If we don't act upon our knowledge, it'll be a plea against us on the Day of Judgement.
Why is it important to study the Names of Allah?
1) To achieve steadfastness on the religion. We want لا اله الا الله to be fixed firmly in our hearts, and we want to die upon it.
All Muslims have a certain amount of knowledge. But they differ in certainty. For most, the knowledge didn't reach the degree of certainty such that it motivates them to take an action.
E.g. Everyone knows that they will die one day and meet Allah. But the one who believes this with certainty increases in performing good deeds, which will please Allah when he meets Him. He increases in repentance, in remembering Allah at all times. He increases in his yearning to meet Allah. But for others, this knowledge is just superficial. It didn't reach their heart, change their behavior, affect their lives.
E.g. A person says Allah is الرزاق, but whenever Allah bestows a favour upon someone else, he envies that person and wishes the removal of the blessing from him. Where is his speech about Allah being الرزاق? This means that the knowledge which he shares with others hasn't reached the state of يقين in his heart.
It's not a matter of claims. Everyone can say I believe. But where is the effect of that on your behavior?
E.g. All of us know Allah is الغفور، الرحيم. But how much do we ask Allah to forgive us everyday? The Prophet ﷺ used to ask Allah to forgive him more than 70 or 100 times.
E.g. We all know Allah is السميع البصير but where is the effect of that on us? The person who knows this with certainty will always talk to Allah and invoke Him. He will complain to Allah, not the people when he has problems.
Certainty differs from person to person. Some people have superficial knowledge, while other people's knowledge affected their behavior. And this is the knowledge we want - knowledge which will affect our behavior and purifiy our soul.
A person may come to the class, listen to the admonition, and says I know it but it doesn't touch my heart or affect me. The problem isn't in the lecture or the lecturer, it's in him. It's because he is busy with his worldly life, so whatever he hears touches a heart which is covered with Dunya, thus preventing the knowledge from piercing it.
You find people memorizing Qur'an and Hadith, but don't use these evidences for reformation of their hearts. What's the point in knowing all this information?
E.g. We say Allah is disposing the affairs according to His wisdom and knowledge and that everything Allah decrees is good for us. We repeat these words to ourselves and others, but whenever we go through a situation where something happens contrary to what we like, we become displeased with Allah. We forgot what we were repeating.
The Prophet ﷺ said regarding the Khawarij, "...You would hold insignificant your prayers as compared with their prayers. And they would recite the Qur'an which would not go beyond their throats..." [Muslim]
Whatever they recite doesn't reach their heart and never ascends or is accepted by Allah. This is a serious matter. People take care of apparent actions, but where is the belief?
Where will I learn about Allah? From the Qur'an and Sunnah.
Open the Qur'an. Allah talks about His noble self, His names, attributes, and actions profusely and in detail. I have to read the Qur'an, understand it, ponder and contemplate over what I'm reading. I have to present myself to the Qur'an - if I am doing the good mentioned in the Qur'an I praise Allah. If I do something contrary to what is mentioned in the Qur'an, I ask Allah to help me act upon it.
We have no excuse to not read the Qur'an. Every day read at least one page. How can we call ourselves Muslims and we don't read the Qur'an?
After reading one page ask yourself - What did Allah say about Himself in these few verses? What have I learnt about Allah?
When you repeat the information to yourself profusely, this knowledge about Allah will go to your heart and change you. This is not difficult at all, it just requires dedication and truthfulness.
2) Because of what we see of weak adherence to religion.
We see Muslims who apparently look good, but their hearts are empty. Many people take the fact that they're born Muslim for granted. This will not benefit the person. It's the knowledge and faith you seek which will benefit you.
The core of our acts of worship is belief in the unseen. The more our faith in it increases, the more we'll perfect our acts of worship.
Two people may pray next to each other, yet one prays believing he is talking to Allah, and that Allah hears him. When he bows he knows the sins on his shoulders are falling, when he is in prostration he knows and feels that he's in the closest position to Allah. The other person from beginning to end doesn't know what he's doing or saying and is instead doing calculations in his head about Dunya related manners. These two aren't equal with Allah. Their reward isn't the same.
Don't look at the physical action, look at your heart. Your spending, prayer, fasting, should be affected by your knowledge about Allah.
We suffer from lack of feelings. There's no love, hope, reliance to Allah, and this is all due to lack of belief.
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