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 :->
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Health - An apple a day doesn'talways keep the doctor away

Jackie Love's health tooka turn for the worse in the early hours of
New Year's Day. After years of fatigue, weight gain andvague digestive
issues, the 45-year-old teacher suddenly found herself throwing up.
The nausea continued for months, often with debilitating abdominal
pain, but it was when she began having shooting pains in her arm that
she began to really worry. Concerned it might be a heart attack, Love
rushed to her local doctor.
"I was in tears I was so upset," she says. "I said, 'I don't know
what's happening to me … I feellike I have to be hospitalised and I
don't know what to do'."
When the doctor suggested Love undergotesting for food intolerances,
she just laughed.
"I didn't even associate what I had … with food. There was no concept
in my mind about this being a problem with what I was actually
eating."
But the doctor turned out to be right. A series of tests showed Love
was not adequately absorbing certain types of sugars - including
fructose and sorbitol - that are found in foods as common as apples
and pears.
The pain in Love's arm, ittranspired, was most likely referred pain
fromher bowel.
This type of food intolerance is common in people with digestive
problems, particularly irritable bowel syndrome. IBS affects up to one
in five Australiansand its symptoms include bloating, diarrhoea and
constipation.
Fortunately for Love, there was a solution. A diet developed by a
Melbourne dietitian has proved highly effective at managing some of
thesymptoms she was experiencing.
The low-FODMAP diet was formulated by Dr Sue Shepherd and includes
elements of other established diets aimed at dealing with digestive
issues such as lactose intolerance. It has undergone extensive testing
at Monash University over the past decade and it is now gaining
recognition around the world as an effective way to manage irritable
bowel syndrome.
The diet limits foods thatare high in short-chain carbohydrates and
sugaralcohols, such as lactose, fructans and fructose. Milk, for
example, is highin lactose; mangoes haveexcess fructose; and onion and
wheat are high in fructans. Two other groups - polyols and
galacto-oligosaccharides - are found in high doses in stone fruit and
legumes.
The diet helps up to three out of four sufferers to some extent and,
unlike those with coeliac disease, patients don't need to cut out
theoffending foods completely.
"A few FODMAPs are OK," Shepherd says. "It's not like the gluten-free
diet, which is about cutting out gluten completely. It's about cutting
back FODMAPs until you have the level of symptoms you want."
The exact cause of this sort of intolerance is unknown, but the
symptoms often develop after a gut infection and may be worsened by
stress, says Monash University's Professor Peter Gibson, one of the
FODMAP researchers. Key questions that remain tobe answered include
whether avoiding certain types of sugars, particularly those that
encourage the development of good gut bacteria, can cause other types
of digestive problems and why a minority of patients do not respond to
the diet.
"We haven't actually got a handle on that at the moment," he says.
"It's not been that easy to define who [the diet] will work for and
who it won't."
A Sydney dietitian, Liz Beavis, has used the diet with her clients for
the past three years.
"Depending on their symptoms, [irritable bowel syndrome] can impact on
their work and social life and sleep," she says. "To have improvement
on those symptoms where they can sleep without getting up and going to
the toilet and know theycan get through the workday without popping
out to the toilets … can improve lifedramatically."
The diet presents some challenges, however."Obviously it does mean you
have to prepare a lot more of your own food and you have to be aware
of what you're eating," Beavis says."That being said, if you can see
improvement it'sa lot easier to follow, so… there is motivation to
continue."
While eating out and travelling is not easy, Love has quickly adapted
to her new eating plan and now feels much better.
"It's not a cure but it definitely helps you feel normal," she says.
What are FODMAPs?
The acronym stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides,
monosaccharides and polyols. They are a group of short-chain
carbohydrates and sugaralcohols that are poorly absorbed in the small
intestine.
Where are FODMAPs commonly found?*
Excess fructose: honey, apples, mangoes, pears, watermelon
Fructans: beetroot, garlic, onion, leeks, wheat
Lactose: milk, ice-cream, custard, yoghurt, soft unripened cheeses
Galacto-oligosaccharides: baked beans, kidney beans, lentils
Polyols: apples, apricots, pears, plums, prunes, sorbitol
* Not an exhaustive list

Health - Personal cure saves family from heart condition

THEY were walking time bombs. Members of a family with an inherited
heart condition who knew at any time their hearts could stop pumping
enough blood through their bodies, causing stroke, heart failure or
death.
The condition, called dilated cardiomyopathy and usually incurable,
affects about one in 2000 Australians and leaves the heart weak and
enlarged.
But in a world first, Sydney researchers cracked the genetic codefor
one family suffering from the disorder, identifying a gene mutation
that would have eventually left some in need of a heart transplant, or
dead.
The Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute led the project and
collaborated with St Vincent's Hospital to screen 42 members of the
family. Researchers found a rare mutation inthe cardiac sodium channel
among almost half of them.
Those affected were treated with a sodium channel blocker, a drug that
already existed. The drugs are not usually recommended for patients
with heart failure because of the potential side effects.
The institute's deputy director, Jamie Vandenberg, said it emphasised
the importance of personalised medicine, since the gene mutation that
caused the condition would not be the same in every family.
''The therapy we've devised is only appropriate for those with a
defect in this particular gene, which would be in the very small
percentages,'' he said.
''But about 40 per cent of people with dilated cardiomyopathy have a
genetic cause for the condition and new technology is making it easier
to identify those specific genetic causes. Depending on what
particular gene defect is identified, if we're lucky there will
already be a drug already available for it, as there was in this case,
and if not we will at least know which genes we need to target.''
Targeting genes would not be an effective treatment in those patients
for whom the cause was not genetic, he said. Infections, alcohol abuse
and exposure to toxins were also thought to be responsible.
The study was published in the Journal of the American College of
Cardiology and its lead author, Diane Fatkin, said even those patients
with severe disease had returned to full health within six months.
''This is game-changing research,'' she said. ''Whilst we can only
claim to have treated one particular mutation that causes cardiac
dysfunction, and there isstill much more to do to find the genetic
causes of heart disease in every family, this is a huge step in the
right direction.''
Dilated cardiomyopathy can affect people of all ages, from newborns to
the elderly.

Health - Understanding mentalhealth problems can benefit workplace productivity

The head of the union movement and a former Liberal Party chief
minister will appear on aunity ticket over industrial relations during
addresses to be delivered at the NationalPress Club on Wednesday.
ACTU president Ged Kearney and former chief minister Kate Carnell will
discuss the issue of achieving betterproductivity through healthier
workplaces. The pair agree that mental health issues are better
discussed with bosses than being ignored in the workplace.
Ms Carnell, who is now the chief executive of beyondblue, said
employers should study her group's e-learning programs about taking
work-related stress issues seriously.
Ged Kearney, president Australian Council of Trade Unions. Photo: Ryan Osland
''Our online interactive programs address the myths and misconceptions
around depression and anxiety and would be helpful foremployers,
managers and staff,'' she said.
''In coming months, more e-learning programs will be added to the
website including ones on how to have a conversation with someone
you're concerned about and managing employees' return to work.''
The press club appearance marks the launch of Go Home on Time Day, an
initiative ofthe Australia Institute.
New research by the institute will be revealedshowing that one in
twoAustralians would feel uncomfortable discussing issues about mental
health with their manager.
The institute's executive director Richard Denniss said 43 per cent of
employees surveyed reported their managerswere poorly skilled in
discussing sensitive workplace issues. ''The survey shows that
Australian workers find talking about mental health issues with their
manager far harder thanany other workplace issue,'' he said.
''Those working for small businesses were nearly twice as likely as
their colleagues in bigger organisations to report that their overall
workplace culture is 'very good'. They were also twice as likely to
report that their manager's skills in holding conversations about
mental health problems were 'very good' than those working for larger
employers.''

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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