BENEFIT 466: Is Intentional Ignorance a Valid Excuse?

May Allāh reward you and be generous to you. Some people say: 'Since an ignorant person is excused due to ignorance, it is better for me to remain ignorant so that if I fall into something forbidden, I will be excused due to my ignorance.' Sheikh Sulayman Ar-Ruhaili hafidahullah: This statement itself is evidence of your ignorance—truly and genuinely ignorant. Certainly, seeking knowledge is an individual obligation (farḍh ‘ayn), and abandoning it is sinful. Knowledge of what is essential in religion is an individual obligation upon both men and women. Whoever deliberately neglects knowledge is not excused. As for the one who says, 'Leave us in our ignorance; it is better for us,' such a person is not excused. In fact, two calamities befall him: first, he abandons an obligation, which is seeking knowledge; second, he is not excused for his ignorance.