What is Knowledge in Islam?

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I know it may be an obvious question, but I've heard that word mentioned so many times in Islamic sources and despite searching through many resources, I am still puzzled on the very definition of "knowledge", as referred to by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in the Quran and Hadeeths.

Is knowledge, the knowledge of simple things like, "It is forbidden to eat pork", "Every Muslim is required to pray five times a day", or "During prayer, you must pray in the direction of Mecca".

Or is it the knowledge and remembrance of specific verses in the Quran and Hadeeths, such as "None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself" and "whoever commits a sin, whether major or minor, ‘but afterwards seeks Allah’s forgiveness, he will find Allah Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful’" ?

Or is it the knowledge of the sciences in that, for example, that there are 46 chromosomes in a human cell, or that no mass is created or lost in a chemical reaction.

So what kind of knowledge did Allah speak of, and ask us to seek, and what are some specific examples of those in action?
 
:salamext:


Knowledge is what will bring you closer to Allaah. :)
 
'Knowledge' [ilm] is the knowledge of the Quran and the Sunnah; this includes the basic facts such as knowing the five 'pillars' of Islam, to the highest science of Islam which is the tafsir [interpretation of the Quran]; a person who has true knowledge, not only 'learns it' but also implements it in his life.

Salaam
 
Knowledge is knowing we must search for wisdom and that wisdom will guide us in the proper path to seek knowledge that will help us serve Allaah(swt)
 
Okay, well I've just learnt that you must not look up when you pray Salat.

Does this mean I have gained and accumulated some knowledge?
 
:salamext:

Someone once told me that true Knowledge is having the Fear of Allaah :arabic2: in your heart..
 
As Salam Alaykum,

I have an exam in a bit, but I will write up an answer, from the book of our teacher Ibn Uthaymeen, and give it to you, so you will know generally what is meant.

Briefly there are different types of knowledge, which have different types of rulings, praiseworthy knowledge, and other knowledge which in some cases may also be praiseworthy.
 
From the Book of the Noble Scholar, Shaykh, Muhammad ibn Saalih al Uthaymeen.

Part 1
DEFINITION OF KNOWLEDGE​

Linguistically - The opposite of ignorance, which is: To understand something with definitive understanding.

Technically - Some of the people of knowledge have said: It is to know (something) and it is the opposite of ignorance, while others from amongst them have said: Certainly, knowledge is more clear than to (simply) know.

What we mean here is knowledge of the Sharee'ah, and what is meant by this knowledge is: Knowledge which Allaah has revealed to His Messenger from the evidences and the guidance. Therefore, knowledge which has praise and commendation attached to it is knowledge of the revelation, that being, only knowledge which Allaah has revealed.

The Prophet, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam, said:

"Whoever Allaah wishes good for, He grants him understanding of the religion".7

The Prophet, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam, also said:

"Certainly, the Prophets have not bequeathed deenaar nor dirham, rather they have bequeathed knowledge, so whoever takes it has taken abundant good fortune".8

From that which is known, is that what the Prophets have bequeathed is the knowledge of the Sharee'ah of Allaah and nothing other than it. So, the Prophets, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam, {sic} have not bequeathed for man knowledge of manufacturing and that which is related to it; rather when the Messenger, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam, arrived in Madeenah, he found the people grafting the date palm trees. Having seen how tired they had become, he said to them something to the meaning of: there is no need for this, meaning grafting. Upon hearing this, they left the process of grafting, and as a result the date palms deteriorated in their yeild. The Prophet, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam, then said to the:

"You have better knowledge (of a technical skill) in the affairs of your world".9

Were it that such knowledge carried with it an element of praise then the Messenger, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam, would have been more knowledgeable than the people about it, this is because the one who is most praised and blessed with knowledge and action is the Prophet, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam.

Therefore, knowledge of the Sharee'ah is that which has an element of praise attached to it and commendation for one who acts upon it.

However, having said this, I do not deny that with other knowledge there is benefit, rather, it must possess a double-edged benefit: If it assists in obedience to Allaah and leads to the success and victory of the Religion of Allaah, and the servants of Allaah are able to benefit from it, then that is good and beneficial, learning it may well be obligatory at some time should it fall under the statement of Allaah, Subhanahu Wa Ta 'Ala:

[[There is the ayah in arabic, and then english, the arabic is what Allah said, the english I will type is the translation of the meaning]]

And make ready against them all you can of power, including steeds of war...10

It has been mentioned by many from amongst the people of knowledge that seeking knowledge of manufacturing is fard kifaayah,11 and that is for example, because it is imperative that people have (utensils and) containers to cook with and drink from, and similar issues with which they can seek benefit. So if there were non who came forward to establish such a process, then the learning of it becomes fard kifaayah and this is a controversial issue amongst the people of knowledge. However, I wish to say that the knowledge of the Sharee'ah, which is understanding the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam, and that which is other than this is either a means to something good or a means to something evil. Therefore its ruling is based upon what that particular knowledge is a means to, either good or evil.

END OF PART 1

Pages from 17 to 19.

And Allah knows best. If you wish for the footnotes I will type them insha'Allah.
 
Knowledge is defined as the intersect (look up set theory) of belief and truth.

Where ‘truth’ is a logical statement which concurs with reality and ‘belief’ is a logical claim or proposition about reality.

For example:

Proposition (belief): All apples are red.
Truth: Not all apples are red.

Conclusion: the belief that 'All apples are red' is not knowledge.

Regards
 
Yea, but it states what is knowledge in Islam. The question is restricted to the realms of Islamic teachings/circles.
 
Ok then....

Proposition: The Koran claims Jesus shaped a bird from clay, which became a bird and flew away.

Truth: In 5:110 (The table spread) Allah says to Jesus says: 'how thou didst shape of clay as it were the likeness of a bird by My permission, and didst blow upon it and it was a bird'

Conclusion: This is knowledge of the Koran

.....however.....

This is not knowledge of the real world. Jesus did not create a living bird from clay. This is not possible.
 
Quixotic said:
Ok then....

Proposition: The Koran claims Jesus shaped a bird from clay, which became a bird and flew away.

Truth: In 5:110 (The table spread) Allah says to Jesus says: 'how thou didst shape of clay as it were the likeness of a bird by My permission, and didst blow upon it and it was a bird'

Conclusion: This is knowledge of the Koran

.....however.....

This is not knowledge of the real world. Jesus did not create a living bird from clay. This is not possible.
Click to expand...

We know it is not possible, but we have knowledge of it happening. Isa(as) did make a bird of clay and it did fly off. It could only be done by the permission of Allaah(swt) a man could not do so.
 
Quixotic said:
Ok then....

Proposition: The Koran claims Jesus shaped a bird from clay, which became a bird and flew away.

Truth: In 5:110 (The table spread) Allah says to Jesus says: 'how thou didst shape of clay as it were the likeness of a bird by My permission, and didst blow upon it and it was a bird'

Conclusion: This is knowledge of the Koran

.....however.....

This is not knowledge of the real world. Jesus did not create a living bird from clay. This is not possible.
Click to expand...

No, you are still not getting it, the Qur'an's author refers to Knowledge as being praiseworthy, the Question araises, what type of knowlegde is they author refering to?

As you see, could it be, knowledge which one memorises of the hadith, or is it knowledge of the natural world? Or is it a different type of knowledge.


Your example should read:

Conclusion: The Qur'an claims certain events to have happend, Jesus making birds out of clay ect.

This could be knowledge of what really happend, but cannot be variefied if we use the yardstick of historians, as it is a historical event for which there are no historically accepted sources.

What we may say is, according to our experiences in life this event has never happend before, and therefore maybe seen as unlikely!
 
But there is no evidence of this happening.

In which case you can arbitrarily choose what is true and what is not, with no evidence.

For example:

'Harry potter does some things which are impossible, he uses magic'.

Did this really happen?

How do you differentiate between the two?

Or as a more direct example, any ancient text which contains things which we know to be impossible, but were helped with the power of a god. There are many stories from many different cultures.

How do you tell which one is true and which is not with no evidence of any being true?

Regards
 
Quixotic said:
But there is no evidence of this happening.

In which case you can arbitrarily choose what is true and what is not, with no evidence.

For example:

'Harry potter does some things which are impossible, he uses magic'.

Did this really happen?

How do you differentiate between the two?

Or as a more direct example, any ancient text which contains things which we know to be impossible, but were helped with the power of a god. There are many stories from many different cultures.

How do you tell which one is true and which is not with no evidence of any being true?

Regards
Click to expand...

You work within a context, i.e. why would you need to know if it is true? Some events do not concern us, so I have no motive/reason to find out if they are true or not.
 

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