ʿilm |
Knowledge
The Pathway
to Transcendence
Alḥamdu li ‘llāhi rabbi ‘l-ʿālamīn wa ‘l-ʿāqibatu li
‘l-muttaqīn
wa ‘l-ṣalātu wa ‘l-salāmu ʿalā ashrafi ‘l-anbiyā’i
wa ‘l-mursalīn
wa ʿalā ālihī wa aṣḥābihī wa azwājihī wa ahli baytiḥi
wa ummihī wa abīhi ajmaʿīn
ammā baʿd
˜|™
“Allah will
raise in rank those of you who believe and those who have been given
knowledge.”
Qur’ān 58:11
—|–
The
status of knowledge has decreased and continues to decrease every day. We have
forgotten that ʿilm (knowledge) is that which belongs to Allāh which He
conferred to His messengers and prophets who, subsequently, passed it down to
their respective nations. This means that we are the inheritors of such Divine
knowledge, and thus, knowledge is the pathway to transcendence: a means to go beyond or above the range of
normal or physical human experience.[1] True
knowledge is that which allows us to trace the steps of our pious predecessors and
puts us on a pathway that ultimately connects us to Allāh which, truly is,
above the range of normal human experience. Knowledge is the obligation placed
upon us that establishes the legitimacy of our ritual obedience and establishes
the moral principles by which we interact with one another. In this discourse
we shall firstly explore the definition of knowledge itself and then look at
the rank and reward of those who seek it.[2]
˜ʿilm
| its definition and categories ™
As
always, we begin with the lughwī (simple,
ordinary, dictionary) meaning and then establish its iṣṭilāḥī (contextual) meaning. Know then that the lughwī meaning of ʿilm is to obtain the reality
of knowledge; to comprehend the
reality of something;[3] to recognise, to be certain; to know;
and to comprehend. What is
interesting that a further derivative of the same root word, al-ʿaylam, means the sea or a very full well –
thus knowledge is like the sea which one may dive deep into and find those
rare pearls, or then, knowledge is like a full well from which the scholar can
quench the thirst of those who seek it. Another derivative is al-maʿlam, which means the direction to a path – thus knowledge
is a map, one which guides us to various paths, however, we must be mindful
that the direction we take should be informed so that it does not lead us to a
dead end.[4] We
then come to the iṣṭilāḥī meaning which
is al-ʿulūmu ‘l-sharʿiyyah – the
knowledge of the sharīʿah – how we come to this conclusion is by defining and
categorising ʿilm within an Islamic
paradigm and this will gradually be done in the discourses to come.
According
to Imām al-Ghazālī, knowledge, in the first instance, is of two types: mukāshafah – from the root word kashf, meaning to open or to reveal –
and muʿāmalah – from the root word ʿaml, meaning to intentionally do (something).
Know then that mukāshafah is that
which we know as the revealed knowledge,
and there are two types: first is the esoteric revealed knowledge – that which was
granted to the messengers, prophets and other chosen scholars who receive this
knowledge by their juhd (struggle);
and second is the exoteric revealed knowledge – that which is granted to us by
messengers and prophets about matters pertaining to our religion, especially
ritual observance, morality and social behaviour. Regarding the first form of ʿilm al-mukāshafah, we have no concern,
however, the second form is, and it shall be discussed later. First we will
look at the categories ofʿilm
al-muʿāmalah.
ʿilm al-muʿāmalah is
of two types: that which is ẓāhir (outward/extrinsic)
and that which is bāṭin (inward/intrinsic).
Each of these then has two further divisions. In the former case, that which
one may do extrinsically is either by ʿādah
(nature) – from the root word ʿawd and
ʿiyād, meaning to repeat – or by ʿibādah (obedient
worship) – related to the root word ʿabd meaning
to serve. In the latter case, that
which one may do intrinsically will either be maḥmūd (praiseworthy) – from the root word ḥamd, meaning that which is
praiseworthy due to its nature and rank – or it will be madhmūm (frowned upon) – from the root
word dhamm, meaning to mention/do something bad. One of its
usages are dhammahul anf (a nose omitting
mucus).
˜
Definition of farḍ ™
In
sharīʿah, farḍ (legal obligation) is
of two types: farḍ al-ʿayn and farḍ al-kifāyah. The former is that
which applies to every sane, mature Muslim. The latter is that which applies to
one, sane mature Muslim, either from a family or a community, depending on the
social circumstances. So now we will discuss those disciplines that are farḍ al-ʿayn and farḍ al-kifāyah, starting with the former first.
˜
What Knowledge is Which farḍ? ™
Knowledge
is deemed farḍ al-ʿayn because of a
Tradition whereby the blessed Prophet (upon him and his family salutations and
peace) is narrated to have said, “Seeking
knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim.”[5] He
is also narrated to have said, “Seek
knowledge, even if it takes you to China.”[6]
The question now arises as to what form of knowledge is obligatory upon every
Muslim?
| The
mutakallimīn (Theologians) say it is kalām (Theology) as through this discipline
one can comprehend the oneness of God and recognise His Divine Nature and
Attributes.
| The
fuqahā (jurists) say it is fiqh (law) as through this discipline
one can seek knowledge of ʿibādāt (worship),
can differentiate between ḥalāl and ḥarām (permissible and forbidden) and the
scope of this discipline covers all that which is necessary to know for a
Muslim in their daily life.
| The
mufassirīn (scholars of exegesis) and
muḥaddithīn (scholars of Prophet
Tradition) say it is the knowledge of the Qur’ān
and Sunnah (Prophetic way), as it
is through these things that one can find guidance to everything that is
necessary.
| Abū
Ṭālib al-Makkī[7]
writes that the ḥadīth, ‘Buniya ‘l-Islāmu ʿalā khams [...] – the
pillars of Islam are five’, in other words, ṣalāh
(ritual prayer), ṣawm (ritual
fasting), zakāh (tax) and ḥajj (ritual pilgrimage), covers all
those things that every Muslim is obliged to seek knowledge of.[8]
˜
The farḍ al-ʿayn ʿilm That We Must Believe in Without Doubt ™
Now
we shall discuss the revealed knowledge that is obtainable. Thus every sane,
mature Muslim is obliged to learn about and believe in certain things without
doubt and they are of three types: first is iʿtiqād
(to accept) – often associated with that knowledge that is related to
belief alone; fiʿl (to do); and tark (to abstain). In essence then, when
one matures or converts to Islam (in a state of maturity) it is immediately
obligatory for them to believe in the statement of lā ilāha illa ‘l-Lāhu Muḥammadu ‘r-rasūlu ‘l-Lāh (There is no God
but Allah Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allāh). It is not for them to question, to debate or to ponder over. At
this moment in time, to believe, is the only obligation they are under; other
things may become an obligation if the ʿawāriḍ
– the circumstance(s) by which the doing or not doing of something is
established – are applicable, and these are of three types:
1. fiʿliyyah –
obligation to do – for example, seeking the knowledge of ṣalāh, ṣawm, zakāh and ḥajj and
acting upon it, may only become an obligation once the circumstances arise.
2. tarkiyyah –
obligation to abstain – for example, the deaf need not know what the sharīʿah prohibits them to listen to as
they cannot hear; similarly, the blind need not know what it is the sharīʿah prohibits them to look at as
they cannot see; as well as all other things that are not a necessity of
religion.
3. iʿtiqādiyyah – things
that pertain to belief – these are things that are situation specific and usually
arise by the surrounding environment and its influence.[9]
For example, belief in God or the understanding of an aspect of God may be
jeopardised because of a theological discussion taking place. Or perhaps
certain people are speaking about the reality of the existence of the blessed
Prophet (upon him and his family salutations and peace), or his knowledge of
the unseen and spread ill ideas that create doubt in one’s belief and distort
the reality of the matter. In a situation like this it would be deemed obligatory
for a person under such influence to go and seek knowledge and remove any
distortions from his heart, it will not be enough to simply accept. How many of
us know of people that debate superfluously on a daily basis? How many people
damage dīn by giving their
unprecedented opinions? Then when they have exhausted such a discussion and one
seeks to enquire as to the true nature of it, they will say, ‘forget about it, it is not a necessity of
religion.’ Know then, at that moment in time, even that knowledge which is
not important becomes important as the state of one’s īmān (belief) is at stake. Indeed it becomes a necessity of
religion, as too extreme a view either way can lead a person to kufr (disbelief). And may Allāh protect us from this in the sake of His Beloved (upon
him and his family salutations and peace).
In
closing this particular discourse, we learn that the term al-ʿilm in the Prophetic Tradition mentioned above refers to
anything that which is necessary for one to believe in and act upon; that which
has been made an obligation within the Islamic paradigm of life.
˜
That ʿilm Which is farḍ al-kifāyah to Seek ™
So
far we have been discussing the seeking of knowledge that is farḍ al-ʿayn. Now we will look at those
disciplines for which the seeking are farḍ
al-kifāyah. Know then that in order to do this effectively we must
distinguish between those disciplines that are sharʿiyyah (pertaining to sharīʿah)
and those that are ghayr sharʿiyyah (not
pertaining to sharīʿah). We shall now
discuss each of these in turn:
| sharʿiyyah –
the knowledge given to us by the blessed Prophet (upon him and his family
salutations and peace); for which neither the intellect can provide any
guidance, like mathematics; nor can any experience, like medicine. Know that
all branches of ʿulūmu ‘l-sharʿiyyah are
maḥmūd, however, some can be madhmūm but are mistaken for sharʿī disciplines. The latter
disciplines become evident in themselves whereas the former type is what ʿulamā’ (scholars) have discussed
further. Thus the maḥmūdah disciplines
of sharīʿah are of four types:
2. furūʿ:
for example, fiqh.
3. muqaddimāt:
these are considered tools by which one can seek an understanding of the uṣūl, for example, ṣarf (morphology), ishtiqāq (etymology),
naḥw (syntax), etc.
4. mutammimāt:
that which pertain to the Qur’ān, and these are three in number:
i. to
do with the words of the Qur’ān, like makhārij;
ii. to
do with the meaning of the Qur’ān, like tafsīr;
and
iii. to
do with the rulings of the Qur’ān, like nāsikh
wa mansūkh, etc.
| ghayr sharʿiyyah –
these are of three types:
1. maḥmūd –
praiseworthy: to help with worldly matters like mathematics and medicine. These
can either be farḍ al-kifāyah (like
medicine) or can be mustaḥab (like
diving into the depths of mathematics);
2. madhmūm – frowned
upon: for example black magic, fortune telling, palm and foot readings, etc.;
and
3. mubāḥ – permissible:
for example, the knowledge of poetry, that which is clean and decent.
˜
A Note on Philosophy ™
According
to Imām al-Ghazālī, Philosophy is not a discipline in itself and is formed of
four subjects. Although it is permissible to seek such knowledge, the advice is
to beware and be aware as such disciplines, in their depths, are proven to be
dangerous, especially for those who do not have a sound belief and those who
lack the necessary knowledge of Islamic principles:
1. ḥisāb wa hindasah – Maths
and Geometry: if delved into from a philosophical perspective, are deemed
dangerous;
2. manṭiq – Logic:
discusses definitions, evidences and their conditions;
3. ilāhiyāt – Theology: especially comparative theology. about God’s
existence and Divine Attributes, often studied in a comparative context.
4. ṭabīʿāt – Science:
some aspects of science go directly against the principles of Islam, for
example, evolution.
Now
that we have defined ʿilm, we may now
look at rank and reward for those who seek it.
˜
The Seekers of Knowledge, Their Rank and Their Reward ™
In
the very beginning of this discourse I referred to a verse of the Qur’ān
[58:11] “Allah will raise in rank those
of you who believe and those who have been given knowledge.” From just this
verse we already begin to gain a sense of importance of those who seek
knowledge as Allāh Himself says that He raises their ranks. Perhaps this
raising in rank is not visible or evident to us from this verse, however, Allāh
clarifies this matter when, in the Qur’ān [39:9], He says, “[...] Are those who know and do not know the same?”
Thus Allāh quite clearly states the importance of the ʿulamā’ to all the believers. What we understand then is that not
only does Allāh reward the ʿulamā’ with
an elevated status in this world and the next, but he also makes it obvious and
known to all the believers that, really, ʿulamā’
are a favoured people and that those who do not know cannot be the same in
rank as those who do know. In evidence of this, know that Allāh, in the Qur’ān
[3:18], says, “Allāh bears witness that
there is no god but Him, as do the angels and the people of knowledge,
upholding justice.” So Allāh brings together the scholars’ mentioning with
that of Himself and His angels and in doing so He exemplifies the status of
those who are the vessels of His revealed knowledge on earth.
Abū
Ṭālib al-Makkī writes that Ibn ʿAbbās (Allāh is please with him) narrates, “The scholars are seven hundred ranks above
the ordinary believers, and the distance between each rank is that of five
hundred years.”[11]
The question arises as to why the ʿulamā’
have been favoured so much and the answer can be found from various
Prophetic Traditions. Know that the blessed Prophet (upon him and his family salutations
and peace) has been narrated to have said, “Whomever
Allāh intends on bestowing benefit upon, He grants them the understanding of
religion and facilitates their guidance.”[12]
In addition to this, it is narrated that, “ʿulamā’ are the amīn (one who
is entrusted with something) of Allāh
on earth.”[13] and the “ʿulamā’ are the inheritors of the prophets.”[14]
That is to say, they are entrusted by Allāh and are the inheritors of the
knowledge of the prophets and are thus responsible for educating the masses of
the community they serve. The sanctity of the ʿulamā’ is preserved as, “All
the creation of the sky and earth seek repentance for the ʿulamā’”[15]
Thus their state is continuously rising and, those that are sincere, are
protected from hypocrisy as, “There are
two traits that the munāfiq (hypocrite)
does not possess: good manners and the
understanding of religion.”[16]
And the sincerity of the ʿulamā’ can
be determined by the following narration whereby, “The best of the ʿulamā’ from amongst the people is who benefits (others with knowledge) when they are needed and when neglected
remain indifferent.”[17]
It is for this reason that, “On the day
of judgement the ink of the ʿulamā’ will be weighed with the blood of the
martyrs.”[18]
Ḥasan al-Baṣrī says, “The ink of the ʿulamā’
will be weighed with the blood of the martyrs and the ink of the ʿulamā’ will
weigh more.”[19]
And in saying this, know that, “The death
of a whole clan is easier than the death of a scholar.”[20]
The
ʿulamā’ are such people that are,
indeed, fulfilling an obligation that the blessed Prophet (upon him and his
family salutations and peace) informed us of. Due to their obedience, Allāh
continuously bestows His Mercy upon them in various ways. Thus the blessed
Prophet (upon him and his family salutations and peace) is narrated to have
said, “Verily when the angels are pleased
with a seeker of knowledge they spread their wings for them.” It is no
wonder then that a Prophetic Tradition states, “To sit in a gathering of a scholar is better than a thousand supererogatory
prayers; than visiting a thousand ill people; than to participate in a thousand
funerals.” When the blessed Prophet (upon him and his family salutations
and peace) was asked, “Even (better) than the recitation of the Qur’ān?” He replied, “Even Qur’ān is beneficial by its knowledge.”[21]
˜
Seeking Knowledge and Our Future ™
In
closing then, from the various discourses above we have at least gained a
little insight into the field of ʿilm itself
as well as the importance, reward and rank of those who seek it. It is deemed
essential that one should highlight the very first sentence of this discussion:
that, ‘the status of knowledge has
decreased and continues to decrease every day.’ and it is interesting to
see that although the glory and lure of knowledge is still present, there are
those that approach it with the wrong intentions. Too many a times does one
stumble upon pseudo-scholars who claim mastery over the sacred disciplines
when, indeed, they have not spent any more than a year, or very little more, studying
Islam. Tunnel minded and ignorant from the realities of true knowledge, they
misguide the youth, passing the ḥarām
fatwā left, right and centre making it unbearable for their fellow brothers
and sisters to live their lives in peace as well as distorting the true nature
of Islam in the eyes of those who do not yet believe. One need not go too far
in the past to find an example. This specific one relates to the ‘Muslim
Patrol’ that which was exercised by a minority of Muslims in the East London
area. It is shameful that a mere few people were able to catch much media
attention and, once again, damage the image of Islam and open up the dīn of our beloved Prophet (upon him and
his family salutations and peace) to further attacks based on Islamophobic
tendencies which pre-exist in reality, albeit suppressed by many due to the
politically correct nature of the United Kingdom.
In
essence, I urge all those fortunate enough to give heed, to seek knowledge, but
seek it by the correct means. It is easy to Google things these days or even to
Wikipedia them, however, this is not the correct medium. One must represent the
word ʿilm. Represent the ʿayn which one may regard as ʿijz (humbleness); represent the lām which you may interpret as lā (no); and represent the mīm which we can consider to be munwwar (enlightened). In other words, embody humbleness and
go seek knowledge from those who have mastery over the various Islamic
disciplines; exterminate your selves so that you no (lā) longer remain, if you do, it is only to seek knowledge; it is
then that one may become munawwar with
the rank, reward and benefits of knowledge. Once you have practised this, you
may yourself become a teacher thus transforming from the munawwar to the munawwir (one
who enlightens). And may Allāh in the
sake of His beloved grant us the ability to do this, āmīn.
|
Aqūlu qawlī hādhā wa
‘staghfirullāha lī wa lakum
wa li sā’iri ‘l-mu’minīna wa ‘l-mu’mināt
Innahū huwa ‘l-ghafūru ‘r-raḥīm
˜|™
“[...] a king may rule over the people but it is the scholar that rules over
the king.”
~ Abū Aswad, in
al-ḥath ʿalā ṭalaba ‘l-ʿilm by abū hilāl al-ʿaskarī
—|–
Twitter: @hqmaasim
Facebook: @hqmaasim
[1] Stevenson,
Catherine Soanes and Angus. Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford (2003), p.
1872.
[2] As inspired by
the iḥyā’u ‘l-ʿulūmu ‘l-dīn of Imām
al-Ghazālī, thus when his name is mentioned, reference is being made to his
section on ʿilm in his iḥyā’.
[3] Hence why the
logicians’ definition of a human being is mudriku
‘l-lil kul liyyāt wa ‘l-juz’iyyāt, ‘the one who comprehends the total
(nature) of something and its particles (derivatives)’.
[4] Bulyāwī, ʿAbdu
‘l-Ḥafīẓ. Miṣbāhu ‘l-Lughāt, Lahore
(1994) pp. 573-574.
[5] Ibn Mājah.
[6] Bayhaqī.
[7] Abū Ṭālib Muḥammad
bin ʿAṭiyyah Ḥarithī al-Makkī (d.
386 AH/996 AD).
[8] Al-Ghazālī..
[9] Ibid.
[10] This is the
opinion of Imām al-Ghazālī, however, there is a difference of opinion as to
what the uṣūl are as some consider
these four things to be sources of knowledge and thus consider them above the
need of categorisation. On the 15th of May (2000), I had the
opportunity to hear my teacher, the late Muftī Ghulām Rasūl (d. 2010) teach
Tafsīr al-Bayḍāwī (an advanced text on the exegesis of the Qur’ān), and he
considered the uṣūl to be eight in number;
he listed them as follows: (1) lughah;
(2) ṣarf; (3) naḥw; (4) ishtiqāq; (5) maʿānī; (6) bayān; (7) ʿurūḍ; and (8)
kāfiyah. – wa ‘l-Lāhu wa rasūluhū aʿlam ~ @hqmaasim.
[11] Al-Makki, Abū Ṭālib
Muḥammad bin ʿAṭiyyah Ḥarithī. Quwwatu
‘l-Qulūb, Lahore (2000) Vol. 1, p. 241.
[12] Muslim.
[13] Ibn ʿAbdul Barr
al-Qurṭubī
[14] Ibn Mājah.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Tirmidhī.
[17] Ibn ʿAsākir.
[18] Ibn ʿAbdul Barr
al-Qurṭubī.
[19] Ibn al-Jawzī.
[20] Al-Bayhaqī.
[21] Abū Ṭālib
al-Makkī.
