HADITH 26: A good
Aalim is he, who when approached during necessity, gives benefit (i.e. he is
helpful) and if he is treated with indifference (i.e. negligently), then he
remains indifferent. [Razeen]
HADITH 27: Hazrat
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud رضی اللہ تعالٰی عنہ said, ‘If
a person has knowledge of something, he should say it and if he has no
knowledge regarding it, he should say: اﷲاعلم ‘Allah
Knows (best)’; because the beauty of knowledge is that if
one does have knowledge in regards to anything, he should say:
اﷲاعلم
‘Allah Knows (best)’. Allah ta’aala said to His Nabi صلَّی اللہ
تعالٰی علیہ وسلَّم
:
(قُلْ مَاۤ اَسْـَٔلُکُمْ
عَلَیۡہِ مِنْ اَجْرٍ وَّ مَاۤ اَنَا مِنَ الْمُتَکَلِّفِیۡنَ ﴿۸۶﴾)
Say (O Beloved Prophet): “No reward whatsoever do I ask
of you for this (message), and I am not one of those who claim to be what they
are not.” [Surah 38Verse 86]
Hadith 28: An Aalim
who was not generous with his knowledge shall have the worst position before
Allah, on the Day of Qiyaamat. [Daarimi]
Hadith 29: Ziad bin
Lubaid رضی اللہ تعالٰی عنہ says that Nabi صلَّی
اللہ تعالٰی علیہ وسلَّم
mentioned something and then said, ‘This will
happen at the time when knowledge starts to vanish’. I asked, ‘How will
knowledge vanish? We recite the Qur’an and teach it to our sons and they shall
teach it to their children, so this manner will continue until Qiyaamah’. Huzoor
صلَّی اللہ تعالٰی علیہ وسلَّم
said, ‘Ziad! May your mother weep over you! I
thought that you are a Faqih in Madina. Did the Jews and Christians not read the
Taurat and Injeel? However, is it not true, that they practice not upon what is
mentioned therein?’ [Ahmed, Tirmizi, Ibn Majah]
Hadith 30: Hazrat
Umar ◌ asked
Ka’ab Ahbar to describe the People of Knowledge. (He said), they are those who
have knowledge and practice in accordance with it. He asked, ‘what has caused knowledge
to be taken away from the hearts of the Ulama?’ He replied, ‘Greed’. [Daarimi]
Hadith 31: There
shall be those in my Ummah who will learn the Qur’an and then say, ‘We will go
to the wealthy leaders and acquire the worldly possessions from them, and we
shall keep our Deen safeguarded from them, but it will not be so. Just as one
cannot acquire anything from a Tragacanth (thorny tree) except its thorns. Similarly,
one cannot acquire anything from wealthy leaders, except for error’. [Ibn Majah]
Hadith 32: The very
malicious Qur’a[1] by Allah, are those who
visit the wealthy leaders. [Ibn Majah]
Hadith 33: Abdullah
ibn Mas’ud رضی اللہ تعالٰی عنہ said, ‘if the Men of Knowledge preserve this
knowledge and pass it over to those deserving of it, then due to this, they
shall become the Rulers over the People of their Era. However, (rather) they have
depleted their knowledge for the sake of worldly people, in order to attain the
materialistic world from them, causing themselves to be disgraced before them.
I heard from your Nabi صلَّی اللہ تعالٰی علیہ وسلَّم that the one who has made all his concerns
the one concern in regards to his concern of the hereafter shall be protected
by Allah from the concerns of the world. For the one who has diverse concerns
in regards to the affairs of the world, Allah does not have any concern for
him, no matter which valley he dies in’. [Ibn
Majah]
Hadith 34: On the Day
of Qiyaamat, a bridle of fire will be fitted to the mouth of a person who is
asked about something in regards to knowledge and he desists from answering it.
[Ahmed, Abu Dawud, Tirmizi, Ibn
Majah]
Hadith 35: Allah
ta’aala will enter into hell, a person who acquired knowledge so that he may
challenge the Ulama, or so that he may argue with the ignorant people, or
because he wishes to direct the attention of the people towards him. [Tirmizi, Ibn Majah]
Hadith 36: If the
knowledge (of Deen) which is to be acquired for attaining the pleasure of
Allah, is acquired by a person so that he may acquire through it the materialistic
and worldly possessions, then on the Day of Qiyaamat such a person shall not even
attain the fragrance of Jannat. [Ahmed,
Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah]
Hadith 37: A sermon
(discourse) is not delivered, except by a Leader, or one appointed by the authority
of the Leader, or by an arrogant person. In other words, to give counsel or
deliver a discourse is the duty of the Muslim Leader or by someone appointed by
him to fulfil this duty, and with the exception of them, anyone who delivers a
discourse, does so with the intention of seeking status or seeking
materialistic (benefit). [Abu Dawud]
Hadith 38: Whosoever
issues a fatwa without knowledge, the sin will be on the one, who gives the
fatwa, and one who gives advice to 490 his brother and knows well that it is not the (best) advice; it is
a breach of trust. [Abu Dawud]
Hadith 39: Rasoolullah
صلَّی
اللہ تعالٰی علیہ وسلَّم looked towards the sky and then said, ‘This
is the time when knowledge will be separated from the people, to an extent that
they shall have no authority over any issues of knowledge’. [Tirmizi]
Hadith 40: Allah will
not take away knowledge by taking it away from the hearts of the people, but taking
away knowledge will be by taking away the Ulama. When no Aalim shall remain,
the people will appoint the ignorant ones as their leaders. They shall issue
edicts (Fatawa) without knowledge. They will themselves be astray and they will
lead others astray as well. [Bukhari,
Muslim]
Hadith 41: The worst
of all are the nefarious Ulama and the best of all are the virtuous Ulama. [Daarimi]
Hadith 42: The
disaster of knowledge is forgetfulness and to discuss issues of knowledge
(learning) with the undeserving is to waste this knowledge. [Daarimi]
Laws of Jurisprudence
Law: It is allowed for a
person to compel his child to study the Qur’an and acquire knowledge. He is
allowed to reprimand an orphan child for the same reason for which he
reprimands his own child. [Raddul
Muhtar]. The reason for this, is that if an orphaned child
is given absolute free reign, he will be completely deprived of knowledge and
good character, and children generally do not remain disciplined without being
cautioned. As long as they do not have any fear, they have no concern and they
do not listen to what is being said (to them). However, the aim of reprimanding
a child must be the right one. It is for this very instance that it has been
mention:
(وَاللہُ یَعْلَمُ
الْمُفْسِدَ مِنَ الْمُصْلِحِ ؕ)
‘And Allah is (All) Aware of who ruins and who
enriches.’
[Surah 2 Verse 220]
Similarly, the teacher may reprimand the students for not learning
their lessons or for misbehaving, but that general rule should be in their
minds. That if it were their own child, would they have also meted out the same
punishment to him or not. The truth of the matter is that the amount of concern
a parent has for the upbringing and education of his own child, is something
that others do not have. Now, if he does not reprimand his own child for the
same reason, or if he punishes him less, and he reprimands the other child
more, then it can be ascertained that this reprimanding was merely to vent his
anger, and the actual aim was not to correct the child. Otherwise, he would
have had more concern in regards to reforming the child.
Law: Even a young Aalim has
excellence over an elderly ignorant person. Thus, he should not be given
precedence over the Aalim in regards to talking, walking and sitting. In other
words, if there is something to discuss, then he should not be allowed to speak
first, and neither should he walk in front of an Aalim, and nor should he sit
in a place of distinction. An Aalim who is a non-Quraish[2]
has excellence over a Quraishi[3]
ignorant non-Aalim. The right of an Aalim over the non-Aalim is like the
excellence of an Ustaaz[4]
over a student. Even if an Aalim has gone somewhere, a non-Aalim is not permitted
to sit in his place. The right of the husband over the wife is even more than
this, as a wife has to be obedient to her husband in all such things which are
Mubah. [Alamgiri]
Law: It is permissible to
have a Munazira (Debate) in support of Deen-e-Haq (Islam). It is actually
Ibaadat. However, if a person debates so that he may subdue (overpower) a
Muslim, or so that it will become evident about the people regarding his
stature as an Aalim, or his objective is to attain materialistic benefits and
his aim is to attain wealth, or so that he may become famous amongst the people,
then this (type of debating) is impermissible. [Durr-e-Mukhtar]
Law: If a Munazir[5]
is debating for the purpose of presenting the truth, and even if this is not his
aim, but he does not behave obstinately without a reason and he is (the type of
person) who prefers fairness, then to adopt some means against him (i.e. devise
a plan against him) is not permissible. However, if his aim is solely to defeat
his opponent and subdue him, just as many budmazhabs do during debates
nowadays, then one should protect one’s self from their craftiness and
trickery. In such an instance, one is allowed to devise plans to be safe from
his deception. [Alamgiri]
Law: To deliver sermons and
advice from the Mimbar[6]
is the Sunnah of the Ambia-e-Kiraam علیہم السلام and if the
aim of delivering discourses and Zikr is to attain wealth and status, it is the
manner of the Jews and the Christians. [Durr-e-Mukhtar]
Law: It is disallowed when
delivering a lecture, to present points that have no source by adding words or
sentences on your own accord to the actual words of the Ahadith, or to leave
out some words which cause the actual meaning of the Hadith to be distorted, like
it is found in the lectures of many orators in present age, who do such things
to captivate the crowds. It is also injudicious when the orator advises others
regarding certain things, but he is personally implicated in the same thing. He
should first correct himself. If an orator neither presents incorrect incidents
and nor does he make such changes. However, he pays attention to pleasantness
and exquisiteness in his words and in his discourse, in order to inspire the
audience, so that they may be overwhelmed spiritually and in doing so, if he
explains the benefits and points of the Holy Qur’an in detail, then this is
regarded as a good thing. [Durr-e-Mukhtar]
Law: The Mu’allim[7]
asked students to bring some money from home, for the purpose of paying for grass
mats. He then gathered the monies, and after purchasing the grass mats, he kept
the remaining money for himself, which he would use for his own personal use.
He is allowed to do this, as the fathers etc. of the children usually send such
monies with the intention, that whatever is remaining may be used by the
teacher. They definitely have no expectation of having the change returned to
them, and they intentionally give more than the required amount to the children.
This alone shows that the objective is to have the change given to the teacher
as his possession. [Durr-e-Mukhtar, Raddul Muhtar]
Law: If an Aalim introduces
himself as an Aalim to the people, there is no harm in this. However, he should
not do this out of boastfulness, as it is haraam (forbidden) to be boastful. This
disclosure should be simply to recount the bounties, and so that the people
will turn towards him and acquire benefit from him. In this way, some of them
will enquire from him regarding issues of Deen, whilst others may have the opportunity
of learning from him. [Alamgiri]
Law: To acquire knowledge
with a pure intention is better than all other virtuous actions, because its
benefit is the most. However, it is necessary that in doing so, it should not
interfere or cause any harm in fulfilling ones Faraa’id. Good intention means
to acquire knowledge for the pleasure of Allah and for the hereafter. The aim should
not be for seeking status and wealth. If the seeker of knowledge aims to
acquire it so that he may remove his ignorance and benefit the creation, or the
aim of acquiring knowledge is to revive the (zest for) knowledge. For example,
if people have stopped acquiring knowledge and if I too abstain from this, then
(this) knowledge will vanish. Then even such intentions are good ones, and if
one does not have the ability to be steadfast in regards to a proper intention,
then learning is better than not learning. [Alamgiri]
Law: The Aalim and the one
in pursuit of knowledge should not be miserly with regards to knowledge. For
example, if someone requests to borrow a Kitaab from him, or if someone wishes
for him to explain an issue to them, he should not refuse. He should loan him the
Kitaab (and) explain the law to him. Hazrat Abdullah ibn Mubaarak رضی اللہ تعالٰی عنہ says that a person, who is miserly with
knowledge, will be afflicted by one of three things; either he will die and his
knowledge will die out, or he will be gripped by some calamity roused by the
Ruler, or he will forget that which he learnt. [Alamgiri]
Law: The Aalim and the learner
should honor their knowledge. Kitaabs should not be kept on the floor, and if
they wish to touch any Kitaab after passing urine or stool, it is Mustahab to
perform wudu. If one does not make wudu, then he should at least wash his hands.
Only after this, should one touch the Kitaabs. One should also not get too
accustomed to a luxurious way of life. With regards to meals, attire and ones
daily life, one should adopt a simple lifestyle. One should not pay too much
attention towards women, but one should also not deprive oneself of nourishment
and sleep, to the extent where it causes one weakness and damages ones health.
One has a duty (right) to oneself and a duty to his wife and children as well. One
should fulfill his duty (rights) with regards to all of them. The Aalim and
seekers of knowledge should also avoid excessive association with the people,
and they should refrain from idle talk. (It is better) to remain engrossed in teaching
and learning, by having discussions on Religious matters, and (they) should
also spend time studying books. If you are involved in a dispute with someone,
then be gentle and just. Even in such a situation, the distinction between the
Aalim and the ignorant person should be evident. [Alamgiri]
Law: The Ustaaz must be respected
and his rights should be protected. He should also be assisted financially. If
the Ustaaz does something wrong, do not follow him in doing this. Regard the
rights of the Ustaaz as greater than that of the parents and all others. Always
present yourself with humility before him[8].
When visiting the home of your Ustaaz, do not knock on the door, but wait until
such time that he emerges. [Alamgiri]
Law: Do not teach those who
are Na Ahl[9],
and do not refuse to teach those who are deserving of it. For it is a waste of
knowledge to teach it to those who are undeserving, and to refuse to share it
with those who are deserving, is an injustice. [Alamgiri]. Undeserving
persons refers to such people who will not be able to preserve the rights of the
knowledge imparted to them. If one knows that, they are those who will acquire
the knowledge and then leave it. Later behaving in the manner of the ignorant
people, or if one knows that they will use the knowledge to lead the people astray,
or if one knows that they will use it to disgrace the Ulama, then one should
not share this knowledge with them.
Law: If a Mu’allim wishes
to attain reward, then there are five things that are necessary upon him: (1) He should not
stipulate payment for teaching as a condition. If someone gives him something
on their own accord, he should accept it, otherwise he should not say anything.
(2) He should remain in wudu. (3)
He should impart beneficial knowledge and
teach with devotion. (4) If the students have a dispute amongst themselves, he should deal
with it in a just manner. He should not give special attention only to the children
of wealthy people, and show less attention towards poor children. (5) When disciplining the
students, he should not hit them severely. When hitting (reprimanding) them, he
should not transgress the limits, for if he does so, he shall be held
accountable on the day of Qiyaamat. [Alamgiri]
Law: If one person learnt
the laws relating to Namaaz etc. so that he may teach it to others, and another
person learnt them so that he may act upon the laws; then the first person is
more exalted than the second person. [Durr-e-Mukhtar] This is in the case where the first person intends to practice
what he has learnt and teach it to others. The first person has excellence over
the second person merely by acquiring the knowledge, because the intention of
the first person is to teach others as well and the second persons’ intention
is only to benefit himself.
Law: To spend a single
moment discussing matters related to the Knowledge of Deen is greater than
spending the entire night in
Ibaadat. [Durr-e-Mukhtar, Raddul Muhtar]
Law: If a person has
memorised a portion of the Qur’an and he has some spare time, then it is more
virtuous for him to acquire knowledge of Fiqh, for it is Fard-e-Kifaayah[10]
to memorise the Holy Qur’an and to know the necessary aspects of Fiqh is
Fard-e-Ain[11]. [Raddul Muhtar]
[1] Qur’a here refers to the reciters of the Qur’an and Ulama.
[2]
A non-Quraish here refers to a person who is not from the lineage
of the Prophet صلَّی اللہ تعالٰی علیہ وسلَّم
[3]
A Quraish here refers to a person who is from the lineage of the
Prophet صلَّی اللہ تعالٰی علیہ وسلَّم
[4]
Ustaaz here refers to the Deeni teacher.
[5] Munazir refers to the Debater.
[6] The Mimbar refers to the Pulpit.
[7] Mu’allim refers to the Islamic Teacher, same as Ustaaz.
[8]
This ruling and all other rulings with regards to respecting the
Ustaaz, only apply when he is a Sunni Sahihul Aqida (one holding proper
beliefs). These rules do not apply when the Ustaaz is a budmazhab. It is
totally forbidden to send your children for Deeni Education to budmazhabs as
they will corrupt the Imaan of your children. Those who reject the Ilm-e-Ghaib or
our Nabi صلَّی اللہ تعالٰی علیہ وسلَّم and refute that he has the power of assisting us after he has
passed from this world, and those who regard the devotees of the Awliyah as
innovators and heretics should never be appointed as teachers to your children.
Protection of Imaan is more important than anything else.
[9]
Na Ahl refers to an undeserving and unworthy person.
[10]
Fard-e-Kifaayah: is that if fulfilled by a few will relieve all
the others of this responsibility.
[11]
Fard-e-Ain: is that which is an obligation upon every sane, adult,
Muslim male and female.
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