Reminder Series

The Pearls of Islam

3rd January 2011 27 Muharram 1432 Volume 3 Issue 1 By Umar Chaudhry

Seeking Knowledge

Seeking knowledge is an integral part of being a Muslim, and a human being. There are two reasons: 1) The training of a human mind is not complete without education; education makes a person a rightful thinker. It tells someone how to think and how to make decision 2) Only through the attainment of education is a person enabled to receive information from the external world; to acquaint himself with past history and receive all necessary information regarding the present. E.g. without education, man is as though in a closed room and with education he finds himself in a room with all its windows open towards the outside world Islam places a lot of emphasis on knowledge and education. When the Quran began to be revealed, the first word of its first verse was 'Iqra' that is, read. Allah (SWT) says: "Read! In the Name of your Lord

Who has created (all that exists). He has created man from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood). Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous. Who has taught (the writing) by the pen. He has taught man that which he knew not" [Quran, 96: 1-5]

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) made seeking knowledge an obligation upon every Muslim. The Prophet said that seeking knowledge is a way leading to Paradise; "Whoever follows a path in the pursuit of

knowledge, Allah will make a path to Paradise easy for him." (Hadith: Al-Bukhaari)

Cave of Mount Hira Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upin him, received his first revelations Allah through the angel Jibreel

The great importance to learning in Islam, can be understood from an event in the life of the Prophet . At the battle of Badr in which the Prophet gained victory over his opponents, seventy people of the enemy rank were taken prisoner. These prisoners of war were literate people. In order to benefit from their education the Prophet declared that if one prisoner teaches ten Muslims how to read and write, this will serve as his ransom and he will be set free. We can freely say that this was the first school in the history of Islam established by the Prophet himself with all its teachers being non-Muslims. Knowledge brings a great reward, and teaching it can be formed as part of Sadaqah Jariyah = a continuous charity is an action that someone does that remains active even after the person is dead. When the knowledgeable person dies, his reward with Allah does not cease when he dies, rather it continues to increase so long as people benefit from his knowledge. The Prophet said:

"When a man dies, all his deeds come to an end except for three an ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge or a righteous child who will pray for him." (Hadith: Muslim)
lbn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah (a famous Islamic scholar) describes six stages to knowledge: 1) Asking questions in a good manner 2) Remaining quiet and listening attentively 3) Understanding well 4) Memorising 5)Teaching 6) Its fruit acting upon the knowledge and keeping to its limits

Finally, according to Quranic perspective, knowledge is a prerequisite for the creation of a just world in which authentic peace can prevail.
Source: http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/index.php?page=articles&id=137288