God Knows, and You do not Know

In verses 2:216, 2:232, 3:66, 16:74, 24:19, there is a phrase “God knows, and you do not know.” This phrase, is it the prohibition of search of knowledge, or is it an invitation to search of knowledge? Prohibition or invitation?

The wording of the Quran is fixed, but its meaning is flexible, fluid, and flowing.[i] If we imagine the meaning of the Quran to be the water, then the person is a vessel that contains that water. Inside of a red vessel, the water is going to appear red. Inside of a blue vessel, the water is going to appear blue. If a vessel has cracks of sins, then water will seep out quickly or slowly, depending on the severity of cracks. If the vessel is filled with the poison of negative thoughts and destructive feelings, then water can dilute them and make them less harmful or wash them out completely, depending on the amount and frequency.

So, the meaning of the phrase “God knows, and you do not know” depends on the person who is trying to make the meaning out of it. For those persons who look at each verse out of context and who disregard the logic of the Quran, this phrase is the justification and excuse to be stupid and remain stupid. Regretfully, this is the mindset of most Muslims nowadays. Most Muslims misunderstand the phrase “God knows, and you do not know” as a prohibition of knowledge, and they use it as an explanation and excuse for their stupidity.

On the other hand, persons who look at the Quran holistically, systematically, and semantically, and who try to understand the chronological, sequential, contextual, and teleological logic of the Quran, understand this phrase as an invitation to knowledge. The phrase “God knows, and you do not know” is an invitation to knowledge because, in verse 96:4, God defines Himself as the teacher, human as learner, and knowledge as the relationship between God and human. The goal of the Quran is to establish, regulate, shape, formalize, and formulate the relationship and connection between God and human. Therefore, those who understand this phrase as a prohibition of knowledge deserve the label and title of ignoramus and idiot.

The phrase “God knows, and you do not know” is the invitation to knowledge because, in verses 2:31, 2:151, 7:62, 12:86, 12:96, 21:7, the knowledge is described as the essence of connection between God and human.[ii] Knowledge is connection. For example, the word “stone,” both in oral and written form, is the connection between physical object and immaterial idea.

Knowledge is codified by words, and new knowledge is produced by the invention of new words. For example, the word “carburetor” was invented together with the device of the carburetor, and the word “bitcoin” was developed together with the development of the digital currency.

The state of Muslim science is duly characterized by the fact that Muslims use the ten-century old terminology. Muslims did not invent new words, and they did not produce new knowledge and inventions for the last five centuries. The presence or absence of neologisms in the language shows the level of dynamism and freshness of thought processes, and staleness and petrification of thought and thinking are apparent and obvious by looking at the state of Muslim languages.

Invaders and colonizers invaded and colonized not only the land of Muslims but also invaded and colonized the languages of Muslims because Muslims are weak, lazy, and loose. Most Muslims fear and avoid mental toil and intellectual labor, and they want miracles from the heavens, and they forget about the miracles of reading (96:3) and writing (96:4). The invasion and colonization of Muslims’ land and language are totally and absolutely justified and expected because Muslims ignore, neglect, and desert their Book (25:30).

An invitation is not a prohibition. The words “God knows” show the final destination, and the words “you do not know” show the starting point, and between them, there is a life-long journey of knowledge. Knowledge is not an exclusive monopoly of mullahs, madrasahs, clergy, academics, scientists, writers, churches, universities, etc., but knowledge is an inclusive and individual obligation of each person. Knowledge is the relationship between you and God, and if you do not have and do not seek knowledge, then you are going to become godless.

Knowledge can be attained in three ways that are called art, science, and religion.[iii] Art, science, and religion are methods of acquiring knowledge, and they infuse beauty, order, and purpose in the life of a person.

God knows, and I do not know. I see my lack of knowledge as the incentive and invitation to knowledge. I chose, and I am choosing the invitation to knowledge, not the prohibition of knowledge.

2:111 … Say: “Produce your proof if you are truthful!” [iv]

25:30. And the Messenger says: “My Lord! Surely my people have made this Qur’an something worthy of no attention.” [v]

-İman isteyen münafık 

Endnotes

[i] İman isteyen münafık, “Islam: Meaning or Wording?,” accessed May 26, 2021,

https://www.munferit.net/2021/04/islam-meaning-or-wording.html.

[ii] Ali Ünal, The Qur’an with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English, n.d.,

www.mquran.org www.theholybook.org.

[iii] İman isteyen münafık, “Beauty, Order, and Purpose,” accessed May 26, 2021,

https://www.munferit.net/2021/05/beauty-order-and-purpose.html.

[iv] Ünal, The Qur’an with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English.

[v] Ünal.