There’s No Short Cut To Education

The Imam Ratib of Detroit Islamic Center has enjoined Muslims to strive hard to acquire knowledge, insisting “there is no short cut to acquire education.”

Imam Momodou Ceesay, who was delivering a lecture in Detroit on Saturday, said “Allah could have blessed Prophet Muhammed [PBH] with all the knowledge of Quran at once but He chose not to. Allah wants Prophet Muhammad to suffer first before he acquired the knowledge.”

Imam Ceesay, also the Islam Editor of Kairo Radio, added that “Angel Gibril was sent down to earth to press Prophet tightly when the latter said he could not read. That tells you that there is no short cut to education. You have to try hard and endure the harshness before reaping the benefit of education,” Imam Ceesay told a conference organized Islamic Organization of North America.

Imam Ceesay advised Muslims to follow the examples of Prophet Muhammd who admitted he was going to die when Angel Gibril pressed him tight. “If our Holy Prophet had gone through such a difficulty to acquire knowledge, then he had set an example for his Ummah.”

Gambian-born Cleric said at one point Allah told Prophet Muhammad “We will teach you and you will never forget. Allah didn’t just fill his heart with Quran; he had to go through the difficult journey of learning.”

Imam Ceesay urged Muslims to read and understand the “overwhelming message of the Quran. You become fascinated each time you read the Quran. As Muslims, we should prioritise seeking of knowledge by going to school to have good knowledge of our Holy book and religion. Even though we might not all become top scholars but we should be prepared to answer basic questions about our religion and ourselves. What if someone asks: why are you a Muslim or what is Islam? You should be in a strong position to answer such questions instead of being frustrated.

Ceesay said “Prophet Muhammad is a serious Messenger of Allah who was given a serious book and religion. Prophet Muhammed was serious about his duty, the Quran is a serious book and Islam is a serious religion. The wisdom of the Quran is reading the name of Allah. What that tells us is that there is nothing we should do without knowing that thing. As a Muslim, you have to learn the first principles of Islam which are contained in the Quran. Allah started to teach us about the wonders in the Quran. If you think you can be a good Muslim or human being, yet you want to ignore the Quran and beginning of human creation then you don’t get it.”

“We should learn about our religion so we can identify ourselves. Those are the baiscs that you don’t have to go deeper to know them.”

Imam Ceesay was among the three scholars that presented papers at the IONA conference.

Ends