Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim
1. Introduction
Friends beloved by Allah, have you ever felt a deep longing to deepen your knowledge of religion or science, but when you looked around, the physical means were so scarce? Your school or mosque library has a very limited, dusty collection, there are no extra classes for guidance, and the number of ustādhs, mentors, or teachers in your area is so small that one teacher has to teach dozens of students. This external barrier of limited physical resources and a shortage of mentors often triggers despair: “How can I progress if there’s no one to guide me and no books to read?” From an epistemological and educational methodology perspective, having complete literature and intensive guidance from a mentor does accelerate the transmission of knowledge. But spiritually and intellectually, the primary factor for the light of knowledge to shine into the heart (nūr al-‘ilm) is not the stack of paper in the library, but Allah’s pleasure with the seeker’s sincerity. When human means are limited, Allah SWT Himself becomes the protector and the opener of understanding for His servant who is honest in intention. Let us cool our souls with the words of Allah SWT, which affirm that He is the source of all teaching, granting understanding even when people feel lacking in means:
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
“And fear Allah, and Allah will teach you. And Allah is Knowing of all things.” (QS. Al-Baqarah: 282)
For those of us who have to take turns queuing just to get guidance from a limited number of teachers, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave glad tidings that every second of our waiting and patience in a modest gathering is shaded by immense honor:
لاَ حَسَدَ إِلاَّ فِي اثْنَتَيْنِ رَجُلٌ آتَاهُ اللَّهُ مَالاً فَسُلِّطَ عَلَى هَلَكَتِهِ فِي الْحَقِّ، وَرَجُلٌ آتَاهُ اللَّهُ الْحِكْمَةَ فَهْيَ يَقْضِي بِهَا وَيُعَلِّمُهَا
“There should be no envy except in two cases: a man to whom Allah has given wealth and he spends it in the cause of truth, and a man to whom Allah has given wisdom and he judges and teaches by it.” (HR. Al-Bukhārī, No. 73)
2. Lessons and Message
The scarcity of teachers and books is not the end of the journey, but a test to sift out who has the mentality of a “lion” and who has the mentality of a “spoiled child.” Honoring the few teachers you have by absorbing their knowledge to the fullest is far more blessed than having hundreds of mentors whose advice enters one ear and exits the other. Imagine the real scene in an emergency madrasah after a natural disaster, where the classrooms are destroyed and the library is leveled to the ground. Only one elderly ustādh survived, while hundreds of young students gathered around him under a shady tree. The only book left was a single, torn copy with damp edges. Because there were no extra classes and study time was very limited, the children were willing to sit and queue for hours under the scorching sun just to get a turn to read one page of that book before the ustādh. One student wept uncontrollably when his study time was up. He clung to his teacher’s knees and said, “Ustādh, don’t go home yet. I’m still not fluent in this page, and at home I don’t have any other book to read.” What a heart-wrenching sight, and at the same time a slap in the face for us who have thousands of e-books on our phones yet rarely open them. Studying where books and mentors are scarce is like eating at a legendary food stall that serves only one dish and has only one elderly waiter. Because there’s only one cook, the queue can be two hours long! But because the food is made with care and the seasoning is just right, when it finally arrives, it tastes incredibly delicious, and we chew it slowly until not a single grain of rice is left!
Compare that to someone who goes to a super-luxurious all-you-can-eat restaurant—like a student who has millions of books and hundreds of mentors. Because there are so many choices, he piles everything onto his table: soup, spaghetti, siomay. What happens in the end? His stomach bloats, he only tastes each dish with a spoonful, and the rest is wasted because he doesn’t know what to eat first! That’s the analogy. The scarcity of books and mentors actually makes us value every drop of knowledge deeply, instead of turning it into mere display collection.
3. Conclusion and Closing
Brothers and sisters, limited physical resources are not a reason to kill your passion for learning. If your library is limited, make your memory and your heart the best library by memorizing. If mentors around you are few, honor them, serve them, and pursue their knowledge down to its roots with justice. Allah does not look at how magnificent your school building is or how thick the books on your shelves are. Allah looks at how firm your fear of Him is and how sincere you are in acting upon the little knowledge you have. Keep learning, because a pearl polished amid limitation shines with the brightest luster.
والله أعلم بالصواب
الحمد لله رب العالمين
Wassalamu’alaikum Warahmaullahi Wabarakatuh.
ِAbu Sultan Al-Qadrie
