Life in the material world was created in order to test mankind. Chapter 67 Al Mulk, verse 2:
“[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed…”
Because of this purpose the material world has been created with many preoccupations and distractions which prevent one from submitting obediently to Allah, the Exalted, by fulfilling His commands, refraining from His prohibitions and by facing destiny with patience. These distractions can be reduced to four main distractions which will be briefly discussed in this blog series.
The first distraction which prevents one from submitting to the obedience of Allah, the Exalted, is ignorance. It can be argued that it is the origin of every sin as the one who truly knows the consequences of sins would never commit them. This refers to true beneficial knowledge which is knowledge that is acted upon. In reality, all knowledge which is not acted on is not beneficial knowledge. 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 upon 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 which results in them sinning.
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 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 acting on 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?
It is therefore a duty on all muslims to gain enough knowledge to fulfil all their obligatory duties and avoid sins. This is confirmed in a Hadith found in Sunan Ibn Majah, number 224.
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