Eman Sakina/

Islam pays special attention to knowledge, so much so that Islam is regarded as a religion (way of life) of learning and knowledge. It upholds that man is created to know and fulfill his honorable vicegerency mission accordingly. Knowing means succeeding; not knowing implies failure and ruin. Knowledge is the source of all goodness, ignorance the source of all evil and sin.

Knowledge in Islam is synonymous with light and guidance. The net result of an educational system ought to be authentic knowledge, which, in turn, is expected to provide light and guidance to people. It follows that educated individuals are supposed to be enlightened and guided. They are to be pragmatic and at the same time empowered to tackle head-on all types of life challenges.

Education is not to prepare a person for his professional life only and to equip him with a few practical skills relating to his field of interest. Rather, education is to prepare a person for life, enabling him to succeed not only in his chosen specialization but also in life as a whole. He is to be not only competent but also good and responsible, professional. Moreover, he is to be a good and responsible human being, which entails all the other life aspects and activities.

In this manner, a truly educated person receives knowledge as a sign (set of signs) that leads him toward the ultimate accomplishment of his existential purpose. Knowledge is thus called “‘ilm” in Arabic, which is from the same root word as “‘alam”, which means sign, indication, or mark.

It is a wasted cause if you learn something and never use it. Guard it, and implement it in your life. Benefiting others with your knowledge comes with tremendous rewards. Knowledge is something that is easily passed on to another person, and from one to another.

It is perhaps owing to this – and Almighty Allah knows best — that the opening word in the Quranic surah (chapter) ‘Alaq is “read” and the closing ones: “prostrate yourself and draw near (unto Allah)”. That could mean that a person’s life should commence and unfold with and in the spirit of, the notions of reading, learning, and knowing, which inevitably lead to the realization of man’s terrestrial purpose.

It remains a duty of all Muslims to strive for knowledge – Islam encourages and promotes the idea of learning, asking questions, and striving to better oneself through acquiring knowledge. The Prophet Muhammad is famously reported to have said: “Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim”. He is also reported to have stated: “You must seek knowledge from birth till death”.

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It may be said that Islam is the path of “knowledge.” No other religion or ideology has so much emphasized the importance of 'ilm. In the Qur'an, the word 'alim has occurred in 140 places, while al-'ilm in 27. In all, the total number of verses in which 'ilm or its derivatives and associated words are used is 704. According to the Qur'an, the first teaching class for Adam started soon after his creation and Adam was taught 'all the Names'. Thus we should never leave any stone unturned when it comes to learning and seeking knowledge.