By Sheikh Salman Ibn Fahd Al 'Awdah -
A question is often asked,
'How can one manage his time between seeking
knowledge, working for Da'wah and Jihad? Where
It seems a troubling issue suffered by many young
men knocking the doors of Da'wah whilst being
surrounded by others calling for seeking knowledge
But why should one consider Islam as separate
issues and then use them one against the other!
Why don't we follow the good example of the earlier
One would perform the Fajr prayers with the Prophet
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) then join a study
circle which would go on till sun rise and then
proceed to earn his living. Later on in the day you
would find him hosting a Bedouin to teach him the
fundamentals of Islam and should there be a call for
Jihad you would find him in the forefront.
All of this constitutes Islam. All of this constitutes
Deen (a complete way of life) and there is no call to
separate those issues as all of them are divine
injunctions and requirements.
They had learnt that from the great teacher, Muhammad
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) who told them, "Convey
(my teachings) to others, be it a (single) statement."
So, a man would learn a Surah from the Qur'an, then
would go and teach it to his family, the neighbours
and then, may be to the rest of his tribe.
He realised, if he is to see the fruit of his efforts,
having learnt a chapter in the day time he is to stand
the night (or part of it) in prayers reciting what he
has learnt and later on implementing it to the best of
He didn't see any contradiction between this and him
working to earn his living, which is essential to his
One's life was a continuous harmony of balanced
events, interconnected without double standards or
This is not to say that you wouldn't find one of them
(the companions) who excelled in a particular field
which could have possibly resulted in him lacking in
some other duties, as for example was the case with
Khalid bin Al-Waleed (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) who is
reported to admittedly saying, "Jihad has kept me
away from (learning) Qur'an."
There are however, some prerequisites to be adhered
to if someone for example is to preach, he is not
to preach ignorance and he must preach what he has
learnt of Allah's (subhaanu wa ta'ala) Deen, Islam.
Also, a person who fights for the sake of Allah should
not do so unless he has learnt the necessary rules
concerning Jihad. He should know who he is to fight?
Why he is to fight? How he is to fight?
They (the companions) did not find in the above issues
contradictions or objections, to the contrary those
issues as a whole formed the particulars of their
This is why when Jibreel ('alaihis-salaam) came to
the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) - in
the form of a man - asking him about Islam, Iman and
Ihsaan, the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
having answered him, then informed them (companions)
that that was Jibreel ('alaihis-salaam) who came to
teach them their religion, as all that represented
Deen and obedience to Allah (subhaanu wa ta'ala).
It is rather wrong for someone justifying to himself
his lacking in doing good, using this excuse or that.
If you didn't have the opportunity to do an intended
task, then the least you can do is to abstain from
criticising and belittling others, who have embarked
Instead, you should be supportive, Helping with ideas,
gently advise or (at least) making Du'aa for them.
Do not let Shaitan lead you astray by making you think
high of what you do and belittling the efforts of
others. You may find yourself looking down at someone
seeking knowledge about his Deen, because, you think,
he is engaged in unnecessary details, too busy to
find solutions to the society's ailments, too busy
In another instance, you might find yourself looking
down at someone who is involved in Jihad because, in
your opinion, he has not done enough effort to learn
Or you may find yourself looking down at someone
involved in youth activities preaching to them during
a trip or at the Masjid, looking down at him because,
you think, he is too busy to seek knowledge from the
Surely all those in the above examples are good doers
and the activities and tasks they have embarked on are
something each one should strive to do and if someone
lacks the knowledge of the other, then they should be
complimentary to each other and be supportive to one
another as Allah (subhaanu wa ta'ala) enjoined on us,
for the Believers should be compssionate with each other.
(This article, written by Sheikh Salmaan Al-'Awdah,
had been published in Arabic in the As-Siraat
Al-Mustaqeem Newsletter)