The Three Sources of Knowledge

[khalib]

Just read this and wanted to share:


The source of all knowledge is Allah, who revealed what He wills of His knowledge to us through the Quran, His Prophets, and His creation. Knowledge is not something human beings can create or come up with. Just as we are incapable of comprehending Allah, so too we are incapable of comprehending His knowledge (Quran 2:255), except what He wills to share with us of this knowledge.
It is this knowledge from these sources which we are able to study, learn from and subject the learnt information to our thought process in order to come up with an understanding that is relevant to our environment and circumstances…

For us to once again regain our God-conscious would require that we go back to the basics and base our actions on the following sources of learning described in the Quran and taught to us by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Quran: The Quran is a source of scientific and historical information and laws sent down in stages spanning 23 years. Such is the nature of the knowledge of Allah in our relationship with Him; it is always in the form of information and laws occurring in stages. Islam requires that we base our actions on knowledge. The Quran is our ultimate source of knowledge and is the first reference of justification, or Hujja, for all our thoughts and actions. The Quran is the timeless word of Allah which contains every form of guidance and legislation that humanity will ever need. In the Quran is what is referred to as the Sunnah or traditions of Allah.

Sunnah of Allah refers to the manner in which Allah acts towards us in our relationship with Him. For instance, He teaches us through examples and by example (Quran, 2:26) hence, when He teaches us about the dangers of injustice and tyranny He not only explains it, but gives us an example with the story of the Pharaoh and how he oppressed the Children of Israel. He teaches this by example by being just Himself in our relationship with Him (Bukhari:490).

Similarly He has commanded us to seek knowledge and has created us in such a way that it is only through knowledge that we can behave in a favorable or righteous manner. Therefore, He also only creates through knowledge in a manner that we can investigate and learn from as an example. Thus we are able to study the human body and learn how it functions and use it as an example to make prosthetic limbs.


From His Sunnah we derive His attributes and refer to Him by these attributes such as The Just, The Creator, The Forgiving, The Loving, The Merciful; all describing Him in our relationship with Him. We should always remember however, that we are incapable of comprehending Him or His knowledge outside of our relationship with Him...

As we mentioned earlier, knowledge is with Allah, who revealed what He wanted to of this knowledge to us through information in the Quran, sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH), and His creation. We are all familiar with the nature of knowledge revealed in the Quran and the sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH). What we are less familiar with is the nature of the knowledge revealed through His creations. The following verses from the Quran describe this:


"He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in truth. In the day when He saith: be! it is. His Word is the Truth, and His will be the Sovereignty on the day when the trumpet is blown. Knower of the Invisible and the Visible, He is the Wise, the Aware.” (Quran, 6:73).


“And Our word unto a thing, when We intend it, is only that We say unto it: be! and it is.” (Quran, 16:40).

We learn from the verses that in the beginning there was Allah, He who has no end or beginning, who started creation with the “word” Be! His word we are further told is “truth”, which in fact is knowledge. One may ask why Allah did not simply then use the term knowledge. This is because truth is the presentation of information in a manner that can be understood and verified; therefore Allah’s “word” is referred to as ‘truth” because it is knowledge presented to us in a way that can be understood, and verified through our experiences and what is around us.


Understanding and verifying the truth of the “word” is possible because it is information based on laws that occur in sequence or stages. Hence, Information, laws and stages are the three attributes of His knowledge. This is similar to a person conveying information through speech. If the information is delivered using the guidelines or rules of the language in which it is been conveyed, then and only then can the listener understand it and verify it. Otherwise it amounts to what we call gibberish even if it is the truth or makes sense to the person conveying it.


For example; if you have not left your house all day and you receive a visitor who tells you that “the weather today is hotter than yesterday”, you understand what he or she has said because it follows the guidelines or rules of grammar for English including in the sequence of the words. You can then verify what the visitor is claiming by stepping outside to feel it for yourself.


However, if the visitor comes to you and says: “today yesterday is than weather hotter” you may have difficulty figuring out what the message is, let alone verifying it. Therefore, Allah’s word is the truth because it is information based on laws that occur in stages that we can study, learn from and understand. This is why, in many instances in the Quran, He exhorts us to go out and verify the truth of His knowledge:


“Look, therefore, at the prints of Allah's mercy (in creation): how He quickeneth the earth after her death. Lo! He verily is the Quickener of the Dead, and He is Able to do all things.” (Quran 30:50)


“Say (O Muhammad): Travel in the land and see how He originated creation, then Allah bringeth forth the later growth. Lo! Allah is Able to do all things.” (Quran, 29:20)


“And in your creation, and all the beasts that He scattereth in the earth, are portents for a folk whose faith is sure.” (Quran, 43:19)


“He it is Who sendeth down water from the sky, and therewith We bring forth buds of every kind; We bring forth the green blade from which We bring forth the thick-clustered grain; and from the date-palm, from the pollen thereof, spring pendant bunches; and (We bring forth) gardens of grapes, and the olive and the pomegranate, alike and unlike. Look upon the fruit thereof, when they bear fruit, and upon its ripening. Lo! herein verily are portents for a people who believe.” (Quran 6:99)


“And in the earth are portents for those whose faith is sure.” (Quran 51:20)

Elsewhere in the Quran Allah further elaborates how He creates and maintains His creation through the law aspect of His Knowledge, giving order and harmony to all that He created. Providing us with a glimpse into how His laws operate.


“And He it is Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. They float, each in an orbit.” (Quran, 21:33)


“Allah (Himself) is Witness that there is no Allah save Him. And the angels and the men of learning (too are witness). Maintaining His creation in justice, there is no Allah save Him the Almighty, the Wise. Quran.”(Quran, 3:18)


“And if thou wert to ask them: Who created the heavens and the earth, and constrained the sun and the moon (to their appointed work)? they would say: Allah. How then are they turned away?” (Quran, 29:61)


“He hath created the heavens and the earth with truth. He maketh night to succeed day, and He maketh day to succeed night, and He constraineth the sun and the moon to give service, each running on for an appointed term. Is not He the Mighty, the Forgiver? (Quran, 39:5)


The verses above make it clear that it is He who created and maintains His creation through justice. The laws aspect of His knowledge serves the purpose of regulating the behavior of creation so that night does not over take day and day does not take over night. This is similar in nature to laws in the Quran, also meant to regulate our behavior for the better.


We learn also in the Quran that creation occurs through stages, and all creations live their existence through stages, as we can see from the following verses:


“And verily We created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in six days, and naught of weariness touched Us.” (Quran, 50:38)


“When He created you by (divers) stages?” (Quran, 71:14)


“He it is Who appointed the sun a splendour and the moon a light, and measured for her stages, that ye might know the number of the years, and the reckoning. Allah created not (all) that save in truth. He detaileth the revelations for people who have knowledge.” (Quran, 10:5)


“ O mankind! if ye are in doubt concerning the Resurrection, then lo! We have created you from dust, then from a drop of seed, then from a clot, then from a little lump of flesh shapely and shapeless, that We may make (it) clear for you. And We cause what We will to remain in the wombs for an appointed time, and afterward We bring you forth as infants, then (give you growth) that ye attain your full strength. And among you there is he who dieth (young), and among you there is he who is brought back to the most abject time of life, so that, after knowledge, he knoweth naught. And thou (Muhammad) seest the earth barren, but when We send down water thereon, it doth thrill and swell and put forth every lovely kind (of growth).” (Quran, 22:5)

Days refer to intervals or stages in the creation itself as verse 10:5 confirms. Thus from the above we learn that the creation of the universe or heaven and earth occurred in six stages. We also learn that in the universe, creations such as the sun and moon live their existence in stages, up to the end of all existence or the reckoning. We further learn that human life in the womb occurs in stages. Therefore from the above and from the very meaning of “in truth” we know that God created from His knowledge using information and laws, through stages.


Hence creation itself occurred “in truth” in a manner that allows us to investigate, understand and verify it against our corresponding experiences so that we may learn from it. Thus we were able to learn about gravity because of the systematic nature of the information by which it was created, which allows us to investigate and learn about its characteristics. We are able to verify the truth of this information because we can see that what goes up must come down. This is one of the marvels and miracles of the Quran; every word is precisely used to convey what was intended as intended. Therefore the word (Be!) connotes God’s intention, which contained the knowledge needed for fulfilling what was intended in the form of information and laws through stages derived from this knowledge, and it is the means by which everything was created, functions, and its existence managed...(From, The Theory of Knowledge and Human Behavior, The al ummah project)

 

[Wanryoku Sugoi]

"He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in truth. In the day when He saith: be! it is. His Word is the Truth, and His will be the Sovereignty on the day when the trumpet is blown. Knower of the Invisible and the Visible, He is the Wise, the Aware.” (Quran, 6:73).

This verse may be alluding to the hadith where Allah places the creation in his hand:

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, “Allah will roll up the heavens on the Day of Resurrection, then He will hold them in His Right Hand and will say, ‘I am the King. Where are the tyrants? Where are the arrogant ones?’” [Sahih Muslim]

In just a few words, Allah reveals to us a powerful lesson. Not everyone is meant to become a scholar. Not everyone is meant to become a warrior, or a business person. A select few are put in positions of power. The danger of power is that the more you have, the greater the test. There is even hadith about the leader of a nation being asked about the salat of his people, if I recall correctly.

Not everyone can handle power. Some people see it as means to an end. for example:

-the minute they get it, they use it to obtain some measly plot of land. They may exploit the land for it's resources, rip off the people, cause small wars and skirmishes just so they can live comfortably, eat, and procreate.

Other leaders realize the value of power and that if you invest in something, you can yield greater and greater results. Putting time and energy into leading a group, whether as small as a gathering of friends or an entire empire means that in your heart, you wish for people in this group to better themselves and become closer to Allah.

Many leaders become idealists because any good leader will read and study the patterns of history. Sometimes an ideal can lead to fanaticism and blind faith (both muslim and non-muslim). A good leader, no matter what their personal views or approaches, recognizes that ordinary people have limits. Some of them live paycheck-to-paycheck, others live off the land while others still are scraping the dumps for food. A good leader is in tune with these things and can rule with a sense of balance. Some people need an extra push and rough-and-toughness. Other times it's necessary to take it easy and let Allah shower his blessings.

An ideal is like a blinding light that guides you ever closer to Allah. However, some people completely lose their sight and are deceived by a false light when they come to their senses. Instead of thanking Allah for the bounties and opportunities, they start to think all the fruits of their labors came about due to their own intellect.

In ayatul Kursi, Allah highlights 2 men in similar situations. They both have beautiful gardens, but one man has a slightly larger range for his property. Instead of being thankful, the man is blinded by what his eyes can see. He doesn't get the big picture and, like many non-muslims (and some muslims), takes full credit for the fruits of his labors. Although the other man had "less", his garden was blessed simply by humbling himself before his lord.

A leader also must be able to fight, or at least understand the ways of war. If a leader is to engage the enemy, on the field or on the chessboard, he must learn this important lesson:

There will ALWAYS be someone stronger, faster, smarter, and more ruthless than you.

If someone is undefeated, be it in chess, basketball, or fencing, they start to gain confidence in their ability and realize they are the best. Khalid Ibn Walid never lost a fight and threw himself into every single battle he could get his hands on. It was because of his ferocity, fearlessness, and iman that he was called the sword of Allah. But he had his own inner sorrow: no one could defeat him. He was quoted as saying:

I've fought in so many battles seeking martyrdom that there is no spot in my body left without a scar or a wound made by a spear or sword. And yet here I am, dying on my bed like an old camel. May the eyes of the cowards never rest.[118]
—Khalid ibn Walid

Sometimes you fight and struggle to reach for something but you never achieve it. This dunya is nothing but an illusion, a pandora's box.

Ibn `Umar relates that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) placed his hand on his shoulder and said: “Be in the world as if you are a stranger or a wayfarer.”

Thereafter, Ibn `Umar used to say: “When the night comes, do not wait for the day, and when the day comes, do not wait for the night. Take from your health for your sickness, and take from your life for your death.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (7/170)]

According to a lecture I listened to, the arabic word for "dunya" has it's roots in a verb that refers to the action of one reaching for some grapes hanging from a tree. The implications from the language use are thus: This world offers it's glitters, but no matter how far you extend the ladder, you won't get them all.

Ibn 'Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If the son of Adam possessed a valley full of gold he would want to have two valleys, yet his mouth will only be filled by earth. Allah turns towards those who turn in repentance."

It is human nature. When Prophet Adam's soul was being transmitted into and assimilated with his stone/clay body, his eyes fell upon the fruits of paradise. When his soul reached his stomach, it grumbled and he tried to reach for the fruit before he even felt life in his legs.

Some men to become kings, others are destined to achieve greatness. Both are susceptible to this curse of Allah. Based on my own personal experience and knowledge, I will say this: The secret to obtaining knowledge is by having an open mind, using inductive reasoning, and being able to shut up and listen to what others have to say. The scholars have a saying: 9/10th's of wisdom is silence. When Musa A.S met the mysterious man Khither, his patience was tested by the latter's bold, direct life lessons (such as ripping a child's head off or destroying private property). Any sane person, even a prophet, would be appalled by such actions. But the lesson here, as far as I know, is that you need to be prepared for anything, having a strong conviction and able to think outside the box if you want to learn the full truth.

Adam was taught the names of EVERYTHING.

A few tyrants came close to achieving perfection and ruling this world with an iron grip. These men met righteous prophets and, instead of realizing their folly and hubris, fancied themselves god incarnate or worse: above god. May Allah curse them and anyone who wishes to become like them. Like the man with the garden, they attributed their success to their "amazing" intellect, planning, strength, etc. These things are all qualities given to them by Allah. Allah is the true king. Every soul shall taste death. This universe will be torn to shreds like an infant chews up a piece of paper. Allah mocks the tyrants who corrupted the Earth in this life and the next.

I can't find the hadith, but I recall one about a man who used to do lots of voluntary salat. He will be brought before Allah and told to acknowledge that he couldn't have achieved his level of iman with the will of Allah. The man will refuse and be thrown into hell for his insolence.

We know Iblis was at one point one with high iman. He was in paradise after all. But the bigger they are, the harder they fall. He transgressed by letting his racial pride blind him and not getting the big picture. If you really crave knowledge, then become subservient to Allah. Actually read a book and learn the rules and regulations of eating, praying, wuddhu, everything. Prove that you're serious about it and empty your heart and soul into your duwah in the dark of the night when you can't get sleep and need something to do.

I was taught that knowledge comes in 5 steps Ilm (knowledge) wa Aml (Applying knowledge to YOURSELF) wa Daw'ah (Giving advice with valid proof), wa Sabr (Having patience while CONTINUING to give daw'ah and perserverence like Prophet Ayyub), wa Jihad fee sabillillah (and by that i mean struggle. not everything is a call to arms. everyone goes through internal or external hardships).

Life is a test. We are not here to just good off and eat, although there is nothing wrong with having a pass time and enjoying your family and friends. If you want to be a student of knowledge you need to acknowledge that you know NOTHING until you know your lord and are humble enough to learn from those who came before you.

The problem with the Christians is that they get a little bit of knowledge, then rush out and tell people what they learned while skipping around the 5 steps. Due to their lack of knowledge they have no problem with spinning the truth, using logic fallacies, or just flat out lying and making things up as they go to give Daw'ah. The Jews are the total opposite: only worried about themselves and condemning everyone else to hell. They have no intention to give daw'ah and believe they are rightly guided by virtue of their lineage or knowledge.

Surah Al-Fatiha warns us to not follow in their footsteps: The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger (such as the Jews), nor of those who went astray (such as the Christians)

The muslims were the greatest warriors who ever lived, but we had grown soft with the trials of the dunya. Now that we have money again, what do we do? We move into nice neighborhoods, send our kids to prestigious schools, open up clinics work on engineering projects. Masha allah. Have the profits from these investments gone to the people in Palestine? What about Iraq? If this nation is one ummah, and you claim to be a muslim, then you will follow the teachings of your prophet. If zakat is a pillar of Islam, stop beating around the bush and do it.

And that is essentially what the pursuit of knowledge is. If it's what you REALLY want, you won't make excuses, you'll find time for it. And there is no knowledge that is not power.