From the Book of the Noble Scholar, Shaykh, Muhammad ibn Saalih al Uthaymeen.
Part 1
DEFINITION OF KNOWLEDGE
Linguistically - The opposite of ignorance, which is: To understand something with definitive understanding.
Technically - Some of the people of knowledge have said: It is to know (something) and it is the opposite of ignorance, while others from amongst them have said: Certainly, knowledge is more clear than to (simply) know.
What we mean here is knowledge of the
Sharee'ah, and what is meant by this knowledge is:
Knowledge which Allaah has revealed to His Messenger from the evidences and the guidance. Therefore, knowledge which has praise and commendation attached to it is knowledge of the revelation, that being, only knowledge which Allaah has revealed.
The Prophet, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam, said:
"Whoever Allaah wishes good for, He grants him understanding of the religion".7
The Prophet, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam, also said:
"Certainly, the Prophets have not bequeathed deenaar nor dirham, rather they have bequeathed knowledge, so whoever takes it has taken abundant good fortune".8
From that which is known, is that what the Prophets have bequeathed is the knowledge of the
Sharee'ah of Allaah and nothing other than it. So, the Prophets, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam, {sic} have not bequeathed for man knowledge of manufacturing and that which is related to it; rather when the Messenger, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam, arrived in Madeenah, he found the people grafting the date palm trees. Having seen how tired they had become, he said to them something to the meaning of: there is no need for this, meaning grafting. Upon hearing this, they left the process of grafting, and as a result the date palms deteriorated in their yeild. The Prophet, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam, then said to the:
"You have better knowledge (of a technical skill) in the affairs of your world".9
Were it that such knowledge carried with it an element of praise then the Messenger, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam, would have been more knowledgeable than the people about it, this is because the one who is most praised and blessed with knowledge and action is the Prophet, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam.
Therefore, knowledge of the
Sharee'ah is that which has an element of praise attached to it and commendation for one who acts upon it.
However, having said this, I do not deny that with other knowledge there is benefit, rather, it must possess a double-edged benefit: If it assists in obedience to Allaah and leads to the success and victory of the Religion of Allaah, and the servants of Allaah are able to benefit from it, then that is good and beneficial, learning it may well be obligatory at some time should it fall under the statement of Allaah, Subhanahu Wa Ta 'Ala:
[[There is the ayah in arabic, and then english, the arabic is what Allah said, the english I will type is the translation of the meaning]]
And make ready against them all you can of power, including steeds of war...10
It has been mentioned by many from amongst the people of knowledge that seeking knowledge of manufacturing is
fard kifaayah,11 and that is for example, because it is imperative that people have (utensils and) containers to cook with and drink from, and similar issues with which they can seek benefit. So if there were non who came forward to establish such a process, then the learning of it becomes
fard kifaayah and this is a controversial issue amongst the people of knowledge. However, I wish to say that the knowledge of the
Sharee'ah, which is understanding the Book of Allaah and the
Sunnah of His Messenger, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam, and that which is other than this is either a means to something good or a means to something evil. Therefore its ruling is based upon what that particular knowledge is a means to, either good or evil.
END OF PART 1
Pages from 17 to 19.
And Allah knows best. If you wish for the footnotes I will type them insha'Allah.