The concept of mercy should be instilled in upbringing. The profound mercy of a mother who insists on her son’s commitment to prayer will make him realize the value of what she does for him as he grows and matures, grateful to her. In contrast, a child left without prayer under the pretext of “mercy” might end up struggling with himself to perform even a single prayer! Mercy is establishing righteousness early on.
A mother who engraves the meanings of faith and love for goodness in the heart of her child from an early age is irreplaceable and unforgettable. She remains the most beautiful blessing a person can have in life, unlike a mother who drives her son to chase after worldly pursuits, forgetting his obligations and duties towards his religion and community, and then expects him to honor and respect her. O mothers, present for yourselves
offspring whose concern is Islam and find happiness! True failure is not the absence of an academic certificate! True failure is for someone to come out of your womb not knowing Allah, not praying, and not supporting his religion! Correcting misconceptions has become an urgent necessity. The successful mother is the one who excels in raising a generation of children who are humble to the believers and dignified in the eyes of disbelievers. Blessed be the mother, and blessed be the offspring! Unlocking Success: Correcting the True Value of Knowledge (Indeed, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves.) We will not dream of a generation of clear victory and empowerment until we change the fragile defeated methods of education! Until we rebuild the
foundations for mothers, raising their children becomes a nonnegotiable priority. Until we correct the concepts of education, placing Islam at the top of our priorities.
The mother is the first school for teaching Islam to her children. She is the initial teacher who must prepare herself to provide the best and shape a Muslim generation that represents Islam in the best way possible. This task requires learning, patience, and dedication. It is the most important project at your disposal, closely tied to the destiny of an entire nation. Those who devalue it or distract you from it are not worthy of attention. Instead, we surpass them with the pride of faith and lofty aspirations.
The greatest testimony for a woman is that she strives for it, a testimony from both the earth and the heavens that she was indeed a favored servant of Allah, an excellent wife and mother, a wonderful daughter and sister. She deals with people in obedience to Allah, and even if people disobey Allah in dealing with her, she does not deviate from piety! This is the testimony that deserves your every effort, care, diligence, patience, and sacrifice. As for
anything else, its effectiveness is limited!
The daughter who observes her mother exerting effort in understanding the needs of her children, employing psychological and educational methods, and caring for their hearts and bodies, inherits this legacy in turn. She is aware of the importance of her role. On the other hand, the daughter who wakes up to a mother absent from home all the time misses her until she falls into a tragedy or disaster! She grows up shaken and lost, the light within her extinguished.
We do not want mothers whose main concern is cleaning the house and cooking while their anger reaches the neighborhood! We want mothers whose main concern is instilling in their children the reality of faith and servitude to Allah, the reality of working for the sake of Allah and competing for the ranks of paradise. Mothers who talk to their children about the Quran, reflect on the verses of Allah in life, and discuss paradise and hell.
Mothers who nurture and teach even while cleaning! Mothers with Islam in their eyes!
A kingdom of beauty! A paradise of happiness and triumphs within every home! The doors of blessings open when the wife and mother is inspirational, devoted to her Lord, competing, understanding the sources of goodness, and providing the means of excellence—a true treasury and joy! This type of mother is desperately needed. Not mothers chasing after money, making their homes a hell and destruction, only to regret later!
The biggest lie that a girl has been told in our world is that home is a tomb that undermines her ambitions and wastes opportunities for self realization. Even if she chooses to stay at home, you find her regretful and burdened by this decision, spending her time idly! This is because the perception of the home remains within the limits of what the world desires, not what the Lord of the world desires. It is in the hands of a woman to be a scholar in her home and a school for scholars.
The cultivation of passion for the sciences of education and household management, and all the sciences that illuminate the Muslim home, imposes the duties of women today. This knowledge is something that a girl should strive for from an early age because the happiness of the home is based on this neglected knowledge. We have witnessed disasters in generations due to the neglect of this knowledge, resulting in a moral collapse that shames Muslims.
What is the benefit of hanging worldly certificates on the wall while a woman fails in the art of dealing with her husband and children? Failing in the understanding and practice of kindness and love in what is known!
What is the use of accumulating wealth every month while the feelings of love and compassion are absent in her home?!
What’s the use of a home without the guiding light of a woman who tightens the bonds and assists in facing life’s challenges in
times of estrangement!
Our losses have been significant in the field of education, and they continue to be so! Therefore, hope lies in future generations rectifying every weakness and deficiency and renewing attentionto this field. Only by correcting the concepts entirely anew, in accordance with the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah, will we dream of a great change in our lives, seeing its impact on our souls and our nation. Repetition of mistakes is the repetition of failure!
Dear Muslim sister, your focus on learning your religion and the
sciences and arts that benefit you in establishing a happy and
stable home based on faith, certainty, and righteous deeds is the
most important pursuit. Correct your path and make up for what
Unlocking Success: Correcting the True Value of Knowledge
7
you missed, create your paradise with your own hands in your
home, for the Quran and the Sunnah are two lights that never
darken a home illuminated by them. Then seek forgiveness from
your Lord, and indeed, Allah is your protector.
We must acknowledge that the educational system imposed upon
us has robbed us of the value and essence of knowledge. The
students’ pursuit of certificates, meeting the requirements of
companies and jobs, and earning a salary have become more
important than the impact of knowledge on an individual’s
character. Therefore, many certificates have proven useless for
their holders because most sciences have been taught according to
the scale of human greed.
This partially explains why some women struggle to grasp the
true meaning and value of knowledge in their homes and for the
happiness of their households. They limit their understanding to
the concept of academic success recognized by society, even if it
displeases their Lord and disrupts their lives!
A proper understanding of the true value of knowledge is the first
step toward re-establishing the influence of education in building
individuals, families, and societies for a good life and a promising
change.
Unlocking Success: Correcting the True Value of Knowledge
8
In the end, it seems that our affliction in this world is the reality
of the spread of “ignorance,” “superficial knowledge,” and
“repeating the same mistakes,” infected by the “blind imitation”
and “competition in worldly matters.” This is the reason for the
stumbling of our progress at the individual and national levels.
These mentalities are rooted in lowering aspirations rather than
elevating them, and lowering aspirations seeks worldly gains,
while elevating them seeks paradise!
We must revive the true meanings of knowledge and restore its
value and essence to change our lives for the better at the
individual and national levels. We must re-establish the correct
understanding of this knowledge to enjoy its blessings within
ourselves and with those around us. Knowledge is light, and
ignorance is darkness. The dark scenes we witness are caused by
our neglect of the essence of knowledge and our preoccupation
with its surface.
The knowledge we need for advancement is the knowledge that
builds individuals and nations. It originates from the foundation
of monotheism, aligns with Islam, and aims to establish the
structure of Islam on earth. All sciences are harnessed for this goal and are aligned with it. Let the passion for acquiring knowledge
be driven by its intrinsic value, not by “decorative” certificates!
Let the passion for applying knowledge be guided by insight.
Reflect on the letter of Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on
him, to his mother, in which he apologises for his stay in Egypt.
A stay he felt was necessary to educate the people:
In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, Dispenser of Mercy
From Ahmad bin Taymeeyah to my dear and honourable Mother, may Allah bless her amply, and grant her peace and comfort, and make her amongst the best of His servants, Assalamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakatuh.
We praise Allah, the most worthy of praise. There is no deity worthy of worship but He, and He has Power over all things. We
ask Him to bless the Seal of the Prophets and Imaam of the pious, Muhammad His servant and Messenger (salallaahu alayhi wa salam).
Indeed the bounties of Allah come abundantly, and His aid is never ending. We praise Him for it, and ask Him to increase His favour. It will not escape you, my contented mother, the fact that our stay in Egypt is for an important issue. The abandonment of such a task leads to the corruption of our Deen and of our life.
Yet it was not our choice to be far from you. Had birds been able to carry us, we would have come to you. But the absent one has his reason; and had you been able to look deeply into the affairs of the Muslims, you would not choose for me another place to the one I am in now. Nevertheless, I had never intended to reside here permanently. Instead, I pray to Allah to guide you and I to the right choice, and I pray for your well-being. I ask Allah to bless us and the rest of the Muslims, with His goodness and what that goodness encompasses of safety and benefit.
Allah had opened for me His gates of blessings, mercy and guidance in a way I have never conceived of before. Yet I am always considering travel towards you, making the prayers of Istikhaarah. It is inconceivable for me, if given the choice, to favour any of this life’s mundane issues or of the lesser obligations of the Deen, to being close to you. Yet there are great issues which l cannot abandon for fear of their general and personal dangers –
and the witness sees what the absent does not.
I beseech you to supplicate to Allah profusely. Ask Him to guide
us to choose our best paths, for He Knows and we do not, and He is able and we are weak. The Messenger of Allah (salallaahu alayhi wa salam) said:
It is from the happiness of the son of Aadam to practice
lstikhaarah and be pleased with what Allah had ordained for him.
And it is from the misery of the son of Aadam to drop the Istikhaarah of Allah and be displeased at Allah’s decrees.
Indeed, the travelling trader might fear the loss of his money, so he resides at a place until he is able to travel once again. The matter that we are in the middle of is too great to describe, but there is no power or ability but through Allah.
Finally, convey my salaam to the entire household, young and old,
and the rest of neighbours, friends and relatives one by one. Wasalamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakatuh!
Praise be to Allah, and may His Blessings and Peace be upon Muhammad, his family and companions.
She responded:
Walaykum assalam wa rahmatullaahi wa barakatuhu wa
maghfiraatuhu wa ridwaanuhu.
Indeed I raised you for the likes of this, swore you to the service
of Islam and taught you the laws of the religion. Certainly never
imagine, oh my son, that you being near me is more loved to me
than your being close to your religion and your service to Islam
and the Muslims throughout the various territories.
Rather, oh my son, the epitome of my being pleased with you is
only according to the amount of what you put forward for your
religion and for the Muslims. Indeed I will not ask you in front
of Allah tomorrow (Judgement Day) about your being far away
from me because I know where you are and what you are engaged in.
However, oh Ahmad, I will ask you in front of Allah, and hold you accountable, if you fall short in aiding Allah’s religion and serving its followers from your Muslim brethren.
May Allah be pleased with you, illuminate you with good and
straighten your stride. May He gather me with you under the
shade of the Throne of al-Rahmaan on a day there is no shadebut His shade.
Was-salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakatuh.
Translated by Hamza Al Ā thārī ,
إن أحسنت فمن الله، وإن أسأت أو أخطأت فمن نفسي والشيطان
Retrieved from:
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Dr. Layla Hamdan | February 12, 2023 | Article | Women
Unlocking Success: Correcting the True Value of Knowledge (PDF)
