I want to study Islam:

The Informed Muslim

This is the first category in discussing the study of Islam amongst Muslims. To begin, what are the objectives of this group? According to the scholars of jurisprudence, it is to learn enough about your religion to fulfill what is compulsory upon you with regards to your relationship between you and your Creator. For some this is simple; for others it can require a bit more effort. What is required? Here are some key categories:

1) Basic `aqidah (creed): what is compulsory for a Muslim to believe about Allah, His messengers, the angels, the holy revealed books sent down to His prophets, the Last Day, divine predestination and life after death. It is also important for a Muslim to learn about how to cure the illnesses of the soul and heart according to Islamic principles.

2) Basic Fiqh (jurisprudence): what is compulsory when it comes to prayer and reciting the Qur’an, zakat (giving in charity), fasting and hajj. Also required is knowledge of rulings that are known by default in the religion, such as the major sins and words or actions that can remove you from Islam. More may be required for others, such as learning about usury in transactions for businesspeople and medical ethics for those who are in the medical field.

3) Removing Doubts: whatever a Muslim needs to learn to keep doubts from destroying his or her faith. This can differ from person to person. Many may not require much, but some people may require extensive reading in side topics. For example, a new Muslim who is leaving Christianity may require more in the way of the Islamic critique of Christianity, and a Muslim who experiences doubts because of atheism may need to do further reading or studying in topics that address the status of Islam with regards to other universal philosophies, Orientalist critique, or the superiority of Islamic ethics. For most Muslims, a few YouTube videos, articles, and sometimes books can suffice for this.

Everything else the Informed Muslim learns after these is extra. However, the Informed Muslim is encouraged to continue in learning whatever he or she feels will benefit their faith, such as learning Arabic, memorizing the Qur’an, learning and reflecting over the meanings of the Qur’an, and other facets of Islam through any means available to them whether online, in print or with a teacher.

As for how the Informed Muslim is to accomplish this, nowadays alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah) it has become quite easy due to the plethora of online content, TV shows, literature, community and masjid (mosque) events, classes and da`wah (preaching) programs and institutes organized in most Muslim communities. It is not necessary to have a teacher, although it is better, especially if the Informed Muslim is confused about something. It is always preferable to know someone who you can ask questions; this may be a Muslim Activist or a Scholar.

Needless to say, it is also important for the Informed Muslim to put in practice what he or she learns, primarily by fulfilling compulsory acts of worship at all costs. Other additional acts of worship are recommended to increase in incrementally over time. If the Informed Muslim lives in a non-Muslim country, community involvement may be much more important than additional acts of worship whether through the local mosque, charity organization or other religious organization.

I want to study Islam: Part I

By Samir Hussain

As we thankfully continue to hear more Muslims in our generation utter this phrase, it becomes necessary to discuss the topic of “studying Islam” in detail. Over the years, I have come to realize that most people like myself were clueless as to how to study Islam. Thanks to a plethora of unqualified individuals ascribing knowledge to themselves (some, unfortunately, held in high regard by many Muslims), this critical problem does not seem close to a resolution. We all understand why Islam needs to be studied; the benefits in both this life and the next are mentioned in enough sources, classical and modern, even online. But very few people today have actually done it properly and then been able to convey effectively why that method was the “proper” way to do it in the first place. Also, older recommendations from the books of usool-ul-fiqh (the science of deducing and inducing rulings and meanings from the texts) may be irrelevant for the vast majority whose goal is not to become a mufti (scholar of Islamic law) or a scholar.

Let’s look at the process one step at a time.

The most important question to discuss is: “What do you want to achieve through your study of Islam?”

I will use this to organize the rest of this series, as differing goals in studying Islam necessitate different methods of studying it. For the sake of brevity, let us suppose that there are 3 categories here:

1) You want to study to be an Informed Muslim and survive the day-to-day challenges of holding on to your faith in a scary world where extremism in all forms is abundant and the demands of a modern lifestyle constantly occupy your attention.

2) You want to be a Muslim Activist, someone who helps to clarify misconceptions about Islam, teach Muslims the basics of their religion and call people to the truth, and help with social issues within the community.

3) You want to be a Scholar, someone who is eventually able to do proper scholarly ijtihaad (original or independent interpretation of Islamic law) and give fatwa (a scholarly religious ruling or opinion on Islamic law) (at some level), raise new generations of scholars, and help the ummah (Muslim community) as a whole deal with novel issues.

I will deal with each separately in turn. As you have obviously noted, the first category consists of the vast majority of Muslims. The second are a small minority and vary in their capability, and the third are a rare few whose names are often obscure to most people and only known to a handful of senior students of knowledge pursuing higher studies. It is important to note that this categorization is specific to levels of knowledge and qualification to speak about the religion only. As for implementing Islam properly, having taqwa (consciousness of God) and being a righteous individual, this applies to all Muslims regardless of the level of knowledge, as both a housewife and a faqih (expert of Islamic law) are obliged to follow the same obligatory and supererogatory actions according to the Qur’an and sunnah (teaching and practices of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace be upon him).