Al-Fawāʾid - Ibn al-Qayyim - (الكتاب/151)

Al-FawāʾidIbn al-Qayyim

A Tremendous Benefit

The finest acquisition a soul can make, the greatest treasure a heart can gather, and the means by which a servant attains honor in this world and the next is knowledge and faith.

For that reason the Most Glorified has linked them together in His words: “Those who were given knowledge and faith will say, ‘You remained, according to Allah’s decree, until the Day of Resurrection’” (Surah al-Rum 30:56), and in His words: “Allah will raise in rank those of you who believe and those who have been given knowledge” (Surah al-Mujādilah 58:11).

Such people are the very essence and choicest part of existence, qualified for the highest stations.

Yet most people are mistaken about what the terms “knowledge” and “faith” really signify—the knowledge and faith that bring happiness and elevation. Every group imagines that what it possesses of knowledge and faith is the key to felicity, but that is not so. Most of them have neither saving faith nor ennobling knowledge. Indeed, they have blocked from themselves the paths to the knowledge and faith brought by the Messenger ﷺ, to which he called the community, and upon which he, his Companions after him, and those who followed them remained.

Thus each faction is convinced that knowledge is what it holds and rejoices in it: “They split their affair among themselves into sects; each party rejoices in what it has” (Surah al-Muʾminūn 23:53). Yet most of what they possess is only words, opinions, and conjecture—and true knowledge lies beyond mere talk. Ḥammād ibn Zayd said: “I asked Ayyūb, ‘Is knowledge greater today, or was it greater in the past?’ He replied, ‘There is more talk today, whereas knowledge was greater in the past!’” In this way the well-grounded scholar distinguished between knowledge and speech.

Books have become exceedingly numerous, as have disputations, debates, and mental constructs, yet knowledge is absent from most of them. True knowledge is only what the Messenger brought from Allah. The Exalted said: “If anyone disputes with you concerning it after knowledge has come to you …” (Surah Āl ʿImrān 3:61), and He also said—

فائدة عظيمة أفضلُ ما اكتسبتْه النفوسُ وحصَّلتْهُ القلوب ونال به العبدُ الرِّفْعةَ في الدُّنيا والآخرة هو العلم والإيمان. ولهذا قرنَ بينَهما سبحانَه في قوله: ﴿وَقَال الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ وَالْإِيمَانَ لَقَدْ لَبِثْتُمْ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْبَعْثِ﴾ [الروم: ٥٦]، وقوله: ﴿يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ﴾ [المجادلة: ١١]. وهؤلاء هم خلاصة الوجود ولبُّه والمؤهَّلون للمراتب العالية. ولكنَّ أكثر الناس غالطون في حقيقة مسمَّى العلم والإيمان اللذين بهما السعادة والرفعةُ وفي حقيقتهما، حتى إن كلَّ طائفةٍ تظنُّ أن ما معها من العلم والإيمان هو هذا الذي به تُنال السعادة، وليس كذلك، بل أكثرهم ليس معهم إيمان يُنجي ولا علمٌ يرفع، بل قد سَدُّوا على نفوسهم طرقَ العلم والإيمان اللذين جاء بهما الرسول ﷺ ودعا إليهما الأمةَ وكان عليهما هو وأصحابُهُ من بعده وتابعوهم على منهاجهم وآثارهم. فكلُّ طائفة اعتقدتْ أنَّ العلم ما معها، وفَرِحتْ به، ﴿فَتَقَطَّعُوا أَمْرَهُمْ بَينَهُمْ زُبُرًا كُلُّ حِزْبٍ بِمَا لَدَيهِمْ فَرِحُونَ (٥٣)﴾ [المؤمنون: ٥٣]، وأكثرُ ما عندهم كلامٌ وآراءٌ وخَرْص! والعلم وراء الكلام؛ كما قال حمادُ بن زيد: قلتُ لأيوب: العلم اليوم أكثرُ أو فيما تقدَّم؟ فقال: الكلامُ اليومَ أكثرُ والعلمُ فيما تقدَّم أكثر! ففرَّق هذا الراسخُ بين العلم والكلام. فالكتبُ كثيرةٌ جدًّا، والكلام والجدالُ والمُقدَّراتُ الذِّهْنيَّةُ كثيرةٌ، والعلم بمعزلٍ عن أكثرها، وهو ما جاء به الرسول عن الله. قال تعالى: ﴿فَمَنْ حَاجَّكَ فِيهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ﴾ [آل عمران: ٦١]، وقال: ﴿وَلَئِنِ