The Gap in Islamic Knowledge

ALLAH said in His book:

وما كان لمؤمن ولا مؤمنة إذا قضى الله ورسوله أمراً أن يكون لهم الخيرة من أمرهم ومن يعص الله ورسوله فقد ضل ضلالاً مبيناً 

Which in English means, “It is not for a believer, man or woman, when ALLAH and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys ALLAH and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed into a plain error. (al-Ahzab 33:36)

'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'As (May ALLAH be pleased with them) reported:

I heard the Messenger of ALLAH peace and blessings of ALLAH be upon him saying: "Verily, ALLAH does not take away knowledge by snatching it from the people, but He takes it away by taking away (the lives of) the religious scholars till none of the scholars stays alive. Then the people will take ignorant ones as their leaders, who, when asked to deliver religious verdicts, will issue them without knowledge, the result being that they will go astray and will lead others astray." (Bukhari and Muslim; Related by Imaam an-Nawawi in "Riyad-us-Saaliheen,

Book 13, narration 1391; reference in unabridged Arabic copies.)

We have lost many experienced scholars in our time. And what do people do today (and even when some of them were still living?) They are on the minhaj of living by the word of the man with the hat on his head and gives rulings based on rumor and personal notions, rather than an 'Alaamah who will educate with what ALLAH said in the Qur'an and what the prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said and did, and what the prophet's companions knew from what they prophet taught them and they taught each other from those same teachings. DARE any Muslim admit that they don't their religion to be taught from Qur'an and Sunnah? What is prefered; the thoughts and mind of a so-called cleric from our communities? Are people going to discredit someone, who comes with the TRUTH, because he or she is not from the same land? All of the Muslims in the world are guilty of this. Among the Arab countries if (for example) the truth is being relayed from a Saudi, or an Egyptian, or a Lebanese, etc, to a Libyan, the said Libyan will reject the speech from the other Arab nation, albeit proven true. Pakistani communities in the world will not accept from Arab or African communities. The African-Americans will not accept from the African-American Salafi community or from the immigrant (non-American) Muslim community. The Asian communities refuse knowledge from Saudi Arabia. The cycle continues on and on because the clear authority is not recognized by the Mulsims; the Muslims have not made the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah their authority, and this is the source of our problems.

Re: Barriers to Accepting Truth

Reflecting on the topic addressed in "Barriers to Accepting Truth", some noteworthy dialogues have taken place in Malaysia which address the issue in a proper, factual, and intelligent manner. Thes video below, features Datuk Senator Johari bin Mat, a state politician, and a graduate of Imaam Muhammad ibn Saud University; as such, he is a fluent Arabic speaker, and certified in the sciences of al-Islam.





Below is a more colloquial yet factual explanation of the same issue surrounding the myth of Wahabism, by Datuk Dr. Mohd. Bin Asri Zainal Abidin, the Mufti of the sate of Perlis, and a sound Islamic Academic figure in Malaysia.





Dialogue with another Malaysian, who is a graduate of prominent higher institutions of learning Islamic sciences revealed that people who make accusations of wahabism at Muslims who do not blindly follow every mistake of their people's common practice, are typically from those who do not have knowledge. People of knowledge and sincerity are not characteristic of such discourteous approach. ALLAH knows all and knows best.

The Ones Who Repent

Repentance is essential from every sin, even if it is something between a person and ALLAH and has nothing to do with the rights of another person. There are three conditions of repentance. If one of these three is missing, then repentance is not sincere:

1) Giving up the sin

2) Regret for having done it

3) Resolution never to go back to it

If the sin has to do with the rights of another person, then there are four conditions: the three
mentioned above and restoring the rights of that person. If it is money or property, etc, it must be returned to him; if it had to do with slandering him etc, then you should allow him to insult him in return, or ask for his forgiveness; if it had to do with backbiting about him, then you have to ask
for his pardon. It is essential to repent from all sins; if a person repents from some, his repentance from the sins from which he repented is valid (according to the scholars who follow the right path) but he must still repent from the rest as well.

No one will be free of shortcomings in his obedience to ALLAH, or free of mistakes or forgetfulness or sins. We all fall short, commit sins, and make mistakes. We turn to ALLAH and we turn away from Him. We remember that ALLAH is watching and we become negligent. None of us is free of
sin, and we will inevitably make mistakes. As such, repentance is obligatory on the Muslims. The Prophet (peace and blessings of ALLAH be
upon him) said: 

 والذي نفسي بيده ، لو لم تذنبوا لذهب الله تعالى بكم ، ولجاء بقوم يذنبون فيستغفرون  رواه مسلم 2749 

“By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if you did not commit sin ALLAH would do away with you and bring people who would commit sin then pray for forgiveness.” (Muslim, 2749)

He (peace and blessings of ALLAH be upon him) also said: 

كل ابن آدم خطاء وخير الخطائين التوابون ) رواه الترمذي 2499

“Every son of Adam sins, and the best of those who sin are those who repent.” (al-Tirmidhi, 2499 classed as hasan by al-Albaani.)