In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
“Is he who payeth adoration in the watches of the night, prostrate and standing, bewaring of the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, (to be accounted equal with a disbeliever)? Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Are those who know equal with those who know not? But only men of understanding will pay heed.” (39:9)
The Splendors of Knowledge according to the Sages.
By Dr. Hamza Ibn Fayi' Al Fathi.
May Allah preserve him.
Compound Ignorance.
Sahl Ibn 'Abdullah al-Tustari, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:
He who passed away in the year 283 AH.
"Allah the Exalted has not been disobeyed by any sin greater than ignorance."
It was asked:
"Is there anything more severe than ignorance?"
He replied: "Yes."
"Ignorance of one's own ignorance."
"Compound ignorance."
This is because ignorance of one's own ignorance completely shuts the door to learning.
For he who imagines himself to be knowledgeable,
How can he learn?
This is often embellished by a sense of cognitive sufficiency,
Or incomplete knowledge wrapped in ignorance,
Whereby one is content with what life has taught him,
Or his own limited experience,
Or a few credentials,
Believing them to be the pinnacle of knowledge,
And the ultimate limit of intellect and sagacity.
So he begins to trade upon them,
Defending them out of stubbornness and vanity.
He sees no knowledge or intellectual sophistication beyond them,
And thus is afflicted with the calamity of compound ignorance.
He accepts no correction or addition to what he possesses,
And becomes obsessed with this state,
To the point that he defends absurdities,
And praises misguidance,
Believing them to be a form of knowledge,
Or a type of intellectual superiority.
Such a person is difficult to reason with or debate,
Because he is an affecter of knowledge,
Boasting of his own ignorance therein.
And Allah is the One whose help is sought.
It is from this that one falls into compound ignorance,
And accumulated superstition.
That is why they distinguish between simple ignorance,
And compound ignorance.
The person of simple ignorance,
Knows that he is ignorant,
And does not lay claim to knowledge.
Unlike the person of compound ignorance,
Who, despite his ignorance, thinks he is a scholar.
His ignorance is compounded of two ignorances:
Ignorance of the thing itself,
And ignorance of the fact that he is ignorant of it,
Along with the claim of absolute knowledge and understanding.
This is what the poet meant by his words:
"It is a hardship to try to make an ignorant person understand,
When he ignorantly thinks he is more understanding than you."
They also recited in this regard:
"The donkey of the sage Tuma said:
If they were fair, I would be the one riding,
For I am merely simply ignorant,
While my master is compoundly ignorant."
Compound ignorance arises from intellectual arrogance,
Personal stubbornness,
A refusal to seek further knowledge,
A love of prominence,
Living within the confines of limited experience,
Believing oneself to be correct in every situation,
Claiming intellectual sagacity at all times,
Corrupt sources,
Misreadings of books,
And the fallacies of people.
Peace.