The Makkan Period, Part 8: Iqraʾ, the Seven Forms of Revelation, and the Warning at al-Ṣafā
Section 10 of 18 · The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: The Makkan Period
Knowledge That Benefits and Knowledge That Doesn't
Even though much has been said here in encouragement of reading, and of reading a great deal, that statement needs to be qualified. This doesn't mean reading just anything. At particular stages, there are some things that could be dangerous to the development of a person. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), in the early years of Madīnah, he saw with ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb some scrolls of the Torah. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) became very angry, and his face was red, and he criticized ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb for reading from the Torah. But that wasn't a permanent ban. It was only in the early years, until the Muslims developed a solid foundation, and then later on that order was abrogated, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "I have prohibited you from reading the stories of Banū Isrāʾīl, the children of Israel — meaning their scripture — but now I am allowing you to read it. However, don't believe it, and don't disbelieve in it." In other words, such statements have no reference in the Qur'an, so they should not be taken as the truth, but at the same time should not be rejected, because they could possibly be true, or could possibly be some later insertion.
It can be seen that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) didn't want them to be exposed to material, at the early stage of development, that could be detrimental to their education process. And in any curriculum, in any institution, it is a development process — one needs to feed the student what the student is capable of absorbing. Ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) says: mā ḥaddathta al-nāsa bi-mā lam tablughhu ʿuqūluhum illā kāna li-baʿḍihim fitnah — if you speak to the people things that their minds are unable to comprehend, it might be a fitnah for some of them; it might turn them away. Therefore, one needs to be careful what material they are reading, and what material their children are reading.
None of this means reading just anything — comics and other nonsense books that exist out there are just people wasting their time. People can be found holding books on trains and on planes, and most of the time it's going to be a fiction book, a novel. It's just a way to pass their time. There's no real knowledge in it. And in Islam, we know that there is knowledge that benefits and knowledge that doesn't. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to make the duʿāʾ: Allāhumma innī asʾaluka al-ʿilm al-nāfiʿ, wa aʿūdhu bika min al-ʿilmi alladhī lā yanfaʿ — O Allah, I ask You for beneficial knowledge, and I seek refuge in You from knowledge that doesn't benefit.
So there is some good knowledge and there is some bad knowledge, and we know that for a fact. It is in Sūrat al-Baqarah: the two angels who came down to teach the people magic, Hārūt and Mārūt.
وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ مَا تَتْلُوا۟ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينُ عَلَىٰ مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَـٰنَ ۖ وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَـٰنُ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ يُعَلِّمُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ ٱلسِّحْرَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَى ٱلْمَلَكَيْنِ بِبَابِلَ هَـٰرُوتَ وَمَـٰرُوتَ ۚ وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَآ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلَا تَكْفُرْ ۖ فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مِنْهُمَا مَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِۦ بَيْنَ ٱلْمَرْءِ وَزَوْجِهِۦ ۚ وَمَا هُم بِضَآرِّينَ بِهِۦ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مَا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلَا يَنفَعُهُمْ ۚ وَلَقَدْ عَلِمُوا۟ لَمَنِ ٱشْتَرَىٰهُ مَا لَهُۥ فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَـٰقٍ ۚ وَلَبِئْسَ مَا شَرَوْا۟ بِهِۦٓ أَنفُسَهُمْ ۚ لَوْ كَانُوا۟ يَعْلَمُونَ
“They followed what the devils used to recite in the reign of Sulaimān (Solomon); and it was not Sulaimān who became an infidel, but the devils did become infidels, teaching people magic, and what had been sent down to the two angels, Hārūt and Mārūt, in Babylon. And these two did not teach anyone without first having said (to him), “We are but a trial, so do not go infidel.” Then, they used to learn from them that with which they could cause separation between a man and his wife. But they were not to bring harm through it to anyone without the will of Allah.They used to learn what harmed them and did no good to them; and they certainly knew that he who buys it has no share in the Hereafter. And, indeed, vile is the thing for which they sold themselves away. If only they knew!” (2:102)
They are teaching people knowledge that is evil, and they are telling the people that this isn't good for them. So even though it is knowledge, it is knowledge that doesn't benefit — it is the knowledge of sorcery, magic. So these are the first verses revealed to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).