Asalamu Alaikum,

Thank you for such a great question. I know in the early days after I converted, I felt pretty confident that I could learn everything about Islam. Now that I have spent nearly 2 decades studying Islam (some of those years of study were before I converted), I am certain I will never know everything.

My father used to say, the more you know, the more you know that you don’t know. This made little sense to me as a child, but as I grew in Islam, it came into focus. We cannot know everything. We are limited beings, and the more we discover about the universe, the more we realize there is so much more to know. This is my feeling about Islamic knowledge these days. The more I learn, the more I realize that I really don’t know much. 

With that being said, I did come to a point where I felt as if I had enough knowledge to competently live my deen. And I also know that if a question arises that is outside of my scope, scholars are available to seek help and learn from. And if you keep learning and growing in Islam, you too will soon come to a place (if you haven’t already) where you feel you have enough knowledge to practice your deen fully, feeling assured that scholars are nearby to learn and seek help from if you have a question. If you do not know any scholars (you can try to talk to the imam of your masjid) or people with a lot of Islamic knowledge, you can always use our Ask the Scholar counseling service.

Not every Muslim can become a scholar, or know everything about Islam, but we can all know what we need to navigate our lives as a Muslims. It’s the same for many other areas of our life. Not everyone will become a medical doctor, but we can learn enough to know what we need to do in order to treat our bodies well. And if an issue comes up, we can seek help from those who know more. 

The great thing about Islam is that the belief is easily grasped by anyone, and the acts of worship are easy enough to be incorporated into any life. But for those who wish to explore deeper, there is a lifetime of learning available. And I encourage you to never stop learning. Knowledge brings enrichment into our lives. May Allah grant you beneficial knowledge that will bring you success in this life and the next. 

I hope this helps. Please keep in touch. 

Salam.