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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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“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)

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The Splendors of Knowledge according to the Sages.

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By Dr. Hamza Ibn Fayi' Al Fathi.

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May Allah preserve him.

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Compound Ignorance.

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Sahl Ibn 'Abdullah al-Tustari, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

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He who passed away in the year 283 AH.

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"Allah the Exalted has not been disobeyed by any sin greater than ignorance."

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It was asked:

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"Is there anything more severe than ignorance?"

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He replied: "Yes."

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"Ignorance of one's own ignorance."

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"Compound ignorance."

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This is because ignorance of one's own ignorance completely shuts the door to learning.

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For he who imagines himself to be knowledgeable,

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How can he learn?

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This is often embellished by a sense of cognitive sufficiency,

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Or incomplete knowledge wrapped in ignorance,

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Whereby one is content with what life has taught him,

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Or his own limited experience,

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Or a few credentials,

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Believing them to be the pinnacle of knowledge,

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And the ultimate limit of intellect and sagacity.

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So he begins to trade upon them,

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Defending them out of stubbornness and vanity.

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He sees no knowledge or intellectual sophistication beyond them,

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And thus is afflicted with the calamity of compound ignorance.

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He accepts no correction or addition to what he possesses,

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And becomes obsessed with this state,

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To the point that he defends absurdities,

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And praises misguidance,

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Believing them to be a form of knowledge,

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Or a type of intellectual superiority.

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Such a person is difficult to reason with or debate,

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Because he is an affecter of knowledge,

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Boasting of his own ignorance therein.

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And Allah is the One whose help is sought.

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It is from this that one falls into compound ignorance,

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And accumulated superstition.

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That is why they distinguish between simple ignorance,

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And compound ignorance.

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The person of simple ignorance,

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Knows that he is ignorant,

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And does not lay claim to knowledge.

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Unlike the person of compound ignorance,

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Who, despite his ignorance, thinks he is a scholar.

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His ignorance is compounded of two ignorances:

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Ignorance of the thing itself,

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And ignorance of the fact that he is ignorant of it,

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Along with the claim of absolute knowledge and understanding.

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This is what the poet meant by his words:

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"It is a hardship to try to make an ignorant person understand,

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When he ignorantly thinks he is more understanding than you."

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They also recited in this regard:

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"The donkey of the sage Tuma said:

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If they were fair, I would be the one riding,

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For I am merely simply ignorant,

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While my master is compoundly ignorant."

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Compound ignorance arises from intellectual arrogance,

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Personal stubbornness,

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A refusal to seek further knowledge,

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A love of prominence,

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Living within the confines of limited experience,

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Believing oneself to be correct in every situation,

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Claiming intellectual sagacity at all times,

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Corrupt sources,

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Misreadings of books,

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And the fallacies of people.

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Peace.