In The Light of Experiences

One famous example of this is that thousands of people had seen apples fall from trees, but they were unaware of their “la adri” (lack of knowledge) in this matter, so they remained ignorant of the truth behind it. Isaac Newton was the first person who recognized his la adri in this case. As a result, he reached the level of “adri” (knowing) and uncovered the truth about gravity. 2. As part of the madrasa curriculum, one of the books I studied on poetry and literature was Diwan alHamasa. I studied this book under Maulana Akhtar Ahsan Islahi (d. 1985), who had exceptional mastery over pre-Islamic Arab poetry. The Diwan al-Hamasa is a renowned anthology of Arabic poetry compiled by Abu Tammam (d. 845 CE). It features poems selected from Arab poets spanning various periods, from pre-Islamic times up to around 832 CE. During my student days, I memorized many of the poems from this collection. Some of these had a profound impact on my life. One such verse is: “If a person fails to acquire the qualities of nobility in his youth. It will be very difficult for him to achieve it in old age.” The explanation of this verse by my esteemed teacher helped me understand a fundamental truth about life: the best time for productive work is during one’s youth. A person who fails to make use of their youth will struggle to achieve anything significant later in life.