—that are held in the mosques and elsewhere—listen to religious broadcasts, and read Islamic magazines and newsletters devoted to matters of the faith. If you are keen and pursue these beneficial sources, your knowledge will grow and your insight will be enlightened.

Do not forget, my brother, that knowledge flourishes and is purified through practice. When you act upon what you have learned, Allah increases you in knowledge, as the well-known maxim states: “Whoever acts upon what he knows, Allah grants him knowledge of what he did not know.” The Qur’an affirms this: “Be mindful of Allah, and Allah will teach you; and Allah has full knowledge of everything” (2:282).

Knowledge is the most worthy pursuit on which to spend one’s time; people of sound intellect vie for it, for through it hearts come alive and deeds are refined.

Allah—glorious is His mention, exalted are His names—has praised the scholars who act on their knowledge in His Clear Book. He says: “Say, ‘Are those who know equal to those who do not know? Only those possessed of understanding take heed’” (39:9). And He says: “Allah will raise in rank those of you who have believed and those who have been granted knowledge; and Allah is fully aware of what you do” (58:11). In these verses He highlights the distinction of those endowed with knowledge joined to faith, and then reminds us that He is fully aware of our deeds, ever watchful over them—an indication that knowledge and action must go together and that both must arise from faith and mindfulness of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.

Accordingly, in fulfillment of our duty to cooperate in righteousness and piety, we shall, by Allah’s permission, present to you