Belief & Worship • Dawah (Outreach) • Qur'an

Never Stop Learning… For Yourself

by Jamaal Diwan
October 23, 2013
2 min read

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cowbark/3032624431/Lessons in Islamic Work: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X

One of the key aspects of working for Islam is that you are calling to God, subhanahu wa ta’ala (exalted is He). That requires knowledge of Islam and a serious relationship with the Qur’an, sunnah (traditions of the Prophet), and tradition of Muslim scholarship.

Many times activists fall into this concept of knowledge being practical and relevant and every other really cool buzzword. This is wrong. We learn daily as Muslims in order to better our understanding of our faith and our Lord (swt). This is not something you do only when you find an immediately beneficial thing that you are most likely planning to share with someone else. That is not learning and that is not the legacy of Islam. We should study regularly and intently, seeking to improve ourselves. Learning should be part of our culture. And not learning for the utilitarian end of using it on someone or with someone but learning so that we can grow as individuals.

We used to judge the success of our MSA by the attendance at the weekly Islamic studies class. If more people were committing to it, then we knew that more people were committing to a long-term effort to improve themselves. Everything else is just hype and will eventually wear off.

So…never stop learning…for you.

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About the author

Jamaal Diwan

Jamaal Diwan was born and raised in Southern California and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Third World Studies and a minor in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego . He accepted Islam in 2003 and has been married to his wife, Muslema Purmul, since 2004. He has served with the Muslim Student Association (MSA), MSA West, and Muslim American Society (MAS) at varying capacities. He remains an active MAS member and is a scholarship student with the Islamic American University. Jamaal is a graduate of the Faculty of Shariah at al-Azhar University in Cairo and has done some graduate work in Islamic Studies from the Western academic perspective. He recently finished serving as the Resident Scholar at the Islamic Center of Irvine (ICOI).

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3 Comments

  • I have been wondering over this lately. It is a tough balancing act to gain knowledge, to spread and to maintain the correct motives for gaining ‘ilm. Jazak Allaahu Khair ya shakyh as always. Tabarak Allaah great series.

    Reply

  • Very good article this is . I appreciate the approach of author. We should not stop our studies before our death. it is the saying of our prophet(PBUH) . So we should try to full fill the order of our Holy Prophet. I agree with the title of this Article. We are not perfect we can just try to do. so we should always try to do new things. This article has got a place in my heart.

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