religiously ignorant people cannot attack Islam through knowledge, medical science, cleanliness, or morals, they assault by means of base and cowardly lies and slanders. How could Islam ever be defied through knowledge? Islam is the very essence of knowledge. Many parts of the Qur’ân al-kerîm command knowledge and praise men of knowledge. For example, it is purported in the ninth âyat of Sûrat-uz-Zum’ar: “Is it possible that he who knows and he who does not know be the same? He who knows is certainly valuable!” Rasûlullah’s ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ statements praising and recommending knowledge are so numerous and so famous that even our enemies know about them. For example, in the books Ihyâ-ul-’ulûm and Mawdû’ât-ul- ’ulûm, the following hadîth is written in a section stating the value of knowledge: “Acquire knowledge even if it is in China!” That is, “Go and learn knowledge, even if it is at the farthest place in the world and in the possession of disbelievers! Do not say, ‘I don’t want it; it is invented by disbelievers’.” And it is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf:
“Study and learn knowledge from cradle to grave!” That is, an old man of eighty, one of whose feet is already in the grave, should sudy. It is an act of worship for him to learn. And once he stated: “Work for the next world as if you were to die tomorrow, and work for the world as if you would never die.” He stated in a hadîh-i-sherîf: “Little worship done with knowledge is better than much worship done without understanding.” Once he stated: “The devil is more afraid of a savant than of thousands of ignorant worshippers.” A Muslim woman cannot go on supererogatory hajj without taking her husband’s leave; she cannot set out on a journey or pay a visit, either. However, she can go out for the purpose of learning without his permission, if he does not teach her or allow her to learn. As is seen, though it is sinful for her to go on hajj without permission, which is a great act of worship liked by Allâhu ta’âlâ, it is not sinful to go out to learn without permission. Then how can disbelievers ever attack Islam through knowledge? Will knowledge blame knowledge?
Of course not; it will like, praise it. He who attacks Islam on the knowledge front will suffer a defeat. They cannot attack through science, either. ‘Science’ means ‘to see creatures and events, to observe and understand them, and to experiment and make the like.’ These three are commanded by the Qur’ân al-kerîm. It is fard-i kifâya to study scientific knowledge, arts, and to try to make the most up-to-date arms of war. Our religion commands us to work more than our enemies do. We quoted one of Rasûlullah’s very vivid statements commanding us to study science in one of the initial pages of our book. Then, Islam is a dynamic religion commanding us to study science, experiment, and to do positive work.
Endless Bliss First Fasicle | Page 271-272
