All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and the good end will be for the pious. May peace and blessings be upon the Servant and Messenger of Allah, the best of His Creatures, whom He entrusted with His Revelation; our Prophet Muhammad ibn `Abdullah, his family, his Companions and those who follow his guidance until the Day of Recompense!
Dear brothers and sisters, firstly I salute you with the greeting of Islam: Assalamu `alaykum warahmatullah wabarakatuh (May Allah's Peace, Mercy, and Blessings be upon you!), I then thank Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) that He made us gather. I ask Him (Exalted be He) to bless our meeting, make it useful for all of us, and a means for pleasing and drawing closer to Him, eliminating the reasons of corruption and trials, supporting the truth and warding off evil. I thank the people in charge of this project for inviting me to speak to you, and answer your questions. I ask Allah (Glorified be He) to reward them with the best for their efforts. I supplicate to Him to make them and us among the guided. I also ask Him for success to support the truth, ward off falsehood and to help me give the questioners the correct answers that please Him (Glorified be He).
The title is, as you heard, "The importance of knowledge in fighting destructive thought." This is the title of the speech I will deliver to my Muslim brothers and children.
There is no doubt that knowledge is the key to all good and the means to fulfill the Ordinances of Allah and abstain from what He has forbidden. Actions come after having knowledge, for those whom Allah has granted success. Knowledge supports the determination to do good, because there is no Iman (faith), action or striving except based on knowledge. Words and actions which are not based on knowledge are worthless and may incur bad consequences and great corruption.