“Don’t worship Allah so He may give you. Rather, worship Him so He may be pleased. For when He is pleased, He will astonish you with His Gifts.”
By the dawn
And the ten nights
And the even and the odd
O you tranquil soul!
Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing
[al-Fajr: 1-3; 27-28]
Loftiness is attained in accordance to one’s struggles,
And whoever seeks nobility, remains vigilant by night.
Whoever wishes to achieve without due effort,
Will waste their life seeking what’s impossible.
You search for glory and yet you sleep at night,
It’s only the seeker of pearls who dives deep into the sea.
– Imam al-Shafi’i, al-Diwan
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Latest Post
Ask Like Fools
No question is ever too stupid 🙂 Here are some selected narrations from Jami’ Bayan al-‘ilm:
‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (radhiallahu `anhu) said, ‘Knowledge is increased through yearning for it, and it is initially attained through asking. So learn what you are ignorant of and act upon what you come to learn.’
Ibn Shihab: ‘Knowledge is a treasure chest and its keys are questioning.’
‘Aisha (radhiallahu `anha) said, ‘The best of women are the women of the Ansar! Their shyness did not prevent them from asking and understanding issues of the religion.’
A poet once said,
‘If you don’t know, and you are not
A person who asks those who know,
Then how will you know?
And Ibn al-A’rabi recited the lines;
Ask the Faqih (learned one) and you will become like him
Whoever attains knowledge with understanding, triumphs
And contemplate over that which you are seeking
For there’s no good in knowledge without contemplation
Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi said, ‘Ask like the fools ask, but learn & memorise like the smart ones do.’
– Jami’ Bayan al-‘ilm wa fadhlihi, by Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr [pg. 315-326]