The last century has undoubtedly ushered in an age with unprecedented advancements, discoveries and inventions, known as the technological age.
Just imagine – for thousands of years, the standard mode of transport, across the globe, was riding an animal. Yet, in the short span of a few decades, cars, aeroplanes and other similar vehicles were invented and mass produced. Similarly, communication methods were forever altered with the invention of the telephone.
Naturally, as time progresses and new inventions are released, there will be certain people, more advanced in age, who grew up in a simpler, less technologically advanced era, and whose childhoods were not cluttered with gadgets. Such people are often baffled and confused by the new-fangled inventions which they initially find non-user friendly, as it is unfamiliar and alien to them.
However, give them a few months, and generally, most of them will also be carrying a smartphone, operating a laptop and using other forms of smart-technology. As difficult, complicated and frustrating as it may have seemed at the onset, they persevered and forced themselves to familiarize themselves with the new gadgets, as they felt that failing to do so would result in them missing out and being left behind.
Thus, whereas grannies and grandpas were previously never seen without their pills, they are now never seen without their tablets (and phones)!
The point? – It’s never too late to learn, provided one is motivated and wants to learn.
There are many Muslims, in society today, who were not blessed with the solid foundation of maktab (elementary) Islamic education. As a result, their knowledge of Islam is basic at best. They struggle to recite the Quraan Majeed fluently and know very few masnoon du‘aas. In fact, it would not be surprising if they even lack knowledge of basic fundamentals such as the conditions for fardh ghusal to be complete, etc.
With the challenges of age, and the responsibilities and burdens that accompany it, many people feel that the window of opportunity has closed for them. For such people, it is never too late to learn. If a technologically-illiterate grandparent could get to grips with a smartphone, why can we not become fluent in reciting the Quraan Majeed?
What further motivation do we need than the hadeeth that promises a double reward for the one who struggles while reciting? (Saheeh Bukhaari #4937) Likewise, all our other endeavours to improve our Deen will yield greater rewards, as the greater the struggle, the more the reward.
An important point to highlight is that at times, on account of us lacking sufficient Deeni knowledge, we fail to fulfil our Deeni obligations correctly. For example, it is possible that we are performing ghusal, wudhu or salaah, but due to ignorance, we are omitting an essential aspect, resulting in these actions not being fulfilled and our obligation not being absolved.
On the Day of Qiyaamah, we cannot stand before Allah Ta‘ala and say, “I didn’t know,” as we had ample opportunity to find out. It is for this reason that we should take the initiative, despite our commitments, responsibilities and challenges, to acquire the Deeni knowledge that we require from authentic and trusted sources.
May Allah Ta‘ala assist us all and grant us ease and success in our journey to acquire the knowledge of Deen, aameen.