“Whoever follows a path seeking therein knowledge, Allaah will ease for him a path to Paradise” – The Messenger of Allaah (صلى الله عليه و سلم)

The journey undertaken to seek knowledge is indeed a beautiful journey. Physical, emotional, psychological ups and downs, and the many obstacles faced along the way only add to the flavour of our humble endeavour. Whenever this topic of seeking knowledge is brought up though, we tend to be inundated with ideas of journeys across deserts and rugged terrains, from country to country in pursuit of knowledge. True, this was the reality for many of our pious predecessors who travelled on long and difficult journeys in order to gain an answer to a certain mas’alah or to study ahadeeth from a certain scholar. For them, undertaking this task proved to be very exhaustive and often too risky for the common man.

However, in our current situation where technology really has made the world a smaller place, we find that these beautiful pearls and gems of knowledge are actually not that far off. In most of our communities today, there are at least one or two mediums through which we can attain sound knowledge. These range from regular classes or halaqaat (Islamic study circles), conferences and Islamic courses, or simply the many Islamic bookshops which sell valuable publications in different formats. If however a community is deprived of even these, then there is always that medium which this century has become so famous for. Yes, it’s that double-edged sword, more commonly known as the Internet.

Despite all these avenues though, we continue to see a general lack in the Muslims when it comes to reaping the maximum benefit from the resources made available to us by our communities. I sometimes find that regular Islamic classes come to a halt because the number of dedicated attendees drops too low. Other times, the response that these fountains of knowledge receive is heart breaking. It’s quite saddening to see ourselves dreaming of seeking knowledge to a far away land – desiring to undertake and bear its hardship, but we unfortunately fail to show up when our community or Islamic centre provides a platform where we can gain authentic Islamic education. Why is it that we wait years to travel abroad, but meanwhile in that time, we do not take advantage of the resources available to us? Not to be misunderstood, making the journey abroad to study the Islamic sciences is indeed a very rewarding journey and often abundantly fruitful. However, for those not able to undertake that yet, it sometimes becomes an excuse. Some claim that they will soon study abroad and therefore there is no need to attend any current classes. Unfortunately, such people often end up waiting years!

The point of all this is, we need to tread the path of knowledge wherever it takes us. It may take us around the corner or to the next town, where there may be much benefit in the community. It may indeed even take us to the next continent, over deserts and rugged terrains. Wherever it takes us, we need to stay on this blessed track and be firmly steadfast upon it regardless of its distance and length. Indeed, it is as the Messenger of Allaah (s.a.w) said,

“Whoever sets out seeking knowledge, then he is in the way of Allaah until he returns.”  – [Tirmidhi, hasan hadeeth]