Now You Know, So Act- Day 9 (1444.h)
وَعَدَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِۙ لَهُم مَّغۡفِرَةٌ وَأَجۡرٌ عَظِيمٌ
Allâh has promised those who believe (in the Oneness of Allâh - Islâmic Monotheism) and do deeds of righteousness, that for them there is forgiveness and a great reward (i.e. Paradise).
Sūrah Al-Mā'idah, Āyah 9
﷽
Bi’idhnillāh, we are all familiar with flowcharts. So, let’s consider the following flowchart:
Knowledge>Belief>Actions
Allāh the Almighty mentioned many times in the Qurʾān:
ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِۙ
Those who believe (in the Oneness of Allâh - Islâmic Monotheism) and do deeds of righteousness.
Notice how Allāh mentions belief before actions, and that is because the foundation of righteous actions is the firm belief the individual holds in Tawḥīd (to single out Allāh in all that is specific to Him), our actions would be like particles scattered in the sea, and until one truly believes, his actions will not be accepted from him.
And if we were to hold correct beliefs without performing acts of worship, then we would have a share of the anger of Allāh just as the Jews do; our similitude would be like that of a donkey carrying books on its back. Know, may Allāh bless you, that our actions show our truthfulness in our belief.
The noble Companion Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) reported that the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said that Allāh said:
My servant does not grow closer to Me with anything more beloved to me than the duties I have imposed upon him. My servant continues to grow closer to Me with extra good works until I love him. (1)
Which of us does not want to be closer to Allāh? Do we not all desire to be from those who Allāh loves? If we do, upon us is to hasten to learn and act upon the various beliefs and actions that Allāh has obligated us to do, likewise we must strive to make the foundation of those obligatory deeds the two conditions we previously mentioned:
Ikhlāṣ - Sincerely doing the action of worship for Allāh sake. E.g. learning the correct creed for the sake of worshipping Allāh upon insight, or speaking kinds words to your parents and listening to them for Allāh sake (note: we obey our parents, the rulers and elders etc. in all that is permissible, but if we are commanded to do what is against the religion of Allāh then we do not obey them in that which they called us to do; as there is no obedience to the creation in disobedience of The Creator).
Mutābaʾah - we must ensure the actions we are performing are in line with how Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) taught us to do them… So we can’t wake up one day and pray 20 Raka’āt (units) for Fajr prayer while Rasūl-Allāh (ﷺ) taught us to pray 2 Raka’āt. After all, he (ﷺ) was sent by Allāh to teach us how to worship Allāh in a way that He is pleased with (سبحانه)!
As for the relationship between belief and knowledge, we need to have knowledge of what we believe in. We cannot believe in something without knowing what it is. What would you say about an individual who loved someone they had no knowledge of? Well, I would think that such a person’s love is questionable… Meanwhile, many of us claim to love Allāh, His Messenger, and His religion, but do we really know Allāh? Have we taken time out of our 24 Hours in the day to learn about Him; His Beautiful Names and Lofty Attributes? Here is a beautiful series of lessons on understanding the Names and Attributes of Allāh.
Shaykh Aḥmad An-Najmī, one of the senior scholars of Sunnah in our time, mentioned in his explanation of Shaykh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdil-Wahhāb’s ‘The Three Fundamental Principles’ (Al-Usūl Ath-Thalāthah):
If a person has belief in a certain thing then knowledge must have preceded it. To have faith in something requires that you have belief in it i.e. to believe in something which is known.
Regarding the next part of the Āyah:
لَهُم مَّغۡفِرَةٌ وَأَجۡرٌ عَظِيمٌ
For them there is forgiveness and a great reward (i.e. Paradise).
Al-Imām Ibn Kathīr (رحمه الله) mentioned in his Tafsīr :
They will not earn Paradise on account of their good actions, but rather on account of His (i.e. Allāh’s) mercy and favour, even though they will qualify to earn this mercy on account of their good actions. Allāh has made these actions the cause and path that lead to His mercy, favour, pardon and acceptance. Therefore, all this is from Allāh Alone and all thanks are due to Him.
Allāh is not in need of our actions, those actions benefit not Him but us. Rather, they serve as a means of attaining the pleasure of Allāh so that by His infinite mercy, He admits us into His paradise.
Start you journey of learning the religion from authentic sources!
We ask Allah for goodness in this world and in the Ākhirah.
وصلّى الله وسلّم عل نبيّنا محمّد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين
(1) - Hadith 38 - The 40 Ḥadīth of An-Nawawī
