| 1 | O you who believe! Let it be said: Al-Ailma; |
| 2 | The All Knowing, the Omniscient; |
| 3 | And the twenty-third name of Allah, the Infinite, the Unique, the All Knowing. |
| 4 | All language, all writings, all history; |
| 5 | All disciplines, all scripture, all inspiration; |
| 6 | So be it that Allah is all knowledge. |
| 7 | Verily, even if a man hath performed prayers; |
| 8 | Even if a man has performed fasts, or charity, |
| 9 | And all manner of good works, |
| 10 | He will be rewarded not by the weight of his piety, |
| 11 | But by the proportion of his comprehension. |
| 12 | A man who seeks to imitate the mind of a fish and the actions of a monkey, |
| 13 | Is a useless waste unto Allah. |
| 14 | When a man gladly stuffs his ears with sand and pokes out his eyes, |
| 15 | To merely honor the teachings of a false prophet, |
| 16 | Then he is lost to Islam. |
| 17 | Better the world be that such stupidity never be born, |
| 18 | Than to disgrace the Way of Allah. |
| 19 | Yet a man who respects knowledge and culture; |
| 20 | Who seeks to make himself better, |
| 21 | Even if he does not follow the way of Islam; |
| 22 | Then he is a better Muslim than a thousand pious monkeys, |
| 23 | Who refuse to use the gifts given unto them. |
| 24 | With knowledge man rises to the heights of goodness, |
| 25 | And to a noble position, associated with sovereigns in this world, |
| 26 | And attains to the perfection of happiness in the next life. |
| 27 | It (knowledge) enables its possessor to distinguish right from wrong; |
| 28 | It lights the way to Heaven; |
| 29 | It is our friend in the desert; |
| 30 | It is our society in solitude; |
| 31 | It is our companion when friendless; |
| 32 | It guides us to happiness; |
| 33 | It sustains us to rise above misery; |
| 34 | It is an ornament among friends; |
| 35 | And it is armour against enemies. |
| 36 | The acquisition of knowledge is a duty, |
| 37 | Incumbent on every Muslim, male and female. |
| 38 | He who leaves home in search of knowledge, |
| 39 | Walks in the path of the Divine and the Prophets. |
| 40 | Acquire then such knowledge. |
| 41 | One learned man is harder on the devil, |
| 42 | Than a thousand ignorant worshippers. |
| 43 | Whoever seeks knowledge will get two rewards: |
| 44 | One reward is the knowledge of self gained by such a journey; |
| 45 | The other reward is attaining the knowledge sought. |
| 46 | Therefore, even if one does not attain the original goal; |
| 47 | For them is always the greater reward. |
| 48 | Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave; |
| 49 | Go in quest of knowledge even unto the farthest lands. |
| 50 | The search of knowledge is an obligation laid on every Muslim. |
| 51 | O you who believe! |
| 52 | Knowledge is the friend of true faith in Allah; |
| 53 | Ignorance is the friend of true evil, |
| 54 | That masks itself as divine and entraps the souls of men. |
| 55 | When you do a good deed, |
| 56 | Forget it and make no boast about it. |
| 57 | Allah sees everything you think and do. |
| 58 | A good deed reminded or in a boast is no such thing. |
| 59 | The height of intelligence is honesty. |
| 60 | No man can be untroubled if he must remember two of everything: |
| 61 | The truth and an elaborate lie. |
| 62 | In the end, such worry will kill him early. |
| 63 | Knowledge is not found in lists, |
| 64 | But in the understanding of the connection of things. |
| 65 | Spiritual wisdom cannot be found through memorizing lists. |
| 66 | Any saying which claims that in Islam knowledge and science is a sin, |
| 67 | And ignorance is a virtue, |
| 68 | Is a wicked lie by someone who worships demons pretending to be god, |
| 69 | And one who cloak themselves as Muslims but worship anarchy. |
| 70 | Stand up! Stand up all who claim to follow the path of Islam! |
| 71 | Do not dishonor Allah, nor his sacred places by weakness. |
| 72 | Let not one false teacher or scholar defile the true teachings of His humble servant. |
| 73 | Let not a single sermon praising ignorance. |
| 74 | Let not hate stand falsely in any sacred house of Allah. |
| 75 | If such ignorance and evil is not moved, |
| 76 | Then you must do everything in your power to honor knowledge and wisdom and remove them. |
| 77 | To be a true Muslim, the seeking of knowledge is obligatory. |
| 78 | If one does not know how to discern, |
| 79 | Then one is not yet a true Muslim. |
| 80 | The first step towards knowledge and honoring the will of Allah, |
| 81 | Is to denounce willing ignorance. |
| 82 | Knowledge without character is a most dangerous state. |
| 83 | All knowledge must be harnessed through self-discipline and virtue. |
| 84 | Verily, It is commanded to you by Allah, |
| 85 | Upon the witness of any man who claims to be Muslim, |
| 86 | Who preaches ignorance, |
| 87 | Who despises knowledge and science; |
| 88 | You are commanded to seize them and cast them out. |
| 89 | Never let such evil defile a holy place of Islam. |
| 90 | They are imposters. |
| 91 | A true Muslim respects science as one of the greatest gifts of Allah. |
| 92 | Only a fool who follows evil men rejects the advancement of science. |
| 93 | For no better way can Allah show his love of humanity, |
| 94 | Than to reveal the secrets of the Universe. |
| 95 | Science proves to all Muslims that Allah is pleased by questioning minds, |
| 96 | That know how to ask the right questions. |
| 97 | Mathematics is a language that reveals the wonder and magnificence of Allah’s creation, |
| 98 | That all Muslims are obliged to learn; and the most honoured are those that excel in it. |
| 99 | Science is the enemy of evil and is a light upon it. |
| 100 | Therefore whenever you hear of men preaching against science, |
| 101 | You know you have discovered servants of demons. |
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Sufa 25 - The Knowledge (Al-Ailma)