The year 1940 was the beginning of my thinking life. I was in madrasa at that time and my teacher was Maulana Amin Ahsan Islahi. He once asked the students a question about the camel’s hoof. “How is the camel’s hoof shaped? Is it joined, like a horse’s? Or is it split, like a cow’s?” None of us students could give a clear reply. Our teacher then cited an Arabic saying: La adri nisful ilm, which means, “[Admitting that] ‘I don’t know’ is half of knowledge.” He explained that when you admit that you don’t know how a camel’s hoof is shaped, the next time you see a camel you will want to look closely at its hoof and see how it is shaped. But if you are unaware of your unawareness, you will not want to learn. You will not care to look closely at the camel’s hoof. This was the first incident of my life that created in me the spirit of enquiry. I started to think deeply on matters since then.
