From my early childhood, I was searching for the difference between knowledge and education. I could not understand what the word knowledge means. "Knowledge is power" was written in my school batch. I use to think maybe it means money and social status that comes with an educated man. So it’s called power. We were supposed to recite this prayer (dua) in our morning assembly:
“Oh, Lord! Please Increase my Knowledge”
This prayer was said to be the prayer of the prophet Muhammad so studying in a Muslim country and a Muslim school you were supposed to recite this prayer every morning.
I could not understand why a prophet was asking for knowledge. Are the prophets greedy for social status too and money? We use to put prophets in a very prestigious place where we don’t want to hear any human flaws in them.
Then with time, I started studying different people and I was left with astonishment that all the great men ever in the world starting from Aristotle and Luqman (great-grandfather of Prophet Abraham) conquer mankind only from their wisdom. Luqman was a slave. But what was so special about this slave? that every time his master had to either sell him or admit him as more superior than himself. The last master of Luqman did not sell him nor did he free him but admitted that although I am the master of Luqman, in reality, he is my master due to his wisdom and he will be given freedom after his death. Now my second question is raised: Is wisdom a part of knowledge? Well, I got this answer with time. I learned that wisdom is an act of reward we receive in the path of knowledge. Wisdom is the actual ultimate power. Wisdom can raise a man from slavery to a prestigious place in the world till eternity.
Education is the first step towards knowledge. Education helps us in the quest for knowledge by opening books to us. Few of us know that Prophet Idris (Enoch) was the second prophet on earth. He was given the miracle of writing. He was the first man on this planet to introduce language writing to this world. Hence we can say that any sort of education whether it’s learning a language or learning any skill( doctorate, engineering etc) plays an important role in opening the gateway for knowledge.
After education comes the lust for knowledge. If a person is having a lust for knowledge in himself, he will search for new experiences in his life. He will open himself up to books and will search for the reason for his being and his behaviour towards this world. This search for his being and reformist of his behaviour will lead him to the reward of wisdom in his life. Reformist behaviour is very important in the quest for knowledge as knowledge learned in life is useless without its practical implication in life. Practical implications make that knowledge a practice on regular bases in our life. And from this point comes the reward of wisdom, when you start looking at things from a different scenario and angle. Wisdom asks you to challenge all the riots and imbalances of society. Wisdom asks you to sacrifice your greed and lust for all the glitters of the world. It was Abraham Lincoln’s wisdom that made him look at the imbalance of slavery in his society and question it? It was Aristotle's wisdom that led him to drink poison as he use to question the imbalance of his society.
Here comes another very important point. Sorrow and grief is the biggest teacher in our lives. Wisdom is also associated with grief, sorrow and pain. When people encounter these three most precious gifts (grief, sorrow and pain) of nature, they get the reward of wisdom. But we as humans only stick ourselves to the sadness and pain associated with grief and sorrow. Hence we stop ourselves from getting the hidden wisdom out of our sad situations. Once we realize what this pain has come to teach us in our lives, there is no more pain or sadness left with that situation in our lives. It’s up to us now either we want to live in sadness to remain on the first step of wisdom or we want to get a lesson out of it this situation to attain wisdom.
Next, comes courage. It’s the second greatest reward on the road of knowledge. When a person has gained wisdom in his life and has started questioning the entire imbalance in his surroundings. The next step the knowledge asks from a person is courage. Courage for standing against all the odds presents in his society in front of the world. Courage is equivalent to fear at one time in our life. When a person gains wisdom he questions but fears society. This is the reason we many find a lot of people in our life that would be wise but fear society. As fear becomes a hurdle in their path of the quest for knowledge. They stop themselves on the stage of wisdom only without achieving the next level of reward due to their inner fears. That’s the reason it is said that the greatest barrier to achieving something is in our mind itself.
Rumi said “ Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be notorious ”
We have to put all the fears aside if we have to achieve something in this world. We have to fight for our wisdom. No soul on this planet has ever achieved high or changed the destiny of this planet by his act unless he did not show courage for his wisdom of words. Courage is the only fact after wisdom which can not only write a new destiny in this world but can make history. The person himself becomes the most important part of history with the time that has ever shown both courage and wisdom to this world. Mr Jinnah who made Pakistan was a man who had both wisdom and courage. That’s the reason he made a new history in the subcontinent. Abraham Lincoln had both wisdom and courage. He is again a man who made a remarkable history in America.
Once a person achieves both wisdom and courage, his destiny is no more in the hand of faith. It’s in his hand, that’s the reason people like these make their destiny and are always remembered with great words in history. No matter from which profession you belong, no matter from which part of the world you belong, if you want to get your name written in big words in history you have to search in the quest for knowledge. You have to achieve all its rewards and not stop or rest at any point. Your wisdom and courage will lead your way to making history on your part in the world.
This courage will ultimately lead you to think and dream out of the box of this world. This dream is your true destiny. It’s your reason to be in this world. No big one has ever come into this world without wisdom, fears in heart, then courage and finally thinking out of the box. Your courage and your wisdom are going to be your power now in achieving that dream. This dream is now going to earn you the ultimate life in this world.
Be it like Rumi a writer ( in 1207-1273), Abraham Lincoln a politician (16 USA President 1861-1865), Mr Jinnah a lawyer (1876-1948), Luqman a judge and a doctor both at a time(before Christ). No matter who you are, no matter where you belong, no matter in which era of time you opened your eyes. It’s your quest for knowledge which is going to make your name forever till eternity. Once you have achieved this quest for knowledge, it would be you and yourself only making your destiny from your own hands.