Knowledge is boundless; it is a treasure chest filled with value and meaning. It exists everywhere and in every being since the beginning of all existence. Every piece of knowledge – every word – has a meaning. We receive all types of knowledge from different teachers throughout our lifetime – from our preschool teachers who teach us how to count, university professors who explore philosophy, parents who ensure our overall upbringing, to our one true and undisputable source of universal – spiritual and worldly – knowledge: our Aqa Maula TUS.
Knowledge, in and of itself, is intangible. In order for knowledge to be stored, catalogued, and then disseminated, knowledge needs a vessel (inaa). The sum of all knowledge as Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin Aqa RA stated today, can be found within two things: Tanzeel and Shariah Gharra’ – Al Quran al Kareem and the ahkaam of Islam. The key to these treasures are in the possession of the Ahl Bayt AS and Anbiya Kiraam AS. It is only from them that we are able to acquire knowledge, and more importantly, understand its true meaning and how to translate that meaning into action.
Knowledge can be a double-edged sword – it can harm and it can heal. Acquire it from the wrong source, or too many, and we become lost, confused, even skeptical. Every day, we are confronted with questions of knowledge that range from larger and more weighty questions like who to be friends with, what to do with our careers, how to spend our time to more mundane ones like what to eat for dinner. We make decisions requiring knowledge every day, and many of these deeply impact our lives. At every turn, the Quran and our Sharia Gharra,’ conveyed to us through our Awliyaa Kiraam AS, provide us with answers.
The first principle of our Imaan is niyyat-inner conviction or affirming with our hearts. Assertion is the second principle, and the third is action. To truly learn something and hold on to knowledge that we’ve gained, we need to practice it, revisit it, and incorporate it into our actions. Assertion on its own is not enough, for as Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA stated today, we must practice what we preach.
As mumineen, Maula TUS has given us the key to the true source of knowledge. Maula TUS has gathered mumineen around the world in this historic Ashara Mubarak, and is giving us the invaluable treasures of three Doat Mutlaqeen’s waaz mubarak. Aali Qadr Maula TUS has turned our hearts into vessels to receive this knowledge, by cleansing and filling them with the mohabbat of Ahl Bayt AS and Awliyaa Kiraam AS. Most importantly, he has shown us how to internalize and translate this knowledge into action – through the maatam and bukaa of Imam Husain AS.
On Tasu’a, let us pray that Allah Ta’ala grants our Maula, Syedna Aali Qadr Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS, a long and prosperous life until the Day of Qayaamat.
