What it means is that learning Islamic knowledge, praying, da`wah and any other fard (‘obligation’) must not be neglected for something merely allowed. This does not mean young Muslims should not enjoy themselves with games, sports and relaxing with each other they should as these are all mubah (‘allowed’). In a society that directs our attention to mainly entertainment and pleasure, this should be looked at as a distraction from our important obligations which is to worship Allah, come to have knowledge of Him, carry da`wah (‘the Islamic call, invitation to Islam’) as well as to prioritise what He and His beloved Messenger (saw) have prioritised. Imam al-Ghazali is warning us with this quote from al-Junayd that all this is not beneficial if it means our acts of worship and devotion (` ibadah) decrease or become non-existence. Some youth love partying and socialising, some only focus on studying while others on playing consoles like Playstation, Xbox, Wii and yet others spend most of their time in sports. Imam Abu ’l-Qasim al-Junayd al-Baghdadi (d. Both the mentality (outlook, ideas and concepts) as well as one’s behaviour (actions, morals and disposition) must be consistently based on one standard and belief – the Islamic standard and belief. Thus, both knowledge and actions have to be combined for a person to have a consistent Islamic personality ( shakhsiyyah). However, if one has knowledge but it does not cause them to move and act then this knowledge is not beneficial and in effect makes it pointless and this is the most unfortunate kind of knowledge. he may be praying incorrectly, fasting incorrectly, buying and selling incorrectly, justifying disobedience to Allah without knowing, etc.). If he does not have the required knowledge then he may not know whether he is performing his actions correctly and acceptably according to the rules of the Shari`ah (e.g. The advice here is extremely important in that a person needs both knowledge and action.
Imam al-Ghazali states: “…O beloved disciple, knowledge without action is madness and action without knowledge can’t be!” – أيها الولد العلم بلا عمل جنون والعمل بغير علم لا يكون It is inconsistent because a person ought to practice what they know and teach it to others and it is a failing and weakness because their knowledge should make them act but it does not and this is the most unfortunate kind of knowledge. Imam al-Ghazali is advising that this is wholly inconsistent and a big failing. Their knowledge is almost academic and non-practical.
Some of the young Muslims – especially those who read Islamic books or even academic material – only love debating, arguing and talking about Islamic topics and issues (especially in ` aqidah and fiqh) but they do not act on what they know. Imam al-Ghazali states: “Even if a person reads and teaches a hundred thousand books on intellectual and knowledgeable issues but does not act on any of it, then it will not benefit him at all…” – فكذا لو قرأ رجل مائة ألف مسألة علمية و تعلمها و لم يعمل بها لا تفيده إلا بالعمل
Below are just a few snippets of examples from this wonderful book and their relevance and applicability for the youth in their contexts: 505/1111) wrote a small book of advice on written request by one of his close disciples and although it is nearly a thousand years old, it has a rich trove of advice for the current youth in our times who are trying to navigate around the complex experiences and challenges that make up the modern life in order to change from a heedless and neglectful state to a altered state or condition.