Ignorance is the Faithful Servant of Tyranny
Almighty Allah honoured man by appointing him as a vicegerent on Earth, charged with the task of cultivating and developing it.
Man has the right to roam its expanses freely as a free and sovereign master whose dignity is inviolable and whose honour is sacred; he must not be humiliated, trampled upon or enslaved.
Human relations must be founded on mutual respect, the observance of rights and the fulfillment of duties in accordance with the scales of justice.
The Islamic religion has affirmed human dignity, high status, and inalienable rights. A person’s life is sacrosanct, his property is inviolable and his honour is protected.
Islam has offered society a clear methodology that liberates man from the shackles of oppression and slavery, elevating him and enhancing his worth. Almighty Allah says in the Holy Koran (meaning of the commentary), “We have honoured the children of Adam (by bestowing upon them knowledge, speech, and a well-formed body) and transport them across land and sea. We have provided them with good things and granted them clear superiority over many other creations.” (Sura Al-Isra, ayah 70).
Islam has declared war on tyranny, stripping away the very ground upon which it stands. This inspires the Muslim and liberates him from the dominion of all earthly tyrants.
An ignorant society, however, is incapable of grasping the true meaning of freedom, which lies in serving the Lord of the Worlds, in voluntary submission to Him born of love and reverence and in fulfilling the mission of vicegerency in a manner pleasing to the Almighty.
Knowledge serves as the guiding principle for Islamic society. It is the finest means of directing people toward the service of the Lord of the Worlds. At the same time, an ignorant community is incapable of perceiving the distortion that has befallen its very essence, for it dwells devoid of insight or light, immersed in primitive, animalistic passions and infinitely removed from the realm of values and morality.
Thus, knowledge, with all the tools at its disposal, stands as the sharpest weapon Islam has introduced for open warfare against ignorance and subjugation.
Ignorance is the arch-enemy of freedom and a tool wielded by tyrants to enslave Allah’s creation, all while displaying a false sense of superiority and arrogance toward the people.
Ailments such as succumbing to base desires, fanaticism, backwardness, the corruption of human nature, savagery and blind imitation are all fruits of ignorance, seeds sown by the tyrant to ensure the people follow him in submission.
Scholars maintain that the Holy Koran was revealed to liberate humanity from the yoke of political and social bondage and lead it into the gardens of freedom and monotheism; to guide society out of the darkness of passion, fanaticism and chaos toward civilisation; and to transform souls, illuminate minds, soften hearts, restore human dignity and re-establish mercy and solidarity within society.
It was precisely this that the Meccan polytheists understood, perceiving Islam as a threat to themselves; consequently, they employed every means to hinder the proclamation of truth and knowledge, ranging from mocking the Prophet ﷺ to beating and torturing his Companions. They did all this in an attempt to stifle the breath of truth, that force which revives “dead” souls and tears them from the clutches of paganism.
This pattern repeats itself today: a tyrant wages war against knowledge and persecutes its bearers through imprisonment, exile, and assassination, depending on the extent of his own weakness or strength, for he understands that once people break free from the quagmire of paganism and intellectual stupefaction, the entire edifice built upon falsehood will crumble.
In His Book, Allah the Almighty encourages man to increase his pursuit of knowledge, stating (meaning of the commentary): “…And say (supplicating to Allah): ‘My Lord! Increase me in knowledge’” (Sura Ta-Ha, ayah 114).
We live in an era defined by universal literacy. Moreover, millions of Muslims have graduated from thousands of universities, institutes, and educational centers scattered across the Arab and Islamic worlds. Yet, is this sufficient to liberate the individual and achieve the desired goals?
Knowledge that fails to fulfill its true purpose becomes akin to ignorance, and can, at times, prove even more dangerous and destructive. Therefore, the only path for Muslims to rectify the situation is to spread knowledge and revitalise its civilisational power.
