All praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the most honorable Prophet and Messenger, Muhammad, his family and his Companions!
Allâh will exalt in degree those of you who believe, and those who have been granted knowledge.
Are those who know equal to those who know not? It is only men of understanding who will remember (i.e. get a lesson from Allâh's Signs and Verses).
And these similitudes We put forward for mankind; but none will understand them except those who have knowledge (of Allâh and His Signs).
Knowledge here refers to religious knowledge which leads to knowing Allah, His Names and His Attributes, that He is the only Truthful Deity worthy of worship and that He is the Lord, the Creator, the Provider, the Disposer of affairs and the Grantor of blessings to all the worlds. Religious knowledge also leads to knowing Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and that he is the final Prophet conveying Allah's Shari`ah (Islamic law) and Revelation. It is knowledge that gives information about this religion with which Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sent and which reached us through the Qur'an and Sunnah (whatever is reported from the Prophet). This religion covers all aspects of our lives such as beliefs, politics, sociology, jurisdiction, legislation, economy, and everything Muslims need in their lives and afterlife.
Of every troop of them, a party only should go forth, that they (who are left behind) may get instructions in (Islâmic) religion, and that they may warn their people when they return to them, so that they may beware (of evil).