No Islam Without Knowledge

Islam, therefore, consists, firstly, of knowledge and, secondly, of putting that knowledge into practice. A man can be white and have no knowledge; because he is born white he will remain so. Similarly, an Englishman will remain an Englishman though he may have no knowledge, because he has been born an Englishman. But no man becomes truly a Muslim without knowing the meaning of Islam, because he becomes a Muslim not through birth but through knowledge. Unless you come to know the basic and necessary teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, blessings and peace be on him, how can you believe in him, have faith in him, and how can you act according to what he taught? And if you do not have faith in him knowingly and consciously, as fully as you can, how can you become true Muslims?

Clearly it is impossible to become a Muslim and remain a Muslim in a state of ignorance. Being born in Muslim homes, bearing Muslim names, dressing like Muslims and calling yourselves Muslims is not enough to make you Muslims; true Muslims know what Islam stands for and believe in it with full consciousness.

The real difference between a Kafir (who does not accept God’s guidance and is ungrateful to Him) and a Muslim is not that of a name, that one is called Smith or Ram Lal and the other Abdullah. No one is a Kafir or a Muslim simply because of his name. Nor does the real difference lie in the fact that one wears a necktie and the other a turban. The real difference is that of knowledge. A Kafir does not understand God’s relationship to him and his relationship to God. As he does not know the will of God he cannot know the right path to follow in his life. If a Muslim, too, grows up ignorant of God’s will, what ground can there be to continue calling him a Muslim rather than a Kafir?

Let us be Muslims - Part I
By:   Maulana Sayyid Abul A'la Maududi

The Hadith of the day

Abis bin Rabi`ah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

I saw `Umar bin Al-Khattab(May Allah be pleased with him) kissing the Black Stone (Al-Hajar Al-Aswad) and saying: "I know that you are just a stone and that you can neither do any harm nor give benefit. Had I not seen Messenger of Allah (PBUH) kissing you, I would not have kissed you".

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Commentary:

1. The statement of `Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) quoted in this Hadith is highly significant in the sense that he wanted to make it absolutely clear to the illiterate and ignorant that Al-Hajar Al-Aswad (Black Stone of the Ka`bah) is not kissed for because stones are venerated in Islam, as was the practice in pre-Islamic period. What he wanted to emphasize was that kissing the Black Stone was in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH).
2.  Obedience of the Prophet (PBUH) in every affair is a must, whether one understands the wisdom behind it or not. By analogy, kissing of the Black Stone, some people think it is permissible to kiss and show respect to the tombs of saints. But this is not valid reason because kissing the Black Stone is an `Ibadah (act of worship), or a part of it, and every `Ibadah is Tauqifiyah (prescribed by Allah and the Prophet (PBUH)) and it can neither be increased nor diminished, nor can it be graded as something else.