In My Pursuit of Knowledge....

Bismillahir rahmaneer raheem....
“And they were not commanded except that they should worship Allah, keeping the religion pure for Him, and worship none but Him Alone, and establish the Prayer and offer the Compulsory Charity, and that is the upright religion.” (Quran - Surat Al-Bayyenah 98:5)

Salam brothers and sisters, how are you? I am enjoying Ramadan so much I hope you are too. It feels so good to draw near to Allah. So I am thinking a lot about my development and pursuit of knowledge and it is important to always remember that we must always keep in mind what our motives are for whatever it is we are pursuing. We should have good intentions in what we do. That counts for a lot in Islam in our walk with Allah. For what does it count to pursue knowledge of Allah's word and become scholars of our deen but do it just to seek others' approval or for our own ego. We were put on this earth for nothing but to worship Allah so the reason for my passion for learning about God's words and his commands for my life are driven by my desire to worship Him in the best way I can through my life. This must be the drive behind what I pursue. I need to ask myself and check myself in all things to make sure that is my motive behind what I do because if it isn't, then I am missing the mark.

What does anything mean without our motive to give the glory to god and have love in our hearts behind our actions? Are they now just empty and vain efforts then? What would charity be without caring? What would a favor be without joy in giving? What would a hug be without affection? What would knowing everything about God's word be without having our hearts in the right place when seeking that knowledge? Even the bible discusses how everything we do without love is like a clanging symbol, it makes sounds but it means nothing. We should constantly assess what we place our hearts in and whether or not our hearts are in the right place in what we do, for it will count for nothing if we are just doing it simply to please others or to get credit from those around us. We should do it for love for God and love for others.

We must take care of our intention in all we do. There is a story I wanted to retell here in my blog that I read in a book about the virtues of Ramadan which is actually about how we should take care to remember who it is who considers our deeds, and to remember we should remember Allah in all kinds of worship. Worship can be in many forms; in nasheed (hymns, psalms to Allah), prayer, salat, giving, charity, fasting, and more. Really we can worship Allah in all that we do if when we do it, we are doing it for His sake and for His glory. The word for worship in Arabic in this sense is "IBAADAH." It is Allah who considers all of our actions and deeds and whether or not He will accept them.

So here is the story.... Mohammad (Sallallahu alayhi wa Sallam) is said to have said: On the day of Qiyaamah (Judgment Day) one of those with whom Allah shall reckon first shall be a Shaheed (a martyr in the path of Allah). Allah will call him and remind him of all of His blessings given to him, which the person will confess. He shall then be asked: "What ave you done by way of expressing gratitude for these favors I have bestowed upon you?" The "Shaheed" shall reply" "I fought in Your cause till I became a martyr. Allah shall reply: It is not so; you have fought so that you can be called a brave man: and so it has been said." There after it shall be commanded that he be dragged, face on the ground and cast into "Jahannam." Then, an 'Aalim (a Scholar) shall be called to the Lord. He too shall be reminded of Allah's favors and asked the same question. He shall reply: "Oh Lord! I sought to acquire knowledge, taught others and for Your sake recited the Quran." Allah shall say" "This is not true. You did all that, merely so that, it may be said that you are learned; and so it has been said." And he will face the same fate as the Shaheed in Jahannam. Many such incidents can be found in Ahaadeeth. So we should care about our intentions.

May Allah accept our deeds and may all that we pursue be pure in intention and strictly for the glory of our Lord. amen.

Here is the verse again from the Quran which summarizes what are purpose is here, and what should be our soul mission, to worship Allah in all we do, with PURE intentions:

“And they were not commanded except that they should worship Allah, keeping the religion pure for Him, and worship none but Him Alone, and establish the Prayer and offer the Compulsory Charity, and that is the upright religion.” (Quran 98:5)

Here we see that even though a person may seem to be performing acts of devotion and worship to Allah outwardly, if they associate any other intention (to get money, to get fame, to get attention, etc...) or being in this worship, (whether they be angels, prophets, or righteous people), then this deed is not accepted or rewarded by Allah as the reward/consequence will be worldly.

Here is a commentary about this verse from http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/360/

Another aspect of this purity of intention is that a person should never seek any worldly gains through religious service and acts of worship, even if that worldly gain be something permissible. If a person seeks any permissible worldly gain though an action, the Godly reward of the deed diminishes.

Dedicated to Brother Reza who inspires me with his continuing passion for searching the best form of worship of our beloved Lord. And who has an open heart and mind to reflect upon our purpose on earth. May Allah open all of our hearts and minds in the same way.