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Pearls of Light

A New Journey of Knowledge and Ibn Sina’s Lamb Experiment

7 ayat, 3 quotes, and 1 parable from the Islamic tradition

Adele Arbi
The Crescent
Published in
4 min readJan 2, 2025

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Photo by Ehtesham Chaudhary on Unsplash

My journey of seeking knowledge within the vast ocean of Islamic thought is an ongoing one. Each day, I encounter new ideas, perspectives, and stories that challenge my assumptions and broaden my understanding.

From the profound verses of the Quran to the insightful words of esteemed scholars and the timeless wisdom of Islamic tradition, I am constantly discovering pearls of knowledge that I feel compelled to share.

In this series called “Pearls of Light” I curate and present the most impactful insights I encounter each week.

Each story features: 7 profound ayat from the Quran that reached my heart. 3 thought-provoking quotes from Islamic books that made me reflect. And 1 timeless parables from Islamic tradition that helped me gain perspective.

Photo by AmirHadi Manavi on Unsplash

7 ayat from the Noble Quran

» You can only warn those who follow the Reminder and are in awe of the Most Compassionate without seeing Him. So give them good news of forgiveness and an honorable reward. (36:11)

» How could I take besides Him other gods whose intercession would not be of any benefit to me, nor could they save me if the Most Compassionate intended to harm me? (36:23)

» Glory be to the One Who created all ˹things in˺ pairs — ˹be it˺ what the earth produces, their genders, or what they do not know! (36:36)

» On that Day no soul will be wronged in the least, nor will you be rewarded except for what you used to do. (36: 54)

» Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “They will be revived by the One Who produced them the first time, for He has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of every created being. (36:79)

» All it takes, when He wills something ˹to be˺, is simply to say to it: “Be!” And it is! (36:82)

» So glory be to the One in Whose Hands is the authority over all things, and to Whom ˹alone˺ you will ˹all˺ be returned. (36:83)

Surah Yasin, translation of Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran.

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3 quotes from Islamic books

Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah said: “A man asked one of the Salaf: ‘How much Quran should we read?’ He said: ‘Equivalent to the amount of happiness you want’.” — Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, 7/ 493, Timeless Seeds of Advice Part 2

A sage said, “Whoever is under the delusion that he has a closer friend than Allah, little is his knowledge of Allah; and the one who is under the delusion that he has a greater enemy than his nafs, little is his knowledge of his nafs.” — Preparing for the day of judgement

It is said, “Glad tidings to the one whose intellect is his master and whose desire is his slave. And woe to the one whose desire is his master and whose intellect is his slave.” — Preparing for the day of judgement

Photo by Tonia Kraakman on Unsplash

1 parable from Islamic tradition — Ibn Sina’s Lamb Experiment

Ibn Sina, a famous Muslim scientist, put two lambs in separate cages. Lambs were the same age and the same weight, and fed with the same food. All conditions were equal. However, he put a wolf in the third cage. Only one lamb could see the wolf but not the other lamb.

Months later, the lamb who saw the wolf was cranky, restless, poorly developing, and losing weight. The lamb died whilst the other lamb remained healthy. Although the wolf did nothing to the lamb next to it, the fear and stress that lamb lived in killed it prematurely. The other lamb that did not see the wolf was peaceful and developed well with a healthy weight gain.

In this experiment lbn Sına demonstrated the importance of mental health. Do not trouble yourself with unnecessary worry and concerns. Learn to rely on Allah and take care of your mental health.

“And for those who fear Allah, He always prepares a way out, and He provides for him from sources he never could imagine. And if anyone puts his trust in Allah, sufficient is Allah for him. For Allah will surely accomplish His purpose: verily, for all things has Allah appointed a due proportion.”(Quran, 65: 2–3) — Avicenna’s Psychology, Read on islamcan.com

The format of this series is inspired by the 3–2–1 Thursday newsletter of James Clear and the numbers of each selection 7–3–1 are inspired by the number of repetitions found in the Morning & Evening Adhkar.

This reflects the importance of remembrance, reminders and of odd numbers within our faith, as exemplified by the Prophet ﷺ who stated,

“Verily, Allah is Odd (He is one, and it is an odd number) and He loves odd.” (Sahih Muslim 2677a)

May Allah guide us as we seek knowledge and try to apply these pearls to our lives. For true wisdom lies not just in knowing, but in acting upon it.

💌 Disclaimer: Some links are affiliate links which means I earn a small commission if anyone decides to purchase through them, at no cost to you.

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Adele Arbi
Adele Arbi

Written by Adele Arbi

A curious soul seeking knowledge and pondering life.

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