nothing but knowledge, for it is the most splendid present and the greatest charismatic gift, even if the proof is established against you through it. It makes you acknowledge rather than dispute, for you know what is yours, what is incumbent upon you, and what is His.
God Most High commanded His Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, to ask Him for an increase in nothing but knowledge, because all good lies within it. It is the greatest charismatic gift, and idleness with knowledge is better than ignorance with action.
The means of attaining knowledge are many. By knowledge I mean only knowledge of God, the abode of the Hereafter, and what the abode of this world deserves, what it was created for, and for what purpose it was established. Thus a human being may have clear insight into his affair wherever he is, ignorant of nothing concerning himself or his movements.
Knowledge is an all-encompassing divine attribute, and thus the best of what lies in God’s bounty. As He said: “We taught him knowledge from Our presence” [al-Kahf 18:65], “through mercy from Us.” Know, then, that knowledge comes from the source of mercy.
(Divine Notification of a Charismatic Gift)
I have now informed you what a charismatic gift is: divine notification that what He has presented to you is a charismatic gift from Him, neither diminishing your share in your Hereafter nor recompensing any of your work, but given solely for your coming. Your coming to Him was only because of your ignorance of Him, since you did not see Him at the very first step.
This happened to Abu Yazid when, at the beginning of his affair, he left Bistam seeking the Real. One of the men met him and said, “What are you seeking, Abu Yazid?” He replied, “God.” The man said to him, “You left the One you seek in Bistam.” Abu Yazid was awakened. How could he seek Him when He, Most High, says: “He is with you wherever you are” [al-Ḥadīd 57:4]?
Thus neither knowledge
