Imam Ibn Hazm's Golden Words on Knowledge

Ibn Hazm on Knowledge
31. If knowledge had no other merit than to makethe ignorant fear and
respect you, and scholars love and honour you, thiswould be good
enough reason to seek after it. Let alone all its other merits in this
world and the next!
32. If ignorance had no other fault than to make the igno-rant man
jealous of knowledgeable men and jubilant at see-ing more people like
himself, this by itself would be reason enough to oblige us to flee
it. Let alone the other bad results of this evil in this world and the
next!
33. If knowledge and the action of devoting oneself to it had no
purpose except to free the man who seeks it from the exhausting
anxieties and many worries which afflict the mind, that alone would
certainly be enough to drive us to seek knowledge. But what should we
say of the other bene-fits too numerous to list, the leastof which are
the above-mentioned, and all of which accrue to the knowledgeable man.
In search of benefits as small as these the petty kings have worn
themselves out in seeking distraction from their anxieties in games of
chess, dicing, wine, song, hunting expe-ditions and other pastimes
which bring nothing but harm in this world and the next and absolutely
no benefit.
34. If the scholar who hasspent long peaceful hours [at his studies)
stopped to think how his knowledge has protect-ed him against
humiliation at the hands of the ignorant, and against anxiety about
unknown truths, and what joy it has brought him by enabling him to
solve problems which others find insoluble, he would certainly
increase his expressions of gratitude to Allah and rejoice more in the
knowledge that he has and desire even more to add to it.
35. Anyone who spends his time studying something inferior, abandoning
higher studies of which he is capable, is like someone who sows corn
in a field capable of growing wheat, or who plants bushes in a soil
which could support palm trees and olives.
36. To spread knowledge among those incapable of understanding it
would be as harmful as giving honey and sugary confections to someone
with a fever, or giving musk and amber to someone with a
migrainecaused by an excess of bile.
37. A man who is a miser with his knowledge is worse than a man who is
a miser with his money, for the money-miser is afraid of using up what
he possesses but the knowl-edge-miser is being mean with something
which does not get used up and is not lost when it is given away.
38. Anyone who has a natural inclination towards a branch of
knowledge, even if it is inferior to other branches, should not
abandon it, or he would be like someone who plants coconuts in
al-Andalus or olive trees in India where neither would produce fruit.
39. The most noble branches of knowledge are those which bring you
close to the Creator and help you to be pleasing to Him.
40. When you compare yourself with others in matters of wealth,
position, and health, you should look at people lessfavoured than
yourself. When you compare yourself with others in matters of
religion, knowledge and virtue, look at people who are better than
yourself.
41. The mysterious branches of knowledge are like a strong drug which
benefits a strong body but damages a weak one. In the same way, the
esoteric branches of knowl-edge enrich a strong mind andrefine it,
purifying it of its flaws, but destroy a weak mind.
42. If a madman threw himself as deeply into good sense as he throws
himself into madness, he would surely be wiser than al-Hasan al
Basri,Plato of Athens and Vuzurgmihr the Persian.
43. Intelligence has its limits; it is useless unless it is based on
the guidance of religion or on good fortune in this world.
44. Do not harm your soulby experimenting with corrupt views in order
to demonstrate their corruption to someone who has consulted you,
otherwise you will lose your soul. If you shield yourself from acting
in a detestable way, any criti-cism that can be thrown at you by a man
of corrupt beliefs because you disagree with him is better than his
respect and better than the bad effect on both of you if you committed
these detestable acts.
45. Guard against taking pleasure in any way that will harm your soul
and isnot required of you by the religious law nor by virtue.
46. Knowledge no longer exists if one has ignored the attributes of
the Almighty Great Creator.
47. There is no worse calamity for knowledge and for scholars than
when outsiders intrude. They are ignorant and think that they are
knowledgeable; they ruin everything and believe that they are helping.
48. Anyone who is seeking happiness in the Hereafter, wisdom in this
world, the best way to behave, the sum of all moral qualities, the
practice of all the virtues,should take as his model Muhammad, the
Prophet of God - God grant him blessings and peace - andemulate as far
as possiblethe Prophet's morals and behaviour. May God help us to take
him as an example, by His grace, amen [amen]!
49. The ignorant have annoyed me on two occasions in my lifetime.
First, when they spoke of things they did not know, at a time when I
was equally ignorant; thesecond time when they kept silent in my
presence [in the days when I had learnt something). In the same way
they were always silent about matters which would have benefited them
to speak about, and spoke about matters which brought them no benefit.
50. Scholars have brought me pleasure on two occasions in my lifetime:
first, they taughtme when I was ignorant; the second time was when
they conversed with me after I had been taught.
51. One of the merits of religious knowledge and asceticism in this
world isthat Almighty God does not put it with-in reach of anyone
except those who are worthy of it and deserve it. One of the
disadvantages of the great things of this world, wealth and fame, is
that they mostly fall to the lot of people who areunworthy of them and
do not deserve them.
52. Anyone who is seeking after virtue should keep com-pany with the
virtuous and should take no companion with him on his way except the
noblest friend, one of those people who is sympathetic, charitable,
truthful, sociable, patient, trustworthy, loyal, magnanimous, pure in
conscience and a true friend.
53. Anyone who is seeking fame, fortune and pleasure will keep company
only with people who resemble mad dogs and sly foxes: they will take
for their travelling companions only people [inimical to his belief]
who are cunning and depraved innature.
54. The usefulness of the knowledge [of good) in the practice of
virtue is considerable: anyone who knows the beauty ofvirtue will
practise it, though it may be rarely. Knowing the ugliness of vice, he
will avoid it, though it may be rarely. The man with knowledgeof the
good will listen to soundly-based praise anddesire it for himself. He
will listen to talk of evil and desire to avoid it. From this premise
it necessarily follows that knowledge has a part in every virtue, and
ignorance has a part in every vice. A man who has had no instruction
in the knowledge [of good) will not practise virtue unless he has an
extremely pure nature, a virtuous constitution. It isthe particular
state of theProphets (peace and the blessings of God be upon them!)
for God has taught them virtue in its entirety, without them having
learnt it from men.
55. It is true that I have seen among the commonpeople some who, by
their excellent behaviour and morals, were not surpassed by any wise
man, any scholarly, self-controlled man. But this is very rare. And I
have seen men who havestudied the different branches of knowledge, who
have a good knowledge of the messages of the Prophets- peace be upon
them - and the advice of the philosophers and who nevertheless surpass
the most wicked in their bad behaviour, their depravity, both internal
and external. These are the worst of all creatures.This is very common
and Itherefore perceive that these two [moral attitudes] are a favour
which is granted or withheld by Allah the Almighty.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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