Can Muslims Acquire Knowledge from Romans and Persians?

Question

I came across a Hadith that states, “Indeed, you will follow the ways of the Romans and Persians to the extent that if they were to crawl into a lizard’s hole, you would do the same.”

I would like to know the interpretation of this Hadith because the Romans and Persians have contributed much to science, technology, medicine, etc. In medicine, all the scientific terms are Latin or Greek, the Romans’ languages. The domes of our Masjids are copied from Persian architecture. So should we stop acquiring these forms of knowledge? Are there examples from the Sira where Nabi Muhammad (peace be upon him) acquired knowledge from these people?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

May Allah guide us to that which pleases Him, Amin.

Seeking knowledge, in general, is compulsory for believers. Except for a few branches of unlawful knowledge (like magic and sorcery), acquiring all forms of knowledge is considered obligatory for males and females. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) sought counsel from the Companion, Salman, the Persian (al-Farisi) (Allah be pleased with him). Religious knowledge should only be taken from reliable, trustworthy, and righteous scholars.

The Hadith you refer to does not mention nor refer to the Romans and Persians nor to seeking knowledge. The Hadith reads:

Abu Saʿid Al-Khudri reported Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) as saying: “You would tread the same path as was trodden by those before you inch by inch and step by step so much so that if they had entered into the hole of the lizard, you would follow them in this also.” We said: “Allah’s Messenger, do you mean Jews and Christians (by your words) ‘those before you’?” He said: “Who else (than those two religious groups)?” [Bukhari; Muslim]

Interpretation of the Hadith

This Hadith is essentially a prophecy in which the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has prophesized the onset of an era wherein Muslims will follow the Ahl al-Kitab [Jews and Christians] by engaging in every matter which the Sacred Law discouraged or prohibited.

A “lizard’s hole” depicts an extremely constricted and repulsive dwelling. In other words, regardless of how wretched, vile, and repulsive a sin, or stance/alteration/misinterpretation, etc., transpired from the Ahl Al Kitab, a group of Muslims will also end up doing the same. [Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari]

Instead, Benefit from Them

Evidence suggests that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) had taken lessons from some of the practices and experiences of the Greeks and the Persians. One can therefore deduce the permissibility of learning from them, and Allah knows best.

In a hadith narrated by Jumada al-Asadiyya (Allah be pleased with her), she narrates that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “I intended to prohibit suckling during pregnancy (ghayla – also interpreted as intercourse during the nursing period), but I considered the Greeks and the Persians and saw that they practiced it, without any injury being caused to their children thereby.” [Abu Dawud]

I pray that this benefits.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.