Interest in gaining Islamic knowledge

Dear Islamic brothers! You have just heard about the deep interest of Daata Ganj Bakhsh رَحْمَةُ اللهِ تَعَالٰی عَلَيْه in gaining Islamic knowledge. For acquiring Islamic knowledge, he رَحْمَةُ اللهِ تَعَالٰی عَلَيْه travelled to more than 10 countries including Iraq, Syria and Hijaz Muqaddas (Makkah and Madinah) and had many difficult incidents in this tough path but he رَحْمَةُ اللهِ تَعَالٰی عَلَيْه always remained as an example of patience and contentment and was grateful to Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ.

Now just ponder, on the one hand the condition of our pious predecessors رَحِمَهُمُ الـلّٰـهُ تَـعَالٰی was such that despite the extreme hardships they endured to learn Islamic knowledge, they would learn with devotion and hard work and would also spread the call towards righteousness among the people. On the other hand, in this age of advancement, since acquiring Islamic knowledge has become extremely easy, despite all facilities and luxuries we do not learn Islamic knowledge, we do not even have time to learn the compulsory branches of knowledge. We only learn and provide our children with knowledge of worldly benefits, so that they could get higher degrees to have a brighter future. But regretfully, we have no worry to make our Hereafter better. Remember! To seek Islamic knowledge is compulsory upon every Muslim man and woman.

How much knowledge is it compulsory to gain?

It is stated in a Hadees: ‘طَلَبُ الۡعِلۡمِ فَرِيۡضَةٌ عَلٰي كُلِّ مُسۡلِمٍ’, i.e. Gaining knowledge is compulsory for every Muslim man (similarly for a Muslim woman as well).

(Sunan Ibn Majah, vol. 1, pp. 146, Hadees 224)

Shaykh-e-Tareeqat, Ameer-e-Ahl-e-Sunnat, the founder of Dawat-e-Islami, ‘Allamah Maulana Abu Bilal Muhammad Ilyas Attar Qadiri Razavi Ziyaee      دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـه has stated: Regarding this blessed Hadees, Imam-e-Ahl-e-Sunnat, Maulana Shah Imam Ahmad Raza Khan عَـلَيْهِ رَحْمَةُ الـرَّحْمٰن has said, (in a simple summary): The first and foremost Fard is to get knowledge of basic beliefs, which makes a person a Sunni of correct beliefs and to deny or oppose it, makes a person an unbeliever or corrupt. Thereafter, he should learn the rulings of Salah i.e. its Faraaid, prerequisites and acts which invalidate Salah, so that he