The Quran lays great importance on learning, for it is learning that promotes and sustains the process of intellectual development. A verse of the Quran in the chapter Maryam (Mary) gives a notable example of this in a conversation the Prophet Abraham had with his father:

Father, I have been given some knowledge which has not come to you, so follow me: I shall guide you along a straight path. (19:43)

Obviously, Abraham’s father, who was called Azar, was Abraham’s senior. So he could have been reluctant to take advice from someone who was very much his junior. But in the matter of learning, senior and junior have no meaning, for words of wisdom should be heeded, even if the speaker is a much younger person.

If you want to be an intellectually developed person, adopt the habit of acquiring knowledge from all and sundry.

The universe of knowledge and wisdom is so vast that it cannot be encompassed by any single mind. The only thing that can help you to gain more and more knowledge is the spirit mentioned in the Quran. Everyone must develop an insatiable intellectual thirst for the gaining of knowledge from many different quarters – every day and every night.

There are several ways of acquiring knowledge, one of them being through discussion or dialogue. Discussion or dialogue is not just a debating practice; it is an intellectual exchange.

Books are a great source of knowledge. But the study of books is not simply reading. It is establishing contact and consulting with other thinkers and scholars. It is like a global discussion, if the reader has the true spirit, and has the ability to acquire knowledge from universal sources. The library is the place for this, for it is like a global conference room. A library makes it possible for you to reach all the world’s minds.

The Prophet of Islam once said that you should acquire wisdom, even if you have to go to the ends of the earth. (Shu’abul Iman by Al-Bayhaqi, Hadith No. 1543) All men and women should become imbued with this spirit.

Source: Discover Islam