Knowledge and knowledge-centred activities have always occupied a lofty and noble position in Islam. As a matter of fact, seeking knowledge in order that one becomes really learned and enlightened in religion, and is therefore qualified to educate the society, is always considered a serious endeavour in the religion of Islam, so serious that those engaged in it are singled out in one Qur’anic verse [al-Tawbah (9): 123] to be the ones exempted from the obligation of fighting physically in defense of a valid religious cause.
Seeking knowledge, despite other gains and more lucrative undertakings, is indeed a struggle, an intellectual and spiritual one for sure, and more often than not, a physical one as well. In this context, one’s wealth may be as much a hindrance as poverty.
In order to clearly illustrate this point, let me relate a story. Ibn Hazm (d. 1064), a well-known scholar of Andalusia (Muslim Spain), was reported to have had a debate with a poor jurist, Sulayman ibn Khalaf al-Bajji (d. 1081). Having lost the argument, the latter began to excuse himself, saying, “I had to study at night, reading by the light of the lamp of the market-guards.” The former replied, “I was disadvantaged too; I had to read from gold and silver discs, resting on footstools.”
Among the factors instrumental in ensuring one’s success in any struggle is one’s resistance. The more one is resistant, the more one has the chance to overcome all challenges and prevail.
Resistance can take the form of one’s ability to resist from committing something bad, inherently or circumstantially, one’s ability to resist untoward circumstances as well as one’s ability to resist distractions and temptations in carrying out something important and beneficial. In fact, this ability to resist in all its aforementioned three forms, is subsumed under what the religion of Islam refers to as sabr (patience).
But how can one be expected to be resistant if one does not go through correct and continuous training? The very notion of a struggle involves something unusual, of things no longer remaining constant. And the purpose of training is, among others, to prepare one for such adverse situations.
Fasting in Arabic is reflected by the terms sawm or siyam, whose basic meaning is self-restraint (kaff or imsak). At its most rudimentary level, it pertains more to resistance in the first form as described above. For in fasting, one is basically restraining oneself from eating, drinking, and having sexual intercourse with one’s spouse. There are of course other higher grades of fasting, involving resistance in its more intensified modes.
But even at such a rudimentary level, one is actually training oneself to resist doing something which is ordinarily permissible. No one would have objected to the aforementioned three acts under normal circumstances. Yet, why must one be prohibited from doing so for such a stipulated period (from dawn until dusk throughout the duration of the month of Ramadan)?
No doubt, it is an act of submission to Allah as He has made it incumbent upon us Muslims. But it also serves as a sort of training period, a proving ground so to speak. For in the many struggles for things loftier, especially in the struggle to obtain Divine pleasure, one has to sacrifice many things near and dear to oneself. And one should be prepared to sacrifice.
Knowledge and knowledge-centred activities are among those things in Islam regarded as being sublime. As in other serious undertakings, the search for knowledge demands that one makes sacrifices. A dedicated student, for example, may have no other choice but to remain hungry because he needs to spend the little money he has on some important reading materials instead of on food. Some of us may be asked to leave behind our wives and families for days, if not for weeks or months, to attend useful training courses.
Unless one finds occasions to train oneself, one will find such sacrifices insurmountable when faced with real struggle and hardship. Ramadan is indeed one such occasion!