Islamic Religious Council of Singapore

Friday Sermon
8 January 2010 / 22 Muharram 1431
Upgrading of Knowledge in Islam

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Dear brothers, the ummah of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w,
I remind myself and fellow congregation to be conscious
of Allah s.w.t. at all times; in the open or when we are by
ourselves. Do all that has been commanded by Allah with
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dedication and commitment. Refrain from all of Allahs

prohibitions with steadfastness and seriousness. May we
be blessed with His blessings and pleasure throughout our
lives, Ameen Ya Rabbal 'alamin.
Dear blessed congregation,
Have we started to plan on how to upgrade and develop
ourselves for this year? There is a lot of knowledge and
skills out there to learn and benefit from. Let us be
reminded by what Allah s.w.t. says in the Holy Quran:

Which means: "Allah will exalt those who believe among

you, and those who have knowledge, to high ranks." (AlMujadalah verse 11)
For those of us who are fathers, we ought to ask ourselves
at the start of this new year: How can we develop and
upgrade ourselves so as to benefit our young and teenage
children?
Sheikh Hassan Mohamed Ayub, a scholar from Al-Azhar,
in his book entitled "As-Suluk al-Ijtima'iy Fil Islam" which
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means "Social Ethics in Islam, mentioned that apart from

giving our child a good name, and maintaining him/her
adequately, a child deserves to be nurtured and brought
up properly, with the right education, and be given the
opportunities to learn in life as much as possible. Let us
learn from our Beloved Prophet s.a.w. on how he
educated and communicated with young children.
A companion by the name of Umar bin Abi Salamah
reported: When I was a small child, I sat on the lap of the
Prophet s.a.w. and my hand moved from one dish to the
other whilst eating. The Prophet s.a.w. said to me O son,
read Basmalah (Bismillah), eat with your right hand, and
eat from what is nearest to you and henceforth, those
ethics became my way of eating. (Hadith narrated by
Imam Bukhari and Muslim)
Dear brothers,
Look at how beautiful the Prophet s.a.w. communicated
with the young child. Although the child did something
reprehensible, the Prophet s.a.w. corrected him with a
gentle, yet effective approach. The child was not aware of
the proper ethics of eating. Yet, the first thing the Prophet
s.a.w did was to remind him to remember Allah before
eating, by reciting the Basmalah. This will train the young
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mind to get used to this sacred words, and when he grows

older, to be reminded always that eating is a way to
strengthen his otherwise weak body, so that he is always
ready and prepared to observe the commands and
teachings of Allah s.w.t.
Afterwhich, the Prophet asked the young companion to
eat with his right hand. To begin positive and good things
with the right is a Sunnah of the Prophet s.a.w. Only then,
the Prophet s.a.w. taught him to eat from what is nearest
to him. Although the young companion went against one
ethical conduct in eating, the Prophet s.a.w. offered him
three valuable lessons.
If we analyse the Prophets response to this companion,
we will find that the Prophet s.a.w. teaches us not to lose
any opportunity, especially if the opportunity arises from
ones weakness or mistake, to offer constructive advice,
and to inculcate positive values and teachings, especially
when the human mind is ready to learn after making a
mistake. This shows us the importance of knowing how to
communicate and educate our children.
Dear Friday congregation,

We also need to have the appropriate skills to help guide

our children in making important decisions in life. We need
to be close to them, before we can effectively guide them.
For those who have children waiting for their O level
results, we should be in a position to advice and mentor
them to make important decisions on their subsequent
educational pathways. To do so, there are many courses
and seminars that can help parents acquire such skills.
For example, Ngee Ann Polytechnic is organising a
seminar on this tomorrow. Such programmes will not only
help parents guide their children on how to choose the
educational pathways after their O level exams, but
these will bring families closer and build their confidence
as one family unit. This kind of initiative will contribute
towards a stronger Islamic family institution, and will
produce quality Muslims who can contribute to global
excellence. This should be a vision in the mind of each
Muslim with a strong faith in Allah the Most
Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
My dear brothers, the ummah whom the Prophet s.a.w.
loves,
Let us therefore put this plan to upgrade ourselves into
action. This plan that will put us one step ahead in our
development. As a father, we will strive to offer the best to
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our children, seeking Allahs pleasure. As a child, we can

collectively build a respected and resilient generation with
strong religious and personal identity. We will be
competitive, not for worldly pursuits, but to serve Allah who
has created this universe and all that is within it.