Learn. Act. Then Call.

In his timeless work, The Three Fundamental Principles, the great scholar, Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, begins with the reminder:

“Know — may Allah bless you — that it is compulsory to know these four matters.”

He then lists them in order: Knowledge, Action, Calling to it, and Patience.

Many scholars have reflected on this sequence. For example, they’ve pointed out why “Knowledge” comes before “Action,” citing the Qur’anic command:

“So know, O Prophet, that there is no god worthy of worship except ALlah, and seek forgiveness for your shortcomings...” - Q47:19

Similarly, compilers of hadith like al-Bukhārī titled chapters: Bāb al-ʿIlm qabl al-Qawli wal-ʿAmal — “Knowledge before Sayings and Action.”

But what often gets overlooked is why “calling to it” comes only after knowing (Knowledge) and acting upon it (Action). After all, how can one invite others to what one has barely understood or scarcely practiced?

This same pattern appears outside the religious realm as well. In the world of technology, for example, It’s common to see teenagers, 14, 15, or 17 years old, who stumble into programming. After just a few months, they’re blown away by the excitement of building things. But soon the thrill pushes them toward public calling: launching YouTube channels, starting tech groups, showing up at every event, and chasing social media engagement.

In that rush to call, many lose sight of the very thing that amazed them at first: the core engineering. They shift from learning and building to staying “relevant.” Before long, they risk becoming more of a brand representative or developer advocate for whatever shiny new tool is trending, rather than a strong engineer in their own right.

And this isn’t unique to teenagers, adults fall into the same trap. The adrenaline of discovery makes us want to share it immediately. But without depth, our “calling” rings hollow, and we end up playing a different game than the one we set out to master.

The sequence matters: Learn. Act on it. Then call to it.
Don’t “sudo-learn” and start calling.

The journey is long and often difficult. Stay grounded. Stay tight.

See you in the next one. Qeeew!