Imam Malik was one of the greatest scholars in the history of Islam. One day a man who lived thousands of miles away went to visit him. In those days there were no Emirates or British Airways. No 100 mph trains. This man travelled for months to visit Imam Malik for one simple reason. He wanted to ask questions and learn more about his deen.
He finally arrived and asked the esteemed Imam 40 questions. And the Imam said “I don’t know” to 36 of them. He only answered 4 questions. 4 questions out of 40.
Similarly, one day Abu Bakr RA was asked a question about the Quran and he beautifully answered “Which sky will shelter me and which earth will hold me if I speak about a verse of the Qur’an without knowledge.”
The question is, are YOU an Islamic scholar in the true sense?
Yes you.
What Islamic education do you have? Are you qualified to interpret Hadiths? Have you studied 8 hours a day for 5 years to understand Quran in detail? What teachers have you studied under? How many students do you to teach? How many hours a week do you spend learning Islam?
If the answers to the above questions are mostly in the negative then the answer to the first question is probably no.
So brothers and sisters, who are we?
Compared to such greats. And yet on Facebook, on Twitter, on email, in our homes, in our classrooms, in our discussions, we issues Fatwas all day long. We pronounce halal haram and we pronounce haram halal. And we do it daily. We do it with ease. The words slip out of our tongues like butter spreads on warm bread. We do it without regard. We’ve become experts on Islamic fiqh.
Folks, we do it out of ignorance.
Sheikh Google is not an authentic Imam. Maulana Twitter is not an authentic Imam. Mufti Facebook is not an authentic Imam.
Real fatwas are issued by scholars who have spent years studying Islam and often they reply with the same humility as Imam Malik and Abu Bakr RA did.
So from today be careful. Be careful what you say. The angel on your left records everything. Don’t keep him busy. Keep the angel on the right busier and learn how to simply say
salaam alaykum
great reminder.
I am not a scholar myself and I do not speak of the religion what I do not know. I feel shy to speak of what I do know even! I don't want to mislead people.
I think the best example is showing people kindness and charity to guide people to islam. That way they can find out for themselves what islam is by doing their own research. It also keeps the autonomy of each muslim if we do things like that because in doing our own research then we each take something different but useful from Islam and we do not become a sea of replicated muslims all acting and doing the same things. I love islam for its diversity and that is what will always keep my heart in islam insha allah.
may we all be guided right. ameen
A great reminder but kind of advice also can kill all discussions here in the discussion forum. Most of us are laymans. We have no education about shariah neither the Quran neither the Hadiths. Should we then stop any kind of posting of our own knowledge and opinions (oops, opinions!)? If someone ask is this haram or halal, should we not comment? We are not scholars. We better be quiet?
The paradox is that the more you know the more you don't know. So the greatest scholars get to a point of knowledge that they realize how insignificant they are and their wisdom is no better than a child in the great scheme of things. But the fools know all the answers. That's why the world is in such a mess.
A great reminder but kind of advice also can kill all discussions here in the discussion forum. Most of us are laymans. We have no education about shariah neither the Quran neither the Hadiths. Should we then stop any kind of posting of our own knowledge and opinions (oops, opinions!)? If someone ask is this haram or halal, should we not comment? We are not scholars. We better be quiet?
According to my understanding of the article and a knowledge brother whom I have asked. Saying this is haram/halal because of a translated hadith you found on wikipedia. That's being The Original Shiekh Google .
For example if I have no studies in arabic, I grab a translated hadith in english, and reply to someone on the forum "Because of this hadith, this is haram. Allow knows best".
However though we can make reference to an aalim. According to so and so this is Haram. We as laymen cannot understand the primary sources our self.
He (Shaytan) only orders you to evil and immorality and to say about Allah what you do not know.
[Quran 2:169]
Imam ibn Katheer comments that this verse means:
"Your enemy, Satan, commands you to commit evil acts and what is worse than that, such as adultery and so forth. He commands you to commit what is even worse, that is, saying about Allah without knowledge."
When we speak about Shari'ah and say something is permissible or impermissible we are speaking about Allah. It is like we are speaking on behalf of Allah. That can only be done with real knowledge. So we need to be really careful that what we say is correct and if we are not sure then we should not try to answer it anyway but instead refer to others.
So don't obey Shaytan, obey Allah instead when He says "ask the people of knowledge..."
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Stop Acting like an Islamic Scholar
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