CHOOSING THE SHAIKHS AND SCHOLARS WITH WHOM YOU SHOULD LEARN

Chapter Nine

CHOOSING THE SHAIKHS AND SCHOLARS WITH WHOM YOU SHOULD LEARN

In the saying of Allaah's Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) to 'Umar Ibn al-Khattaab (radiyallaahu 'anhu), "This was Jibreel, he came to teach you your Religion," is an indication for the student of knowledge to turn his face toward the people of knowledge, the wise and learned scholars those whose fame for having taqwaa is widespread, whose reliability is established, those whose uprightness upon the Religion is known.

This Knowledge is your Religion

The Pious Predecessors have indicated this point that is such that it rescues from ignorance and protects those who follow and apply it from misguidance. The noble taabi'ee Muhammad Ibn Seereen said, "Indeed this knowledge is the Religion so look and see from whom you arc taking your religion."

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This is because the knowledge is carried by the trustworthy ones. So it is right and proper that this is whom it is taken from. Just as Aboo Moosaa 'Eesaa ibn Sabeeh said, "It is authentic from the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) that he said, ‘This knowledge will be carried in every generation by the trustworthy ones, those who will repel from it the changes of those going beyond bounds, the misinterpretations of the ignorant, and the false claims of the liars.’

^{94 So the correct way of knowledge is that it should be taken from those who have this as their way and}

their description."

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Therefore it is befitting that you distinguish between the scholars of the people of Sunnah

and those of the people of bid'ah (innovation) just as Muhammad Ibn Seereen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, "They had not used to ask about the chain of narration but when the fitnah

^{96 occurred they said, `Name your men to us.' So as for the people of the Sunnah then their narrations would be accepted, and as for the people of innovation, their narrations would not he accepted." 97}

Likewise it is befitting that one distinguishes the people of understanding and accepts from them, because every knowledge has its people who are known with it and known through it. Maalik Ibn Anas (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, "This knowledge is Religion so look to see from whom you take your Religion. I met seventy people who would say, `So and so said Allaah's Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said that ...' (i.e., men from the Taabi'een) at the pillars of the mosque, and he indicated that the mosque of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) but I didn't take anything from them. But if one of them were given some wealth he would have proved trustworthy. Because they were not from the people of this affair; and when Muhammad ibn Muslim Ibn 'Ubaydullaah ibn 'Abdullaah Ibn Shihaab (az-Zuhree) comes, the people crowd around his door."

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93 From the introduction of Muslim to his Saheeh, with an authentic chain of narration. 94 Hasan due to its supports as I have shown in a separate treatise. 95 Al-Jaami' li Akhlaaqir-Raawee wa Aadaabis-Saami', (1/129). 96 i.e., the fitnah of the liar, al-Mukhtaar ibn 'Ubayd ath-Thaqafee who claimed revelation and offered large sums of money for the people to fabricate ahadeeth. His appearance was foretold by the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) in his saying, "There will come amongst Thaqeef a great liar and a great murderer." Reported by Muslim (Eng. trans. vol. 4, p. 1351, no. 6176). He perished in 67 H [Trans. note]. 97 Reported by Muslim in the introduction to his `saheeh' (1/15) with an authentic chain of narration. 98 Al-Faqeeh wal-Mutafaqqih, (2/98)

Some Pearls from the Sayings of the People of Knowledge

This point has been indicated by the people of knowledge in their works in order to protect and to prepare for the future so that this knowledge would not fall into the arms of the false claimants, "Those people whose tree sprouted in a barren land, those who compete for prominence before they have matured, those who turn into raisins before they have become grapes, those who throw themselves upon the station of knowledge to give verdicts and to author works, and those who intrude upon the pinnacle belonging to the trustworthy predecessors of this ummah. So these people settle themselves in the courtyards belonging to knowledge, and are only intent upon demolishing its sanctity and tearing down its protective fence."

And the boldness of these people has only been increased by the common folk and their likes attending their circles in amazement listening to their stories with delight. Al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadee said in, Al-Faqeeh wal Mutafaqqih (2/96), "It is befitting for the student that he should turn his attention to those scholars who are famous for their practise of the Religion. Those who are known for their good and for their repute upon good in the Religion." Then he said, "He should be such that he is characterised by patience, mildness, modesty, and being kind, mild and tolerant with his companions, but who speaks the truth and gives sincere advice to the creation, and the rest of the praiseworthy attributes and beautiful characteristics."

And in his excellent book, AL-Jaami' li Akhlaaqir-Raawee (1/126~137) he placed a number of chapters which we shall mention:

The levels of narrators are not equal in their knowledge, so precedence should be given to those who have a higher chain of narration. If the scholars have chains of the same length and the student only wants to hear from some of them, he should pick the most famous of them for having sought hadeeth, those who are pointed out for their precision and understanding.

And if they are the same in their chains of narration and their understanding, then he should choose those who are noble and have lineage they have greater right.

All of this refers to those who have the precondition of being known to be straight and upright in their Religion, (those) for whom it is established that they are trustworthy and free from innovations. As for one who is not of this description, then you must turn away from him and not hear from him.

The scholars are agreed that hearing narration's from one about whom it is established that he is a sinner, then it is not allowed to hear from him, and flagrant sin (fisq) will be established by many affairs not particular to the field of hadeeth. As for those particular to hadeeth, then from them for example is that he fabricates texts of hadeeth and attributes them to Allaah's Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) or fabricates their chains of narration. It is said that the very start of the investigation of hadeeth was due to this reason. Also from these reasons is that a person claims to hear from one whom he never met, this is why the scholars carefully reported the dates narrators were born and died. In this way narrations were found for scholars from those they were too young to have met. They also carefully recorded the attributes of scholars of hadeeth and their appearance and circumstances and through this a number of narrators were uncovered.

Regarding other narrators, then even though they were free of having fabricated narrations, and from claiming to have heard from those they did not meet, and avoided those characteristics that destroy trustworthiness, yet they did not possess written copies of the narrations they heard and so they had to narrate from memory alone. Then it is not correct to depend upon their narrations until well-grounded people of knowledge of narrations bear

witness in their favour-that they are from those who did indeed seek knowledge, take care of it, were precise about it and carefully memorised it. Then his precision and care is checked by mixing up narrations as a test for him.

If the narrator of hadeeth is from the people of innovated sects and ways that conflict with the truth, then narration's are not to be taken from him even if he has studied and memorised.

Beware of wasting or losing the knowledge

It is befitting for the students of the sharee'ah knowledge that they should be aware of the true reality of the affair, to be aware from whom they are taking their Religion. They should not seek it from the people of Innovation who will mislead them while they do not realise, because he (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, "From the signs of the Last Hour is that knowledge will be sought from 'the small

ones. '"

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O Students of Knowledge! Awaken! Because this knowledge is Religion and be aware of whom you take your Religion from. Have I not conveyed the message? O Allaah! Bear witness.

CONCLUSION

May Allaah grant ud the best conclusion and grant us more besides. This is what I have been able to gather together in this short time and I ask Allaah that he conveys it to those people whom it befits and those who know its value, and who hasten to accept it and who call for it to become widespread.

And I know that this topic needs further elaboration, further breaking down, further joining, precision and exactness. However it is just an indication for those people who have been struck with inability to distinguish and thus have become mouthpieces for the claims of the deviant sects and for the beguiling and erroneous calls. Those who think that they are upon something but they are not upon anything at all, and the person who does not have something cannot give anything, even if a person may feel satisfied with something which he has not been given and may make claims to have that which he does not possess.

There is not space here in this conclusion except to repeat what Ibn 'Abdul-Barr said in his valuable book, Jaami' Bayaanil-'Ilm wa Fadlihi on page 6, "And I love that the one guided to it should examine it. And if the scholars had left aside gathering the reports and checking out the narrations, and had left the proof for every type of affair just as a chapter in a book and had left every type of knowledge just as a section of a book, then wisdom would have been nullified and knowledge would have been lost and passed away.

And even though a large part of the knowledge has passed away because due attention was not given, due to little care, due to pre-occupation with the worldly life and due to rushing for the worldly life-yet still, even so, Allaah causes His Religion to remain through a people even if they are few: those who protect the fundamentals for this ummah and who distinguish and check it's details. This is a bounty and a blessing from Allaah.

The people will always remain upon good as long as the first person lives long enough to teach the next one-because the passing away of knowledge comes about through the passing away of the scholars."

How Perfect You are O Allaah and free from all defects All praise is due to You I testify that none has the right to be worshipped but You

I seek Your forgiveness and turn repentantly to You

from the book manners of the scholars and students by shaykh salem alhilalee