Introduction
Al-Ghazali, known in Medieval Europe as Algazel, was a Persian scholar roughly contemporary with Anselm of Canterbury. In 1095, feeling compromised by political and academic expectations, Ghazali abruptly left his prestigious teaching post and embarked on a ten-year pilgrimage to Damascus, Jerusalem and Mecca. The Revival of the Religious Sciences was the fruit of his soul-searching, and one of the most important Islamic works after the Quran itself.
Umar said,* “The thing I fear most for the safety of this nation is the learned hypocrite.” Umar was then asked how one could be both learned and hypocritical, to which he replied, “While his learning does not go beyond verbal knowledge, his heart remains untouched and his works betray no wisdom”.* Al-Hasan al-Basri said,* “Be not one of those who combine the knowledge of learned men and the brilliant ideas of the wise but conduct themselves the way of fools”.* [...]
Al-Khalil ibn-Ahmad* said, “There are four kinds of men: One is the man who knows, and knows that he knows — he is a learned man and therefore follow him. Another is the man who knows, but does not know that he knows — he is asleep, wake him up. A third is the man who does not know, and knows that he does not know — he desires to learn, teach him. A fourth is the man who does not know, and does not know that he does not know — he is ignorant, reject him.” Sufyanal-Thawri said, Knowledge summons works and, unless they respond, it departs. Ibn-al-Mubarak said,* “As long as a man continues to seek knowledge he remains learned; but the moment he thinks he has mastered all knowledge, he recedes into ignorance.”
Translated by Nabih Amin Faris. Abridged.
From ‘The Book of Knowledge’ by Imam Ghazali (1057-1111), translated by Nabih Amin Faris (1962). There is no copyright notice. The translation has been made publicly available on Ghazali.org.
* Umar ibn al-Khattab (?582/583-644) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644.
* Samuel Smiles would have understood: see on Character and Learning.
* Al-Hasan al-Basri (642-728) was a Muslim scholar and judge, known for his asceticism.
* See Jane Austen on Education of the Heart, and on how actions reveal true character, Aesop’s fable of The Cat’s Wedding.
* Al-Khalil ibn-Ahmed (?718-?791) was an Arab philologist who compiled the first Arabic dictionary.
* Over the years, this has found its way into English books of quotations, often with a little polish on it. One such version was given by NL Clay in Advanced English Exercises (1939) as an exercise in elocution:
He who knows and knows that he knows,
Is wise; follow him.
He who knows and knows not that he knows,
Is asleep; wake him.
He who knows not and knows not that he knows not,
Is a fool; shun him.
He who knows not and knows that he knows not,
Is a child; teach him.
* Sufyanal-Thawri (716-778) or Sufyan al-Thawri was a Sunni Muslim scholar considered one of the Eight Ascetics.
* Ibn-al-Mubarak (726-797) was a Sunni Muslim scholar.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Ask. Asleep. Brilliant.
2 Ignorant. Man. No.
3 Much. Recede. While.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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