The Three Fundamental Principles with Ijazah Text Lesson

The Four Important Points

Study Duration

7 Min

"In the Name of Allah the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful (1).

Know –may Allah have mercy on you- (2) that it is a must upon us to study four matters: The first one: Knowledge. It is knowledge of: Allah, His Prophet, and the religion of Islam with proof. The second: Acting upon it (3)".

The reason the author begins with the Name of Allah:

Following the example of the Book of Allah as well as the Prophets –peace be upon them-.

Following the example of the righteous predecessors from the scholars of Islam; they would begin their books in the Name of Allah

Seeking blessings or increase in goodness from the blessed Name of Allah.

Habitually, the author begins by supplicating for the student of Islamic knowledge and asks Allah to have mercy on them. This shows:

The mercy of the scholars of the Sunnah toward their students.
Islam, in its origin, is built upon mercy

Knowledge is knowing the truth with proof: It is the opposite of ignorance.

The connection between Knowledge and Actions: Some of the scholars have said: Knowledge calls for action; it's either responded to or otherwise it leaves. Thus, there is no benefit possessing knowledge while not acting upon it. Rather, if a person seeks knowledge, it is a must to act upon it; otherwise, one would be like the Jews. They have knowledge; however, they do not act upon it. Allah informs us that «they recognise him as they recognise their sons» (Qur'an 2:146). The first whom the fire will be kindled are three kinds of people and from them is a scholar who has sought knowledge and yet did not act upon it. As the poet said:

'And the scholar who does not act upon his knowledge
will be punished before the idol worshiper'.

Thirdly, Inviting to it.

Inviting to Allah has conditions:

It must be sincerely for Allah, the Most High.

It must be based on Islamic knowledge

It must be done with wisdom and patience

It is a must to know the situation of those whom you are inviting

The proof for these conditions:

«Say, 'This is my way. I invite to Allah upon insight; I and those who follow me. Exalted is Allah, and I am not of those who worship others with Him» (Qur'an 12:108).

«Say, 'This is my way» That which is being pointed at is everything the Messenger came with from the legislation, Qur'an and authentic Hadeeth.

«I invite to Allah» A person who invites to Allah is the sincere one who only wishes to connect the people to their Creator.

«upon insight» meaning with knowledge, and it includes knowledge of: the legislation and those being invited.

As if the author -may Allah have mercy upon him- is saying: 'If you study and do righteous actions, it becomes obligatory upon you to be upon the path of the Prophet and his companions as Allah says: «Say: 'This is my way. I call to Allah upon insight; I and those who follow me'». Thus, it is a must to teach.

The fourth: patience upon the harms (1). The proof is the saying of The Most High: «In the name of Allah The Entirely Merciful The Especially Merciful. By the time, Mankind are certainly in loss. Except those who believe, do righteous deeds, advise one another to the truth, and advise one another with patience» (Qur'an 103:1-3). (2)

(1) After teaching and inviting others, the author mentions patience. As if he is saying to you: ' the one who takes this path will come across hardships just like the Prophets and Messengers –peace be upon them- did, so it is a must to observe patience.

Patience

Linguistically: Forbearance
In Islam: Forbearance to do certain things and stay away from some.

Ibn Qayyim (691-751H) -may Allah have mercy on him- has divided patience into three categories:

Patience upon the obedience of Allah so it is carried out; such as, patience to pray.

Patience to stay away from the disobedience of Allah so it is abandoned, such as, the major sins.

Patience with what Allah allows to befall you from the hardships; for example, sickness.

(2) After mentioning the four principles the author quotes the proof from the Qur'an; Surat Al-Asr. The author always follows the points with proof.

Why?

To teach the student to be a follower of the proof and not a blind follower of opinions.

So, one knows the proofs when advising those who oppose this belief.

To train the student how to correctly extract the rulings from the proofs based on established principles.

Shaafi'ee -may Allah have mercy on him- said: “If Allah did not reveal a proof to His slaves except this chapter (soorah), it would have been enough for them” (1). Bukharee -may Allah have mercy on him- said: “Chapter: Knowledge precedes speech and actions and the proof is the saying of Allah: «Know that no one is worthy of worship except Him and seek forgiveness for your sins». Thus, he mentions knowledge before speech and action” (2).

(1) The intent of Imam Shaafi'ee (150-204H) -may Allah have mercy on him- is that this soorah itself is sufficient to establish the proof upon the slaves of Allah so they study, act upon it, teach others, and observe patience.

What about the rest of the soorahs of the Qur'an?! The entire Qur'an is full of proofs

(2) Imam Bukharee (194-256H) began one of the chapters in his book "Sahih Bukharee" by the title or heading: "Chapter: Knowledge precedes speech and action" and mentioned the proof for it. Thus, it is a must to study before speaking or doing any action. It is not correct to do actions without knowledge or otherwise one would be imitating the Christians.