Ignorance

Ignorance is the reason for sin and it incites sin and leads to it. Ignorant people will succumb and indulge to greed, hatred and delusion. The cure for ignorance is to question and to learn, as the Messenger (pbuh) said, “Indeed the cure for ignorance is to ask.” (Reported by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah - Hadith Hasan). The Quran says:


"Are those who know equal to those who do not know?" Only they will remember who are the people of understanding."(Surah Zumar: QS 39:9)

Ibnu Qatadah said: “The companions of the Messenger of Allah SWT agreed that everything by which Allah is disobeyed is ignorance.”

Doa Nabi Yusof as:

"Wahai Tuhanku! Aku lebih suka kepada penjara dari apa yang perempuan-perempuan itu ajak aku kepadanya. Dan jika Engkau tidak menjauhkan daripadaku tipu daya mereka, mungkin aku akan cenderung kepada mereka, dan aku akan menjadi orang-orang yang jahil."

"My Lord, prison is more to my liking than that to which they invite me. And if You do not avert from me their plan, I might incline toward them and, thus be of the ignorant."


The ignorance for which a person may be excused is ignorance of the ruling. Whoever does not do an obligatory action because he does not know that it is obligatory, or he does a forbidden action because he does not know that it is forbidden, is an ignorant person who may be excused for his obedience.

But if a person knows that something is forbidden and he does it, but he is ignorant of the punishment for that, he has no excuse, because he has knowingly committed a sin and transgressed the bounds. The Quran says:

"The repentance accepted by Allah is only for those who do wrong in ignorance [or carelessness] and then repent soon after. It is those to whom Allah will turn in forgiveness, and Allah is ever Knowing and Wise."

"Sesungguhnya penerimaan taubat itu disanggup oleh Allah hanya bagi orang-orang yang melakukan kejahatan disebabkan (sifat) kejahilan kemudian mereka segera bertaubat, maka (dengan adanya dua sebab itu) mereka diterima Allah taubatnya; dan (ingatlah) Allah Maha Mengetahui, lagi Maha Bijaksana."

(Surah an Nisa: QS 4:17)

Wallahu'alam