The Most Rewarding And The Most Valuable Work Is The Study Of Knowledge*

The most valuable work of all favorable works to earn the love and pleasure of Allah SWT, and become His beloved servant is the study of knowledge.  Undoubtedly there are many various kinds of good deeds, and if Allah SWT is pleased with a good deed, virtue, good action of any of His servants He can grant them paradise even for one good deed. A person can enter paradise simply because of one good deed accepted by Allah.

The great hadith scholar Imam Nawawi begins his short but excellent work called Riyadh as-Saliheen by saying there are numerous ways of doing good. There are many things a Muslim can do to perform good deeds, earn rewards and the pleasure of Allah. These can be worshipping, giving alms, performing good deeds, reading the Qur’an, performing dhikr, jihad or performing a service. 

In brief,  I can say that everything begins with learning, knowledge, religious studies, and this continues. When I say everything, I am implying both religious and worldly studies.

Success in religious studies is achieved with knowledge and success in worldly studies is also achieved with knowledge.  People were only successful in establishing the comfortable environment in which we live when they escaped the ignorance of the dark ages with knowledge. They were able to develop appliances and tools with knowledge. This is why knowledge provides comfort for humans both in this world and in the hereafter. Those who aspire honor, dignity and comfort in this world must embrace knowledge, and those who aspire position, rank, favors and paradise in the hereafter must also embrace knowledge.

An individual that does not embrace knowledge may not be able to maintain the good intention in the deeds he began with good intentions, he may make mistakes. The effort that prevents people from making mistakes is the study of knowledge. This is why all of us should have a pen and a notebook, a bag, a book to read in our hands... We all should have a plan in our minds for studying knowledge. Male and female, young and old, retiree and worker; each of us should certainly be concerned with knowledge. We must learn something, teach something. Learning begins from the cradle and continues to the grave.

It should continue from cradle to grave. Indeed, humans learn even when they are babies. A child even learns something at a time we do not expect. In fact, he learns certain things even before he is born! He learns something from the way his mother lies down and gets up, from the way she eats and drinks, from the way she sleeps and wakes up. This is why knowledge is from the cradle to the grave!

The most rewarding action is studying knowledge. A Muslim has various choices, opportunities: “Should I perform Salah, should I do dhikr, should I learn knowledge, should I do this or that…” As there are various kinds of good deeds, when a person wants to choose the most beneficial, he will get the greatest reward for acquiring knowledge.

Each of us must strive to teach our families and our children the most favorable things.

Each of us must make all kinds of sacrifices to encourage this rewarding deed both for ourselves and for our close family!

So what are all kinds of sacrifices?

First, it is the material sacrifice. For example, the journey, travel expenses, accommodation expenses, registering a child at  school, him attending the school, school expenses; expense of books, paper, pencils etc. All of these are expenses for the sake of knowledge.

The most rewarding, the most beneficial investment is the investment made for knowledge.

If a nation, a state or a community, an individual, a person wants to earn money, to invest, to make profits; what is the most profitable investment? It is the investment made for knowledge. Scientists say this. They performed studies, research; scientists familiar with the science of economics, university professors, entrepreneurs, those who have wealth and capital did research: “Where should I invest my money so that I can earn more profits?” The scientific result of this: the most profitable investment is the investment made for science! This is the most profitable but also the most costly! This is why large factories, large establishments allocate a great portion of their income  on research and development.

For example, supposing that twenty percent is spent on their foods and beverage, travels, pleasure; eighty percent is spent on research and development. A factory, an automobile factory, an electric factory… This is not wasteful expenditure. This is not burying money in sand. This is not a waste ofefforts. On completion of educational studies, the money spent on education returns many times more. This is the case both this world and the hereafter.

This is why all of us should involve ourselves in acquiring knowledge.

Our worships we perform have formulas and details. If an individual unfamiliar with these performs the worships with mistakes, then his worship is not accepted. Allah does not accept such worship.

For example, a man gives alms, gives zakat. The money leaves his pocket and goes to a poor person. The process of giving and taking is complete.

He gave his zakat, but it is not accepted!

So why?

There are specific details, procedures of giving zakat. He failed to observe these conditions. He offended the receiver, he persecuted him, he continuously reminded him, made him feel indebted. There is no reward. In the Qur’an Allah SWT reveals;

لَا تُبْطِلُوا صَدَقَاتِكُمْ بِالْمَنِّ وَالْاَذٰىۙ

"Do not invalidate your charities with reminders or injury!"[1]

He warns us not to wipe out  the reward. The reward of charity could go to waste. The reward for prayers could be wiped out. The reward of everything could disappear. In that case, what deprives one from rewards, what reduces his rewards to nothing, what eliminates  his points? these are things all of us should know. Once again, we come across the importance of knowledge.

Therefore, even in worshipping an individual must be familiar with the actions that make worship invalid.