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Humility when Seeking Knowledge – Part 7

Being conceited about knowledge or status can lead to one`s detriment.
A poet said: Pride proves to be so deadly an enemy for a knowledgeable person, similar to how a flood is an enemy to a high place. (Meaning: Pride destroys ones knowledge in the same way that a flood causes utter destruction even in a high and lofty place).

The student must not be arrogant about his high level of intelligence, understanding and brainpower.
ذَٰلِكَ فَضْلُ ٱللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ ذُو ٱلْفَضْلِ ٱلْعَظِيمِ
“That is the grace of Allah, which He bestows on whom He wills.” [Al Jumu`a 62:4]

Each man is given only a drop from the vast ocean of knowledge. Even though his knowledge may seem plentiful to him, he need not be proud of it, but instead he must use it as a motivation to dive deeper into the oceans of knowledge throughout his life.
وَمَآ أُوتِيتُم مِّنَ ٱلْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلً
“And [you cannot understand its nature, O men, since] you have been granted very little of [real] knowledge” [Al Israa 17: 85]
It is said about the accursed Shaytaan that for thousands of years he worshipped Allah excessively. He possessed a great amount of knowledge and was regarded as the teacher of the angels. But despite this he was rejected from the court of Allah and wretched because of his haughtiness.

Linked to this point is the aspect of lowering ones pride to learn from those whom you might consider as lower than yourself in rank, status or age. The etiquette of acquiring knowledge is nothing but that the student should show respect for the teacher and follow him with eagerness to learn – even if the student happens to be superior to his teacher. Prophet Musa عليه السلام was Kalimullah (the one who spoke to Allah). He was a high ranking messenger of Allah, yet he kept learning even after becoming a leader and did not consider it below himself to seek knowledge from Khidr عليه السلام who was a pious servant of Allah. Many a times you may think that you know something, yet each man’s intellect is limited and it does not comprehend many matters, as is seen from the way that Musa عليه السلام objected to Khidr عليه السلام yet in each of his doings there was wisdom.

The Qur’anic story indicates that the knowledge Allah teaches His servants is of two types:

1. Knowledge that is acquired through human effort.

2. Knowledge that Allah teaches from Himself, known as Ilm-e-Ladunni. Allah describes Khadir as, وَعَلَّمْنَـٰهُ مِن لَّدُنَّا عِلْمًا
“We had imparted knowledge from Ourselves” [Al Kahf 18: 65]

This (second) type of knowledge cannot be acquired from any teacher or institution, it is a special favour of Allah on His special servants. So no matter who you are and how much knowledge you have, you can always learn something from someone else.

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