Knowledge and Action                          

The first word of the Qur’an revealed to the Prophet was Read
“Proclaim (or Read) In the name of your Lord and Cherisher, Who created…” 96:1

It was the first command in Islam. Every man should read. Before ordaining prayers and fasting, before giving details of the creed and the law to be revealed, God said “Read”
The Qur’an is the only holy book that opens with this word and command. It is a great honor to knowledge and to the learned that the first word in our religion should be a command to read and acquire knowledge. The verse specifies the kind of knowledge to be acquired initially: Read
In the name of your Lord who has created a knowledge of God, useful and virtuous knowledge. Subsequently, verses were revealed which command and urge people to acquire knowledge
“ O my Lord, advance me in knowledge.” 20:114
“Allah will raise up to ranks, those of you who believe and who been granted knowledge.” 58:11
“Say: Are those equal, those who know and those who do not know?” 39:9
“There is no god but He that is the witness of Allah, His angels, and those endued with knowledge, standing firm.” 3:18

In the last verse, God places the learned by His side, along with the angels, as far as the value of their testimony is concerned, which is the highest rank possible. The Arabic word for knowledge and its derivatives occur about 850 times in the Qur’an. God vows by the pen:
“Nuun By the pen And by the (record) Which (men) write.” 68:1
It is not, however, only theoretical knowledge that is meant, the
Qur’an means all knowledge to lead to action
“Say, Work (righteousness): soon Allah observe your work.” 9:105

Wherever the Qur’an mentions the believers, their faith is made to lead to or is associated with work. “Those who believe and work righteous deeds” is a commonly occurring phrase in the Qur’an. The recurrence of such a combination as faith and work is meant to impress on our minds that no faith can be correct unless combined bined with work. It is the deeds that reveal intentions of virtue, charity, and obedience

Because the first command in the Qur’an concerns reading and learning, nothing can be more explicit in fact, no ignorant person should claim to be Muslim even though he prays, fasts, and plays about with the beads in his rosary all day. The ignorance and idleness on the rampage today in the Muslim World indicates that we do not believe in the essential teachings of our book; instead of learning and work, there is ignorance and laziness
Ironically, everyone thinks that he is going to Heaven simply because he happens to be a Muslim by birth and owns a copy of the Qur’an, or he will be granted the Prophet intercession. He never consider the fact the although the first word revealed in that Qur’an was “Read,” and that God consistently commands us to work, he neither reads nor works, preferring to kill his time yawning at cafes. Indeed, it is the Western nations today who are showing such an interest in learning, working, continuous creativity, and intellectual activity that are nearer to the essence of Islam than lazy and idle East, sinking, as it does in a pool of ignorance

Shouldn’t we understand the Qur’an before claiming that we belong to the Qur’an? Some Muslims blame their laziness and ignorance on mysticism. They believe that, once in seclusion to meditate on nothing they have earned the title of mystics. Shouldn’t they too know that a mystic’s real journey to God must start with learning and end up with working? A real mystic should learn first, then proceed to apply his knowledge to life; having enough good works to his credit, his station invariably changes and in time his rank in the eyes of God improves
The hard work of a mystic is the essential link between learning and change position to which he aspires. He proceeds, to put it from learning to working, thence to a higher station, and ultimately to a lofty rank
Courage, truthfulness; to fight against wrong, in defense of right; to work for the prosperity of the world by vindicating justice, fighting exploitation, and supporting the weak and meek – all are qualities and deeds essential to our religion, if they do not constitute our religion itself. If you don’t take part in them, you will not be a true believer, nor will you belong to the Qur’an

Before taking any action, however, there should be knowledge. Read first, be able to distinguish right from wrong, and know the laws of the world in which you live, before you can claim that you can reform that world. Careful to show us the way, rather than leave us to wild guessing, the Qur’an establishes a method, namely, to move and examine
“Say, Journey in the land, and behold how He originated creation,.” 29:20
To move, to observe, to record data, then to examine all available facts in order to establish the general law that governs them is the method of induction instituted by Bacon a thousands after the Qur’an was revealed. It was this method that helped Western scientists to make great advances in science and technology, to establish the ever-expanding base of modern industry. If we had made an effort to understand our Book and act according to its commands, we should have beaten them to those modern sciences
A few Arab scientists had in fact discovered that method in the early days of Islam. Their contribution to human knowledge enriched the Western culture at a time when the whole of Europe had been plunged into the ignorance of the Dark Ages. We remember the pioneers such as Jabir Ibn Hayyam, in chemistry; Ibn Arabi, in mysticism; and Ibn Haytham, in mathematics and geometry. We remember the innovations of the Andalusian poets and musicians. We have heard of the Arab astronomers; in fact most constellations still keep their Arab names in foreign books. The words used by Jabir Ibn Hayyan for distilling apparantus he had invented, namely Anbeeq, is still used in French, viz., Ambique, hence the French verb ambiquer, i.e., to distill. The decimal system in mathematics was invented by the Arabs and thence transferred to Europe

Our ancestors combined their knowkedge with work, and the combination made a vast contribution to the march of civilization, the key for which being provided by the Qur’an, Read. It was this key, the first word revealed, the Muhammad was commanded to convey to his nation. He who does not read, therefore, is not worthy to belong to Muhammad’s nation, nor he claim to know the Qur’an; and he who has knowledge but does not employ it, will be inactive, ineffectual and unreligious
The Qur’an describes Abraham’s building of the House of God
“And remember Abraham and Isma’il raised the foundations of the House (with this prayer): Our Lord accept (this service) from us, for you are the All-Hearing, the All-knowing.” 2:127
The mind is the architect, the hand is the work, while the heart sings the glories of God, whispering the prayer: Our Lord accept this service from us… . The act combined knowledge and work, faith and construction. Such is the true religion as presented by the Qur’an. In fact, the Qur’an has the best things to say about working believers
“Those who have faith and do righteous deeds, they are the best of creatures.” 98:7
It is stressed that all our deeds are recorded and that God will present us with the record thereof on the Day of Reckoning. The Qur’an emphasizes that this world presents the only chance for good deeds. It is the only test allowed. On the Day of Reckoning, it is all over, no excuse accepted

A question may be raised: How can a good deed are deprived of goodness if the heart of the doer is lacking in faith? If an atheist makes a donation to charity, wouldn’t it be good work for which he deserves recompense? The answer is easy, a person who does not believe in God, will believe all work to originate in himself. He would think that it is he who contributes and donates, and if he is responsible for people’s livelihood, he could cause them to be rich or poor. Such a belief is based on vanity and pride. It cannot therefore qualify any work to be acceptable as good. When on the other hand, a believer makes a donation, he must believe that he is no more than an instrument of God’s ill, that God has inspired him to subscribe to charity, having first given him money, a kind heart, and a disposition to generosity

The Qur’an stresses that a will to do good work, without actually doing it, is not enough to prove a man’s faith. A desire to fight in the cause of God is not enough; a man must actually fight; he must confront death and prove his fortitude
“Did you think that you would enter Heaven without Allah’s testing those of you who fought hard and remained steadfast?.” 3:42

A will does not take the shape of action must be less than genuine. It may be more of a feigned than a real desire, because only genuine desire leads to action. God tells us, in fact, that He created this world for that reason
“He who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed.” 67:2
The world is a test of deeds, and the result of the test will establish the ranks of every human being. Once Judgment is established, there cannot be any change or tampering with the result

Our Prophet Muhammad, the example we should follow, was not merely a man who conveyed the Message to his people, or simply served as a reciter of the Qur’an to warn and admonish. He was a hard worker. He was the first to rush forth in times of wars; he led his army on the battlefield and shared the life of his soldiers, their hunger, and their thirst. He was the first to brave danger. He was a prophet who conveyed a message, a soldier who fought his battles, a commander who planned both strategy and tactics, and a politician who administrated the affairs of state with prudence
Apart from this, he was a devout, unworldly worshipper, truthful and honest, never sullying his hand or his tongue. He was a kind father, a good husband and a faithful friend, even while the call to Islam was his permanent preoccupation. He is the example to follow, if you seek to reach the right destination. You can’t get there except through work. The only journey to God is upwards on the stairway of good deed
Note: Talking about Believe and do good deeds been repeated 76 times in the Qur’an