{"id":2591,"date":"2014-05-21T10:33:06","date_gmt":"2014-05-21T14:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/?p=2591"},"modified":"2014-05-21T10:33:06","modified_gmt":"2014-05-21T14:33:06","slug":"wrong-round-jetset-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/?p=2591","title":{"rendered":"Wrong Way Round: The Jetset Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wrong Way Round: The\"images\" Jetset Journey<\/strong><\/p>\n

The least each of us can do is to ensure that we acquire enough Islamic knowledge to live our lives within the Shariah\u2019s parameters. Since not all of us can become Ulema, we must consult with the Ulema ul-Haq \u2014 the just scholars \u2014 just as we would consult with the best physicians for our physical health or engineers for our homes.
\nDespite the root ilm (to know) appearing in the Qur\u2019an over 750 times in thirteen variations,<\/span> many of us, including me, have spent our lives not even knowing its real definition.
\nWe think knowledge is Ilm. We even think information can be Ilm. I thought my fancy Radd-ul-Abdiyah-based liberals arts education was Ilm. But the very essence of our secular education has been to defy and refute (Radd) the very existence of a higher being, placing the human \u2018self\u2019 above all else \u2013 persistently and methodically though not always overtly.
\nNo matter which \u2018ism\u2019 we identify with\u2014 socialism, capitalism, feminism, etc \u2014 its values rule supreme over all else, including God and His all-embracing guidance. We choose to live, study, earn, govern, and protest according to a set of values crafted by a human mind. We forget that living by the divine Shariah (Islamic guidelines and laws) in pure submission and worship of Allah, Abdiyyah, is the very purpose of our creation.
\nLet me illustrate: Anything akin to humility is unheard of in secular education. Even in the privileged institutions I attended, we couldn\u2019t imagine doing anything in school or at work without ensuring maximum credit, visibility, and compensation for it. Life was about building our resum\u00e9s and portfolios. Our spiritual, emotional, and other such intangible well-beings were at best fairly irrelevant.
\nWe felt invincible, defying our immortality. The \u2018just do it,\u2019 carpe diem attitude made us discount consequences\u2014 not just in our own lives and the hereafter but across generations and borders. Hiroshima? War on Terror? Genetically mutated food? Killer whales dying in captivity bouncing balls for Sea World\u2019s profit and our bottomless need for entertainment?
\n\u201cSay, \u2018Indeed, the guidance of Allah is the [only] guidance.\u2019 If you were to follow their desires after what has come to you of knowledge, you would have against Allah no protector or helper. [Quran, 2:120]
\nUloom vs Funoon<\/strong><\/span>
\n It was only two years ago, at a madrasa orientation, that I learned we were referring to Funn (worldly skills, knowledge), as Ilm all along.<\/strong><\/span>
\nFunn literally means \u2018branch\u2019 and appears in the Qur\u2019an once \u2013 Surah Rahman: 48<\/span>. From my personal understanding, that\u2019s what worldly studies are: akin to a (tiny) subset of real knowledge. So my life thus-far had been in the name of worldly Funn.
\nIlm, however, brings us closer to Allah, towards understanding and practicing His beautiful Deen. Ilm helps us prioritize our thoughts and actions in sync with a built-in Akhirah-meter.
\nCall to Action
\nThe least each of us can do is to ensure that we acquire enough Islamic knowledge to live our lives within the Shariah\u2019s parameters<\/strong>.<\/span> Since not all of us can become Ulema, we must consult with the Ulema ul-Haq \u2014 the just scholars \u2014 just as we would consult with the best physicians for our physical health or engineers for our homes.
\nRight Way Round
\nLife is, of course, not meant to be devoid of Funn (bi-lingual pun unintended). For all Funoon are just that: branches of learning that also testify to the Khaaliq\u2019s infinite beauty in all creation.
\nFunn will automatically fall into place once Ilm is in place, making the paradoxical reality of our lives all the more painful.
\nAcquired with the spirit of serving Allah, after Ilm, permissible Funoon offer rich paths to Allah\u2019s Ridha, or pleasure.
\n\u201cWho remember Allah while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying],\u2018Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly\u2026\u2019\u201d [Qur\u2019an, 3: 191]
\nBlast from the Past: How it\u2019s Done
\nIndeed, many an Aalim (religious scholar) was also highly accomplished in worldly excellence. They range from philosophers and anthropologists credited with the discipline\u2019s foundation: Ibn-e-Batuta, Ibn Khaldun; to innovating mathematicians, al-Khwarizmi, founder of algebra.
\nMany of the Sahaba (ra) were scrupulous, successful businessmen, as was the Tabi`i Imam Abu Hanifa (d. 150 AH), compiler-architect of the first school of jurisprudence, named after him. Theirs was worldly work intended to feed the eternal life, not an indulgent lifestyle.<\/span>
\nIn recent times, Ustad Ahmad Lahori (d. 1060 AH), the chief architect of the Taj Mahal and Jami Masjid Delhi graduated from Madrasa Mulla Abdus Salam, Lahore. Ali Mardan Khan (d. 1067), builder of the fabled Shalamar Gardens in Lahore was also a Madrasa graduate (Faazhil). As were Khairullah Khan Dehlavi (d. 1161) who built the Observatory in Delhi and Ustad Rumi Khan who built cannons for the Mughal King, Babar (d. 937).
\nThere are countless more. The pre-colonial Madrasa system incorporated science basics as well as Arabic, Qur\u2019an, Hadith, jurisprudence, astronomy, philosophy, tibb (medicine) and much more. Uncommon today though, graduates went on to apprenticeships or learning crafts, enabling them to lead successful earthly and eternal lives. All in an environment which valued adab (manners, morals and practice) over book learning \u2013 and certainly over the exam-centric pattern of today\u2019s institutions.
\nTraditional Islamic Learning: Then and Now
\nAnd this is how I am taught to this day.<\/span> The interdisciplinary richness I experienced from the first year in madrasa makes my elite liberal arts college\u2019s specialized interdisciplinary classes seem disjointed, devoid of depth.<\/span>
\nThis system of learning is about an education that makes (wo)men of substance. Students focus on Ilm-un-Nafiun wa Amalan Saalehan (beneficial knowledge and good practice). We must walk our talk and thereby hope to be active givers to society and our own Akhirah.
\nIt emphasizes Tarbiyyah (holistic personality and character development) with most professors living lives simply and genuinely personifying traits from the Sunnah, such as deep patience. Our spiritual needs are nurtured, fulfilled. Secular universities, in contrast, deal with consistent suicide rates from students whose lives are oft-devoid of meaningful contentment.
\nSome of my classmates and I have acquired extensive worldly education prior to treading this blessed path too. Having learned them the wrong way round though has come with significant baggage that we\u2019ve had to unlearn.
\n\u201cThey said, \u2018Exalted are You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You who is the Knowing, the Wise.\u2019\u201d [Qur\u2019an, 2: 32]
\n____________________________________________________________________________________
\nThe author (K. Balkhi) is currently studying Islam in-depth at Pakistan\u2019s leading Islamic university for women. She has also been a business journalist and writer with over 150 published pieces, including book chapters and strategic reports as part of her former consultancy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wrong Way Round: The Jetset Journey The least each of us can do is to ensure that we acquire enough Islamic knowledge to live our…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[33,57,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-motivators","category-tazkiyah","wpcat-33-id","wpcat-57-id","wpcat-24-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2591\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}