The Blessing of Knowledge

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

.... And Allah taught you that which you knew not. And Ever-Great is the Grace of Allah unto you (O Muhammad (saw).

(Surah An-Nisa, Verse 113)

Ignorance can kill a person's conscience and soul.

... I admonish you, lest you be one of the ignorant.

(Surah Hud, Verse 46)

Knowledge is a light that leads to wisdom. It is life for your soul and fuel for your character.

Is he who was dead (without Faith by ignorance and disbelief) and We gave him life (by knowledge and Faith) and set for him a light (of Belief) whereby he can walk amongst men, like him who is in the darkness (of disbelief, polytheism and hypocrisy) from which he can never come out?

(Surah Al-'An'am, Verse 122)

Happiness and high spirits come with enlightenment because through knowledge, one may fulfil his goals and discover what was previously hidden from him. The soul, by its very nature, longs for the acquisition of new knowledge to stimulate it and the mind.

Ignorance is boredom and grief, because the ignorant person leads a life that never offers anything new or mind provoking. Yesterday is like today, which in turn is like tomorrow.

If you desire happiness, then seek out knowledge and enlightenment, and you will find that anxiety, depression and grief will leave you.

.... And say: "My Lord! Increase me in knowledge".

(Surah Taha, Verse 114)

Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists).

(Surah Al-'Alaq, Verse 1)

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said:

If Allah wishes good for someone, He gives him an understanding of the Religion.

Therefore, if someone is ignorant, let him not be proud of either his wealth or his status in society: his life is lacking in meaning and his achievements are woefully incomplete.

Shall he then who knows that what has been revealed unto you (O Muhammad (saw) from your Lord is the truth be like him who is blind? ...

(Surah Ar-Ra'd, Verse 19)

Az-Zamakhshari, the well-known commentator of the Quran, said in verse form:

The sleepless nights I spend in learning the sciences, are more beloved to me than the company or caresses of the enchanting woman, 

My rapturous exhilaration when understanding a difficult concept, is more delicious to me than the most exotic drink,

More delightful to me than the sound of a woman's hands on the drum, are my hands on my papers in order to remove dust.

O he who tries to attain my level by wishful thinking, how much difference there is between the one who finds the pain of climbing to be too much and between the one who climbs and reaches the summit.

Do I toil through the night, while you sleep through it, yet you hope to surpass me?

How noble is enlightenment? And through it, how happy is the soul?

Is he who is on a clear proof from his Lord, like those for whom there evil deeds that they do are beautified for them, while they follow their own lusts (evil desires)?

(Surah Muhammad, Verse 14)

(Dr. 'A'id al-Qarni)

Wasalaam!