It may be said that Islam is the path of "knowledge." No other religion or ideology has so much emphasized the importance of 'ilm. In the Qur'an the word 'alim has occurred in 140 places, while al-'ilm in 27. In all, the total number of verses in which 'ilm or its derivatives and associated words are used is 704. The aids of knowledge such as book, pen, ink etc. amount to almost the same number. Qalam occurs in two places, al-kitab in 230 verses, among which al-kitab for al-Qur'an occurs in 81 verses. Other words associated with writing occur in 319 verses. It is important to note that pen and book are essential to the acquisition of knowledge. The Islamic revelation started with the word iqra' ('read!' or 'recite!').
One of the distinctive features of Islam is its emphasis on knowledge. The Quran and the Islamic tradition (sunnah) invite Muslims to seek and acquire knowledge and wisdom and to hold men of knowledge in high esteem.
In the Holy Quran the word al-Ilm, knowledge, and its derivatives are used more than 780 times. The first few verses that were revealed to our Holy Prophet (SAW) mention the importance of reading, pen, and teaching for human beings:
IqraRead: in the name of your Lord who created. He created man from something which clings. Read and your Lord is the most generous. Who taught with pen. Taught man what he knew not..." (96:1-5
According to the Qur'an, the first teaching class for Adam A.S. started soon after his creation and Adam was taught 'all the Names'.
Allah is the first teacher and the absolute guide of humanity. This knowledge was not imparted to even the Angels.
Beside various Qur'anic verses emphasizing the importance of knowledge, there are hundreds of Prophetic traditions that encourage Muslims to acquire all types of knowledge from any corner of the world.
Prophet Muhammad (saws) said: "Seeking Knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim."
Though this Hadith is known and memorised by most Muslims, the essence, the amount, and the kind of knowledge referred to in this Hadith remains misunderstood by many.
If it is true that the knowledge incumbent upon every Muslim pertains to religious knowledge, or al-'Ilm al-Shar'i, how deeply does one have to pursue his quest of this knowledge to fulfil his duties and discharge the learning obligations placed upon him? In other words, what are the minimum teachings that every Muslim - male or female - is required to know about his Deen(religion)?
TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE IN ISLAM
Muslim scholars classify knowledge into two categories:
Obligatory Knowledge (fardh 'ayn)
This refers to knowledge of the fundamentals of Islamic beliefs which every Muslim must know Seeking this knowledge is an obligatory duty upon every Muslim. All obligatory knowledge deal exclusively with al-'Ilm al-Shari'i, that is, knowledge pertaining to Islamic faith, acts of worship, and the necessary transaction in the daily dealing of a Muslim.
Optional Knowledge (fardh kifayah)
This is not a duty required of every individual, but rather it falls upon the community as a whole. Hence, if a group of individuals in the community undertake to acquire this kind of knowledge, all other individuals will be exempted from this duty, and the whole community will be free from responsibility or negligence to acquire this kind of knowledge. Examples of such knowledge include studying Islamic law and other basic sciences, industries and professions which are vital for the welfare of the society.
Unlike obligatory knowledge, optional knowledge covers part of Islamic knowledge and all worldly knowledge. The former is called al-'Ilm al-Shar'i al Kifa'i (optional Islamic knowledge), while the latter is called al-Ilm al-dunyawi (worldly knowledge).
Religious sciences: These cover all branches of Islamic Shariah, such as: tafsir (Qur'anic exegeses), fiqh, hadith sciences (known as mustalah al-hadith or 'Ilm usul al-hadith), seerah (the Prophet's biography), Islamic political science, (As-siyasah al-shar'iyah), Islamic history, etc.
Each of these sciences may require knowledge of other sciences to fully and comprehensively cover the substance of the matter studied. For example: tafsir needs Arabic grammar, Arabic literature, and other linguistic skills; Hadith sciences need the science of criticism (which looks at the narrators' credibility, trustworthiness, power of memorisation, etc.), called 'Ilm al-jarh wat-ta'deel.
The natural and applied sciences: These are all the basic sciences, industries and professions which are of vital necessity for the welfare of the community. Examples of such fields include: engineering; agriculture, fisheries, food sciences, etc.
Leaders of every Muslim community should always do their best to procure the necessary number of scholars, professionals and qualified men and women in all fields of optional knowledge needed by the community. For example, Muslims in America must train sufficient number of Shariah scholars to answer questions raised by members of the community. They must also prepare enough educators – administrators, teachers and counsellors to fill the growing needs of Islamic schools in this country. Both male and female Muslim doctors are needed in every city to care for male and female Muslim patients, respectively.
From the above discussion, we can fully understand the responsibility that lies upon the shoulders of Muslims in this continent. Any community which does not take the necessary steps to satisfy its own needs in all fields of optional knowledge becomes subject to the punishment of Allah. Consequently, all its members will share the blame and the sins for their shortcomings.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR ISLAMIC SCIENCES
First, the understanding fundamentals of Iman: This is also called 'Ilm Usul ud-Deen (Fundamentals of Deen), or 'Ilm al-Tawheed (the Oneness of Allah), or simply 'Aqeedah (Islamic faith). Every Muslim must have a general knowledge of all matters pertaining to his faith. He should have a clear understanding of the Lord he worships, the Prophet he follows and the Deen to which he committed himself. Needless to say, one should exert the best of one's effort to acquire these fundamentals. Second, understanding Islamic rules and conduct (fiqh al-ahkam): This is also called fiqh al-'Ibadat (understanding of acts of worship). This field covers all aspects of the Islamic acts of worship that are necessary for the correct practice of one's Salat, Zakat, Sawm, and Hajj. It also covers all aspects of family issues, such as marriage, divorce, children's education, as well as rules and regulations for one's business transactions such as, buying, selling, borrowing and lending, etc.
A Muslim is obligated to learn from fiqh al-ahkam only matters that are related to Ibadah (worship) he needs to perform; and rules of a particular transaction he wants to undertake. For example, if a Muslim has not reached the age for prayer or fasting, he does not have to learn about them though the may be encouraged to do so. Also, if one does not have the necessary means to perform Hajj, one does not need to learn its rituals until one becomes able to undertake the Hajj journey.
By learning those two branches, a Muslim will know His Lord by all His beautiful names and Most High attributes. He will renounce all imperfections that ignorant and deviant people attributed to Allah. He will know the status, function and rights of the Prophets and, thus, will not elevate them to a divine status, nor will he degrade them to a status that does not befit their prophethood as many heretics had done. He will follow a similar course when dealing with other required beliefs, such as the belief in the Angels, the Books, the Predetermined Decree, the Last Day, the punishment in the grave, etc. On the other hand, before performing any act of worship, a Muslim should know the requirements, the conditions and the desirable actions pertaining to that act. Hence, He will never practice any act of worship or undertake any transaction not sanctioned by the Qur'an or Sunnah.
Just by contemplating the Islamic knowledge of Muslims today, the reader will realise how much those two disciplines, which are required of every Muslim, have been neglected, if not totally ignored. Unfortunately, there are many Muslim professors, doctors, and engineers, who hold the most advanced academic or professional positions in their respective institutions, yet do not possess the minimum knowledge of the Islamic sciences. Ironically, while it takes only a few weeks or even a few days to acquire the obligatory Islamic knowledge, it may take at least two years to obtain a basic degree in any worldly field. Though these brothers and sisters are to be thanked and encouraged for their worldly endeavour, they are undoubtedly sinful due to their shortcomings in learning the required Islamic knowledge.
Every Muslim should know that once he has corrected his beliefs, and Ibadah, through knowledge, and cleansed his devotions from any type of Shirk (i.e. Showing off, pleasing others besides/other than Allah, etc.), he can aspire and hope for his reward from Allah (Most Exalted is He). Indeed, it is through knowledge and sincerity that one can enter paradise. This is how we can understand the Hadith of our beloved Prophet : "Whoever adopts the path of seeking knowledge, Allah eases for him the way to Paradise." (Related by Ahamad, Tirmithi, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, i)
MUSLIMS SHOULD TEACH WHAT THEY LEARN
A Muslim who has learned the requirements of his individual duties is responsible for disseminating the knowledge he has acquired to his family members first; then to his friends, co-workers, neighbours, etc. Allah (Most Exalted is He) says:
"O you who believe! Ward off from yourselves and your families a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones…"
(Qur'an, Al-Tahrim 66:6)
The only way to save one's family members from Hell is to teach them the Islamic obligations and instruct them to observe them consistently.
The Messenger of Allah also emphasised this responsibility. He said: "Every one of you is a steward and is accountable for that which is committed to his charge. The ruler is a steward and is accountable for his charge, a man is a steward and is accountable for his charge, a man is a steward in respect of his household, a woman is a steward in respect of her husband's house and his children. Thus, everyone of your is accountable for that which is committed to his charge." (Related by Bukhari and Muslim)
The following Hadith is a strong reminder for anyone of us whom Allah has blessed with some Islamic knowledge: "Whoever is asked about a knowledge that he knows about and then hides it and keeps it away, he will be bridled on the day of judgement with a bridle of fire." (Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and Al-Tirmidhi)
Traditions attributed to the Holy Prophet (SAW) in this regard, some of which are quoted below:
* It is an obligation for every Muslim to seek knowledge.
* Seek knowledge even if it be in China.
* Seek knowledge from cradle to grove.
* Scholars are the heirs of the prophets.
* The ink of the learned will be weighed with the blood of the martyrs on the Resurrection Day; and then, the ink of the learned would be preferred to the blood of the martyrs.
* Anyone who pursues a course in search of knowledge, God will ease his way to paradise.
* The most learned of men is the one who gathers knowledge from others on his own; the most worthy of men is the most knowing and the meanest is the most ignorant.
* Acquire knowledge, it enables its possessor to distinguish right from wrong; it lights the way to heaven.
CHOICES TO STUDY FURTHER
Whether one who has acquired the requisite knowledge and committed himself to spreading it, will further his study or be content with that level is left to his decision. One should realise, however, that not all people possess the aptitude and diligence to enter the depths of Islamic knowledge, for this is a favour that Allah gives to whomever He pleases.
Nevertheless, one should keep in mind the virtues and merits of disseminating the knowledge of Islam. The Prophet saw said: "Allah and His angels and the creatures of Heavens and earth, even the ant in its dwelling and the fish in the sea, do send Salat to the one who teaches people (good) beneficial knowledge." (Related by Al-Tirmidhi)
The Salat of Allah is His mercy that he bestows on His slaves; the Salat of the angels and other creatures is to ask Allah to forgive these servants.
And Allah Knows Best!
"Have fun praying and getting ready for the Day of Judgment coz that day will NOT be fun :) P.S.: don’t forget to make dua for me.
Showing posts with label Islamic knowledge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Islamic knowledge. Show all posts
Friday, 3 September 2010
Sunday, 23 May 2010
Imam Muhammad ibn Idris El-Shafie,
Imam El-Shafie (R.A)
"If I were to walk from Madinah to Makkah [a distance of 500 kilometers] barefoot, with no mount to carry me, it would have been easier for me than to walk to Malik's home here in Madinah. I am never in a humble position until I stand at his doorstep." These were the words of the Governor of Madinah as he finished reading a letter addressed to him by the Governor of Makkah which wanted him to introduce a young man to the great scholar of Madinah. The young man continues the story:
"The Governor and a number of his men went with me until we reached Malik's home and one man knocked on the door. A maid opened and the man told her that the Governor wanted to see the scholar. She went in and came back after a long while to say: ‘My master greets you well and says: ‘If you have a case requiring a ruling, then you may write it down and he will send you the answer. If you want to learn hadith, you know the day when he holds his circle. You may wish to leave now.' The Governor said to her: ‘Tell him that I have a letter addressed to him from the Governor of Makkah with an important matter.' She went in, then she came out again, placing a chair. Shortly afterwards, Malik came out. He was a tall, old man who inspired much awe and respect. He sat on the chair and read the letter until he reached the request made by the Governor on my behalf. He threw the letter down and said: ‘Have we reached so low that the study of the Prophet's hadith is sought through favours and high position!' The Governor
of Madinah was in awe and could not reply. So I ventured to speak, saying: ‘May God grant you His favours. I am a man from the Muttalib branch of Quraysh, and I have so far done this and that…' "
Malik was endowed with penetrative insight. He asked the young man his name and then said to him: "Muhammad! Be always God-fearing, and avoid sin, for you will acquire distinction. God has given you light in your heart; so do not let it be put out by indulging in sin. Come tomorrow to read."
That was the first encounter between Imam Malik, the great scholar who was in his mid-seventies and El-Shafie who was just under 20 years of age and was destined to be among the greatest scholars in our history.
On the following day, El-Shafie went to his appointment, carrying Malik's book Al-Muwatta', and started to read. Malik was very pleased with his diction and delivery. When El-Shafie felt that he might have tired his teacher, he hesitated, but Malik told him to continue. Thus, he managed to complete reading the great book under the great imam in a very short period of time.
Muhammad ibn Idris El-Shafie, who was born in Gazza in 150 A.H.(Imaam Shafi’ (RA) was born in the year 150 A.H. the year the Great Imaam Abu Hanifah (R.A) had passed away) corresponding to 767 CE. He was of Qurayshi origin, with an ancestry that met the Prophet's lineage at the Prophet's grandfather, Abdulmattalib. His father died when he was very young, leaving him and his mother in utter poverty. The mother, who was of Yemeni origin, was of great influence on the course he took in life. She decided that his place should be in Makkah, close to his tribal ancestry. She sent him to a relative in Makkah when he was nearly 10 years of age, then followed him there to direct him in his pursuit of studies. Because of his poverty, he could not find enough writing material. He would go to the Governor's offices in search for used paper that might be given to him free of charge, so that he would write his lessons on the unused part, or the backside.
He memorised the Quran at a very young age,( His Education: The Imaam was from a very poor family in his youth and when he was sent to school his family could not afford to pay the teacher for his teachings. The teacher used to inadequately teach the children and anytime he taught something inadequately and then left the children, the Imaam would seize the opportunity and teach them the teacher’s lesson and suffice the children. When the teacher would see this and he understood that the Imaam was doing it he let him continue to do so. This way the Imaam would suffice his tuition through satisfying the teacher by teaching the children his lesson. This continued and the Imaam learned the whole Qur’an .
The Imaam himself used to say: “After I finished learning the Qur’an I would go to the Masjid and sit with the Scholars the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) and Islamic matters. I used to live in Makkah among tent dwellers in such a state of poverty that I could not even afford to by paper to write, so I would write on bones instead.”
It is also reported that the Imaam used to recite Hadith in the Masjid of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) at the age of thirteen years old. It is also reported that the Imaam’s voice was very melodious and sweet. Al-Haakim reports by the authority of Bahr bin Nasr saying: “When we wanted to cry we would say come let us go to this young Muttalibee man to hear him recite the Qur’an. We would reach him and he would initiate his recitation until when the people would start falling down in front of him and the sounds of everyone weeping and yelling could be heard by him he would stop.”
) and then decided to improve his knowledge of Arabic. So, he went deep into the desert to join the Bedouin tribe of Huthail, renowned for the best standard of literary Arabic. There he memorised poetry and learnt their prose reporting and stories. He would join the tribe on its nomadic travels, until he mastered all that was there to learn. He also learnt archery there, and acquired great skill. He would be able to hit the target with his arrows 10 times out of 10. He then returned to Makkah and continued his studies, completing all that its scholars had to teach by the time he was nearly 20. Yet his thirst for knowledge was still burning inside him. So he decided to travel to Madinah to learn from Imam Malik. However, he did not wish to attend Malik without knowing anything of what he taught. He managed to borrow Malik's book, Al-Muwatta', and as he read it, he was even more eager to meet Malik and study under him. We know all about the first meeting between the two scholars.
El-Shafie stayed very close to Malik for nine years, during which he only travelled to visit his mother in Makkah, or to stay for a short while with some bedouin tribes. In the last three years of attending Malik, El-Shafie had an additional benefit of meeting Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan Al-Shaibani, the eminent Iraqi scholar who recorded all the Hanafi scholarship. The latter had come to Madinah to study under Malik and stayed with him for those 3 years. That was a highly beneficial company that was to be renewed later.
Malik used to support his students who had no means of living. El-Shafie was one of these. When Malik (R.A.)died, El-Shafie went back to Makkah hoping to earn his living. It so happened that the Governor of Yemen visited Makkah at that time. Some people spoke to him about El-Shafie, and he took him with him on his return to Yemen where he assigned to him a post of justice in the city of Najran. The people there soon realised that they had a judge who was devoted to justice, unwilling to swerve from it for any favour or pressure. They loved him and learnt from him a great deal.
But people who are unwilling to compromise often find themselves in the bad books of rulers. El-Shafie stayed in Najran for five years, towards the end of which a strong-fisted governor was appointed. It was only natural that El-Shafie should criticise him for any injustice he might perpetrate. In his position, El-Shafie was able to curb that Governor's injustice. Hence, the latter disliked him and sought to remove him. So he wrote to the Caliph accusing him of supporting a fermenting revolt by people loyal to the Alawees, i.e. the descendents of Ali. He added: "I have no authority over this man, and he achieves by the word of his tongue much more than a fighter can achieve with his sword."
Was this accusation baseless? There is no doubt that it was, because El-Shafie never supported or advocated any revolt or rebellion against the Caliph. But he loved the Alawees, as they were the descendents of Ali and Fatimah, the Prophet's daughter. His love, however, never led him to belong to the Shia or to consider that Ali had the strongest claim to be the Caliph after the Prophet. Indeed he was of the view that the four Caliphs were elected to the post in accordance with the right order of their suitability. He also considered that Umar ibn Abdulaziz, the Umayyad ruler, was the fifth of the rightly guided Caliphs.
However, the accusation reached the Caliph in Baghdad, Al-Rasheed. El-Shafie was sent to him in fetters and chains in 184 A.H. when he was 34 years of age. The Caliph had him brought in when he was attended by his advisers and top officials, among whom was none other than Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan, who was his Chief Justice. Two factors served him well at the time. The first was his lucid defence of himself. The other was Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan's testimony on his behalf. As El-Shafie stated that he had a share of scholarship known to the Chief Justice, the latter told the Caliph that El-Shafie was a scholar of eminence and that he would not be involved in such matters. The Caliph, who was kind and lenient, saw in this testimony his way out to spare El-Shafie. He told Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan to take El-Shafie to his home while he thought the matter over. That was all that the Caliph did. The accusation was never brought up again. The Governor of Najran had rid himself of a fearless critic, and he was no longer interested what happened to him.
Perhaps this accusation was the best thing that happened to El-Shafie, because it brought him back to the pursuit of knowledge. Moreover, El-Shafie stayed in Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan's home and read under him all the books he had written, recording the Fiqh of Abu Haneefah and his disciples. When he left Baghdad two years later, he said: "I carried with me a whole camel load of books, all of which I learnt directly from Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan."
It should be made clear that El-Shafie did not only learn the Iraqi fiqh in Baghdad, but he also memorised the hadiths that were known in Iraq, but not in Madinah or Hijaz. He also entered into debate with many scholars, speaking as a student of Malik, but he would only debate with lesser scholars than Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan, whom he respected highly. We must remember that El-Shafie was Malik's disciple and Malik did not allow debate in his circle. On the other hand, Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan, was Abu Haneefah's disciple, and Abu Haneefah's scholarship was imparted mainly through debate with his students. Hence, Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan insisted that El-Shafie should debate questions with him, and he reluctantly yielded.
Perhaps the most important characteristic of El-Shafie was his native intelligence which gave him an easy and good grasp of even the most difficult of questions. He always studied matters in depth, so as to arrive at the right verdict regarding any question put to him. His intelligence was coupled with a superb memory and ready argument. When he wanted to explain an idea, he would put it in a wealth of meanings that he always found ready to hand. He is not known to have been lost for words, yet his explanation was always rich and to the point.
El-Shafie had a fine literary style, which gave him powerful expression, coupled with lucid presentation. Moreover, his delivery was very clear and his voice added clarity to his thoughts. One of his students says: "Every scholar gives more in his books than when you meet him personally, except for El-Shafie whose verbal discussion gives you more than his books." When we remember that his books were among the finest in style, lucidity and presentation, we realise what this student is talking about.
When we spoke about Imam Malik, we mentioned that he had a profound insight. This is a quality that El-Shafie had in common with his teacher. This quality allowed him to strike the right balance between his students' ability to understand and his ability to explain, so as to achieve the best results. Hence, his students were devoted to him, eager to benefit by his superior knowledge.
Another main quality that facilitated for El-Shafie the achievement of the highest rank among Islamic scholars was his dedicated sincerity in the pursuit of the truth. This was coupled with his brave determination to declare the truth even if it was in conflict with what people used to believe. Should the truth be at variance with his devotion to his teachers, he would come out on the side of the truth. He was very reluctant to show his disagreement with Malik, because he loved him so much. The same was the case with Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan, who did him a great favour when he saved him from the wrath of the Caliph. His gratitude to him did not prevent him from declaring his disagreement with him and his colleagues, supporting the Madinah scholars. But no one ever accused him of not accepting true evidence whenever it was presented. He urged his students to give much of their time and effort to the study of the hadith, repeatedly stating to them that should they find an authentic hadith in conflict with his views, they should abandon his views and take up the hadith.
This dedicated sincerity made him seek the truth, regardless of who presents it. He never lost his temper in debate, because his aim was not to win the debate, but to arrive at the true conclusion. Thus, if his opponent was right, he would not hesitate to accept his view. He is reported to have said: "I wish that people would learn what I have to give, without it being attributed to me. In this way, I receive the reward for it from my Lord, without having people's praise."
With such a character, there is no wonder that scholars loved him and placed him in the highest rank.
Once a man asked El-Shafie a question, and he started his answer by quoting a hadith stating the ruling on that question. The man then said: but what is your own view? El-Shafie shuddered and changed colour before saying: "What corner of the earth or the sky would shelter me if I report something the Prophet said and then give a different opinion?"
When people went to the Haram in Makkah late in the second century, they found a tall, dark man in his mid-thirties teaching in a circle which included young and mature students, many of whom were older than him. The teacher explained certain aspects of faith and Islamic jurisprudence which they could not learn from anyone else in their respective homelands, whether they came from Iraq, where much weight was given to scholarly discretion, or from Madinah where commitment to the hadith text was paramount. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal saw him when he was on his pilgrimage and was full of admiration. He persuaded his colleague, Isshaq ibn Rahaweih, to attend his circle. When they arrived, Isshaq said to Ahmad: "Are we to leave the circle of someone like Sufyan ibn Uyainah in order to attend this young man?" Ahmad said: "If you miss out on this man's rational thinking, you cannot find it anywhere else; while if you miss out on hadith at a higher level of reporting, you can still learn it with a lower level."
Such was the fruit of the great task undertaken by El-Shafie on returning to Makkah from Baghdad. Such was its importance that Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Isshaq ibn Rahaweih, two scholars destined to achieve great eminence, felt it more important to attend him than other more established scholars. What happened was that, back in Makkah after his long absence, El-Shafie gave much thought to what he had learnt, both in Madinah from Malik and in Baghdard. He compared methods and analysed differences and points of agreement. As El-Shafie was a scholar of the highest calibre, endowed with sharp intelligence, superb memory and an analytical mind, his comparative study yielded two highly precious fruits. The first was that he established his own school of thought, with its distinctive method of construction and deduction, independent from both the Hanafi and the Maliki schools. He would study Malik's views in depth to arrive at his own views, which might have agreed or disagreed with the great scholar. He would do the same with the views of Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan and his two renowned teachers, Abu Haneefah and Abu Yussuf. He recorded his disagreement with Malik in a book he called: Khilaf Malik, and his disagreement with the Hanafi scholar in another book, Khilaf al-Iraqiyeen. This established him as the founder of a third school of thought.
The second result of his endeavours was that he set in place the rules of deduction of rulings on all questions. That was what came to be known as Ussool al-Fiqh, or basic methodology of jurisprudence. Previously, eminent scholars had their own methods of deduction and construction, but they referred to these in general terms, giving no details. El-Shafie outlined these in detail, showing what rules and methods a scholar must follow so that he might not arrive at the wrong ruling or conclusion. This time El-Shafie stayed in Makkah for 9 years, teaching his students and taking them to a totally unfamiliar territory.
He then felt that he needed to spread this new knowledge in the rest of the Muslim world, and to do so he went again to Baghdad in 195 AH, when he was 45. In Baghdad, the most famous seat of learning at the time, he was welcomed by all its scholars. Even its eminent scholars were willing to read under him, including Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Isshaq ibn Rahaweih. They all recognised that he had come up with a perfectly new knowledge and a complete system of deduction.
It was during this stay in Baghdad, lasting over two years, that he dictated his books, mainly Al-Umm, which contains his views on all detailed questions of Fiqh, and Al-Risaalah, which is his book on the methodology of Fiqh, the first book ever to be written on this subject.
El-Shafie then went to Makkah, but did not stay long there. Apparently, his trip this time was to visit the Kaabah, pack up his belonging and bid farewell to his teachers, such as Sufyan ibn Uyainah. Soon afterwards, he went back to Baghdad, arriving in 198, but he was soon on the road again, aiming this time for Egypt, where he arrived in 199 and stayed until his death five years later, at the age of 54. We will refer later to his changed views in Egypt, because this serves as the best example of giving different rulings on the same questions because of a change of situation.
As we explained over the last two weeks, El-Shafie fascinated all people with his broad knowledge, logical analysis, and lucid style. He fascinated the scholars of Baghdad in his famous debates with the best among them, the scholars of the Muslim world who listened to him on their visits to Makkah for pilgrimage, and the scholars of Egypt when he brought them knowledge that they had never learnt from anyone before him. He also fascinated all scholarly circles with his design of Ussool al-Fiqh. Hence, numerous scholars were full of praise for him. Perhaps the best that sums up scholarly opinion of El-Shafie is Ahmad ibn Hanbal's words: "We have reported the hadith in which the Prophet states that God sends to the nation of Islam every 100 years a person to put its faith back on the right track. Umar ibn Abdulaziz was that man at the end of the first 100 years. As for the second hundred, I think the man was El-Shafie."
It is such great admiration by eminent scholars that tells of El-Shafie's standing as a scholar. Each would obviously praise him from the point of view of his own speciality. Thus, a scholar like Yahya ibn Ma'een, one of the highest authorities on hadith and its reporters describes El-Shafie in these words: "Had lying been lawful, his integrity would have stopped him from lying."
El-Shafie lived at a time when different branches of knowledge were taking shape and being set on firm basis, with dedicated scholars writing their reference books, each in his field of specialisation. In linguistics, poetry, literary criticism and other language studies, there were scholars setting these branches on firm footing. In hadith, criteria were identified to sort out authentic hadiths, isolating them from a multitude of hadiths attributed to the Prophet without firm evidence of authenticity. In Fiqh different schools were emerging and taking form, particularly with the writing of Al-Muwatta', by Imam Malik as the basic book of the Maliki school of thought, and Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan's books recording the Hanafi school's views.
At the same time, numerous works were translated from Greek, Persian and Indian languages in various fields. El-Shafie had a go at the study most of these. In addition, several political groupings emerged, each trying to advocate their position on the basis of religion, such as the different groups of Shia, and Khawarij. Philosophical and intellectual groups also emerged, particularly Al-Mu'tazilah, who advocated a rational philosophy that sought to subject religious truth to their approach. Others spoke of Divinity and theology on the basis of logic. El-Shafie rejected all these approaches, insisting that the only basis for such knowledge was the Quran and the Sunnah, making it clear that only the texts of the Quran and authentic hadith should be considered in such matters.
El-Shafie was very firm in his advice to his students to turn their backs on logical theology. However, he himself studied it and formulated clear views on its various issues. He once found some of his students debating one such issue. He said to them: "Do you think that I have no knowledge of this. Indeed I have gone deep into it, but this logical theology is useless. Let your debate be on something in which if you err, people would say that you have made a mistake, not that you have gone out of the faith altogether." This is a highly respectable attitude, seeking to abandon any philosophical approach to faith, because it served no real purpose and was bound to err.
In his method of construction and deduction of rulings on any question, El-Shafie defines five sources of evidence. These are stated in his book, Al-Umm: "The first is the Quran and the Sunnah when the latter is confirmed as authentic; the second, unanimity concerning a matter to which no reference is made in the Quran or the Sunnah; the third, some companions of the Prophet may state a view and we have no report of any other companion expressing a different view; the fourth, the views of the Prophet's companions when they differ over a certain question; the fifth; analogy. No source other than the Quran and the Sunnah may be considered when they voice a ruling. Knowledge is sought at the highest source first." This means that El-Shafie considers the Quran and the Sunnah the only source of Islamic law, while other sources are based on them. Moreover, he considers the two as one source.
Scholars of later generations mention the Sunnah as a separate source, ranking second after the Quran. The same has been stated by Abu Haneefah long before El-Shafie's time. Why does he, then, put them both together as one source, when they, in reality, cannot be placed at the same level? For certain, El-Shafie does not consider the Sunnah to be equal to the Quran in all respects, when the Quran is God's own word, while most of the Sunnah is reported in a lesser degree. El-Shafie has looked at the fact that the Sunnah explains what the Quran has stated in general terms, giving the details of what we need to know in order to fulfil God's orders. Hence, it must be placed at the same level as what it explains. Many of the Prophet's companions had the same view.
It is important, however, to realise that, in El-Shafie's view, the Quran is the main source while the Sunnah is complementary to it. Hence, the Sunnah derives its effect from the Quran. Moreover, El-Shafie feels that, in order to arrive at accurate rulings, knowledge of the Sunnah as a whole must be placed at the same level as knowledge of the Quran. This does not mean that every thing attributed to the Prophet should be treated as the Quran. Hadiths have different levels of authenticity. Hence, we cannot treat a hadith reported by a chain of single transmitters at the same level as a Quranic verse. El-Shafie acknowledges all this. Furthermore, when it comes to stating Islamic beliefs, El-Shafie gives the Sunnah a lesser status than the Quran.
We must say that El-Shafie has defended the Sunnah most determinedly against all groups that sought to reduce its status. There were many of those at his time, seeking to limit sources of Islamic law to the Quran only. He was able to show the weakness of their stand and reduce their influence to a minimum. Hence, he earned the title, ‘the advocate of the Sunnah.'
El-Shafie rejects what is termed as istihsan, or regressive analogy. This is when a scholar abandons a clear and apparent analogy in favour of a concealed one, because of what he considers to be in the best interests of the community or the individual. This sort of analogy is approved by both Abu Haneefah and Malik. Thus, he takes his stand in opposition to both.
When El-Shafie settled in Egypt in the last five years of his life, he revised many of his views as expressed in his books which he authored and taught in Iraq. He might have expressed two views on a certain matter when he was in Baghdad. Now he would come solidly in favour of either one of them, or he may express a third view to retain all three, or he may abandon both his two old views in favour of a third one which he finds to be better supported, either by a hadith he did not know before or by an analogy which he finds to be more valid. People often refer to this process as the ‘new El-Shafie school of thought', as distinguished from his old one that relies on his old books dictated in Baghdad. The fact is that it is all a thorough revision of his books, bringing out a new revised version. Indeed he considered the old version abrogated. This shows that El-Shafie continued his pursuit of the truth throughout his life.
The best known works of El-Shafie have been mentioned already. The first is Al-Risalah, which establishes a specialised branch of Islamic studies. That is the one known as Usool al-Fiqh, or the methodology of Islamic law. The second is Al-UmmI, in which he records his legal views on all questions. This is the book he continued to revise until his death. Al-Risalah continued to receive much attention by scholars and it has been published many times with annotation. It is a middle-sized volume of great importance. Al-Umm, which embodies the bulk of El-Shafie Fiqh has been published, but has not received the editing attention it deserves. Very recently, most of El-Shafie's books have been published together under the title, El-Shafie's Encyclopaedia, bringing 10 books together, in 10 large volumes. However, the work still needs more detailed editing and annotating attention.
The Shafie school of thought is distinguished by its richness in scholarly views, which made it easy to develop and enrich. Later scholars continued the process. Over the many generations since El-Shafie, numerous distinguished scholars contributed to its scholarship, placing it at the same level as the Hanafi and Maliki schools of thought. Today, it commands much following in Iraq, Syria and Jordan, although it remains second to the Hanafi school in these countries. It is predominant in Egypt, and it has countless followers in Yemen and Persia, while it is followed by most people in Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia. It has practically no following in North African countries.
El-Shafie was a great scholar whose contribution to Islamic knowledge remains considerable, despite the passage of more than 1200 years since his death.
His Teachers: Among his eminent teachers were:
1. Muslim bin Khalid al-Zangi (a Mufti of Makkah during the year 180 A.H. (796 A.D.)
2. Sufyaan bin Uyainah al-Hilaali (one of the three distinguished scholars of that time in Makkah)
3. Ibrahim bin Yahya (a scholar of Madinah)
4. Malik bin Anas (Imaam Shafi’ee used to recite Hadith to Imaam Malik after the memorizing of his book, Muwatta Imaam Malik). The Imaam stayed in Madinah until Imaam Malik passed away in the year 179 A.H. (790 A.D.)
5. Wakee’ bin al-Jarraah bin Maleeh al-Kofi
6. Muhammad bin Hasan al-Shaibaani (a scholar of Busrah, and distinguished student of the Great Imaam Abu Hanifah (RA)
7. Hammaad bin Usama al-Haashimi al-Kofi
8. Abdul-Wahhab bin Abdul-Majeed al-Busri
His Marriage: He married Hameedah bint Nafi’ bin Unaisah bin ‘Amr ibn Usman bin Affan.
Some Distinctive Characteristics:
1. His eloquent style of speech and abundant knowledge of the Arabic language
2. His Family Lineage-as a set standard reported by al-Hakam bin ‘Abdil-Muttalib that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said, “Indeed Banu Haashim and Banu al-Muttalib are the same (ie. of the same family lineage). (Ibn Majah, 22, Kitaabul-Wasaaya/46 Chapter Division of Khumus/ Hadith No. 2329
3. Complete memorization of the Qur’an with recognition of its rules and its implications in all aspects of Islamic Knowledge of which others during his time did not yet reach to
4. His deep foresight in Hadith and comprehension of authentic and defective narrations
5. His understanding in the principles of Hadith and Fiqh
6. His rulings in Hadith Mursal (incompletely transmitted narrations) and completely transmitted narrations.
7. Imaam Ahmed bin Hanbal used to say about Imaam Shafi’ee, “Our napes were in the hands of the Companions of Abu Hanifah (RA) when it came to hadith (ie. we were inclined to them more) until we saw Imaam Shafi’ee, he was the most knowledgeable in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) that he would even suffice one who was not well informed in Hadith.
8. Al-Karaabeesi says about the Imaam, “Al-Shafi’ee was a mercy from Allah upon the followers of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam).
9. Al-Humaidee says, “We used to want to refute the arguments of the Ashab-ul-Ra’iy, but we were not well informed to do so until Imaam Shafi’ee came along and opened up the way for us.
10. Ibn Raahway was asked, “How did Imaam Shafi’ee compose all these books at such a young age?” He replied, “Allah SWT made him intelligent and mature minded in just his youth.”
11. Rabi’ says, “We were just sitting awhile in the Knowledge Circle of Imaam Shafi’ee after the Great Imaam’s demise when a Bedouin Arab came along and said asked about where is the sun and moon of this circle. When we told him that he had passed away he started weeping heavily, and then said may Allah have mercy upon him and forgive him for verily he was one who opened up the veils of proofs through his explanations and closed the mouths of his disputer and opponent. He used to wash the blackened faces of their shame and disgrace and opened the closed doors with intellect and understanding. Then he turned away and left.”
His Humbleness:
Al-Hasan bin Abdul-Aziz al-Jarwi al-Misri reported form Imaam Shafi’ee used to say, “I have never debated with someone who I want to make a mistake, nor do I possess any knowledge that I want to keep to myself, rather that it should be with all and not just related to me.”
He also said, “I have never debated with someone who I want to make a mistake. And I have never debated someone except I say to them, O’ Allah, put the truth in his heart and on his tongue. If I am on the truth he will follow me, and if he is on the truth then I will follow him.”
A Scholar of Quraish:
Imaam Ahmed bin Hanbal is reported to have said, “When I am questioned about some matter that I do not know of I say to myself Imaam Shafi’ee knows about this and he will have some say in it, because he is an ‘Alim (Scholar) of Quraish. And the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said, An Alim of Quraish fills the earth with knowledge.” (al-Manaaqib, Lil-Baihaqi, Vol. 1, Page 54)
Al-Raazi says, “This Hadith is attainable by a man who possesses three characteristics: 1. that he is from Quraish 2. that he has abundant knowledge among religious scholars 3. that his abundant knowledge will indeed reach from east to west of the world
After saying this Al-Raazi says, “The man described above is no other than Al-Shafi’ee.” (Musnad of Abu Dawood Al-Tabalusi, p. 39-40)
The Imaam is from Quraish and the following other Ahadith (narrations) are indications towards him:
1. Abdullah bin Masood (RA) narrates from the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) as saying, “Do not curse at the Quraish, for verily a scholar from there fills the earth with knowledge. O’Allah, you have made their first taste your punishment, now make the last of them taste your gift and favor.” (Musnad of Abu Dawood Al-Tabalusi, p. 39-40).
May God reward Imam Shafi’ee handsomely and bless his soul.
Have fun praying and getting ready for the Day of Judgment coz that day will NOT be fun :) P.S.: don’t forget to make dua for me. !!
"If I were to walk from Madinah to Makkah [a distance of 500 kilometers] barefoot, with no mount to carry me, it would have been easier for me than to walk to Malik's home here in Madinah. I am never in a humble position until I stand at his doorstep." These were the words of the Governor of Madinah as he finished reading a letter addressed to him by the Governor of Makkah which wanted him to introduce a young man to the great scholar of Madinah. The young man continues the story:
"The Governor and a number of his men went with me until we reached Malik's home and one man knocked on the door. A maid opened and the man told her that the Governor wanted to see the scholar. She went in and came back after a long while to say: ‘My master greets you well and says: ‘If you have a case requiring a ruling, then you may write it down and he will send you the answer. If you want to learn hadith, you know the day when he holds his circle. You may wish to leave now.' The Governor said to her: ‘Tell him that I have a letter addressed to him from the Governor of Makkah with an important matter.' She went in, then she came out again, placing a chair. Shortly afterwards, Malik came out. He was a tall, old man who inspired much awe and respect. He sat on the chair and read the letter until he reached the request made by the Governor on my behalf. He threw the letter down and said: ‘Have we reached so low that the study of the Prophet's hadith is sought through favours and high position!' The Governor
of Madinah was in awe and could not reply. So I ventured to speak, saying: ‘May God grant you His favours. I am a man from the Muttalib branch of Quraysh, and I have so far done this and that…' "
Malik was endowed with penetrative insight. He asked the young man his name and then said to him: "Muhammad! Be always God-fearing, and avoid sin, for you will acquire distinction. God has given you light in your heart; so do not let it be put out by indulging in sin. Come tomorrow to read."
That was the first encounter between Imam Malik, the great scholar who was in his mid-seventies and El-Shafie who was just under 20 years of age and was destined to be among the greatest scholars in our history.
On the following day, El-Shafie went to his appointment, carrying Malik's book Al-Muwatta', and started to read. Malik was very pleased with his diction and delivery. When El-Shafie felt that he might have tired his teacher, he hesitated, but Malik told him to continue. Thus, he managed to complete reading the great book under the great imam in a very short period of time.
Muhammad ibn Idris El-Shafie, who was born in Gazza in 150 A.H.(Imaam Shafi’ (RA) was born in the year 150 A.H. the year the Great Imaam Abu Hanifah (R.A) had passed away) corresponding to 767 CE. He was of Qurayshi origin, with an ancestry that met the Prophet's lineage at the Prophet's grandfather, Abdulmattalib. His father died when he was very young, leaving him and his mother in utter poverty. The mother, who was of Yemeni origin, was of great influence on the course he took in life. She decided that his place should be in Makkah, close to his tribal ancestry. She sent him to a relative in Makkah when he was nearly 10 years of age, then followed him there to direct him in his pursuit of studies. Because of his poverty, he could not find enough writing material. He would go to the Governor's offices in search for used paper that might be given to him free of charge, so that he would write his lessons on the unused part, or the backside.
He memorised the Quran at a very young age,( His Education: The Imaam was from a very poor family in his youth and when he was sent to school his family could not afford to pay the teacher for his teachings. The teacher used to inadequately teach the children and anytime he taught something inadequately and then left the children, the Imaam would seize the opportunity and teach them the teacher’s lesson and suffice the children. When the teacher would see this and he understood that the Imaam was doing it he let him continue to do so. This way the Imaam would suffice his tuition through satisfying the teacher by teaching the children his lesson. This continued and the Imaam learned the whole Qur’an .
The Imaam himself used to say: “After I finished learning the Qur’an I would go to the Masjid and sit with the Scholars the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) and Islamic matters. I used to live in Makkah among tent dwellers in such a state of poverty that I could not even afford to by paper to write, so I would write on bones instead.”
It is also reported that the Imaam used to recite Hadith in the Masjid of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) at the age of thirteen years old. It is also reported that the Imaam’s voice was very melodious and sweet. Al-Haakim reports by the authority of Bahr bin Nasr saying: “When we wanted to cry we would say come let us go to this young Muttalibee man to hear him recite the Qur’an. We would reach him and he would initiate his recitation until when the people would start falling down in front of him and the sounds of everyone weeping and yelling could be heard by him he would stop.”
) and then decided to improve his knowledge of Arabic. So, he went deep into the desert to join the Bedouin tribe of Huthail, renowned for the best standard of literary Arabic. There he memorised poetry and learnt their prose reporting and stories. He would join the tribe on its nomadic travels, until he mastered all that was there to learn. He also learnt archery there, and acquired great skill. He would be able to hit the target with his arrows 10 times out of 10. He then returned to Makkah and continued his studies, completing all that its scholars had to teach by the time he was nearly 20. Yet his thirst for knowledge was still burning inside him. So he decided to travel to Madinah to learn from Imam Malik. However, he did not wish to attend Malik without knowing anything of what he taught. He managed to borrow Malik's book, Al-Muwatta', and as he read it, he was even more eager to meet Malik and study under him. We know all about the first meeting between the two scholars.
El-Shafie stayed very close to Malik for nine years, during which he only travelled to visit his mother in Makkah, or to stay for a short while with some bedouin tribes. In the last three years of attending Malik, El-Shafie had an additional benefit of meeting Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan Al-Shaibani, the eminent Iraqi scholar who recorded all the Hanafi scholarship. The latter had come to Madinah to study under Malik and stayed with him for those 3 years. That was a highly beneficial company that was to be renewed later.
Malik used to support his students who had no means of living. El-Shafie was one of these. When Malik (R.A.)died, El-Shafie went back to Makkah hoping to earn his living. It so happened that the Governor of Yemen visited Makkah at that time. Some people spoke to him about El-Shafie, and he took him with him on his return to Yemen where he assigned to him a post of justice in the city of Najran. The people there soon realised that they had a judge who was devoted to justice, unwilling to swerve from it for any favour or pressure. They loved him and learnt from him a great deal.
But people who are unwilling to compromise often find themselves in the bad books of rulers. El-Shafie stayed in Najran for five years, towards the end of which a strong-fisted governor was appointed. It was only natural that El-Shafie should criticise him for any injustice he might perpetrate. In his position, El-Shafie was able to curb that Governor's injustice. Hence, the latter disliked him and sought to remove him. So he wrote to the Caliph accusing him of supporting a fermenting revolt by people loyal to the Alawees, i.e. the descendents of Ali. He added: "I have no authority over this man, and he achieves by the word of his tongue much more than a fighter can achieve with his sword."
Was this accusation baseless? There is no doubt that it was, because El-Shafie never supported or advocated any revolt or rebellion against the Caliph. But he loved the Alawees, as they were the descendents of Ali and Fatimah, the Prophet's daughter. His love, however, never led him to belong to the Shia or to consider that Ali had the strongest claim to be the Caliph after the Prophet. Indeed he was of the view that the four Caliphs were elected to the post in accordance with the right order of their suitability. He also considered that Umar ibn Abdulaziz, the Umayyad ruler, was the fifth of the rightly guided Caliphs.
However, the accusation reached the Caliph in Baghdad, Al-Rasheed. El-Shafie was sent to him in fetters and chains in 184 A.H. when he was 34 years of age. The Caliph had him brought in when he was attended by his advisers and top officials, among whom was none other than Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan, who was his Chief Justice. Two factors served him well at the time. The first was his lucid defence of himself. The other was Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan's testimony on his behalf. As El-Shafie stated that he had a share of scholarship known to the Chief Justice, the latter told the Caliph that El-Shafie was a scholar of eminence and that he would not be involved in such matters. The Caliph, who was kind and lenient, saw in this testimony his way out to spare El-Shafie. He told Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan to take El-Shafie to his home while he thought the matter over. That was all that the Caliph did. The accusation was never brought up again. The Governor of Najran had rid himself of a fearless critic, and he was no longer interested what happened to him.
Perhaps this accusation was the best thing that happened to El-Shafie, because it brought him back to the pursuit of knowledge. Moreover, El-Shafie stayed in Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan's home and read under him all the books he had written, recording the Fiqh of Abu Haneefah and his disciples. When he left Baghdad two years later, he said: "I carried with me a whole camel load of books, all of which I learnt directly from Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan."
It should be made clear that El-Shafie did not only learn the Iraqi fiqh in Baghdad, but he also memorised the hadiths that were known in Iraq, but not in Madinah or Hijaz. He also entered into debate with many scholars, speaking as a student of Malik, but he would only debate with lesser scholars than Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan, whom he respected highly. We must remember that El-Shafie was Malik's disciple and Malik did not allow debate in his circle. On the other hand, Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan, was Abu Haneefah's disciple, and Abu Haneefah's scholarship was imparted mainly through debate with his students. Hence, Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan insisted that El-Shafie should debate questions with him, and he reluctantly yielded.
Perhaps the most important characteristic of El-Shafie was his native intelligence which gave him an easy and good grasp of even the most difficult of questions. He always studied matters in depth, so as to arrive at the right verdict regarding any question put to him. His intelligence was coupled with a superb memory and ready argument. When he wanted to explain an idea, he would put it in a wealth of meanings that he always found ready to hand. He is not known to have been lost for words, yet his explanation was always rich and to the point.
El-Shafie had a fine literary style, which gave him powerful expression, coupled with lucid presentation. Moreover, his delivery was very clear and his voice added clarity to his thoughts. One of his students says: "Every scholar gives more in his books than when you meet him personally, except for El-Shafie whose verbal discussion gives you more than his books." When we remember that his books were among the finest in style, lucidity and presentation, we realise what this student is talking about.
When we spoke about Imam Malik, we mentioned that he had a profound insight. This is a quality that El-Shafie had in common with his teacher. This quality allowed him to strike the right balance between his students' ability to understand and his ability to explain, so as to achieve the best results. Hence, his students were devoted to him, eager to benefit by his superior knowledge.
Another main quality that facilitated for El-Shafie the achievement of the highest rank among Islamic scholars was his dedicated sincerity in the pursuit of the truth. This was coupled with his brave determination to declare the truth even if it was in conflict with what people used to believe. Should the truth be at variance with his devotion to his teachers, he would come out on the side of the truth. He was very reluctant to show his disagreement with Malik, because he loved him so much. The same was the case with Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan, who did him a great favour when he saved him from the wrath of the Caliph. His gratitude to him did not prevent him from declaring his disagreement with him and his colleagues, supporting the Madinah scholars. But no one ever accused him of not accepting true evidence whenever it was presented. He urged his students to give much of their time and effort to the study of the hadith, repeatedly stating to them that should they find an authentic hadith in conflict with his views, they should abandon his views and take up the hadith.
This dedicated sincerity made him seek the truth, regardless of who presents it. He never lost his temper in debate, because his aim was not to win the debate, but to arrive at the true conclusion. Thus, if his opponent was right, he would not hesitate to accept his view. He is reported to have said: "I wish that people would learn what I have to give, without it being attributed to me. In this way, I receive the reward for it from my Lord, without having people's praise."
With such a character, there is no wonder that scholars loved him and placed him in the highest rank.
Once a man asked El-Shafie a question, and he started his answer by quoting a hadith stating the ruling on that question. The man then said: but what is your own view? El-Shafie shuddered and changed colour before saying: "What corner of the earth or the sky would shelter me if I report something the Prophet said and then give a different opinion?"
When people went to the Haram in Makkah late in the second century, they found a tall, dark man in his mid-thirties teaching in a circle which included young and mature students, many of whom were older than him. The teacher explained certain aspects of faith and Islamic jurisprudence which they could not learn from anyone else in their respective homelands, whether they came from Iraq, where much weight was given to scholarly discretion, or from Madinah where commitment to the hadith text was paramount. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal saw him when he was on his pilgrimage and was full of admiration. He persuaded his colleague, Isshaq ibn Rahaweih, to attend his circle. When they arrived, Isshaq said to Ahmad: "Are we to leave the circle of someone like Sufyan ibn Uyainah in order to attend this young man?" Ahmad said: "If you miss out on this man's rational thinking, you cannot find it anywhere else; while if you miss out on hadith at a higher level of reporting, you can still learn it with a lower level."
Such was the fruit of the great task undertaken by El-Shafie on returning to Makkah from Baghdad. Such was its importance that Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Isshaq ibn Rahaweih, two scholars destined to achieve great eminence, felt it more important to attend him than other more established scholars. What happened was that, back in Makkah after his long absence, El-Shafie gave much thought to what he had learnt, both in Madinah from Malik and in Baghdard. He compared methods and analysed differences and points of agreement. As El-Shafie was a scholar of the highest calibre, endowed with sharp intelligence, superb memory and an analytical mind, his comparative study yielded two highly precious fruits. The first was that he established his own school of thought, with its distinctive method of construction and deduction, independent from both the Hanafi and the Maliki schools. He would study Malik's views in depth to arrive at his own views, which might have agreed or disagreed with the great scholar. He would do the same with the views of Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan and his two renowned teachers, Abu Haneefah and Abu Yussuf. He recorded his disagreement with Malik in a book he called: Khilaf Malik, and his disagreement with the Hanafi scholar in another book, Khilaf al-Iraqiyeen. This established him as the founder of a third school of thought.
The second result of his endeavours was that he set in place the rules of deduction of rulings on all questions. That was what came to be known as Ussool al-Fiqh, or basic methodology of jurisprudence. Previously, eminent scholars had their own methods of deduction and construction, but they referred to these in general terms, giving no details. El-Shafie outlined these in detail, showing what rules and methods a scholar must follow so that he might not arrive at the wrong ruling or conclusion. This time El-Shafie stayed in Makkah for 9 years, teaching his students and taking them to a totally unfamiliar territory.
He then felt that he needed to spread this new knowledge in the rest of the Muslim world, and to do so he went again to Baghdad in 195 AH, when he was 45. In Baghdad, the most famous seat of learning at the time, he was welcomed by all its scholars. Even its eminent scholars were willing to read under him, including Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Isshaq ibn Rahaweih. They all recognised that he had come up with a perfectly new knowledge and a complete system of deduction.
It was during this stay in Baghdad, lasting over two years, that he dictated his books, mainly Al-Umm, which contains his views on all detailed questions of Fiqh, and Al-Risaalah, which is his book on the methodology of Fiqh, the first book ever to be written on this subject.
El-Shafie then went to Makkah, but did not stay long there. Apparently, his trip this time was to visit the Kaabah, pack up his belonging and bid farewell to his teachers, such as Sufyan ibn Uyainah. Soon afterwards, he went back to Baghdad, arriving in 198, but he was soon on the road again, aiming this time for Egypt, where he arrived in 199 and stayed until his death five years later, at the age of 54. We will refer later to his changed views in Egypt, because this serves as the best example of giving different rulings on the same questions because of a change of situation.
As we explained over the last two weeks, El-Shafie fascinated all people with his broad knowledge, logical analysis, and lucid style. He fascinated the scholars of Baghdad in his famous debates with the best among them, the scholars of the Muslim world who listened to him on their visits to Makkah for pilgrimage, and the scholars of Egypt when he brought them knowledge that they had never learnt from anyone before him. He also fascinated all scholarly circles with his design of Ussool al-Fiqh. Hence, numerous scholars were full of praise for him. Perhaps the best that sums up scholarly opinion of El-Shafie is Ahmad ibn Hanbal's words: "We have reported the hadith in which the Prophet states that God sends to the nation of Islam every 100 years a person to put its faith back on the right track. Umar ibn Abdulaziz was that man at the end of the first 100 years. As for the second hundred, I think the man was El-Shafie."
It is such great admiration by eminent scholars that tells of El-Shafie's standing as a scholar. Each would obviously praise him from the point of view of his own speciality. Thus, a scholar like Yahya ibn Ma'een, one of the highest authorities on hadith and its reporters describes El-Shafie in these words: "Had lying been lawful, his integrity would have stopped him from lying."
El-Shafie lived at a time when different branches of knowledge were taking shape and being set on firm basis, with dedicated scholars writing their reference books, each in his field of specialisation. In linguistics, poetry, literary criticism and other language studies, there were scholars setting these branches on firm footing. In hadith, criteria were identified to sort out authentic hadiths, isolating them from a multitude of hadiths attributed to the Prophet without firm evidence of authenticity. In Fiqh different schools were emerging and taking form, particularly with the writing of Al-Muwatta', by Imam Malik as the basic book of the Maliki school of thought, and Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan's books recording the Hanafi school's views.
At the same time, numerous works were translated from Greek, Persian and Indian languages in various fields. El-Shafie had a go at the study most of these. In addition, several political groupings emerged, each trying to advocate their position on the basis of religion, such as the different groups of Shia, and Khawarij. Philosophical and intellectual groups also emerged, particularly Al-Mu'tazilah, who advocated a rational philosophy that sought to subject religious truth to their approach. Others spoke of Divinity and theology on the basis of logic. El-Shafie rejected all these approaches, insisting that the only basis for such knowledge was the Quran and the Sunnah, making it clear that only the texts of the Quran and authentic hadith should be considered in such matters.
El-Shafie was very firm in his advice to his students to turn their backs on logical theology. However, he himself studied it and formulated clear views on its various issues. He once found some of his students debating one such issue. He said to them: "Do you think that I have no knowledge of this. Indeed I have gone deep into it, but this logical theology is useless. Let your debate be on something in which if you err, people would say that you have made a mistake, not that you have gone out of the faith altogether." This is a highly respectable attitude, seeking to abandon any philosophical approach to faith, because it served no real purpose and was bound to err.
In his method of construction and deduction of rulings on any question, El-Shafie defines five sources of evidence. These are stated in his book, Al-Umm: "The first is the Quran and the Sunnah when the latter is confirmed as authentic; the second, unanimity concerning a matter to which no reference is made in the Quran or the Sunnah; the third, some companions of the Prophet may state a view and we have no report of any other companion expressing a different view; the fourth, the views of the Prophet's companions when they differ over a certain question; the fifth; analogy. No source other than the Quran and the Sunnah may be considered when they voice a ruling. Knowledge is sought at the highest source first." This means that El-Shafie considers the Quran and the Sunnah the only source of Islamic law, while other sources are based on them. Moreover, he considers the two as one source.
Scholars of later generations mention the Sunnah as a separate source, ranking second after the Quran. The same has been stated by Abu Haneefah long before El-Shafie's time. Why does he, then, put them both together as one source, when they, in reality, cannot be placed at the same level? For certain, El-Shafie does not consider the Sunnah to be equal to the Quran in all respects, when the Quran is God's own word, while most of the Sunnah is reported in a lesser degree. El-Shafie has looked at the fact that the Sunnah explains what the Quran has stated in general terms, giving the details of what we need to know in order to fulfil God's orders. Hence, it must be placed at the same level as what it explains. Many of the Prophet's companions had the same view.
It is important, however, to realise that, in El-Shafie's view, the Quran is the main source while the Sunnah is complementary to it. Hence, the Sunnah derives its effect from the Quran. Moreover, El-Shafie feels that, in order to arrive at accurate rulings, knowledge of the Sunnah as a whole must be placed at the same level as knowledge of the Quran. This does not mean that every thing attributed to the Prophet should be treated as the Quran. Hadiths have different levels of authenticity. Hence, we cannot treat a hadith reported by a chain of single transmitters at the same level as a Quranic verse. El-Shafie acknowledges all this. Furthermore, when it comes to stating Islamic beliefs, El-Shafie gives the Sunnah a lesser status than the Quran.
We must say that El-Shafie has defended the Sunnah most determinedly against all groups that sought to reduce its status. There were many of those at his time, seeking to limit sources of Islamic law to the Quran only. He was able to show the weakness of their stand and reduce their influence to a minimum. Hence, he earned the title, ‘the advocate of the Sunnah.'
El-Shafie rejects what is termed as istihsan, or regressive analogy. This is when a scholar abandons a clear and apparent analogy in favour of a concealed one, because of what he considers to be in the best interests of the community or the individual. This sort of analogy is approved by both Abu Haneefah and Malik. Thus, he takes his stand in opposition to both.
When El-Shafie settled in Egypt in the last five years of his life, he revised many of his views as expressed in his books which he authored and taught in Iraq. He might have expressed two views on a certain matter when he was in Baghdad. Now he would come solidly in favour of either one of them, or he may express a third view to retain all three, or he may abandon both his two old views in favour of a third one which he finds to be better supported, either by a hadith he did not know before or by an analogy which he finds to be more valid. People often refer to this process as the ‘new El-Shafie school of thought', as distinguished from his old one that relies on his old books dictated in Baghdad. The fact is that it is all a thorough revision of his books, bringing out a new revised version. Indeed he considered the old version abrogated. This shows that El-Shafie continued his pursuit of the truth throughout his life.
The best known works of El-Shafie have been mentioned already. The first is Al-Risalah, which establishes a specialised branch of Islamic studies. That is the one known as Usool al-Fiqh, or the methodology of Islamic law. The second is Al-UmmI, in which he records his legal views on all questions. This is the book he continued to revise until his death. Al-Risalah continued to receive much attention by scholars and it has been published many times with annotation. It is a middle-sized volume of great importance. Al-Umm, which embodies the bulk of El-Shafie Fiqh has been published, but has not received the editing attention it deserves. Very recently, most of El-Shafie's books have been published together under the title, El-Shafie's Encyclopaedia, bringing 10 books together, in 10 large volumes. However, the work still needs more detailed editing and annotating attention.
The Shafie school of thought is distinguished by its richness in scholarly views, which made it easy to develop and enrich. Later scholars continued the process. Over the many generations since El-Shafie, numerous distinguished scholars contributed to its scholarship, placing it at the same level as the Hanafi and Maliki schools of thought. Today, it commands much following in Iraq, Syria and Jordan, although it remains second to the Hanafi school in these countries. It is predominant in Egypt, and it has countless followers in Yemen and Persia, while it is followed by most people in Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia. It has practically no following in North African countries.
El-Shafie was a great scholar whose contribution to Islamic knowledge remains considerable, despite the passage of more than 1200 years since his death.
His Teachers: Among his eminent teachers were:
1. Muslim bin Khalid al-Zangi (a Mufti of Makkah during the year 180 A.H. (796 A.D.)
2. Sufyaan bin Uyainah al-Hilaali (one of the three distinguished scholars of that time in Makkah)
3. Ibrahim bin Yahya (a scholar of Madinah)
4. Malik bin Anas (Imaam Shafi’ee used to recite Hadith to Imaam Malik after the memorizing of his book, Muwatta Imaam Malik). The Imaam stayed in Madinah until Imaam Malik passed away in the year 179 A.H. (790 A.D.)
5. Wakee’ bin al-Jarraah bin Maleeh al-Kofi
6. Muhammad bin Hasan al-Shaibaani (a scholar of Busrah, and distinguished student of the Great Imaam Abu Hanifah (RA)
7. Hammaad bin Usama al-Haashimi al-Kofi
8. Abdul-Wahhab bin Abdul-Majeed al-Busri
His Marriage: He married Hameedah bint Nafi’ bin Unaisah bin ‘Amr ibn Usman bin Affan.
Some Distinctive Characteristics:
1. His eloquent style of speech and abundant knowledge of the Arabic language
2. His Family Lineage-as a set standard reported by al-Hakam bin ‘Abdil-Muttalib that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said, “Indeed Banu Haashim and Banu al-Muttalib are the same (ie. of the same family lineage). (Ibn Majah, 22, Kitaabul-Wasaaya/46 Chapter Division of Khumus/ Hadith No. 2329
3. Complete memorization of the Qur’an with recognition of its rules and its implications in all aspects of Islamic Knowledge of which others during his time did not yet reach to
4. His deep foresight in Hadith and comprehension of authentic and defective narrations
5. His understanding in the principles of Hadith and Fiqh
6. His rulings in Hadith Mursal (incompletely transmitted narrations) and completely transmitted narrations.
7. Imaam Ahmed bin Hanbal used to say about Imaam Shafi’ee, “Our napes were in the hands of the Companions of Abu Hanifah (RA) when it came to hadith (ie. we were inclined to them more) until we saw Imaam Shafi’ee, he was the most knowledgeable in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) that he would even suffice one who was not well informed in Hadith.
8. Al-Karaabeesi says about the Imaam, “Al-Shafi’ee was a mercy from Allah upon the followers of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam).
9. Al-Humaidee says, “We used to want to refute the arguments of the Ashab-ul-Ra’iy, but we were not well informed to do so until Imaam Shafi’ee came along and opened up the way for us.
10. Ibn Raahway was asked, “How did Imaam Shafi’ee compose all these books at such a young age?” He replied, “Allah SWT made him intelligent and mature minded in just his youth.”
11. Rabi’ says, “We were just sitting awhile in the Knowledge Circle of Imaam Shafi’ee after the Great Imaam’s demise when a Bedouin Arab came along and said asked about where is the sun and moon of this circle. When we told him that he had passed away he started weeping heavily, and then said may Allah have mercy upon him and forgive him for verily he was one who opened up the veils of proofs through his explanations and closed the mouths of his disputer and opponent. He used to wash the blackened faces of their shame and disgrace and opened the closed doors with intellect and understanding. Then he turned away and left.”
His Humbleness:
Al-Hasan bin Abdul-Aziz al-Jarwi al-Misri reported form Imaam Shafi’ee used to say, “I have never debated with someone who I want to make a mistake, nor do I possess any knowledge that I want to keep to myself, rather that it should be with all and not just related to me.”
He also said, “I have never debated with someone who I want to make a mistake. And I have never debated someone except I say to them, O’ Allah, put the truth in his heart and on his tongue. If I am on the truth he will follow me, and if he is on the truth then I will follow him.”
A Scholar of Quraish:
Imaam Ahmed bin Hanbal is reported to have said, “When I am questioned about some matter that I do not know of I say to myself Imaam Shafi’ee knows about this and he will have some say in it, because he is an ‘Alim (Scholar) of Quraish. And the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said, An Alim of Quraish fills the earth with knowledge.” (al-Manaaqib, Lil-Baihaqi, Vol. 1, Page 54)
Al-Raazi says, “This Hadith is attainable by a man who possesses three characteristics: 1. that he is from Quraish 2. that he has abundant knowledge among religious scholars 3. that his abundant knowledge will indeed reach from east to west of the world
After saying this Al-Raazi says, “The man described above is no other than Al-Shafi’ee.” (Musnad of Abu Dawood Al-Tabalusi, p. 39-40)
The Imaam is from Quraish and the following other Ahadith (narrations) are indications towards him:
1. Abdullah bin Masood (RA) narrates from the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) as saying, “Do not curse at the Quraish, for verily a scholar from there fills the earth with knowledge. O’Allah, you have made their first taste your punishment, now make the last of them taste your gift and favor.” (Musnad of Abu Dawood Al-Tabalusi, p. 39-40).
May God reward Imam Shafi’ee handsomely and bless his soul.
Have fun praying and getting ready for the Day of Judgment coz that day will NOT be fun :) P.S.: don’t forget to make dua for me. !!
Monday, 8 March 2010
Islam is the Path of "knowledge."
In the Islamic theory of knowledge, the term used for knowledge in Arabic is 'ilm,
'Knowledge' falls short of expressing all the aspects of 'ilm. Knowledge in the Western world means information about something, divine or corporeal, while 'ilm is an all-embracing term covering theory, action and education.
In fact there is no concept that has been operative as a determinant of the Muslim civilization in all its aspects to the same extent as 'ilm. This holds good even for the most powerful among the terms of Muslim religious life such as, for instance, tawhid "recognition of the oneness of God," ad-din, "the true religion," and many others that are used constantly and emphatically. None of them equals ilm in depth of meaning and wide incidence of use. There is no branch of Muslim intellectual life, of Muslim religious and political life, and of the daily life of the average Muslim that remains untouched by the all pervasive attitude toward "knowledge" as something of supreme value for Muslim being. 'ilm is Islam, even if the theologians have been hesitant to accept the technical correctness of this equation. The very fact of their passionate discussion of the concept attests to its fundamental importance for Islam.
Before one sets out to seek knowledge we must bear in mind there are etiquettes for seeking knowledge. Only when one attains knowledge according to them, will the knowledge gained be beneficial. If we have no respect for the knowledge that we gain, that knowledge will merely remain information. Knowledge can only be beneficial for us if we gain it according to the following guidelines:
Be patient – To gain ‘ilm is not easy and a lot of hard effort and sacrifice is required. For this reason it is very important that one remains patient.
It may be said that Islam is the path of "knowledge." No other religion or ideology has so much emphasized the importance of 'ilm. In the Qur'an the word 'alim has occurred in 140 places, while al-'ilm in 27. In all, the total number of verses in which 'ilm or its derivatives and associated words are used is 704. The aids of knowledge such as book, pen, ink etc. amount to almost the same number. Qalam occurs in two places, al-kitab in 230 verses, among which al-kitab for al-Qur'an occurs in 81 verses. Other words associated with writing occur in 319 verses. It is important to note that pen and book are essential to the acquisition of knowledge. The Islamic revelation started with the word iqra' ('read!' or 'recite!').
According to the Qur'an, the first teaching class for Adam started soon after his creation and Adam was taught 'all the Names'.
Allah is the first teacher and the absolute guide of humanity. This knowledge was not imparted to even the Angels. In Usul al-Kafi there is a tradition narrated by Imam Musa al-Kazim ('a) that 'ilm is of three types: ayatun muhkamah (irrefutable signs of God), faridatun 'adilah (just obligations) and sunnat al-qa'imah (established traditions of the Prophet [s]). This implies that 'ilm, attainment of which is obligatory upon all Muslims covers the sciences of theology, philosophy, law, ethics, politics and the wisdom imparted to the Ummah by the Prophet (S). Al-Ghazali has unjustifiably differentiated between useful and useless types of knowledge. Islam actually does not consider any type of knowledge as harmful to human beings. However, what has been called in the Qur'an as useless or rather harmful knowledge, consists of pseudo sciences or the lores prevalent in the Jahiliyyah.
'Ilm is of three types: information (as opposed to ignorance), natural laws, and knowledge by conjecture. The first and second types of knowledge are considered useful and their acquisition is made obligatory. As for the third type, which refers to what is known through guesswork and conjecture, or is accompanied with doubt, we shall take that into consideration later, since conjecture or doubt are sometimes essential for knowledge as a means, but not as an end.
Beside various Qur'anic verses emphasizing the importance of knowledge, there are hundreds of Prophetic traditions that encourage Muslims to acquire all types of knowledge from any corner of the world. Muslims, during their periods of stagnation and decline, confined themselves to theology as the only obligatory knowledge, an attitude which is generally but wrongly attributed to al-Ghazali's destruction of philosophy and sciences in the Muslim world. Al-Ghazali, of course, passed through a turbulent period of skepticism, but he was really in search of certainty, which he found not in discursive knowledge but in mystic experience. In his favour it must be said that he paved the way for liberating the believer from blind imitation and helping him approach the goal of certain knowledge.
...........The Aadaab of Seeking Knowledge..............
These are some points which should be taken into consideration when setting out to seek knowledge:
1. Have the correct intention
The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said, “All actions are by their intentions” meaning all actions are judged according to the niyyah with which they have been done. So even if a good deed was done with a bad intention, it will not be accepted as a good deed because the intention behind it was bad.
2. Stay away from sins
Staying away from sins is essential when seeking knowledge. The story of Imam ash-Shafi’i rahimahullah is very famous where he complained to his teacher Waki’ rahimahullah about his bad memory. So ash-Shafi’i says: “fa-arshadanee ila tark il-ma’aasi” “He advised me to leave the disobedient acts.”
Al-Muhaddith, Allaamah Yusuf Binnouri rahimahullah mentions in his book, Ma’aarif us-Sunan that looking with an evil gaze weakens one’s memory.
3. Act upon what you have learnt
It is essential that whatever is learnt, you should try your utmost to act upon it. It is said, “Knowledge without action is like a load without a carrier.”
It is narrated in a hadith to the nearest meaning, “man ‘amila bi-ma ‘alim ‘allamahu-llaaha bi-ma lam ‘alim” “The one acts on what he has learnt, Allah will teach him that which he has not learnt.” So if we act on what we have learnt, even if it is very little, Allah will give us more.
It is said that the thing Sayyidina Abud-Dardaa radiAllahu anh used to fear the most was that he would be asked on yawm ul-qiyaamah about what actions he did with all the knowledge he had learnt.
4. Stay away from the mushtabahaat in food and drink
It is very important, especially in the student days to make sure that everything you eat is halaal, upto the point that even the things you are not sure about, you should leave them. The Prophet (saw) said, to the nearest meaning, “da’ maa yuribuk ilaa maa laa yuribuk” “Leave the things which put you in doubt for those things which do not put you in doubt.”
It is narrated of Abdullah ibn Mubaarak rahimahullah that when he went from his home town to ash-Shaam, he borrowed a pen from somebody there. Later on, he forgot about this pen and returned home. When he had reached home, he remembered that he had borrowed a pen from somebody in ash-Shaam, so he travelled all the way back just to return the one pen. He said, “To give back one dirham which I am unsure about is more beloved to me than to spend 1000 daraahim in the path of Allah.”
5. Don’t be lazy in the mustahabbaat
It is fairly common nowadays so hear, “Oh it is only mandub” or “It’s only sunnah, you don’t have to do it”. But the truth of the matter is that our a’maal are such that we cannot afford to lose out on a single sunnah, be it however small.
Whoever thinks lowly of the aadaab and mustahabbaat, he will soon begin to think lowly of the sunnah. And whoever thinks lowly of the sunnah, he will soon begin to think lowly of the faraaid. And whoever thinks lowly of the faraaid and does not fulfil them, then surely he has lost the dunyaa and the aakhirah.
6. Be humble
It is absolutely necessary to stay away from kibr in any form. Especially in this case, it is impossible to gain any beneficial knowledge without humility. It is said, “Humility is for the one from whom knowledge is learnt” so it is essential that especially with your teachers, and fellow pupils you adopt a humble attitude.
7. Tolerate all hardships in the way of knowledge with patience
It was the way of the salaf that on the road of seeking ‘ilm, they would tolerate all kinds of difficulties with utmost patience, hoping only for a reward in the aakhirah.
Sheikh Abdul-Fattaah Abu Ghuddah rahimahullah has written on this topic ‘Safahat min Sabr il-Ulama and Shada'id al-Ilm wa tahseel’ in which he mentions some of the difficulties the ulamaa faced whilst studying and seeking knowledge.
Imam Abu Yusuf rahimahullah says, “al-ilmu izzun la zhulla feeh – wa yuj’alu bi-zhullin la izza feeh” Nothing is gained without hardship. Ilm is an honour but to get to it you will have to undergo much humiliation.
Imam Maalik rahimahullah says that the condition of Rabee’ rahimahullah was such that he had even sold the roof of his house for the sake of seeking ‘ilm.
SubhanAllah. This is the true zeal for knowledge. Nothing came in is his to knowledge, till he even sold the roof of his own house! Rabee’ has realised the true importance of knowledge, so he let nothing come in his way when he was seeking it, may Allah have mercy on him.
8. Realise the status of ilm and know your position as one who seeks it
It is said, “al-ilmu yu’taa wa la ya’ti” so it is you yourself who will have to go through trouble to gain ilm, it will not come to you by itself. Remember that you are the taalib and ilm is the matloob not the other way round. And this is illustrated in the story of Imam Maalik rahimahullah who, when asked to teach the sons of the king refused, as ilm is not something so cheap that it will come to the princes in their palace. Ilm is something which must be sought for.
Imam Abu Yusuf rahimahullah says, “al-ilmu shay’un la yu’tika ba’duhu hattaa tu’til-insaana kulluh.” “Ilm is a thing which will not give you even a part of itself until man gives himself wholly to it.”
It comes without saying that to achieve such a high status as that of a taalib ilm, for whom the angels spread out their wings, and even the fish in the sea seek forgiveness, you have to fulfil duties and take up responsibilities.
# Good company – Pious company and friends should be kept so that one can attain their good qualites. It is also good to keep company with those who have a great zeal for knowledge instead of those who do not. This is so that one can never be put off wanting to learn more. The ‘Ulama state, that in order to gain good habits and to acquire beneficial knowledge, it is vital to stay in the presence of good and pious people. If one is not able to be in the company of the pious, then one should read the books written by these pious people.
# Respect and have good conduct with the teacher – One should ensure that respect is always shown towards the teacher. One cannot gain all knowledge from books without the guidance of a good teacher.
'Knowledge' falls short of expressing all the aspects of 'ilm. Knowledge in the Western world means information about something, divine or corporeal, while 'ilm is an all-embracing term covering theory, action and education.
In fact there is no concept that has been operative as a determinant of the Muslim civilization in all its aspects to the same extent as 'ilm. This holds good even for the most powerful among the terms of Muslim religious life such as, for instance, tawhid "recognition of the oneness of God," ad-din, "the true religion," and many others that are used constantly and emphatically. None of them equals ilm in depth of meaning and wide incidence of use. There is no branch of Muslim intellectual life, of Muslim religious and political life, and of the daily life of the average Muslim that remains untouched by the all pervasive attitude toward "knowledge" as something of supreme value for Muslim being. 'ilm is Islam, even if the theologians have been hesitant to accept the technical correctness of this equation. The very fact of their passionate discussion of the concept attests to its fundamental importance for Islam.
Before one sets out to seek knowledge we must bear in mind there are etiquettes for seeking knowledge. Only when one attains knowledge according to them, will the knowledge gained be beneficial. If we have no respect for the knowledge that we gain, that knowledge will merely remain information. Knowledge can only be beneficial for us if we gain it according to the following guidelines:
Be patient – To gain ‘ilm is not easy and a lot of hard effort and sacrifice is required. For this reason it is very important that one remains patient.
It may be said that Islam is the path of "knowledge." No other religion or ideology has so much emphasized the importance of 'ilm. In the Qur'an the word 'alim has occurred in 140 places, while al-'ilm in 27. In all, the total number of verses in which 'ilm or its derivatives and associated words are used is 704. The aids of knowledge such as book, pen, ink etc. amount to almost the same number. Qalam occurs in two places, al-kitab in 230 verses, among which al-kitab for al-Qur'an occurs in 81 verses. Other words associated with writing occur in 319 verses. It is important to note that pen and book are essential to the acquisition of knowledge. The Islamic revelation started with the word iqra' ('read!' or 'recite!').
According to the Qur'an, the first teaching class for Adam started soon after his creation and Adam was taught 'all the Names'.
Allah is the first teacher and the absolute guide of humanity. This knowledge was not imparted to even the Angels. In Usul al-Kafi there is a tradition narrated by Imam Musa al-Kazim ('a) that 'ilm is of three types: ayatun muhkamah (irrefutable signs of God), faridatun 'adilah (just obligations) and sunnat al-qa'imah (established traditions of the Prophet [s]). This implies that 'ilm, attainment of which is obligatory upon all Muslims covers the sciences of theology, philosophy, law, ethics, politics and the wisdom imparted to the Ummah by the Prophet (S). Al-Ghazali has unjustifiably differentiated between useful and useless types of knowledge. Islam actually does not consider any type of knowledge as harmful to human beings. However, what has been called in the Qur'an as useless or rather harmful knowledge, consists of pseudo sciences or the lores prevalent in the Jahiliyyah.
'Ilm is of three types: information (as opposed to ignorance), natural laws, and knowledge by conjecture. The first and second types of knowledge are considered useful and their acquisition is made obligatory. As for the third type, which refers to what is known through guesswork and conjecture, or is accompanied with doubt, we shall take that into consideration later, since conjecture or doubt are sometimes essential for knowledge as a means, but not as an end.
Beside various Qur'anic verses emphasizing the importance of knowledge, there are hundreds of Prophetic traditions that encourage Muslims to acquire all types of knowledge from any corner of the world. Muslims, during their periods of stagnation and decline, confined themselves to theology as the only obligatory knowledge, an attitude which is generally but wrongly attributed to al-Ghazali's destruction of philosophy and sciences in the Muslim world. Al-Ghazali, of course, passed through a turbulent period of skepticism, but he was really in search of certainty, which he found not in discursive knowledge but in mystic experience. In his favour it must be said that he paved the way for liberating the believer from blind imitation and helping him approach the goal of certain knowledge.
...........The Aadaab of Seeking Knowledge..............
These are some points which should be taken into consideration when setting out to seek knowledge:
1. Have the correct intention
The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said, “All actions are by their intentions” meaning all actions are judged according to the niyyah with which they have been done. So even if a good deed was done with a bad intention, it will not be accepted as a good deed because the intention behind it was bad.
2. Stay away from sins
Staying away from sins is essential when seeking knowledge. The story of Imam ash-Shafi’i rahimahullah is very famous where he complained to his teacher Waki’ rahimahullah about his bad memory. So ash-Shafi’i says: “fa-arshadanee ila tark il-ma’aasi” “He advised me to leave the disobedient acts.”
Al-Muhaddith, Allaamah Yusuf Binnouri rahimahullah mentions in his book, Ma’aarif us-Sunan that looking with an evil gaze weakens one’s memory.
3. Act upon what you have learnt
It is essential that whatever is learnt, you should try your utmost to act upon it. It is said, “Knowledge without action is like a load without a carrier.”
It is narrated in a hadith to the nearest meaning, “man ‘amila bi-ma ‘alim ‘allamahu-llaaha bi-ma lam ‘alim” “The one acts on what he has learnt, Allah will teach him that which he has not learnt.” So if we act on what we have learnt, even if it is very little, Allah will give us more.
It is said that the thing Sayyidina Abud-Dardaa radiAllahu anh used to fear the most was that he would be asked on yawm ul-qiyaamah about what actions he did with all the knowledge he had learnt.
4. Stay away from the mushtabahaat in food and drink
It is very important, especially in the student days to make sure that everything you eat is halaal, upto the point that even the things you are not sure about, you should leave them. The Prophet (saw) said, to the nearest meaning, “da’ maa yuribuk ilaa maa laa yuribuk” “Leave the things which put you in doubt for those things which do not put you in doubt.”
It is narrated of Abdullah ibn Mubaarak rahimahullah that when he went from his home town to ash-Shaam, he borrowed a pen from somebody there. Later on, he forgot about this pen and returned home. When he had reached home, he remembered that he had borrowed a pen from somebody in ash-Shaam, so he travelled all the way back just to return the one pen. He said, “To give back one dirham which I am unsure about is more beloved to me than to spend 1000 daraahim in the path of Allah.”
5. Don’t be lazy in the mustahabbaat
It is fairly common nowadays so hear, “Oh it is only mandub” or “It’s only sunnah, you don’t have to do it”. But the truth of the matter is that our a’maal are such that we cannot afford to lose out on a single sunnah, be it however small.
Whoever thinks lowly of the aadaab and mustahabbaat, he will soon begin to think lowly of the sunnah. And whoever thinks lowly of the sunnah, he will soon begin to think lowly of the faraaid. And whoever thinks lowly of the faraaid and does not fulfil them, then surely he has lost the dunyaa and the aakhirah.
6. Be humble
It is absolutely necessary to stay away from kibr in any form. Especially in this case, it is impossible to gain any beneficial knowledge without humility. It is said, “Humility is for the one from whom knowledge is learnt” so it is essential that especially with your teachers, and fellow pupils you adopt a humble attitude.
7. Tolerate all hardships in the way of knowledge with patience
It was the way of the salaf that on the road of seeking ‘ilm, they would tolerate all kinds of difficulties with utmost patience, hoping only for a reward in the aakhirah.
Sheikh Abdul-Fattaah Abu Ghuddah rahimahullah has written on this topic ‘Safahat min Sabr il-Ulama and Shada'id al-Ilm wa tahseel’ in which he mentions some of the difficulties the ulamaa faced whilst studying and seeking knowledge.
Imam Abu Yusuf rahimahullah says, “al-ilmu izzun la zhulla feeh – wa yuj’alu bi-zhullin la izza feeh” Nothing is gained without hardship. Ilm is an honour but to get to it you will have to undergo much humiliation.
Imam Maalik rahimahullah says that the condition of Rabee’ rahimahullah was such that he had even sold the roof of his house for the sake of seeking ‘ilm.
SubhanAllah. This is the true zeal for knowledge. Nothing came in is his to knowledge, till he even sold the roof of his own house! Rabee’ has realised the true importance of knowledge, so he let nothing come in his way when he was seeking it, may Allah have mercy on him.
8. Realise the status of ilm and know your position as one who seeks it
It is said, “al-ilmu yu’taa wa la ya’ti” so it is you yourself who will have to go through trouble to gain ilm, it will not come to you by itself. Remember that you are the taalib and ilm is the matloob not the other way round. And this is illustrated in the story of Imam Maalik rahimahullah who, when asked to teach the sons of the king refused, as ilm is not something so cheap that it will come to the princes in their palace. Ilm is something which must be sought for.
Imam Abu Yusuf rahimahullah says, “al-ilmu shay’un la yu’tika ba’duhu hattaa tu’til-insaana kulluh.” “Ilm is a thing which will not give you even a part of itself until man gives himself wholly to it.”
It comes without saying that to achieve such a high status as that of a taalib ilm, for whom the angels spread out their wings, and even the fish in the sea seek forgiveness, you have to fulfil duties and take up responsibilities.
# Good company – Pious company and friends should be kept so that one can attain their good qualites. It is also good to keep company with those who have a great zeal for knowledge instead of those who do not. This is so that one can never be put off wanting to learn more. The ‘Ulama state, that in order to gain good habits and to acquire beneficial knowledge, it is vital to stay in the presence of good and pious people. If one is not able to be in the company of the pious, then one should read the books written by these pious people.
# Respect and have good conduct with the teacher – One should ensure that respect is always shown towards the teacher. One cannot gain all knowledge from books without the guidance of a good teacher.
Saturday, 27 February 2010
The one who seeks knowledge
What advice do you give to the one who seeks knowledge and what are the stages of studying knowledge and foundation that one should use to build himself upon it?
Answer: All praise is for Allah, seeking knowledge is made easy:
{And We have indeed made the Quran easy to remember then is there any that will remember?} Soorat-ul-Qamar: 17
One of the distinctive features of Islam is its emphasis on knowledge. The Quran and the Islamic tradition (sunnah) invite Muslims to seek and acquire knowledge and wisdom and to hold men of knowledge in high esteem.
Generally speaking, the Arabic word for knowledge is 'ilm, which, in most cases, indicates to Islamic knowledge or matters related to Sheree’ah (Islamic Law). Although, some of the Quranic verses in this article refer to Islamic knowledge, yet they are general in their meaning, and thus can be used to refer to learning in general.
The importance of education is a none disputable matter. Education is the knowledge of putting one's potentials to maximum use. One can safely say that a human being is not in the proper sense till he/she is educated.
This importance of education is basically for two reasons. The first is that the training of a human mind is not complete without education. Education makes man a right thinker. It tells man how to think and how to make decision.
The second reason for the importance of education is that only through the attainment of education, man is enabled to receive information from the external world; to acquaint himself with past history and receive all necessary information regarding the present. Without education, man is as though in a closed room and with education he finds himself in a room with all its windows open towards the outside world.
This is why Islam attaches great importance to knowledge and education. When the Quran began to be revealed, the first word of its first verse was 'Iqra' that is, read. Allaah says, (what means): "Read! In the Name of your Lord Who has created (all that exists). He has created man from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood). Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous. Who has taught (the writing) by the pen. He has taught man that which he knew not" [Quran, 96: 1-5]
Education is thus the starting point of every human activity. Allaah created man and provided him with the tools for acquiring knowledge, namely hearing, sight and wisdom. Allaah says (what means): "And Allaah has brought you out from the wombs of your mothers while you know nothing. And He gave you hearing, sight, and hearts that you might give thanks (to Allaah)" [Quran, 16:78]
A knowledgeable person is accorded great respect in many prophetic narrations.
Because of the importance of knowledge, Allaah commanded His Messenger sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) to seek more of it. Allaah says (what means): "and say: `My Lord! Increase me in knowledge" [Quran, 20:114]
The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) made seeking knowledge an obligation upon every Muslim, and he sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) explained that the superiority of the one who has knowledge over the one who merely worships is like the superiority of the moon over every other heavenly body. He sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said that the scholars are the heirs of the Prophets and that the Prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention did not leave behind any money, rather their inheritance was knowledge, so whoever acquires it has gained a great share. Furthermore, the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said that seeking knowledge is a way leading to Paradise. He sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said: "Whoever follows a path in the pursuit of knowledge, Allaah will make a path to Paradise easy for him." (Al-Bukhaari)
For example the Quran repeatedly asks us to observe the earth and the heavens. This instills in man a desire to learn natural science as well. All the books of Hadeeth have a chapter on knowledge. In Saheeh Al-Bukhaari there is a chapter entitled "The virtue of one who acquires learning and imparts that to others."
Islam calls us to learn all kinds of beneficial knowledge. Branches of knowledge vary in status, the highest of which is knowledge of Sharee'ah (Islamic Law), then other fields of knowledge, such as medicine, etc.
This is the knowledge (Sharee'ah) with which Allaah honoured His Messenger sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ); He taught it to him sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) so that he might teach it to mankind: "Indeed, Allaah conferred a great favour on the believers when He sent among them a Messenger (Muhammad) from among themselves, reciting unto them His Verses (the Quran), and purifying them (from sins by their following him), and instructing them (in) the Book (the Quran) and Al-Hikmah [the wisdom and the Sunnah of the Prophet (i.e. his legal ways, statements and acts of worship)], while before that they had been in manifest error" [Quran, 3:164]
How great importance is attached to learning in Islam, can be understood from an event in the life of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ). At the battle of Badr in which the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) gained victory over his opponents, seventy people of the enemy rank were taken prisoner. These prisoners of war were literate people. In order to benefit from their education the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) declared that if one prisoner teaches ten Muslims how to read and write, this will serve as his ransom and he will be set free. We can freely say that this was the first school in the history of Islam established by the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) himself with all its teachers being non-Muslims. Furthermore, they were all war prisoners.
On the one hand Islam places great emphasis on learning, on the other, all those factors which are necessary to make progress in learning have been provided by Allaah. One of these special factors is the freedom of research. One example of it is that in Makkah, the birthplace of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) dates were not grown. Afterwards the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) migrated to Madeenah, the city of dates. One day the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) saw that some people were atop the date trees busy in doing something. On being asked what they were engaged in, they replied that they were pollinating.
The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) suggested them not to do so. The following year date yield was considerably very low. The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) enquired them of the reason. They told him that the date crop depended on pollination. Since he sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) suggested them to do otherwise, they had refrained from that. The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) then told them to go on doing as they used to, and that, "You know the worldly matters better than me." (Al-Bukhaari)
Also we should know that there is no goodness in knowledge which is not confirmed by actions or words which are not confirmed by deeds, Allaah the Almighty says (what means): "O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do? Most hateful it is with Allaah that you say that which you do not do" [Quran, 61: 2-3]
Knowledge brings a great reward. The one who points the way to something good is like the one who does it. When the knowledgeable person dies, his reward with Allaah does not cease when he dies, rather it continues to increase so long as people benefit from his knowledge. The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said: "When a man dies, all his deeds come to an end except for three — an ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge or a righteous child who will pray for him." (Muslim)
On other side, a person without knowledge is like someone walking along a track in complete darkness. Most likely his steps will wander aside and Satan can easily deceive him. This shows that our greatest danger lies in our ignorance of Islamic teachings in the first place and in our unawareness of what the Quran teaches and what guidance has been given by the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ).
On the other hand, if we are blessed with the light of knowledge we will be able to see plainly the clear path of Islam at every step of our lives. We shall also be able to identify and avoid the dangerous paths of disbelief, Shirk (associating with Allaah) and immorality, which may cross it. And, whenever a false guide meets us on the way, a few words with him will quickly establish that he is not a guide who should be followed.
Knowledge is pursued and practiced with modesty and humility and leads to dignity, freedom and justice.
The main purpose of acquiring knowledge is to bring us closer to our Creator. It is not simply for the gratification of the mind or the senses. It is not knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Knowledge accordingly must be linked with values and goals.
One of the purposes of acquiring knowledge is to gain the good of this world, not to destroy it through wastage, arrogance and in the reckless pursuit of higher standards of material comfort.
Six etiquettes of learning
lbn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah may Allaah have mercy upon him said: "There are six stages to knowledge:
Firstly: Asking questions in a good manner.
Secondly: Remaining quiet and listening attentively.
Thirdly: Understanding well.
Fourthly: Memorising.
Fifthly Teaching.
Sixthly- and it is its fruit: Acting upon the knowledge and keeping to its limits."
Conclusion
According to Quranic perspective, knowledge is a prerequisite for the creation of a just world in which authentic peace can prevail. In the case of country’s disorder or war the Quran emphasizes the importance of the pursuit of learning, Allaah says (what means): "Nor should the believers all go forth together: if a contingent from every expedition remained behind, they could devote themselves to studies in religion, and admonish the people when they return to them - that thus they (may learn) to guard themselves (against evil)." [Quran, 19:122]
And the Prophet, may the peace & blessings of Allah be upon him, said: (Whoever goes out in the path to seek knowledge Allah will make easy for him the path to Paradise.) Muslim (2699)
And the Glorified and Most High says: {And it is not for the believers to go out to fight all together. Of every troop of them, a party only should go forth, that they may get instructions in religion, and that they may warn their people when they return to them, so that they may beware.} Soorat-ut-Tawbah: 122
Thus the paths to learning knowledge are abundant and to Allah is all praise. You can either register into the schools, institutes, and structured colleges where you study the religious curriculums based on Tawheed, Fiqh, Tafseer, Hadeeth, and the Arabic language. Indeed these institutes, colleges, and schools have good curriculums for the one whom Allah the Glorified and Most High grants success. And they have within them teachers who are more than competent.
You can also study in the study circles that occur in the Masaajid at the hands of the Scholars who sit with the people and teach them.
If there is not a Masjid close to you to study then go to another Masjid even if it is far and if there is a need to travel. Indeed the previous Scholars used to travel to seek knowledge on long journeys and in those times they did not have cars or planes. They only had the ability to walk or to ride on an animal despite the distance and alienation from their homelands despite this they were patient.
Knowledge is not obtained by mere hoping and easiness rather it deserves patience upon difficulty, reflection, and a pure intention.
Answer: All praise is for Allah, seeking knowledge is made easy:
{And We have indeed made the Quran easy to remember then is there any that will remember?} Soorat-ul-Qamar: 17
One of the distinctive features of Islam is its emphasis on knowledge. The Quran and the Islamic tradition (sunnah) invite Muslims to seek and acquire knowledge and wisdom and to hold men of knowledge in high esteem.
Generally speaking, the Arabic word for knowledge is 'ilm, which, in most cases, indicates to Islamic knowledge or matters related to Sheree’ah (Islamic Law). Although, some of the Quranic verses in this article refer to Islamic knowledge, yet they are general in their meaning, and thus can be used to refer to learning in general.
The importance of education is a none disputable matter. Education is the knowledge of putting one's potentials to maximum use. One can safely say that a human being is not in the proper sense till he/she is educated.
This importance of education is basically for two reasons. The first is that the training of a human mind is not complete without education. Education makes man a right thinker. It tells man how to think and how to make decision.
The second reason for the importance of education is that only through the attainment of education, man is enabled to receive information from the external world; to acquaint himself with past history and receive all necessary information regarding the present. Without education, man is as though in a closed room and with education he finds himself in a room with all its windows open towards the outside world.
This is why Islam attaches great importance to knowledge and education. When the Quran began to be revealed, the first word of its first verse was 'Iqra' that is, read. Allaah says, (what means): "Read! In the Name of your Lord Who has created (all that exists). He has created man from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood). Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous. Who has taught (the writing) by the pen. He has taught man that which he knew not" [Quran, 96: 1-5]
Education is thus the starting point of every human activity. Allaah created man and provided him with the tools for acquiring knowledge, namely hearing, sight and wisdom. Allaah says (what means): "And Allaah has brought you out from the wombs of your mothers while you know nothing. And He gave you hearing, sight, and hearts that you might give thanks (to Allaah)" [Quran, 16:78]
A knowledgeable person is accorded great respect in many prophetic narrations.
Because of the importance of knowledge, Allaah commanded His Messenger sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) to seek more of it. Allaah says (what means): "and say: `My Lord! Increase me in knowledge" [Quran, 20:114]
The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) made seeking knowledge an obligation upon every Muslim, and he sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) explained that the superiority of the one who has knowledge over the one who merely worships is like the superiority of the moon over every other heavenly body. He sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said that the scholars are the heirs of the Prophets and that the Prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention did not leave behind any money, rather their inheritance was knowledge, so whoever acquires it has gained a great share. Furthermore, the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said that seeking knowledge is a way leading to Paradise. He sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said: "Whoever follows a path in the pursuit of knowledge, Allaah will make a path to Paradise easy for him." (Al-Bukhaari)
For example the Quran repeatedly asks us to observe the earth and the heavens. This instills in man a desire to learn natural science as well. All the books of Hadeeth have a chapter on knowledge. In Saheeh Al-Bukhaari there is a chapter entitled "The virtue of one who acquires learning and imparts that to others."
Islam calls us to learn all kinds of beneficial knowledge. Branches of knowledge vary in status, the highest of which is knowledge of Sharee'ah (Islamic Law), then other fields of knowledge, such as medicine, etc.
This is the knowledge (Sharee'ah) with which Allaah honoured His Messenger sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ); He taught it to him sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) so that he might teach it to mankind: "Indeed, Allaah conferred a great favour on the believers when He sent among them a Messenger (Muhammad) from among themselves, reciting unto them His Verses (the Quran), and purifying them (from sins by their following him), and instructing them (in) the Book (the Quran) and Al-Hikmah [the wisdom and the Sunnah of the Prophet (i.e. his legal ways, statements and acts of worship)], while before that they had been in manifest error" [Quran, 3:164]
How great importance is attached to learning in Islam, can be understood from an event in the life of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ). At the battle of Badr in which the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) gained victory over his opponents, seventy people of the enemy rank were taken prisoner. These prisoners of war were literate people. In order to benefit from their education the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) declared that if one prisoner teaches ten Muslims how to read and write, this will serve as his ransom and he will be set free. We can freely say that this was the first school in the history of Islam established by the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) himself with all its teachers being non-Muslims. Furthermore, they were all war prisoners.
On the one hand Islam places great emphasis on learning, on the other, all those factors which are necessary to make progress in learning have been provided by Allaah. One of these special factors is the freedom of research. One example of it is that in Makkah, the birthplace of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) dates were not grown. Afterwards the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) migrated to Madeenah, the city of dates. One day the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) saw that some people were atop the date trees busy in doing something. On being asked what they were engaged in, they replied that they were pollinating.
The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) suggested them not to do so. The following year date yield was considerably very low. The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) enquired them of the reason. They told him that the date crop depended on pollination. Since he sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) suggested them to do otherwise, they had refrained from that. The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) then told them to go on doing as they used to, and that, "You know the worldly matters better than me." (Al-Bukhaari)
Also we should know that there is no goodness in knowledge which is not confirmed by actions or words which are not confirmed by deeds, Allaah the Almighty says (what means): "O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do? Most hateful it is with Allaah that you say that which you do not do" [Quran, 61: 2-3]
Knowledge brings a great reward. The one who points the way to something good is like the one who does it. When the knowledgeable person dies, his reward with Allaah does not cease when he dies, rather it continues to increase so long as people benefit from his knowledge. The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said: "When a man dies, all his deeds come to an end except for three — an ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge or a righteous child who will pray for him." (Muslim)
On other side, a person without knowledge is like someone walking along a track in complete darkness. Most likely his steps will wander aside and Satan can easily deceive him. This shows that our greatest danger lies in our ignorance of Islamic teachings in the first place and in our unawareness of what the Quran teaches and what guidance has been given by the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ).
On the other hand, if we are blessed with the light of knowledge we will be able to see plainly the clear path of Islam at every step of our lives. We shall also be able to identify and avoid the dangerous paths of disbelief, Shirk (associating with Allaah) and immorality, which may cross it. And, whenever a false guide meets us on the way, a few words with him will quickly establish that he is not a guide who should be followed.
Knowledge is pursued and practiced with modesty and humility and leads to dignity, freedom and justice.
The main purpose of acquiring knowledge is to bring us closer to our Creator. It is not simply for the gratification of the mind or the senses. It is not knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Knowledge accordingly must be linked with values and goals.
One of the purposes of acquiring knowledge is to gain the good of this world, not to destroy it through wastage, arrogance and in the reckless pursuit of higher standards of material comfort.
Six etiquettes of learning
lbn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah may Allaah have mercy upon him said: "There are six stages to knowledge:
Firstly: Asking questions in a good manner.
Secondly: Remaining quiet and listening attentively.
Thirdly: Understanding well.
Fourthly: Memorising.
Fifthly Teaching.
Sixthly- and it is its fruit: Acting upon the knowledge and keeping to its limits."
Conclusion
According to Quranic perspective, knowledge is a prerequisite for the creation of a just world in which authentic peace can prevail. In the case of country’s disorder or war the Quran emphasizes the importance of the pursuit of learning, Allaah says (what means): "Nor should the believers all go forth together: if a contingent from every expedition remained behind, they could devote themselves to studies in religion, and admonish the people when they return to them - that thus they (may learn) to guard themselves (against evil)." [Quran, 19:122]
And the Prophet, may the peace & blessings of Allah be upon him, said: (Whoever goes out in the path to seek knowledge Allah will make easy for him the path to Paradise.) Muslim (2699)
And the Glorified and Most High says: {And it is not for the believers to go out to fight all together. Of every troop of them, a party only should go forth, that they may get instructions in religion, and that they may warn their people when they return to them, so that they may beware.} Soorat-ut-Tawbah: 122
Thus the paths to learning knowledge are abundant and to Allah is all praise. You can either register into the schools, institutes, and structured colleges where you study the religious curriculums based on Tawheed, Fiqh, Tafseer, Hadeeth, and the Arabic language. Indeed these institutes, colleges, and schools have good curriculums for the one whom Allah the Glorified and Most High grants success. And they have within them teachers who are more than competent.
You can also study in the study circles that occur in the Masaajid at the hands of the Scholars who sit with the people and teach them.
If there is not a Masjid close to you to study then go to another Masjid even if it is far and if there is a need to travel. Indeed the previous Scholars used to travel to seek knowledge on long journeys and in those times they did not have cars or planes. They only had the ability to walk or to ride on an animal despite the distance and alienation from their homelands despite this they were patient.
Knowledge is not obtained by mere hoping and easiness rather it deserves patience upon difficulty, reflection, and a pure intention.
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