In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
These days it appears everyone wants to be a millionaire, the craze for wealth acquisition as against learning and knowledge. Today, I want us to compare which the society should encourage and give preference to: Search for wealth or search for knowledge? Let us examine their importance and then do the comparison in the light of Qur’an and sunnah. .
Praise be to Allah Who hath revealed the Scripture unto His slave, and hath not placed therein any crookedness. HQ 18:1
v Let us imagine an Organisation or Nation without a Constitution, whether written or unwritten – that
v Organization or Nation will lack order and direction.
v Imagine a machine: cars, computers etc without a Mannual – it means there will be an accident waiting to happen
v Join me therefore to praise Allah for Praising Himself
The beginning of the day for a Muslim when he observes his solat and when you reciting suratul Fatiah (the mother of the Book)
(But hath made it) straight, to give warning of stern punishment from Him, and to bring unto the believers who do good works the news that theirs will be a fair reward. 18:2
v Allah has created a complex machine in human kind
v His person: mind, body and spirit; The brains, body and desires!
v Man needs the manual from his maker to be balanced
v The message of the Qur’an is so simple and so clear
v If you observe the rules governing your soul, body and mind – You are
v Amply rewarded with peace of mind among others
v And if you abuse the the rules governing your soul, body and mind – again
v You are amply rewarded with anxiety and worry among others.
v Allah says: In the Qur’an, there is no crookedness
v That simply is the truth: You can open any page and read it to your child and it will not corrupt him. Try it please
Wherein they will abide for ever;
v When you are a Mumin, Muslim – You
v Observe all the rules
v Aside from the 5 pillars of Islam – to
v Family ties and good neighbourliness is observed and maintained
v Then your stay in paradise is eternal
To attain eternal bliss, man struggle between wealth and knowledge
How do Islam endeavor to strike a balance between Wealth acquisition and seeking of Knowledge at personal, family and National level, which one do you choose as priority?
Wealth and children are ornaments of life of the world. But the good deeds which endure are better in thy Lord’s sight for reward, and better in respect of hope. HQ 18:46
v Having a child is desireable to human being – Allah
v Is in no need of a child
v Wealth is also desireable – Allah
v Is in no need of your wealth
v What children and wealth is to do for you is to engender development – that is best achieved through learning
“He, it is Who produceth gardens trellised and untrellised, and the date palm, and crops of divers flavor, and the olive and the pomegranate, like and unlike. Eat ye of the fruit thereof when it fruiteth, and pay the due thereof upon the harvest day, and be not prodigal. Lo! Allah loveth not the prodigals”.HQ 6:141
v In this short verse – Agriculture, commerce and industries have been taking care of –
v Education and learning will fast track these three
v Health is taking care of
v Wealth is generated
v But you are reminded to take care of the less priviledge
v You are reminded not to be prodigal
v Allah does not love the prodigals
v Ask your self as individual, family or Nation: Are you prodigous?
“And coin for them the similitude of the life of the world as water which We send down from the sky, and the vegetation of the earth mingleth with it and then becometh dry twigs that the winds scatter. Allah is Able to do all things”. HQ 18:45
v For those that will remain arrogant, extravagant, spendthrift or prodigous – Allah gives
v you some point to ponder
v Your existence is likened to the rain water
v The rains make the vegetations to grow and flowers bloosom
v In dry season, the flower withers and the plant dries off
v The wind scattered the twigs
v There was a time when you were nothing known, then you were given birth to, then you were growing uptil when you become whatever Allah says you will become
v Has it occurred to you that you will also grow weak, feeble and die?
v You need learning and knowledge to realize all of this; what next?
“They are losers who besottedly have slain their children without knowledge, and have forbidden that which Allah bestowed upon them, inventing a lie against Allah. They indeed have gone astray and are not guided”.HQ 6:140
v Those that refused to be married waiting till life is absolute bliss are killing their children without knowledge
v Those that refuses to send their children to Islamiyyah are killing their children
v Those that refuses to give modern knowledge to their children are killing their children
v Those that refused to acquire knowledge of technology are killing their children
v Not managing the knowledge properly is also killing
v Read my lips: Modern knowledge not western education. Remember knowledge is a universal commodity. It is available to those that search for it
v That is why Islamic education is a comprehensive one
v The Holy Qur’an discourses hydrology, Agriculture, gynaecology, Medicine, Soil sciences, etc effectively –
v therefore a Muslim is expected to be versatile
v So is a family or Nation that desire to succeed
v Anything to the contrary leeds to ignorance, poverty and ill-health
v Let us look into a discursion that takes place between the Governor and the governed as it concerns Wealth and Knowledge during the reign of Caliph Ali (R.A)
WEALTH VS KNOWLEDGE: As Graphically Explained in this Hadith
Ten learned men said, ‘We seek your permission for our putting a question to you. Sayyidna Ali (AS) replied, ‘You are at perfect liberty.’They said, ‘of knowledge and wealth, which is better and why? Please give a separate answer to each of us’. Sayyidna Ali (AS) answered in ten parts:
1. Knowledge is the legacy of the Prophets; wealth is the inheritance of the
Pharaohs. Therefore, knowledge is better than wealth
2. You are to guard your wealth but knowledge guards you. Therefore, knowledge is better.
3. A man of wealth has many enemies, while a man of knowledge has many friends. Hence, knowledge is better.
4. Knowledge is better because it increases with distribution, while wealth
decreases by that act.
5. Knowledge is better because a learned man is apt to be generous while a
wealthy person is apt to be miserly.
6. Knowledge is better because it cannot be stolen while wealth can be stolen .
7. Knowledge is better because time cannot harm knowledge but wealth rusts in course of time and wears away.
8. Knowledge is better because it is boundless while wealth is limited and you can keep account of it.
9. Knowledge is better because it illuminates the mind while wealth is apt to
blacken it.
10. Knowledge is better because knowledge induced the humanity to
say to GOD ‘we worship thee as we are your servants,’ while wealth engendered in Pharaoh and Nimrod the vanity which made them claim godhead.
His conclusion was: ”Seek knowledge, peace, health and wealth will follow.”
Do not mind those that are looting the common wealth, you are encouraged to acquire useful knowledge or skill and develop your children or ward with these frame of mind- why? Money will still need to function through human agent. When you are needed, those that takes your money illegally will have to pay your price. Your earnings will be halal and easy to account for.
The essence of life says your earning will be hallal, while his, will be haram. Take your choice and Barka da Jummah
You are invited to come and be part of this Dawah group as Allah says in Qur’an 2:245
“Who is he that will loan to Allah a beautiful loan which Allah will double unto his credit and multiply many times? It is Allah that giveth (you) want or plenty and to Him shall be your return”.
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Mallam Musa Da’ud – Or
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Maa Sallam
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