Uncomfortable in un-Islamic studies
3-5-2005 | IslamWeb
Question:
First I highly appreciated how well you are serving our religion and I beg Allaah to be rewarded you and forgives your mistakes also. After that I am MBA student, I intended my knowledge to service our religion besides I know our religion because I was born in Muslim country, my father, mother and all my relatives are Muslim but now I am not with them I came abroad for study. The main goal of mine is not Duniya (world) is hereafter because I know very clearly what Allaah has been created us. Hence I am sincere student and want to be sincere forever to our religion and I like to service to our religion more than any else thing I would like to help me the following:
1) When I am reading my lessons and busy with assignment sent by teachers I feel disappointed because I say myself reading this is useless is better to reads Quran and others books related our religion even though I close all books when call of buyer comes and if don't read my lessons more it is difficult to pass examination.
2) When I refer other books wrote by unbelievers and try to understand their level of their thinking. In addition to unbelievers they wrote books against our religion and other books talks about life, like how you manage your time, how to improve your memory, how to handle situation and how to behave other people and also quoted verse from bible and holy Quran to support their ideas. actually they have skills to misguide others thus when I am reading these book I feel uncomfortable I feel I'm doing wrong thing so I give up to continue reading besides I want to convince non-believers and guide them to our religion so it is necessary to have skills.
3) I don't know completely our religion and would be completed for some time Inshaa Allaah, but heartily and deeply I believed our religion.
Right now I am not studying subjects related to our religion but I read books related to our religion because there is no Islamic institute here if any some how I don't have certificate as well as visa or money matter also. Definitely I will join Islamic institute when I go back to my country now I am studying MBA course only and proud to be a person who services our religion so advice me according to what I told above as well as normal advice as you are more knowledgeable and experienced than me. Please advice me how to become success man here and after here both.
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
First of all, we thank you for your zeal about your religion and your feeling of responsibility, and we ask Allaah to enable you to do more good deeds.
As regards your feeling of being neglectful by reading the subjects of your study and not reciting the Quran and reading religious subjects, then there is no doubt that the best way for a Muslim to spend his time and his age is in reading the Quran. However, one should know that studying the different permissible sciences of this world benefits the Muslims. It is for this reason that the scholars
said that these sciences are a communal obligation [i.e. if done by one or few members of the community, then the obligation drops from the rest of them for having to do it]. If the Muslims do not study these worldly sciences, they would be dependant on other nations. Studying such worldly sciences is not contrary to the religion or seeking knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence. If a Muslim intends by studying these worldly sciences to benefit the Muslim nation and serve the religion and fill a need, he will be rewarded for doing so in the same way he will be rewarded for studying religious sciences, Inshaa' Allaah. The ruling about reading beneficial books written by non-Muslims is the same, as there is no religious harm in benefiting from them [books].
However, studying such worldly sciences does not mean that a Muslim is permitted to abandon studying the matters that he must know about his religion. Rather, it is an obligation on him to learn the correct creed and acquire the knowledge by which he will be able to protect himself from wrong beliefs. He should learn the obligations that he should fulfil in relation to prayer, fasting, Zakat, Hajj and other matters that a Muslim is obliged to learn, and one should not perform any work unless one knows the religious ruling about it.
Islam is a religion that calls to moderation, so you should not abandon worldly sciences to be busy in religion only nor abandon religion in order to be preoccupied in worldly sciences only and consider this world as your prime goal.
To conclude, we do not advise you to abandon what you are studying at the moment. First you should fear Allaah, Secondly, if you can pursue the same studies in your country, then we advise you to leave the non-Muslim country and return to your country and continue your studies there among your family and your Muslim brothers. Indeed, there is much harm on one's religion and moral conduct in residing among non-Muslims. May Allaah enable you to do what is good and rectify and facilitate your affairs.
Allaah knows best.