Blindspot!
From Issue: 493 [Read full issue]
Deen of Practice
Islam is a Deen of practice and Muslims, being obedient slaves of Allah, must be practical people. Their focus must be on practising Islamic teaching rather than on theorizing or on amassing knowledge. This does not mean that a Muslim should be ignorant; far from it. Muslims are obliged to learn, and they will be held accountable for this obligation. But the learning must be for practising, not to gain knowledge for its own sake. As soon as they learn, whatever they learn, they must immediately put it into practice. If this means changing their lifestyle, they must make those changes immediately instead of waiting until they have acquired all knowledge. By the same token, the knowledge they acquire must be relevant to their current circumstances and their current responsibilities so that whatever is learned can be immediately put into action. That is why the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to learn a few points, put them into practice, then learn more and put them into practice and continue that way all their life.
Learning and practicing are parallel processes that continue throughout life. In fact, there is no concept of knowledge without corresponding practice in Islam. Religious knowledge that is not put into practice right away is considered loss of knowledge.
Source:
"Islam: Adopting its Paradigms" - Ayub A. Hamid, pp. 69, 70