Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim
1. Introduction
Friends whom Allah has blessed, in worldly legal systems, the obligation to study is usually regulated by laws on compulsory education for a certain number of years to produce a workforce. But in Islam, the command to acquire knowledge precedes all other commands of worship. From an Islamic epistemological perspective, acting without knowledge is futile and rejected, because knowledge is a condition for the validity of one’s devotion to the Creator.Islam divides the obligation to seek knowledge into two categories: Fardhu ‘Ain – obligatory upon every individual, such as knowledge of tawḥīd, basic fiqh of worship, and character; and Fardhu Kifāyah – obligatory upon the community collectively, such as medicine, technology, agriculture, and the sciences
.The first verse revealed by Allah to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was not a command for prayer, zakat, or ḥajj, but an instruction to read and reflect as the primary gateway to acquiring knowledge:
قْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ
ا “Read in the name of your Lord who created.” (QS. Al-‘Alaq: 1)
Through this verse, the basis of the obligation to acquire knowledge is anchored in awareness of Allah. And to emphasize that it is absolute regardless of gender, social status, or age, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said in a very well-known hadith:
طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ
“Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim.” (HR. Ibn Mājah)
2. Lessons and Message
The moral message of this foundational obligation is that Islam does not want its followers to be blind followers (muqallidūn). We are obligated to have knowledge so that our faith rests on conviction, not mere imitation. This obligation also removes discrimination: before knowledge, all humans have the same right and duty to be intelligent and noble, whether rich or poor, male or female.
Let us remember the story of the poor Companions of the Prophet who were thirsty for knowledge, known as Ahlus Suffah. They had no homes, wealth, or families. They lived on the veranda of Masjid an-Nabawi with patched, tattered clothing. Often they endured hunger for days until they fainted during prayer, just so they could remain close to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to listen to and memorize knowledge.What is sad today is that school facilities are magnificent, books are scattered everywhere, and scholarships are abundant. Yet the essence of “obligation” has faded. Many young people go to places of learning only to fulfill a duty imposed by their parents, to show off a lifestyle, or to find a place to hang out—without any spiritual hunger for knowledge itself.The obligation to acquire knowledge in Islam is like the obligation to consume water and food for the physical body. If someone deliberately refuses to eat and drink for weeks, they are deemed guilty of slowly committing suicide.So too with the soul and mind. Knowledge is their obligatory nourishment. A person who leaves their mind and heart empty of knowledge is, in reality, committing “spiritual suicide,” allowing their soul to die before their body is buried.
There is a story about a father scolding his son for being lazy about school. “Son, you need to know that seeking knowledge is fardhu ‘ain! Religion commands us to learn from the cradle to the grave!”The son replied casually, “Whoa Dad, if it’s obligatory all the way to the grave, does that mean we’ll still have semester exams in the grave? I’d rather just take a break now.”The father slapped his forehead and said, “I mean you keep learning until you die, son! If you have no knowledge now, I’m worried that when Munkar and Nakir ask you ‘Who is your Lord?’, you’ll reply, ‘Hold on, Grandpa, let me look up a tutorial on Google first!’”The lesson: The obligation to learn stays with us for as long as we live. Don’t make excuses to justify your own ignorance, because in the Hereafter we won’t be able to argue “I didn’t know” when the command to “find out” was already made obligatory from the beginning.
3. Conclusion and Closing
Friends, understanding the basis for the obligation to acquire knowledge changes how we view the act of learning. Learning is no longer a tiring burden forced by school or university, but a form of obedience and the highest form of worship to Allah ﷻ. With knowledge, we order the world so that it becomes blessed, and with knowledge we pave the way to salvation in the Hereafter.May Allah ﷻ count us all among His servants who are steadfast in fulfilling this sacred obligation, and make every letter we learn a weight of good deeds on the Day of Judgment.
والله أعلم بالصواب
الحمد لله رب العالمين
Wassalamu’alaikum Warahmaullahi Wabarakatuh.
ِAbu Sultan Al-Qadrie
