the sources of all Knowledge

[abdarrashid]

Imam Abd al-Haq Muhadith al-Dehlewi rahmatullah alayh:

62. The Almighty appointed from mankind Prophets and sent them to give mankind good tidings and admonition, and to explain to them what they require in terms of both worldly and spiritual matters.

Nothing is incumbent upon the Lord, may He be exalted. He is under no obligation or compulsion in any of the things He does , whatever He does is of His own volition and will. He is not subject to the dictates of reason in what it might suppose to be His duties or obligations; on the contrary reason itself is no more than one of His subjects.

Allah, in His Grace, His Mercy, His Generosity and His Compassion, has taken on Himself the administration of a number of things necessary to the perpetuation of the world, and the perfection of mankind as individuals, or, in other words, the social and spiritual welfare of mankind. On the other hand He provides them means of livelihood and, on the other, He provides the means of guidance and success. This is where the Prophets, upon whom be peace, fit in. None of this is obligatory upon Him but rather, owing to His grace, is a carrying out of His will. Since the great majority of mankind are neither prepared nor able to receive direct communications from Allah, He has selected certain men to receive knowledge of His person, His attributes, and His ways; and He has taught them the way to man’s success in the world and the next. These are the Prophets, sent by the Almighty to all mankind to call to the truth. They are the messengers of Divine Guidance teaching mankind what it needs to know in this world and the next of matters of faith and practice.

Allah has created Paradise and He has created Hell. He has made Paradise a dwelling for the devout and Hell a dwelling for the evildoers. Reason alone is not sufficient to ascertain those works which will lead to Paradise or prevent one from being cast to Hell. Therefore, Allah sent the Prophets, upon whom be peace, to instruct His creation in the ways leading to their salvation. Then, when they go before Him for judgement, ignorance will be no excuse.

(1) “Messengers bearing good tidings, and warning, so that mankind might have no argument against Allah after the messengers” (4:164).

(2) “We have not sent you save as a mercy unto all beings” (21:107)

The essentials of every field of knowledge known to man, whether having to do with the heavens or the earth, have come to us through the offices of Allah’s Prophets upon whom be peace. This is because all knowledge springs from the fountainhead of Divine Revelation. The scholars and thinkers of this world have all drunk from this fountain for their knowledge; and though they might increase it through analogy, the exercise of judgement and experimentation, they do no more than to elucidate and interpret what the Prophets taught. The reason that some branches of knowledge seem not to be accordance with the Divine Law (Shariah), inspite of their being based on Divine Revelation, is that it is Allah’s way to alter the outward form of the religion and abrogate its legislation in favour of something more suitable to conditions that may later obtain. Other factors are that some people refuse to accept the changes brought about by a new Prophet and continue to practise in the light of the old laws, while others actively falsify the legal texts or make unlawful additions. Still others give rein to their imaginations and draw invalid and often incredible analogies from revealed texts and thus open the doors to argument and dispute.

The belief that those scholars and thinkers never relied on teachers for their knowledge, or on any other medium, but that they depended entirely on their intellects is extremely far-fetched, the way to the attainment of knowledge of knowledge is education, after that the intellect may make its own deductions. It is related in the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace;

“Knowledge comes about through education, and clemency through forbearance.”

[p.81-84, Perfection of Faith and its Commentary Fortification of Conviction, trans. Yusuf Talal ‘Ali-2000]

Question:
Can what Ala Hadhrat rahmatullah alayh mentioned of the disclosure of non-Muslims(even though confused and mixed up) and the disclosure of the Awliya Allah, and what Imam Abd al-Haq al-Dehlwi rahmatullah alayh mentions above about knowledge be the sum of the sources of knowledge?