Concept of Knowledge in Symbols

Asserting knowledge an illumination, Islam has laid an exceptional emphasis on gaining more and more knowledge. Acquiring knowledge, according to a Hadith of Holy Prophet, be peace and blessings upon him, a requisite amount of knowledge is indispensable for every male and female Muslims. It is up to the circumstances and capacity of man to what extent he goes in search of knowledge. Allah, the all-Knower and All-Aware, Himself has taught us a supplication:
"My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.” (Ta’ha: 114)

Knowledge altogether is not a required thing in Islam. Islam, very subtly, differentiates between the knowledge advantageous for mankind and harmful for it. What is wanted by Islam is the knowledge, absolutely useful and beneficial, as the following tradition tells us some appropriate and valuable aspects of it.

A tradition related by Ibn Abdul Barr, tells us essentiality and importance of knowledge:
Muadh ibn Jabl reported: “Seek knowledge. It gaining for Allah is fearing Allah, its seeking is adoration, its constant study and revision is glorifying Allah, research in it is Jehad, teaching knowledge to those who do not have it is a charity, its spending and spreading is a sense of affinity because it is landmark for discriminating Halal (Lawful) from Haram (Illegal). It serves as a beacon in the ways of the people of Paradise. Knowledge is affable in the state of dreariness and gloom and companion in expatriation and strangeness. Talks when one is in privacy and a guide both in the condition of prosperity and adversity. It is the weapon against the enemies and a grace in the circle of the friends. Allah raised the communities with the knowledge, making them the best leader of whom the other communities tell the stories and whose deeds and views are followed.
The angels wish their intimacy and rub them with their wings. And all the creatures of the oceans and lands, the fish in the water and all the animals on the earth, pray for their forgiveness. And this is because the knowledge is the life of the hearts ridding from the ignorance and lamp of light in the darkness. The servant of Allah reaches the degrees of the best of the people through the knowledge and high levels in the worldly life and in the life Hereafter. Thinking in knowledge is like fasting and its revision is Qiam (worshiping Allah). It is knowledge with it the relations are kept strong and man becomes aware of what is allowed and what is disallowed for him. Knowledge is the leader in the deeds. The acts in its light raise man up to a happy and blissful stage and saves from misfortunes and miserable conditions.”

The Quran puts a question in the verse 9 of the Surah Az-Zumar to bring in minds the fact that those who have the knowledge and those who are inadequate in it can never be equal.
“Say (O Muhammad): Are those who know equal with those who know not?”

Inequality between a heedful and heedless, an aware and an ignorant, a literate and an illiterate, and a knowledgeable and an unacquainted is generally manifest everywhere at every stage of life. The people with knowledge show good manners and are mostly observant for social and moral norms. They prove better civic sense and dutifulness in their social life. Economically and socially they get access to better chances of progress than those who are without knowledge. In their worldly life most of them are looked upon with respect. It means the knowledge, may it be of worldliness or of religion, does have its benefit. There are numerous supplications of Muhammad, be peace and blessings of Allah upon him, seeking Allah’s protection from a harmful knowledge and praying for the same which is profiting and useful.

The greatest role of knowledge is to make man know who is his Creator and what is he here for. The Quran tells us about the men of knowledge who are the most righteous and God-fearing:
“Only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge.” (Al-Fatir: 28)

Generally it is assumed that the pious people mentioned in this verse are only those who have a good amount of religious knowledge, but while contemplating the context of the verses we come to the conclusion that the men intended here are only those who have a careful study of the elements of nature, rainfall from the clouds, agricultural products of different colours and tastes in result of the rain, the mountains varying in colours, human beings of different races, speaking different languages and having their facial impressions different from each other and living creatures and cattle of different size and shape. They gain access to the fact of the facts with their deliberate investigation and exploration and are able to be deeply acquainted with the One Who is the Creator of all the elements of nature. So keeping the significance of knowledge in human life in consideration it is important that the main objective of the knowledge, awareness about the Maker of this universe be in sight. Now we are going to symbolically explain different concepts of knowledge.

Ba’udhi Concept

Ba’udh, in Arabic, means mosquito. As we all know that this little flying insect is one of the very troublesome and disturbing living species. We find around us the people who have the aim of their knowledge to bring harm to their fellow men and the locality they live in and the society they are part of. They use their knowledge to create restlessness and disorder in the environment. Manipulating their knowledge as a tool, they hit upon the ways to make their surroundings afflicted with pain of violence and terror.

Science has, of course, brought unaccountable comforts for humanity, yet it is an undeniable fact that may it be the nuclear arsenals, chemical weapons of mass destruction, poisonous gases or huge military equipments of the conventional wars, all are the fermented fruits of the scientific knowledge, the knowledge of Mosquito Nature. All the sensible and sensitive segments of the societies consider that kind of knowledge not only a vexation but lethal for mankind.

Zubabi Concept

The word Zubab, in Arabic, is similar in meaning for small flying insect called ‘fly’ in English. Greed is the first nature of Zubab (flies). Though the flies do not suck the blood from the human body as the mosquitoes do, yet they are not less irritating than the mosquitoes. Showing detestation toward aroma, their common practice is to pounce on the things which are stale and having stench. Taking poisonous germs with their wings from the rotten fruits, dirty pots and filthy bodies, the flies cause to spread epidemics. They do not discriminate what is pure (Halal) and what is impure (Haram).

The education system, everywhere today, nurtures Zubabi Nature. The germs of avariciousness for making more and more money by all lawful or unlawful means enter in the ideological and moral blood of young generations through the education system that is mostly in force in the world, with no exception in all the Muslim countries. All the forms of corruption, presently in vogue here and there, take easy way in the societies because the education gives the concept of only earning and consumption. The moral values, under this education system, have lost its worth and have been extorted out from the education philosophies. They lack refinement and dart forth the disgusting filth. The knowledge got with the motives of lusts has nothing to do with the welfare of human being.

Ankbuti Concept

Spider is one of the crawling animals. It makes net-like house to live in. This net house is very easy to be broken but soon after it is damaged, the spider makes it again. The Quran mentions its fragility saying:
“And the frailest of all houses is the spider’s house.” (Al-Ankbut: 41)

How weak and frail its house may be, but it often successfully, uses net walls around it to prey upon the flies and other small insects to eat. Its way of living reflects its cunningness and selfishness because it prefers to remain isolated and does not share its food with other fellows. It likes to keep away even from its own species. ‘Makrah Aur Makhi’ an imaginary and visionary work of the most prominent Muslim poet, Allamah Muhammad Iqbal, originally derived from an Occident poet, indicates how foxiness is there in this long legged and thin bodied creature.

The education gained under the influence of this nature makes man self-centered and opportunist. He keeps eye on his own interests having no care for the benefits of his fellows. He deceives and deprives everyone who, very innocently and sincerely, gets close to him.

Namli Concept

Ants, in spite of being very small creatures, have a big message in their life. They live in an extremely organized manner. Social sense, collective efforts and mutual cooperation is the preeminence of their ‘world’. Among all species of living creatures, ants are very farsighted and prudent tiny crawling animals. Their tireless struggle deserves great appreciation. But in spite of a nice habit of leading a social life in an exemplar way they lack a moral quality of contentment and thankfulness over they have for their need. Being subjected to the greed they are always seen collecting and stocking beyond their need. The evil of hoarding, under the greediness above the required quantity, subdue all the best of their habits. During their struggle to collect from wherever possible, even on the paths, they are downtrodden under the feet of the pedestrians.

Badiuzzaman Said Nursi was the great reformer and spiritual personality of Turkey in the first half of the twentieth century. He worked hard to keep the candle of Faith and Spirit of Islam burning in his country after the secular ideological storm brought by the revolution of Mustafa Kamal ‘Ataturk’ to westernize the Turkish nation. In the fifth treatise of twenty eighth letter of his famous ‘Risaleh-i-Nur Collection, under the title of ‘The Treatise of Thanksgiving’ he gave a short account of the ants. Ant is an animal blessed with such a high shrewdness that was mentioned in the Holy Quran. The Quran has a chapter with the name of this tiny animal. But due to only their thanklessness and greedy nature they have to see the consequences of being trodden. The same point is in a very short poem of only two verses, in the ending pages of ‘Bal-e-Jibril’ Allamah Iqbal. The ant asks the falcon: “Why I am humiliated and crushed while you go high above the skies?” The falcon tells the reason: “You bustle about in search of your food on the paths not caring about yourself respect while I fly high to the heavens without worries.”
The Namli Concept of education gives the lesson and shapes the trend to gain sustenance above need with no regard how gracelessly it is got.

Nahli Concept

Nahl means the bee. The bees are really the blessed of the creatures because they have been admirably mentioned in the Holy Quran and also having a chapter of the Quran after their names. Like the ants bees also live in the most disciplined and organized way. They form culture of their own and a good socialized collectivity. They are free from greed and do not resort to the cheap and vile means for their food. They have a refined nature. They fly flower to flower to collect the pure and fine juice for making honey. Allah, the Most Exalted, has made the bees a Sign for those who give thought:
“And your Lord taught the Bee to build its cells in hills, on trees, and in (men’s) habitations. Then to eat of all fruits and follow the ways your Lord made smooth (for you). There comes forth from their bellies a drink of varying colours, wherein is healing for men. Verily, in this is a Sign for those who give thought.” (An-Nahl: 68, 69)

With their hard labour the bees make a delicious drink but mostly to sacrifice for the benefit of mankind. The education under the Nahli concept is actually the required standard, both in objectives and quality. Only this concept guarantee peace, pleasure and prosperity for the people living around who is educated in the light of this concept.