Message for Friday - Guarding Against Ignorance

من قال: أنا عالم فهو جاهل

Umar Al-Faruq bin Al-Khattab (RH) stated, "Whoever says 'I am a knowledgable person', he is an ignorant person."

One of the most dangerous and ignorant persons that walks the earth is a self proclaimed "know it all." The "know it all" is ignorant because he IGNORES or is not open to consider different perspectives. He is a danger to himself because he closed his mind and structured preconceived notions about subjects and events, which causes him to miss information that can save him from spiritual or social harm. He then puts others in jeopardy by acting upon or shoving his ignorance onto others, many times without evil intent.

The "know it all" mentality is also anti-social. Who likes to be in the company for a protracted periods of time with a "know it all?" How about the person, who is educated in topics that constantly refers to himself as a "scholar?"

This person should not attribute scholarship to himself; he should allow others to recognize his scholarship. How many Phd's have we seen that lack common sense and interpersonal intelligence? How many of these people are screwing up the socio-political world as we speak?!?

So in the quest for becoming educated, the real educated person understands that learning is a life long endeavor. The truly knowledgable person recognizes his own lack of knowledge because the more information he comes into contact with, the more he realizes how little he truly knows!

The supplication of the true scholar is:
يا إلهي إنك عليم و إني جاهل

"Oh my G'd! Surely You are All-Knowing, and I do not know."

And surely G'd knows best.