Human beings, in their pursuit of more knowledge, have been inventing tools of knowledge for a very long time. For instance, the microscope and the telescope have facilitated learning more knowledge at the molecular and the celestial levels respectively. Other innovations like AI have amplified and accelerated the process of computing and analysing data, thereby allowing human beings to gain knowledge much quicker than before. Technology has definitely assisted human beings in their quest for more knowledge.
The question we ask at Darul Qasim is how much truth does that knowledge yield? Or, is the quest for more knowledge just for knowledge’s sake or is it to reach the truth? And how much benefit or harm does that knowledge bring when applied to real life cases? A simple example is security scanners at airports, which have been known to spit out false positives which has resulted in unjust ramifications for travelers. The knowledge the scanners give is not always beneficial to human beings. Technology – as useful as it is – doesn’t always offer truthful knowledge.
The goal of pursuing more knowledge should then be to arrive at a truth that benefits human beings. In religious terms this is called seeking guidance. The study of religious knowledge is premised on seeking guidance for reforming human behavior and confirming Divine truths. With religious guidance, human beings are mandated to help improve the social and moral states of people and lead them to a path of happiness. Religious rituals and beliefs should cultivate behavior in its adherents that create a sense of well-being and tranquility.
Most world religions claim to do this. Islam is one such religion that claims the prize of knowledge that guides human beings to social and spiritual well-being. Muslims seek and learn the truth from the Qurʾān which they understand as is the Final Revelation. Revelation reveals not just knowledge, but also the truth! One of the beautiful names of Allah ﷻ is the Real and the Truth (Haqq). The month of Ramadān is a month in which the Qurʾān is revealed as a means of guidance for people with evidence of guidance and with the Criterion (Furqan) of the truth. (Surat al-Baqarah (2): 185)
Evidence of guidance is seen when the Unseen Creator (the Gha’ib) guides Muslims to fast throughout the day for the whole month as part of their ritual worship. He ﷻ guides them to feed other people in this month. Indeed, a cursory look at how much food Muslims distribute throughout the world in Ramadān shows the magnitude of their generosity. In early Islam, the Muslims of Makkah migrated to Madina to avoid persecution in their homeland simply for being Muslim. The Muslims of Madina accommodated the immigrants despite their meager resources. In fact, most people in Madina could barely find a handful of dates to eat for their daily meal. Under this backdrop of poverty, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ exhorted Muslims to help other Muslims break their fast: “even with half a date”, he ﷺ said.
Today, in the Muslim world, Muslim generosity is obvious; nobody will deny this phenomenon. Hundreds of thousands of tons of dates are distributed in the Arab world alone throughout the month – along with the tremendous amount of full meals that are also distributed throughout the non-Muslim world. As an example, Muslims in London feed people on the streets where non-Muslims join Muslims who break their fast. This spectacle is not found in the Western world.
Guiding people to feed others is a civilizational value that Muslims hold dear. This is glorified by the Prophet’s ﷺ statement: “The month of Ramadān is a month of kindness and mutual compassion.” Muslims personify this religious value by following the guidance of the Qurʾān and the Prophet ﷺ .
Unfortunately this has not always been the case with communities and authorities who abuse their power and use food – or specifically depriving others of food – as a weapon of oppression. Examples such as the Irish famine of the 1840s and 1850s, the starving of millions of Indians in Bengal in the 1940s, and the current denial of millions of Palestinians from receiving food come to mind. Such behavior is not based on guided knowledge. It’s not that these perpetrators are without knowledge. They are without guidance!
Allah ﷻ guides Muslims to donate to charity in this month of the Qurʾān and Muslims donate in the millions to needy people and deserving causes. He ﷻ guides them to recite the Holy Qurʾān as part of their worship and listen to its recitation at night, thus allowing them to soothe their anxieties and worries. He ﷻ guides them to solicit His ﷻ help and succor thus giving them hope and optimism. What’s amazing is that Muslims do not suffer from “worship fatigue”. They do not resent performing religious rituals. They perform all these rituals with a sense of joy and pride.
Knowledge procured from these edicts of the Final Revelation lead to a religious truth that motivates human beings to do good work for themselves and others. The quest for more knowledge does not end with inventions and technological progress. It is refined if it leads to a quest for the truth. The truth can set you free only if it is used for protecting human dignity, for preserving the values of peace and justice, and helping all to pursue true happiness.
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