ATTEMPT TO LEARN
During my youth, when I was still in Madrasa, we discussed camels in class one day. Afterwards, the teacher asked, “Tell me, are a camel’s hooves split or united? Are they like the split hooves of a cow or the united hooves of a horse?”
In our class, there were about two dozen students at the time, but none could answer the question with certainty. Only guesses were made; some said they were divided, while others said they were united.
The teacher then delivered a speech. He explained that this was a simple question, yet none of you could answer it confidently. The reason is that you lack knowledge about the camel’s hoofs and are unaware of your ignorance. This is similar to the Arabic proverb: To say “I do not know” is half of knowledge.
The teacher said, “When I asked you whether a camel’s hooves are split or joined, none of you admitted that you did not know. Yet, experience shows that you were unaware of this. If you had acknowledged your ignorance, it would have sparked what is known as the ‘spirit of inquiry’ within you. You would have developed a desire to learn more about it. Whenever a camel passed by, you would have immediately observed its hooves and then, with certainty, determined whether a camel’s hooves are split or joined.”
Most people are unaware of their own ignorance, which keeps them from escaping it. For an individual, the spirit of inquiry is extremely important. The pursuit of knowledge starts with recognizing one’s own ignorance. Someone who admits they lack knowledge keeps trying to learn more and approaches everything with curiosity. Conversely, a person unaware of their ignorance remains stuck in it and fails to turn their lack of knowledge into learning.
All scientific discoveries stem from the spirit of inquiry. The extensive knowledge we’ve gained about the universe and nature in modern times is thanks to this spirit. These aspects of the universe have existed for millions of years, but ancient humans accepted everything without questioning. This lack of curiosity limited their understanding of cosmic mysteries. Today, due to various factors, humans strive to understand the essence of everything. This effort is called the spirit of inquiry, and it is this very spirit that has led humanity to all our current discoveries.
No matter what level of progress a person aims to reach, the spirit of inquiry is extremely important for this goal. The more this spirit is awakened within someone, the more they will expand their knowledge, and the greater their progress will be.
The present era is called the “Age of Information.” In this age, the amount of information has become extremely vast. Because of this, a spirit of inquiry is more important than ever. In the past, a person could learn a lot with little effort; now, even with a lot of effort, they can only achieve a small part. Therefore, gaining more knowledge has become more vital than ever. Major progress today depends heavily on having enough information.
