“And He taught Adam the names – all of them. Then He showed them to the angels and said, “Inform Me of the names of these, if you are truthful.”” Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 31.
This verse indicates the importance and superiority of knowledge over worship. This and other verses clearly show that the thing which made the Holy Prophet Adam, peace be upon him, superior to the Angels, which is proven by them prostrating to Him, was knowledge not worship. If worship was superior to obtaining and acting on knowledge than the Holy Prophet Adam, peace be upon him, would have been commanded to prostrate to the Angels.
In fact, worship cannot be performed correctly meaning, by fulfilling its etiquettes and conditions correctly, without knowledge. It is why Islam teaches muslims the importance of gaining and acting on useful knowledge both worldly and religious. In fact, a Hadith found in Sunan Ibn Majah, number 224, declares gaining useful knowledge to be a duty on all muslims.
In addition, as the majority of muslims do not understand the Arabic language an abundant amount of worship, such as reciting the Holy Quran, will not change them for the better whereas gaining and acting on knowledge will guide them towards self-improvement, piety and the closeness of Allah, the Exalted. Ignorance, even if it is accompanied with much worship, is a major reason why many muslims in the modern world feel disconnected from Allah, the Exalted. How can one obtain the closeness of Allah, the Exalted, without correctly understanding and acting on His message?
Ignorance is arguably the root of all sins as the one who truly knows the consequences of sins would never commit them. It is important to note, that in reality all knowledge which is not acted on is only ignorance. The example of the one who behaves in this manner is described in the Holy Quran as a donkey which carries books of knowledge which do not benefit it. Chapter 62 Al Jumu’ah, verse 5:
“…and then did not take it on(did not act on their knowledge) is like that of a donkey who carries volumes [of books]…”
A person who acts on their knowledge rarely slips up and commits sins intentionally. In fact, when this occurs it is only caused by a moment of ignorance where a person forgets to act on their knowledge.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, once highlighted the seriousness of ignorance in a Hadith found in Jami At Tirmidhi, number 2322. He declared that everything in the material world is cursed except for the remembrance of Allah, the Exalted, whatever is connected to this remembrance, the scholar and the student of knowledge. This means that all the blessings in the material world will become a curse for the one who is ignorant as they will misuse the blessings given to them thereby committing sins.
In fact, ignorance can be considered a person’s worse enemy as it prevents them from protecting themself from harm and gaining benefit all of which can only be achieved through knowledge. The ignorant commits sins without being aware of it. How can one avoid a sin if they do not know what is considered a sin? Ignorance causes one to neglect their obligatory duties. How can one fulfil their duties if they are unaware of what their duties are?
PodTafseer: Al-Baqarah – Part 47: https://youtu.be/yE5B-mqrPno
PodTafseer: Al-Baqarah – Part 47: https://fb.watch/4kgiHVfA-u/
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