Sunday school Graduation Speech for Islaamic School: ‘Ilm

By Saeed Ahmed Shaikh

Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillahi Rabbil ‘Aalamin. WasSalaatu wassalaam,’alaa ashrafil ambiyaaee wal mursaleen. Muhammad ibn Abdullah. Wa’aalaa aalihi waashabihi ajmaeen. Ammaa baad.

Beloved children, dear parents and respected guests:

Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah. I am deeply honored and privileged to share some of my thoughts with you today, and I will talk on the subject of ‘ilm, Insha’Allah. I believe it’s appropriate on a graduation day like today.

Allah (SWT) reminds us in the Qur’an, Suraah Taa Haa, aayaah # 114, that:

“Rabbi zidni ‘Ilmaa” (O Lord, increase me in ‘ilm (knowledge). We all, young and old, should say this du’a’ all the times. This is one of the most important du’a’s we should be offering on regular basis.

You may ask: What’s ‘ilm? Well, it’s generally translated as knowledge in English. However, like so many other Arabic terms, actually there is no equivalent English word. So due to lack of adequacy of the language, we will translate ‘ilm roughly as knowledge. But what’s the knowledge in the first place? Well, knowledge means information about something, may it be divine or corporeal. ‘Ilm is more than that. ‘Ilm is not just information; it is theory, action, and education of information – all in one. Thus, ‘ilm is more expansive than knowledge.

What’s the importance of ‘ilm in Islaam? This is a huge topic with very heavy consequences. For example: The term “tawhid” meaning “oneness of Allah” and “ad-Deen” meaning the true religion have been used frequently in Islaamic life. Well, none of them equals ‘ilm in depth of meaning and wide incidence of use. There is no facet of our life as Muslims that is untouched by “knowledge!” As a matter of fact, ‘ilm can be said as Islaam and interchangeably Islaam can be said as a part of knowledge! No other religion or ideology has so much riding on the back of ‘ilm.

As we know, Allah (SWT) has revealed the Qur’an that started with the word “Iraq.” Iqraa means “read,” but it’s not just “read.” Comprehensively Iqraa means “knowledge,” or shall we say ‘ilm? So Allaah’s first command to humans is to get knowledge, in the name of Allaah, or shall we say “for God’s sake?” In the Qur’an, the word “aalim” meaning “possessor” of “’ilm” occurs 140 times, while the word al-‘ilm occurs 27 times. In all, the total number of aayaat in which the word ‘ilm or its derivatives and associated words are used are 704. The aids of knowledge such as books, pen, ink. Etc. amount to almost the same number! See how expansive the topic of ‘ilm is!

You know who is the first teacher for the mankind? It’s Allah (SWT) Himself! And who is the first student? It’s Adam (A). And what’s the first lesson? Well, Allah (SWT) taught Adam (A) all the Names! Again, the term ”taught all the Names” goes far beyond the names; it means ‘ilm of all necessary things required to live as a human on the face of this earth. See how expansive the topic of ‘ilm is!

‘Ilm is generally of three types: (i) information as opposed to ignorance, (ii) natural laws, and (iii) knowledge by conjecture. The first two types of knowledge are considered useful and we should acquire

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them. The third type is through doubt, suspicion and conjecture and we should stay away from it. Besides various Qur’anic aayaat about importance of knowledge, there are100’s of aahadith that encourage Muslims to acquire all types of knowledge from every corner of the world. The question is how do we acquire the knowledge? Well, there are mainly three sources: (i) five senses, (ii) reason (‘aql), and (iii) divine scriptures (revealed books). Actually in Muslim philosophy, ‘aql, that is reason or intellect, is considered as a prerequisite for knowledge. Most worldly knowledge that we gain including degrees through schooling is due to ‘aql, the intellect. There is consensus among Muslims on the importance of ‘aql, which is denoted by such words as ta’aqqul, tafaqqul and tadabbur in the Qur’an. As a matter of fact, ‘Ijmaa and ijtihaad used in Islaam are based on ‘aql. Ijmaa is the analysis that is not covered by the Qur’an, hadith or scholarly consensus. Ijtihaad is the intellectual effort of Muslim jurists. It is the process of making decision by independent interpretation by legal sources. It’s the most dynamic principle in the body of Islaam. Dynamic in the sense that it is progressive, and not hollow or bombastic. Many a times, to others, it may sound like hikmaah meaning wisdom. But unlike other religions where hikmaah is considered as a higher level of knowledge, in Islaam, there is no such distinction. In Islaam, hikmaah and Mariah and ‘ilm are all synonymous. See how expansive the topic of ‘ilm is! So much so that ma’rifah, that is ultimate ‘ilm, springs from the knowledge of the self: “Man ‘arafa nafsahu faqad ‘arafa Rabbahu.” One who realizes one’s own self realizes his Lord. Quite a lofty thing to ponder!

‘Ilm is referred to in many Qur’anic verses as light, that is noor, and Allaah (SWT) is also described as the ultimate Noor. Let’s look at the aayaah 35 of the Suraah An-Noor of the Qur’anul Karim: “Allaah is the Light of the heavens and earth. The parable of His Light is (as if there were) a niche and within it a lamp: the lamp is in a glass, the glass as it were, a brilliant star, lit from the blessed tree, an olive, neither of the East nor the West, whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself) though no fire touched it. Light upon Light! Allaah guides to His Light whom He wills. And Allaah sets forth parables for mankind, and Allaaah is All-Knower of Everything.” Subhaanallaah!

Let’s look at this aayaah as a learner, as an educator, and not from any tafsir (Qur’anic commentary) viewpoint:

Allah is the Source of Enlightenment, of Perfect Knowledge, of a Perfect Education. The magnificent imagery of the lamp in the niche may well be interpreted by modern educationists and lawmakers to express the universality of education: the lamp in the niche casts no shadows, symbolic of Allaah’s Divine Design of providing the facility to all humankind. Hence any Government or individual that denies anyone access to education or ‘ilm violates that person’s divinely ordained right! The glass cover protecting the light adds to it the component of security as a condition for meaningful education or ‘ilm. But it may well serve as a reminder to the Ummah to protect the Message from alteration.

A brilliant star – another beautiful symbol of the dynamism of education that constantly attracts the learner and teacher to respond.

The olive, the oil that keeps the light glowing is fired from within – the enthusiasm and commitment of the dedicated educator that keeps the light glowing.

But Allaah (SWT) reminds us that the curriculum of education or ‘ilm is “neither of the East nor the West,” but related to the totality of life’s needs. And then the wonderful, triumphant expression of “Light

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upon Light” with the promise of success and eternal joy: Search and Allaah lights the way to success! See how beautiful it is! See how expansive the topic of ‘ilm could be!!

In Islaam, ‘ilm is no just confined to acquisition of knowledge only, but also embraces socio-political and moral aspects. It requires us to act upon our beliefs and commit ourselves to the goals, which Islaam aims to attaining. Here is a hadith (saying of the Prophet (S)) worth remembering. It’s narrated by Ali ibn Abi Taalib (R). Once Jibril (A) came to Aadam (A). He brought with him faith, morality (hayaa) and ‘aql (reason) and asked him to choose one of the three. When Aadam (A) chose ‘aql, the others (faith and morality) were told by Jibril (A) to return to the Heavens. The faith and morality said that they were ordered by Allaah (SWT) to accompany ‘aql wherever it (‘aql) remained. It makes sense, doesn’t it? See how expansive the topic of ‘ilm is in Islaam!

One more aspect of the ‘ilm; and it has something to do with the human superiority over rest of Allaah’s creation. It started with Aadam (A) when Allaah (SWT) ordered angels to bow before Aadam (A). It showed human superiority over angels. Because Allaah (SWT) bestowed humans with special attributes and capabilities. It’s not based on body size or physical strength or special anatomical or physiological function. Human superiority is not a right. It’s a potential that can be developed or neglected. Not every

single human individual can claim this superiority. Humans have to fulfill certain conditions. These conditions can be summed up under the concept of Taqwaa, which in turn depends upon four things: (i) super intellect, ‘ilm and ‘aql,(ii) free will, (iii) responsibility, and (iv) morality. Again the first and foremost of human superiority is ‘aql or ‘ilm that is so important. In the absence of ‘‘aql, the other criteria lose their significance.

Brothers and sisters, the subject of ‘ilm is so wide that you can go on and on…

Let me conclude with the familiar starfish story. It goes like this:

Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf's edge and the beach. Back and forth this person went. As the man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide.

The man was stuck by the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached the person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.

As he came up to the person he said, "You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference." The person looked at the man. He then stooped down and picks up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the man and said, "It sure made a difference to that one!”

The message is to take this message home and ponder over it. Each one of us is here to make a difference…for the sake of our children. So brothers and sisters try to help save those starfish, one at a time, and we will save oceanful of them, Insha’Allaah.

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Wa aakhir da’waana anilhamdulillahi rabbil aalamin. AsSalaamu aliakum waRahmatullahi waBaarakatuh.

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