Bismillah Ir-Rahman, Ir-Raheem. I begin with ALLAH's auspiciousness,whose Name is the Best among all the names. All Revences, All Sanctities and All Worships are due to ALLAH alone. Ashahadu An Laa illaaha illal llahu
Wa Ash Hadu Anna Muhammadan Abdu Hu Wa Rasooluhu
''I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah
who is without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) is the Rasool.'' "O Allah, Shower Your Peace come upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have brought peace to Ibrahim and his family.
Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. O Allah, Shower your blessing upon Muhammad and thefamily of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious". Iam Satisfied with Allâh as My Rabb and Cherisher,Iam Satisfied With Islam as My Din(religion) and I am satisfied with Muhammad as a Rasulallah (Messenger)sallallahu alaihi was salam) I seek Protection with ALLAH! With the Glorious and Noble Face of ALLAH! With the Complete and Perfect words of ALLAH! With the Exalted Attributes of ALLAH! From the Punishment of Hell; From chastisement in the Grave; From the Trial of Life and Death; From the Mischief of the dajjal. There is no power nor strength with (anyone) save Allah. ALLAH is Good and Only accept that which is Good. ALLAH is the Truth and only accept that which True. ALLAH is Pure and only accept that which is Pure. Ya ALLAH! ALL the praises are for You,You are the Holder of the Heavens and the Earth, And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All praises are for You; You are are the Substaner of the Heavens and the Earth And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All the praises are for you;You have the Possession of the Heavens and the Earth and whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All the praises are for You; You are Light(Nur) of the Heavens and Earth And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All praises are for You; You are the King of the Heavens and the Earth And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All praises are for You; You are the Truth and Your Promise is the Truth, And Your word is the Truth and the Meeting with You is true, And Paradise is True And Hell is true and All the Prophets(peace be upon them) are true; And Muhammad Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) is true,And the Day of Resurrection is True. Ya ALLAH! You have promise and Your promise is the truth,Ya ALLAH! You have promise and Your words is the truth, Ya ALLAH! You have promise and You are the Truth!. Ya ALLAH! You have created Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) to be the most truthful of men and what He(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) has said is the absolute truth! Ya ALLAH! You have promise that You would send one who would revive, restore, rejuvenate Your Din(religion)....
Chapter 4. Categories of Scholars
Many of the righteous forbears [
salaf]
, such as Sufyan al-Thawri and others, categorized scholars into various groups. The best of these groupings is epitomized by the scholar who knows both Allah and His commandments. By this expression, Sufyan refers to those who combine inner and outer knowledge. These are the most distinguished scholars. They are praised by Allah:
Indeed, among His servants, it is but the learned who fear Allah (Quran, 35:28). He also says:
Indeed, those who were given knowledge beforehand, when Our signs are recited to them, they fall down prostrate on their faces, saying, "Glorified is our Lord. Indeed, the promise of our Lord will be fulfilled. " They fall down prostrate on their faces, weeping, and it increases them in humility. (Quran, 17:107-9)
Many of the righteous forbears used to say, "Religious knowl-edge is not an abundance of memorized texts. Rather, knowledge is humility."' One of them said, "Fear of Allah is sufficient knowl-edge, and being deceived concerning Allah is sufficient ignorance." They further said, "One who knows Allah experien-tially does not necessarily know the commandments of Allah." Such are the possessors of inner knowledge who lack adequate comprehension of juridical matters. The righteous forbears simi-larly said, "One who knows the commandments of Allah does not necessarily know Allah experientially." Such are the possessors of outer knowledge who have no inkling of inner knowledge; they neither fear Allah nor possess humility. They were deemed blame- worthy by the righteous forbears. One of them said [concerning such a scholar], "This [type] is corrupt."'
They stop at outer knowledge, while beneficial knowledge fails to reach their hearts. They will never savour its fragrance. They have been overwhelmed by their negligence, their hardness of heart, and their aversion of the Hereafter. They vie for the world, seeking exaltation in it, and are vainglorious..
Chapter 4.1. The Harm and Enmity of Corrupt Scholars
Corrupt scholars think ill of those who have obtained beneficial knowledge. They do not love them, nor do they sit with them. They may even condemn them. They denounce them saying, "They are not real scholars!" This is from the treachery of Satan and his deception which prevents these corrupt scholars from attaining beneficial knowledge which Allah, His Messenger
, the righteous
Salaf of the ummah, and its
imams have all praised.
For this reason, worldly scholars dislike righteous scholars, and they strive to their utmost to harm them, just as they endeavoured to harm Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, Hasan al-Basri, Sufyan al-Thawri, Imam Malik, Imam Ahmad, and other upright scholars (may Allah be pleased with them). This is because righteous scholars are the successors of the messengers, whereas worldly scholars resemble those who have earned the wrath of Allah those who were enemies of the messengers, the slayers of the prophets, and murderers of the righteous. They are most intense in their enmity and envy towards the believers. Because of their intense love of the world, these corrupt scholars appreciate neither religious knowledge nor true religion. Instead, they glorify
wealth, status, and positions of advantage with the rulers.
One of the ministers said to Mufti Hajjaj ibn Arta, "You know well jurisprudence and theology." Hajjaj said, "Why don't you instead say, 'You have honour and esteem?'" The minister said, "I swear by Allah! You belittle what Allah has extolled, and you extol what Allah has belittled!"
Chapter 4.2. The Deception of Satan
Many of those claiming inner knowledge speak about it, limit themselves to it, and condemn outer knowledge, namely, [the study of] the
Sharia, legal rulings, and matters concerning the lawful and the unlawful. And they defame its people, saying that they are veiled and are people of superficialities. This irresponsible attitude engenders vilification of the pure
Sharia and the righteous deeds that the prophets brought, encouraged, and fostered.
Some of them go so far as to absolve themselves of the need to perform acts of worship, claiming that worship is for the masses. They claim that one who has attained [nearness to] Allah has no need for worship; in fact, such rituals are considered a veil for him. Junayd and others have said concerning such people, ''What they have attained is only Hellfire." This claim [that adherence to
Sharia is unnecessary] is from the greatest treachery and deception of Satan [Iblis] towards those people. He will continue to play with them until he causes them to apostatize from Islam.
Among this group of deceived scholars are those who imagine that inner knowledge is not received from the lamp of prophethood nor from the Quran and the
Sunnah, but that it issues from person-al impulses and divine inspiration. They entertain malicious thoughts towards the perfect
Sharia, thinking that it hasn't come with the sort of knowledge that rectifies hearts and draws people near to Allah, the Knower of the Unseen. This attitude ultimately produces in them a total rejection of what the Messenger of Allah brought in this regard and leads them to talk about spiritual matters on the basis of conjecture and fancy. They are astray, and they lead others astray..
Chapter 4.3. Examples of Virtuous Scholars
It is clear from this that the most complete and virtuous of schol-ars are those who are knowledgeable of Allah and His command-ments. They combine the two [kinds of] knowledge, [the outer and the inward], which they receive from the Quran and the
Sunnah. They examine what people say on the basis of the Quran and the
Sunnah. That which agrees with these sources, they accept. And that which contradicts them, they reject.
These scholars are the elite of mankind, the best of humanity after the prophets. They are the true successors of the prophets and messengers. They were many among the Companions [of the Prophet], including the four righteous caliphs, Muadh, Abu Darda, Salman, lbn Masud, lbn Amr, Ibn Abbas, and many oth-ers. Similarly, from the generation after them, there were the likes of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, Hasan al-Basri, Ata, Tawus, Mujahid, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, al-Nakba'i, and Yabya ibn AbiKathir. And among those who came after the latter, there were people like al-Thawri, al-Awza'i, Ahmad, and others from the righteous scholars.
Ali ibn Abi Talibhas dubbed them godly scholars [
rabbaniyyun], indicating their praiseworthy status. Their kind is referred to in more than one place in the Quran. Ali says of them, "People are of three groups: righteous scholars, students of sacred knowledge, and the riffraff. " He then went on at length to describe both corrupt and righteous scholars. We expound on them elsewhere in this book...
Chapter 5. Grazing the Gardens
In a well-known hadith, the Prophet relates, "If you pass by the Gardens of Paradise, graze therein." The Companions asked, "What are the Gardens of Paradise?" He said, "Circles of
dhikr [remembrance of Allah]." Whenever he mentioned this hadith, lbn Masud would say, "I do not mean gatherings of sermonizers, but study circles." A similar hadith has been related by Anas ibn Malik.
Ata al-Khurasani said, "Gatherings of
dhikr are gatherings to study the lawful and unlawful, how to buy and sell, how to perform well the Prayer [
Salah] and the Fast [
Sawm], [the laws of] marriage and divorce, how to perform the Pilgrimage [
Hajj], and similar mat-ters.
'Yabya ibn Abi Kathir said, "A lesson in jurisprudence is Prayer." Abu Suwar al-Adawi was sitting in a study circle, which included in attendance a young man who exhorted the assembly to say,
"SubhanAllah [Glory be to Allah!]" and
"al-hamdulillah [All Praise is for Allah!]." Abu Suwar became angry and said, "Woe unto you! What then is the purpose of our gathering?"
This indicates that the gatherings of
dhikr are not merely utter-ing the words
"Subhan Allah, Allahu Akbar, al-hamdulillah," and similar meritorious phrases. Rather, they include those gatherings in which the commands of Allah, His prohibitions, the lawful and unlawful, and that which He loves are discussed. Perhaps this lartter form of
dhikr is more beneficial than the former, since knowledge of the lawful and unlawful is obligatory for every Muslim in proportion to his needs. As for mentioning Allah with the tongue, it is largely voluntary and only rarely obligatory, such as
dhikr in the mandatory Prayers.
What Knowledge is Mandatory for the Muslim
As for the knowledge of Allah's commandments knowing what gains His love and pleasure and what incurs His anger, such knowledge is obligatory for everyone. For this reason it has been related, "Seeking knowledge is mandatory for every Muslim." Hence, it is obligatory for every Muslim to learn the requisites of purification, Prayer [
Salah], and Fasting [
Sawm]. Furthermore, it is mandatory for everyone who has wealth that he learn what is obligatory in terms of Charity [
Zakat] due to the needy, doing what is voluntary and what is compulsory, Pilgrimage [
Hajj], and
Jihad.
Similarly, it is mandatory for everyone who buys and selis that he learn what transactions are Lawful and which are unlawful. As Umarsaid, "No one sells in our market except one who is knowledgeable of the religion." A similar hadith has been related on a weak chain by Ali who said, "Understanding of religion precedes commerce. One who engages in commerce without properly understanding the religion falls into usury with little chance of escaping from it."
Abdallah ibn al-Mubarak was asked, "What knowledge is obligatory?" He replied:
lf a man does not have any wealth, it is not required that he learn the rulings of Zakat. If his wealth reaches the nisab [minimum level of wealth that obliges one to pay Zakat], it is obligatory that he learn how much he should give in Zakat, when to give, and to whom. Other taxable possessions should be created in similar fashion.
Imam Ahmad was asked about a man, "What knowledge is incumbent for him to seek?" He said, "The requisites for establish-ing Prayer and the divine commandments relating to Fasting and
Zakat." He then mentioned the basic laws of Islam and said, "It is appropriate that he learn these." He also said, "Obligatory knowl-edge is that which is indispensable for performing his Prayer and establishing his religion
."You should know that knowledge of the lawful [
Halal] and unlawful [
Haram] is honourable. lt includes learning that which is individually and communally obligatory. Some scholars have written that learning the lawful and unlawful is better than voluntary worship, among them are Imam Ahmad and lshaq.
Reluctance in Giving Religious Verdicts
The early
imams were cautious about speaking about [the lawful and unlawful], because one who speaks about such matters is relating information from Allah, enunciating His commandments and prohibitions, and passing on His sacred law. It was said about Ibn Sirin, "If he was asked about something regarding the lawful or the unlawful, his colour would change. He would be transformed until he no longer seemed the same person." Ata ibn al-Sa'ib said, "I met people who, when asked for a religious verdict, would tremble as they spoke." It is related that when Imam Malik was asked about a legal matter, it was as if he were suspended between Heaven and Hell.
Imam Ahmad was extremely hesitant to speak on the lawful and unlawful, to claim that something was abrogated, or related matters which others would too readily expound. He frequently prefaced his answers with phrases such as, "I hope that...," I fear ...," or "It is more beloved to me...."
Imam Malik and others used to frequently say, "I do not know." Imam Ahmad would often say on an issue about which the righteous predecessors had various opinions, "The most likely answer is, 'I do not know.'"
Dhikr, Iman, and Ihsan
Gatherings of
dhikr also include gatherings of Quranic exegesis [
tafseer] and gatherings in which the way of the Messenger of Allah is related. Discussions that include the narration of
hadith along with its explanation are more complete and virtuous than those involving narration only. These gatherings also include the discus-sion of all the legitimate Islamic sciences, along with their evidences and proofs. These sciences deal with outer knowledge and the inner knowledge of beliefs, constant awareness of Allah's watch over us, and the heart's perception of Allah's presence. The latter two com-prise the constituent knowledge of
Ihsan [excellence in worship].
These gatherings also include the knowledge of humility, love, hope, patience, contentment, and other states of the soul. In the hadith of Angel Gabriel,
ihsan has been designated by the Prophet as constituting [part of the] religion. Hence, understand-ing
ihsan properly is essential to properly understanding Islam.
The Two Circles
Such gatherings are better than gatherings whose sole purpose is to remember Allah [
dhikr] by repeating the phrases, "
Subhan Allah," "
alhamdulillah," and "
Allahu Akbar." This is because learning one's religion is obligatory on either every individual or the community at large. Whereas,
dhikr by extolling Allah is optional [in most cases].
One of the righteous predecessors [
Salaf] of Islam entered the mosque of Basra and saw that two circles were established. In one sat a ser-monizer, in the other a jurist. He prayed a special Prayer in which he asked Allah's guidance as to which of the two circles he should join. He fell asleep then saw in his dream someone saying to him, "Do you consider the two gatherings equal? If you wish, I will show you the seat of Gabriel in the circle of the jurist."
Zayd ibn Aslam was among the most distinguished scholars of Madinah. He had a circle in the mosque in which he would teach Quranic commentary, hadith, jurisprudence, and other religious sciences. A man came to him and said:
I saw in a dream an angel who said to the people of this gathering, "This host is secure in the Gardens of Paradise." Then he sent down to them a tender fish, which he placed in front of them. Thereupon, a man came to them and said, "Verily, I saw the Prophet, Abu Bakr, and Umar emerging through this door. The Prophet, was saying, come with us to Zayd. Let us sit with him and listen to his teaching.' Then the Prophet went, sat beside you, and grasped your hand."
lt wasn't long after this vision that Zayd died, may Allah have mercy on him.
Despite what we have mentioned regarding the preference of knowledge to admonitions, the scholar must occasionally admon-ish people by relating stories to them. This is necessary to remove hardness from their hearts by helping them to remember Allah and His awesome power. The Quran includes this approach.
Hence, the learned jurist, in reality, is one who thoroughly understands the Book of Allah and implements it. Ali said, "The truly learned scholar is one who does not cause people to despair of Allah's mercy; nor does he give them warrant to rebel against Allah; nor does he leave the Quran, giving preference to other books."The Prophet himself applied this orientation.
He used to encourage his Companions in his sermons, fearing that he would otherwise overburden them.
.