Note: The following transcript was generated using AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
To Him is all praise, all good, and all praise is beautiful. I bear witness that there is no god but God, alone, with no partner. I bear witness that there is no god but God, and I bear witness that our Master and Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and his family and companions will have a good life until the Day of Judgment.
In this episode, God willing, I want to speak about things that cause the Iman to increase. There are things that if a person does it, it will increase their Iman. We, Ahlul Sunnah wal Jamaah, we believe that the Iman increases and it decreases.
It increases in the obedience of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and it decreases in the obedience of Shaytan. So inshallah ta'ala I'm just going to mention some, some of the things that can increase your Iman and these are not the only things that can increase your Iman, there are many more things. I'm just going to mention some, we believe in Ilah Al-Karim for this episode.
The first one inshallah ta'ala is Al-Ilm Al-Nafi, beneficial knowledge, Ta'allum Al-Ilm Al-Nafi, learning beneficial knowledge, attaining, gaining beneficial knowledge increases your Iman and ignorance which is the opposite, it reduces your Iman. The question here is increasing or attaining or gaining beneficial knowledge, what does it mean? What is beneficial knowledge? I'm going to quote two great Imams, Ibn Rajab Al-Hambari and Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani, both of whom mentioned what it means by beneficial knowledge. Let's start with Ibn Rajab Al-Hambari.
Ibn Rajab Al-Hambari has a book on this, he called it Fadhlu Ilm Al-Salafi Ala Ilm Al-Khalaf which I encourage every student of knowledge to try to buy that book and to read it where he talks about the knowledge of the pious predecessors, their knowledge in comparison to the knowledge of those who came later. He says in his book, Fadhlu Ilm Al-Nafi Huwa Dabt Nusus Al-Kitabi Wa Al-Sunnah Wa Fahmu Ma'aniha Wa Al-Taqayyud Fi Dalika Bil-Ma'thoori Al-Sahabati Wa Al-Tabi'ina Wa Al-Tabi'ihim Fi Ma'ani Al-Qur'ani Wa Al-Hadith. He said beneficial knowledge is, it is to be precise, to have precision in the textual evidences, i.e. the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
Beneficial knowledge is knowing the book of Allah. Beneficial knowledge is number two, he said, is knowing the hadiths of the Prophet ﷺ. Beneficial knowledge is what? Knowing the statements, the actions of the Sahabas and their students, the Tabi'in, and their students, the Tabi'in students, knowing the statements and the speeches and the belief of the three noble generations. He said this is beneficial knowledge.
I repeat, beneficial knowledge is knowing the Qur'an, knowing the hadiths of the Prophet ﷺ, a good portion of it. Also knowing what? Also having the statements and the belief and the actions of the Sahabas, the companions of the Prophet ﷺ, the Tabi'in, the students of the companions, the Tabi'u Tabi'in, which are the students of the students of the companions. Having their statements, their actions, and their belief, that's knowledge.
If you hear a lecture where it's absent, i.e. the person is not quoting Qur'an, he's not quoting hadiths, he's not quoting to you the statements of the early generation and their belief and their statements, this person is not giving you beneficial knowledge. You have to understand that. Ibn Hajar, rahimahullah, he also gave a definition of what beneficial knowledge means.
He said, وَالْمُرَادُ بِالْعِلْمِ الشَّرَعِي The meaning that it means, Islamic knowledge. He said, it means, الَّذِي يُفِيدُ مَا يَجِبُ عَلَى الْمُكَلَّفِ مِنْ أَمْرِ دِينِهِ فِي عِبَادَاتِ وَمُعَامَلَاتِ وَالْعِلْمُ بِاللَّهِ وَالصِّفَاتِ When you say, I'm attaining Islamic knowledge, and I'm gaining Islamic knowledge, and when the scholars say that Islamic knowledge is virtuous over the worldly knowledge, and what does Islamic knowledge mean? Because Islamic knowledge is beneficial knowledge. What does it mean? It means, he said, it is that which benefits you as a person, and you gain from it what is obligatory on you.
This knowledge that you're learning is that which is obligatory on you. There are things you must do, and you have to go and pray Salah now, you're learning how to pray. You have to fast in the month of Ramadan, you're learning how to fast.
You need to do Hajj, you're learning how to do Hajj. You need to give Zakat, you're learning the Hakam related to Zakat. You're going to get married, you need to learn the do's and the don'ts in marriage.
These are things which you are going to go forward in doing, having knowledge of those things. The scholars, they refer to that as, عِلْمُ الْحَالِ, the knowledge that you need at that moment, the knowledge that is obligatory and mandatory on you. That knowledge, you must come in, and that knowledge is في عِبَادَاتِ وَمُعَامَلَاتِ That knowledge can be in acts of worship, and I mentioned it like Al-Tahara, Al-Salah, Al-Zakah, Al-Sawm, and Al-Hajj.
And it can also be in معاملات, your transactions, buying and selling, marriage, and etc. And then he said, وَالْعِلْمُ بِاللَّهِ وَالصِّفَاتِ, and knowledge of Allah, are His names and attributes, and a person doesn't even know who Allah is. He does not know who Allah is, has no knowledge and understanding of Allah.
If you ask him, where is Allah, he doesn't know. If he was to ask, okay, what is Allah's characteristics and attributes, what are the names of Allah, he has no knowledge of it. This is knowledge you must have, and you have to come with, وَلِذَٰرِكَ وَبَعْدُ فَالْتَوْحِيدُ عِلْمٌ يَبْلُوْ عَلَىٰلْعُلُومِ كُلِّهَا وَيَفْضُلُوا قَدْ أَوْجَبَ الْرَحْمَانُ مِنْهُ قَدْرًا لَيْسَ يَصِحُ الدِّينُ حَتَّى يُذْرَىٰ And Tawheed is a must for every one of us, we have to know our Tawheed, we have to know worshipping Allah, how to worship Him, what are the things that can nullify our عبادة, what are the things that can destroy it, what does لا إله إلا الله mean, what are the conditions of لا إله إلا الله, what are the prerequisites of لا إله إلا الله, what are the pillars of لا إله إلا الله, and knowing all of this is a knowledge that everybody needs to have, that is العلم النافع in summary brothers and sisters, Allah created us brothers and sisters and brought us into this world to have knowledge, يعني you are in this world to gain knowledge, Islamic knowledge, that's what Allah said in the ayah اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَالَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتِ وَمِنَ الْأَرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ يَتَنَزَّلُ الْأَمْرُ بَيْنَهُنَّ لِتَعْلَمُوا لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٍ لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٍ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا Allah is telling us that He created the seven heavens and He created the seven earth, He created everything in between the seven heavens and everything in between the earth, Allah created it, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.
Allah Ta'ala, He sends down His commands from high above, why does He do all of this? Why did He create all of this? Allah says لِتَعْلَمُوا so you can know, know what? لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٍ To know that Allah has the ability over everything, يعني knowing Allah's characteristics and attributes. You were created to know Allah. وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا And to know that Allah encompassed everything with knowledge.
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, He raises the people of knowledge and He raises them. Not just the day of judgment in Jannah, but He raises their Iman as well. How does He? And what's the evidence for that? Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, He said in the Qur'an يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَةَ رَجَاتً Allah raised the believers over the disbelievers.
The believers are higher than the disbelievers. A believer is better than a thousand disbelievers. But not all of the believers are the same.
Within the believers, who are the best? أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ The people of what? The people of knowledge, Allah raised them from within the believers. يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَةَ رَجَاتً And Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala asked us a rhetorical question. We don't have to answer it.
The answer is clear already. Allah says أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ سَادِدًا وَقَائِمًا يَحْذَرُوا الْآخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُوا رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِ قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ إِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَرُوا أُولُّ الْأَلْبَابِ Allah asked us a question. He said the one who knows and the one who doesn't know, are they the same? No, they can't be the same.
They're not the same. The one who knows is better than the one who doesn't know. So beneficial knowledge, my beloved brothers and sisters, increases your iman.
إِنَّمَا يَخْشَ اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءِ The ones who truly fear Allah, who are conscious of Allah, who are consistently fearful and the people of knowledge are always scared of Allah. They're conscious of Him. The people of knowledge, as I mentioned to you, are people who've gathered between beneficial knowledge and righteous action and combined between the two.
It's not just information that they have. They have knowledge and they also have what? They have information and they have actions to back that up. Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, He made the people of knowledge a testimony and a witness.
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, He said شَهِدَ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ وَأُولُّ الْعِلْمِ قَائِمًا بِالْقِصْطِ Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, what did He do? He used the people of knowledge as a witness. And if someone was to ask you today, Did you do this? And you say, yeah, I did it. And someone says, okay, who's your witness? And you say, so-and-so is my witness.
That so-and-so that you chose has to be someone who's reliable. If you choose someone who's not a reliable person, people are going to be like, sorry, you're not going to believe that person. So you're going to choose someone you know is reliable, right? وَلِلَّهِ الْمَثَلُ الْأَعْلَىٰ Allah has a greater example.
And Allah is greater and higher than any example that we may give. Allah used the people of knowledge as a witness for the greatest thing, which is لا إله إلا الله شَهِدَ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَالْمَلَائِكَ وَأُولُو الْعِلْمِ قَائِمًا بِالْقِصْطِ Allah mentioned Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la that there is none worthy of worship except me. Allah said that.
The angels are my witness. And the people of knowledge are my witness. That I am the only one who deserves to be worshipped.
What does that show you? It shows you the people of knowledge, Allah raised them. Yawm Al-Qiyam Allah is going to raise them Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la and also their Iman is raised. They are not like the rest of the people.
The Prophet ﷺ he told us in a hadith and Imam Ahmed narrated in his Muslim hadith The Prophet ﷺ he said مَنْ سَلَكَ طَرِيقًا يَلْتَمِسُ فِيهِ عِلْمًا سَهَّلَ اللَّهُ لَهُ طَرِيقًا إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ That there is not a person who treads on a path treads on a path. He takes a path. That path he takes he is trying to seek and gain Islamic knowledge.
Except that Allah will give that person Yawm Al-Qiyam a path to Jannah. And if you take a path to seek knowledge Allah will give your path to Jannah. So seeking knowledge raises a person it increases your Iman the more you know Allah the more your Iman increases.
The less you know Allah and his religion the less Iman you have and your Iman reduces. So that's the first one Insha'Allah Ta'ala that I wanted to mention. There are many examples and there are many evidences for that but that Insha'Allah Ta'ala should suffice.
The second thing I believe increases your Īmān is Qirāʾatul-Qur'ān — reciting the Qur'an and to contemplate over the Qur'an. And this Qur'an that we have with us, brothers and sisters, increases our Īmān. Reciting it, pondering over it, contemplating over it — increases your Īmān.
That's why Allah Ta'ala glorified this Qur'an, and Allah referred to this Qur'an as a light and a beacon that shines everything for you. Allah Ta'ala says: [Reciting the Qur'an] Allah referred to this Qur'an — He referred to it as a light, and He referred to it as a soul.
And this Qur'an — when people are in darkness, you are not. You can see the path in front of you because the Qur'an is shining it for you.
Also, the Qur'an is what? The Qur'an is also — it gives you life. [Reciting the Qur'an] Is it the same — the one who is dead — and Allah gave him life, revived him? Revived him with what? With the Qur'an. The Qur'an revives the person, it gives them life, so it increases your Īmān.
Allah Ta'ala told us that this Qur'an guides to the best of affairs. [Reciting the Qur'an] This Qur'an guides to the best of affairs, the best thing. Allah Ta'ala says: [Reciting the Qur'an] This Qur'an is a cure — a cure for the heart, a cure for the reduction of your Īmān.
This Qur'an — if it was sent down on the mountain, it would crumble and it would tremble. [Reciting the Qur'an] That this Qur'an — if it was to come down on the mountains, the mountain would tremble. When it comes down on the heart of the believer, how can he not be moved by it? It does. The true believer — when the Qur'an comes down on his heart — it moves it, and his Īmān increases.
[Reciting the Qur'an] The believers — when they read the Qur'an — it increases their Īmān. Based on the āyah, the Qur'an increases it.
Why does it increase it? Because it's guidance, and it's mercy. That's why Allah Ta'ala says: [Reciting the Qur'an] This Qur'an — Allah Ta'ala, He said: "We sent it down, Muhammad. We sent this Qur'an down as a guidance."
This Qur'an clarifies everything for the people. This Qur'an is a mercy. This Qur'an is a glad tiding for the believers. Allah says: [Reciting the Qur'an] "We've sent down the Qur'an on them, and it clarifies everything — distinguishes falsehood from the truth."
[Reciting the Qur'an] This Qur'an came down to clarify everything for them, to distinguish everything for them. It came to guide them. And it came to send down on them — what? It also came down to send them mercy, and also glad tidings.
This Qur'an increases your Īmān, brothers and sisters. But it's not just mere recitation.
The Qur'an is not just ʾAlfāẓ that we just recite — [Reciting the Qur'an] and then you forsake the boundaries that the Qur'an has set for you.
The Qur'an needs ʿAʿmāl. The Qur'an requires what?
A‘māl, it requires A‘māl (actions). That’s why some of the Salaf (early generations) like Qatādah ibn Di‘āmah, Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr, and others — it was transmitted from them regarding the verse:
يَتْلُونَهُ حَقَّ تِلَاوَتِهِ "They recite it as it should truly be recited" — they said: يَعْمَلُونَ بِهِ وَحَقَّ عَمَلِهِ "They act upon it with the due right of action." They act upon the Qur’an — they do what the Qur’an commands them to do.
The poet — he said:
بَدَأْتُ بِبِسْمِ اللَّهِ فِي النَّظْمِ أَوَّلَ تَبَارَكَ رَحْمَانَ رُحِيمًا وَمَوْئِلًا وَثَنَّيْتُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ رَبِّي عَلَى الرِّضَى مُحَمَّدٍ مُهْدَى إِلَى النَّاسِ مُرْسَلًا وَعِتْرَتِهِ ثُمَّ الصَّحَابَةِ ثُمَّ مَنْ تَلَاهُمْ عَلَى الْإِحْسَانِ بِالْخَيْرِ وَبَلَى وَثَلَّثْتُ أَنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ دَائِمًا وَمَا لَيْسَ مَبْدُوءًا بِي أَجْدَمُ الْعَلَى وَبَعْدُ فَحَبْلُ اللَّهِ فِينَا كِتَابُهُ فَجَاهِدْ بِهِ حِبْلَ الْعِدَى مُتَحَبِّلًا وَأَخْلِقْ بِهِ إِذْ لَئِسْ يَخْلُقُ جِدَّةً جَدِيدًا مُوَالِيهِ عَلَى الْجِدِّ مُقْبِلًا وَقَارِئُهُ الْمَرْضِيُّ قَرَّ مِثَالُهُ كَلُتْ رُجِحَ لَيْهِ مُرِيحًا وَمُوكِلًا خُوَى الْمُرْتَضَى أَمَّنْ إِذَا كَانَ أُمَّتًا
Meaning: The Qur’an — it is only for the one who reads it, recites it, and reflects upon it — the joy they get from it.
وَإِنَّ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ أَوْثَقُ شَافِعٍ وَأَغْنَى غَنَاءٍ وَاهِبًا مُتَفَضِّلًا وَخَيْرُ جَلِيسٍ لَّا يُمَلُّ حَدِيثُهُ وَتَرْدَادُهُ يُزْدَادُ فِيهِ تَجَمُّلًا وَحَيْثُ الْفَتَى يَرْتَعُ فِي ظُلُمَاتِهِ مِنَ الْقَبْرِ يَلْقَاهُ سَلْمًا مُتَهَلِّلًا هَنِيئًا مَرِيئًا وَالِدَاكَ عَلَيْهِمَا مَلَابِسُ أَنْوَارٍ مِنَ التَّاجِ وَالْحُلَلِ
And indeed, the Book of Allah is the most reliable intercessor, The most enriching giver, full of bounty and grace, The best companion — its conversation never tires, Repeating it only increases its beauty, And when the young man wanders in its darkness, He will find safety and cheer in his grave through it, A blessing and a joy — your parents are adorned With garments of light — crowns and robes of honor.
Meaning: The Qur’an.
Brothers and sisters, I don’t know anything I can say to you that can truly impact your life — that can truly change the course of your life — better than the word of Allah سبحانه وتعالى.
There is no lecture or reminder you can listen to that will change you more than the Qur’an. I don’t think there is. I don’t believe — and I don’t think any Muslim should believe — that there is anything better to listen to, reflect on, and internalize than the words of Allah. It is better than anything.
May Allah سبحانه وتعالى make us from the people of the Qur’an — those who live by it, implement it, stand by it, and protect it.
و لذلك ابن القيّم رحمه الله — when he came to the statement of Allah:
وَقَالَ الرَّسُولُ يَا رَبِّ إِنَّ قَوْمِي اتَّخَذُوا هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ مَهْجُورًا "And the Messenger will say: O my Lord, indeed my people took this Qur’an as something abandoned."
Ibn al-Qayyim said: The abandonment of the Qur’an mentioned in this verse refers to several things — among them is abandoning its recitation, and also what? Abandoning reflection upon it.
If you do not ponder over the Qur’an… The Qur’an was revealed as:
مُبَارَكٌ لِيَدَّبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ "A blessed Book so that they may ponder over its verses." أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا "Do they not ponder over the Qur’an, or are there locks upon their hearts?" أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا فِيهِ اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًا "Do they not reflect over the Qur’an? Had it been from anyone other than Allah, they would have found much contradiction in it." أَفَلَمْ يَدَّبَّرُوا الْقَوْلَ "Have they not reflected over the speech?"
The Qur’an was revealed for this reason. And when the Qur’an is recited, the believer’s heart:
تَلِينُ قُلُوبُهُمْ — "Their hearts become softened." Because it increases their Īmān (faith).
There are many other things that increase a person’s faith. But those two — reciting and pondering over the Qur’an — were the most important ones that, in shā’ Allāh Ta‘ālā, come to mind.
And there are many others as well. May Allah make us from the people who take these things seriously and take the best of speech and implement it in their lives.
Anything I might have said that was wrong or incorrect is from me and Shayṭān, and Allah and His Messenger are free from it.
سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ، أَسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْكَ
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