Could Today’s Infinite Knowledge Unlock a New Golden Age?
If not, what else is required?
There was an excellent, thought-provoking quote I came across:
“I think the most depressing fact about humanity is that during the 2000s most of the world was handed essentially free access to the entirety of knowledge and that DIDN'T trigger a golden age”. - Erik Hoel
It triggered a lot of deep reflection and some soul-searching, I have to say.
Yes, we’ve advanced technologically, and we’ve connected the world together (which has ironically created more division than ever) but how have we utilised all this abundance to truly benefit mankind?
As a collective human species, we have not done justice to the immense blessings we’ve been given.
As Muslims, we have done even less.
When you think we’ve had access to the fountain of all knowledge, containing oceans and oceans of undiscovered knowledge in the Quran, this is even more disappointing.
On the flipside, what would our ancestors have given, to even get 1% of the access to knowledge that we have, today? And what would they have done with it?
The distances they traversed, the efforts they would make, all to get even a single morsel of knowledge.
Ibn Masud (RA) used to say:
"I swear by Allah, besides whom there is no other deity, no chapter of the Quran has been revealed except that I know where it was revealed. No verse from the Book of Allah has been revealed except that I know why it was revealed. Yet if I knew of anyone more learned than me in the Book of Allah, I would make every effort to reach him."
Abu Darda (RA) said:
"If I were unable to explain a verse in the Book of Allah and could not find anyone to explain it to me except a man in Bark al-Ghimad, I would journey to him."
(It is said according to some sources that Bark al-Ghimad is in the farthest corner of Yemen, and in others, it is in modern-day Ethiopia).
Even the great Musa (AS), the one who spoke directly with Allah, Allah’s Prophet himself who was granted immense knowledge, upon learning there was someone more learned than him named Khidr, vowed to meet him and travelled far, far away to learn from him directly.
And behold, Moses said to his young companion:
"I will not cease until I reach where the two seas meet, or l shall spend an exceptionally long time travelling" (Quran 18:60).
Allah then informs us that upon meeting Khidr, Moses asked of him
"May I follow you in order that you may teach me of the knowledge you have been given?" (Quran, 18:66)
For us though, it is all at our fingertips.
The touch of a button.
The click of a mouse.
But if having access to all the world’s information whenever and however we want isn’t enough to trigger a new golden age, the $64,000 question is... exactly what will?
Much of my work consists of striving towards figuring out the answer to that very question - and as such, I see this as my mission with the work we do at KNOW.
It’s certainly a big ask.
But we’re determined to get the ball rolling.
Do you have any suggestions?
If knowledge is not enough, what else is needed?
If you want to get an understanding of the framework we've put together to begin to think about this, you can check out this short presentation here: https://www.kn-ow.com/roadmap-lp/