When I was a teenager, I used to wonder all the time whether I’m actually special to Allah. It would bother me so much if I feel like my relationship with Allah is not on good terms.
But the irony is, since I was lacking in knowledge back then, I wasn’t actually doing the things that would make Allah love me more.
I mean I do read the Quran, pray 5 times a day and perform all my obligatory ibadahs (Islamic rituals) just like any practicing Muslim would. But I was still doing sins that seem trivial but are actually detrimental to my relationship with Allah, ie. disrespecting my parents, gossiping and looking down on others etc.
In retrospect, I truly realize that knowledge is the most important key to set us free.
Our ignorance is actually our second worst enemy, first is the syaitan. If you look at a baby, you wouldn’t mind that it doesn’t know anything, just crawling or wobbling around without a purpose in the world.
But if that baby grows up without learning how to talk, how to walk, how to interact with people, what kind of person will the baby grow up to be? To put it bluntly – a retarded one I suppose.
Those are just the basic human survival skills that we need to learn in order to just… survive. What about the knowledge that we need to have in order to fulfill our purpose as a Khalifah (leader) on this earth to continue Prophet Muhammad SAW’s battle in flourishing Islam on the face of this earth?
Without a firm and solid depth of knowledge in our Muslim community and our youth (to emphasize), our Islamic establishment in the world can be wiped out in just a few more decades.
This is scary.
So today, I’d like to share with you some of the major benefits knowledge can bring into your life with the hope that it will insyaAllah inspire you to love knowledge and to be an avid seeker of knowledge throughout your life.
Before that, let’s see the difference between…
Storing information VS gaining knowledge
Storing information is the mere action of taking information and storing it in your brain without significantly using it in any shape or form.
Gaining knowledge, on the one hand, is when you take the extra step of applying the information into your life by sharing it with others and using it until you become familiar with it and making it become a part of your identity.
The clear distinction between the two is the ACTION taken after a certain information is registered into the brain. Once you start taking action on it, it becomes a form of knowledge that allows you to reap the full benefits from it.
The important thing about gaining knowledge is that it is essentially the ONLY thing that can advance you in life. Without gaining knowledge – whether in the form of reading, listening or going through rich life experiences – you are stunting your growth and preventing yourself from becoming the best person you can potentially be.
Any wasted potential in human advancement is very sad. So, let’s not be one of those statistics and be life-long lovers of knowledge.
Here are 10 major benefits knowledge can give you.
1. Knowledge keeps your brain sharp
Imagine using a really blunt knife to cut your vegetables and meat in the kitchen. What a pain that would be! Without knowledge, your brain is slowly becoming that blunt knife.
This is because you are not developing your thinking skills such as…
- Problem-solving
- Improving logic and reasoning
- Strengthening short-term and long-term memory
- Increasing and sustaining attention span etc.
The more knowledge you gain, the more substance you have to think about and build your building blocks upon. It becomes an exponential growth for you.
2. Knowledge helps you grow your character
When you increase your knowledge, you have a much better understanding of how the world works, ie. why humans behave a certain way, how science explains certain phenomena, how history repeats itself etc.
This in turn, lets you understand yourself better, how your identity fits into the world and equips you with the right information to better deal with specific situations.
Let’s say someone wants to improve their relationship with their spouse. By learning how Prophet Muhammad SAW treated his wives, ie. communication skills and empathy etc, they can have more grace and wisdom in handling their own marriage.
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3. Knowledge gives you an exciting life
If I only knew there’s one ice cream flavor in the world, whether l like it or not, I’d have to deal with it, right? Because there’s no other choice. (Btw, I love ice creams, thus the analogy 🙂 )
Knowledge gives you more choices to live your life on your own terms. Have you ever experienced being in a rut but as soon as you found out about an information, it sets you free and suddenly your life becomes super exciting again?
Yupp, that’s how your life is supposed to be – a never-ending search for the best solutions to live the life of your choice.
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4. Knowledge prevents you from falling into sin
Allah is fair, so you won’t be punished for doing sins in ignorance. But surely you don’t want to be doing sins ignorantly for the rest of your life right?
“O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins.1 Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” [Az-Zumar 39:53]
With the easy access of the internet we have today, surely you can gain some kind of Islamic knowledge to improve yourself gradually.
Like when I was younger, I didn’t know the things I don’t have knowledge of. So, I was doing sins without really meaning to. When you think about your younger self, I’m sure you can also recognize the mistakes you’ve made, now that you know better.
5 years, 10 years from now, you would also be able to recognize all the mistakes that you are currently doing NOW in your everyday life.
So, how would you like to improve yourself from today onwards to make your future self proud? 🙂
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5. Knowledge allows you to fulfill your life purpose
Worshipping Allah alone and becoming the best Muslims we can be is our life purpose. Without gaining more knowledge on how to properly worship Allah, how will you ever know what Allah wants from you?
I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. [Adh-Dhariyat 51:56]
It’s like getting a vacuum cleaner and using it as a broom instead. You are not fulfilling your purpose of creation. Sure, you can still somewhat function a vacuum cleaner as a broom, but how efficient can it be? Very minimal.
Without fulfilling your ultimate life purpose as a Muslim, you can fall into many life’s deceptions and traps, ie. become depressed, materialistic and live a meaningless life etc.
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6. Knowledge distinguishes you from animals
There are a few instances in the Quran where Allah describes the human being as if he is an animal if he behaves other than what the Quran teaches us.
For example, in Surah Al-jumu’ah verse 5, Allah describes the Jews who deny Allah’s Torah at the time were like donkeys carrying loads of books.
Even if a donkey were to carry the most amazing books in the world, it will never be able to benefit from it simply because it is an animal.
So, don’t be like that donkey.
Whenever a human being is being equated with an animal, it is a disgrace because we have been given the highest honour and dignity by Allah since the creation of Adam AS.
Anything less than that, just means we are not upholding our honour by behaving like a human being with the best conduct.
7. Knowledge allows you to advance in life
When we go through different stages in life – infant, early childhood, adolescent etc. – there are specific knowledge and skills we need to acquire in order to fully develop and become a wholesome human being.
Without acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills, we won’t be able to healthily progress through the stages. A person who does not advance through the stages smoothly may deviate in the form of lacking in social skills, self-esteem and self-confidence etc.
Even when venturing into new projects, every stage of development requires a new set of knowledge and skills in order to advance. For example, in a business, a company that has 10 employees needs to acquire a whole different set of knowledge and skills in order to get to 100 employees.
So, when advancing in life, the most important thing you need is the right knowledge to get you to your destination.
And He found you lost and guided [you]. [Ad-Duhaa 93:7]
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8. Knowledge prevents you from living a life of regret
The things we don’t know won’t harm us, right? WRONG. These things can very much hurt you.
Bronnie Ware, a palliative nurse who cared for dying patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives, recorded that people had 5 major common regrets in their dying days, ie. not living a life true to one’s self and not having the courage to express one’s feelings etc.
The fascinating thing is, sometimes these things seem common sense but when not put into practice, it just becomes another ‘stored information’.
As a result, everyone lives the same mediocre life and goes through the same regrets in their dying days.
Tragic.
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9. Knowledge keeps you firm on the Straight Path
Is there a specific way to get closer to Allah? You bet. From Allah’s Quran and Hadith, we can learn so much on how Allah and Prophet Muhammad SAW taught us to live as a devoted Muslim.
There are many scary unrecognized cults that are created as a result of ignorance around the world. In Malaysia, there are people claiming to be the last prophet and that they have special super powers to communicate with God.
OMG. This is just insane. And the weird thing is, these people actually have followers! How is that possible?!!! The Quran and Hadith clearly laid out the truth in detail, yet there still are people who are so ignorant that they can fall for all these con artists.
It is unbelievable!
I’m sorry for getting emotional but these things are very sad. How are you going to stand in front of Allah on the day of judgement and tell Him you followed these con artists because you’re ignorant?
I just can’t fathom it.
So, please equip yourself with the right knowledge from the Quran and Hadith and hold on to it firmly so that you don’t go astray.
May Allah keep us all on His straight path. Ameen.
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10. Knowledge prevents you from damaging yourself
Although ignorance can damage you in many ways, I’m specifically thinking about health.
When I was younger, I took my health for granted ALL THE TIME. Sleeping late, eating junk food all the time and all the sugary things I would devour etc.
Now that I’m in my late 20s and can’t afford to take my health for granted any longer, I kind of regretted how I used to let my health go.
If only I took care of my health sooner, I wouldn’t feel so crappy right now. My body wouldn’t be so out of shape. Alhamdulillah, Allah still gave me a relatively good level of health, but if I continue to live unhealthily, I might not be this healthy for long.
So many of my older loved ones have all kinds of diseases, ie. diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer etc… you name it, they have it. (that can be a slogan for a supermarket haha.. Anyway moving on…)
So, not having the right knowledge to take care of yourself can definitely damage you. It can be said for your overall health too, your mental health, emotional health and psychological health etc.
They all matter.
Related reads:
- 8 Simple And Easy Tips To Help You Cultivate Good Habits
- 7 Reasons Why Happiness Is Not The Answer To All Your Sorrows
Conclusion
Knowledge is extremely important, especially from the Quran and Hadith because that’s our life manual. Every major answer you could ever seek for is already provided there.
Read! In the name of your Lord, Who created. [Al-’Alaq 96:1]
Even the first revelation sent down to Prophet Muhammad SAW was to ask him to READ. That just shows how everything should start from there.
So, I wish you all the best in your life-long learning journey. May Allah make us all very knowledgeable Muslims insyaAllah. Ameen. 🙂
My Lord, increase me in knowledge. [Surah Taha 20:114]
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