THE SPIRIT OF LEARNING
Realize Your Potential
GOD created man with great potential and at the same time, He has given him complete freedom of choice. It is this freedom that divides people into two categories—those who misuse their freedom and the others who use it properly. The potential that man has is bestowed directly by the Creator, but it is the duty of man himself to turn this potential into a reality. Herein lies the destiny of man. People then, are necessarily of two categories: the failures and the successful ones.
Being a failure or being successful is not a matter of destiny. It is in the hands of the individual. The crux of the divine scheme is that man should apply his reason and common sense, and follow his conscience; he should discover the laws of nature and study the divine scriptures revealed to the prophets. He should find out his purpose in life and God Almighty’s design regarding his creation. After taking into account all these facts, he should plan and build his future.
Learning begins with unlearning the wrong things in which he is conditioned by the social environment.
The most important tool in the process of the application of reasoning, discovering laws of nature and finding out one’s purpose in life and in persevering in the goals, is learning. Learning begins with unlearning the wrong things in which he is conditioned by the social environment. It is a known fact that every human being gets conditioned by the society he belongs to. All that is wrong in that particular society becomes a part of the thinking of the person. It becomes a person’s duty to examine his mindset when he reaches maturity. They should discover the norms that are in accordance with the good nature they are created with. This process can be called the de-conditioning of conditioned minds. It is this de-conditioning from which one’s intellectual journey begins. Without undergoing the process of deconditioning one is bound to live by one’s own suppositions.
In our struggle to find the reality of life, education is of the greatest importance. The first message given by God to the Prophet was about learning. This guidance from the Quran revolutionized the minds of the Prophet and his Companions and they did their best to avail of every opportunity to acquire learning and education. In fact, learning is basic to all our hopes and aspirations; the greater the learning, the greater the progress in life.
Another message from the teachings of the Quran, which is of a major concern, is to inculcate in every human being the art of contemplation so that one can learn a lesson from every event—mentioned in the Quran and also events from human history and our daily lives. In relation to a historical event, the Quran says:
There are certainly signs in that for those who can learn a lesson. (15: 75) Natural phenomena as well as historical events have great lessons for those who contemplate deeply about them. The Quran, in referring to them, promotes the development of the thinking habit, so that readers may gain from them intellectually. The individual must keep his mind alive whenever he reads a book, when he observes a scene or when he is confronted by a historical or natural event. He must properly activate his mental faculties in order to derive the right lessons from them. He must endeavour to turn his experiences into meaningful lessons.
Natural phenomena as well as historical events have great lessons for those who contemplate deeply about them.
Man has the capacity for conceptual thought. He can penetrate into the deeper aspect of things, and then learn from them hidden lessons. It is in man’s own interest to keep his mind alive, so that he may not lose any opportunity to learn the right lessons from the events of life.
The teachings of the Quran further highlight another way of learning, which is by discussion and dialogue. The arena of knowledge and wisdom is so vast that it cannot be encompassed by any single mind. The only thing that can help us increase our knowledge is the development of an insatiable intellectual thirst for learning from different quarters on a continuous basis.
Knowledge is like a great ocean; faced with its immensity, no one can be self-sufficient. The process of seeking knowledge has to be a mutual venture, in the course of which everyone gains something from everyone else. There are several ways of acquiring knowledge, one of them being through discussion or dialogue. This should take the form of an intellectual exchange and not in terms of debating. Discussion to be fruitful, requires objectivity, and should be carried out with the learning spirit.
Books are a great source of knowledge. Simply reading will not be of much benefit. One should read them with the understanding that one is establishing contact and consulting with the other thinkers and scholars. It is like a global discussion. A library is like a global conference room. Learning thus is a lifelong process. It has a beginning, but no end.
In addition to books from which we can learn from, in the comfort of our home or library or an educational institute; the Quran talks about travel as a great source of learning. This does not mean that one has to travel especially for this purpose. It simply means that one should keep the mind open for learning during one’s travel for any purpose. Travelling is a part of life. Whether our journey is for business or for any other purpose one should develop a keenness to see things in the light of experience and draw lessons from observation.
Travel is a great source of universal wisdom. It is a realistic means of broadening our horizons, for after every journey one will have learnt additional lessons and will return with increased knowledge
When one travels, one goes through different experiences—some pleasant, some unpleasant. One gets to witness the culture of different places, different natural scenes, historical monuments, etc. From all of these one can derive great lessons and understanding of our life on earth. Travel is a great source of universal wisdom. It is a realistic means of broadening our horizons, for after every journey one will have learnt additional lessons and will return with increased knowledge. The mind will have expanded as never before. The Prophet of Islam said that, wisdom is the lost treasure of a believer and that one should acquire it from wherever possible. This shows the true spirit of learning. Every individual should become imbued with this spirit.
Intellectual critique engenders analysis, further
study and open exchange on the issues. This
brings to the fore new dimensions of issues
and promotes creative thinking and, thus,
leading to the intellectual development
of the participants.