By Husain Mansoor Hallaj
When water from a jug is poured into a cup, the volume of water in the cup depends on its size. The quality of water in both containers should remain the same, unless the cup is dirty. If the cup is dirty, the quality of water deteriorates and tastes bad, sometimes it may not even be suitable for drinking. The size and the cleanliness of the cup depends on the one who owns the cup.
The transfer of knowledge between a teacher (Ustaz) and a student (Murid) can be explained using the above analogy. When a teacher delivers his lesson, the student will gain knowledge (‘ilm) depending on the level of his seeking and yearning (himmah) akin to the size of the cup. A true seeker of knowledge is like a sponge; his sacrifice in the journey for knowledge and his motivation will drive him to take lessons in everything he sees, hears and experiences. When new knowledge is delivered to him, he will process the information making connections to past knowledge, query his understanding and affirm it. In those days, the Companions (Sahabah) and the Followers (Tabi’een) sought knowledge to the extent that it seems like there was no other purpose in their life than to seek knowledge. Their mental capacity was so great that one would only need to narrate a tradition (hadeeth) once for them to memorise and establish a deep understanding.
In order to gain the intended understanding as delivered by the teacher, a student needs to condition his heart, i.e. exert every efforts to purify himself (mujaahadah) from corruption just like keeping the cup clean. This is so that the knowledge learnt will provide guidance and save him from misinterpretation. The basic level of purification is to perform the five daily prayers with excellence and to abstain from sins (ma’siyat). The student should not care about how much knowledge is gained, instead he must care about his self (nafs) and learn to use the knowledge to purify himself. When he does that, his heart (qalb) and mind (akal) will be sound; and provide clarity. With clarity, the underlying messages in the lesson can be understood.
As students of knowledge, one should always remember that the capacity to gain knowledge and the result of purification of self is entirely with Allaah (swt) – for He is the Creator and Controller. He is the Distributor and Possessor of all knowledge. Without His permission, not even a synapse will function. Bearing this in mind, when learning new knowledge, a student should not be proud. Instead, he should realize how much the more learned knows and contemplate on their state of mind.
There are different levels of knowledge and to access them, a student has to become a seeker (taalib). The difference between a student and a seeker is that, for a student, knowledge comes to him but a seeker goes towards knowledge. For example, at the beginning of a semester, a student will have all the materials in his possession, but he doesn’t start reading it, instead, he waits for the teacher/lecturer to teach him. A student would sit at the comfort of his room, reading books and FB/online posts, at his own pace for knowledge gain; thus knowledge goes to him. But a seeker of knowledge is one who schedules every little time and energy he has, to learn, understand, practice and contemplate on how to gain closeness to Allaah (swt), he doesn’t wait, but will run towards knowledge. A student’s learning principle is to be present where knowledge sharing takes place but seeker’s principle is to be present with knowledge. All knowledge is from Allah (swt) and to be present with knowledge, is to be present with Allaah (swt). The issue on how to be present is a whole new topic.
The levels of knowledge are as below:
Level 1: When a student first encounters a set of information, it is theoretical knowledge and he may only understand the surface.
Level 2: When he practice upon it, he will gain practical knowledge.
Level 3: As he query and affirm both theoretical and practical knowledge, he will gain expertise on the subject. Usually students
don’t go beyond this stage.
Level 4: When he uses his expertise to purify himself sincerely (ikhlas) for Allaah (swt), he gains realisation. The beginning of realisation is to admit his lack of knowledge and result of realisation is the key to clarity.
Level 5: When he gains clarity, he gains humility, then Allaah (swt) will bestow wisdom upon him.
Wisdom cannot be acquired by a seeker through learning but it can only be granted by Allaah (swt) if He wills so. Usually seekers of knowledge are bestowed with wisdom. For one who is sincere in seeking knowledge, Allaah (swt) will grant them such qualities. The intention of a seeker is to seek knowledge for the love of Allaah (swt) and to know Him.
My Mentor, Ustaz Ahmad Zaburlah, once told me that the basic level of knowledge is Shari’ah. Normally, a student needs to learn shari’ah for at least 10 years before he gains expertise in it.
Oh Possessor of all knowledge,
Make us among the seekers,
and let not any knowledge reach us,
if it were to cast us away from You.