While I was reading through your thoughts on why we need to educate and the paragraph where Martin Luther King's thoughts are quoted, in my mind the story of "Three Pearls Presented to Nabi Adam" by mawlana Rumi popped up.
Below is the excerpt from that story:
“… when God had created the pure body of Adam … out of the
clay on the surface of the sphere [of the earth], and had decreed
the breathing of divine spirit … into him, Jibra’il heard God’s
address: ‘Take three pearls from the sea of My Omnipotence,
place them on a plate of light, present them to Adam the pure,
and have him choose one of them.’
The first pearl was intellect (aql), the second was faith (iman), and
the third was modesty (haya). When Jibra’il presented the plate to
Adam … [Adam] said, ‘the mu’min sees by means of
God’s light.’ He saw the pearl of intellect and chose it.
Jibra’il then tried to take the plate with the two
remaining pearls in order to return them to the
sea of Omnipotence. But with all of his strength,
he was unable to take them because of their
heaviness. The pearls of faith and modesty told
him, ‘We cannot be separated from the company
of intellect. We cannot be in any place where it is
not present. This is because we have, from eternity,
been jewels of the mine of Divine Greatness …’
The address of God was then heard: ‘Jibra’il!
Leave them and come here!’ Immediately reason
settled at the summit of the human brain, the pearl of
faith settled into the pure perceptive heart, and the pearl of
modesty settled on the blessed face of Adam. All of these three
pure pearls are the heritage of the children of Adam.
Whoever from the children of Adam is not adorned or made
to shine by these pearls is deprived from their light and
While I was reading through your thoughts on why we need to educate and the paragraph where Martin Luther King's thoughts are quoted, in my mind the story of "Three Pearls Presented to Nabi Adam" by mawlana Rumi popped up.
Below is the excerpt from that story:
“… when God had created the pure body of Adam … out of the
clay on the surface of the sphere [of the earth], and had decreed
the breathing of divine spirit … into him, Jibra’il heard God’s
address: ‘Take three pearls from the sea of My Omnipotence,
place them on a plate of light, present them to Adam the pure,
and have him choose one of them.’
The first pearl was intellect (aql), the second was faith (iman), and
the third was modesty (haya). When Jibra’il presented the plate to
Adam … [Adam] said, ‘the mu’min sees by means of
God’s light.’ He saw the pearl of intellect and chose it.
Jibra’il then tried to take the plate with the two
remaining pearls in order to return them to the
sea of Omnipotence. But with all of his strength,
he was unable to take them because of their
heaviness. The pearls of faith and modesty told
him, ‘We cannot be separated from the company
of intellect. We cannot be in any place where it is
not present. This is because we have, from eternity,
been jewels of the mine of Divine Greatness …’
The address of God was then heard: ‘Jibra’il!
Leave them and come here!’ Immediately reason
settled at the summit of the human brain, the pearl of
faith settled into the pure perceptive heart, and the pearl of
modesty settled on the blessed face of Adam. All of these three
pure pearls are the heritage of the children of Adam.
Whoever from the children of Adam is not adorned or made
to shine by these pearls is deprived from their light and
from their [real] meaning …”
Jalal al-Din Rumi
From Shams al-Din al-Aflaki, Manaqib al-Arifin
(‘The Virtues of the Gnostics’)