Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim
1. Introduction
Friends beloved by Allah, one external barrier that often causes seekers of knowledge to lose motivation is material or curricula that are irrelevant and overly abstract. From the perspective of cognitive psychology, the human brain struggles to absorb and internalize information if that information has no logical connection to their daily life reality. When knowledge merely floats in the clouds of theory without touching the earth of reality, it is felt as nothing more than a burden of memorization, not as a guide for life. Islam is a profoundly practical and solution-oriented religion. The curriculum brought by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ never separated the theory of faith from social reality. The Qur’an was revealed gradually (tanzīl) precisely to respond to real events faced by humanity, so that each verse immediately feels relevant and applicable.
Allah SWT affirms that His Messenger was sent with clear, easily understood explanations, not with something that confuses people:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا بِلِسَانِ قَوْمِهِ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَهُمْ ۖ فَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ مَن يَشَاءُ وَيَهْدِي مَن يَشَاءُ ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ
“And We did not send any messenger except in the language of his people to state clearly for them. And Allah sends astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.” (QS. Ibrāhīm: 4)
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ also always prayed to be protected from the kind of knowledge that becomes merely a pile of cognitive theory yet bears no real benefit for one’s character and daily life:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ لَا يَنْفَعُ وَمِنْ قَلْبٍ لَا يَخْشَعُ وَمِنْ نَفْسٍ لَا تَشْبَعُ وَمِنْ دَعْوَةٍ لَا يُسْتَجَابُ لَهَا
“O Allah, I seek refuge in You from knowledge that does not benefit, from a heart that is not humble, from a soul that is never satisfied, and from a supplication that is not answered.” (HR. Aḥmad)
2. Lessons and Message
Let us picture a young man in a village struck by economic crisis and social fragmentation. He sits in a study circle or classroom with great hope of finding solutions to his life’s burdens, ways to serve his ailing parents, or how to manage his volatile emotions. But what does he get? All day he is fed complex theological debates from the Middle Ages, or abstract formulas that in no way touch the reality of his hometown. The young man rests his chin on his hand with a vacant stare. Tears almost fall—not out of devotion, but because he feels alienated in his own gathering of knowledge. He goes home with the same empty space, feeling that religion and education are not present to address the cries of his life. How tragic it is when a curriculum fails to be grounded—it ends up distancing people from real solutions. Material that is too abstract and irrelevant is like a father who “Gives the Blueprint of a Luxury Yacht to His Son Who Is Drowning in a River.” The blueprint is extremely expensive, scientific, and designed by a great architect—like lofty knowledge. But the child gasping for air in the water does not need the theory of yacht construction; he just needs a small log or a simple life buoy to survive at that very moment. Curricula and teaching materials must be structured based on the priority scale of the audience’s needs (fiqh al-wāqi‘). Give them the “life buoy” of practical faith and character first, before teaching them to build the “yacht” of complex theory. Sometimes we as educators or speakers like to be too “lofty” in delivering material to look cool and intellectual. The congregation consists of plantation farmers who are stressed about rising fertilizer prices, but the lecture topic delivered is: “The Deconstruction of Modern Epistemology and the Impact of Globalization on Western Metaphysics.” Throughout the lecture, the farmers just glance at each other whispering, “What planet is the ustādh speaking the language of?” As a result, instead of increasing in faith, the congregation goes home with a new illness—migraine headaches! This is a humorous jab that great knowledge is not knowledge with the most complicated language that no one understands, but knowledge of the highest value that can be simplified to touch the hearts of the common people.
3. Conclusion and Closing
Brothers and sisters, the barrier of irrelevant or overly abstract material compels us—educators, dā‘īs, and curriculum designers—to undertake a major reorientation. Knowledge in Islam is not merely an ornament for the brain or a display of academic titles; it is a guide for real action (al-‘ilmu lil ‘amal). Our task is to ground abstract material into the concrete, and to bring the curriculum closer to the real challenges faced by the ummah today. When knowledge is successfully bridged with life’s reality, then learning will no longer be a tedious burden, but a long-awaited necessity that guides the soul toward salvation in this world and the Hereafter
والله أعلم بالصواب
الحمد لله رب العالمين
Wassalamu’alaikum Warahmaullahi Wabarakatuh.
ِAbu Sultan Al-Qadrie
