Islam for Muslims
- THE FAITH OF MUSLIMS
- GOOD DEEDS IN PERSONAL LIFE
- GOOD DEEDS IN SOCIAL LIFE
The Essentials of Knowledge (Ilm)
25: GAINING ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE (‘ILM’)
Introduction: The Muslim men and women are mandated to acquire essential knowledge (‘ilm’). This is particularly the type of knowledge that would help you to identify and avoid bad deeds as well as recognize and practice good deeds. You should therefore make tireless efforts to master knowledge in order to be a successful Muslim.
Importance: The overriding importance of knowledge can hardly be overstated. It goes back to the origin of human creation when God Himself taught the first man “Adam the nature of all things” (2:31). Since that time, He continued to “teach human beings which they did not know”, by means of revelation, inspiration etc. (96:5). God duly advised you to “turn away from the ignorant” (7:199) and taught us dua “Oh my Lord: Advance my knowledge! May God save me from being an ignorant! (20:114; 2:67). He adds on that the one who is granted wisdom, receives “indeed an overflowing benefit” which makes a big difference between people “who know” and “who don’t” (2:269; 39:9). For example, God “will raise up the ranks” of those “who have been granted knowledge” (58:11).
The supremacy of knowledge can be sensed from one Quranic verse revealed during the difficult days of early Islam when small Muslim army was struggling against aggressive powerful Meccan enemies. It was advised that during such military expedition there should remain behind one group who “could devote themselves to studies in religion and admonish people when they return to them” (9:122). Thus gaining and spreading knowledge did never take a back seat in Islam even in a war situation.
The Prophet also did not forget his part in highlighting the centrality of knowledge. He said “Seeking knowledge is a bounden duty upon every Muslim: male or female. He who leaves home in search of knowledge travels the way of God. The best of charity is when a Muslim gains knowledge and then teaches it to his fellow brothers. The ink of a knowledge seeker is purer than the blood of a martyr. Make efforts for seeking knowledge from the cradle to the grave” (Hadith).
Negatives of Ignorance: If you are careless in learning necessary rules and therefore you fail to perform a religious obligation or slip into sin, then your ignorance cannot be an excuse for your divine pardon. In this case, you are liable to double-edged consequence. One is the penalty for making a wrong choice for remaining “ignorant” (6:35). The other is actual commission of sin due to ignorance. Thus your deliberate ignorance cannot be used as a cover from penalty, parallel to the example that fire will burn your finger on contact regardless of your knowledge about that. In view of such negative consequences from ignorance or lack of knowledge, you are required to “avoid the path of those who do not know” (10:89).
Positives of Knowledge: On the other hand, if you are blest with knowledge, you might have sharper sense of benefits from piety. Second, you can better “understand” the messages of Quran and “believe” in this Book if you have knowledge (29:43; 3:7). Third, knowledge will make you “truly fearful of God” (35:28) and therefore you will try to maintain a safe distance from sins. In view of such importance, it makes sense if you start seeking knowledge right from the dawn of your life. You cannot allow any reason to be an obstacle to this. For example, the women should not feel shy for asking other learned women about necessary private matters like the rules of menstruation, sexual discipline etc. Likewise, as a senior or elderly man, you cannot allow your ego to keep you from learning the Quran from a young ‘hafiz’.
Sources of Knowledge (a) Quran: There are two highways to gaining knowledge: self-reading of religious books and “asking of those who possess the Message (knowledge)” (16:43). Apparently, the better course is to acquire knowledge direct from book sources. The Quran is understandably the original and most reliable source as it embodies info directly from God Who knows “all things” and “teaches you” from them (2:282). It is, however, not all good that you recite it without grasping the meaning as the sole purpose. Insensible reading of the Quran, of course, has some merit but far greater merit lies in understanding its contents in order to (i) “follow” it in personal life (33:2), (ii) apply rules to “judge between people” in social life (4:105) and (iii) “ponder” over its contents (23:68). It is therefore important that besides reciting the Quran, the non-Arabs should also learn its translated meaning along with thematic interpretation as a long term goal.
(b) Hadith: Besides Quran, there are six authentic ‘Hadith’ (Prophet’s tradition) namely Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidi, Abu Daud, Nesai and Ibn Maja. In addition, numerous Muslim scholars also authored multitude of books based on Quran and Hadith. There are enough of these books to fill up shelves of a library if you set up one at your home. From there you could conveniently choose your preferred books for reading at your own pace. In fact, such reading program deserves lifetime commitment as there is neither an end to the need for such reading nor is there any limit to the opportunities for that.
Foremost priority (personal obligation) would be mastering knowledge that is necessary for practicing Islam in personal life. Then comes the social mandate for entering the borderless world of open-ended reading to become enlightened for propagation of Islam in the society, often employing multi-media approach.
Scope: In a wider sense, Islamic knowledge does not necessarily confine to only Islam but it can cover anything that is not anti-Islamic, as described below.
(1) Science: As a Muslim, you have good reasons for knowing about modern science or western technology particularly from Islamic perspective. Theoretically, both the Quran and the Prophet were very much outspoken in support for scientific research and knowledge. It is widely known how the Golden Age of Islam particularly under the Abbaside Caliphate made glorious advances in various fields of science. After their decline in 1258 A.D., science slipped from priority in the Muslim world, as a major explanation for their shrinking political and economic influence in the modern world.
(2) Comparative religion: As a Muslim, after you made your foundation strong in Islamic knowledge, it might be meaningful to study other religions. This will help you to gain a better idea about how Islam compares favorably with other religions and you will have deeper confidence in Islam. Similarly, you could also study topics that are at odds with Islam like the theory of Darwin, Marxian Communism, interest-based modern banking, growth of atheism etc. in order to critically review them from Islamic standpoint. You should, however, be cautious against any subtle feeling of negative influence while reading them. If that happens, you must stop reading them in order to research more about Islamic counterpart of these themes.
(3) Secular studies: The Muslims should also learn about secular or neutral subjects like math, history, geography, philosophy, accounting etc. This will help you to learn skills necessary for making a living by honest means. Moreover, you can read these subjects from Islamic viewpoint such as history of Islam, its geographical expansion, zoological/botanical world of God’s creation etc. If you cannot see any direct Islamic relevance in any secular subjects, still such studies may upgrade your moral sense by refining your power of judgment. That’s why you may often see a person remarkably better behaved after he becomes generally educated than before.
Conclusion: In this process, Islam not only tells why and how you should seek knowledge but also broadens its scope beyond narrow religious boundary.