Paradox: the spiritually poor in an age of scattered knowledge

Never before has humanity been so rich in information as it is today. Every second, 500 hours of new videos are uploaded to YouTube, and every day more than 7 million posts are written on the Internet. Each of us has the opportunity to receive knowledge through the phone in our pocket. Surprisingly, today's generation is surpassing its ancestors in spiritual poverty. It's a paradox - you are rich but hungry, you are highly educated but ignorant, you have a lot of information but you are lost and can't find your way, as they say.

There is a similarity between a person's desire for material wealth and their need for spiritual wealth. Many people try to eliminate the turmoil and instability in their lives by earning more money. "I will earn a little more, then I will live in peace," they say. As their money increases, their desires also increase.

The same phenomenon is observed in our spiritual life today. Man is thirsty for knowledge, motivation, advice and guidance. He reads new books, articles and watches videos every day. But he still does not get enough. Why?

This is because he does not think based on real information and does not act on what he knows.

Islam has already clearly defined this situation. The Holy Quran says: "Are they like those who do not act upon what they know? Their example is like that of a donkey loaded with a book..." (Surah Jumu'ah, verse 5).

This divine word is appropriate for every era. A person who carries a load of information on his back but does not benefit from it remains like a donkey with a heavy load on its back.

Our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said about this: “The worst of people in the sight of Allah is the one who has knowledge but does not act upon it.” (Ibn Majah). That is, knowledge is not given only for learning, but for applying it in life. Knowledge that is not acted upon becomes a burden on a person and makes him liable for heavy responsibility in the Hereafter.

Our scholars have deeply approached this issue. Imam Ghazali, in his work “Ihyou ulumiddin”, likens the human heart to a spring: “The heart needs life-giving rain. If it accepts the rain, it will bear fruit. But if the rain falls and remains on the unirrigated land, it turns into a swamp and emits a stench.” Similarly, the rain of information should irrigate our hearts, not turn them into a swamp. The only way to do this is to try it out in practice, to apply it to our lives.

Why don't we act? In psychology, this is called "cognitive dissonance." For example, we know that we should adopt a healthy lifestyle, but we still choose harmful things. We know that praying at dawn will lift our spirits, but we spend our time on the phone. Because our brain finds it easier to absorb information than to act. We like to listen to motivational content because it is easy - they inspire us for a few minutes, but in practice nothing changes. Thus, we try to satisfy spiritual wealth by "accumulating more" like material wealth, and eventually sink into the depths of depression.

Now the question is: “How can we become people who act on what we know?” Let’s first admit that just reading a lot, listening a lot, and taking a lot of advice is not enough. Even the Quran says: “Allah will not change you until you change what is in yourself” (Surah Ar-Ra’d, verse 11). Concrete steps are needed for change.

First, it is necessary to make small and continuous deeds a habit. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The most beloved of deeds to Allah are those that are done regularly, even if they are small.” (Bukhari and Muslim) This means that doing small deeds every day is more effective than making big plans. For example, memorizing a verse from the Quran every day or remembering Allah for 10 minutes every morning.

Second, start an "information diet." Information overload can be mentally exhausting. So, when we read or listen to new information, let's ask ourselves: "Will I act on it?"

If the answer to the question is "no," let's spend time applying our existing knowledge to life rather than searching for new information.