Speeches
PURPOSE OF SEEKING KNOWLEDGE
Speech delivered by Ash-Shaikh H. Abdul Nazar, President of Centre for Spiritual Solidarity and General Secretary of All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama on the occasion of appreciating the Sri Lankan students graduating from International Islamic University – Malaysia in year 2009, organized by the Majlis of Sri Lankan Students at IIUM on 12.10.2009.
Dear President, Graduates, undergraduates, Parents
and My Dear Brothers and Sisters-in-Islam,
Assalaamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakaatuh.
It is indeed my pleasure and honour to have been invited by you; the Majlis
of Sri Lankan Students at the International Islamic University – Malaysia,
to be with you in this significant gathering.
I am very glad to associate myself with you all on this memorable occasion
of recognizing the Sri Lankan students graduating from the IIUM this year
and honouring those who are graduating with flying colours, obtaining Excellent
Pass.
I wish to take this opportunity to warmly congratulate all the graduates
today and especially those who have been blessed to gain the Excellent Pass.
My heart is really pregnant with joy and happiness as I see you all with
thirst; thirst for knowledge. You have made a decision to quench your thirst
at the IIUM. On the one hand, this decision, I know for sure as I am still
a student like you, is a difficult one since you had to leave your kith
and kin and your beloved motherland and come all the way to Kuala Lumpur.
Yet, on the other hand, a wise decision because you have decided to slake
your thirst at the IIUM, one of the popular and prestigious seats of learning
in Asia.
Real thirst for knowledge is that. It urges you to venture into anything;
big or small, easy or tough and near or far.
While totally agreeing with your correct and bold decision to sate your
thirst, I have a question within myself; Why knowledge? Why appetite for
knowledge? Why should you slake the thirst for knowledge?
You, perhaps, would come up with a ready-made answer that seeking knowledge
is compulsory in Islam and the first verse of the divine revelation – Al-Qur’an
was a clear-cut order to read and recite; Iqra’.
Yes. I am in absolute agreement with you. But my question is entirely different;
Why does Islam impose on you seeking knowledge? What is the purpose of knowledge?
Man has to know the purpose of life; Why has he come to this world? How
did he come? From where did he emanate? Where is he going after death? Who
are these people? What are these relations – paternal, maternal and so on?
What are these creations – earth, sea, sun, moon, mountain, river, forest,
animals, birds, etc.? What is the relation between him and these creatures?
How did he and all this originate?
Man ought to differentiate between the good and the bad, pure and impure,
useful and useless, constructive and destructive, etc. Again the purpose
of knowledge is obvious.
If we, through the knowledge we have acquired, apprehended the purpose
of life, are we acting accordingly? Do we adopt the lifestyle prescribed
by Islam? If yes, to what extent? Do we translate our knowledge into action?
Knowledge is not for knowledge, but for life. What you learn you must practice.
In fact, the concept of knowledge for knowledge has precipitated all the
current turbulence and destruction across the globe. This is the repercussion
of seeking knowledge just for knowledge. Unfortunately most of the people
have failed to understand this simple fact.
You must know your Creator. You must know how and from where you originated.
You must know this world and the creatures therein. All this is conveyed
in the first five verses of the divine revelation.
“Read with the name of your Lord who created. He created man from a clot
of blood. Read and your Lord is the most generous who imparted knowledge
by means of the pen. He taught man what he did not know.” (Chapter: 96,
Verses: 01 – 05)
But sadly, we take just the word ‘Iqra’ and stop with that. We do not look
at the rest of the verse and the following verses.
Knowledge is for life. You must learn, find the truth and lead your life
according to your Creator’s guidance.
In other words, do I have to study just because I want to be a graduate?
Do I have to study just because I want my name to be coupled with some academic
titles? Or do I have to study because I want to lead a purposeful life?
The present world, indeed, enjoys a great deal of scholars. No scarcity
of academics and professionals. Yet, there is acute dearth of academics
and professionals, who find the truth, comprehend the purpose of life and
live every minute of life in accordance with the teachings of Almighty Allah.
Certainly you are lucky. Allah Ta’ala has given you the opportunity of
pursuing your higher studies at a fully-fledged Islamic university whereas
many students and perhaps even your friends, who are eager to further themselves
in studies, are deprived of such a marvellous environment of higher education.
You should, therefore, be grateful to Allah forever for this tremendous
bounty.
Let us learn to live! Let us study Islam! Let us practice Islam in our
day-to-day life to the letter! Let us fear Allah, the Exalted! Let us enlighten
others in the light of knowledge we have gained!
With these few words, let me conclude, wishing all of you every success
in your life, praying for abundance in your knowledge and accuracy and appropriateness
in application and extending my sincere gratitude to the President and others
of the Majlis of Sri Lankan Students at the IIUM.
Thank you very much - ‘Jazaakumullahu khaira’ for your patient hearing
which was, of course, a source of inspiration to me.
Wassalaamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakaatuh.
Jumuah Khutbah
Weekly Fiqh Class for Adults
Special address At prize-giving
