Praise be to Allah.
The Muslim should strive hard and seek knowledge to benefit himself and his ummah, in the field for which he believes he has an aptitude and interest. He should realize that many branches of science and technology are communal obligations, and that he will be rewarded if he has a good intention (niyyah) in doing that.
In al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah (13/5) it says: Pursuing knowledge is subject to the following rulings:
Learning may be an individual obligation. This refers to learning that which is essential to the Muslim in order to practise his religion and make his deeds sincerely for the sake of Allah, may He be exalted, or to interact with other people. It is obligatory for every accountable man and woman – after learning the basic principles of Islam which will make his belief (‘aqeedah) sound – to learn that which will make his acts of worship and interactions with others sound and correct, such as wudoo’, ghusl, prayer and fasting; the rulings on zakaah and Hajj, for those for whom these acts of worship become obligatory; and the importance of having a sound intention when doing acts of worship for Allah. It is obligatory for traders and businessmen to learn the rulings on buying and selling, so that they can avoid ambiguous matters and actions that are makrooh (disliked) in all their transactions. Similarly, those who pursue crafts and professions, and everyone who works in a given field, must learn the rulings on it, so that he can avoid doing anything in his field that is haraam.
Pursuing knowledge may be a communal obligation [i.e., there must be some in the community who learn these things, otherwise everyone will be regarded as falling short and sinning], which refers to learning every branch of knowledge that people cannot do without in their worldly affairs, such as medicine, accounting, grammar, Arabic language, the modes of recitation of Qur’an (qiraa’aat), the isnaads of hadith, and so on.
Some kinds of learning are recommended. That involves deep study of fiqh and examining its subtle issues, and deep study of other branches of Islamic knowledge.
Some kinds of learning may be haraam, such as learning magic arts, geomancy, witchcraft, soothsaying and fortunetelling.
Some kinds of learning may be makrooh, such as learning romantic poetry that describes specific women who are mentioned by name.
Some kinds of learning may be permissible, such as poetry in which there is nothing reprehensible, such as belittling a Muslim or exposing his faults and the like. End quote.
We advise you to fear Allah, may He be exalted, and to strive hard in that which you are interested in doing, and to seek reward with Allah, may He be exalted, by benefitting the Muslims.
As for problems, people may or may not find a solution for them, but whoever sincerely relies on Allah and puts his trust in Him regarding something, Allah will help him and make it easy for him, as Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out,
And will provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever relies upon Allah - then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already set for everything a [decreed] extent”
[at-Talaaq 65:2-3].
So whoever relies on Allah, may He be exalted, He will suffice him and guide him, and there is the hope that he will find the solution for the problem he is facing. But his reliance on Allah may be weak, as a result of which he will not attain what he is seeking.
Tawakkul (reliance on Allah) means sincerely and wholeheartedly putting one’s trust in Allah, whilst taking appropriate measures.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Allah’s close friends and those who are closest to Him rely on Him with regard to spreading the faith, and with regard to supporting His religion and making His word supreme, and when striving against His enemies, and they put their trust in Him when doing what He loves and carrying out His commands.
Those beneath them in status rely on Him to help them adhere to the straight path and maintain their connection with Him, but they do not worry about other people.
Those beneath them in status rely on Him to attain some specific need that He may grant them, such as provision, well-being, support against an enemy, finding a wife or having a child, and so on.
Those beneath them in status rely on Him to attain that which is sinful and immoral. Those who are concerned with attaining these things usually only attain them through seeking the help of Allah and relying on Him; in fact their reliance on Allah may be stronger than that of many of those people who do acts of worship and obedience. Hence they take a lot of risks and put themselves in the way of danger, relying on Allah to keep them safe and sound and to help them attain their objectives.
Whoever is sincere in relying on Allah to attain something will attain it. If that aim is something that Allah approves of and is pleased with, then the consequences will be good, but if it is something displeasing and hateful to Him, then what he attained through reliance on Him will be harmful to him. If it is permissible, he will attain the blessing of relying on Allah, but he will not attain the blessing of that which he attained through that, unless he uses it in obedience to Allah. And Allah knows best.
End quote from Madaarij as-Saalikeen (2/114).
By means of putting one’s trust in Allah and taking complete appropriate measures, the Muslim may attain what he wants of a solution to every problem.
But he should understand that a person may not be able to find an appropriate means to solve his problem, for that is a blessing that Allah grants to whomever He wills. And he may not be able to rely properly on Allah.
Allah, may He be exalted, may or may not grant a person what he seeks, based on His wisdom, may He be glorified and exalted.
We ask Allah to guide you, help you and cause you to be obedient to Him and to benefit His slaves.
And Allah knows best.
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