Lesson Content
Knowledge is measured by what it does to its owner, not by how much of it he holds.
Watch the lesson video first, then study this sheet. It holds everything you need for the lesson quiz and the final exam.
Main points
- The Qurʾān mentions knowledge with praise (beneficial) and with blame (not beneficial) (Bayān p. 19).
- True knowledge can still fail to benefit its carrier: "like a donkey carrying books" (al-Jumuʿa 62:5).
- The Prophet ﷺ sought refuge from four linked things: knowledge that does not benefit, a heart not humble, a soul never satisfied, a duʿāʾ not answered.
- Some sciences are useful only in the amount needed: genealogy, the stars, Arabic, arithmetic. Then stop.
- "Knowledge is not much narrating or much talking. It is a light cast into the heart" (Bayān pp. 65-66).
- Argument takes away the light of knowledge (Mālik, Bayān p. 61).
Key words
| Arabic | Term | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| الْعِلْمُ النَّافِعُ | al-ʿIlm al-nāfiʿ | Beneficial knowledge |
| السَّلَف | Salaf | The early generations: Companions, Tābiʿūn and those after them |
| الْخَلَف | Khalaf | Those who came later |
| مِرَاء | Mirāʾ | Disputing and wrangling |
| قَلْبٌ لَا يَخْشَعُ | Qalb lā yakhshaʿ | A heart that is not humble |
Key concepts
Seek itThe Book and Sunna, their meanings, as the salaf explained them (Bayān p. 81).
Limit itGenealogy, stars, Arabic, arithmetic: only the needed amount (pp. 25-36).
Avoid itSihr, astrology, kalām, disputation in religion (pp. 21, 30-81).
Key ayat, ahadith and sayings
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ لَا يَنْفَعُ، وَمِنْ قَلْبٍ لَا يَخْشَعُ، وَمِنْ نَفْسٍ لَا تَشْبَعُ، وَمِنْ دَعْوَةٍ لَا يُسْتَجَابُ لَهَا"O Allah, I seek refuge in You from knowledge that does not benefit, a heart that is not humble, a soul never satisfied, and a supplication not answered."Zayd ibn Arqam; Muslim
اللَّهُمَّ انْفَعْنِي بِمَا عَلَّمْتَنِي، وَعَلِّمْنِي مَا يَنْفَعُنِي، وَزِدْنِي عِلْمًا"O Allah, benefit me by what You taught me, teach me what benefits me, and increase me in knowledge."Abū Hurayra; al-Tirmidhī
فَمَنْ كَثُرَ عِلْمُهُ وَقَلَّ قَوْلُهُ فَهُوَ الْمَمْدُوحُ"Whoever has much knowledge and few words is praised."Ibn Rajab; Bayān pp. 70-71
Beneficial knowledge settles in the heart and makes its owner humbler with every increase.
Quiz
Test your understanding of this lesson.
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