Islam: The Importance Of Seeking Knowledge In Islam

Seeking knowledge is a very important necessity of our lives as Muslims. Our Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is quoted to have said, “Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim.” Islam has given great importance to the process of seeking knowledge. For instance, if we look at the first five verses ever revealed in the Quran {Recite: In the name of thy Lord who created man from a clot. Recite: And thy Lord is the Most Generous who taught by the pen, taught man that which he knew not." (Quran, 96:1-5)}, we can see that the word “اقـــــرأ” (read) is repeated two times; the word "قـــــلــــم" (pen) is mentioned once and the word "عــــلَّـم" (learn) is repeated twice. That, in itself, shows us how very important it is to seek knowledge – so much so that the first few verses of revelation were on it! The pursuit of knowledge and the use of reason, based on sense and observation is made obligatory on all believers. Along with the first five verses, there are quite a few other verses in the Qur’an that talk about seeking knowledge, for example:
• "And they shall say had we but listened or used reason, we would not be among the inmates of the burning fire." (Quran, 67:10)
• "Are those who have knowledge and those who have no knowledge alike? Only the men of understanding are mindful. "(Quran, 39:9)
• "And who brings the truth and believes therein such are the dutiful." (Quran, 39:33)
• "My Lord! Enrich me with knowledge." (Quran,