Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society
Part 3. DUTIES AS RATIONAL BEING
Exposition
ENDS:
(1) Subjective:
Balanced and healthy development of human knowledge in all dimensions.
(2) Objective:
Service to humanity in terms of correct and comprehensive Guidance.
(1) Duty of Commission
Pursuit of knowledge enjoined, with emphasis on:
1. its sublimity and unavoidable necessity—basically and for proper moral life;
2. its importance for spiritual development;
3. its role in conferring greatness on individuals and communities;
4. its compatibility with Faith;
5. the principles of observation and research;
6. the principle of continuous and ceaseless endeavor for rising to higher and higher levels of knowledge;
7. the principle of Objectivity;
8. the principle of Comprehensiveness;
9. the attainment of the stage of al-Hikmah, or, the Wisdom;
10. the technique of attaining all Higher Knowledge.
Thus:
(1) Sublimity of the pursuit of Knowledge and its unavoidable necessity—basically as also for proper moral life, emphasized:
The Holy Qur’an says:
“And He imparted to Adam knowledge of the nature of all things…” (2:31).
The story of Adam given in the Holy Qur’an (2:30-39) reveals that knowledge was imparted to him by God:
a. at the transcendental or spiritual stage of his existence,—when his life was sublime because of the innocence and the serene tranquility that he enjoyed, together with his wife, in the
“Presence of God”;
b. before he embarked on his earthly career, i.e., before he had the occasion to engage himself in worldly pursuits,—nay, before he had acquired any worldly interests;
c. before he was confronted with the moral struggle.
All this means that, in the estimation of the Holy Qur’an:
a. Acquisition of knowledge is a sublime and a spiritual pursuit:
b. Cultivation of knowledge is one of the most basic needs and, hence, one of the most basic duties, of a human being:
c. Proper knowledge forms one of the most basic requirements of proper moral life.
(2) Spiritual achievement through Knowledge, especially of empirical Reality, emphasized:
The Holy Qur’an says:
“… Those only among His Servants who are learned (i.e., possessors and pursuers of knowledge) truly fear Allah.” (35:28).
Here possession and pursuit of knowledge—all true knowledge—has been mentioned as the condition for true fear of God, which, in its turn, is, together with the love for God, the motivating force in the life of every true Muslim. Thus pursuit of knowledge becomes a duty from the point of view of leading a good spiritual and moral life.
(3) Acquisition of greatness through Knowledge, emphasized:
The Holy Qur’an says:
“Allah will exalt those who have Faith among you, and those who have knowledge, to high ranks.” (58:11).
According to this verse, the basis for exaltation in the estimation of God is not only Faith in God and all spiritual verities, which is the highest theme of Religion, but also Knowledge, which forms as high a theme in the religion presented by the Holy Qur’an. This honored place given to knowledge makes it obligatory for a Muslim to devote himself to it whole-heartedly.
(4) Compatibility of Knowledge and Faith emphasized:
A very important point should be noted here. Faith and Knowledge, in the view of the Holy Qur’an, are compatible with each other. Indeed they are complementary—wedded to one another, as another verse clearly establishes:
“And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: ‘We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord’: and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.” (3:7).
This is a unique feature of the Qur’anic philosophy.
Thus, the Holy Qur’an demands acceptance and adherence to its teachings on rational basis. It proclaims most emphatically:
“So that he who perishes (spiritually) should perish by indisputable (rational) evidence (or, proof) and he who survives (spiritually) should survive by indisputable (rational) evidence (or, proof).” (8:42).
It challenges its opponents on the basis of reason and knowledge in these words
“Say: ‘Have you any (certain) knowledge? If so, produce it before us. Lo! you follow nothing but opinion. Lo! you do but guess’. Say: ‘With Allah is the argument that reaches home’.” (6:148-149).
Again
“Will they not then ponder on the Qur’an (i.e., examine its teachings rationally).” (4:82; 47:24).
In fact, the Holy Qur’an appeals to humanity not less than forty-eight times—and at numerous places on the basis of the physical, the psychical and the social phenomena—to employ reason, emphasizing regarding the truth of its teaching that:
“And these similitudes We set forth for mankind. But their import is grasped by the reason of only those who possess knowledge.” (29:43).
(5) Observation and Research emphasized:
Similarly, the Holy Qur’an appeals not less than seventeen times to contemplate and meditate on the natural phenomena as well as on the truth of its own teaching. In that connection, it emphasizes also the joint exploration of truth:
“Say: I admonish you on one point: that you stand up, for Allah’s sake, by twos and singly, and then contemplate.” (34:46).
This contemplation is to be pursued in the form of search and research for arriving at the truth:
“You will not see any want of proportion in the Creation of (Allah) Most Gracious. So turn your vision again: do you see any flaw? Then repeat your look twice over…” (67:3-4).
(6) Endeavour to rise higher and higher in knowledge, emphasized:
The Holy Qur’an has taught the prayer:
“… and say: O my Lord! advance me in knowledge.” (20:114).
It is evident that to pray for advance in knowledge and not to strive for it with might and main would be the height of irrationality. Therefore, this prayer implies the Divine Command for striving after knowledge. Hence, the duty to strive with a devoted and sincere heart for continuous progress in knowledge.
(7) Objectivity in Knowledge emphasized:
But this duty has to be pursued, as the wordings of the above verse establish clearly, with reference to God, Who is the Source of all Truth. In other words, quest for knowledge should be based on unflinching faith in God and in His Guidance, and should be inspired purely by the motive of search for Reality and love for Truth. All preconceived notions, superficial opinions and conjectures should be avoided. In other words, the pursuit should be based on objectivity. Persons undertaking this pursuit should strive to be, as the Holy Qur’an states:
“Those possessing knowledge with devotion to justice (or, objectivity in knowledge)”—in other words, “the learned who are balanced (in their view of Reality)”, being spiritually as well as rationally illumined.” (3:18).
According to the Holy Qur’an this is rationally possible only for a devotee of God, Who is the Source of all Knowledge. It says:
“Behold! in the constitution of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of the Day and the Night,—there are indeed Signs for the possessors of understanding (i.e., the wise),—such as celebrate the praises of Allah, standing, sitting, and reclining, and reflect on (the problems relating to) the constitution of the heavens and the earth (finally acquiring that stage of understanding the Reality where the conviction bursts out from them): ‘Our Lord! you did not create (all) this in vain? Glory be to You! Give us salvation from the Penalty of the Fire’.” (3:190-191).
Thus the pursuit of knowledge should have, as its technique, non-capricious penetrating observation of the universe and man.
(8) Comprehensive pursuit of Knowledge emphasized:
Observation relating to the Universe as a whole has been emphasized, among other verses, in 3:191 quoted above. Observation of man’s immediate environment—natural as well as social—and of his inner self has been emphasized in the following verses:
“On the earth are Signs for those who have sure faith (in the meaningfulness of all things), as also (there are Signs) in your own selves: will you not, then, observe?” (51:20-21).
(9) Quest for the stage of ‘Wisdom’ emphasized:
Such quest for knowledge will bear the fruit of al-Hikmah, or the Wisdom, about which the Holy Qur’an says:
“… and whoso is granted the Wisdom, receives indeed abundant Good, but none receives admonition save those possessing understanding.” (2:269).
They will finally be blessed with guiding mankind aright on the basis of sure knowledge contained in the Divine Guidance, even as the Holy Prophet (Peace be on him) has been asked by God to declare:
“Say: ‘This is my Way. I call to Allah with sure knowledge, I and whoever follows after me. To Allah be glory! And I am not among the idolators’.” (12:108).
(10) The correct technique of attaining Higher Knowledge:
The process of education for acquiring higher knowledge, deducible from the Holy Qur’an, may also be mentioned here for further edification. Speaking of the functions of the Holy Prophet (Peace be on him) as Divine Teacher, the holy book informs us:
“It is He Who has sent among the Unlettered a Messenger (Muhammad) from among them, to rehearse His revelations to them, to purify them, and to teach them the Book and the Wisdom…” (62:2).
Thus, we are given three stages of education for the acquisition of higher knowledge:
1. The stage of basic and general education, represented in the Holy Prophet’s mission by communicating Divine
Revelations to the people;
2. The stage of spiritual and moral purification for the sake of eradicating all subjective perversions and acquiring absolute devotion to truth, even as it was ordained in the Holy Prophet’s mission;
3. The stage of pursuing knowledge at the higher level where research is undertaken on the different facets of Reality and direct conviction is acquired on the basis of personal observation and insight, represented in the Holy Prophet’s mission by ‘teaching the Book and the Wisdom’.
To sum up: Cultivation of all knowledge, employing the method laid down for ensuring the service to truth, is a duty, according to the Holy Qur’an, commanded by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be on him) in the following words:
“Quest for knowledge is a duty for every Muslim man and woman.” (Muslim’s Sahih, Kitab al-‘Ilm, p. 34).
(2) Duty of Omission
Subjectivity and capriciousness in the pursuit of knowledge, as also lack of the spirit of observation and open-minded understanding of Truth, condemned:
According to the Holy Qur’an, those who employ subjectivity and caprice in the domain of knowledge remain misguided, in spite of the apparent scholarly tone of their endeavor:
“Have you seen him who has taken his caprice to be his god, and Allah has left him astray despite his knowledge, and has sealed up his hearing and his heart (and understanding), and has set on his sight a covering? Who, then, will guide him after Allah (has withdrawn guidance)? Will you not receive admonition?” (45:23).
This is so because:
“… they have no knowledge therein. They follow nothing but conjecture; and conjecture avails nothing against Truth.” (53:38).
As to those who lack the spirit of observation and open-minded understanding of the Truth, they are led to, or remain in, nothing less than infidelity. We are told:
“How many a Sign there is in the heavens and in the earth that they pass by, turning away from it. And most of them believe not in God without associating other gods with Him!” (12:105-106).
This is so, because:
“… They have hearts, but understand not with them (i.e., do not exert their will to understand); they have eyes, but perceive not with them; they have ears, but hear not with them. They are like cattle; nay, they are worse (in their listlessness). They are heedless.” (7:179).
to be continued . . . . .
