Among these verses is His saying, the Almighty: "So give good tidings to My servants, those who listen to the word and follow what is best of it. Those are the ones Allah has guided, and those are the ones who possess intellect." (Al-Zumar/17-18) And those who possess intellect are the wise, as explained by His saying, the Almighty: "Is he who knows that what has been revealed to you from your Lord is the truth like one who is blind? Only those who possess intellect will remember." (Al-Ra'd/19) And thus We have revealed to you a spirit of Our command. You did not know what the Book was or [what] faith [was], but We made it a light by which We guide whom We will of Our servants. And indeed, you guide to a straight path. (Al-Shura/52) So, knowledge of the Book and faith is what was the path to guidance.

B. Knowledge is the basis for the betterment of the world. All that exists in this world of crafts, Allah has made them the foundation of souls, and consequently, the foundation of religions. Its origin is knowledge. Therefore, it is the basis for the betterment of the world and a path to realizing the meaning of vicegerency. This idea has an admonitory character, not an analysis of knowledge within the scope of theoretical research, like theological inquiry. However, it demonstrates an Islamic foundation for the concept of knowledge, based on considering the tangible, practical element as a noble element in the foundation of knowledge. This element was neglected in Greek culture and by those influenced by it among Muslims, so that the best knowledge was considered to be that which deals with abstractions. Whereas knowledge of sensible things and crafts has no significant honor or prestige due to its base object, which is the world of sensible things.

C. Divisions of Knowledge: Al-Mahdi presented a division of knowledge in the context of explaining what a Muslim should learn. This division was tripartite in all its aspects, descending from the general to the specific. Ibn Tumart may have been influenced in this by Al-Ghazali's saying: "The basis of happiness in this world and the hereafter is knowledge." (Ihya' Ulum al-Din, 4/165)