10 REASONS KNOWLEDGE IS NOT PUT INTO ACTION

Knowledge is a way to rectify the slave and bring about his happiness, yet his actions may contradict his knowledge for several reasons:

1. insufficient knowledge, Thus he has weak knowledge of this affair.

2. An unsuitable heart. This is when his heart is not suitable to receive the purification, his heart is like the rigid land that water cannot enter. 

Allah the Exalted mentioned the situation of some types of people:

And even if We had sent down unto them angels, and the dead had spoken unto them, and We had gathered together all things before their very eyes, they would not have believed, unless Allah willed.

[Surah al-An'am 6:111]

And there are many similar verses in the Qur'an such as [ Surah Yunus 10:96-97] , [Surah Yunus 10:101] etc. 

 Consequently, if the heart is hard, coarse, and dry, knowledge will not have any effect upon it. Likewise, if the heart is sick and lowly—not hard or dry— but without strength or fortitude, then knowledge will have no effect upon it.

3. Arrogance and Envy. 

This prevented iblees from complying to the command, Jews from faith even though they bore witness to the prophet ﷺ, Abu Jahl and other pagans from believing .

4. The obstacle of position, status, and leadership. This was the case of Heraclius and the other non-Muslim rulers like him. 

They knew the truthfulness of the Prophet ﷺ and they wanted to enter his religion, but they were afraid that doing so would cause them to lose their kingdoms. This was the disease of Pharaoh and his people too. 

5. Obstacle of desires and Wealth. Thus prevented many of the People of the Book from faith. They feared giving up the food and wealth they received from their people. The disbelievers of the Quraysh tribe would discourage their people from entering Islam by way of their desires. 

●One hundred pieces of advice by ibn al qayyim pg 38-41[summarised]

6. The obstacle of Family. They believe that if they follow the truth and oppose their family, they will become shunned and blacklisted. Many people have remained upon disbelief due to this.

7. Nationalism. He views that following the Prophet ﷺ would remove him from his heritage and take him to what is foreign to him.

8. Fearing disloyalty. This is when the person imagines that Islam and following the Messenger ﷺ is belittlement and an insult to their fathers and ancestors. This prevented Abu Talib and the likes of him from Islam. They exalt their forefathers to the extent that they cannot acknowledge their disbelief and misguidance and choose a path other than their path. 

Thus, Abu Talib said in one of his poems, 

“I do know that the religion of Muhammad is better than all the other religions of mankind; were it not for fear of blame or slander(declaring the disbelief and misguidance of forefathers), you would find me accepting it completely.”

9. Animosity towards those who have preceded them in Islam.

A man will have an enemy so he will want to oppose him in everything. When he sees his enemy following the truth, he will then hate the truth and the people of the truth even if no problems exist between him and the people of truth [This occurred between the Jews and the Ansar]. 

10. Becoming accustomed to disbelief and raised upon it. A habit can become strong such that it overcomes the rules of natural disposition. He will only think according to this way. Then, when knowledge comes to him and he wants to remove this old belief and replace it with the knowledge, it is very difficult to remove it, therefore, leaving this and going to something else is like leaving their disposition and embracing another disposition.

●One hundred pieces of advice by ibn al qayyim pg 41-43 [summarised]

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