Unit 1 · Lesson 7 of 7

Acting on Knowledge and Its Pitfalls

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Lesson Content

Knowledge that is not acted on leaves; its zakāt is to spread it; its last danger is to claim it.

Watch the lesson video first, then study this sheet. It holds everything you need for the lesson quiz and the final exam.

Main points

Ibn al-Qayyim: six levels of knowledge; acting on it is the sixth and the fruit (Ḥilya p. 34).
"Knowledge calls out to action; if it answers, it stays, otherwise it leaves" (ʿAlī).
Six signs of beneficial knowledge: acting, disliking praise, growing humility, fleeing fame, not claiming knowledge, thinking badly of oneself.
The zakāt of knowledge is to spread it; it is not for sale ("Do not eat by it").
Warnings: claiming knowledge, teaching before qualifying, showing off, rejoicing at scholars' errors, absorbing doubts, useless argument, partisanship.

Key words

Arabic	Term	Meaning
حِفْظُ رِعَايَةٍ	Ḥifẓ riʿāya	Preserving by practice
حِفْظُ رِوَايَةٍ	Ḥifẓ riwāya	Preserving by narration only
زَكَاةُ الْعِلْمِ	Zakāt al-ʿilm	Spreading knowledge for Allah
التَّصَدُّرُ قَبْلَ التَّأَهُّلِ	al-Taṣaddur qabl al-taʿahhul	Taking the front before being qualified
حُلْمُ الْيَقَظَةِ	Ḥulm al-yaqẓa	Daydreaming: claiming knowledge one lacks

Key concepts

Six levelsAsk well, listen, understand, memorize, teach, act.

Three spansFirst: proud. Second: humble. Third: knows that he does not know (Ḥilya p. 41).

Adab on WadyyIntention before each lesson; full attention; no sharing without permission; no arguing in comments.

Key ayat, ahadith and sayings

هَتَفَ الْعِلْمُ بِالْعَمَلِ، فَإِنْ أَجَابَهُ وَإِلَّا ارْتَحَلَ"Knowledge calls out to action; if it answers, it stays, otherwise it leaves."ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib; Ḥilya p. 5

إِذَا مَاتَ الْإِنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَمَلُهُ إِلَّا مِنْ ثَلَاثٍ"When a person dies his deeds end except three: ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge, a righteous child who prays for him."Abū Hurayra; Muslim

اقْرَؤُوا الْقُرْآنَ … وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا بِهِ"Recite the Qurʾān... and do not eat by it."ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Shibl; Akhlāq p. 53

The student who knows that he does not know is in the third span, the safest place to be.

The final exam

When you have completed all seven lessons and their quizzes (at least 70% average), the final exam opens. It is one writing task of 45 minutes, closed book and without AI, read by a teacher.

Video Lesson