Forty Gems of Beauty — Page 162
162 can be acquired only in the four walls of a school, or through sermons in a mosque, or in the gatherings of the learned or can be gleaned from newspapers and through a study of books. On the contrary, it is something very vast, and a man going about in life with his ears and eyes open can acquire it from every page of the record of the universe. For the true seeker after knowledge, the earth and the heaven, the sun, the moon, the stars and the planets, the forests and the mountains, the rivers and the seas, the dwellings and desolations, the wise and the stupid, mankind and beasts, men and women, the children and the aged, the learned and the ignorant, the friend and the foe, all are an open book of learning whereby he can enrich the treasure-house of his own knowledge to the best of his capacity and effort. It is therefore that our chief (May peace and blessings of Allah be on him) has observed that the word of wisdom is the lost property of a Muslim and that he should claim it whenever he finds it and that he should keep open the windows of his mind and heart so that no point of learning that comes to his notice misses its way to the repository of his mind and heart. It is to this expanse of knowledge that the Hadith directs. It is the simple truth that, with an open mind and keen eye, a man of knowledge can learn at times even from a child. It is narrated that once Imam Ab u H an i fah (may the Mercy of Allah be on him) on seeing a child playing in rain and mud warned him to watch his step lest he should tumble. The child, turning around retorted that the Imam had better mind his own step, for, if he tumbled, being a leading divine, a whole world must follow suit while in the case of the child, his fall would affect only his person. Imam Ab u H an i fah had a highly intelligent mind that appreciated subtle points. He readily recognised the wisdom of the child’s remarks. In connection with this Hadith, it must be remembered that the use of the word [ Da llah i. e. , lost property ] in its text carries the