What does the Quran say about knowledge?
The very first words revealed were an instruction to read Qur’an 96:1, and the passage goes on to describe a Lord who taught by the pen and taught man what he did not know Qur’an 96:4-5. The Qur’an asks whether those who know and those who do not know can be equal Qur’an 39:9, says God raises the learned in degrees Qur’an 58:11, and records the prayer the Prophet is instructed to make: My Lord, increase me in knowledge Qur’an 20:114.
What was the first thing revealed?
An instruction to read. Qur’an 96:1 begins: recite in the name of your Lord who created. The passage continues that He created man from a clinging substance, that your Lord is the most Generous, who taught by the pen, and taught man that which he knew not Qur’an 96:2-5. It is worth sitting with what opens the revelation. Not a law, not a warning — an instruction to read, and a description of God as the one who teaches. The pen is named in the fifth verse of the first revelation.
Does the Qur’an ask for evidence?
Directly. Qur’an 2:111 responds to a claim made without support with four words: produce your proof, if you should be truthful. The same demand appears elsewhere against assertions made on no basis. Qur’an 17:36 turns it inward as a personal discipline: do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge — for the hearing, the sight and the heart, about all those one will be questioned. The verse makes unfounded assertion a matter of accountability rather than merely bad manners.
What does the Qur’an say about those who learn?
It raises them. Qur’an 58:11 states that God will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees. Qur’an 39:9 puts the question rhetorically: are those who know equal to those who do not know? Qur’an 35:28 makes a connection that surprises many readers — among God’s servants, it is those with knowledge who stand in awe of Him. Learning and reverence are placed together rather than in tension.
Does the Qur’an tell people to ask when they do not know?
Yes, and it makes it an instruction rather than a concession. Qur’an 21:7 and Qur’an 16:43 both direct those who do not know to ask the people of knowledge. It also sets a limit on how far anyone has got. Qur’an 12:76 states that above every possessor of knowledge is one more knowing — a line that closes off the possibility of arriving at the end of learning.
Is there knowledge the Qur’an says is not ours to have?
It marks a boundary without discouraging the search. Qur’an 3:7 distinguishes verses that are precise and foundational from those that are not, and says that no one knows the interpretation of the latter except God — with those firm in knowledge saying they believe in it, all of it being from their Lord. Qur’an 29:43 adds that the examples God sets out are understood only by those of knowledge. The Qur’an holds together an open invitation to learn and an acknowledgement that not everything is within reach — which is a description of enquiry most scholars would recognise.
Does the Qur’an ask readers to think about the Qur’an itself?
It does, and it invites the test. Qur’an 4:82 asks: do they not reflect upon the Qur’an? If it had been from other than God, they would have found within it much contradiction. Qur’an 38:29 describes it as a blessed Book revealed so that people might reflect upon its verses and those of understanding be reminded. Qur’an 47:24 puts the question more sharply — do they not reflect, or are there locks upon their hearts? The text repeatedly asks to be examined rather than merely accepted.
Common questions
- What was the first verse of the Qur’an revealed?
- Qur’an 96:1 — recite in the name of your Lord who created. The passage continues to describe God as the one who taught by the pen and taught man what he did not know Qur’an 96:4-5.
- Does the Qur’an encourage education?
- Strongly. It asks whether those who know and those who do not know are equal Qur’an 39:9, says God raises the learned in degrees Qur’an 58:11, and records the prayer to be increased in knowledge Qur’an 20:114.
- What does the Qur’an say about opinions without evidence?
- Qur’an 2:111 demands proof from those making a claim. Qur’an 17:36 instructs not to pursue what you have no knowledge of, adding that hearing, sight and heart will all be questioned.
- Is there a limit to knowledge in the Qur’an?
- Qur’an 12:76 states that above every possessor of knowledge is one more knowing. Qur’an 3:7 says the interpretation of the unspecific verses is known to God alone.
Sources cited on this page
Every claim above is traceable. Qur’an references open with several translations side by side, since translations differ. Where a point is not settled by the Qur’an itself, the narration is named so you can see what it rests on.
The Surahs this page draws on
Every verse quoted above comes from one of these chapters. Each is set out in full — why it was revealed, and what it teaches.
- 2. Al-Baqarah — The Cow
- 3. Al Imran — The Family of Imran
- 4. An-Nisa — The Women
- 12. Yusuf — Joseph
- 16. An-Nahl — The Bee
- 17. Al-Isra — The Night Journey
- 20. Ta Ha — Ta-Ha
- 21. Al-Anbiya — The Prophets
- 29. Al-Ankabut — The Spider
- 35. Fatir — The Originator
- 38. Sad — Sad
- 39. Az-Zumar — The Troops
- 47. Muhammad — Muhammad
- 58. Al-Mujadilah — The Pleading Woman
- 96. Al-Alaq — The Clot