How to seek the Pleasure of Allah Must have certain characteristics – Knowledge is one

One of the most important provisions needed in acquiring the pleasure of Allah is knowledge. Proof of this is found in the following verse of the Quran “Say: `Are those who know equal to those who do not know?'" [Surah Az-Zumar (39), Ayah 9.] “Say: this is my Way: I call unto Allah with sure knowledge, I and those who follow me." [Surah Yusuf (12), Ayah 108.] “It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allah." [Surah Faatir (35), Ayah 28.]

Without knowledge of the deen, how else is one able to fulfill the obligations and stay away from the evil and do the good? The Prophet said: "The Prophets transfer neither dinar nor dirham by inheritance. They only transfer knowledge by inheritance. Therefore, he who acquires this [knowledge], receives an ample share." Mu'adh bin Jabal put it so eloquently when he said, "Through knowledge, blood ties are preserved and through it lawful is distinguished from the unlawful. Knowledge is a leader and conduct is its follower. Knowledge is given to the fortunate and withheld from the unfortunate."

If the Muslim wants to earn the pleasure of Allah he should seek knowledge of the Deen and learn the Aqeedah (Belief) of the companions, or else he will go astray . He also needs knowledge to understand the religion best and be able teach it to others. "Say: this is my Way: I call unto Allah with sure knowledge, I and those who follow me." [Surah Yusuf (12), Ayah 108.] Thus Knowledge is a necessity for those seeking Allah's Pleasure and success in the Hereafter. For such a person, the need for knowledge is greater than his need for food or drink. The Prophet said, "He who sets foot on a path in the quest of knowledge, Allah will facilitate for him the path to Paradise."

For those who wish to be among the pious, knowledge is the road to piety. One of the companions said, "How could one be pious if he does not know what things to avoid? Ma'roof Al-Karkhi said, "If you do not know how to fear Allah, You will certainly eat riba (usury)." Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbalee said, "The essence of piety is that the servant should know first what to avoid and then avoids it." How can one obey Allah if he doesn't know what to obey him in? How can one pray when he doesn't know how to pray? The list goes on and on and on

Our knowledge is what leads to reliance on Allah and Patience Those who want to be reliant on Allah must learn what reliance is otherwise what they think to be reliance on Allah can instead be arrogance within themselves Those who seek to be patient and enduring should take knowledge as their vehicle to this aim; otherwise, they will be humiliated, thinking that their suffering is a kind of endurance. Thus, Knowledge is the guide to every deed, whether it is a deed of the heart, of the limbs or of the tongue and Allah commands us in the Qur'an to seek knowledge. This is the reason why men of knowledge are accorded such high status and regarded as heirs of the Prophets

Since seeking knowledge is so important, the scholars have divided knowledge into two categories – knowledge of Allah and knowledge of his instructions Knowledge of Allah concerns knowledge of Allah's Names and Attributes. Such knowledge provides the Muslim with fear, humility, obedience and submission to Allah. It is the most honourable and highest type of knowledge because its subject is Allah. Many of our pious predecessors said, "Knowledge is not a matter of many narrations, but it is a matter of fearing Allah". Others said, "Sufficient is knowledge which brings about fear of Allah."

The second type concerns knowledge of what is Halal (lawful), what is Haram (prohibited) Every Muslim is, therefore, required to learn enough of this for his worship and social conduct. He should learn what he needs to do to in order to carry out the acts of worship such as performing ablutions, Salah and fasting. Furthermore, every Muslim who has wealth should learn about what he is obliged to do with it with regard to Zakah, Hajj. Merchants should learn which transactions are permissible and which are not. This is why `Abdullah bin `Umar said, "Only those who have understanding of religion can sell in our markets."

So Thus every muslim is require to seek the knowledge needed to carry out his daily obligations and responsibilities This includes not only in regards to worship but for example your duties and responsibilities as a husband, father, son, wife, daughter, leader This also includes having knowledge as to the rulings of marriage before undertaking it, the rulings of divorce before doing it and the likes Also the rulings of interation with non- muslims, the opposite gender and the likes Remember – Islam is a complete way of life leaving everything clearly defined for us