What is the difference between simple ignorance and compound ignorance.
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The Shaykh : And what is the difference between simple and compound ignorance?
The simply ignorant person is one who does not know and stops at his limit. The compoundly ignorant person is one who does not know and acts as if he were a scholar. A man asked you, and you said, "When was the Battle of Badr?" He said, "I do not know." What type of ignorance is that? Simple. He does not know, that is all, it is over. And a man asked you, and you said, "When was the Battle of Badr?" He said, "The Battle of Badr was when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went out for Hajj in the tenth year of the Hijrah." What is this ignorance?
The questioner : Compound.
The Shaykh : Why? Because this person does not know, and does not know that he does not know. He does not know, and does not know that he does not know, so his ignorance is compound from two angles. That is why it is said that a man was called Tuma and was nicknamed "The Wise Tuma," but he was ignorant with compound ignorance. He used to walk among the people on a donkey; at that time, I think there were no cars, he walked on the donkey. So the poet said: "The donkey of the wise Tuma said, 'If the times were just, I would be the one riding, because I am simply ignorant and my companion is compoundly ignorant.'" This donkey is right; it says if there were justice, I would be the rider and my companion would be the ridden, because I am simply ignorant and my companion is compoundly ignorant, ignorant twice. And the other says: "Whoever seeks knowledge without a scholar goes astray from the straight path, and knowledge becomes confused for him until he becomes more astray than the wise Tuma, who gave away daughters to men, seeking thereby the gardens of bliss." The wise Tuma found poor people who had no money to marry with, so he gave them daughters in charity so they could marry them. Is this charity valid and accepted, or not?
The questioner : If the daughters consent, it is valid. If they do not consent, it is not.
The Shaykh : This distinction is misguidance, my brother. He says if the daughters consent, there is no harm in giving a daughter in charity to a poor man to be his wife. And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):[Al-Ahzab 33:50] No one ever marries without something. But if you want to earn his reward, give him dirhams and let him give them as a mahr and marry. Do you understand? Well, in any case, we say that the problem of compound ignorance is a very great problem. He goes astray and leads others astray, and he does not know it.
The simply ignorant person is one who does not know and stops at his limit. The compoundly ignorant person is one who does not know and acts as if he were a scholar. A man asked you, and you said, "When was the Battle of Badr?" He said, "I do not know." What type of ignorance is that? Simple. He does not know, that is all, it is over. And a man asked you, and you said, "When was the Battle of Badr?" He said, "The Battle of Badr was when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went out for Hajj in the tenth year of the Hijrah." What is this ignorance?
The questioner : Compound.
The Shaykh : Why? Because this person does not know, and does not know that he does not know. He does not know, and does not know that he does not know, so his ignorance is compound from two angles. That is why it is said that a man was called Tuma and was nicknamed "The Wise Tuma," but he was ignorant with compound ignorance. He used to walk among the people on a donkey; at that time, I think there were no cars, he walked on the donkey. So the poet said: "The donkey of the wise Tuma said, 'If the times were just, I would be the one riding, because I am simply ignorant and my companion is compoundly ignorant.'" This donkey is right; it says if there were justice, I would be the rider and my companion would be the ridden, because I am simply ignorant and my companion is compoundly ignorant, ignorant twice. And the other says: "Whoever seeks knowledge without a scholar goes astray from the straight path, and knowledge becomes confused for him until he becomes more astray than the wise Tuma, who gave away daughters to men, seeking thereby the gardens of bliss." The wise Tuma found poor people who had no money to marry with, so he gave them daughters in charity so they could marry them. Is this charity valid and accepted, or not?
The questioner : If the daughters consent, it is valid. If they do not consent, it is not.
The Shaykh : This distinction is misguidance, my brother. He says if the daughters consent, there is no harm in giving a daughter in charity to a poor man to be his wife. And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):