Friday Khutba of Tokyo Camii “Morality Exalts Knowledge And Education”

Dear Believers!
In the verse I have recited, the Prophet Ibrahim and the Prophet Isma’il made the following supplication to the Almighty Allah: “Our Lord! Raise from among them a messenger who will recite to them Your revelations, teach them the Book and wisdom, and purify them. Indeed, You alone are the Almighty, All-Wise.”¹
In the hadith I have read, our Prophet (saw) says, “Whoever takes a path upon which he seeks knowledge, then Allah makes a path to Paradise easy for him. And indeed the angels lower their wings in approval to the one seeking knowledge…”²

Dear Muslims!
Our sublime religion, Islam, places on every Muslim, man and woman, the primary duty of acquiring knowledge. Allah the Almighty has stated, اِقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذ۪ي خَلَقَۚ “Read, o Prophet, in the Name of your Lord!”³ , and commanded us to read and acquire knowledge in the name of Allah and in line with His pleasure . Our beloved Prophet (saw) praised those who were on the path of knowledge and sought refuge in Allah (swt) from useless knowledge.⁴ For it is through knowledge that human beings come to understand themselves, their Lord (swt), and the world around them. They make sense of the purpose of creation through knowledge. They equip themselves with morality and virtue, goodness and piety through education. Through wisdom, they distinguish truth from falsehood, good from evil, and right from wrong.

Dear believers!
One of our Lord’s (swt) beautiful names is “al-‘Alim”. He (swt) alone is the source of all knowledge, teaching people what they do not know through the intellect He has granted, the divine books He has revealed, and the prophets He has sent. Thus, knowledge reaches its true meaning when guided by revelation, enriched with prophetic morality, and used for the benefit of humanity. It guides human beings to peace and happiness in this world and to the eternal blessings in the Hereafter. The believer, who is in a position to learn and teach the truth, fulfills their responsibility to the extent that they can harmonize the Qur’an with reason, the Sunnah with the Prophet’s (saw) life, and Islam with humanity.

Dear Muslims!
Knowledge and education are not just a matter of being loaded down with knowledge. The goal of knowledge, education, training, and upbringing is to cultivate good morals and deeds. It is to raise good people. It is to be useful for the society and humanity. It is to build a world where all can live in peace. When knowledge and education are accompanied by wisdom and elevated by morality, whatever and whoever is evil can have no place in the society. Compassion replaces violence, and mercy replaces hatred.

I would like to conclude this Friday’s khutbah with the following invocation from our Prophet (saw): “O Allah! Benefit me with what you have taught me. Teach me what will benefit me, and increase my knowledge.”5

[1] Baqarah, 2/129.
[2] Tirmidhi, ‘Ilm, 19.
[3] ‘Alaq, 96/1.
[4] Muslim, Dhikr, 73.
[5] Tirmidhi, Da’awat, 128.

Friday Khutba of Tokyo Camii “Morality Exalts Knowledge And Education” PDF