When Allah created Adam, He taught him the names of everything. Then He turned to the Angels and asked if they knew. They said, “Exalted are You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You who is the Knowing, the Wise.”

The approach to knowledge is a humble one. We come as seekers, and seekers by nature, are people in need. So, when we approach a person we can learn from, or a book we can read from, or a circle we can attend, we approach humbly and create space in ourselves to learn what we don’t know.

The first quarter of the Qur’an passes over extensive themes and topics. But it begins with the verse above where the Angels humbly disclose their lack of knowledge. And it ends with the great scene of ‘Isa (Jesus) ibn Maryam where Allah asks him, “Did you say to the people, ‘Take me and my mother as gods besides Allah?’” And in a similar fashion, ‘Isa humbly replies saying, “Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen.”

In both cases, Allah ‘azza wa jall is the One asking, and in both cases, the Angels and ‘Isa (AS) reply by saying ‘Subhanak!’ – a statement exalting and elevating Allah, and by default lowering their own selves in comparison. A show of true humility; because they were up against Allah – the Master and Knower of the Unseen. So even though the Angels were witnesses and even though ‘Isa experienced what his people did, they both conceded to ‘Allam Al-Ghuyub’.

See, there’s knowledge of what’s around around us. And then there’s an entirely different reality which only Allah knows of. So we come humbly, ya Allah, saying ‘Subhanak’, and we place our trust in Your vast and encompassing knowledge of all things seen and unseen. Truly, no one knows things quite like You do.