements of their rights. Secularists in the Maldives erroneously attribute the so-called “advancement” of the Western world in science and technology to the liberating influence of banishing Allah from all forms of collective life. [13]

This is based on a selective view of the so-called “advancement”. Taking the case of the most developed nation on earth. Over 40 million people of them live with no health care, Every few minutes a woman is being raped, every few minutes somebody is being mugged, every few minutes someone is being murdered, every few minutes some incestual relationship is taking place, Over 50% of all murders are committed on women, every few minutes women are subjected to domestic violence. Over 75% of women state that sometime in their life they had experienced sexual harassment. This is yet not talking of drug problems and other such problems directly. These are some of the problems that go hand in hand with their chosen mode of life. [14]

My aim is not to beat the drums over some countries sad statistics. My point is that when we ape these countries we are opening ourselves to inherit the very same colossal social & moral problems that they face in the form of drugs, crimes – theft and murder, family break-ups, childhood pregnancies, promiscuity, sexually transmitted disease, sexual harassment, domestic violence, Paedophilia, unequal distribution of wealth, racism etc. [15]

The Western so called liberal life style perpetuated by a philosophy of production & consumption has without doubt an element of apparent “glitz”, “glamour” & "zest" to life; at the same time insiduously unfurling socio-economic and moral problems that keeps on adding up. Which Maldivian secularist dare to deny this by pointing to a country in the West which is without these glaring problems of sexual discrimination , sexual harassments, runaway drugs & related problems, major law and order problems, domestic violence, Paedophilia, teenage marriages, abortions and increasing divides between the haves and have-nots? In the interests of truthfulness SPEAK UP![16]

What the Secularists cannot come to grips with or comprehend is the fact that these social problems are not new problems of our times but age old problems that plagued the different societies down the ages as a direct consequence of rejecting Allah's laws. They fail to realize that these age old problems cannot be solved without turning to Allah & following Allah’s decree. Thus at the root of these problems lies the fact that man has abandoned God’s law and adamantly follows his/her desires. We the Muslim youth of today should encourage each other to turn back to Allah and learn about Allah swt & His prophet. In order to this we must seek Knowledge & Education.[17]

If we are to have any hope of addressing the multitude of problems that we face as a nation - at this time of history, we must first change ourselves to people who acquire knowledge of Allah as revealed in the Koran & Hadis . With this knowledge, Insha Allah would come love for Allah and an intense desire to lead our lives according to Allah’s law, in submission to Allah's Will. This would Insha Allah lead to justice at the level of the individual and the nation and ensure that there is equity among the people and most tellingly the family structure rescued from the state of free-fall experienced in the West and fast becoming a reality in the Maldives. For us to be successful, we must pray to to Allah and we must try to establish an overwhelming majority of Muslims who consciously want to lead their lives in love, justice, mutual respect, tolerance & comanionship according to Allah’s Law. [18]

These are the reasons that it makes perfect sense to seek after knowledge and education for all. As young mothers we should encourage the young, the most intelligent amongst our children to take up the challenges and study our source texts and learn to apply the texts to our age and time within the framework mandated by Allah. Isn’t this what the great scholars - Imams Abu Haniffa, Malik, Shafi, Hambali & Ghazali did in their time? [19]

All of them were oceans of knowledge in all fields of knowledge prevalent at their times and well known for their piety and taqwa manifested in long hours of prayer at night. What’s to be noted is that their education started in their families in the lap of their beloved mothers. The Islamic Ummah declined when fresh intelligent, young minds were not there to take on the batton of knowledge and mind-set that these "Knowledge heroes of Islam" tried to pass on. Once again the best brains and ardour born out of the Muslim Youth is needed to answer Allah's call to pursue Knowledge so that Peace, Harmony, love & tolerance may Insha Allah take root within the depths of our souls. Insha Allah this would happen, and lets all work towards it by Allah's Grace. [20]

Finally to the secularists coming in all colours and guises we say "examine the dictates of Islam and frame your questions!". [21]

Asking questions is an important part of acquiring knowledge, so frame the questions with respect to the sources of Islam. We also say to them not to be so shallow as to confuse Islam with practices prevalent in countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, Maldives or Saudi Arabia - that is a well trodden route and now cliched by the enemies of Islam, and now quite boring and without substance. In all our discourses with the secularists the reproach that we have is that they confuse the above & just cannot coin relevant questions to Muslims addressing Islam as expounded in the Koran & Hadis. [22]

Time is ticking & certainly fast running out, and maybe the next knock on the door would be death itself; so in parting let me draw your minds to this lovely Hadis… [23]

“Narated Abu Hurairah – rad, that the Messenger of Allah – sal, said: When a man dies, his good works are ended, except in three cases: except through a continuing charity (ie., al-waqf,) or Knowledge from which one can benefit, or a good child through his prayers for his parents. _ Muslim. [24]

Dear bro/sis in Islam, lets reflect on the Koranic verse 63:9 [25]

063.009
O ye who believe! Let not your riches or your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah. If any act thus, the loss is their own.

May Allah Bless all Muslims. Please correct me where wrong and know that Always ALAH KNOWS BEST. [26]

Peace!