The importance of knowledge
“India’s ‘cash-for-fatwas’ scandal broke out last weekend when a TV channel broadcast a sting operation that showed several Indian Muslim clerics allegedly taking, or demanding, bribes in return for issuing fatwas, or religious edicts.
The bribes, some of which were as low as $ 60, were offered by undercover reporters wearing hidden cameras over a period of six weeks. In return for the cash, the clerics appear to hand out fatwas written in Urdu, the language used by many Muslims in Pakistan and India, on subjects requested by the reporters.
Among the decrees issued by the fatwas: that Muslims are not allowed to use credit cards, double beds, or camera-equipped cell phones, and should not act in films, donate their organs, or teach their children English. One cleric issued a fatwa against watching TV; another issued a fatwa in support of watching TV” — ‘India’s Cash-for-Fatwa Scandal’, Aravind Adiga, Time Magazine, September 21, 2006.
After reading this news, I wondered which fatwas should I believe in now? Who knows if the fatwas that I have been following over the years are right or wrong. How should you or I differentiate between the right fatwa and the wrong one? The answer is: knowledge about Islam. As Edmund Burke, the British statesman and philosopher said, “All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing,” therefore, these evil clerics, who are selling their faith for money, will succeed unless and until the good Muslims stand up against them. And that can only be done through acquisition of knowledge.
Knowledge and education make man think and then take a correct decision accordingly. Man is able to achieve this by acquiring the knowledge of the world, which teaches him logic and reason. Also, the lessons from history make it easier for him to judge the present. Without education, a human being is incomplete. It is like shutting him up in a dark room. The key to its door is education, which gives him the freedom to explore the world and find his own destination. As Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said, “Acquire knowledge, it enables its possessor to distinguish right from wrong; it lights the way to heaven.” There are two types of knowledge that Islam has laid great stress on: religious knowledge and worldly knowledge.
In a Hadith-e-Qudsi, the Prophet (PBUH) said that Allah says: “Search for knowledge about Me before you worship Me. How will he who does not know Me worship Me correctly?” Therefore, religious knowledge is a prerequisite for understanding Allah, the Creator. The concept of knowledge in Islam starts with the understanding the faith. Islam does not ask one to follow it blindly, it asks the Muslims to explore all aspects of Islam and then follow it. One can then decide what is wrong and what is right. In order for us to differentiate between a right fatwa and a wrong one, knowledge about Islam is essential. Another reason why religious knowledge is advocated is so that the Muslims can logically answer the questions posed by the non-Muslims.
Knowledge and education have always been greatly emphasised in Islamic society. When Islam came to Arabia 1,400 years ago, Arabia was immersed in the darkness of cultural and social backwardness. Islam propagated education so that the dark mist could be lifted by the light of education. Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) asked people to seek knowledge, even if it meant going to China (going to China in those days involved a long and hazardous journey, so the context it is used in is that even if one has to go far, far away from home to acquire knowledge, one must not hesitate to do so.) It was not only religious knowledge that the Prophet (PBUH) told people to gain, but also worldly knowledge. In fact, many prisoners of war during early days of Islam were freed on the condition that they would educate a specific number of Muslims to read and write. Surely that education was not religious in nature. To acquire knowledge – both religious and worldly – is considered an act of religious value in Islam.
Whereas Islam directs acquiring knowledge of the world and modern education, the theologists have separated religious education from secular education (arts, world history, natural sciences, medicine, technology, etc.). The majority of Madrassas in Pakistan and other Muslim countries focus on religious education and do not impart modern education. Therefore, a graduate from these Madrassas is left bewildered on how to cope with the changing world, where technology and computers are an essential part of any job or business. In the past, Muslim societies thrived on scientific and mathematical knowledge. Muslims have been famous for their contribution to the development of mathematics, medical science and various other scientific disciplines.
Abul Hasan invented the telescope, Ibn Yunus invented the pendulum, Kutbi, a renowned watch-maker of his time made the first watch, Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi was the first one to write a book on algebra, Al-Razi (Rhazes), Ibn-e-Sina (Avicenna), Ibn-e-Rushd (Averroes) and Abu Ali al-Hasan (Alhazen) are known to be the greatest medical scholars of mediaeval times. Jonathan Berkey in his book The Transmission of Knowledge in Medieval Cairo: A History of Islamic Education says that classical Muslim society “esteemed knowledge and education above almost every other human activity.”
The earlier Muslims had good understanding of Islam, were pious men and yet they contributed to scientific discoveries and other spheres of knowledge. But today there are only a handful of such Muslims. Today’s Muslim is either good in his/her specific field while not knowing anything about Islam, or he/she is an Islamic scholar with little or no knowledge about other fields. It is imperative that new Madrassas must be set up where subjects such as sciences, arts, English, mathematics, history, philosophy, etc. and Islamic theology get the same share and importance.
Education in today’s world is essentially important. An illiterate person cannot survive in today’s competitive world, as there would not be many career opportunities for him. Islam is a progressive religion, it told humans to get knowledge 1,400 years ago. The first revealed word of the Quran was ‘Iqra!’, which means ‘Read’. Today, the ignorant clerics have limited Islam’s stress on knowledge to only “religious” knowledge, even though that was not the actual message of Islam. In order to fight ignorance, one cannot just limit oneself to religious knowledge. The study of sciences and mathematics are important because they present entities in concrete terms and train people in rational and logical thinking. Only a mix of both religious and worldly knowledge would result in a balanced outlook.
The bribes, some of which were as low as $ 60, were offered by undercover reporters wearing hidden cameras over a period of six weeks. In return for the cash, the clerics appear to hand out fatwas written in Urdu, the language used by many Muslims in Pakistan and India, on subjects requested by the reporters.
Among the decrees issued by the fatwas: that Muslims are not allowed to use credit cards, double beds, or camera-equipped cell phones, and should not act in films, donate their organs, or teach their children English. One cleric issued a fatwa against watching TV; another issued a fatwa in support of watching TV” — ‘India’s Cash-for-Fatwa Scandal’, Aravind Adiga, Time Magazine, September 21, 2006.
After reading this news, I wondered which fatwas should I believe in now? Who knows if the fatwas that I have been following over the years are right or wrong. How should you or I differentiate between the right fatwa and the wrong one? The answer is: knowledge about Islam. As Edmund Burke, the British statesman and philosopher said, “All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing,” therefore, these evil clerics, who are selling their faith for money, will succeed unless and until the good Muslims stand up against them. And that can only be done through acquisition of knowledge.
Knowledge and education make man think and then take a correct decision accordingly. Man is able to achieve this by acquiring the knowledge of the world, which teaches him logic and reason. Also, the lessons from history make it easier for him to judge the present. Without education, a human being is incomplete. It is like shutting him up in a dark room. The key to its door is education, which gives him the freedom to explore the world and find his own destination. As Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said, “Acquire knowledge, it enables its possessor to distinguish right from wrong; it lights the way to heaven.” There are two types of knowledge that Islam has laid great stress on: religious knowledge and worldly knowledge.
In a Hadith-e-Qudsi, the Prophet (PBUH) said that Allah says: “Search for knowledge about Me before you worship Me. How will he who does not know Me worship Me correctly?” Therefore, religious knowledge is a prerequisite for understanding Allah, the Creator. The concept of knowledge in Islam starts with the understanding the faith. Islam does not ask one to follow it blindly, it asks the Muslims to explore all aspects of Islam and then follow it. One can then decide what is wrong and what is right. In order for us to differentiate between a right fatwa and a wrong one, knowledge about Islam is essential. Another reason why religious knowledge is advocated is so that the Muslims can logically answer the questions posed by the non-Muslims.
Knowledge and education have always been greatly emphasised in Islamic society. When Islam came to Arabia 1,400 years ago, Arabia was immersed in the darkness of cultural and social backwardness. Islam propagated education so that the dark mist could be lifted by the light of education. Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) asked people to seek knowledge, even if it meant going to China (going to China in those days involved a long and hazardous journey, so the context it is used in is that even if one has to go far, far away from home to acquire knowledge, one must not hesitate to do so.) It was not only religious knowledge that the Prophet (PBUH) told people to gain, but also worldly knowledge. In fact, many prisoners of war during early days of Islam were freed on the condition that they would educate a specific number of Muslims to read and write. Surely that education was not religious in nature. To acquire knowledge – both religious and worldly – is considered an act of religious value in Islam.
Whereas Islam directs acquiring knowledge of the world and modern education, the theologists have separated religious education from secular education (arts, world history, natural sciences, medicine, technology, etc.). The majority of Madrassas in Pakistan and other Muslim countries focus on religious education and do not impart modern education. Therefore, a graduate from these Madrassas is left bewildered on how to cope with the changing world, where technology and computers are an essential part of any job or business. In the past, Muslim societies thrived on scientific and mathematical knowledge. Muslims have been famous for their contribution to the development of mathematics, medical science and various other scientific disciplines.
Abul Hasan invented the telescope, Ibn Yunus invented the pendulum, Kutbi, a renowned watch-maker of his time made the first watch, Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi was the first one to write a book on algebra, Al-Razi (Rhazes), Ibn-e-Sina (Avicenna), Ibn-e-Rushd (Averroes) and Abu Ali al-Hasan (Alhazen) are known to be the greatest medical scholars of mediaeval times. Jonathan Berkey in his book The Transmission of Knowledge in Medieval Cairo: A History of Islamic Education says that classical Muslim society “esteemed knowledge and education above almost every other human activity.”
The earlier Muslims had good understanding of Islam, were pious men and yet they contributed to scientific discoveries and other spheres of knowledge. But today there are only a handful of such Muslims. Today’s Muslim is either good in his/her specific field while not knowing anything about Islam, or he/she is an Islamic scholar with little or no knowledge about other fields. It is imperative that new Madrassas must be set up where subjects such as sciences, arts, English, mathematics, history, philosophy, etc. and Islamic theology get the same share and importance.
Education in today’s world is essentially important. An illiterate person cannot survive in today’s competitive world, as there would not be many career opportunities for him. Islam is a progressive religion, it told humans to get knowledge 1,400 years ago. The first revealed word of the Quran was ‘Iqra!’, which means ‘Read’. Today, the ignorant clerics have limited Islam’s stress on knowledge to only “religious” knowledge, even though that was not the actual message of Islam. In order to fight ignorance, one cannot just limit oneself to religious knowledge. The study of sciences and mathematics are important because they present entities in concrete terms and train people in rational and logical thinking. Only a mix of both religious and worldly knowledge would result in a balanced outlook.
Comments
I think this is the verse, though not sure.
[002:041] And believe in what I reveal, confirming the revelation which is with you, and be not the first to reject Faith therein, nor sell My Signs for a small price; and fear Me, and Me alone.
The Madrassa system needs major revamping. I hope that it is done soon, Ameen :=)
Please see my post on the same issue Mehmal. Ismaeel