By, Spahic Omer
According to the Islamic tawhidic worldview, knowledge is an awareness or familiarity with the true meanings of things. “Awareness or familiarity” includes the conceptual, practical, and experiential dimensions. “Things” refer to all aspects of life: both physical and metaphysical, and how they relate to each other and to man as the vicegerent on earth. “Real meanings” involve the essences, purposes, and functions of all things, or existential realities.
The Qur’an is replete with references to knowledge understood as tawhidic epistemology. What follows are seven remarkable facts that stand out.
First
Almighty Allah, the Omniscient One, is the ultimate source of all knowledge. Knowledge is a divine gift that Allah gives to whomsoever He wills and denies to whomsoever He wills.
This makes perfect sense given that Allah is the Creator and, as such, He is the only one who knows everything about Himself and His creations. Man, as a creation trapped in time and space and governed by psychosocial factors, can understand his Creator and the rest of His creation only as much as his diverse faculties and talents—which too have been granted to him by Allah—permit.
Certainly, a person can advance and know only as far as his God-given abilities can propel him, and his understanding of the laws of nature and access to the secrets of life are divinely allowed.
Thus, man can intrinsically know very little about the infinite and complex nature of life and all its realms. That is why Allah declares that man is weak (al-Nisa’ 28) and has been given little knowledge (al-Isra’ 85), while advising that people should pray to Him for an increase in knowledge (Ta Ha 114).
No wonder that the Prophet implored Allah that the extent of his knowledge not be limited to the material world (Jami’ al-Tirmidhi). Knowledge, like people, should be liberated, with its capacities optimized, and allowed to roam freely through dimensions.
Left to himself and his own devices, man is doomed.
Second
Allah is the only One Who grants, reveals, and gifts knowledge. The recipients are not just humans, with their prophets and sages in the forefront, but also the angels and jinn. In other words, Allah is the only “Teacher” of His multitiered creation.
This truth is summed up in the words that Allah has taught Adam, the first prophet and father of all humanity, “the names of all things” (al-Baqarah 31), and the proclamation of the angels: “We have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You who is the Knowing, the Wise” (al-Baqarah 32).
When Allah mentions that the angels, prophets, and wise scholars teach people knowledge, He does so symbolically. They can teach because Allah has granted them more knowledge than others, and the knowledge they possess and can share is Allah’s knowledge. In this sense, they are simply in service to their Creator more than others.
In a like manner, ordinary people can also be called “teachers,” albeit without excluding the fact that the knowledge they have is from Allah and that they intend to use it to enrich their understanding of the world and improve their performance in it.
Towards this end are the words of Allah that even the training of hunting animals is possible purely due to the knowledge that Allah has given beforehand (al-Ma’idah 4).
Moreover, scribes are ordered not to refuse to write records, considering that it is Allah who has taught them the skill of writing. They should be beneficial to people just as Allah was beneficial to them (al-Baqarah 282). It was nobody else but Allah “who taught (the use of) the pen, taught man that which he knew not” (al-‘Alaq 4-5).
Third
To place the above truths into sharper focus, the Qur’an uses the term “teaching” in reference to people or jinn independently of Allah only in derogatory contexts. This includes Pharaoh’s accusation that his sorcerers were “taught” by Prophet Musa (al-Shu’ara’ 49), the devils’ “teaching” of sorcery to people to lead them astray (al-Baqarah 102), and the Quraysh’s allegation that the Prophet was “taught” by another human being (al-Nahl 103).
Similarly, the Qur’an mentions the word “ta’allama” (to learn on one’s own) only twice, both times in a negative context, related to magic and the collaboration of evil individuals with devils (al-Baqarah 102).
This means that trying to “learn” and “teach” anything without Allah’s especially revealed knowledge, guidance, and blessings is likely to end in disaster for both humanity and the environment. A person may come to see much ignorance as knowledge and falsehood as truth, while viewing much knowledge as ignorance and truth as falsehood.
Fourth
Knowledge is sacred and is equivalent to the truth. Knowledge inevitably leads to the truth, and vice versa. While the truth is the only thing that exists and can be known, knowledge is the only portal offering access to it. Furthermore, knowledge is the only guarantee that the truth can be unveiled and applied in everyday life.
Losing or compromising either knowledge or the truth is detrimental to man’s personal and collective well-being. Such actions lead to man’s loss and compromise of himself, for a microcosm cannot be understood without adequate knowledge of the cosmos, just as the Creator cannot be known without suitable knowledge of His creation.
For this reason, the first revelation to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), whose primary task was to convey and explain the truth to mankind – and to be their savior thereby – was to read in the name of his Lord (al-‘Alaq 1). This implies to read the revealed signs (ayat) and the signs of creation (ayat), to read himself and the rest of creation, and to read both as a means of validating and uncovering the truth.
The close and in many ways reciprocal relationship between knowledge and the truth in the content of the first revelation (al-‘Alaq 1-5) is readily apparent. Accordingly, the Islamic concept of iman (belief or faith) must be grounded in knowledge, which in turn ensures a person experiences inner peace, certitude, and confidence. A believer in Islam is one who is strong, poised, and certain, trusting in himself and his judgments. Hence, the word “iman” is derived from the words “amn” and “amanah,” which mean “security” and “trust,” respectively.
Fifth
Man is created to know. It is true that Allah emphasizes that He did not create humans and jinn except to worship Him (al-Dhariyat 56), but He also highlights that worship must be based on knowledge. It is implausible for a person to worship unless he has sufficient understanding of what and how to worship.
How can someone worship Allah properly if he does not possess sufficient and correct knowledge of Him, as well as of himself as Allah’s creation and servant whose physical existence and spiritual wellbeing depend on the Creator and the worship paradigm? Furthermore, how can someone worship Allah if he does not know how and why to do it?
About Himself as the cause and object of all worship, Allah thus says: “Know, therefore, that there is no god but Allah” (Muhammad 19).
And about this worldly life in its capacity as both the locus and means of worship, Allah says: “Know that the life of this world is but amusement and diversion and adornment and boasting to one another and competition in increase of wealth and children” (al-Hadid 20).
Knowledge is further essential for self-awareness and for establishing healthy relationships with Allah and the Hereafter, the eternal abode: “And fear Allah and know that unto Him you will be gathered” (al-Baqarah 203).
“And fear Allah and know that Allah is severe in penalty” (al-Baqarah 196).
“And fear Allah and know that you will meet Him” (al-Baqarah 223).
“But if you deviate after clear proofs have come to you, then know that Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise” (al-Baqarah 209).
“And fear Allah and know that Allah is Knowing of all things” (al-Baqarah 231).
“And fear Allah and know that Allah is Seeing of what you do” (al-Baqarah 233).
“And know that Allah knows what is within yourselves, so beware of Him. And know that Allah is Forgiving and Forbearing” (al-Baqarah 235)
“And know that your properties and your children are but a trial and that Allah has with Him a great reward” (al-Anfal 28).
There are many Qur’anic verses that contain idioms such as “did you not know,” “do they not know,” “did you not see (comprehend or discern),” “will you not understand (reason),” and “will you not think?”
Indeed, there is no proper worship without proper knowledge, nor uplifting and transformative knowledge without energizing worship. Godlessness and ignorance, which call for and feed on each other, are humanity’s greatest enemies.
It follows that man was created to worship Allah knowingly and to know as a form of enlightening worship.
Sixth
The Qur’an acknowledges a hierarchy of knowledge, with revealed knowledge at the top, represented by the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Sunnah, which is also a form of revelation. Revealed knowledge must serve as the wellspring, guidance, and reference point for the lower levels of knowledge in the hierarchy. This is the solitary way to ensure their legitimacy and practical application.
For example, rational and empirical knowledge, though in principle essential and appropriate, should not be allowed to drift into skepticism, vanity, and self-absorption. They should be aligned with the highest epistemological standards and used to serve a greater purpose and meaning in life.
The mistakes of the Western so-called civilization must not be repeated, namely converting the intrinsic blessing of science into the contagion of scientism, and the admirably serviceable ends of technology into the mass-destruction designs of fatal apparatuses.
This is implied by Allah’s counsel that, if endeavored and decided alone – relative to something else in the world of creation, much like what moral, epistemological, and religious relativism are supposed to be today – man’s pursuits will end up being indefinite and flawed, on account of their relative and contingent nature. Unsure and unaware, man’s trajectory will be from one extremity to another, taking one step forward and two steps backward.
The underlying cause is that Allah knows and people do not. Allah says emphatically: “Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you. But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not” (al-Baqarah 216).
The elaborate story of Prophet Musa and Khidr is another excellent example of how different levels of knowledge and experience are expected to cooperate and complement each other, creating a rich and harmonious mosaic of judgments and outcomes. Otherwise, there will always be glaring rifts between those different levels. They will regularly conflict and clash, and as a consequence, instead of enlightening and elevating man, they will confuse and significantly hold him back (al-Kahf 60-82).
The two exemplary personalities, Musa and Khidr, are taken as the main characters in the story. This suggests that the disorder – rather than order and unity – of knowledge is so powerful and devastating that it can impact even the most competent individuals in the upper echelons of knowledge and faith. One can imagine how much more vulnerable those of lower rank and weaker faith are to this peril. The additional message conveyed is to place complete trust in the supreme source of knowledge and to use it as the measure of all matters related to lesser sources and their benchmarks.
Seventh
The Qur’an repeatedly stresses that Allah is the only One Who knows, being the All-Knowing or Omniscient One. The status of other beings as knowledgeable is both metaphorical and conditional. It is likewise restricted and partial.
The Arabic word for knowledge is “‘ilm,” coming from the verb “‘alima/ya’lamu.” The active participle of this verb is “‘aalim,” with the plural form being “‘ulamaa’.” Since the active participle merely represents the agent of the action indicated by the verb, the Qur’an often uses the terms “‘aalim” and “‘ulamaa’” to refer to those who possess and live by whatever amount of Allah’s knowledge.
There is as well an intensive noun derived from the verb “‘alima/ya’lamu,” which is “‘aliim,” meaning “the knowledgeable one who knows much.” However, this exaggerative form is used by Allah singularly for Himself, and repeatedly so, which is therefore understood and usually translated as “the All-Knowing One, the Omniscient One.”
No surprise that this intensive noun is not used in the Qur’an even once for anybody or anything else except Allah, in that other beings’ knowledge is little, inconsequential, and from Allah. Though permissible, even in their everyday usage, Muslims refrain from associating this noun with anything but Allah.
There is additionally an exaggerated adjective, “‘aliim,” meaning “knowing much.” This adjective is one of the most prominent and frequently repeated attributes of Allah, translated as “All-Knowing” or “Omniscient.” This adjective-qua-attribute is reserved exclusively for Allah, except for a few instances in three different circumstances.
First, Prophet Yusuf once described himself as “‘aliim” (Yusuf 55). The commentators of the Qur’an agree that he did so because he was aware that, as a prophet, he was granted a special amount of knowledge by Allah. In this way, Yusuf in fact was glorifying Allah and promoting His infinite knowledge.
Second, Prophet Ishaq was also described twice as “‘aliim” (al-Hijr 53; al-Dhariyat 28). Like in the case of Prophet Yusuf, Ishaq’s vast knowledge from childhood, originating solely from Allah and His knowledge, was likewise intended as a reflection and evidence of the latter.
It is as if these two prophets, Yusuf and Ishaq, were representatives of all prophets who were uniquely qualified among mankind to hold the honorable title of “‘aliim.”
Allah knows best, but one feels tempted to wonder if singling out Ishaq, the father of Prophet Ya’qub (Isra’il or Israel) and Yusuf as his most famous grandson and the latter’s most famous son, had something to do with the prominent place the Children of Israel were destined to occupy in human history, which was made possible only by the continuous sending of prophets who exemplified knowledge. For that reason, Prophet Muhammad said that the Children of Israel were a nation governed by prophets. For the same reason, they were branded “the People of the Book,” which can also be understood as “the People of Knowledge.”
Third, in relation to Prophet Musa and his confrontations with Pharaoh, the Qur’an frequently mentions that Pharaoh and his elites labeled both Musa and their sorcerers as “highly knowledgeable (‘aliim) sorcerers.”
However, they did this solely because of their malevolence. Regarding Musa, they called him “‘aliim” either to ridicule him or to exaggerate his situation in order to ensure a strong and effective national response, as Musa’s threat was seen as one that affected national security and the overall future.
With regard to their sorcerers, Pharaoh and his elites designated each one of them as “‘aliim” because they wished to glorify themselves and their national socio-political legitimacy through them. The denotations entailed in the adjective “‘aliim” indicated how Pharaoh and his national institutions viewed themselves in relation to others, including religion and heaven as its origin.
Finally, there is another exaggerated term, both as a noun and an adjective, “‘allaam,” roughly translated as “the knowledgeable one who knows much” for the noun and “knowing much” for the adjective. These forms are weightier and more intense than their counterpart “‘aliim.” This is why Allah used them only four times in the Qur’an: twice as a noun and twice as an adjective (al-Ma’idah 109, 116; al-Tawbah 78; Saba’ 48).
Allah reserved these terms exclusively for Himself, each time referring to knowledge of what is hidden and unseen (ghuyub), which is entirely within Allah’s domain, the most guarded and least revealed. This category of knowledge undoubtedly represents the infinitude and depth of Allah’s knowledge, compared to which all other types of knowledge simply fade away.
Taking into account the above, man—or any other creation—cannot be seen as autonomously knowledgeable since he and knowledge are two different things, loosely unified in his being but still distinct. Unlike Almighty Allah, whose knowledge is a permanent and inseparable attribute. He not only knows but is also the personification and genesis of all knowledge, regardless of the ongoing theological debates about the exact relationship between Allah’s Holy Self and His Holy Attributes.
In consequence, as per the Qur’anic vocabulary, while Allah is always the All-Knowing or Omniscient One, man is the one to whom knowledge has been given, has come, and has been revealed. Not being inherently knowledgeable, man is rather one who possesses (provisionally, though) knowledge, has been endowed with knowledge, and is simply a weak being of little knowledge: “Over all those endowed with knowledge is the All-Knowing” (Yusuf 76).
Barely surprising that within the framework of knowledge, the possessive pronoun “his” is only used with regard to Allah. It is “His knowledge.” Nobody and nothing else, neither on earth nor in heaven, is qualified for that privilege. Nobody and nothing else truly owns knowledge. Rather, they are all governed by and held in stewardship by knowledge. They are owned by it, as it were.
It is merely twice in the Qur’an that Allah attributes knowledge to someone other than Himself. However, this occurs in negative contexts, which underscores the conditional, transient, and even synthetic nature of the relationships between knowledge and the created world.
In the first instance, Allah highlights that the knowledge of nonbelievers (“their knowledge”) about the Hereafter is inadequate and flawed, causing them to doubt and be blind to it (al-Naml 66). In the second instance, Prophet Nuh is reported to have said that “his knowledge” of his people’s visible and invisible deeds was insufficient. Only Allah’s knowledge could encompass them and their innermost conditions: “And what is my knowledge of what they used to do?” (al-Shu’ara’ 112).
Beyond question, knowledge is bestowed as a divine endowment, which, when harmonized with humanity’s earthly mission, transforms into a sacred obligation. It becomes an ontological trust (amanah), a pivot.***
