But when Allah perceives goodness in a person’s heart, He grants him success. If Allah finds good within someone, He wills good for him; and when He wills good for him, He grants him deep understanding of the religion and endows him with knowledge of His sacred law the like of which He gives to no one else. This shows that a person must exert the utmost effort to gain such understanding, for whenever Allah wills a matter, He facilitates its means. Among the means to true comprehension are learning and earnest striving so that you might attain this noble rank—the rank that proves Allah wants good for you. Therefore, be keen to understand the religion of Allah.

True understanding is not knowledge alone; it is knowledge coupled with action. For that reason, the early generations warned of an abundance of mere reciters and a scarcity of real jurists. ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “How will you be when your reciters are many and your jurists are few?” Thus, if someone learns something of Allah’s law yet fails to act upon it, he is no jurist—even if he has memorized the largest book of jurisprudence word-for-word and understands it thoroughly. Such a person is called a reciter, not a jurist. A jurist is one who acts upon what he knows: he learns first and acts second. That is the one who has truly grasped the religion. Whoever possesses knowledge but does not act is no jurist; he is merely a reciter.

For this reason, the people of Shuʿayb said to him, “We do not understand much of what you say” (Qur’an 11:91); they were denied goodness because Allah knew the evil that lurked in their hearts. So be diligent in seeking knowledge and diligent in acting upon it, that you may be among those for whom Allah intends good. I ask Allah, exalted is He, to make me and you among those who understand His religion, act upon it, teach it, benefit others through it, and themselves reap its benefits.