The Acquisition of Knowledge

The Acquisition of Knowledge

1992 10-11 October-November 19 The Acquisition of Knowledge (305) A tradition recorded by Sahih Muslim on the authority of Abdullah ibn Yahya ibn abi Kathir, in the chapter on ‘Mosques and Prayer Times’ runs as follows:

‘I have heard my father say,’ said Abdullah ibn Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, ‘that the acquisition of knowledge did not go hand in hand with physical comfort.’

Leaving aside the fact that this tradition has been somewhat unaccountably included under the heading of Salat, it is nevertheless important because it emphasises the necessity for perseverance in the pursuit of knowledge. Deep insights in the realms of knowledge are certainly not attainable unless one fully devotes oneself to the task, sacrificing one’s leisure and comfort in the process.

Knowledge cannot be attained without a great deal of study and investigation. When one is truly engaged in the pursuit, one is plunged into a whole new world of preoccupation, in which one automatically sacrifices certain physical requirements like food, sleep and rest. Without this one cannot affectively pursue a course of study and research. Thus, a true seeker after knowledge comes to hold all practical requirements as secondary, if he is fully to submerge himself in the ocean of knowledge. But those who launch themselves on such a course are unaware of hardship. What seems like hardship to others is, to them a matter of complete inconsequence. Once deeply engaged in the pursuit of knowledge, they find the experience so rewarding that that in itself is a compensation for lost comforts.

The physical comfort sacrificed is, indeed, of little importance when compared with their much greater psychological gain.

This is what makes all the discomforts suffered in the pursuit of knowledge acceptable. The dedicated student willingly bears the loss of small things, like ease and leisure, in the knowledge that what he has acquired in the process is much greater.