2.17. KNOWLEDGE AND EDUCATION

God says

…. say: “O my Lord, cause me to grow in knowledge!” -- Q.20:114

Of all His servants only such as are endowed with [innate] knowledge* stand [truly] in awe of God: [for they alone comprehend that,] God is almighty, much- forgiving. -- Q.35:28

* I.e., spiritual knowledge, born of the realization that the phenomena which can be observed do not comprise the whole of reality, inasmuch as there is “a realm beyond the reach of human perception”(cf.surah 2, verse 3).

The Most Gracious has imparted the Qur’an [unto man]: He has created man: He has imparted unto him articulate thought and speech.* -- Q.55:1- 4

*The term al-bayaan – denoting “the means whereby a thing is (intellectually) circumscribed and made clear (in spoken or written language)” (Raghib).

Prophet said

1. “If you learn a chapter of religious knowledge whether it is in practice among the faithful or not, it will be better than one thousand units of non-obligatory prayers” – H: Ibn Majah. N: Abu Zarr.

2. “It is part of knowledge to say: ‘God knows best’ for what you don`t know.”- N: Bukhari and Muslim. N: Abdullah

3. “Verily, the learned are the heritage of prophets” – H: Ahmed, Tirmizi and Abu Daud. N: Abu Darda.

2.16. DISUNITY

God says

And hold fast, all together, unto the bond with God, and do not draw apart from one another. -- Q.3:103

And be not like those who are divided among themselves and fall into disputations after all evidence of the truth has come unto them; for these it is, for whom tremendous suffering is in store -- Q.3:105

And pay heed unto God and His Apostle, and do not [allow yourself to] be at variance with one another, lest you lose heart and your moral strength desert you. And be patient in adversity: for, verily, God is with those who are patient in adversity. – Q. 8:46

Verily, [O you who believe in Me,] this community of yours is one single community, since I am the Sustainer of you all: worship, then, Me [alone]! But men have torn their unity wide asunder, [forgetting that] unto Us they all have to return. And yet, whoever does [the least] of righteous deeds and is a believer withal, his endeavor shall not be disowned: for, behold, We shall record it in his favour. -- Q.21:92-94

… and seek not [occasion for] mischief in the land: for God loves not those who do mischief. -- Q.28: 77

Prophet said

1. “Dispute about Qur’an is infidelity”-- H: Ahmed and Abu Daud. N: Abu Hurairah.

2. “Surely, the devil (Shaitan) is to a man as wolf is to sheep, attacking those sheep that stray away from the flock: those which wander and those which take to a corner (apart from the flock). So avoid the branching paths and stick to the united body and the majority (of believers)” -- H: Ahmed. N: Muaz-b-Jabal.

3. “You must not become unbelievers after me, some of you killing the others.”-- H: Bukhari and Muslim. N: Jorair.

2.15. UNITY

God says

….help one another in furthering virtue and God consciousness, and do not help each other in furthering evil and enmity; and remain conscious of God: for, behold, God is severe in retribution! -- Q.5:2 (last sentence)

Remain, then, conscious of God, and keep alive the bond of brotherhood among yourselves* and pay heed unto God and His Apostle, if you are [truly] believers. -- Q. 8:1

* Lit., “set to rights the relationship between yourselves” – i.e., “remain conscous of your brotherhood in faith and banish all discord among yourselves”.

And [as for] the believers, both men and women -- they are close unto one another: they [all] enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and are constant in prayer, and render the purifying dues [zakat], and pay heed unto God and His Apostle. It is they upon whom God will bestow His grace: verily, God is almighty, wise! -- Q.9:71

Better to say “I should not just read the above verse and pass on. I should think and plan to redress myself in the light of God’s definition so as to qualify myself for His grace. I should pay attention to right and wrong in daily dealings, and always be thankful when corrected.”

Prophet said

1. “In mutual kindness, love and sympathy you will see the believers like a single body. When a limb complains, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever”– H: Bukhari and Muslim. N: Nu’man-b-Bashir.

2. “Eat together and be not separate, because blessing is only with the united body”-- H: Ibn Majah. N: Omar-b-al-Khattab.

2.14. FALSE PRIDE (concluded)

God says

...such as would call God’s messages in question without having any evidence therefor: [a sin] exceedingly loathsome in the sight of God and of those who have attained to faith. It is in this way that God sets a seal on every arrogant, self-exalting heart. -- Q.40:35

And though some be too proud [to listen to this call], they who [in their hearts] are with thy Sustainer extol His limitless glory by night and day, and never grow weary [thereof].-- Q.41:38

Yet indeed , as for any who defend themselves after having been wronged – no blame whatever attaches to them: blame attaches but to those who oppress [other] people and behave outrageously on earth, offending against all right: for them there is grievous suffering in store! -- Q. 42:41,42

The sin of Iblis was false pride that made him disobey God and, yet, not ask for forgiveness: (See surah 7, verses:12 and 13)

Prophet said

1. When enquired about a man who liked that his dress and his shoes should look nice, the Messenger of God said: “God is beautiful and likes beauty. Pride is in disclaiming the truth and despising people”– H: Muslim. N: Ibn Masud.

2. “On the Resurrection Day God will not look at one who lets flow his trouser out of vanity”-- H: Bukhari and Muslim. N: Ibn Omar. (Same is narrated by Abu Hurairah with slight variation in words.)

2.14. FALSE PRIDE

God says

And walk not on earth haughtily, for you cannot rent the earth asunder nor reach the mountains in height -- Q.17:37

And swell not your cheek at people in pride, and walk not haughtily on earth, for God does not love anyone who , out of self-conceit , acts in a boastful manner. Hence be modest in your bearing, and lower your voice: for the ugliest of all voices is the (voice) of asses -- Q.31:18,19

Is not hell the [proper] place for all who are given to false pride? -- Q.39 : 60

Moses said (to Pharaoh), “with (Him who is) my Lord and your Lord have I indeed found refuge from everyone who, immersed in false pride, will not believe in the Day of Reckoning!” - -- Q. 40:27

Prophet said

1. “Let me inform you about the inmates of hell: every ignoble, uncivil, proud man”– H: Bukhari and Muslim. N: Haresah-b-Wahb.

2. “God said : Pride is my cloak and greatness. My robe and whoever competes with me in respect with either of them I shall admit him in the hell-fire”– N: Hades Qudsi: Muslim. N: Abu Hurairah.

2.13. HONOUR (concluded)

God says

O men! Behold, We have created you of a single [pair of] male and female,* and have made you into nations and tribes, so that you might come to know one another.** Indeed, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply conscious of Him. -- Q.49 : 13

* It implies that this equality of biological origin is reflected in the equality of the human dignity common to all. ** I.e., know that all belong to one human family, without any inherent superiority of one over the other (Zarmakhshari)

Nay, verily, man becomes grossly overweening whenever he believes himself to be self-sufficient: for, behold, unto thy Sustainer all must return.* -- Q.96:6-8

*Lit., “is the return (ar-ruj’aa)”. The noun has here twofold implication: “everyone will inescapably be brought before God for judgment”, as well as “everything that exists goes back to God as its source”. In ultimate analysis, the statement expressed in verses 6 to 8 rejects as absurd the arrogant idea that man could ever be self-sufficient and, hence, “master of his own fate”; furthermore, it implies that all moral concepts – that is, all discrimination between good and evil, or right and wrong – are indissolubly linked with the concept of man’s responsibility to a Supreme Power: in other words, without such a feeling of responsibility – whether conscious or subconscious – the concept of “morality” as such loses all its meaning.

Prophet said

1. “You are in no way better than a Red one or a black one (or a white one) except that you surpass him on account of piety.” -- H: Ahmed. N: Abu Zarr.

2. “When a respectable man from a tribe comes to you, show him honour”--H: Muslim. N: Jabir.

2.13. HONOUR

God says

As for those who take the deniers of the truth for their allies in preference to the believers – do they hope to be honoured by them when, all honour belongs to God [alone]?* -- Q.4: 139

*The term “allies” does not indicate, in this context, merely political alliance. More than anything else, it obviously alludes to a “moral alliance” with the deniers of the truth: that is to say, to an adoption of their way of life in preference to the way of life of the believers, in the hope of being “honoured”, or accepted as equals, by the former. Since an imitation of the way of life of confirmed unbelievers must obviously conflict with the moral principles demanded by true faith, it unavoidably leads to a gradual abondonment of those principles.

He who desires might and glory [ought to know that] all might and glory belong to God [alone]. Unto Him ascend all good words, and the righteous deed does He exalt. -- Q.35:10

Prophet said

1. “The most honorable among men is one who is most pious among them’* -- H: Bukhari and Muslim. N: Abu Hurairah.

*Ancestry, cast, colour, wealth, authority, popularity etc., form the basis for pride and not honour. All racial national or tribal prejudice is condemned both in the Qur’an and the Hadith. The famous saying of Messenger of God: “He is not of us who proclaims the cause of tribal partnership; and he is not of us who fights in the cause of tribal partnership; and he is not one of us who dies in the cause of tribal partnership” (H: Abu Daud. N: Jubayr ibn Mut’im.) When asked the meaning of ‘tribal partnership’, the Prophet answered, “It means helping thine own people in an unjust cause” (Ibid. N: Wasilah ibn al-Asqa) – Al-Hadis