Appearance
The Main Purpose of Knowledge Acquisition
Islamic teachings are founded on reason and knowledge; therefore, the deeper the reasoning and the more flourishing the knowledge, the clearer the manifestations of religion become. Islam, more than anything else, has encouraged the acquisition of knowledge and the strengthening of reason’s light, considering learning to be essential. It has commanded that one must seek knowledge throughout the expanse of the earth, even in its farthest reaches, and across time, even if it takes centuries: “Seek knowledge even if it be in China”; “I will not give up until I reach the junction of the two seas, or I journey on for ages.”(164) However, it must be understood that the main purpose of teaching and learning is to achieve growth.
Explanation: The story of Moses the Speaker and Khiḍr in the Qur’an is unique among prophetic narratives, and such a scene has not been related about other prophets. Many teachings related to education, learning, and the etiquette of students and teachers are mentioned in this dialogue, such as the proper benefit of teaching and learning, and their essential element for achieving growth—whether concerning acquired knowledge (ḥuṣūlī), like the science of jurisprudence, or other sciences like esoteric knowledge and hermeneutics. The main purpose of teaching and learning is to achieve growth, which is why Moses, whom God commanded to learn from Khiḍr, said to Khiḍr, “May I follow you so that you may teach me some of what leads to my growth from what God has taught you”: “Moses said to him, ‘May I follow you on condition that you teach me from what you have been taught of sound judgment?’”(165)
The word “sound judgment” (rushdan) in the verse has two possible interpretations:
As an “object of purpose” (mafʿūl lahu), meaning “May I follow you for the purpose of gaining or seeking sound judgment, so that you may teach me for growth from what God has taught you.” In this case, the phrase “that you teach me” would be a circumstantial clause (ḥāl) from “I follow you.”
As a “direct object” (mafʿūl bihi), with the implied meaning being “I follow you so that you may teach me knowledge that contains sound judgment.”(166) Some have said that sound judgment could refer to either Khiḍr or Moses; if it refers to Khiḍr, it means “teach me from what God has taught you and through which He gave you sound judgment,” and if it refers to Moses, it means “teach and guide me [give me sound judgment] from what you have learned and been taught.”(167)
Furthermore, the expression “of sound judgment from what you have been taught” refers to a specific type of sound judgment that Moses apparently requested during or towards the end of his prophethood; otherwise, he himself was a prophet and bearer of divine law, and based on his own religious law, he objected to Khiḍr’s actions. If someone were to say, “The sound judgment that God granted to Abraham was at the beginning of his prophethood, as the Glorious God said at the beginning of Abraham’s idol-breaking story: ‘We had already given Abraham his sound judgment before’(168),” and therefore conclude that Moses’s request for sound judgment was also at the beginning of his prophethood, this argument is not complete. This is because sound judgment—like knowledge—has degrees, and at any given time, attaining a certain degree of it is desirable and intended, just as with knowledge, where the instruction has come: “My Lord, increase me in knowledge”.(169) Therefore, Moses’s request for ultimate sound judgment and its highest degree was not at the beginning of his prophethood either.