Imam Ghazali was a renowned Muslim scholar who lived in the fifth century of high rah. He was born in Tus, a small village near Mashhad.
In those days students who wanted to have a great knowledge of Islam travelled to Nishapur, which boasted several centres of learning and many teachers of repute.
Imam Ghazali, after completing the first part of his education at home, arrived in Nishapur to pursue further studies.
He was brilliant and was soon praised by his tutors as being the most studios and painstaking student. In order not to forget any of the finer points, he formed the habit of noting down all that he heard and learnt from his teachers and he very carefully rewrote them under various headings and chapters. He treasured these notes as dearly as his life, or perhaps more.
Years later, he decided to return to his village. He Aries all his prepared notes into a neat bundle and .set forth in the company of a caravan.
On the way, they were held up by a gang of highway thieves who robbed each traveler of all his valuables. And then it was Ghazali's turn. They searched him thoroughly, snatching away all that they wanted, and then laid hands on the tied bundle of notes.
"Take all that you want, but please do not touch this bundle." Pleaded Ghazali.
The thieves thought that there must be something very precious hidden in the bundle which Ghazali was trying to save. So they untied it and took it apart. And what did they find? Nothing but a few papers with writing on them.
They asked: "what are these? Of what use are they?"
"So whatever you know is in here, isn't it?" One of them asked.
"Yes."
"Well, knowledge written down on a few pages, which can easily be stolen is no knowledge at all. Go away and think about it and about yourself!"
This casual but stinging remark by a common man shook Ghazali to the core. He realized that he studied like a parrot, jotting down all that he learned and cramming in into his mind. He found that he knew more, but he thought less. If he wanted to be a true student and a good scholar, he had to absorb knowledge, think, ponder, reason things out and then form his own judgement.
He set out seriously to learn the way he should, and became one of the greatest ulema of Islam. But in his old age, when he added up all the worthy things, he said: "The best advice which changed my thinking, was given to me by a highway robber."