Founded in 2012, KNOW is a trusted community education platform for people who love to learn.
We believe that everyone has something to learn, and everyone has something to teach. Harnessing the power of the sharing economy, KNOW brings together students, experts, teachers, leaders and scientists from around the world to bring you bitesize, digestible knowledge delivered in a modern, engaging way and to the point of understanding.
Knowledge is not ‘one-size fits all’. We all have different interests, different ways of understanding, and different attention spans. We also have different backgrounds, experience and expertise. Our strength lies in our diversity as a community. We can learn something from everyone.
Whether you want to learn about history, politics, health, science or nature, KNOW connects you with those that are in the know - and allows you to become one of them.
The human intellect is an amazing thing. In 2015, the 4th most powerful supercomputer in the world took 40 minutes to simulate just one second of one percent of human brain activity. We are capable of so much but we often do not utilise even a fraction of these powers.
The human faculty to learn is unrivalled. Throughout history, this unquenchable thirst for knowledge led to world exploration, advances in science, art and technology, and free, empowered communities. Too often today we often only learn to make more money, for status or because we are told to by our school, or our employer. Whatever happened to learning for its true purpose, to build our intellect and to learn about the world?
The Quran places immense importance on the capacity of the human mind to reflect on the signs of Allah that are spread all round in nature. The Quran constantly implores humans to think objectively, competently and purposefully. This is aimed at learning and discovering the natural truth.
We are sadly far removed from our rich intellectual past. Profound Muslim thinkers such as Imam al-Ghazali, ibn Sina and ibn Arabi had a profound impact on Islamic thought, especially philosophy, metaphysics and science, at a time when seeking all forms of knowledge was celebrated and considered a means of worshipping Allah. They recognised that the more they learned about the world, the better they would understand and impact their deen - and vice versa. The Quran was also revealed in two parts - 13 years in Mecca and 10 years in Madinah. The first and longer part was devoted purely to learning and gaining knowledge.
That said, this is a unique time for Muslims. The dissemination of knowledge is unparalleled with anytime in its history. Young Muslims, both from the East and West have more access to resources than any of our previous generations and therefore it is important there is a platform to go to that can provide trustworthy information that can build substance and understanding in both spirituality and the sciences and allow them to truly cultivate their intellectual and personal development.
At KNOW, we believe that education changes the world. Education has the ability to make anyone undergo a transformation.
From Aristotle to Einstein, Mahatama Gandhi to Malcolm X, Henry Ford to Steve Jobs to Thomas Edison, these were all advocates or products of alternative methods of learning and their legacies live on to this day.
KNOW is no different.
We are living in a world of extremes. Extreme poverty, extreme injustice, extreme materialism. To counter extremity you need balance. Balance comes through understanding the bigger picture, through wisdom. Wisdom comes through holistic, diverse, broad knowledge - hence the root solution to tackle extreme behaviour is through education. To restore this balance to the world the root lies in a truly holistic education, that is clear, accessible and digestible.
One of our key inspirations was the distinction given by scholars between ‘knowledge’ (ilm) and ‘knowing’ (irfan). The state of knowing is the higher form - and as such, it is something we must strive for. We must become people who know, as opposed to those who have knowledge. The people who know are active and implement what they learn - not passive and comfortable in the fact they are learned in a subject.
Knowledge is supposed to give us the ability to be self-sustainable and free. However we are probably more dependent on the status quo than we have ever been. By going direct to source and learning directly from people who can teach you as things are - we can start to develop some independence and self-reliance for ourselves.
Faisal Amjad: Founder & CEO
Naeem Aslam: COO
Sabreen Syeed: Content Director
Faisal Hussain: Research Assistant
