Knowledge With Humility

"Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees."

Quran 58:11, Surah Al-Mujadila (Sahih International)

Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) was known as the most knowledgeable man of his time — he knew the Quran, hadith, and Islamic law. But when people asked him questions, they noticed something strange: he would often say, "I do not know." People were confused: "But you know everything." Ibn Abbas replied: "I know some things. But I do not know everything. To declare I know when I don't would be a falsehood."

One day, a student asked him: "How do you stay so humble when you know so much?" Ibn Abbas said: "Because the more I learn, the more I see how much I don't know. Knowledge is like a circle. The more you learn, the bigger your circle becomes. And the bigger your circle, the more you see what is outside it."

A haughty scholar heard this and said: "That is weakness. A true scholar should be confident." Ibn Abbas replied: "Confidence comes from Allah. Arrogance comes from yourself. I am confident in Allah's knowledge, not in mine."

The proud scholar left angry. But years later, he came back: "You were right. I taught for twenty years with confidence, but my students did not respect me. I was arrogant. When I started admitting I didn't know, my students started truly listening." Ibn Abbas nodded: "That is because people follow humility, not arrogance. Humility says: 'I am learning too.' Arrogance says: 'I already know.'"

This is the discipline of insight: to know much and claim little. Taqwa with knowledge means the more you know, the more you see how small you are, and the more you understand Allah, the more you understand how much greater Allah is. A scholar with taqwa is never finished learning, never finished growing, never finished becoming better.

Moral of the story: The more you truly know, the more humbly you should speak — people follow humility, never arrogance.

Source: Sunan Ibn Majah 223.