Scholars – Page 3 – AbdurRahman.Org

The religious scholars who prefer and Love this worldly life shall surely speak other than the truth concerning their judgments and religious verdicts. Verily, the judgments of Allah usually contradict the desires of people especially the rulers and those who follow their whims, as their aims cannot be attained except by opposing the truth.

Accordingly, if the ruler and the religious scholar seek position and power and follow their desires, indeed they will not be able to fulfill their aims except by deviating from the truth, especially if there is a doubtful matter involved. The doubtful matter will agree with the desires of man, and vanity will prevail. As a result, righteousness will disappear, and truth will vanish.

However, there is no doubtful matter in the truth, so how can wrong doers dare to oppose it openly, assuming that they will be able to repent afterwards. Such behavior is mentioned in a Qur’anic verse in which Allah says, which means,

“Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have given up As-Salat (the prayers) [i.e. made their Salat (prayers) to be lost, either by not offering them or by not offering them perfectly or by not offering them at their proper fixed times, etc.] and have followed lusts.” (Mariam, 19:59)

They were also mentioned in another verse, in which Allah says,which means,

“Then after them succeeded an (evil) generation, which inherited the Book, but they chose (for themselves) the goods of this low life (evil pleasures of this world) saying (as an excuse): “(Everything) will be forgiven to us. And if (again) the offer of the like (evil pleasures of this world) came their way, they would (again) seize them (would commit those sins). Was not the covenant of the Book taken from them that they would not say about Allah anything but the truth? And they have studied what is in it (the Book). And the home of the Hereafter is better for those who are AI-Muttaqun (the pious). Do not you then understand?’1 (Al-A’raf, 7:169)

Allah, the Exalted, informs us that those wrong doers have chosen the goods of this low life (the evil pleasures of this world) despite being aware of its unlawfulness. Moreover, they say, as an excuse, “(Everything) will be forgiven to us.And if (again) the offer of the like (evil pleasures of this world) came their way, they would (again) seize them (would commit those sins), so they are insistent upon that, and that is the reason why they dare to utter falsehood against Allah, assuming that the judgment and the religion of Allah are implied therein.Either they know the fact that the religion and the judgment of Allah contradict their claims, or they do not know. The result is that sometimes they utter falsehood against Allah, or else they say what is unlawful.On the other hand, the pious know quite well that the Hereafter is better than this worldly life, so loving leadership and following one’s desires would not be a temptation to them, so they would never prefer this worldly life to the Hereafter. They have only one path, which is abiding by the Glorious Qur’an and the Sunnah. Besides, they seek help in patience and prayer, think deeply about this worldly life, its transient nature and its inferiority, and they compare it with the Hereafter, its greatness and the fact that it is eternal.Following one’s desires can blind the heart in a way that makes it confused between the Sunnah and innovation in religion. Sometimes, one may be confused whether or not an action is based on the Sunnah or on an innovation in religion. In fact, when misunderstandings like this occur, it is the fault of religious scholars as they prefer this worldly life and follow the rulers, and their vain desires.They are mentioned in these verses in which Allah says,which means,

“And recite (O Muhammad Sallalaahu Alaihi wa Sallam)) to them the story of him to whom We gave Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), but he threw them away, so Shaitan (Satan) followed him up, and he became of those who went astray. And had We willed, We would surely have elevated him therewith but he clung to the earth and followed his own vain desire. So his description is the description of a dog: if you drive him away, he lolls his tongue out, or it you leave him alone, he (still) lolls his tongue out” (Al-A’raf, 7: 175¬176)

So, this is the likeness of the devious scholar of religion whose deeds contradict his knowledge.The previous verses dispraised this behavior as follows:

One: He has gone astray after having been knowledgeable, and he has knowingly chosen disbelief over faith.

Two: He abandoned faith entirely with no return, so, he threw away the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), like the serpent which throws away its skin.So, if there was any remnant thereof, he could not throw it away.

Three: Satan controlled him and so he tempted and seduced him, and that is why Allah says, “Satan followed him up, and He did not say, pursue him”, because following up means reaching and attaining him, which is much more eloquent than saying, “pursue him,” as far as meaning and expression are concerned.

Four: He has erred after having been guided, which means that he has gone astray in knowledge and in intention, which is related to the corruption of his intention and deeds. Going astray is related to the corruption of knowledge and belief, and the corruption of one side entails the corruption of the other.

Five: If Allah, the Exalted, had so willed, He could have elevated him with knowledge, which would have prevented his destruction. In other words, if he was not knowledgeable, it would have been much better for him, and would have meant a lesser torment for him.

Six: Allah, the Exalted, informed us about his wicked intention, mentioning that he has preferred inferiority rather than the most honorable and the most righteous.

Seven: His inferior choice was not chosen because of an idea that crossed his mind, on the contrary, it was chosen due to his desire to cling to the earth. Clinging means permanent adherence, as if it was said, “He is sticking to the earth.” The Qur’anic expression described his inclination to this worldly life by referring to his clinging to the earth, because the worldly life is the earth, and those who are living therein, and everything that can be extracted thereof, either for adornment or enjoyment.

Eight: He deviated from the right path following his vain desires, so his own desire resembles a leader who should be followed.

Nine: He, the Almighty compared him to a dog, which is the most low amongst creatures, because of its greed.

Ten: He compares his covetousness to this worldly life and his impatience thereto and his grief of being deprived thereof by the lolling out of the dog’s tongue, whether it is left alone or driven away. Accordingly, if that person is left alone, then he will be covetous of this worldly life, and if he is advised he will still be covetous. of this worldly life. He clings to covetousness like the dog with its tongue lolling out. Ibn Qutaibiyah said, “Surely everyone pants because they are exhausted or thirsty, except dogs, for it is their habit to pant while lolling their tongues out in all cases, whether they are exhausted or not, and whether they are thirsty or not, and that is why the Qur’anic expression compared it to the disbeliever, asserting that he has gone astray whether he is advised or left on his own. This is like the dog whether it is left alone or driven away.

Source: AI-Fawa’id, A COLLECTION OF WISE SAYINGS , Rendered into English by: Bayan Translation Services

Question:

What is the ruling of an individual who loves a scholar or a Da’ee and says: I love him very much, I do not want to listen to anyone refuting him and I take his word even if it goes against the evidence, because the shaykh has more knowledge of the evidence than us?

Answer:

This is detestable and blameworthy partisanship and it is not allowed. We love the scholars-and all praise is to Allaah-and we love the Du’aat (callers) for the sake of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic. However if one from amongst them makes an error in an issue, we make clear the truth in that issue with the evidence and this does not decrease our love for the one who is refuted nor does it decrease his status.

Imaam Maalik-rahimahullaah- said: “There is no one from amongst us except that he will refute or be refuted, except the companion of this grave.” Meaning the Messenger of Allaah SAllaahu Alihee Wasallam.

If we refute some of the people of knowledge and some of the people of virtue, this does not mean that we hate him or dispraise him, we only make clear what is correct and for this reason some of the scholars, when some of their colleagues made an error, said: “So and so is beloved to us, however the truth is more beloved to us than him. “ And this is the correct way.

Do not understand from this that to refute some of the scholars in an issue where they have erred in, means lowering them or having hatred for them. Rather the scholars have not ceased refuting each other and at the same time being brothers and having mutual love. It is not allowed for us to take everything that an individual says unquestionably, whether he is correct or in error, because this is partisanship.

The one whose statement is taken absolutely and nothing from it is left, is the Messenger of Allaah Sallaahu Alihee Wasallam. Because he is a Messenger from his Lord and does not speak from his desires. As for other than them (messengers), then sometimes they make errors and sometimes they are correct, even though they may be from the best of the people, they are Mujtahidoon that make mistakes at times and are correct at others. No one is infallible from falling into error except the Messenger of Allaah Sallaahu Alihee Wasallam. It is therefore Waajib that we know this and that we do not remain silent upon error, due to love of an individual. Rather it is upon us that we make the error clear.

The Prophet Sallaahu Alihee Wasallam said: “The religion is sincere advice. We said: To whom. He said: To Allaah, His book, His messenger, the leaders of the Muslims and their general people.”

So clarification of an error is advice for all, as for concealing it, then this goes against advice.

Reference: Q67 Beneficial Answers to Questions on New Methodologies.”(Q: 67).

Category: Scholars

A Precious and Valuable Gem: The (Religious) Scholar Whose Deeds are Inconsistent with his Knowledge

Partisanship to a Scholar or a Da’ee – Shaikh Saalih bin Fawzaan Al-Fawzaan