The Prophet, Isms and Education

THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION in the words of Muhammad Habibullah. I will fall silent here, and share with you 4 guided and guiding Hadis (saying) of Muhammad, Mercy to the worlds. I am aware of the 2 earlier Hadis below, but the third is a gem amongst gems and the fourth is one which I cannot recall without emotion…

To acquire knowledge is binding upon all Muslims, whether male or female.

The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr.

He who travels in the search of knowledge, to him God shows the way of Paradise.

Acquire knowledge, because he who acquires it, in the way of the Lord, performs an act of piety; who speaks of it praises the Lord; who seeks it, adores God, who dispenses instruction in it, bestows alms; and who imparts it to its fitting objects, performs an act of devotion to God. Knowledge enables its possessor to distinguish what is forbidden from what is not; lights the way to Heaven; it is our friend in the desert, our companion in solitude, our companion, when bereft of friends; it guides us to happiness; it sustains us in misery; it is our ornament in the company of friends; it serves as an armor against our enemies. With knowledge the creatures of God rises to the heights of goodness and to noble position, associates with the sovereigns in this world and attains the perfection of happiness in the next.

STOP LIMITING WHAT THE PROPHET MEANT. And I do not think the Prophet here is talking solely about studying the Al Quran and the Sunnah (Traditions of the Prophet). Oh no. He is talking about the entire corpus of science and learning; history, physics, biology, chemistry, psychology, and all manner of Arts or Sciences subjects… – of which is after all, what the al Quran and the Sunnah encompasses and is about. So for those who are trying to limit what the Prophet intended when he says ‘knowledge’ to mere theology, such persons are qualifying the grandeur, mystery and magnificence of the holy scriptures. They are drawing false borders in the Ocean of Knowledge because their authority and influence comes from their limited vision. Do not listen to them! The Prophet knew what he was talking about, God bless his heart…

ISMS AND EDUCATION. And this is what I intended to also share with you today. A prose freshly baked in the morning air of this beautiful sunny Sabbath. It makes sense to me, I hope it makes sense to you...

Isms and Education
Democracy without education will lead anarchy,
Populism without education leads to manipulation,
Socialism without education will lead to poverty,
Capitalism without education will lead to exploitation,
Communism without education will lead to dictatorship,
Patriotism without education will lead to jingoism.

It is a painful lesson for countries to learn… And I think I have written about the importance of education vis-à-vis government systems earlier. Wait, okay… yeah! Here they are. Click on the titles…
- Meritocracy, Democracy, Moderation, Revolution and the Conscience
- Japanese Tsunami, Democratic Tsunami, Education & the Informed Voter

Have a good Sabbath, sunshine. And remember… study, study, study!

Pax Taufiqa.