3. Ilm — Knowledge

علم

Dear friends! The third foundational principle of Islam is Ilm — Knowledge. Islam is the only religion in the world that has made the acquisition of knowledge a religious duty — an obligation (fard) for every Muslim, male and female.

قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

"Say: Are those who know equal to those who do not know?" (Az-Zumar, 39:9) — God Himself poses this rhetorical question to establish the supreme importance of knowledge.

وَعَلَّمَكَ مَا لَمْ تَكُنْ تَعْلَمُ ۚ وَكَانَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكَ عَظِيمًا

"And He taught you what you did not know. And ever great is the favor of Allah upon you." (An-Nisa, 4:113) — The gift of knowledge is described as a great divine favor.

Dear friends! What is the difference between a living person and a dead one? A living person possesses knowledge and a dead person does not. Knowledge is the crown of humanity. Man becomes a vicegerent (khalifah) of God on earth by virtue of knowledge:

إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً

"Indeed, I will make upon the earth a vicegerent." (Al-Baqarah, 2:30) — And he rules over all creation:

وَسَخَّرَ لَكُم مَّا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا

"And He has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth — all of it." (Al-Jathiyah, 45:13)

Look: everything that is in the skies and on the earth has been made subservient to man. The snake is locked in the earth. The fish is captured in the net. The bird is trapped in the cage. The lion is subdued. Elephants are trained to carry burdens. Everything man commands in the face of nature is a proof of his mastership. Mountains are tunneled through. Seas are crossed. Sea creatures are conquered. Even the scorpion's venom has been conquered. The taming of nature by man is itself proof of his vicegerency — and all of this is the fruit of knowledge.

Dear friends! Allah Most High honored Adam by giving him knowledge. He taught Adam the names of all things:

وَعَلَّمَ آدَمَ الْأَسْمَاءَ كُلَّهَا ثُمَّ عَرَضَهُمْ عَلَى الْمَلَائِكَةِ فَقَالَ أَنبِئُونِي بِأَسْمَاءِ هَٰؤُلَاءِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ

"And He taught Adam the names of all things. Then He showed them to the angels and said: Inform Me of the names of these, if you are truthful." (Al-Baqarah, 2:31) — That is, Allah taught Adam the names and realities of all things and presented them before the angels. Then He tested the angels: can you name these? The angels acknowledged they could not — they said: we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Then Adam named them all, and the angels were instructed to bow before Adam as a mark of his superiority in knowledge:

فَسَجَدَ الْمَلَائِكَةُ كُلُّهُمْ أَجْمَعُونَ

"So the angels prostrated — all of them together." (Al-Hijr, 15:30)

The Exalted Station of the Scholar

Since knowledge is so important, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has cited several hadiths to further establish its importance. Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ

"Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim." (Sunan Ibn Mājah 224) — Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) declared the seeking of knowledge to be a religious duty for every Muslim.

عَنْ أَبِي الدَّرْدَاءِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ مَنْ سَلَكَ طَرِيقًا يَطْلُبُ فِيهِ عِلْمًا سَلَكَ اللَّهُ بِهِ طَرِيقًا مِنْ طُرُقِ الْجَنَّةِ وَإِنَّ الْمَلَائِكَةَ لَتَضَعُ أَجْنِحَتَهَا رِضًا لِطَالِبِ الْعِلْمِ وَإِنَّ الْعَالِمَ لَيَسْتَغْفِرُ لَهُ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَحِيتَانٌ فِي جَوْفِ الْمَاءِ وَفَضْلُ الْعَالِمِ عَلَى الْعَابِدِ كَفَضْلِ لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ عَلَى سَائِرِ الْكَوَاكِبِ وَإِنَّ الْعُلَمَاءَ وَرَثَةُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَإِنَّ الْأَنْبِيَاءَ لَمْ يُوَرِّثُوا دِينَارًا وَلَا دِرْهَمًا وَإِنَّمَا وَرَّثُوا الْعِلْمَ فَمَنْ أَخَذَهُ أَخَذَ بِحَظٍّ وَافِرٍ

From Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him): I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: "Whoever treads a path in search of knowledge, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise. And the angels lower their wings in approval for the seeker of knowledge. And the scholar is sought for forgiveness by whoever is in the heavens and on the earth, even the fish in the depths of the sea. And the superiority of the scholar over the worshipper is like the superiority of the full moon over all the other stars. And the scholars are the heirs of the Prophets. And the Prophets did not leave behind dinars or dirhams — they left behind knowledge. Whoever takes it has taken an abundant share." (Tirmidhi, Darimi)

Dear friends! Consider how great the virtue of knowledge is. The more one learns about the virtue of knowledge, the more worthy of esteem knowledge becomes. It is superior to all things except knowing Allah. Therefore, to know Allah and go to Him is to know all things, their truths, and their realities. We have become intoxicated by religious information and become distant from the real knowledge of Allah — look: certain things of a religious nature are very delightful, but they are secondary and necessary information. The real goal is that we look upon all of the manifestations of Allah and say: these are all His signs. We should strive to know Allah completely — this is the greatest of all knowledge.

Dear friends! The virtue of knowledge is such that it is a distinction between life and death. The person of knowledge is alive — the ignorant person is dead. The person of knowledge is the vicegerent of Allah on earth:

إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً

"Indeed, I will make upon the earth a vicegerent." (Al-Baqarah, 2:30) — And in all of creation he has been made to reign. The snake is locked in the ground. The lion is subdued. Elephants obey. Birds are tamed. The ship sails the sea — there is no power that man, by virtue of knowledge, cannot conquer. The sea cannot match him in its vast extent. Mountains cannot stand before him. Airplanes fly — and man has even challenged gravity. This is the fruit of knowledge. Dear friends! Knowledge is truly a foundational principle of Islam.