The following translation is an excerpt from the Chapter on Knowledge and Learning of Imam al-Ghazali’s Mukhtasar Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din
On the Dangers of Knowledge
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has said,
“The person who will receive the greatest punishment on the Day of Judgement will be a Scholar by whose knowledge Allah did not benefit him.”
He ﷺ also said,
“If someone increases in knowledge, but does not increase in guidance, he has only increased in remoteness from Allah.”
You should know that by virtue of his delving into knowledge, the Scholar is never safe. He will either perish or gain eternal felicity. Al-Khalil b. Ahmad said:
“Men are of four types. Firstly, there is a man who knows and is cognizant of his knowledge. He is a Scholar, so follow him. Secondly, there is a man who knows but is not cognizant of his knowledge. He is asleep, so wake him up. Thirdly, there is a man that does not know but is cognizant of his lack of knowledge. He is a person who can be guided, so teach him. Fourthly, there is a person that does not know and is not cognizant of his lack of knowledge. He is an ignorant person, so avoid him. Sufyan said, ‘Knowledge calls for action. If that call is answered, [the knowledge remains]. If not, it departs.’”
Allah سبحانه وتعالىٰ said
(And recite to them the news of the one to whom We had given our signs and then he departed from them)
A Clarification of the Scholars of the Hereafter and the Scholars of this World
The Scholars of the Hereafter are those who do not consume the world at the cost of their religion. Nor do they sell their Hereafter in exchange for the world, because they recognize the nobility of the Hereafter and the lowliness of this world.
If someone does not recognize that this world is at odds with the Hereafter, and that it is harmful, he is not among the Scholars. If someone denies that, he has denied that which the Qur’an and the Prophetic reports have indicated, and which all the revealed Books have indicated, as well as the words of all the Prophets. If someone recognizes that and does not act accordingly, he is a prisoner of Shaytan, whose passionate desires have destroyed him, and whose wretchedness has defeated him.
If anyone follows such a person, the follower will be destroyed. How can anyone at this level be counted among the party of Scholars?
In a private conversation with Dawud عليه السلام, Allah سبحانه وتعالىٰ said:
“Do you know what I do with a Scholar who prefers his desires to My love? I deny him the enjoyment of intimate communication with Me. O, Dawud! Do not ever ask about Me of any Scholar who has been beguiled by this world. For he will dissuade you from the path of My love. They are the highway robbers in the path of My servants. O, Dawud! If you see a seeker, be in his service. O, Dawud! If someone returns to me in flight, I will have recorded him as a martyr. If I record someone as a martyr, I will never punish him with the Fire.”
Likewise, al-Hasan al-Basri said,
“The punishment of the Scholars is the death of the heart. The death of the heart occurs by seeking the world through the acts of the Hereafter.”
‘Umar رضي الله عنه said,
“If you see that a Scholar loves the world, protect your religion from him. Every lover is engrossed in that which he loves.”
Yahya b. Mu’adh al-Razi used to say to the Scholars of the world:
“O, Companions of knowledge! Your palaces are like the palace of Caesar. Your homes are like the home of Khosrow. Your clothes are like the clothes of Tahir. Your footgear is like the footgear of Goliath. Your couches are like the couches of Qarun. Your cups are like the cups of Pharaoh. Your sins are like the sins of Jahiliyyah. And your methodology is the methodology of Shaytan. So, where is the Muhammadan Sacred Law?”
He then recited:
“The shepherd of the herd should protect them from the wolf,
But what happens when the shepherd is himself a wolf?”
It has also been said:
“O, reciters of the Qur’an! O, salt of the land,
What can rectify salt that has lost its flavor? ”
Finally, you should know that it is necessary that the religious Scholar be modest in his food, his clothing, his living quarters, and all that is connected to his life in this world. He should not incline towards this world’s riches, nor its enjoyments. Nor should he accumulate much of its riches, if he has not excelled in the richness of abstaining from it.
He should also avoid entering upon the rulers and the worldly leaders as much as possible, in order to save himself from disaster and affliction.
On the Intellect and Its Nobility
The intellect is the wellspring of knowledge. Its nobility is indicated by his ﷺ words,
“The first thing that Allah created was the intellect. He said to it, ‘Advance.’ So it advanced. He said to it, ‘Retreat.’ So it retreated. Then He said to it, ‘By My might and majesty, I have not created anything more honored to Me than you. By you I take; by you I give; by you I reward; and by you I punish.’”
The Prophet ﷺ also said,
“I asked Jibril, ‘What thing is noblest?’ He responded, ‘The intellect.’”
The intellect is, in reality, a capacity by which its possessor is prepared to perceive known things through reason. It is as if the intellect is a light that has been cast into the heart, by which the heart is prepared to perceive created things. That light varies in strength according to the variation in capacity.
And Allah knows best!
