Understanding of the Deen (Way of Life)
The imam began this reminder with the 122th ayat of Surat Al Tauba which is translated to say:
And it is not for the believers to go forth [to battle] all at once. For there should separate from every division of them a group [remaining] to obtain understanding in the religion and warn their people when they return to them that they might be cautious.
Dear brothers and sisters, this ayat has from amongst its many lessons, one of the importance of understanding of our religion. It is not enough that we are merely Muslim by name, we need to strive to learn about the deen, which translated into English is, the way of living.
Unlike other major world religions, Islam is unique in that it is not reserved for ceremonies only. Of course, we have such ceremonies such as the daily salah, this prayer on Jumma, Hajj to name just a few. However, the meaning of deen is that we understand that the religion of Islam has limits on every facet of our lives.
From the way we sleep, to the food we eat, from the way we interact with each other to the way in which we interact with our Creator, there is a guidance given on all these moments in our lives and it is our responsibility to finding out what they are.
Fiqh in our Deen is a science and it is defined as understanding right from wrong, commandments of Allah SWT with evidence, an understanding of what we ought to be doing and what we ought to be avoiding.
Our Fiqh is derived from two primary sources and they are the Glorious Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet SAWS.
Furthermore, the fiqh is to understand what Allah SWT wants from His slaves, what He wants them to do, which could be to simply believe in information given to us by our Lord, or to do an action, or to avoid another, and this is also not just knowing about it, but acting on it as well,
As Ibn Taymiayh said – that if Allah SWT wants good for someone He would teach him how to understand his deen – ie make him have fiqh, as those who fear and understand their Lord the most are the knowledgeable slaves,
This is why a knowledgeable man is considered above a worshiper, and that we are encouraged to think, to contemplate, to study, and has been mentioned numerous times in the Quran and in Ahadeeth, it is not about blind following, but more about seeing the evidence around us, to think and to act, to learn and to act on the learning.
The imam mentioned the following hadith in relation to this in which the Prophet SAWS said:
“When Allah wishes good for anyone, He bestows upon him the Fiqh (comprehension) of the religion.”
And so this reminder concludes with some practical tips that we can implement to make the most of todays reminder.
- Dedicate time in the week to improving your knowledge of Islam. Dear brothers and sisters, we do not need to become scholars of Islam but we are always students of our deen. Let’s ensure that we are consistently striving to improve our knowledge by dedicating some time towards it consistently.
- Attend study circles in the masjid or online. Dear brothers and sisters, we live in an age of unlimited data available to us in a multitude of formats. From YouTube to SoundCloud, we have the means to acquire knowledge on our deen. Ensure the source is a reputable one and use the technology to help increase the knowledge.
- Pick a small area of focus. This is an important point because if we pick a vast topic, it will become overwhelming and we will quit. And alongside, choose a topic that is entertaining.
- Keep making dua to Allah SWT to increase your knowledge of Islam. Dear brothers and sisters, nothing comes without the will of Allah SWT and so we need to begin with the correct intention and mindset and therefore ask Allah SWT to make us a success in the study of His deen.
Dear brothers and sisters, we ought to take this reminder to jolt ourselves into being more mindful of the fact that we are Muslims and that makes us the follower of both the religion and the deen of Islam.
