Islam and Peace
Importance of Education
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natural science. When the Qur’an began to be
revealed, the first word of its first verse was ‘Iqra!’
that is, ‘Read.’ Education is thus the starting point
of every successful human activity.
All the books of hadith have a chapter on
knowledge (ilm). In Sahih Bukhari, there is a
chapter entitled, “The virtue of one who acquires
ilm (learning) and imparts it to others.” In the
hadith, the scholar is accorded great respect.
According to one tradition, the ink of a scholar’s
pen is more precious than the blood of a martyr, the
reason being that while a martyr is engaged in the
task of defence, an alim (scholar) builds individuals
and nations along positive lines. In this way, he
bestows upon the world a real life treasure.
The very great importance attached to learning in
Islam is illustrated by an event in the life of the
Prophet. At the battle of Badr, in which the Prophet
was victorious, seventy of his enemies were taken
prisoner. Now these captives were all literate
people. So, in order to benefit from their erudition,
the Prophet declared that if each prisoner taught ten
Medinan children how to read and write, that
