Jahaalat and nafsaaniyat

Jahaalat or ignorance is not a mistake but persisting in it is without doubt a very serious mistake. It is Farz (obligatory) on every Muslim to study to an extent that allows him to practice his Deen. For example, it is obligatory on a Muslim to learn how to perform Ghusl, Wuzu and Salah. In the same way, it is obligatory on every Muslim to learn to read the Qur'an correctly. This is Farz. Negligence in learning to recite the Qur'an-e-Kareem is a serious mistake. Many people commit this mistake. They do not know how to recite it correctly. And they do not make the effort also to learn. They are content with what they know.

Problems that occur at any level in any circumstances arise due to ignorance in Deen. This also happens when the ignorant pretend to have knowledge and they mislead others voluntarily. This also is a level of Jahaalat that makes an ignorant person pretend to know that which he does not know.

Sometimes a person is unaware that he does not know. According to him, he has knowledge because he learnt it somewhere or he heard someone speaking about it. But unfortunately, he misunderstood. And he wants to apply that which he did not understand with the impression that this is the reality. This also is a stage of Jahaalat that creates problems in the society. The biggest problem is when one corrects that person. He will always believe that it is the next person that is in error. There was a time in Mauritius when people believed that three Talaaq itself had to be given in order to be separated from the wife. The Imam in the Masjid used to claim that three Talaaq should be given when a person had to separate from his wife. Due to this, how many marriages were broken forever which could have been restored by a new Nikah if the proper way of giving Talaaq was known. In reality, one Talaaq alone suffices to be separated from a woman. The advantage of a single Talaaq is that the path of reconciliation remains open, yet without depriving the woman of the freedom to marry elsewhere. But due to Jahaalat, how many marriages became were destroyed. After Talaaq, the person has regretted but the damage could not be repaired. Negligence and error were caused by Jahaalat and ignorance. The disease of Jahaalat should be remedied to repair these slips/blunders. And the solution for Jahaalat is Ilm-e-Deen, that is, the knowledge of Deen and this is acquired by acquiring knowledge.

There is another disease which is more serious than that and may devastate the society and it is Nafsaaniyat.

What does Nafsaaniyat mean?

In simple words, it may be called self-interest, desire or passion. Or it is a state or a mentality that makes a person consider another criterion instead of the Shariah to take a decision. This mentality is worse than Jahaalat because the knowledge of that person was not beneficial to him. This makes him manipulate things to justify what is unjustifiable. He may declare wine halal. He may prove his right where he does not have any right. He may issue Talaaq to his wife and then proves that the Talaaq was not valid. A whole range of lies, falsehood and misguidance may be masked and camouflaged in order to give it a Deeni appearance. Nafsaaniyat makes a person live for his personal interest, desires and pleasures. In this sense, Nafsaaniyat is in opposition to Ikhlaas and sincerity that makes a person live only for the sake of the pleasure of Allah Ta'ala. The amount of joy that sincerity brings into the life of a person, is same as the amount of misery that Nafsaaniyat brings into the life of a person. It denigrates him to such an extent that he becomes a slave of his passion and desire.

The society will only be able to get rid of all problems at all levels through Ilm-e-Deen and Ikhlaas. Ilm-e-Deen shows the right direction and Ikhlaas helps to correctly and properly implement the knowledge of the person.

[English version of "Jahaalat et nafsaniyyat" – Al Jamiat – Vol.7 No.15]