knowledge is light

whats the origin of my blog's title "al-ilm nuur"?
I got it from Imam Shafii's couplet, a famous one. But the title is not mere title but it depicts my love for knowledge. I love knowledge.
Al-ilm nuur is Arabic meaning, "knowledge is Light" and not only light but Light from God. Imam Shafii said,

"shakautu ilaa waqi'i suua hifdhi
faarshadani ilaa tarkil maaswi
faakhbarani bianna ilmu nuurun
wa nuuru llahi la yuh'daa li aswi "

meaning;

I complained to Waqii concerning my waning memory
and he guided me to abandon transgressions
and he advised me that knowledge is light
and the light from God is not given to a transgressor

Imam Shafii (r.a) was a renown learned scholar of his time. He had a very sharp memory. Its reported that by the age of seven, he had memorized the whole Quran. And by fifteen he had memorized al-Muwatta of Imam Malik (r.a).Imam Shafii was able to read a page once, cover it and then write the exact content without referring back!

One day imam Shafii went to the market place and by accident he saw a heel of a lady. He later on discerned that his memory was waning gradually. He thus consulted his teacher Waqii, who advised him on abandoning transgression. Implying that the simple unintetional gaze at the lady's heel could have been the cause! Subhanallah! How much of evil do we do? No wonder our memories cannot reach the extents of the likes of Imam Shafii.

So here we see a direct correlation between transgression and performance in ones knowledge retention. And the relationship is negative. The knowledge here also implies not only to religious knowledge but also any other bodies of knowledge. For God did not only ask us to seek religious knowledge- which of course should come first- but also others as well. A good example is My Model Imam Shafii, who apart from being well versed- actually being an authority- in fields like fiqh, jurispudence, hadith, Quran... he was also an authority in the Arabic language especially in poetry. And think of many other muslim scholars especially classic ones, this is how they were and it is how we should be.

The religious knowledge- Islamic knowledge- guides you in the understanding of God and His worship. Guides you in your spiritual world. Whereas other sciences help you in your worldly life. Because you live in this world gain knowledge that will aid you in living here. And because we will as well live in the eternal life it is equally incumbent upon us to search for the spiritual knowledge that will ensure our hereafter life is secure and best. This means that the two broad bodies of knowledge should be embrace together. And the best way is to gain the religious then the secular knowledge, for you should understand your God first!

May God guide us to and with His Light of Knowledge!