1. Musallah at-Taqwa
Saturday
March 07,
2009
Islamic College of Canberra
‫ﺑﺴﻢ ﺍﷲ ﺍﻟﺮﲪﻦ ﺍﻟﺮﺣﻴﻢ‬
Explanation of the Three Fundamental Principles
Class Notes – Term 1, Week 4
.‫ﺍ ُﻭﻟﹶﻰ: ﺍﹾﻟﻌﻠﻢ: ﻭ ُﻮ ﻣﻌﺮﻓﺔﹸ ﺍﷲِ، ﻭﻣﻌﺮﻓﺔﹸ َﻧﺒّﻪ ، ﻭﻣﻌﺮﻓﺔﹸ ﺩِﻳﻦ ﺍﻹﺳْﻼﻡ ﺑﺎﻷﺩﱠﺔ‬
ِ ‫َ َ ْ ﹺ ﹶ ﹺﻴ ِ َ َ ْ ﹺ ﹶ ﹺ ِ ﹺ َ ِﻟ‬
‫ﹺ‬
‫ِ ﹾ ُ َﻫ َ َ ْ ﹺ ﹶ‬
‫ﻷ‬
.‫ﺍﻟﱠﺎﹺﻧﻴ ﹸ: ﺍﹾﻟﻌﻤ ﹸ ﹺﺑﻪ‬
ِ ‫ﺜ َﺔ َ َﻞ‬
“The first: Knowledge (al‐‘Ilm), which is knowledge and awareness of Allah, and knowledge of His Prophet,
and Knowledge of the religion of Islam with the proofs.
The Second: Action upon that (knowledge).”
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The first of the four matters that it is obligatory upon us to know is al‐‘Ilm, or knowledge.
In the previous lesson we learnt the definition of al‐‘Ilm, the six levels of comprehension, as well as
the two categories of knowledge.
We also mentioned that the implied knowledge is the knowledge that the Prophet (saw) came with,
and which draws the slave closer to Allah (swt). This lesson will deal with this in further detail.
What knowledge do we need to learn?
The knowledge that we need to learn is divided into three parts:
(i)
‫ – ﻣﻌﺮﻓﺔﹸ ﺍﷲ‬Knowledge and awareness of Allah (swt).
‫َ ْ ﹺﹶ‬
(ii)
‫ – ﻭﻣﻌﺮﻓﺔﹸ َﻧﺒﱢﻪ‬Knowledge of His Prophet (saw).
ِ ‫َ َ ْ ﹺ ﹶ ﹺﻴ‬
(iii)
‫ – ﻭﻣﻌﺮﻓﺔﹸ ﺩِﻳﻦ ﺍﻹﺳْﻼﻡ‬Knowledge of the religion of Islam.
‫َ َ ْ ﹺﹶ ﹺ ِ ﹺ‬
This is the knowledge that is wajib (obligatory) upon every Muslim individual to learn.
Knowledge and awareness of Allah (swt)
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‫ ‐ ﻣﻌﺮﻓﺔﹸ ﺍﷲ‬Knowledge and awareness of Allah (swt) with the heart to an extent that it makes you :
‫َ ْ ﹺﹶ‬
o Accept what He has prescribed.
o Submit to it through the laws the Prophet (saw) came with.
This is the test for checking your knowledge and awareness of Allah (swt).

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How do you come to know of Allah (swt)? Through His signs which he has outlined in the Quran and
which the Prophet (saw) told us about and the signs which he provided for us through His creations.
If you read the Quran you will come to know Allah (swt); that it is He who created the heavens and
the earth, and it is He that controls everything within them, and that He gives life and takes it away
and that He is capable of doing all things.
If you look and ponder at the creations of Allah (swt), you will realise it is He who created everything
and controls it with His Wisdom and Knowledge.
Therefore, considering and pondering these clear signs will increase your knowledge and awareness
of your Creator, and that it is He alone who deserves to be worshipped.
This is the method the Quran uses. It addresses the human intellect by asking them to ponder the
signs of Allah (swt), then it defies them to reject the One Creator.
The more you come to know of Allah (swt), the more you are inclined to accept and submit to His
commandments.
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And on the earth are Signs for those of assured Faith. And also in your own selves: will you not then
consider? [Adh‐Dhariyaat; 51:20‐21]
Knowledge about His Messenger (saw)
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‫ ‐ ﻣﻌﺮﻓﺔﹸ َﻧﺒﱢﻪ‬This is knowing about the Prophet (saw), because it is he who informs us of Allah (swt).
ِ ‫َ ْ ﹺ ﹶ ﹺﻴ‬
He is the intermediary between Allah (swt) and His creation in the transmission of the message.
Knowledge of the Prophet (saw) to an extent that it makes a person:
o Accept what he brought – guidance and the true religion.
o Affirms and attests to the truth of whatever he informed us of.
o Complies with the orders he gave and avoids what he forbade.
o Judges by the revealed laws he came with and is pleased with them.
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But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad) judge in all disputes
between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept them with full
submission. [an‐Nisaa’; 4:65]
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Therefore we must come to know who the prophet (saw) is, what he came with, his lineage, his
place of birth, how he received the revelation, how he called to Allah (swt), know his seera
(biography), even if it is in short or concise form.
It is not possible to be ignorant of the Prophet (saw). He is Mohammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul
Muttalib, ibn Hashim ibn Abdul Manaf all the way up to the prophet Ibrahim (as).
It is not befitting that a Muslim is ignorant of the Prophet (saw). How can you claim to follow
someone and you have no knowledge of them? Impossible!

3.
Knowledge of the religion of Islam?
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‫ ‐ ﻣﻌﺮﻓﺔﹸ ﺩِﻳﻦ ﺍﻹﺳْﻼﻡ‬It is the religion the Prophet (saw) came with and the religion Allah (swt) has
ِ ‫َ ْ ﹺﹶ ﹺ‬
prescribed and which He ordered to be obeyed through.
Therefore, you must know Islam because it is the religion you have been ordered to follow.
General meaning of Islam: Islam is the religion of all the prophets. Every person who followed a
prophet is a Muslim in the general sense, that is, they submitted to Allah (swt) upon tawheed and
obeyed Him through worship.
Specific meaning of Islam: It is the specific religion which Allah (swt) sent to mankind through the
Prophet (saw). Islam is only through following his way.
The Jews at the time of Musa (as) were Muslim, as were the Christians at the time of Eesa (as), but
since they disbelieved in the Prophet (saw) they are no longer Muslims.
Islam is the only religion acceptable to Allah (swt):
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And whoever seeks a Religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will
be one of the losers. [aal‐‘Imran; 3:85]
Proof and evidence
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We have knowledge of Allah (swt), His Prophet (saw) and the religion of Islam based on evidence
and proof, not on taqleed (blind following).
Proof is that which leads you to what you are seeking, i.e. the haqq (truth).
There are two types of proof:
(i) Textual: Affirmed by wahy (revelation), i.e. kitaab and sunnah.
(ii) Intellectual: Established through observation and consideration.
The intellectual proofs are frequently used by Allah (swt) in His book where He says “and from his
signs are such and such”.
The saying of the notable scholars are not taken as evidence, but they instead rely on evidence to
explain and clarify the words of Allah(swt) and His Prophet (saw).
Acting upon knowledge
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It is not sufficient that a person learns the knowledge. They must also put it into action.
Knowledge without action is used as evidence against a person on the Day of Judgement.
A person needs to act in accordance with what this knowledge demands, i.e. Iman which is:
o Correct belief of the heart.
o Speech of the tongue.
o Action of the body parts.
Action is submitting to Allah (swt) with obedience by doing what He has commanded and avoiding
what He has forbidden.

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Actions are the fruit of knowledge. Fruit trees which do not bear fruit are useless.
The one who learns knowledge and does not act upon it is cursed, because he knows the truth but
chose to ignore it.
Those who act with no knowledge Allah (swt) has called them misguided. They are unnecessarily
burdening themselves with actions that have no reward.
Thus we read in every rakaat:
o x| öΝÎγø‹n=tã Môϑyè÷Ρr& ⎦⎪Ï%©!$# Þ≡uÅÀ ‐ These are the people who have combined knowledge with
actions.
o ΟÎγø‹n=tæ UθàÒøóyϑø9$# öxî ‐ These are the people who have knowledge but do not act upon it
(like the Jews).
o Ÿ t⎦⎫Ïj9!$Ò9$# ωuρ ‐ These are the people who act upon no knowledge (like the Christians).
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Last week’s questions
(i) Explain what true knowledge is. Explain what its opposite is.
(ii) What is the difference between shakk and dhann?
(iii) What are the two categories of knowledge? Explain each one and give an example.
(iv) What is the full meaning of rahma when used independently?
(v) Explain the two types of wajib. Which of the two is implied in the author’s text?