Ways

You know,

we've been talking about how important it is to the Muslim Way of Life

for people to search for knowledge,

and we know that we should search for knowledge

even as far as China,

But what exactly does this search involve?

Well, the first thing involved is to look beyond what we know,

which means to ask questions.

Is there any way of finding knowledge

of any sort

without asking questions?

And isn't it said that if you want to find the correct answer

you first need to make sure you are asking the right question?

If you look at the universe like a scientist

doesn't every answer just provide more questions?

Every time that we discover anything

doesn't it just open

a whole new set of things

we still need to discover?

Which means that you always have to ask yourself

what it is you really want to know,

which means asking yourself all the questions you can imagine

and seeing which ones you most want to answer.

And then you ask those questions

of people you think might know the answer,

and then you get their answers,

which open up a whole lot of new questions,

which means that you have to ask about them,

and so on ad infinitum,

or to infinity and beyond.

So the search for knowledge never ends,

and our understanding of our Deen

reaches out to include all of creation.

It's not always easy to find this thirst for knowledge,

the urge to ask questions,

amongst Muslims these days,

but seeking knowledge as far as China

surely means asking questions, doesn't it?

How else do you get to discover knowledge?

What is the point of going to China

if everything we need is right here,

already discovered, already known?

So to follow our Deen we need to search for knowledge,

and work out what we need to do for ourselves, don't we?

Because even if we are going to ask questions

we still have to decide whose answers we trust

And in the end doesn't that mean

that we have to take the responsibility

for choosing answers upon ourselves?

So we choose the answer we want to accept,

or we keep the question open in our minds

until we find an answer that satisfies us

But even then

we can always change our minds later,

can't we?

Perhaps the search for knowledge is such a central part of our Deen

because we always have to remember that we don't know everything.

Surely if someone thinks they have all the answers,

and that there are no more questions to be asked,

they have to be looking in the wrong direction, don't they?

Or perhaps they are just avoiding

looking in the right direction.

Putting a wall with no windows around your brain

at the limits of what you know

is not searching for knowledge

but trying to put knowledge into a box

and keep it shut.

Which might be a good idea

if knowledge was that easy to hold down,

but when it includes all of creation,

it is very hard to keep it in a box.

Knowledge is about what is the truth of our creation,

and the only one who can know everything about the creation

is the Creator.

The only one

who can know everything

is the All-Knowing.

And God is All-Truth,

the All-Knowing, the All-Merciful.

So let's think about some things that we need to know

if we are to live the Deen.

What can we possibly do for God?

Which bits should we keep private?

How much should we cover up?