·Knowledge
leads to action, just as action leads to salvation. So if the action is less
than the knowledge, the scholar's knowledge is a burden upon him.
·Just as
wealth has no benefit unless it is spent, knowledge does not benefit except one
who acts upon it and observes its obligations.
·Knowledge is
one of the pleasures of the world, yet if it is acted upon, it becomes for the
Hereafter."
·There are
two tyrannies in the world: the tyranny of knowledge and the tyranny of wealth.
What saves you from the tyranny of knowledge is worship, and what saves you from
the tyranny of wealth is renouncing it.
·Whenever you
intend to be honored with knowledge, be attributed to it and be of its people,
before giving knowledge its full rights upon you, otherwise its light will be
concealed from you and all that will remain on you is its outward illumination.
That knowledge is against you, not for you, because knowledge directs towards
its application, so if it is not applied appropriately, its blessings are
removed.
·The best
knowledge is that which benefits, and Allah only causes knowledge to benefit a
person when he acts upon it once having learnt it and He does not cause it to
benefit the person that leaves it after having learnt it.
·Knowledge
without action is like a tree without fruit.
·You are now
in the preliminary world, in front of you are two places of abode, out of which
you must live in one of. You have not been given assurance of protection,
causing you to feel safe. Nor have you been granted acquittal, causing you to
slacken.
·If I were to
know with full certainty that all of my life was but an hour, Why should I not
renounce it And dedicate it to righteousness and obedience.
·You are
submerged in careless hope, the time or death you do not Know of Do not be
fooled by good health, for it is from the most painful of illnesses. Every soul
is by its day, In the morning all hope will be removed. So act with good deeds
and work hard Before you are prevented from acting.
·Ibn Mas'ood
radiallahu 'anhu said: "Learn, learn, and once you have learned, act." [isnaad
hasan]
·Aboo
Hurayrah radiallahu 'anhu said, "The example of knowledge not acted upon is that
of a treasure none of which is spent in the way of Allah the Mighty and
Majestic."
·Az-Zuhree
said, "The people will never be pleased with the statement of a scholar who does
not act, nor of a person who acts but has no knowledge." [hasan]
·Whoever
sought knowledge, intending the knowledge alone (i.e. without action) would not
benefit by it. Yet whoever sought knowledge intending to act upon it, would
benefit, even by a little knowledge.
·Knowledge
rests upon action, action rests upon sincerity, and sincerity to Allah brings
about understanding of Allah the Mighty and Majestic.
·Whoever
seeks knowledge in order to act upon it will be humbled by his knowledge but
whoever seeks it for other than that, will be increased by it in arrogance.
·The time
will soon come, if you live long, that knowledge will become a source of
beautification, just as a person beautifies himself with a garment."
·If Allah
grants you knowledge, in return worship Him and do not make your goal merely
narrating to the people.
·The scholar
remains ignorant with regard to what he has learned until he acts according to
it, and only then does he become a true scholar.
·The
knowledge of the hypocrite is in his speech, yet the knowledge of the believer
is in his actions.
·Act upon
your knowledge O man, and you will profit, for knowledge does not benefit unless
one is proficient in action. Knowledge is a beauty, the taqwaa of Allah being
its ornation, and the pious are busy with the knowledge they possess. Learn, and
then act, as much as you are able to, and do not let amusement nor arguing
distract you. Teach the people and always intend to benefit them, and beware!
Beware of weariness befalling you.
·Whoever
speaks good things yet acts unrighteously, Allah does not accept his good
speech. Whereas he who speaks good things and works righteous acts, his speech
is raised by his good deeds. That is because Allah says: To Him ascend the
goodly word, and the righteous action raises it. [Al-Faatir 35:10]
·Knowledge is
the tool of action. So if a person spends his whole life gaining knowledge, when
will he act?!
·Regardless
of what knowledge passes you, do not let acting upon what you already know pass
you.
·Whoever does
not look into Allah's right upon him with regards to his knowledge, that
knowledge is a proof against you and its result is evil.
·If knowledge
is not acted upon it becomes a proof against you and you are not granted an
excuse for the knowledge you possess. So if you have realized this fact also
realize, that the proof of a man's speech is in his actions.
·One scholar
said, "O how I wish I could gain salvation from my knowledge, it neither being
for me nor against me."
· If
knowledge does not benefit you, it will harm you.
·There is no
good in seeking to gain more knowledge, without having acted upon what you have
already learnt, for the example of this person is that of one who gathers
firewood and then ties them ready to carry. Yet once finding himself unable to
do so, adds another to the bundle.
·For how long
will I continue seeking knowledge, affectionately gathering with every
eagerness, seeking to learn every type of it and every field yet not acting upon
a thing of it If the seeker of knowledge does not act upon what he knows, he is
a wretched servant. Indeed knowledge is only of benefit for he who acts upon it
and is pious.
·I certainly
regard that a person forgets what he used to know because of a sin he commits."
·Indeed if
the scholar does not act, his admonitions fail to affect the hearts, just like
the rain slides off a smooth rock.
·The example
of an evil scholar is that of a large rock which blocks a canal. Neither does it
drink from the water, nor does it allow the water to pass, giving life to the
trees. So if only the evil scholars advised the servants of Allah saying: "O
worshippers of Allah! Listen to what we tell you of your Prophet, and your
righteous predecessors, and act upon that. Do not took at these poor actions of
ours, as we are a people in trial." They would have, by this, advised the people
correctly. Yet they want to call the people towards their bad actions causing
them to act similarly.
·A corrupt
reciter (of the Qur'aan) is more feared by me than a corrupt man who is open
with his corruption, as the latter is the less deceiving of the two.
·One scholar
said: "Indeed the Qur'aan was revealed to be acted upon, but the people took its
reciting as a vocation." [i.e. in order to earn money by that] At that it was
asked, 'What is acting upon it?' So he replied, 'Accepting as halaal what is
mentioned in it as halaal and as haraam what is mentioned as haraam. To act upon
its orders, abstain from all it prohibits and to ponder over its wonders.
·It has been
said with regard to the saying of the Most High: (They) recite it as it should
be recited. [Sooratul-Baqarah (2):121] "They follow it as it should be followed,
acting upon it." Ibn Katheer mentions in his Tafseer: "lf the reciter reaches
mention of Paradise, he beseeches Allah the Most High to grant him Paradise. If
he reaches mention of the Fire he seeks refuge in Allaah the Most High from it "
He (Ibn Katheer) also mentions, "Aboo al-'Aaliyah said: Ibn Mas'ond radiallahu 'anhu
said: 'By Him in Who's Hand is my souI, reciting it as it should be recited is
to consider its halaal as halaal and its haraam as haraam. To recite it as Allah
revealed it without distorting its words, nor falsely explaining its intended
meanings.
·If Allah
intends good for a servant he opens for him the door of action and closes for
him the door of argumentation. Whereas, if Allah intends for a servant evil
[once the servant had decided to follow such a path, Allah the Most Him, allows
him to take such a path] He opens for him the door of argumentation and closes
for him the door of action.
·We used to
seek aid in memorizing hadeeths by acting upon them.
·You meet a
man not finding one mistake in his speech yet his actions may be completely at
fault.
·We have not
been given ignorance but we Hide the face of knowledge through ignorance We
detest making mistakes in our speech Yet we do not care about making mistakes in
our actions.
·And you will
not possess on the Day of Resurrection Other than what you ascertained before
death If you do not sow the seeds and the harvest approaches you You will regret
not having done so when the time was right.
·When you
find yourself in need of provisions You will not find provisions the like of
righteous actions.
·One of the
scholars saw his neighbors wandering aimlessly, so he asked them, "What is the
matter with you?" They replied, "We have finished our duties of the day." So he
said' "And is this what the one with no duties has been ordered with?!"
·The people
who will be most accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be the healthy ones
who had free time.
·Take
advantage of your spare time by engaging in Prayers For maybe your death will
come suddenly So many a healthy person you may have seen His life snatched away
from him unexpectedly.
·Some people
invited a man to eat with them who in turn said' "I am fasting." They said to
him, "Break your fast today and instead fast tomorrow." So he said, "And who
will guarantee my living tomorrow?!"
·It was said
to a scholar ' "Advise us." So he said' "Beware of saying 'soon. "'
·Beware of
procrastination overcoming you and taking over your heart for verily it is the
cause of fatigue and wastefulness. Due to it, aspirations are severed and amidst
it, death is met.
The above information was compiled by Sh. Husayn Al-Awaayishah
in his book Adorning Knowledge with Actions, Al-Hidaayah Publishing and
Distribution Ltd., 1999. He has not cited the names that the sayings were
attributed to fearing the inauthenticity in the original attribution except
where the authority is established and has abridged some statements, yet the
wisdom within them is resoundingly established.