قُوتُ الْقُلُوبِ فِي مُعَامَلَةِ الْمَحْبُوبِ وَوَصْفِ طَرِيقِ الْمُرِيدِ إِلَى مَقَامِ التَّوْحِيدِ
Qūtu al-qulūbi fī muʿāmalati al-maḥbūbi wa-waṣfi ṭarīqi al-murīdi ʾilā maqāmi al-tawḥīdi
Nourishment for Hearts in Dealings with the Beloved and a Description of the Seeker’s Path to the Station of Divine Oneness
Chapter 31
الْعِلْمُ وَفَضْلُهُ وَصِفَاتُ الْعُلَمَاءِ
Al-ʿilmu wa-faḍluhu wa-ṣifātu al-ʿulamāʾi
Knowledge, Its Merits, and the Qualities of Scholars
الْفَصْلُ الْحَادِي وَالثَّلَاثُونَ فِيهِ كِتَابُ الْعِلْمِ وَتَفْضِيلِهِ وَأَوْصَافِ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَذِكْرِ فَضْلِ عِلْمِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ عَلَى سَائِرِ الْعُلُومِ وَكَشْفِ طُرُقِ الْعُلَمَاءِ مِنَ السَّلَفِ الصَّالِحِ وَذِكْرِ بَيَانِ تَفْضِيلِ عُلُومِ الصَّمْتِ وَطَرِيقِ الْوَرِعِينَ فِي الْعِلْمِ وَالْفَرْقِ بَيْنَ الْعِلْمِ الظَّاهِرِ وَالْبَاطِنِ وَبَيْنَ عُلَمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ وَفَضْلِ أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ عَلَى عُلَمَاءِ الظَّاهِرِ وَذِكْرِ عُلَمَاءِ السُّوءِ الْآكِلِينَ
al-faṣlu al-ḥādī wa-al-thalāthūna fīhi kitābu al-ʿilmi watafḍīlihi waʾawṣāfi al-ʿulamāʾi wadhikri faḍli ʿilmi al-maʿrifati ʿalā sāʾiri al-ʿulūmi wakashfi ṭuruqi al-ʿulamāʾi mina al-salafi al-ṣāliḥi wadhikri bayāni tafḍīli ʿulūmi al-ṣamti waṭarīqi al-wariʿīna fī al-ʿilmi wa-al-farqi bayna al-ʿilmi al-ẓāhiri wa-al-bāṭini wabayna ʿulamāʾi al-dunyā wa-al-ʾākhirati wafaḍli ʾahli al-maʿrifati ʿalā ʿulamāʾi al-ẓāhiri wadhikri ʿulamāʾi al-sūʾi al-ʾākilīna
Chapter Thirty-One: The Book of Knowledge, Its Excellence, and the Qualities of Scholars; the Excellence of Knowledge of God over All Other Sciences; an Exposition of the Ways of Scholars among the Righteous Predecessors; an Explanation of the Excellence of the Sciences of Silence and the Way of the Scrupulous in Knowledge; the Difference between Outward and Inward Knowledge and between Scholars of This World and the Hereafter; the Excellence of Those Who Know God over Scholars of Outward Knowledge; and the Corrupt Scholars Who Consume
بِعُلُومِهِمُ الدُّنْيَا وَوَصْفِ الْعِلْمِ وَطَرِيقِ التَّعْلِيمِ وَذَمِّ مَا أَحْدَثَهُ الْمُتَأَخِّرُونَ مِنَ الْقَصَصِ وَالْكَلَامِ وَبَابِ ذِكْرِ مَا أَحْدَثَ النَّاسُ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَالْفِعْلِ فِيمَا بَيْنَهُمْ مِمَّا لَمْ يَكُنْ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَفُ وَبَيَانِ فَضْلِ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْيَقِينِ عَلَى سَائِرِ الْعُلُومِ وَالتَّحْذِيرِ مِنَ الرَّأْيِ
biʿulūmihimu al-dunyā wawaṣfi al-ʿilmi waṭarīqi al-taʿlīmi wadhammi mā ʾaḥdathahu al-mutaʾakhkhirūna mina al-qaṣaṣi wa-al-kalāmi wabābi dhikri mā ʾaḥdatha al-nāsu mina al-qawli wa-al-fiʿli fīmā baynahum mimmā lam yakun ʿalayhi al-salafu wabayāni faḍli al-ʾīmāni wa-al-yaqīni ʿalā sāʾiri al-ʿulūmi wa-al-taḥdhīri mina al-raʾyi
the World through Their Learning; the Nature of Knowledge and the Way of Teaching; the Condemnation of the Storytelling and Speculative Discourse Introduced by Later Generations; a Section on the Words and Deeds People Have Introduced among Themselves That Were Not the Practice of the Predecessors; the Excellence of Faith and Certainty over All Other Sciences; and a Warning against Personal Opinion
. وَذِكْرِ مَعْنَى قَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ الْآخَرِ اُطْلُبُوا الْعِلْمَ وَلَوْ بِالصِّينِ فَإِنَّ طَلَبَ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ ، قَالَ عَالِمُنَا أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ : أَرَادَ بِذَلِكَ عِلْمَ حَالٍ يَعْنِي عِلْمَ حَالِ الْعَبْدِ مِنْ مَقَامِهِ الَّذِي أُقِيمَ فِيهِ بِأَنْ يَعْلَمَ أَحَدُكُمْ حَالَهُ الَّذِي بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي دُنْيَاهُ
. wadhikri maʿnā qawli al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ṭalabu al-ʿilmi farīḍatun ʿalā kulli muslimin wafī al-ḥadīthi al-ʾākhari uṭlubū al-ʿilma walaw bi-al-ṣīni faʾinna ṭalaba al-ʿilmi farīḍatun ʿalā kulli muslimin , qāla ʿālimunā ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun raḥimahu allāhu: ʾarāda bidhālika ʿilma ḥālin yaʿnī ʿilma ḥāli al-ʿabdi min maqāmihi alladhī ʾuqīma fīhi biʾan yaʿlama ʾaḥadukum ḥālahu alladhī baynahu wabayna allāhi ʿazza wajalla fī dunyāhu
And an explanation of the Prophet’s words, God bless him and grant him peace: “Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim”; and, in the other report, “Seek knowledge even in China, for seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim.” Our teacher Abū Muḥammad Sahl, God have mercy on him, said: “He meant knowledge of one’s state,” meaning knowledge of the servant’s state in the station in which he has been placed: that each of you should know his particular state in relation to God, mighty and majestic, in this world
وَآخِرَتِهِ خَاصَّةً فَيَقُومَ بِأَحْكَامِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ فِي ذَلِكَ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ مَعْنَاهُ طَلَبُ عِلْمِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَقِيَامُ الْعَبْدِ بِحُكْمِ سَاعَتِهِ وَمَا يَقْتَضِي مِنْهُ فِي كُلِّ سَاعَةٍ مِنْ نَهَارِهِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَاءِ الشَّامِ إِنَّمَا عَنَى بِهِ طَلَبَ عِلْمِ الْإِخْلَاصِ وَمَعْرِفَةِ آفَاتِ النَّفْسِ وَوَسَاوِسِهَا وَمَعْرِفَةِ مَكَايِدِ الْعَدُوِّ وَخُدَعِهِ وَغُرُورِهِ وَمَا يُصْلِحُ الْأَعْمَالَ وَيُفْسِدُهَا فَرِيضَةٌ كُلُّهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ
waʾākhiratihi khāṣṣatan fayaqūma biʾaḥkāmi allāhi taʿālā ʿalayhi fī dhālika , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna maʿnāhu ṭalabu ʿilmi al-maʿrifati waqiyāmu al-ʿabdi biḥukmi sāʿatihi wamā yaqtaḍī minhu fī kulli sāʿatin min nahārihi , waqāla baʿḍu ʿulamāʾi al-shāmi ʾinnamā ʿanā bihi ṭalaba ʿilmi al-ʾikhlāṣi wamaʿrifati ʾāfāti al-nafsi wawasāwisihā wamaʿrifati makāyidi al-ʿaduwwi wakhudaʿihi waghurūrihi wamā yuṣliḥu al-ʾaʿmāla wayufsiduhā farīḍatun kulluhu min ḥaythu
and the hereafter, so that he fulfills the rulings God Most High lays upon him in that respect. Some who know God said: “It means seeking knowledge of God and the servant’s fulfillment of the duty of his present hour, and what it requires of him in every hour of his day.” Some scholars of Syria said: “He meant seeking knowledge of sincerity, knowing the self’s faults and whisperings, knowing the enemy’s schemes, tricks, and deception, and knowing what makes deeds sound or corrupt: all this is obligatory, since
كَانَ الْإِخْلَاصُ فِي الْأَعْمَالِ فَرِيضَةً وَمِنْ حَيْثُ أَعْلَمَ بِعَدَاوَةِ إِبْلِيسَ ثُمَّ أَمَرَ بِمُعَادَاتِهِ وَذَهَبَ إِلَى هَذَا الْقَوْلِ عَبْدُ الرَّحِيمِ ابْنُ يَحْيَى الْأَرْمَوِيُّ وَمَنْ تَابَعَهُ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْبَصْرِيِّينَ فِي مَعْنَاهُ : طَلَبُ عِلْمِ الْقُلُوبِ وَمَعْرِفَةِ الْخَوَاطِرِ وَتَفْصِيلِهَا فَرِيضَةٌ لِأَنَّهَا رُسُلُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى إِلَى الْعَبْدِ وَوَسْوَاسُ الْعَدُوِّ وَالنَّفْسِ فَيَسْتَجِيبَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى بِتَنْفِيذِ مَا مِنْهُ إِلَيْهِ وَمِنْهَا
kāna al-ʾikhlāṣu fī al-ʾaʿmāli farīḍatan wamin ḥaythu ʾaʿlama biʿadāwati ʾiblīsa thumma ʾamara bimuʿādātihi wadhahaba ʾilā hādhā al-qawli ʿabdu al-raḥīmi ibnu yaḥyā al-ʾarmawiyyu waman tābaʿahu , waqāla baʿḍu al-baṣriyyīna fī maʿnāhu: ṭalabu ʿilmi al-qulūbi wamaʿrifati al-khawāṭiri watafṣīlihā farīḍatun liʾannahā rusulu allāhi taʿālā ʾilā al-ʿabdi wawaswāsu al-ʿaduwwi wa-al-nafsi fayastajība lillāhi taʿālā bitanfīdhi mā minhu ʾilayhi waminhā
sincerity in deeds is obligatory, and since God has made Iblīs’s enmity known and then commanded opposition to him.” ʿAbd al-Raḥīm ibn Yaḥyā al-Armawī and his followers adopted this view. Some Basrans explained it as follows: “Seeking knowledge of hearts and of passing thoughts, and distinguishing among them, is obligatory, for these are God Most High’s messengers to the servant, or the whispering of the enemy and the self. The servant should therefore respond to God Most High by carrying out what comes from Him; and some thoughts are
ابْتِلَاءُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِلْعَبْدِ وَاخْتِبَارٌ تَقْتَضِيهِ مُجَاهَدَةُ نَفْسِهِ فِي نَفْيِهَا وَلِأَنَّهَا أَوَّلُ النِّيَّةِ الَّتِي هِيَ أَوَّلُ كُلِّ عَمَلٍ وَعَنْهَا تَظْهَرُ الْأَفْعَالُ وَعَلَى قَدْرِهَا تُضَاعَفُ الْأَعْمَالُ فَيَحْتَاجُ أَنْ يُفَرِّقَ بَيْنَ لَمَّةِ الْمَلَكِ وَلَمَّةِ الْعَدُوِّ وَبَيْنَ خَاطِرِ الرُّوحِ وَوَسْوَسَةِ النَّفْسِ وَبَيْنَ عِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ وَقَوَادِحِ الْعَقْلِ لِيُمَيِّزَ بِذَلِكَ الْأَحْكَامَ ،
ibtilāʾu allāhi taʿālā lilʿabdi wakhtibārun taqtaḍīhi mujāhadatu nafsihi fī nafyihā waliʾannahā ʾawwalu al-niyyati allatī hiya ʾawwalu kulli ʿamalin waʿanhā taẓharu al-ʾafʿālu waʿalā qadrihā tuḍāʿafu al-ʾaʿmālu fayaḥtāju ʾan yufarriqa bayna lammati al-malaki walammati al-ʿaduwwi wabayna khāṭiri al-rūḥi wawaswasati al-nafsi wabayna ʿilmi al-yaqīni waqawādiḥi al-ʿaqli liyumayyiza bidhālika al-ʾaḥkāma ,
God Most High’s trial of the servant and a test involving his struggle against his self to reject them. They are also the beginning of intention, which is the beginning of every deed: actions emerge from intention, and deeds are multiplied in proportion to it. He therefore needs to distinguish the angel’s prompting from the enemy’s prompting, the spirit’s thought from the self’s whispering, and the knowledge of certainty from the sparks of reason, so that he can distinguish the rulings that apply.”
وَهَذَا عِنْدَ هَؤُلَاءِ فَرِيضَةٌ وَهُوَ مَذْهَبُ مَالِكِ بْنِ دِينَارٍ وَفَرْقَدَ السَّنْجِيِّ وَعَبْدِ الْوَاحِدِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ وَأَتْبَاعِهِمْ مِنَ النُّسَّاكِ وَقَدْ كَانَ أُسْتَاذُهُمُ الْحَسَنُ الْبَصْرِيُّ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِي ذَلِكَ وَعَنْهُ حَمَلُوا عُلُومَ الْقُلُوبِ ،
wahādhā ʿinda hāʾulāʾi farīḍatun wahuwa madhhabu māliki bni dīnārin wafarqada al-sanjiyyi waʿabdi al-wāḥidi bni zaydin waʾatbāʿihim mina al-nussāki waqad kāna ʾustādhuhumu al-ḥasanu al-baṣriyyu yatakallamu fī dhālika waʿanhu ḥamalū ʿulūma al-qulūbi ,
According to these scholars, this is an obligation. It is the position of Mālik ibn Dīnār, Farqad al-Sanjī, ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Zayd, and their followers among the ascetics. Their teacher al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī used to discuss this, and it was from him that they received the sciences of the heart.
وَقَالَ عُبَّادُ أَهْلِ الشَّامِ مَعْنَاهُ طَلَبُ عِلْمِ
waqāla ʿubbādu ʾahli al-shāmi maʿnāhu ṭalabu ʿilmi
The devout worshippers of Syria said: “It means that seeking knowledge of
الْحَلَالِ فَرِيضَةٌ إِذْ قَدْ أَمَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهِ وَأَجْمَعَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ عَلَى تَفْسِيقِ آكِلِ الْحَرَامِ ، وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي خَبَرٍ مُفَسَّرٍ طَلَبُ الْحَلَالِ فَرِيضَةٌ بَعْدَ الْفَرِيضَةِ وَمَالَ إِلَى هَذَا الْقَوْلِ إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ أَدْهَمَ وَيُوسُفُ بْنُ أَسْبَاطٍ وَوُهَيْبُ بْنُ الْوَرْدِ وَحَبِيبُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ . وَقَالَ بَعْضُ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ : مَعْنَاهُ طَلَبُ عِلْمِ الْبَاطِنِ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى أَهْلِهِ قَالُوا وَهَذَا مَخْصُوصٌ
al-ḥalāli farīḍatun ʾidh qad ʾamara allāhu taʿālā bihi waʾajmaʿa al-muslimūna ʿalā tafsīqi ʾākili al-ḥarāmi , waqad jāʾa fī khabarin mufassarin ṭalabu al-ḥalāli farīḍatun baʿda al-farīḍati wamāla ʾilā hādhā al-qawli ʾibrāhīmu bnu ʾadhama wayūsufu bnu ʾasbāṭin wawuhaybu bnu al-wardi waḥabību bnu ḥarbin. waqāla baʿḍu hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati min ʾahli al-maʿrifati: maʿnāhu ṭalabu ʿilmi al-bāṭini farīḍatun ʿalā ʾahlihi qālū wahādhā makhṣūṣun
what is lawful is obligatory, since God Most High has commanded it and Muslims agree in judging whoever consumes what is unlawful to be sinful.” An explanatory report states: “Seeking what is lawful is an obligation after the obligation.” Ibrāhīm ibn Adham, Yūsuf ibn Asbāṭ, Wuhayb ibn al-Ward, and Ḥabīb ibn Ḥarb inclined to this view. Some of this company who knew God said: “It means that seeking inward knowledge is an obligation upon its people.” They said: “This applies specifically
لِأَهْلِ الْقُلُوبِ مِمَّنِ اسْتُعْمِلَ بِهِ وَاقْتُضِيَ مِنْهُ دُونَ غَيْرِهِ مِنْ عَوَامِّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَلِأَنَّهُ جَاءَ فِي لَفْظِ الْحَدِيثِ : تَعَلَّمُوا الْيَقِينَ فَمَعْنَاهُ اطْلُبُوا عِلْمَ الْيَقِينِ وَعِلْمُ الْيَقِينِ لَا يُوجَدُ إِلَّا عِنْدَ الْمُوقِنِينَ وَهُوَ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْمُوقِنِينَ الْمَخْصُوصُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْعَارِفِينَ وَهُوَ الْعِلْمُ النَّافِعُ الَّذِي هُوَ حَالُ الْعَبْدِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَمَقَامُهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى كَمَا شَهِدَ لَهُ
liʾahli al-qulūbi mimmani ustuʿmila bihi waqtuḍiya minhu dūna ghayrihi min ʿawāmmi al-muslimīna waliʾannahu jāʾa fī lafẓi al-ḥadīthi: taʿallamū al-yaqīna famaʿnāhu uṭlubū ʿilma al-yaqīni waʿilmu al-yaqīni lā yūjadu ʾillā ʿinda al-mūqinīna wahuwa min ʾaʿmāli al-mūqinīna al-makhṣūṣu fī qulūbi al-ʿārifīna wahuwa al-ʿilmu al-nāfiʿu alladhī huwa ḥālu al-ʿabdi ʿinda allāhi taʿālā wamaqāmuhu mina allāhi taʿālā kamā shahida lahu
to people of the heart who have been put to work through it and from whom it is required, rather than to the other ordinary Muslims. For the report says, ‘Learn certainty,’ meaning, ‘Seek the knowledge of certainty.’ The knowledge of certainty is found only among those who possess certainty. It belongs to the practices of those certain ones, particular to the hearts of those who know God. It is the beneficial knowledge that constitutes the servant’s state before God Most High and his station with God Most High, as is attested by
الْخَبَرُ الْآخَرُ فِي قَوْلِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : وَعِلْمٌ بَاطِنٌ فِي الْقَلْبِ وَهُوَ الْعِلْمُ النَّافِعُ فَهَذَا تَفْسِيرُ مَا أُجْمِلَ فِي غَيْرِهِ ، وَقَالَ جُنْدُبٌ : كُنَّا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَيُعَلِّمُنَا الْإِيمَانَ ثُمَّ يُعَلِّمُنَا الْقُرْآنَ فَازْدَدْنَا إِيمَانًا وَسَيَأْتِي زَمَانُ قَوْمٍ يَتَعَلَّمُونَ الْقُرْآنَ قَبْلَ الْإِيمَانِ يَعْنِي تَعَلَّمْنَا عِلْمَ الْإِيمَانِ وَهَذَا مَذْهَبُ نُسَّاكِ أَهْلِ الْبَصْرَةِ ،
al-khabaru al-ʾākharu fī qawlihi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: waʿilmun bāṭinun fī al-qalbi wahuwa al-ʿilmu al-nāfiʿu fahādhā tafsīru mā ʾujmila fī ghayrihi , waqāla jundubun: kunnā maʿa rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fayuʿallimunā al-ʾīmāna thumma yuʿallimunā al-qurʾāna fazdadnā ʾīmānan wasayaʾtī zamānu qawmin yataʿallamūna al-qurʾāna qabla al-ʾīmāni yaʿnī taʿallamnā ʿilma al-ʾīmāni wahādhā madhhabu nussāki ʾahli al-baṣrati ,
the other report, in his words, God bless him and grant him peace: ‘And inward knowledge in the heart, which is beneficial knowledge.’ This explains what was left general elsewhere.” Jundub said: “We were with God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace. He would teach us faith and then teach us the Qurʾān, and our faith increased. A time will come when people learn the Qurʾān before faith.” That is, we learned the knowledge of faith. This is the position of the ascetics of Basra.
وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ : إِنَّمَا مَعْنَاهُ طَلَبُ عِلْمِ مَا لَمْ يَسَعْ جَهْلُهُ مِنْ عِلْمِ التَّوْحِيدِ وَأُصُولِ الْأَمْرِ وَالنَّهْيِ ، وَالْفَرْقِ بَيْنَ الْحَلَالِ وَالْحَرَامِ إِذْ لَا غَايَةَ لِسَائِرِ الْعُلُومِ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ وَكُلُّهَا يَقَعُ عَلَيْهِ اسْمُ عِلْمٍ مِنْ حَيْثُ هِيَ مَعْلُومَاتٌ ثُمَّ قَدْ أَجْمَعُوا أَنَّ لَيْسَ تَعْلِيمُ مَا زَادَ عَلَى مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ فَرْضًا وَإِنَّمَا فِيهِ فَضْلٌ أَوْ نَدْبٌ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ فُقَهَاءِ الْكُوفَةِ :
waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: ʾinnamā maʿnāhu ṭalabu ʿilmi mā lam yasaʿ jahluhu min ʿilmi al-tawḥīdi waʾuṣūli al-ʾamri wa-al-nahyi , wa-al-farqi bayna al-ḥalāli wa-al-ḥarāmi ʾidh lā ghāyata lisāʾiri al-ʿulūmi baʿda dhālika wakulluhā yaqaʿu ʿalayhi ismu ʿilmin min ḥaythu hiya maʿlūmātun thumma qad ʾajmaʿū ʾanna laysa taʿlīmu mā zāda ʿalā mā dhakarnāhu farḍan waʾinnamā fīhi faḍlun ʾaw nadbun , waqāla baʿḍu fuqahāʾi al-kūfati:
Some of the predecessors said: “It means seeking knowledge of what one may not remain ignorant of: knowledge of divine oneness, the principles of commands and prohibitions, and the distinction between what is lawful and unlawful. Beyond these, there is no limit to the other sciences. They all fall under the name ‘knowledge’ insofar as they are things known. Yet they agree that teaching anything beyond what we have mentioned is not obligatory; it is simply meritorious or recommended.” Some jurists of Kufa said:
مَعْنَاهُ طَلَبُ عِلْمِ الْبَيْعِ وَالشِّرَاءِ وَالنِّكَاحِ وَالطَّلَاقِ وَإِذَا أَرَادَ الدُّخُولَ فِيهِ افْتُرِضَ عَلَيْهِ مَعَ دُخُولِهِ فِي ذَلِكَ طَلَبُ عِلْمِهِ لِقَوْلِ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : لَا يَتَّجِرْ فِي سُوقِنَا هَذَا إِلَّا مَنْ تَفَقَّهَ وَإِلَّا أَكَلَ الرِّبَا شَاءَ أَمْ أَبَى وَكَمَا قِيلَ تَفَقَّهْ ثُمَّ اتَّجِرْ وَمَالَ إِلَى هَذَا سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ وَأَبُو حَنِيفَةَ وَأَصْحَابُهُمَا ،
maʿnāhu ṭalabu ʿilmi al-bayʿi wa-al-shirāʾi wa-al-nikāḥi wa-al-ṭalāqi waʾidhā ʾarāda al-dukhūla fīhi ufturiḍa ʿalayhi maʿa dukhūlihi fī dhālika ṭalabu ʿilmihi liqawli ʿumara bni al-khaṭṭābi raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: lā yattajir fī sūqinā hādhā ʾillā man tafaqqaha waʾillā ʾakala al-ribā shāʾa ʾam ʾabā wakamā qīla tafaqqah thumma ittajir wamāla ʾilā hādhā sufyānu al-thawriyyu waʾabū ḥanīfata waʾaṣḥābuhumā ,
“It means seeking knowledge of buying and selling, marriage and divorce. When someone intends to undertake one of these, seeking knowledge of it becomes obligatory as he enters into it. For ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, God be pleased with him, said: ‘No one may trade in this market of ours unless he has learned the law; otherwise he will consume usury, whether he wishes to or not.’ As it is also said: ‘Learn the law, then trade.’” Sufyān al-Thawrī, Abū Ḥanīfa, and their followers inclined to this view.
وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْمُتَقَدِّمِينَ مِنْ عُلَمَاءِ خُرَاسَانَ : هُوَ أَنْ يَكُونَ الرَّجُلُ فِي مَنْزِلِهِ فَيُرِيدَ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ شَيْئًا مِنْ أَمْرِ الدِّينِ أَوْ يَخْطُرَ عَلَى قَلْبِهِ مَسْأَلَةٌ لِلَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فِيهَا حُكْمٌ وَتَعَبُّدٌ وَعَلَى الْعَبْدِ فِي ذَلِكَ اعْتِقَادٌ أَوْ عَمَلٌ فَلَا يَسَعُهُ أَنْ يَسْكُتَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ وَلَا يَجُوزُ لَهُ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ فِيهِ بِرَأْيِهِ وَلَا يَحْكُمَ بِهَوَاهُ فَعَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَلْبَسَ نَعْلَيْهِ وَيَخْرُجَ فَيَسْأَلَ عَنْ أَعْلَمِ أَهْلِ
waqāla baʿḍu al-mutaqaddimīna min ʿulamāʾi khurāsāna: huwa ʾan yakūna al-rajulu fī manzilihi fayurīda ʾan yaʿmala shayʾan min ʾamri al-dīni ʾaw yakhṭura ʿalā qalbihi masʾalatun lillāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā fīhā ḥukmun wataʿabbudun waʿalā al-ʿabdi fī dhālika iʿtiqādun ʾaw ʿamalun falā yasaʿuhu ʾan yaskuta ʿalā dhālika walā yajūzu lahu ʾan yaʿmala fīhi biraʾyihi walā yaḥkuma bihawāhu faʿalayhi ʾan yalbasa naʿlayhi wayakhruja fayasʾala ʿan ʾaʿlami ʾahli
Some early scholars of Khurasan said: “It is when a man is at home and wishes to do something concerning religion, or a question occurs to his heart about which God, glorified and exalted, has a ruling and a demand of worship, and which requires some belief or action from the servant. He may not remain silent about it, act on his own opinion, or judge according to his desire. He must put on his sandals, go out, and ask for the most knowledgeable person in
بَلَدِهِ فَيَسْأَلَهُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ عِنْدَ النَّازِلَةِ فَهَذَا فَرِيضَةٌ وَحُكِيَ هَذَا الْقَوْلُ عَنِ ابْنِ الْمُبَارَكِ وَبَعْضِ أَصْحَابِ الْحَدِيثِ . وَقَالَ آخَرُونَ : يَعْنِي طَلَبُ عِلْمِ التَّوْحِيدِ فَرْضٌ وَإِنَّمَا اخْتَلَفُوا فِي كَيْفِيَّةِ الطَّلَبِ وَمَاهِيَّةِ الْإِصَابَةِ ، فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَالَ مِنْ طَرِيقِ الِاسْتِدْلَالِ وَالِاعْتِبَارِ ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَالَ مِنْ طَرِيقِ الْبَحْثِ وَالنَّظَرِ ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَالَ مِنْ طَرِيقِ التَّوْفِيقِ وَالْأَثَرِ ،
baladihi fayasʾalahu ʿan dhālika ʿinda al-nāzilati fahādhā farīḍatun waḥukiya hādhā al-qawlu ʿani ibni al-mubāraki wabaʿḍi ʾaṣḥābi al-ḥadīthi. waqāla ʾākharūna: yaʿnī ṭalabu ʿilmi al-tawḥīdi farḍun waʾinnamā ikhtalafū fī kayfiyyati al-ṭalabi wamāhiyyati al-ʾiṣābati , faminhum man qāla min ṭarīqi al-istidlāli wa-al-iʿtibāri , waminhum man qāla min ṭarīqi al-baḥthi wa-al-naẓari , waminhum man qāla min ṭarīqi al-tawfīqi wa-al-ʾathari ,
his town and question him about that matter when the situation arises. This is obligatory.” This view was related from Ibn al-Mubārak and some transmitters of hadith. Others said: “It means that seeking knowledge of divine oneness is obligatory.” They differed only over how to seek it and what constitutes arriving at the truth. Some said it is through inference and reflection; others, through inquiry and examination; and others, through divine enablement and transmitted reports.
وَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ هَؤُلَاءِ : إِنَّمَا أَرَادَ طَلَبَ عِلْمِ الشُّبُهَاتِ وَالْمُشْكِلَاتِ إِذَا سَمِعَهَا الْعَبْدُ وَابْتُلِيَ بِهَا وَقَدْ كَانَ يَسَعُهُ تَرْكُ الطَّلَبِ إِذَا كَانَ غَافِلًا عَنْهَا عَلَى أَصْلِ التَّسْلِيمِ وَمُعْتَقَدِ جُمْلَةِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ لَا يَقَعُ فِي وَهْمِهِ وَلَا يَحِيكُ فِي صَدْرِهِ شَيْءٌ مِنَ الشُّبُهَاتِ فَيَسَعُهُ تَرْكُ الْبَحْثِ فَإِذَا وَقَعَ فِي سَمْعِهِ شَيْءٌ مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَوَقَرَ فِي
waqālat ṭāʾifatun min hāʾulāʾi: ʾinnamā ʾarāda ṭalaba ʿilmi al-shubuhāti wa-al-mushkilāti ʾidhā samiʿahā al-ʿabdu wabtuliya bihā waqad kāna yasaʿuhu tarku al-ṭalabi ʾidhā kāna ghāfilan ʿanhā ʿalā ʾaṣli al-taslīmi wamuʿtaqadi jumlati al-muslimīna lā yaqaʿu fī wahmihi walā yaḥīku fī ṣadrihi shayʾun mina al-shubuhāti fayasaʿuhu tarku al-baḥthi faʾidhā waqaʿa fī samʿihi shayʾun min dhālika wawaqara fī
A group of these scholars said: “He meant seeking knowledge of doubts and difficult questions when the servant hears them and is tested by them. He may forgo the search while unaware of them, remaining with the foundation of submission and the belief of the Muslim community, when no doubt enters his thoughts or troubles his breast. He may then refrain from investigation. But if something of this kind reaches his hearing and becomes lodged in
قَلْبِهِ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ عِنْدَهُ تَفْصِيلُ ذَلِكَ وَقَطْعُهُ وَمَعْرِفَةُ تَمْيِيزِ حَقِّهِ مِنْ بَاطِلِهِ لَمْ يَحِلَّ لَهُ أَنْ يَسْكُتَ عَلَيْهِ لِئَلَّا يَعْتَقِدَ بَاطِلًا أَوْ يَنْفِيَ حَقًّا فَافْتُرِضَ عَلَيْهِ طَلَبُ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ بِهِ فَيَسْتَكْشِفَهُ حَتَّى يَكُونَ عَلَى الْيَقِينِ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ فَيَعْتَقِدَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الْحَقَّ وَيَنْفِيَ الْبَاطِلَ وَلَا يَقْعُدَ عَنِ الطَّلَبِ فَيَكُونَ مُقِيمًا عَلَى شُبْهَةٍ فَيَتَّبِعَ الْهَوَى أَوْ يَكُونَ شَاكًّا فِي الدِّينِ فَيَعْدِلَ عَنْ
qalbihi walam yakun ʿindahu tafṣīlu dhālika waqaṭʿuhu wamaʿrifatu tamyīzi ḥaqqihi min bāṭilihi lam yaḥilla lahu ʾan yaskuta ʿalayhi liʾallā yaʿtaqida bāṭilan ʾaw yanfiya ḥaqqan fafturiḍa ʿalayhi ṭalabu dhālika mina al-ʿulamāʾi bihi fayastakshifahu ḥattā yakūna ʿalā al-yaqīni min ʾamrihi fayaʿtaqida min dhālika al-ḥaqqa wayanfiya al-bāṭila walā yaqʿuda ʿani al-ṭalabi fayakūna muqīman ʿalā shubhatin fayattabiʿa al-hawā ʾaw yakūna shākkan fī al-dīni fayaʿdila ʿan
his heart, and he lacks an explanation that settles it and the knowledge to distinguish its truth from its falsehood, he may not remain silent about it, lest he believe something false or deny something true. He must seek this knowledge from scholars acquainted with it and ask them to clarify it until he is certain about the matter, believing what is true and rejecting what is false. He must not refrain from seeking and thus remain under a doubt, following desire, or become doubtful about religion and turn away from
طَرِيقِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَوْ يَعْتَقِدَ بِدْعَةً فَيَخْرُجَ بِذَلِكَ عَنِ السُّنَّةِ وَمَذْهَبِ الْجَمَاعَةِ وَهُوَ لَا يَعْلَمُ ، وَلِهَذَا الْمَعْنَى كَانَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ فِي دُعَائِهِ : اللَّهُمَّ أَرِنَا الْحَقَّ حَقًّا فَنَتَّبِعَهُ وَأَرِنَا الْبَاطِلَ بَاطِلًا فَنَجْتَنِبَهُ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ ذَلِكَ مُتَشَابِهًا عَلَيْنَا فَنَتَّبِعَ الْهَوَى ، وَهَذَا مَذْهَبُ أَبِي ثَوْرٍ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ خَالِدٍ الْكَلْبِيِّ وَدَاوُدَ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ وَالْحُسَيْنِ
ṭarīqi al-muʾminīna ʾaw yaʿtaqida bidʿatan fayakhruja bidhālika ʿani al-sunnati wamadhhabi al-jamāʿati wahuwa lā yaʿlamu , walihādhā al-maʿnā kāna ʾabū bakrin al-ṣiddīqu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu fī duʿāʾihi: allāhumma ʾarinā al-ḥaqqa ḥaqqan fanattabiʿahu waʾarinā al-bāṭila bāṭilan fanajtanibahu walā tajʿal dhālika mutashābihan ʿalaynā fanattabiʿa al-hawā , wahādhā madhhabu ʾabī thawrin ʾibrāhīma bni khālidin al-kalbiyyi wadāwuda bni ʿaliyyin wa-al-ḥusayni
the believers’ path, or adopt an innovation and thereby unknowingly depart from the Sunna and the way of the community.” This is why Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, God be pleased with him, used to say in his prayer: “O God, show us truth as truth so that we follow it, and show us falsehood as falsehood so that we avoid it. Do not make the two confused for us, lest we follow desire.” This is the position of Abū Thawr Ibrāhīm ibn Khālid al-Kalbī, Dāwūd ibn ʿAlī, al-Ḥusayn
الْكَرَابِيسِيِّ وَالْحَٰرِثِ بْنِ أَسَدٍ الْمُحَاسِبِيِّ وَمَنْ تَابَعَهُمْ مِنَ الْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ ، فَهَذِهِ أَقْوَالُ الْعُلَمَاءِ فِي مَعْنَى هَذَا الْخَبَرِ : حَكَيْنَا ذَلِكَ عَنْ عِلْمِنَا بِمَذَاهِبِهِمْ عَلَى مَعْنَى مَذْهَبِ كُلِّ طَائِفَةٍ وَاحْتَجَجْنَا لِكُلِّ قَوْلٍ ، فَالْأَلْفَاظُ لَنَا وَالْمَعْنَى لَهُمْ وَهَذَا كُلُّهُ حَسَنٌ وَمُحْتَمَلٌ وَهَؤُلَاءِ كُلُّهُمْ وَإِنِ اخْتَلَفُوا فِي تَفْسِيرِ الْحَدِيثِ بِأَلْفَاظٍ فَإِنَّهُمْ مُتَقَارِبُونَ فِي الْمَعْنَى إِلَّا أَهْلَ
al-karābīsiyyi wa-al-ḥārithi bni ʾasadin al-muḥāsibiyyi waman tābaʿahum mina al-mutakallimīna , fahādhihi ʾaqwālu al-ʿulamāʾi fī maʿnā hādhā al-khabari: ḥakaynā dhālika ʿan ʿilminā bimadhāhibihim ʿalā maʿnā madhhabi kulli ṭāʾifatin waḥtajajnā likulli qawlin , fa-al-ʾalfāẓu lanā wa-al-maʿnā lahum wahādhā kulluhu ḥasanun wamuḥtamalun wahāʾulāʾi kulluhum waʾini ikhtalafū fī tafsīri al-ḥadīthi biʾalfāẓin faʾinnahum mutaqāribūna fī al-maʿnā ʾillā ʾahla
al-Karābīsī, al-Ḥārith ibn Asad al-Muḥāsibī, and the speculative theologians who followed them. These are the scholars’ statements about the meaning of this report. We have related them from our knowledge of their positions, conveying the meaning of each group’s position, and have argued for each statement. The wording is ours and the meaning theirs. All of this is sound and possible. Though all these people differ in the words with which they explain the hadith, their meanings are close, except for the scholars of
الظَّاهِرِ مِنْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ حَمَلُوهُ عَلَى مَا يَعْلَمُونَهُ وَأَهْلُ الْبَاطِنِ تَأَوَّلُوهُ عَلَى عِلْمِهِمْ وَلَعَمْرِي إِنَّ الظَّاهِرَ وَالْبَاطِنَ عِلْمَانِ لَا يَسْتَغْنِي أَحَدُهُمَا عَنْ صَاحِبِهِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْإِسْلَامِ وَالْإِيمَانِ مُرْتَبِطٌ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ بِالْآخَرِ كَالْجِسْمِ وَالْقَلْبِ لَا يَنْفَكُّ أَحَدُهُمَا عَنْ صَاحِبِهِ ، وَهَؤُلَاءِ الْمُخْتَلِفُونَ فِي الْأَقْوَالِ مُجْمِعُونَ أَنَّهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمْ يُرِدْ بِذَلِكَ طَلَبَ عِلْمِ الْأَقْضِيَةِ
al-ẓāhiri minhum faʾinnahum ḥamalūhu ʿalā mā yaʿlamūnahu waʾahlu al-bāṭini taʾawwalūhu ʿalā ʿilmihim walaʿamrī ʾinna al-ẓāhira wa-al-bāṭina ʿilmāni lā yastaghnī ʾaḥaduhumā ʿan ṣāḥibihi bimanzilati al-ʾislāmi wa-al-ʾīmāni murtabiṭun kullu wāḥidin bi-al-ʾākhari ka-al-jismi wa-al-qalbi lā yanfakku ʾaḥaduhumā ʿan ṣāḥibihi , wahāʾulāʾi al-mukhtalifūna fī al-ʾaqwāli mujmiʿūna ʾannahu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lam yurid bidhālika ṭalaba ʿilmi al-ʾaqḍiyati
outward knowledge among them, who understood it in terms of what they knew; those of inward knowledge interpreted it in terms of their own knowledge. By my life, outward and inward knowledge are two sciences neither of which can dispense with the other. Like Islam and faith, each is bound to the other; like the body and the heart, neither can be separated from its companion. Those who differ in their statements agree that he, God bless him and grant him peace, did not mean seeking knowledge of judicial rulings
وَالْفَتَاوَى وَلَا عِلْمَ الِاخْتِلَافِ وَالْمَذَاهِبِ وَلَا كُتُبَ الْأَحَادِيثِ مِمَّا لَا يَتَعَيَّنُ فَرْضُهُ وَإِنْ كَانَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَا يُخْلِي مِنْ ذَلِكَ مَنْ يُقِيمُهُ بِحِفْظِهِ وَالَّذِي عِنْدَنَا فِي حَقِيقَةِ مَعْنَى هَذَا الْخَبَرِ وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ أَنَّ قَوْلَهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ يَعْنِي عِلْمَ هَذِهِ الْفَرَائِضِ الْخَمْسِ الَّتِي بُنِيَ الْإِسْلَامُ عَلَيْهَا مِنْ حَيْثُ لَمْ يُفْتَرَضْ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِينَ غَيْرُهَا ،
wa-al-fatāwā walā ʿilma al-ikhtilāfi wa-al-madhāhibi walā kutuba al-ʾaḥādīthi mimmā lā yataʿayyanu farḍuhu waʾin kāna allāhu taʿālā lā yukhlī min dhālika man yuqīmuhu biḥifẓihi walladhī ʿindanā fī ḥaqīqati maʿnā hādhā al-khabari wa-allāhu ʾaʿlamu ʾanna qawlahu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ṭalabu al-ʿilmi farīḍatun yaʿnī ʿilma hādhihi al-farāʾiḍi al-khamsi allatī buniya al-ʾislāmu ʿalayhā min ḥaythu lam yuftaraḍ ʿalā al-muslimīna ghayruhā ,
and legal opinions, the knowledge of disagreements and schools, or books of hadith, whose study is not an individual obligation, although God Most High never leaves these fields without someone to uphold and preserve them. Our own understanding of the true meaning of this report, and God knows best, is that his words, God bless him and grant him peace, “Seeking knowledge is an obligation,” mean knowledge of the five obligations upon which Islam is built, since nothing beyond these has been made obligatory for Muslims.
ثُمَّ إِنَّ الْعَمَلَ لَا يَصِحُّ إِلَّا بِعِلْمِهِ فَأَوَّلُ الْعَمَلِ الْعِلْمُ بِهِ فَصَارَ عِلْمُ الْعَمَلِ فَرْضًا مِنْ حَيْثُ افْتُرِضَ الْعَمَلُ . فَلَمَّا لَمْ يَكُنْ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِينَ فَرْضٌ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ إِلَّا هَذِهِ الْخَمْسُ فَصَارَ طَلَبُ عِلْمِ هَذِهِ الْخَمْسِ فَرْضًا لِأَنَّهُ فَرْضُ الْفَرْضِ وَعِلْمُ التَّوْحِيدِ دَاخِلٌ فِيهَا لِأَنَّهُ فِي أَوَّلِهِ شَهَادَةُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ بِإِثْبَاتِ صِفَاتِهِ الْمُتَّصِلَةِ بِذَاتِهِ وَنَفْيِ صِفَاتِ سِوَاهُ الْمُنْفَصِلَةِ
thumma ʾinna al-ʿamala lā yaṣiḥḥu ʾillā biʿilmihi faʾawwalu al-ʿamali al-ʿilmu bihi faṣāra ʿilmu al-ʿamali farḍan min ḥaythu ufturiḍa al-ʿamalu. falammā lam yakun ʿalā al-muslimīna farḍun mina al-ʾaʿmāli ʾillā hādhihi al-khamsu faṣāra ṭalabu ʿilmi hādhihi al-khamsi farḍan liʾannahu farḍu al-farḍi waʿilmu al-tawḥīdi dākhilun fīhā liʾannahu fī ʾawwalihi shahādatu ʾan lā ʾilāha ʾillā allāhu biʾithbāti ṣifātihi al-muttaṣilati bidhātihi wanafyi ṣifāti siwāhu al-munfaṣilati
An act is sound only through knowledge of it: the first step in action is knowing it. Knowledge of an act thus becomes obligatory because the act has been made obligatory. Since Muslims have no obligatory acts beyond these five, seeking knowledge of these five becomes obligatory, because it is the obligation entailed by the obligation. Knowledge of divine oneness is included in them, because at their beginning is the testimony that there is no god but God: affirming His attributes inseparable from His essence and denying the attributes of anything other than Him, which are separate
عَنْ إِيَّاهُ كُلُّهُ دَاخِلٌ فِي عِلْمِ شَهَادَةِ : أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَعِلْمُ الْإِخْلَاصِ دَاخِلٌ فِي صِحَّةِ الْإِسْلَامِ إِذْ لَا يَكُونُ مُسْلِمًا إِلَّا بِإِخْلَاصِ الْعَمَلِ لِقَوْلِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ثَلَاثٌ لَا يَغِلُّ عَلَيْهِنَّ قَلْبُ مُسْلِمٍ : إِخْلَاصُ الْعَمَلِ لِلَّهِ فَبَدَأَ بِهِ وَاشْتَرَطَ لِلْإِسْلَامِ وَالْأَصْلُ فِي هَذَا أَنَّهُ لَمْ يُرِدْ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عِلْمَ كُلِّ مَا جَازَ أَنْ يَكُونَ مَعْلُومًا بِإِجْمَاعِ الْأُمَّةِ
ʿan ʾiyyāhu kulluhu dākhilun fī ʿilmi shahādati: ʾan lā ʾilāha ʾillā allāhu waʿilmu al-ʾikhlāṣi dākhilun fī ṣiḥḥati al-ʾislāmi ʾidh lā yakūnu musliman ʾillā biʾikhlāṣi al-ʿamali liqawlihi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama thalāthun lā yaghillu ʿalayhinna qalbu muslimin: ʾikhlāṣu al-ʿamali lillāhi fabadaʾa bihi washtaraṭa lilʾislāmi wa-al-ʾaṣlu fī hādhā ʾannahu lam yurid ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿilma kulli mā jāza ʾan yakūna maʿlūman biʾijmāʿi al-ʾummati
from Him. All this is included in knowledge of the testimony that there is no god but God. Knowledge of sincerity is included in the validity of Islam, since one is a Muslim only through sincerity in action. For he, God bless him and grant him peace, said: “There are three things toward which a Muslim’s heart bears no rancor: sincere action for God…” He began with this and stipulated it for Islam. The fundamental point is that, by the community’s consensus, he, God bless him and grant him peace, did not mean knowledge of everything that could be known.
، إِنَّهُ لَمْ يَعْنِ بِذَلِكَ عِلْمَ الطِّبِّ أَوْ عِلْمَ النُّجُومِ وَلَا عِلْمَ النَّحْوِ أَوِ الشِّعْرِ أَوِ الْمَغَازِي وَهَذِهِ تُسَمَّى عُلُومًا لِأَنَّهَا تَكُونُ مَعْلُومَةً وَأَرْبَابُهَا عُلَمَاءُ بِهَا إِلَّا أَنَّ الشَّرْعَ لَمْ يَرِدْ بِالْأَمْرِ بِمُقْتَضَاهَا وَالْأُمَّةُ مُجْمِعَةٌ أَيْضًا أَنَّهُ لَمْ يُرِدْ بِذَلِكَ عِلْمَ الْفُتْيَا وَالْقَضَاءِ وَلَا عِلْمَ افْتِرَاقِ الْمَذَاهِبِ وَاخْتِلَافِ الْآرَاءِ وَهَذِهِ تُسَمَّى عُلُومًا عِنْدَ أَهْلِهَا وَبَعْضُهَا فَرْضٌ عَلَى
, ʾinnahu lam yaʿni bidhālika ʿilma al-ṭibbi ʾaw ʿilma al-nujūmi walā ʿilma al-naḥwi ʾawi al-shiʿri ʾawi al-maghāzī wahādhihi tusammā ʿulūman liʾannahā takūnu maʿlūmatan waʾarbābuhā ʿulamāʾu bihā ʾillā ʾanna al-sharʿa lam yarid bi-al-ʾamri bimuqtaḍāhā wa-al-ʾummatu mujmiʿatun ʾayḍan ʾannahu lam yurid bidhālika ʿilma al-futyā wa-al-qaḍāʾi walā ʿilma iftirāqi al-madhāhibi wakhtilāfi al-ʾārāʾi wahādhihi tusammā ʿulūman ʿinda ʾahlihā wabaʿḍuhā farḍun ʿalā
He did not mean medicine or knowledge of the stars, grammar, poetry, or accounts of military expeditions. These are called sciences because they can be known, and their practitioners are knowledgeable about them; but revealed law has issued no command requiring what they entail. The community also agrees that he did not mean knowledge of legal opinions and judgments, nor knowledge of the divisions between schools and differences of opinion. These are called sciences by their practitioners; some are obligatory on
الْكِفَايَةِ وَكُلُّهَا سَاقِطَةٌ عَنِ الْأَعْيَانِ ، وَالْخَبَرُ جَاءَ بِلَفْظِ الْعُمُومِ بِذِكْرِ الْكُلِّيَّةِ وَبِمَعْنَى الِاسْمِ فَقَالَ :
al-kifāyati wakulluhā sāqiṭatun ʿani al-ʾaʿyāni , wa-al-khabaru jāʾa bilafẓi al-ʿumūmi bidhikri al-kulliyyati wabimaʿnā al-ismi faqāla:
the community collectively, but all are waived as individual obligations. The report uses a general expression, explicitly invoking universality and the meaning of the noun, for he said:
طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ ثُمَّ قَالَ : عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ بَعْدَ قَوْلِهِ : اُطْلُبُوا الْعِلْمَ فَكَانَ هَذَا عَلَى الْأَعْيَانِ فَكَأَنَّهُ عَلَى مَا وَقَعَ عَلَيْهِ إِسْمُ الْعِلْمِ وَمَعْنَاهُ الْمَعْهُودُ الْمَعْرُوفُ بِإِدْخَالِ التَّعْرِيفِ عَلَيْهِ فَأُشِيرَ بِالْأَلِفِ وَاللَّامِ إِلَيْهِ فَإِذَا بَطَلَتْ هَذِهِ الْوُجُوهُ صَحَّ أَنَّ قَوْلَهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ أَيْ طَلَبُ عِلْمِ مَا بُنِيَ الْإِسْلَامُ عَلَيْهِ
ṭalabu al-ʿilmi farīḍatun thumma qāla: ʿalā kulli muslimin baʿda qawlihi: uṭlubū al-ʿilma fakāna hādhā ʿalā al-ʾaʿyāni fakaʾannahu ʿalā mā waqaʿa ʿalayhi ʾismu al-ʿilmi wamaʿnāhu al-maʿhūdu al-maʿrūfu biʾidkhāli al-taʿrīfi ʿalayhi faʾushīra bi-al-ʾalifi wa-al-lāmi ʾilayhi faʾidhā baṭalat hādhihi al-wujūhu ṣaḥḥa ʾanna qawlahu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ṭalabu al-ʿilmi farīḍatun ʿalā kulli muslimin ʾay ṭalabu ʿilmi mā buniya al-ʾislāmu ʿalayhi
“Seeking knowledge is an obligation.” He then said, “Upon every Muslim,” after saying, “Seek knowledge.” This makes it an individual obligation. It thus appears to concern that to which the name “knowledge” applies in its familiar, recognized meaning: making the noun definite points to it by the alif and lām. Once those other interpretations are ruled out, it follows that his words, God bless him and grant him peace, “Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim,” mean seeking knowledge of that upon which Islam is built,
فَافْتُرِضَ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِينَ عِلْمُهُ فَرِيضَةً بِدَلِيلِ قَوْلِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِلْأَعْرَابِيِّ حِينَ سَأَلَهُ : أَخْبِرْنِي مَاذَا افْتَرَضَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيَّ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ : أَخْبِرْنَا بِالَّذِي أَرْسَلَكَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْنَا بِهِ ، فَأَخْبَرَهُ بِالشَّهَادَتَيْنِ وَالصَّلَوَاتِ الْخَمْسِ وَالزَّكَاةِ وَصَوْمِ شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ وَحَجِّ الْبَيْتِ ، فَقَالَ : هَلْ عَلَيَّ غَيْرُهَا ؟ فَقَالَ : لَا إِلَّا أَنْ تَطَوَّعَ فَقَالَ :
fafturiḍa ʿalā al-muslimīna ʿilmuhu farīḍatan bidalīli qawlihi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lilʾaʿrābiyyi ḥīna saʾalahu: ʾakhbirnī mādhā iftaraḍa allāhu taʿālā ʿalayya , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: ʾakhbirnā bi-alladhī ʾarsalaka allāhu taʿālā ʾilaynā bihi , faʾakhbarahu bi-al-shahādatayni wa-al-ṣalawāti al-khamsi wa-al-zakāti waṣawmi shahri ramaḍāna waḥajji al-bayti , faqāla: hal ʿalayya ghayruhā ? faqāla: lā ʾillā ʾan taṭawwaʿa faqāla:
knowledge of which was therefore imposed on Muslims as an obligation. The evidence is what he, God bless him and grant him peace, said to the Bedouin when the man asked: “Tell me what God Most High has made obligatory for me”; or, in another wording, “Tell us what God Most High has sent you to us with.” He told him of the two testimonies, the five prayers, almsgiving, fasting the month of Ramadan, and pilgrimage to the House. The man asked: “Is anything else required of me?” He replied: “No, unless you volunteer more.” The man said:
وَاللَّهِ لَا أَزِيدُ عَلَيْهِ شَيْئًا وَلَا أَنْقُصُ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا فَقَالَ : أَفْلَحَ وَدَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ إِنْ صَدَقَ فَكَانَ عِلْمُ هَذِهِ الْخَمْسِ فَرِيضَةً مِنْ حَيْثُ كَانَ مَعْلُومُهُ فَرِيضَةً إِذْ لَا عَمَلَ إِلَّا بِعِلْمٍ . وَقَدْ قَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( إِلَّا مَنْ شَهِدَ بِالْحَقِّ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ ) الزُّخْرُفُ : 86 ، وَقَالَ فِي مِثْلِهِ : ( حَتَّى تَعْلَمُوا مَا تَقُولُونَ ) النِّسَاءُ : 43 ، وَقَالَ :
wa-allāhi lā ʾazīdu ʿalayhi shayʾan walā ʾanquṣu minhu shayʾan faqāla: ʾaflaḥa wadakhala al-jannata ʾin ṣadaqa fakāna ʿilmu hādhihi al-khamsi farīḍatan min ḥaythu kāna maʿlūmuhu farīḍatan ʾidh lā ʿamala ʾillā biʿilmin. waqad qāla ʿazza wajalla: ( ʾillā man shahida bi-al-ḥaqqi wahum yaʿlamūna ) al-zukhrufu: 86 , waqāla fī mithlihi: ( ḥattā taʿlamū mā taqūlūna ) al-nisāʾu: 43 , waqāla:
“By God, I will add nothing to it and subtract nothing from it.” He replied: “He will prosper and enter the Garden, if he speaks the truth.” Knowledge of these five was obligatory because what was to be known was obligatory, for there is no action without knowledge. He, mighty and majestic, has said: “Except those who bear witness to the truth while knowing” (al-Zukhruf 43:86). Likewise He said: “Until you know what you are saying” (al-Nisāʾ 4:43). And He said:
( هَلْ عِنْدَكُمْ مِنْ عِلْمٍ فَتُخْرِجُوهُ لَنَا إِنْ تَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 148 ، وَقَالَ : ( بَلِ اتَّبَعَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَهْوَاءَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ فَمَنْ يَهْدِي مَنْ أَضَلَّ اللَّهُ ) الرُّومُ : 29 ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَ الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ) ( إِنَّهُمْ لَنْ يُغْنُوا عَنْكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا ) الْجَاثِيَةُ : 18 - 19 ، وَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى :
( hal ʿindakum min ʿilmin fatukhrijūhu lanā ʾin tattabiʿūna ʾillā al-ẓanna ) al-ʾanʿāmu: 148 , waqāla: ( bali ittabaʿa alladhīna ẓalamū ʾahwāʾahum bighayri ʿilmin faman yahdī man ʾaḍalla allāhu ) al-rūmu: 29 , waqāla taʿālā: ( walā tattabiʿ ʾahwāʾa alladhīna lā yaʿlamūna ) ( ʾinnahum lan yughnū ʿanka mina allāhi shayʾan ) al-jāthiyatu: 18 - 19 , waqāla subḥānahu wataʿālā:
“Do you have any knowledge that you can bring forth for us? You follow nothing but conjecture” (al-Anʿām 6:148). He said: “Rather, those who do wrong follow their desires without knowledge. Who can guide one whom God has led astray?” (al-Rūm 30:29). The Most High said: “Do not follow the desires of those who do not know”; “They will avail you nothing against God” (al-Jāthiya 45:18–19). He, glorified and exalted, said:
( فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا أُنْزِلَ بِعِلْمِ اللَّهِ وَأَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ) هُودٌ : 14 ، وَقَالَ : ( فَسْئَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ) الْأَنْبِيَاءُ : 7 ، فَهَذِهِ الْآيَةُ افْتَرَضَ اللَّهُ فِيهَا طَلَبَ الْعِلْمِ وَذَلِكَ الْخَبَرُ الَّذِي جَاءَ فِي أَبْنِيَةِ الْإِسْلَامِ الْخَمْسَةِ افْتَرَضَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِيهِ هَذِهِ الْأَعْمَالَ ثُمَّ قَالَ مُجْمَلًا :
( faʿlamū ʾannamā ʾunzila biʿilmi allāhi waʾan lā ʾilāha ʾillā huwa ) hūdun: 14 , waqāla: ( fasʾalū ʾahla al-dhikri ʾin kuntum lā taʿlamūna ) al-ʾanbiyāʾu: 7 , fahādhihi al-ʾāyatu iftaraḍa allāhu fīhā ṭalaba al-ʿilmi wadhālika al-khabaru alladhī jāʾa fī ʾabniyati al-ʾislāmi al-khamsati iftaraḍa rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fīhi hādhihi al-ʾaʿmāla thumma qāla mujmalan:
“Know that it was sent down with God’s knowledge and that there is no god but Him” (Hūd 11:14). He said: “Ask the people of remembrance if you do not know” (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:7). In this verse God made seeking knowledge obligatory. In the report concerning Islam’s five foundations, God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, made these deeds obligatory. He then said in general terms:
طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ ثُمَّ وَكَّدَهُ بِقَوْلِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ فَكَانَ تَفْسِيرُ ذَلِكَ وَتَفْصِيلُهُ أَنَّ عِلْمَ هَذِهِ الْخَمْسِ الَّتِي هِيَ بِنْيَةُ الْإِسْلَامِ فَرْضٌ لِأَجْلِ فَرْضِهَا . وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ طَرِيقٍ مُرْسَلٍ أَنَّهُ مَرَّ بِرَجُلٍ وَالنَّاسُ مُجْتَمِعُونَ عَلَيْهِ فَقَالَ : مَا هَذَا ؟ فَقَالُوا رَجُلٌ عَلَّامَةٌ فَقَالَ : بِمَاذَا ؟
ṭalabu al-ʿilmi farīḍatun thumma wakkadahu biqawlihi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿalā kulli muslimin fakāna tafsīru dhālika watafṣīluhu ʾanna ʿilma hādhihi al-khamsi allatī hiya binyatu al-ʾislāmi farḍun liʾajli farḍihā. waqad rawaynā ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama min ṭarīqin mursalin ʾannahu marra birajulin wa-al-nāsu mujtamiʿūna ʿalayhi faqāla: mā hādhā ? faqālū rajulun ʿallāmatun faqāla: bimādhā ?
“Seeking knowledge is an obligation,” then emphasized it by saying, God bless him and grant him peace, “Upon every Muslim.” Its explanation and fuller meaning are that knowing these five things that form the structure of Islam is obligatory because they are obligatory. We have related from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, through a mursal report, that he passed a man with people gathered around him and asked: “What is this?” They replied: “A very learned man.” He asked: “In what?”
قَالُوا بِالشِّعْرِ وَالْأَنْسَابِ وَأَيَّامِ الْعَرَبِ ، فَقَالَ : هَذَا عِلْمٌ لَا يَضُرُّ جَهْلُهُ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ : عِلْمٌ لَا يَنْفَعُ وَجَهْلٌ لَا يَضُرُّ ، وَرَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ : إِنَّ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ جَهْلًا وَإِنَّ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ عِيًّا ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْآخَرِ : قَلِيلٌ مِنَ التَّوْفِيقِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ ، وَفِي خَبَرٍ غَرِيبٍ : كُلُّ شَيْءٍ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى الْعِلْمِ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى التَّوْفِيقِ وَالْخَبَرُ الْمَشْهُورُ قَوْلُهُ صَلَّى
qālū bi-al-shiʿri wa-al-ʾansābi waʾayyāmi al-ʿarabi , faqāla: hādhā ʿilmun lā yaḍurru jahluhu , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: ʿilmun lā yanfaʿu wajahlun lā yaḍurru , warawaynā fī al-khabari: ʾinna mina al-ʿilmi jahlan waʾinna mina al-qawli ʿiyyan , wafī al-khabari al-ʾākhari: qalīlun mina al-tawfīqi khayrun min kathīrin mina al-ʿilmi , wafī khabarin gharībin: kullu shayʾin yaḥtāju ʾilā al-ʿilmi yaḥtāju ʾilā al-tawfīqi wa-al-khabaru al-mashhūru qawluhu ṣallā
They replied: “Poetry, genealogies, and the historic battles of the Arabs.” He said: “This is knowledge whose absence does no harm.” In another wording: “Knowledge that does not benefit, and ignorance that does no harm.” We have related in a report: “Some knowledge is ignorance, and some speech is inarticulacy.” In another report: “A little divine enablement is better than much knowledge.” In an uncommon report: “Everything that needs knowledge needs divine enablement.” And the well-known report is his saying, God bless
اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ لَا يَنْفَعُ فَسَمَّاهُ عِلْمًا إِذْ لَهُ مَعْلُومٌ وَأَنَّ أَصْحَابَهُ عُلَمَاءُ عِنْدَ أَصْحَابِهِمْ ثُمَّ رَفَعَ الْمَنْفَعَةَ عَنْهُمْ وَاسْتَعَاذَ بِاللَّهِ مِنْهُ .
allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾaʿūdhu bika min ʿilmin lā yanfaʿu fasammāhu ʿilman ʾidh lahu maʿlūmun waʾanna ʾaṣḥābahu ʿulamāʾu ʿinda ʾaṣḥābihim thumma rafaʿa al-manfaʿata ʿanhum wastaʿādha bi-allāhi minhu.
him and grant him peace: “I seek refuge in You from knowledge that does not benefit.” He called it knowledge because it has an object of knowledge and its possessors are regarded as scholars by their companions. He then denied that they had its benefit and sought refuge in God from it.
وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي خَبَرٍ أَنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ رُبَّمَا سَبَقَكُمْ بِالْعِلْمِ ، قُلْنَا : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ كَيْفَ يَسْبِقُنَا بِالْعِلْمِ ؟ قَالَ : يَقُولُ اُطْلُبِ الْعِلْمَ وَلَا تَعْمَلْ حَتَّى تَعْلَمَ فَلَا يَزَالُ فِي الْعِلْمِ قَائِلًا وَلِلْعَمَلِ مُسَوِّفًا حَتَّى يَمُوتَ وَمَا عَمِلَ ، فَفِي هَذَا الْخَبَرِ دَلِيلَانِ ، أَحَدُهُمَا أَنَّهُ أُرِيدَ بِهِ طَلَبُ فُضُولِ الْعِلْمِ الَّذِي لَا نَفْعَ لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَلَا قُرْبَةَ فِي طَلَبِهِ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَالثَّانِي
waqad rawaynā fī khabarin ʾanna al-shayṭāna rubbamā sabaqakum bi-al-ʿilmi , qulnā: yā rasūla allāhi kayfa yasbiqunā bi-al-ʿilmi ? qāla: yaqūlu uṭlubi al-ʿilma walā taʿmal ḥattā taʿlama falā yazālu fī al-ʿilmi qāʾilan walilʿamali musawwifan ḥattā yamūta wamā ʿamila , fafī hādhā al-khabari dalīlāni , ʾaḥaduhumā ʾannahu ʾurīda bihi ṭalabu fuḍūli al-ʿilmi alladhī lā nafʿa lahu fī al-ʾākhirati walā qurbata fī ṭalabihi mina allāhi wa-al-thānī
We have related in a report: “Satan may outstrip you through knowledge.” We asked: “O Messenger of God, how does he outstrip us through knowledge?” He replied: “He says, ‘Seek knowledge, and do not act until you know.’ A person then keeps talking about knowledge and putting off action until he dies without having acted.” This report contains two indications. First, it means seeking surplus knowledge that offers no benefit in the hereafter and brings no nearness to God through seeking it. Second,
أَنَّ الْعِلْمَ الْمُفَضَّلَ الْمَنْدُوبَ إِلَيْهِ إِنَّمَا هُوَ الَّذِي يَقْتَضِي الْعَمَلَ لِأَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَا يَأْمُرُ بِعَمَلٍ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَلَا يَكْرَهُ طَلَبَ عِلْمٍ لِلْعَمَلِ بِهِ أَلَا تَسْمَعُ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي الْخَبَرِ الْآخَرِ : فَضْلٌ مِنْ عِلْمٍ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ فَضْلٍ مِنْ عَمَلٍ وَخَيْرُ دِينِكُمُ الْوَرَعُ .
ʾanna al-ʿilma al-mufaḍḍala al-mandūba ʾilayhi ʾinnamā huwa alladhī yaqtaḍī al-ʿamala liʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lā yaʾmuru biʿamalin bighayri ʿilmin walā yakrahu ṭalaba ʿilmin lilʿamali bihi ʾalā tasmaʿu ʾilā qawlihi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī al-khabari al-ʾākhari: faḍlun min ʿilmin ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min faḍlin min ʿamalin wakhayru dīnikumu al-waraʿu.
the knowledge that is preferred and recommended is precisely that which calls for action, because the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, does not command action without knowledge, nor does he disapprove of seeking knowledge in order to act upon it. Do you not hear his words, God bless him and grant him peace, in the other report: “An increase in knowledge is dearer to me than an increase in action, and the best of your religion is scrupulousness”?
ذِكْرُ فَضْلِ عِلْمِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَالْيَقِينِ عَلَى سَائِرِ الْعُلُومِ وَكَشْفِ طَرِيقِ عُلَمَاءِ السَّلَفِ الصَّالِحِ مِنْ عُلَمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ
dhikru faḍli ʿilmi al-maʿrifati wa-al-yaqīni ʿalā sāʾiri al-ʿulūmi wakashfi ṭarīqi ʿulamāʾi al-salafi al-ṣāliḥi min ʿulamāʾi al-dunyā wa-al-ʾākhirati
The Excellence of Knowledge of God and Certainty over All Other Sciences, and an Exposition of the Way of the Scholars among the Righteous Predecessors, the Scholars of This World and the Hereafter
قُبِضَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ أُلُوفٍ مِنْ صَحَابَتِهِ كُلُّهُمْ عُلَمَاءُ بِاللَّهِ فُقَهَاءُ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَهْلُ رِضْوَانٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَلَمْ يَنْصِبْ نَفْسَهُ إِلَى الْفُتْيَا وَلَا حُمِلَتْ عَنْهُ الْأَحْكَامُ وَالْقَضَايَا إِلَّا بِضْعَةَ عَشَرَ رَجُلًا ، وَكَانَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ إِذَا سُئِلَ عَنِ الْفُتْيَا قَالَ : اذْهَبْ إِلَى الْأَمِيرِ الَّذِي تَقَلَّدَ أُمُورَ النَّاسِ فَضَعْهَا فِي عُنُقِهِ ،
qubiḍa rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿan ʾulūfin min ṣaḥābatihi kulluhum ʿulamāʾu bi-allāhi fuqahāʾu ʿani allāhi taʿālā ʾahlu riḍwānin mina allāhi taʿālā walam yanṣib nafsahu ʾilā al-futyā walā ḥumilat ʿanhu al-ʾaḥkāmu wa-al-qaḍāyā ʾillā biḍʿata ʿashara rajulan , wakāna ibnu ʿumara ʾidhā suʾila ʿani al-futyā qāla: idhhab ʾilā al-ʾamīri alladhī taqallada ʾumūra al-nāsi faḍaʿhā fī ʿunuqihi ,
God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, died leaving thousands of his Companions. All knew God, understood what came from God Most High, and enjoyed God Most High’s good pleasure. Yet only some thirteen to nineteen men set themselves up to issue legal opinions or had rulings and judgments transmitted from them. When Ibn ʿUmar was asked for a legal opinion, he would say: “Go to the ruler who has assumed responsibility for people’s affairs, and put it around his neck.”
وَرُوِيَ ذَلِكَ عَنْ أَنَسٍ ثُمَّ جَمَاعَةٍ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالتَّابِعِينَ بِإِحْسَانٍ ، وَكَانَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ يَقُولُ : إِنَّ الَّذِي يُفْتِي النَّاسَ فِي كُلِّ مَا يَسْتَفْتُونَهُ لَمَجْنُونٌ ، وَكَانَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا يُسْأَلُ عَنْ عَشْرِ مَسَائِلَ فَيُجِيبُ عَنْ مَسْأَلَةٍ وَيَسْكُتُ عَنْ تِسْعَةٍ ، وَكَانَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ عَلَى ضِدِّ ذَلِكَ كَانَ يُسْئَلُ عَنْ عَشَرَةٍ فَيُجِيبُ فِي تِسْعَةٍ وَيَسْكُتُ عَنْ وَاحِدَةٍ ،
waruwiya dhālika ʿan ʾanasin thumma jamāʿatin mina al-ṣaḥābati wa-al-tābiʿīna biʾiḥsānin , wakāna ibnu masʿūdin yaqūlu: ʾinna alladhī yuftī al-nāsa fī kulli mā yastaftūnahu lamajnūnun , wakāna ibnu ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā yusʾalu ʿan ʿashri masāʾila fayujību ʿan masʾalatin wayaskutu ʿan tisʿatin , wakāna ibnu ʿabbāsin ʿalā ḍiddi dhālika kāna yusʾalu ʿan ʿasharatin fayujību fī tisʿatin wayaskutu ʿan wāḥidatin ,
This was also related from Anas, then from a group of the Companions and those who followed them in goodness. Ibn Masʿūd used to say: “A man who gives people a legal opinion on everything they ask him is surely mad.” Ibn ʿUmar, God be pleased with them both, would be asked ten questions, answer one, and remain silent about nine. Ibn ʿAbbās was the reverse: he would be asked ten, answer nine, and remain silent about one.
وَكَانَ مِنَ الْفُقَهَاءِ مَنْ يَقُولُ لَا أَدْرِي أَكْثَرَ مِنْ أَنْ يَقُولَ أَدْرِي ، مِنْهُمْ : سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ وَمَالِكُ بْنُ أَنَسٍ وَأَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ وَفُضَيْلُ بْنُ عِيَاضٍ وَبِشْرُ بْنُ الْحَٰرِثِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ ، وَكَانُوا فِي مَجَالِسِهِمْ يُجِيبُونَ عَنْ بَعْضٍ وَيَسْكُتُونَ عَنْ بَعْضٍ وَلَمْ يَكُونُوا يُجِيبُونَ فِي كُلِّ مَا يُسْأَلُونَ عَنْهُ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ أَبِي لَيْلَى قَالَ :
wakāna mina al-fuqahāʾi man yaqūlu lā ʾadrī ʾakthara min ʾan yaqūla ʾadrī , minhum: sufyānu al-thawriyyu wamāliku bnu ʾanasin waʾaḥmadu bnu ḥanbalin wafuḍaylu bnu ʿiyāḍin wabishru bnu al-ḥārithi raḍiya allāhu ʿanhum , wakānū fī majālisihim yujībūna ʿan baʿḍin wayaskutūna ʿan baʿḍin walam yakūnū yujībūna fī kulli mā yusʾalūna ʿanhu. warawaynā ʿan ʿabdi al-raḥmāni bni ʾabī laylā qāla:
Some jurists said “I do not know” more often than “I know.” Among them were Sufyān al-Thawrī, Mālik ibn Anas, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ, and Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith, God be pleased with them. In their gatherings they answered some questions and remained silent about others; they did not answer everything they were asked. We have related that ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā said:
أَدْرَكْتُ فِي هَذَا الْمَسْجِدِ مِائَةً وَعِشْرِينَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَا مِنْهُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ يُسْأَلُ عَنْ حَدِيثٍ أَوْ فُتْيَا إِلَّا وَدَّ أَنْ أَخَاهُ كَفَاهُ ذَلِكَ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ كَانَتِ الْمَسْأَلَةُ تُعْرَضُ عَلَى أَحَدِهِمْ فَيَرُدُّهَا إِلَى الْآخَرِ وَيَرُدُّهَا الْآخَرُ لِلْآخَرِ حَتَّى تَرْجِعَ إِلَى الَّذِي سُئِلَ عَنْهَا أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ ، وَرُوِيَ عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ وَابْنِ عُمَرَ وَغَيْرِهِمَا مِنَ التَّابِعِينَ ،
ʾadraktu fī hādhā al-masjidi miʾatan waʿishrīna min ʾaṣḥābi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama mā minhum min ʾaḥadin yusʾalu ʿan ḥadīthin ʾaw futyā ʾillā wadda ʾan ʾakhāhu kafāhu dhālika , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara kānati al-masʾalatu tuʿraḍu ʿalā ʾaḥadihim fayarudduhā ʾilā al-ʾākhari wayarudduhā al-ʾākharu lilʾākhari ḥattā tarjiʿa ʾilā alladhī suʾila ʿanhā ʾawwala marratin , waruwiya ʿani ibni masʿūdin wabni ʿumara waghayrihimā mina al-tābiʿīna ,
“I met in this mosque one hundred and twenty of the Companions of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace. Not one of them was asked about a hadith or a legal opinion without wishing that his brother would spare him that responsibility.” In another wording: “A question would be presented to one of them and he would refer it to another, who would refer it to another, until it returned to the one first asked.” It is related from Ibn Masʿūd, Ibn ʿUmar, and others among the Successors:
وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مُسْنَدًا لَا يُفْتِي النَّاسَ إِلَّا ثَلَاثَةٌ : أَمِيرٌ أَوْ مَأْمُورٌ أَوْ مُتَكَلِّفٌ ، تَفْصِيلُ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ الْأَمِيرَ هُوَ الَّذِي يَتَكَلَّمُ فِي عِلْمِ الْفُتْيَا وَالْأَحْكَامِ كَذَلِكَ كَانَ الْأُمَرَاءُ يُسْئَلُونَ وَيُفْتُونَ وَالْمَأْمُورُ الَّذِي يَأْمُرُهُ الْأَمِيرُ بِذَلِكَ فَيُقِيمُهُ مَقَامَهُ وَيَسْتَعِينُ بِهِ لِشُغْلِهِ بِالرَّعِيَّةِ وَالْمُتَكَلِّفُ هُوَ الْقَاصُّ الَّذِي يَتَكَلَّمُ فِي الْقَصَصِ السَّالِفَةِ وَيَقُصُّ أَخْبَارَ مَنْ مَضَى لِأَنَّ ذَلِكَ لَا يُحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ فِي الْحَالِ وَلَمْ يُنْدَبْ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الْعُلُومِ وَقَدْ تَدْخُلُهُ الزِّيَادَةُ وَالنُّقْصَانُ وَالِاخْتِلَافُ ، فَلِذَلِكَ كُرِهَ
waqad rawaynā musnadan lā yuftī al-nāsa ʾillā thalāthatun: ʾamīrun ʾaw maʾmūrun ʾaw mutakallifun , tafṣīlu dhālika ʾanna al-ʾamīra huwa alladhī yatakallamu fī ʿilmi al-futyā wa-al-ʾaḥkāmi kadhālika kāna al-ʾumarāʾu yusʾalūna wayuftūna wa-al-maʾmūru alladhī yaʾmuruhu al-ʾamīru bidhālika fayuqīmuhu maqāmahu wayastaʿīnu bihi lishughlihi bi-al-raʿiyyati wa-al-mutakallifu huwa al-qāṣṣu alladhī yatakallamu fī al-qaṣaṣi al-sālifati wayaquṣṣu ʾakhbāra man maḍā liʾanna dhālika lā yuḥtāju ʾilayhi fī al-ḥāli walam yundab ʾilayhi mina al-ʿulūmi waqad tadkhuluhu al-ziyādatu wa-al-nuqṣānu wa-al-ikhtilāfu , falidhālika kuriha
and we have also transmitted it with a connected chain: “Only three people give legal opinions to the people: a ruler, someone commissioned, or someone who presumes to do so.” To explain: the ruler is the person who speaks about legal opinions and rulings. In this way rulers used to be questioned and issue opinions. The commissioned person is someone the ruler orders to do this, appointing him in his place and seeking his help because he is occupied with his subjects. The presumptuous person is the storyteller who speaks about ancient tales and recounts the affairs of those long gone, because this is not needed in the present and is not among the recommended sciences; additions, omissions, and discrepancies may enter it. For this reason,
الْقَصَصُ فَصَارَ الْقَاصُّ مِنَ الْمُتَكَلِّفِينَ . وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي لَفْظِ الْحَدِيثِ الْآخَرِ بِتَأْوِيلِ مَعْنَاهُ : لَا يَتَكَلَّمُ عَلَى النَّاسِ إِلَّا ثَلَاثَةٌ : أَمِيرٌ أَوْ مَأْمُورٌ أَوْ مُرَاءٍ فَكَانَ قَوْلُهُمْ : أَمِيرٌ هُوَ الْمُفْتِي فِي الْأَقْضِيَةِ وَالْأَحْكَامِ كَمَا ذَكَرْنَا آنِفًا وَمَعْنَى مَأْمُورٍ هُوَ الْعَالِمُ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الزَّاهِدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا يَتَكَلَّمُ فِي عِلْمِ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْيَقِينِ وَفِي عِلْمِ الْقُرْآنِ وَالْحَثِّ عَلَى مَصَالِحِ أَعْمَالِ الدِّينِ بِأَمْرٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَذِنَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَهُ فِي ذَلِكَ بِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :
al-qaṣaṣu faṣāra al-qāṣṣu mina al-mutakallifīna. waqad jāʾa fī lafẓi al-ḥadīthi al-ʾākhari bitaʾwīli maʿnāhu: lā yatakallamu ʿalā al-nāsi ʾillā thalāthatun: ʾamīrun ʾaw maʾmūrun ʾaw murāʾin fakāna qawluhum: ʾamīrun huwa al-muftī fī al-ʾaqḍiyati wa-al-ʾaḥkāmi kamā dhakarnā ʾānifan wamaʿnā maʾmūrin huwa al-ʿālimu bi-allāhi ʿazza wajalla al-zāhidu fī al-dunyā yatakallamu fī ʿilmi al-ʾīmāni wa-al-yaqīni wafī ʿilmi al-qurʾāni wa-al-ḥaththi ʿalā maṣāliḥi ʾaʿmāli al-dīni biʾamrin mina allāhi taʿālā ʾadhina allāhu taʿālā lahu fī dhālika biqawlihi taʿālā:
storytelling was disliked, and the storyteller became one of those who presume to speak. Another wording of the hadith explains its meaning: “Only three speak publicly to the people: a ruler, someone commissioned, or someone showing off.” Here “ruler” means the person who gives opinions on judgments and rulings, as we have just explained. “Someone commissioned” means the scholar who knows God, mighty and majestic, renounces this world, and speaks about faith and certainty, the knowledge of the Qurʾān, and encouragement toward sound religious deeds, by a command from God Most High. God Most High authorized him to do this in His words, exalted is He:
( وَإِذْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثَاقَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ لَتُبَيِّنُنَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَكْتُمُونَهُ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 187 ، وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ وَغَيْرُهُ يَقُولُونَ : لَوْلَا آيَتَانِ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مَا حَدَّثْتُكُمْ بِحَدِيثٍ أَبَدًا ثُمَّ يَتْلُو هَذِهِ وَالْآيَةَ الَّتِي قَبْلَهَا وَيَقُولُ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :
( waʾidh ʾakhadha allāhu mīthāqa alladhīna ʾūtū al-kitāba latubayyinunnahu li-l-nāsi walā taktumūnahu ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 187 , waqad kāna ʾabū hurayrata waghayruhu yaqūlūna: lawlā ʾāyatāni fī kitābi allāhi taʿālā mā ḥaddathtukum biḥadīthin ʾabadan thumma yatlū hādhihi wa-al-ʾāyata allatī qablahā wayaqūlu: qāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama:
“When God took the covenant of those given the Book: ‘You must make it clear to the people and must not conceal it’” (Āl ʿImrān 3:187). Abū Hurayra and others used to say: “Were it not for two verses in the Book of God Most High, I would never have told you a single hadith.” He would then recite this verse and the one before it, and say: “God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said:
مَا آتَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَالِمًا عِلْمًا إِلَّا أَخَذَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْمِيثَاقِ مَا أَخَذَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّينَ أَنْ يُبَيِّنَهُ وَلَا يَكْتُمَهُ ، وَأَمَّا الْمُرَائِي فَهُوَ الْمُتَكَلِّمُ فِي عُلُومِ الدُّنْيَا النَّاطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى يَسْتَمِيلُ بِذَلِكَ قُلُوبَ النَّاسِ وَيَجْتَلِبُ بِكَلَامِهِ الْمَزِيدَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَالرِّفْعَةَ فِيهَا ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : كَانَ الصَّحَابَةُ وَالتَّابِعُونَ بِإِحْسَانٍ يَتَدَافَعُونَ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْيَاءَ : الْأَمَانَةَ وَالْوَدِيعَةَ وَالْوَصِيَّةَ وَالْفُتْيَا ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ :
mā ʾātā allāhu taʿālā ʿāliman ʿilman ʾillā ʾakhadha ʿalayhi mina al-mīthāqi mā ʾakhadha ʿalā al-nabiyyīna ʾan yubayyinahu walā yaktumahu , waʾammā al-murāʾī fahuwa al-mutakallimu fī ʿulūmi al-dunyā al-nāṭiqu ʿani al-hawā yastamīlu bidhālika qulūba al-nāsi wayajtalibu bikalāmihi al-mazīda mina al-dunyā wa-al-rifʿata fīhā , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: kāna al-ṣaḥābatu wa-al-tābiʿūna biʾiḥsānin yatadāfaʿūna ʾarbaʿata ʾashyāʾa: al-ʾamānata wa-al-wadīʿata wa-al-waṣiyyata wa-al-futyā , waqāla baʿḍuhum:
‘God Most High has never given a scholar knowledge without taking from him the same covenant He took from the prophets: that he make it clear and not conceal it.’” As for the person showing off, he speaks about the sciences of this world, speaking from desire, seeking to win people’s hearts and to gain more of the world and higher standing in it through his words. One scholar said: “The Companions and those who followed them in goodness used to pass four things on to one another: a trust, a deposit, a bequest, and the giving of legal opinions.” Another said:
كَانَ أَسْرَعُهُمْ إِلَى الْفُتْيَا أَقَلَّهُمْ عِلْمًا وَأَشَدُّهُمْ دَفْعًا لَهَا وَتَوَقُّفًا عَنْهَا أَوْرَعَهُمْ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ : كَانَ شُغْلُ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالتَّابِعِينَ بِإِحْسَانٍ فِي خَمْسَةِ أَشْيَاءَ : قِرَاءَةِ الْقُرْآنِ ، وَعِمَارَةِ الْمَسَاجِدِ ، وَذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَالْأَمْرِ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ ، وَالنَّهْيِ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : كُلُّ كَلَامِ ابْنِ آدَمَ عَلَيْهِ لَا لَهُ إِلَّا ثَلَاثًا :
kāna ʾasraʿuhum ʾilā al-futyā ʾaqallahum ʿilman waʾashadduhum dafʿan lahā watawaqqufan ʿanhā ʾawraʿahum , waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: kāna shughlu al-ṣaḥābati wa-al-tābiʿīna biʾiḥsānin fī khamsati ʾashyāʾa: qirāʾati al-qurʾāni , waʿimārati al-masājidi , wadhikri allāhi taʿālā , wa-al-ʾamri bi-al-maʿrūfi , wa-al-nahyi ʿani al-munkari , wafī al-khabari ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: kullu kalāmi ibni ʾādama ʿalayhi lā lahu ʾillā thalāthan:
“Those quickest to give legal opinions had the least knowledge; those most inclined to turn them away and hold back from them were the most scrupulous.” One of the predecessors said: “The Companions and those who followed them in goodness occupied themselves with five things: reciting the Qurʾān, sustaining the mosques, remembering God Most High, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong.” In a report from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: “All the speech of the son of Adam counts against him, not for him, except three things:
أَمْرٌ بِمَعْرُوفٍ ، أَوْ نَهْيٌ عَنْ مُنْكَرٍ أَوْ ذِكْرُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَقَالَ اللَّهُ أَصْدَقُ الْقَائِلِينَ : ( لَا خَيْرَ فِي كَثِيرٍ مِنْ نَجْوَاهُمْ إِلَّا مَنْ أَمَرَ بِصَدَقَةٍ أَوْ مَعْرُوفٍ أَوْ إِصْلَاحٍ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ ) النِّسَاءُ : 114 ، وَرَأَى بَعْضُ أَصْحَابِ الْحَدِيثِ بَعْضَ فُقَهَاءِ الْكُوفَةِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الرَّأْيِ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهِ فِي الْمَنَامِ قَالَ :
ʾamrun bimaʿrūfin , ʾaw nahyun ʿan munkarin ʾaw dhikru allāhi taʿālā , waqāla allāhu ʾaṣdaqu al-qāʾilīna: ( lā khayra fī kathīrin min najwāhum ʾillā man ʾamara biṣadaqatin ʾaw maʿrūfin ʾaw ʾiṣlāḥin bayna al-nāsi ) al-nisāʾu: 114 , waraʾā baʿḍu ʾaṣḥābi al-ḥadīthi baʿḍa fuqahāʾi al-kūfati min ʾahli al-raʾyi baʿda mawtihi fī al-manāmi qāla:
enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, or remembering God Most High.” God, the most truthful of speakers, said: “There is no good in much of their private conversation, except for one who commands charity, kindness, or reconciliation between people” (al-Nisāʾ 4:114). One transmitter of hadith saw in a dream, after his death, a jurist of Kufa who belonged to the school of personal opinion. He said:
فَقُلْتُ لَهُ مَا فَعَلْتَ فِيمَا كُنْتَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْفُتْيَا وَالرَّأْيِ قَالَ : فَكَرِهَ وَجْهُهُ وَأَعْرَضَ عَنِّي وَقَالَ مَا وَجَدْنَاهُ شَيْئًا وَمَا حَمِدْنَا عَاقِبَتَهُ . وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ نَصْرِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ الْجَهْضَمِيِّ عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ : رَأَيْتُ الْخَلِيلَ بْنَ أَحْمَدَ فِي النَّوْمِ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهِ فَقُلْتُ : مَا أَجِدُ أَعْقَلَ مِنَ الْخَلِيلِ لَأَسْأَلَنَّهُ فَقَالَ لِي : أَرَأَيْتَ مَا كُنَّا فِيهِ ؟
faqultu lahu mā faʿalta fīmā kunta ʿalayhi mina al-futyā wa-al-raʾyi qāla: fakariha wajhuhu waʾaʿraḍa ʿannī waqāla mā wajadnāhu shayʾan wamā ḥamidnā ʿāqibatahu. waḥaddathūnā ʿan ʿaliyyi bni naṣri bni ʿaliyyin al-jahḍamiyyi ʿan ʾabīhi qāla: raʾaytu al-khalīla bna ʾaḥmada fī al-nawmi baʿda mawtihi faqultu: mā ʾajidu ʾaʿqala mina al-khalīli laʾasʾalannahu faqāla lī: ʾaraʾayta mā kunnā fīhi ?
“I asked him: ‘What became of your work in legal opinions and personal reasoning?’ His face showed displeasure, and he turned away from me and said: ‘We found it to be nothing, and we did not commend its outcome.’” They related to us from ʿAlī ibn Naṣr ibn ʿAlī al-Jahḍamī, from his father, who said: “I saw al-Khalīl ibn Aḥmad in a dream after his death and said to myself: ‘I can find no one more intelligent than al-Khalīl; I will certainly ask him.’ He said to me: ‘Do you remember what we used to pursue?
فَإِنِّي لَمْ أَرَ شَيْئًا مَا رَأَيْتُ أَنْفَعَ مِنْ قَوْلِ : سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ، وَلَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ ، وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ بَعْضِ الْأَشْيَاخِ قَالَ : رَأَيْتُ بَعْضَ الْعُلَمَاءِ فِي الْمَنَامِ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ : مَا فَعَلَتْ تِلْكَ الْعُلُومُ الَّتِي كُنَّا نُجَادِلُ فِيهَا وَنُنَاظِرُ عَلَيْهَا قَالَ :
faʾinnī lam ʾara shayʾan mā raʾaytu ʾanfaʿa min qawli: subḥāna allāhi , wa-al-ḥamdu lillāhi , walā ʾilāha ʾillā allāhu wa-allāhu ʾakbaru , waḥaddathūnā ʿan baʿḍi al-ʾashyākhi qāla: raʾaytu baʿḍa al-ʿulamāʾi fī al-manāmi faqultu lahu: mā faʿalat tilka al-ʿulūmu allatī kunnā nujādilu fīhā wanunāẓiru ʿalayhā qāla:
I found it to be nothing. I have found nothing more beneficial than saying: “Glory be to God; praise be to God; there is no god but God; and God is greatest.”’” They related to us from one of the elders, who said: “I saw a scholar in a dream and asked him: ‘What became of those sciences over which we used to argue and debate?’” He said:
فَبَسَطَ يَدَهُ وَنَفَخَ فِيهَا وَقَالَ طَاحَتْ كُلُّهَا هَبَاءً مَنْثُورًا مَا انْتَفَعْتُ إِلَّا بِرَكْعَتَيْنِ حَصَلَتَا لِي فِي جَوْفِ اللَّيْلِ وَحُدِّثْتُ عَنْ أَبِي دَاوُدَ السِّجِسْتَانِيِّ قَالَ : كَانَ بَعْضُ أَصْحَابِنَا كَثِيرَ الطَّلَبِ لِلْحَدِيثِ حَسَنَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ بِهِ فَمَاتَ فَرَأَيْتُهُ فِي الْمَنَامِ فَقُلْتُ مَا فَعَلَ اللَّهُ بِكَ فَسَكَتَ فَأَعَدْتُ عَلَيْهِ فَسَكَتَ فَقُلْتُ غَفَرَ اللَّهُ لَكَ قَالَ : لَا ،
fabasaṭa yadahu wanafakha fīhā waqāla ṭāḥat kulluhā habāʾan manthūran mā intafaʿtu ʾillā birakʿatayni ḥaṣalatā lī fī jawfi al-layli waḥuddithtu ʿan ʾabī dāwuda al-sijistāniyyi qāla: kāna baʿḍu ʾaṣḥābinā kathīra al-ṭalabi lilḥadīthi ḥasana al-maʿrifati bihi famāta faraʾaytuhu fī al-manāmi faqultu mā faʿala allāhu bika fasakata faʾaʿadtu ʿalayhi fasakata faqultu ghafara allāhu laka qāla: lā ,
“He stretched out his hand, blew into it, and said: ‘They all vanished as scattered dust. Nothing benefited me except two units of prayer I had performed in the depths of the night.’” I was told from Abū Dāwūd al-Sijistānī, who said: “One of our companions sought hadith extensively and knew it well. He died, and I saw him in a dream. I asked: ‘What has God done with you?’ He was silent. I repeated the question, and he was silent. I asked: ‘Has God forgiven you?’ He replied: ‘No.’
قُلْتُ لِمَ ؟ قَالَ : الذُّنُوبُ كَثِيرَةٌ وَالْمُنَاقَشَةُ دَقِيقَةٌ وَلَكِنْ قَدْ وُعِدْتُ بِخَيْرٍ وَأَنَا أَرْجُو خَيْرًا ، قُلْتُ : أَيُّ الْأَعْمَالِ وَجَدْتَهَا فِيمَا هُنَاكَ أَفْضَلَ ، قَالَ : قِرَاءَةَ الْقُرْآنِ وَالصَّلَاةَ فِي جَوْفِ اللَّيْلِ ، قُلْتُ : فَأَيُّمَا أَفْضَلُ مَا كُنْتَ تَقْرَأُ أَوْ تُقْرِئُ ؟ فَقَالَ : مَا كُنْتُ أَقْرَأُ قُلْتُ : فَكَيْفَ وَجَدْتَ قَوْلَنَا فُلَانٌ ثِقَةٌ وَفُلَانٌ ضَعِيفٌ فَقَالَ :
qultu lima ? qāla: al-dhunūbu kathīratun wa-al-munāqashatu daqīqatun walākin qad wuʿidtu bikhayrin waʾanā ʾarjū khayran , qultu: ʾayyu al-ʾaʿmāli wajadtahā fīmā hunāka ʾafḍala , qāla: qirāʾata al-qurʾāni wa-al-ṣalāta fī jawfi al-layli , qultu: faʾayyumā ʾafḍalu mā kunta taqraʾu ʾaw tuqriʾu ? faqāla: mā kuntu ʾaqraʾu qultu: fakayfa wajadta qawlanā fulānun thiqatun wafulānun ḍaʿīfun faqāla:
“I asked: ‘Why?’ He replied: ‘Sins are many, and the scrutiny is exacting. But I have been promised good, and I hope for good.’ I asked: ‘Which deeds have you found best over there?’ He replied: ‘Reciting the Qurʾān and praying in the depths of the night.’ I asked: ‘Which was better: your own recitation or teaching others to recite?’ He replied: ‘My own recitation.’ I asked: ‘What did you find concerning our saying, “So-and-so is reliable; so-and-so is weak”?’ He replied:
إِنْ خَلَصَتْ فِيهِ النِّيَّةُ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَكَ وَلَا عَلَيْكَ ، وَحُدِّثْتُ عَنْ بَعْضِ الشُّيُوخِ قَالَ : حَدَّثَنِي أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عُمَرَ الْخَاقَانِيُّ قَالَ : أُرِيتُ فِي مَنَامِي كَأَنِّي فِي طَرِيقٍ أَمْضِي إِذْ صَادَفَنِي رَجُلٌ فَأَقْبَلَ عَلَيَّ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ : وَإِنْ تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ : لِيَ تَعْنِي ؟ فَقَالَ : لَكَ وَلِذَاكَ الَّذِي خَلْفَكَ ،
ʾin khalaṣat fīhi al-niyyatu lam yakun laka walā ʿalayka , waḥuddithtu ʿan baʿḍi al-shuyūkhi qāla: ḥaddathanī ʾaḥmadu bnu ʿumara al-khāqāniyyu qāla: ʾurītu fī manāmī kaʾannī fī ṭarīqin ʾamḍī ʾidh ṣādafanī rajulun faʾaqbala ʿalayya wahuwa yaqūlu: waʾin tuṭiʿ ʾakthara man fī al-ʾarḍi yuḍillūka ʿan sabīli allāhi faqultu lahu: liya taʿnī ? faqāla: laka walidhāka alladhī khalfaka ,
“‘If the intention in it was pure, it counted neither for you nor against you.’” I was told from one of the elders, who said: “Aḥmad ibn ʿUmar al-Khāqānī told me: ‘In my dream I was shown myself walking along a road. A man encountered me and approached, saying: “If you obey most of those on earth, they will lead you astray from God’s way.” I asked him: “Do you mean me?” He replied: “You, and that man behind you.”
فَالْتَفَتُّ فَإِذَا سَرِيٌّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ فَأَعْرَضْتُ عَنِ الرَّجُلِ وَأَقْبَلْتُ عَلَى السَّرِيِّ وَقُلْتُ : هَذَا أُسْتَاذُنَا وَمُؤَدِّبُنَا الَّذِي كَانَ يُؤَدِّبُنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا ، ثُمَّ قُلْتُ لَهُ : يَا أَبَا الْحَسَنِ إِنَّكَ قَدْ صِرْتَ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَأَخْبِرْنَا بِأَيِّ عَمَلٍ تَقَبَّلَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فَأَخَذَ بِيَدِي ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَ فَجِئْتُ أَنَا وَهُوَ إِلَى بِنْيَةٍ مِثْلِ الْكَعْبَةِ فَوَقَفْنَا إِلَى جَانِبِهَا إِذَا أَشْرَفَ عَلَيْنَا مِنَ الْبِنْيَةِ شَخْصٌ فَأَضَاءَ
fa-ltafattu faʾidhā sariyyun raḥimahu allāhu faʾaʿraḍtu ʿani al-rajuli waʾaqbaltu ʿalā al-sariyyi waqultu: hādhā ʾustādhunā wamuʾaddibunā alladhī kāna yuʾaddibunā fī al-dunyā , thumma qultu lahu: yā ʾabā al-ḥasani ʾinnaka qad ṣirta ʾilā allāhi taʿālā faʾakhbirnā biʾayyi ʿamalin taqabbalahu allāhu taʿālā faʾakhadha biyadī thumma qāla taʿāla fajiʾtu ʾanā wahuwa ʾilā binyatin mithli al-kaʿbati fawaqafnā ʾilā jānibihā ʾidhā ʾashrafa ʿalaynā mina al-binyati shakhṣun faʾaḍāʾa
“‘I turned, and there was Sarī, God have mercy on him. I turned away from the man and toward Sarī, saying: “This is our teacher and instructor who used to train us in this world.” Then I said to him: “Abū al-Ḥasan, you have now gone to God Most High. Tell us what deed God Most High accepted.” He took my hand and said: “Come.” He and I went to a building like the Kaʿba and stood beside it. A figure looked down on us from the building, and
ذَلِكَ الْمَوْضِعُ مِنْهُ فَأَوْمَأَ سَرِيٌّ إِلَيْهِ وَأَشَالَنِي نَحْوَهُ وَكَانَ سَرِيٌّ قَصِيرًا وَأَنَا أَيْضًا قَصِيرٌ فَمَدَّ ذَلِكَ الشَّخْصُ الَّذِي كَانَ فَوْقَ الْبِنْيَةِ يَدَهُ فَأَخَذَنِي فَشَالَنِي إِلَيْهِ فَلَمْ أَقْدِرْ أَفْتَحَ عَيْنِي مِنْ أَنْوَارٍ كَانَتْ فِي ذَلِكَ الْمَكَانِ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ لِي : قَدْ سَمِعْتُ كَلَامَكَ مَعَ الشَّيْخِ كُلُّ خُلُقٍ فِي الْقُرْآنِ مَحْمُودٍ تَفْعَلُهُ وَكُلُّ خُلُقٍ فِي الْقُرْآنِ مَذْمُومٍ تَنْتَهِي عَنْهُ وَحَسْبُكَ هَذَا .
dhālika al-mawḍiʿu minhu faʾawmaʾa sariyyun ʾilayhi waʾashālanī naḥwahu wakāna sariyyun qaṣīran waʾanā ʾayḍan qaṣīrun famadda dhālika al-shakhṣu alladhī kāna fawqa al-binyati yadahu faʾakhadhanī fashālanī ʾilayhi falam ʾaqdir ʾaftaḥa ʿaynī min ʾanwārin kānat fī dhālika al-makāni , thumma qāla lī: qad samiʿtu kalāmaka maʿa al-shaykhi kullu khuluqin fī al-qurʾāni maḥmūdin tafʿaluhu wakullu khuluqin fī al-qurʾāni madhmūmin tantahī ʿanhu waḥasbuka hādhā.
“‘that place shone with his light. Sarī gestured toward him and lifted me in his direction. Sarī was short, and I too am short. The figure above the building stretched out his hand, took me, and lifted me up to him. I could not open my eyes because of the lights in that place. Then he said: “I heard your conversation with the shaykh. Practice every character trait praised in the Qurʾān, and refrain from every character trait condemned in the Qurʾān. That is enough for you.”’”
وَقَدْ حَدَّثُونَا عَنْ سَرِيِّ السَّقَطِيِّ قَالَ : كَانَ شَابٌّ يَطْلُبُ عِلْمَ الظَّاهِرِ وَيُوَاظِبُ عَلَيْهِ ثُمَّ تَرَكَ ذَلِكَ وَانْفَرَدَ وَاشْتَغَلَ بِالْعِبَادَةِ فَسَأَلْتُ عَنْهُ فَإِذَا هُوَ قَدِ اعْتَزَلَ النَّاسَ وَقَعَدَ فِي بَيْتِهِ يَتَعَبَّدُ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ : قَدْ كُنْتَ حَرِيصًا عَلَى الطَّلَبِ لِعِلْمِ الظَّاهِرِ فَمَا بَالُكَ انْقَطَعْتَ ؟ قَالَ : رَأَيْتُ فِي النَّوْمِ قَائِلًا يَقُولُ لِي : كَمْ تُضَيِّعُ الْعِلْمَ ضَيَّعَكَ اللَّهُ فَقُلْتُ إِنِّي لَأَحْفَظُهُ فَقَالَ :
waqad ḥaddathūnā ʿan sariyyi al-saqaṭiyyi qāla: kāna shābbun yaṭlubu ʿilma al-ẓāhiri wayuwāẓibu ʿalayhi thumma taraka dhālika wanfarada washtaghala bi-al-ʿibādati fasaʾaltu ʿanhu faʾidhā huwa qadi iʿtazala al-nāsa waqaʿada fī baytihi yataʿabbadu faqultu lahu: qad kunta ḥarīṣan ʿalā al-ṭalabi liʿilmi al-ẓāhiri famā bāluka inqaṭaʿta ? qāla: raʾaytu fī al-nawmi qāʾilan yaqūlu lī: kam tuḍayyiʿu al-ʿilma ḍayyaʿaka allāhu faqultu ʾinnī laʾaḥfaẓuhu faqāla:
They related to us from Sarī al-Saqaṭī, who said: “A young man used to seek outward knowledge and persevere in it. Then he left it, withdrew into solitude, and occupied himself with worship. I asked about him and found that he had withdrawn from people and stayed at home worshipping. I said to him: ‘You used to be eager to seek outward knowledge. Why have you cut yourself off?’ He replied: ‘In a dream I saw someone say to me: “How much you neglect knowledge! May God neglect you!” I said: “But I certainly memorize it.” He replied:
إِنَّ حِفْظَ الْعِلْمِ الْعَمَلُ بِهِ فَتَرَكْتُ الطَّلَبَ وَأَقْبَلْتُ عَلَى النَّظَرِ فِيهِ لِلْعَمَلِ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : لَيْسَ الْعِلْمُ بِكَثْرَةِ الرِّوَايَةِ وَإِنَّمَا الْعِلْمُ الْخَشْيَةُ ، وَقَالَ غَيْرُهُ مِنَ الْفُقَهَاءِ : إِنَّمَا الْعِلْمُ نُورٌ يَقْذِفُهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي الْقَلْبِ ، وَكَانَ الْحَسَنُ الْبَصْرِيُّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ :
ʾinna ḥifẓa al-ʿilmi al-ʿamalu bihi fataraktu al-ṭalaba waʾaqbaltu ʿalā al-naẓari fīhi lilʿamali , waqad kāna ibnu masʿūdin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu: laysa al-ʿilmu bikathrati al-riwāyati waʾinnamā al-ʿilmu al-khashyatu , waqāla ghayruhu mina al-fuqahāʾi: ʾinnamā al-ʿilmu nūrun yaqdhifuhu allāhu taʿālā fī al-qalbi , wakāna al-ḥasanu al-baṣriyyu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu:
“‘“Preserving knowledge means acting on it.” So I left off seeking and turned to examining it in order to act.’” Ibn Masʿūd, God be pleased with him, used to say: “Knowledge is not an abundance of transmitted reports; knowledge is reverent fear.” Another jurist said: “Knowledge is simply a light that God Most High casts into the heart.” Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, God be pleased with him, used to say:
اِعْلَمُوا مَا شِئْتُمْ أَنْ تَعْلَمُوا فَوَ اللَّهِ لَا يَأْجُرُكُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى تَعْمَلُوا فَإِنَّ السُّفَهَاءَ هِمَّتُهُمُ الرِّوَايَةُ وَإِنَّ الْعُلَمَاءَ هِمَّتُهُمُ الرِّعَايَةُ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْهُ أَيْضًا أَنَّهُ قَالَ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَعْبَأُ بِذِي قَوْلٍ وَرِوَايَةٍ إِنَّمَا يَعْبَأُ بِذِي فَهْمٍ وَدِرَايَةٍ ، وَقَالَ أَبُو حُصَيْنٍ : إِنَّ أَحَدَهُمْ لَيُفْتِي فِي مَسْأَلَةٍ لَوْ وَرَدَتْ عَلَى عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ لَجَمَعَ لَهَا أَهْلَ بَدْرٍ ،
iʿlamū mā shiʾtum ʾan taʿlamū fa-wa-allāhi lā yaʾjurukumu allāhu taʿālā ʿalayhi ḥattā taʿmalū faʾinna al-sufahāʾa himmatuhumu al-riwāyatu waʾinna al-ʿulamāʾa himmatuhumu al-riʿāyatu. warawaynā ʿanhu ʾayḍan ʾannahu qāla: ʾinna allāha lā yaʿbaʾu bidhī qawlin wariwāyatin ʾinnamā yaʿbaʾu bidhī fahmin wadirāyatin , waqāla ʾabū ḥuṣaynin: ʾinna ʾaḥadahum layuftī fī masʾalatin law waradat ʿalā ʿumara bni al-khaṭṭābi raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu lajamaʿa lahā ʾahla badrin ,
“Learn whatever you wish to learn. By God, God Most High will not reward you for it until you act. The foolish are intent on transmission; scholars are intent on faithful observance.” We have also related from him: “God pays no heed to a person of speech and transmission; He pays heed to a person of understanding and discernment.” Abū Ḥuṣayn said: “One of them will issue an opinion on a question which, had it come before ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, God be pleased with him, would have led him to assemble the people of Badr.”
وَقَالَ غَيْرُهُ : يُسْأَلُ أَحَدُهُمْ عَنِ الشَّيْءِ فَيُسْرِعُ لِلْفُتْيَا وَلَوْ سُئِلَ أَهْلُ بَدْرٍ عَنْهَا لَأَعْضَلَتْهُمْ ، وَقَالَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ يَحْيَى الْأَسْوَدُ وَغَيْرُهُ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ : إِنَّ عِلْمَ
waqāla ghayruhu: yusʾalu ʾaḥaduhum ʿani al-shayʾi fayusriʿu lilfutyā walaw suʾila ʾahlu badrin ʿanhā laʾaʿḍalathum , waqāla ʿabdu al-raḥmāni bnu yaḥyā al-ʾaswadu waghayruhu mina al-ʿulamāʾi: ʾinna ʿilma
Another said: “One of them is asked about something and rushes to give a legal opinion. Had the people of Badr been asked about it, it would have perplexed them.” ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yaḥyā al-Aswad and other scholars said: “Knowledge of
الْأَحْكَامِ وَالْفَتَاوَى كَانَ الْوُلَاةُ وَالْأُمَرَاءُ يَقُومُونَ بِهِ وَتَرْجِعُ الْعَامَّةُ إِلَيْهِمْ فِيهِ ثُمَّ ضَعُفَ الْأَمْرُ وَعَجَزَتِ الْوُلَاةُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ لِمَيْلِهِمْ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا وَشُغْلِهِمْ بِالْحُرُوبِ عَنْهَا فَصَارُوا يَسْتَعِينُونَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ بِعُلَمَاءِ الظَّاهِرِ وَبِالْمُفْتِينَ فِي الْجَوَامِعِ ، فَكَانَ الْأَمِيرُ إِذَا جَلَسَ لِلْمَظَالِمِ قَعَدَ عَنْ يَمِينِهِ وَشِمَالِهِ مُفْتِيَانِ يَرْجِعُ إِلَيْهِمَا فِي الْقَضَاءِ وَالْأَحْكَامِ وَيَأْمُرُ الشُّرَطَ بِمِثْلِ ذَلِكَ فَكَانَ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَتَعَلَّمُ عِلْمَ الْفُتْيَا وَالْقَضَاءِ لِيَسْتَعِينَ بِهِمُ الْوُلَاةُ
al-ʾaḥkāmi wa-al-fatāwā kāna al-wulātu wa-al-ʾumarāʾu yaqūmūna bihi watarjiʿu al-ʿāmmatu ʾilayhim fīhi thumma ḍaʿufa al-ʾamru waʿajazati al-wulātu ʿan dhālika limaylihim ʾilā al-dunyā washughlihim bi-al-ḥurūbi ʿanhā faṣārū yastaʿīnūna ʿalā dhālika biʿulamāʾi al-ẓāhiri wabilmuftīna fī al-jawāmiʿi , fakāna al-ʾamīru ʾidhā jalasa lilmaẓālimi qaʿada ʿan yamīnihi washimālihi muftiyāni yarjiʿu ʾilayhimā fī al-qaḍāʾi wa-al-ʾaḥkāmi wayaʾmuru al-shuraṭa bimithli dhālika fakāna mina al-nāsi man yataʿallamu ʿilma al-futyā wa-al-qaḍāʾi liyastaʿīna bihimu al-wulātu
“rulings and legal opinions used to be maintained by governors and rulers, and the common people consulted them about it. Then the institution weakened, and governors became incapable of this because of their inclination toward this world and their preoccupation with wars. They began to seek help from scholars of outward knowledge and the muftis in the congregational mosques. When the ruler sat to hear grievances, two muftis would sit on his right and left for him to consult about judgments and rulings. He ordered the police to do the same. Some people therefore learned the science of legal opinions and judgments so that governors would employ their help
عَلَى الْأَحْكَامِ وَالْقَضَاءِ حَتَّى كَثُرَ الْمُفْتُونَ رَغْبَةً فِي الدُّنْيَا وَطَلَبًا لِلرِّيَاسَةِ ثُمَّ اخْتَلَفَ الْأَمْرُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ حَتَّى تَرَكَتِ الْوُلَاةُ الِاسْتِعَانَةَ بِالْعُلَمَاءِ وَمِمَّا يَدُلُّكَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ حَدِيثُ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ حَيْثُ كَتَبَ إِلَى ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ عُقْبَةَ بْنِ عَامِرٍ أَلَمْ أُخْبَرْ أَنَّكَ تُفْتِي النَّاسَ وَلَسْتَ بِأَمِيرٍ وَلَا مَأْمُورٍ ، وَفِي حَدِيثِ أَبِي عَامِرٍ الْهَرَوِيِّ قَالَ :
ʿalā al-ʾaḥkāmi wa-al-qaḍāʾi ḥattā kathura al-muftūna raghbatan fī al-dunyā waṭalaban li-l-riyāsati thumma ikhtalafa al-ʾamru baʿda dhālika ḥattā tarakati al-wulātu al-istiʿānata bi-al-ʿulamāʾi wamimmā yadulluka ʿalā dhālika ḥadīthu ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ḥaythu kataba ʾilā ibni masʿūdin ʿuqbata bni ʿāmirin ʾalam ʾukhbar ʾannaka tuftī al-nāsa walasta biʾamīrin walā maʾmūrin , wafī ḥadīthi ʾabī ʿāmirin al-harawiyyi qāla:
“in rulings and judgments, until muftis multiplied out of desire for this world and pursuit of leadership. Affairs then changed further, until governors stopped seeking scholars’ help.” Evidence of this is the report of ʿUmar, God be pleased with him, when he wrote to Ibn Masʿūd, ʿUqba ibn ʿĀmir [an uncertain sequence of names]: “Have I not been told that you give legal opinions to people although you are neither a ruler nor commissioned to do so?” In the report of Abū ʿĀmir al-Harawī, he said:
حَجَجْتُ مَعَ مُعَاوِيَةَ فَلَمَّا قَدِمْنَا مَكَّةَ حُدِّثَ عَنْ رَجُلٍ يَقْضِي وَيُفْتِي النَّاسَ مَوْلًى لِبَنِي مَخْزُومٍ فَأَرْسَلَ إِلَيْهِ فَقَالَ : أُمِرْتَ بِهَذَا قَالَ : لَا ، قَالَ : فَمَا حَمَلَكَ عَلَيْهِ ؟ قَالَ : نُفْتِي وَنَنْشُرُ عِلْمًا عِنْدَنَا ، فَقَالَ مُعَاوِيَةُ : لَوْ تَقَدَّمْتُ إِلَيْكَ قَبْلَ يَوْمِي هَذَا لَقَطَعْتُ مِنْكَ طَابِقًا ثُمَّ نَهَاهُ وَلَمْ يَكُونُوا يَقُولُونَ ذَلِكَ فِي عِلْمِ الْقُلُوبِ وَلَا عِلْمِ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْيَقِينِ بَلْ قَدْ كَتَبَ عُمَرُ إِلَى أُمَرَاءِ الْأَجْنَادِ :
ḥajajtu maʿa muʿāwiyata falammā qadimnā makkata ḥudditha ʿan rajulin yaqḍī wayuftī al-nāsa mawlan libanī makhzūmin faʾarsala ʾilayhi faqāla: ʾumirta bihādhā qāla: lā , qāla: famā ḥamalaka ʿalayhi ? qāla: nuftī wananshuru ʿilman ʿindanā , faqāla muʿāwiyatu: law taqaddamtu ʾilayka qabla yawmī hādhā laqaṭaʿtu minka ṭābiqan thumma nahāhu walam yakūnū yaqūlūna dhālika fī ʿilmi al-qulūbi walā ʿilmi al-ʾīmāni wa-al-yaqīni bal qad kataba ʿumaru ʾilā ʾumarāʾi al-ʾajnādi:
“I made the pilgrimage with Muʿāwiya. When we reached Mecca, he was told of a man, a client of Banū Makhzūm, who judged cases and gave people legal opinions. He sent for him and asked: ‘Were you ordered to do this?’ He replied: ‘No.’ He asked: ‘Then what led you to it?’ He replied: ‘We give opinions and spread knowledge we possess.’ Muʿāwiya said: ‘Had I warned you before today, I would have cut off one of your limbs.’ Then he forbade him.” They did not say this about knowledge of hearts or knowledge of faith and certainty. Indeed, ʿUmar wrote to the army commanders:
احْفَظُوا مَا تَسْمَعُونَ مِنَ الْمُطِيعِينَ فَإِنَّهُمْ تُجْلَى لَهُمْ أُمُورٌ صَادِقَةٌ وَقَدْ كَانَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَجْلِسُ إِلَى الْمُرِيدِينَ فَيَسْتَمِعُ إِلَيْهِمْ . وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : إِذَا رَأَيْتُمُ الرَّجُلَ قَدْ أُوتِيَ صَمْتًا وَزُهْدًا فَاقْتَرِبُوا مِنْهُ فَإِنَّهُ تَلَقَّى الْحِكْمَةَ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ أَصْحَابِ الْحَدِيثِ : رَأَيْتُ سُفْيَانَ الثَّوْرِيَّ حَزِينًا فَسَأَلْتُهُ فَقَالَ وَهُوَ بَرِمٌ : مَا صِرْنَا إِلَّا مَتْجَرًا لِأَبْنَاءِ الدُّنْيَا قُلْتُ :
iḥfaẓū mā tasmaʿūna mina al-muṭīʿīna faʾinnahum tujlā lahum ʾumūrun ṣādiqatun waqad kāna ʿumaru raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yajlisu ʾilā al-murīdīna fayastamiʿu ʾilayhim. wafī al-khabari: ʾidhā raʾaytumu al-rajula qad ʾūtiya ṣamtan wazuhdan faqtaribū minhu faʾinnahu talaqqā al-ḥikmata , waqāla baʿḍu ʾaṣḥābi al-ḥadīthi: raʾaytu sufyāna al-thawriyya ḥazīnan fasaʾaltuhu faqāla wahuwa barimun: mā ṣirnā ʾillā matjaran liʾabnāʾi al-dunyā qultu:
“Preserve what you hear from the obedient, for true things are disclosed to them.” ʿUmar, God be pleased with him, used to sit with seekers and listen to them. In a report: “When you see a man who has been granted silence and renunciation, draw near to him, for he has received wisdom.” A transmitter of hadith said: “I saw Sufyān al-Thawrī looking sad and asked him about it. He replied with irritation: ‘We have become nothing but a marketplace for the people of this world.’ I asked:
وَكَيْفَ ؟ قَالَ : يَلْزَمُنَا أَحَدُهُمْ حَتَّى إِذَا عُرِفَ بِنَا وَحَمَلَ عَنَّا جُعِلَ عَامِلًا أَوْ جَابِيًا أَوْ قَهْرَمَانًا ، وَكَانَ الْحَسَنُ يَقُولُ : يَتَعَلَّمُ هَذَا الْعِلْمَ قَوْمٌ لَا نَصِيبَ لَهُمْ مِنْهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ يَحْفَظُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهِمُ الْعِلْمَ عَلَى الْأُمَّةِ لِئَلَّا يَضِيعَ ، وَقَالَ الْمَأْمُونُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ : لَوْلَا ثَلَاثٌ لَخَرِبَتِ الدُّنْيَا : لَوْلَا الشَّهْوَةُ لَانْقَطَعَ النَّسْلُ وَلَوْلَا حُبُّ الْجَمْعِ لَبَطَلَتِ الْمَعَايِشُ وَلَوْلَا حُبُّ الرِّيَاسَةِ لَذَهَبَ الْعِلْمُ ،
wakayfa ? qāla: yalzamunā ʾaḥaduhum ḥattā ʾidhā ʿurifa binā waḥamala ʿannā juʿila ʿāmilan ʾaw jābiyan ʾaw qahramānan , wakāna al-ḥasanu yaqūlu: yataʿallamu hādhā al-ʿilma qawmun lā naṣība lahum minhu fī al-ʾākhirati yaḥfaẓu allāhu taʿālā bihimu al-ʿilma ʿalā al-ʾummati liʾallā yaḍīʿa , waqāla al-maʾmūnu raḥimahu allāhu: lawlā thalāthun lakharibati al-dunyā: lawlā al-shahwatu lanqaṭaʿa al-naslu walawlā ḥubbu al-jamʿi labaṭalati al-maʿāyishu walawlā ḥubbu al-riyāsati ladhahaba al-ʿilmu ,
“‘How so?’ He replied: ‘One of them stays with us until he becomes known through us and has received our teaching; then he is made an official, a tax collector, or a steward.’” Al-Ḥasan used to say: “People learn this knowledge who have no share in it in the hereafter. Through them God Most High preserves knowledge for the community, so that it is not lost.” Al-Maʾmūn, God have mercy on him, said: “Were it not for three things, the world would fall to ruin: without desire, offspring would cease; without the love of accumulation, livelihoods would fail; and without the love of leadership, knowledge would disappear.”
فَهَذَا كُلُّهُ وَصْفُ عُلَمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا وَأَهْلِ عِلْمِ الْأَلْسِنَةِ ، وَأَمَّا عُلَمَاءُ الْآخِرَةِ وَأَهْلُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَالْيَقِينِ فَإِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يَهْرُبُونَ مِنَ الْأُمَرَاءِ وَمِنْ أَتْبَاعِهِمْ وَأَشْيَاعِهِمْ مِنْ أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا وَكَانُوا يَنْتَقِصُونَ عُلَمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا وَيَطْعَنُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَيَتْرُكُونَ مُجَالَسَتَهُمْ ، وَقَالَ ابْنُ أَبِي لَيْلَى أَدْرَكْتُ فِي هَذَا الْمَسْجِدِ مِائَةً وَعِشْرِينَ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ مَا سُئِلَ أَحَدُهُمْ عَنْ حَدِيثٍ وَلَا اسْتُفْتِيَ فِي فُتْيَا إِلَّا وَدَّ أَنْ صَاحِبَهُ قَدْ كَفَاهُ ذَلِكَ ،
fahādhā kulluhu waṣfu ʿulamāʾi al-dunyā waʾahli ʿilmi al-ʾalsinati , waʾammā ʿulamāʾu al-ʾākhirati waʾahlu al-maʿrifati wa-al-yaqīni faʾinnahum kānū yahrubūna mina al-ʾumarāʾi wamin ʾatbāʿihim waʾashyāʿihim min ʾahli al-dunyā wakānū yantaqiṣūna ʿulamāʾa al-dunyā wayaṭʿanūna ʿalayhim wayatrukūna mujālasatahum , waqāla ibnu ʾabī laylā ʾadraktu fī hādhā al-masjidi miʾatan waʿishrīna mina al-ṣaḥābati mā suʾila ʾaḥaduhum ʿan ḥadīthin walā ustuftiya fī futyā ʾillā wadda ʾan ṣāḥibahu qad kafāhu dhālika ,
All this describes the scholars of this world and those whose knowledge is on their tongues. As for scholars of the hereafter and people of knowledge of God and certainty, they used to flee from rulers and their followers and supporters among worldly people. They disparaged worldly scholars, criticized them, and avoided sitting with them. Ibn Abī Laylā said: “I met one hundred and twenty Companions in this mosque. Not one was asked about a hadith or requested to give a legal opinion without wishing that his companion had spared him the task.”
وَقَالَ مَرَّةً : أَدْرَكْتُ ثَلَاثَمِائَةٍ يُسْأَلُ أَحَدُهُمْ عَنِ الْفُتْيَا أَوِ الْحَدِيثِ فَيَرُدُّ ذَلِكَ إِلَى الْآخَرِ وَيُحِيلُ الْآخَرُ عَلَى صَاحِبِهِ وَكَانُوا يَتَدَافَعُونَ الْفُتْيَا مَا بَيْنَهُمْ وَلَمْ يَكُونُوا إِذَا سُئِلَ أَحَدُهُمْ عَنْ مَسْأَلَةٍ مِنْ عِلْمِ الْقُرْآنِ أَوْ عِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ وَالْإِيمَانِ يُحِيلُ عَلَى صَاحِبِهِ وَلَا يَسْكُتُ عَنِ الْجَوَابِ .
waqāla marratan: ʾadraktu thalāthamiʾatin yusʾalu ʾaḥaduhum ʿani al-futyā ʾawi al-ḥadīthi fayaruddu dhālika ʾilā al-ʾākhari wayuḥīlu al-ʾākharu ʿalā ṣāḥibihi wakānū yatadāfaʿūna al-futyā mā baynahum walam yakūnū ʾidhā suʾila ʾaḥaduhum ʿan masʾalatin min ʿilmi al-qurʾāni ʾaw ʿilmi al-yaqīni wa-al-ʾīmāni yuḥīlu ʿalā ṣāḥibihi walā yaskutu ʿani al-jawābi.
On another occasion he said: “I met three hundred. One would be asked for a legal opinion or a hadith and refer it to another, who would refer it to his companion. They used to pass legal questions among themselves. But when one was asked a question concerning knowledge of the Qurʾān, or knowledge of certainty and faith, he did not refer it to his companion or remain silent instead of answering.”
وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ : ( فَسْئَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ) النَّحْلُ : 43 فَهُمْ أَهْلُ الذِّكْرِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَأَهْلُ التَّوْحِيدِ وَالْعَقْلِ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَلَمْ يَكُونُوا يَتَلَقَّنُونَ هَذَا الْعِلْمَ دِرَاسَةً مِنَ الْكُتُبِ وَلَا يَتَلَقَّاهُ بَعْضُهُمْ مِنْ بَعْضٍ بِالْأَلْسِنَةِ إِنَّمَا كَانُوا أَهْلَ عَمَلٍ وَحُسْنِ مُعَامَلَاتٍ فَكَانَ أَحَدُهُمْ إِذَا انْقَطَعَ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَاشْتَغَلَ بِهِ وَاسْتَعْمَلَهُ الْمَوْلَى بِخِدْمَتِهِ بِأَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ وَكَانُوا
waqad qāla allāhu subḥānahu: ( fasʾalū ʾahla al-dhikri ʾin kuntum lā taʿlamūna ) al-naḥlu: 43 fahum ʾahlu al-dhikri lillāhi taʿālā waʾahlu al-tawḥīdi wa-al-ʿaqli ʿani allāhi taʿālā walam yakūnū yatalaqqanūna hādhā al-ʿilma dirāsatan mina al-kutubi walā yatalaqqāhu baʿḍuhum min baʿḍin bi-al-ʾalsinati ʾinnamā kānū ʾahla ʿamalin waḥusni muʿāmalātin fakāna ʾaḥaduhum ʾidhā inqaṭaʿa ʾilā allāhi taʿālā washtaghala bihi wastaʿmalahu al-mawlā bikhidmatihi biʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi wakānū
God, glorified is He, has said: “Ask the people of remembrance if you do not know” (al-Naḥl 16:43). They are the people who remember God Most High, affirm His oneness, and understand what comes from God Most High. They did not acquire this knowledge by studying books, nor did they receive it from one another through spoken instruction. They were people of action and excellent dealings with God. When one of them devoted himself entirely to God Most High, occupied himself with Him, and the Master employed him in His service through the works of hearts, they would remain
عِنْدَهُ فِي الْخَلْوَةِ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ لَا يَذْكُرُونَ سِوَاهُ وَلَا يَشْتَغِلُونَ بِغَيْرِهِ فَإِذَا ظَهَرُوا لِلنَّاسِ فَسَأَلُوهُمْ أَلْهَمَهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى رُشْدَهُمْ وَوَفَّقَهُمْ لِسَدِيدِ قَوْلِهِمْ وَآتَاهُمُ الْحِكْمَةَ مِيرَاثًا لِأَعْمَالِهِمُ الْبَاطِنَةِ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمُ الصَّافِيَةِ وَعُقُولِهِمُ الزَّاكِيَةِ وَهِمَمِهِمُ الْعَالِيَةِ فَآثَرَهُمْ بِحُسْنِ تَوْفِيقِهِ أَنْ أَلْهَمَهُمْ حَقِيقَةَ الْعِلْمِ وَأَطْلَعَهُمْ عَلَى مَكْنُونِ السِّرِّ حِينَ آثَرُوهُ بِالْخِدْمَةِ وَانْقَطَعُوا إِلَيْهِ بِحُسْنِ الْمُعَامَلَةِ فَكَانُوا يُجِيبُونَ عَمَّا عَنْهُ يُسْأَلُونَ بِحُسْنِ أَثَرَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لَهُمْ وَبِجَمِيلِ أَثَرِهِ عِنْدَهُمْ
ʿindahu fī al-khalwati bayna yadayhi lā yadhkurūna siwāhu walā yashtaghilūna bighayrihi faʾidhā ẓaharū li-l-nāsi fasaʾalūhum ʾalhamahumu allāhu taʿālā rushdahum wawaffaqahum lisadīdi qawlihim waʾātāhumu al-ḥikmata mīrāthan liʾaʿmālihimu al-bāṭinati ʿan qulūbihimu al-ṣāfiyati waʿuqūlihimu al-zākiyati wahimamihimu al-ʿāliyati faʾātharahum biḥusni tawfīqihi ʾan ʾalhamahum ḥaqīqata al-ʿilmi waʾaṭlaʿahum ʿalā maknūni al-sirri ḥīna ʾātharūhu bi-al-khidmati wanqaṭaʿū ʾilayhi biḥusni al-muʿāmalati fakānū yujībūna ʿammā ʿanhu yusʾalūna biḥusni ʾatharati allāhi taʿālā lahum wabijamīli ʾatharihi ʿindahum
with Him in solitude, in His presence, remembering none but Him and occupied with no other. When they appeared before people who questioned them, God Most High inspired them with right guidance, enabled them to speak soundly, and granted them wisdom as an inheritance from their inward deeds, springing from their pure hearts, purified minds, and lofty aspirations. He favored them through His gracious enablement, inspiring them with the reality of knowledge and disclosing the hidden secret to them, because they had preferred His service and devoted themselves to Him through excellent dealings. They answered what they were asked through God Most High’s gracious favor toward them and the beauty of His influence upon them.
فَتَكَلَّمُوا بِعِلْمِ الْقُدْرَةِ وَأَظْهَرُوا وَصْفَ الْحِكْمَةِ وَنَطَقُوا بِعُلُومِ الْإِيمَانِ وَكَشَفُوا بَوَاطِنَ الْقُرْآنِ وَهَذَا هُوَ الْعِلْمُ النَّافِعُ بَيْنَ الْعَبْدِ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَلْقَاهُ بِهِ وَيَسْأَلُهُ عَنْهُ وَيُثِيبُهُ عَلَيْهِ وَهُوَ مِيزَانُ جَمِيعِ الْأَعْمَالِ . وَعَلَى قَدْرِ عِلْمِ الْعَبْدِ بِرَبِّهِ تَعَالَى تَرْجُحُ أَعْمَالُهُ وَتُضَاعَفُ حَسَنَاتُهُ وَبِهِ يَكُونُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ لِأَنَّهُ لَدَيْهِ مِنَ الْمُوقِنِينَ فَهُمْ أَهْلُ الْحَقَائِقِ الَّذِينَ وَصَفَهُمْ عَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَفَضَّلَهُمْ عَلَى الْخَلَائِقِ ،
fatakallamū biʿilmi al-qudrati waʾaẓharū waṣfa al-ḥikmati wanaṭaqū biʿulūmi al-ʾīmāni wakashafū bawāṭina al-qurʾāni wahādhā huwa al-ʿilmu al-nāfiʿu bayna al-ʿabdi wabayna allāhi taʿālā wahuwa alladhī yalqāhu bihi wayasʾaluhu ʿanhu wayuthībuhu ʿalayhi wahuwa mīzānu jamīʿi al-ʾaʿmāli. waʿalā qadri ʿilmi al-ʿabdi birabbihi taʿālā tarjuḥu ʾaʿmāluhu watuḍāʿafu ḥasanātuhu wabihi yakūnu ʿinda allāhi taʿālā mina al-muqarrabīna liʾannahu ladayhi mina al-mūqinīna fahum ʾahlu al-ḥaqāʾiqi alladhīna waṣafahum ʿaliyyun ʿalayhi al-salāmu wafaḍḍalahum ʿalā al-khalāʾiqi ,
They spoke with knowledge of divine power, manifested the character of wisdom, gave voice to the sciences of faith, and unveiled the inward meanings of the Qurʾān. This is the beneficial knowledge between the servant and God Most High: the knowledge with which he meets Him, about which He questions him, and for which He rewards him. It is the measure of all deeds. In proportion to the servant’s knowledge of his Lord Most High, his deeds weigh more heavily and his good works are multiplied. Through it he is among those brought near to God Most High, because he is among those certain of Him. These are the people of spiritual realities whom ʿAlī, peace be upon him, described and preferred above created beings.
فَقَالَ فِي وَصْفِهِمُ الْقُلُوبُ أَوْعِيَةٌ وَخَيْرُهَا أَوْعَاهَا وَالنَّاسُ ثَلَاثَةٌ : عَالِمٌ رَبَّانِيٌّ ، وَمُتَعَلِّمٌ عَلَى سَبِيلِ نَجَاةٍ ، وَهَمَجٌ رَعَاعٌ أَتْبَاعُ كُلِّ نَاعِقٍ يَمِيلُونَ مَعَ كُلِّ رِيحٍ لَمْ يَسْتَضِيئُوا بِنُورِ الْعِلْمِ وَلَمْ يَلْجَؤُوا إِلَى رُكْنٍ وَثِيقٍ ، الْعِلْمُ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْمَالِ ، الْعِلْمُ يَحْرُسُكَ وَأَنْتَ تَحْرُسُ الْمَالَ ، وَالْعِلْمُ يُزَكِّيهِ الْعَمَلُ وَالْمَالُ تَنْقُصُهُ النَّفَقَةُ ،
faqāla fī waṣfihimu al-qulūbu ʾawʿiyatun wakhayruhā ʾawʿāhā wa-al-nāsu thalāthatun: ʿālimun rabbāniyyun , wamutaʿallimun ʿalā sabīli najātin , wahamajun raʿāʿun ʾatbāʿu kulli nāʿiqin yamīlūna maʿa kulli rīḥin lam yastaḍīʾū binūri al-ʿilmi walam yaljaʾū ʾilā ruknin wathīqin , al-ʿilmu khayrun mina al-māli , al-ʿilmu yaḥrusuka waʾanta taḥrusu al-māla , wa-al-ʿilmu yuzakkīhi al-ʿamalu wa-al-mālu tanquṣuhu al-nafaqatu ,
He said in describing them: “Hearts are vessels, and the best are those that hold the most. People are of three kinds: a scholar devoted to the Lord, a learner on the path of salvation, and an ignorant rabble following every crier and swaying with every wind. They have not sought light from the light of knowledge or taken refuge in a firm support. Knowledge is better than wealth: knowledge guards you, while you guard wealth. Action makes knowledge grow, while spending diminishes wealth.
مَحَبَّةُ الْعِلْمِ دِينٌ يُدَانُ بِهِ يَكْسِبُهُ الطَّاعَةَ فِي حَيَاتِهِ وَجَمِيلَ الْأُحْدُوثَةِ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهِ ، الْعِلْمُ حَاكِمٌ وَالْمَالُ مَحْكُومٌ عَلَيْهِ ، وَمَنْفَعَةُ الْمَالِ تَزُولُ بِزَوَالِهِ ، مَاتَ خُزَّانُ الْأَمْوَالِ وَهُمْ أَحْيَاءٌ وَالْعُلَمَاءُ بَاقُونَ مَا بَقِيَ الدَّهْرُ ثُمَّ تَنَفَّسَ الصُّعَدَاءَ فَقَالَ : هَا إِنَّ هَهُنَا عِلْمًا جَمًّا لَوْ أَجِدُ لَهُ حَمَلَةً بَلَى أَجِدُ لَقِنًا غَيْرَ مَأْمُونٍ يَسْتَعْمِلُ الدِّينَ فِي طَلَبِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَسْتَطِيلُ بِنِعَمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى
maḥabbatu al-ʿilmi dīnun yudānu bihi yaksibuhu al-ṭāʿata fī ḥayātihi wajamīla al-ʾuḥdūthati baʿda mawtihi , al-ʿilmu ḥākimun wa-al-mālu maḥkūmun ʿalayhi , wamanfaʿatu al-māli tazūlu bizawālihi , māta khuzzānu al-ʾamwāli wahum ʾaḥyāʾun wa-al-ʿulamāʾu bāqūna mā baqiya al-dahru thumma tanaffasa al-ṣuʿadāʾa faqāla: hā ʾinna hāhunā ʿilman jamman law ʾajidu lahu ḥamalatan balā ʾajidu laqinan ghayra maʾmūnin yastaʿmilu al-dīna fī ṭalabi al-dunyā wayastaṭīlu biniʿami allāhi taʿālā
“Love of knowledge is a religion to be practiced. It brings a person obedience during his life and a fine reputation after his death. Knowledge rules, while wealth is ruled; the benefit of wealth disappears when wealth disappears. Hoarders of money have died while still alive, but scholars endure as long as time endures.” Then he sighed deeply and said: “Ah, here is abundant knowledge, if only I could find people to bear it! Yes, I find someone quick to understand but untrustworthy, who uses religion to seek the world and uses God Most High’s blessings to lord it
عَلَى أَوْلِيَائِهِ وَيَسْتَظْهِرُ بِحُجَجِهِ عَلَى خَلْقِهِ أَوْ مُنْقَادًا لِأَهْلِ الْحَقِّ يَنْزَرِعُ الشَّكُّ فِي قَلْبِهِ بِأَوَّلِ عَارِضٍ مِنْ شُبْهَةٍ لَا بَصِيرَةَ لَهُ وَلَيْسَا مِنْ رُعَاةِ الدِّينِ فِي شَيْءٍ لَا ذَا وَلَا ذَاكَ فَمَنْهُومٌ بِاللَّذَّةِ سَلِسُ الْقِيَادَةِ فِي طَلَبِ الشَّهَوَاتِ أَوْ مُغْرًى بِجَمْعِ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالِادِّخَارِ مُنْقَادٌ لِهَوَاهُ أَقْرَبُ شَبَهًا بِهِمَا الْأَنْعَامُ السَّائِمَةُ ، اللَّهُمَّ هَكَذَا يَمُوتُ الْعِلْمُ إِذَا مَاتَ حَامِلُوهُ بَلْ لَا تَخْلُو الْأَرْضُ مِنْ قَائِمٍ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى بِحُجَّةٍ ،
ʿalā ʾawliyāʾihi wayastaẓhiru biḥujajihi ʿalā khalqihi ʾaw munqādan liʾahli al-ḥaqqi yanzariʿu al-shakku fī qalbihi biʾawwali ʿāriḍin min shubhatin lā baṣīrata lahu walaysā min ruʿāti al-dīni fī shayʾin lā dhā walā dhāka famanhūmun bi-al-ladhdhati salisu al-qiyādati fī ṭalabi al-shahawāti ʾaw mughran bijamʿi al-ʾamwāli wa-al-iddikhāri munqādun lihawāhu ʾaqrabu shabahan bihimā al-ʾanʿāmu al-sāʾimatu , allāhumma hākadhā yamūtu al-ʿilmu ʾidhā māta ḥāmilūhu bal lā takhlū al-ʾarḍu min qāʾimin lillāhi taʿālā biḥujjatin ,
“over His friends and deploys His proofs against His creatures. Or I find someone compliant with the people of truth, in whose heart doubt is planted by the first passing uncertainty, because he has no insight. Neither belongs at all among the guardians of religion, neither this one nor that one. Then there is one ravenous for pleasure, easily led in pursuit of desires; or one infatuated with collecting and storing wealth, obedient to his desire. Grazing livestock most resemble these two. O God, this is how knowledge dies when its bearers die! Yet the earth is never empty of someone who stands for God Most High with a proof,
إِمَّا ظَاهِرٌ مَكْشُوفٌ وَإِمَّا خَائِفٌ مَقْهُورٌ لِئَلَّا تَبْطُلَ حُجَجُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَبَيِّنَاتُهُ وَأَيْنَ أُولَئِكَ الْأَقَلُّونَ عَدَدًا الْأَعْظَمُونَ قَدْرًا أَعْيَانُهُمْ مَفْقُودَةٌ وَأَمْثَالُهُمْ فِي الْقُلُوبِ مَوْجُودَةٌ يَحْفَظُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهِمْ حُجَجَهُ حَتَّى يُودِعَهَا نُظَرَاءَهُمْ وَيَزْرَعُوهَا فِي قُلُوبِ أَشْبَاهِهِمْ ، هَجَمَ بِهِمُ الْعِلْمُ عَلَى حَقِيقَةِ الْأَمْرِ فَبَاشَرُوا رُوحَ الْيَقِينِ فَاسْتَلَانُوا مَا اسْتَوْعَرَ مِنْهُ الْمُتْرَفُونَ وَأَنِسُوا بِمَا
ʾimmā ẓāhirun makshūfun waʾimmā khāʾifun maqhūrun liʾallā tabṭula ḥujaju allāhi taʿālā wabayyinātuhu waʾayna ʾūlāʾika al-ʾaqallūna ʿadadan al-ʾaʿẓamūna qadran ʾaʿyānuhum mafqūdatun waʾamthāluhum fī al-qulūbi mawjūdatun yaḥfaẓu allāhu taʿālā bihim ḥujajahu ḥattā yūdiʿahā nuẓarāʾahum wayazraʿūhā fī qulūbi ʾashbāhihim , hajama bihimu al-ʿilmu ʿalā ḥaqīqati al-ʾamri fabāsharū rūḥa al-yaqīni fastalānū mā istawʿara minhu al-mutrafūna waʾanisū bimā
“whether openly visible or afraid and oppressed, so that God Most High’s proofs and clear signs do not come to nothing. Where are those fewest in number and greatest in worth? Their persons are absent, but their likenesses exist in hearts. Through them God Most High preserves His proofs until He entrusts them to their peers and they plant them in the hearts of those like themselves. Knowledge has brought them directly to the reality of the matter, and they have touched the spirit of certainty. They have found easy what the pampered find rugged, and have felt at home with what
اسْتَوْحَشَ مِنْهُ الْغَافِلُونَ صَحِبُوا الدُّنْيَا بِأَبْدَانٍ أَرْوَاحُهَا مُعَلَّقَةٌ بِالْمَحَلِّ الْأَعْلَى أُولَئِكَ أَوْلِيَاءُ اللَّهِ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ وَعُمَّالُهُ فِي أَرْضِهِ وَالدُّعَاةُ إِلَى دِينِهِ ، ثُمَّ بَكَى وَقَالَ : وَاشَوْقَاهُ إِلَى رُؤْيَتِهِمْ فَهَذِهِ كُلُّهَا أَوْصَافُ عُلَمَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ وَهَذِهِ نُعُوتُ عِلْمِ الْبَاطِنِ وَعِلْمِ الْقُلُوبِ لَا عِلْمِ الْأَلْسِنَةِ وَكَذَلِكَ وَصَفَهُمْ مُعَاذُ بْنُ جَبَلٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فِي وَصْفِ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى .
istawḥasha minhu al-ghāfilūna ṣaḥibū al-dunyā biʾabdānin ʾarwāḥuhā muʿallaqatun bi-al-maḥalli al-ʾaʿlā ʾūlāʾika ʾawliyāʾu allāhi min khalqihi waʿummāluhu fī ʾarḍihi wa-al-duʿātu ʾilā dīnihi , thumma bakā waqāla: wāshawqāhu ʾilā ruʾyatihim fahādhihi kulluhā ʾawṣāfu ʿulamāʾi al-ʾākhirati wahādhihi nuʿūtu ʿilmi al-bāṭini waʿilmi al-qulūbi lā ʿilmi al-ʾalsinati wakadhālika waṣafahum muʿādhu bnu jabalin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu fī waṣfi al-ʿilmi bi-allāhi taʿālā.
“the heedless find alienating. They accompany this world in bodies whose spirits are suspended from the highest abode. These are God’s friends among His creatures, His workers on His earth, and those who call to His religion.” Then he wept and said: “How I long to see them!” These are all descriptions of scholars of the hereafter, the qualities of inward knowledge and the knowledge of hearts, rather than knowledge of tongues. Muʿādh ibn Jabal, God be pleased with him, likewise described them when describing knowledge of God Most High,
فِيمَا رَوَيْنَاهُ مِنْ حَدِيثِ رَجَاءِ بْنِ حَيْوَةَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ غَنْمٍ عَنْ مُعَاذٍ قَالَ : تَعَلَّمُوا الْعِلْمَ فَإِنَّ تَعَلُّمَهُ لِلَّهِ خَشْيَةٌ وَطَلَبَهُ عِبَادَةٌ وَمُدَارَسَتَهُ تَسْبِيحٌ وَالْبَحْثَ عَنْهُ جِهَادٌ وَتَعْلِيمَهُ لِمَنْ لَا يَعْلَمُهُ صَدَقَةٌ وَبَذْلَهُ لِأَهْلِهِ قُرْبَةٌ وَهُوَ الْأَنِيسُ فِي الْوَحْدَةِ وَالصَّاحِبُ فِي الْخَلْوَةِ وَالدَّلِيلُ عَلَى السَّرَّاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ وَالزَّيْنُ عِنْدَ الْأَخِلَّاءِ وَالْقَرِيبُ عِنْدَ الْغُرَبَاءِ وَمَنَارُ سَبِيلِ الْجَنَّةِ يَرْفَعُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهِ أَقْوَامًا فَيَجْعَلُهُمْ
fīmā rawaynāhu min ḥadīthi rajāʾi bni ḥaywata bni ʿabdi al-raḥmāni bni ghanmin ʿan muʿādhin qāla: taʿallamū al-ʿilma faʾinna taʿallumahu lillāhi khashyatun waṭalabahu ʿibādatun wamudārasatahu tasbīḥun wa-al-baḥtha ʿanhu jihādun wataʿlīmahu liman lā yaʿlamuhu ṣadaqatun wabadhlahu liʾahlihi qurbatun wahuwa al-ʾanīsu fī al-waḥdati wa-al-ṣāḥibu fī al-khalwati wa-al-dalīlu ʿalā al-sarrāʾi wa-al-ḍarrāʾi wa-al-zaynu ʿinda al-ʾakhillāʾi wa-al-qarību ʿinda al-ghurabāʾi wamanāru sabīli al-jannati yarfaʿu allāhu taʿālā bihi ʾaqwāman fayajʿaluhum
in what we related in the report of Rajāʾ ibn Ḥaywa ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ghanm, from Muʿādh, who said: “Learn knowledge. Learning it for God is reverent fear; seeking it is worship; studying it together is glorification; investigating it is striving; teaching it to one who does not know it is charity; and offering it to its people brings nearness to God. It is the intimate companion in loneliness, the companion in solitude, the guide through prosperity and adversity, the adornment among close friends, the kinsman among strangers, and the beacon on the road to the Garden. Through it God Most High raises people, and
اللَّهُ فِي الْخَيْرِ قَادَةً وَهُدَاةً يُقْتَدَى بِهِمْ أَدِلَّةً فِي الْخَيْرِ تُقْتَصُّ آثَارُهُمْ وَتُرْمَقُ أَعْمَالُهُمْ وَيُقْتَدَى بِفِعَالِهِمْ وَيُنْتَهَى إِلَى رَأْيِهِمْ وَتَرْغَبُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ فِي خُلَّتِهِمْ وَبِأَجْنِحَتِهَا تَمْسَحُهُمْ حَتَّى كُلُّ رَطْبٍ وَيَابِسٍ لَهُمْ مُسْتَغْفِرٌ حَتَّى حِيتَانُ الْبَحْرِ وَهَوَامُّهُ وَسِبَاعُ الْبَرِّ وَنَعَامُهُ وَالسَّمَاءُ وَنُجُومُهَا لِأَنَّ الْعِلْمَ حَيَاةُ الْقُلُوبِ مِنَ الْعَمَى وَنُورُ الْأَبْصَارِ مِنَ الظُّلَمِ وَقُوَّةُ الْأَبْدَانِ مِنَ الضَّعْفِ يَبْلُغُ بِهِ الْعَبْدُ مَنَازِلَ الْأَبْرَارِ وَالدَّرَجَاتِ الْعُلَى وَالتَّفَكُّرُ فِيهِ يُعْدَلُ
allāhu fī al-khayri qādatan wahudātan yuqtadā bihim ʾadillatan fī al-khayri tuqtaṣṣu ʾāthāruhum waturmaqu ʾaʿmāluhum wayuqtadā bifiʿālihim wayuntahā ʾilā raʾyihim watarghabu al-malāʾikatu fī khullatihim wabiʾajniḥatihā tamsaḥuhum ḥattā kullu raṭbin wayābisin lahum mustaghfirun ḥattā ḥītānu al-baḥri wahawāmmuhu wasibāʿu al-barri wanaʿāmuhu wa-al-samāʾu wanujūmuhā liʾanna al-ʿilma ḥayātu al-qulūbi mina al-ʿamā wanūru al-ʾabṣāri mina al-ẓulami waquwwatu al-ʾabdāni mina al-ḍaʿfi yablughu bihi al-ʿabdu manāzila al-ʾabrāri wa-al-darajāti al-ʿulā wa-al-tafakkuru fīhi yuʿdalu
“God makes them leaders and guides in goodness, followed as guides to good. Their tracks are followed, their deeds watched, their actions emulated, and their opinions accepted as the final point of reference. The angels desire their friendship and stroke them with their wings. Every moist and dry thing seeks forgiveness for them, even the fish of the sea and its creatures, the beasts of the land and its ostriches, and the sky and its stars. Knowledge gives life to hearts blinded by ignorance, light to eyes amid darkness, and strength to bodies weakened by frailty. Through it the servant reaches the stations of the righteous and the highest ranks. Reflection upon it is equal
بِالصِّيَامِ وَمُدَارَسَتُهُ بِالْقِيَامِ بِهِ يُطَاعُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَبِهِ يُعْبَدُ وَبِهِ يُوَحَّدُ وَبِهِ يُتَوَرَّعُ وَبِهِ تُوصَلُ الْأَرْحَامُ الْعِلْمُ إِمَامٌ وَالْعَمَلُ تَابِعُهُ تُلْهَمُهُ السُّعَدَاءُ وَتُحْرَمُهُ الْأَشْقِيَاءُ ، فَهَذِهِ أَوْصَافُ عُلَمَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ وَنَعْتُ الْعِلْمِ الْبَاطِنِ . وَقَدْ كَانَ مِنْ أَفْضَلِ الْأُمَرَاءِ بَعْدَ الْخُلَفَاءِ الْأَرْبَعَةِ : عُمَرُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ فَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ زَكَرِيَّا بْنِ يَحْيَى الطَّائِيِّ قَالَ :
bi-al-ṣiyāmi wamudārasatuhu bi-al-qiyāmi bihi yuṭāʿu allāhu taʿālā wabihi yuʿbadu wabihi yuwaḥḥadu wabihi yutawarraʿu wabihi tūṣalu al-ʾarḥāmu al-ʿilmu ʾimāmun wa-al-ʿamalu tābiʿuhu tulhamuhu al-suʿadāʾu watuḥramuhu al-ʾashqiyāʾu , fahādhihi ʾawṣāfu ʿulamāʾi al-ʾākhirati wanaʿtu al-ʿilmi al-bāṭini. waqad kāna min ʾafḍali al-ʾumarāʾi baʿda al-khulafāʾi al-ʾarbaʿati: ʿumaru bnu ʿabdi al-ʿazīzi faḥaddathūnā ʿan zakariyyā bni yaḥyā al-ṭāʾiyyi qāla:
“to fasting, and studying it together to standing in prayer. Through it God Most High is obeyed; through it He is worshipped; through it His oneness is affirmed; through it scrupulousness is practiced; and through it family ties are maintained. Knowledge is the leader, and action its follower. The fortunate are inspired with it, and the wretched are deprived of it.” These are the qualities of scholars of the hereafter and the description of inward knowledge. Among the best rulers after the four caliphs was ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz. They related to us from Zakariyyā ibn Yaḥyā al-Ṭāʾī, who said:
حَدَّثَنِي عَمِّي زَجْرُ بْنُ حُصَيْنٍ أَنَّ عُمَرَ بْنَ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ كَتَبَ إِلَى الْحَسَنِ رَحِمَهُمَا اللَّهُ : أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَأَشِرْ عَلَيَّ بِقَوْمٍ أَسْتَعِينُ بِهِمْ عَلَى أَمْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَكَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ : أَمَّا أَهْلُ الدِّينِ فَلَنْ يُرِيدُوكَ وَأَمَّا أَهْلُ الدُّنْيَا فَلَنْ تُرِيدَهُمْ وَلَكِنْ عَلَيْكَ بِالْأَشْرَافِ فَإِنَّهُمْ يَصُونُونَ شَرَفَهُمْ أَنْ يُدَنِّسُوهُ بِالْخِيَانَةِ ، وَكَانَ الْحَسَنُ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِي بَعْضِ عُلَمَاءِ الْبَصْرَةِ وَيَذُمُّهُمْ وَكَانَ أَبُو حَازِمٍ وَرَبِيعَةُ الْمَدَنِيَّانِ يَذُمَّانِ عُلَمَاءَ بَنِي مَرْوَانَ ،
ḥaddathanī ʿammī zajru bnu ḥuṣaynin ʾanna ʿumara bna ʿabdi al-ʿazīzi kataba ʾilā al-ḥasani raḥimahumā allāhu: ʾammā baʿdu faʾashir ʿalayya biqawmin ʾastaʿīnu bihim ʿalā ʾamri allāhi taʿālā fakataba ʾilayhi: ʾammā ʾahlu al-dīni falan yurīdūka waʾammā ʾahlu al-dunyā falan turīdahum walākin ʿalayka bi-al-ʾashrāfi faʾinnahum yaṣūnūna sharafahum ʾan yudannisūhu bi-al-khiyānati , wakāna al-ḥasanu yatakallamu fī baʿḍi ʿulamāʾi al-baṣrati wayadhummuhum wakāna ʾabū ḥāzimin warabīʿatu al-madaniyyāni yadhummāni ʿulamāʾa banī marwāna ,
“My uncle Zajr ibn Ḥuṣayn told me that ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz wrote to al-Ḥasan, God have mercy on them both: ‘To proceed: recommend people whom I can enlist to help me carry out God Most High’s command.’ He wrote back: ‘People of religion will not want you, and you will not want worldly people. But turn to people of noble standing, for they will protect their honor from being stained by treachery.’” Al-Ḥasan used to criticize and condemn some scholars of Basra. The two Medinese, Abū Ḥāzim and Rabīʿa, used to condemn the scholars of the Marwānids.
وَقَدْ كَانَ الثَّوْرِيُّ وَابْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ وَأَيُّوبُ وَابْنُ عَوْنٍ يَتَكَلَّمُونَ فِي بَعْضِ عُلَمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكُوفَةِ ، وَكَانَ الْفُضَيْلُ وَإِبْرَاهِيمُ ابْنُ أَدْهَمَ وَيُوسُفُ بْنُ أَسْبَاطٍ يَتَكَلَّمُونَ فِي بَعْضِ عُلَمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا مِنْ أَهْلِ مَكَّةَ وَالشَّامِ كَرِهْنَا تَسْمِيَةَ الْمُتَكَلَّمِ فِيهِمْ لِأَنَّ السُّكُوتَ أَقْرَبُ إِلَى السَّلَامَةِ ، وَكَانَ بِشْرٌ يَقُولُ : حَدَّثَنَا بَابٌ مِنْ أَبْوَابِ الدُّنْيَا فَإِذَا سَمِعْتَ الرَّجُلَ يَقُولُ : حَدَّثَنَا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ :
waqad kāna al-thawriyyu wabnu al-mubāraki waʾayyūbu wabnu ʿawnin yatakallamūna fī baʿḍi ʿulamāʾi al-dunyā min ʾahli al-kūfati , wakāna al-fuḍaylu waʾibrāhīmu ibnu ʾadhama wayūsufu bnu ʾasbāṭin yatakallamūna fī baʿḍi ʿulamāʾi al-dunyā min ʾahli makkata wa-al-shāmi karihnā tasmiyata al-mutakallami fīhim liʾanna al-sukūta ʾaqrabu ʾilā al-salāmati , wakāna bishrun yaqūlu: ḥaddathanā bābun min ʾabwābi al-dunyā faʾidhā samiʿta al-rajula yaqūlu: ḥaddathanā faʾinnamā yaqūlu:
Al-Thawrī, Ibn al-Mubārak, Ayyūb, and Ibn ʿAwn used to criticize some worldly scholars from Kufa. Al-Fuḍayl, Ibrāhīm ibn Adham, and Yūsuf ibn Asbāṭ used to criticize some worldly scholars from Mecca and Syria. We have refrained from naming those they criticized, because silence is closer to safety. Bishr used to say: “‘He related to us’ is one of the doors of this world. When you hear a man say, ‘He related to us,’ he is really saying:
أَوْسِعُوا لِي ، وَقَدْ كَانَ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ إِمَامَهُ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ يَقُولُ لِأَهْلِ عِلْمِ الظَّاهِرِ : طَلَبُ هَذَا لَيْسَ مِنْ زَادِ الْآخِرَةِ ، وَقَالَ ابْنُ وَهْبٍ ذُكِرَ طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ عِنْدَ مَالِكٍ ، فَقَالَ : إِنَّ طَلَبَ الْعِلْمِ لَحَسَنٌ ، وَإِنَّ نَشْرَهُ لَحَسَنٌ إِذَا صَحَّتْ فِيهِ النِّيَّةُ وَلَكِنِ انْظُرْ مَا ذَا يَلْزَمُكَ مِنْ حِينِ تُصْبِحُ إِلَى حِينِ تُمْسِي وَمِنْ حِينِ تُمْسِي إِلَى حِينِ تُصْبِحُ فَلَا تُؤْثِرَنَّ عَلَيْهِ شَيْئًا .
ʾawsiʿū lī , waqad kāna sufyānu al-thawriyyu ʾimāmahu min qablihi yaqūlu liʾahli ʿilmi al-ẓāhiri: ṭalabu hādhā laysa min zādi al-ʾākhirati , waqāla ibnu wahbin dhukira ṭalabu al-ʿilmi ʿinda mālikin , faqāla: ʾinna ṭalaba al-ʿilmi laḥasanun , waʾinna nashrahu laḥasanun ʾidhā ṣaḥḥat fīhi al-niyyatu walākini unẓur mā dhā yalzamuka min ḥīni tuṣbiḥu ʾilā ḥīni tumsī wamin ḥīni tumsī ʾilā ḥīni tuṣbiḥu falā tuʾthiranna ʿalayhi shayʾan.
“‘Make room for me.’” Before him, his teacher Sufyān al-Thawrī used to tell the scholars of outward knowledge: “Seeking this is no provision for the hereafter.” Ibn Wahb said: “The pursuit of knowledge was mentioned in Mālik’s presence. He said: ‘Seeking knowledge is indeed good, and spreading it is indeed good, when the intention in it is sound. But consider what is required of you from morning until evening and from evening until morning, and give nothing precedence over it.’”
وَقَالَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيُّ : إِذَا طَلَبَ الرَّجُلُ الْحَدِيثَ أَوْ تَزَوَّجَ أَوْ سَافَرَ فِي طَلَبِ الْمَعَاشِ فَقَدْ رَكَنَ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا ، وَأَمَّا عِلْمُ الْإِيمَانِ وَالتَّوْحِيدِ وَعِلْمُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَالْيَقِينِ فَهُوَ مَعَ كُلِّ مُؤْمِنٍ مُوقِنٍ حَسَنِ الْإِسْلَامِ وَهُوَ مَقَامُهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَحَالُهُ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ وَنَصِيبُهُ مِنْهُ فِي دَرَجَاتِ الْجَنَّةِ ، بِهِ يَكُونُ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ عِنْدَهُ وَالْعِلْمُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَالْإِيمَانُ بِهِ قَرِينَانِ لَا يَفْتَرِقَانِ ،
waqāla ʾabū sulaymāna al-dārāniyyu: ʾidhā ṭalaba al-rajulu al-ḥadītha ʾaw tazawwaja ʾaw sāfara fī ṭalabi al-maʿāshi faqad rakana ʾilā al-dunyā , waʾammā ʿilmu al-ʾīmāni wa-al-tawḥīdi waʿilmu al-maʿrifati wa-al-yaqīni fahuwa maʿa kulli muʾminin mūqinin ḥasani al-ʾislāmi wahuwa maqāmuhu mina allāhi waḥāluhu bayna yadayi allāhi wanaṣībuhu minhu fī darajāti al-jannati , bihi yakūnu mina al-muqarrabīna ʿindahu wa-al-ʿilmu bi-allāhi taʿālā wa-al-ʾīmānu bihi qarīnāni lā yaftariqāni ,
Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī said: “When a man seeks hadith, marries, or travels to seek a livelihood, he has inclined toward this world.” As for knowledge of faith and divine oneness, and knowledge of God and certainty, it is with every believer who possesses certainty and whose Islam is sound. It is his station with God, his state in God’s presence, and his share from Him in the ranks of the Garden. Through it he is among those brought near to Him. Knowledge of God Most High and faith in Him are companions that never part.
فَالْعِلْمُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى هُوَ مِيزَانُ الْإِيمَانِ بِهِ يَسْتَبِينُ الْمَزِيدُ مِنَ النُّقْصَانِ لِأَنَّ الْعِلْمَ ظَاهِرُ الْإِيمَانِ يَكْشِفُهُ وَيُظْهِرُهُ وَالْإِيمَانُ بَاطِنُ الْعِلْمِ يُهَيِّجُهُ وَيُشْعِلُهُ ، فَالْإِيمَانُ مَدَدُ الْعِلْمِ وَبَصَرُهُ وَالْعِلْمُ قُوَّةُ الْإِيمَانِ وَلِسَانُهُ وَضَعْفُ الْإِيمَانِ وَقُوَّتُهُ وَمَزِيدُهُ وَنَقْصُهُ بِمَزِيدِ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَنَقْصِهِ وَقُوَّتِهِ وَضَعْفِهِ ، وَفِي وَصِيَّةِ لُقْمَانَ الْحَكِيمِ لِابْنِهِ :
fa-al-ʿilmu bi-allāhi taʿālā huwa mīzānu al-ʾīmāni bihi yastabīnu al-mazīdu mina al-nuqṣāni liʾanna al-ʿilma ẓāhiru al-ʾīmāni yakshifuhu wayuẓhiruhu wa-al-ʾīmānu bāṭinu al-ʿilmi yuhayyijuhu wayushʿiluhu , fa-al-ʾīmānu madadu al-ʿilmi wabaṣaruhu wa-al-ʿilmu quwwatu al-ʾīmāni walisānuhu waḍaʿfu al-ʾīmāni waquwwatuhu wamazīduhu wanaqṣuhu bimazīdi al-ʿilmi bi-allāhi ʿazza wajalla wanaqṣihi waquwwatihi waḍaʿfihi , wafī waṣiyyati luqmāna al-ḥakīmi libnihi:
Knowledge of God Most High is the measure of faith, by which increase is distinguished from decrease. Knowledge is faith’s outward aspect, uncovering and revealing it; faith is knowledge’s inward aspect, stirring and kindling it. Faith is knowledge’s support and sight, while knowledge is faith’s strength and tongue. Faith’s weakness, strength, increase, and decrease correspond to the increase, decrease, strength, and weakness of knowledge of God, mighty and majestic. Among Luqmān the Wise’s counsels to his son was:
يَا بُنَيَّ كَمَا لَا يَصْلُحُ الزَّرْعُ إِلَّا بِالْمَاءِ وَالتُّرَابِ كَذَلِكَ لَا يَصْلُحُ الْإِيمَانُ إِلَّا بِالْعِلْمِ وَالْعَمَلِ وَمَثَلُ الْمُشَاهَدَةِ مِنَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ كَمَثَلِ النَّشَاءِ مِنَ الدَّقِيقِ مِنَ السَّوِيقِ مِنَ الْحِنْطَةِ ، وَالْحِنْطَةُ تَجْمَعُ ذَلِكَ كُلَّهُ كَذَلِكَ الْإِيمَانُ أَصْلُ ذَلِكَ وَالْمُشَاهَدَةُ أَعْلَى فُرُوعِهِ كَالْحِنْطَةِ أَصْلُ هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي وَالنَّشَاءُ أَعْلَى فُرُوعِهَا فَهَذِهِ الْمَقَامَاتُ مَوْجُودَةٌ فِي أَنْوَارِ الْإِيمَانِ يَمُدُّهَا عِلْمُ الْيَقِينِ ،
yā bunayya kamā lā yaṣluḥu al-zarʿu ʾillā bi-al-māʾi wa-al-turābi kadhālika lā yaṣluḥu al-ʾīmānu ʾillā bi-al-ʿilmi wa-al-ʿamali wamathalu al-mushāhadati mina al-maʿrifati mina al-yaqīni mina al-ʾīmāni kamathali al-nashāʾi mina al-daqīqi mina al-sawīqi mina al-ḥinṭati , wa-al-ḥinṭatu tajmaʿu dhālika kullahu kadhālika al-ʾīmānu ʾaṣlu dhālika wa-al-mushāhadatu ʾaʿlā furūʿihi ka-al-ḥinṭati ʾaṣlu hādhihi al-maʿānī wa-al-nashāʾu ʾaʿlā furūʿihā fahādhihi al-maqāmātu mawjūdatun fī ʾanwāri al-ʾīmāni yamudduhā ʿilmu al-yaqīni ,
“My son, just as crops cannot flourish without water and soil, faith cannot flourish without knowledge and action.” The relationship of witnessing to knowledge of God, to certainty, to faith is like that of starch to flour, to parched meal, to wheat. Wheat contains all of these. Likewise faith is the root of all of this, and witnessing its highest branch, just as wheat is the root of these forms and starch their highest branch. These stations exist within the lights of faith, sustained by the knowledge of certainty.
ثُمَّ إِنَّ الْمَعْرِفَةَ عَلَى مَقَامَيْنِ : مَعْرِفَةِ سَمْعٍ وَمَعْرِفَةِ عِيَانٍ ، فَمَعْرِفَةُ السَّمْعِ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ وَهُوَ أَنَّهُمْ سَمِعُوا بِهِ فَعَرَفُوهُ ، وَهَذَا هُوَ التَّصْدِيقُ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ وَمَعْرِفَةُ الْعِيَانِ فِي الْمُشَاهَدَةِ وَهُوَ عَيْنُ الْيَقِينِ وَالْمُشَاهَدَةُ أَيْضًا عَلَى مَقَامَيْنِ : مُشَاهَدَةِ الِاسْتِدْلَالِ وَمُشَاهَدَةِ الدَّلِيلِ عَنْهَا ، فَمُشَاهَدَةُ الِاسْتِدْلَالِ قَبْلَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَهَذِهِ مَعْرِفَةُ الْخَبَرِ وَهُوَ فِي السَّمْعِ لِسَانُهَا الْقَوْلُ وَالْوَاجِدُ بِهَا وَاجِدٌ يَعْلَمُ عِلْمَ الْيَقِينِ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :
thumma ʾinna al-maʿrifata ʿalā maqāmayni: maʿrifati samʿin wamaʿrifati ʿiyānin , famaʿrifatu al-samʿi fī al-ʾislāmi wahuwa ʾannahum samiʿū bihi faʿarafūhu , wahādhā huwa al-taṣdīqu mina al-ʾīmāni wamaʿrifatu al-ʿiyāni fī al-mushāhadati wahuwa ʿaynu al-yaqīni wa-al-mushāhadatu ʾayḍan ʿalā maqāmayni: mushāhadati al-istidlāli wamushāhadati al-dalīli ʿanhā , famushāhadatu al-istidlāli qabla al-maʿrifati wahādhihi maʿrifatu al-khabari wahuwa fī al-samʿi lisānuhā al-qawlu wa-al-wājidu bihā wājidun yaʿlamu ʿilma al-yaqīni min qawlihi taʿālā:
Knowledge of God has two stations: knowledge by hearing and knowledge by direct sight. Knowledge by hearing belongs to Islam: they heard of Him and so came to know Him. This is the affirmation that belongs to faith. Knowledge by direct sight belongs to witnessing, which is the eye of certainty. Witnessing also has two stations: witnessing through inference and witnessing the proof that follows from it. Witnessing through inference precedes knowledge of God. This is knowledge through a report, received by hearing; its tongue is speech. The one who experiences it is one who knows the knowledge of certainty, as in His words, exalted is He:
( سَبَإٍ بِنَبَإٍ يَقِينٍ ) ( إِنِّي وَجَدْتُ ) النَّمْلُ : 22 - 23 ، فَهَذَا الْعِلْمُ قَبْلَ الْوَجْدِ وَهُوَ عِلْمُ السَّمْعِ وَقَدْ يَكُونُ سَبَبُهُ التَّعْلِيمُ وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : تَعَلَّمُوا الْيَقِينَ أَيْ جَالِسُوا الْمُوقِنِينَ وَاسْمَعُوا مِنْهُمْ عِلْمَ الْيَقِينِ لِأَنَّهُمْ عُلَمَاؤُهُ وَأَمَّا مُشَاهَدَةُ الدَّلِيلِ فَهِيَ بَعْدَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ الَّتِي هِيَ الْعِيَانُ وَهُوَ الْيَقِينُ لِسَانُهُ الْوَجْدُ وَالْوَاجِدُ بِهَا وَاجِدُ قُرْبٍ وَبَعْدَ هَذَا الْوَجْدِ
( sabaʾin binabaʾin yaqīnin ) ( ʾinnī wajadtu ) al-namlu: 22 - 23 , fahādhā al-ʿilmu qabla al-wajdi wahuwa ʿilmu al-samʿi waqad yakūnu sababuhu al-taʿlīmu waminhu qawluhu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: taʿallamū al-yaqīna ʾay jālisū al-mūqinīna wasmaʿū minhum ʿilma al-yaqīni liʾannahum ʿulamāʾuhu waʾammā mushāhadatu al-dalīli fahiya baʿda al-maʿrifati allatī hiya al-ʿiyānu wahuwa al-yaqīnu lisānuhu al-wajdu wa-al-wājidu bihā wājidu qurbin wabaʿda hādhā al-wajdi
“[From] Sheba with sure news”; “Indeed, I found…” (al-Naml 27:22–23). This knowledge precedes direct experience: it is knowledge by hearing, and teaching may be its cause. To this belongs his saying, God bless him and grant him peace: “Learn certainty,” meaning: keep company with those who possess certainty and hear the knowledge of certainty from them, for they are its scholars. As for witnessing the proof, it follows the knowledge that is direct sight: it is certainty, whose tongue is direct experience. The one who experiences it finds nearness. After this experience comes
عِلْمٌ مِنْ عَيْنِ الْيَقِينِ وَهَذَا يَتَوَلَّاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِنُورِهِ عَلَى يَدِهِ بِقُدْرَتِهِ ، وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : فَوَجَدْتُ بَرْدَهَا فَعَلِمْتُ فَهَذَا التَّعْلِيمُ بَعْدَ الْوَجْدِ مِنْ عَيْنِ الْيَقِينِ بِالْيَقِينِ وَهَذَا مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ ، وَهَؤُلَاءِ عُلَمَاءُ الْآخِرَةِ وَأَهْلُ الْمَلَكُوتِ وَأَرْبَابُ الْقُلُوبِ وَهُمُ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ وَعِلْمُ الظَّاهِرِ مِنْ عِلْمِ الْمُلْكِ وَهُوَ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ اللِّسَانِ وَالْعُلَمَاءُ بِهِ مَوْصُوفُونَ بِالدُّنْيَا وَصَالِحُوهُمْ أَصْحَابُ الْيَمِينِ وَجَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى مُعَاذِ بْنِ جَبَلٍ فَقَالَ :
ʿilmun min ʿayni al-yaqīni wahādhā yatawallāhu allāhu taʿālā binūrihi ʿalā yadihi biqudratihi , waminhu qawluhu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: fawajadtu bardahā faʿalimtu fahādhā al-taʿlīmu baʿda al-wajdi min ʿayni al-yaqīni bi-al-yaqīni wahādhā min ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi , wahāʾulāʾi ʿulamāʾu al-ʾākhirati waʾahlu al-malakūti waʾarbābu al-qulūbi wahumu al-muqarrabūna min ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni waʿilmu al-ẓāhiri min ʿilmi al-mulki wahuwa min ʾaʿmāli al-lisāni wa-al-ʿulamāʾu bihi mawṣūfūna bi-al-dunyā waṣāliḥūhum ʾaṣḥābu al-yamīni wajāʾa rajulun ʾilā muʿādhi bni jabalin faqāla:
knowledge from the eye of certainty. God Most High undertakes this through His light, at His hand, by His power. To this belongs his saying, God bless him and grant him peace: “I felt its coolness, and then I knew.” This teaching follows direct experience, from the eye of certainty, through certainty; it belongs to the works of hearts. These are the scholars of the hereafter, the people of the unseen kingdom, the masters of hearts: those brought near from among the people of the right hand. Outward knowledge belongs to knowledge of the visible kingdom and to the works of the tongue. Its scholars are characterized by this world, and the righteous among them are people of the right hand. A man came to Muʿādh ibn Jabal and said:
أَخْبِرْنِي عَنْ رَجُلَيْنِ ، أَحَدُهُمَا مُجْتَهِدٌ فِي الْعِبَادَةِ كَثِيرُ الْعَمَلِ قَلِيلُ الذُّنُوبِ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ ضَعِيفُ الْيَقِينِ يَعْتَرِيهِ الشَّكُّ فِي أُمُورِهِ فَقَالَ مُعَاذٌ : لَيُحْبِطَنَّ شَكُّهُ أَعْمَالَهُ ، قَالَ : فَأَخْبِرْنِي عَنْ رَجُلٍ قَلِيلِ الْعَمَلِ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ قَوِيُّ الْيَقِينِ وَهُوَ فِي ذَلِكَ كَثِيرُ الذُّنُوبِ فَسَكَتَ مُعَاذٌ فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ : وَاللَّهِ لَئِنْ أَحْبَطَ شَكُّ الْأَوَّلِ أَعْمَالَ بِرِّهِ لَيُحْبِطَنَّ يَقِينُ هَذَا ذُنُوبَهُ كُلَّهَا قَالَ :
ʾakhbirnī ʿan rajulayni , ʾaḥaduhumā mujtahidun fī al-ʿibādati kathīru al-ʿamali qalīlu al-dhunūbi ʾillā ʾannahu ḍaʿīfu al-yaqīni yaʿtarīhi al-shakku fī ʾumūrihi faqāla muʿādhun: layuḥbiṭanna shakkuhu ʾaʿmālahu , qāla: faʾakhbirnī ʿan rajulin qalīli al-ʿamali ʾillā ʾannahu qawiyyu al-yaqīni wahuwa fī dhālika kathīru al-dhunūbi fasakata muʿādhun faqāla al-rajulu: wa-allāhi laʾin ʾaḥbaṭa shakku al-ʾawwali ʾaʿmāla birrihi layuḥbiṭanna yaqīnu hādhā dhunūbahu kullahā qāla:
“Tell me about two men. One strives in worship, performs many deeds, and has few sins, but his certainty is weak and doubt assails him in his affairs.” Muʿādh said: “His doubt will surely nullify his deeds.” He said: “Then tell me about a man who does little, but has strong certainty, although he commits many sins.” Muʿādh was silent. The man said: “By God, if the first man’s doubt nullifies his righteous deeds, this man’s certainty will surely nullify all his sins.” He related:
فَأَخَذَ مُعَاذٌ بِيَدِهِ وَقَامَ قَائِمًا ثُمَّ قَالَ : مَا رَأَيْتُ الَّذِي هُوَ أَفْقَهُ مِنْ هَذَا وَقَدْ
faʾakhadha muʿādhun biyadihi waqāma qāʾiman thumma qāla: mā raʾaytu alladhī huwa ʾafqahu min hādhā waqad
“Muʿādh took his hand, rose to his feet, and said: ‘I have never seen anyone with greater understanding than this man.’” We have also
رَوَيْنَا مَعْنَاهُ مُسْنَدًا قِيلَ : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ رَجُلٌ حَسَنُ الْيَقِينِ كَثِيرُ الذُّنُوبِ وَرَجُلٌ مُجْتَهِدٌ فِي الْعِبَادَةِ قَلِيلُ الْيَقِينِ : فَقَالَ مَا مِنْ آدَمِيٍّ إِلَّا وَلَهُ ذُنُوبٌ وَلَكِنْ مَنْ كَانَتْ غَرِيزَتُهُ الْعَقْلَ وَسَجِيَّتُهُ الْيَقِينَ لَمْ تَضُرَّهُ الذُّنُوبُ لِأَنَّهُ كُلَّمَا أَذْنَبَ تَابَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ وَنَدِمَ فَتُكَفَّرُ ذُنُوبُهُ وَيَبْقَى لَهُ فَضْلٌ يَدْخُلُ بِهِ الْجَنَّةَ .
rawaynā maʿnāhu musnadan qīla: yā rasūla allāhi rajulun ḥasanu al-yaqīni kathīru al-dhunūbi warajulun mujtahidun fī al-ʿibādati qalīlu al-yaqīni: faqāla mā min ʾādamiyyin ʾillā walahu dhunūbun walākin man kānat gharīzatuhu al-ʿaqla wasajiyyatuhu al-yaqīna lam taḍurrahu al-dhunūbu liʾannahu kullamā ʾadhnaba tāba wastaghfara wanadima fatukaffaru dhunūbuhu wayabqā lahu faḍlun yadkhulu bihi al-jannata.
related its meaning with a connected chain: “It was asked: ‘O Messenger of God, [what of] a man with sound certainty but many sins, and a man who strives in worship but has little certainty?’ He replied: ‘No human being is without sins. But whoever has reason as his innate nature and certainty as his settled disposition is not harmed by sins, because whenever he sins he repents, seeks forgiveness, and regrets it. His sins are thereby expiated, and merit remains to him through which he enters the Garden.’”
وَرَوَيْنَا فِي حَدِيثِ أَبِي أُمَامَةَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَمِنْ أَقَلِّ مَا أُوتِيتُمُ الْيَقِينُ وَعَزِيمَةُ الصَّبْرِ وَمَنْ أُعْطِيَ حَظَّهُ مِنْهُمَا لَمْ يُبَالِ مَا فَاتَهُ مِنْ قِيَامِ اللَّيْلِ وَصِيَامِ النَّهَارِ ، وَفِي وَصِيَّةِ لُقْمَانَ لِابْنِهِ : يَا بُنَيَّ لَا يُسْتَطَاعُ الْعِلْمُ إِلَّا بِالْيَقِينِ وَلَا يَعْمَلُ الْمَرْءُ إِلَّا بِقَدْرِ يَقِينِهِ وَلَا يُقَصِّرُ عَامِلٌ حَتَّى يُقَصِّرَ يَقِينُهُ وَقَدْ يَعْمَلُ الضَّعِيفُ إِذَا كَانَ مُتَيَقِّنًا
warawaynā fī ḥadīthi ʾabī ʾumāmata ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama wamin ʾaqalli mā ʾūtītumu al-yaqīnu waʿazīmatu al-ṣabri waman ʾuʿṭiya ḥaẓẓahu minhumā lam yubāli mā fātahu min qiyāmi al-layli waṣiyāmi al-nahāri , wafī waṣiyyati luqmāna libnihi: yā bunayya lā yustaṭāʿu al-ʿilmu ʾillā bi-al-yaqīni walā yaʿmalu al-marʾu ʾillā biqadri yaqīnihi walā yuqaṣṣiru ʿāmilun ḥattā yuqaṣṣira yaqīnuhu waqad yaʿmalu al-ḍaʿīfu ʾidhā kāna mutayaqqinan
We have related in the report of Abū Umāma from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: “Among the things of which you have been given least are certainty and resolute patience. Whoever is given his share of both need not care what he has missed of night prayer and daytime fasting.” Among Luqmān’s counsels to his son: “My son, knowledge is attainable only through certainty. A person acts only in proportion to his certainty, and no worker falls short until his certainty falls short. A weak person, when certain, may act
أَفْضَلَ مِنْ عَمَلِ الْقَوِيِّ الضَّعِيفِ فِي يَقِينِهِ وَمَنْ يَضْعُفْ يَقِينُهُ تَغْلِبْهُ الْمُحَقَّرَاتُ مِنَ الْإِثْمِ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ يَحْيَى بْنُ مُعَاذٍ يَقُولُ : إِنَّ لِلتَّوْحِيدِ نُورًا وَلِلشِّرْكِ نَارًا وَإِنَّ نُورَ التَّوْحِيدِ أَحْرَقُ لِسَيِّئَاتِ الْمُوَحِّدِينَ مِنْ نَارِ الشِّرْكِ لِحَسَنَاتِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَالْيَقِينُ عَلَى ثَلَاثِ مَقَامَاتٍ : يَقِينُ مُعَايَنَةٍ وَهَذَا لَا يَخْتَلِفُ خَبَرُهُ فَالْعَالِمُ بِهِ خَبِيرٌ وَهُوَ لِلصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ ،
ʾafḍala min ʿamali al-qawiyyi al-ḍaʿīfi fī yaqīnihi waman yaḍʿuf yaqīnuhu taghlibhu al-muḥaqqarātu mina al-ʾithmi , waqad kāna yaḥyā bnu muʿādhin yaqūlu: ʾinna li-l-tawḥīdi nūran wali-l-shirki nāran waʾinna nūra al-tawḥīdi ʾaḥraqu lisayyiʾāti al-muwaḥḥidīna min nāri al-shirki liḥasanāti al-mushrikīna wa-al-yaqīnu ʿalā thalāthi maqāmātin: yaqīnu muʿāyanatin wahādhā lā yakhtalifu khabaruhu fa-al-ʿālimu bihi khabīrun wahuwa li-l-ṣiddīqīna wa-al-shuhadāʾi ,
“better than the action of a strong person who is weak in certainty. Whoever’s certainty weakens is overcome by sins considered insignificant.” Yaḥyā ibn Muʿādh used to say: “Divine oneness has a light, and associating partners with God has a fire. The light of oneness burns the sins of those who affirm God’s oneness more fiercely than the fire of association burns the good deeds of those who associate partners with Him.” Certainty has three stations: certainty of direct sight, whose report does not vary. One who knows through it knows by experience. It belongs to the utterly truthful and the witnesses.
وَيَقِينُ تَصْدِيقٍ وَاسْتِسْلَامٍ وَهَذَا فِي الْخَبَرِ وَالْعَالِمُ بِهِ مُخْبِرٌ مُسْلِمٌ وَهَذَا يَقِينُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَهُمُ الْأَبْرَارُ مِنْهُمُ الصَّالِحُونَ وَمِنْهُمْ دُونَ ذَلِكَ كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى جَدُّهُ : ( وَمَا زَادَهُمْ إِلَّا إِيمَانًا وَتَسْلِيمًا ) الْأَحْزَابُ : 22 ، وَقَدْ يَضْعُفُ هَؤُلَاءِ بِعَدَمِ الْأَسْبَابِ وَنُقْصَانِ الْمُعْتَادِ وَيَقْوُونَ بِوُجُودِهَا وَجَرَيَانِ الْعَادَةِ وَيُحْجَبُونَ بِنَظَرِهِمْ إِلَى الْأَوَاسِطِ وَيُكَاشَفُونَ بِهَا وَيَجْعَلُونَ مَزِيدَهُمْ وَأُنْسَهُمْ بِالْخَلْقِ وَيَكُونُ نَقْصُهُمْ وَوَحْشَتُهُمْ بِفَقْدِهِمْ وَيَكُونُ مِنْ هَؤُلَاءِ الِاخْتِلَافُ وَيَتَلَوَّنُونَ بِالْخِلَافِ لِتَلْوِينِ الْأَشْيَاءِ وَتَغَيُّرِهَا نَقْصِهَا .
wayaqīnu taṣdīqin wastislāmin wahādhā fī al-khabari wa-al-ʿālimu bihi mukhbirun muslimun wahādhā yaqīnu al-muʾminīna wahumu al-ʾabrāru minhumu al-ṣāliḥūna waminhum dūna dhālika kaqawlihi taʿālā jadduhu: ( wamā zādahum ʾillā ʾīmānan wataslīman ) al-ʾaḥzābu: 22 , waqad yaḍʿufu hāʾulāʾi biʿadami al-ʾasbābi wanuqṣāni al-muʿtādi wayaqwūna biwujūdihā wajarayāni al-ʿādati wayuḥjabūna binaẓarihim ʾilā al-ʾawāsiṭi wayukāshafūna bihā wayajʿalūna mazīdahum waʾunsahum bi-al-khalqi wayakūnu naqṣuhum wawaḥshatuhum bifaqdihim wayakūnu min hāʾulāʾi al-ikhtilāfu wayatalawwanūna bi-al-khilāfi litalwīni al-ʾashyāʾi wataghayyurihā naqṣihā.
There is also certainty of affirmation and submission, which concerns a report. The one who knows through it is a transmitter who submits. This is the certainty of believers, who are the dutiful: some are righteous and others below that, as in His saying, exalted is His majesty: “It only increased them in faith and submission” (al-Aḥzāb 33:22). These people may weaken when means are absent and familiar circumstances diminish, and strengthen when means are present and events follow their usual course. Their attention to intermediaries veils them, and through those intermediaries things are disclosed to them. They make their increase and intimacy depend upon creatures, and their diminishment and estrangement follow the loss of those creatures. Differences arise among them, and their states vary with changing circumstances, as things vary, change, and diminish.
الْمَقَامُ الثَّالِثُ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ
al-maqāmu al-thālithu mina al-yaqīni
The Third Station of Certainty
وَهُوَ يَقِينُ ظَنٍّ يَقْوَى بِدَلَائِلِ الْعِلْمِ وَالْخَبَرِ وَأَقْوَالِ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَيَجِدُ هَؤُلَاءِ الْمَزِيدَ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَالنَّصِيبَ مِنْهُ لَهُمْ وَيَضْعُفُ بِفَقْدِ الْأَدِلَّةِ وَصَمْتِ الْقَائِلِينَ وَهَذَا يَقِينُ الِاسْتِدْلَالِ وَعُلُومُ هَذَا فِي الْمَعْقُولِ وَهُوَ يَقِينُ الْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ مِنْ عُمُومِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الرَّأْيِ وَعُلُومِ الْعَقْلِ وَالْقِيَاسِ وَالنَّظَرِ وَكُلُّ مُوقِنٍ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَهُوَ عَلَى عِلْمٍ مِنَ التَّوْحِيدِ وَالْمَعْرِفَةِ وَلَكِنْ عِلْمُهُ وَمَعْرِفَتُهُ عَلَى قَدْرِ يَقِينِهِ وَيَقِينُهُ مِنْ نَحْوِ صَفَاءِ إِيمَانِهِ وَقُوَّتِهِ وَإِيمَانُهُ عَلَى مُقْتَضَى مُعَامَلَتِهِ وَرِعَايَتِهِ ،
wahuwa yaqīnu ẓannin yaqwā bidalāʾili al-ʿilmi wa-al-khabari waʾaqwāli al-ʿulamāʾi wayajidu hāʾulāʾi al-mazīda mina allāhi taʿālā wa-al-naṣība minhu lahum wayaḍʿufu bifaqdi al-ʾadillati waṣamti al-qāʾilīna wahādhā yaqīnu al-istidlāli waʿulūmu hādhā fī al-maʿqūli wahuwa yaqīnu al-mutakallimīna min ʿumūmi al-muslimīna min ʾahli al-raʾyi waʿulūmi al-ʿaqli wa-al-qiyāsi wa-al-naẓari wakullu mūqinin bi-allāhi taʿālā fahuwa ʿalā ʿilmin mina al-tawḥīdi wa-al-maʿrifati walākin ʿilmuhu wamaʿrifatuhu ʿalā qadri yaqīnihi wayaqīnuhu min naḥwi ṣafāʾi ʾīmānihi waquwwatihi waʾīmānuhu ʿalā muqtaḍā muʿāmalatihi wariʿāyatihi ,
This is certainty of conviction strengthened by the proofs of knowledge and transmitted reports and the statements of scholars. These people find an increase from God Most High and the share from Him allotted to them. Their certainty weakens when proofs are absent and speakers are silent. This is inferential certainty; its sciences concern what can be reasoned about. It is the certainty of speculative theologians among ordinary Muslims: those who employ personal opinion and the sciences of reason, analogy, and inquiry. Everyone certain of God Most High possesses some knowledge of divine oneness and knowledge of God. Yet his knowledge and recognition are in proportion to his certainty; his certainty corresponds to the purity and strength of his faith; and his faith accords with his dealings and faithful observance.
فَأَعْلَى الْعُلُومِ عِلْمُ الْمُشَاهَدَةِ عَنْ عَيْنِ الْيَقِينِ وَهَذَا مَخْصُوصٌ لِلْمُقَرَّبِينَ فِي مَقَامَاتِ قُرْبِهِمْ وَمُحَادَثَاتِ مُجَالَسَتِهِمْ وَمَأْوَى أُنْسِهِمْ وَلَطِيفِ تَمَلُّقِهِمْ ، وَأَدْنَى الْعُلُومِ عِلْمُ التَّسْلِيمِ وَالْقَبُولِ بِعَدَمِ الْإِنْكَارِ وَفَقْدِ الشُّكُوكِ وَهَذَا لِعُمُومِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَهُوَ مِنْ عِلْمِ الْإِيمَانِ وَمَزِيدِ التَّصْدِيقِ وَهَذَا لِأَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ ، وَبَيْنَ هَذَيْنِ مَقَامَاتٌ لَطِيفَاتٌ مِنْ أَعْلَى طَبَقَاتِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ إِلَى أَوْسَطِ الْمَقَامَاتِ وَمِنْ أَدْنَى طَبَقَاتِ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ إِلَى أَعْلَى أَوَاسِطِ الْأَعْلَيْنَ .
faʾaʿlā al-ʿulūmi ʿilmu al-mushāhadati ʿan ʿayni al-yaqīni wahādhā makhṣūṣun lilmuqarrabīna fī maqāmāti qurbihim wamuḥādathāti mujālasatihim wamaʾwā ʾunsihim walaṭīfi tamalluqihim , waʾadnā al-ʿulūmi ʿilmu al-taslīmi wa-al-qabūli biʿadami al-ʾinkāri wafaqdi al-shukūki wahādhā liʿumūmi al-muʾminīna wahuwa min ʿilmi al-ʾīmāni wamazīdi al-taṣdīqi wahādhā liʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni , wabayna hādhayni maqāmātun laṭīfātun min ʾaʿlā ṭabaqāti al-muqarrabīna ʾilā ʾawsaṭi al-maqāmāti wamin ʾadnā ṭabaqāti ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni ʾilā ʾaʿlā ʾawāsiṭi al-ʾaʿlayna.
The highest science is the knowledge of witnessing through the eye of certainty. It belongs especially to those brought near, in the stations of their nearness, the conversations of their intimate company, the refuge of their intimacy, and their delicate expressions of loving supplication. The lowest science is the knowledge of submission and acceptance without denial or doubt. It belongs to believers generally, as knowledge of faith and increased affirmation, and is for the people of the right hand. Between these are subtle stations, from the highest ranks of those brought near down to the middle stations, and from the lowest ranks of the people of the right hand up to the higher middle ranks of the most exalted.
ذِكْرُ بَيَانِ تَفْضِيلِ عُلُومِ الصَّمْتِ وَطَرِيقِ الْوَرِعِينَ فِي الْعُلُومِ وَرَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ : الْعِلْمُ ثَلَاثَةٌ ، كِتَابٌ نَاطِقٌ ، وَسُنَّةٌ قَائِمَةٌ ، وَلَا أَدْرِي ، وَعَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ أَنَّهُ قَالَ : لَا أَدْرِي ، نِصْفُ الْعِلْمِ يَعْنِي أَنَّهُ مِنَ الْوَرَعِ وَكَانَ الثَّوْرِيُّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : إِنَّمَا الْعِلْمُ الرُّخْصَةُ مِنْ ثِقَةٍ فَأَمَّا التَّشْدِيدُ فَكُلُّ أَحَدٍ يُحْسِنُهُ يَعْنِي أَنَّ التَّوَرُّعَ وَالتَّوَقُّفَ فِي الْأُمُورِ هُوَ
dhikru bayāni tafḍīli ʿulūmi al-ṣamti waṭarīqi al-wariʿīna fī al-ʿulūmi warawaynā fī al-khabari: al-ʿilmu thalāthatun , kitābun nāṭiqun , wasunnatun qāʾimatun , walā ʾadrī , waʿani al-shaʿbiyyi ʾannahu qāla: lā ʾadrī , niṣfu al-ʿilmi yaʿnī ʾannahu mina al-waraʿi wakāna al-thawriyyu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu: ʾinnamā al-ʿilmu al-rukhṣatu min thiqatin faʾammā al-tashdīdu fakullu ʾaḥadin yuḥsinuhu yaʿnī ʾanna al-tawarruʿa wa-al-tawaqqufa fī al-ʾumūri huwa
An Explanation of the Excellence of the Sciences of Silence and the Way of the Scrupulous in the Sciences. We have related in a report: “Knowledge is three things: a speaking Book, an established Sunna, and ‘I do not know.’” Al-Shaʿbī said: “‘I do not know’ is half of knowledge,” meaning that it belongs to scrupulousness. Al-Thawrī, God be pleased with him, used to say: “Knowledge is a concession from someone trustworthy; anyone can impose severity.” That is, scrupulousness and holding back in uncertain matters are
سِيرَةُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُونُوا عُلَمَاءَ لِأَنَّ الْوَرَعَ هُوَ الْجُبْنُ عَنِ الْإِقْدَامِ وَالْهُجُومِ عَلَى الشُّبُهَاتِ وَالْوُقُوفُ عِنْدَ الْمُشْكِلَاتِ بِسُكُونٍ أَوْ سُكُوتٍ ، وَالْيَقِينُ هُوَ الْإِقْدَامُ عَلَى الْأَشْيَاءِ بِبَصِيرَةٍ وَتَمْكِينٍ وَالْقَطْعُ بِالْأَمْرِ عَلَى عِلْمٍ وَخَبَرٍ فَهَذَا صِفَةُ الْعُلَمَاءِ الْمَوْثُوقِ بِعِلْمِهِمْ لَا يُحْسِنُهُ سِوَاهُمْ كَمَا قَالَ عَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ لِابْنِهِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْحَنَفِيَّةِ وَقَدَّمَهُ أَمَامَهُ يَوْمَ الْجَمَلِ وَجَعَلَ يَقُولُ لَهُ :
sīratu al-muʾminīna waʾin lam yakūnū ʿulamāʾa liʾanna al-waraʿa huwa al-jubnu ʿani al-ʾiqdāmi wa-al-hujūmi ʿalā al-shubuhāti wa-al-wuqūfu ʿinda al-mushkilāti bisukūnin ʾaw sukūtin , wa-al-yaqīnu huwa al-ʾiqdāmu ʿalā al-ʾashyāʾi bibaṣīratin watamkīnin wa-al-qaṭʿu bi-al-ʾamri ʿalā ʿilmin wakhabarin fahādhā ṣifatu al-ʿulamāʾi al-mawthūqi biʿilmihim lā yuḥsinuhu siwāhum kamā qāla ʿaliyyun ʿalayhi al-salāmu libnihi muḥammadi bni al-ḥanafiyyati waqaddamahu ʾamāmahu yawma al-jamali wajaʿala yaqūlu lahu:
the way of believers, even when they are not scholars. Scrupulousness is reluctance to advance and plunge into doubtful matters, and stopping at difficult questions in stillness or silence. Certainty is advancing into matters with insight and firm grounding, and deciding an issue through knowledge and experience. This is the quality of scholars whose knowledge is trusted; no others can do it well. Thus ʿAlī, peace be upon him, placed his son Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyya before him on the Day of the Camel and kept saying to him:
أَقْدِمْ أَقْدِمْ وَمُحَمَّدٌ يَتَأَخَّرُ وَهُوَ يَرْكُزُهُ بِقَائِمِ رُمْحِهِ ، فَالْتَفَتَ إِلَيْهِ مُحَمَّدٌ ابْنُهُ فَقَالَ : هَذَا وَاللَّهِ الْفِتْنَةُ الْمُظْلِمَةُ الْعَمْيَاءُ فَوَكَزَهُ عَلِيٌّ بِرُمْحِهِ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ : تَقَدَّمْ لَا أُمَّ لَكَ أَتَكُونُ فِتْنَةً أَبُوكَ قَائِدُهَا وَسَائِقُهَا وَالْمَرْءُ إِذَا قَالَ : لَا أَدْرِي فَقَدْ عَمِلَ بِعِلْمِهِ وَقَامَ بِحَالِهِ فَلَهُ مِنَ الثَّوَابِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ مَنْ دَرَى فَقَامَ بِحَالِهِ وَعَمِلَ بِعِلْمِهِ فَأَظْهَرَهُ ،
ʾaqdim ʾaqdim wamuḥammadun yataʾakhkharu wahuwa yarkuzuhu biqāʾimi rumḥihi , fa-ltafata ʾilayhi muḥammadun ibnuhu faqāla: hādhā wa-allāhi al-fitnatu al-muẓlimatu al-ʿamyāʾu fawakazahu ʿaliyyun birumḥihi , thumma qāla: taqaddam lā ʾumma laka ʾatakūnu fitnatan ʾabūka qāʾiduhā wasāʾiquhā wa-al-marʾu ʾidhā qāla: lā ʾadrī faqad ʿamila biʿilmihi waqāma biḥālihi falahu mina al-thawābi bimanzilati man darā faqāma biḥālihi waʿamila biʿilmihi faʾaẓharahu ,
“Advance! Advance!” Muḥammad held back while he prodded him with the shaft of his spear. His son Muḥammad turned toward him and said: “By God, this is the dark, blind trial!” ʿAlī jabbed him with his spear and said: “Go forward! May you have no mother! Can it be a trial when your father leads it and drives it?” When a person says, “I do not know,” he has acted on his knowledge and fulfilled what his state requires. He has a reward like that of the person who knew, fulfilled what his state required, acted on his knowledge, and made it known.
فَلِذَلِكَ كَانَ قَوْلُ لَا أَدْرِي نِصْفَ الْعِلْمِ وَلِأَنَّ حُسْنَ مَنْ سَكَتَ لِأَجْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى تَوَرُّعًا كَحُسْنِ مَنْ نَطَقَ لِأَجْلِهِ بِالْعِلْمِ تَبَرُّعًا ، وَقَالَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَجْلَانَ : إِذَا أَخْطَأَ الْعَالِمُ قَوْلَ لَا أَدْرِي أُصِيبَتْ مَقَالَتُهُ ، وَقَالَهُ مَالِكٌ وَالشَّافِعِيُّ بَعْدَهُمَا وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ مَثَلَ الْعِلْمِ وَالْجَهْلِ فِي تَفَاوُتِ النَّاسِ فِيهِمَا مَثَلُ الْجُنُونِ وَالْعَقْلِ وَالْمَجَانِينُ طَبَقَاتٌ ، كَالْعُقَلَاءِ طَبَقَاتٌ ،
falidhālika kāna qawlu lā ʾadrī niṣfa al-ʿilmi waliʾanna ḥusna man sakata liʾajli allāhi taʿālā tawarruʿan kaḥusni man naṭaqa liʾajlihi bi-al-ʿilmi tabarruʿan , waqāla ʿaliyyu bnu al-ḥusayni wamuḥammadu bnu ʿajlāna: ʾidhā ʾakhṭaʾa al-ʿālimu qawla lā ʾadrī ʾuṣībat maqālatuhu , waqālahu mālikun wa-al-shāfiʿiyyu baʿdahumā waʿlam ʾanna mathala al-ʿilmi wa-al-jahli fī tafāwuti al-nāsi fīhimā mathalu al-junūni wa-al-ʿaqli wa-al-majānīnu ṭabaqātun , ka-al-ʿuqalāʾi ṭabaqātun ,
This is why saying “I do not know” is half of knowledge. The goodness of someone who remains silent for God Most High’s sake out of scrupulousness is like that of someone who willingly speaks knowledge for His sake. ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn and Muḥammad ibn ʿAjlān said: “When a scholar fails to say ‘I do not know,’ his speech is struck.” Mālik and al-Shāfiʿī said the same after them. Know that people’s differences in knowledge and ignorance are like their differences in madness and reason. Those without reason have different ranks, just as rational people have different ranks.
وَكَذَلِكَ الْجُهَّالُ طَبَقَاتٌ كَالْعُلَمَاءِ فَخُصُوصُ الْجُهَّالِ يُشْبِهُونَ عُمُومَ الْعُلَمَاءِ فَهُمْ يَشْتَبِهُونَ عَلَى الْعَامَّةِ حَتَّى يَحْسَبُوهُمْ عُلَمَاءَ وَهُمْ مَكْشُوفُونَ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَكَذَلِكَ الْعَارِفُونَ يَشْتَبِهُونَ عَلَى عُمُومِ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَهُمْ ظَاهِرُونَ لِلْمُوقِنِينَ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : الْعِلْمُ عِلْمَانِ ، عِلْمُ الْأُمَرَاءِ وَعِلْمُ الْمُتَّقِينَ ، فَأَمَّا عِلْمُ الْأُمَرَاءِ فَهُوَ عِلْمُ الْقَضَايَا وَأَمَّا عِلْمُ الْمُتَّقِينَ فَهُوَ عِلْمُ الْيَقِينِ وَالْمَعْرِفَةِ .
wakadhālika al-juhhālu ṭabaqātun ka-al-ʿulamāʾi fakhuṣūṣu al-juhhāli yushbihūna ʿumūma al-ʿulamāʾi fahum yashtabihūna ʿalā al-ʿāmmati ḥattā yaḥsabūhum ʿulamāʾa wahum makshūfūna ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi bi-allāhi taʿālā wakadhālika al-ʿārifūna yashtabihūna ʿalā ʿumūmi al-ʿulamāʾi wahum ẓāhirūna lilmūqinīna , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: al-ʿilmu ʿilmāni , ʿilmu al-ʾumarāʾi waʿilmu al-muttaqīna , faʾammā ʿilmu al-ʾumarāʾi fahuwa ʿilmu al-qaḍāyā waʾammā ʿilmu al-muttaqīna fahuwa ʿilmu al-yaqīni wa-al-maʿrifati.
Likewise the ignorant have different ranks, just as scholars do. The elite of the ignorant resemble the general run of scholars, so ordinary people confuse them and suppose them to be scholars, while scholars who know God Most High see through them. Similarly, those who know God are not recognized by ordinary scholars, though they are manifest to those who possess certainty. One scholar said: “Knowledge is of two kinds: the knowledge of rulers and the knowledge of the God-fearing. The knowledge of rulers is knowledge of judicial cases; the knowledge of the God-fearing is knowledge of certainty and knowledge of God.”
وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ فِي وَصْفِ عِلْمِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَذِكْرِ عِلْمِ الْإِيمَانِ : ( يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ ) الْمُجَادَلَةُ : 11 ، فَجَعَلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عُلَمَاءَ فَدَلَّ عَلَى أَنَّ الْعِلْمَ وَالْإِيمَانَ لَا يَفْتَرِقَانِ وَالْوَاوُ هُنَا عِنْدَ أَهْلِ اللُّغَةِ لِلْمَدْحِ لَا لِلْجَمْعِ ، الْعَرَبُ إِذَا مَدَحَتْ بِالْأَوْصَافِ أَدْخَلَتِ الْوَاوَ لِلْمُبَالَغَةِ فَقَالُوا : فُلَانٌ الْعَاقِلُ وَالْعَالِمُ وَالْأَدِيبُ ،
waqad qāla allāhu subḥānahu fī waṣfi ʿilmi al-muʾminīna wadhikri ʿilmi al-ʾīmāni: ( yarfaʿi allāhu alladhīna ʾāmanū minkum walladhīna ʾūtū al-ʿilma darajātin ) al-mujādalatu: 11 , fajaʿala al-muʾminīna ʿulamāʾa fadalla ʿalā ʾanna al-ʿilma wa-al-ʾīmāna lā yaftariqāni wa-al-wāwu hunā ʿinda ʾahli al-lughati lilmadḥi lā li-l-jamʿi , al-ʿarabu ʾidhā madaḥat bi-al-ʾawṣāfi ʾadkhalati al-wāwa lilmubālaghati faqālū: fulānun al-ʿāqilu wa-al-ʿālimu wa-al-ʾadību ,
God, glorified is He, said in describing believers’ knowledge and mentioning the knowledge of faith: “God will raise those of you who believe and those given knowledge by degrees” (al-Mujādala 58:11). He thus made the believers scholars, indicating that knowledge and faith do not part. According to the linguists, the conjunction wāw here expresses praise rather than the joining of separate groups. When Arabs praise by listing qualities, they insert wāw for emphasis, saying: “So-and-so is the intelligent one, and the learned one, and the cultivated one.”
وَمِثْلُ هَذَا قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( لَكِنِ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ مِنْهُمْ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ وَالْمُقِيمِينَ الصَّلَاةَ وَالْمُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَوٰةَ ) النِّسَاءُ : 162 كُلُّهُ نَعْتٌ ، فَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ هُمُ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ وَهُمُ الْمُقِيمُونَ وَالْمُؤْتُونَ أَيْضًا وَكُلُّهُمْ وَصْفُ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ وَلِذَلِكَ انْتَصَبَ قَوْلُهُ وَالْمُقِيمِينَ الصَّلَاةَ لِأَنَّهُ مَدْحٌ وَالْعَرَبُ تَنْصِبُ وَتَرْفَعُ بِالْمَدْحِ وَبِمَعْنَاهُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى :
wamithlu hādhā qawluhu taʿālā: ( lākini al-rāsikhūna fī al-ʿilmi minhum wa-al-muʾminūna yuʾminūna bimā ʾunzila ʾilayka wamā ʾunzila min qablika wa-al-muqīmīna al-ṣalāta wa-al-muʾtūna al-zakāta ) al-nisāʾu: 162 kulluhu naʿtun , fa-al-muʾminūna humu al-rāsikhūna fī al-ʿilmi wahumu al-muqīmūna wa-al-muʾtūna ʾayḍan wakulluhum waṣfu al-rāsikhūna fī al-ʿilmi walidhālika intaṣaba qawluhu wa-al-muqīmīna al-ṣalāta liʾannahu madḥun wa-al-ʿarabu tanṣibu watarfaʿu bi-al-madḥi wabimaʿnāhu qawluhu taʿālā:
Similar are His words, exalted is He: “But those among them firmly grounded in knowledge, and the believers, believe in what has been sent down to you and what was sent down before you, and those who establish prayer, and those who give alms” (al-Nisāʾ 4:162). All of this is description: the believers are those firmly grounded in knowledge, and they are also those who establish prayer and give alms. All are descriptions of “those firmly grounded in knowledge.” This is why “and those who establish prayer” is in the accusative: it expresses praise, and Arabic puts expressions of praise in either the accusative or nominative. His words, exalted is He, have the same meaning:
( وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 7 ، فَوَصَفَ الْعُلَمَاءَ بِالْإِيمَانِ كَمَا وَصَفَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِالْعِلْمِ وَكَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ وَالْإِيمَانَ ) الرُّومُ : 56 ، وَمِنْ هَذَا حَدِيثُ أَنَسٍ عَنْ
( wa-al-rāsikhūna fī al-ʿilmi yaqūlūna ʾāmannā bihi ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 7 , fawaṣafa al-ʿulamāʾa bi-al-ʾīmāni kamā waṣafa al-muʾminīna bi-al-ʿilmi wakadhālika qawluhu taʿālā: ( waqāla alladhīna ʾūtū al-ʿilma wa-al-ʾīmāna ) al-rūmu: 56 , wamin hādhā ḥadīthu ʾanasin ʿan
“Those firmly grounded in knowledge say, ‘We believe in it’” (Āl ʿImrān 3:7). He described scholars by faith, just as He described believers by knowledge. Likewise are His words, exalted is He: “Those who were given knowledge and faith said…” (al-Rūm 30:56). To this also belongs the report of Anas from
النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أُمَّتِي خَمْسُ طَبَقَاتٍ كُلُّ طَبَقَةٍ أَرْبَعُونَ عَامًا فَطَبَقَتِي وَطَبَقَةُ أَصْحَابِي أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ وَالْإِيمَانِ وَالَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ إِلَى الثَّمَانِينَ الْبِرُّ وَالتَّقْوَى وَالَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ إِلَى مِائَةٍ وَعِشْرِينَ أَهْلُ التَّوَاصُلِ وَالتَّرَاحُمِ ، فَقَرَنَ الْعِلْمَ بِالْإِيمَانِ وَقَدَّمَهُمَا عَلَى سَائِرِ الطَّبَقَاتِ . وَقَدْ قَرَنَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ الْإِيمَانَ بِالْقُرْآنِ وَهُوَ عِلْمٌ : كَمَا قَرَنَ الْقُرْآنَ بِالْإِيمَانِ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى :
al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾummatī khamsu ṭabaqātin kullu ṭabaqatin ʾarbaʿūna ʿāman faṭabaqatī waṭabaqatu ʾaṣḥābī ʾahlu al-ʿilmi wa-al-ʾīmāni walladhīna yalūnahum ʾilā al-thamānīna al-birru wa-al-taqwā walladhīna yalūnahum ʾilā miʾatin waʿishrīna ʾahlu al-tawāṣuli wa-al-tarāḥumi , faqarana al-ʿilma bi-al-ʾīmāni waqaddamahumā ʿalā sāʾiri al-ṭabaqāti. waqad qarana allāhu subḥānahu al-ʾīmāna bi-al-qurʾāni wahuwa ʿilmun: kamā qarana al-qurʾāna bi-al-ʾīmāni kamā qāla taʿālā:
the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “My community is five generations, each generation forty years. My generation and the generation of my Companions are people of knowledge and faith; those who follow them, up to eighty years, [are characterized by] righteousness and God-fearingness; and those who follow them, up to one hundred and twenty years, are people of mutual connection and mercy.” He coupled knowledge with faith and placed them before all the other generations. God, glorified is He, also coupled faith with the Qurʾān, which is knowledge, just as He coupled the Qurʾān with faith, as He said, exalted is He:
( كَتَبَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْإِيمَانَ وَأَيَّدَهُمْ بِرُوحٍ مِنْهُ ) الْمُجَادَلَةُ : 22 ، قِيلَ الْقُرْآنُ وَتَكُونُ الْهَاءُ عَائِدَةً إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي أَكْثَرِ الْوُجُوهِ ، كَمَا قَالَ : ( مَا كُنْتَ تَدْرِي مَا الْكِتَابُ وَلَا الْإِيمَانُ وَلَكِنْ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُورًا ) الشُّورَى : 52 ، فَأَهْلُ الْإِيمَانِ هُمْ أَهْلُ الْقُرْآنِ وَأَهْلُ الْقُرْآنِ أَهْلُ اللَّهِ وَخَاصَّتُهُ ،
( kataba fī qulūbihimu al-ʾīmāna waʾayyadahum birūḥin minhu ) al-mujādalatu: 22 , qīla al-qurʾānu watakūnu al-hāʾu ʿāʾidatan ʾilā allāhi taʿālā fī ʾakthari al-wujūhi , kamā qāla: ( mā kunta tadrī mā al-kitābu walā al-ʾīmānu walākin jaʿalnāhu nūran ) al-shūrā: 52 , faʾahlu al-ʾīmāni hum ʾahlu al-qurʾāni waʾahlu al-qurʾāni ʾahlu allāhi wakhāṣṣatuhu ,
“He has inscribed faith in their hearts and strengthened them with a spirit from Him” (al-Mujādala 58:22). It has been said that this means the Qurʾān; in most interpretations the pronoun “Him” refers back to God Most High. As He said: “You did not know what the Book was, nor faith; but We made it a light” (al-Shūrā 42:52). The people of faith are thus the people of the Qurʾān, and the people of the Qurʾān are God’s people and His chosen ones.
وَقَالَ الْمَهْدِيُّ لِسُفْيَانَ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ لَمَّا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ وَكَانَ أَحَدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ أَمِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ أَنْتَ فَسَكَتَ فَأَعَادَ عَلَيْهِ فَسَكَتَ فَقِيلَ : أَلَا تُجِيبُ أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ؟ فَقَالَ : يَسْأَلُنِي عَنْ مَسْأَلَةٍ لَا جَوَابَ لَهَا ، إِنْ قُلْتُ لَسْتُ بِعَالِمٍ وَقَدْ قَرَأْتُ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى كُنْتُ كَاذِبًا وَإِنْ قُلْتُ إِنِّي عَالِمٌ كُنْتُ جَاهِلًا ، وَقَالَ أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ الرَّازِيُّ عَنِ الرَّبِيعِ عَنْ أَنَسٍ فِي قَوْلِهِ :
waqāla al-mahdiyyu lisufyāna bni al-ḥusayni lammā dakhala ʿalayhi wakāna ʾaḥada al-ʿulamāʾi ʾamina al-ʿulamāʾi ʾanta fasakata faʾaʿāda ʿalayhi fasakata faqīla: ʾalā tujību ʾamīra al-muʾminīna ? faqāla: yasʾalunī ʿan masʾalatin lā jawāba lahā , ʾin qultu lastu biʿālimin waqad qaraʾtu kitāba allāhi taʿālā kuntu kādhiban waʾin qultu ʾinnī ʿālimun kuntu jāhilan , waqāla ʾabū jaʿfarin al-rāziyyu ʿani al-rabīʿi ʿan ʾanasin fī qawlihi:
Al-Mahdī asked Sufyān ibn al-Ḥusayn when he entered his presence, and he was one of the scholars: “Are you a scholar?” He remained silent. He repeated the question, and he remained silent. Someone said: “Will you not answer the Commander of the Faithful?” He replied: “He is asking me a question that has no answer. If I say I am not a scholar, when I have read the Book of God Most High, I would be lying. If I say I am a scholar, I would be ignorant.” Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī related from al-Rabīʿ, from Anas, concerning His words:
( إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ ) فَاطِرٌ : 28 ، قَالَ : مَنْ لَمْ يَخْشَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فَلَيْسَ بِعَالِمٍ أَلَا تَرَى أَنَّ دَاوُدَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّكَ جَعَلْتَ الْعِلْمَ خَشْيَتَكَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَالْإِيمَانَ بِكَ فَمَا عَلِمَ مَنْ لَمْ يَخْشَكَ وَمَا حَكُمَ مَنْ لَمْ يُؤْمِنْ بِكَ ، وَقَدْ سَمَّى عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ رَوَاحَةَ الْعِلْمَ إِيمَانًا فَكَانَ يَقُولُ لِأَصْحَابِهِ :
( ʾinnamā yakhshā allāha min ʿibādihi al-ʿulamāʾu ) fāṭirun: 28 , qāla: man lam yakhsha allāha taʿālā falaysa biʿālimin ʾalā tarā ʾanna dāwuda ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla dhālika biʾannaka jaʿalta al-ʿilma khashyataka wa-al-ḥikmata wa-al-ʾīmāna bika famā ʿalima man lam yakhshaka wamā ḥakuma man lam yuʾmin bika , waqad sammā ʿabdu allāhi bnu rawāḥata al-ʿilma ʾīmānan fakāna yaqūlu liʾaṣḥābihi:
“Only the knowledgeable among His servants fear God” (Fāṭir 35:28): “Anyone who does not fear God Most High is not a scholar. Do you not see that David, God bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘That is because You have made knowledge fear of You, and wisdom and faith in You. One who does not fear You has not known, and one who does not believe in You has not become wise.’” ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rawāḥa called knowledge faith; he used to say to his companions:
اُقْعُدُوا بِنَا نُؤْمِنْ سَاعَةً فَيَتَذَاكَرُونَ عِلْمَ الْإِيمَانِ وَقَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ سَمْعًا وَبَصَرًا وَقَلْبًا ، وَهَذِهِ طَرَائِقُ الْعِلْمِ الَّتِي يُؤْخَذُ الْعِلْمُ مِنْهَا وَيُوجَدُ بِهَا وَهِيَ أُصُولُ الْعِلْمِ وَالنِّعَمُ الَّتِي أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْخَلْقِ بِهَا وَطَالَبَهُمْ بِالشُّكْرِ عَلَيْهَا ، فَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ : ( وَاللَّهُ أَخْرَجَكُمْ مِنْ بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ شَيْئًا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَالْأَفْئِدَةَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ) النَّحْلُ : 78 ،
uqʿudū binā nuʾmin sāʿatan fayatadhākarūna ʿilma al-ʾīmāni waqad jaʿala allāhu lilmuʾminīna samʿan wabaṣaran waqalban , wahādhihi ṭarāʾiqu al-ʿilmi allatī yuʾkhadhu al-ʿilmu minhā wayūjadu bihā wahiya ʾuṣūlu al-ʿilmi wa-al-niʿamu allatī ʾanʿama allāhu ʿalā al-khalqi bihā waṭālabahum bi-al-shukri ʿalayhā , faqāla subḥānahu: ( wa-allāhu ʾakhrajakum min buṭūni ʾummahātikum lā taʿlamūna shayʾan wajaʿala lakumu al-samʿa wa-al-ʾabṣāra wa-al-ʾafʾidata laʿallakum tashkurūna ) al-naḥlu: 78 ,
“Sit with us, and let us believe for an hour.” They would then discuss the knowledge of faith together. God has given believers hearing, sight, and a heart. These are the paths of knowledge, from which knowledge is received and through which it is found. They are the foundations of knowledge and the blessings God has bestowed upon creatures and required them to thank Him for. He, glorified is He, said: “God brought you out of your mothers’ wombs knowing nothing, and gave you hearing, eyes, and hearts, so that you might give thanks” (al-Naḥl 16:78).
فَأَثْبَتَ الْعِلْمَ بِهَا بَعْدَ النَّفْيِ بِهَا لَهُ ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي وَصْفِ مَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ مُؤْمِنًا وَنَفْيِ الْغِنْيَةِ بِالْعِلْمِ بِهَا : ( وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُمْ سَمْعًا وَأَبْصَارًا وَأَفْئِدَةً فَمَا أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ سَمْعُهُمْ وَلَا أَبْصَارُهُمْ وَلَا أَفْئِدَتُهُمْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ إِذْ كَانُوا يَجْحَدُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ ) الْأَحْقَافُ : 26 ، فَمَنْ آمَنَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَغْنَى عَنْهُ سَمْعُهُ وَبَصَرُهُ وَقَلْبُهُ فَكَانَتْ طُرُقَ الْعِلْمِ إِلَيْهِ .
faʾathbata al-ʿilma bihā baʿda al-nafyi bihā lahu , waqāla taʿālā fī waṣfi man lam yakun muʾminan wanafyi al-ghinyati bi-al-ʿilmi bihā: ( wajaʿalnā lahum samʿan waʾabṣāran waʾafʾidatan famā ʾaghnā ʿanhum samʿuhum walā ʾabṣāruhum walā ʾafʾidatuhum min shayʾin ʾidh kānū yajḥadūna biʾāyāti allāhi ) al-ʾaḥqāfu: 26 , faman ʾāmana biʾāyāti allāhi taʿālā ʾaghnā ʿanhu samʿuhu wabaṣaruhu waqalbuhu fakānat ṭuruqa al-ʿilmi ʾilayhi.
He thus affirmed knowledge through these faculties after denying its presence through them. Describing one who is not a believer, and denying the benefit of knowledge through these faculties, He said, exalted is He: “We gave them hearing, eyes, and hearts; yet their hearing, eyes, and hearts availed them nothing, since they denied God’s signs” (al-Aḥqāf 46:26). Whoever believes in God Most High’s signs benefits from his hearing, sight, and heart, which become paths by which knowledge reaches him.
وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي مَعْنَى ذَلِكَ أَيْضًا : ( وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولَئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْؤُولًا ) الْإِسْرَاءُ : 36 ، فَلَوْلَا أَنَّ الْعِلْمَ يَقَعُ بِالسَّمْعِ وَالْبَصَرِ وَالْقَلْبِ مَا نَهَى عَمَّا لَا يَعْلَمُ هَذِهِ الْأَشْيَاءُ فَفِي النَّهْيِ عَنْ قَفْوِ مَا لَا يَعْلَمُ هَذِهِ الْأَوَاسَاطُ وَيَتْبَعُهُ إِثْبَاتُ الْعِلْمِ بِهَا فَكُلُّ مُؤْمِنٍ هُوَ ذُو سَمْعٍ وَبَصَرٍ وَقَلْبٍ فَهُوَ عَالِمٌ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَرَحْمَتِهِ .
waqāla ʿazza wajalla fī maʿnā dhālika ʾayḍan: ( walā taqfu mā laysa laka bihi ʿilmun ʾinna al-samʿa wa-al-baṣara wa-al-fuʾāda kullu ʾūlāʾika kāna ʿanhu masʾūlan ) al-ʾisrāʾu: 36 , falawlā ʾanna al-ʿilma yaqaʿu bi-al-samʿi wa-al-baṣari wa-al-qalbi mā nahā ʿammā lā yaʿlamu hādhihi al-ʾashyāʾu fafī al-nahyi ʿan qafwi mā lā yaʿlamu hādhihi al-ʾawāsāṭu wayatbaʿuhu ʾithbātu al-ʿilmi bihā fakullu muʾminin huwa dhū samʿin wabaṣarin waqalbin fahuwa ʿālimun bifaḍli allāhi waraḥmatihi.
He, mighty and majestic, also said to this effect: “Do not pursue what you have no knowledge of. Hearing, sight, and the heart: each of these will be questioned” (al-Isrāʾ 17:36). Were knowledge not attained through hearing, sight, and the heart, He would not have forbidden what these faculties do not know. The prohibition against pursuing what these intermediaries do not know and following it thus affirms knowledge through them. Every believer who possesses hearing, sight, and a heart is therefore knowledgeable by God’s favor and mercy.
وَمِمَّا فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهِ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةَ عَلَى سَائِرِ الْأُمَمِ وَخَصَّهَا بِهِ ثَلَاثَةُ أَشْيَاءَ : تَبْقِيَةُ الْإِسْنَادِ فِيهِمْ يَأْثُرُهُ خَلَفٌ عَنْ سَلَفٍ مُتَّصِلًا إِلَى نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَإِلَى مَنْ خَلَا مِنْ عُلَمَائِنَا وَإِنَّمَا كَانُوا فِيهِمْ يَسْتَنْسِخُونَ الصُّحُفَ كُلَّمَا اخْتَلَقَتْ صَحِيفَةٌ جُدِّدَتْ فَكَانَ ذَلِكَ أَثَرَةَ الْعِلْمِ فِيهِمْ ، وَالثَّانِي حِفْظُ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الْمُنَزَّلِ عَنْ ظَهْرِ غَيْبٍ ، وَإِنَّمَا كَانُوا يَقْرَؤُونَ كُتُبَهُمْ
wamimmā faḍḍala allāhu taʿālā bihi hādhihi al-ʾummata ʿalā sāʾiri al-ʾumami wakhaṣṣahā bihi thalāthatu ʾashyāʾa: tabqiyatu al-ʾisnādi fīhim yaʾthuruhu khalafun ʿan salafin muttaṣilan ʾilā nabiyyinā muḥammadin ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waʾilā man khalā min ʿulamāʾinā waʾinnamā kānū fīhim yastansikhūna al-ṣuḥufa kullamā ikhtalaqat ṣaḥīfatun juddidat fakāna dhālika ʾatharata al-ʿilmi fīhim , wa-al-thānī ḥifẓu kitābi allāhi taʿālā al-munazzali ʿan ẓahri ghaybin , waʾinnamā kānū yaqraʾūna kutubahum
Among the ways God Most High has favored this community over all other communities and distinguished it are three things. First is preserving chains of transmission among them: each later generation transmits from an earlier one in an unbroken line to our Prophet Muḥammad, God bless him and grant him peace, and to our scholars who have passed away. Among earlier communities they merely copied the scrolls: whenever a scroll wore out, it was renewed. That was the transmission of knowledge among them. Second is memorizing the revealed Book of God Most High by heart. They used to read their books
نَظَرًا وَلَمْ يُحْفَظْ جَمِيعُ كِتَابٍ أَنْزَلَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى قَطُّ غَيْرَ كِتَابِنَا هَذَا إِلَّا مَا أَلْهَمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عُزَيْرًا مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ بَعْدَ أَنْ كَانَ بُخْتَنَصَّرُ أَحْرَقَ جَمِيعَهَا عِنْدَ إِحْرَاقِ بَيْتِ الْمَقْدِسِ ، فَلِذَلِكَ قَالَ سِبْطٌ مِنَ الْيَهُودِ إِنَّهُ ابْنُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَزَّ عَنْ ذَلِكَ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا لِمَا خَصَّهُ بِهِ وَأَفْرَدَهُ مِنْ حِفْظِ جَمِيعِ التَّوْرَاةِ ،
naẓaran walam yuḥfaẓ jamīʿu kitābin ʾanzalahu allāhu taʿālā qaṭṭu ghayra kitābinā hādhā ʾillā mā ʾalhamahu allāhu taʿālā ʿuzayran mina al-tawrāti baʿda ʾan kāna bukhtanaṣṣaru ʾaḥraqa jamīʿahā ʿinda ʾiḥrāqi bayti al-maqdisi , falidhālika qāla sibṭun mina al-yahūdi ʾinnahu ibnu allāhi taʿālā ʿazza ʿan dhālika ʿuluwwan kabīran limā khaṣṣahu bihi waʾafradahu min ḥifẓi jamīʿi al-tawrāti ,
from the written page. No complete book sent down by God Most High was ever memorized except this Book of ours, apart from the Torah that God Most High inspired ʿUzayr to remember after Nebuchadnezzar had burned it all when he burned Jerusalem. Because God had distinguished him and singled him out with the memorization of the whole Torah, one tribe of the Jews said that he was God’s son. Exalted is God Most High, far above that!
وَالثَّالِثُ أَنَّ كُلَّ مُؤْمِنٍ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ يُسْئَلُ عَنْ عِلْمِ الْإِيمَانِ وَيُسْمَعُ قَوْلُهُ وَيُؤْخَذُ مِنْ رَأْيِهِ وَعِلْمِهِ مَعَ حَدَاثَةِ سِنِّهِ وَلَمْ يَكُونُوا فِيمَا مَضَى يَسْمَعُونَ الْعِلْمَ إِلَّا مِنَ الْأَحْبَارِ وَالْقِسِّيسِينَ وَالرُّهْبَانِ لَا غَيْرَ مِنَ النَّاسِ ، وَزَادَهَا رَابِعَةً عَلَى أُمَّةِ مُوسَى صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ثَبَاتُ الْإِيمَانِ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ لَا يَعْتَرِيهِ الشَّكُّ وَلَا يَخْتَلِجُهُ الشِّرْكُ مَعَ تَقْلِيبِ الْقُلُوبِ فِي الْمَعَاصِي ،
wa-al-thālithu ʾanna kulla muʾminin min hādhihi al-ʾummati yusʾalu ʿan ʿilmi al-ʾīmāni wayusmaʿu qawluhu wayuʾkhadhu min raʾyihi waʿilmihi maʿa ḥadāthati sinnihi walam yakūnū fīmā maḍā yasmaʿūna al-ʿilma ʾillā mina al-ʾaḥbāri wa-al-qissīsīna wa-al-ruhbāni lā ghayra mina al-nāsi , wazādahā rābiʿatan ʿalā ʾummati mūsā ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama thabātu al-ʾīmāni fī qulūbihim lā yaʿtarīhi al-shakku walā yakhtalijuhu al-shirku maʿa taqlībi al-qulūbi fī al-maʿāṣī ,
Third, every believer in this community may be asked about the knowledge of faith: his words are heard and his opinion and knowledge accepted even when he is young. In earlier times they heard knowledge only from rabbis, priests, and monks, and no one else. He granted this community a fourth distinction over the community of Moses, God bless him and grant him peace: faith remains firm in their hearts, untouched by doubt or shaken by association of partners with God, even as their hearts turn amid acts of disobedience.
وَكَانَتْ أُمَّةُ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ تَتَقَلَّبُ قُلُوبُهُمْ فِي الشَّكِّ وَالشِّرْكِ كَمَا تَتَقَلَّبُ جَوَارِحُهُمْ فِي الْمَعَاصِي ، فَلِذَلِكَ قَالُوا : يَا مُوسَى اجْعَلْ لَنَا إِلَهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ آلِهَةٌ بَعْدَ أَنْ رَأَوُا الْآيَاتِ الْعَظِيمَةَ مِنِ انْفِلَاقِ الْبَحْرِ وَسُلُوكِهِمْ فِيهِ طَرَائِقَ وَأَنْجَاهُمْ مِنَ الْغَرَقِ وَأَهْلَكَ فِرْعَوْنَ . وَرَوَيْنَا بَعْضَ الْأَخْبَارِ أَنَّ فِي بَعْضِ الْكُتُبِ الْمُنَزَّلَةِ :
wakānat ʾummatu mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu tataqallabu qulūbuhum fī al-shakki wa-al-shirki kamā tataqallabu jawāriḥuhum fī al-maʿāṣī , falidhālika qālū: yā mūsā ijʿal lanā ʾilāhan kamā lahum ʾālihatun baʿda ʾan raʾaw al-ʾāyāti al-ʿaẓīmata mini infilāqi al-baḥri wasulūkihim fīhi ṭarāʾiqa waʾanjāhum mina al-gharaqi waʾahlaka firʿawna. warawaynā baʿḍa al-ʾakhbāri ʾanna fī baʿḍi al-kutubi al-munazzalati:
The hearts of Moses’ community, peace be upon him, used to turn amid doubt and association of partners with God as their limbs turned amid acts of disobedience. Thus they said: “Moses, make us a god as they have gods,” even after they had seen the mighty signs: the sea splitting, their passage through it by separate paths, His saving them from drowning, and His destruction of Pharaoh. We have related in some reports that one of the revealed books says:
يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ لَا تَقُولُوا الْعِلْمُ فِي السَّمَاءِ مَنْ يَنْزِلُ بِهِ وَلَا فِي تُخُومِ الْأَرَضِينَ مَنْ يَصْعَدُ بِهِ وَلَا مِنْ وَرَاءِ الْبِحَارِ مَنْ يَعْبُرُهُ يَأْتِي بِهِ الْعِلْمُ مَجْعُولٌ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ ، تَأَدَّبُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ بِآدَابِ الرُّوحَانِيِّينَ وَتَخَلَّقُوا لِي بِأَخْلَاقِ الصِّدِّيقِينَ أُظْهِرِ الْعِلْمَ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ حَتَّى يُغَطِّيَكُمْ وَيَغْمُرَكُمْ ، وَفِي الْإِنْجِيلِ مَكْتُوبٌ : لَا تَطْلُبُوا عِلْمَ مَا لَمْ تَعْمَلُوا حَتَّى تَعْمَلُوا بِمَا قَدْ عَلِمْتُمْ ،
yā banī ʾisrāʾīla lā taqūlū al-ʿilmu fī al-samāʾi man yanzilu bihi walā fī tukhūmi al-ʾaraḍīna man yaṣʿadu bihi walā min warāʾi al-biḥāri man yaʿburuhu yaʾtī bihi al-ʿilmu majʿūlun fī qulūbikum , taʾaddabū bayna yadayya biʾādābi al-rūḥāniyyīna watakhallaqū lī biʾakhlāqi al-ṣiddīqīna ʾuẓhiri al-ʿilma fī qulūbikum ḥattā yughaṭṭiyakum wayaghmurakum , wafī al-ʾinjīli maktūbun: lā taṭlubū ʿilma mā lam taʿmalū ḥattā taʿmalū bimā qad ʿalimtum ,
“Children of Israel, do not say: ‘Knowledge is in heaven; who will bring it down?’ Nor: ‘It is in the depths of the earths; who will bring it up?’ Nor: ‘It lies beyond the seas; who will cross to bring it?’ Knowledge is placed in your hearts. Conduct yourselves in My presence with the manners of spiritual beings, and adopt for Me the character of the utterly truthful. I will reveal knowledge in your hearts until it covers and overwhelms you.” It is written in the Gospel: “Do not seek knowledge of what you have not practiced until you act upon what you already know.”
وَفِي أَخْبَارِنَا نَحْنُ : مَنْ عَمِلَ بِمَا يَعْلَمُ وَرَّثَهُ اللَّهُ عِلْمَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ حَتَّى قِيلَ : مَنْ عَمِلَ بِعُشْرِ مَا يَعْلَمُ وَرَّثَهُ اللَّهُ عِلْمَ مَا يَجْهَلُ ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ حُذَيْفَةَ بْنِ الْيَمَانِ : إِنَّكُمُ الْيَوْمَ فِي زَمَانٍ مَنْ تَرَكَ فِيهِ عُشْرَ مَا يَعْلَمُ هَلَكَ وَيَأْتِي بَعْدَكُمْ زَمَانٌ مَنْ عَمِلَ مِنْهُمْ بِعُشْرِ مَا يَعْلَمُ نَجَا ، هَذَا لِقِلَّةِ الْعَامِلِينَ وَكَثْرَةِ الْبَطَّالِينَ ،
wafī ʾakhbārinā naḥnu: man ʿamila bimā yaʿlamu warrathahu allāhu ʿilma mā lam yaʿlam ḥattā qīla: man ʿamila biʿushri mā yaʿlamu warrathahu allāhu ʿilma mā yajhalu , waqad rawaynā ʿan ḥudhayfata bni al-yamāni: ʾinnakumu al-yawma fī zamānin man taraka fīhi ʿushra mā yaʿlamu halaka wayaʾtī baʿdakum zamānun man ʿamila minhum biʿushri mā yaʿlamu najā , hādhā liqillati al-ʿāmilīna wakathrati al-baṭṭālīna ,
In our own reports: “Whoever acts on what he knows, God bequeaths him knowledge of what he did not know.” It has even been said: “Whoever acts on a tenth of what he knows, God bequeaths him knowledge of what he is ignorant of.” We have related from Ḥudhayfa ibn al-Yamān: “Today you live in a time when anyone who abandons a tenth of what he knows is ruined. After you will come a time when whoever among them acts on a tenth of what he knows is saved.” This is because those who act are few and those who are idle are many.
وَفِي كِتَابِنَا الْمُجْمَلِ الْمُخْتَصَرِ : وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللَّهُ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعْلَمُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاسْمَعُوا ، وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ مَنْ عَمِلَ بِعِلْمٍ أَوْ نَطَقَ بِهِ فَأَصَابَ الْحَقِيقَةَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَلَهُ أَجْرَانِ ، أَجْرُ التَّوْفِيقِ وَأَجْرُ الْعَمَلِ - وَهَذَا مَقَامُ الْعَارِفِينَ ، وَمَنْ نَطَقَ بِجَهْلٍ أَوْ عَمِلَ بِهِ وَأَخْطَأَ الْحَقِيقَةَ فَعَلَيْهِ وِزْرَانِ - وَهَذَا مَقَامُ الْجُهَّالِ ،
wafī kitābinā al-mujmali al-mukhtaṣari: wattaqū allāha wayuʿallimukumu allāhu wattaqū allāha waʿlamū wattaqū allāha wasmaʿū , waʿlam ʾanna man ʿamila biʿilmin ʾaw naṭaqa bihi faʾaṣāba al-ḥaqīqata ʿinda allāhi taʿālā falahu ʾajrāni , ʾajru al-tawfīqi waʾajru al-ʿamali - wahādhā maqāmu al-ʿārifīna , waman naṭaqa bijahlin ʾaw ʿamila bihi waʾakhṭaʾa al-ḥaqīqata faʿalayhi wizrāni - wahādhā maqāmu al-juhhāli ,
In our comprehensive, concise Book: “Be mindful of God, and God will teach you”; “Be mindful of God, and know”; “Be mindful of God, and listen.” Know that whoever acts with knowledge or speaks with it and reaches the reality before God Most High has two rewards: the reward of divine enablement and the reward of action. This is the station of those who know God. Whoever speaks in ignorance or acts by it and misses the reality bears two burdens of sin. This is the station of the ignorant.
وَمَنْ قَالَ أَوْ عَمِلَ بِعِلْمِهِ وَأَخْطَأَ الْحَقِيقَةَ فَلَهُ أَجْرٌ لِأَجْلِ الْعِلْمِ وَهَذَا مَقَامُ عُلَمَاءِ الظَّاهِرِ ، وَمَنْ قَالَ بِجَهْلٍ أَوْ عَمِلَ عَمَلًا وَأَصَابَ الْحَقِيقَةَ فَعَلَيْهِ وِزْرٌ لِتَرْكِهِ طَلَبَ الْعِلْمِ وَهَذَا مَقَامُ جَهَلَةِ الْعَابِدِينَ ، وَمَثَلُ الْعَالِمِ مَثَلُ الْحَاكِمِ وَقَدْ قَسَمَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْحُكَّامَ ثَلَاثَةَ أَقْسَامٍ فَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : الْقُضَاةُ ثَلَاثَةٌ :
waman qāla ʾaw ʿamila biʿilmihi waʾakhṭaʾa al-ḥaqīqata falahu ʾajrun liʾajli al-ʿilmi wahādhā maqāmu ʿulamāʾi al-ẓāhiri , waman qāla bijahlin ʾaw ʿamila ʿamalan waʾaṣāba al-ḥaqīqata faʿalayhi wizrun litarkihi ṭalaba al-ʿilmi wahādhā maqāmu jahalati al-ʿābidīna , wamathalu al-ʿālimi mathalu al-ḥākimi waqad qasama al-nabiyyu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama al-ḥukkāma thalāthata ʾaqsāmin faqāla ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: al-quḍātu thalāthatun:
Whoever speaks or acts according to his knowledge but misses the reality has one reward on account of his knowledge. This is the station of the scholars of outward knowledge. Whoever speaks in ignorance or performs an act and reaches the reality bears a burden of sin for neglecting to seek knowledge. This is the station of ignorant worshippers. The scholar is like the judge. The Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, divided judges into three categories, saying, God bless him and grant him peace: “Judges are three:
قَاضٍ قَضَى بِالْحَقِّ وَهُوَ يَعْلَمُ فَذَاكَ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَقَاضٍ قَضَى بِالْجَوْرِ وَهُوَ يَعْلَمُ أَوْ قَضَى بِالْجَوْرِ وَهُوَ لَا يَعْلَمُ فَهُمَا فِي النَّارِ ، وَمِنْ أَحْسَنِ مَا سَمِعْتُ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( يَا بَنِي آدَمَ قَدْ أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ لِبَاسًا يُوَارِي سَوْءَاتِكُمْ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 26 قِيلَ الْعِلْمُ وَرِيشًا قِيلَ الْيَقِينُ وَلِبَاسُ التَّقْوَى أَيْ الْحَيَاءُ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ وَهْبِ بْنِ مُنَبِّهٍ الْيَمَانِيِّ فِي مَعْنَاهُ :
qāḍin qaḍā bi-al-ḥaqqi wahuwa yaʿlamu fadhāka fī al-jannati waqāḍin qaḍā bi-al-jawri wahuwa yaʿlamu ʾaw qaḍā bi-al-jawri wahuwa lā yaʿlamu fahumā fī al-nāri , wamin ʾaḥsani mā samiʿtu fī qawlihi taʿālā: ( yā banī ʾādama qad ʾanzalnā ʿalaykum libāsan yuwārī sawʾātikum ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 26 qīla al-ʿilmu warīshan qīla al-yaqīnu walibāsu al-taqwā ʾay al-ḥayāʾu. warawaynā ʿan wahbi bni munabbihin al-yamāniyyi fī maʿnāhu:
“A judge who judges justly and knows it is in the Garden. A judge who judges unjustly and knows it, or judges unjustly without knowing it: these two are in the Fire.” Among the finest explanations I have heard of His words, exalted is He, “Children of Adam, We have sent down to you clothing to conceal your nakedness” (al-Aʿrāf 7:26), is that this means knowledge. “And adornment”: it is said this means certainty. “And the clothing of God-fearingness”: that is, modesty. We have related from Wahb ibn Munabbih al-Yamānī concerning its meaning:
الْإِيمَانُ عُرْيَانٌ وَلِبَاسُهُ التَّقْوَى وَزِينَتُهُ الْحَيَاءُ وَثَمَرَتُهُ الْعِلْمُ وَقَدْ أَسْنَدَهُ حَمْزَةُ الْخُرَاسَانِيُّ عَنِ الثَّوْرِيِّ فَرَفَعَهُ إِلَى عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ
al-ʾīmānu ʿuryānun walibāsuhu al-taqwā wazīnatuhu al-ḥayāʾu wathamaratuhu al-ʿilmu waqad ʾasnadahu ḥamzatu al-khurāsāniyyu ʿani al-thawriyyi farafaʿahu ʾilā ʿabdi allāhi ʿani al-nabiyyi
“Faith is naked; its clothing is God-fearingness, its adornment modesty, and its fruit knowledge.” Ḥamza al-Khurāsānī gave it a chain through al-Thawrī, tracing it up to ʿAbd Allāh, from the Prophet,
صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَاهُ أَيْضًا مُسْنَدًا ، قَالَ مِسْعَرٌ عَنْ سَعْدِ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَسَأَلَهُ سَائِلٌ : أَيُّ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ أَفْقَهُ ؟ فَقَالَ : أَتْقَاهُمْ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : لَوْ قَالَ لِي قَائِلٌ أَيُّ النَّاسِ أَعْلَمُ لَقُلْتُ أَوْرَعُهُمْ وَلَوْ قَالَ لِي قَائِلٌ أَيُّ أَهْلِ هَذِهِ الْمَدِينَةِ خَيْرٌ ؟ لَقُلْتُ : تَعْرِفُونَ أَنْصَحَهُمْ لَهُمْ ،
ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waqad rawaynāhu ʾayḍan musnadan , qāla misʿarun ʿan saʿdi bni ʾibrāhīma wasaʾalahu sāʾilun: ʾayyu ʾahli al-madīnati ʾafqahu ? faqāla: ʾatqāhum lillāhi ʿazza wajalla , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: law qāla lī qāʾilun ʾayyu al-nāsi ʾaʿlamu laqultu ʾawraʿuhum walaw qāla lī qāʾilun ʾayyu ʾahli hādhihi al-madīnati khayrun ? laqultu: taʿrifūna ʾanṣaḥahum lahum ,
God bless him and grant him peace. We have also related it with a connected chain. Misʿar related from Saʿd ibn Ibrāhīm that a questioner asked him: “Which of the people of Medina has the greatest understanding?” He replied: “The one most mindful of God, mighty and majestic.” One scholar said: “If someone asked me which person is most knowledgeable, I would say: ‘The most scrupulous.’ If someone asked me which of the people of this town is best, I would say: ‘Do you know who is most sincere in seeking their good?’
فَإِذَا قَالُوا نَعَمْ قُلْتُ هُوَ خَيْرُهُمْ وَقَالَ آخَرُ : لَوْ قِيلَ لِي مَنْ أَحْمَقُ النَّاسِ لَأَخَذْتُ بِيَدِ الْقَاضِي فَقُلْتُ هَذَا وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاسْمَعُوا ) الْمَائِدَةُ : 108 و ( اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا ) الْأَحْزَابُ : 70 ، فَجَعَلَ تَعَالَى مِفْتَاحَ الْقَوْلِ السَّدِيدِ وَالْعِلْمِ الرَّشِيدِ وَالسَّمْعِ الْمَكِينِ التَّقْوَى ، وَهِيَ وَصِيَّةُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مَنْ قَبْلَنَا وَإِيَّانَا إِذْ يَقُولُ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى :
faʾidhā qālū naʿam qultu huwa khayruhum waqāla ʾākharu: law qīla lī man ʾaḥmaqu al-nāsi laʾakhadhtu biyadi al-qāḍī faqultu hādhā waqāla allāhu taʿālā: ( wattaqū allāha wasmaʿū ) al-māʾidatu: 108 wa ( ittaqū allāha waqūlū qawlan sadīdan ) al-ʾaḥzābu: 70 , fajaʿala taʿālā miftāḥa al-qawli al-sadīdi wa-al-ʿilmi al-rashīdi wa-al-samʿi al-makīni al-taqwā , wahiya waṣiyyatu allāhi taʿālā man qablanā waʾiyyānā ʾidh yaqūlu allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā:
“When they said yes, I would say: ‘He is the best of them.’” Another said: “If I were asked who is the most foolish person, I would take the judge’s hand and say: ‘This one.’” God Most High said: “Be mindful of God, and listen” (al-Māʾida 5:108); and “Be mindful of God, and speak sound words” (al-Aḥzāb 33:70). He thus made God-fearingness the key to sound speech, rightly guided knowledge, and firmly receptive hearing. It is God Most High’s counsel to those before us and to us, as God, glorified and exalted, says:
( وَلَقَدْ وَصَّيْنَا الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ وَإِيَّاكُمْ أَنِ اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ) النِّسَاءُ : 131 ، وَهَذِهِ الْآيَةُ قُطْبُ الْقُرْآنِ وَمَدَارُهُ عَلَيْهَا كَمَدَارِ الرَّحَى عَلَى الْخَشَبَانِ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ كَيْفَ يَكُونُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ مَنْ مَسِيرُهُ إِلَى آخِرَتِهِ ، وَهُوَ مُقْبِلٌ عَلَى دُنْيَاهُ وَكَيْفَ يَكُونُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ مَنْ يَطْلُبُ الْكَلَامَ لِيُخْبِرَ بِهِ وَهُوَ لَا يَطْلُبُهُ لِيَعْمَلَ بِهِ ،
( walaqad waṣṣaynā alladhīna ʾūtū al-kitāba min qablikum waʾiyyākum ʾani ittaqū allāha ) al-nisāʾu: 131 , wahādhihi al-ʾāyatu quṭbu al-qurʾāni wamadāruhu ʿalayhā kamadāri al-raḥā ʿalā al-khashabāni. warawaynā ʿan ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu kayfa yakūnu min ʾahli al-ʿilmi man masīruhu ʾilā ʾākhiratihi , wahuwa muqbilun ʿalā dunyāhu wakayfa yakūnu min ʾahli al-ʿilmi man yaṭlubu al-kalāma liyukhbira bihi wahuwa lā yaṭlubuhu liyaʿmala bihi ,
“We have instructed those who were given the Book before you, and you yourselves, to be mindful of God” (al-Nisāʾ 4:131). This verse is the pivot of the Qurʾān, around which it turns as a millstone turns upon its wooden spindle. We have related from Jesus, peace be upon him: “How can a person belong to the people of knowledge when his journey is toward the hereafter but his attention is turned toward this world? How can a person belong to the people of knowledge when he seeks words to report them, but does not seek them to act upon them?”
وَقَالَ الضَّحَّاكُ بْنُ مُزَاحِمٍ : أَدْرَكْتُهُمْ وَمَا يَتَعَلَّمُ بَعْضُهُمْ مِنْ بَعْضٍ إِلَّا الْوَرَعَ وَهُمْ الْيَوْمَ يَتَعَلَّمُونَ الْكَلَامَ ، وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ : مَا ضَلَّ قَوْمٌ بَعْدَ هُدًى كَانُوا عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا أُعْطُوا الْجَدَلَ ثُمَّ قَرَأَ : مَا ضَرَبُوهُ لَكَ إِلَّا جَدَلًا بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ خَصِمُونَ ، وَفِي قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 7 ،
waqāla al-ḍaḥḥāku bnu muzāḥimin: ʾadraktuhum wamā yataʿallamu baʿḍuhum min baʿḍin ʾillā al-waraʿa wahum al-yawma yataʿallamūna al-kalāma , wafī al-ḥadīthi: mā ḍalla qawmun baʿda hudan kānū ʿalayhi ʾillā ʾuʿṭū al-jadala thumma qaraʾa: mā ḍarabūhu laka ʾillā jadalan bal hum qawmun khaṣimūna , wafī qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ( faʾammā alladhīna fī qulūbihim zayghun ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 7 ,
Al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim said: “I knew them when they learned nothing from one another but scrupulousness; today they learn discourse.” In the hadith: “No people go astray after having followed guidance except that they are given disputation.” Then he recited: “They put it to you only for argument; rather, they are a contentious people.” Concerning His words, mighty and majestic, “As for those in whose hearts is deviation” (Āl ʿImrān 3:7),
الْآيَةُ هُمْ أَهْلُ الْجَدَلِ الَّذِينَ عَنَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فَاحْذَرُوهُمْ ، وَعَنْ بَعْضِ السَّلَفِ : يَكُونُ فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ عُلَمَاءُ يُغْلَقُ عَنْهُمْ بَابُ الْعَمَلِ وَيُفْتَحُ عَلَيْهِمْ بَابُ الْجَدَلِ ، وَفِي بَعْضِ الْأَخْبَارِ : إِنَّكُمْ فِي زَمَانٍ أُلْهِمْتُمْ فِيهِ الْعِلْمَ وَسَيَأْتِي قَوْمٌ يُلْهَمُونَ الْجَدَلَ ، وَعَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ : أَنْتُمُ الْيَوْمَ فِي زَمَانٍ خَيْرُكُمْ فِيهِ الْمُسَارِعُ وَيَأْتِي بَعْدَكُمْ زَمَانٌ خَيْرُكُمْ فِيهِ الْمُتَبَيِّنُ يَعْنِي الْآنَ لِبَيَانِ
al-ʾāyatu hum ʾahlu al-jadali alladhīna ʿanā allāhu taʿālā faḥdharūhum , waʿan baʿḍi al-salafi: yakūnu fī ʾākhiri al-zamāni ʿulamāʾu yughlaqu ʿanhum bābu al-ʿamali wayuftaḥu ʿalayhim bābu al-jadali , wafī baʿḍi al-ʾakhbāri: ʾinnakum fī zamānin ʾulhimtum fīhi al-ʿilma wasayaʾtī qawmun yulhamūna al-jadala , waʿani ibni masʿūdin: ʾantumu al-yawma fī zamānin khayrukum fīhi al-musāriʿu wayaʾtī baʿdakum zamānun khayrukum fīhi al-mutabayyinu yaʿnī al-ʾāna libayāni
and the rest of the verse: “The disputants are those God Most High meant, so beware of them.” From one of the predecessors: “At the end of time there will be scholars for whom the door of action is closed and the door of disputation opened.” In one report: “You live in a time when you have been inspired with knowledge. People will come who are inspired with disputation.” From Ibn Masʿūd: “Today you live in a time when the best of you is the one who acts swiftly. After you will come a time when the best of you is the one who carefully discerns.” He means now, because of the clarity of
الْحَقِّ وَالْيَقِينِ فِي الْقَرْنِ الْأَوَّلِ وَبَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فِي زَمَانِنَا هَذَا لِكَثْرَةِ الشُّبُهَاتِ وَالِالْتِبَاسِ وَدُخُولِ الْمُحْدَثَاتِ مَدَاخِلَ اللَّيْلِ فِي السَّيْرِ ، فَأَشْكَلَ الْأَمْرُ إِلَّا عَلَى الْفَرْدِ الَّذِي يَعْرِفُ طَرَائِقَ السَّلَفِ فَيَجْتَنِبُ الْحَدَثَ كُلَّهُ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ بَعْضِ الْعُلَمَاءِ : إِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِعَبْدٍ خَيْرًا فَتَحَ لَهُ بَابَ الْعَمَلِ وَأَغْلَقَ عَنْهُ بَابَ الْجَدَلِ وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِعَبْدٍ سُوءًا أَغْلَقَ عَنْهُ بَابَ الْعَمَلِ وَفَتَحَ عَلَيْهِ بَابَ الْجَدَلِ ،
al-ḥaqqi wa-al-yaqīni fī al-qarni al-ʾawwali wabaʿda dhālika fī zamāninā hādhā likathrati al-shubuhāti wa-al-iltibāsi wadukhūli al-muḥdathāti madākhila al-layli fī al-sayri , faʾashkala al-ʾamru ʾillā ʿalā al-fardi alladhī yaʿrifu ṭarāʾiqa al-salafi fayajtanibu al-ḥadatha kullahu. warawaynā ʿan baʿḍi al-ʿulamāʾi: ʾidhā ʾarāda allāhu biʿabdin khayran fataḥa lahu bāba al-ʿamali waʾaghlaqa ʿanhu bāba al-jadali waʾidhā ʾarāda allāhu biʿabdin sūʾan ʾaghlaqa ʿanhu bāba al-ʿamali wafataḥa ʿalayhi bāba al-jadali ,
truth and certainty in the first generation; and afterward, in our own time, because doubts and confusion have multiplied and innovations enter the paths of conduct as night enters a journey. The matter has become obscure except to the exceptional person who knows the predecessors’ ways and avoids every innovation. We have related from one scholar: “When God wills good for a servant, He opens the door of action for him and closes the door of disputation against him. When God wills ill for a servant, He closes the door of action against him and opens the door of disputation upon him.”
وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْمَشْهُورِ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَبْغَضُ الْخَلْقِ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الْأَلَدُّ الْخَصِمُ ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي خَبَرٍ الْحَيَاءُ وَالْعِيُّ شُعْبَتَانِ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْبَذَاءُ وَالْبَيَانُ شُعْبَتَانِ مِنَ النِّفَاقِ وَفِي بَعْضِهَا مُفَسَّرًا وَالْعِيُّ عِيُّ اللِّسَانِ لَا عِيُّ الْقَلْبِ ، وَالْخَبَرُ الْآخَرُ مَا رَوَى الْحَكَمُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ أَبِي لَيْلَى قَالَ :
wafī al-khabari al-mashhūri ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾabghaḍu al-khalqi ʾilā allāhi ʿazza wajalla al-ʾaladdu al-khaṣimu , waqad rawaynā fī khabarin al-ḥayāʾu wa-al-ʿiyyu shuʿbatāni mina al-ʾīmāni wa-al-badhāʾu wa-al-bayānu shuʿbatāni mina al-nifāqi wafī baʿḍihā mufassaran wa-al-ʿiyyu ʿiyyu al-lisāni lā ʿiyyu al-qalbi , wa-al-khabaru al-ʾākharu mā rawā al-ḥakamu bnu ʿuyaynata ʿan ʿabdi al-raḥmāni bni ʾabī laylā qāla:
In the well-known report from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: “The most hateful creature to God, mighty and majestic, is the obstinate disputant.” We have related in a report: “Modesty and inarticulacy are two branches of faith; foul speech and eloquence are two branches of hypocrisy.” Some versions explain: “Inarticulacy means inarticulacy of the tongue, not of the heart.” The other report is what al-Ḥakam ibn ʿUyayna related from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā, who said:
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مَا أُوتِيَ قَوْمٌ الْمَنْطِقَ إِلَّا مُنِعُوا الْعَمَلَ ، وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَيُبْغِضُ الْبَلِيغَ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ الَّذِي يَتَخَلَّلُ الْكَلَامَ بِلِسَانِهِ كَمَا تَتَخَلَّلُ الْبَاقِرَةُ الْخَلَاءَ بِلِسَانِهَا ، وَالْخَلَاءُ هُوَ الْحَشِيشُ الرَّطْبُ ، وَكَانَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ يَقُولُ : الْعِلْمُ إِنَّمَا هُوَ مَا جَاءَ مِنْ فَوْقُ يَعْنِي إِلْهَامًا مِنْ غَيْرِ تَعْلِيمٍ وَقَالَ أَيْضًا :
qāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: mā ʾūtiya qawmun al-manṭiqa ʾillā muniʿū al-ʿamala , wafī al-ḥadīthi ʾanna allāha taʿālā layubghiḍu al-balīgha mina al-rijāli alladhī yatakhallalu al-kalāma bilisānihi kamā tatakhallalu al-bāqiratu al-khalāʾa bilisānihā , wa-al-khalāʾu huwa al-ḥashīshu al-raṭbu , wakāna ʾaḥmadu bnu ḥanbalin yaqūlu: al-ʿilmu ʾinnamā huwa mā jāʾa min fawqu yaʿnī ʾilhāman min ghayri taʿlīmin waqāla ʾayḍan:
“God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘No people are given facility in speech without being deprived of action.’” In the hadith: “God Most High hates the eloquent man who rolls speech about with his tongue as cattle work fresh herbage with their tongues.” Al-khalāʾ means fresh grass. Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal used to say: “Knowledge is only what comes from above,” meaning inspiration without teaching. He also said:
عُلَمَاءُ أَهْلِ الْكَلَامِ زَنَادِقَةٌ ، وَقَالَ قَبْلَهُ أَبُو يُوسُفَ : مَنْ طَلَبَ الْعِلْمَ بِالْكَلَامِ تَزَنْدَقَ .
ʿulamāʾu ʾahli al-kalāmi zanādiqatun , waqāla qablahu ʾabū yūsufa: man ṭalaba al-ʿilma bi-al-kalāmi tazandaqa.
“The scholars of speculative theology are heretics.” Abū Yūsuf said before him: “Whoever seeks knowledge through speculative theology becomes a heretic.”
بَيَانٌ آخَرُ فِي فَضْلِ عِلْمِ الْبَاطِنِ عَلَى الظَّاهِرِ
bayānun ʾākharu fī faḍli ʿilmi al-bāṭini ʿalā al-ẓāhiri
Another Explanation of the Excellence of Inward Knowledge over Outward Knowledge
مِمَّا يَدُلُّكَ عَلَى أَنَّ الْعِلْمَ الَّذِي فَضَّلَهُ الْعُلَمَاءُ وَأَعْظَمُوا ذِكْرَهُ وَخَطَرَهُ وَوَصَفُوا بِهِ الْعَالِمَ وَمَدَحُوهُ بِهِ وَجَاءَتْ بِفَضْلِهِ الْآثَارُ وَنُدِبَ إِلَيْهِ وَفُضِّلَ فِي الْأَخْبَارِ أَهْلُهُ إِنَّمَا هُوَ الْعِلْمُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى الدَّالُّ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الرَّادُّ إِلَيْهِ الشَّاهِدُ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ فِي عِلْمِ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْيَقِينِ وَعِلْمِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَالْمُعَامَلَةِ دُونَ سَائِرِ عُلُومِ الْفُتْيَا وَالْأَحْكَامِ ،
mimmā yadulluka ʿalā ʾanna al-ʿilma alladhī faḍḍalahu al-ʿulamāʾu waʾaʿẓamū dhikrahu wakhaṭarahu wawaṣafū bihi al-ʿālima wamadaḥūhu bihi wajāʾat bifaḍlihi al-ʾāthāru wanudiba ʾilayhi wafuḍḍila fī al-ʾakhbāri ʾahluhu ʾinnamā huwa al-ʿilmu bi-allāhi taʿālā al-dāllu ʿalā allāhi taʿālā al-rāddu ʾilayhi al-shāhidu bi-al-tawḥīdi fī ʿilmi al-ʾīmāni wa-al-yaqīni waʿilmi al-maʿrifati wa-al-muʿāmalati dūna sāʾiri ʿulūmi al-futyā wa-al-ʾaḥkāmi ,
One indication that the knowledge which scholars preferred, whose renown and importance they magnified, by which they described and praised a scholar, whose excellence transmitted reports proclaim, which is recommended, and whose possessors are preferred in the reports, is precisely knowledge of God Most High, which points to God Most High, returns one to Him, and bears witness to His oneness in the knowledge of faith and certainty and the knowledge of God and spiritual dealings, rather than the other sciences of legal opinions and rulings, is this:
إِنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ مَنْ عَمِلَ بِعِلْمِهِ وَيَذْكُرُونَ الْعَمَلَ بِالْعِلْمِ وَيَصِفُونَ جُمْلَتَهُ بِالْخَشْيَةِ وَالْخُشُوعِ فَهَذَا إِنَّمَا هُوَ عِلْمُ الْقُلُوبِ لَا عِلْمُ اللِّسَانِ الَّذِي يَكُونُ بِهِ الْعِلْمُ وَلَا تَتَأَتَّى عَنْهُ الْمُعَامَلَاتُ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْإِيمَانِ مِثْلَ أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ الَّتِي هِيَ مَقَامَاتُ الْيَقِينِ وَصِفَاتُ الْمُتَّقِينَ وَمِثْلَ أَعْمَالِ الْجَوَارِحِ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ الَّتِي هِيَ مَزِيدُ الْإِيمَانِ وَالَّذِينَ أَرْبَابُهَا أَهْلُ الْفَقْرِ وَالزُّهْدِ وَذُو التَّوَكُّلِ وَالْخَوْفِ وَأَصْحَابُ الشَّوْقِ وَالْمَحَبَّةِ وَلَيْسَ يَعْنُونَ أَنْ
ʾinnahum yaqūlūna man ʿamila biʿilmihi wayadhkurūna al-ʿamala bi-al-ʿilmi wayaṣifūna jumlatahu bi-al-khashyati wa-al-khushūʿi fahādhā ʾinnamā huwa ʿilmu al-qulūbi lā ʿilmu al-lisāni alladhī yakūnu bihi al-ʿilmu walā tataʾattā ʿanhu al-muʿāmalātu min ʾaʿmāli al-ʾīmāni mithla ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi allatī hiya maqāmātu al-yaqīni waṣifātu al-muttaqīna wamithla ʾaʿmāli al-jawāriḥi mina al-ṣāliḥāti allatī hiya mazīdu al-ʾīmāni walladhīna ʾarbābuhā ʾahlu al-faqri wa-al-zuhdi wadhū al-tawakkuli wa-al-khawfi waʾaṣḥābu al-shawqi wa-al-maḥabbati walaysa yaʿnūna ʾan
They say, “Whoever acts on his knowledge,” and speak of acting on knowledge, describing it as a whole by reverent fear and humility. This is knowledge of hearts, rather than knowledge of the tongue through which information is acquired but from which the practices of faith do not arise: the works of hearts that are the stations of certainty and qualities of the God-fearing, or the righteous works of the limbs that increase faith. Its masters are the people of poverty and renunciation, those of trust and fear, and the companions of longing and love. They do not mean that
يَكُونَ الْإِنْسَانُ إِذَا عَلِمَ عِلْمَ الْأَحْكَامِ وَالْقَضَايَا عَمِلَ بِهَا وَالْتَزَمَ الدُّخُولَ فِي أَحْكَامِهَا لِيُعَامِلَ مِنْهَا مِثْلَ أَنْ يَطْلُبَ الْقَضَاءَ فَيَقْضِيَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ إِذَا كَانَ عَالِمًا بِهِ أَوْ يَقْتَنِيَ الْمَالَ وَيَدْخُلَ فِي الْبَيْعِ وَالشِّرَاءِ إِذَا كَانَ عَالِمًا بِالزَّكَوَاتِ وَالْبِيَاعَاتِ أَوْ يَتَزَوَّجَ النِّسَاءَ وَيُطَلِّقَ لِأَنَّهُ عَالِمٌ بِالنِّكَاحِ وَالطَّلَاقِ لِيَكُونَ بِهَذِهِ الْأَشْيَاءِ عَامِلًا بِعِلْمِهِ ، هَذَا مَا قَالَهُ أَحَدٌ بَلْ قَدْ رُوِيَ فِي كَرَاهَةِ ذَلِكَ وَذَمِّهِ مَا يَكْثُرُ ذِكْرُهُ ،
yakūna al-ʾinsānu ʾidhā ʿalima ʿilma al-ʾaḥkāmi wa-al-qaḍāyā ʿamila bihā wa-ltazama al-dukhūla fī ʾaḥkāmihā liyuʿāmila minhā mithla ʾan yaṭluba al-qaḍāʾa fayaqḍiya bayna al-nāsi ʾidhā kāna ʿāliman bihi ʾaw yaqtaniya al-māla wayadkhula fī al-bayʿi wa-al-shirāʾi ʾidhā kāna ʿāliman bi-al-zakawāti wa-al-biyāʿāti ʾaw yatazawwaja al-nisāʾa wayuṭalliqa liʾannahu ʿālimun bi-al-nikāḥi wa-al-ṭalāqi liyakūna bihādhihi al-ʾashyāʾi ʿāmilan biʿilmihi , hādhā mā qālahu ʾaḥadun bal qad ruwiya fī karāhati dhālika wadhammihi mā yakthuru dhikruhu ,
a person who learns the science of rulings and judicial cases should act by entering the situations those rulings govern, committing himself to them so as to practice them: for example, seeking a judgeship to judge between people because he knows its law; acquiring wealth and entering buying and selling because he knows almsgiving and commercial transactions; or marrying women and divorcing because he knows marriage and divorce, so that through these things he would be acting on his knowledge. No one has said this. Rather, too many reports to list express dislike and condemnation of it.
وَأَهْلُ هَذِهِ الْعُلُومِ مَوْصُوفُونَ بِالرَّغْبَةِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْحِرْصِ عَلَى جَمْعِهَا وَيُلَابِسُونَ الْأُمَرَاءَ فَيُعَامِلُونَ لَهُمْ فَبَطَلَ أَنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْمَعْنِيُّونَ بِالْعِلْمِ الْمَوْصُوفُونَ بِالْخُشُوعِ وَالزُّهْدِ ، وَمِثْلُ ذَلِكَ أَيْضًا تَفْضِيلُ الْجُمْهُورِ مِنَ السَّلَفِ الْعِلْمَ عَلَى الْعَمَلِ وَقَوْلُهُمْ ذَرَّةٌ مِنْ عِلْمٍ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ كَذَا مِنَ الْعَمَلِ وَرَكْعَتَانِ مِنْ عَالِمٍ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ أَلْفِ رَكْعَةٍ مِنْ عَابِدٍ ، وَحَدِيثُ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :
waʾahlu hādhihi al-ʿulūmi mawṣūfūna bi-al-raghbati fī al-dunyā wa-al-ḥirṣi ʿalā jamʿihā wayulābisūna al-ʾumarāʾa fayuʿāmilūna lahum fabaṭala ʾannahum humu al-maʿniyyūna bi-al-ʿilmi al-mawṣūfūna bi-al-khushūʿi wa-al-zuhdi , wamithlu dhālika ʾayḍan tafḍīlu al-jumhūri mina al-salafi al-ʿilma ʿalā al-ʿamali waqawluhum dharratun min ʿilmin ʾafḍalu min kadhā mina al-ʿamali warakʿatāni min ʿālimin ʾafḍalu min ʾalfi rakʿatin min ʿābidin , waḥadīthu ʾabī saʿīdin al-khudriyyi ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama:
Those devoted to these sciences are described as desiring this world and being eager to accumulate it. They associate with rulers and work for them. This rules out their being the people meant by knowledge who are described as humble and detached. Similar is the preference most predecessors gave knowledge over action, saying: “A particle of knowledge is better than such-and-such an amount of action,” and “Two units of prayer from a scholar are better than a thousand from a worshipper.” There is also Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī’s report from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace:
فَضْلُ الْعَالِمِ عَلَى الْعَابِدِ كَفَضْلِي عَلَى أُمَّتِي ، وَالْخَبَرُ الْمَشْهُورُ : كَفَضْلِ الْقَمَرِ عَلَى سَائِرِ الْكَوَاكِبِ ، وَقَوْلُ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ وَسَعْدٍ ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مُسْنَدًا : عَالِمٌ وَاحِدٌ أَشَدُّ عَلَى الشَّيْطَانِ مِنْ أَلْفِ عَابِدٍ وَكَذَلِكَ قِيلَ فِي مَوْتِهِ أَحَبُّ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ مَوْتِ أَلْفِ عَابِدٍ إِنَّمَا يَعْنُونَ بِذَلِكَ الْعِلْمَ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ لِأَنَّ الْعِلْمَ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَصْفٌ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ وَمَعْنًى مِنَ الْيَقِينِ الَّذِي
faḍlu al-ʿālimi ʿalā al-ʿābidi kafaḍlī ʿalā ʾummatī , wa-al-khabaru al-mashhūru: kafaḍli al-qamari ʿalā sāʾiri al-kawākibi , waqawlu ibni ʿabbāsin wasaʿdin , waqad rawaynā musnadan: ʿālimun wāḥidun ʾashaddu ʿalā al-shayṭāni min ʾalfi ʿābidin wakadhālika qīla fī mawtihi ʾaḥabbu ʾilayhi min mawti ʾalfi ʿābidin ʾinnamā yaʿnūna bidhālika al-ʿilma bi-allāhi taʿālā ʾafḍalu mina al-ʿamali liʾanna al-ʿilma bi-allāhi taʿālā waṣfun mina al-ʾīmāni wamaʿnan mina al-yaqīni alladhī
“The scholar’s excellence over the worshipper is like my excellence over my community.” The well-known report says: “Like the moon’s excellence over all the other heavenly bodies.” There is also the saying of Ibn ʿAbbās and Saʿd, which we have related with a connected chain: “One scholar is harder on Satan than a thousand worshippers.” Likewise it is said that his death is dearer to Satan than the deaths of a thousand worshippers. They mean that knowledge of God Most High is better than action, because knowledge of God Most High is a quality of faith and a meaning of certainty, than which
لَمْ يَنْزِلْ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ أَعَزُّ مِنْهُ فَهُوَ لَا يُعَادِلُهُ شَيْءٌ لَا يَصِحُّ عَمَلٌ وَلَا يُقْبَلُ إِلَّا بِهِ وَلِأَنَّهُ مِعْيَارُ الْأَعْمَالِ كُلِّهَا عَلَى وَزْنِهِ تُتَقَبَّلُ الْأَعْمَالُ قَبُولًا حَسَنًا بَعْضُهُ أَحْسَنُ مِنْ بَعْضٍ وَيَثْقُلُ فِي الْمِيزَانِ ثِقْلًا فَوْقَ ثِقْلٍ وَيُرْفَعُ بِهِ الْعَامِلُونَ فِي دَرَجَاتِ عِلِّيِّينَ بَعْضُهَا مِنْ بَعْضٍ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَلَقَدْ جِئْنَاهُمْ بِكِتَابٍ فَصَّلْنَاهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ ) الْأَعْرَافُ :
lam yanzil mina al-samāʾi ʾaʿazzu minhu fahuwa lā yuʿādiluhu shayʾun lā yaṣiḥḥu ʿamalun walā yuqbalu ʾillā bihi waliʾannahu miʿyāru al-ʾaʿmāli kullihā ʿalā waznihi tutaqabbalu al-ʾaʿmālu qabūlan ḥasanan baʿḍuhu ʾaḥsanu min baʿḍin wayathqulu fī al-mīzāni thiqlan fawqa thiqlin wayurfaʿu bihi al-ʿāmilūna fī darajāti ʿilliyyīna baʿḍuhā min baʿḍin , waqad qāla taʿālā: ( walaqad jiʾnāhum bikitābin faṣṣalnāhu ʿalā ʿilmin ) al-ʾaʿrāfu:
nothing more precious has descended from heaven. Nothing can equal it: no deed is sound or accepted except through it. It is the standard of all deeds. According to its weight, deeds are graciously accepted, some more graciously than others; it weighs heavily in the balance, one weight above another. Through it those who act are raised in the ranks of ʿIlliyyīn, one rank above another. The Most High has said: “We brought them a Book which We explained in detail with knowledge” (al-Aʿrāf 7:
52 ، ثُمَّ قَالَ : ( فَلَنَقُصَّنَّ عَلَيْهِمْ بِعِلْمٍ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 7 ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَالْوَزْنُ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْحَقُّ فَمَنْ ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 8 فَمَا كَانَ الْعَائِدُ مِنْهُ إِلَى الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ أَقْرَبَ كَانَ أَفْضَلَ وَالْعَمَلُ وَصْفُ الْعَامِلِ وَحُكْمُ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ لَا أَنَّهُمْ يَعْنُونَ الْعِلْمَ بِالْفُتْيَا وَالْأَحْكَامِ وَالْقَضَاءِ الَّتِي هِيَ أَمَاكِنُ الْخَلْقِ عَائِدَةٌ عَلَيْهِمْ أَفْضَلَ مِنْ مُعَامَلَاتِ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى بِالْقُلُوبِ مِنْ مَقَامَاتِ التَّوَكُّلِ وَالرِّضَا وَالْمَحَبَّةِ الَّتِي هِيَ
52 , thumma qāla: ( falanaquṣṣanna ʿalayhim biʿilmin ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 7 , waqāla taʿālā: ( wa-al-waznu yawmaʾidhin al-ḥaqqu faman thaqulat mawāzīnuhu ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 8 famā kāna al-ʿāʾidu minhu ʾilā al-rubūbiyyati ʾaqraba kāna ʾafḍala wa-al-ʿamalu waṣfu al-ʿāmili waḥukmu al-ʿubūdiyyati lā ʾannahum yaʿnūna al-ʿilma bi-al-futyā wa-al-ʾaḥkāmi wa-al-qaḍāʾi allatī hiya ʾamākinu al-khalqi ʿāʾidatun ʿalayhim ʾafḍala min muʿāmalāti allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā bi-al-qulūbi min maqāmāti al-tawakkuli wa-al-riḍā wa-al-maḥabbati allatī hiya
52). Then He said: “We shall surely recount to them with knowledge” (al-Aʿrāf 7:7). He, exalted is He, said: “The weighing that day is true: whoever’s scales are heavy…” (al-Aʿrāf 7:8). The more closely something returns to divine lordship, the more excellent it is. Action is a quality of the one acting and a requirement of servanthood. They do not mean that knowledge of legal opinions, rulings, and judgments, which are the spheres of creatures and return to them, is better than dealings with God, glorified and exalted, through hearts: the stations of trust, contentment, and love, which are
مُعَايَنَةُ الْيَقِينِ الَّذِي هُوَ مَقَامُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ هَذَا لَا يَقُولُهُ عَالِمٌ . وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ غَنْمٍ عَنْ مُعَاذِ بْنِ جَبَلٍ قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَقْرَبُ النَّاسِ مِنْ دَرَجَةِ النُّبُوَّةِ أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ وَأَهْلُ الْجِهَادِ أَمَّا أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ فَدَلُّوا النَّاسَ عَلَى مَا جَاءَتْ بِهِ الرُّسُلُ وَأَمَّا أَهْلُ الْجِهَادِ فَجَاهَدُوا بِأَسْيَافِهِمْ عَلَى مَا جَاءَتْ بِهِ الرُّسُلُ ،
muʿāyanatu al-yaqīni alladhī huwa maqāmu al-muqarrabīna hādhā lā yaqūluhu ʿālimun. waqad rawaynā ʿan ʿabdi al-raḥmāni bni ghanmin ʿan muʿādhi bni jabalin qāla: qāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾaqrabu al-nāsi min darajati al-nubuwwati ʾahlu al-ʿilmi waʾahlu al-jihādi ʾammā ʾahlu al-ʿilmi fadallū al-nāsa ʿalā mā jāʾat bihi al-rusulu waʾammā ʾahlu al-jihādi fajāhadū biʾasyāfihim ʿalā mā jāʾat bihi al-rusulu ,
direct beholding of certainty, the station of those brought near. No scholar would say that. We have related from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ghanm, from Muʿādh ibn Jabal, who said: “God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘The people nearest the rank of prophecy are the people of knowledge and the people of armed striving. The people of knowledge guide others to what the messengers brought, while the people of armed striving fight with their swords for what the messengers brought.’”
أَلَا تَرَاهُ كَيْفَ جَعَلَ الْعِلْمَ دَالًّا عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى كَالْجِهَادِ ، وَكَذَلِكَ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : أَوَّلُ مَنْ يَشْفَعُ الْأَنْبِيَاءُ ثُمَّ الشُّهَدَاءُ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : لِلْأَنْبِيَاءِ عَلَى الْعُلَمَاءِ فَضْلُ دَرَجَةٍ وَلِلْعُلَمَاءِ عَلَى الشُّهَدَاءِ فَضْلُ دَرَجَتَيْنِ ، وَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ ) الْمُجَادَلَةُ : 11 ،
ʾalā tarāhu kayfa jaʿala al-ʿilma dāllan ʿalā allāhi taʿālā ka-al-jihādi , wakadhālika jāʾa fī al-khabari: ʾawwalu man yashfaʿu al-ʾanbiyāʾu thumma al-shuhadāʾu , wafī al-khabari: lilʾanbiyāʾi ʿalā al-ʿulamāʾi faḍlu darajatin walilʿulamāʾi ʿalā al-shuhadāʾi faḍlu darajatayni , waqāla ibnu ʿabbāsin fī maʿnā qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ( yarfaʿi allāhu alladhīna ʾāmanū minkum walladhīna ʾūtū al-ʿilma darajātin ) al-mujādalatu: 11 ,
Do you not see how he made knowledge a guide to God Most High, like armed striving? Likewise, a report states: “The first to intercede are the prophets, then the martyrs.” Another report states: “The prophets exceed the scholars by one degree, and the scholars exceed the martyrs by two degrees.” Ibn ʿAbbās said concerning His words, mighty and majestic, “God will raise those of you who believe and those given knowledge by degrees” (al-Mujādala 58:11):
قَالَ : لِلْعُلَمَاءِ دَرَجَاتٌ فَوْقَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِسَبْعِمِائَةِ دَرَجَةٍ مَا بَيْنَ الدَّرَجَتَيْنِ خَمْسُمِائَةِ عَامٍ ، وَقَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ : لَمَّا مَاتَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا : إِنِّي لَأَحْسِبُ أَنَّهُ ذَهَبَ بِتِسْعَةِ أَعْشَارِ الْعِلْمِ فَقِيلَ : تَقُولُ هَذَا وَفِينَا جِلَّةُ الصَّحَابَةِ فَقَالَ : لَيْسَ أَعْنِي الْعِلْمَ الَّذِي تُرِيدُونَ إِنَّمَا أَعْنِي الْعِلْمَ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى ،
qāla: lilʿulamāʾi darajātun fawqa alladhīna ʾāmanū bisabʿimiʾati darajatin mā bayna al-darajatayni khamsumiʾati ʿāmin , waqāla ibnu masʿūdin: lammā māta ʿumaru raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā: ʾinnī laʾaḥsibu ʾannahu dhahaba bitisʿati ʾaʿshāri al-ʿilmi faqīla: taqūlu hādhā wafīnā jillatu al-ṣaḥābati faqāla: laysa ʾaʿnī al-ʿilma alladhī turīdūna ʾinnamā ʾaʿnī al-ʿilma bi-allāhi taʿālā ,
“The scholars have ranks seven hundred degrees above those who believe; between each two degrees are five hundred years.” When ʿUmar died, Ibn Masʿūd, God be pleased with them both, said: “I think he has taken nine tenths of knowledge with him.” Someone said: “You say this when the eminent Companions are among us?” He replied: “I do not mean the knowledge you have in mind. I mean knowledge of God Most High.”
فَجَعَلَ الْعِلْمَ بِالْمَعْلُومَاتِ غَيْرَ حَقِيقَةِ الْعِلْمِ وَفَضَّلَ الْعِلْمَ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِتِسْعَةِ أَعْشَارِهَا وَلَيْسَ يَزِيدُ عِلْمُ الظَّاهِرِ عَلَى الْأَعْمَالِ كَثِيرَ زِيَادَةٍ إِذْ هُوَ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ الظَّاهِرَةِ لِأَنَّهُ صِفَةُ اللِّسَانِ وَلِأَنَّهُ لِلْعُمُومِ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ، فَأَعْلَى مَقَامَاتِهِ الْإِخْلَاصُ فَإِنْ فَاتَهُمْ فَهُوَ دُنْيَا كَسَائِرِ الشَّهَوَاتِ وَالْإِخْلَاصُ هُوَ أَوَّلُ حَالِ الْعَالِمِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِالْعِلْمِ الْبَاطِنِ وَلَا نِهَايَةَ لِمَقَامَاتِهِمْ إِلَى أَعْلَى مَقَامَاتِ الْعَارِفِينَ وَدَرَجَاتِ الصِّدِّيقِينَ .
fajaʿala al-ʿilma bi-al-maʿlūmāti ghayra ḥaqīqati al-ʿilmi wafaḍḍala al-ʿilma bi-allāhi taʿālā bitisʿati ʾaʿshārihā walaysa yazīdu ʿilmu al-ẓāhiri ʿalā al-ʾaʿmāli kathīra ziyādatin ʾidh huwa mina al-ʾaʿmāli al-ẓāhirati liʾannahu ṣifatu al-lisāni waliʾannahu lilʿumūmi mina al-muslimīna , faʾaʿlā maqāmātihi al-ʾikhlāṣu faʾin fātahum fahuwa dunyā kasāʾiri al-shahawāti wa-al-ʾikhlāṣu huwa ʾawwalu ḥāli al-ʿālimi bi-allāhi taʿālā bi-al-ʿilmi al-bāṭini walā nihāyata limaqāmātihim ʾilā ʾaʿlā maqāmāti al-ʿārifīna wadarajāti al-ṣiddīqīna.
He thus treated knowledge of things known as something other than the reality of knowledge, and gave knowledge of God Most High precedence by nine tenths. Outward knowledge does not exceed deeds by very much, since it is itself among outward deeds: it is a quality of the tongue and belongs to Muslims generally. Its highest station is sincerity. If they lack that, it is worldly, like the other desires. Sincerity, however, is the very first state of the scholar who knows God Most High through inward knowledge. Their stations have no limit, up to the highest stations of those who know God and the degrees of the utterly truthful.
بَابُ ذِكْرِ الْفَرْقِ بَيْنَ عُلَمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا وَعُلَمَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ وَذَمِّ عُلَمَاءِ السُّوءِ الْآكِلِينَ بِعُلُومِهِمُ الدُّنْيَا
bābu dhikri al-farqi bayna ʿulamāʾi al-dunyā waʿulamāʾi al-ʾākhirati wadhammi ʿulamāʾi al-sūʾi al-ʾākilīna biʿulūmihimu al-dunyā
A Section on the Difference between Scholars of This World and Scholars of the Hereafter, and the Condemnation of Corrupt Scholars Who Consume the World through Their Learning
وَقَدْ فَرَّقَتِ الْعُلَمَاءُ بَيْنَ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَبَيْنَ الْعِلْمِ بِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَفَرَّقُوا بَيْنَ عُلَمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا وَعُلَمَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ ، فَقَالَ سُفْيَانُ : الْعُلَمَاءُ ثَلَاثَةٌ ، عَالِمٌ بِاللَّهِ وَبِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ فَذَلِكَ الْعَالِمُ الْكَامِلُ ، وَعَالِمٌ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَذَاكَ التَّقِيُّ الْخَائِفُ ، وَعَالِمٌ بِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى غَيْرُ عَالِمٍ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَذَاكَ الْعَالِمُ الْفَاجِرُ ، وَقِيلَ أَيْضًا : عَالِمٌ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَهُوَ الْعَامِلُ بِعِلْمِهِ ،
waqad farraqati al-ʿulamāʾu bayna al-ʿilmi bi-allāhi taʿālā wabayna al-ʿilmi biʾamri allāhi taʿālā wafarraqū bayna ʿulamāʾi al-dunyā waʿulamāʾi al-ʾākhirati , faqāla sufyānu: al-ʿulamāʾu thalāthatun , ʿālimun bi-allāhi wabiʾamri allāhi fadhālika al-ʿālimu al-kāmilu , waʿālimun bi-allāhi taʿālā fadhāka al-taqiyyu al-khāʾifu , waʿālimun biʾamri allāhi taʿālā ghayru ʿālimin bi-allāhi taʿālā fadhāka al-ʿālimu al-fājiru , waqīla ʾayḍan: ʿālimun lillāhi taʿālā wahuwa al-ʿāmilu biʿilmihi ,
Scholars have distinguished knowledge of God Most High from knowledge of God Most High’s command, and scholars of this world from scholars of the hereafter. Sufyān said: “Scholars are of three kinds. One knows God and God’s command: he is the complete scholar. One knows God Most High: he is the God-fearing, fearful one. One knows God Most High’s command without knowing God Most High: he is the sinful scholar.” It has also been said: “There is a scholar for God Most High, who acts on his knowledge,
وَعَالِمٌ بِأَيَّامِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَهُوَ الْخَائِفُ الرَّاجِي ، وَسُئِلَ سُفْيَانُ عَنِ الْعِلْمِ مَا هُوَ ؟ فَقَالَ هُوَ الْوَرَعُ ، قِيلَ : وَأَيُّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ الْوَرَعُ ؟ فَقَالَ : طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ الَّذِي يُعْرَفُ بِهِ الْوَرَعُ وَهُوَ عِنْدَ قَوْمٍ طُولُ الصَّمْتِ وَقِلَّةُ الْكَلَامِ وَمَا هُوَ كَذَلِكَ إِنَّمَا هُوَ الْمُتَكَلِّمُ الْعَالِمُ عِنْدَنَا أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الصَّامِتِ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ لُقْمَانَ فِي وَصِيَّتِهِ :
waʿālimun biʾayyāmi allāhi taʿālā wahuwa al-khāʾifu al-rājī , wasuʾila sufyānu ʿani al-ʿilmi mā huwa ? faqāla huwa al-waraʿu , qīla: waʾayyu shayʾin huwa al-waraʿu ? faqāla: ṭalabu al-ʿilmi alladhī yuʿrafu bihi al-waraʿu wahuwa ʿinda qawmin ṭūlu al-ṣamti waqillatu al-kalāmi wamā huwa kadhālika ʾinnamā huwa al-mutakallimu al-ʿālimu ʿindanā ʾafḍalu mina al-ṣāmiti. warawaynā ʿan luqmāna fī waṣiyyatihi:
“and a scholar of God Most High’s days, who fears and hopes.” Sufyān was asked: “What is knowledge?” He replied: “It is scrupulousness.” He was asked: “And what is scrupulousness?” He replied: “Seeking the knowledge through which scrupulousness is known.” Some people take it to mean prolonged silence and little speech. It is not so: in our view, the knowledgeable person who speaks is better than the silent person. We have related from Luqmān in his counsels:
لِلْعِلْمِ ثَلَاثُ عَلَامَاتٍ ، الْعِلْمُ بِاللَّهِ وَبِمَا يُحِبُّهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَبِمَا يَكْرَهُ فَجَعَلَ حَقِيقَةَ الْعِلْمِ وَدَلِيلَ وُجُودِهِ هَذِهِ الثَّلَاثَ ، وَمِمَّا يَدُلُّكَ عَلَى الْفَرْقِ بَيْنَ عُلَمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا وَعُلَمَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ أَنَّ كُلَّ عَالِمٍ بِعِلْمٍ إِذَا رَآهُ مَنْ لَا يَعْرِفُهُ لَمْ يَتَبَيَّنْ عَلَيْهِ أَثَرُ عِلْمِهِ وَلَا عَرَفَ أَنَّهُ عَالِمٌ إِلَّا الْعُلَمَاءَ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَإِنَّمَا يُعْرَفُونَ بِسِيمَاهُمْ لِلْخُشُوعِ وَالسَّكِينَةِ وَالتَّوَاضُعِ وَالذِّلَّةِ ،
lilʿilmi thalāthu ʿalāmātin , al-ʿilmu bi-allāhi wabimā yuḥibbuhu allāhu taʿālā wabimā yakrahu fajaʿala ḥaqīqata al-ʿilmi wadalīla wujūdihi hādhihi al-thalātha , wamimmā yadulluka ʿalā al-farqi bayna ʿulamāʾi al-dunyā waʿulamāʾi al-ʾākhirati ʾanna kulla ʿālimin biʿilmin ʾidhā raʾāhu man lā yaʿrifuhu lam yatabayyan ʿalayhi ʾatharu ʿilmihi walā ʿarafa ʾannahu ʿālimun ʾillā al-ʿulamāʾa bi-allāhi ʿazza wajalla faʾinnamā yuʿrafūna bisīmāhum lilkhushūʿi wa-al-sakīnati wa-al-tawāḍuʿi wa-al-dhillati ,
“Knowledge has three marks: knowing God, knowing what God Most High loves, and knowing what He dislikes.” He made these three the reality of knowledge and the evidence of its presence. Another indication of the difference between scholars of this world and scholars of the hereafter is that, when someone unfamiliar with a scholar of any science sees him, the trace of his knowledge is not apparent, nor does the observer know he is a scholar. The exception is scholars who know God, mighty and majestic: they are recognized by their bearing of humility, tranquility, modesty, and lowliness.
فَهَذِهِ صِبْغَةُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِأَوْلِيَائِهِ وَلِبْسَتُهُ لِلْعُلَمَاءِ بِهِ ، وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ صِبْغَةً فَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي ذَلِكَ كَمَثَلِ الصُّنَّاعِ إِذْ كُلُّ صَانِعٍ لَوْ ظَهَرَ لِمَنْ لَا يَعْرِفُهُ لَمْ يُعْرَفْ صُنْعُهُ دُونَ سَائِرِ الصَّنَائِعِ وَلَمْ يُفَرِّقْ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الصُّنَّاعِ إِلَّا الصُّنَّاعُ ، فَإِنَّهُ يُعْرَفُ بِصَنْعَتِهِ لِأَنَّهَا ظَاهِرَةٌ عَلَيْهِ إِذْ صَارَتْ لَهُ لِبْسَةً وَصِفَةً لِالْتِبَاسِهَا بِمُعَامَلَتِهِ ، فَكَانَتْ سِيمَاهُ كَمَا قِيلَ :
fahādhihi ṣibghatu allāhi taʿālā liʾawliyāʾihi walibsatuhu lilʿulamāʾi bihi , waman ʾaḥsanu mina allāhi ṣibghatan famathaluhum fī dhālika kamathali al-ṣunnāʿi ʾidh kullu ṣāniʿin law ẓahara liman lā yaʿrifuhu lam yuʿraf ṣunʿuhu dūna sāʾiri al-ṣanāʾiʿi walam yufarriq baynahu wabayna al-ṣunnāʿi ʾillā al-ṣunnāʿu , faʾinnahu yuʿrafu biṣanʿatihi liʾannahā ẓāhiratun ʿalayhi ʾidh ṣārat lahu libsatan waṣifatan liltibāsihā bimuʿāmalatihi , fakānat sīmāhu kamā qīla:
This is God Most High’s coloring of His friends and the garment He gives scholars who know Him. Who is better than God in coloring? Their likeness in this respect is that of craftsmen: if a craftsman appeared before someone who did not know him, his craft would not be recognized as distinct from the other crafts, and only craftsmen would distinguish him from other craftsmen. He is recognized by his craft because it is apparent upon him: it has become his garment and character through its involvement in his practice, and so has become his distinguishing mark. As it has been said:
مَا أَلْبَسَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَبْدًا لِبْسَةً أَحْسَنَ مِنْ خُشُوعٍ فِي سَكِينَةٍ هِيَ لِبْسَةُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَسِيمَا الصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالْعُلَمَاءِ فَأَعْلَمُ النَّاسِ بِلُطْفِ مَا يُحِبُّ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَخَفِيِّ مَا يَكْرَهُ أَهْلُ الْقُلُوبِ الْفَاقِهَةِ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَهُمُ الْعَارِفُونَ بِهِ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ : الْعُلَمَاءُ ثَلَاثَةٌ ، عَالِمٌ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَعَالِمٌ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَعَالِمٌ بِحُكْمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى يَعْنِي الْعَالِمَ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى الْعَارِفَ الْمُوقِنَ ،
mā ʾalbasa allāhu taʿālā ʿabdan libsatan ʾaḥsana min khushūʿin fī sakīnatin hiya libsatu al-ʾanbiyāʾi wasīmā al-ṣiddīqīna wa-al-ʿulamāʾi faʾaʿlamu al-nāsi biluṭfi mā yuḥibbu allāhu taʿālā wakhafiyyi mā yakrahu ʾahlu al-qulūbi al-fāqihati ʿani allāhi taʿālā wahumu al-ʿārifūna bihi , waqad kāna sahlun raḥimahu allāhu yaqūlu: al-ʿulamāʾu thalāthatun , ʿālimun bi-allāhi taʿālā , waʿālimun lillāhi taʿālā waʿālimun biḥukmi allāhi taʿālā yaʿnī al-ʿālima bi-allāhi taʿālā al-ʿārifa al-mūqina ,
“God Most High has never clothed a servant in a garment finer than humility in tranquility. It is the garment of the prophets and the distinguishing mark of the utterly truthful and the scholars.” Those most knowledgeable about the subtle things God Most High loves and the hidden things He dislikes are people whose hearts understand what comes from God Most High: those who know Him. Sahl, God have mercy on him, used to say: “Scholars are three: one who knows God Most High, a scholar for God Most High, and one who knows God Most High’s ruling.” By the scholar who knows God Most High he meant the one who recognizes Him with certainty.
الْعَالِمُ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ هُوَ الْعَالِمُ بِعِلْمِ الْإِخْلَاصِ وَالْأَحْوَالِ وَالْمُعَامَلَاتِ ، وَالْعَالِمُ بِحُكْمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى هُوَ الْعَالِمُ بِتَفْصِيلِ الْحَلَالِ وَالْحَرَامِ فَسَّرْنَا ذَلِكَ عَلَى مَعَانِي قَوْلِهِ وَمَعْرِفَةِ مَذْهَبِهِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ مَرَّةً فِي كَلَامٍ أَبْسَطَ مِنْ هَذَا : عَالِمٌ بِاللَّهِ لَا بِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ وَلَا بِأَيَّامِ اللَّهِ وَهُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ ، وَعَالِمٌ بِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ لَا بِأَيَّامِ اللَّهِ وَهُمُ الْمُفْتُونَ فِي الْحَلَالِ وَالْحَرَامِ ، وَعَالِمٌ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَالِمٌ بِأَيَّامِ اللَّهِ وَهُمُ
al-ʿālimu lillāhi ʿazza wajalla huwa al-ʿālimu biʿilmi al-ʾikhlāṣi wa-al-ʾaḥwāli wa-al-muʿāmalāti , wa-al-ʿālimu biḥukmi allāhi taʿālā huwa al-ʿālimu bitafṣīli al-ḥalāli wa-al-ḥarāmi fassarnā dhālika ʿalā maʿānī qawlihi wamaʿrifati madhhabihi , waqad qāla marratan fī kalāmin ʾabsaṭa min hādhā: ʿālimun bi-allāhi lā biʾamri allāhi walā biʾayyāmi allāhi wahumu al-muʾminūna , waʿālimun biʾamri allāhi lā biʾayyāmi allāhi wahumu al-muftūna fī al-ḥalāli wa-al-ḥarāmi , waʿālimun bi-allāhi taʿālā ʿālimun biʾayyāmi allāhi wahumu
The scholar for God, mighty and majestic, is versed in sincerity, spiritual states, and dealings with God. The scholar of God Most High’s ruling knows the details of what is lawful and unlawful. We have explained this according to the meanings of his words and our knowledge of his teaching. On another occasion he spoke more fully: “One knows God but not God’s command or God’s days: these are the believers. One knows God’s command but not God’s days: these are those who give opinions on what is lawful and unlawful. One knows God Most High and knows God’s days: these are
الصِّدِّيقُونَ ، يَعْنِي قَوْلُهُ بِأَيَّامِ اللَّهِ أَيْ بِنِعْمَتِهِ الْبَاطِنَةِ وَبِعُقُوبَاتِهِ الْغَامِضَةِ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ : النَّاسُ كُلُّهُمْ مَوْتَى إِلَّا الْعُلَمَاءَ وَالْعُلَمَاءُ نِيَامٌ إِلَّا الْخَائِفِينَ وَالْخَائِفُونَ مُنْقَطِعُونَ إِلَّا الْمُحِبِّينَ ، وَالْمُحِبُّونَ أَحْيَاءُ شُهَدَاءُ وَهُمُ الْمُؤْثِرُونَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ يَقُولُ : طُلَّابُ الْعِلْمِ ثَلَاثَةٌ ، وَاحِدٌ يَطْلُبُهُ لِلْعَمَلِ بِهِ ، وَآخَرُ يَطْلُبُهُ لِيَعْرِفَ الِاخْتِلَافَ فَيَتَوَرَّعَ وَيَأْخُذَ بِالِاحْتِيَاطِ ،
al-ṣiddīqūna , yaʿnī qawluhu biʾayyāmi allāhi ʾay biniʿmatihi al-bāṭinati wabiʿuqūbātihi al-ghāmiḍati , thumma qāla: al-nāsu kulluhum mawtā ʾillā al-ʿulamāʾa wa-al-ʿulamāʾu niyāmun ʾillā al-khāʾifīna wa-al-khāʾifūna munqaṭiʿūna ʾillā al-muḥibbīna , wa-al-muḥibbūna ʾaḥyāʾu shuhadāʾu wahumu al-muʾthirūna lillāhi taʿālā ʿalā kulli ḥālin , waqad kāna yaqūlu: ṭullābu al-ʿilmi thalāthatun , wāḥidun yaṭlubuhu lilʿamali bihi , waʾākharu yaṭlubuhu liyaʿrifa al-ikhtilāfa fayatawarraʿa wayaʾkhudha bi-al-iḥtiyāṭi ,
“the utterly truthful.” By “God’s days” he means His inward blessing and His hidden punishments. He then said: “All people are dead except the scholars. The scholars are asleep except those who fear. Those who fear are cut off except those who love. Those who love are living witnesses: they prefer God Most High in every state.” He used to say: “Seekers of knowledge are three. One seeks it to act on it; another seeks it to learn the disagreements, so that he may be scrupulous and take precautions;
وَآخَرُ يَطْلُبُهُ لِيَعْرِفَ التَّأْوِيلَ فَيَتَنَاوَلَ الْحَرَامَ فَيَجْعَلَ حَلَالًا فَهَذَا يَكُونُ هَلَاكُ الْحَقِّ عَلَى يَدَيْهِ ، وَقَدْ حُدِّثْتُ عَنْ أَبِي يُوسُفَ أَنَّهُ كَانَ إِذَا صَارَ رَأْسُ الْحَوْلِ وَهَبَ مَالَهُ لِامْرَأَتِهِ وَاسْتَوْهَبَهَا مَالَهَا فَتَسْقُطُ عَنْهُمَا الزَّكَاةُ فَذُكِرَ ذَلِكَ لِأَبِي حَنِيفَةَ فَقَالَ : ذَلِكَ مِنْ فِقْهِهِ فَإِنَّمَا يُطْلَبُ الْعِلْمُ لِمَعْرِفَةِ الْوَرَعِ وَالِاحْتِيَاطِ لِلدِّينِ فَهَذَا هُوَ الْعِلْمُ النَّافِعُ فَإِذَا طُلِبَ لِمِثْلِ هَذَا وَلِتَأْوِيلِ الْهَوَى كَانَ الْجَهْلُ خَيْرًا مِنْهُ وَصَارَ هَذَا الْعِلْمُ هُوَ الضَّارُّ الَّذِي اسْتَعَاذَ الرَّسُولُ مِنْهُ .
waʾākharu yaṭlubuhu liyaʿrifa al-taʾwīla fayatanāwala al-ḥarāma fayajʿala ḥalālan fahādhā yakūnu halāku al-ḥaqqi ʿalā yadayhi , waqad ḥuddithtu ʿan ʾabī yūsufa ʾannahu kāna ʾidhā ṣāra raʾsu al-ḥawli wahaba mālahu limraʾatihi wastawhabahā mālahā fatasquṭu ʿanhumā al-zakātu fadhukira dhālika liʾabī ḥanīfata faqāla: dhālika min fiqhihi faʾinnamā yuṭlabu al-ʿilmu limaʿrifati al-waraʿi wa-al-iḥtiyāṭi li-l-dīni fahādhā huwa al-ʿilmu al-nāfiʿu faʾidhā ṭuliba limithli hādhā walitaʾwīli al-hawā kāna al-jahlu khayran minhu waṣāra hādhā al-ʿilmu huwa al-ḍārru alladhī istaʿādha al-rasūlu minhu.
“another seeks it to learn interpretations, so that he may partake of what is forbidden and make it lawful. Truth is destroyed at his hands.” I was told that when the year came round, Abū Yūsuf would give his property to his wife and ask her to give him hers, so that almsgiving ceased to be due from them both. This was mentioned to Abū Ḥanīfa, who said: “That is part of his legal understanding.” Knowledge is sought only to learn scrupulousness and caution for religion: this is beneficial knowledge. If it is sought for such purposes and to interpret things in favor of desire, ignorance is better than it, and this knowledge becomes the harmful kind from which the Messenger sought refuge.
وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عُمَرَ وَغَيْرِهِ : كَمْ مِنْ عَالِمٍ فَاجِرٍ وَعَابِدٍ جَاهِلٍ ، فَاتَّقُوا الْفَاجِرَ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَالْجَاهِلَ مِنَ الْمُتَعَبِّدِينَ ، وَعَنْ عُمَرَ أَيْضًا : وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَاهُ مُسْنَدًا : اتَّقُوا كُلَّ مُنَافِقٍ عَلِيمِ اللِّسَانِ يَقُولُ مَا تَعْرِفُونَ وَيَعْمَلُ مَا تُنْكِرُونَ ، وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْهُ أَيْضًا تَعَلَّمُوا الْعِلْمَ وَتَعَلَّمُوا لِلْعِلْمِ السَّكِينَةَ وَالْحِلْمَ وَتَوَاضَعُوا لِمَنْ تُعَلِّمُونَ وَلْيَتَوَاضَعْ لَكُمْ مَنْ يَتَعَلَّمُ مِنْكُمْ وَلَا تَكُونُوا جَبَابِرَةَ الْعُلَمَاءِ فَلَا يَقُومَ عِلْمُكُمْ بِجَهْلِكُمْ ،
warawaynā ʿan ʿumara waghayrihi: kam min ʿālimin fājirin waʿābidin jāhilin , fattaqū al-fājira mina al-ʿulamāʾi wa-al-jāhila mina al-mutaʿabbidīna , waʿan ʿumara ʾayḍan: waqad rawaynāhu musnadan: ittaqū kulla munāfiqin ʿalīmi al-lisāni yaqūlu mā taʿrifūna wayaʿmalu mā tunkirūna , warawaynā ʿanhu ʾayḍan taʿallamū al-ʿilma wataʿallamū lilʿilmi al-sakīnata wa-al-ḥilma watawāḍaʿū liman tuʿallimūna walyatawāḍaʿ lakum man yataʿallamu minkum walā takūnū jabābirata al-ʿulamāʾi falā yaqūma ʿilmukum bijahlikum ,
We have related from ʿUmar and others: “How many a corrupt scholar and ignorant worshipper there are! Beware the corrupt among scholars and the ignorant among worshippers.” Also from ʿUmar, which we have related with a connected chain: “Beware every hypocrite with a learned tongue, who says what you recognize as right and does what you condemn.” We have also related from him: “Learn knowledge, and learn tranquility and forbearance for knowledge. Be humble toward those you teach, and let those who learn from you be humble toward you. Do not be tyrants among scholars, so that your knowledge fails to stand against your ignorance.”
وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عَلِيٍّ وَابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا وَعَنْ كَعْبِ الْأَحْبَارِ : يَكُونُ فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ عُلَمَاءُ يُزَهِّدُونَ النَّاسَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَلَا يَزْهَدُونَ وَيُخَوِّفُونَ وَلَا يَخَافُونَ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنْ غِشْيَانِ الْوُلَاةِ وَلَا يَنْتَهُونَ وَيُؤْثِرُونَ الدُّنْيَا عَلَى الْآخِرَةِ وَيَأْكُلُونَ الدُّنْيَا بِأَلْسِنَتِهِمْ أَكْلًا يُقَرِّبُونَ الْأَغْنِيَاءَ وَيُبَاعِدُونَ الْفُقَرَاءَ يَتَغَايَرُونَ عَلَى الْعِلْمِ كَمَا تَتَغَايَرُ النِّسَاءُ عَلَى الرِّجَالِ يَغْضَبُ أَحَدُهُمْ عَلَى جَلِيسِهِ إِذَا جَالَسَ غَيْرَهُ ذَلِكَ حَظُّهُمْ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ ،
warawaynā ʿan ʿaliyyin wabni ʿabbāsin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā waʿan kaʿbi al-ʾaḥbāri: yakūnu fī ʾākhiri al-zamāni ʿulamāʾu yuzahhidūna al-nāsa fī al-dunyā walā yazhadūna wayukhawwifūna walā yakhāfūna wayanhawna ʿan ghishyāni al-wulāti walā yantahūna wayuʾthirūna al-dunyā ʿalā al-ʾākhirati wayaʾkulūna al-dunyā biʾalsinatihim ʾaklan yuqarribūna al-ʾaghniyāʾa wayubāʿidūna al-fuqarāʾa yataghāyarūna ʿalā al-ʿilmi kamā tataghāyaru al-nisāʾu ʿalā al-rijāli yaghḍabu ʾaḥaduhum ʿalā jalīsihi ʾidhā jālasa ghayrahu dhālika ḥaẓẓuhum mina al-ʿilmi ,
We have related from ʿAlī and Ibn ʿAbbās, God be pleased with them both, and from Kaʿb al-Aḥbār: “At the end of time there will be scholars who urge people to renounce this world but do not renounce it themselves; who instill fear but do not fear; who forbid frequenting rulers but do not desist themselves. They prefer this world to the hereafter and devour the world with their tongues. They draw the wealthy close and keep the poor at a distance. They are jealous over knowledge as women are jealous over men. One of them becomes angry with his companion when he sits with someone else. That is their share of knowledge.”
وَفِي حَدِيثِ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : عُلَمَاؤُهُمْ شَرُّ الْخَلِيقَةِ ، مِنْهُمْ بَدَتِ الْفِتْنَةُ وَفِيهِمْ تَعُودُ ، وَفِي حَدِيثِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ : أُولَئِكَ الْجَبَّارُونَ أَعْدَاءُ الرَّحْمَنِ ، وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : مَا قَطَعَ ظَهْرِي فِي الْإِسْلَامِ إِلَّا رَجُلَانِ ، عَالِمٌ فَاجِرٌ ، وَمُبْتَدِعٌ نَاسِكٌ ، فَالْعَالِمُ الْفَاجِرُ يُزَهِّدُ النَّاسَ فِي عِلْمِهِ لِمَا يَرَوْنَ مِنْ فُجُورِهِ وَالْمُبْتَدِعُ النَّاسِكُ يُرَغِّبُ النَّاسَ فِي بِدْعَتِهِ لِمَا يَرَوْنَ مِنْ نُسُكِهِ ،
wafī ḥadīthi ʿaliyyin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: ʿulamāʾuhum sharru al-khalīqati , minhum badati al-fitnatu wafīhim taʿūdu , wafī ḥadīthi ibni ʿabbāsin: ʾūlāʾika al-jabbārūna ʾaʿdāʾu al-raḥmāni , warawaynā ʿan ʿaliyyin ʿalayhi al-salāmu: mā qaṭaʿa ẓahrī fī al-ʾislāmi ʾillā rajulāni , ʿālimun fājirun , wamubtadiʿun nāsikun , fa-al-ʿālimu al-fājiru yuzahhidu al-nāsa fī ʿilmihi limā yarawna min fujūrihi wa-al-mubtadiʿu al-nāsiku yuraghghibu al-nāsa fī bidʿatihi limā yarawna min nusukihi ,
In ʿAlī’s report, God be pleased with him: “Their scholars are the worst of creation. From them the trial began, and to them it returns.” In Ibn ʿAbbās’s report: “Those are the tyrants, the enemies of the All-Merciful.” We have related from ʿAlī, peace be upon him: “Only two men have broken my back in Islam: a corrupt scholar and an ascetic innovator. The corrupt scholar makes people shun his knowledge because of the corruption they see in him. The ascetic innovator makes people desire his innovation because of the devotion they see in him.”
وَقَالَ صَالِحُ بْنُ حَسَّانَ الْبَصْرِيُّ : أَدْرَكْتُ الْمَشْيَخَةَ وَهُمْ يَتَعَوَّذُونَ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنَ الْفَاجِرِ الْعَالِمِ بِالسُّنَّةِ ، وَقَالَ الْفُضَيْلُ بْنُ عِيَاضٍ : إِنَّمَا هُمَا عَالِمَانِ ، عَالِمُ دُنْيَا وَعَالِمُ آخِرَةٍ ، فَعَالِمُ الدُّنْيَا عِلْمُهُ مَنْشُورٌ وَعَالِمُ الْآخِرَةِ عِلْمُهُ مَسْتُورٌ ، فَاطْلُبْ عَالِمَ الْآخِرَةِ وَاحْذَرْ عَالِمَ الدُّنْيَا لَا يَصُدَّنَّكَ بِشُكْرِهِ ، ثُمَّ قَرَأَ إِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْأَحْبَارِ وَالرُّهْبَانِ لَيَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَالَ النَّاسِ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ،
waqāla ṣāliḥu bnu ḥassāna al-baṣriyyu: ʾadraktu al-mashyakhata wahum yataʿawwadhūna bi-allāhi taʿālā mina al-fājiri al-ʿālimi bi-al-sunnati , waqāla al-fuḍaylu bnu ʿiyāḍin: ʾinnamā humā ʿālimāni , ʿālimu dunyā waʿālimu ʾākhiratin , faʿālimu al-dunyā ʿilmuhu manshūrun waʿālimu al-ʾākhirati ʿilmuhu mastūrun , faṭlub ʿālima al-ʾākhirati waḥdhar ʿālima al-dunyā lā yaṣuddannaka bishukrihi , thumma qaraʾa ʾinna kathīran mina al-ʾaḥbāri wa-al-ruhbāni layaʾkulūna ʾamwāla al-nāsi bi-al-bāṭili wayaṣuddūna ʿan sabīli allāhi ,
Ṣāliḥ ibn Ḥassān al-Baṣrī said: “I knew the elders when they sought refuge in God Most High from a corrupt man learned in the Sunna.” Al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ said: “There are just two scholars: a scholar of this world and a scholar of the hereafter. The worldly scholar’s knowledge is spread abroad; the scholar of the hereafter’s knowledge is concealed. Seek the scholar of the hereafter and beware the worldly scholar; do not let him turn you aside with his praise.” Then he recited: “Many rabbis and monks consume people’s wealth unjustly and turn them away from God’s path.”
قَالَ : فَالْأَحْبَارُ الْعُلَمَاءُ وَالرُّهْبَانُ الزُّهَّادُ ، وَقَالَ سَهْلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ : طُلَّابُ الْعِلْمِ ثَلَاثَةٌ ، فَوَاحِدٌ يَطْلُبُ عِلْمَ الْوَرَعِ مَخَافَةَ دُخُولِ الشُّبْهَةِ عَلَيْهِ ، فَيَدَعُ الْحَلَالَ خَوْفَ الْحَرَامِ فَهَذَا زَاهِدٌ تَقِيٌّ ، وَآخَرُ يَطْلُبُ عِلْمَ الِاخْتِلَافِ
qāla: fa-al-ʾaḥbāru al-ʿulamāʾu wa-al-ruhbānu al-zuhhādu , waqāla sahlu bnu ʿabdi allāhi: ṭullābu al-ʿilmi thalāthatun , fawāḥidun yaṭlubu ʿilma al-waraʿi makhāfata dukhūli al-shubhati ʿalayhi , fayadaʿu al-ḥalāla khawfa al-ḥarāmi fahādhā zāhidun taqiyyun , waʾākharu yaṭlubu ʿilma al-ikhtilāfi
He said: “The rabbis are the scholars, and the monks the ascetics.” Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh said: “Seekers of knowledge are three. One seeks knowledge of scrupulousness for fear that something doubtful may enter upon him. He leaves what is lawful for fear of what is forbidden: he is an ascetic, God-fearing person. Another seeks knowledge of disagreements
وَالْأَقَاوِيلِ فَيَدَعُ مَا عَلَيْهِ وَيَدْخُلُ فِيمَا أَبَاحَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِالسَّعَةِ وَيَأْخُذُ لِلرُّخْصَةِ ، وَآخَرُ يَسْأَلُ عَنْ شَيْءٍ فَيُقَالُ : هَذَا لَا يَجُوزُ فَيَقُولُ : كَيْفَ أَصْنَعُ حَتَّى يَجُوزَ لِي ، فَيَسْأَلُ الْعُلَمَاءَ فَيُخْبِرُونَهُ بِالِاخْتِلَافِ وَالشُّبْهَةِ ، فَهَذَا يَكُونُ هَلَاكُ الْخَلْقِ عَلَى يَدَيْهِ وَقَدْ أَهْلَكَ نَفْسَهُ وَهُمْ عُلَمَاءُ السُّوءِ ،
wa-al-ʾaqāwīli fayadaʿu mā ʿalayhi wayadkhulu fīmā ʾabāḥa allāhu taʿālā bi-al-saʿati wayaʾkhudhu li-l-rukhṣati , waʾākharu yasʾalu ʿan shayʾin fayuqālu: hādhā lā yajūzu fayaqūlu: kayfa ʾaṣnaʿu ḥattā yajūza lī , fayasʾalu al-ʿulamāʾa fayukhbirūnahu bi-al-ikhtilāfi wa-al-shubhati , fahādhā yakūnu halāku al-khalqi ʿalā yadayhi waqad ʾahlaka nafsahu wahum ʿulamāʾu al-sūʾi ,
“and the various opinions, leaving what weighs upon him and entering what God Most High has broadly permitted, taking the concession. Another asks about something and is told: ‘This is not permitted.’ He says: ‘What can I do to make it permitted for me?’ He asks scholars, and they tell him of disagreement and ambiguity. The ruin of creatures occurs at his hands, and he has already ruined himself. These are the corrupt scholars.”
وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ كُلَّ مُحِبٍّ لِلدُّنْيَا نَاطِقٍ بِعِلْمٍ فَإِنَّهُ آكِلٌ لِلْمَالِ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَكُلُّ مَنْ أَكَلَ أَمْوَالَ النَّاسِ بِالْبَاطِلِ فَإِنَّهُ يَصُدُّ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ لَا مَحَالَةَ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَظْهَرْ ذَلِكَ فِي مَقَالِهِ وَلَكِنَّكَ تَعْرِفُهُ فِي لَحْنِ مَعْنَاهُ بِدَقَائِقِ الصَّدِّ عَنْ مُجَالَسَةِ غَيْرِهِ وَبِلَطَائِفِ الْمَنْعِ مِنْ طُرُقَاتِ الْآخِرَةِ لِأَنَّ حُبَّ الدُّنْيَا وَغَلَبَةَ الْهَوَى يَحْكُمَانِ عَلَيْهِ بِذَلِكَ شَاءَ أَمْ أَبَى . وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ :
waʿlam ʾanna kulla muḥibbin li-l-dunyā nāṭiqin biʿilmin faʾinnahu ʾākilun lilmāli bi-al-bāṭili wakullu man ʾakala ʾamwāla al-nāsi bi-al-bāṭili faʾinnahu yaṣuddu ʿan sabīli allāhi lā maḥālata waʾin lam yaẓhar dhālika fī maqālihi walākinnaka taʿrifuhu fī laḥni maʿnāhu bidaqāʾiqi al-ṣaddi ʿan mujālasati ghayrihi wabilaṭāʾifi al-manʿi min ṭuruqāti al-ʾākhirati liʾanna ḥubba al-dunyā waghalabata al-hawā yaḥkumāni ʿalayhi bidhālika shāʾa ʾam ʾabā. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi:
Know that every lover of this world who speaks with knowledge consumes wealth unjustly. Everyone who consumes people’s wealth unjustly inevitably turns others from God’s path, even if this does not appear openly in his speech. You recognize it, however, in the undertone of his meaning: in subtle ways of discouraging people from sitting with others, and delicate means of keeping them from the paths of the hereafter. Love of this world and the dominance of desire dictate this to him, whether he wishes it or not. One scholar said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يُحِبُّ الْعَالِمَ الْمُتَوَاضِعَ وَيُبْغِضُ الْجَبَّارَ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَمَنْ تَوَاضَعَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَرَّثَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْحِكْمَةَ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَيَمْقُتُ الْحَبْرَ السَّمِينَ ، وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ لِمَالِكِ بْنِ الصَّيْفِ : حَبْرٍ مِنْ أَحْبَارِ الْيَهُودِ ، فَقَالَ : نَشَدْتُكَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَلَمْ تَجِدْ فِيمَا أَنْزَلَ تَعَالَى عَلَى مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يُبْغِضُ الْحَبْرَ السَّمِينَ ،
ʾinna allāha ʿazza wajalla yuḥibbu al-ʿālima al-mutawāḍiʿa wayubghiḍu al-jabbāra mina al-ʿulamāʾi waman tawāḍaʿa lillāhi taʿālā warrathahu allāhu taʿālā al-ḥikmata , wafī al-khabari ʿani ibni masʿūdin: ʾinna allāha taʿālā layamqutu al-ḥabra al-samīna , waqāla rasūlu allāhi limāliki bni al-ṣayfi: ḥabrin min ʾaḥbāri al-yahūdi , faqāla: nashadtuka allāha taʿālā ʾalam tajid fīmā ʾanzala taʿālā ʿalā mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʾanna allāha taʿālā yubghiḍu al-ḥabra al-samīna ,
“God, mighty and majestic, loves the humble scholar and hates the tyrant among scholars. Whoever humbles himself before God Most High, God Most High bequeaths him wisdom.” In the report from Ibn Masʿūd: “God Most High detests the corpulent rabbi.” God’s Messenger addressed Mālik ibn al-Ṣayf, one of the Jewish rabbis, saying: “I adjure you by God Most High: have you not found in what He, exalted is He, revealed to Moses, peace be upon him, that God Most High hates the corpulent rabbi?”
وَكَانَ ابْنُ الصَّيْفِ سَمِينًا فَغَضِبَ عِنْدَهَا فَقَالَ : ( مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَى بَشَرٍ مِنْ شَيْءٍ ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 91 ، فَفِيهِ نَزَلَتْ هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ تَعْرِيفًا لِبَهْتِهِ : ( قُلْ مَنْ أَنْزَلَ الْكِتَابَ الَّذِي جَاءَ بِهِ مُوسَى نُورًا ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 91 ، فَقَالَ لَهُ أَصْحَابُهُ : وَيْحَكَ مَاذَا قُلْتَ جَحَدْتَ كِتَابَ مُوسَى فَقَالَ :
wakāna ibnu al-ṣayfi samīnan faghaḍiba ʿindahā faqāla: ( mā ʾanzala allāhu ʿalā basharin min shayʾin ) al-ʾanʿāmu: 91 , fafīhi nazalat hādhihi al-ʾāyatu taʿrīfan libahtihi: ( qul man ʾanzala al-kitāba alladhī jāʾa bihi mūsā nūran ) al-ʾanʿāmu: 91 , faqāla lahu ʾaṣḥābuhu: wayḥaka mādhā qulta jaḥadta kitāba mūsā faqāla:
Ibn al-Ṣayf was corpulent, and at this he became angry and said: “God has sent down nothing to any human being” (al-Anʿām 6:91). Concerning him this verse was revealed, exposing his falsehood: “Say: Who sent down the Book that Moses brought as light?” (al-Anʿām 6:91). His companions said: “Woe to you! What have you said? You have denied Moses’ Book!” He replied:
إِنَّهُ مَحَكَنِي فَقُلْتُ ذَلِكَ وَيُقَالُ مَا آتَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَبْدًا عِلْمًا إِلَّا آتَاهُ مَعَهُ حِلْمًا وَتَوَاضُعًا وَحُسْنَ خُلُقٍ وَرِفْقًا فَذَلِكَ عَلَامَةُ الْعِلْمِ النَّافِعِ ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مَعْنَاهُ فِي الْأَثَرِ : مَنْ آتَاهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ زُهْدًا وَتَوَاضُعًا وَحُسْنَ خُلُقٍ فَهُوَ إِمَامُ الْمُتَّقِينَ ، وَكَانَ الْحَسَنُ يَقُولُ : الْحِلْمُ وَزِيرُ الْعِلْمِ وَالرِّفْقُ أَبُوهُ وَالتَّوَاضُعُ سِرْبَالُهُ ، وَفِي أَخْبَارِ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ :
ʾinnahu maḥakanī faqultu dhālika wayuqālu mā ʾātā allāhu taʿālā ʿabdan ʿilman ʾillā ʾātāhu maʿahu ḥilman watawāḍuʿan waḥusna khuluqin warifqan fadhālika ʿalāmatu al-ʿilmi al-nāfiʿi , waqad rawaynā maʿnāhu fī al-ʾathari: man ʾātāhu ʿazza wajalla zuhdan watawāḍuʿan waḥusna khuluqin fahuwa ʾimāmu al-muttaqīna , wakāna al-ḥasanu yaqūlu: al-ḥilmu wazīru al-ʿilmi wa-al-rifqu ʾabūhu wa-al-tawāḍuʿu sirbāluhu , wafī ʾakhbāri dāwuda ʿalayhi al-salāmu:
“He provoked me into arguing, so I said that.” It is said: “God Most High never gives a servant knowledge without giving him forbearance, humility, good character, and gentleness along with it.” That is the sign of beneficial knowledge. We have related its meaning in a transmitted saying: “Whoever He, mighty and majestic, grants renunciation, humility, and good character is a leader of the God-fearing.” Al-Ḥasan used to say: “Forbearance is knowledge’s minister, gentleness its father, and humility its robe.” In the reports about David, peace be upon him:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَوْحَى إِلَيْهِ يَا دَاوُدُ لَا تَسْأَلَنَّ عَنِّي عَالِمًا قَدْ أَسْكَرَتْهُ الدُّنْيَا فَيَصُدَّكَ عَنْ طَرِيقِ مَحَبَّتِي أُولَئِكَ قُطَّاعُ طَرِيقِ عِبَادِيَ الْمُرِيدِينَ ، يَا دَاوُدُ إِنَّ أَدْنَى مَا أَصْنَعُ بِالْعَالِمِ إِذَا آثَرَ شَهْوَتَهُ عَلَى مَحَبَّتِي أَنْ أَحْرِمَهُ لَذِيذَ مُنَاجَاتِي ، يَا دَاوُدُ إِذَا رَأَيْتَ لِي طَالِبًا فَكُنْ لَهُ خَادِمًا ، يَا دَاوُدُ مَنْ رَدَّ إِلَيَّ هَارِبًا كَتَبْتُهُ عِنْدِي جَهْبَذًا وَمَنْ كَتَبْتُهُ جَهْبَذًا لَمْ أُعَذِّبْهُ أَبَدًا .
ʾinna allāha taʿālā ʾawḥā ʾilayhi yā dāwudu lā tasʾalanna ʿannī ʿāliman qad ʾaskarathu al-dunyā fayaṣuddaka ʿan ṭarīqi maḥabbatī ʾūlāʾika quṭṭāʿu ṭarīqi ʿibādiya al-murīdīna , yā dāwudu ʾinna ʾadnā mā ʾaṣnaʿu bi-al-ʿālimi ʾidhā ʾāthara shahwatahu ʿalā maḥabbatī ʾan ʾaḥrimahu ladhīdha munājātī , yā dāwudu ʾidhā raʾayta lī ṭāliban fakun lahu khādiman , yā dāwudu man radda ʾilayya hāriban katabtuhu ʿindī jahbadhan waman katabtuhu jahbadhan lam ʾuʿadhdhibhu ʾabadan.
God Most High revealed to him: “David, never ask about Me a scholar whom this world has intoxicated, lest he turn you from the path of My love. These are the highway robbers of My servants who seek Me. David, the least I do to a scholar who prefers his desire to My love is deprive him of the sweetness of intimate conversation with Me. David, when you see someone seeking Me, be his servant. David, whoever returns a fugitive to Me, I record with Me as a discerning expert; and whoever I record as a discerning expert, I will never punish.”
وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : مَثَلُ عُلَمَاءِ السُّوءِ مَثَلُ صَخْرَةٍ وَقَعَتْ عَلَى فَمِ النَّهْرِ لَا هِيَ تَشْرَبُ الْمَاءَ وَلَا تَتْرُكُ الْمَاءَ يَخْلُصُ إِلَى الزَّرْعِ ، وَكَذَلِكَ عُلَمَاءُ الدُّنْيَا قَعَدُوا عَلَى طَرِيقِ الْآخِرَةِ فَلَا هُمْ نَفَذُوا وَلَا تَرَكُوا الْعِبَادَ يَسْلُكُونَ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، قَالَ : وَمَثَلُ عُلَمَاءِ السُّوءِ كَمَثَلِ قَنَاةِ الْحَشِّ ظَاهِرُهَا حَسَنٌ وَبَاطِنُهَا نَتِنٌ وَمِثْلِ الْقُبُورِ الْمُشَيَّدَةِ ظَاهِرُهَا عَامِرٌ وَبَاطِنُهَا عِظَامُ الْمَوْتَى ،
warawaynā ʿan ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: mathalu ʿulamāʾi al-sūʾi mathalu ṣakhratin waqaʿat ʿalā fami al-nahri lā hiya tashrabu al-māʾa walā tatruku al-māʾa yakhluṣu ʾilā al-zarʿi , wakadhālika ʿulamāʾu al-dunyā qaʿadū ʿalā ṭarīqi al-ʾākhirati falā hum nafadhū walā tarakū al-ʿibāda yaslukūna ʾilā allāhi ʿazza wajalla , qāla: wamathalu ʿulamāʾi al-sūʾi kamathali qanāti al-ḥashshi ẓāhiruhā ḥasanun wabāṭinuhā natinun wamithli al-qubūri al-mushayyadati ẓāhiruhā ʿāmirun wabāṭinuhā ʿiẓāmu al-mawtā ,
We have related from Jesus, peace be upon him: “Corrupt scholars are like a rock that falls over the mouth of a stream: it neither drinks the water nor lets it reach the crops. Likewise worldly scholars sit on the path to the hereafter: they neither pass along it themselves nor allow the servants to travel to God, mighty and majestic.” He said: “Corrupt scholars are like a latrine channel, beautiful outside but foul within; or like lofty tombs, flourishing outside but filled within with the bones of the dead.”
وَقَالَ بِشْرُ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ : مَنْ طَلَبَ الرِّيَاسَةَ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ فَتَقَرَّبْ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِبُغْضِهِ فَإِنَّهُ مَقِيتُ اللَّهِ فِي السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ ، وَكَانَ الْأَوْزَاعِيُّ يَرْوِي عَنْ بِلَالِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ : يَنْظُرُ أَحَدُكُمْ إِلَى الشُّرْطِيِّ وَالْعَوْنِ فَيَسْتَعِيذُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ حَالِهِ وَيَمْقُتُهُ وَيَنْظُرُ إِلَى عَالِمِ الدُّنْيَا قَدْ تَصَنَّعَ لِلْخَلْقِ وَتَشَوَّفَ لِلطَّمَعِ وَالرِّيَاسَةِ فَلَا يَمْقُتُهُ ،
waqāla bishru bnu al-ḥārithi: man ṭalaba al-riyāsata mina al-ʿulamāʾi fataqarrab ʾilā allāhi taʿālā bibughḍihi faʾinnahu maqītu allāhi fī al-samāʾi wa-al-ʾarḍi , wakāna al-ʾawzāʿiyyu yarwī ʿan bilāli bni saʿdin ʾannahu kāna yaqūlu: yanẓuru ʾaḥadukum ʾilā al-shurṭiyyi wa-al-ʿawni fayastaʿīdhu bi-allāhi taʿālā min ḥālihi wayamqutuhu wayanẓuru ʾilā ʿālimi al-dunyā qad taṣannaʿa lilkhalqi watashawwafa li-l-ṭamaʿi wa-al-riyāsati falā yamqutuhu ,
Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith said: “If a scholar seeks leadership, draw near to God Most High by hating him, for he is detested by God in heaven and on earth.” Al-Awzāʿī used to relate from Bilāl ibn Saʿd that he said: “One of you looks at a policeman or an assistant, seeks refuge in God Most High from his condition, and detests him. Yet he looks at a worldly scholar who has put on a show for people and aspires to gain and leadership, and does not detest him.
هَذَا الْعَالِمُ أَحَقُّ بِالْمَقْتِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الشُّرْطِيِّ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ يَقُولُ : لَا تَقْطَعُوا أَمْرًا مِنَ الدِّينِ وَالدُّنْيَا إِلَّا بِمَشُورَةِ الْعُلَمَاءِ تَحْمَدُوا الْعَاقِبَةَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ قِيلَ : يَا أَبَا مُحَمَّدٍ مَنِ الْعُلَمَاءُ ؟ قَالَ الَّذِينَ يُؤْثِرُونَ الْآخِرَةَ عَلَى الدُّنْيَا وَيُؤْثِرُونَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى عَلَى نُفُوسِهِمْ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فِي وَصِيَّتِهِ : وَشَاوِرْ فِي أُمُورِكَ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى .
hādhā al-ʿālimu ʾaḥaqqu bi-al-maqti min dhālika al-shurṭiyyi , waqad kāna ʾabū muḥammadin yaqūlu: lā taqṭaʿū ʾamran mina al-dīni wa-al-dunyā ʾillā bimashūrati al-ʿulamāʾi taḥmadū al-ʿāqibata ʿinda allāhi qīla: yā ʾabā muḥammadin mani al-ʿulamāʾu ? qāla alladhīna yuʾthirūna al-ʾākhirata ʿalā al-dunyā wayuʾthirūna allāha taʿālā ʿalā nufūsihim , waqad qāla ʿumaru raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu fī waṣiyyatihi: washāwir fī ʾumūrika alladhīna yakhshawna allāha taʿālā.
“That scholar deserves detestation more than that policeman.” Abū Muḥammad used to say: “Do not decide any matter of religion or worldly life except through consultation with scholars; then you will commend the outcome before God.” He was asked: “Abū Muḥammad, who are the scholars?” He replied: “Those who prefer the hereafter to this world and prefer God Most High to their own selves.” ʿUmar, God be pleased with him, said in his counsel: “Consult in your affairs those who fear God Most High.”
وَرَوَيْنَا فِي الْإِسْرَائِيلِيَّاتِ أَنَّ حَكِيمًا مِنَ الْحُكَمَاءِ صَنَّفَ ثَلَاثَمِائَةٍ وَسِتِّينَ مُصْحَفًا فِي الْحِكْمَةِ حَتَّى وُصِفَ بِالْحُكْمِ فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى نَبِيِّهِمْ : قُلْ لِفُلَانٍ قَدْ مَلَأْتَ الْأَرْضَ نِفَاقًا وَلَمْ تُرِدْنِي بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَإِنِّي لَا أَقْبَلُ شَيْئًا مِنْ نِفَاقِكَ قَالَ : فَأُسْقِطَ فِي يَدَيْهِ وَحَزِنَ وَتَرَكَ ذَلِكَ وَخَالَطَ الْعَامَّةَ وَمَشَى فِي الْأَسْوَاقِ وَوَاكَلَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ وَتَوَاضَعَ فِي نَفْسِهِ فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى النَّبِيِّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ :
warawaynā fī al-ʾisrāʾīliyyāti ʾanna ḥakīman mina al-ḥukamāʾi ṣannafa thalāthamiʾatin wasittīna muṣḥafan fī al-ḥikmati ḥattā wuṣifa bi-al-ḥukmi faʾawḥā allāhu taʿālā ʾilā nabiyyihim: qul lifulānin qad malaʾta al-ʾarḍa nifāqan walam turidnī bishayʾin min dhālika waʾinnī lā ʾaqbalu shayʾan min nifāqika qāla: faʾusqiṭa fī yadayhi waḥazina wataraka dhālika wakhālaṭa al-ʿāmmata wamashā fī al-ʾaswāqi wawākala banī ʾisrāʾīla watawāḍaʿa fī nafsihi faʾawḥā allāhu taʿālā ʾilā al-nabiyyi ʿalayhi al-salāmu:
We have related among the Israelite traditions that a sage composed three hundred and sixty volumes on wisdom until he was described as possessing wisdom. God Most High revealed to their prophet: “Tell so-and-so: ‘You have filled the earth with hypocrisy and sought Me in none of it. I accept nothing of your hypocrisy.’” The account says: he was dismayed and saddened, abandoned that practice, mingled with ordinary people, walked in the markets, ate with the Children of Israel, and humbled himself. God Most High then revealed to the prophet, peace be upon him:
قُلْ لَهُ الْآنَ وَافَقْتَ رِضَايَ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : كَانَ أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ عَلَى ضَرْبَيْنِ ، عَالِمُ عَامَّةٍ وَعَالِمُ خَاصَّةٍ ، فَأَمَّا عَالِمُ الْعَامَّةِ فَهُوَ الْمُفْتِي فِي الْحَلَالِ وَالْحَرَامِ وَهَؤُلَاءِ أَصْحَابُ الْأَسَاطِينِ ، وَأَمَّا عَالِمُ الْخَاصَّةِ فَهُوَ الْعَالِمُ بِعِلْمِ التَّوْحِيدِ وَالْمَعْرِفَةِ هَؤُلَاءِ أَهْلُ الزَّوَايَا وَهُمُ الْمُنْفَرِدُونَ وَقَدْ كَانُوا يَقُولُونَ مَثَلُ الْإِمَامِ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ حَنْبَلٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ مَثَلُ دِجْلَةَ كُلُّ أَحَدٍ يَعْرِفُهَا ،
qul lahu al-ʾāna wāfaqta riḍāya , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: kāna ʾahlu al-ʿilmi ʿalā ḍarbayni , ʿālimu ʿāmmatin waʿālimu khāṣṣatin , faʾammā ʿālimu al-ʿāmmati fahuwa al-muftī fī al-ḥalāli wa-al-ḥarāmi wahāʾulāʾi ʾaṣḥābu al-ʾasāṭīni , waʾammā ʿālimu al-khāṣṣati fahuwa al-ʿālimu biʿilmi al-tawḥīdi wa-al-maʿrifati hāʾulāʾi ʾahlu al-zawāyā wahumu al-munfaridūna waqad kānū yaqūlūna mathalu al-ʾimāmi ʾaḥmada bni ḥanbalin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu mathalu dijlata kullu ʾaḥadin yaʿrifuhā ,
“Tell him: ‘Now you have conformed to My good pleasure.’” One scholar said: “The people of knowledge were of two kinds: a scholar for the general public and a scholar for the select. The public’s scholar gives legal opinions on what is lawful and unlawful: these are the people of the mosque pillars. The select people’s scholar knows the science of divine oneness and knowledge of God: these are the people of secluded corners, those who remain apart.” They used to say: “Imam Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, God be pleased with him, is like the Tigris, which everyone knows,
وَمَثَلُ بِشْرِ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ مَثَلُ بِئْرٍ عَذْبَةٍ مُغَطَّاةٍ لَا يَقْصِدُهَا إِلَّا وَاحِدٌ بَعْدَ وَاحِدٍ ، وَقَالَ حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ : قِيلَ لِأَيُّوبَ الْعِلْمُ الْيَوْمَ أَكْثَرُ أَوْ فِيمَا مَضَى ؟ فَقَالَ : الْعِلْمُ فِيمَا مَضَى كَانَ أَكْثَرَ وَالْكَلَامُ الْيَوْمَ أَكْثَرُ ، فَفَرَّقَ بَيْنَ الْعِلْمِ وَالْكَلَامِ وَقَدْ كَانُوا يَقُولُونَ فُلَانٌ عَالِمٌ وَفُلَانٌ مُتَكَلِّمٌ وَفُلَانٌ أَكْثَرُ كَلَامًا وَفُلَانٌ أَكْثَرُ عِلْمًا ، وَكَانَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ يَقُولُ :
wamathalu bishri bni al-ḥārithi mathalu biʾrin ʿadhbatin mughaṭṭātin lā yaqṣiduhā ʾillā wāḥidun baʿda wāḥidin , waqāla ḥammādu bnu zaydin: qīla liʾayyūba al-ʿilmu al-yawma ʾaktharu ʾaw fīmā maḍā ? faqāla: al-ʿilmu fīmā maḍā kāna ʾakthara wa-al-kalāmu al-yawma ʾaktharu , fafarraqa bayna al-ʿilmi wa-al-kalāmi waqad kānū yaqūlūna fulānun ʿālimun wafulānun mutakallimun wafulānun ʾaktharu kalāman wafulānun ʾaktharu ʿilman , wakāna ʾabū sulaymāna yaqūlu:
“while Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith is like a covered well of sweet water to which people come only one after another.” Ḥammād ibn Zayd said: “Ayyūb was asked: ‘Is knowledge more abundant today or in the past?’ He replied: ‘Knowledge was more abundant in the past; speech is more abundant today.’” He thus distinguished knowledge from speech. They used to say: “So-and-so is a scholar, and so-and-so a speaker; so-and-so has more speech, and so-and-so more knowledge.” Abū Sulaymān used to say:
الْمَعْرِفَةُ إِلَى السُّكُوتِ أَقْرَبُ مِنْهَا إِلَى الْكَلَامِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ هَذَا الْعِلْمُ عَلَى قِسْمَيْنِ : نِصْفُهُ صَمْتٌ وَنِصْفُهُ تَدْرِي أَيْنَ تَضَعُهُ ، وَزَادَ آخَرُ : وَنِصْفُهُ وَجْدٌ وَنِصْفُهُ نَظَرٌ يَعْنِي تَفَكُّرًا وَاعْتِبَارًا ، وَسُئِلَ سُفْيَانُ عَنِ الْعَالِمِ مَنْ هُوَ ؟ فَقَالَ : مَنْ يَضَعُ الْعِلْمَ فِي مَوَاضِعِهِ وَيُؤْتِي كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَقَّهُ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْحُكَمَاءِ : إِذَا كَثُرَ الْعِلْمُ قَلَّ الْكَلَامُ ،
al-maʿrifatu ʾilā al-sukūti ʾaqrabu minhā ʾilā al-kalāmi , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna hādhā al-ʿilmu ʿalā qismayni: niṣfuhu ṣamtun waniṣfuhu tadrī ʾayna taḍaʿuhu , wazāda ʾākharu: waniṣfuhu wajdun waniṣfuhu naẓarun yaʿnī tafakkuran waʿtibāran , wasuʾila sufyānu ʿani al-ʿālimi man huwa ? faqāla: man yaḍaʿu al-ʿilma fī mawāḍiʿihi wayuʾtī kulla shayʾin ḥaqqahu , waqāla baʿḍu al-ḥukamāʾi: ʾidhā kathura al-ʿilmu qalla al-kalāmu ,
“Knowledge of God is closer to silence than to speech.” One who knew God said: “This knowledge has two parts: half is silence, and half is knowing where to place it.” Another added: “Half is direct experience and half is reflection,” meaning thought and consideration. Sufyān was asked: “Who is the scholar?” He replied: “Someone who puts knowledge in its proper places and gives each thing its due.” One sage said: “When knowledge increases, speech decreases.”
وَقَدْ كَانَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ الْخَوَّاصُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ : الصُّوفِيُّ كُلَّمَا ازْدَادَ عِلْمًا نَقَصَتْ طِينَتُهُ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ شُيُوخِنَا : قُلْتُ لِلْجُنَيْدِ يَا أَبَا الْقَاسِمِ يَكُونُ لِسَانٌ بِلَا قَلْبٍ ، قَالَ
waqad kāna ʾibrāhīmu al-khawwāṣu raḥimahu allāhu yaqūlu: al-ṣūfiyyu kullamā izdāda ʿilman naqaṣat ṭīnatuhu , waqāla baʿḍu shuyūkhinā: qultu liljunaydi yā ʾabā al-qāsimi yakūnu lisānun bilā qalbin , qāla
Ibrāhīm al-Khawwāṣ, God have mercy on him, used to say: “Whenever a Sufi increases in knowledge, his clay diminishes.” One of our shaykhs said: “I asked al-Junayd: ‘Abū al-Qāsim, can there be a tongue without a heart?’ He replied:
كَثِيرٌ : قُلْتُ فَيَكُونُ قَلْبٌ بِلَا لِسَانٍ فَقَالَ : نَعَمْ قَدْ يَكُونُ ، وَلَكِنْ لِسَانٌ بِلَا قَلْبٍ بَلَاءٌ وَقَلْبٌ بِلَا لِسَانٍ نِعْمَةٌ قُلْتُ فَإِذَا كَانَ لِسَانٌ وَقَلْبٌ قَالَ : فَذَاكَ الزُّبْدُ بِالنِّرْسِيَانِ يَعْنِي الْعَسَلَ . وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا حَدِيثًا مَقْطُوعًا عَنْ سُفْيَانَ عَنْ مَالِكِ بْنِ مِغْوَلٍ قَالَ : قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَيُّ الْعَمَلِ أَفْضَلُ ؟ قَالَ :
kathīrun: qultu fayakūnu qalbun bilā lisānin faqāla: naʿam qad yakūnu , walākin lisānun bilā qalbin balāʾun waqalbun bilā lisānin niʿmatun qultu faʾidhā kāna lisānun waqalbun qāla: fadhāka al-zubdu bi-al-nirsiyāni yaʿnī al-ʿasala. waqad rawaynā ḥadīthan maqṭūʿan ʿan sufyāna ʿan māliki bni mighwalin qāla: qīla yā rasūla allāhi ʾayyu al-ʿamali ʾafḍalu ? qāla:
“‘Often.’ I asked: ‘Can there be a heart without a tongue?’ He replied: ‘Yes, there can. But a tongue without a heart is an affliction, and a heart without a tongue is a blessing.’ I asked: ‘What if there is both a tongue and a heart?’ He replied: ‘That is butter with nirsiyān,’ meaning honey.” We have related a disconnected report from Sufyān, from Mālik ibn Mighwal, who said: “It was asked: ‘O Messenger of God, what deed is best?’ He replied:
اجْتِنَابُ الْمَحَارِمِ وَلَا يَزَالُ فُوكَ رَطْبًا مِنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، قِيلَ : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَأَيُّ الْأَصْحَابِ خَيْرٌ ؟ قَالَ : صَاحِبٌ إِنْ ذَكَرْتَ أَعَانَكَ وَإِنْ نَسِيتَ ذَكَّرَكَ ، قِيلَ : فَأَيُّ الْأَصْحَابِ شَرٌّ ؟ قَالَ : صَاحِبٌ إِنْ سَكَتَّ لَمْ يُذَكِّرْكَ وَإِنْ ذَكَرْتَ لَمْ يُعِنْكَ ، قَالَ : فَأَيُّ النَّاسِ أَعْلَمُ ؟ قَالَ : أَشَدُّهُمْ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى خَشْيَةً ،
ijtinābu al-maḥārimi walā yazālu fūka raṭban min dhikri allāhi taʿālā , qīla: yā rasūla allāhi faʾayyu al-ʾaṣḥābi khayrun ? qāla: ṣāḥibun ʾin dhakarta ʾaʿānaka waʾin nasīta dhakkaraka , qīla: faʾayyu al-ʾaṣḥābi sharrun ? qāla: ṣāḥibun ʾin sakatta lam yudhakkirka waʾin dhakarta lam yuʿinka , qāla: faʾayyu al-nāsi ʾaʿlamu ? qāla: ʾashadduhum lillāhi taʿālā khashyatan ,
“‘Avoiding forbidden things, and keeping your mouth moist with the remembrance of God Most High.’ It was asked: ‘O Messenger of God, which companion is best?’ He replied: ‘A companion who helps you when you remember and reminds you when you forget.’ It was asked: ‘Which companion is worst?’ He replied: ‘A companion who does not remind you when you are silent or help you when you remember.’ He asked: ‘Which person is most knowledgeable?’ He replied: ‘The one who fears God Most High most deeply.’
قَالَ فَأَخْبِرْنَا بِخِيَارِنَا نُجَالِسْهُمْ قَالَ : الَّذِينَ إِذَا رُؤُوا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى قَالُوا : فَأَيُّ النَّاسِ شَرٌّ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ؟ قَالَ : اللَّهُمَّ غُفْرًا قَالُوا أَخْبِرْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ : الْعُلَمَاءُ إِذَا فَسَدُوا وَقَدْ وَصَفَ عَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ عُلَمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا النَّاطِقِينَ عَنِ الرَّأْيِ وَالْهَوَى بِوَصْفٍ غَرِيبٍ . رَوَيْنَاهُ عَنْ خَالِدِ بْنِ طَلِيقٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ جَدِّهِ وَجَدُّهُ عِمْرَانُ بْنُ حُصَيْنٍ قَالَ :
qāla faʾakhbirnā bikhiyārinā nujālishum qāla: alladhīna ʾidhā ruʾū dhukira allāhu taʿālā qālū: faʾayyu al-nāsi sharrun yā rasūla allāhi ? qāla: allāhumma ghufran qālū ʾakhbirnā yā rasūla allāhi qāla: al-ʿulamāʾu ʾidhā fasadū waqad waṣafa ʿaliyyun ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʿulamāʾa al-dunyā al-nāṭiqīna ʿani al-raʾyi wa-al-hawā biwaṣfin gharībin. rawaynāhu ʿan khālidi bni ṭalīqin ʿan ʾabīhi ʿan jaddihi wajadduhu ʿimrānu bnu ḥuṣaynin qāla:
“He said: ‘Tell us about the best among us, so that we may sit with them.’ He replied: ‘Those who, when seen, cause God Most High to be remembered.’ They asked: ‘Which people are worst, O Messenger of God?’ He said: ‘O God, forgiveness!’ They said: ‘Tell us, O Messenger of God.’ He replied: ‘Scholars when they become corrupt.’” ʿAlī, peace be upon him, described worldly scholars who speak from opinion and desire in a remarkable description. We related it from Khālid ibn Ṭalīq, from his father, from his grandfather; his grandfather was ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn, who said:
خَطَبَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَرَضِيَ عَنْهُ فَقَالَ : ذِمَّتِي رَهِينَةٌ وَأَنَا زَعِيمٌ لَا يَهِيجُ عَلَى التَّقْوَى زَرْعُ قَوْمٍ وَلَا يَظْمَأُ عَلَى الْهُدَى شَحُّ أَصْلٍ ، وَإِنَّ أَجْهَلَ النَّاسِ مَنْ لَا يَعْرِفُ قَدْرَهُ وَكَفَى بِالْمَرْءِ جَهْلًا أَنْ لَا يَعْرِفَ قَدْرَهُ ، وَإِنَّ أَبْغَضَ الْخَلْقِ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى رَجُلٌ قَمَشَ عِلْمًا أَغَارَ فِي أَغْبَاشِ الْفِتْنَةِ عَمِيَ عَمَّا فِي غَيْبِ الْهُدْنَةِ سَمَّاهُ أَشْبَاهُ
khaṭabanā ʿaliyyu bnu ʾabī ṭālibin ʿalayhi al-salāmu waraḍiya ʿanhu faqāla: dhimmatī rahīnatun waʾanā zaʿīmun lā yahīju ʿalā al-taqwā zarʿu qawmin walā yaẓmaʾu ʿalā al-hudā shaḥḥu ʾaṣlin , waʾinna ʾajhala al-nāsi man lā yaʿrifu qadrahu wakafā bi-al-marʾi jahlan ʾan lā yaʿrifa qadrahu , waʾinna ʾabghaḍa al-khalqi ʾilā allāhi taʿālā rajulun qamasha ʿilman ʾaghāra fī ʾaghbāshi al-fitnati ʿamiya ʿammā fī ghaybi al-hudnati sammāhu ʾashbāhu
“ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, peace be upon him and God be pleased with him, addressed us and said: ‘My pledge stands as security, and I am its guarantor. No people’s crop withers when founded upon God-fearingness, nor does a “stinginess of a root” [an uncertain reading] thirst upon guidance. The most ignorant person is one who does not know his own measure; it is enough ignorance for a person not to know his own measure. The most hateful creature to God Most High is a man who has gathered scraps of knowledge, plunged into the dimness of trial, and become blind to what is hidden in the truce. The semblances of
النَّاسِ وَأَرْذَالُهُمْ عَالِمًا وَلَمْ يُغْنِ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَوْمًا سَالِمًا بَكَّرَ فَاسْتَكْثَرَ مِمَّا قَلَّ مِنْهُ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا كَثُرَ حَتَّى إِذَا ارْتَوَى مِنْ آجِنٍ وَأَكْثَرَ مِنْ غَيْرِ طَائِلٍ جَلَسَ لِلنَّاسِ مُفْتِيًا لِتَخْلِيصِ مَا الْتَبَسَ عَلَى غَيْرِهِ فَإِنْ نَزَلَتْ بِهِ إِحْدَى الْمُبْهَمَاتِ هَيَّأَ لَهَا عَشْوَ الرَّأْيِ مِنْ رَأْيِهِمْ فَهُوَ مِنْ قَطْعِ الشُّبُهَاتِ فِي مِثْلِ غَزْلِ الْعَنْكَبُوتِ لَا يَدْرِي أَخْطَأَ أَمْ أَصَابَ رَكَّابُ الْجَهَالَاتِ خَبَّاطُ عَشَوَاتِ ظُلْمَةٍ
al-nāsi waʾardhāluhum ʿāliman walam yughni fī al-ʿilmi yawman sāliman bakkara fastakthara mimmā qalla minhu khayrun mimmā kathura ḥattā ʾidhā irtawā min ʾājinin waʾakthara min ghayri ṭāʾilin jalasa li-l-nāsi muftiyan litakhlīṣi mā iltabasa ʿalā ghayrihi faʾin nazalat bihi ʾiḥdā al-mubhamāti hayyaʾa lahā ʿashwa al-raʾyi min raʾyihim fahuwa min qaṭʿi al-shubuhāti fī mithli ghazli al-ʿankabūti lā yadrī ʾakhṭaʾa ʾam ʾaṣāba rakkābu al-jahālāti khabbāṭu ʿashawāti ẓulmatin
“‘people and their lowest members call him a scholar, though he has not spent a single sound day in knowledge. He rose early and amassed things of which a little is better than much, until, having drunk his fill of stagnant water and gathered much that is useless, he sat among people as a mufti to resolve what confused others. When an obscure problem comes before him, he prepares for it a blind venture of opinion from their opinions [a difficult reading]. In settling doubts he is like a spider’s weaving: he does not know whether he has erred or been right. He rides ignorance and stumbles through the dimness of darkness,
لَا يَعْتَذِرُ مِمَّا لَا يَعْلَمُ فَيَسْلَمَ وَلَا يَعَضُّ عَلَى الْعِلْمِ بِضِرْسٍ قَاطِعٍ فَيَغْنَمَ ، تَبْكِي مِنْهُ الدِّمَاءُ وَتَصْرُخُ مِنْهُ الْمَوَارِيثُ وَتُسْتَحَلُّ بِقَضَائِهِ الْفُرُوجُ الْحَرَامُ ، لَا مَلِيءٌ وَاللَّهِ بِإِصْدَارِ مَا وَرَدَ عَلَيْهِ وَلَا هُوَ أَهْلٌ لِمَا قُرِّظَ بِهِ أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ حَلَّتْ عَلَيْهِمُ النِّيَاحَةُ وَالْبُكَاءُ أَيَّامَ حَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ، وَوَصَفَ عَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ عُلَمَاءَ الْآخِرَةِ فِي حَدِيثِ كُمَيْلِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ الَّذِي يَقُولُ فِيهِ النَّاسُ :
lā yaʿtadhiru mimmā lā yaʿlamu fayaslama walā yaʿaḍḍu ʿalā al-ʿilmi biḍirsin qāṭiʿin fayaghnama , tabkī minhu al-dimāʾu wataṣrukhu minhu al-mawārīthu watustaḥallu biqaḍāʾihi al-furūju al-ḥarāmu , lā malīʾun wa-allāhi biʾiṣdāri mā warada ʿalayhi walā huwa ʾahlun limā qurriẓa bihi ʾūlāʾika alladhīna ḥallat ʿalayhimu al-niyāḥatu wa-al-bukāʾu ʾayyāma ḥayāti al-dunyā , wawaṣafa ʿaliyyun ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʿulamāʾa al-ʾākhirati fī ḥadīthi kumayli bni ziyādin alladhī yaqūlu fīhi al-nāsu:
“‘neither excusing himself from what he does not know so that he might be safe, nor biting into knowledge with a cutting molar so that he might profit. Blood cries because of him, inheritances scream because of him, and his judgments make forbidden sexual relations lawful. By God, he is not capable of disposing of what comes before him, nor worthy of the praise bestowed upon him. These are the people for whom lamentation and weeping are fitting during their worldly lives.’” ʿAlī, peace be upon him, described the scholars of the hereafter in the report of Kumayl ibn Ziyād, in which he says: “People are
ثَلَاثَةٌ عَالِمٌ رَبَّانِيٌّ يَعْنِي عَالِمًا بِالرُّبُوبِيَّةِ فَنَنْسُبُهُ إِلَى رَبٍّ كَمَا سَمَّاهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي قَوْلِهِ : ( كُونُوا رَبَّانِيِّينَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تُعَلِّمُونَ الْكِتَابَ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 79 الْآيَةُ ، فَسَمَّى الْعَالِمَ بِكِتَابِهِ رَبَّانِيًّا وَالدَّارِسَ لَهُ رَبَّانِيًّا فَهَذَا قَدْ جَمَعَ الْعِلْمَ وَالْعَمَلَ وَكَذَلِكَ يُقَالُ : الْعَالِمُ الرَّبَّانِيُّ هُوَ الَّذِي يَعْلَمُ وَيَعْمَلُ وَيُعَلِّمُ النَّاسَ الْخَيْرَ ، قَالَ : فَذَاكَ الَّذِي يُدْعَى عَظِيمًا فِي مَلَكُوتِ السَّمَاءِ ،
thalāthatun ʿālimun rabbāniyyun yaʿnī ʿāliman bi-al-rubūbiyyati fanansubuhu ʾilā rabbin kamā sammāhumu allāhu fī qawlihi: ( kūnū rabbāniyyīna bimā kuntum tuʿallimūna al-kitāba ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 79 al-ʾāyatu , fasammā al-ʿālima bikitābihi rabbāniyyan wa-al-dārisa lahu rabbāniyyan fahādhā qad jamaʿa al-ʿilma wa-al-ʿamala wakadhālika yuqālu: al-ʿālimu al-rabbāniyyu huwa alladhī yaʿlamu wayaʿmalu wayuʿallimu al-nāsa al-khayra , qāla: fadhāka alladhī yudʿā ʿaẓīman fī malakūti al-samāʾi ,
“three: a scholar devoted to the Lord…” That is, a scholar of divine lordship, whom we therefore attribute to the Lord, just as God named them in His words: “Be people devoted to the Lord through your teaching of the Book” (Āl ʿImrān 3:79), and the rest of the verse. He called one knowledgeable about His Book rabbānī, devoted to the Lord, and one who studies it rabbānī. Such a person combines knowledge and action. Likewise it is said: “The scholar devoted to the Lord is one who knows, acts, and teaches people goodness.” He said: “That is the one who is called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
وَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي تَقْدِمَتِهِمْ : ( لَوْلَا يَنْهَاهُمُ الرَّبَّانِيُّونَ وَالْأَحْبَارُ ) الْمَائِدَةُ : 63 فَقَدَّمَ الرَّبَّانِيِّينَ عَلَى الْأَحْبَارِ وَهُمْ عُلَمَاءُ الْكُتُبِ
waqāla taʿālā fī taqdimatihim: ( lawlā yanhāhumu al-rabbāniyyūna wa-al-ʾaḥbāru ) al-māʾidatu: 63 faqaddama al-rabbāniyyīna ʿalā al-ʾaḥbāri wahum ʿulamāʾu al-kutubi
Giving them precedence, He, exalted is He, said: “Why do the people devoted to the Lord and the rabbis not forbid them?” (al-Māʾida 5:63). He placed those devoted to the Lord before the rabbis, who are scholars of the scriptures.
وَكَذَلِكَ رَوَيْنَاهُ عَنْ مُجَاهِدٍ قَالَ : الرَّبَّانِيُّونَ فَوْقَ الْأَحْبَارِ دَرَجَةً ، وَقَالَ غَيْرُهُ : وَالْأَحْبَارُ فَوْقَ الرُّهْبَانِ يَعْنِي عُلَمَاءَ الْقُلُوبِ أَرْفَعُ مِنْ عُلَمَاءِ الْأَلْسِنَةِ وَالْعُلَمَاءُ بِالْكُتُبِ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الْعُبَّادِ بِدَرَجَةٍ ، وَقَدْ ضَمَّهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى أَنْبِيَائِهِ فِي النُّصْرَةِ لَهُ وَالصَّبْرِ مَعَهُ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَكَأَيِّنْ مِنْ نَبِيٍّ قَاتَلَ مَعَهُ رِبِّيُّونَ كَثِيرٌ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 146 ،
wakadhālika rawaynāhu ʿan mujāhidin qāla: al-rabbāniyyūna fawqa al-ʾaḥbāri darajatan , waqāla ghayruhu: wa-al-ʾaḥbāru fawqa al-ruhbāni yaʿnī ʿulamāʾa al-qulūbi ʾarfaʿu min ʿulamāʾi al-ʾalsinati wa-al-ʿulamāʾu bi-al-kutubi ʾafḍalu mina al-ʿubbādi bidarajatin , waqad ḍammahumu allāhu taʿālā ʾilā ʾanbiyāʾihi fī al-nuṣrati lahu wa-al-ṣabri maʿahu fī qawlihi taʿālā: ( wakaʾayyin min nabiyyin qātala maʿahu ribbiyyūna kathīrun ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 146 ,
We likewise related from Mujāhid: “Those devoted to the Lord are one degree above the rabbis.” Another said: “The rabbis are above the monks.” That is, scholars of hearts stand higher than scholars of tongues, and scholars of the scriptures are one degree above worshippers. God Most High joined them to His prophets in supporting him and persevering with him, in His words, exalted is He: “How many a prophet fought with many devoted followers beside him” (Āl ʿImrān 3:146).
ثُمَّ وَصَفَهُمْ بِالثَّبَاتِ لِأَمْرِهِ وَالْقُوَّةِ فِي دِينِهِ وَالصَّبْرِ لِحُكْمِهِ فِي تَمَامِ الْآيَةِ وَرِبِّيُّونَ جَمْعُ رِبِّيٍّ يُقَالُ رِبِّيٌّ وَرَبَّانِيٌّ فَجَمْعُ رِبِّيٍّ رِبِّيُّونَ وَجَمْعُ رَبَّانِيٍّ رَبَّانِيُّونَ . وَكَذَلِكَ جَاءَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ : يَشْفَعُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ الْأَنْبِيَاءُ ثُمَّ الْعُلَمَاءُ ثُمَّ الشُّهَدَاءُ فَقَدَّمَ الْعُلَمَاءَ عَلَى الشُّهَدَاءِ لِأَنَّ الْعَالِمَ إِمَامُ أُمَّةٍ فَلَهُ مِثْلُ أُجُورِ أُمَّتِهِ وَالشَّهِيدُ عَمَلُهُ لِنَفْسِهِ ، وَفِي خَبَرٍ آخَرَ :
thumma waṣafahum bi-al-thabāti liʾamrihi wa-al-quwwati fī dīnihi wa-al-ṣabri liḥukmihi fī tamāmi al-ʾāyati waribbiyyūna jamʿu ribbiyyin yuqālu ribbiyyun warabbāniyyun fajamʿu ribbiyyin ribbiyyūna wajamʿu rabbāniyyin rabbāniyyūna. wakadhālika jāʾa ʿan rasūli allāhi: yashfaʿu yawma al-qiyāmati al-ʾanbiyāʾu thumma al-ʿulamāʾu thumma al-shuhadāʾu faqaddama al-ʿulamāʾa ʿalā al-shuhadāʾi liʾanna al-ʿālima ʾimāmu ʾummatin falahu mithlu ʾujūri ʾummatihi wa-al-shahīdu ʿamaluhu linafsihi , wafī khabarin ʾākhara:
In the rest of the verse He described them as firm in His command, strong in His religion, and patient with His ruling. Ribbiyyūn is the plural of ribbī; one says ribbī and rabbānī. The plural of ribbī is ribbiyyūn, and the plural of rabbānī is rabbāniyyūn. Likewise it has come from God’s Messenger: “On the Day of Resurrection the prophets will intercede, then the scholars, then the martyrs.” He placed scholars before martyrs because a scholar is the leader of a community and has the equivalent of his community’s rewards, whereas the martyr’s deed is for himself. In another report:
حِبْرُ الْعُلَمَاءِ يُوزَنُ بِدَمِ الشُّهَدَاءِ فَأَعْلَى حَالِ الشَّهِيدِ دَمُهُ وَأَدْنَى وَصْفِ الْعَالِمِ حِبْرُهُ ، فَسَوَّى بَيْنَهُمَا وَزَادَ الْعَالِمَ عَلَى الشَّهِيدِ بِأَعْلَى مَقَامِهِ وَكَانَ عَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ يَقُولُ الْعَالِمُ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الصَّائِمِ الْقَائِمِ وَالْمُجَاهِدِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَإِذَا مَاتَ الْعَالِمُ ثُلِمَ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ ثُلْمَةٌ لَا يَسُدُّهَا إِلَّا خَلْفٌ مِنْهُ . وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مَعْنَاهُ مُسْنَدًا إِذَا مَاتَ الْعَالِمُ ثُلِمَ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ ثُلْمَةٌ لَا يَسُدُّهَا شَيْءٌ مَا طَرَدَ اللَّيْلُ
ḥibru al-ʿulamāʾi yūzanu bidami al-shuhadāʾi faʾaʿlā ḥāli al-shahīdi damuhu waʾadnā waṣfi al-ʿālimi ḥibruhu , fasawwā baynahumā wazāda al-ʿālima ʿalā al-shahīdi biʾaʿlā maqāmihi wakāna ʿaliyyun ʿalayhi al-salāmu yaqūlu al-ʿālimu ʾafḍalu mina al-ṣāʾimi al-qāʾimi wa-al-mujāhidi fī sabīli allāhi waʾidhā māta al-ʿālimu thulima fī al-ʾislāmi thulmatun lā yasudduhā ʾillā khalfun minhu. waqad rawaynā maʿnāhu musnadan ʾidhā māta al-ʿālimu thulima fī al-ʾislāmi thulmatun lā yasudduhā shayʾun mā ṭarada al-laylu
“The scholars’ ink is weighed against the martyrs’ blood.” The martyr’s highest state is his blood, and the scholar’s lowest attribute is his ink. He equated these two, leaving the scholar above the martyr by virtue of his highest station. ʿAlī, peace be upon him, used to say: “The scholar is better than one who fasts, stands in prayer, and fights in God’s path. When a scholar dies, a breach is opened in Islam that only a successor to him can fill.” We have related its meaning with a connected chain: “When a scholar dies, a breach is opened in Islam that nothing can fill so long as night
وَالنَّهَارُ إِلَّا مَوْتُ الْعَالِمِ بِحَمِ طَمْسٍ وَمَوْتُ قَبِيلَةٍ أَيْسَرُ مِنْ مَوْتِ عَالِمٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ عَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فِي حَدِيثِ كُمَيْلٍ وَمُتَعَلِّمٌ عَلَى سَبِيلِ النَّجَاةِ يَعْنِي مُرِيدًا طَالِبًا لِلْعِلْمِ مُتَعَلِّمًا مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى طَرِيقِ مُعَامَلَةٍ وَإِخْلَاصٍ لِطَلَبِ السَّلَامَةِ وَأَنْ يَنْجُوَ مِنَ الْجَهْلِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَمِنَ الْعَذَابِ فِي الْآخِرَةِ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ :
wa-al-nahāru ʾillā mawtu al-ʿālimi biḥami ṭamsin wamawtu qabīlatin ʾaysaru min mawti ʿālimin thumma qāla ʿaliyyun ʿalayhi al-salāmu fī ḥadīthi kumaylin wamutaʿallimun ʿalā sabīli al-najāti yaʿnī murīdan ṭāliban lilʿilmi mutaʿalliman mina al-ʿulamāʾi bi-allāhi taʿālā ʿalā ṭarīqi muʿāmalatin waʾikhlāṣin liṭalabi al-salāmati waʾan yanjuwa mina al-jahli fī al-dunyā wamina al-ʿadhābi fī al-ʾākhirati , thumma qāla:
“and day continue.” “Except the death of the scholar, biḥami ṭamsin” [this wording remains corrupt and cannot be translated securely]; “the death of a tribe is easier than the death of a scholar.” Then ʿAlī, peace be upon him, said in Kumayl’s report: “And a learner on the path of salvation.” He means a seeker pursuing knowledge, learning from scholars who know God Most High, by a path of practice and sincerity, seeking safety and escape from ignorance in this world and punishment in the hereafter. Then he said:
وَهَمَجٌ رَعَاعٌ الْهَمَجُ الْفَرَاشُ الَّذِي يَتَهَافَتُ فِي النَّارِ لِجَهْلِهِ وَاحِدَتُهُ هَمَجَةٌ رَعَاعٌ خَفِيفٌ طَيَّاشٌ لَا عَقْلَ لَهُ يَسْتَفِزُّهُ الطَّمَعُ وَيَسْتَخِفُّهُ الْغَضَبُ وَيَزْدَهِيهِ الْعُجْبُ وَيَسْتَطِيلُهُ الْكِبْرُ ثُمَّ بَكَى عَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَقَالَ : هَكَذَا يَمُوتُ الْعِلْمُ بِمَوْتِ حَامِلِيهِ ثُمَّ تَنَفَّسَ عِنْدَ وَصْفِ الرَّبَّانِيِّينَ فَقَالَ : وَاشَوْقَاهُ إِلَى رُؤْيَتِهِمْ يَعْنِي الرَّبَّانِيِّينَ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَقَدْ ذَكَرْنَا هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ بِطُولِهِ فِي الْبَابِ الَّذِي قَبْلَ هَذَا ،
wahamajun raʿāʿun al-hamaju al-farāshu alladhī yatahāfatu fī al-nāri lijahlihi wāḥidatuhu hamajatun raʿāʿun khafīfun ṭayyāshun lā ʿaqla lahu yastafizzuhu al-ṭamaʿu wayastakhiffuhu al-ghaḍabu wayazdahīhi al-ʿujbu wayastaṭīluhu al-kibru thumma bakā ʿaliyyun ʿalayhi al-salāmu waqāla: hākadhā yamūtu al-ʿilmu bimawti ḥāmilīhi thumma tanaffasa ʿinda waṣfi al-rabbāniyyīna faqāla: wāshawqāhu ʾilā ruʾyatihim yaʿnī al-rabbāniyyīna mina al-ʿulamāʾi waqad dhakarnā hādhā al-ḥadītha biṭūlihi fī al-bābi alladhī qabla hādhā ,
“And an ignorant rabble.” Hamaj means the moths that throw themselves into fire through ignorance; its singular is hamaja. Raʿāʿ means light-minded and flighty, without reason: greed excites him, anger sweeps him away, self-admiration makes him proud, and arrogance makes him overbearing. Then ʿAlī, peace be upon him, wept and said: “This is how knowledge dies with the death of its bearers.” Then, when describing those devoted to the Lord, he sighed and said: “How I long to see them!” He meant the scholars devoted to the Lord. We have already given this report at length in the section preceding this one.
فَهَؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ بَكَى عَلَيْهِمْ شَوْقًا هُمُ الَّذِينَ اشْتَاقَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَيْهِمْ قَبْلَهُ فَقَالَ : وَاشَوَاقَاهُ إِلَى لِقَاءِ إِخْوَانِي وَوَدِدْتُ أَنِّي قَدْ رَأَيْتُ إِخْوَانِي ، ثُمَّ قَالَ : هُمْ قَوْمٌ يَجِيئُونَ بَعْدَكُمْ ، ثُمَّ وَصَفَهُمْ فَإِنَّمَا كَانُوا إِخْوَانَهُ لِأَنَّ قُلُوبَهُمْ عَلَى قُلُوبِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ وَأَخْلَاقَهُمْ بِمَعَانِي صِفَاتِ الْإِيمَانِ وَهُمْ أَبْدَالُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ جَاءَ فِي وَصْفِهِمْ مَا يَجِلُّ عَنِ الْوَصْفِ هُمْ عَلَى ثَلَاثِ طَبَقَاتٍ :
fahāʾulāʾi alladhīna bakā ʿalayhim shawqan humu alladhīna ishtāqa rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾilayhim qablahu faqāla: wāshawāqāhu ʾilā liqāʾi ʾikhwānī wawadidtu ʾannī qad raʾaytu ʾikhwānī , thumma qāla: hum qawmun yajīʾūna baʿdakum , thumma waṣafahum faʾinnamā kānū ʾikhwānahu liʾanna qulūbahum ʿalā qulūbi al-ʾanbiyāʾi ʿalayhimu al-salāmu waʾakhlāqahum bimaʿānī ṣifāti al-ʾīmāni wahum ʾabdālu hādhihi al-ʾummati jāʾa fī waṣfihim mā yajillu ʿani al-waṣfi hum ʿalā thalāthi ṭabaqātin:
Those for whom he wept in longing are the very ones God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, had longed for before him, saying: “How I long to meet my brothers! I wish I had seen my brothers.” Then he said: “They are people who will come after you,” and described them. They were his brothers because their hearts resemble the hearts of the prophets, peace be upon them, and their character embodies the meanings of the qualities of faith. They are the abdāl, the spiritual substitutes, of this community. What has been transmitted about them surpasses description. They are of three ranks:
صِدِّيقُونَ ، وَشُهَدَاءُ ، وَصَالِحُونَ ، وَإِنَّ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَلْبُهُ عَلَى قَلْبِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْخَلِيلِ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَلْبُهُ عَلَى قَلْبِ مُوسَى الْكَلِيمِ وَعِيسَى الرُّوحِ وَمُحَمَّدٍ الْحَبِيبِ صَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَسَلَّمَ أَجْمَعِينَ ، وَمِنْهُمْ عَلَى قَلْبِ جِبْرِيلَ وَمِيكَائِيلَ وَإِسْرَافِيلَ وَالْأُخُوَّةُ تَقَعُ بَيْنَ الِاثْنَيْنِ فِي الْمُجَالَسَةِ وَقُرْبِ الشَّبَهِ فِي الْأَفْعَالِ وَالْأَخْلَاقِ كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ نَافَقُوا يَقُولُونَ لِإِخْوَانِهِمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ) الْحَشْرُ :
ṣiddīqūna , washuhadāʾu , waṣāliḥūna , waʾinna minhum man qalbuhu ʿalā qalbi ʾibrāhīma al-khalīli waminhum man qalbuhu ʿalā qalbi mūsā al-kalīmi waʿīsā al-rūḥi wamuḥammadin al-ḥabībi ṣalawātu allāhi ʿalayhim wasallama ʾajmaʿīna , waminhum ʿalā qalbi jibrīla wamīkāʾīla waʾisrāfīla wa-al-ʾukhuwwatu taqaʿu bayna al-ithnayni fī al-mujālasati waqurbi al-shabahi fī al-ʾafʿāli wa-al-ʾakhlāqi kamā qāla allāhu ʿazza wajalla: ( ʾalam tara ʾilā alladhīna nāfaqū yaqūlūna liʾikhwānihimu alladhīna kafarū ) al-ḥashru:
the utterly truthful, the witnesses, and the righteous. Among them are those whose hearts resemble the heart of Abraham, God’s intimate friend; others whose hearts resemble the heart of Moses, the one spoken to, Jesus the Spirit, and Muḥammad the beloved, God’s blessings and peace be upon them all; and others whose hearts resemble the hearts of Gabriel, Michael, and Isrāfīl. Brotherhood occurs between two people through companionship and close resemblance in deeds and character. As God, mighty and majestic, said: “Have you not seen those who acted hypocritically, saying to their brothers who disbelieved…” (al-Ḥashr 59:
11 لَمَّا كَانُوا عَلَى أَوْصَافِهِمْ فِي الْقُلُوبِ مِنْ إِسْرَارِ الْكُفْرِ وَاعْتِقَادِ الشَّكِّ جَعَلَهُمْ إِخْوَانًا ، وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ : إِنَّ
11 lammā kānū ʿalā ʾawṣāfihim fī al-qulūbi min ʾisrāri al-kufri waʿtiqādi al-shakki jaʿalahum ʾikhwānan , wakadhālika qāla: ʾinna
11). Because they shared the same qualities of heart, concealing unbelief and holding doubt, He made them brothers. Likewise He said: “Indeed,
الْمُبَذِّرِينَ كَانُوا إِخْوَانَ الشَّيَاطِينِ ، وَهَؤُلَاءِ لَيْسُوا أَمْثَالَهُمْ فِي الْخِلْقَةِ وَلَا بَيْنَهُمْ أُبُوَّةٌ وَلَا أُمُومَةٌ لِأَنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ مِنْ وَلَدِ إِبْلِيسَ وَالْمُبَذِّرِينَ أَوْلَادُ آدَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ ، وَلَكِنْ تَشَابَهَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ فِي الْمَوَاجِيدِ وَالْأَخْلَاقِ وَالْأَفْعَالِ ، فَآخَى بَيْنَهُمْ لِلتَّشَابُهِ ، فَمَنْ كَانَ مِنْ عُلَمَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ فَعَقْلُهُ يَسْتَضِيءُ مِنْ أَنْوَارِ قَلْبِهِ وَفَهْمُهُ يُنْبِئُ عَنْ اسْتِنْبَاطِ عِلْمِهِ وَمُشَاهَدَتِهِ وَأَخْلَاقِهِ عَلَى مَعَانِي يَقِينِهِ وَقُوَّتِهِ وَطَرِيقِهِ وَسُلُوكِهِ فِي مِنْهَاجِ
al-mubadhdhirīna kānū ʾikhwāna al-shayāṭīni , wahāʾulāʾi laysū ʾamthālahum fī al-khilqati walā baynahum ʾubuwwatun walā ʾumūmatun liʾanna al-shayāṭīna min waladi ʾiblīsa wa-al-mubadhdhirīna ʾawlādu ʾādama ʿalayhi al-salāmu , walākin tashābahat qulūbuhum fī al-mawājīdi wa-al-ʾakhlāqi wa-al-ʾafʿāli , faʾākhā baynahum li-l-tashābuhi , faman kāna min ʿulamāʾi al-ʾākhirati faʿaqluhu yastaḍīʾu min ʾanwāri qalbihi wafahmuhu yunbiʾu ʿan istinbāṭi ʿilmihi wamushāhadatihi waʾakhlāqihi ʿalā maʿānī yaqīnihi waquwwatihi waṭarīqihi wasulūkihi fī minhāji
the wasteful are brothers of devils.” They do not resemble the devils in their created form, nor are they related through fatherhood or motherhood, because the devils are descendants of Iblīs, while the wasteful are children of Adam, peace be upon him. Their hearts, however, resemble one another in experiences, character, and deeds, so He made them brothers on account of their resemblance. Whoever belongs to the scholars of the hereafter has a mind illuminated by the lights of his heart. His understanding reveals what he draws from his knowledge and witnessing, and his character accords with the meanings of his certainty, its strength, his way, and his progress along the path of
سُنَّتِهِ وَسَبِيلِهِ فَهُوَ مِنْ إِخْوَانِهِ وَإِخْوَانِ النَّبِيِّينَ الَّذِينَ اشْتَاقَ إِلَى رُؤْيَتِهِمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَهُمُ الْغُرَبَاءُ بَيْنَ الْمَلَأِ الَّذِينَ قَالَ بَدَأَ الْإِسْلَامُ غَرِيبًا وَسَيَعُودُ غَرِيبًا فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ قِيلَ : وَمَنِ الْغُرَبَاءُ ؟ قَالَ : الَّذِينَ يَصْلُحُونَ إِذَا فَسَدَ النَّاسُ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ الَّذِينَ يُصْلِحُونَ مَا أَفْسَدَهُ النَّاسُ مِنْ سُنَّتِي وَالَّذِينَ يُحْيُونَ مَا أَمَاتَ النَّاسُ مِنْ سُنَّتِي يَعْنِي أَنَّهُمْ يُظْهِرُونَ طَرِيقَتَهُ الَّتِي تَرَكَهَا النَّاسُ وَجَهِلُوهَا ،
sunnatihi wasabīlihi fahuwa min ʾikhwānihi waʾikhwāni al-nabiyyīna alladhīna ishtāqa ʾilā ruʾyatihim rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama wahumu al-ghurabāʾu bayna al-malaʾi alladhīna qāla badaʾa al-ʾislāmu gharīban wasayaʿūdu gharīban faṭūbā lilghurabāʾi qīla: wamani al-ghurabāʾu ? qāla: alladhīna yaṣluḥūna ʾidhā fasada al-nāsu , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara alladhīna yuṣliḥūna mā ʾafsadahu al-nāsu min sunnatī walladhīna yuḥyūna mā ʾamāta al-nāsu min sunnatī yaʿnī ʾannahum yuẓhirūna ṭarīqatahu allatī tarakahā al-nāsu wajahilūhā ,
his Sunna and his way. He is one of his brothers and of the brothers of the prophets whom God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, longed to see. They are the strangers among the people, of whom he said: “Islam began as a stranger and will return as a stranger; blessed are the strangers.” He was asked: “Who are the strangers?” He replied: “Those who remain righteous when people become corrupt.” In another wording: “Those who repair what people have corrupted of my Sunna, and those who revive what people have put to death of my Sunna.” That is, they make manifest his way, which people have abandoned and ceased to know.
وَفِي خَبَرٍ آخَرَ : هُمُ الْمُتَمَسِّكُونَ بِسُنَّتِي وَمَا أَنْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ الْيَوْمَ ، وَفِي حَدِيثٍ آخَرَ : الْغُرَبَاءُ نَاسٌ قَلِيلُونَ صَالِحُونَ بَيْنَ نَاسِ سُوءٍ كَثِيرِينَ مَنْ يُبْغِضُهُمْ أَكْثَرُ مِمَّنْ يُحِبُّهُمْ ، فَهَؤُلَاءِ الْغُرَبَاءُ الَّذِينَ قَدْ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ بِمُرَافَقَةِ النَّبِيِّينَ فِي أَعْلَى عِلِّيِّينَ فَقَالَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ رَفِيقًا ، وَقَدْ كَانَ الثَّوْرِيُّ يَقُولُ :
wafī khabarin ʾākhara: humu al-mutamassikūna bisunnatī wamā ʾantum ʿalayhi al-yawma , wafī ḥadīthin ʾākhara: al-ghurabāʾu nāsun qalīlūna ṣāliḥūna bayna nāsi sūʾin kathīrīna man yubghiḍuhum ʾaktharu mimman yuḥibbuhum , fahāʾulāʾi al-ghurabāʾu alladhīna qad ʾanʿama allāhu ʿalayhim bimurāfaqati al-nabiyyīna fī ʾaʿlā ʿilliyyīna faqāla maʿa alladhīna ʾanʿama allāhu ʿalayhim mina al-nabiyyīna ʾilā qawlihi rafīqan , waqad kāna al-thawriyyu yaqūlu:
In another report: “They are those who hold firmly to my Sunna and to what you follow today.” In another hadith: “The strangers are a few righteous people among many evil people. Those who hate them outnumber those who love them.” These are the strangers whom God has favored with companionship of the prophets in the highest reaches of ʿIlliyyīn. He said: “With those whom God has favored, among the prophets,” through to His word “companion.” Al-Thawrī used to say:
إِذَا رَأَيْتَ الْعَالِمَ كَثِيرَ الْأَصْدِقَاءِ فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ مُخَلِّطٌ ، وَقَالَ أَيْضًا إِذَا رَأَيْتَ الرَّجُلَ مُحَبَّبًا إِلَى إِخْوَانِهِ مَحْمُودًا فِي جِيرَانِهِ فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ مُرَاءٍ ، وَقَدْ وَصَفَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عُلَمَاءَ السُّوءِ بِأَكْلِ الدُّنْيَا بِالْعِلْمِ وَوَصَفَ عُلَمَاءَ الْآخِرَةِ بِالْخُشُوعِ وَالزُّهْدِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي عُلَمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا : ( وَإِذْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثَاقَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ لَتُبَيِّنُنَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَكْتُمُونَهُ فَنَبَذُوهُ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِهِمْ وَاشْتَرَوْا بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ :
ʾidhā raʾayta al-ʿālima kathīra al-ʾaṣdiqāʾi faʿlam ʾannahu mukhalliṭun , waqāla ʾayḍan ʾidhā raʾayta al-rajula muḥabbaban ʾilā ʾikhwānihi maḥmūdan fī jīrānihi faʿlam ʾannahu murāʾin , waqad waṣafa allāhu taʿālā ʿulamāʾa al-sūʾi biʾakli al-dunyā bi-al-ʿilmi wawaṣafa ʿulamāʾa al-ʾākhirati bi-al-khushūʿi wa-al-zuhdi faqāla taʿālā fī ʿulamāʾi al-dunyā: ( waʾidh ʾakhadha allāhu mīthāqa alladhīna ʾūtū al-kitāba latubayyinunnahu li-l-nāsi walā taktumūnahu fanabadhūhu warāʾa ẓuhūrihim washtaraw bihi thamanan qalīlan ) ʾālu ʿimrāna:
“When you see a scholar with many friends, know that he mixes things together.” He also said: “When you see a man beloved by his companions and praised among his neighbors, know that he is showing off.” God Most High described corrupt scholars as consuming this world through knowledge, and scholars of the hereafter as humble and detached. Concerning worldly scholars, He, exalted is He, said: “When God took the covenant of those given the Book: ‘You must make it clear to people and must not conceal it,’ they cast it behind their backs and exchanged it for a small price” (Āl ʿImrān 3:
187 ، وَقَالَ فِي نَعْتِ عُلَمَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ : ( وَإِنَّ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَمَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 199 إِلَى قَوْلِهِ : ( لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 199 وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنِ الضَّحَّاكِ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : عُلَمَاءُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ رَجُلَانِ ،
187 , waqāla fī naʿti ʿulamāʾi al-ʾākhirati: ( waʾinna min ʾahli al-kitābi laman yuʾminu bi-allāhi wamā ʾunzila ʾilaykum ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 199 ʾilā qawlihi: ( lahum ʾajruhum ʿinda rabbihim ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 199 waqad rawaynā ʿani al-ḍaḥḥāki ʿani ibni ʿabbāsin ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʿulamāʾu hādhihi al-ʾummati rajulāni ,
187). Describing scholars of the hereafter, He said: “Among the People of the Book are those who believe in God and what was sent down to you” (Āl ʿImrān 3:199), through to His words: “They have their reward with their Lord” (Āl ʿImrān 3:199). We have related from al-Ḍaḥḥāk, from Ibn ʿAbbās, from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “The scholars of this community are two men:
فَرَجُلٌ آتَاهُ اللَّهُ عِلْمًا فَبَذَلَهُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَمْ يَأْخُذْ عَلَيْهِ طَمَعًا وَلَمْ يَشْتَرِ بِهِ ثَمَنًا فَذَاكَ يُصَلِّي عَلَيْهِ طَيْرُ السَّمَاءِ وَحِيتَانُ الْمَاءِ وَدَوَابُّ الْأَرْضِ وَالْكِرَامُ الْكَاتِبُونَ يَقْدَمُ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ سَيِّدًا شَرِيفًا حَتَّى يُرَافِقَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ ، وَرَجُلٌ آتَاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عِلْمًا فِي الدُّنْيَا فَضَنَّ بِهِ عَنْ عِبَادِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَأَخَذَ عَلَيْهِ طَمَعًا وَاشْتَرَى بِهِ ثَمَنًا يَأْتِي يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مُلْجَمًا بِلِجَامٍ مِنْ نَارٍ يُنَادِي مُنَادٍ عَلَى رُؤُوسِ الْخَلَائِقِ :
farajulun ʾātāhu allāhu ʿilman fabadhalahu li-l-nāsi walam yaʾkhudh ʿalayhi ṭamaʿan walam yashtari bihi thamanan fadhāka yuṣallī ʿalayhi ṭayru al-samāʾi waḥītānu al-māʾi wadawābbu al-ʾarḍi wa-al-kirāmu al-kātibūna yaqdamu ʿalā allāhi taʿālā yawma al-qiyāmati sayyidan sharīfan ḥattā yurāfiqa al-mursalīna , warajulun ʾātāhu allāhu taʿālā ʿilman fī al-dunyā faḍanna bihi ʿan ʿibādi allāhi ʿazza wajalla waʾakhadha ʿalayhi ṭamaʿan washtarā bihi thamanan yaʾtī yawma al-qiyāmati muljaman bilijāmin min nārin yunādī munādin ʿalā ruʾūsi al-khalāʾiqi:
“A man to whom God gives knowledge, who offers it to people without taking any coveted gain for it or exchanging it for a price. The birds of the sky, the fish of the water, the beasts of the earth, and the noble recording angels pray for him. On the Day of Resurrection he comes before God Most High as an honored, noble master, until he joins the messengers. Another man is given knowledge by God Most High in this world, but begrudges it to the servants of God, mighty and majestic, takes coveted gain for it, and exchanges it for a price. On the Day of Resurrection he comes bridled with a bridle of fire, while a herald calls out over the heads of all creatures:
هَذَا فُلَانُ بْنُ فُلَانٍ آتَاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عِلْمًا فِي الدُّنْيَا فَضَنَّ بِهِ عَلَى عِبَادِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَأَخَذَ عَلَيْهِ طَمَعًا وَاشْتَرَى بِهِ ثَمَنًا يُعَذَّبُ حَتَّى يُفْرَغَ مِنْ حِسَابِ النَّاسِ ،
hādhā fulānu bnu fulānin ʾātāhu allāhu taʿālā ʿilman fī al-dunyā faḍanna bihi ʿalā ʿibādi allāhi taʿālā waʾakhadha ʿalayhi ṭamaʿan washtarā bihi thamanan yuʿadhdhabu ḥattā yufragha min ḥisābi al-nāsi ,
“‘This is so-and-so, son of so-and-so. God Most High gave him knowledge in this world, but he begrudged it to God Most High’s servants, took coveted gain for it, and exchanged it for a price.’ He is punished until the reckoning of the people is finished.”
وَمِنْ أَغْلَظِ مَا سَمِعْتُ فِيمَنْ أَكَلَ الدُّنْيَا بِالْعِلْمِ مَا حَدَّثُونَا عَنْ عُتْبَةَ بْنِ وَاقِدٍ عَنْ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ أَبِي سُلَيْمَانَ قَالَ : كَانَ رَجُلٌ يَخْدُمُ مُوسَى صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَجَعَلَ يَقُولُ : حَدَّثَنِي مُوسَى صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَحَدَّثَنِي مُوسَى نَجِيُّ اللَّهِ ، حَدَّثَنِي مُوسَى كَلِيمُ اللَّهِ ،
wamin ʾaghlaẓi mā samiʿtu fīman ʾakala al-dunyā bi-al-ʿilmi mā ḥaddathūnā ʿan ʿutbata bni wāqidin ʿan ʿuthmāna bni ʾabī sulaymāna qāla: kāna rajulun yakhdumu mūsā ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fajaʿala yaqūlu: ḥaddathanī mūsā ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waḥaddathanī mūsā najiyyu allāhi , ḥaddathanī mūsā kalīmu allāhi ,
Among the sternest things I have heard concerning one who consumes this world through knowledge is what they related to us from ʿUtba ibn Wāqid, from ʿUthmān ibn Abī Sulaymān, who said: “A man used to serve Moses, God bless him and grant him peace. He began saying: ‘Moses, God bless him and grant him peace, told me’; ‘Moses, God’s intimate confidant, told me’; ‘Moses, the one God spoke to, told me,’
حَتَّى أَثْرَى وَكَثُرَ مَالُهُ فَفَقَدَهُ مُوسَى صَفِيُّ اللَّهِ فَجَعَلَ يَسْأَلُ عَنْهُ فَلَا يُحِسُّ لَهُ أَثَرًا حَتَّى جَاءَهُ رَجُلٌ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ وَفِي يَدِهِ خِنْزِيرٌ وَفِي عُنُقِهِ حَبْلٌ أَسْوَدُ فَقَالَ لَهُ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : أَتَعْرِفُ فُلَانًا قَالَ الرَّجُلُ : نَعَمْ هُوَذَا الْخِنْزِيرُ : فَقَالَ مُوسَى : يَا رَبِّ أَسْأَلُكَ أَنْ تَرُدَّهُ إِلَى حَالِهِ حَتَّى أَسْأَلَهُ فِيمَا أَصَابَهُ هَذَا فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ :
ḥattā ʾathrā wakathura māluhu fafaqadahu mūsā ṣafiyyu allāhi fajaʿala yasʾalu ʿanhu falā yuḥissu lahu ʾatharan ḥattā jāʾahu rajulun dhāta yawmin wafī yadihi khinzīrun wafī ʿunuqihi ḥablun ʾaswadu faqāla lahu mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu: ʾataʿrifu fulānan qāla al-rajulu: naʿam huwa dhā al-khinzīru: faqāla mūsā: yā rabbi ʾasʾaluka ʾan taruddahu ʾilā ḥālihi ḥattā ʾasʾalahu fīmā ʾaṣābahu hādhā faʾawḥā allāhu taʿālā ʾilayhi:
“until he became wealthy and his property multiplied. Moses, God’s chosen one, missed him and began asking about him, but could find no trace of him. One day a man came to him holding a pig, with a black rope around its neck. Moses, peace be upon him, asked: ‘Do you know so-and-so?’ The man replied: ‘Yes, he is this pig.’ Moses said: ‘My Lord, I ask You to restore him to his former state, so that I can ask him why this happened to him.’ God Most High revealed to him:
يَا مُوسَى لَوْ دَعَوْتَنِي بِمَا دَعَانِي بِهِ آدَمُ فَمَنْ دُونَهُ مَا أَجَبْتُكَ فِيهِ وَلَكِنِّي أُخْبِرُكَ لِمَ صَنَعْتُ بِهِ هَذَا لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ يَطْلُبُ الدُّنْيَا بِالدِّينِ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بِأَنَّهُ انْصَرَفَ يَوْمًا مِنْ مَجْلِسِهِ فَاسْتَأْذَنَ عَلَيْهِ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ خُرَاسَانَ فَوَضَعَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ كِيسًا فِيهِ خَمْسَةُ آلَافِ دِرْهَمٍ وَأَخْرَجَ مِنْ حَقِيبَتِهِ رُزْمَةً فِيهَا عَشَرَةُ أَثْوَابٍ مِنْ رَقِيقِ بَزِّ خُرَاسَانَ ، فَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ :
yā mūsā law daʿawtanī bimā daʿānī bihi ʾādamu faman dūnahu mā ʾajabtuka fīhi walākinnī ʾukhbiruka lima ṣanaʿtu bihi hādhā liʾannahu kāna yaṭlubu al-dunyā bi-al-dīni. warawaynā ʿani al-ḥasani biʾannahu inṣarafa yawman min majlisihi fastaʾdhana ʿalayhi rajulun min ʾahli khurāsāna fawaḍaʿa bayna yadayhi kīsan fīhi khamsatu ʾālāfi dirhamin waʾakhraja min ḥaqībatihi ruzmatan fīhā ʿasharatu ʾathwābin min raqīqi bazzi khurāsāna , faqāla al-ḥasanu:
“‘Moses, even if you called upon Me with the prayers by which Adam and everyone below him called upon Me, I would not answer you concerning him. But I will tell you why I did this to him: because he sought this world through religion.’” We have related of al-Ḥasan that one day, after he left his gathering, a man from Khurasan asked permission to enter. He set before him a purse containing five thousand dirhams and took from his bag a bundle containing ten garments of fine Khurasan cloth. Al-Ḥasan said:
مَا هَذَا ؟ فَقَالَ : يَا أَبَا سَعِيدٍ هَذِهِ نَفَقَةٌ وَهَذِهِ كِسْوَةٌ ، فَقَالَ لَهُ : عَافَاكَ اللَّهُ ضُمَّ إِلَيْكَ نَفَقَتَكَ وَكِسْوَتَكَ فَلَا حَاجَةَ لَنَا بِذَلِكَ ، إِنَّهُ مَنْ جَلَسَ مِثْلَ مَجْلِسِي هَذَا وَقَبِلَ مِنَ النَّاسِ مِثْلَ هَذَا لَقِيَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ لَا خَلَاقَ لَهُ ، وَفِي خَبَرٍ :
mā hādhā ? faqāla: yā ʾabā saʿīdin hādhihi nafaqatun wahādhihi kiswatun , faqāla lahu: ʿāfāka allāhu ḍumma ʾilayka nafaqataka wakiswataka falā ḥājata lanā bidhālika , ʾinnahu man jalasa mithla majlisī hādhā waqabila mina al-nāsi mithla hādhā laqiya allāha taʿālā yawma al-qiyāmati lā khalāqa lahu , wafī khabarin:
“What is this?” He replied: “Abū Saʿīd, this is money for expenses and this is clothing.” He said: “May God keep you well. Take back your money and clothing; we have no need of them. Anyone who sits in a gathering like this one of mine and accepts such things from people will meet God Most High on the Day of Resurrection with no share for himself.” In a report:
إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيُنْشَرُ لَهُ مِنَ الثَّنَاءِ مَا بَيْنَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ وَمَا يَزِنُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ جَنَاحَ بَعُوضَةٍ وَعُلَمَاءُ الدُّنْيَا الطَّالِبُونَ لَهَا بِالْعِلْمِ الْآكِلُونَ لَهَا بِالدِّينِ الْمُتَّخِذُونَ الْأَصْدِقَاءَ وَالْأَخِلَّاءَ مِنْ أَبْنَائِهَا الْمُكْرِمُونَ الْمُحِبُّونَ لَهُمُ الْمُقْبِلُونَ بِالْبِشْرِ وَالْبَشَاشَةِ عَلَيْهِمْ هُمْ مَعْرُوفُونَ فِي كُلِّ زَمَانٍ بِأَوْصَافِهِمْ وَلَحْنِ قَوْلِهِمْ وَسِيمَاهُمْ ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي مَقَامَاتِ عُلَمَاءِ السُّوءِ حَدِيثًا شَدِيدًا نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ أَهْلِهِ وَنَسْأَلُهُ أَنْ لَا يَبْلُوَنَا بِمَقَامِ
ʾinna al-ʿabda layunsharu lahu mina al-thanāʾi mā bayna al-mashriqi wa-al-maghribi wamā yazinu ʿinda allāhi janāḥa baʿūḍatin waʿulamāʾu al-dunyā al-ṭālibūna lahā bi-al-ʿilmi al-ʾākilūna lahā bi-al-dīni al-muttakhidhūna al-ʾaṣdiqāʾa wa-al-ʾakhillāʾa min ʾabnāʾihā al-mukrimūna al-muḥibbūna lahumu al-muqbilūna bi-al-bishri wa-al-bashāshati ʿalayhim hum maʿrūfūna fī kulli zamānin biʾawṣāfihim walaḥni qawlihim wasīmāhum , waqad rawaynā fī maqāmāti ʿulamāʾi al-sūʾi ḥadīthan shadīdan naʿūdhu bi-allāhi min ʾahlihi wanasʾaluhu ʾan lā yabluwanā bimaqāmi
“A servant’s praise may be spread from east to west, yet he does not weigh a mosquito’s wing before God.” Worldly scholars who seek the world through knowledge and consume it through religion, who take friends and intimates from its people, honor and love them, and approach them with smiles and cheerful faces, are recognizable in every age by their qualities, the undertone of their speech, and their bearing. We have related a stern hadith about the stations of corrupt scholars. We seek refuge in God from those who occupy them and ask Him not to test us with a station
مِنْهُ فَرَوَيْنَاهُ مَرَّةً مُسْنَدًا مِنْ طَرِيقٍ وَرَوَيْنَاهُ مَوْقُوفًا عَلَى مُعَاذِ بْنِ جَبَلٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ وَأَنَا أَذْكُرُهُ مَوْقُوفًا أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ ، حَدَّثُونَا عَنْ مُنْذِرِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ عَنْ أَبِي نُعَيْمٍ الشَّامِيِّ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ عَنْ مُعَاذِ بْنِ جَبَلٍ يَقُولُ فِيهِ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَوَقَفْتُهُ أَنَا عَلَى مُعَاذٍ قَالَ : مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْعَالِمِ أَنْ يَكُونَ الْكَلَامُ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الِاسْتِمَاعِ ،
minhu farawaynāhu marratan musnadan min ṭarīqin warawaynāhu mawqūfan ʿalā muʿādhi bni jabalin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu waʾanā ʾadhkuruhu mawqūfan ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya , ḥaddathūnā ʿan mundhiri bni ʿaliyyin ʿan ʾabī nuʿaymin al-shāmiyyi ʿan muḥammadi bni ziyādin ʿan muʿādhi bni jabalin yaqūlu fīhi: qāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama wawaqaftuhu ʾanā ʿalā muʿādhin qāla: min fitnati al-ʿālimi ʾan yakūna al-kalāmu ʾaḥabba ʾilayhi mina al-istimāʿi ,
among them. We related it once through a chain connected to the Prophet and also as a report stopping at Muʿādh ibn Jabal, God be pleased with him. I prefer to mention it as stopping there. They related to us from Mundhir ibn ʿAlī, from Abū Nuʿaym al-Shāmī, from Muḥammad ibn Ziyād, from Muʿādh ibn Jabal, who says in it: “God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said”; but I stop its attribution at Muʿādh. He said: “One of a scholar’s trials is to love speaking more than listening.
وَفِي الْكَلَامِ تَنْمِيقٌ وَزِيَادَةٌ وَلَا يُؤْمَنُ عَلَى صَاحِبِهِ الْخَطَأُ وَفِي الصَّمْتِ سَلَامَةٌ وَعِلْمٌ ، وَمِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ مَنْ يَخْزُنُ عِلْمَهُ فَلَا يُحِبُّ أَنْ يُوجَدَ عِنْدَ غَيْرِهِ فَذَلِكَ فِي الدَّرْكِ الْأَوَّلِ مِنَ النَّارِ ، وَمِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ مَنْ يَكُونُ فِي عِلْمِهِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ السُّلْطَانِ فَإِنْ رُدَّ عَلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ أَوْ تُهَاوَنَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ حَقِّهِ فَغَضِبَ فَذَلِكَ فِي الدَّرْكِ الثَّانِي مِنَ النَّارِ ،
wafī al-kalāmi tanmīqun waziyādatun walā yuʾmanu ʿalā ṣāḥibihi al-khaṭaʾu wafī al-ṣamti salāmatun waʿilmun , wamina al-ʿulamāʾi man yakhzunu ʿilmahu falā yuḥibbu ʾan yūjada ʿinda ghayrihi fadhālika fī al-darki al-ʾawwali mina al-nāri , wamina al-ʿulamāʾi man yakūnu fī ʿilmihi bimanzilati al-sulṭāni faʾin rudda ʿalayhi shayʾun min ʿilmihi ʾaw tuhāwana bishayʾin min ḥaqqihi faghaḍiba fadhālika fī al-darki al-thānī mina al-nāri ,
“Speech contains embellishment and additions, and its speaker is not safe from error. In silence there is safety and knowledge. Some scholars hoard their knowledge and dislike its being found with anyone else: such a person is in the first depth of the Fire. Some scholars act like rulers over their knowledge: if anything in their knowledge is rejected or any part of their due is treated lightly, they become angry. Such a person is in the second depth of the Fire.”
وَمِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ مَنْ يَجْعَلُ حَدِيثَهُ وَغَرَائِبَ عِلْمِهِ لِأَهْلِ الشَّرَفِ وَالْيَسَارِ وَلَا يَرَى أَهْلَ الْحَاجَةِ لَهُ أَهْلًا فَذَلِكَ فِي الدَّرْكِ الثَّالِثِ مِنَ النَّارِ ، وَمِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ مَنْ يَنْصِبُ نَفْسَهُ لِلْفُتْيَا فَيُفْتِي بِالْخَطَأِ وَاللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يُبْغِضُ الْمُتَكَلِّفِينَ فَذَلِكَ فِي الدَّرْكِ الرَّابِعِ مِنَ النَّارِ ، وَمِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ مَنْ يَتَكَلَّمُ بِكَلَامِ الْيَهُودِ وَالنَّصَارَى لِيَغْزُرَ بِهِ عِلْمُهُ فَذَلِكَ فِي الدَّرْكِ الْخَامِسِ مِنَ النَّارِ ،
wamina al-ʿulamāʾi man yajʿalu ḥadīthahu wagharāʾiba ʿilmihi liʾahli al-sharafi wa-al-yasāri walā yarā ʾahla al-ḥājati lahu ʾahlan fadhālika fī al-darki al-thālithi mina al-nāri , wamina al-ʿulamāʾi man yanṣibu nafsahu lilfutyā fayuftī bi-al-khaṭaʾi wa-allāhu ʿazza wajalla yubghiḍu al-mutakallifīna fadhālika fī al-darki al-rābiʿi mina al-nāri , wamina al-ʿulamāʾi man yatakallamu bikalāmi al-yahūdi wa-al-naṣārā liyaghzura bihi ʿilmuhu fadhālika fī al-darki al-khāmisi mina al-nāri ,
“Some scholars reserve their hadith and the rare points of their knowledge for people of rank and wealth, regarding those in need as unworthy of it: such a person is in the third depth of the Fire. Some scholars set themselves up to issue legal opinions and give mistaken opinions, while God, mighty and majestic, hates those who presume to undertake what they cannot manage: such a person is in the fourth depth of the Fire. Some scholars speak the words of Jews and Christians to make their knowledge abundant: such a person is in the fifth depth of the Fire.”
وَمِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ مَنْ يَتَّخِذُ عِلْمَهُ مُرُوءَةً وَنُبْلًا وَذِكْرًا فِي النَّاسِ فَذَلِكَ فِي الدَّرْكِ السَّادِسِ مِنَ النَّارِ ، وَمِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ مَنْ يَسْتَفِزُّهُ الزَّهْوُ
wamina al-ʿulamāʾi man yattakhidhu ʿilmahu murūʾatan wanublan wadhikran fī al-nāsi fadhālika fī al-darki al-sādisi mina al-nāri , wamina al-ʿulamāʾi man yastafizzuhu al-zahwu
“Some scholars turn their knowledge into social standing, nobility, and fame among people: such a person is in the sixth depth of the Fire. Some scholars are carried away by vanity
وَالْعُجْبُ فَإِنْ وَعَظَ عَنَّفَ وَإِنْ وُعِظَ أَنِفَ فَذَلِكَ فِي الدَّرْكِ السَّابِعِ مِنَ النَّارِ عَلَيْكَ بِالصَّمْتِ فِيهِ تَغْلِبُ الشَّيْطَانَ وَإِيَّاكَ أَنْ تَضْحَكَ مِنْ غَيْرِ عَجَبٍ أَوْ تَمْشِيَ فِي غَيْرِ أَرَبٍ . وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا حَدِيثًا يَدُلُّ عَلَى أَوْصَافِ عُلَمَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ وَفِيهِ أُصُولُ مَا يَدْعُونَ الْخَلْقَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ مَقَامَاتِ الْإِيمَانِ وَأَسْبَابِ الدِّينِ وَالْإِيقَانِ ،
wa-al-ʿujbu faʾin waʿaẓa ʿannafa waʾin wuʿiẓa ʾanifa fadhālika fī al-darki al-sābiʿi mina al-nāri ʿalayka bi-al-ṣamti fīhi taghlibu al-shayṭāna waʾiyyāka ʾan taḍḥaka min ghayri ʿajabin ʾaw tamshiya fī ghayri ʾarabin. waqad rawaynā ḥadīthan yadullu ʿalā ʾawṣāfi ʿulamāʾi al-ʾākhirati wafīhi ʾuṣūlu mā yadʿūna al-khalqa ʾilayhi min maqāmāti al-ʾīmāni waʾasbābi al-dīni wa-al-ʾīqāni ,
“and self-admiration: when they admonish, they are harsh; when admonished, they take offense. Such a person is in the seventh depth of the Fire. Keep to silence: through it you overcome Satan. Beware of laughing without anything to occasion wonder, or walking without a purpose.” We have related a hadith indicating the qualities of scholars of the hereafter. It contains the foundations of what they call creatures to: the stations of faith and the means of religion and certainty.
رَوَيْنَاهُ عَنْ شَقِيقِ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْبَلْخِيِّ عَنْ عَبَّادِ بْنِ كَثِيرٍ عَنْ أَبِي الزُّبَيْرِ عَنْ جَابِرٍ ذَكَرَهُ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَوَقَفْتُهُ أَنَا عَلَى جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ : لَا تَجْلِسُوا عِنْدَ كُلِّ عَالِمٍ إِلَّا عَالِمٍ يَدْعُوكُمْ مِنْ خَمْسٍ إِلَى خَمْسٍ مِنَ الشَّكِّ إِلَى الْيَقِينِ وَمِنَ الرِّيَاءِ إِلَى الْإِخْلَاصِ وَمِنَ الرَّغْبَةِ إِلَى الزُّهْدِ وَمِنَ الْكِبْرِ إِلَى التَّوَاضُعِ وَمِنَ الْعَدَاوَةِ إِلَى
rawaynāhu ʿan shaqīqi bni ʾibrāhīma al-balkhiyyi ʿan ʿabbādi bni kathīrin ʿan ʾabī al-zubayri ʿan jābirin dhakarahu ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama wawaqaftuhu ʾanā ʿalā jābiri bni ʿabdi allāhi qāla: lā tajlisū ʿinda kulli ʿālimin ʾillā ʿālimin yadʿūkum min khamsin ʾilā khamsin mina al-shakki ʾilā al-yaqīni wamina al-riyāʾi ʾilā al-ʾikhlāṣi wamina al-raghbati ʾilā al-zuhdi wamina al-kibri ʾilā al-tawāḍuʿi wamina al-ʿadāwati ʾilā
We related it from Shaqīq ibn Ibrāhīm al-Balkhī, from ʿAbbād ibn Kathīr, from Abū al-Zubayr, from Jābir, who attributed it to God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace. I stop its attribution at Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh. He said: “Do not sit with every scholar, but only with a scholar who calls you from five things to five: from doubt to certainty, from showing off to sincerity, from desire to renunciation, from pride to humility, and from hostility to
النَّصِيحَةِ وَمِمَّا يَدُلُّكَ أَنَّ عِلْمَ الْيَقِينِ وَالتَّقْوَى وَعِلْمَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَالْهُدَى هُوَ الْعِلْمُ الْمَذْكُورُ ، الْمَقْصُودُ عِنْدَ السَّلَفِ أَنَّ الصَّحَابَةَ وَالتَّابِعِينَ كَانُوا يُشْفِقُونَ مِنْ فَقْدِ ذَلِكَ وَيَخَافُونَ عَدَمَهُ وَيُخْبِرُونَ عَنْ رَفْعِهِ وَقِلَّتِهِ فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ وَإِنَّمَا يَعْنُونَ بِذَلِكَ عِلْمَ الْقُلُوبِ وَالْمُشَاهَدَاتِ الَّذِي هُوَ نَتِيجَةُ التَّقْوَى وَعِلْمَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَالْيَقِينِ الَّذِي هُوَ مِنْ مَزِيدِ الْإِيمَانِ وَثَمَرَةِ الْهُدَى ،
al-naṣīḥati wamimmā yadulluka ʾanna ʿilma al-yaqīni wa-al-taqwā waʿilma al-maʿrifati wa-al-hudā huwa al-ʿilmu al-madhkūru , al-maqṣūdu ʿinda al-salafi ʾanna al-ṣaḥābata wa-al-tābiʿīna kānū yushfiqūna min faqdi dhālika wayakhāfūna ʿadamahu wayukhbirūna ʿan rafʿihi waqillatihi fī ʾākhiri al-zamāni waʾinnamā yaʿnūna bidhālika ʿilma al-qulūbi wa-al-mushāhadāti alladhī huwa natījatu al-taqwā waʿilma al-maʿrifati wa-al-yaqīni alladhī huwa min mazīdi al-ʾīmāni wathamarati al-hudā ,
“sincere concern.” One indication that knowledge of certainty and God-fearingness, and knowledge of God and guidance, is the knowledge meant and spoken of by the predecessors is that the Companions and Successors dreaded losing it, feared its absence, and spoke of its removal and scarcity at the end of time. By it they meant knowledge of hearts and witnessing, which is the fruit of God-fearingness, and knowledge of God and certainty, which comes from increased faith and is the fruit of guidance.
فَإِذَا فُقِدَ الْمُتَّقُونَ وَقَلَّ الْخَائِفُونَ وَعُدِمَ الزَّاهِدُونَ ذَهَبَتْ هَذِهِ الْعُلُومُ لِأَنَّهَا قَائِمَةٌ بِهِمْ مَوْجُودَةٌ عِنْدَهُمْ هُمْ أَرْبَابُهَا وَالنَّاطِقُونَ بِهَا وَهِيَ أَحْوَالُهُمْ وَطَرَائِقُهُمْ هُمُ السَّالِكُونَ لَهَا وَالْقَائِمُونَ بِهَا فَلِأَجْلِ مَعْرِفَةِ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالتَّابِعِينَ عِزَّةَ ذَلِكَ كَانُوا يَبْكُونَ عَلَى فَقْدِهِ ، وَقَدْ وَصَفَ اللَّهُ الْعُلَمَاءَ بِالزُّهْدِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالِاسْتِصْغَارِ لَهَا وَبِعَمَلِ الصَّالِحَاتِ وَالْإِيمَانِ بِهَا كَمَا وَصَفَ أَبْنَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِالرَّغْبَةِ فِيهَا وَالِاسْتِعْظَامِ لَهَا قَالَ تَعَالَى فِي مَعْنَى ذَلِكَ :
faʾidhā fuqida al-muttaqūna waqalla al-khāʾifūna waʿudima al-zāhidūna dhahabat hādhihi al-ʿulūmu liʾannahā qāʾimatun bihim mawjūdatun ʿindahum hum ʾarbābuhā wa-al-nāṭiqūna bihā wahiya ʾaḥwāluhum waṭarāʾiquhum humu al-sālikūna lahā wa-al-qāʾimūna bihā faliʾajli maʿrifati al-ṣaḥābati wa-al-tābiʿīna ʿizzata dhālika kānū yabkūna ʿalā faqdihi , waqad waṣafa allāhu al-ʿulamāʾa bi-al-zuhdi fī al-dunyā wa-al-istiṣghāri lahā wabiʿamali al-ṣāliḥāti wa-al-ʾīmāni bihā kamā waṣafa ʾabnāʾa al-dunyā bi-al-raghbati fīhā wa-al-istiʿẓāmi lahā qāla taʿālā fī maʿnā dhālika:
When the God-fearing are lost, those who fear become few, and ascetics disappear, these sciences vanish, because they subsist in those people and are found with them. They are their masters and speak of them; these are their states and paths, which they travel and uphold. Because the Companions and Successors knew how precious and rare this was, they wept at its loss. God described scholars as renouncing this world, considering it small, doing righteous deeds, and believing in them, just as He described the people of this world as desiring it and regarding it as great. The Most High said to this effect:
( فَخَرَجَ عَلَى قَوْمِهِ فِي زِينَتِهِ قَالَ الَّذِينَ يُرِيدُونَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا يَا لَيْتَ لَنَا مِثْلَ مَا أُوتِيَ قَارُونُ إِنَّهُ لَذُو حَظٍّ عَظِيمٍ ) الْقَصَصُ : 79 ، ( وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ وَيْلَكُمْ ثَوَابُ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ لِمَنْ آمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا ) ، ثُمَّ قَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَلَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا الصَّابِرُونَ ) الْقَصَصُ : 80 ،
( fakharaja ʿalā qawmihi fī zīnatihi qāla alladhīna yurīdūna al-ḥayāta al-dunyā yā layta lanā mithla mā ʾūtiya qārūnu ʾinnahu ladhū ḥaẓẓin ʿaẓīmin ) al-qaṣaṣu: 79 , ( waqāla alladhīna ʾūtū al-ʿilma waylakum thawābu allāhi khayrun liman ʾāmana waʿamila ṣāliḥan ) , thumma qāla ʿazza wajalla: ( walā yulaqqāhā ʾillā al-ṣābirūna ) al-qaṣaṣu: 80 ,
“He came out before his people in his finery. Those who desired the life of this world said: ‘If only we had the like of what Qārūn has been given! He truly possesses a mighty fortune’” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:79). “Those who had been given knowledge said: ‘Woe to you! God’s reward is better for one who believes and does righteousness.’” Then He, mighty and majestic, said: “None are granted it except the patient” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:80).
أَيْ لَا يَلْقَى هَذِهِ الْحِكْمَةَ إِلَّا الصَّابِرُونَ عَنْ زِينَةِ الدُّنْيَا الَّتِي خَرَجَ فِيهَا قَارُونُ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ جُنْدُبِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْبَجَلِيِّ قَالَ : كُنَّا عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ غِلْمَانًا حَزَاوِرَةً فَيُعَلِّمُنَا الْإِيمَانَ قَبْلَ الْقُرْآنِ ثُمَّ تَعَلَّمْنَا الْقُرْآنَ فَازْدَدْنَا إِيمَانًا ، وَعَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ : أُنْزِلَ الْقُرْآنُ لِيُعْمَلَ بِهِ فَاتَّخَذْتُمْ دِرَاسَتَهُ عَمَلًا وَسَيَأْتِي قَوْمٌ يُثَقِّفُونَهُ تَثْقِيفَ الْغِنَاءِ لَيْسُوا بِخِيَارِكُمْ ،
ʾay lā yalqā hādhihi al-ḥikmata ʾillā al-ṣābirūna ʿan zīnati al-dunyā allatī kharaja fīhā qārūnu. warawaynā ʿan jundubi bni ʿabdi allāhi al-bajaliyyi qāla: kunnā ʿinda rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ghilmānan ḥazāwiratan fayuʿallimunā al-ʾīmāna qabla al-qurʾāni thumma taʿallamnā al-qurʾāna fazdadnā ʾīmānan , waʿani ibni masʿūdin qāla: ʾunzila al-qurʾānu liyuʿmala bihi fattakhadhtum dirāsatahu ʿamalan wasayaʾtī qawmun yuthaqqifūnahu tathqīfa al-ghināʾi laysū bikhiyārikum ,
That is, none receives this wisdom except those who patiently refrain from the worldly finery in which Qārūn appeared. We have related from Jundub ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Bajalī, who said: “We were growing youths with God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace. He would teach us faith before the Qurʾān. Then we learned the Qurʾān, and our faith increased.” From Ibn Masʿūd, who said: “The Qurʾān was revealed to be acted upon, but you have made studying it your action. People will come who polish it as singing is polished. They are not the best among you.”
وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ : يُقِيمُونَهُ إِقَامَةَ الْقِدْحِ يَتَعَجَّلُونَهُ وَلَا يَتَأَجَّلُونَهُ ، وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ وَغَيْرِهِ لَقَدْ عِشْنَا بُرْهَةً مِنْ دَهْرِنَا وَإِنَّ أَحَدَنَا يُؤْتَى الْإِيمَانَ قَبْلَ الْقُرْآنِ وَتَنْزِلُ السُّورَةُ فَيَتَعَلَّمُ حَلَالَهَا وَحَرَامَهَا وَآمِرَهَا وَزَاجِرَهَا وَمَا يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَتَوَقَّفَ عِنْدَهُ مِنْهَا كَمَا تَتَعَلَّمُونَ أَنْتُمُ الْيَوْمَ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَقَدْ رَأَيْتُ رِجَالًا يُؤْتَى أَحَدُهُمُ الْقُرْآنَ قَبْلَ الْإِيمَانِ فَيَقْرَأُ مَا بَيْنَ فَاتِحَتِهِ إِلَى خَاتِمَتِهِ لَا يَدْرِي مَا آمِرُهُ وَلَا زَاجِرُهُ وَمَا يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَقِفَ عِنْدَهُ وَيَنْثُرُهُ نَثْرَ الدَّقْلِ ،
wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: yuqīmūnahu ʾiqāmata al-qidḥi yataʿajjalūnahu walā yataʾajjalūnahu , warawaynā ʿani ibni ʿumara waghayrihi laqad ʿishnā burhatan min dahrinā waʾinna ʾaḥadanā yuʾtā al-ʾīmāna qabla al-qurʾāni watanzilu al-sūratu fayataʿallamu ḥalālahā waḥarāmahā waʾāmirahā wazājirahā wamā yanbaghī ʾan yatawaqqafa ʿindahu minhā kamā tataʿallamūna ʾantumu al-yawma al-qurʾāna walaqad raʾaytu rijālan yuʾtā ʾaḥaduhumu al-qurʾāna qabla al-ʾīmāni fayaqraʾu mā bayna fātiḥatihi ʾilā khātimatihi lā yadrī mā ʾāmiruhu walā zājiruhu wamā yanbaghī ʾan yaqifa ʿindahu wayanthuruhu nathra al-daqli ,
In another wording: “They straighten it like an arrow shaft, seeking its immediate reward rather than its deferred reward.” We have related from Ibn ʿUmar and others: “We lived for a period in which each of us was given faith before the Qurʾān. A sura would be sent down, and he would learn its lawful and unlawful matters, its commands and restraints, and where one should pause, just as you learn the Qurʾān today. I have seen men, however, who are given the Qurʾān before faith. One reads it from beginning to end without knowing its commands, its restraints, or where he should stop, scattering it as inferior dates are scattered.”
وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْآخَرِ بِمَعْنَاهُ : كُنَّا أَصْحَابَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُوتِينَا الْإِيمَانَ قَبْلَ الْقُرْآنِ وَسَيَأْتِي بَعْدَكُمْ قَوْمٌ يُؤْتَوْنَ الْقُرْآنَ قَبْلَ الْإِيمَانِ يُقِيمُونَ حُرُوفَهُ وَيُضَيِّعُونَ حُدُودَهُ وَيَقُولُونَ قَرَأْنَا ، فَمَنْ أَقْرَأُ مِنَّا وَعَلِمْنَا فَمَنْ أَعْلَمُ مِنَّا فَذَلِكَ حَظُّهُمْ مِنْهُ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ :
wafī al-khabari al-ʾākhari bimaʿnāhu: kunnā ʾaṣḥāba rasūli allāhi ʾūtīnā al-ʾīmāna qabla al-qurʾāni wasayaʾtī baʿdakum qawmun yuʾtawna al-qurʾāna qabla al-ʾīmāni yuqīmūna ḥurūfahu wayuḍayyiʿūna ḥudūdahu wayaqūlūna qaraʾnā , faman ʾaqraʾu minnā waʿalimnā faman ʾaʿlamu minnā fadhālika ḥaẓẓuhum minhu , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara:
Another report with the same meaning says: “We, the Companions of God’s Messenger, were given faith before the Qurʾān. After you will come people who are given the Qurʾān before faith. They will preserve its letters while neglecting its limits, and say: ‘We have recited; who recites better than us? We have learned; who knows more than us?’ That is their share of it.” In another wording:
أُولَئِكَ شِرَارُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ ، فَأَمَّا الْعِلْمُ الْمَأْثُورُ الَّذِي نَقَلَهُ خَلَفٌ عَنْ سَلَفٍ وَالْخَبَرُ الْمَرْسُومُ فِي الْكُتُبِ الْمُسْتَوْدَعُ فِي الصُّحُفِ الَّذِي يَسْمَعُهُ مَنْ غَبَرَ عَمَّنْ قَدِمَ فَهَذَا عِلْمُ الْأَحْكَامِ وَالْفُتْيَا وَعِلْمُ الْإِسْلَامِ وَالْقَضَايَا طَرِيقُهُ السَّمْعُ وَمِفْتَاحُهُ الِاسْتِدْلَالُ وَخِزَانَتُهُ الْعَقْلُ وَهُوَ مُدَوَّنٌ فِي الْكُتُبِ وَمُحَبَّرٌ فِي الْوَرَقِ يَتَلَقَّاهُ الصَّغِيرُ عَنِ الْكَبِيرِ بِالْأَلْسِنَةِ وَهُوَ بَاقٍ بَقَاءَ الْإِسْلَامِ وَمَوْجُودٌ بِوُجُودِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ لِأَنَّهُ حُجَّةُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى
ʾūlāʾika shirāru hādhihi al-ʾummati , faʾammā al-ʿilmu al-maʾthūru alladhī naqalahu khalafun ʿan salafin wa-al-khabaru al-marsūmu fī al-kutubi al-mustawdaʿu fī al-ṣuḥufi alladhī yasmaʿuhu man ghabara ʿamman qadima fahādhā ʿilmu al-ʾaḥkāmi wa-al-futyā waʿilmu al-ʾislāmi wa-al-qaḍāyā ṭarīquhu al-samʿu wamiftāḥuhu al-istidlālu wakhizānatuhu al-ʿaqlu wahuwa mudawwanun fī al-kutubi wamuḥabbarun fī al-waraqi yatalaqqāhu al-ṣaghīru ʿani al-kabīri bi-al-ʾalsinati wahuwa bāqin baqāʾa al-ʾislāmi wamawjūdun biwujūdi al-muslimīna liʾannahu ḥujjatu allāhi taʿālā ʿalā
“Those are the worst of this community.” As for inherited knowledge transmitted by later generations from earlier ones, and reports inscribed in books and entrusted to scrolls, which those who remain hear from those who came before, this is knowledge of rulings and legal opinions, and knowledge of Islam and judicial cases. Its path is hearing, its key inference, and its storehouse the intellect. It is recorded in books and written in ink on paper; the young receive it orally from the old. It endures as long as Islam endures and is present as long as Muslims are present, because it is God Most High’s proof against
عِبَادِهِ وَمَحَجَّةُ الْعُمُومِ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ فَضَمِنَ إِظْهَارَهُ فَلَمْ يَكُنْ لِيَظْهَرَ إِلَّا بِحَمَلَةٍ تُظْهِرُهُ وَنَقَلَةٍ تَحْمِلُهُ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( لِيُظْهِرَهُ عَلَى الدِّينِ كُلِّهِ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْمُشْرِكُونَ ) الصَّفُّ : 9 ، وَكَمَا قَالَ الرَّسُولُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِمَعْنَاهُ وَعِلْمٌ ظَاهِرٌ عَلَى اللِّسَانِ فَذَلِكَ حُجَّةُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى خَلْقِهِ وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِأَصْحَابِهِ :
ʿibādihi wamaḥajjatu al-ʿumūmi min khalqihi faḍamina ʾiẓhārahu falam yakun liyaẓhara ʾillā biḥamalatin tuẓhiruhu wanaqalatin taḥmiluhu faqāla taʿālā: ( liyuẓhirahu ʿalā al-dīni kullihi walaw kariha al-mushrikūna ) al-ṣaffu: 9 , wakamā qāla al-rasūlu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bimaʿnāhu waʿilmun ẓāhirun ʿalā al-lisāni fadhālika ḥujjatu allāhi taʿālā ʿalā khalqihi waqāla ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama liʾaṣḥābihi:
His servants and the broad road for the generality of His creatures. He guaranteed its manifestation, and it could not become manifest except through bearers who display it and transmitters who carry it. He, exalted is He, said: “To make it prevail over all religion, even though the idolaters dislike it” (al-Ṣaff 61:9). The Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, likewise said to this effect: “And outward knowledge upon the tongue: that is God Most High’s proof against His creatures.” He, God bless him and grant him peace, said to his Companions:
تَسْمَعُونَ وَيُسْمَعُ مِنْكُمْ وَيُسْمَعُ مِمَّنْ سَمِعَ مِنْكُمْ فَأَخْبَرَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِالْعِلْمِ الْعَتِيدِ الْمُسْتَوْدَعِ ظُهُورَ الْكُتُبِ الَّذِي هُوَ ظَاهِرُ الدِّينِ وَفِي جَهْلِهِ وَعَدَمِهِ وُجُودُ الشِّرْكِ كَمَا ضَمِنَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى تَبْقِيَةَ الْإِسْلَامِ عَلَى كُرْهِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : رَحِمَ اللَّهُ مَنْ سَمِعَ مِنَّا حَدِيثًا فَبَلَّغَهُ كَمَا سَمِعَهُ فَرُبَّ حَامِلِ فِقْهٍ غَيْرُ فَقِيهٍ وَرُبَّ حَامِلِ فِقْهٍ إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ أَفْقَهُ مِنْهُ ،
tasmaʿūna wayusmaʿu minkum wayusmaʿu mimman samiʿa minkum faʾakhbara ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bi-al-ʿilmi al-ʿatīdi al-mustawdaʿi ẓuhūra al-kutubi alladhī huwa ẓāhiru al-dīni wafī jahlihi waʿadamihi wujūdu al-shirki kamā ḍamina allāhu taʿālā tabqiyata al-ʾislāmi ʿalā kurhi al-mushrikīna waqāla ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: raḥima allāhu man samiʿa minnā ḥadīthan faballaghahu kamā samiʿahu farubba ḥāmili fiqhin ghayru faqīhin warubba ḥāmili fiqhin ʾilā man huwa ʾafqahu minhu ,
“You hear, it will be heard from you, and it will be heard from those who heard from you.” He, God bless him and grant him peace, thus spoke of the knowledge held ready and entrusted to the pages of books, which is religion’s outward aspect. Ignorance and absence of it allow association of partners with God to exist, just as God Most High guaranteed the preservation of Islam despite the idolaters’ dislike. He, God bless him and grant him peace, said: “May God have mercy on one who hears a hadith from us and conveys it as he heard it. Many a bearer of understanding is not himself a person of understanding, and many a bearer of understanding conveys it to someone who understands better than he does.”
وَقَدْ أَخْبَرَ أَنَّ حَامِلَ الْفِقْهِ قَدْ يَكُونُ غَيْرَ فَقِيهِ الْقَلْبِ إِذَا لَمْ يَعْمَلْ بِعِلْمِهِ وَأَنَّهُ قَدْ يَحْمِلُهُ إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ أَفْقَهُ مِنْهُ إِذَا عَمِلَ بِهِ إِذَا وَعَاهُ كَمَا قَالَ فِي الْخَبَرِ الْآخَرِ : رُبَّ مُبَلَّغٍ أَوْعَى مِنْ سَامِعٍ فَمَدَحَهُ بِالْعَمَلِ بِهِ إِذَا وَعَاهُ ، فَتَذَكَّرَ بِهِ وَتَفَكَّرَ فِيهِ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ سَمِعَهُ مِنْهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ . وَقَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى :
waqad ʾakhbara ʾanna ḥāmila al-fiqhi qad yakūnu ghayra faqīhi al-qalbi ʾidhā lam yaʿmal biʿilmihi waʾannahu qad yaḥmiluhu ʾilā man huwa ʾafqahu minhu ʾidhā ʿamila bihi ʾidhā waʿāhu kamā qāla fī al-khabari al-ʾākhari: rubba muballaghin ʾawʿā min sāmiʿin famadaḥahu bi-al-ʿamali bihi ʾidhā waʿāhu , fatadhakkara bihi watafakkara fīhi waʾin lam yakun samiʿahu minhu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama. waqāla allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā:
He thus stated that a bearer of understanding may lack understanding in his heart if he does not act upon his knowledge, and that he may carry it to someone who understands more deeply than he does, if that person acts upon it when he takes it in. As he said in the other report: “Many a person to whom a report is conveyed takes it in more fully than its hearer.” He commended him for acting upon it when he takes it in, recalls its lessons, and reflects upon it, even though he did not hear it from him, God bless him and grant him peace. God, glorified and exalted is He, said:
( وَتَعِيَهَا أُذُنٌ وَاعِيَةٌ ) الْحَاقَّةُ : 12 يَعْنِي أُذُنَ الْقَلْبِ الْحَافِظَةَ مَا سَمِعَتِ الذَّاكِرَةَ لِمَا وَعَتْ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) ق : 37 يَعْنِي أَصْغَى بِسَمْعِهِ إِلَى سَامِعِهِ وَشَهِدَ بِقَلْبِهِ مَا سَمِعَهُ مِنْ شَاهِدِهِ ، وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي تَفْسِيرِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :
( wataʿiyahā ʾudhunun wāʿiyatun ) al-ḥāqqatu: 12 yaʿnī ʾudhuna al-qalbi al-ḥāfiẓata mā samiʿati al-dhākirata limā waʿat kamā qāla taʿālā: ( ʾinna fī dhālika ladhikrā liman kāna lahu qalbun ʾaw ʾalqā al-samʿa wahuwa shahīdun ) qāf: 37 yaʿnī ʾaṣghā bisamʿihi ʾilā sāmiʿihi washahida biqalbihi mā samiʿahu min shāhidihi , waqad jāʾa fī tafsīri qawlihi taʿālā:
“And a receptive ear may retain it” (al-Ḥāqqa 69:12), meaning the ear of the heart, which preserves what it hears and remembers what it has retained. As the Most High said: “In that is a reminder for whoever has a heart, or lends an ear while present as a witness” (Qāf 50:37): that is, he listens attentively to the one he hears, and witnesses with his heart what he hears from the one he witnesses. In the explanation of the Most High’s words,
( وَتَعِيَهَا أُذُنٌ وَاعِيَةٌ ) الْحَاقَّةُ : 12 ، قَالَ : أُذُنٌ عَقَلَتْ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَمْرَهُ وَنَهْيَهُ فَوَعَتْهُ وَعَمِلَتْ بِهِ كَمَا وَصَفَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ نَعَتَهُمْ بِقَوْلِهِ فِي تَمَامِ وَصْفِهِمْ : ( وَالْحَافِظُونَ لِحُدُودِ اللَّهِ ) التَّوْبَةُ : 112 ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : اطْلُبُوا الْعِلْمَ تَعْرِفُوا بِهِ وَاعْمَلُوا بِهِ تَكُونُوا مِنْ أَهْلِهِ ،
( wataʿiyahā ʾudhunun wāʿiyatun ) al-ḥāqqatu: 12 , qāla: ʾudhunun ʿaqalat ʿani allāhi taʿālā ʾamrahu wanahyahu fawaʿathu waʿamilat bihi kamā waṣafa subḥānahu wataʿālā al-muʾminīna alladhīna naʿatahum biqawlihi fī tamāmi waṣfihim: ( wa-al-ḥāfiẓūna liḥudūdi allāhi ) al-tawbatu: 112 , waqad rawaynā ʿan ʿaliyyin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: uṭlubū al-ʿilma taʿrifū bihi waʿmalū bihi takūnū min ʾahlihi ,
“And a receptive ear may retain it” (al-Ḥāqqa 69:12), he said: “An ear that understood God Most High’s command and prohibition, retained them, and acted upon them.” This is how He, glorified and exalted is He, described the believers, characterizing them at the conclusion of His description with the words: “Those who keep God’s limits” (al-Tawba 9:112). We have related from ʿAlī, may God be pleased with him: “Seek knowledge so that you may know through it, and act upon it so that you may be among its people.”
وَقَالَ أَيْضًا رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : إِذَا سَمِعْتُمُ الْعِلْمَ فَاكْظُمُوا عَلَيْهِ وَلَا تَخْلِطُوهُ بِهَزْلٍ فَتَمُجَّهُ الْقُلُوبُ وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ : مَنْ ضَحِكَ ضَحْكَةً مَجَّ مَجَّةً مِنَ الْعِلْمِ ، وَقَالَ الْخَلِيلُ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ : لَيْسَ الْعِلْمُ مَا حَوَاهُ الْقِمَطْرُ إِنَّمَا الْعِلْمُ مَا وَعَاهُ الصَّدْرُ ، وَإِذَا جَمَعَ الْعَالِمُ ثَلَاثًا تَمَّتِ النِّعْمَةُ بِهِ عَلَى الْمُتَعَلِّمِ الصَّبْرُ وَالتَّوَاضُعُ وَحُسْنُ الْخُلُقِ ،
waqāla ʾayḍan raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: ʾidhā samiʿtumu al-ʿilma fakẓumū ʿalayhi walā takhliṭūhu bihazlin fatamujjahu al-qulūbu waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: man ḍaḥika ḍaḥkatan majja majjatan mina al-ʿilmi , waqāla al-khalīlu bnu ʾaḥmada raḥimahu allāhu: laysa al-ʿilmu mā ḥawāhu al-qimaṭru ʾinnamā al-ʿilmu mā waʿāhu al-ṣadru , waʾidhā jamaʿa al-ʿālimu thalāthan tammati al-niʿmatu bihi ʿalā al-mutaʿallimi al-ṣabru wa-al-tawāḍuʿu waḥusnu al-khuluqi ,
He also said, may God be pleased with him: “When you hear knowledge, hold it within you and do not mix it with joking, lest hearts spit it out.” One of the predecessors said: “Whoever laughs a laugh spits out a mouthful of knowledge.” Al-Khalīl ibn Aḥmad, God have mercy on him, said: “Knowledge is not what the book chest contains; knowledge is what the breast retains.” When the scholar combines three qualities, the blessing he brings the learner is complete: patience, humility, and good character.
وَإِذَا جَمَعَ الْمُتَعَلِّمُ ثَلَاثًا تَمَّتِ النِّعْمَةُ بِهِ عَلَى الْعَالِمِ الْعَقْلُ وَالْأَدَبُ وَحُسْنُ الْفَهْمِ وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ .
waʾidhā jamaʿa al-mutaʿallimu thalāthan tammati al-niʿmatu bihi ʿalā al-ʿālimi al-ʿaqlu wa-al-ʾadabu waḥusnu al-fahmi wa-allāhu ʾaʿlamu.
When the learner combines three qualities, the blessing he brings the scholar is complete: intelligence, good manners, and sound understanding. God knows best.
ذِكْرُ وَصْفِ الْعِلْمِ وَطَرِيقَةِ السَّلَفِ وَذَمِّ مَا أَحْدَثَ الْمُتَأَخِّرُونَ مِنَ الْقَصَصِ وَالْكَلَامِ
dhikru waṣfi al-ʿilmi waṭarīqati al-salafi wadhammi mā ʾaḥdatha al-mutaʾakhkhirūna mina al-qaṣaṣi wa-al-kalāmi
An Account of the Nature of Knowledge and the Way of the Predecessors, and a Condemnation of the Storytelling and Speculative Discourse Introduced by Later Generations
لَا بُدَّ لِلْعَالِمِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ خَمْسٍ هِيَ عَلَامَةُ عُلَمَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ : الْخَشْيَةُ ، وَالْخُشُوعُ ،
lā budda lilʿālimi bi-allāhi taʿālā min khamsin hiya ʿalāmatu ʿulamāʾi al-ʾākhirati: al-khashyatu , wa-al-khushūʿu ,
One who knows God Most High must possess five qualities that mark the scholars of the hereafter: reverent fear, humble submission,
وَالتَّوَاضُعُ ، وَحُسْنُ الْخُلُقِ ، وَالزُّهْدُ ، قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ ) فَاطِرُ : 28 وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( خَاشِعِينَ لِلَّهِ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 199 الْآيَةُ فَلَا بُدَّ لَهُ مِنَ التَّوَاضُعِ وَحُسْنِ الْخُلُقِ ، قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَاخْفِضْ جَنَاحَكَ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ) ( وَقُلْ إِنِّي أَنَا النَّذِيرُ الْمُبِينُ ) الْحِجْرُ :
wa-al-tawāḍuʿu , waḥusnu al-khuluqi , wa-al-zuhdu , qāla allāhu taʿālā: ( ʾinnamā yakhshā allāha min ʿibādihi al-ʿulamāʾu ) fāṭiru: 28 waqāla taʿālā: ( khāshiʿīna lillāhi ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 199 al-ʾāyatu falā budda lahu mina al-tawāḍuʿi waḥusni al-khuluqi , qāla allāhu ʿazza wajalla: ( wakhfiḍ janāḥaka lilmuʾminīna ) ( waqul ʾinnī ʾanā al-nadhīru al-mubīnu ) al-ḥijru:
humility, good character, and renunciation. God Most High said: “Of His servants, only the scholars fear God” (Fāṭir 35:28). The Most High also said: “Humbly submitting to God” (Āl ʿImrān 3:199), in the verse. He must possess humility and good character. God, mighty and majestic, said: “Lower your wing to the believers,” and “Say: ‘I am indeed the clear warner’” (al-Ḥijr 15:
88 - 89 ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ لِنْتَ لَهُمْ ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 159 الْآيَةُ وَالزُّهْدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا ، قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ ) الْقَصَصُ : 80 وَيْلَكُمْ ثَوَابُ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ فَمَنْ وُجِدَ فِيهِ هَذِهِ الْخِلَالُ فَهُوَ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ إِنَّمَا يَسْتَبِينُ الْعَالِمُ عِنْدَ الْمُشْكِلَاتِ فِي الدِّينِ وَيُحْتَاجُ إِلَى الْعَارِفِ
88 - 89 , waqāla taʿālā: ( fabimā raḥmatin mina allāhi linta lahum ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 159 al-ʾāyatu wa-al-zuhdu fī al-dunyā , qāla allāhu taʿālā: ( alladhīna ʾūtū al-ʿilma ) al-qaṣaṣu: 80 waylakum thawābu allāhi khayrun faman wujida fīhi hādhihi al-khilālu fahuwa mina al-ʿulamāʾi bi-allāhi ʿazza wajalla waʿlam ʾannahu ʾinnamā yastabīnu al-ʿālimu ʿinda al-mushkilāti fī al-dīni wayuḥtāju ʾilā al-ʿārifi
88–89). The Most High said: “By a mercy from God you were gentle with them” (Āl ʿImrān 3:159), in the verse. And there is renunciation of this world: God Most High said, “Those who had been given knowledge” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:80), “Woe to you! God’s reward is better.” Whoever possesses these qualities is among those who know God, mighty and majestic. Know that a scholar becomes recognizable when difficulties arise in religion, and a knower is needed
عِنْدَ شُبُهَاتٍ حَاكَتِ الصُّدُورَ كَمَا قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : لَا تَزَالُونَ بِخَيْرٍ مَا إِذَا حَاكَ فِي صَدْرِ أَحَدِكُمْ شَيْءٌ وَجَدَ مَنْ يُخْبِرُهُ بِهِ وَيَشْفِيهِ مِنْهُ وَأَيْمُ اللَّهِ أَوْشَكَ أَنْ لَا تَجِدُوا ذَلِكَ ، وَكَمَا قَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَيُّ النَّاسِ أَعْلَمُ فَقَالَ : اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ ، فَقَالَ أَعْلَمُهُمْ بِالْحَقِّ إِذَا اشْتَبَهَتِ الْأُمُورُ وَوَقَعَتِ الْمُشْكِلَاتُ ،
ʿinda shubuhātin ḥākati al-ṣudūra kamā qāla ʿabdu allāhi bnu masʿūdin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: lā tazālūna bikhayrin mā ʾidhā ḥāka fī ṣadri ʾaḥadikum shayʾun wajada man yukhbiruhu bihi wayashfīhi minhu waʾaymu allāhi ʾawshaka ʾan lā tajidū dhālika , wakamā qāla lahu rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾayyu al-nāsi ʾaʿlamu faqāla: allāhu warasūluhu ʾaʿlamu , faqāla ʾaʿlamuhum bi-al-ḥaqqi ʾidhā ishtabahati al-ʾumūru wawaqaʿati al-mushkilātu ,
when doubts trouble the breasts. As ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd, may God be pleased with him, said: “You will remain well so long as, whenever something troubles one of you in his breast, he finds someone who can explain it to him and cure him of it. By God, soon you will find no such person.” Likewise, God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said to him: “Which person knows most?” He replied: “God and His Messenger know best.” He said: “The one who best knows the truth when matters become confused and difficulties arise,
وَإِنْ كَانَ يَزْحَفُ عَلَى أَسْتِهِ ، فَكَذَلِكَ إِذَا اخْتَلَفَ النَّاسُ وَإِنْ كَانَ فِي عَمَلِهِ تَقْصِيرٌ وَكَمَا قَالَ فِي حَدِيثِ عِمْرَانَ بْنِ حُصَيْنٍ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يُحِبُّ الْبَصَرَ النَّاقِدَ عِنْدَ وُرُودِ الشُّبُهَاتِ وَالْعَقْلَ الْكَامِلَ عِنْدَ هُجُومِ الشَّهَوَاتِ وَيُحِبُّ السَّخَاءَ وَلَوْ عَلَى تَمَرَاتٍ وَيُحِبُّ الشَّجَاعَةَ وَلَوْ عَلَى قَتْلِ الْحَيَّاتِ ،
waʾin kāna yazḥafu ʿalā ʾastihi , fakadhālika ʾidhā ikhtalafa al-nāsu waʾin kāna fī ʿamalihi taqṣīrun wakamā qāla fī ḥadīthi ʿimrāna bni ḥuṣaynin: ʾinna allāha taʿālā yuḥibbu al-baṣara al-nāqida ʿinda wurūdi al-shubuhāti wa-al-ʿaqla al-kāmila ʿinda hujūmi al-shahawāti wayuḥibbu al-sakhāʾa walaw ʿalā tamarātin wayuḥibbu al-shajāʿata walaw ʿalā qatli al-ḥayyāti ,
“even if he crawls on his backside.” The same applies when people disagree, even if he falls short in his own conduct. Likewise, in the hadith of ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn he said: “God Most High loves discerning sight when doubts arise, and a sound intellect when desires attack. He loves generosity, even with a few dates, and He loves courage, even in killing snakes.”
وَقَدْ حَصَلْنَا فِي زَمَانِنَا هَذَا فِي مِثْلِ مَا خَافَهُ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ لِأَنَّ مُشْكِلَةً لَوْ وَرَدَتْ فِي مَعَانِي التَّوْحِيدِ وَشُبْهَةً لَوِ اخْتَلَجَتْ فِي صَدْرِ مُؤْمِنٍ مِنْ مَعَانِي صِفَاتِ الْمُوَحِّدِ وَأَرَدْتَ كَشْفَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى حَقِيقَةِ الْأَمْرِ بِمَا يَشْهَدُهُ الْقَلْبُ الْمُوَفَّقُ وَيَثْلَجُ لَهُ الصَّدْرُ الْمَشْرُوحُ بِالْهُدَى كَانَ ذَلِكَ عَزِيزًا فِي وَقْتِكَ هَذَا وَلَكُنْتَ فِي اسْتِكْشَافِ ذَلِكَ بَيْنَ خَمْسَةِ نَفَرٍ ،
waqad ḥaṣalnā fī zamāninā hādhā fī mithli mā khāfahu ibnu masʿūdin liʾanna mushkilatan law waradat fī maʿānī al-tawḥīdi washubhatan lawi ikhtalajat fī ṣadri muʾminin min maʿānī ṣifāti al-muwaḥḥidi waʾaradta kashfa dhālika ʿalā ḥaqīqati al-ʾamri bimā yashhaduhu al-qalbu al-muwaffaqu wayathlaju lahu al-ṣadru al-mashrūḥu bi-al-hudā kāna dhālika ʿazīzan fī waqtika hādhā walakunta fī istikshāfi dhālika bayna khamsati nafarin ,
In our own time we have reached the very condition Ibn Masʿūd feared. If a difficulty were to arise concerning the meanings of divine oneness, or a doubt about the meanings of the qualities of one who affirms divine oneness were to stir in a believer’s breast, and you sought to clarify the truth of the matter through what a divinely guided heart witnesses and what soothes a breast opened by guidance, this would be rare in your present time. In seeking to uncover it, you would find yourself among five sorts of people:
مُبْتَدِعٌ ضَالٌّ يُخْبِرُكَ بِرَأْيِهِ عَنْ هَوَاهُ فَيَزِيدُكَ حَيْرَةً ، أَوْ مُتَكَلِّمٌ يُفْتِيكَ بِقُصُورِ عِلْمِهِ عَنْ شَهَادَةِ الْمُوقِنِينَ وَبِقِيَاسِ مَعْقُولِهِ عَلَى ظَاهِرِ الدِّينِ وَهَذَا شُبْهَةٌ فَكَيْفَ تَنْكَشِفُ بِهِ شُبْهَةٌ ، أَوْ صُوفِيٌّ شَاطِحٌ تَائِهٌ غَالِطٌ يُجَاوِزُ بِكَ الْكِتَابَ وَالسُّنَّةَ لَا يُبَالِيهِمَا وَيُخَالِفُ بِقَوْلِهِ الْأَئِمَّةَ لَا يَتَحَاشَاهَا فَيُجِيبُكَ بِالظَّنِّ وَالْوَسْوَاسِ وَالْحَدْسِ وَالتَّمْوِيهِ وَيَمْحُو الْكَوْنَ وَالْمَكَانَ وَيُسْقِطُ الْعِلْمَ وَالْأَحْكَامَ وَيُذْهِبُ الْأَسْمَاءَ وَالرُّسُومَ ،
mubtadiʿun ḍāllun yukhbiruka biraʾyihi ʿan hawāhu fayazīduka ḥayratan , ʾaw mutakallimun yuftīka biquṣūri ʿilmihi ʿan shahādati al-mūqinīna wabiqiyāsi maʿqūlihi ʿalā ẓāhiri al-dīni wahādhā shubhatun fakayfa tankashifu bihi shubhatun , ʾaw ṣūfiyyun shāṭiḥun tāʾihun ghāliṭun yujāwizu bika al-kitāba wa-al-sunnata lā yubālīhimā wayukhālifu biqawlihi al-ʾaʾimmata lā yataḥāshāhā fayujībuka bi-al-ẓanni wa-al-waswāsi wa-al-ḥadsi wa-al-tamwīhi wayamḥū al-kawna wa-al-makāna wayusqiṭu al-ʿilma wa-al-ʾaḥkāma wayudhhibu al-ʾasmāʾa wa-al-rusūma ,
A misguided innovator tells you his opinion, arising from his own desire, and increases your bewilderment. Or a speculative theologian gives you a ruling from knowledge that falls short of what those of certainty witness, measuring what his reason understands against the outward aspect of religion. This is a doubt itself, so how can it dispel a doubt? Or a Sufi who makes extravagant pronouncements, wanders astray, and is mistaken carries you beyond the Book and the Sunna, disregarding them both. He contradicts the leaders with his words, showing them no deference, and answers you with conjecture, obsessive promptings, surmise, and deception. He erases existence and place, discards knowledge and rulings, and does away with names and forms.
وَهَؤُلَاءِ تَائِهُونَ فِي مَفَازَةِ التِّيهِ لَمْ يَقِفُوا عَلَى الْحُجَّةِ قَدْ غَرِقُوا فِي بَحْرِ التَّوْحِيدِ لَمْ يُجْعَلُوا أَئِمَّةَ الْمُتَّقِينَ وَلَا حُجَّةً لِلْمُتَّقِينَ وَهَذَا سَاقِطُ الْقَوْلِ إِذْ لَيْسَ مَعَهُ حُجَّةٌ وَلَا هُوَ عَلَى سَنَنِ الْمَحَجَّةِ ، أَوْ مُفْتٍ عَالِمٌ عِنْدَ نَفْسِهِ مَوْسُومٌ بِالْفِقْهِ عِنْدَ أَصْحَابِهِ يَقُولُ هَذَا مِنْ أَحْكَامِ الْآخِرَةِ وَمِنْ عِلْمِ الْغَيْبِ لَا نَتَكَلَّمُ فِيهِ لِأَنَّا لَمْ نُكَلَّفْهُ وَهُوَ فِي أَكْثَرِ مُنَاظَرَتِهِ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِيمَا لَمْ
wahāʾulāʾi tāʾihūna fī mafāzati al-tīhi lam yaqifū ʿalā al-ḥujjati qad ghariqū fī baḥri al-tawḥīdi lam yujʿalū ʾaʾimmata al-muttaqīna walā ḥujjatan lilmuttaqīna wahādhā sāqiṭu al-qawli ʾidh laysa maʿahu ḥujjatun walā huwa ʿalā sanani al-maḥajjati , ʾaw muftin ʿālimun ʿinda nafsihi mawsūmun bi-al-fiqhi ʿinda ʾaṣḥābihi yaqūlu hādhā min ʾaḥkāmi al-ʾākhirati wamin ʿilmi al-ghaybi lā natakallamu fīhi liʾannā lam nukallafhu wahuwa fī ʾakthari munāẓaratihi yatakallamu fīmā lam
These people wander in a wilderness of bewilderment. They have not grasped the proof, and have drowned in the sea of divine oneness. They have not been made leaders of the God-fearing or an authority for the God-fearing. Such a person’s words carry no weight, for he has no proof and does not follow the clear road. Or there is a legal adviser, learned in his own eyes and marked out as a jurist by his companions, who says: “This concerns the rulings of the hereafter and knowledge of the unseen. We do not discuss it, because we have not been charged with it.” Yet in most of his disputation he discusses what we have not
نُكَلَّفْ وَيُجَالِدُ فِيمَا لَمْ يَنْطِقْ بِهِ السَّلَفُ وَيَتَعَلَّمُ وَيُعَلِّمُ مَا عَلِمَهُ بِتَكَلُّفٍ وَلَا يَعْلَمُ الْمِسْكِينُ أَنَّهُ كُلِّفَ عِلْمَ يَقِينِ الْإِيمَانِ وَحَقِيقَةَ التَّوْحِيدِ وَمَعْرِفَةَ إِخْلَاصِ الْمُعَامَلَةِ وَعِلْمَ مَا يَقْدَحُ فِي الْإِخْلَاصِ وَيُخْرِجُ مِنْ جُمْلَتِهِ قَبْلَ مَا هُوَ فِيهِ لِأَنَّهُ مُتَكَلِّفٌ لِبَعْضِ مَا هُوَ يَبْتَغِيهِ لِأَنَّ عِلْمَ الْإِيمَانِ وَصِحَّةَ التَّوْحِيدِ وَإِخْلَاصَ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ لِلرُّبُوبِيَّةِ وَإِخْلَاصَ الْأَعْمَالِ مِنَ الْهَوَى الدُّنْيَوِيَّةِ
nukallaf wayujālidu fīmā lam yanṭiq bihi al-salafu wayataʿallamu wayuʿallimu mā ʿalimahu bitakallufin walā yaʿlamu al-miskīnu ʾannahu kullifa ʿilma yaqīni al-ʾīmāni waḥaqīqata al-tawḥīdi wamaʿrifata ʾikhlāṣi al-muʿāmalati waʿilma mā yaqdaḥu fī al-ʾikhlāṣi wayukhriju min jumlatihi qabla mā huwa fīhi liʾannahu mutakallifun libaʿḍi mā huwa yabtaghīhi liʾanna ʿilma al-ʾīmāni waṣiḥḥata al-tawḥīdi waʾikhlāṣa al-ʿubūdiyyati lil-rubūbiyyati waʾikhlāṣa al-ʾaʿmāli mina al-hawā al-dunyawiyyati
been charged with, struggles over matters of which the predecessors did not speak, and learns and teaches with strained effort what he has learned. The poor man does not know that, before the matters in which he is engaged, he was charged to learn certainty of faith, the reality of divine oneness, sincerity in his dealings with God, and what damages sincerity and removes one from its sphere. For he strains after some of what he seeks. Knowledge of faith, sound affirmation of divine oneness, sincere servanthood before lordship, and purifying deeds of worldly desire
وَمَا يَتَعَلَّقُ بِهَا مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ هُوَ مِنَ الْفِقْهِ فِي الدِّينِ وَنَعْتِ أَوْصَافِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ مُقْتَضَاهُ الْإِنْذَارُ وَالتَّحْذِيرُ لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( لِيَتَفَقَّهُوا فِي الدِّينِ وَلِيُنْذِرُوا قَوْمَهُمْ ) التَّوْبَةُ : 122 الْآيَةُ ، وَلِقَوْلِ الرَّسُولِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : تَعَلَّمُوا الْيَقِينَ فَإِنِّي مُتَعَلِّمٌ مَعَكُمْ وَلِقَوْلِ الصَّحَابَةِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ تَعَلَّمْنَا الْإِيمَانَ ثُمَّ تَعَلَّمْنَا الْقُرْآنَ فَازْدَدْنَا إِيمَانًا فَهَذَا مَزِيدُ الْهِدَايَةِ بِالْإِيقَانِ وَهُوَ زِيَادَةُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي الْإِيمَانِ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى :
wamā yataʿallaqu bihā min ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi huwa mina al-fiqhi fī al-dīni wanaʿti ʾawṣāfi al-muʾminīna ʾidh muqtaḍāhu al-ʾindhāru wa-al-taḥdhīru liqawlihi taʿālā: ( liyatafaqqahū fī al-dīni waliyundhirū qawmahum ) al-tawbatu: 122 al-ʾāyatu , waliqawli al-rasūli ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: taʿallamū al-yaqīna faʾinnī mutaʿallimun maʿakum waliqawli al-ṣaḥābati raḍiya allāhu ʿanhum taʿallamnā al-ʾīmāna thumma taʿallamnā al-qurʾāna fazdadnā ʾīmānan fahādhā mazīdu al-hidāyati bi-al-ʾīqāni wahuwa ziyādatu al-muʾminīna fī al-ʾīmāni kamā qāla taʿālā:
and the works of the heart connected with them belong to understanding religion and describing the believers’ qualities. Their consequence is to warn and caution, as the Most High said: “That they may gain understanding in religion and warn their people” (al-Tawba 9:122), in the verse. And the Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Learn certainty, for I am learning with you.” The Companions, may God be pleased with them, said: “We learned faith, then learned the Qurʾān, and increased in faith.” This is an increase of guidance through certainty, and it is the believers’ increase in faith. As the Most High said:
( فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَانًا ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ : 173 وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَيَزِيدُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ اهْتَدَوْا هُدًى ) مَرْيَمُ : 76 وَلَا يَشْعُرُ أَنَّ حُسْنَ الْأَدَبِ فِي الْمُعَامَلَةِ بِمَعْرِفَةٍ وَيَقِينٍ هُوَ مِنْ صِفَاتِ الْمُوقِنِينَ وَذَلِكَ هُوَ حَالُ الْعَبْدِ فِي مَقَامِهِ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ رَبِّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَنَصِيبُهُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَحَظُّهُ مِنْ مَزِيدِ آخِرَتِهِ .
( fazādahum ʾīmānan ) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 173 waqāla ʿazza wajalla: ( wayazīdu allāhu alladhīna ihtadaw hudan ) maryamu: 76 walā yashʿuru ʾanna ḥusna al-ʾadabi fī al-muʿāmalati bimaʿrifatin wayaqīnin huwa min ṣifāti al-mūqinīna wadhālika huwa ḥālu al-ʿabdi fī maqāmihi baynahu wabayna rabbihi ʿazza wajalla wanaṣībuhu min rabbihi taʿālā , waḥaẓẓuhu min mazīdi ʾākhiratihi.
“It increased them in faith” (Āl ʿImrān 3:173). He, mighty and majestic, said: “God increases in guidance those who have been guided” (Maryam 19:76). He does not realize that good manners in one’s dealings with God, grounded in knowledge and certainty, are among the qualities of those of certainty. This is the servant’s state in his station between himself and his Lord, mighty and majestic; his portion from his Lord Most High; and his share in the increase of his hereafter.
وَذَلِكَ مَعْقُودٌ بِشَهَادَةِ التَّوْحِيدِ الْخَالِصَةِ الْمُقْتَرِنَةِ بِالْإِيمَانِ مِنْ خَفَايَا الشِّرْكِ وَشُعَبِ النِّفَاقِ وَهُوَ مُقْتَرِنٌ بِالْفَرَائِضِ وَفَرْضُ فَرْضِهَا الْإِخْلَاصُ بِالْمُعَامَلَةِ وَإِنَّ عِلْمَ مَا سِوَى هَذَا مِمَّا قَدْ أُشْرِبَ قَلْبُهُ وَحُبِّبَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ فُضُولِ الْعُلُومِ وَغَرَائِبِ الْفُهُومِ إِنَّمَا هُوَ حَوَائِجُ النَّاسِ وَنَوَازِلُهُمْ فَهُوَ حِجَابٌ عَنْ هَذَا وَاشْتِغَالٌ عَنْهُ ، فَآثَرَ هَذَا الْغَافِلُ لِقِلَّةِ مَعْرِفَتِهِ بِحَقِيقَةِ الْعِلْمِ النَّافِعِ مَا زُيِّنَ لَهُ طَلَبُهُ وَحُبِّبَ إِلَيْهِ قَصْدُهُ ،
wadhālika maʿqūdun bishahādati al-tawḥīdi al-khāliṣati al-muqtarinati bi-al-ʾīmāni min khafāyā al-shirki washuʿabi al-nifāqi wahuwa muqtarinun bi-al-farāʾiḍi wafarḍu farḍihā al-ʾikhlāṣu bi-al-muʿāmalati waʾinna ʿilma mā siwā hādhā mimmā qad ʾushriba qalbuhu waḥubbiba ʾilayhi min fuḍūli al-ʿulūmi wagharāʾibi al-fuhūmi ʾinnamā huwa ḥawāʾiju al-nāsi wanawāziluhum fahuwa ḥijābun ʿan hādhā washtighālun ʿanhu , faʾāthara hādhā al-ghāfilu liqillati maʿrifatihi biḥaqīqati al-ʿilmi al-nāfiʿi mā zuyyina lahu ṭalabuhu waḥubbiba ʾilayhi qaṣduhu ,
This is bound to the testimony of divine oneness, pure of hidden association and branches of hypocrisy, and joined to faith. It is joined to the obligations, and the obligation underlying their obligation is sincerity in one’s dealings with God. The knowledge beyond this that has saturated his heart and been made dear to him, comprising superfluous sciences and curious interpretations, concerns only people’s needs and the cases that befall them. It is a veil over this knowledge and a distraction from it. Because he knows little of the reality of beneficial knowledge, this heedless person prefers what he has been enticed to seek and made eager to pursue.
آثَرَ حَوَائِجَ النَّاسِ وَأَحْوَالَهُمْ عَلَى حَاجَتِهِ وَحَالِهِ وَعَمِلَ فِي أَنْصِبَتِهِمْ مِنْهُ فِي عَاجِلِ دُنْيَاهُمْ مِنْ نَوَازِلِ طَوَارِقِهِمْ وَفُتْيَاهُمْ وَلَمْ يَعْمَلْ فِي نَصِيبِهِ الْأَوْفَرِ مِنْ رَبِّهِ الْأَعْلَى لِأَجْلِ آخِرَتِهِ الَّتِي هِيَ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى إِذْ مَرْجِعُهُ إِلَيْهَا وَمَثْوَاهُ الْمُؤَبَّدُ فِيهَا ، فَآثَرَ التَّقَرُّبَ مِنْهُمْ عَلَى الْقُرْبَةِ مِنْ رَبِّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَتَرَكَ لِلشُّغْلِ بِهِمْ حَظَّهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الْأَجْزَلَ وَقَدَّمَ التَّفَرُّغَ لَهُمْ عَلَى فَرَاغِ قَلْبِهِ
ʾāthara ḥawāʾija al-nāsi waʾaḥwālahum ʿalā ḥājatihi waḥālihi waʿamila fī ʾanṣibatihim minhu fī ʿājili dunyāhum min nawāzili ṭawāriqihim wafutyāhum walam yaʿmal fī naṣībihi al-ʾawfari min rabbihi al-ʾaʿlā liʾajli ʾākhiratihi allatī hiya khayrun waʾabqā ʾidh marjiʿuhu ʾilayhā wamathwāhu al-muʾabbadu fīhā , faʾāthara al-taqarruba minhum ʿalā al-qurbati min rabbihi ʿazza wajalla wataraka lil-shughli bihim ḥaẓẓahu mina allāhi taʿālā al-ʾajzala waqaddama al-tafarrugha lahum ʿalā farāghi qalbihi
He prefers people’s needs and circumstances to his own need and state. He works on the portions they receive from him in their immediate worldly lives, the unexpected cases that befall them and the rulings they seek, but does not work for his own greater portion from his Lord Most High for his hereafter, which is better and more lasting, since he will return to it and dwell there forever. He prefers drawing close to them to nearness to his Lord, mighty and majestic. Through preoccupation with them, he abandons his abundant portion from God Most High, and puts making himself available to them before freeing his heart
لِمَا قَدَّمَ لِغَدِهِ مِنْ تَقْوَاهُ بِالشُّغْلِ بِخِدْمَةِ مَوْلَاهُ وَطَلَبِ رِضَاهُ وَاشْتَغَلَ بِصَلَاحِ أَلْسِنَتِهِمْ عَنْ صَلَاحِ قَلْبِهِ وَظَوَاهِرِ أَحْوَالِهِمْ عَنْ بَاطِنِ حَالِهِ وَكَانَ سَبَبَ مَا بُلِيَ بِهِ حُبُّ الرِّيَاسَةِ وَطَلَبُ الْجَاهِ عِنْدَ النَّاسِ وَالْمَنْزِلَةِ بِمُوجِبِ السِّيَاسَةِ وَالرَّغْبَةُ فِي عَاجِلِ الدُّنْيَا وَعِزِّهَا بِقِلَّةِ الْهِمَّةِ وَضَعْفِ النِّيَّةِ فِي عَاجِلِ الْآخِرَةِ وَذُخْرِهِ فَأَفْنَى أَيَّامَهُ لِأَيَّامِهِمْ وَأَذْهَبَ عُمْرَهُ فِي شَهَوَاتِهِمْ لِيُسَمِّيَهُ الْجَاهِلُونَ بِالْعِلْمِ عَالِمًا وَلِيَكُونَ فِي قُلُوبِ الْبَطَّالِينَ
limā qaddama lighadihi min taqwāhu bi-al-shughli bikhidmati mawlāhu waṭalabi riḍāhu washtaghala biṣalāḥi ʾalsinatihim ʿan ṣalāḥi qalbihi waẓawāhiri ʾaḥwālihim ʿan bāṭini ḥālihi wakāna sababa mā buliya bihi ḥubbu al-riyāsati waṭalabu al-jāhi ʿinda al-nāsi wa-al-manzilati bimūjibi al-siyāsati wa-al-raghbatu fī ʿājili al-dunyā waʿizzihā biqillati al-himmati waḍaʿfi al-niyyati fī ʿājili al-ʾākhirati wadhukhrihi faʾafnā ʾayyāmahu liʾayyāmihim waʾadhhaba ʿumrahu fī shahawātihim liyusammiyahu al-jāhilūna bi-al-ʿilmi ʿāliman waliyakūna fī qulūbi al-baṭṭālīna
for the God-fearingness he has sent ahead for his tomorrow, by occupying himself in serving his Master and seeking His pleasure. He occupies himself with setting their tongues right rather than setting his heart right, and with their outward circumstances rather than his inward state. The cause of his affliction is love of leadership, seeking esteem among people and the rank that authority brings, and desire for the present world and its glory, together with little aspiration and weak resolve for the immediate reward of the hereafter and its store. He exhausts his days for their days and spends his life on their desires, so that those ignorant of knowledge may call him a scholar and he may be regarded in the hearts of the idle
عِنْدَهُمْ فَاضِلًا فَوَرَدَ الْقِيَامَةَ مُفْلِسًا وَعِنْدَمَا يَرَاهُ مِنْ أَنْصِبَةِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ مُبْلِسًا إِذْ فَازَ بِالْقُرْبِ الْعَامِلُونَ وَرِيحِ الرِّضَا الْعَالِمُونَ وَلَكِنْ أَنَّى لَهُ وَكَيْفَ بِنَصِيبِ غَيْرِهِ ؟ وَقَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لِكُلِّ عَمَلٍ عَامِلًا وَلِكُلِّ عِلْمٍ عَالِمًا أُولَئِكَ يَنَالُهُمْ نَصِيبُهُمْ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ كُلٌّ مُيَسَّرٌ لِمَا خُلِقَ لَهُ هَذَا فَصْلُ الْخِطَابِ بَيْنَهُمَا فَإِنَّ الْأُمَّةَ لَمْ تَخْتَلِفْ ،
ʿindahum fāḍilan fawarada al-qiyāmata muflisan waʿindamā yarāhu min ʾanṣibati al-muqarrabīna mublisan ʾidh fāza bi-al-qurbi al-ʿāmilūna warīḥi al-riḍā al-ʿālimūna walakin ʾannā lahu wakayfa binaṣībi ghayrihi ? waqad jaʿala allāhu taʿālā likulli ʿamalin ʿāmilan walikulli ʿilmin ʿāliman ʾūlāʾika yanāluhum naṣībuhum mina al-kitābi kullun muyassarun limā khuliqa lahu hādhā faṣlu al-khiṭābi baynahumā faʾinna al-ʾummata lam takhtalif ,
as a man of excellence among them. He arrives at the Resurrection bankrupt, despairing at the portions he sees allotted to those brought near. Those who act have won nearness, and those who know have gained the fragrance of divine approval. But how could he obtain it? How could he obtain someone else’s portion? God Most High has appointed a doer for every deed and a knower for every science. “Those will receive their allotted share of the Book.” Everyone is made ready for that for which he was created. This is the decisive distinction between the two. The community has not disagreed,
أَنَّ عِلْمَ التَّوْحِيدِ فَرِيضَةٌ سِيَّمَا إِذَا وَقَعَتِ الشُّبُهَاتُ وَأُدْخِلَتْ فِيهِ الْمُشْكِلَاتُ وَإِنَّمَا اخْتَلَفُوا فِي مَسْأَلَتَيْنِ أَيُّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ التَّوْحِيدُ وَفِي كَيْفِيَّةِ طَلَبِهِ وَالتَّوَصُّلِ إِلَيْهِ ، فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَالَ بِالْبَحْثِ وَالطَّلَبِ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقُولُ بِالِاسْتِدْلَالِ وَالنَّظَرِ ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَالَ بِالسَّمْعِ وَالْأَثَرِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ : بِالتَّوْقِيفِ وَالتَّسْلِيمِ وَقَالَ بَعْضُ النَّاسِ : يُدْرَكُ دَرْكُهُ بِالْعَجْزِ وَالتَّقْصِيرِ عَنْ بُلُوغِ دَرْكِهِ ، وَالرَّجُلُ الْخَامِسُ
ʾanna ʿilma al-tawḥīdi farīḍatun siyyamā ʾidhā waqaʿati al-shubuhātu waʾudkhilat fīhi al-mushkilātu waʾinnamā ikhtalafū fī masʾalatayni ʾayyu shayʾin huwa al-tawḥīdu wafī kayfiyyati ṭalabihi wa-al-tawaṣṣuli ʾilayhi , faminhum man qāla bi-al-baḥthi wa-al-ṭalabi waminhum man yaqūlu bi-al-istidlāli wa-al-naẓari , waminhum man qāla bi-al-samʿi wa-al-ʾathari , waqāla baʿḍuhum: bi-al-tawqīfi wa-al-taslīmi waqāla baʿḍu al-nāsi: yudraku darkuhu bi-al-ʿajzi wa-al-taqṣīri ʿan bulūghi darkihi , wa-al-rajulu al-khāmisu
that knowledge of divine oneness is an obligation, especially when doubts occur and difficulties are introduced into it. They have disagreed only on two questions: what divine oneness is, and how to seek and attain it. Some say through investigation and seeking; some through inference and reflection; some through hearing and transmitted reports. Some say through revealed instruction and submission. Others say: “Comprehending it is achieved through inability and failure to reach its comprehension.” The fifth sort
مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ هُوَ صَاحِبُ حَدِيثٍ وَآثَارٍ وَنَاقِلُ رِوَايَةِ الْأَخْبَارِ يَقُولُ لَكَ إِذَا سَأَلْتَهُ اعْتَقِدِ التَّسْلِيمَ وَأَمِرَّ الْحَدِيثَ كَمَا جَاءَ وَلَا تَفْتِيشَ وَهَذَا يَتْلُو الْمُفْتِيَ فِي السَّلَامَةِ وَهُوَ أَحْسَنُهُمْ طَرِيقَةً وَأَشْبَهُهُمْ بِسَلَفِ الْعَامَّةِ خَلِيقَةً لَيْسَ عِنْدَهُ شَهَادَةُ يَقِينٍ وَلَا مَعْرِفَةٌ بِحَقِيقَةِ مَا رَآهُ وَلَا هُوَ مُشَاهِدٌ وَاصِفٌ لِمَعْنَى مَا نَقَلَهُ إِنَّمَا هُوَ لِلْعِلْمِ رَاوِيَةٌ وَلِلْأَثَرِ وَالْخَبَرِ نَاقِلَةٌ عَنْ غَيْرِ خُبْرٍ يَخْبُرُهُ وَلَا فِقْهَ فِي نَقْلِهِ فَهُوَ عَلَى بَيِّنَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَلَيْسَ يَتْلُوهُ شَاهِدٌ مِنْهُ ،
mina al-ʿulamāʾi huwa ṣāḥibu ḥadīthin waʾāthārin wanāqilu riwāyati al-ʾakhbāri yaqūlu laka ʾidhā saʾaltahu iʿtaqidi al-taslīma waʾamirra al-ḥadītha kamā jāʾa walā taftīsha wahādhā yatlū al-muftiya fī al-salāmati wahuwa ʾaḥsanuhum ṭarīqatan waʾashbahuhum bisalafi al-ʿāmmati khalīqatan laysa ʿindahu shahādatu yaqīnin walā maʿrifatun biḥaqīqati mā raʾāhu walā huwa mushāhidun wāṣifun limaʿnā mā naqalahu ʾinnamā huwa lilʿilmi rāwiyatun walilʾathari wa-al-khabari nāqilatun ʿan ghayri khubrin yakhburuhu walā fiqha fī naqlihi fahuwa ʿalā bayyinatin min rabbihi walaysa yatlūhu shāhidun minhu ,
of scholar is a man of hadith and transmitted traditions, a conveyor of reports. When you ask him, he tells you: “Hold to submission, let the hadith pass as it came, and do not investigate.” In safety he comes after the legal adviser. His way is the best of theirs, and in character he most resembles the predecessors among ordinary believers. He has no witnessing of certainty, no knowledge of the reality of what he has seen, and does not witness and describe the meaning of what he transmits. He is merely a reciter of knowledge, a carrier of traditions and reports, without experience of what he reports or understanding in his transmission. He stands upon a clear proof from his Lord, but no witness from Him follows it.
وَقَدْ كَانَ الزُّهْرِيُّ يَقُولُ : حَدَّثَنِي فُلَانٌ ، وَكَانَ مِنْ أَوْعِيَةِ الْعِلْمِ وَلَا يَقُولُ وَكَانَ عَالِمًا وَكَانَ مَالِكُ بْنُ أَنَسٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ : أَدْرَكْتُ سَبْعِينَ شَيْخًا مِنَ التَّابِعِينَ مِنْهُمْ عُبَّادٌ وَمِنْهُمْ مُسْتَجَابُ الدُّعَاءِ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يُسْتَسْقَى بِهِ مَا حَمَلْتُ عَنْهُمْ عِلْمًا قَطُّ قِيلَ : وَلِمَ ذَاكَ قَالَ لَمْ يَكُونُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ هَذَا الشَّأْنِ وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ لَمْ يَكُونُوا يَدْرُونَ مَا يُحَدِّثُونَ بِهِ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ
waqad kāna al-zuhriyyu yaqūlu: ḥaddathanī fulānun , wakāna min ʾawʿiyati al-ʿilmi walā yaqūlu wakāna ʿāliman wakāna māliku bnu ʾanasin raḥimahu allāhu yaqūlu: ʾadraktu sabʿīna shaykhan mina al-tābiʿīna minhum ʿubbādun waminhum mustajābu al-duʿāʾi waminhum man yustasqā bihi mā ḥamaltu ʿanhum ʿilman qaṭṭu qīla: walima dhāka qāla lam yakūnū min ʾahli hādhā al-shaʾni wafī riwāyatin lam yakūnū yadrūna mā yuḥaddithūna bihi walam yakun
Al-Zuhrī used to say: “So-and-so told me, and he was one of the vessels of knowledge.” He would not say: “He was a scholar.” Mālik ibn Anas, God have mercy on him, used to say: “I met seventy elders among the Successors. Some were devoted worshippers, some had their prayers answered, and some were people through whom rain was sought. I never took any knowledge from them.” He was asked: “Why was that?” He said: “They were not practitioners of this discipline.” In another version: “They did not understand what they were relating, and they had no
لَهُمْ فِقْهٌ فِيمَا يُسْأَلُونَ عَنْهُ قَالَ مَالِكٌ وَتَقَدَّمَ عَلَيْنَا ابْنُ شِهَابٍ الزُّهْرِيُّ وَهُوَ حَدِيثُ السِّنِّ فَنَزْدَحِمُ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى نَصِلَ إِلَيْهِ لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ عَالِمًا بِمَا يُحَدِّثُ بِهِ فَهَذَا بِمَعْنَى مَا رُوِيَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : رُبَّ حَامِلِ فِقْهٍ غَيْرُ فَقِيهٍ وَرُبَّ حَامِلِ فِقْهٍ إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ أَفْقَهُ مِنْهُ . وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ مَا كَانُوا يَعُدُّونَ عِلْمَ مَنْ لَا يَعْرِفُ اخْتِلَافَ الْعُلَمَاءِ عِلْمًا وَقَالَ آخَرُ :
lahum fiqhun fīmā yusʾalūna ʿanhu qāla mālikun wataqaddama ʿalaynā ibnu shihābin al-zuhriyyu wahuwa ḥadīthu al-sinni fanazdaḥimu ʿalayhi ḥattā naṣila ʾilayhi liʾannahu kāna ʿāliman bimā yuḥaddithu bihi fahādhā bimaʿnā mā ruwiya ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: rubba ḥāmili fiqhin ghayru faqīhin warubba ḥāmili fiqhin ʾilā man huwa ʾafqahu minhu. waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi mā kānū yaʿuddūna ʿilma man lā yaʿrifu ikhtilāfa al-ʿulamāʾi ʿilman waqāla ʾākharu:
understanding of what they were asked about.” Mālik said: “Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī came to us while still young, and we crowded around him until we reached him, because he knew what he was relating.” This is the meaning of what is related from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: “Many a bearer of understanding does not himself understand, and many a bearer of understanding conveys it to someone who understands more deeply than he does.” One of the predecessors said: “They did not consider the learning of someone unfamiliar with scholars’ disagreements to be knowledge.” Another said:
مَنْ لَمْ يَعْرِفِ اخْتِلَافَ الْعُلَمَاءِ لَمْ يَحِلَّ لَهُ أَنْ يُفْتِيَ وَلَمْ يُسَمَّ عَالِمًا وَقَالَ قَتَادَةُ وَسَعِيدُ بْنُ جُبَيْرٍ أَعْلَمُ النَّاسِ أَعْلَمُهُمْ بِاخْتِلَافِ النَّاسِ وَقِيلَ لِلْإِمَامِ أَحْمَدَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ إِذَا كَتَبَ الرَّجُلُ مِائَةَ أَلْفِ حَدِيثٍ لَهُ أَنْ يُفْتِيَ ، قَالَ : لَا ، قِيلَ : فَمِائَتَيْ أَلْفِ حَدِيثٍ قَالَ : لَا قِيلَ فَثَلَاثَمِائَةَ أَلْفِ حَدِيثٍ قَالَ أَرْجُو وَفِي التَّوْرَاةِ مَكْتُوبٌ الطَّبِيبُ الْحَاذِقُ لِلْعِلَّةِ الْبَاطِنَةِ يَصْلُحُ .
man lam yaʿrifi ikhtilāfa al-ʿulamāʾi lam yaḥilla lahu ʾan yuftiya walam yusamma ʿāliman waqāla qatādatu wasaʿīdu bnu jubayrin ʾaʿlamu al-nāsi ʾaʿlamuhum bikhtilāfi al-nāsi waqīla lilʾimāmi ʾaḥmada raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ʾidhā kataba al-rajulu miʾata ʾalfi ḥadīthin lahu ʾan yuftiya , qāla: lā , qīla: famiʾatay ʾalfi ḥadīthin qāla: lā qīla fathalāthamiʾata ʾalfi ḥadīthin qāla ʾarjū wafī al-tawrāti maktūbun al-ṭabību al-ḥādhiqu lilʿillati al-bāṭinati yaṣluḥu.
“Whoever does not know scholars’ disagreements may not issue legal opinions and is not called a scholar.” Qatāda and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr said: “The most learned person is the one who knows most about people’s disagreements.” Imām Aḥmad, may God be pleased with him, was asked: “If a man has written down a hundred thousand hadiths, may he issue legal opinions?” He said: “No.” He was asked: “Then two hundred thousand hadiths?” He said: “No.” He was asked: “Then three hundred thousand hadiths?” He said: “I hope so.” It is written in the Torah: “The skilled physician is suited to the inward illness.”
وَكَتَبَ سَلْمَانُ الْفَارِسِيُّ مِنَ الْمَدَائِنِ إِلَى أَبِي الدَّرْدَاءِ وَكَانَ قَدْ آخَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بَيْنَهُمَا فِيمَنْ آخَى : يَا أَخِي بَلَغَنِي أَنَّكَ أُقْعِدْتَ طَبِيبًا تُدَاوِي الْمَرْضَى فَانْظُرْ فَإِنْ كُنْتَ طَبِيبًا فَتَكَلَّمْ فَإِنَّ كَلَامَكَ شِفَاءٌ وَإِنْ كُنْتَ مُتَطَبِّبًا فَاللَّهَ اللَّهَ لَا تَقْتُلْ مُسْلِمًا ، قَالَ : فَكَانَ أَبُو الدَّرْدَاءِ يَتَوَقَّفُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ إِذَا سُئِلَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ وَسَأَلَهُ إِنْسَانٌ عَنْ شَيْءٍ فَأَجَابَهُ ثُمَّ قَالَ رُدُّوهُ فَقَالَ لَهُ :
wakataba salmānu al-fārisiyyu mina al-madāʾini ʾilā ʾabī al-dardāʾi wakāna qad ʾākhā rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama baynahumā fīman ʾākhā: yā ʾakhī balaghanī ʾannaka ʾuqʿidta ṭabīban tudāwī al-marḍā fanẓur faʾin kunta ṭabīban fatakallam faʾinna kalāmaka shifāʾun waʾin kunta mutaṭabbiban fa-allāha allāha lā taqtul musliman , qāla: fakāna ʾabū al-dardāʾi yatawaqqafu baʿda dhālika ʾidhā suʾila ʿan shayʾin wasaʾalahu ʾinsānun ʿan shayʾin faʾajābahu thumma qāla ruddūhu faqāla lahu:
Salmān al-Fārisī wrote from al-Madāʾin to Abū al-Dardāʾ, whom God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, had joined with him among those he paired as brothers: “My brother, I have heard that you have been seated as a physician to treat the sick. Consider: if you are a physician, speak, for your words are healing. If you are merely practicing medicine without skill, then fear God, fear God; do not kill a Muslim.” He said: “After that, Abū al-Dardāʾ would hesitate when asked about something. A person asked him a question and he answered him, then said: ‘Bring him back.’ He said to him:
أَعِدْ عَلَيَّ فَأَعَادَ فَقَالَ : مُتَطَبِّبٌ وَاللَّهِ فَرَجَعَ فِي جَوَابِهِ وَلَعَمْرِي أَنَّهُ قَدْ جَاءَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مَنْ تَطَبَّبَ وَلَمْ يُعْلَمْ مِنْهُ طِبٌّ فَقَتَلَ فَهُوَ ضَامِنٌ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : سَلُوا جَابِرَ بْنَ زَيْدٍ فَلَوْ نَزَلَ أَهْلُ الْبَصْرَةِ عَلَى فُتْيَاهُ لَوَسِعَهُمْ وَكَانَ مِنْ صَالِحِي التَّابِعِينَ ،
ʾaʿid ʿalayya faʾaʿāda faqāla: mutaṭabbibun wa-allāhi farajaʿa fī jawābihi walaʿamrī ʾannahu qad jāʾa ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: man taṭabbaba walam yuʿlam minhu ṭibbun faqatala fahuwa ḍāminun , waqad kāna ibnu ʿabbāsin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu: salū jābira bna zaydin falaw nazala ʾahlu al-baṣrati ʿalā futyāhu lawasiʿahum wakāna min ṣāliḥī al-tābiʿīna ,
“‘Repeat it to me.’ He repeated it, and he said: ‘An unskilled physician, by God!’ He then withdrew his answer.” By my life, it has indeed been related from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: “Whoever practices medicine without being known to possess medical skill, and kills someone, is liable.” Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with him, used to say: “Ask Jābir ibn Zayd. If the people of Basra were to rely on his legal rulings, they would suffice for them.” He was one of the righteous Successors.
وَكَانَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا إِذَا سُئِلَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ يَقُولُ : سَلُوا سَعِيدَ بْنَ الْمُسَيَّبِ ، وَكَانَ أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : سَلُوا مَوْلَانَا الْحَسَنَ فَإِنَّهُ قَدْ حَفِظَ وَنَسِينَا ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْبَصْرِيِّينَ : قَدِمَ عَلَيْنَا رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَأَتَيْنَا الْحَسَنَ فَقُلْنَا أَلَا نَذْهَبُ إِلَى هَذَا الصَّحَابِيِّ فَنَسْأَلَهُ عَنْ حَدِيثِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَتَجِيءَ مَعَنَا ؟
wakāna ibnu ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā ʾidhā suʾila ʿan shayʾin yaqūlu: salū saʿīda bna al-musayyabi , wakāna ʾanasu bnu mālikin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu: salū mawlānā al-ḥasana faʾinnahu qad ḥafiẓa wanasīnā , waqāla baʿḍu al-baṣriyyīna: qadima ʿalaynā rajulun min ʾaṣḥābi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama faʾataynā al-ḥasana faqulnā ʾalā nadhhabu ʾilā hādhā al-ṣaḥābiyyi fanasʾalahu ʿan ḥadīthi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama watajīʾa maʿanā ?
When Ibn ʿUmar, may God be pleased with them both, was asked about something, he would say: “Ask Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab.” Anas ibn Mālik, may God be pleased with him, used to say: “Ask our client al-Ḥasan, for he has remembered and we have forgotten.” One of the Basrans said: “A man from among the Companions of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, came to us. We went to al-Ḥasan and said: ‘Shall we go to this Companion and ask him about the hadith of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, and will you come with us?’
قَالَ : نَعَمْ فَاذْهَبُوا ، قَالَ : فَجَعَلْنَا نَسْأَلُهُ عَنْ حَدِيثِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَجَعَلَ يُحَدِّثُنَا حَتَّى حَدَّثَنَا عِشْرِينَ حَدِيثًا قَالَ : وَالْحَسَنُ يُنْصِتُ يَسْتَمِعُ إِلَيْهِ ، ثُمَّ جَثَا الْحَسَنُ
qāla: naʿam fadhhabū , qāla: fajaʿalnā nasʾaluhu ʿan ḥadīthi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama wajaʿala yuḥaddithunā ḥattā ḥaddathanā ʿishrīna ḥadīthan qāla: wa-al-ḥasanu yunṣitu yastamiʿu ʾilayhi , thumma jathā al-ḥasanu
“He said: ‘Yes, then go.’” He said: “We began asking him about the hadith of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, and he began relating to us, until he had related twenty hadiths.” He said: “Al-Ḥasan remained silent, listening to him. Then al-Ḥasan knelt
عَلَى رُكْبَتَيْهِ فَقَالَ : يَا صَاحِبَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أَخْبِرْنَا بِتَفْسِيرِ مَا رَوَيْتَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ حَتَّى نَفْقَهَ فِيهِ ، فَسَكَتَ الصَّحَابِيُّ وَقَالَ مَا عِنْدِي إِلَّا مَا سَمِعْتُ ، قَالَ : فَابْتَدَأَ الْحَسَنُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يُفَسِّرُ مَا رَوَاهُ ، فَقَالَ : أَمَّا الْحَدِيثُ الْأَوَّلُ الَّذِي حَدَّثْتَنَا بِهِ فَإِنَّ تَفْسِيرَهُ كَيْتَ وَكَيْتَ وَالْحَدِيثُ الثَّانِي تَفْسِيرُهُ كَذَا وَكَذَا حَتَّى سَرَدَ عَلَيْهِ الْأَحَادِيثَ كُلَّهَا الَّتِي حَدَّثَنَا بِهَا وَأَخْبَرَنَا بِتَفْسِيرِهَا ،
ʿalā rukbatayhi faqāla: yā ṣāḥiba rasūli allāhi ʾakhbirnā bitafsīri mā rawayta ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ḥattā nafqaha fīhi , fasakata al-ṣaḥābiyyu waqāla mā ʿindī ʾillā mā samiʿtu , qāla: fabtadaʾa al-ḥasanu raḥimahu allāhu yufassiru mā rawāhu , faqāla: ʾammā al-ḥadīthu al-ʾawwalu alladhī ḥaddathtanā bihi faʾinna tafsīrahu kayta wakayta wa-al-ḥadīthu al-thānī tafsīruhu kadhā wakadhā ḥattā sarada ʿalayhi al-ʾaḥādītha kullahā allatī ḥaddathanā bihā waʾakhbaranā bitafsīrihā ,
on his knees and said: ‘Companion of God’s Messenger, explain to us what you have related from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, so that we may understand it.’ The Companion fell silent and said: ‘I have only what I heard.’” He said: “Al-Ḥasan, God have mercy on him, began explaining what he had related. He said: ‘As for the first hadith you related to us, its explanation is such-and-such, and the second hadith means such-and-such,’ until he had recited back to him all the hadiths he had related to us and told us their explanation.”
قَالَ : فَلَا نَدْرِي نَعْجَبُ مِنْ حُسْنِ حِفْظِهِ إِيَّاهُ وَأَدَائِهِ الْحَدِيثَ أَوْ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ وَتَفْسِيرِهِ ، قَالَ : فَأَخَذَ الصَّحَابِيُّ كَفًّا مِنْ حَصًى وَحَصَبَنَا بِهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ : تَسْأَلُونِي عَنِ الْعِلْمِ وَهَذَا الْحَبْرُ بَيْنَ أَظْهُرِكُمْ فَهَؤُلَاءِ أَصْحَابُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَرُدُّونَ الْأُمُورَ فِي الْفُتْيَا وَعِلْمِ اللِّسَانِ إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ دُونَهُمْ فِي الْقَدْرِ وَالْمَنْزِلَةِ وَهُوَ فِي عِلْمِ التَّوْحِيدِ وَالْمَعْرِفَةِ وَالْإِيمَانِ فَوْقَهُمْ دَرَجَاتٍ
qāla: falā nadrī naʿjabu min ḥusni ḥifẓihi ʾiyyāhu waʾadāʾihi al-ḥadītha ʾaw min ʿilmihi watafsīrihi , qāla: faʾakhadha al-ṣaḥābiyyu kaffan min ḥaṣan waḥaṣabanā bihi thumma qāla: tasʾalūnī ʿani al-ʿilmi wahādhā al-ḥabru bayna ʾaẓhurikum fahāʾulāʾi ʾaṣḥābu al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yaruddūna al-ʾumūra fī al-futyā waʿilmi al-lisāni ʾilā man huwa dūnahum fī al-qadri wa-al-manzilati wahuwa fī ʿilmi al-tawḥīdi wa-al-maʿrifati wa-al-ʾīmāni fawqahum darajātin
He said: “We did not know whether to marvel at how well he remembered and delivered the hadith or at his knowledge and explanation.” He said: “The Companion took a handful of pebbles and pelted us with them, then said: ‘You ask me about knowledge when this learned man is among you?’” Thus these Companions of the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, refer matters of legal opinion and knowledge of the tongue to someone below them in standing and rank, although in knowledge of divine oneness, knowledge of God, and faith he stands degrees above them,
وَلَا يَرْجِعُونَ إِلَيْهِمْ فِي الشُّبُهَاتِ وَلَا يَرُدُّونَ إِلَيْهِمْ فِي عِلْمِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَالْيَقِينِ فَهَذَا كَمَا قِيلَ : إِنَّمَا الْعِلْمُ نُورٌ يَقْذِفُهُ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى فِي قُلُوبِ أَوْلِيَائِهِ فَقَدْ يَكُونُ ذَلِكَ تَفْضِيلًا لِلنُّظَرَاءِ بَعْضِهِمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ ، وَقَدْ يَكُونُ تَخْصِيصًا لِلشَّبَابِ عَلَى الشُّيُوخِ وَلِمَنْ جَاءَ بَعْدَ السَّلَفِ مِنَ التَّابِعِينَ وَرُبَّمَا كَانَ تَكْرِمَةً لِلْخَامِلِينَ الْمُتَوَاضِعِينَ لِيُنَبَّهَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَيَعْرِفُونَ شَأْنَهُمْ لِيُعَظَّمُوا وَيُرْفَعُوا كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى :
walā yarjiʿūna ʾilayhim fī al-shubuhāti walā yaruddūna ʾilayhim fī ʿilmi al-maʿrifati wa-al-yaqīni fahādhā kamā qīla: ʾinnamā al-ʿilmu nūrun yaqdhifuhu allāhu tabāraka wataʿālā fī qulūbi ʾawliyāʾihi faqad yakūnu dhālika tafḍīlan lil-nuẓarāʾi baʿḍihim ʿalā baʿḍin , waqad yakūnu takhṣīṣan lil-shabābi ʿalā al-shuyūkhi waliman jāʾa baʿda al-salafi mina al-tābiʿīna warubbamā kāna takrimatan lilkhāmilīna al-mutawāḍiʿīna liyunabbaha ʿalayhim wayaʿrifūna shaʾnahum liyuʿaẓẓamū wayurfaʿū kamā qāla allāhu taʿālā:
and they do not turn to them about doubts or refer to them in knowledge of God and certainty. This accords with the saying: “Knowledge is only a light that God, blessed and exalted is He, casts into the hearts of His friends.” This may be a favor given to some peers over others; it may distinguish young people above elders, or those of the Successors who came after the predecessors. It may honor the obscure and humble, so that attention is drawn to them and people recognize their standing, and so that they may be esteemed and raised. As God Most High said:
( وَنُرِيدُ أَنْ نَمُنَّ عَلَى الَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَنَجْعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّةً ) الْقَصَصُ : 5 وَالنُّورُ إِذَا جُعِلَ فِي الصَّدْرِ انْشَرَحَ الْقَلْبُ بِالْعِلْمِ وَنَظَرَ بِالْيَقِينِ فَنَطَقَ اللِّسَانُ بِحَقِيقَةِ الْبَيَانِ وَهُوَ الْحِكْمَةُ الَّتِي يُودِعُهَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي قُلُوبِ أَوْلِيَائِهِ كَمَا جَاءَ فِي تَفْسِيرِ قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحِكْمَةَ وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ) ص : 20 قِيلَ :
( wanurīdu ʾan namunna ʿalā alladhīna ustuḍʿifū fī al-ʾarḍi wanajʿalahum ʾaʾimmatan ) al-qaṣaṣu: 5 wa-al-nūru ʾidhā juʿila fī al-ṣadri insharaḥa al-qalbu bi-al-ʿilmi wanaẓara bi-al-yaqīni fanaṭaqa al-lisānu biḥaqīqati al-bayāni wahuwa al-ḥikmatu allatī yūdiʿuhā allāhu taʿālā fī qulūbi ʾawliyāʾihi kamā jāʾa fī tafsīri qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ( waʾātaynāhu al-ḥikmata wafaṣla al-khiṭābi ) ṣād: 20 qīla:
“We desire to favor those who were oppressed in the land and to make them leaders” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:5). When light is placed in the breast, the heart opens through knowledge and sees with certainty, and the tongue speaks with true clarity. This is the wisdom God Most High deposits in the hearts of His friends, as in the explanation of His words, mighty and majestic: “We gave him wisdom and decisive speech” (Ṣād 38:20). It was said:
الْإِصَابَةُ فِي الْقَوْلِ فَكَأَنَّهُ يُوَفِّقُهُ لِلْحَقِيقَةِ وَقَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( يُؤْتِي الْحِكْمَةَ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَمَنْ يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ أُوتِيَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 269 قِيلَ : الْفَهْمُ وَالْفِطْنَةُ . وَقَدْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي وَصْفِ الْهِدَايَةِ حِينَ تَلَا قَوْلَهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ( فَمَنْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَهْدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ لِلْإِسْلَامِ ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 125 فَقِيلَ :
al-ʾiṣābatu fī al-qawli fakaʾannahu yuwaffiquhu lilḥaqīqati waqawluhu taʿālā: ( yuʾtī al-ḥikmata man yashāʾu waman yuʾta al-ḥikmata faqad ʾūtiya khayran kathīran ) al-baqaratu: 269 qīla: al-fahmu wa-al-fiṭnatu. waqad qāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī waṣfi al-hidāyati ḥīna talā qawlahu ʿazza wajalla ( faman yuridi allāhu ʾan yahdiyahu yashraḥ ṣadrahu lilʾislāmi ) al-ʾanʿāmu: 125 faqīla:
“Saying what is right”: it is as though He grants him success in attaining the truth. Of the Most High’s words, “He gives wisdom to whomever He wills, and whoever is given wisdom has been given abundant good” (al-Baqara 2:269), it was said: “Understanding and discernment.” God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, spoke in describing guidance when he recited His words, mighty and majestic: “Whomever God desires to guide, He opens his breast to Islam” (al-Anʿām 6:125). He was asked:
يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَا هَذَا الشَّرْحُ ؟ فَقَالَ : إِنَّ النُّورَ إِذَا قُذِفَ فِي الْقَلْبِ انْشَرَحَ لَهُ الصَّدْرُ وَانْفَسَحَ ، قِيلَ : فَهَلْ لِذَلِكَ مِنْ عَلَامَةٍ ؟ قَالَ : نَعَمْ التَّجَافِي عَنْ دَارِ الْغُرُورِ وَالْإِنَابَةُ إِلَى دَارِ الْخُلُودِ وَالِاسْتِعْدَادُ لِلْمَوْتِ قَبْلَ نُزُولِهِ فَذَكَرَ سَبَبَهُ الزُّهْدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْإِقْبَالَ عَلَى خِدْمَةِ الْمَوْلَى وَحُسْنُ التَّوْفِيقِ وَالْإِصَابَةُ فِي الْعِلْمِ مَوَاهِبُ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَأَثَرَةٌ يَخْتَصُّ بِهَا مَنْ يَشَاءُ
yā rasūla allāhi mā hādhā al-sharḥu ? faqāla: ʾinna al-nūra ʾidhā qudhifa fī al-qalbi insharaḥa lahu al-ṣadru wanfasaḥa , qīla: fahal lidhālika min ʿalāmatin ? qāla: naʿam al-tajāfī ʿan dāri al-ghurūri wa-al-ʾinābatu ʾilā dāri al-khulūdi wa-al-istiʿdādu lilmawti qabla nuzūlihi fadhakara sababahu al-zuhda fī al-dunyā wa-al-ʾiqbāla ʿalā khidmati al-mawlā waḥusnu al-tawfīqi wa-al-ʾiṣābatu fī al-ʿilmi mawāhibu mina allāhi ʿazza wajalla waʾatharatun yakhtaṣṣu bihā man yashāʾu
“Messenger of God, what is this opening?” He said: “When light is cast into the heart, the breast opens and expands for it.” He was asked: “Does that have a sign?” He said: “Yes: withdrawing from the abode of delusion, turning toward the abode of everlasting life, and preparing for death before it descends.” He thus mentioned its cause: renouncing this world and turning to the service of the Master. Good guidance and correctness in knowledge are gifts from God, mighty and majestic, and a special favor with which He singles out whomever He wills,
كَمَا سُئِلَ أَبُو مُوسَى الْأَشْعَرِيُّ وَهُوَ أَمِيرُ الْكُوفَةِ عَنْ رَجُلٍ قُتِلَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ مُقْبِلًا غَيْرَ مُدْبِرٍ أَيْنَ هُوَ ؟ فَقَالَ أَبُو مُوسَى : فِي الْجَنَّةِ ، فَقَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ لِلسَّائِلِ : أَعِدْ عَلَى الْأَمِيرِ فُتْيَاكَ فَلَعَلَّهُ لَمْ يَفْهَمْ ، قَالَ السَّائِلُ : قُلْتُ أَيُّهَا الْأَمِيرُ مَا قَوْلُكَ فِي رَجُلٍ قَاتَلَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَقُتِلَ مُقْبِلًا غَيْرَ مُدْبِرٍ أَيْنَ هُوَ ؟
kamā suʾila ʾabū mūsā al-ʾashʿariyyu wahuwa ʾamīru al-kūfati ʿan rajulin qutila fī sabīli allāhi muqbilan ghayra mudbirin ʾayna huwa ? faqāla ʾabū mūsā: fī al-jannati , faqāla ibnu masʿūdin lil-sāʾili: ʾaʿid ʿalā al-ʾamīri futyāka falaʿallahu lam yafham , qāla al-sāʾilu: qultu ʾayyuhā al-ʾamīru mā qawluka fī rajulin qātala fī sabīli allāhi faqutila muqbilan ghayra mudbirin ʾayna huwa ?
as when Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī, while governor of Kūfa, was asked about a man killed in God’s path while advancing and not retreating: “Where is he?” Abū Mūsā said: “In Paradise.” Ibn Masʿūd said to the questioner: “Put your question to the governor again; perhaps he did not understand.” The questioner said: “I said: ‘Governor, what do you say about a man who fought in God’s path and was killed advancing and not retreating? Where is he?’”
فَقَالَ أَبُو مُوسَى : فِي الْجَنَّةِ ، فَقَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَعِدْ عَلَى الْأَمِيرِ فَلَعَلَّهُ لَمْ يَفْهَمْ فَأَعَادَ عَلَيْهِ ثَلَاثًا كُلُّ ذَلِكَ يَقُولُ أَبُو مُوسَى فِي الْجَنَّةِ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ مَا عِنْدِي غَيْرُ هَذَا فَمَا تَقُولُ أَنْتَ ؟ فَقَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ لَكِنِّي لَا أَقُولُ هَكَذَا ، قَالَ : فَمَا قَوْلُكَ ؟ فَقَالَ : أَقُولُ إِنْ قُتِلَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَأَصَابَ الْحَقَّ
faqāla ʾabū mūsā: fī al-jannati , faqāla ibnu masʿūdin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ʾaʿid ʿalā al-ʾamīri falaʿallahu lam yafham faʾaʿāda ʿalayhi thalāthan kullu dhālika yaqūlu ʾabū mūsā fī al-jannati , thumma qāla mā ʿindī ghayru hādhā famā taqūlu ʾanta ? faqāla ibnu masʿūdin lakinnī lā ʾaqūlu hākadhā , qāla: famā qawluka ? faqāla: ʾaqūlu ʾin qutila fī sabīli allāhi faʾaṣāba al-ḥaqqa
Abū Mūsā said: “In Paradise.” Ibn Masʿūd, may God be pleased with him, said: “Repeat it to the governor; perhaps he did not understand.” He repeated it to him three times, and each time Abū Mūsā said: “In Paradise.” Then he said: “I have nothing beyond this. What do you say?” Ibn Masʿūd said: “I do not say it like that.” He said: “Then what do you say?” He replied: “I say: if he was killed in God’s path and was in the right,
فَهُوَ فِي الْجَنَّةِ فَقَالَ أَبُو مُوسَى صَدَقَ لَا تَسْأَلُونِي عَنْ شَيْءٍ مَا دَامَ هَذَا الْحَبْرُ بَيْنَ أَظْهُرِكُمْ وَالْقَوْلُ فِي تَسْلِيمِ أَخْبَارِ الصِّفَاتِ وَالسُّكُوتِ عَنْ تَفْسِيرِهَا كَمَا قَالَ أَصْحَابُ الْحَدِيثِ إِلَّا أَنَّ بِمَعْرِفَةِ مَعَانِي الْأَسْمَاءِ وَالصِّفَاتِ وَشُهُودِهَا يُنْفَى الظَّنُّ وَالْوَسْوَاسُ فِيهَا وَتَرْكُ التَّشْبِيهِ وَالتَّمْثِيلِ بِهَا وَالطُّمَأْنِينَةُ إِلَى الْيَقِينِ بِالْمَعْرِفَةِ بِمُشَاهَدَتِهَا هُوَ مَقَامُ الْمُوقِنِينَ وَاعْتِقَادُ أَنَّهَا صِفَاتٌ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى يَتَجَلَّى بِهَا وَبِمَا شَاءَ مِنْ غَيْرِهَا
fahuwa fī al-jannati faqāla ʾabū mūsā ṣadaqa lā tasʾalūnī ʿan shayʾin mā dāma hādhā al-ḥabru bayna ʾaẓhurikum wa-al-qawlu fī taslīmi ʾakhbāri al-ṣifāti wa-al-sukūti ʿan tafsīrihā kamā qāla ʾaṣḥābu al-ḥadīthi ʾillā ʾanna bimaʿrifati maʿānī al-ʾasmāʾi wa-al-ṣifāti washuhūdihā yunfā al-ẓannu wa-al-waswāsu fīhā watarku al-tashbīhi wa-al-tamthīli bihā wa-al-ṭumaʾnīnatu ʾilā al-yaqīni bi-al-maʿrifati bimushāhadatihā huwa maqāmu al-mūqinīna waʿtiqādu ʾannahā ṣifātun lillāhi taʿālā yatajallā bihā wabimā shāʾa min ghayrihā
“then he is in Paradise.” Abū Mūsā said: “He has spoken the truth. Do not ask me about anything while this learned man is among you.” The position on accepting the reports about the divine attributes and remaining silent about their interpretation is as the people of hadith have said. Yet through knowing and witnessing the meanings of the names and attributes, conjecture and obsessive doubts about them are removed. Abandoning comparison and likeness in them, and finding peace in certainty through knowledge that witnesses them, is the station of those of certainty. Believing that they are attributes of God Most High, through which He discloses Himself, and through whatever others He wills,
بِلَا حَدٍّ وَلَا عَدَدٍ يَظْهَرُ بِصِفَةِ صِفَةٍ كَيْفَ شَاءَ غَيْرَ مَوْقُوفٍ عَلَى صِفَةٍ وَلَا مَحْكُومٍ عَلَيْهِ بِصُورَةٍ بِلَا إِظْهَارِ غَيْرَتِهِ بَلْ هُوَ كَيْفَ ظَهَرَ وَبِأَيِّ وَصْفٍ تَجَلَّى مَعَ نَفْيِ الْكَيْفِيَّةِ وَالْمِثْلِيَّةِ لِفَقْدِ الْجِنْسِ وَالْجَوْهَرِيَّةِ هُوَ مَقَامُ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ مِنَ الشُّهَدَاءِ ، وَهَؤُلَاءِ هُمُ الصِّدِّيقُونَ وَخُصُوصُ الْمُوقِنِينَ فَمَنْ عَدَلَ بِهِ عَنْ وَجْهَةِ هَؤُلَاءِ وَلَمْ يُوَاجِهْ بِشَهَادَتِهِمْ عَدَلَ إِلَى التَّسْلِيمِ وَالتَّصْدِيقِ فَوَقَفَ عِنْدَهُ فَكَانَ مَعْقِلَهُ وَاسْتِرَاحَتَهُ
bilā ḥaddin walā ʿadadin yaẓharu biṣifati ṣifatin kayfa shāʾa ghayra mawqūfin ʿalā ṣifatin walā maḥkūmin ʿalayhi biṣūratin bilā ʾiẓhāri ghayratihi bal huwa kayfa ẓahara wabiʾayyi waṣfin tajallā maʿa nafyi al-kayfiyyati wa-al-mithliyyati lifaqdi al-jinsi wa-al-jawhariyyati huwa maqāmu al-muqarrabīna mina al-shuhadāʾi , wahāʾulāʾi humu al-ṣiddīqūna wakhuṣūṣu al-mūqinīna faman ʿadala bihi ʿan wajhati hāʾulāʾi walam yuwājih bishahādatihim ʿadala ʾilā al-taslīmi wa-al-taṣdīqi fawaqafa ʿindahu fakāna maʿqilahu wastirāḥatahu
without limit or number, manifesting Himself through attribute after attribute as He wills, confined to no attribute and subject to no form, without manifesting otherness in Him, but being Himself however He appears and through whatever description He discloses Himself, while denying modality and likeness because there is no genus or substantiality: this is the station of the witnesses brought near. These are the utterly truthful and the elect among those of certainty. Whoever is turned away from their direction and does not encounter their witnessing turns to submission and affirmation and stops there, making it his refuge and resting place,
وَلَيْسَ بَعْدَ هَؤُلَاءِ مَقَامٌ يُمْدَحُ وَلَا وَصْفٌ يُذْكَرُ فَمَنْ فَتَّشَ ذَلِكَ بِعَقْلِهِ وَفَسَّرَهُ بِرَأْيِهِ دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ التَّشْبِيهُ أَوْ خَرَجَ إِلَى النَّفْيِ وَالْإِبْطَالِ . وَمِنَ الدَّلِيلِ عَلَى فَضْلِ هَذَا الْعِلْمِ عَلَى سَائِرِ الْعُلُومِ مَا جَاءَ فِي الْأَخْبَارِ الْمَأْثُورَةِ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَعَنِ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالتَّابِعِينَ فِي فَضْلِ مَجَالِسِ الذِّكْرِ وَفَضْلِ الذَّاكِرِينَ :
walaysa baʿda hāʾulāʾi maqāmun yumdaḥu walā waṣfun yudhkaru faman fattasha dhālika biʿaqlihi wafassarahu biraʾyihi dakhala ʿalayhi al-tashbīhu ʾaw kharaja ʾilā al-nafyi wa-al-ʾibṭāli. wamina al-dalīli ʿalā faḍli hādhā al-ʿilmi ʿalā sāʾiri al-ʿulūmi mā jāʾa fī al-ʾakhbāri al-maʾthūrati ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waʿani al-ṣaḥābati wa-al-tābiʿīna fī faḍli majālisi al-dhikri wafaḍli al-dhākirīna:
and beyond these there is no station to praise or quality to mention. Whoever probes this with his intellect and explains it through his own opinion becomes subject to likening God to creatures, or strays into negation and nullification. Among the proofs of this knowledge’s excellence above all other sciences are the transmitted reports from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, and from the Companions and Successors, concerning the excellence of gatherings of remembrance and the excellence of those who remember:
إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُونَ بِهِ عِلْمَ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْمَعْرِفَةِ وَعُلُومَ الْمُعَامَلَاتِ وَالتَّفَقُّهَ فِي بَصَائِرِ الْقُلُوبِ وَالنَّظَرَ بِعَيْنِ الْيَقِينِ إِلَى سَرَائِرِ الْغُيُوبِ وَلَيْسَ يُرِيدُونَ بِهِ مَجَالِسَ الْقَصَصِ وَلَا يَعْنُونَ بِذَلِكَ الْقُصَّاصَ لِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يَرَوْنَ الْقَصَصَ بِدْعَةً وَيَقُولُونَ لَمْ يُقَصَّ فِي زَمَنِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَلَا أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَلَا عُمَرَ حَتَّى ظَهَرَتِ الْفِتْنَةُ فَلَمَّا وَقَعَتِ الْفِتْنَةُ ظَهَرَ الْقُصَّاصُ وَلَمَّا دَخَلَ عَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ الْبَصْرَةَ جَعَلَ يُخْرِجُ الْقُصَّاصَ مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ وَيَقُولُ :
ʾinnamā yurīdūna bihi ʿilma al-ʾīmāni wa-al-maʿrifati waʿulūma al-muʿāmalāti wa-al-tafaqquha fī baṣāʾiri al-qulūbi wa-al-naẓara biʿayni al-yaqīni ʾilā sarāʾiri al-ghuyūbi walaysa yurīdūna bihi majālisa al-qaṣaṣi walā yaʿnūna bidhālika al-quṣṣāṣa liʾannahum kānū yarawna al-qaṣaṣa bidʿatan wayaqūlūna lam yuqaṣṣa fī zamani rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama walā ʾabī bakrin walā ʿumara ḥattā ẓaharati al-fitnatu falammā waqaʿati al-fitnatu ẓahara al-quṣṣāṣu walammā dakhala ʿaliyyun raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu al-baṣrata jaʿala yukhriju al-quṣṣāṣa mina al-masjidi wayaqūlu:
By this they mean only knowledge of faith and of God, the sciences of dealings with Him, understanding the insights of hearts, and looking with the eye of certainty into the secrets of unseen things. They do not mean gatherings of storytelling, nor do they intend storytellers, for they regarded storytelling as an innovation. They used to say: “No stories were told in the time of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, or of Abū Bakr, or of ʿUmar, until civil strife appeared. When civil strife occurred, the storytellers appeared.” When ʿAlī, may God be pleased with him, entered Basra, he began expelling storytellers from the mosque, saying:
لَا يُقَصُّ فِي مَسْجِدِنَا حَتَّى انْتَهَى إِلَى الْحَسَنِ وَهُوَ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِي هَذَا الْعِلْمِ فَاسْتَمَعَ إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ انْصَرَفَ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجْهُ وَجَاءَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ إِلَى مَجْلِسِهِ مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ فَوَجَدَ قَاصًّا يَقُصُّ فَوَجَّهَ إِلَيْهِ صَاحِبَ الشُّرْطَةِ أَنْ أَخْرِجْهُ مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ فَأَخْرَجَهُ ، فَلَوْ كَانَ الْقَصَصُ مِنْ مَجَالِسِ الذِّكْرِ وَالْقُصَّاصُ عُلَمَاءَ لَمَا أَخْرَجَهُمُ ابْنُ عُمَرَ مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ ، هَذَا مَعَ وَرَعِهِ وَزُهْدِهِ ،
lā yuqaṣṣu fī masjidinā ḥattā intahā ʾilā al-ḥasani wahuwa yatakallamu fī hādhā al-ʿilmi fastamaʿa ʾilayhi thumma inṣarafa walam yukhrijhu wajāʾa ibnu ʿumara ʾilā majlisihi mina al-masjidi fawajada qāṣṣan yaquṣṣu fawajjaha ʾilayhi ṣāḥiba al-shurṭati ʾan ʾakhrijhu mina al-masjidi faʾakhrajahu , falaw kāna al-qaṣaṣu min majālisi al-dhikri wa-al-quṣṣāṣu ʿulamāʾa lamā ʾakhrajahumu ibnu ʿumara mina al-masjidi , hādhā maʿa waraʿihi wazuhdihi ,
“No storytelling in our mosque.” Then he reached al-Ḥasan, who was speaking about this knowledge. He listened to him, then left without expelling him. Ibn ʿUmar came to his place in the mosque and found a storyteller telling stories. He sent the chief of police to him, saying: “Expel him from the mosque,” and he expelled him. If storytelling had belonged to gatherings of remembrance, and storytellers had been scholars, Ibn ʿUmar would not have expelled them from the mosque, given his scrupulousness and renunciation.
وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنِ ابْنِ شَوْذَبٍ عَنْ أَبِي التَّيَّاحِ قَالَ : قُلْتُ لِلْحَسَنِ إِمَامُنَا يَقُصُّ فَيَجْتَمِعُ الرِّجَالُ وَالنِّسَاءُ فَيَرْفَعُونَ أَصْوَاتَهُمْ بِالدُّعَاءِ وَيَمُدُّونَ أَيْدِيَهُمْ فَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ : رَفْعُ الصَّوْتِ بِالدُّعَاءِ بِدْعَةٌ وَمَدُّ الْأَيْدِي بِالدُّعَاءِ بِدْعَةٌ ، وَرَوَى أَبُو الْأَشْهَبِ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ : الْقَصَصُ بِدْعَةٌ ، وَقِيلَ لِابْنِ سِيرِينَ : لَوْ قَصَصْتَ عَلَى إِخْوَانِكَ فَقَالَ : قَدْ قِيلَ لَا يَتَكَلَّمُ عَلَى النَّاسِ إِلَّا أَحَدُ ثَلَاثَةٍ :
waqad rawaynā ʿani ibni shawdhabin ʿan ʾabī al-tayyāḥi qāla: qultu lilḥasani ʾimāmunā yaquṣṣu fayajtamiʿu al-rijālu wa-al-nisāʾu fayarfaʿūna ʾaṣwātahum bi-al-duʿāʾi wayamuddūna ʾaydiyahum faqāla al-ḥasanu: rafʿu al-ṣawti bi-al-duʿāʾi bidʿatun wamaddu al-ʾaydī bi-al-duʿāʾi bidʿatun , warawā ʾabū al-ʾashhabi ʿani al-ḥasani: al-qaṣaṣu bidʿatun , waqīla libni sīrīna: law qaṣaṣta ʿalā ʾikhwānika faqāla: qad qīla lā yatakallamu ʿalā al-nāsi ʾillā ʾaḥadu thalāthatin:
We have related from Ibn Shawdhab, from Abū al-Tayyāḥ, who said: “I said to al-Ḥasan: ‘Our leader tells stories, and men and women gather, raising their voices in supplication and stretching out their hands.’ Al-Ḥasan said: ‘Raising the voice in supplication is an innovation, and stretching out the hands in supplication is an innovation.’” Abū al-Ashhab related from al-Ḥasan: “Storytelling is an innovation.” Ibn Sīrīn was asked: “Why not tell stories to your brothers?” He said: “It has been said that only one of three people addresses the public:
أَمِيرٌ أَوْ مَأْمُورٌ أَوْ أَحْمَقُ فَلَسْتُ بِأَمِيرٍ وَلَا مَأْمُورٍ وَأَكْرَهُ أَنْ أَكُونَ الثَّالِثَ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عَوْنِ بْنِ مُوسَى عَنْ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ قُرَّةَ قَالَ : سَأَلْتُ الْحَسَنَ الْبَصْرِيَّ قُلْتُ : أَعُودُ مَرِيضًا أَحَبُّ إِلَيْكَ أَوْ أَجْلِسُ إِلَى قَاصٍّ ، فَقَالَ : عُدْ مَرِيضَكَ فَقُلْتُ أُشَيِّعُ جِنَازَةً أَحَبُّ إِلَيْكَ أَوْ أَجْلِسُ إِلَى قَاصٍّ قَالَ : شَيِّعْ جِنَازَتَكَ قُلْتُ : وَإِنِ اسْتَعَانَ بِي رَجُلٌ فِي حَاجَةٍ أُعِينُهُ
ʾamīrun ʾaw maʾmūrun ʾaw ʾaḥmaqu falastu biʾamīrin walā maʾmūrin waʾakrahu ʾan ʾakūna al-thālitha. warawaynā ʿan ʿawni bni mūsā ʿan muʿāwiyata bni qurrata qāla: saʾaltu al-ḥasana al-baṣriyya qultu: ʾaʿūdu marīḍan ʾaḥabbu ʾilayka ʾaw ʾajlisu ʾilā qāṣṣin , faqāla: ʿud marīḍaka faqultu ʾushayyiʿu jināzatan ʾaḥabbu ʾilayka ʾaw ʾajlisu ʾilā qāṣṣin qāla: shayyiʿ jināzataka qultu: waʾini istaʿāna bī rajulun fī ḥājatin ʾuʿīnuhu
“a ruler, someone commissioned to do so, or a fool. I am neither a ruler nor commissioned to do so, and I dislike being the third.” We related from ʿAwn ibn Mūsā, from Muʿāwiya ibn Qurra, who said: “I asked al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī: ‘Would you prefer me to visit a sick person or sit with a storyteller?’ He said: ‘Visit your sick person.’ I said: ‘Would you prefer me to follow a funeral procession or sit with a storyteller?’ He said: ‘Follow your funeral procession.’ I said: ‘And if a man asks my help with a need, should I help him
أَوْ أَجْلِسُ إِلَى قَاصٍّ قَالَ : اذْهَبْ فِي حَاجَتِكَ حَتَّى جَعَلَهُ خَيْرًا مِنْ مَجَالِسِ الْفَرَاغِ ، فَلَوْ كَانَتْ مَجَالِسُ الذِّكْرِ عِنْدَهُمْ هِيَ مَجَالِسَ الْقُصَّاصِ وَلَوْ كَانَ الْقَصَصُ هُوَ الذِّكْرَ لَمَا وَسِعَ الْحَسَنَ أَنْ يُثَبِّطَ عَنْهُ وَلَا يُؤْثِرَ عَلَيْهِ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ كَانَ يَدْعُو إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِالتَّوْحِيدِ وَيَتَكَلَّمُ فِي عِلْمِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَالْيَقِينِ وَالذَّاكِرِينَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَحُضُورُ مَجْلِسِ الذِّكْرِ مِنْ مَزِيدِ الْإِيمَانِ وَقَدْ رَفَعَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مَقَامَ الذَّاكِرِينَ فَوْقَ مَقَامِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :
ʾaw ʾajlisu ʾilā qāṣṣin qāla: idhhab fī ḥājatika ḥattā jaʿalahu khayran min majālisi al-farāghi , falaw kānat majālisu al-dhikri ʿindahum hiya majālisa al-quṣṣāṣi walaw kāna al-qaṣaṣu huwa al-dhikra lamā wasiʿa al-ḥasana ʾan yuthabbiṭa ʿanhu walā yuʾthira ʿalayhi kathīran mina al-ʾaʿmāli liʾannahu qad kāna yadʿū ʾilā allāhi taʿālā bi-al-tawḥīdi wayatakallamu fī ʿilmi al-maʿrifati wa-al-yaqīni wa-al-dhākirīna lillāhi taʿālā waḥuḍūru majlisi al-dhikri min mazīdi al-ʾīmāni waqad rafaʿa allāhu taʿālā maqāma al-dhākirīna fawqa maqāmi al-muʾminīna fī qawlihi taʿālā:
“‘or sit with a storyteller?’ He said: ‘Go about your need,’” thus making it better than gatherings of idleness. If, to them, gatherings of remembrance had meant gatherings of storytellers, and storytelling had meant remembrance, al-Ḥasan could not permissibly have discouraged it or preferred many other deeds to it. He himself used to call people to God Most High through divine oneness, and speak about knowledge of God and certainty, and those who remember God Most High. Attending a gathering of remembrance increases faith. God Most High has raised the station of those who remember above the station of believers in His words, exalted is He:
( إِنَّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ) الْأَحْزَابُ : 35 فَجَعَلَ الذَّاكِرِينَ وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ أَعْلَى الْمَقَامَاتِ . وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي خَبَرِ أَبِي ذَرٍّ حُضُورُ مَجْلِسِ ذِكْرٍ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ صَلَاةِ أَلْفِ رَكْعَةٍ وَحُضُورُ مَجْلِسِ عِلْمٍ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ عِيَادَةِ أَلْفِ مَرِيضٍ وَحُضُورُ مَجْلِسِ عِلْمٍ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ شُهُودِ أَلْفِ جِنَازَةٍ ، قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمِنْ قِرَاءَةِ الْقُرْآنِ فَقَالَ : وَهَلْ تَنْفَعُ قِرَاءَةُ الْقُرْآنِ إِلَّا بِعِلْمٍ ؟
( ʾinna al-muslimīna wa-al-muslimāti wa-al-muʾminīna wa-al-muʾmināti ) al-ʾaḥzābu: 35 fajaʿala al-dhākirīna wa-al-dhākirāti ʾaʿlā al-maqāmāti. waqad rawaynā fī khabari ʾabī dharrin ḥuḍūru majlisi dhikrin ʾafḍalu min ṣalāti ʾalfi rakʿatin waḥuḍūru majlisi ʿilmin ʾafḍalu min ʿiyādati ʾalfi marīḍin waḥuḍūru majlisi ʿilmin ʾafḍalu min shuhūdi ʾalfi jināzatin , qīla yā rasūla allāhi wamin qirāʾati al-qurʾāni faqāla: wahal tanfaʿu qirāʾatu al-qurʾāni ʾillā biʿilmin ?
“The Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women” (al-Aḥzāb 33:35). He thus assigned the men and women who remember the highest stations. We have related in the report of Abū Dharr: “Attending a gathering of remembrance is better than praying a thousand units of prayer; attending a gathering of knowledge is better than visiting a thousand sick people; and attending a gathering of knowledge is better than attending a thousand funerals.” He was asked: “Messenger of God, and than reciting the Qurʾān?” He replied: “Does reciting the Qurʾān benefit anyone except through knowledge?”
وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ : حُضُورُ مَجْلِسِ ذِكْرٍ يُكَفِّرُ عَشَرَةً مِنْ مَجَالِسِ الْبَاطِلِ وَأَمَّا عَطَاءٌ فَإِنَّهُ قَالَ مَجْلِسُ ذِكْرٍ يُكَفِّرُ سَبْعِينَ مَجْلِسًا مِنْ مَجَالِسِ اللَّهْوِ وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ مُعَاذٍ الْأَعْلَمِ قَالَ : رَآنِي يُونُسُ بْنُ عُبَيْدٍ وَأَنَا فِي حَلْقَةِ الْمُعْتَزِلَةِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَ فَجِئْتُ فَقَالَ : إِنْ كُنْتَ لَا بُدَّ فَاعِلًا فَعَلَيْكَ بِحَلْقَةِ الْقُصَّاصِ ،
waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: ḥuḍūru majlisi dhikrin yukaffiru ʿasharatan min majālisi al-bāṭili waʾammā ʿaṭāʾun faʾinnahu qāla majlisu dhikrin yukaffiru sabʿīna majlisan min majālisi al-lahwi waḥaddathūnā ʿan muʿādhin al-ʾaʿlami qāla: raʾānī yūnusu bnu ʿubaydin waʾanā fī ḥalqati al-muʿtazilati faqāla taʿāla fajiʾtu faqāla: ʾin kunta lā budda fāʿilan faʿalayka biḥalqati al-quṣṣāṣi ,
One of the predecessors said: “Attending one gathering of remembrance atones for ten gatherings of falsehood.” As for ʿAṭāʾ, he said: “One gathering of remembrance atones for seventy gatherings of diversion.” They related to us from Muʿādh al-Aʿlam, who said: “Yūnus ibn ʿUbayd saw me in the circle of the Muʿtazila and said: ‘Come here.’ I came, and he said: ‘If you must do this, then attend the storytellers’ circle.’”
وَقَدْ كَانَ الْحَسَنُ الْبَصْرِيُّ أَحَدَ الْمُذَكِّرِينَ وَكَانَتْ مَجَالِسُهُ مَجَالِسَ الذِّكْرِ يَخْلُو فِيهَا مَعَ إِخْوَانِهِ وَأَتْبَاعِهِ مِنَ النُّسَّاكِ وَالْعُبَّادِ فِي بَيْتِهِ مِثْلَ مَالِكِ بْنِ دِينَارٍ وَثَابِتٍ الْبُنَانِيِّ وَأَيُّوبَ السِّجِسْتَانِيِّ وَمُحَمَّدِ بْنِ وَاسِعٍ وَفَرْقَدَ السَّنْجِيِّ وَعَبْدِ الْوَاحِدِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ فَيَقُولُ : هَاتُوا انْشُرُوا النُّورَ فَيَتَكَلَّمُ عَلَيْهِمْ فِي هَذَا الْعِلْمِ مِنْ عِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ وَالْقُدْرَةِ فِي خَوَاطِرِ الْقُلُوبِ وَفَسَادِ الْأَعْمَالِ وَوَسْوَاسِ النُّفُوسِ وَرُبَّمَا قَنَّعَ بَعْضُ أَصْحَابِ الْحَدِيثِ رَأْسَهُ فَاخْتَفَى مِنْ وَرَائِهِمْ لِيَسْمَعَ ذَلِكَ فَإِذَا رَآهُ الْحَسَنُ قَالَ لَهُ :
waqad kāna al-ḥasanu al-baṣriyyu ʾaḥada al-mudhakkirīna wakānat majālisuhu majālisa al-dhikri yakhlū fīhā maʿa ʾikhwānihi waʾatbāʿihi mina al-nussāki wa-al-ʿubbādi fī baytihi mithla māliki bni dīnārin wathābitin al-bunāniyyi waʾayyūba al-sijistāniyyi wamuḥammadi bni wāsiʿin wafarqada al-sanjiyyi waʿabdi al-wāḥidi bni zaydin fayaqūlu: hātū unshurū al-nūra fayatakallamu ʿalayhim fī hādhā al-ʿilmi min ʿilmi al-yaqīni wa-al-qudrati fī khawāṭiri al-qulūbi wafasādi al-ʾaʿmāli wawaswāsi al-nufūsi warubbamā qannaʿa baʿḍu ʾaṣḥābi al-ḥadīthi raʾsahu fakhtafā min warāʾihim liyasmaʿa dhālika faʾidhā raʾāhu al-ḥasanu qāla lahu:
Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī was one of those who gave reminders, and his gatherings were gatherings of remembrance. He would withdraw in his house with his brothers and followers among the ascetics and devoted worshippers, such as Mālik ibn Dīnār, Thābit al-Bunānī, Ayyūb al-Sijistānī, Muḥammad ibn Wāsiʿ, Farqad al-Sanjī, and ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Zayd. He would say: “Come, spread the light.” He would speak to them about this knowledge: the knowledge of certainty and power, the thoughts that pass through hearts, the corruption of deeds, and the whisperings of souls. Sometimes one of the people of hadith would cover his head and conceal himself behind them to hear this. When al-Ḥasan saw him, he said to him:
يَا لُكَعُ وَأَنْتَ مَا تَصْنَعُ هَهُنَا ؟ إِنَّمَا خَلَوْنَا مَعَ إِخْوَانِنَا نَتَذَاكَرُ وَالْحَسَنُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ هُوَ إِمَامُنَا فِي هَذَا الْعِلْمِ الَّذِي نَتَكَلَّمُ بِهِ أَثَرَهُ نَقْفُو وَسَبِيلَهُ نَتْبَعُ وَمِنْ مِشْكَاتِهِ نَسْتَضِيءُ أَخَذْنَا ذَلِكَ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى إِمَامًا عَنْ إِمَامٍ إِلَى أَنْ يَنْتَهِيَ ذَلِكَ إِلَيْهِ ، وَكَانَ مِنْ خِيَارِ التَّابِعِينَ بِإِحْسَانٍ قِيلَ :
yā lukaʿu waʾanta mā taṣnaʿu hāhunā ? ʾinnamā khalawnā maʿa ʾikhwāninā natadhākaru wa-al-ḥasanu raḥimahu allāhu huwa ʾimāmunā fī hādhā al-ʿilmi alladhī natakallamu bihi ʾatharahu naqfū wasabīlahu natbaʿu wamin mishkātihi nastaḍīʾu ʾakhadhnā dhālika biʾidhni allāhi taʿālā ʾimāman ʿan ʾimāmin ʾilā ʾan yantahiya dhālika ʾilayhi , wakāna min khiyāri al-tābiʿīna biʾiḥsānin qīla:
“You foolish fellow, what are you doing here? We have merely withdrawn with our brothers to remind one another.” Al-Ḥasan, God have mercy on him, is our leader in this knowledge of which we speak. We follow his footsteps, travel his path, and draw light from his lamp niche. By God Most High’s permission, we received this from leader after leader until its chain reaches him. He was among the finest of those who followed with excellence. It was said:
مَا زَالَ يَعِي الْحِكْمَةَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً حَتَّى نَطَقَ بِهَا وَقَدْ لَقِيَ سَبْعِينَ بَدْرِيًّا وَرَأَى ثَلَاثَمِائَةَ صَحَابِيٍّ وَوُلِدَ لِلَيْلَتَيْنِ بَقِيَتَا مِنْ خِلَافَةِ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ سَنَةَ عِشْرِينَ مِنَ التَّارِيخِ وُلِدَ بِالْمَدِينَةِ وَكَانَتْ أُمُّهُ مَوْلَاةً لِأُمِّ سَلَمَةَ زَوْجِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَيُقَالُ إِنَّهَا أَلْقَمَتْهُ ثَدْيَهَا تُعَلِّلُهُ حِينَ بَكَى فَدَرَّ ثَدْيُهَا عَلَيْهِ وَكَانَ كَلَامُهُ يُشَبَّهُ بِكَلَامِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
mā zāla yaʿī al-ḥikmata ʾarbaʿīna sanatan ḥattā naṭaqa bihā waqad laqiya sabʿīna badriyyan waraʾā thalāthamiʾata ṣaḥābiyyin wawulida lilaylatayni baqiyatā min khilāfati ʿumara bni al-khaṭṭābi raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu sanata ʿishrīna mina al-tārīkhi wulida bi-al-madīnati wakānat ʾummuhu mawlātan liʾummi salamata zawji al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama wayuqālu ʾinnahā ʾalqamathu thadyahā tuʿalliluhu ḥīna bakā fadarra thadyuhā ʿalayhi wakāna kalāmuhu yushabbahu bikalāmi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama
“He continued to absorb wisdom for forty years before he spoke it.” He met seventy veterans of Badr and saw three hundred Companions. He was born two nights before the end of the caliphate of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may God be pleased with him, in the year twenty of the calendar. He was born in Medina. His mother was a client of Umm Salama, wife of the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace. It is said that she placed her breast in his mouth to soothe him when he cried, and her breast flowed with milk for him. His speech resembled the speech of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace.
وَرَأَى عُثْمَانَ بْنَ عَفَّانَ وَعَلِيَّ بْنَ أَبِي طَالِبٍ وَمَنْ بَقِيَ فِي وَقْتِهِ مِنَ الْعَشَرَةِ ثُمَّ رَأَى مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ عَهْدِ عُثْمَانَ وَمِنْ سَنَةِ نَيِّفٍ وَعِشْرِينَ مِنَ الْهِجْرَةِ إِلَى سَنَةِ نَيِّفٍ وَتِسْعِينَ .
waraʾā ʿuthmāna bna ʿaffāna waʿaliyya bna ʾabī ṭālibin waman baqiya fī waqtihi mina al-ʿasharati thumma raʾā min ʾaṣḥābi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama min ʿahdi ʿuthmāna wamin sanati nayyifin waʿishrīna mina al-hijrati ʾilā sanati nayyifin watisʿīna.
He saw ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, and those of the Ten who remained in his time. He then saw Companions of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, from the reign of ʿUthmān and from a year in the twenties after the Hijra until a year in the nineties.
وَمِنْ آخِرِ مَنْ مَاتَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِالْبَصْرَةِ أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ وَبِالْمَدِينَةِ سَهْلُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ السَّاعِدِيُّ وَمَكَّةَ أَبُو الطُّفَيْلِ وَبِالْيَمَنِ أَبْيَضُ بْنُ جَمَّالٍ الْمَازِنِيُّ وَبِالْكُوفَةِ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ أَبِي أَوْفَى وَبِالشَّامِ أَبُو قُرْصَافَةَ وَبِخُرَاسَانَ بُرَيْدَةُ الْأَسْلَمِيُّ وَدَخَلَتْ سَنَةُ مِائَةٍ مِنَ التَّارِيخِ وَلَمْ يَبْقَ عَلَى وَجْهِ الْأَرْضِ عَيْنٌ تَطْرِفُ رَأَتْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي جَمِيعِ أَطْرَافِ
wamin ʾākhiri man māta min ʾaṣḥābi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bi-al-baṣrati ʾanasu bnu mālikin wabilmadīnati sahlu bnu saʿdin al-sāʿidiyyu wamakkata ʾabū al-ṭufayli wabilyamani ʾabyaḍu bnu jammālin al-māziniyyu wabilkūfati ʿabdu allāhi bnu ʾabī ʾawfā wabi-al-shāmi ʾabū qurṣāfata wabikhurāsāna buraydatu al-ʾaslamiyyu wadakhalat sanatu miʾatin mina al-tārīkhi walam yabqa ʿalā wajhi al-ʾarḍi ʿaynun taṭrifu raʾat rasūla allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī jamīʿi ʾaṭrāfi
Among the last Companions of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, to die were Anas ibn Mālik in Basra, Sahl ibn Saʿd al-Sāʿidī in Medina, Abū al-Ṭufayl in Mecca, Abyaḍ ibn Jammāl al-Māzinī in Yemen, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Awfā in Kūfa, Abū Qurṣāfa in Syria, and Burayda al-Aslamī in Khurāsān. The year one hundred of the calendar began, and nowhere on the face of the earth remained a blinking eye that had seen God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, throughout all the regions of
الْأَرْضِ ثُمَّ تُوُفِّيَ الْحَسَنُ فِي سَنَةِ عَشْرٍ وَمِائَةٍ وَكَانَ أَبُو قَتَادَةَ الْعَدَوِيُّ يَقُولُ : عَلَيْكُمْ بِهَذَا الشَّيْخِ فَوَ اللَّهِ مَا رَأَيْنَا أَحَدًا لَمْ يَصْحَبْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَشْبَهَ بِأَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْهُ وَكَانُوا يَقُولُونَ كُنَّا نُشَبِّهُهُ بِهُدَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْخَلِيلِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي حِلْمِهِ وَخُشُوعِهِ وَوَقَارِهِ وَسَكِينَتِهِ فَكَانَ عَلَى شَمَائِلِهِ وَنَذَرَتِ امْرَأَةٌ بِالْبَصْرَةِ نَذْرًا إِنْ
al-ʾarḍi thumma tuwuffiya al-ḥasanu fī sanati ʿashrin wamiʾatin wakāna ʾabū qatādata al-ʿadawiyyu yaqūlu: ʿalaykum bihādhā al-shaykhi fawa-allāhi mā raʾaynā ʾaḥadan lam yaṣḥab rasūla allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾashbaha biʾaṣḥābi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama minhu wakānū yaqūlūna kunnā nushabbihuhu bihudā ʾibrāhīma al-khalīli ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī ḥilmihi wakhushūʿihi wawaqārihi wasakīnatihi fakāna ʿalā shamāʾilihi wanadharati imraʾatun bi-al-baṣrati nadhran ʾin
the earth. Al-Ḥasan then died in the year one hundred and ten. Abū Qatāda al-ʿAdawī used to say: “Keep company with this elder. By God, we have never seen anyone who did not accompany God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, resemble the Companions of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, more than he does.” They used to say: “We compared him to the guidance of Abraham, God’s intimate friend, God bless him and grant him peace, in his forbearance, humble submission, dignity, and tranquillity. He possessed his qualities.” A woman in Basra made a vow that if
فَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى ذَلِكَ بِهَا أَنْ تَنْسِجَ ثَوْبًا مِنْ غَزْلِهَا وَصَفَتْهُ وَتَكْسُوَهُ خَيْرَ أَهْلِ الْبَصْرَةِ فَرَأَتْ تَمَامَ نَذْرِهَا فَوَفَّتْ بِمَا نَذَرَتْ ثُمَّ سَأَلَتْ : مَنْ خَيْرُ أَهْلِ الْبَصْرَةِ ؟ فَقَالُوا : الْحَسَنُ ، وَكَانَ الْحَسَنُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَوَّلَ مَنْ أَنْهَجَ سَبِيلَ هَذَا الْعِلْمِ وَفَتَقَ الْأَلْسِنَةَ بِهِ وَنَطَقَ بِمَعَانِيهِ وَأَظْهَرَ أَنْوَارَهُ وَكَشَفَ بِهِ قِنَاعَهُ وَكَانَ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِيهِ بِكَلَامٍ لَمْ يَسْمَعُوهُ مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِنْ إِخْوَانِهِ فَقِيلَ لَهُ :
faʿala allāhu taʿālā dhālika bihā ʾan tansija thawban min ghazlihā waṣafathu wataksuwahu khayra ʾahli al-baṣrati faraʾat tamāma nadhrihā fawaffat bimā nadharat thumma saʾalat: man khayru ʾahli al-baṣrati ? faqālū: al-ḥasanu , wakāna al-ḥasanu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ʾawwala man ʾanhaja sabīla hādhā al-ʿilmi wafataqa al-ʾalsinata bihi wanaṭaqa bimaʿānīhi waʾaẓhara ʾanwārahu wakashafa bihi qināʿahu wakāna yatakallamu fīhi bikalāmin lam yasmaʿūhu min ʾaḥadin min ʾikhwānihi faqīla lahu:
God Most High did that for her, she would weave from her own yarn a garment she described and clothe the best person in Basra with it. She saw the fulfillment of her vow and fulfilled what she had vowed, then asked: “Who is the best person in Basra?” They said: “Al-Ḥasan.” Al-Ḥasan, may God be pleased with him, was the first to open the path of this knowledge, set tongues free to speak of it, articulate its meanings, reveal its lights, and uncover its veil through it. He spoke about it in words they had not heard from any of his brothers. He was asked:
يَا أَبَا سَعِيدٍ إِنَّكَ تَتَكَلَّمُ فِي هَذَا الْعِلْمِ بِكَلَامٍ لَمْ نَسْمَعْهُ مِنْ أَحَدٍ غَيْرِكَ ، فَمِمَّنْ أَخَذْتَ هَذَا ؟ فَقَالَ : مِنْ حُذَيْفَةَ بْنِ الْيَمَانِ قِيلَ : وَقَالُوا لِحُذَيْفَةَ بْنِ الْيَمَانِ نَرَاكَ تَتَكَلَّمُ فِي هَذَا الْعِلْمِ بِكَلَامٍ لَا نَسْمَعُهُ مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَمِنْ أَيْنَ أَخَذْتَهُ فَقَالَ خَصَّنِي بِهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ،
yā ʾabā saʿīdin ʾinnaka tatakallamu fī hādhā al-ʿilmi bikalāmin lam nasmaʿhu min ʾaḥadin ghayrika , famimman ʾakhadhta hādhā ? faqāla: min ḥudhayfata bni al-yamāni qīla: waqālū liḥudhayfata bni al-yamāni narāka tatakallamu fī hādhā al-ʿilmi bikalāmin lā nasmaʿuhu min ʾaḥadin min ʾaṣḥābi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama famin ʾayna ʾakhadhtahu faqāla khaṣṣanī bihi rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ,
“Abū Saʿīd, you speak about this knowledge in words we have not heard from anyone else. From whom did you receive this?” He said: “From Ḥudhayfa ibn al-Yamān.” It was said: “They said to Ḥudhayfa ibn al-Yamān: ‘We see you speak about this knowledge in words we do not hear from any of the Companions of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace. Where did you receive it?’ He said: ‘God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, singled me out for it.
كَانَ النَّاسُ يَسْأَلُونَهُ عَنِ الْخَيْرِ وَكُنْتُ أَسْأَلُهُ عَنِ الشَّرِّ مَخَافَةَ أَنْ أَقَعَ فِيهِ وَعَلِمْتُ أَنَّ الْخَيْرَ لَا يَسْبِقُنِي وَقَالَ مَرَّةً فَعَلِمْتُ أَنَّ مَنْ لَا يَعْرِفُ الشَّرَّ لَا يَعْرِفُ الْخَيْرَ . وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ كَانَ النَّاسُ يَقُولُونَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَا لِمَنْ عَمِلَ كَذَا وَكَذَا يَسْأَلُونَهُ عَنْ فَضَائِلِ الْأَعْمَالِ وَكُنْتُ أَقُولُ : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَا يُفْسِدُ كَذَا وَكَذَا ؟
kāna al-nāsu yasʾalūnahu ʿani al-khayri wakuntu ʾasʾaluhu ʿani al-sharri makhāfata ʾan ʾaqaʿa fīhi waʿalimtu ʾanna al-khayra lā yasbiqunī waqāla marratan faʿalimtu ʾanna man lā yaʿrifu al-sharra lā yaʿrifu al-khayra. wafī lafẓin ʾākhara kāna al-nāsu yaqūlūna yā rasūla allāhi mā liman ʿamila kadhā wakadhā yasʾalūnahu ʿan faḍāʾili al-ʾaʿmāli wakuntu ʾaqūlu: yā rasūla allāhi mā yufsidu kadhā wakadhā ?
“‘People used to ask him about good, while I asked him about evil for fear of falling into it, and I knew that good would not elude me.’ On another occasion he said: ‘I knew that whoever does not know evil does not know good.’ In another wording: ‘People used to say: “Messenger of God, what is there for someone who does such-and-such?” They asked him about the merits of deeds, while I would say: “Messenger of God, what spoils such-and-such?”
فَلَمَّا رَآنِي أَسْأَلُ عَنْ آفَاتِ الْأَعْمَالِ خَصَّنِي بِهَذَا الْعِلْمِ وَكَانَ حُذَيْفَةُ قَدْ خُصَّ بِعِلْمِ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَأُفْرِدَ بِمَعْرِفَةِ عِلْمِ النِّفَاقِ وَبِسَرَائِرِ الْعِلْمِ وَدَقَائِقِ الْفَهْمِ وَخَفَايَا الْيَقِينِ مِنْ بَيْنِ الصَّحَابَةِ فَكَانَ عُمَرُ وَعُثْمَانُ وَأَكَابِرُ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَسْأَلُونَهُ عَنِ الْفِتَنِ الْعَامَّةِ وَالْفِتَنِ الْخَاصَّةِ وَيَرْجِعُونَ إِلَيْهِ فِي الْعِلْمِ الَّذِي خَصَّهُ بِهِ وَيَسْأَلُونَهُ عَنِ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَهَلْ بَقِيَ مِنْهُمْ مِمَّنْ ذَكَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَأَخْبَرَ
falammā raʾānī ʾasʾalu ʿan ʾāfāti al-ʾaʿmāli khaṣṣanī bihādhā al-ʿilmi wakāna ḥudhayfatu qad khuṣṣa biʿilmi al-munāfiqīna waʾufrida bimaʿrifati ʿilmi al-nifāqi wabisarāʾiri al-ʿilmi wadaqāʾiqi al-fahmi wakhafāyā al-yaqīni min bayni al-ṣaḥābati fakāna ʿumaru waʿuthmānu waʾakābiru ʾaṣḥābi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yasʾalūnahu ʿani al-fitani al-ʿāmmati wa-al-fitani al-khāṣṣati wayarjiʿūna ʾilayhi fī al-ʿilmi alladhī khaṣṣahu bihi wayasʾalūnahu ʿani al-munāfiqīna wahal baqiya minhum mimman dhakara allāhu taʿālā waʾakhbara
“‘When he saw me asking about the defects that ruin deeds, he singled me out for this knowledge.’” Among the Companions, Ḥudhayfa had been specially given knowledge of the hypocrites, and distinguished by understanding the science of hypocrisy, the secrets of knowledge, the subtleties of understanding, and the hidden matters of certainty. ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and the leading Companions of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, used to ask him about general trials and particular trials, and turn to him concerning the knowledge for which he had been singled out. They asked him about the hypocrites, and whether any remained of those God Most High had mentioned and spoken
عَنْهُمْ أَحَدٌ فَكَانَ يُخْبِرُ بِأَعْدَادِهِمْ وَلَا يَذْكُرُ أَسْمَاءَهُمْ وَكَانَ عُمَرُ يَسْتَكْشِفُهُ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ هَلْ يَعْلَمُ فِيهِ شَيْئًا مِنَ النِّفَاقِ فَبَرَّأَهُ مِنْهُ ثُمَّ يَسْأَلُهُ عَنْ عَلَامَاتِ النِّفَاقِ وَآيَةِ الْمُنَافِقِ فَيُخْبِرُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ بِمَا يَصْلُحُ مِمَّا أُذِنَ لَهُ فِيهِ وَيَسْتَعْفِي مِمَّا لَا يَجُوزُ لَهُ أَنْ يُخْبِرَ بِهِ فَيُعْذَرُ فِي ذَلِكَ وَكَانَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ إِذَا دُعِيَ إِلَى جِنَازَةٍ لِيُصَلِّيَ عَلَيْهَا نَظَرَ فَإِنْ حَضَرَ حُذَيْفَةُ
ʿanhum ʾaḥadun fakāna yukhbiru biʾaʿdādihim walā yadhkuru ʾasmāʾahum wakāna ʿumaru yastakshifuhu ʿan nafsihi hal yaʿlamu fīhi shayʾan mina al-nifāqi fabarraʾahu minhu thumma yasʾaluhu ʿan ʿalāmāti al-nifāqi waʾāyati al-munāfiqi fayukhbiru min dhālika bimā yaṣluḥu mimmā ʾudhina lahu fīhi wayastaʿfī mimmā lā yajūzu lahu ʾan yukhbira bihi fayuʿdharu fī dhālika wakāna ʿumaru raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ʾidhā duʿiya ʾilā jināzatin liyuṣalliya ʿalayhā naẓara faʾin ḥaḍara ḥudhayfatu
about. He would tell them their number without mentioning their names. ʿUmar used to question him about himself, asking whether he knew of any hypocrisy in him, and he cleared him of it. Then he would ask him about the marks of hypocrisy and the sign of a hypocrite. He would tell him what was appropriate from what he had been permitted to reveal, and ask to be excused from what he was not allowed to disclose; he would be excused for that. When ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, was invited to a funeral to pray over it, he would look: if Ḥudhayfa attended,
صَلَّى عَلَيْهَا وَإِنْ لَمْ يَرَ حُذَيْفَةَ لَمْ يُصَلِّ عَلَيْهَا وَكَانَ حُذَيْفَةُ يُسَمَّى صَاحِبَ السِّرِّ وَكَانَ أَصْحَابُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا سُئِلُوا عَنْ عِلْمٍ يَقُولُ أَحَدُهُمْ تَسْأَلُونِي عَنْ هَذَا وَصَاحِبُ السِّرِّ فِيكُمْ يَعْنِي حُذَيْفَةَ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ لَمَّا حَدَّثَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ فِي فَضْلِ مَجْلِسِ الذِّكْرِ لَأَنْ أَقْعُدَ مَعَ قَوْمٍ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى مِنْ غُدْوَةٍ إِلَى طُلُوعِ الشَّمْسِ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ أَنْ
ṣallā ʿalayhā waʾin lam yara ḥudhayfata lam yuṣalli ʿalayhā wakāna ḥudhayfatu yusammā ṣāḥiba al-sirri wakāna ʾaṣḥābu rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾidhā suʾilū ʿan ʿilmin yaqūlu ʾaḥaduhum tasʾalūnī ʿan hādhā waṣāḥibu al-sirri fīkum yaʿnī ḥudhayfata. warawaynā ʿan ʾanasi bni mālikin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ʾannahu lammā ḥaddatha ʿani al-nabiyyi fī faḍli majlisi al-dhikri laʾan ʾaqʿuda maʿa qawmin yadhkurūna allāha taʿālā min ghudwatin ʾilā ṭulūʿi al-shamsi ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min ʾan
he prayed over it; if he did not see Ḥudhayfa, he did not pray over it. Ḥudhayfa was called “the keeper of the secret.” When the Companions of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, were asked about some knowledge, one of them would say: “Do you ask me about this when the keeper of the secret is among you?” He meant Ḥudhayfa. We related from Anas ibn Mālik, may God be pleased with him, that when he related from the Prophet concerning the excellence of a gathering of remembrance, “To sit with people who remember God Most High from early morning until sunrise is dearer to me than to
أُعْتِقَ أَرْبَعَ رِقَابٍ ، قَالَ : فَالْتَفَتَ إِلَى يَزِيدَ الرَّقَّاشِيِّ وَزِيَادٍ النُّمَيْرِيِّ فَقَالَ لَمْ تَكُنْ مَجَالِسُ الذِّكْرِ مِثْلَ مَجَالِسِكُمْ هَذِهِ يَقُصُّ أَحَدُكُمْ وَيَخْطُبُ عَلَى أَصْحَابِهِ وَيَسْرُدُ الْحَدِيثَ سَرْدًا إِنَّمَا كُنَّا نَقْعُدُ فَنَذْكُرُ الْإِيمَانَ وَنَتَدَبَّرُ الْقُرْآنَ وَنَتَفَقَّهُ فِي الدِّينِ وَنَعُدُّ نِعَمَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَيْنَا وَقَدْ كَانَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ رَوَاحَةَ يَقُولُ لِأَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :
ʾuʿtiqa ʾarbaʿa riqābin , qāla: faltafata ʾilā yazīda al-raqqāshiyyi waziyādin al-numayriyyi faqāla lam takun majālisu al-dhikri mithla majālisikum hādhihi yaquṣṣu ʾaḥadukum wayakhṭubu ʿalā ʾaṣḥābihi wayasrudu al-ḥadītha sardan ʾinnamā kunnā naqʿudu fanadhkuru al-ʾīmāna wanatadabbaru al-qurʾāna wanatafaqqahu fī al-dīni wanaʿuddu niʿama allāhi taʿālā ʿalaynā waqad kāna ʿabdu allāhi bnu rawāḥata yaqūlu liʾaṣḥābi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama:
“free four persons from slavery,” he said: “He turned to Yazīd al-Raqqāshī and Ziyād al-Numayrī and said: ‘Gatherings of remembrance were not like these gatherings of yours, where one of you tells stories, preaches to his companions, and reels off hadith after hadith. We used to sit and remember faith, reflect on the Qurʾān, gain understanding in religion, and count God Most High’s blessings upon us.’” ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rawāḥa used to say to the Companions of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace:
تَعَالَوْا حَتَّى نُؤْمِنَ سَاعَةً فَيَجْلِسُونَ إِلَيْهِ فَيُذَكِّرُهُمُ الْعِلْمَ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَالتَّوْحِيدَ وَالْآخِرَةَ وَكَانَ يَخْلُفُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بَعْدَ قِيَامِهِ فَيَجْتَمِعُ إِلَيْهِ النَّاسُ يُذَكِّرُهُمُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى وَأَيَّامَهُ وَيُفَقِّهُهُمْ فِيمَا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَرُبَّمَا خَرَجَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَهُمْ مُجْتَمِعُونَ عِنْدَهُ فَيَسْكُتُونَ فَيَجْلِسُ إِلَيْهِمْ وَيَأْمُرُهُمْ أَنْ يَأْخُذُوا فِيمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ وَيَقُولُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِهَذَا أُمِرْتُ وَإِلَى هَذَا دَعَوْتُ ،
taʿālaw ḥattā nuʾmina sāʿatan fayajlisūna ʾilayhi fayudhakkiruhumu al-ʿilma bi-allāhi taʿālā wa-al-tawḥīda wa-al-ʾākhirata wakāna yakhlufu rasūla allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama baʿda qiyāmihi fayajtamiʿu ʾilayhi al-nāsu yudhakkiruhumu allāha taʿālā waʾayyāmahu wayufaqqihuhum fīmā qāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama farubbamā kharaja ʿalayhim rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama wahum mujtamiʿūna ʿindahu fayaskutūna fayajlisu ʾilayhim wayaʾmuruhum ʾan yaʾkhudhū fīmā kānū fīhi wayaqūlu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bihādhā ʾumirtu waʾilā hādhā daʿawtu ,
“Come, let us believe for a while.” They would sit with him, and he would remind them of knowledge of God Most High, divine oneness, and the hereafter. He used to take the place of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, after he rose, and people would gather around him. He would remind them of God Most High and His days, and help them understand what God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, had said. Sometimes God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, would come out to them while they were gathered with him. They would fall silent, and he would sit with them and tell them to resume what they had been discussing. He would say, God bless him and grant him peace: “This is what I was commanded to do, and to this I have called.”
وَرُوِيَ نَحْوُ هَذَا عَنْ مُعَاذِ بْنِ جَبَلٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ وَقَدْ كَانَ يَتَكَلَّمُ بِهَذَا الْعِلْمِ ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا هَذَا مُفَسَّرًا فِي حَدِيثِ جُنْدُبٍ : كُنَّا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَيُعَلِّمُنَا الْإِيمَانَ قَبْلَ أَنْ نَتَعَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ فَسُمِّيَ عِلْمُ الْإِيمَانِ إِيمَانًا كَمَا سَمَّاهُ ابْنُ رَوَاحَةَ لِأَنَّ عِلْمَ الْإِيمَانِ وَصْفُ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْعَرَبُ تُسَمِّي الشَّيْءَ بِوَصْفِهِ وَتُسَمِّيهِ بِأَصْلِهِ كَمَا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي مِثْلِهِ :
waruwiya naḥwu hādhā ʿan muʿādhi bni jabalin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu waqad kāna yatakallamu bihādhā al-ʿilmi , waqad rawaynā hādhā mufassaran fī ḥadīthi jundubin: kunnā maʿa rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fayuʿallimunā al-ʾīmāna qabla ʾan nataʿallama al-qurʾāna fasummiya ʿilmu al-ʾīmāni ʾīmānan kamā sammāhu ibnu rawāḥata liʾanna ʿilma al-ʾīmāni waṣfu al-ʾīmāni wa-al-ʿarabu tusammī al-shayʾa biwaṣfihi watusammīhi biʾaṣlihi kamā qāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī mithlihi:
Something similar is related from Muʿādh ibn Jabal, may God be pleased with him, who used to speak of this knowledge. We have related its explanation in the hadith of Jundub: “We were with God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, and he would teach us faith before we learned the Qurʾān.” Knowledge of faith was thus called “faith,” as Ibn Rawāḥa called it, because knowledge of faith describes faith. The Arabs name a thing by its description and by its source. Similarly, God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said:
تَعَلَّمُوا الْيَقِينَ ، وَكَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَابْيَضَّتْ عَيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْحُزْنِ ) يُوسُفُ : 84 أَيْ مِنَ الْبُكَاءِ فَسَمَّاهُ بِأَصْلِهِ لِأَنَّ الْحُزْنَ أَصْلُ الْبُكَاءِ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ خَرَجَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ فَرَأَى مَجْلِسَيْنِ ، أَحَدُهُمَا يَدْعُونَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى وَيَرْغَبُونَ إِلَيْهِ وَالْآخَرُ يَتَفَقَّهُونَ فِي الدِّينِ وَيُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ فَوَقَفَ بَيْنَهُمَا ثُمَّ قَالَ :
taʿallamū al-yaqīna , wakamā qāla taʿālā: ( wabyaḍḍat ʿaynāhu mina al-ḥuzni ) yūsufu: 84 ʾay mina al-bukāʾi fasammāhu biʾaṣlihi liʾanna al-ḥuzna ʾaṣlu al-bukāʾi. warawaynā ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾannahu kharaja dhāta yawmin faraʾā majlisayni , ʾaḥaduhumā yadʿūna allāha taʿālā wayarghabūna ʾilayhi wa-al-ʾākharu yatafaqqahūna fī al-dīni wayuʿallimūna al-nāsa fawaqafa baynahumā thumma qāla:
“Learn certainty.” Likewise, the Most High said: “His eyes turned white from sorrow” (Yūsuf 12:84), meaning from weeping. He named it by its source, because sorrow is the source of weeping. We related from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, that he went out one day and saw two gatherings: one group was invoking God Most High and turning to Him in desire; the other was gaining understanding in religion and teaching people. He stood between them, then said:
أَمَّا هَؤُلَاءِ فَيَسْأَلُونَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فَإِنْ شَاءَ أَعْطَاهُمْ وَإِنْ شَاءَ مَنَعَهُمْ وَأَمَّا هَؤُلَاءِ فَيُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ وَيُفَقِّهُونَ فِي الدِّينِ وَإِنَّمَا بُعِثْتُ مُعَلِّمًا ثُمَّ عَدَلَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ يُفَقِّهُونَ النَّاسَ فِي الدِّينِ وَيَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فَجَلَسَ مَعَهُمْ ، وَيُحْكَى عَنْ بَعْضِ السَّلَفِ قَالَ : دَخَلْتُ الْمَسْجِدَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ فَإِذَا بِحَلْقَتَيْنِ ، أَحَدُهُمَا يَقُصُّونَ وَيَدْعُونَ وَالْأُخْرَى يَتَكَلَّمُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ وَفِقْهِ الْأَعْمَالِ قَالَ :
ʾammā hāʾulāʾi fayasʾalūna allāha taʿālā faʾin shāʾa ʾaʿṭāhum waʾin shāʾa manaʿahum waʾammā hāʾulāʾi fayuʿallimūna al-nāsa wayufaqqihūna fī al-dīni waʾinnamā buʿithtu muʿalliman thumma ʿadala ʾilā alladhīna yufaqqihūna al-nāsa fī al-dīni wayadhkurūna allāha taʿālā fajalasa maʿahum , wayuḥkā ʿan baʿḍi al-salafi qāla: dakhaltu al-masjida dhāta yawmin faʾidhā biḥalqatayni , ʾaḥaduhumā yaquṣṣūna wayadʿūna wa-al-ʾukhrā yatakallamūna fī al-ʿilmi wafiqhi al-ʾaʿmāli qāla:
“These are asking God Most High; if He wills, He gives them, and if He wills, He withholds from them. Those, however, are teaching people and instructing them in religion. I was sent only as a teacher.” Then he turned to those who were instructing people in religion and remembering God Most High, and sat with them. It is related of one of the predecessors that he said: “I entered the mosque one day and found two circles: one was telling stories and making supplications, and the other was speaking about knowledge and understanding deeds.” He said:
فَمِلْتُ إِلَى حَلْقَةِ الدُّعَاءِ فَجَلَسْتُ إِلَيْهِمْ فَحَمَلَتْنِي عَيْنَايَ فَنِمْتُ فَهَتَفَ بِي هَاتِفٌ أَوْ قَالَ لِي شَخْصٌ : جَلَسْتَ إِلَى هَؤُلَاءِ وَتَرَكْتَ مَجْلِسَ الْعِلْمِ أَمَا لَوْ جَلَسْتَ إِلَيْهِمْ لَوَجَدْتَ جِبْرِيلَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ عِنْدَهُمْ ، فَحَقِيقَةُ الذِّكْرِ هُوَ الْعِلْمُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، أَلَا تَسْمَعُ إِلَى مَا رُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَفْضَلُ الذِّكْرِ قَوْلُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ ،
familtu ʾilā ḥalqati al-duʿāʾi fajalastu ʾilayhim faḥamalatnī ʿaynāya fanimtu fahatafa bī hātifun ʾaw qāla lī shakhṣun: jalasta ʾilā hāʾulāʾi watarakta majlisa al-ʿilmi ʾamā law jalasta ʾilayhim lawajadta jibrīla ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʿindahum , faḥaqīqatu al-dhikri huwa al-ʿilmu bi-allāhi taʿālā , ʾalā tasmaʿu ʾilā mā ruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾafḍalu al-dhikri qawlu lā ʾilāha ʾillā allāhu ,
“I turned toward the circle of supplication and sat with them. My eyes overcame me, and I slept. A voice called to me, or a person said to me: ‘You sat with these people and left the gathering of knowledge. Had you sat with them, you would have found Gabriel, peace be upon him, among them.’” The reality of remembrance is knowledge of God Most High. Do you not hear what is related from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “The best remembrance is to say, ‘There is no god but God’”?
وَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى : فِي تَصْدِيقِهِ : ( فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ ) مُحَمَّدٌ : 19 وَقَالَ فِي مِثْلِهِ : ( فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا أُنْزِلَ بِعِلْمِ اللَّهِ وَأَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ) هُودٌ : 14 ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ الْعِلْمَ مِنَ الذِّكْرِ عِلْمُ الْمُشَاهَدَةِ وَالْمُشَاهَدَةُ ، صِفَةُ عَيْنِ الْيَقِينِ فَإِذَا كُشِفَ غِطَاءُ الْعَيْنِ شَهِدَتْ مَعَانِي الصِّفَاتِ بِأَنْوَارِهَا وَهُوَ مَزِيدُ نُورِ الْيَقِينِ الَّذِي هُوَ كَمَالُ الْإِيمَانِ وَحَقِيقَتُهُ ،
waqāla subḥānahu wataʿālā: fī taṣdīqihi: ( faʿlam ʾannahu lā ʾilāha ʾillā allāhu ) muḥammadun: 19 waqāla fī mithlihi: ( faʿlamū ʾannamā ʾunzila biʿilmi allāhi waʾan lā ʾilāha ʾillā huwa ) hūdun: 14 , thumma ʾinna al-ʿilma mina al-dhikri ʿilmu al-mushāhadati wa-al-mushāhadatu , ṣifatu ʿayni al-yaqīni faʾidhā kushifa ghiṭāʾu al-ʿayni shahidat maʿānī al-ṣifāti biʾanwārihā wahuwa mazīdu nūri al-yaqīni alladhī huwa kamālu al-ʾīmāni waḥaqīqatuhu ,
He, glorified and exalted is He, said in confirmation of it: “Know that there is no god but God” (Muḥammad 47:19). Similarly, He said: “Know that it was sent down with God’s knowledge, and that there is no god but Him” (Hūd 11:14). The knowledge that comes from remembrance is knowledge of witnessing, and witnessing is a quality of the eye of certainty. When the eye’s covering is removed, it witnesses the meanings of the attributes through their lights. This is an increase in the light of certainty, which is faith’s perfection and reality.
فَهُنَالِكَ ذَكَرْتَ الْمَوْصُوفَ بِمُشَاهَدَةِ الْمَذْكُورِ بِنُورِ وَصْفِهِ : أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( كَانَتْ أَعْيُنُهُمْ فِي غِطَاءٍ عَنْ ذِكْرِي ) الْكَهْفُ : 101 ، فَمَنْ كَانَتْ عَيْنُهُ فِي كَشْفٍ مِنْ ذِكْرِهِ شَهِدَ الْمَذْكُورَ فَعِنْدَهَا ذَكَرَ ثُمَّ تُوجَدُ حَقِيقَةُ الْعِلْمِ بَعْدَ نِسْيَانِ الْخَلْقِ كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَاذْكُرْ رَبَّكَ إِذَا
fahunālika dhakarta al-mawṣūfa bimushāhadati al-madhkūri binūri waṣfihi: ʾalam tara ʾilā qawlihi taʿālā: ( kānat ʾaʿyunuhum fī ghiṭāʾin ʿan dhikrī ) al-kahfu: 101 , faman kānat ʿaynuhu fī kashfin min dhikrihi shahida al-madhkūra faʿindahā dhakara thumma tūjadu ḥaqīqatu al-ʿilmi baʿda nisyāni al-khalqi kaqawlihi taʿālā: ( wadhkur rabbaka ʾidhā
There you remember the One described by witnessing the One remembered through the light of His attribute. Have you not considered the Most High’s words: “Their eyes were covered against My remembrance” (al-Kahf 18:101)? Whoever has an eye unveiled through remembering Him witnesses the One remembered, and thereupon remembers. Then the reality of knowledge is found after forgetting created things, as in the Most High’s words: “Remember your Lord when
نَسِيتَ ) الْكَهْفُ : 24 ، فَحَقُّ الذِّكْرِ نِسْيَانُ مَا سِوَاهُ كَمَا أَنَّ حَقِيقَةَ الْإِيمَانِ الْكُفْرُ بِكُلِّ إِلَهٍ كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى ( فَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِنْ بِاللَّهِ ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 256 ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْحَدِيثِ : جَاءَنِي رَجُلٌ مِنْ إِخْوَانِي مِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ ، فَقَالَ : قَدْ وَجَدْتُ مِنْ قَلْبِي غَفْلَةً فَأُرِيدُ أَنْ تَحْمِلَنِي إِلَى مَجْلِسٍ مِنْ مَجَالِسِ الذِّكْرِ فَقُلْتُ نَعَمْ فَسَمَّى لَهُ مُذَكِّرًا يَتَكَلَّمُ فِي عُلُومِ الْعَامَّةِ قَالَ :
nasīta ) al-kahfu: 24 , faḥaqqu al-dhikri nisyānu mā siwāhu kamā ʾanna ḥaqīqata al-ʾīmāni al-kufru bikulli ʾilāhin kaqawlihi taʿālā ( faman yakfur bi-al-ṭāghūti wayuʾmin bi-allāhi ) al-baqaratu: 256 , waqāla baʿḍu ʾahli al-ḥadīthi: jāʾanī rajulun min ʾikhwānī min ʾahli al-maʿrifati , faqāla: qad wajadtu min qalbī ghaflatan faʾurīdu ʾan taḥmilanī ʾilā majlisin min majālisi al-dhikri faqultu naʿam fasammā lahu mudhakkiran yatakallamu fī ʿulūmi al-ʿāmmati qāla:
“you forget” (al-Kahf 18:24). True remembrance is forgetting all besides Him, just as the reality of faith is disbelief in every false deity, as the Most High said: “Whoever disbelieves in false gods and believes in God” (al-Baqara 2:256). One of the people of hadith said: “A man from among my brothers who possessed knowledge of God came to me and said: ‘I have found heedlessness in my heart, and I want you to take me to a gathering of remembrance.’ I said: ‘Yes.’” He named for him a giver of reminders who spoke about the sciences of ordinary people. He said:
فَحَضَرْنَا عِنْدَهُ وَاجْتَمَعَ الْخَلْقُ فَأَخَذَ فِي شَيْءٍ مِنَ الْقَصَصِ وَذَكَرَ الْجَنَّةَ وَالنَّارَ فَنَظَرَ إِلَيَّ صَاحِبِي فَقَالَ أَلَيْسَ زَعَمْتَ أَنَّ هَذَا يَذْكُرُ اللَّهَ وَيَذْكُرُ رَبَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَيَذْكُرُ أَيَّامَهُ فَقُلْتُ : نَعَمْ هَكَذَا هُوَ عِنْدَنَا فَقَالَ : مَا أَسْمَعُ إِلَّا ذِكْرَ الْخَلْقِ فَأَيْنَ ذِكْرُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ؟ ثُمَّ تَوَقَّفَ سَاعَةً يَنْتَظِرُ مِنْهُ مَا يُرِيدُ مِنْ عِلْمِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَمِمَّا سَمِعَهُ مِنْ شُيُوخِهِ الصُّوفِيَّةِ قَالَ :
faḥaḍarnā ʿindahu wajtamaʿa al-khalqu faʾakhadha fī shayʾin mina al-qaṣaṣi wadhakara al-jannata wa-al-nāra fanaẓara ʾilayya ṣāḥibī faqāla ʾalaysa zaʿamta ʾanna hādhā yadhkuru allāha wayadhkuru rabbahu ʿazza wajalla wayadhkuru ʾayyāmahu faqultu: naʿam hākadhā huwa ʿindanā faqāla: mā ʾasmaʿu ʾillā dhikra al-khalqi faʾayna dhikru allāhi taʿālā ? thumma tawaqqafa sāʿatan yantaẓiru minhu mā yurīdu min ʿilmi al-maʿrifati wamimmā samiʿahu min shuyūkhihi al-ṣūfiyyati qāla:
“We attended his gathering, and people assembled. He began telling some stories and spoke of Paradise and the Fire. My companion looked at me and said: ‘Did you not claim that this man remembers God, remembers his Lord, mighty and majestic, and remembers His days?’ I said: ‘Yes, that is how we regard him.’ He said: ‘I hear only mention of created things. Where is the remembrance of God Most High?’ Then he paused for a while, waiting to hear from him the knowledge of God that he wanted, and something of what he had heard from his Sufi teachers.” He said:
فَلَيْسَ إِلَّا الْقَصَصُ وَالْحِكَايَاتُ فَالْتَفَتَ إِلَيَّ وَقَالَ : قُمْ بِنَا فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَسَعُنِي الْجُلُوسُ لِأَنَّهُ لَا نِيَّةَ لِي فِي ذَلِكَ فَقُلْتُ أَمَّا أَنَا فَأَسْتَحْيِ أَنْ أَتَخَطَّى النَّاسَ فَاصْنَعْ أَنْتَ مَا تَرَى فَقَامَ يَتَخَطَّى النَّاسَ حَتَّى خَرَجَ . وَقَدْ رَوَى الزُّهْرِيُّ عَنْ سَالِمٍ عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ أَنَّهُ خَرَجَ مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ وَقَالَ : مَا أَخْرَجَنِي إِلَّا الْقَصَّاصُ وَلَوْلَاهُ مَا خَرَجْتُ وَقَالَ ضَمْرَةُ :
falaysa ʾillā al-qaṣaṣu wa-al-ḥikāyātu faltafata ʾilayya waqāla: qum binā faʾinnahu lā yasaʿunī al-julūsu liʾannahu lā niyyata lī fī dhālika faqultu ʾammā ʾanā faʾastaḥyi ʾan ʾatakhaṭṭā al-nāsa faṣnaʿ ʾanta mā tarā faqāma yatakhaṭṭā al-nāsa ḥattā kharaja. waqad rawā al-zuhriyyu ʿan sālimin ʿani ibni ʿumara ʾannahu kharaja mina al-masjidi waqāla: mā ʾakhrajanī ʾillā al-qaṣṣāṣu walawlāhu mā kharajtu waqāla ḍamratu:
“There were only stories and anecdotes. He turned to me and said: ‘Come, let us leave, for I may not sit here: I have no intention for this.’ I said: ‘As for me, I am embarrassed to step over people. Do as you think best.’ He rose and stepped over the people until he left.” Al-Zuhrī related from Sālim, from Ibn ʿUmar, that he left the mosque and said: “Only the storyteller drove me out. Were it not for him, I would not have left.” Ḍamra said:
قُلْتُ لِلثَّوْرِيِّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ نَسْتَقْبِلُ الْقَاصَّ بِوَجْهِنَا فَقَالَ : وَلُّوا الْبِدَعَ ظُهُورَكُمْ وَقَالَ ابْنُ عَوْنٍ : دَخَلْتُ عَلَى ابْنِ سِيرِينَ فَقَالَ : مَا كَانَ الْيَوْمَ مِنْ خَبَرٍ ؟ فَقُلْتُ : نَهَى الْأَمِيرُ الْقُصَّاصَ أَنْ يَقُصُّوا ، وَحَدَّثَنَا عَنْ أَبِي مَعْمَرٍ عَنْ خَلَفِ بْنِ خَلِيفَةَ قَالَ : رَأَيْتُ سَيَّارًا أَبَا الْحَكَمِ يَسْتَاكُ عَلَى بَابِ الْمَسْجِدِ وَقَاصٌّ يَقُصُّ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ فَجَاءَهُ رَجُلٌ فَقَالَ :
qultu lil-thawriyyi raḥimahu allāhu nastaqbilu al-qāṣṣa biwajhinā faqāla: wallū al-bidaʿa ẓuhūrakum waqāla ibnu ʿawnin: dakhaltu ʿalā ibni sīrīna faqāla: mā kāna al-yawma min khabarin ? faqultu: nahā al-ʾamīru al-quṣṣāṣa ʾan yaquṣṣū , waḥaddathanā ʿan ʾabī maʿmarin ʿan khalafi bni khalīfata qāla: raʾaytu sayyāran ʾabā al-ḥakami yastāku ʿalā bābi al-masjidi waqāṣṣun yaquṣṣu fī al-masjidi fajāʾahu rajulun faqāla:
“I said to al-Thawrī, God have mercy on him: ‘Should we face the storyteller?’ He said: ‘Turn your backs on innovations.’” Ibn ʿAwn said: “I went in to Ibn Sīrīn, and he said: ‘What news has there been today?’ I said: ‘The governor has forbidden the storytellers to tell stories.’” He related to us from Abū Maʿmar, from Khalaf ibn Khalīfa, who said: “I saw Sayyār Abū al-Ḥakam cleaning his teeth at the mosque door while a storyteller was telling stories inside the mosque. A man came to him and said:
يَا أَبَا الْحَكَمِ إِنَّ النَّاسَ يَنْظُرُونَكَ فَقَالَ : إِنِّي فِي خَيْرٍ مِمَّا هُمْ فِيهِ أَنَا فِي سُنَّةٍ وَهُمْ فِي بِدْعَةٍ وَقَدْ فَعَلَ الْأَعْمَشُ أَبْلَغَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ دَخَلَ الْبَصْرَةَ وَكَانَ فِيهَا غَرِيبًا فَنَظَرَ إِلَى قَاصٍّ فِي الْجَامِعِ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ : حَدَّثَنَا الْأَعْمَشُ عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ وَحَدَّثَنَا الْأَعْمَشُ عَنْ أَبِي وَائِلٍ قَالَ : فَتَوَسَّطَ الْأَعْمَشُ الْحَلْقَةَ وَرَفَعَ يَدَهُ وَجَعَلَ يَنْتِفُ شَعْرَ إِبْطِهِ فَبَصُرَ بِهِ الْقَاصُّ فَقَالَ :
yā ʾabā al-ḥakami ʾinna al-nāsa yanẓurūnaka faqāla: ʾinnī fī khayrin mimmā hum fīhi ʾanā fī sunnatin wahum fī bidʿatin waqad faʿala al-ʾaʿmashu ʾablagha min dhālika dakhala al-baṣrata wakāna fīhā gharīban fanaẓara ʾilā qāṣṣin fī al-jāmiʿi wahuwa yaqūlu: ḥaddathanā al-ʾaʿmashu ʿan ʾabī ʾisḥāqa waḥaddathanā al-ʾaʿmashu ʿan ʾabī wāʾilin qāla: fatawassaṭa al-ʾaʿmashu al-ḥalqata warafaʿa yadahu wajaʿala yantifu shaʿra ʾibṭihi fabaṣura bihi al-qāṣṣu faqāla:
“‘Abū al-Ḥakam, people are looking at you.’ He said: ‘I am engaged in something better than they are: I am following a sunna, while they are engaged in an innovation.’” Al-Aʿmash did something more striking. He entered Basra, where he was a stranger, and saw a storyteller in the congregational mosque saying: “Al-Aʿmash related to us from Abū Isḥāq, and al-Aʿmash related to us from Abū Wāʾil.” He said: “Al-Aʿmash went into the middle of the circle, raised his hand, and began plucking his armpit hair. The storyteller saw him and said:
يَا شَيْخُ أَلَا تَسْتَحْيِ نَحْنُ فِي عِلْمٍ وَأَنْتَ تَفْعَلُ هَذَا ؟ فَقَالَ لَهُ الْأَعْمَشُ : الَّذِي أَنَا فِيهِ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الَّذِي أَنْتَ فِيهِ ، قَالَ : كَيْفَ ؟ قَالَ : لِأَنِّي فِي سُنَّةٍ وَأَنْتَ فِي كَذِبٍ ، أَنَا الْأَعْمَشُ وَمَا حَدَّثْتُكَ مِمَّا تَقُولُ شَيْئًا فَلَمَّا سَمِعَ النَّاسُ ذِكْرَ الْأَعْمَشِ انْفَضُّوا عَنِ الْقَاصِّ وَاجْتَمَعُوا حَوْلَهُ وَقَالُوا حَدِّثْنَا يَا أَبَا مُحَمَّدٍ ،
yā shaykhu ʾalā tastaḥyi naḥnu fī ʿilmin waʾanta tafʿalu hādhā ? faqāla lahu al-ʾaʿmashu: alladhī ʾanā fīhi ʾafḍalu mina alladhī ʾanta fīhi , qāla: kayfa ? qāla: liʾannī fī sunnatin waʾanta fī kadhibin , ʾanā al-ʾaʿmashu wamā ḥaddathtuka mimmā taqūlu shayʾan falammā samiʿa al-nāsu dhikra al-ʾaʿmashi infaḍḍū ʿani al-qāṣṣi wajtamaʿū ḥawlahu waqālū ḥaddithnā yā ʾabā muḥammadin ,
“‘Elder, have you no shame? We are engaged in knowledge, and you do this?’ Al-Aʿmash said to him: ‘What I am doing is better than what you are doing.’ He said: ‘How?’ He said: ‘Because I am following a sunna, and you are lying. I am al-Aʿmash, and I have not related to you anything of what you are saying.’ When the people heard al-Aʿmash’s name, they dispersed from around the storyteller, gathered around him, and said: ‘Relate to us, Abū Muḥammad.’”
وَأَخْبَرُونَا عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ أَبِي هَارُونَ أَنَّ إِسْحَاقَ حَدَّثَهُ قَالَ : صَلَّيْتُ مَعَ الْإِمَامِ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ حَنْبَلٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ صَلَاةَ الْعِيدِ فَإِذَا قَاصٌّ يَقُصُّ يَلْعَنُ الْمُبْتَدِعَةَ وَيَذْكُرُ السُّنَّةَ فَلَمَّا قَضَيْنَا الصَّلَاةَ وَصِرْنَا بِبَعْضِ الطَّرِيقِ ذَكَرَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْقَاصَّ فَقَالَ مَا أَنْفَعَهُمْ لِلْعَامَّةِ وَإِنْ كَانَ عَامَّةُ مَا يُحَدِّثُونَ بِهِ كَذِبًا وَأُخْبِرْتُ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ أَنَّ أَبَا الْحَارِثِ حَدَّثَهُ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ الْإِمَامَ
waʾakhbarūnā ʿan muḥammadi bni ʾabī hārūna ʾanna ʾisḥāqa ḥaddathahu qāla: ṣallaytu maʿa al-ʾimāmi ʾaḥmada bni ḥanbalin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ṣalāta al-ʿīdi faʾidhā qāṣṣun yaquṣṣu yalʿanu al-mubtadiʿata wayadhkuru al-sunnata falammā qaḍaynā al-ṣalāta waṣirnā bibaʿḍi al-ṭarīqi dhakara ʾabū ʿabdi allāhi al-qāṣṣa faqāla mā ʾanfaʿahum lilʿāmmati waʾin kāna ʿāmmatu mā yuḥaddithūna bihi kadhiban waʾukhbirtu ʿan muḥammadi bni jaʿfarin ʾanna ʾabā al-ḥārithi ḥaddathahu ʾannahu samiʿa al-ʾimāma
They informed us from Muḥammad ibn Abī Hārūn that Isḥāq related to him, saying: “I prayed the festival prayer with Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, may God be pleased with him. There was a storyteller telling stories, cursing innovators and mentioning the Sunna. When we had finished the prayer and gone some way along the road, Abū ʿAbd Allāh mentioned the storyteller and said: ‘How useful they are to ordinary people, even if most of what they relate is a lie.’” I was informed from Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar that Abū al-Ḥārith related to him that he heard Imām
أَحْمَدَ بْنَ حَنْبَلٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ أَكْذَبُ النَّاسِ الْقُصَّاصُ وَالسُّؤَّالُ وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْهُ أَيْضًا أَنَّهُ قَالَ : مَا أَحْوَجَ النَّاسَ إِلَى قَاصٍّ صَدُوقٍ لِأَنَّهُمْ يَذْكُرُونَ الْمِيزَانَ وَعَذَابَ الْقَبْرِ قُلْتُ لَهُ : أَنْتَ تَحْضُرُ مَجَالِسَهُمْ ؟ قَالَ : لَا . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ حَبِيبِ بْنِ أَبِي ثَابِتٍ عَنْ زِيَادٍ النُّمَيْرِيِّ قَالَ : أَتَيْتُ أَنَسَ بْنَ مَالِكٍ وَهُوَ
ʾaḥmada bna ḥanbalin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu ʾakdhabu al-nāsi al-quṣṣāṣu wa-al-suʾʾālu waḥaddathūnā ʿanhu ʾayḍan ʾannahu qāla: mā ʾaḥwaja al-nāsa ʾilā qāṣṣin ṣadūqin liʾannahum yadhkurūna al-mīzāna waʿadhāba al-qabri qultu lahu: ʾanta taḥḍuru majālisahum ? qāla: lā. warawaynā ʿan ḥabībi bni ʾabī thābitin ʿan ziyādin al-numayriyyi qāla: ʾataytu ʾanasa bna mālikin wahuwa
Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, may God be pleased with him, say: “The greatest liars are storytellers and beggars.” They also related to us from him that he said: “How much people need a truthful storyteller, for they mention the Balance and the punishment of the grave.” I said to him: “Do you attend their gatherings?” He said: “No.” We related from Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit, from Ziyād al-Numayrī, who said: “I came to Anas ibn Mālik while he was
بِالزَّاوِيَةِ فَقَالَ لِي : قُصَّ فَقُلْتُ كَيْفَ ؟ وَالنَّاسُ يَزْعُمُونَ أَنَّهُ بِدْعَةٌ فَقَالَ : لَيْسَ شَيْءٌ مِنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِدْعَةً ، قَالَ : فَقَصَصْتُ وَجَعَلْتُ أَكْثَرَ قَصَصِي وَدُعَائِي رَجَاءَ أَنْ يُؤَمِّنَ ، قَالَ : فَجَعَلْتُ أَقُصُّ وَهُوَ يُؤَمِّنُ وَقَدْ كَانُوا يَجْعَلُونَ الدُّعَاءَ قَصَصًا وَحَدَّثَ يُوسُفُ بْنُ عَطِيَّةَ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الْخَرَّازِ قَالَ : فَقَدَ الْحَسَنُ عَامِرَ بْنَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْعَنْبَرِيَّ فَقَالَ :
bi-al-zāwiyati faqāla lī: quṣṣa faqultu kayfa ? wa-al-nāsu yazʿumūna ʾannahu bidʿatun faqāla: laysa shayʾun min dhikri allāhi taʿālā bidʿatan , qāla: faqaṣaṣtu wajaʿaltu ʾakthara qaṣaṣī waduʿāʾī rajāʾa ʾan yuʾammina , qāla: fajaʿaltu ʾaquṣṣu wahuwa yuʾamminu waqad kānū yajʿalūna al-duʿāʾa qaṣaṣan waḥaddatha yūsufu bnu ʿaṭiyyata ʿan muḥammadi bni ʿabdi al-raḥmāni al-kharrāzi qāla: faqada al-ḥasanu ʿāmira bna ʿabdi allāhi al-ʿanbariyya faqāla:
at al-Zāwiya. He said to me: ‘Tell stories.’ I said: ‘How, when people claim it is an innovation?’ He said: ‘Nothing of the remembrance of God Most High is an innovation.’” He said: “I told stories and made most of my storytelling and supplication in the hope that he would say amen.” He said: “I went on telling stories while he said amen.” They used to count supplication as storytelling. Yūsuf ibn ʿAṭiyya related from Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Kharrāz, who said: “Al-Ḥasan missed ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-ʿAnbarī and said:
اذْهَبُوا بِنَا إِلَى أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ فَأَتَاهُ الْحَسَنُ فَإِذَا عَامِرٌ فِي بَيْتٍ قَدْ لَفَّ رَأْسَهُ وَلَيْسَ إِلَّا رَمْلٌ فَقَالَ لَهُ الْحَسَنُ : يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ لَمْ نَرَكَ مُنْذُ أَيَّامٍ ، فَقَالَ : إِنِّي كُنْتُ أَجْلِسُ هَذِهِ الْمَجَالِسَ فَأَسْمَعُ تَخْلِيطًا وَتَغْلِيظًا وَإِنِّي كُنْتُ أَسْمَعُ مَشْيَخَتَنَا فِيمَا يَرْوُونَ عَنْ نَبِيِّنَا صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ إِنَّ أَصْفَى النَّاسِ إِيمَانًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَكْثَرُهُمْ
idhhabū binā ʾilā ʾabī ʿabdi allāhi faʾatāhu al-ḥasanu faʾidhā ʿāmirun fī baytin qad laffa raʾsahu walaysa ʾillā ramlun faqāla lahu al-ḥasanu: yā ʾabā ʿabdi allāhi lam naraka mundhu ʾayyāmin , faqāla: ʾinnī kuntu ʾajlisu hādhihi al-majālisa faʾasmaʿu takhlīṭan wataghlīẓan waʾinnī kuntu ʾasmaʿu mashyakhatanā fīmā yarwūna ʿan nabiyyinā ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾannahu kāna yaqūlu ʾinna ʾaṣfā al-nāsi ʾīmānan yawma al-qiyāmati ʾaktharuhum
“‘Let us go to Abū ʿAbd Allāh.’ Al-Ḥasan came to him and found ʿĀmir in a room, his head wrapped, with nothing but sand. Al-Ḥasan said to him: ‘Abū ʿAbd Allāh, we have not seen you for days.’ He said: ‘I used to sit in these gatherings and hear confused and harsh speech. I used to hear our elders relate from our Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, that he said: “The people purest in faith on the Day of Resurrection are those who have devoted most
فِكْرَةً فِي الدُّنْيَا وَأَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ ضَحِكًا فِي الْجَنَّةِ أَكْثَرُهُمْ بُكَاءً فِي الدُّنْيَا وَأَشَدُّ النَّاسِ فَرَحًا فِي الْآخِرَةِ أَطْوَلُهُمْ حُزْنًا فِي الدُّنْيَا فَوَجَدْتُ الْبَيْتَ أَخْلَى لِقَلْبِي وَأَقْدَرَ لِي مِنْ نَفْسِي عَلَى مَا أُرِيدُ مِنْهَا ، قَالَ الْحَسَنُ : أَمَا إِنَّهُ لَمْ يَعْنِ مَجَالِسَنَا هَذِهِ إِنَّمَا عَنَى مَجَالِسَ الْقُصَّاصِ فِي الطُّرُقِ الَّذِينَ يَخْلِطُونَ وَيُغَلِّطُونَ وَيُقَدِّمُونَ وَيُؤَخِّرُونَ وَقَدْ قَسَّمَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ الْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ ثَلَاثَةَ أَقْسَامٍ فَوَصَفَهُمْ بِأَمَاكِنِهِمْ
fikratan fī al-dunyā waʾaktharu al-nāsi ḍaḥikan fī al-jannati ʾaktharuhum bukāʾan fī al-dunyā waʾashaddu al-nāsi faraḥan fī al-ʾākhirati ʾaṭwaluhum ḥuznan fī al-dunyā fawajadtu al-bayta ʾakhlā liqalbī waʾaqdara lī min nafsī ʿalā mā ʾurīdu minhā , qāla al-ḥasanu: ʾamā ʾinnahu lam yaʿni majālisanā hādhihi ʾinnamā ʿanā majālisa al-quṣṣāṣi fī al-ṭuruqi alladhīna yakhliṭūna wayughalliṭūna wayuqaddimūna wayuʾakhkhirūna waqad qassama baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi al-mutakallimīna thalāthata ʾaqsāmin fawaṣafahum biʾamākinihim
“‘thought in this world; the people who laugh most in Paradise are those who weep most in this world; and the people who rejoice most in the hereafter are those whose sorrow in this world lasts longest.” I found the house emptier for my heart and better able to give me mastery over my soul for what I want from it.’” Al-Ḥasan said: “He did not mean these gatherings of ours. He meant the gatherings of storytellers in the streets, who confuse things, introduce errors, put things earlier, and put things later.” One scholar divided speakers into three categories, describing them by their places,
فَقَالَ الْمُتَكَلِّمُونَ ثَلَاثَةٌ أَصْحَابُ الْكَرَاسِيِّ وَهُمُ الْقُصَّاصُ وَأَصْحَابُ الْأَسَاطِينِ وَهُمُ الْمُفْتُونَ وَأَصْحَابُ الزَّوَايَا وَهُمْ أَهْلُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ فَمَجَالِسُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَأَهْلِ التَّوْحِيدِ وَالْمَعْرِفَةِ هِيَ مَجَالِسُ الذِّكْرِ وَهِيَ الَّتِي جَاءَتْ فِيهَا الْآثَارُ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : إِذَا مَرَرْتُمْ بِرِيَاضِ الْجَنَّةِ فَارْتَعُوا فِيهَا قِيلَ : وَمَا رِيَاضُ الْجَنَّةِ ؟ قَالَ : مَجَالِسُ الذِّكْرِ ،
faqāla al-mutakallimūna thalāthatun ʾaṣḥābu al-karāsiyyi wahumu al-quṣṣāṣu waʾaṣḥābu al-ʾasāṭīni wahumu al-muftūna waʾaṣḥābu al-zawāyā wahum ʾahlu al-maʿrifati famajālisu ʾahli al-ʿilmi bi-allāhi taʿālā waʾahli al-tawḥīdi wa-al-maʿrifati hiya majālisu al-dhikri wahiya allatī jāʾat fīhā al-ʾāthāru , wafī al-khabari: ʾidhā marartum biriyāḍi al-jannati fartaʿū fīhā qīla: wamā riyāḍu al-jannati ? qāla: majālisu al-dhikri ,
saying: “Speakers are of three kinds: those of the chairs, who are the storytellers; those of the pillars, who are the legal advisers; and those of the corners, who are the people of knowledge of God.” The gatherings of those who know God Most High and of the people of divine oneness and knowledge of God are the gatherings of remembrance. These are the gatherings about which the transmitted traditions speak. In the report: “When you pass through the meadows of Paradise, graze in them.” He was asked: “What are the meadows of Paradise?” He said: “Gatherings of remembrance.”
وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ أَنَّ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى مَلَائِكَةً سَيَّاحِينَ فِي الْهَوَاءِ فَضْلًا عَنْ كُتَّابِ الْخَلْقِ إِذَا رَأَوْا مَجَالِسَ الذِّكْرِ يُنَادِي بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا : أَلَا هَلُمُّوا إِلَى بُغْيَتِكُمْ فَيَأْتُوهُمْ حَتَّى يَجْلِسُوا إِلَيْهِمْ فَيَحُفُّونَ بِهِمْ وَيَسْتَمِعُونَ مِنْهُمْ أَلَا فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ وَاذْكُرُوا أَيَّامَهُ ، وَقَالَ وَهْبُ بْنُ مُنَبِّهٍ الْيَمَانِيُّ : مَجْلِسٌ يُتَنَازَعُ فِيهِ الْعِلْمُ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ قَدَرِهِ صَلَاةً لَعَلَّ أَحَدَهُمْ يَسْمَعُ الْكَلِمَةَ فَيَنْتَفِعُ بِهَا السَّنَةَ أَوْ مَا بَقِيَ مِنْ عُمْرِهِ ،
wafī al-ḥadīthi ʾanna lillāhi taʿālā malāʾikatan sayyāḥīna fī al-hawāʾi faḍlan ʿan kuttābi al-khalqi ʾidhā raʾaw majālisa al-dhikri yunādī baʿḍuhum baʿḍan: ʾalā halummū ʾilā bughyatikum fayaʾtūhum ḥattā yajlisū ʾilayhim fayaḥuffūna bihim wayastamiʿūna minhum ʾalā fadhkurū allāha wadhkurū ʾayyāmahu , waqāla wahbu bnu munabbihin al-yamāniyyu: majlisun yutanāzaʿu fīhi al-ʿilmu ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min qadarihi ṣalātan laʿalla ʾaḥadahum yasmaʿu al-kalimata fayantafiʿu bihā al-sanata ʾaw mā baqiya min ʿumrihi ,
In the hadith: “God Most High has angels who travel through the air, in addition to the recorders of created beings. When they see gatherings of remembrance, they call to one another: ‘Come to what you seek!’ They come to them and sit with them, surrounding them and listening to them. So remember God and remember His days.” Wahb ibn Munabbih al-Yamānī said: “A gathering in which knowledge is exchanged is dearer to me than its equivalent in prayer. Perhaps one of them will hear a word and benefit from it for a year, or for the rest of his life.”
وَسُئِلَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْ مَجَالِسِ الذِّكْرِ وَفَضْلِهَا فَرَغَّبَ فِيهَا وَقَالَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ : وَأَيُّ شَيْءٍ أَحْسَنُ مِنْ أَنْ يَجْتَمِعَ النَّاسُ فَيَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَيُعَدِّدُونَ نِعَمَهُ عَلَيْهِمْ كَمَا قَالَتِ الْأَنْصَارُ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عَلِيٍّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ : مَا يَسُرُّنِي أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَمَاتَنِي طِفْلًا وَأَدْخَلَنِي الدَّرَجَاتِ الْعُلَى مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ قِيلَ : وَلِمَ ؟ قَالَ :
wasuʾila ʾaḥmadu bnu ḥanbalin raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā ʿan majālisi al-dhikri wafaḍlihā faraghghaba fīhā waqāla raḥimahu allāhu: waʾayyu shayʾin ʾaḥsanu min ʾan yajtamiʿa al-nāsu fayadhkurūna allāha ʿazza wajalla wayuʿaddidūna niʿamahu ʿalayhim kamā qālati al-ʾanṣāru. warawaynā ʿan ʿaliyyin karrama allāhu wajhahu: mā yasurrunī ʾanna allāha taʿālā ʾamātanī ṭiflan waʾadkhalanī al-darajāti al-ʿulā mina al-jannati qīla: walima ? qāla:
Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, God Most High have mercy on him, was asked about gatherings of remembrance and their excellence. He encouraged them and said, God have mercy on him: “What could be better than people gathering to remember God, mighty and majestic, and enumerate His blessings upon them, as the Helpers said?” We related from ʿAlī, God honor his face: “It would not please me if God Most High had caused me to die as a child and admitted me to the highest degrees of Paradise.” He was asked: “Why?” He said:
لِأَنَّهُ أَحْيَانِي حَتَّى عَرَفْتُهُ ، وَقَالَ مَالِكُ بْنُ دِينَارٍ : خَرَجَ النَّاسُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَلَمْ يَذُوقُوا طِيبَ شَيْءٍ فِيهَا قِيلَ : وَمَا هُوَ ؟ قَالَ : الْمَعْرِفَةُ ثُمَّ أَنْشَأَ يَقُولُ : إِنَّ عِرْفَانَ ذِي الْجَلَالِ لَعِزٌّ . . . وَضِيَاءٌ وَبَهْجَةٌ وَسُرُورٌ وَعَلَى الْعَارِفِينَ أَيْضًا بَهَاءٌ . . . وَعَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ الْمَحَبَّةِ نُورٌ فَهَنِيًّا لِمَنْ عَرَفَكَ إِلَهِي . . . هُوَ وَاللَّهِ دَهْرَهُ مَسْرُورٌ
liʾannahu ʾaḥyānī ḥattā ʿaraftuhu , waqāla māliku bnu dīnārin: kharaja al-nāsu mina al-dunyā walam yadhūqū ṭība shayʾin fīhā qīla: wamā huwa ? qāla: al-maʿrifatu thumma ʾanshaʾa yaqūlu: ʾinna ʿirfāna dhī al-jalāli laʿizzun... waḍiyāʾun wabahjatun wasurūrun waʿalā al-ʿārifīna ʾayḍan bahāʾun... waʿalayhim mina al-maḥabbati nūrun fahaniyyan liman ʿarafaka ʾilāhī... huwa wa-allāhi dahrahu masrūrun
“Because He kept me alive until I knew Him.” Mālik ibn Dīnār said: “People have left this world without tasting the sweetness of anything in it.” He was asked: “What is it?” He said: “Knowledge of God.” Then he began to recite: “Knowing the Lord of Majesty is honor, / light, beauty, and joy. / Upon those who know Him there is splendor too, / and upon them is a light of love. / Happy is the one who knows You, my God; / by God, he is joyful all his days.”
وَقَالَ يَحْيَى بْنُ مُعَاذٍ الرَّازِيُّ : فِي الدُّنْيَا جَنَّةٌ مَنْ دَخَلَهَا لَمْ يَشْتَقْ إِلَى شَيْءٍ وَلَمْ يَسْتَوْحِشْ ، قِيلَ : وَمَا هِيَ ؟ قَالَ : مَعْرِفَةُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَقَالَ آخَرُ : لَمْ يُخْطِئْكَ مِنَ الْعَارِفِ إِحْدَى ثَلَاثِ خِلَالٍ تَدُلُّ عَلَيْهِ هَيْبَةٌ أَوْ حَلَاوَةٌ أَوْ أُنْسٌ ، وَقَالَ عَالِمُنَا أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ :
waqāla yaḥyā bnu muʿādhin al-rāziyyu: fī al-dunyā jannatun man dakhalahā lam yashtaq ʾilā shayʾin walam yastawḥish , qīla: wamā hiya ? qāla: maʿrifatu allāhi taʿālā , waqāla ʾākharu: lam yukhṭiʾka mina al-ʿārifi ʾiḥdā thalāthi khilālin tadullu ʿalayhi haybatun ʾaw ḥalāwatun ʾaw ʾunsun , waqāla ʿālimunā ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun raḥimahu allāhu:
Yaḥyā ibn Muʿādh al-Rāzī said: “There is a paradise in this world. Whoever enters it longs for nothing and feels no estrangement.” He was asked: “What is it?” He said: “Knowledge of God Most High.” Another said: “You will not fail to find in a knower one of three qualities that point to him: awe, sweetness, or intimacy.” Our scholar Abū Muḥammad Sahl, God have mercy on him, said:
خَرَجَ الْعُلَمَاءُ وَالزُّهَّادُ وَالْعُبَّادُ وَقُلُوبُهُمْ مُقْفَلَةٌ وَلَمْ يُفْتَحْ إِلَّا قُلُوبُ الصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ ثُمَّ تَلَا وَعِنْدَهُ مَفَاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْلَمُهَا إِلَّا هُوَ يَعْنِي مُقْفَلَةً عَنْ مَفَاتِحِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَشَهَادَةِ عَيْنِ التَّوْحِيدِ فَمَجَالِسُ الذِّكْرِ هَذِهِ قَدِيمًا كَانَتْ لِأَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَأَصْحَابِ مُعَامَلَاتِ الْقُلُوبِ وَعِلْمِ الْبَاطِنِ وَهُمْ عُلَمَاءُ الْآخِرَةِ وَأَهْلُ الْفِقْهِ فِي الدِّينِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَهُوَ أَصْدَقُ الْقَائِلِينَ :
kharaja al-ʿulamāʾu wa-al-zuhhādu wa-al-ʿubbādu waqulūbuhum muqfalatun walam yuftaḥ ʾillā qulūbu al-ṣiddīqīna wa-al-shuhadāʾi thumma talā waʿindahu mafātiḥu al-ghaybi lā yaʿlamuhā ʾillā huwa yaʿnī muqfalatan ʿan mafātiḥi al-maʿrifati washahādati ʿayni al-tawḥīdi famajālisu al-dhikri hādhihi qadīman kānat liʾahli al-maʿrifati waʾaṣḥābi muʿāmalāti al-qulūbi waʿilmi al-bāṭini wahum ʿulamāʾu al-ʾākhirati waʾahlu al-fiqhi fī al-dīni , waqad qāla allāhu taʿālā wahuwa ʾaṣdaqu al-qāʾilīna:
“Scholars, ascetics, and devoted worshippers have departed with their hearts locked, and only the hearts of the utterly truthful and the witnesses have been opened.” Then he recited: “With Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them but Him.” He meant locked against the keys of knowledge of God and the witnessing of the very reality of divine oneness. In earlier times, these gatherings of remembrance belonged to the people of knowledge of God, those who practice the dealings of hearts and inward knowledge. They are the scholars of the hereafter and the people of understanding in religion. God Most High, the most truthful of speakers, has said:
( فَلَوْلَا نَفَرَ مِنْ كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِنْهُمْ طَائِفَةٌ لِيَتَفَقَّهُوا فِي الدِّينِ ) التَّوْبَةُ : 122 الْآيَةُ ، فَذَكَرَ الْفِقْهَ الَّذِي هُوَ مِنْ صِفَةِ الْقَلْبِ وَالْخَوْفَ الَّذِي هُوَ سَبَبُ الْفِقْهِ وَعِلْمُ الْعَقْلِ دَاخِلٌ فِي عِلْمِ الظَّاهِرِ وَالْعِلْمُ بِاللَّهِ دَاخِلٌ فِي الْيَقِينِ كَمَا رُوِيَ فِي الْخَبَرِ الْيَقِينُ الْإِيمَانُ كُلُّهُ ، وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَمَا يَعْقِلُهَا إِلَّا الْعَالِمُونَ ) الْعَنْكَبُوتُ :
( falawlā nafara min kulli firqatin minhum ṭāʾifatun liyatafaqqahū fī al-dīni ) al-tawbatu: 122 al-ʾāyatu , fadhakara al-fiqha alladhī huwa min ṣifati al-qalbi wa-al-khawfa alladhī huwa sababu al-fiqhi waʿilmu al-ʿaqli dākhilun fī ʿilmi al-ẓāhiri wa-al-ʿilmu bi-allāhi dākhilun fī al-yaqīni kamā ruwiya fī al-khabari al-yaqīnu al-ʾīmānu kulluhu , waqāla allāhu taʿālā: ( wamā yaʿqiluhā ʾillā al-ʿālimūna ) al-ʿankabūtu:
“Why should a group from each division of them not go forth, so that they may gain understanding in religion?” (al-Tawba 9:122), in the verse. He mentioned understanding, which is a quality of the heart, and fear, which is the cause of understanding. Knowledge of reason belongs to outward knowledge, while knowledge of God belongs to certainty. As related in the report: “Certainty is the whole of faith.” God Most High said: “None understands them except those who know” (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:
43 فَجَعَلَ الْعَقْلَ وَصْفًا مِنَ الْعِلْمِ وَقَدْ أَمَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِتَعْلِيمِ الْيَقِينِ كَمَا أَمَرَ بِطَلَبِ الْعِلْمِ فَكَانَ هَذَا الْحَدِيثُ مَخْصُوصًا مِنْ ذَاكَ فَيَكُونُ قَوْلُهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : تَعَلَّمُوا الْيَقِينَ لِلْخُصُوصِ لِأَنَّ الْيَقِينَ مَقَامٌ فَوْقَ الْعِلْمِ وَيَكُونُ قَوْلُهُ طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ لِلْعُمُومِ وَفِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَلَّمُوا الْيَقِينَ أَمْرٌ بِمُجَالَسَةِ الْمُوقِنِينَ لِأَنَّ الْيَقِينَ لَا يَظْهَرُ بِذَاتِهِ وَإِنَّمَا يُوجَدُ عِنْدَ الْمُوقِنِينَ
43 fajaʿala al-ʿaqla waṣfan mina al-ʿilmi waqad ʾamara rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bitaʿlīmi al-yaqīni kamā ʾamara biṭalabi al-ʿilmi fakāna hādhā al-ḥadīthu makhṣūṣan min dhāka fayakūnu qawluhu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: taʿallamū al-yaqīna lilkhuṣūṣi liʾanna al-yaqīna maqāmun fawqa al-ʿilmi wayakūnu qawluhu ṭalabu al-ʿilmi farīḍatun lilʿumūmi wafī qawlihi taʿallamū al-yaqīna ʾamrun bimujālasati al-mūqinīna liʾanna al-yaqīna lā yaẓharu bidhātihi waʾinnamā yūjadu ʿinda al-mūqinīna
43). He thus made reason a quality of knowledge. God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, commanded the teaching of certainty just as he commanded seeking knowledge. This hadith is particular in relation to that one. His saying, God bless him and grant him peace, “Learn certainty,” applies to the elect, because certainty is a station above knowledge, whereas his saying, “Seeking knowledge is an obligation,” applies to everyone. His words “Learn certainty” command keeping company with those of certainty, because certainty does not appear by itself; it is found only among those of certainty.
فَقَدْ أَمَرَهُمْ وَلَمْ يَقُلْ تَعَلَّمُوا عِلْمَ الْمَعْقُولِ وَلَا عِلْمَ الْفَتَاوَى وَكَانَ عُلَمَاءُ الظَّاهِرِ قَدِيمًا يُسَمَّوْنَ الْمُفْتِينَ وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ اسْتَفْتِ قَلْبَكَ وَإِنْ أَفْتَاكَ الْمُفْتُونَ فَرَدَّهُ إِلَى فِقْهِ الْقَلْبِ وَصَرَفَهُ عَنْ فُتْيَا الْمُفْتِينَ فَلَوْلَا أَنَّ الْقَلْبَ فَقِيهٌ لَمْ يَجُزْ أَنْ يَدُلَّهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَى غَيْرِ فَقِيهٍ وَلَوْلَا أَنَّ عِلْمَ الْبَاطِنِ حَاكِمٌ عَلَى الظَّاهِرِ مَا دَفَعَهُ مِنْ عُلُومِ أَهْلِ
faqad ʾamarahum walam yaqul taʿallamū ʿilma al-maʿqūli walā ʿilma al-fatāwā wakāna ʿulamāʾu al-ẓāhiri qadīman yusammawna al-muftīna wamin dhālika qawluhu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama istafti qalbaka waʾin ʾaftāka al-muftūna faraddahu ʾilā fiqhi al-qalbi waṣarafahu ʿan futyā al-muftīna falawlā ʾanna al-qalba faqīhun lam yajuz ʾan yadullahu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿalā ghayri faqīhin walawlā ʾanna ʿilma al-bāṭini ḥākimun ʿalā al-ẓāhiri mā dafaʿahu min ʿulūmi ʾahli
He commanded them, and did not say: “Learn the science of rational matters,” or “the science of legal opinions.” In earlier times, scholars of outward knowledge were called legal advisers. Among the examples is his saying, God bless him and grant him peace: “Consult your heart, even if the legal advisers give you opinions.” He directed him back to the heart’s understanding and turned him away from the advisers’ rulings. If the heart did not understand, it would not have been permissible for him, God bless him and grant him peace, to direct him to something without understanding. If inward knowledge did not govern outward knowledge, he would not have moved him from the sciences of the people of
الظَّاهِرِ وَهُمْ عُلَمَاءُ الْأَلْسِنَةِ إِلَى عِلْمِ الْبَاطِنِ وَهُوَ عِلْمُ أَهْلِ الْقُلُوبِ مَا رَدَّهُ إِلَيْهِ وَلَا يَجُوزُ أَنْ يَرُدَّهُ مِنْ فَقِيهٍ إِلَى فَقِيهٍ دُونَهُ كَيْفَ وَقَدْ جَاءَ هَذَا الْحَدِيثُ بِلَفْظَةٍ مُؤَكَّدَةٍ بِالتَّكْرِيرِ وَالْمُبَالَغَةِ فَقَالَ اسْتَفْتِ قَلْبَكَ وَإِنْ أَفْتَوْكَ وَأَفْتَوْكَ ، وَهَذَا مَخْصُوصٌ لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ وَأَلْقَى سَمْعَهُ وَشَهِدَ قِيَامَ شَاهِدِهِ وَعَرِيَ عَنْ شَهَوَاتِهِ وَمَعْهُودِهِ لِأَنَّ الْفِقْهَ لَيْسَ مِنْ وَصْفِ اللِّسَانِ أَلَمْ تَسْمَعْ قَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى :
al-ẓāhiri wahum ʿulamāʾu al-ʾalsinati ʾilā ʿilmi al-bāṭini wahuwa ʿilmu ʾahli al-qulūbi mā raddahu ʾilayhi walā yajūzu ʾan yaruddahu min faqīhin ʾilā faqīhin dūnahu kayfa waqad jāʾa hādhā al-ḥadīthu bilafẓatin muʾakkadatin bi-al-takrīri wa-al-mubālaghati faqāla istafti qalbaka waʾin ʾaftawka waʾaftawka , wahādhā makhṣūṣun liman kāna lahu qalbun waʾalqā samʿahu washahida qiyāma shāhidihi waʿariya ʿan shahawātihi wamaʿhūdihi liʾanna al-fiqha laysa min waṣfi al-lisāni ʾalam tasmaʿ qawlahu taʿālā:
outward knowledge, the scholars of tongues, to inward knowledge, the knowledge of the people of hearts; he would not have directed him back to it. It is not permissible to refer him from one person of understanding to another below him. How could that be so, when this hadith comes in wording reinforced by repetition and emphasis? He said: “Consult your heart, even if they give you opinions, and give you opinions.” This applies particularly to one who has a heart, lends his ear, witnesses his witness standing present, and is stripped of his desires and accustomed habits. Understanding is not a quality of the tongue. Have you not heard the Most High’s words:
( لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 179 ، فَمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ سَمِيعٌ بِسَمِيعٍ شَهِيدٌ بِشَهِيدٍ فَقِهَ بِهِ الْخِطَابَ فَاسْتَجَابَ لِمَا سَمِعَ وَأَنَابَ وَذَكَرَ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( لِيَتَفَقَّهُوا فِي الدِّينِ ) التَّوْبَةُ : 122 وَصْفَيْنِ ظَهَرَا عَنِ الْفِقْهِ أَحَدُهُمَا النِّذَارَةُ وَهُوَ مَقَامٌ فِي الدَّعْوَةِ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَلَا يَكُونُ النَّذِيرُ إِلَّا مُخَوِّفًا وَلَا يَكُونُ الْمُخَوِّفُ إِلَّا خَائِفًا
( lahum qulūbun lā yafqahūna bihā ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 179 , faman kāna lahu qalbun samīʿun bisamīʿin shahīdun bishahīdin faqiha bihi al-khiṭāba fastajāba limā samiʿa waʾanāba wadhakara fī qawlihi taʿālā: ( liyatafaqqahū fī al-dīni ) al-tawbatu: 122 waṣfayni ẓaharā ʿani al-fiqhi ʾaḥaduhumā al-nidhāratu wahuwa maqāmun fī al-daʿwati ʾilā allāhi ʿazza wajalla walā yakūnu al-nadhīru ʾillā mukhawwifan walā yakūnu al-mukhawwifu ʾillā khāʾifan
“They have hearts with which they do not understand” (al-Aʿrāf 7:179)? Whoever has a heart that hears through a hearer and witnesses through a witness understands the address through it, responds to what he hears, and turns back. In His words, exalted is He, “So that they may gain understanding in religion” (al-Tawba 9:122), He mentioned two qualities that arise from understanding. The first is warning, a station in calling to God, mighty and majestic. A warner must cause fear, and one who causes fear must himself be afraid,
وَالْخَائِفُ عَالِمٌ وَالثَّانِي الْحَذَرُ وَهُوَ حَالٌ مِنَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَهُوَ الْخَشْيَةُ لَهُ ، وَالْفِقْهُ وَالْفَهْمُ اسْمَانِ لِمَعْنًى وَاحِدٍ وَالْعَرَبُ تَقُولُ : فَقِهْتُ بِمَعْنَى فَهِمْتُ وَقَدْ فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْفَهْمَ عَنْهُ عَلَى الْعِلْمِ وَالْحِكْمَةِ وَرَفَعَ الْإِفْهَامَ عَلَى الْقَضَاءِ وَالْأَحْكَامِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( فَفَهَّمْنَاهَا سُلَيْمَانَ ) الْأَنْبِيَاءُ : 79 ، فَأَفْرَدَهُ بِالْفَهْمِ عَنْهُ وَهُوَ الَّذِي فَضَّلَهُ بِهِ عَلَى حُكْمِ
wa-al-khāʾifu ʿālimun wa-al-thānī al-ḥadharu wahuwa ḥālun mina al-maʿrifati bi-allāhi ʿazza wajalla wahuwa al-khashyatu lahu , wa-al-fiqhu wa-al-fahmu ismāni limaʿnan wāḥidin wa-al-ʿarabu taqūlu: faqihtu bimaʿnā fahimtu waqad faḍḍala allāhu taʿālā al-fahma ʿanhu ʿalā al-ʿilmi wa-al-ḥikmati warafaʿa al-ʾifhāma ʿalā al-qaḍāʾi wa-al-ʾaḥkāmi faqāla taʿālā: ( fafahhamnāhā sulaymāna ) al-ʾanbiyāʾu: 79 , faʾafradahu bi-al-fahmi ʿanhu wahuwa alladhī faḍḍalahu bihi ʿalā ḥukmi
and one who fears is a knower. The second is caution, a state of knowing God, mighty and majestic, namely reverent fear of Him. Fiqh and fahm are two names for one meaning. The Arabs say faqihtu, meaning fahimtu, “I understood.” God Most High has favored understanding from Him above knowledge and wisdom, and raised the granting of understanding above judgment and rulings. The Most High said: “We made Solomon understand it” (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:79). He singled him out for understanding from Him, and it is through this that He favored him over the judgment of
أَبِيهِ فِي الْقَضِيَّةِ بَعْدَ أَنْ أَشْرَكَهُمَا فِي الْحُكْمِ وَالْعِلْمِ ، وَقَدْ فَضَّلَ الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا عُلَمَاءَ الْهِدَايَةِ إِلَى اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى الدَّالِّينَ عَلَيْهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَسَمَّاهُمُ الْعُلَمَاءَ وَحَقَّقَهُمْ بِالْعِلْمِ فِي كَلَامٍ رُوِيَ لَنَا عَنْهُ مَنْظُومًا وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَاهُ أَيْضًا عَنْ عَلِيٍّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ وَرَضِيَ عَنْهُ : مَا الْفَخْرُ إِلَّا لِأَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ إِنَّهُمْ . . .
ʾabīhi fī al-qaḍiyyati baʿda ʾan ʾashrakahumā fī al-ḥukmi wa-al-ʿilmi , waqad faḍḍala al-ḥasanu bnu ʿaliyyin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā ʿulamāʾa al-hidāyati ʾilā allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā al-dāllīna ʿalayhi ʿazza wajalla wasammāhumu al-ʿulamāʾa waḥaqqaqahum bi-al-ʿilmi fī kalāmin ruwiya lanā ʿanhu manẓūman waqad rawaynāhu ʾayḍan ʿan ʿaliyyin karrama allāhu wajhahu waraḍiya ʿanhu: mā al-fakhru ʾillā liʾahli al-ʿilmi ʾinnahum...
his father in the case, after giving them both judgment and knowledge. Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī, may God be pleased with them both, extolled the scholars who guide to God, glorified and exalted is He, and point toward Him, mighty and majestic. He called them scholars and affirmed their knowledge in words related to us from him in verse. We have also related them from ʿAlī, God honor his face and be pleased with him: “Honor belongs only to the people of knowledge, for they
عَلَى الْهُدَى لِمَنِ اسْتَهْدَى أَدِلَّاءُ وَوَزْنُ كُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا كَانَ يُحْسِنُهُ . . . وَالْجَاهِلُونَ لِأَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ أَعْدَاءُ فَمَنْ كَانَ عَالِمًا بِعِلْمٍ مَعْلُومُهُ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فَمَنْ أَفْضَلُ مِنْهُ وَأَيُّ قِيمَةٍ تُعْرَفُ لَهُ إِذْ كُلُّ عِلْمٍ قِيمَتُهُ مَعْلُومَةٌ وَوَزْنُ كُلِّ عَالِمٍ عِلْمُهُ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ بْنُ زَيْدٍ إِمَامُ الزَّاهِدِينَ كَلَامًا فِي هَذَا الْمَعْنَى وَيُفْرِدُ بِهِ الْعُلَمَاءَ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَيَرْفَعُ طَرِيقَهُمْ فَوْقَ كُلِّ طَرِيقٍ أَنْشَدُونَا عَنْهُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى :
ʿalā al-hudā limani istahdā ʾadillāʾu wawaznu kulli imriʾin mā kāna yuḥsinuhu... wa-al-jāhilūna liʾahli al-ʿilmi ʾaʿdāʾu faman kāna ʿāliman biʿilmin maʿlūmuhu allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā faman ʾafḍalu minhu waʾayyu qīmatin tuʿrafu lahu ʾidh kullu ʿilmin qīmatuhu maʿlūmatun wawaznu kulli ʿālimin ʿilmuhu , waqad qāla ʿabdu al-wāḥidi bnu zaydin ʾimāmu al-zāhidīna kalāman fī hādhā al-maʿnā wayufridu bihi al-ʿulamāʾa bi-allāhi taʿālā wayarfaʿu ṭarīqahum fawqa kulli ṭarīqin ʾanshadūnā ʿanhu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā:
“are guides upon the path for those who seek guidance. / Each person’s weight is what he does well, / and the ignorant are enemies of the people of knowledge.” If someone is learned in a knowledge whose object is God, glorified and exalted is He, who is better than he? What value can be assigned to him? For every knowledge has a known value, and each scholar’s weight is his knowledge. ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Zayd, leader of the ascetics, spoke on this subject, singling out those who know God Most High and raising their path above every path. They recited to us from him, God Most High have mercy on him:
الطُّرُقُ شَتَّى وَطُرُقُ الْحَقِّ مُفْرَدَةٌ . . . وَالسَّالِكُونَ طَرِيقَ الْحَقِّ أَفْرَادُ لَا يُعْرَفُونَ وَلَا تُسْلَكُ مَقَاصِدُهُمْ . . . فَهُمْ عَلَى مَهْلٍ يَمْشُونَ قُصَّادُ وَالنَّاسُ فِي غَفْلَةٍ عَمَّا يُرَادُ بِهِمْ . . . فَجُلُّهُمْ عَنْ سَبِيلِ الْحَقِّ رُقَّادُ وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ لَمَّا مَاتَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : إِنِّي لَأُحِبُّ هَذَا الرَّجُلَ قَدْ ذَهَبَ بِتِسْعَةِ أَعْشَارِ الْعِلْمِ فَقِيلَ لَهُ :
al-ṭuruqu shattā waṭuruqu al-ḥaqqi mufradatun... wa-al-sālikūna ṭarīqa al-ḥaqqi ʾafrādu lā yuʿrafūna walā tuslaku maqāṣiduhum... fahum ʿalā mahlin yamshūna quṣṣādu wa-al-nāsu fī ghaflatin ʿammā yurādu bihim... fajulluhum ʿan sabīli al-ḥaqqi ruqqādu warawaynā ʿani ibni masʿūdin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ʾannahu qāla lammā māta ʿumaru raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: ʾinnī laʾuḥibbu hādhā al-rajula qad dhahaba bitisʿati ʾaʿshāri al-ʿilmi faqīla lahu:
“Paths are many, and the paths of truth stand apart; / those who travel the path of truth are solitary few. / They are unknown, and their destinations are not traveled to; / they walk unhurriedly, purposeful in their course. / People are heedless of what is intended for them; / most of them sleep away from the path of truth.” We related from Ibn Masʿūd, may God be pleased with him, that when ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, died, he said: “I love this man. He has departed with nine-tenths of knowledge.” He was asked:
تَقُولُ هَذَا وَأَصْحَابُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مُتَوَافِرُونَ فَقَالَ : إِنِّي لَسْتُ أَعْنِي الْعِلْمَ الَّذِي تَذْهَبُونَ إِلَيْهِ إِنَّمَا أَعْنِي الْعِلْمَ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، وَكَانَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ يَقُولُ : الْمُتَّقُونَ مُتَوَارُونَ ، وَكَذَلِكَ كَانَ يَقُولُ : الْمُتَّقُونَ سَادَةٌ وَالْعُلَمَاءُ قَادَةٌ وَمُجَالَسَتُهُمْ زِيَادَةٌ يَعْنِي أَنَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ سَادَةُ النَّاسِ كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ ) الْحُجُرَاتُ :
taqūlu hādhā waʾaṣḥābu rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama mutawāfirūna faqāla: ʾinnī lastu ʾaʿnī al-ʿilma alladhī tadhhabūna ʾilayhi ʾinnamā ʾaʿnī al-ʿilma bi-allāhi ʿazza wajalla , wakāna ibnu masʿūdin yaqūlu: al-muttaqūna mutawārūna , wakadhālika kāna yaqūlu: al-muttaqūna sādatun wa-al-ʿulamāʾu qādatun wamujālasatuhum ziyādatun yaʿnī ʾanna al-muttaqīna sādatu al-nāsi kamā qāla allāhu ʿazza wajalla: ( ʾinna ʾakramakum ʿinda allāhi ʾatqākum ) al-ḥujurātu:
“Do you say this while the Companions of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, are still numerous?” He said: “I do not mean the knowledge you have in mind. I mean knowledge of God, mighty and majestic.” Ibn Masʿūd used to say: “The God-fearing are hidden.” He also used to say: “The God-fearing are masters, the scholars are leaders, and keeping company with them brings increase.” He meant that the God-fearing are the masters of people, as God, mighty and majestic, said: “The most honored of you in God’s sight is the most God-fearing of you” (al-Ḥujurāt 49:
13 وَالْعُلَمَاءُ قَادَةُ الْمُتَّقِينَ أَيْ أَئِمَّتُهُمْ يَقْتَفُونَ آثَارَهُمْ لِأَنَّهُ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا ) الْفُرْقَانُ : 74 ، فَفَضَّلَ الْعُلَمَاءَ عَلَى الْمُتَّقِينَ وَجَعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّةً لَهُمْ صَارَ الْمُتَّقُونَ أَصْحَابَهُمْ وَأَخْبَرَ بِالْمَزِيدِ فِي مُجَالَسَتِهِمْ أَيْ مُجَالَسَتُهُمْ زِيَادَةٌ عَلَى مُجَالَسَةِ الْمُتَّقِينَ غَيْرِ الْعُلَمَاءِ لِأَنَّ كُلَّ عَالِمٍ تَقِيٌّ وَلَيْسَ كُلُّ تَقِيٍّ عَالِمًا كَمَا رُوِيَ بِمَعْنَاهُ الْعُلَمَاءُ كَثِيرٌ وَالْحُكَمَاءُ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ قَلِيلٌ وَالصَّالِحُونَ كَثِيرٌ وَالصَّادِقُونَ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ قَلِيلٌ ،
13 wa-al-ʿulamāʾu qādatu al-muttaqīna ʾay ʾaʾimmatuhum yaqtafūna ʾāthārahum liʾannahu qāla taʿālā: ( wajʿalnā lilmuttaqīna ʾimāman ) al-furqānu: 74 , fafaḍḍala al-ʿulamāʾa ʿalā al-muttaqīna wajaʿalahum ʾaʾimmatan lahum ṣāra al-muttaqūna ʾaṣḥābahum waʾakhbara bi-al-mazīdi fī mujālasatihim ʾay mujālasatuhum ziyādatun ʿalā mujālasati al-muttaqīna ghayri al-ʿulamāʾi liʾanna kulla ʿālimin taqiyyun walaysa kullu taqiyyin ʿāliman kamā ruwiya bimaʿnāhu al-ʿulamāʾu kathīrun wa-al-ḥukamāʾu mina al-ʿulamāʾi qalīlun wa-al-ṣāliḥūna kathīrun wa-al-ṣādiqūna mina al-ṣāliḥīna qalīlun ,
13). Scholars are the leaders of the God-fearing, their imams, whose footsteps they follow, because He, exalted is He, said: “Make us a leader for the God-fearing” (al-Furqān 25:74). He favored scholars above the God-fearing and made them their leaders; the God-fearing became their companions. He spoke of the increase in keeping company with them, meaning that their company provides more than the company of God-fearing people who are not scholars, because every scholar is God-fearing, but not every God-fearing person is a scholar. As related to this effect: “Scholars are many, but the wise among scholars are few. The righteous are many, but the truthful among the righteous are few.”
وَسُئِلَ ابْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ مَنِ النَّاسُ ؟ قَالَ : الْعُلَمَاءُ ، قِيلَ فَمَنِ الْمُلُوكُ ؟ قَالَ : الزُّهَّادُ ، قِيلَ : فَمَنِ السَّفَلَةُ ؟ قَالَ : مَنْ يَأْكُلُ بِدِينِهِ ، وَقَالَ مَرَّةً فِي رِوَايَةٍ الَّذِينَ يَتَلَبَّسُونَ وَيَطْلُبُونَ وَيَتَعَرَّضُونَ لِلشَّهَادَاتِ وَقَالَ فَرْقَدُ السَّنْجِيُّ لِلْحَسَنِ رَحِمَهُمَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي شَيْءٍ سَأَلَهُ عَنْهُ ، فَأَجَابَهُ : يَا أَبَا سَعِيدٍ إِنَّ الْفُقَهَاءَ يُخَالِفُونَكَ فَقَالَ :
wasuʾila ibnu al-mubāraki mani al-nāsu ? qāla: al-ʿulamāʾu , qīla famani al-mulūku ? qāla: al-zuhhādu , qīla: famani al-safalatu ? qāla: man yaʾkulu bidīnihi , waqāla marratan fī riwāyatin alladhīna yatalabbasūna wayaṭlubūna wayataʿarraḍūna lil-shahādāti waqāla farqadu al-sanjiyyu lilḥasani raḥimahumā allāhu taʿālā fī shayʾin saʾalahu ʿanhu , faʾajābahu: yā ʾabā saʿīdin ʾinna al-fuqahāʾa yukhālifūnaka faqāla:
Ibn al-Mubārak was asked: “Who are the people?” He said: “The scholars.” He was asked: “Then who are the kings?” He said: “The ascetics.” He was asked: “Then who are the lowly?” He said: “Those who eat by means of their religion.” On another occasion, according to one version, he said: “Those who assume appearances, seek things, and put themselves forward to give testimony.” Farqad al-Sanjī said to al-Ḥasan, God Most High have mercy on them both, concerning something he had asked him about and he had answered: “Abū Saʿīd, the jurists disagree with you.” He said:
ثَكِلَتْكَ أُمُّكَ فَرْقَدُ وَهَلْ رَأَيْتَ بِعَيْنَيْكَ فُقَهَاءَ ؟ إِنَّمَا الْفَقِيهُ الزَّاهِدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا الرَّاغِبُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ الْبَصِيرُ بِدِينِهِ الْمُدَاوِمُ عَلَى عِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ الْوَرِعُ الْكَافُّ عَنْ أَعْرَاضِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ الْعَفِيفُ عَنْ أَمْوَالِهِمُ النَّاصِحُ لِجَمَاعَتِهِمْ جَمَعْنَا قَوْلَهُ هَذَا فِي ثَلَاثِ رِوَايَاتٍ عَنْهُ مُخْتَلِفَةٍ فَهَذِهِ صِفَاتُ الْعَالِمِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَهُمُ الْعَارِفُونَ . وَحَدَّثَنَا عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ حَنْبَلٍ قَالَ : قُلْتُ لِأَبِي : بَلَغَنَا أَنَّكَ كُنْتَ تَخْتَلِفُ إِلَى
thakilatka ʾummuka farqadu wahal raʾayta biʿaynayka fuqahāʾa ? ʾinnamā al-faqīhu al-zāhidu fī al-dunyā al-rāghibu fī al-ʾākhirati al-baṣīru bidīnihi al-mudāwimu ʿalā ʿibādati rabbihi al-wariʿu al-kāffu ʿan ʾaʿrāḍi al-muslimīna al-ʿafīfu ʿan ʾamwālihimu al-nāṣiḥu lijamāʿatihim jamaʿnā qawlahu hādhā fī thalāthi riwāyātin ʿanhu mukhtalifatin fahādhihi ṣifātu al-ʿālimi bi-allāhi taʿālā wahumu al-ʿārifūna. waḥaddathanā ʿan ʿabdi allāhi bni ʾaḥmada bni ḥanbalin qāla: qultu liʾabī: balaghanā ʾannaka kunta takhtalifu ʾilā
“May your mother lose you, Farqad! Have you ever seen jurists with your own eyes? The jurist is only one who renounces this world, desires the hereafter, sees clearly in his religion, persists in worshipping his Lord, is scrupulous, refrains from attacking Muslims’ honor, keeps himself from their wealth, and sincerely counsels their community.” We have combined this saying of his from three differing versions related from him. These are the qualities of the scholar who knows God Most High; these are the knowers. He related to us from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, who said: “I said to my father: ‘We have heard that you used to visit
مَعْرُوفٍ أَكَانَ عِنْدَهُ حَدِيثٌ ؟ فَقَالَ : يَا بُنَيَّ كَانَ عِنْدَهُ رَأْسُ الْأَمْرِ تَقْوَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَقِيلَ لِلْإِمَامِ أَحْمَدَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : بِأَيِّ شَيْءٍ ذُكِرَ هَؤُلَاءِ الْأَئِمَّةُ وَوُصِفُوا ؟ فَقَالَ : مَا هُوَ إِلَّا الصِّدْقُ الَّذِي كَانَ فِيهِمْ قِيلَ لَهُ : وَمَا الصِّدْقُ ؟ قَالَ : هُوَ الْإِخْلَاصُ قِيلَ لَهُ : فَالْإِخْلَاصُ مَا هُوَ ؟ قَالَ : الزُّهْدُ ،
maʿrūfin ʾakāna ʿindahu ḥadīthun ? faqāla: yā bunayya kāna ʿindahu raʾsu al-ʾamri taqwā allāhi ʿazza wajalla waqīla lilʾimāmi ʾaḥmada raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: biʾayyi shayʾin dhukira hāʾulāʾi al-ʾaʾimmatu wawuṣifū ? faqāla: mā huwa ʾillā al-ṣidqu alladhī kāna fīhim qīla lahu: wamā al-ṣidqu ? qāla: huwa al-ʾikhlāṣu qīla lahu: fa-al-ʾikhlāṣu mā huwa ? qāla: al-zuhdu ,
“‘Maʿrūf. Did he have hadith?’ He said: ‘My son, he possessed the head of the matter: fear of God, mighty and majestic.’” Imām Aḥmad, may God be pleased with him, was asked: “Through what were these leaders remembered and distinguished?” He said: “It was only the truthfulness within them.” He was asked: “What is truthfulness?” He said: “Sincerity.” He was asked: “Then what is sincerity?” He said: “Renunciation.”
قِيلَ : وَمَا الزُّهْدُ ؟ فَأَطْرَقَ ثُمَّ قَالَ : سَلُوا الزُّهَّادَ سَلُوا بِشْرَ بْنَ الْحَارِثِ وَقَدْ حُدِّثْتُ عَنْ بِشْرٍ فِي مَنْصُورِ بْنِ عَمَّارٍ رَحِمَهُمَا اللَّهُ حِكَايَاتٍ ظَرِيفَةً كَانَ مَنْصُورُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ مِنَ الْوَاعِظِينَ الْمُذَكِّرِينَ وَلَمْ يَكُنِ الْعُلَمَاءُ فِي وَقْتِهِ مِثْلَ بِشْرٍ وَأَحْمَدَ وَأَبِي ثَوْرٍ يَعُدُّونَهُ عَالِمًا كَانَ عِنْدَهُمْ مِنَ الْقُصَّاصِ وَكَانَتِ الْعَامَّةُ تُسَمِّيهِ عَالِمًا فَحُدِّثْتُ عَنْ نَصْرِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ الْجَهْضَمِيِّ أَنَّهُ مَزَحَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ مِزَاحًا أَفْرَطَ فِيهِ فَقِيلَ لَهُ :
qīla: wamā al-zuhdu ? faʾaṭraqa thumma qāla: salū al-zuhhāda salū bishra bna al-ḥārithi waqad ḥuddithtu ʿan bishrin fī manṣūri bni ʿammārin raḥimahumā allāhu ḥikāyātin ẓarīfatan kāna manṣūru bnu ʿammārin mina al-wāʿiẓīna al-mudhakkirīna walam yakuni al-ʿulamāʾu fī waqtihi mithla bishrin waʾaḥmada waʾabī thawrin yaʿuddūnahu ʿāliman kāna ʿindahum mina al-quṣṣāṣi wakānati al-ʿāmmatu tusammīhi ʿāliman faḥuddithtu ʿan naṣri bni ʿaliyyin al-jahḍamiyyi ʾannahu mazaḥa dhāta yawmin mizāḥan ʾafraṭa fīhi faqīla lahu:
He was asked: “What is renunciation?” He lowered his head, then said: “Ask the ascetics. Ask Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith.” I have been told some curious accounts from Bishr concerning Manṣūr ibn ʿAmmār, God have mercy on them both. Manṣūr ibn ʿAmmār was one of the preachers who gave reminders. The scholars of his time, such as Bishr, Aḥmad, and Abū Thawr, did not regard him as a scholar; to them he was a storyteller. The general public called him a scholar. I was told of Naṣr ibn ʿAlī al-Jahḍamī that one day he joked excessively, and was asked:
تَقُولُ هَذَا وَأَنْتَ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ ؟ فَقَالَ : مَا رَأَيْتُ أَحَدًا مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ إِلَّا وَهُوَ يَمْزَحُ فَقِيلَ لَهُ : قَدْ رَأَيْتَ بِشْرَ بْنَ الْحَارِثِ فَهَلْ سَمِعْتَهُ يَمْزَحُ قَالَ : نَعَمْ كُنْتُ جَالِسًا مَعَهُ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ فِي بَعْضِ الدُّرُوبِ فَجَاءَ مَنْصُورُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ يَعْدُو ، فَقَالَ : يَا أَبَا نَصْرٍ الْأَمِيرُ قَدْ أَمَرَ بِجَمْعِ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَالصَّالِحِينَ فَتَرَى لِي أَنْ أَخْتَفِيَ ؟
taqūlu hādhā waʾanta mina al-ʿulamāʾi ? faqāla: mā raʾaytu ʾaḥadan mina al-ʿulamāʾi ʾillā wahuwa yamzaḥu faqīla lahu: qad raʾayta bishra bna al-ḥārithi fahal samiʿtahu yamzaḥu qāla: naʿam kuntu jālisan maʿahu dhāta yawmin fī baʿḍi al-durūbi fajāʾa manṣūru bnu ʿammārin yaʿdū , faqāla: yā ʾabā naṣrin al-ʾamīru qad ʾamara bijamʿi al-ʿulamāʾi wa-al-ṣāliḥīna fatarā lī ʾan ʾakhtafiya ?
“Do you say this while you are one of the scholars?” He said: “I have never seen a scholar who did not joke.” He was told: “You have seen Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith; have you heard him joke?” He said: “Yes. One day I was sitting with him in one of the lanes when Manṣūr ibn ʿAmmār came running. He said: ‘Abū Naṣr, the governor has ordered the scholars and the righteous to be assembled. Do you think I should hide?’”
فَدَفَعَهُ بِشْرٌ وَقَالَ : تَنَحَّ عَنَّا لَا يَمُرَّ حِمْلُ شَوْكٍ فَيُلْقِيَكَ عَلَيْنَا فَنَحْتَرِقَ فَهَذَا كَانَ مَحَلَّ الْقُصَّاصِ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ فِيمَا سَلَفَ حَتَّى ذَهَبَ أَهْلُ هَذَا الْعِلْمِ وَجُهِلَتْ مَجَالِسُ الذِّكْرِ وَعُلُومُ الْيَقِينِ وَالْمُعَامَلَاتِ إِلَّا مَنْ عَرَفَ سِيرَةَ الْمُتَقَدِّمِينَ وَطَرِيقَةَ السَّالِفِينَ الَّذِينَ كَانُوا يُفَرِّقُونَ بَيْنَ مَجَالِسِ الذِّكْرِ وَبَيْنَ الْقُصَّاصِ وَيُمَيِّزُونَ بَيْنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَبَيْنَ الْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ وَبَيْنَ عِلْمِ اللِّسَانِ وَفِقْهِ الْقَلْبِ وَبَيْنَ عِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ وَعِلْمِ الْعَقْلِ لِأَنَّ الْفَرْقَ
fadafaʿahu bishrun waqāla: tanaḥḥa ʿannā lā yamurra ḥimlu shawkin fayulqiyaka ʿalaynā fanaḥtariqa fahādhā kāna maḥalla al-quṣṣāṣi ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi fīmā salafa ḥattā dhahaba ʾahlu hādhā al-ʿilmi wajuhilat majālisu al-dhikri waʿulūmu al-yaqīni wa-al-muʿāmalāti ʾillā man ʿarafa sīrata al-mutaqaddimīna waṭarīqata al-sālifīna alladhīna kānū yufarriqūna bayna majālisi al-dhikri wabayna al-quṣṣāṣi wayumayyizūna bayna al-ʿulamāʾi wabayna al-mutakallimīna wabayna ʿilmi al-lisāni wafiqhi al-qalbi wabayna ʿilmi al-yaqīni waʿilmi al-ʿaqli liʾanna al-farqa
“Bishr pushed him away and said: ‘Move away from us, lest a load of thorns pass by and throw you onto us, so that we burn.’” Such was the standing of storytellers among the scholars in earlier times, until the people of this knowledge departed and gatherings of remembrance, the sciences of certainty, and dealings with God became unknown, except to those familiar with the conduct of the early generations and the way of the predecessors. They distinguished gatherings of remembrance from storytellers, scholars from speakers, knowledge of the tongue from understanding of the heart, and knowledge of certainty from knowledge of reason. For the difference
بَيْنَ الْعَالِمِ وَالْقَاصِّ أَنَّ الْعَالِمَ يَسْكُتُ حَتَّى يُسْأَلَ فَإِذَا سُئِلَ أَجَابَ فِيمَا يَعْلَمُ بِمَا هَيَّأَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَهُ وَكَشَفَ وَيَنْطِقُ فِيمَا أَجْرَاهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَلَيْهِ وَعَرَّفَ فَإِنْ كَانَ الصَّمْتُ أَفْضَلَ آثَرَ السُّكُوتَ لِعِلْمِهِ بِالْأَفْضَلِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَرَ أَهْلَهُ تَرَبَّصَ حَتَّى يَضَعَهُ فِي أَهْلِهِ وَأَهْلُهُ مَنْ عَرَفَهُ وَكَانَ لَهُ نَصِيبٌ مِنْ مُشَاهَدَتِهِ وَوَجْدِهِ . وَقَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى :
bayna al-ʿālimi wa-al-qāṣṣi ʾanna al-ʿālima yaskutu ḥattā yusʾala faʾidhā suʾila ʾajāba fīmā yaʿlamu bimā hayyaʾa allāhu taʿālā lahu wakashafa wayanṭiqu fīmā ʾajrāhu allāhu ʿazza wajalla ʿalayhi waʿarrafa faʾin kāna al-ṣamtu ʾafḍala ʾāthara al-sukūta liʿilmihi bi-al-ʾafḍali faʾin lam yara ʾahlahu tarabbaṣa ḥattā yaḍaʿahu fī ʾahlihi waʾahluhu man ʿarafahu wakāna lahu naṣībun min mushāhadatihi wawajdihi. waqāla allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā:
between the scholar and the storyteller is that the scholar remains silent until asked. When asked, he answers concerning what he knows, according to what God Most High has prepared and unveiled for him, and speaks of what God, mighty and majestic, has caused to flow through him and made known. If silence is better, he chooses silence because he knows what is better. If he sees no one suited to this knowledge, he waits until he can place it with those suited to it. They are those who recognize it and have a share in witnessing and experiencing it. God, glorified and exalted is He, said:
( فَسْئَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ) النَّحْلُ : 43 ، فَفِي ذَلِكَ مَعْنَيَانِ ، أَحَدُهُمَا أَنَّ أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ هُمُ الْعُلَمَاءُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى لِقَوْلِهِ : إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ فَلَا يَجُوزُ أَنْ يَقُولَ سَلُوا مَنْ لَا يَعْلَمُ وَهُمْ جَاهِلُونَ فَيَزْدَادُوا جَهْلًا ، وَالْمَعْنَى الثَّانِي يَدُلُّ عَلَى أَنَّ الْعُلَمَاءَ سُكَّتٌ حَتَّى يُسْأَلُوا فَإِذَا سُئِلُوا وَجَبَ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنْ يُجِيبُوا لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى لِمَنْ لَا
( fasʾalū ʾahla al-dhikri ʾin kuntum lā taʿlamūna ) al-naḥlu: 43 , fafī dhālika maʿnayāni , ʾaḥaduhumā ʾanna ʾahla al-dhikri humu al-ʿulamāʾu bi-allāhi taʿālā liqawlihi: ʾin kuntum lā taʿlamūna falā yajūzu ʾan yaqūla salū man lā yaʿlamu wahum jāhilūna fayazdādū jahlan , wa-al-maʿnā al-thānī yadullu ʿalā ʾanna al-ʿulamāʾa sukkatun ḥattā yusʾalū faʾidhā suʾilū wajaba ʿalayhim ʾan yujībū liqawlihi taʿālā liman lā
“Ask the people of remembrance if you do not know” (al-Naḥl 16:43). This contains two meanings. First, the people of remembrance are those who know God Most High, because He says: “If you do not know.” He could not say: “Ask those who do not know,” while they are ignorant, so that they become still more ignorant. The second meaning indicates that scholars remain silent until asked. Once asked, they are obliged to answer, because the Most High says to whoever does not
يَعْلَمُ فَاسْئَلُوا فَدَلَّ أَنَّ مَجَالِسَ الذِّكْرِ هِيَ مَجَالِسُ الْعُلَمَاءِ الَّتِي وَرَدَتِ الْأَخْبَارُ بِفَضَائِلِهَا وَفِي تَدَبُّرِهِ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ هَؤُلَاءِ الْمَسْؤُولُونَ هُمُ الَّذِينَ وَصَلَ لَهُمُ الْقَوْلُ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ فَلَمَّا وَصَلَ لَهُمُ الْمُفَصَّلُ تَذَكَّرُوا عَمَّا وَعَدَ تَعَالَى فَلَمَّا تَذَكَّرُوا عَلِمُوا فَعِنْدَهَا أَمَرَ أَنْ يَسْأَلُوا ، وَلِذَلِكَ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : لَا يَنْبَغِي لِلْجَاهِلِ أَنْ يَسْتَقِرَّ عَلَى جَهْلِهِ وَلَا يَنْبَغِي لِلْعَالِمِ أَنْ يَسْكُتَ عَلَى عِلْمِهِ .
yaʿlamu fasʾalū fadalla ʾanna majālisa al-dhikri hiya majālisu al-ʿulamāʾi allatī waradati al-ʾakhbāru bifaḍāʾilihā wafī tadabburihi ʾanna ʾahla al-dhikri hāʾulāʾi al-masʾūlūna humu alladhīna waṣala lahumu al-qawlu laʿallahum yatadhakkarūna falammā waṣala lahumu al-mufaṣṣalu tadhakkarū ʿammā waʿada taʿālā falammā tadhakkarū ʿalimū faʿindahā ʾamara ʾan yasʾalū , walidhālika rawaynā ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: lā yanbaghī liljāhili ʾan yastaqirra ʿalā jahlihi walā yanbaghī lilʿālimi ʾan yaskuta ʿalā ʿilmihi.
know: “Ask.” This shows that gatherings of remembrance are the gatherings of scholars whose virtues the reports describe. Reflection on it shows that these people of remembrance who are questioned are those to whom the message has been conveyed so that they may remember. When the detailed message reached them, they remembered what the Most High had promised. When they remembered, they knew; then He commanded that questions be asked. For this reason we related from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: “An ignorant person should not settle into ignorance, and a scholar should not remain silent about his knowledge.”
وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( فَسْئَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ) النَّحْلُ : 43 وَهَكَذَا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي الْخَبَرِ الَّذِي رَوَيْنَاهُ مِنْ طَرِيقِ أَهْلِ الْبَيْتِ : الْعِلْمُ خَزَائِنُ مِفْتَاحُهَا السُّؤَالُ
waqad qāla allāhu taʿālā: ( fasʾalū ʾahla al-dhikri ʾin kuntum lā taʿlamūna ) al-naḥlu: 43 wahākadhā qāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī al-khabari alladhī rawaynāhu min ṭarīqi ʾahli al-bayti: al-ʿilmu khazāʾinu miftāḥuhā al-suʾālu
God Most High has said: “Ask the people of remembrance if you do not know” (al-Naḥl 16:43). Likewise, God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said in the report we related through the People of the House: “Knowledge consists of treasuries whose key is asking.
فَاسْأَلُوا فَإِنَّهُ يُؤْجَرُ فِيهِ أَرْبَعَةٌ : السَّائِلُ ، وَالْعَالِمُ ، وَالْمُسْتَمِعُ ، وَالْمُحِبُّ لَهُمْ ، وَكَانَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : إِنَّ مَنْ يُفْتِي النَّاسَ فِي كُلِّ مَا يَسْتَفْتُونَهُ لَمَجْنُونٌ ، وَقَالَ الْأَعْمَشُ : مِنَ الْكَلَامِ كَلَامٌ جَوَابُهُ السُّكُوتُ ، وَقَالَ ذُو النُّونِ الْمِصْرِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : حُسْنُ سُؤَالِ الصَّادِقِينَ مِفْتَاحُ قُلُوبِ الْعَارِفِينَ ،
fasʾalū faʾinnahu yuʾjaru fīhi ʾarbaʿatun: al-sāʾilu , wa-al-ʿālimu , wa-al-mustamiʿu , wa-al-muḥibbu lahum , wakāna ibnu masʿūdin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu: ʾinna man yuftī al-nāsa fī kulli mā yastaftūnahu lamajnūnun , waqāla al-ʾaʿmashu: mina al-kalāmi kalāmun jawābuhu al-sukūtu , waqāla dhū al-nūni al-miṣriyyu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā: ḥusnu suʾāli al-ṣādiqīna miftāḥu qulūbi al-ʿārifīna ,
“So ask, for four receive reward through it: the questioner, the scholar, the listener, and the one who loves them.” Ibn Masʿūd, may God be pleased with him, used to say: “Anyone who gives people legal opinions on everything they ask him is surely mad.” Al-Aʿmash said: “Some speech is answered by silence.” Dhū al-Nūn al-Miṣrī, God Most High have mercy on him, said: “The truthful people’s good questions are the key to the hearts of those who know God.”
فَأَمَّا الْقَاصُّ فَهُوَ الَّذِي يَبْتَدِئُ فَيَقُصُّ الْأَخْبَارَ وَيَذْكُرُ الْقَصَصَ وَالْآثَارَ وَلِذَلِكَ سُمِّيَ قَاصًّا أَيْ يَتْبَعُ قِصَّةَ مَنْ سَلَفَ ، وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَقَالَتْ لِأُخْتِهِ قُصِّيهِ ) الْقَصَصُ : 11 ، أَيْ تَتَبَّعِي أَثَرَ مُوسَى تَعْرِفِي قِصَّتَهُ وَأَخْبِرِينِي خَبَرَهُ ، وَقَالَ مَالِكُ بْنُ أَنَسٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : مِنْ إِذَالَةِ الْعِلْمِ أَنْ يَنْطِقَ بِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُسْأَلَ عَنْهُ ،
faʾammā al-qāṣṣu fahuwa alladhī yabtadiʾu fayaquṣṣu al-ʾakhbāra wayadhkuru al-qaṣaṣa wa-al-ʾāthāra walidhālika summiya qāṣṣan ʾay yatbaʿu qiṣṣata man salafa , waminhu qawluhu taʿālā: ( waqālat liʾukhtihi quṣṣīhi ) al-qaṣaṣu: 11 , ʾay tatabbaʿī ʾathara mūsā taʿrifī qiṣṣatahu waʾakhbirīnī khabarahu , waqāla māliku bnu ʾanasin raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā: min ʾidhālati al-ʿilmi ʾan yanṭiqa bihi qabla ʾan yusʾala ʿanhu ,
As for the storyteller, he begins on his own, relating reports and mentioning stories and traditions. That is why he is called a storyteller: he follows the story of those who came before. An example is the Most High’s words: “She said to his sister: ‘Follow him’” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:11), meaning: “Follow Moses’ trail, learn his story, and tell me his news.” Mālik ibn Anas, God Most High have mercy on him, said: “Speaking knowledge before being asked about it debases knowledge.”
وَقَالَ مَرَّةً مِنْ إِذَالَةِ الْعِلْمِ أَنْ يُجِيبَ عَنْ كُلِّ مَا يُسْأَلُ عَنْهُ أَيْ مِنْ إِهَانَتِهِ وَوَضْعِهِ ، يُقَالُ أَشِلْ هَذَا وَأَذِلْ هَذَا أَيْ ارْفَعْ وَضَعْ ، يُقَالُ : إِذَا تَكَلَّمَ بِالْعِلْمِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُسْأَلَ عَنْهُ ذَهَبَ ثُلُثَا نُورِهِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ أَدْهَمَ وَغَيْرُهُ : سُكُوتُ الْعَالِمِ أَشَدُّ عَلَى الشَّيْطَانِ مِنْ كَلَامِهِ لِأَنَّهُ يَسْكُتُ بِحِلْمٍ وَيَنْطِقُ بِعِلْمٍ فَيَقُولُ الشَّيْطَانُ :
waqāla marratan min ʾidhālati al-ʿilmi ʾan yujība ʿan kulli mā yusʾalu ʿanhu ʾay min ʾihānatihi wawaḍʿihi , yuqālu ʾashil hādhā waʾadhil hādhā ʾay irfaʿ waḍaʿ , yuqālu: ʾidhā takallama bi-al-ʿilmi qabla ʾan yusʾala ʿanhu dhahaba thuluthā nūrihi , waqad qāla ʾibrāhīmu bnu ʾadhama waghayruhu: sukūtu al-ʿālimi ʾashaddu ʿalā al-shayṭāni min kalāmihi liʾannahu yaskutu biḥilmin wayanṭiqu biʿilmin fayaqūlu al-shayṭānu:
On another occasion he said: “Answering everything one is asked debases knowledge,” meaning dishonors and lowers it. One says: “Lift this and lower this,” meaning raise and put down. It is said: “When someone speaks knowledge before being asked about it, two-thirds of its light disappear.” Ibrāhīm ibn Adham and others said: “The scholar’s silence is harder on Satan than his speech, because he is silent with forbearance and speaks with knowledge.” Satan says:
انْظُرُوا إِلَى هَذَا سُكُوتُهُ أَشَدُّ عَلَيَّ مِنْ كَلَامِهِ ، وَلِذَلِكَ يُقَالُ : الصَّمْتُ زَيْنُ الْعَالِمِ وَسَتْرُ الْجَاهِلِ وَعَنِ الْقَاسِمِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ أَنَّهُ قَالَ : مِنْ إِكْرَامِ الْمَرْءِ نَفْسَهُ أَنْ يَسْكُتَ عَلَى مَا عِنْدَهُ حَتَّى يُسْأَلَ عَنْهُ ، وَكَذَلِكَ هُوَ لَعَمْرِي لِأَنَّهُ إِذَا تَكَلَّمَ بَعْدَ السُّؤَالِ فَهُوَ صَاحِبُهَا وَرُبَّمَا كَانَ فَرْضًا وَلَيْسَ الْحَاجَةُ إِلَّا الْقِيَامَ بِالْفَرْضِ مِنَ الشَّهَوَاتِ ، وَلِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :
unẓurū ʾilā hādhā sukūtuhu ʾashaddu ʿalayya min kalāmihi , walidhālika yuqālu: al-ṣamtu zaynu al-ʿālimi wasatru al-jāhili waʿani al-qāsimi bni muḥammadin ʾannahu qāla: min ʾikrāmi al-marʾi nafsahu ʾan yaskuta ʿalā mā ʿindahu ḥattā yusʾala ʿanhu , wakadhālika huwa laʿamrī liʾannahu ʾidhā takallama baʿda al-suʾāli fahuwa ṣāḥibuhā warubbamā kāna farḍan walaysa al-ḥājatu ʾillā al-qiyāma bi-al-farḍi mina al-shahawāti , waliqawlihi taʿālā:
“Look at this man: his silence is harder on me than his speech.” Thus it is said: “Silence is the scholar’s adornment and the ignorant person’s covering.” From al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad, who said: “Part of a person’s honoring himself is to remain silent about what he possesses until he is asked about it.” By my life, that is so, because when he speaks after being asked, he is the one suited to answer, and it may be an obligation. Needing only to fulfill the obligation is not one of the appetites. And because of the Most High’s words:
( فَسْئَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ ) النَّحْلُ : 43 فَأَوْجَبَ أَنْ يُجِيبُوا مِنْ حَيْثُ أَمَرَ أَنْ يُسْأَلُوا وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مَنْ سُئِلَ عَنْ عِلْمٍ فَكَتَمَهُ أُلْجِمَ بِلِجَامٍ مِنْ نَارٍ فَتَوَعَّدَ عَلَيْهِ بِالْعِقَابِ ، وَقَدْ يَكُونُ الِابْتِدَاءُ بِالشَّيْءِ مِنْ خَفَايَا الشَّهَوَاتِ وَالشَّهَوَاتُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَوُصِفَ رَجُلٌ لِمَالِكِ بْنِ أَنَسٍ فَقَالَ : لَا بَأْسَ بِهِ لَوْلَا أَنَّهُ يَتَكَلَّمُ بِالشَّيْءِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُسْأَلَ عَنْهُ ،
( fasʾalū ʾahla al-dhikri ) al-naḥlu: 43 faʾawjaba ʾan yujībū min ḥaythu ʾamara ʾan yusʾalū waqāla ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: man suʾila ʿan ʿilmin fakatamahu ʾuljima bilijāmin min nārin fatawaʿʿada ʿalayhi bi-al-ʿiqābi , waqad yakūnu al-ibtidāʾu bi-al-shayʾi min khafāyā al-shahawāti wa-al-shahawātu mina al-dunyā wawuṣifa rajulun limāliki bni ʾanasin faqāla: lā baʾsa bihi lawlā ʾannahu yatakallamu bi-al-shayʾi qabla ʾan yusʾala ʿanhu ,
“Ask the people of remembrance” (al-Naḥl 16:43): He made answering obligatory where He commanded that they be asked. He said, God bless him and grant him peace: “Whoever is asked about knowledge and conceals it will be bridled with a bridle of fire.” He thus threatened punishment for it. Initiating discussion of something can arise from hidden appetites, and appetites belong to this world. A man was described to Mālik ibn Anas, and he said: “There is no harm in him, except that he speaks about a thing before being asked about it.”
وَقَالَ مَرَّةً : لَا بَأْسَ بِهِ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ يَتَكَلَّمُ بِكَلَامِ شَهْرٍ فِي يَوْمٍ ، وَقَدْ قِيلَ فِي مَعْنَى مَا ذُكِرَ : إِنَّ الْكَلَامَ مِنَ الشَّهَوَاتِ ، قَالَ : هُوَ الَّذِي يَبْتَدِئُ بِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُسْأَلَ عَنْهُ وَوَصَفَ بَعْضُهُمُ الْأَبْدَالَ فَقَالَ فِي وَصْفِهِمْ : أَكْلُهُمْ فَاقَةٌ وَكَلَامُهُمْ ضَرُورَةٌ وَكَانُوا لَا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ حَتَّى يُسْأَلُوا عَنْ شَيْءٍ فَيُجِيبُوا ،
waqāla marratan: lā baʾsa bihi ʾillā ʾannahu yatakallamu bikalāmi shahrin fī yawmin , waqad qīla fī maʿnā mā dhukira: ʾinna al-kalāma mina al-shahawāti , qāla: huwa alladhī yabtadiʾu bihi qabla ʾan yusʾala ʿanhu wawaṣafa baʿḍuhumu al-ʾabdāla faqāla fī waṣfihim: ʾakluhum fāqatun wakalāmuhum ḍarūratun wakānū lā yatakallamūna ḥattā yusʾalū ʿan shayʾin fayujībū ,
On another occasion he said: “There is no harm in him, except that he speaks a month’s words in one day.” Concerning the statement that speech is one of the appetites, it was said: “It is the speech a person begins before being asked about it.” Someone described the spiritual substitutes, saying of them: “Their eating is out of need, and their speech out of necessity.” They would not speak until asked about something, and then answer.
وَمَنْ لَمْ يَتَكَلَّمْ حَتَّى يُسْأَلَ فَلَيْسَ يُعَدُّ لَاغِيًا وَلَا مُتَكَلِّمًا فِيمَا لَا يَعْنِيهِ لِأَنَّ الْجَوَابَ بَعْدَ السُّؤَالِ كَالْفَرْضِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ رَدِّ السَّلَامِ وَكَمَا قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا إِنِّي لَأَرَى رَدَّ الْجَوَابِ وَاجِبًا كَرَدِّ السَّلَامِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ أَبُو مُوسَى وَابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا : مَنْ سُئِلَ عَنْ عِلْمٍ فَلْيَقُلْ بِهِ وَمَنْ لَا فَلْيَسْكُتْ وَإِلَّا كُتِبَ مِنَ الْمُتَكَلِّفِينَ وَمَرَقَ مِنَ الدِّينِ ،
waman lam yatakallam ḥattā yusʾala falaysa yuʿaddu lāghiyan walā mutakalliman fīmā lā yaʿnīhi liʾanna al-jawāba baʿda al-suʾāli ka-al-farḍi bimanzilati raddi al-salāmi wakamā qāla ibnu ʿabbāsin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā ʾinnī laʾarā radda al-jawābi wājiban karaddi al-salāmi , waqad qāla ʾabū mūsā wabnu masʿūdin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā: man suʾila ʿan ʿilmin falyaqul bihi waman lā falyaskut waʾillā kutiba mina al-mutakallifīna wamaraqa mina al-dīni ,
Someone who does not speak until asked is not counted as speaking idly or discussing what does not concern him, because answering after a question is like an obligation, comparable to returning a greeting. As Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with them both, said: “I consider giving an answer obligatory, like returning a greeting.” Abū Mūsā and Ibn Masʿūd, may God be pleased with them both, said: “Whoever is asked about knowledge should speak of it; whoever is not should remain silent. Otherwise he will be recorded among those who take things upon themselves and will pass out of the religion.”
وَرَوَيْنَاهُ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ أَيْضًا وَقَدْ كَانُوا يَخَافُونَ مِنْ دُخُولِ التَّكَلُّفِ عَلَيْهِمْ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَيَعُدُّ بَعْضُهُمْ بِالِابْتِدَاءِ بِالْكَلَامِ مِنْ غَيْرِ حَاجَةٍ تَدْعُو إِلَيْهِ أَوْ قَبْلَ سُؤَالٍ عَنْهُ مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يَرَى لَهُ مَوْضِعًا أَوْ يَجِدَ لَهُ أَهْلًا يَعُدُّونَهُ مِنَ التَّكَلُّفِ ، وَفِي وَصِيَّةِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ لِمُجَاهِدٍ : لَا تَتَكَلَّمْ فِيمَا لَا يَعْنِيكَ فَإِنَّهُ أَفْضَلُ وَلَا آمَنُ
warawaynāhu ʿani ibni ʿabbāsin ʾayḍan waqad kānū yakhāfūna min dukhūli al-takallufi ʿalayhim fī kulli shayʾin wayaʿuddu baʿḍuhum bi-al-ibtidāʾi bi-al-kalāmi min ghayri ḥājatin tadʿū ʾilayhi ʾaw qabla suʾālin ʿanhu min ghayri ʾan yarā lahu mawḍiʿan ʾaw yajida lahu ʾahlan yaʿuddūnahu mina al-takallufi , wafī waṣiyyati ibni ʿabbāsin limujāhidin: lā tatakallam fīmā lā yaʿnīka faʾinnahu ʾafḍalu walā ʾāmanu
We have also related this from Ibn ʿAbbās. They feared that taking things upon themselves might enter into everything they did. Some of them counted initiating speech without a need that called for it, or before being asked about it, without seeing a suitable place for it or finding people suited to it: they counted this as taking things upon oneself. In Ibn ʿAbbās’s counsel to Mujāhid: “Do not speak about what does not concern you, for this is better, and I cannot assure you against
عَلَيْكَ الْخَطَأَ وَلَا تَكَلَّمْ فِيمَا يَعْنِيكَ حَتَّى تَرَى لَهُ مَوْضِعًا فَرُبَّ مُتَكَلِّمٍ فِيمَا يَعْنِيهِ قَدْ وَضَعَهُ فِي غَيْرِ مَوْضِعِهِ فَعَنِتَ . وَرُوِيَ فِي حَدِيثِ الْأَنْصَارِيِّ الَّذِي قَالَتْ لَهُ أُمُّهُ عِنْدَ مَوْتِهِ : هَنِيئًا لَكَ الْجَنَّةُ جَاهَدْتَ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَقُتِلْتَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :
ʿalayka al-khaṭaʾa walā takallam fīmā yaʿnīka ḥattā tarā lahu mawḍiʿan farubba mutakallimin fīmā yaʿnīhi qad waḍaʿahu fī ghayri mawḍiʿihi faʿanita. waruwiya fī ḥadīthi al-ʾanṣāriyyi alladhī qālat lahu ʾummuhu ʿinda mawtihi: hanīʾan laka al-jannatu jāhadta maʿa rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waqutilta fī sabīli allāhi taʿālā faqāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama:
“error. Do not even speak about what concerns you until you see a place for it. Many a person speaking about what concerns him has put it in the wrong place and come to harm.” It is related in the hadith of the Helper whose mother said to him at his death: “May Paradise be yours! You struggled alongside God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, and were killed in the path of God Most High.” God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said:
وَمَا يُدْرِيكِ أَنَّهُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَلَعَلَّهُ كَانَ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِيمَا لَا يَعْنِيهِ وَيَبْخَلُ بِمَا لَا يُغْنِيهِ ، وَمَنْ أَظْهَرَ عِلْمًا مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يُسْأَلَ عَنْهُ وَنَشَرَهُ فِي غَيْرِ أَهْلِهِ فَأُنْكِرَ عَلَيْهِ سُئِلَ عَنْهُ وَكَانَ عَلَيْهِ فِيهِ مُطَالَبَةٌ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ تَكَلَّفَ إِظْهَارَهُ فَإِنْ كَانَ سُئِلَ عَنْهُ ثُمَّ تَكَلَّمَ فِيهِ لَمْ يَكُنْ عَلَيْهِ فِيهِ مُطَالَبَةٌ فِيمَنْ أَنْكَرَ لِأَنَّهُ خَرَجَ جَوَابًا عَلَى سُؤَالٍ ،
wamā yudrīki ʾannahu fī al-jannati walaʿallahu kāna yatakallamu fīmā lā yaʿnīhi wayabkhalu bimā lā yughnīhi , waman ʾaẓhara ʿilman min ghayri ʾan yusʾala ʿanhu wanasharahu fī ghayri ʾahlihi faʾunkira ʿalayhi suʾila ʿanhu wakāna ʿalayhi fīhi muṭālabatun liʾannahu qad takallafa ʾiẓhārahu faʾin kāna suʾila ʿanhu thumma takallama fīhi lam yakun ʿalayhi fīhi muṭālabatun fīman ʾankara liʾannahu kharaja jawāban ʿalā suʾālin ,
“How do you know he is in Paradise? Perhaps he used to speak about what did not concern him and be miserly with what did not enrich him.” Whoever displays knowledge without being asked about it and spreads it among people unsuited to it, so that it is challenged, will be questioned about it and held accountable, because he took its display upon himself. If he was asked about it and then spoke, he would not be held accountable for it on account of someone’s objection, because it came as an answer to a question.
وَمِنْ هَذَا كَانَ السَّلَفُ الْمُتَكَلِّمُونَ فِي هَذَا الْعِلْمِ يَسْكُتُونَ حَتَّى يُسْأَلُوا عَنْهُ ، وَكَانَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ يَقُولُ : الْعَالِمُ يَقْعُدُ فَيَسْكُتُ وَيَرْفَعُ قَلْبَهُ إِلَى مَوْلَاهُ فَيَفْتَقِرُ إِلَيْهِ فِي حُسْنِ تَوْفِيقِهِ وَيَسْأَلُهُ أَنْ يُلْهِمَهُ الصَّوَابَ فَأَيُّ شَيْءٍ سُئِلَ عَنْهُ تَكَلَّمَ بِمَا فَتَحَ لَهُ مَوْلَاهُ فَجَعَلَ الْعَالِمَ فِي حَالَةِ سُكُوتِهِ وَنَظَرِهِ إِلَى سَيِّدِهِ مُحْتَاجًا إِلَى التَّوَكُّلِ وَمُنْتَظِرًا لِلْوَكِيلِ فِي أَيِّ شَيْءٍ يُجْرِيهِ ،
wamin hādhā kāna al-salafu al-mutakallimūna fī hādhā al-ʿilmi yaskutūna ḥattā yusʾalū ʿanhu , wakāna ʾabū muḥammadin yaqūlu: al-ʿālimu yaqʿudu fayaskutu wayarfaʿu qalbahu ʾilā mawlāhu fayaftaqiru ʾilayhi fī ḥusni tawfīqihi wayasʾaluhu ʾan yulhimahu al-ṣawāba faʾayyu shayʾin suʾila ʿanhu takallama bimā fataḥa lahu mawlāhu fajaʿala al-ʿālima fī ḥālati sukūtihi wanaẓarihi ʾilā sayyidihi muḥtājan ʾilā al-tawakkuli wamuntaẓiran lilwakīli fī ʾayyi shayʾin yujrīhi ,
For this reason, the predecessors who spoke of this knowledge remained silent until asked about it. Abū Muḥammad used to say: “The scholar sits and is silent, raising his heart to his Master, acknowledging his need for His good guidance, and asking Him to inspire the right answer. Whatever he is asked, he speaks according to what his Master opens for him.” He thus portrayed the scholar, in his silence and his looking toward his Lord, as needing trust in God and awaiting the Trustee for whatever He causes to flow through him.
وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ : إِنَّمَا الْعَالِمُ الَّذِي إِذَا سُئِلَ عَنِ الْمَسْأَلَةِ كَأَنَّمَا تُقْلَعُ ضِرْسُهُ وَقَالَ رَقَبَةُ بْنُ مِصْقَلَةَ وَغَيْرُهُ لَيْسَ الْعَالِمُ الَّذِي يَجْمَعُ النَّاسَ فَيَقُصُّ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّمَا الْعَالِمُ الَّذِي إِذَا سُئِلَ عَنِ الْعِلْمِ كَأَنَّمَا يُسْعَطُ الْخَرْدَلَ ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا أَنَّهُ قَالَهُ الْأَعْمَشُ وَقَدْ كَانَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سُوقَةَ يَسْأَلُهُ عَنِ الْحَدِيثِ فَيُعْرِضُ عَنْهُ وَلَا يُجِيبُهُ فَالْتَفَتَ الْأَعْمَشُ إِلَى رَقَبَةَ فَقَالَ لَهُ هُوَ إِذًا أَحْمَقُ مِثْلُكَ إِنْ كَانَ يَدَعُ فَائِدَتَهُ لِسُوءِ خُلُقِي فَقَالَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سُوقَةَ :
waqāla baʿḍuhum: ʾinnamā al-ʿālimu alladhī ʾidhā suʾila ʿani al-masʾalati kaʾannamā tuqlaʿu ḍirsuhu waqāla raqabatu bnu miṣqalata waghayruhu laysa al-ʿālimu alladhī yajmaʿu al-nāsa fayaquṣṣu ʿalayhim ʾinnamā al-ʿālimu alladhī ʾidhā suʾila ʿani al-ʿilmi kaʾannamā yusʿaṭu al-khardala , waqad rawaynā ʾannahu qālahu al-ʾaʿmashu waqad kāna muḥammadu bnu sūqata yasʾaluhu ʿani al-ḥadīthi fayuʿriḍu ʿanhu walā yujībuhu faltafata al-ʾaʿmashu ʾilā raqabata faqāla lahu huwa ʾidhan ʾaḥmaqu mithluka ʾin kāna yadaʿu fāʾidatahu lisūʾi khuluqī faqāla muḥammadu bnu sūqata:
One of them said: “The scholar is only the one who, when asked about a question, feels as though his molar were being pulled out.” Raqaba ibn Miṣqala and others said: “The scholar is not the one who gathers people and tells them stories. The scholar is the one who, when asked about knowledge, feels as though mustard were being put up his nose.” We have related that al-Aʿmash said it. Muḥammad ibn Sūqa used to ask him about hadith, and he would turn away and not answer him. Al-Aʿmash turned to Raqaba and said to him: “Then he is a fool like you, if he abandons the benefit he can gain because of my bad character.” Muḥammad ibn Sūqa said:
وَيْحَكَ إِنَّمَا أَجْعَلُهُ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الدَّوَاءِ أَصْبِرُ عَلَى مَرَارَتِهِ لِمَا أَرْجُو مِنْ مَنْفَعَتِهِ ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ عَلِيٍّ وَابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا أَنَّهُ مَرَّ بِرَجُلٍ يَتَكَلَّمُ عَلَى النَّاسِ فَقَالَ هَذَا يَقُولُ اعْرِفُونِي ، وَحَدَّثَنِي بَعْضُ عُلَمَاءِ خُرَاسَانَ عَنْ شَيْخٍ لَهُ عَنْ أَبِي حَفْصٍ النَّيْسَابُورِيِّ الْكَبِيرِ ، وَكَانَ هَذَا هُنَاكَ نَظِيرَ الْجُنَيْدِ هَهُنَا أَنَّهُ قَالَ إِنَّمَا الْعَالِمُ الَّذِي يُسْأَلُ عَنْ مَسْأَلَةٍ فِي الدِّينِ فَيَغْتَمُّ
wayḥaka ʾinnamā ʾajʿaluhu bimanzilati al-dawāʾi ʾaṣbiru ʿalā marāratihi limā ʾarjū min manfaʿatihi , waqad rawaynā ʿan ʿaliyyin wabni masʿūdin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā ʾannahu marra birajulin yatakallamu ʿalā al-nāsi faqāla hādhā yaqūlu iʿrifūnī , waḥaddathanī baʿḍu ʿulamāʾi khurāsāna ʿan shaykhin lahu ʿan ʾabī ḥafṣin al-naysābūriyyi al-kabīri , wakāna hādhā hunāka naẓīra al-junaydi hāhunā ʾannahu qāla ʾinnamā al-ʿālimu alladhī yusʾalu ʿan masʾalatin fī al-dīni fayaghtammu
“Have pity! I regard him as medicine: I endure its bitterness for the benefit I hope to gain.” We related from ʿAlī and Ibn Masʿūd, may God be pleased with them both, that he passed a man addressing people and said: “This man is saying: ‘Recognize me!’” A scholar of Khurāsān related to me from a teacher of his, from the elder Abū Ḥafṣ al-Naysābūrī, who was there the counterpart of al-Junayd here, that he said: “The scholar is only one who is asked about a question in religion and becomes so distressed
حَتَّى لَوْ جُرِحَ لَمْ يَخْرُجْ مِنْهُ دَمٌ مِنَ الْفَزَعِ يَخَافُ أَنْ يُسْأَلَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ عَمَّا سُئِلَ عَنْهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَيَفْزَعُ أَنْ لَا يَتَخَلَّصَ مِنَ السُّؤَالِ إِلَّا أَنْ يَرَى أَنَّهُ قَدِ افْتُرِضَ عَلَيْهِ الْجَوَابُ لِفَقْدِ الْعُلَمَاءِ ، وَمِنْ هَهُنَا كَانَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا يَسْكُتُ عَنْ تِسْعِ مَسَائِلَ وَيُجِيبُ عَنْ وَاحِدَةٍ وَيَقُولُ : تُرِيدُونَ أَنْ تَجْعَلُونَا جِسْرًا تَعْبُرُونَ عَلَيْهِ فِي جَهَنَّمَ ،
ḥattā law juriḥa lam yakhruj minhu damun mina al-fazaʿi yakhāfu ʾan yusʾala fī al-ʾākhirati ʿammā suʾila ʿanhu fī al-dunyā wayafzaʿu ʾan lā yatakhallaṣa mina al-suʾāli ʾillā ʾan yarā ʾannahu qadi ufturiḍa ʿalayhi al-jawābu lifaqdi al-ʿulamāʾi , wamin hāhunā kāna ibnu ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā yaskutu ʿan tisʿi masāʾila wayujību ʿan wāḥidatin wayaqūlu: turīdūna ʾan tajʿalūnā jisran taʿburūna ʿalayhi fī jahannama ,
“that, if he were wounded, no blood would come out of him from fright. He fears being questioned in the hereafter about what he was asked in this world, and is terrified that he will not escape the questioning, unless he sees that answering has become obligatory for him because scholars are absent.” For this reason Ibn ʿUmar, may God be pleased with them both, would remain silent about nine questions and answer one, saying: “You want to make us a bridge over which you cross in Hell,
تَقُولُونَ أَفْتَانَا ابْنُ عُمَرَ بِهَذَا ، وَكَانَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ التَّيْمِيُّ إِذَا سُئِلَ عَنْ مَسْأَلَةٍ يَبْكِي وَيَقُولُ : لَمْ تَجِدْ مَنْ تَسْأَلَهُ غَيْرِي أَوِ احْتَجْتُمْ إِلَيَّ ؟ قَالَ : وَجَهَدْنَا بِإِبْرَاهِيمَ النَّخَعِيِّ أَنْ نُسْنِدَهُ إِلَى سَارِيَةٍ فَأَبَى وَكَانَ إِذَا سُئِلَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ بَكَى وَقَالَ : قَدِ احْتَاجَ النَّاسُ إِلَيَّ وَقَدْ كَانَ سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ تَفَرَّدَ فِي زَمَانِهِ بِعُلُومٍ انْفَرَدَ بِهَا فِي وَقْتِهِ وَكَانَ مَعَ ذَلِكَ يَضْرِبُ الْمَثَلَ لِنَفْسِهِ وَيَقُولُ :
taqūlūna ʾaftānā ibnu ʿumara bihādhā , wakāna ʾibrāhīmu al-taymiyyu ʾidhā suʾila ʿan masʾalatin yabkī wayaqūlu: lam tajid man tasʾalahu ghayrī ʾawi iḥtajtum ʾilayya ? qāla: wajahadnā biʾibrāhīma al-nakhaʿiyyi ʾan nusnidahu ʾilā sāriyatin faʾabā wakāna ʾidhā suʾila ʿan shayʾin bakā waqāla: qadi iḥtāja al-nāsu ʾilayya waqad kāna sufyānu bnu ʿuyaynata tafarrada fī zamānihi biʿulūmin infarada bihā fī waqtihi wakāna maʿa dhālika yaḍribu al-mathala linafsihi wayaqūlu:
“saying: ‘Ibn ʿUmar gave us this opinion.’” When Ibrāhīm al-Taymī was asked a question, he would weep and say: “Did you find no one to ask except me? Have you come to need me?” He said: “We pressed Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī to let us seat him against a pillar, but he refused.” When asked about something, he would weep and say: “People have come to need me.” Sufyān ibn ʿUyayna was unique in his age in sciences in which he stood alone in his time, yet he would illustrate his own condition by saying:
خَلَتِ الدِّيَارُ فَسُدْتُ غَيْرَ مَسُودٍ . . . وَمِنَ الشَّقَاءِ تَفَرُّدِي بِالسُّؤْدُدِ وَأَمَّا أَبُو الْعَالِيَةِ الرِّيَاحِيُّ فَكَانَ يَتَكَلَّمُ عَلَى الِاثْنَيْنِ وَالثَّلَاثَةِ فَإِذَا صَارُوا أَرْبَعَةً قَامَ ، وَكَذَلِكَ كَانَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ وَالثَّوْرِيُّ وَابْنُ أَدْهَمَ رَحِمَهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَتَكَلَّمُونَ عَلَى النَّفَرِ فَإِذَا كَثُرَ
khalati al-diyāru fasudtu ghayra masūdin... wamina al-shaqāʾi tafarrudī bi-al-suʾdudi waʾammā ʾabū al-ʿāliyati al-riyāḥiyyu fakāna yatakallamu ʿalā al-ithnayni wa-al-thalāthati faʾidhā ṣārū ʾarbaʿatan qāma , wakadhālika kāna ʾibrāhīmu wa-al-thawriyyu wabnu ʾadhama raḥimahumu allāhu taʿālā yatakallamūna ʿalā al-nafari faʾidhā kathura
“The dwellings emptied, so I became a master without being made one; / it is part of my misfortune to stand alone in mastery.” Abū al-ʿĀliya al-Riyāḥī used to speak to two or three people; when they became four, he rose. Likewise Ibrāhīm, al-Thawrī, and Ibn Adham, God Most High have mercy on them, spoke to small groups. When the number of
النَّاسُ انْصَرَفُوا وَكَانَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَجْلِسُ إِلَيْهِ خَمْسَةٌ أَوْ سِتَّةٌ إِلَى الْعَشَرَةِ وَقَالَ لِي بَعْضُ الشُّيُوخِ : كَانَ الْجُنَيْدُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَتَكَلَّمُ عَلَى بِضْعَ عَشْرَةَ ، قَالَ وَمَا تَمَّ أَهْلُ الْجَلْسَةِ عِشْرُونَ ، وَقَدْ حُدِّثْتُ عَنْ أَبِي الْحَسَنِ بْنِ سَالِمٍ شَيْخِنَا رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ : أَنَّ قَوْمًا اجْتَمَعُوا فِي مَسْجِدِهِ فَأَرْسَلُوا إِلَيْهِ بَعْضَهُمْ ،
al-nāsu inṣarafū wakāna ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun raḥimahu allāhu yajlisu ʾilayhi khamsatun ʾaw sittatun ʾilā al-ʿasharati waqāla lī baʿḍu al-shuyūkhi: kāna al-junaydu raḥimahu allāhu yatakallamu ʿalā biḍʿa ʿashrata , qāla wamā tamma ʾahlu al-jalsati ʿishrūna , waqad ḥuddithtu ʿan ʾabī al-ḥasani bni sālimin shaykhinā raḥimahu allāhu: ʾanna qawman ijtamaʿū fī masjidihi faʾarsalū ʾilayhi baʿḍahum ,
people increased, they left. Five or six, up to ten, used to sit with Abū Muḥammad Sahl, God have mercy on him. One of the teachers told me: “Al-Junayd, God have mercy on him, used to speak to a group in the teens.” He said: “The people in the gathering never reached twenty.” I was told of our teacher Abū al-Ḥasan ibn Sālim, God have mercy on him, that some people gathered in his mosque and sent one of their number to him:
إِنَّ إِخْوَانَكَ قَدْ حَضَرُوا وَيُحِبُّونَ لِقَاءَكَ وَالسَّمَاعَ مِنْكَ فَإِنْ رَأَيْتَ أَنْ تَخْرُجَ إِلَيْهِمْ فَذَاكَ وَكَانَ الْمَسْجِدُ عَلَى بَابِ بَيْتِهِ ، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ يُدْخَلُ عَلَيْهِ فِي مَنْزِلِهِ فَقَالَ لِلرَّسُولِ بَعْدَ أَنْ خَرَجَ إِلَيْهِمْ : مَنْ هُمْ ؟ فَقَالَ : فُلَانٌ وَفُلَانٌ وَسَمَّاهُمْ فَقَالَ : لَيْسَ هَؤُلَاءِ مِنْ أَصْحَابِي هَؤُلَاءِ أَصْحَابُ الْمَجْلِسِ وَلَمْ يَخْرُجْ كَأَنَّهُ رَآهُمْ عُمُومًا لَا يَصْلُحُونَ لِتَخْصِيصِ عِلْمِهِ فَلَمْ يُذْهِبْ وَقْتَهُ لِوَقْتِهِمْ
ʾinna ʾikhwānaka qad ḥaḍarū wayuḥibbūna liqāʾaka wa-al-samāʿa minka faʾin raʾayta ʾan takhruja ʾilayhim fadhāka wakāna al-masjidu ʿalā bābi baytihi , walam yakun yudkhalu ʿalayhi fī manzilihi faqāla lil-rasūli baʿda ʾan kharaja ʾilayhim: man hum ? faqāla: fulānun wafulānun wasammāhum faqāla: laysa hāʾulāʾi min ʾaṣḥābī hāʾulāʾi ʾaṣḥābu al-majlisi walam yakhruj kaʾannahu raʾāhum ʿumūman lā yaṣluḥūna litakhṣīṣi ʿilmihi falam yudhhib waqtahu liwaqtihim
“Your brothers have arrived and would like to meet you and hear from you. If you think it right to come out to them, please do.” The mosque was at his house door, and people did not enter his home. After he had gone out to them, he asked the messenger: “Who are they?” He said: “So-and-so and so-and-so,” naming them. He said: “These are not my companions. These are people of the gathering.” He did not go out, as though he considered them ordinary people unsuited to the particular character of his knowledge, and did not spend his time for theirs.
وَكَذَلِكَ الْعَالِمُ خَلْوَتُهُ تَعِزُّ عَلَيْهِ فَإِنْ وَافَقَ خُصُوصَ أَصْحَابٍ آثَرَهُمْ عَلَى خَلْوَتِهِ فَكَانَ ذَلِكَ مَزِيدًا لَهُمْ وَإِنْ هُوَ لَمْ يُوَافِقْ لَمْ يُؤْثِرْ عَلَى خَلْوَتِهِ غَيْرَهُ فَيَكُونَ مُنَاخًا لِلْبَطَّالِينَ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ ابْنُ سَالِمٍ أَبُو الْحَسَنِ يَخْرُجُ إِلَى إِخْوَانِهِ مِمَّنْ يَرَاهُ مَوْضِعًا لِعِلْمِهِ فَيَجْلِسُ إِلَيْهِمْ وَيُذَاكِرُهُمْ وَرُبَّمَا أَدْخَلَهُمْ إِلَيْهِ نَهَارًا أَوْ لَيْلًا وَلَعَمْرِي أَنَّ الْمُذَاكَرَةَ تَكُونُ بَيْنَ النُّظَرَاءِ وَالْمُحَادَثَةَ تَكُونُ مَعَ الْإِخْوَانِ وَالْجُلُوسَ لِلْعِلْمِ يَكُونُ لِلْأَصْحَابِ ،
wakadhālika al-ʿālimu khalwatuhu taʿizzu ʿalayhi faʾin wāfaqa khuṣūṣa ʾaṣḥābin ʾātharahum ʿalā khalwatihi fakāna dhālika mazīdan lahum waʾin huwa lam yuwāfiq lam yuʾthir ʿalā khalwatihi ghayrahu fayakūna munākhan lilbaṭṭālīna , waqad kāna ibnu sālimin ʾabū al-ḥasani yakhruju ʾilā ʾikhwānihi mimman yarāhu mawḍiʿan liʿilmihi fayajlisu ʾilayhim wayudhākiruhum warubbamā ʾadkhalahum ʾilayhi nahāran ʾaw laylan walaʿamrī ʾanna al-mudhākarata takūnu bayna al-nuẓarāʾi wa-al-muḥādathata takūnu maʿa al-ʾikhwāni wa-al-julūsa lilʿilmi yakūnu lilʾaṣḥābi ,
Likewise, the scholar’s solitude is dear to him. If he meets especially close companions, he gives them preference over his solitude, and that brings them increase. If he does not meet such people, he does not prefer someone else to his solitude and become a stopping place for idlers. Abū al-Ḥasan ibn Sālim used to go out to those of his brothers whom he considered fit repositories of his knowledge, sit with them, and discuss it with them. Sometimes he admitted them to his home by day or night. By my life, discussion is among peers, conversation is with brothers, and sitting to teach is for companions,
وَالْجَوَابُ عَنِ السُّؤَالِ نَصِيبُ الْعُمُومِ ، وَكَانَ عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ أَنَّ عِلْمَهُمْ مَخْصُوصٌ لَا يَصْلُحُ إِلَّا لِلْخُصُوصِ وَالْخُصُوصُ قَلِيلٌ ، وَلَمْ يَكُونُوا يَنْطِقُونَ بِهِ إِلَّا عِنْدَ أَهْلِهِ وَيَرَوْنَ أَنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ حَقِّهِ وَأَنَّهُ وَاجِبٌ عَلَيْهِمْ كَمَا وَصَفَهُمْ عَلِيٌّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ فِي قَوْلِهِ حَتَّى يُودِعُوهُ أَمْثَالَهُمْ وَيَزْرَعُوهُ فِي قُلُوبِ أَشْكَالِهِمْ وَكَذَلِكَ جَاءَتِ الْآثَارُ بِذَلِكَ عَنْ نَبِيِّنَا صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَعَنْ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ :
wa-al-jawābu ʿani al-suʾāli naṣību al-ʿumūmi , wakāna ʿinda ʾahli al-ʿilmi ʾanna ʿilmahum makhṣūṣun lā yaṣluḥu ʾillā lilkhuṣūṣi wa-al-khuṣūṣu qalīlun , walam yakūnū yanṭiqūna bihi ʾillā ʿinda ʾahlihi wayarawna ʾanna dhālika min ḥaqqihi waʾannahu wājibun ʿalayhim kamā waṣafahum ʿaliyyun karrama allāhu wajhahu fī qawlihi ḥattā yūdiʿūhu ʾamthālahum wayazraʿūhu fī qulūbi ʾashkālihim wakadhālika jāʾati al-ʾāthāru bidhālika ʿan nabiyyinā ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waʿan ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu:
while answers to questions are the portion of the general public. The people of knowledge considered their knowledge particular, suitable only for the elect, and the elect are few. They would speak of it only among those suited to it, considering this one of its rights and an obligation upon them. As ʿAlī, God honor his face, described them in his saying: “Until they entrust it to their counterparts and plant it in the hearts of those like them.” Traditions to this effect have also come from our Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, and from Jesus, peace be upon him:
لَا تُضَيِّعُوا الْحِكْمَةَ عِنْدَ غَيْرِ أَهْلِهَا فَتَظْلِمُوهَا وَلَا تَمْنَعُوهَا أَهْلَهَا فَتَظْلِمُوهُمْ ، كُونُوا كَالطَّبِيبِ الرَّفِيقِ الَّذِي يَضَعُ الدَّوَاءَ فِي مَوْضِعِ الدَّاءِ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ : مَنْ وَضَعَ الْحِكْمَةَ فِي غَيْرِ أَهْلِهَا جَهِلَ وَمَنْ مَنَعَهَا أَهْلَهَا ظَلَمَ ، إِنَّ لِلْحِكْمَةِ حَقًّا وَإِنَّ لَهَا أَهْلًا وَإِنَّ لِأَهْلِهَا حَقًّا فَأَعْطِ كُلَّ ذِي حَقٍّ حَقَّهُ وَفِي حَدِيثِ عِيسَى صَلَاةُ اللَّهِ وَسَلَامُهُ عَلَيْهِ لَا تُعَلِّقُوا الْجَوْهَرَ فِي أَعْنَاقِ
lā tuḍayyiʿū al-ḥikmata ʿinda ghayri ʾahlihā fataẓlimūhā walā tamnaʿūhā ʾahlahā fataẓlimūhum , kūnū ka-al-ṭabībi al-rafīqi alladhī yaḍaʿu al-dawāʾa fī mawḍiʿi al-dāʾi , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: man waḍaʿa al-ḥikmata fī ghayri ʾahlihā jahila waman manaʿahā ʾahlahā ẓalama , ʾinna lilḥikmati ḥaqqan waʾinna lahā ʾahlan waʾinna liʾahlihā ḥaqqan faʾaʿṭi kulla dhī ḥaqqin ḥaqqahu wafī ḥadīthi ʿīsā ṣalātu allāhi wasalāmuhu ʿalayhi lā tuʿalliqū al-jawhara fī ʾaʿnāqi
“Do not waste wisdom among those unsuited to it and thereby wrong it; do not withhold it from those suited to it and thereby wrong them. Be like the gentle physician who places the medicine at the site of the illness.” In another wording: “Whoever places wisdom among those unsuited to it is ignorant; whoever withholds it from those suited to it is unjust. Wisdom has a right, it has people suited to it, and its people have a right. Give everyone who has a right his due.” In the saying of Jesus, God’s blessing and peace be upon him: “Do not hang jewels around the necks of
الْخَنَازِيرِ فَإِنَّ الْحِكْمَةَ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْجَوْهَرِ وَمَنْ كَرِهَهَا فَهُوَ شَرٌّ مِنَ الْخِنْزِيرِ ، وَكَانَ بَعْضُ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ يَقُولُ : نِصْفُ هَذَا الْعِلْمِ سُكُوتٌ وَنِصْفُهُ تَدْرِي أَيْنَ تَضَعُهُ . وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ : مَنْ كَلَّمَ النَّاسَ بِمَبْلَغِ عِلْمِهِ وَبِمِقْدَارِ عَقْلِهِ وَلَمْ يُخَاطِبْهُمْ بِقَدْرِ حُدُودِهِمْ فَقَدْ بَخَسَهُمْ حَقَّهُمْ وَلَمْ يَقُمْ بِحَقِّ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِيهِمْ وَكَانَ يَحْيَى بْنُ مُعَاذٍ يَقُولُ :
al-khanāzīri faʾinna al-ḥikmata khayrun mina al-jawhari waman karihahā fahuwa sharrun mina al-khinzīri , wakāna baʿḍu hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati yaqūlu: niṣfu hādhā al-ʿilmi sukūtun waniṣfuhu tadrī ʾayna taḍaʿuhu. waqad qāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna: man kallama al-nāsa bimablaghi ʿilmihi wabimiqdāri ʿaqlihi walam yukhāṭibhum biqadri ḥudūdihim faqad bakhasahum ḥaqqahum walam yaqum biḥaqqi allāhi ʿazza wajalla fīhim wakāna yaḥyā bnu muʿādhin yaqūlu:
“pigs, for wisdom is better than jewels, and whoever dislikes it is worse than a pig.” One of this company used to say: “Half of this knowledge is silence, and half is knowing where to place it.” One of those who know God said: “Whoever speaks to people according to the extent of his own knowledge and the measure of his own reason, without addressing them according to their limits, has deprived them of their right and failed to fulfill God’s right concerning them, mighty and majestic is He.” Yaḥyā ibn Muʿādh used to say:
اغْرِفْ لِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْ نَهْرِهِ وَاسْقِهِ بِكَأْسِهِ وَنَحْنُ نَقُولُ بِمَعْنَاهُ كِلْ لِكُلِّ عَبْدٍ بِمِعْيَارِ عَقْلِهِ وَزِنْ لَهُ بِمِيزَانِ عِلْمِهِ حَتَّى تَسْلَمَ مِنْهُ وَيَنْتَفِعَ بِكَ وَإِلَّا وَقَعَ الْإِنْكَارُ لِتَفَاوُتِ الْمِعْيَارِ ، وَحَدَّثَنِي بَعْضُ أَشْيَاخِنَا مِنْ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ عَنْ أَبِي عِمْرَانَ وَهُوَ الْمُزَيِّنُ الْكَبِيرُ الْمَكِّيُّ قَالَ سَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ لِأَبِي بَكْرٍ الْكَتَّانِيِّ وَكَانَ سَمْحًا بِهَذَا الْعِلْمِ بَذُولًا لَهُ لِجَمِيعِ الْفُقَرَاءِ فَجَعَلَ أَبُو عِمْرَانَ يُعَاتِبُهُ وَيَنْهَاهُ عَنْ بَذْلِهِ لَهُ وَكَثْرَةِ كَلَامِهِ فِيهِ إِلَى أَنْ قَالَ :
ighrif likulli wāḥidin min nahrihi wasqihi bikaʾsihi wanaḥnu naqūlu bimaʿnāhu kil likulli ʿabdin bimiʿyāri ʿaqlihi wazin lahu bimīzāni ʿilmihi ḥattā taslama minhu wayantafiʿa bika waʾillā waqaʿa al-ʾinkāru litafāwuti al-miʿyāri , waḥaddathanī baʿḍu ʾashyākhinā min hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati ʿan ʾabī ʿimrāna wahuwa al-muzayyinu al-kabīru al-makkiyyu qāla samiʿtuhu yaqūlu liʾabī bakrin al-kattāniyyi wakāna samḥan bihādhā al-ʿilmi badhūlan lahu lijamīʿi al-fuqarāʾi fajaʿala ʾabū ʿimrāna yuʿātibuhu wayanhāhu ʿan badhlihi lahu wakathrati kalāmihi fīhi ʾilā ʾan qāla:
“Draw for each person from his own river, and give him drink in his own cup.” We say to the same effect: “Measure out for every servant according to the measure of his reason, and weigh out for him on the scale of his knowledge, so that you may be safe from him and he may benefit from you. Otherwise rejection will arise because the measures differ.” One of our teachers of this company related to me from Abū ʿImrān, the elder al-Muzayyin of Mecca, saying: “I heard him speaking to Abū Bakr al-Kattānī, who was generous with this knowledge and freely offered it to all the spiritual poor. Abū ʿImrān began reproaching him and forbidding his offering it so freely and speaking so much of it, until he said:
أَنَا مُنْذُ عِشْرِينَ سَنَةً أَسْأَلُ
ʾanā mundhu ʿishrīna sanatan ʾasʾalu
“‘For twenty years I have been asking
اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَنْ يُنْسِيَنِي هَذَا الْعِلْمَ قَالَ : وَلِمَ ؟ قَالَ : رَأَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي الْمَنَامِ فَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى حُرْمَةً وَمِنْ أَعْظَمِ الْأَشْيَاءِ حُرْمَةً الْحِكْمَةُ ، فَمَنْ وَضَعَهَا فِي غَيْرِ أَهْلِهَا طَالَبَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِحَقِّهَا وَمَنْ طَالَبَهُ خَصَمَهُ وَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ يَقُولُ :
allāha taʿālā ʾan yunsiyanī hādhā al-ʿilma qāla: walima ? qāla: raʾaytu al-nabiyya ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī al-manāmi fasamiʿtuhu yaqūlu ʾinna likulli shayʾin ʿinda allāhi taʿālā ḥurmatan wamin ʾaʿẓami al-ʾashyāʾi ḥurmatan al-ḥikmatu , faman waḍaʿahā fī ghayri ʾahlihā ṭālabahu allāhu taʿālā biḥaqqihā waman ṭālabahu khaṣamahu waqad kāna baʿḍu al-salafi yaqūlu:
“‘God Most High to make me forget this knowledge.’ He said: ‘Why?’ He said: ‘I saw the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, in a dream and heard him say: “Everything has a sanctity with God Most High, and wisdom is among the things of greatest sanctity. Whoever places it among those unsuited to it, God Most High will call him to account for its right; and whomever He calls to account, He defeats in the dispute.”’” One of the predecessors used to say:
إِذَا اسْتَنَدَ الرَّجُلُ إِلَى سَارِيَةٍ أَوْ أَحَبَّ أَنْ يُسْأَلَ فَلَا تَجْلِسْ إِلَيْهِ وَلَا يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يُسْأَلَ وَلَمْ يُرَ فِي مَجَالِسِ أَهْلِ هَذَا الْعِلْمِ فِيمَا سَلَفَ ثَلَاثُونَ رَجُلًا وَلَا عِشْرُونَ إِلَّا نَادِرًا غَيْرَ لِزَامٍ وَلَا دَوَامٍ إِنَّمَا كَانُوا مِنَ الْأَرْبَعَةِ إِلَى الْعَشَرَةِ وَبِضْعَةَ عَشَرَ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ يَجْتَمِعُ فِي مَجَالِسِ الْقُصَّاصِ وَالْمُذَكِّرِينَ وَالْوَاعِظِينَ مِئُونَ مِنْ عَهْدِ الْحَسَنِ إِلَى وَقْتِنَا هَذَا فَهَذَا أَيْضًا مِنَ الْفَرْقِ بَيْنَهُمَا أَنَّ الْعِلْمَ مَخْصُوصٌ لِقَلِيلٍ وَأَنَّ الْقَصَصَ عَامٌّ لِكَثِيرٍ .
ʾidhā istanada al-rajulu ʾilā sāriyatin ʾaw ʾaḥabba ʾan yusʾala falā tajlis ʾilayhi walā yanbaghī ʾan yusʾala walam yura fī majālisi ʾahli hādhā al-ʿilmi fīmā salafa thalāthūna rajulan walā ʿishrūna ʾillā nādiran ghayra lizāmin walā dawāmin ʾinnamā kānū mina al-ʾarbaʿati ʾilā al-ʿasharati wabiḍʿata ʿashara , waqad kāna yajtamiʿu fī majālisi al-quṣṣāṣi wa-al-mudhakkirīna wa-al-wāʿiẓīna miʾūna min ʿahdi al-ḥasani ʾilā waqtinā hādhā fahādhā ʾayḍan mina al-farqi baynahumā ʾanna al-ʿilma makhṣūṣun liqalīlin waʾanna al-qaṣaṣa ʿāmmun likathīrin.
“If a man leans against a pillar, or likes to be asked questions, do not sit with him, and he should not be asked.” In earlier times, thirty or even twenty men were not seen in the gatherings of the people of this knowledge except rarely, without regularity or permanence. They numbered from four to ten, or into the teens. Yet hundreds used to gather at the sessions of storytellers, givers of reminders, and preachers, from al-Ḥasan’s time to our own. This too is a difference between the two: knowledge is particular to a few, while storytelling is general and for many.
وَقَالَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَائِنَا : كَانَ فِي الْبَصْرَةِ مِائَةٌ وَعِشْرُونَ مُتَكَلِّمًا فِي الذِّكْرِ وَالْوَعْظِ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ مَنْ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِي عِلْمِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَالْيَقِينِ وَالْمَقَامَاتِ وَالْأَحْوَالِ إِلَّا سِتَّةٌ مِنْهُمْ : أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ وَالصُّبَيْحِيُّ وَعَبْدُ الرَّحِيمِ ، وَقَدْ قِيلَ مَنْ لَمْ يَنْتَفِعْ بِسُكُوتِ الْعَالِمِ لَمْ يَنْتَفِعْ بِكَلَامِهِ أَيْ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَتَأَدَّبَ بِصَمْتِهِ وَخُشُوعِهِ وَوَرَعِهِ وَيَقْتَدِيَ بِيَقِينِهِ فِي ذَلِكَ كَمَا يَتَأَدَّبُ بِنُطْقِهِ وَيَقْتَدِي بِكَلَامِهِ عَلَى أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يَقُولُونَ
waqāla baʿḍu ʿulamāʾinā: kāna fī al-baṣrati miʾatun waʿishrūna mutakalliman fī al-dhikri wa-al-waʿẓi walam yakun man yatakallamu fī ʿilmi al-maʿrifati wa-al-yaqīni wa-al-maqāmāti wa-al-ʾaḥwāli ʾillā sittatun minhum: ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun wa-al-ṣubayḥiyyu waʿabdu al-raḥīmi , waqad qīla man lam yantafiʿ bisukūti al-ʿālimi lam yantafiʿ bikalāmihi ʾay yanbaghī ʾan yataʾaddaba biṣamtihi wakhushūʿihi wawaraʿihi wayaqtadiya biyaqīnihi fī dhālika kamā yataʾaddabu binuṭqihi wayaqtadī bikalāmihi ʿalā ʾannahum kānū yaqūlūna
One of our scholars said: “There were one hundred and twenty speakers on remembrance and admonition in Basra, but only six spoke about knowledge of God, certainty, stations, and states, among them Abū Muḥammad Sahl, al-Ṣubayḥī, and ʿAbd al-Raḥīm.” It has been said: “Whoever does not benefit from a scholar’s silence does not benefit from his speech.” That is, he should learn manners from his silence, humble submission, and scrupulousness, and follow his certainty in this, just as he learns manners from his utterance and follows his words. They used to say:
عِلْمُ الظَّاهِرِ مِنْ عِلْمِ الْمُلْكِ وَعِلْمُ الْبَاطِنِ مِنْ عِلْمِ الْمَلَكُوتِ يَعْنُونَ أَنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ عِلْمِ الدُّنْيَا لِأَنَّهُ يُحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ فِي أُمُورِ الدُّنْيَا وَهَذَا مِنْ عِلْمِ الْآخِرَةِ لِأَنَّهُ مِنْ زَادِهَا وَهَذَا كَمَا قَالُوهُ لِأَنَّ اللِّسَانَ ظَاهِرٌ فَهُوَ مِنَ الْمُلْكِ وَهُوَ خِزَانَةُ الْعِلْمِ الظَّاهِرِ وَالْقَلْبُ خِزَانَةُ الْمَلَكُوتِ وَهُوَ بَابُ الْعِلْمِ الْبَاطِنِ فَقَدْ صَارَ فَضْلُ الْعِلْمِ الْبَاطِنِ عَلَى الظَّاهِرِ كَفَضْلِ الْمَلَكُوتِ عَلَى الْمُلْكِ وَهُوَ الْمُلْكُ الْبَاطِنُ الْخَفِيُّ وَكَفَضْلِ الْقَلْبِ عَلَى اللِّسَانِ وَهُوَ الظَّاهِرُ الْجَلِيُّ .
ʿilmu al-ẓāhiri min ʿilmi al-mulki waʿilmu al-bāṭini min ʿilmi al-malakūti yaʿnūna ʾanna dhālika min ʿilmi al-dunyā liʾannahu yuḥtāju ʾilayhi fī ʾumūri al-dunyā wahādhā min ʿilmi al-ʾākhirati liʾannahu min zādihā wahādhā kamā qālūhu liʾanna al-lisāna ẓāhirun fahuwa mina al-mulki wahuwa khizānatu al-ʿilmi al-ẓāhiri wa-al-qalbu khizānatu al-malakūti wahuwa bābu al-ʿilmi al-bāṭini faqad ṣāra faḍlu al-ʿilmi al-bāṭini ʿalā al-ẓāhiri kafaḍli al-malakūti ʿalā al-mulki wahuwa al-mulku al-bāṭinu al-khafiyyu wakafaḍli al-qalbi ʿalā al-lisāni wahuwa al-ẓāhiru al-jaliyyu.
“Outward knowledge belongs to the knowledge of the visible dominion, and inward knowledge to the knowledge of the unseen kingdom.” They mean that the former is knowledge of this world, because it is needed for worldly affairs, and the latter is knowledge of the hereafter, because it is part of its provision. It is as they say: the tongue is outward, so it belongs to the visible dominion and is the storehouse of outward knowledge; the heart is the storehouse of the unseen kingdom and the door of inward knowledge. The superiority of inward over outward knowledge is thus like the superiority of the unseen kingdom over the visible dominion, the former being the hidden, inward dominion; and like the superiority of the heart over the tongue, which is outward and manifest.
وَقَدْ كَانَ بِشْرُ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ : حَدَّثَنَا وَأَخْبَرَنَا بَابٌ مِنْ أَبْوَابِ الدُّنْيَا ، وَقَالَ مَرَّةً : الْحَدِيثُ لَيْسَ مِنْ زَادِ الْآخِرَةِ ، وَحَدَّثَنَا بَعْضُ أَشْيَاخِنَا عَنْ بَعْضِ أَصْحَابِهِ قَالَ : دَفَنَّا لَهُ بِضْعَةَ عَشَرَ مَا بَيْنَ قِمَطْرٍ وَقَوْصَرَةٍ كُتُبًا لَمْ يُحَدِّثْ مِنْهَا بِشَيْءٍ إِلَّا مَا سُمِعَ مِنْهُ نَادِرًا فِي الْفَرْدِ وَكَانَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ :
waqad kāna bishru bnu al-ḥārithi raḥimahu allāhu yaqūlu: ḥaddathanā waʾakhbaranā bābun min ʾabwābi al-dunyā , waqāla marratan: al-ḥadīthu laysa min zādi al-ʾākhirati , waḥaddathanā baʿḍu ʾashyākhinā ʿan baʿḍi ʾaṣḥābihi qāla: dafannā lahu biḍʿata ʿashara mā bayna qimaṭrin waqawṣaratin kutuban lam yuḥaddith minhā bishayʾin ʾillā mā sumiʿa minhu nādiran fī al-fardi wakāna raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu:
Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith, God have mercy on him, used to say: “‘He related to us’ and ‘He informed us’ are a door among the doors of this world.” On another occasion he said: “Hadith is not provision for the hereafter.” One of our teachers related to us from one of his companions, who said: “We buried for him somewhere in the teens of book chests and baskets full of books. He related nothing from them except what was heard from him rarely, in private.” He used to say, God Most High have mercy on him:
إِنِّي أَشْتَهِي أَنْ أُحَدِّثَ وَلَوْ ذَهَبَ عَنِّي شَهْوَةُ الْحَدِيثِ لَحَدَّثْتُ ثُمَّ قَالَ : أَنَا أُجَاهِدُ نَفْسِي مُنْذُ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً ، وَقَالَ إِذَا سَمِعْتَ الرَّجُلَ يَقُولُ حَدَّثَنَا وَأَخْبَرَنَا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ أَوْسِعُوا إِلَيَّ وَكَانَ زَاهِدًا عَالِمًا وَقَالَ هُوَ وَغَيْرُهُ : إِذَا اشْتَهَيْتَ أَنْ تُحَدِّثَ فَلَا تُحَدِّثْ وَإِذَا لَمْ تَشْتَهِ أَنْ تُحَدِّثَ فَحَدِّثْ ، وَقَدْ كَانَتْ رَابِعَةُ الْعَدَوِيَّةُ رَحِمَهَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى قَبْلَهُ تَقُولُ لِلثَّوْرِيِّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ :
ʾinnī ʾashtahī ʾan ʾuḥadditha walaw dhahaba ʿannī shahwatu al-ḥadīthi laḥaddathtu thumma qāla: ʾanā ʾujāhidu nafsī mundhu ʾarbaʿīna sanatan , waqāla ʾidhā samiʿta al-rajula yaqūlu ḥaddathanā waʾakhbaranā faʾinnamā yaqūlu ʾawsiʿū ʾilayya wakāna zāhidan ʿāliman waqāla huwa waghayruhu: ʾidhā ishtahayta ʾan tuḥadditha falā tuḥaddith waʾidhā lam tashtahi ʾan tuḥadditha faḥaddith , waqad kānat rābiʿatu al-ʿadawiyyatu raḥimahā allāhu taʿālā qablahu taqūlu lil-thawriyyi raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu:
“I desire to relate hadith. If the desire for relating hadith left me, I would relate it.” Then he said: “I have struggled against my soul for forty years.” He said: “When you hear a man saying, ‘He related to us’ and ‘He informed us,’ he is only saying: ‘Make room for me.’” He was an ascetic and a scholar. He and others said: “When you desire to relate hadith, do not relate it; when you do not desire to relate it, then relate it.” Before him, Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya, God Most High have mercy on her, used to say to al-Thawrī, may God be pleased with him:
نِعْمَ الرَّجُلُ سُفْيَانُ لَوْلَا أَنَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْحَدِيثَ ، وَكَانَتْ تَقُولُ : فِتْنَةُ الْحَدِيثِ أَشَدُّ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْمَالِ وَالْوَلَدِ وَقَالَتْ مَرَّةً : لَوْلَا أَنَّهُ يُحِبُّ الدُّنْيَا يَعْنِي اجْتِمَاعَ النَّاسِ حَوْلَهُ لِلْحَدِيثِ ،
niʿma al-rajulu sufyānu lawlā ʾannahu yuḥibbu al-ḥadītha , wakānat taqūlu: fitnatu al-ḥadīthi ʾashaddu min fitnati al-māli wa-al-waladi waqālat marratan: lawlā ʾannahu yuḥibbu al-dunyā yaʿnī ijtimāʿa al-nāsi ḥawlahu lilḥadīthi ,
“What a fine man Sufyān is, except that he loves hadith.” She used to say: “The trial of hadith is more severe than the trial of wealth and children.” On another occasion she said: “Except that he loves this world,” meaning the people gathering around him for hadith.
وَكَانَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ : مَنْ تَزَوَّجَ أَوْ كَتَبَ الْحَدِيثَ أَوْ طَلَبَ مَعَاشًا فَقَدْ رَكَنَ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ : كُلُّ مَنْ أَدْرَكَ الْعُلُومَ غَيْرَ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَقَدِ اسْتَدْرَكَ وَالَّذِي أَدْرَكَ الْعِلْمَ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ تُدُورِكَ ثُمَّ تَلَا قَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى : ( لَوْلَا أَنْ تَدَارَكَهُ نِعْمَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِ لَنُبِذَ بِالْعَرَاءِ ) الْقَلَمُ : 49 ،
wakāna ʾabū sulaymāna al-dārāniyyu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: man tazawwaja ʾaw kataba al-ḥadītha ʾaw ṭalaba maʿāshan faqad rakana ʾilā al-dunyā , waqāla baʿḍu hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati: kullu man ʾadraka al-ʿulūma ghayra al-ʿilmi bi-allāhi ʿazza wajalla faqadi istadraka walladhī ʾadraka al-ʿilma bi-allāhi faqad tudūrika thumma talā qawlahu taʿālā: ( lawlā ʾan tadārakahu niʿmatun min rabbihi lanubidha bi-al-ʿarāʾi ) al-qalamu: 49 ,
Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī, God Most High have mercy on him, used to say: “Whoever marries, writes down hadith, or seeks a livelihood has inclined toward this world.” One of this company said: “Everyone who attains the sciences other than knowledge of God, mighty and majestic, has attained something; but the one who attains knowledge of God has himself been reached.” Then he recited the Most High’s words: “Had a blessing from his Lord not reached him, he would have been cast onto the bare shore” (al-Qalam 68:49).
أَيْ تُدُورِكَ بِعِلْمِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ لَطُرِحَ فِي بُعْدِ الْهَوَى وَالْعَرَاءُ الْبُعْدُ وَعِلْمُ الْمَعْقُولِ بُعْدٌ إِلَى جَنْبِ عِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ ، وَقَالَ أَيْضًا فِي فَهْمِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَلَوْلَا أَنْ ثَبَّتْنَاكَ لَقَدْ كِدْتَ تَرْكَنُ إِلَيْهِمْ ) الْإِسْرَاءُ : 74 أَيْ ثَبَّتْنَاكَ بِالْمَعْرِفَةِ لَقَدْ كِدْتَ تَسْكُنُ إِلَى عُلُومِ الْعَقْلِ . وَقَالَ سَهْلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ :
ʾay tudūrika biʿilmi al-maʿrifati laṭuriḥa fī buʿdi al-hawā wa-al-ʿarāʾu al-buʿdu waʿilmu al-maʿqūli buʿdun ʾilā janbi ʿilmi al-yaqīni , waqāla ʾayḍan fī fahmi qawlihi taʿālā: ( walawlā ʾan thabbatnāka laqad kidta tarkanu ʾilayhim ) al-ʾisrāʾu: 74 ʾay thabbatnāka bi-al-maʿrifati laqad kidta taskunu ʾilā ʿulūmi al-ʿaqli. waqāla sahlu bnu ʿabdi allāhi raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā fī qawlihi ʿazza wajalla:
That is, he was reached through knowledge of God; otherwise he would have been cast into the distance of desire. The bare expanse means distance, and rational knowledge is distant beside knowledge of certainty. He also said, in understanding the Most High’s words, “Had We not made you firm, you would nearly have inclined toward them” (al-Isrāʾ 17:74): “That is, We made you firm through knowledge of God; you had nearly settled into the sciences of reason.” Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh, God Most High have mercy on him, said concerning His words, mighty and majestic:
( وَاجْعَلْ لِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ سُلْطَانًا نَصِيرًا ) الْإِسْرَاءُ : 80 قَالَ لِسَانًا يَنْطِقُ عَنْكَ لَا عَنْ سِوَاكَ وَفَضْلُ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَالْعِلْمِ بِالْإِيمَانِ وَعِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ عَلَى الْعِلْمِ بِالْأَحْكَامِ وَالْقَضَايَا كَفَضْلِ الْمُشَاهَدَةِ عَلَى الْخَبَرِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ الرَّسُولُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : لَيْسَ الْخَبَرُ كَالْمُعَايَنَةِ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ : لَيْسَ الْخَبَرُ كَالْمُعَايِنِ ،
( wajʿal lī min ladunka sulṭānan naṣīran ) al-ʾisrāʾu: 80 qāla lisānan yanṭiqu ʿanka lā ʿan siwāka wafaḍlu al-ʿilmi bi-allāhi ʿazza wajalla wa-al-ʿilmi bi-al-ʾīmāni waʿilmi al-yaqīni ʿalā al-ʿilmi bi-al-ʾaḥkāmi wa-al-qaḍāyā kafaḍli al-mushāhadati ʿalā al-khabari , waqad qāla al-rasūlu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: laysa al-khabaru ka-al-muʿāyanati , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: laysa al-khabaru ka-al-muʿāyini ,
“Grant me from Yourself an authority that supports me” (al-Isrāʾ 17:80): “A tongue that speaks from You, not from anything besides You.” The excellence of knowledge of God, mighty and majestic, knowledge of faith, and knowledge of certainty above knowledge of rulings and judicial cases is like the excellence of witnessing above a report. The Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said: “A report is not like seeing with one’s own eyes.” In another wording: “A report is not like an eyewitness.”
وَقَدْ رَوَى عِيَاضُ بْنُ غَنْمٍ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : فِي تَفْسِيرِ قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( أَلْهَاكُمُ التَّكَاثُرُ ) ( عِلْمَ الْيَقِينِ ) التَّكَاثُرُ : 1 - 5 ، كَرَأْيِ الْعَيْنِ ، وَفِي هَذَا الْخَبَرِ أَنَّ مِنْ خِيَارِ أُمَّتِي قَوْمًا يَضْحَكُونَ جَهْرًا مِنْ سَعَةِ رَحْمَةِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيَبْكُونَ سِرًّا مِنْ خَوْفِ عَذَابِهِ أَقْدَامُهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَقُلُوبُهُمْ فِي السَّمَاءِ أَرْوَاحُهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَعُقُولُهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ يَمْشُونَ بِالسَّكِينَةِ وَيَتَقَرَّبُونَ بِالْوَسِيلَةِ ،
waqad rawā ʿiyāḍu bnu ghanmin ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: fī tafsīri qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ( ʾalhākumu al-takāthuru ) ( ʿilma al-yaqīni ) al-takāthuru: 1 - 5 , karaʾyi al-ʿayni , wafī hādhā al-khabari ʾanna min khiyāri ʾummatī qawman yaḍḥakūna jahran min saʿati raḥmati rabbihim wayabkūna sirran min khawfi ʿadhābihi ʾaqdāmuhum fī al-ʾarḍi waqulūbuhum fī al-samāʾi ʾarwāḥuhum fī al-dunyā waʿuqūluhum fī al-ʾākhirati yamshūna bi-al-sakīnati wayataqarrabūna bi-al-wasīlati ,
ʿIyāḍ ibn Ghanm related from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, in explaining His words, mighty and majestic, “Competition for more distracts you,” and “knowledge of certainty” (al-Takāthur 102:1–5): “Like the sight of the eye.” In this report: “Among the best of my community are people who laugh openly at the breadth of their Lord’s mercy and weep secretly from fear of His punishment. Their feet are on earth and their hearts in heaven; their spirits are in this world and their minds in the hereafter. They walk with tranquillity and draw near through the means of approach.”
فَالْفُتْيَا هِيَ الْأَخْبَارُ وَالِاسْتِفْتَاءُ هُوَ الِاسْتِخْبَارُ ، وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( فَاسْتَفْتِهِمْ ) الصَّافَّاتُ : 11 وَقَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَيَسْتَفْتُونَكَ ) النِّسَاءُ : 127 أَيْ يَسْتَخْبِرُونَكَ ، فَعِلْمُ الْخَبَرِ قَدْ يَدْخُلُهُ الظَّنُّ وَالشَّكُّ وَالْمُشَاهَدَةُ تَرْفَعُ الظَّنَّ وَتُزِيلُ الشَّكَّ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( مَا كَذَبَ الْفُؤَادُ مَا رَأَى ) النَّجْمُ : 11 فَأَثْبَتَ الرُّؤْيَةَ لِلْقَلْبِ بِالْعَيْنِ فَرُؤْيَةُ الْقَلْبِ هُوَ الْيَقِينُ وَذُو الْقَلْبِ هُوَ الْمُوقِنُ ،
fa-al-futyā hiya al-ʾakhbāru wa-al-istiftāʾu huwa al-istikhbāru , waminhu qawluhu taʿālā: ( fastaftihim ) al-ṣāffātu: 11 waqawluhu taʿālā: ( wayastaftūnaka ) al-nisāʾu: 127 ʾay yastakhbirūnaka , faʿilmu al-khabari qad yadkhuluhu al-ẓannu wa-al-shakku wa-al-mushāhadatu tarfaʿu al-ẓanna watuzīlu al-shakka kamā qāla taʿālā: ( mā kadhaba al-fuʾādu mā raʾā ) al-najmu: 11 faʾathbata al-ruʾyata lilqalbi bi-al-ʿayni faruʾyatu al-qalbi huwa al-yaqīnu wadhū al-qalbi huwa al-mūqinu ,
A legal opinion consists of reports, and seeking a legal opinion is seeking information. Hence the Most High’s words: “Ask them” (al-Ṣāffāt 37:11), and His words, exalted is He: “They ask you for a legal opinion” (al-Nisāʾ 4:127), meaning they seek information from you. Knowledge through a report may admit conjecture and doubt, while witnessing removes conjecture and eliminates doubt. As the Most High said: “The heart did not deny what it saw” (al-Najm 53:11). He affirmed vision for the heart through the eye. The heart’s vision is certainty, and the possessor of a heart is one of certainty.
وَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : كَفَى بِالْيَقِينِ غِنًى فَفِي عِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ غِنْيَةٌ عَنْ جَمِيعِ الْعُلُومِ لِأَنَّهُ حَقِيقَةُ الْعِلْمِ وَخَالِصُهُ وَلَيْسَ فِي جَمِيعِ الْعُلُومِ غِنًى عَنْ عِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ وَلِأَنَّ الْفَقْرَ بِالشَّكِّ وَالْحَاجَةَ إِلَى الْيَقِينِ فِي عِلْمِ التَّوْحِيدِ وَعِلْمِ الْإِيمَانِ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الْفَقْرِ بِالْحَاجَةِ إِلَى عُلُومِ الْفُتْيَا وَغَيْرِهَا فَلِذَلِكَ صَارَ الْغِنَى بِالْيَقِينِ أَعْظَمَ مِنَ الِاسْتِغْنَاءِ بِسَائِرِ الْعُلُومِ فَفِي هَذَا الْعِلْمِ مَثَلٌ مِنْ فَاتِحَةِ الْكِتَابِ إِلَى سَائِرِ الْقُرْآنِ .
waqāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: kafā bi-al-yaqīni ghinan fafī ʿilmi al-yaqīni ghinyatun ʿan jamīʿi al-ʿulūmi liʾannahu ḥaqīqatu al-ʿilmi wakhāliṣuhu walaysa fī jamīʿi al-ʿulūmi ghinan ʿan ʿilmi al-yaqīni waliʾanna al-faqra bi-al-shakki wa-al-ḥājata ʾilā al-yaqīni fī ʿilmi al-tawḥīdi waʿilmi al-ʾīmāni ʾashaddu mina al-faqri bi-al-ḥājati ʾilā ʿulūmi al-futyā waghayrihā falidhālika ṣāra al-ghinā bi-al-yaqīni ʾaʿẓama mina al-istighnāʾi bisāʾiri al-ʿulūmi fafī hādhā al-ʿilmi mathalun min fātiḥati al-kitābi ʾilā sāʾiri al-qurʾāni.
The Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Certainty is sufficient wealth.” Knowledge of certainty makes one independent of all the sciences, because it is the reality and pure essence of knowledge. All the sciences together do not make one independent of knowledge of certainty. The poverty of doubt and the need for certainty in knowledge of divine oneness and faith are more intense than the poverty of needing the sciences of legal opinions and others. For this reason, wealth through certainty is greater than independence through all other sciences. This knowledge bears the same relation to them as the Opening of the Book bears to the rest of the Qurʾān.
كَمَا رُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَاتِحَةُ الْكِتَابِ تُجْزِي مِنْ كُلِّ الْقُرْآنِ وَلَيْسَ الْقُرْآنُ كُلُّهُ يُجْزِي مِنْ فَاتِحَةِ الْكِتَابِ ، فَكَذَلِكَ مَثَلُ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَى الْعِلْمِ بِمَا سِوَاهُ ، فَفِي الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى عِوَضٌ مِنْ كُلِّ الْعُلُومِ ، وَلَيْسَ فِي سَائِرِ الْعُلُومِ عِوَضٌ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِنْ حَيْثُ كَانَ فِي اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عِوَضٌ بِهِ عَنْ كُلِّ مَا سِوَاهُ ،
kamā ruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fātiḥatu al-kitābi tujzī min kulli al-qurʾāni walaysa al-qurʾānu kulluhu yujzī min fātiḥati al-kitābi , fakadhālika mathalu al-ʿilmi bi-allāhi ʿazza wajalla ʾilā al-ʿilmi bimā siwāhu , fafī al-ʿilmi bi-allāhi taʿālā ʿiwaḍun min kulli al-ʿulūmi , walaysa fī sāʾiri al-ʿulūmi ʿiwaḍun mina al-ʿilmi bi-allāhi ʿazza wajalla min ḥaythu kāna fī allāhi taʿālā ʿiwaḍun bihi ʿan kulli mā siwāhu ,
As related from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “The Opening of the Book suffices in place of the whole Qurʾān, but the whole Qurʾān does not suffice in place of the Opening of the Book.” Such is the relation of knowledge of God, mighty and majestic, to knowledge of everything besides Him. Knowledge of God Most High supplies what all the sciences supply, but none of the other sciences supplies what knowledge of God, mighty and majestic, supplies, just as in God Most High there is a substitute, through Him, for all besides Him.
وَكُلُّ عِلْمٍ مَوْقُوفٌ عَلَى مَعْلُومِهِ فَعِلْمُ الْيَقِينِ مَعْلُومُهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فَفَضْلُهُ كَفَضْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى مَا سِوَاهُ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْحُكَمَاءِ فِي مَعْنَى مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ : مَنْ عَرَفَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فَمَاذَا جَهِلَ وَمَنْ جَهِلَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فَمَاذَا عَرَفَ ؟ فَالْعُلَمَاءُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى هُمْ وَرَثَةُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ لِأَنَّهُمْ وَرِثُوا عَنْهُمُ الدَّلَالَةَ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَمَاذَا عَرَفَ ؟ فَالْعُلَمَاءُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى هُمْ وَرَثَةُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ لِأَنَّهُمْ وَرِثُوا عَنْهُمُ الدَّلَالَةَ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَالدَّعْوَةَ إِلَيْهِ
wakullu ʿilmin mawqūfun ʿalā maʿlūmihi faʿilmu al-yaqīni maʿlūmuhu allāhu taʿālā fafaḍluhu kafaḍli allāhi taʿālā ʿalā mā siwāhu , waqad qāla baʿḍu al-ḥukamāʾi fī maʿnā mā dhakarnāhu: man ʿarafa allāha taʿālā famādhā jahila waman jahila allāha taʿālā famādhā ʿarafa ? fa-al-ʿulamāʾu bi-allāhi taʿālā hum warathatu al-ʾanbiyāʾi liʾannahum warithū ʿanhumu al-dalālata ʿalā allāhi taʿālā famādhā ʿarafa ? fa-al-ʿulamāʾu bi-allāhi taʿālā hum warathatu al-ʾanbiyāʾi liʾannahum warithū ʿanhumu al-dalālata ʿalā allāhi taʿālā wa-al-daʿwata ʾilayhi
Every science depends on its object of knowledge. The object of knowledge of certainty is God Most High, so its superiority is like the superiority of God Most High over all besides Him. One of the wise said, to the effect of what we have mentioned: “Whoever knows God Most High, what does he not know? Whoever does not know God Most High, what does he know?” Those who know God Most High are the heirs of the prophets, because they inherited from them the pointing toward God Most High. What does he know? Those who know God Most High are the heirs of the prophets, because they inherited from them the pointing toward God Most High and the calling to Him
وَالِاقْتِدَاءَ بِهِمْ فِي أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلًا مِمَّنْ دَعَا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا ) فُصِّلَتْ : 33 ، وَكَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( ادْعُ إِلَى سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ ) النَّحْلُ : 125 ، وَكَمَا أَمَرَهُ بِالدُّعَاءِ وَأَشْرَكَ مَعَهُ أَتْبَاعَهُ فِي الدُّعَاءِ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لَا فِي الْبَصِيرَةِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى :
wa-al-iqtidāʾa bihim fī ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi , waqad qāla allāhu taʿālā: ( waman ʾaḥsanu qawlan mimman daʿā ʾilā allāhi waʿamila ṣāliḥan ) fuṣṣilat: 33 , wakamā qāla taʿālā: ( udʿu ʾilā sabīli rabbika bi-al-ḥikmati ) al-naḥlu: 125 , wakamā ʾamarahu bi-al-duʿāʾi waʾashraka maʿahu ʾatbāʿahu fī al-duʿāʾi ʾilā allāhi taʿālā lā fī al-baṣīrati faqāla taʿālā:
and following their example in the works of the heart. God Most High has said: “Who is better in speech than one who calls to God and does righteousness?” (Fuṣṣilat 41:33). Likewise the Most High said: “Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom” (al-Naḥl 16:125). Just as He commanded him to call, He associated his followers with him in calling to God Most High, though not in insight. The Most High said:
( قُلْ هَذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ عَلَى بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِي ) يُوسُفُ : 108 ، وَيُحْشَرُونَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مَعَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( فَأُولَئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ ) النِّسَاءُ : 69 ، وَكَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَجِيءَ بِالنَّبِيِّينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ ) الزُّمَرُ : 69 ، ثُمَّ فَسَّرَهُ فَقَالَ بِمَا اسْتُحْفِظُوا مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَكَانُوا عَلَيْهِ شُهَدَاءَ .
( qul hādhihi sabīlī ʾadʿū ʾilā allāhi ʿalā baṣīratin ʾanā wamani ittabaʿanī ) yūsufu: 108 , wayuḥsharūna yawma al-qiyāmati maʿa al-ʾanbiyāʾi kamā qāla taʿālā: ( faʾūlāʾika maʿa alladhīna ʾanʿama allāhu ʿalayhim mina al-nabiyyīna ) al-nisāʾu: 69 , wakamā qāla taʿālā: ( wajīʾa bi-al-nabiyyīna wa-al-shuhadāʾi ) al-zumaru: 69 , thumma fassarahu faqāla bimā ustuḥfiẓū min kitābi allāhi wakānū ʿalayhi shuhadāʾa.
“Say: ‘This is my way. I call to God with insight, I and whoever follows me’” (Yūsuf 12:108). They will be gathered on the Day of Resurrection with the prophets, as the Most High said: “Those are with the ones whom God has blessed among the prophets” (al-Nisāʾ 4:69). Likewise the Most High said: “The prophets and witnesses will be brought” (al-Zumar 39:69). Then He explained it, saying: “Through what they were entrusted to preserve of God’s Book, and they were witnesses over it.”
وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مَعْنَاهُ عَنْ مُعَاذِ بْنِ جَبَلٍ قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : إِنَّ أَقْرَبَ النَّاسِ مِنْ دَرَجَةِ النُّبُوَّةِ أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ وَأَهْلُ الْجِهَادِ ، أَمَّا أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ فَدَلُّوا النَّاسَ عَلَى مَا جَاءَتْ بِهِ الْأَنْبِيَاءُ وَأَمَّا أَهْلُ الْجِهَادِ فَجَاهَدُوا بِأَسْيَافِهِمْ عَلَى مَا جَاءَتْ بِهِ الرُّسُلُ وَعُلَمَاءُ الدُّنْيَا يُحْشَرُونَ مَعَ الْوُلَاةِ وَالسَّلَاطِينِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ :
waqad rawaynā maʿnāhu ʿan muʿādhi bni jabalin qāla: qāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾinna ʾaqraba al-nāsi min darajati al-nubuwwati ʾahlu al-ʿilmi waʾahlu al-jihādi , ʾammā ʾahlu al-ʿilmi fadallū al-nāsa ʿalā mā jāʾat bihi al-ʾanbiyāʾu waʾammā ʾahlu al-jihādi fajāhadū biʾasyāfihim ʿalā mā jāʾat bihi al-rusulu waʿulamāʾu al-dunyā yuḥsharūna maʿa al-wulāti wa-al-salāṭīni , waqad qāla baʿḍu al-salafi:
We have related its meaning from Muʿādh ibn Jabal, who said: “God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘The people nearest the rank of prophethood are the people of knowledge and the people of struggle. The people of knowledge guide others to what the prophets brought, while the people of struggle fight with their swords for what the messengers brought.’” The scholars of this world will be gathered with governors and rulers. One of the predecessors said:
الْعُلَمَاءُ يُحْشَرُونَ فِي زُمْرَةِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْقُضَاةُ يُحْشَرُونَ فِي زُمْرَةِ السَّلَاطِينِ ، وَكَانَ إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ الْقَاضِي مِنْ عُلَمَاءِ أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا وَمِنْ سَادَةِ الْقُضَاةِ وَعُقَلَائِهِمْ وَكَانَ مُؤَاخِيًا لِأَبِي الْحَسَنِ بْنِ أَبِي الْوَرْدِ ، وَكَانَ هَذَا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ فَلَمَّا وَلِيَ إِسْمَاعِيلُ الْقَضَاءَ هَجَرَهُ ابْنُ أَبِي الْوَرْدِ ثُمَّ إِنَّهُ اضْطُرَّ إِلَى أَنْ دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ فِي شَهَادَةٍ فَضَرَبَ ابْنُ أَبِي الْوَرْدِ يَدَهُ عَلَى كَتِفِ إِسْمَاعِيلَ الْقَاضِي وَقَالَ :
al-ʿulamāʾu yuḥsharūna fī zumrati al-ʾanbiyāʾi wa-al-quḍātu yuḥsharūna fī zumrati al-salāṭīni , wakāna ʾismāʿīlu bnu ʾisḥāqa al-qāḍī min ʿulamāʾi ʾahli al-dunyā wamin sādati al-quḍāti waʿuqalāʾihim wakāna muʾākhiyan liʾabī al-ḥasani bni ʾabī al-wardi , wakāna hādhā min ʾahli al-maʿrifati falammā waliya ʾismāʿīlu al-qaḍāʾa hajarahu ibnu ʾabī al-wardi thumma ʾinnahu uḍṭurra ʾilā ʾan dakhala ʿalayhi fī shahādatin faḍaraba ibnu ʾabī al-wardi yadahu ʿalā katifi ʾismāʿīla al-qāḍī waqāla:
“Scholars will be gathered in the company of the prophets, and judges in the company of rulers.” Ismāʿīl ibn Isḥāq the judge was one of the scholars of the people of this world, and one of the leading and intelligent judges. He was a close brother of Abū al-Ḥasan ibn Abī al-Ward, who was one of the people of knowledge of God. When Ismāʿīl assumed the judgeship, Ibn Abī al-Ward withdrew from him. Then he was compelled to go before him to give testimony. Ibn Abī al-Ward struck his hand upon the shoulder of Ismāʿīl the judge and said:
يَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ عِلْمٌ أَجْلَسَكَ هَذَا الْمَجْلِسَ لَقَدْ كَانَ الْجَهْلُ خَيْرًا مِنْهُ ، فَوَضَعَ إِسْمَاعِيلُ رِدَاءَهُ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ وَجَعَلَ يَبْكِي حَتَّى بَلَّهُ ، وَعُلَمَاءُ الظَّاهِرِ هُمْ زِينَةُ الْأَرْضِ وَالْمُلْكِ وَعُلَمَاءُ الْبَاطِنِ زِينَةُ السَّمَاءِ وَالْمَلَكُوتِ وَعُلَمَاءُ الظَّاهِرِ أَهْلُ الْخَبَرِ وَاللِّسَانِ وَعُلَمَاءُ الْبَاطِنِ أَرْبَابُ الْقُلُوبِ وَالْعِيَانِ . وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ :
yā ʾismāʿīlu ʿilmun ʾajlasaka hādhā al-majlisa laqad kāna al-jahlu khayran minhu , fawaḍaʿa ʾismāʿīlu ridāʾahu ʿalā wajhihi wajaʿala yabkī ḥattā ballahu , waʿulamāʾu al-ẓāhiri hum zīnatu al-ʾarḍi wa-al-mulki waʿulamāʾu al-bāṭini zīnatu al-samāʾi wa-al-malakūti waʿulamāʾu al-ẓāhiri ʾahlu al-khabari wa-al-lisāni waʿulamāʾu al-bāṭini ʾarbābu al-qulūbi wa-al-ʿiyāni. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi:
“Ismāʿīl, a knowledge that has seated you in this position: ignorance would have been better than it.” Ismāʿīl put his cloak over his face and began weeping until he soaked it. Scholars of outward knowledge are the adornment of the earth and the visible dominion; scholars of inward knowledge are the adornment of heaven and the unseen kingdom. Scholars of outward knowledge are the people of reports and the tongue; scholars of inward knowledge are the masters of hearts and direct vision. One scholar said:
لَمَّا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى اللِّسَانَ قَالَ هَذَا مَعْقِلُ خَبَرِي إِنْ صَدَقَنِي نَجَّيْتُهُ وَلَمَّا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْقَلْبَ قَالَ هَذَا مَوْضِعُ نَظَرِي إِنْ صَفَا لِي صَافَيْتُهُ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْخَلَفِ : الْجَاهِلُ يَنْجُو بِالْعِلْمِ وَالْعَالِمُ يَنْجُو بِالْحُجَّةِ وَالْعَارِفُ يَنْجُو بِالْجَاهِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ : الْعَارِفِينَ : عِلْمُ الظَّاهِرِ حُكْمٌ وَعِلْمُ الْبَاطِنِ حَاكِمٌ ، وَالْحُكْمُ مَوْقُوفٌ حَتَّى يَجِيءَ الْحَاكِمُ يَحْكُمُ فِيهِ ،
lammā khalaqa allāhu taʿālā al-lisāna qāla hādhā maʿqilu khabarī ʾin ṣadaqanī najjaytuhu walammā khalaqa allāhu taʿālā al-qalba qāla hādhā mawḍiʿu naẓarī ʾin ṣafā lī ṣāfaytuhu , waqāla baʿḍu al-khalafi: al-jāhilu yanjū bi-al-ʿilmi wa-al-ʿālimu yanjū bi-al-ḥujjati wa-al-ʿārifu yanjū bi-al-jāhi , waqāla baʿḍu: al-ʿārifīna: ʿilmu al-ẓāhiri ḥukmun waʿilmu al-bāṭini ḥākimun , wa-al-ḥukmu mawqūfun ḥattā yajīʾa al-ḥākimu yaḥkumu fīhi ,
“When God Most High created the tongue, He said: ‘This is the stronghold of My report. If it speaks truthfully to Me, I will save it.’ When God Most High created the heart, He said: ‘This is the place of My regard. If it is pure toward Me, I will grant it My intimate friendship.’” One of the later generations said: “The ignorant person is saved through knowledge, the scholar through proof, and the knower through standing with God.” One of those who know God said: “Outward knowledge is a judgment, and inward knowledge is a judge. The judgment is suspended until the judge comes to rule on it.”
وَقَدْ كَانَ عُلَمَاءُ الظَّاهِرِ إِذَا أَشْكَلَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْعِلْمُ فِي مَسْأَلَةٍ لِاخْتِلَافِ الْأَدِلَّةِ سَأَلُوا أَهْلَ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ لِأَنَّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ إِلَى التَّوْفِيقِ عِنْدَهُمْ وَأَبْعَدُ مِنَ الْهَوَى وَالْمَعْصِيَةِ مِنْهُمْ : الشَّافِعِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى كَانَ إِذَا اشْتَبَهَتْ عَلَيْهِ الْمَسْأَلَةُ لِاخْتِلَافِ أَقْوَالِ الْعُلَمَاءِ فِيهَا وَتَكَافُؤِ الِاسْتِدْلَالِ عَلَيْهَا رَجَعَ إِلَى عُلَمَاءِ أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ فَسَأَلَهُمْ قَالَ :
waqad kāna ʿulamāʾu al-ẓāhiri ʾidhā ʾashkala ʿalayhimu al-ʿilmu fī masʾalatin likhtilāfi al-ʾadillati saʾalū ʾahla al-ʿilmi bi-allāhi liʾannahum ʾaqrabu ʾilā al-tawfīqi ʿindahum waʾabʿadu mina al-hawā wa-al-maʿṣiyati minhum: al-shāfiʿiyyu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā kāna ʾidhā ishtabahat ʿalayhi al-masʾalatu likhtilāfi ʾaqwāli al-ʿulamāʾi fīhā watakāfuʾi al-istidlāli ʿalayhā rajaʿa ʾilā ʿulamāʾi ʾahli al-maʿrifati fasaʾalahum qāla:
When scholars of outward knowledge found a question difficult because the evidence differed, they used to ask those who knew God, because they considered them closer to divine guidance and farther from desire and disobedience. Among them was al-Shāfiʿī, God Most High have mercy on him. When a question became unclear to him because scholars’ opinions differed and the supporting arguments were evenly balanced, he would turn to the scholars among those who knew God and ask them. He said:
وَكَانَ يَجْلِسُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ شَيْبَانَ الرَّاعِي كَمَا يَجْلِسُ الصَّبِيُّ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ الْمُكْتِبِ وَيَسْأَلُهُ كَيْفَ يَفْعَلُ فِي كَذَا وَكَيْفَ يَصْنَعُ فِي كَذَا فَيُقَالُ لَهُ مِثْلُكَ يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ فِي عِلْمِكَ وَفِقْهِكَ تَسْأَلُ هَذَا الْبَدَوِيَّ فَيَقُولُ : إِنَّ هَذَا وُفِّقَ لِمَا عَلِمْنَاهُ ، وَكَانَ الشَّافِعِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ قَدِ اعْتَلَّ عِلَّةً شَدِيدَةً وَكَانَ يَقُولُ : اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كَانَ فِي هَذَا رِضَاكَ فَزِدْنِي مِنْهُ فَكَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ الْمَعَافِرِيُّ مِنْ سَوَادِ مِصْرَ : يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ لَسْتُ وَإِيَّاكَ مِنْ
wakāna yajlisu bayna yaday shaybāna al-rāʿī kamā yajlisu al-ṣabiyyu bayna yadayi al-muktibi wayasʾaluhu kayfa yafʿalu fī kadhā wakayfa yaṣnaʿu fī kadhā fayuqālu lahu mithluka yā ʾabā ʿabdi allāhi fī ʿilmika wafiqhika tasʾalu hādhā al-badawiyya fayaqūlu: ʾinna hādhā wuffiqa limā ʿalimnāhu , wakāna al-shāfiʿiyyu raḥimahu allāhu qadi iʿtalla ʿillatan shadīdatan wakāna yaqūlu: allāhumma ʾin kāna fī hādhā riḍāka fazidnī minhu fakataba ʾilayhi al-maʿāfiriyyu min sawādi miṣra: yā ʾabā ʿabdi allāhi lastu waʾiyyāka min
“He used to sit before Shaybān the shepherd as a boy sits before his teacher, asking him how to act in this matter and how to behave in that. He would be told: ‘Someone like you, Abū ʿAbd Allāh, with your knowledge and understanding, asks this Bedouin?’ He would say: ‘This man has been granted success in what we have learned.’” Al-Shāfiʿī, God have mercy on him, became seriously ill and used to say: “God, if Your pleasure is in this, give me more of it.” Al-Maʿāfirī wrote to him from the countryside of Egypt: “Abū ʿAbd Allāh, neither I nor you are among
رِجَالِ الْبَلَاءِ فَنَسْأَلَ الرِّضَا الْأَوْلَى بِنَا أَنْ نَسْأَلَ الرِّفْقَ وَالْعَافِيَةَ ، فَرَجَعَ الشَّافِعِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ عَنْ قَوْلِهِ هَذَا ، وَقَالَ : أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ ، فَكَانَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ : اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ خِيَرَتِي فِيمَا أُحِبُّ وَقَدْ كَانَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ وَيَحْيَى بْنُ مَعِينٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا يَخْتَلِفَانِ إِلَى مَعْرُوفِ بْنِ فَيْرُوزَ الْكَرْخِيِّ رَحِمَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ يُحْسِنُ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ وَالسُّنَنِ مَا يُحْسِنَانِهِ فَكَانَا يَسْأَلَانِهِ ،
rijāli al-balāʾi fanasʾala al-riḍā al-ʾawlā binā ʾan nasʾala al-rifqa wa-al-ʿāfiyata , farajaʿa al-shāfiʿiyyu raḥimahu allāhu ʿan qawlihi hādhā , waqāla: ʾastaghfiru allāha taʿālā waʾatūbu ʾilayhi , fakāna baʿda dhālika raḥimahu allāhu yaqūlu: allāhumma ijʿal khiyaratī fīmā ʾuḥibbu waqad kāna ʾaḥmadu bnu ḥanbalin wayaḥyā bnu maʿīnin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā yakhtalifāni ʾilā maʿrūfi bni fayrūza al-karkhiyyi raḥimahumu allāhu walam yakun yuḥsinu mina al-ʿilmi wa-al-sunani mā yuḥsinānihi fakānā yasʾalānihi ,
“the men of affliction, that we should ask for contentment. It is more fitting for us to ask for gentleness and well-being.” Al-Shāfiʿī, God have mercy on him, retracted this saying of his and said: “I ask God Most High’s forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance.” Thereafter he used to say, God have mercy on him: “God, place what You choose for me in what I love.” Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, may God be pleased with them both, used to visit Maʿrūf ibn Fayrūz al-Karkhī, God have mercy on them. He did not command the knowledge and traditions that they commanded, yet they would ask him questions.
وَقَدْ رُوِيَ فِي الْخَبَرِ قِيلَ : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ كَيْفَ نَصْنَعُ إِذَا جَاءَنَا أَمْرٌ لَمْ نَجِدْهُ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَلَا فِي سُنَّةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ فَقَالَ سَلُوا الصَّالِحِينَ وَاجْعَلُوهُ شُورَى بَيْنَهُمْ وَلَا تَقْضُوا فِيهِ أَمْرًا دُونَهُمْ . وَفِي حَدِيثِ مُعَاذٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : فَإِنْ جَاءَكَ مَا لَيْسَ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَلَا سُنَّةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ قَالَ :
waqad ruwiya fī al-khabari qīla: yā rasūla allāhi kayfa naṣnaʿu ʾidhā jāʾanā ʾamrun lam najidhu fī kitābi allāhi taʿālā walā fī sunnati rasūli allāhi faqāla salū al-ṣāliḥīna wajʿalūhu shūrā baynahum walā taqḍū fīhi ʾamran dūnahum. wafī ḥadīthi muʿādhin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: faʾin jāʾaka mā laysa fī kitābi allāhi taʿālā walā sunnati rasūli allāhi qāla:
It is related in the report that he was asked: “Messenger of God, what should we do if a matter comes to us that we do not find in the Book of God Most High or in the Sunna of God’s Messenger?” He said: “Ask the righteous, make it a matter of consultation among them, and decide nothing about it without them.” In the hadith of Muʿādh, may God be pleased with him: “If something comes to you that is not in the Book of God Most High or the Sunna of God’s Messenger?” He said:
أَقْضِي فِيهِ بِمَا قَضَى الصَّالِحُونَ فَقَالَ : الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي وَفَّقَ رَسُولَ رَسُولِهِ ، وَفِي بَعْضِهَا أَجْتَهِدُ رَأْيِي وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنِ الْجُنَيْدِ قَالَ : كُنْتُ إِذَا قُمْتُ مِنْ عِنْدِ سَرِيٍّ السَّقَطِيِّ قَالَ لِي : إِذَا فَارَقْتَنِي مَنْ تُجَالِسُ ؟ فَقُلْتُ : الْحَارِثَ الْمُحَاسِبِيَّ فَقَالَ : نَعَمْ خُذْ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ وَأَدَبِهِ وَدَعْ عَنْكَ تَشْقِيقَهُ لِلْكَلَامِ وَرَدَّهُ عَلَى الْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ ، قَالَ :
ʾaqḍī fīhi bimā qaḍā al-ṣāliḥūna faqāla: al-ḥamdu lillāhi alladhī waffaqa rasūla rasūlihi , wafī baʿḍihā ʾajtahidu raʾyī waḥaddathūnā ʿani al-junaydi qāla: kuntu ʾidhā qumtu min ʿindi sariyyin al-saqaṭiyyi qāla lī: ʾidhā fāraqtanī man tujālisu ? faqultu: al-ḥāritha al-muḥāsibiyya faqāla: naʿam khudh min ʿilmihi waʾadabihi wadaʿ ʿanka tashqīqahu lilkalāmi waraddahu ʿalā al-mutakallimīna , qāla:
“I judge it according to what the righteous have judged.” He said: “Praise be to God, who has granted success to the messenger of His Messenger.” In some versions: “I exercise my own judgment.” They related to us from al-Junayd, who said: “Whenever I rose from Sarī al-Saqaṭī’s company, he said to me: ‘When you leave me, with whom do you sit?’ I said: ‘Al-Ḥārith al-Muḥāsibī.’ He said: ‘Yes. Take from his knowledge and manners, but leave his splitting of words and his refutations of the speculative theologians.’” He said:
فَلَمَّا وَلَّيْتُ سَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ جَعَلَكَ اللَّهُ صَاحِبَ حَدِيثٍ صُوفِيًّا وَلَا جَعَلَكَ صُوفِيًّا صَاحِبَ حَدِيثٍ يَعْنِي أَنَّكَ إِذَا ابْتَدَأْتَ بِعِلْمِ الْحَدِيثِ وَالْأَثَرِ وَمَعْرِفَةِ الْأُصُولِ وَالسُّنَنِ ثُمَّ تَزَهَّدْتَ وَتَعَبَّدْتَ تَقَدَّمْتَ فِي عِلْمِ الصُّوفِيَّةِ وَكُنْتَ صُوفِيًّا عَارِفًا وَإِذَا ابْتَدَأْتَ بِالتَّعَبُّدِ وَالتَّقْوَى وَالْحَالِ شُغِلْتَ بِهِ عَنِ الْعِلْمِ وَالسُّنَنِ فَخَرَجْتَ إِمَّا شَاطِحًا أَوْ غَالِطًا لِجَهْلِكَ بِالْأُصُولِ وَالسُّنَنِ فَأَحْسَنُ أَحْوَالِكَ أَنْ تَرْجِعَ إِلَى الْعِلْمِ الظَّاهِرِ ،
falammā wallaytu samiʿtuhu yaqūlu jaʿalaka allāhu ṣāḥiba ḥadīthin ṣūfiyyan walā jaʿalaka ṣūfiyyan ṣāḥiba ḥadīthin yaʿnī ʾannaka ʾidhā ibtadaʾta biʿilmi al-ḥadīthi wa-al-ʾathari wamaʿrifati al-ʾuṣūli wa-al-sunani thumma tazahhadta wataʿabbadta taqaddamta fī ʿilmi al-ṣūfiyyati wakunta ṣūfiyyan ʿārifan waʾidhā ibtadaʾta bi-al-taʿabbudi wa-al-taqwā wa-al-ḥāli shughilta bihi ʿani al-ʿilmi wa-al-sunani fakharajta ʾimmā shāṭiḥan ʾaw ghāliṭan lijahlika bi-al-ʾuṣūli wa-al-sunani faʾaḥsanu ʾaḥwālika ʾan tarjiʿa ʾilā al-ʿilmi al-ẓāhiri ,
“When I turned away, I heard him say: ‘May God make you a person of hadith who is a Sufi, and not make you a Sufi who is a person of hadith.’” He meant that if you begin with knowledge of hadith and transmitted traditions, and knowledge of foundations and sunnas, then practice renunciation and worship, you advance in the knowledge of the Sufis and become a Sufi who knows God. If you begin with worship, God-fearingness, and the spiritual state, you become occupied by it instead of knowledge and sunnas, and emerge either as one who makes extravagant pronouncements or as one who errs, because you are ignorant of foundations and sunnas. Your best possible condition is to return to outward knowledge
وَكَتْبِ الْحَدِيثِ لِأَنَّهُ هُوَ الْأَصْلُ الَّذِي تَفَرَّعَ عَلَيْهِ الْعِبَادَةُ وَالْعِلْمُ وَأَنْتَ قَدْ بُودِئْتَ بِالْفَرْعِ قَبْلَ الْأَصْلِ ، وَقَدْ قِيلَ : إِنَّمَا حُرِمُوا الْوُصُولَ بِتَضْيِيعِ الْأُصُولِ هُوَ كَتْبُ الْحَدِيثِ وَمَعْرِفَةُ الْآثَارِ وَالسُّنَنِ فَإِذَا أَنْتَ رُدِدْتَ إِلَى الْأَصْلِ فَقَدِ انْحَطَطْتَ عَنْ مَرْتَبَةِ النَّاقِدِينَ وَنَزَلْتَ مِنْ دَرَجَةِ الْعَارِفِينَ وَفَاتَكَ مَزِيدُ الْيَقِينِ وَالْإِيمَانِ . وَقَالَ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ :
wakatbi al-ḥadīthi liʾannahu huwa al-ʾaṣlu alladhī tafarraʿa ʿalayhi al-ʿibādatu wa-al-ʿilmu waʾanta qad būdiʾta bi-al-farʿi qabla al-ʾaṣli , waqad qīla: ʾinnamā ḥurimū al-wuṣūla bitaḍyīʿi al-ʾuṣūli huwa katbu al-ḥadīthi wamaʿrifatu al-ʾāthāri wa-al-sunani faʾidhā ʾanta rudidta ʾilā al-ʾaṣli faqadi inḥaṭaṭta ʿan martabati al-nāqidīna wanazalta min darajati al-ʿārifīna wafātaka mazīdu al-yaqīni wa-al-ʾīmāni. waqāla sufyānu al-thawriyyu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu:
and writing down hadith, for it is the foundation upon which worship and knowledge branch out, while you have been started on the branch before the root. It has been said: “They were denied arrival because they neglected the foundations,” meaning writing down hadith and knowing transmitted traditions and sunnas. If you are sent back to the foundation, you have fallen from the rank of those who discern and descended from the degree of those who know God, and you have missed the increase of certainty and faith. Sufyān al-Thawrī, may God be pleased with him, said:
كَانَ النَّاسُ إِذَا طَلَبُوا الْعِلْمَ عَمِلُوا فَإِذَا عَمِلُوا أَخْلَصُوا فَإِذَا أَخْلَصُوا هَرَبُوا وَقَالَ آخَرُ : الْعَالِمُ إِذَا هَرَبَ مِنَ النَّاسِ فَاطْلُبْهُ وَإِذَا طَلَبَ النَّاسَ فَاهْرُبْ مِنْهُ ، وَقَالَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ : سَهْلٌ الْعِلْمُ يَهْتِفُ بِالْعَمَلِ فَإِنْ أَجَابَهُ وَإِلَّا ارْتَحَلَ ، وَقَالَ ذُو النُّونِ : يَقُولُ اجْلِسْ إِلَى مَنْ تُكَلِّمُكَ صِفَتُهُ وَلَا تَجْلِسْ إِلَى مَنْ يُكَلِّمُكَ لِسَانُهُ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ الْحَسَنُ قَبْلَهُ يَقُولُ :
kāna al-nāsu ʾidhā ṭalabū al-ʿilma ʿamilū faʾidhā ʿamilū ʾakhlaṣū faʾidhā ʾakhlaṣū harabū waqāla ʾākharu: al-ʿālimu ʾidhā haraba mina al-nāsi faṭlubhu waʾidhā ṭalaba al-nāsa fahrub minhu , waqāla ʾabū muḥammadin: sahlun al-ʿilmu yahtifu bi-al-ʿamali faʾin ʾajābahu waʾillā irtaḥala , waqāla dhū al-nūni: yaqūlu ijlis ʾilā man tukallimuka ṣifatuhu walā tajlis ʾilā man yukallimuka lisānuhu , waqad kāna al-ḥasanu qablahu yaqūlu:
“When people sought knowledge, they acted; when they acted, they became sincere; when they became sincere, they fled.” Another said: “When a scholar flees from people, seek him. When he seeks people, flee from him.” Abū Muḥammad Sahl said: “Knowledge calls to action. If it answers, well; otherwise knowledge departs.” Dhū al-Nūn said, saying: “Sit with one whose qualities speak to you, and do not sit with one whose tongue speaks to you.” Before him, al-Ḥasan used to say:
جَالِسْ مَنْ تُكَلِّمُكَ أَعْمَالُهُ وَلَا تُجَالِسْ مَنْ يُخَاطِبُكَ مَقَالُهُ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ طَائِفَةٌ يَصْحَبُونَ كَثِيرًا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ لِلتَّأَدُّبِ بِهِمْ وَالنَّظَرِ إِلَى هَدْيِهِمْ وَأَخْلَاقِهِمْ إِنْ لَمْ يَكُونُوا عُلَمَاءَ لِأَنَّ التَّأْدِيبَ يَكُونُ بِالْأَفْعَالِ وَالتَّعَلُّمَ يَكُونُ بِالْمَقَالِ ، وَمِنْ أَبْلَغِ مَا سَمِعْتُ مِنْهُمْ فِي هَذَا الْمَعْنَى مَا قَالَ بَعْضُ الْحُكَمَاءِ : وَعْظُ وَاحِدٍ لِأَلْفٍ بِفِعْلٍ أَنْجَحُ فِيهِمْ وَأَوْقَعُ مِنْ وَعْظِ أَلْفٍ لِوَاحِدٍ بِقَوْلٍ ،
jālis man tukallimuka ʾaʿmāluhu walā tujālis man yukhāṭibuka maqāluhu , waqad kāna ṭāʾifatun yaṣḥabūna kathīran min ʾahli al-maʿrifati lil-taʾaddubi bihim wa-al-naẓari ʾilā hadyihim waʾakhlāqihim ʾin lam yakūnū ʿulamāʾa liʾanna al-taʾdība yakūnu bi-al-ʾafʿāli wa-al-taʿalluma yakūnu bi-al-maqāli , wamin ʾablaghi mā samiʿtu minhum fī hādhā al-maʿnā mā qāla baʿḍu al-ḥukamāʾi: waʿẓu wāḥidin liʾalfin bifiʿlin ʾanjaḥu fīhim waʾawqaʿu min waʿẓi ʾalfin liwāḥidin biqawlin ,
“Keep company with one whose deeds speak to you, and do not keep company with one whose words address you.” A group of people used to accompany many of those who knew God in order to learn manners from them and observe their conduct and character, even if they were not scholars, because training in manners comes through deeds, while learning comes through speech. Among the most telling things I have heard from them on this subject is the saying of one of the wise: “One person admonishing a thousand through a deed is more effective among them and leaves a deeper impression than a thousand admonishing one person through words.”
وَكَانَ سَهْلٌ يَقُولُ : الْعِلْمُ كُلُّهُ دُنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةُ مِنْهُ الْعَمَلُ بِهِ وَالْعَمَلُ هَبَاءٌ إِلَّا الْإِخْلَاصَ ، وَقَالَ مَرَّةً : النَّاسُ مَوْتَى إِلَّا الْعُلَمَاءَ وَالْعُلَمَاءُ سُكَارَى إِلَّا الْعَامِلِينَ ،
wakāna sahlun yaqūlu: al-ʿilmu kulluhu dunyā wa-al-ʾākhiratu minhu al-ʿamalu bihi wa-al-ʿamalu habāʾun ʾillā al-ʾikhlāṣa , waqāla marratan: al-nāsu mawtā ʾillā al-ʿulamāʾa wa-al-ʿulamāʾu sukārā ʾillā al-ʿāmilīna ,
Sahl used to say: “All knowledge belongs to this world; what belongs to the hereafter in it is acting upon it. Action is dust except for sincerity.” On another occasion he said: “People are dead except the scholars, and scholars are intoxicated except those who act,
وَالْعَامِلُونَ مَغْرُورُونَ إِلَّا الْمُخْلِصِينَ وَالْمُخْلِصُ عَلَى وَجَلٍ حَتَّى يُخْتَمَ لَهُ بِهِ وَلَمْ يَكُنِ الْعَالِمُ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ مَنْ كَانَ عَالِمًا بِعِلْمِ غَيْرِهِ وَلَا حَافِظًا لِفِقْهِ سِوَاهُ ، هَذَا كَانَ اسْمُهُ رَاوِيَةً وَوَاعِيًا وَحَامِلًا وَنَاقِلًا . وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُو حَازِمٍ الزَّاهِدُ يَقُولُ : ذَهَبَ الْعُلَمَاءُ وَبَقِيَتْ عُلُومٌ فِي أَوْعِيَةٍ سُودٍ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ الزُّهْرِيُّ يَقُولُ :
wa-al-ʿāmilūna maghrūrūna ʾillā al-mukhliṣīna wa-al-mukhliṣu ʿalā wajalin ḥattā yukhtama lahu bihi walam yakuni al-ʿālimu ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi man kāna ʿāliman biʿilmi ghayrihi walā ḥāfiẓan lifiqhi siwāhu , hādhā kāna ismuhu rāwiyatan wawāʿiyan waḥāmilan wanāqilan. waqad kāna ʾabū ḥāzimin al-zāhidu yaqūlu: dhahaba al-ʿulamāʾu wabaqiyat ʿulūmun fī ʾawʿiyatin sūdin , waqad kāna al-zuhriyyu yaqūlu:
“those who act are deluded except the sincere, and the sincere person remains in fear until his life is sealed with sincerity.” Among scholars, a scholar was not someone learned through another’s knowledge or someone preserving another’s understanding. Such a person was called a narrator, a retainer, a bearer, and a transmitter. Abū Ḥāzim the ascetic used to say: “The scholars have gone, and sciences remain in black vessels.” Al-Zuhrī used to say:
كَانَ فُلَانٌ وِعَاءً لِلْعِلْمِ وَحَدَّثَنِي فُلَانٌ وَكَانَ مِنْ أَوْعِيَةِ الْعِلْمِ وَلَا يَقُولُ كَانَ عَالِمًا ، وَكَذَلِكَ جَاءَ الْخَبَرُ : رُبَّ حَامِلِ فِقْهٍ غَيْرُ فَقِيهٍ وَرُبَّ حَامِلِ فِقْهٍ إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ أَفْقَهُ مِنْهُ ، وَكَانُوا يَقُولُونَ حَمَّادٌ الرَّاوِيَةُ يَعْنُونَ أَنَّهُ كَانَ رَاوِيًا وَدُخُولُ الْهَاءِ فِي الِاسْمِ لِلْمُبَالَغَةِ فِي الْوَصْفِ كَمَا يُقَالُ عَلَّامَةٌ وَنَسَّابَةٌ ،
kāna fulānun wiʿāʾan lilʿilmi waḥaddathanī fulānun wakāna min ʾawʿiyati al-ʿilmi walā yaqūlu kāna ʿāliman , wakadhālika jāʾa al-khabaru: rubba ḥāmili fiqhin ghayru faqīhin warubba ḥāmili fiqhin ʾilā man huwa ʾafqahu minhu , wakānū yaqūlūna ḥammādun al-rāwiyatu yaʿnūna ʾannahu kāna rāwiyan wadukhūlu al-hāʾi fī al-ismi lilmubālaghati fī al-waṣfi kamā yuqālu ʿallāmatun wanassābatun ,
“So-and-so was a vessel of knowledge,” and “So-and-so related to me, and he was one of the vessels of knowledge.” He would not say: “He was a scholar.” Likewise the report states: “Many a bearer of understanding does not himself understand, and many a bearer of understanding conveys it to someone who understands more deeply than he does.” They used to say “Ḥammād the narrator,” meaning that he was a narrator; the added final hāʾ intensifies the description, as in ʿallāma, “great scholar,” and nassāba, “expert genealogist.”
وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ الْعَالِمُ عِنْدَهُمُ الْغَنِيَّ بِعِلْمِهِ لَا بِعِلْمِ غَيْرِهِ وَكَانَ الْفَقِيهُ فِيهِمْ هُوَ الْفَقِيهُ بِفِقْهِ عِلْمِهِ وَقَلْبِهِ لَا بِحَدِيثِ سِوَاهُ ، كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الْأَثَرِ : أَيُّ النَّاسِ أَغْنَى ؟ قَالَ : الْعَالِمُ الْغَنِيُّ بِعِلْمِهِ إِنِ احْتِيجَ إِلَيْهِ نَفَعَ وَإِلَّا اكْتَفَى عَنِ النَّاسِ بِعِلْمِهِ لِأَنَّ كُلَّ عَالِمٍ بِعِلْمِ غَيْرِهِ فَإِنَّمَا صَارَ عَالِمًا بِمَجْمُوعِهِ ، فَمَجْمُوعُهُ هُمُ الْعُلَمَاءُ وَكُلُّ فَاضِلٍ بِوَصْفِ سِوَاهُ فَمَوْصُوفُهُ هُمُ الْفُضَلَاءُ ،
waʾinnamā kāna al-ʿālimu ʿindahumu al-ghaniyya biʿilmihi lā biʿilmi ghayrihi wakāna al-faqīhu fīhim huwa al-faqīhu bifiqhi ʿilmihi waqalbihi lā biḥadīthi siwāhu , kamā jāʾa fī al-ʾathari: ʾayyu al-nāsi ʾaghnā ? qāla: al-ʿālimu al-ghaniyyu biʿilmihi ʾini uḥtīja ʾilayhi nafaʿa waʾillā iktafā ʿani al-nāsi biʿilmihi liʾanna kulla ʿālimin biʿilmi ghayrihi faʾinnamā ṣāra ʿāliman bimajmūʿihi , famajmūʿuhu humu al-ʿulamāʾu wakullu fāḍilin biwaṣfi siwāhu famawṣūfuhu humu al-fuḍalāʾu ,
To them, a scholar was only someone made independent by his own knowledge, not another’s knowledge. The person of understanding among them understood through the insight of his own knowledge and heart, not another’s reports. As stated in the tradition: “Who is the richest person?” He said: “The scholar made independent by his knowledge. If needed, he benefits others; otherwise his knowledge makes him independent of people.” Everyone learned through another’s knowledge has become learned only through his collection: those he has collected are the scholars. Everyone excellent through describing another’s qualities owes that excellence to those he describes.
فَإِذَا تَرَكَهُمْ وَانْفَرَدَ سَكَتَ ، فَلَمْ يَرْجِعْ إِلَى عِلْمٍ لِنَفْسِهِ يَخْتَصُّ بِهِ فَصَارَ فِي الْحَقِيقَةِ مَوْصُوفًا بِالْجَهْلِ وَاصِفًا لِطَرَائِقِ أَهْلِ الْفَضْلِ مَوْسُومًا بِعِلْمِ السَّمْعِ وَالنَّقْلِ فَمَثَلُ الْعَالِمِ بِعِلْمِ غَيْرِهِ مِثْلُ الْوَاصِفِ لِأَحْوَالِ الصَّالِحِينَ الْعَارِفِ بِمَقَامَاتِ الصِّدِّيقِينَ وَلَا حَالَ لَهُ وَلَا مَقَامَ فَلَيْسَ يَعُودُ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ وَصْفِهِ إِلَّا الْحُجَّةُ بِالْعِلْمِ وَالْكَلَامِ ، وَسَبَقَ الْعَارِفُونَ بِاللَّهِ فِي الْحُجَّةِ بِالْأَعْمَالِ وَالْمَقَامِ ،
faʾidhā tarakahum wanfarada sakata , falam yarjiʿ ʾilā ʿilmin linafsihi yakhtaṣṣu bihi faṣāra fī al-ḥaqīqati mawṣūfan bi-al-jahli wāṣifan liṭarāʾiqi ʾahli al-faḍli mawsūman biʿilmi al-samʿi wa-al-naqli famathalu al-ʿālimi biʿilmi ghayrihi mithlu al-wāṣifi liʾaḥwāli al-ṣāliḥīna al-ʿārifi bimaqāmāti al-ṣiddīqīna walā ḥāla lahu walā maqāma falaysa yaʿūdu ʿalayhi min waṣfihi ʾillā al-ḥujjatu bi-al-ʿilmi wa-al-kalāmi , wasabaqa al-ʿārifūna bi-allāhi fī al-ḥujjati bi-al-ʾaʿmāli wa-al-maqāmi ,
When he leaves them and is alone, he falls silent, finding no particular knowledge of his own to turn to. In reality, he is characterized by ignorance while describing the ways of the people of excellence, and is marked by knowledge acquired through hearing and transmission. Someone learned through another’s knowledge is like one who describes the states of the righteous and knows the stations of the utterly truthful, but has neither a state nor a station himself. His description brings him only the proof of knowledge and speech, while those who know God have surpassed him in proof through deeds and spiritual station.
فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَلَكُمُ الْوَيْلُ مِمَّا تَصِفُونَ ) الْأَنْبِيَاءُ : 18 ، وَكَقَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( كُلَّمَا أَضَاءَ لَهُمْ مَشَوْا فِيهِ وَإِذَا أَظْلَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ قَامُوا ) الْبَقَرَةُ : 20 لَا يَرْجِعُ إِلَى بَصِيرَةٍ فِيهِ بِمَا اشْتَبَهَ مِنْ ظُلُمَاتِ الشُّبَهِ عَلَيْهِ مِمَّا اخْتَلَفَ الْعُلَمَاءُ فِيهِ وَلَا يَتَحَقَّقُ بِوَجْدٍ مِنْهُ فِيهِ يَجِدُهُ عَنْ حَالٍ أُلْبِسَهَا بِوَجْدِهِ وَإِنَّمَا هُوَ مُتَوَاجِدٌ بِوَجْدِ غَيْرِهِ فَغَيْرُهُ هُوَ الْوَاجِدُ وَشَاهِدٌ عَلَى شَهَادَةِ سِوَاهُ ،
famathaluhu kamā qāla allāhu taʿālā: ( walakumu al-waylu mimmā taṣifūna ) al-ʾanbiyāʾu: 18 , wakaqawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ( kullamā ʾaḍāʾa lahum mashaw fīhi waʾidhā ʾaẓlama ʿalayhim qāmū ) al-baqaratu: 20 lā yarjiʿu ʾilā baṣīratin fīhi bimā ishtabaha min ẓulumāti al-shubahi ʿalayhi mimmā ikhtalafa al-ʿulamāʾu fīhi walā yataḥaqqaqu biwajdin minhu fīhi yajiduhu ʿan ḥālin ʾulbisahā biwajdihi waʾinnamā huwa mutawājidun biwajdi ghayrihi faghayruhu huwa al-wājidu washāhidun ʿalā shahādati siwāhu ,
His likeness is as God Most High said: “Woe to you for what you describe” (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:18), and as He, mighty and majestic, said: “Whenever it gives them light, they walk in it; when it grows dark over them, they stand still” (al-Baqara 2:20). He has no insight within him to turn to concerning what the darkness of doubts has made unclear to him in matters where scholars disagree. He realizes no experience of his own in it, found through a state in which he has been clothed through his experience. He only seeks an experience through another’s experience; that other is the one who truly experiences. He is a witness upon another’s testimony,
فَالسِّوَى هُوَ الشَّاهِدُ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ الْحَسَنُ يَقُولُ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى لَا يَعْبَأُ بِصَاحِبِ رِوَايَةٍ إِنَّمَا يَعْبَأُ بِذِي فَهْمٍ وَدِرَايَةٍ ، وَقَالَ أَيْضًا : مَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ عَقْلٌ يَسُومُهُ لَمْ تَنْفَعْهُ كَثْرَةُ مَرْوِيَّاتِهِ لِلْحَدِيثِ وَقَدْ أَنْشَدْنَا لِبَعْضِ الْحُكَمَاءِ فِي مَعْنَى ذَلِكَ : الْعِلْمُ عِلْمَانِ فَمَصْنُوعٌ وَمَطْبُوعٌ . . .
fa-al-siwā huwa al-shāhidu , waqad kāna al-ḥasanu yaqūlu: ʾinna allāha tabāraka wataʿālā lā yaʿbaʾu biṣāḥibi riwāyatin ʾinnamā yaʿbaʾu bidhī fahmin wadirāyatin , waqāla ʾayḍan: man lam yakun lahu ʿaqlun yasūmuhu lam tanfaʿhu kathratu marwiyyātihi lilḥadīthi waqad ʾanshadnā libaʿḍi al-ḥukamāʾi fī maʿnā dhālika: al-ʿilmu ʿilmāni famaṣnūʿun wamaṭbūʿun...
so the other is the witness. Al-Ḥasan used to say: “God, blessed and exalted is He, pays no regard to a mere narrator; He pays regard to one with understanding and discernment.” He also said: “Whoever lacks an intellect to direct him gains no benefit from the multitude of his hadith narrations.” We have recited verses by one of the wise to this effect: “Knowledge is of two kinds: cultivated and innate;
وَلَا يَنْفَعُ مَجْمُوعٌ إِذَا لَمْ يَكُ مَصْنُوعٌ كَمَا لَا تَنْفَعُ الشَّمْسُ وَضَوْءُ الْعَيْنِ مَمْنُوعٌ وَكَانَ الْجُنَيْدُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ كَثِيرًا يُنْشِدُ : عِلْمُ التَّصَوُّفِ عِلْمٌ لَيْسَ يَعْرِفُهُ . . . إِلَّا أَخُو فِطْنَةٍ بِالْحَقِّ مَعْرُوفٌ وَلَيْسَ يَعْرِفُهُ مَنْ لَيْسَ يَشْهَدُهُ . . . وَكَيْفَ يَشْهَدُ ضَوْءَ الشَّمْسِ مَكْفُوفٌ لِأَنَّ الْكُتُبَ وَالْمَجْمُوعَاتِ مُحْدَثَةٌ وَالْقَوْلُ بِمَقَالَاتِ النَّاسِ وَالْفُتْيَا بِمَذْهَبِ الْوَاحِدِ مِنَ النَّاسِ وَانْتِحَاءُ قَوْلِهِ وَالْحِكَايَةُ لَهُ
walā yanfaʿu majmūʿun ʾidhā lam yaku maṣnūʿun kamā lā tanfaʿu al-shamsu waḍawʾu al-ʿayni mamnūʿun wakāna al-junaydu raḥimahu allāhu kathīran yunshidu: ʿilmu al-taṣawwufi ʿilmun laysa yaʿrifuhu... ʾillā ʾakhū fiṭnatin bi-al-ḥaqqi maʿrūfun walaysa yaʿrifuhu man laysa yashhaduhu... wakayfa yashhadu ḍawʾa al-shamsi makfūfun liʾanna al-kutuba wa-al-majmūʿāti muḥdathatun wa-al-qawlu bimaqālāti al-nāsi wa-al-futyā bimadhhabi al-wāḥidi mina al-nāsi wantiḥāʾu qawlihi wa-al-ḥikāyatu lahu
“what is gathered does not benefit if what is cultivated is absent, / just as the sun does not benefit when the eye’s light is blocked.” Al-Junayd, God have mercy on him, frequently recited: “The knowledge of Sufism is a knowledge none knows / except a discerning person known through the Truth. / One who does not witness it does not know it; / how can a blind person witness the sun’s light?” For books and compilations are newly introduced, and adopting people’s opinions, giving legal rulings according to one person’s school, taking his position, and quoting him
فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَالتَّفَقُّهُ عَلَى مَذْهَبِهِ مُحْدَثٌ لَمْ يَكُنِ النَّاسُ قَدِيمًا عَلَى ذَلِكَ فِي الْقَرْنِ الْأَوَّلِ وَالثَّانِي ، وَهَذِهِ الْمُصَنَّفَاتُ مِنَ الْكُتُبِ حَادِثَةٌ بَعْدَ سَنَةِ
fī kulli shayʾin wa-al-tafaqquhu ʿalā madhhabihi muḥdathun lam yakuni al-nāsu qadīman ʿalā dhālika fī al-qarni al-ʾawwali wa-al-thānī , wahādhihi al-muṣannafātu mina al-kutubi ḥādithatun baʿda sanati
in every matter, and learning jurisprudence according to his school, are newly introduced. People did not follow this practice in earlier times, in the first and second generations. These compiled books came into being after the year
عِشْرِينَ وَمِائَةٍ مِنَ التَّارِيخِ وَبَعْدَ وَفَاةِ كُلِّ الصَّحَابَةِ وَعِلْيَةِ التَّابِعِينَ ، يُقَالُ إِنَّ أَوَّلَ كِتَابٍ صُنِّفَ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ كِتَابُ ابْنِ جُرَيْجٍ فِي الْآثَارِ وَحُرُوفٍ مِنَ التَّفَاسِيرِ عَنْ مُجَاهِدٍ وَعَطَاءٍ وَأَصْحَابِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ بِمَكَّةَ ثُمَّ كِتَابُ مَعْمَرِ بْنِ رَاشِدٍ الصَّنْعَانِيِّ بِالْيَمَنِ جَمَعَ فِيهِ سُنَنًا مَنْثُورَةً مُبَوَّبَةً ، ثُمَّ كِتَابُ الْمُوَطَّأِ بِالْمَدِينَةِ لِمَالِكِ بْنِ أَنَسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فِي الْفِقْهِ ثُمَّ جَمَعَ ابْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ كِتَابَ
ʿishrīna wamiʾatin mina al-tārīkhi wabaʿda wafāti kulli al-ṣaḥābati waʿilyati al-tābiʿīna , yuqālu ʾinna ʾawwala kitābin ṣunnifa fī al-ʾislāmi kitābu ibni jurayjin fī al-ʾāthāri waḥurūfin mina al-tafāsīri ʿan mujāhidin waʿaṭāʾin waʾaṣḥābi ibni ʿabbāsin bimakkata thumma kitābu maʿmari bni rāshidin al-ṣanʿāniyyi bi-al-yamani jamaʿa fīhi sunanan manthūratan mubawwabatan , thumma kitābu al-muwaṭṭaʾi bi-al-madīnati limāliki bni ʾanasin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu fī al-fiqhi thumma jamaʿa ibnu ʿuyaynata kitāba
one hundred and twenty of the calendar, and after the death of all the Companions and the leading Successors. It is said that the first book compiled in Islam was Ibn Jurayj’s book of transmitted traditions and points of Qurʾanic interpretation from Mujāhid, ʿAṭāʾ, and the companions of Ibn ʿAbbās in Mecca. Then came the book of Maʿmar ibn Rāshid al-Ṣanʿānī in Yemen, in which he gathered scattered sunnas arranged by chapters. Then came the Muwaṭṭaʾ in Medina by Mālik ibn Anas, may God be pleased with him, on jurisprudence. Then Ibn ʿUyayna compiled the Book of
الْجَوَامِعِ فِي السُّنَنِ وَالْأَبْوَابِ وَكِتَابَ التَّفْسِيرِ فِي أَحْرُفٍ مِنْ عِلْمِ الْقُرْآنِ وَجَامِعُ سُفْيَانَ الثَّوْرِيِّ الْكَبِيرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فِي الْفِقْهِ وَالْأَحَادِيثِ ، فَهَذِهِ مِنْ أَوَّلِ مَا صُنِّفَ وَوُضِعَ مِنَ الْكُتُبِ بَعْدَ وَفَاةِ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيَّبِ وَخِيَارِ التَّابِعِينَ وَبَعْدَ سَنَةِ عِشْرِينَ أَوْ أَكْثَرَ وَمِائَةٍ مِنَ التَّارِيخِ فَكَانَ الْعُلَمَاءُ الَّذِينَ هُمْ أَئِمَّةُ هَؤُلَاءِ الْعُلَمَاءِ مِنْ طَبَقَاتِ الصَّحَابَةِ الْأَرْبَعَةِ وَمِنْ بَعْدِ مَوْتِ الطَّبَقَةِ الْأُولَى مِنْ خِيَارِ
al-jawāmiʿi fī al-sunani wa-al-ʾabwābi wakitāba al-tafsīri fī ʾaḥrufin min ʿilmi al-qurʾāni wajāmiʿu sufyāna al-thawriyyi al-kabīru raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu fī al-fiqhi wa-al-ʾaḥādīthi , fahādhihi min ʾawwali mā ṣunnifa wawuḍiʿa mina al-kutubi baʿda wafāti saʿīdi bni al-musayyabi wakhiyāri al-tābiʿīna wabaʿda sanati ʿishrīna ʾaw ʾakthara wamiʾatin mina al-tārīkhi fakāna al-ʿulamāʾu alladhīna hum ʾaʾimmatu hāʾulāʾi al-ʿulamāʾi min ṭabaqāti al-ṣaḥābati al-ʾarbaʿati wamin baʿdi mawti al-ṭabaqati al-ʾūlā min khiyāri
Compendia, concerning sunnas and subject chapters, and the Book of Interpretation, concerning points of Qurʾanic knowledge; and there was the great Compendium of Sufyān al-Thawrī, may God be pleased with him, on jurisprudence and hadith. These were among the first books compiled and composed after the death of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab and the finest Successors, and after the year one hundred and twenty or more of the calendar. The scholars who were the leaders of these scholars, from the four classes of Companions and from after the death of the first class of the finest
التَّابِعِينَ هُمُ الَّذِينَ انْقَرَضُوا قَبْلَ تَصْنِيفِ الْكُتُبِ وَكَانُوا يَكْرَهُونَ كَتْبَ الْحَدِيثِ وَوَضْعَ النَّاسِ الْكُتُبَ لِئَلَّا يَشْتَغِلَ بِهَا عَنِ الْقُرْآنِ وَعَنِ الذِّكْرِ وَالْفِكْرِ ، وَقَالُوا : احْفَظُوا كَمَا حَفِظْنَا وَلِئَلَّا يَشْتَغِلَ النَّاسُ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِرَسْمٍ وَلَا وَسْمٍ كَمَا كَرِهَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ وَعِلْيَةُ الصَّحَابَةِ تَصْحِيفَ الْقُرْآنِ فِي مُصْحَفٍ وَقَالُوا : كَيْفَ نَفْعَلُ شَيْئًا لَمْ يَفْعَلْهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ؟
al-tābiʿīna humu alladhīna inqaraḍū qabla taṣnīfi al-kutubi wakānū yakrahūna katba al-ḥadīthi wawaḍʿa al-nāsi al-kutuba liʾallā yashtaghila bihā ʿani al-qurʾāni waʿani al-dhikri wa-al-fikri , waqālū: iḥfaẓū kamā ḥafiẓnā waliʾallā yashtaghila al-nāsu ʿani allāhi taʿālā birasmin walā wasmin kamā kariha ʾabū bakrin al-ṣiddīqu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu waʿilyatu al-ṣaḥābati taṣḥīfa al-qurʾāni fī muṣḥafin waqālū: kayfa nafʿalu shayʾan lam yafʿalhu rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ?
Successors, were those who passed away before books were compiled. They disliked writing down hadith and people’s composing books, lest these distract from the Qurʾān, remembrance, and reflection. They said: “Memorize as we memorized,” and wished people not to be distracted from God Most High by written form or mark. Likewise, Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may God be pleased with him, and the leading Companions disliked putting the Qurʾān into a codex. They said: “How can we do something God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, did not do?”
وَخَشُوا اشْتِغَالَ النَّاسِ بِالصُّحُفِ وَاتِّكَالَهُمْ عَلَى الْمَصَاحِفِ فَقَالُوا : نَتْرُكُ الْقُرْآنَ يَتَلَقَّاهُ النَّاسُ بَعْضُهُمْ مِنْ بَعْضٍ تَلَقُّنًا بِالتَّلْقِينِ وَالْإِقْرَاءِ لِيَكُونَ هُوَ شُغْلَهُمْ وَهِمَّتَهُمْ وَذِكْرَهُمْ حَتَّى أَشَارَ عَلَيْهِ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ وَبَقِيَّةُ الصَّحَابَةِ أَنْ يَجْمَعَ الْقُرْآنَ فِي الْمَصَاحِفِ لِأَنَّهُ أَحْفَظُ لَهُ وَلِيَرْجِعَ النَّاسُ إِلَى الْمُصْحَفِ لِمَا لَا يُؤْمَنُ مِنَ الِاشْتِغَالِ بِأَسْبَابِ الدُّنْيَا عَنْهُ فَشَرَحَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى صَدْرَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ لِذَلِكَ فَجَمَعَ الْقُرْآنَ فِي الصُّحُفِ الْمُتَفَرِّقَةِ فِي الْمُصْحَفِ الْوَاحِدِ ،
wakhashū ishtighāla al-nāsi bi-al-ṣuḥufi wattikālahum ʿalā al-maṣāḥifi faqālū: natruku al-qurʾāna yatalaqqāhu al-nāsu baʿḍuhum min baʿḍin talaqqunan bi-al-talqīni wa-al-ʾiqrāʾi liyakūna huwa shughlahum wahimmatahum wadhikrahum ḥattā ʾashāra ʿalayhi ʿumaru raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu wabaqiyyatu al-ṣaḥābati ʾan yajmaʿa al-qurʾāna fī al-maṣāḥifi liʾannahu ʾaḥfaẓu lahu waliyarjiʿa al-nāsu ʾilā al-muṣḥafi limā lā yuʾmanu mina al-ishtighāli biʾasbābi al-dunyā ʿanhu fasharaḥa allāhu taʿālā ṣadra ʾabī bakrin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu lidhālika fajamaʿa al-qurʾāna fī al-ṣuḥufi al-mutafarriqati fī al-muṣḥafi al-wāḥidi ,
They feared people’s preoccupation with written sheets and reliance upon codices, and said: “Let us leave the Qurʾān for people to receive from one another orally, through instruction and recitation, so that it remains their occupation, aspiration, and remembrance.” Then ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, and the remaining Companions advised him to gather the Qurʾān into codices because this would preserve it better, and so people could return to the codex, since distraction from it by worldly affairs could not be ruled out. God Most High opened Abū Bakr’s breast to this, may God be pleased with him, and he gathered the Qurʾān on scattered sheets into one codex.
وَكَذَلِكَ كَانُوا يَتَلَقَّوْنَ الْعِلْمَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَنْ بَعْضٍ وَيَحْفَظُونَهُ حِفْظًا هَذَا لِطَهَارَةِ الْقُلُوبِ مِنَ الرَّيْبِ وَفَرَاغِهَا مِنْ أَسْبَابِ الدُّنْيَا وَصَفَائِهَا مِنَ الْهَوَى وَعُلُوِّ الْهِمَّةِ وَقُوَّةِ الْعَزِيمَةِ وَحُسْنِ النِّيَّةِ ثُمَّ ظَهَرَتْ بَعْدَ سَنَةِ مِائَتَيْنِ وَبَعْدَ تَقَضِّي ثَلَاثَةِ قُرُونٍ فِي الْقَرْنِ الرَّابِعِ الْمَرْفُوضِ مُصَنَّفَاتُ الْكَلَامِ وَكُتُبُ الْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ بِالرَّأْيِ وَالْمَعْقُولِ وَالْقِيَاسِ وَذَهَبَ عِلْمُ الْمُتَّقِينَ وَغَابَتْ مَعْرِفَةُ الْمُوقِنِينَ مِنْ عِلْمِ التَّقْوَى وَإِلْهَامِ الرُّشْدِ وَالْيَقِينِ فَخَلَفَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ
wakadhālika kānū yatalaqqawna al-ʿilma baʿḍuhum ʿan baʿḍin wayaḥfaẓūnahu ḥifẓan hādhā liṭahārati al-qulūbi mina al-raybi wafarāghihā min ʾasbābi al-dunyā waṣafāʾihā mina al-hawā waʿuluwwi al-himmati waquwwati al-ʿazīmati waḥusni al-niyyati thumma ẓaharat baʿda sanati miʾatayni wabaʿda taqaḍḍī thalāthati qurūnin fī al-qarni al-rābiʿi al-marfūḍi muṣannafātu al-kalāmi wakutubu al-mutakallimīna bi-al-raʾyi wa-al-maʿqūli wa-al-qiyāsi wadhahaba ʿilmu al-muttaqīna waghābat maʿrifatu al-mūqinīna min ʿilmi al-taqwā waʾilhāmi al-rushdi wa-al-yaqīni fakhalafa min baʿdihim khalfun
Likewise, they received knowledge from one another and firmly memorized it. This was because their hearts were pure of doubt, free of worldly preoccupations, and clear of desire, and because of their high aspiration, strong resolve, and good intention. Then, after the year two hundred and after three generations had passed, in the rejected fourth generation, works of speculative discourse appeared, and books by those who spoke through opinion, rational argument, and analogy. The knowledge of the God-fearing departed, and the knowledge possessed by those of certainty disappeared: knowledge of God-fearingness and inspiration of right guidance and certainty. Then a deficient posterity succeeded them,
فَلَمْ نَزَلْ فِي الْخَلْفِ إِلَى هَذَا الْوَقْتِ ثُمَّ اخْتَلَطَ الْأَمْرُ بَعْدَ هَذَا التَّفْصِيلِ فِي زَمَانِنَا هَذَا ، فَصَارَ الْمُتَكَلِّمُونَ يُدْعَوْنَ عُلَمَاءَ وَالْقُصَّاصُ يُسَمَّوْنَ عَارِفِينَ وَالرُّوَاةُ وَالنَّقَلَةُ يُقَالُ عُلَمَاءُ مِنْ غَيْرِ فِقْهٍ فِي دِينٍ وَلَا بَصِيرَةٍ فِي يَقِينٍ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي عَبْلَةَ قَالَ : كُنَّا نَجْلِسُ إِلَى عَطَاءَ الْخُرَاسَانِيِّ بَعْدَ الصُّبْحِ فَيَتَكَلَّمُ عَلَيْنَا فَاحْتَبَسَ ذَاتَ غَدَاةٍ فَتَكَلَّمَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْمُؤَذِّنِينَ لَا بَأْسَ
falam nazal fī al-khalfi ʾilā hādhā al-waqti thumma ikhtalaṭa al-ʾamru baʿda hādhā al-tafṣīli fī zamāninā hādhā , faṣāra al-mutakallimūna yudʿawna ʿulamāʾa wa-al-quṣṣāṣu yusammawna ʿārifīna wa-al-ruwātu wa-al-naqalatu yuqālu ʿulamāʾu min ghayri fiqhin fī dīnin walā baṣīratin fī yaqīnin. warawaynā ʿani ibni ʾabī ʿablata qāla: kunnā najlisu ʾilā ʿaṭāʾa al-khurāsāniyyi baʿda al-ṣubḥi fayatakallamu ʿalaynā faḥtabasa dhāta ghadātin fatakallama rajulun mina al-muʾadhdhinīna lā baʾsa
and we have remained among that posterity until now. In our present time the matter then became confused after these distinctions: speculative speakers came to be called scholars, storytellers were named knowers, and narrators and transmitters were called scholars, without understanding in religion or insight into certainty. We related from Ibn Abī ʿAbla, who said: “We used to sit with ʿAṭāʾ al-Khurāsānī after the dawn prayer, and he would speak to us. One morning he was delayed, so one of the prayer callers, a man of no reproach,
بِهِ بِمِثْلِ مَا كَانَ يَتَكَلَّمُ بِهِ عَطَاءٌ فَأَنْكَرَ صَوْتَهُ رَجَاءُ بْنُ أَبِي حَيْوَةَ فَقَالَ : مَنْ هَذَا الْمُتَكَلِّمُ ؟ فَقَالَ : أَنَا فُلَانٌ فَقَالَ : اسْكُتْ فَإِنَّهُ يُكْرَهُ أَنْ يُسْمَعَ الْعِلْمُ إِلَّا مِنْ أَهْلِهِ ، وَكَذَلِكَ كَانُوا يَقُولُونَ أَبَى أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَنْ
bihi bimithli mā kāna yatakallamu bihi ʿaṭāʾun faʾankara ṣawtahu rajāʾu bnu ʾabī ḥaywata faqāla: man hādhā al-mutakallimu ? faqāla: ʾanā fulānun faqāla: uskut faʾinnahu yukrahu ʾan yusmaʿa al-ʿilmu ʾillā min ʾahlihi , wakadhālika kānū yaqūlūna ʾabā ʾahlu al-ʿilmi bi-allāhi taʿālā ʾan
“spoke as ʿAṭāʾ used to speak. Rajāʾ ibn Abī Ḥaywa did not recognize his voice and said: ‘Who is this speaker?’ He said: ‘I am so-and-so.’ He said: ‘Be silent. It is disliked that knowledge should be heard from anyone but its people.’” Likewise, they used to say: “Those who know God Most High refused to
يَسْمَعُوا هَذَا الْعِلْمَ إِلَّا مِنْ أَهْلِهِ الزَّاهِدِينَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَكَرِهُوا أَنْ يَسْمَعُوهُ مِنْ أَبْنَاءِ الدُّنْيَا وَزَعَمُوا أَنَّهُ لَا يَلِيقُ بِهِمْ ، وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا كَانَ يَذْكُرُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى بِالْمَعْرِفَةِ وَعِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ لَمْ يَسَعْهُ تَقْلِيدُ أَحَدٍ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ ، وَكَذَلِكَ كَانَ الْمُتَقَدِّمُونَ إِذَا افْتَتَحُوا هَذَا الْمَقَامَ خَالَفُوا مَنْ حَمَلُوا عَنْهُ الْعِلْمَ لِمَزِيدِ الْيَقِينِ وَالْإِفْهَامِ ، وَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا :
yasmaʿū hādhā al-ʿilma ʾillā min ʾahlihi al-zāhidīna fī al-dunyā wakarihū ʾan yasmaʿūhu min ʾabnāʾi al-dunyā wazaʿamū ʾannahu lā yalīqu bihim , waʿlam ʾanna al-ʿabda ʾidhā kāna yadhkuru allāha taʿālā bi-al-maʿrifati waʿilmi al-yaqīni lam yasaʿhu taqlīdu ʾaḥadin mina al-ʿulamāʾi , wakadhālika kāna al-mutaqaddimūna ʾidhā iftataḥū hādhā al-maqāma khālafū man ḥamalū ʿanhu al-ʿilma limazīdi al-yaqīni wa-al-ʾifhāmi , waqāla ibnu ʿabbāsin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā:
“hear this knowledge except from its people, those who renounce this world. They disliked hearing it from the children of this world and held that it did not befit them.” Know that when a servant remembers God Most High through knowledge of Him and knowledge of certainty, he may not follow any scholar’s authority. Likewise, when the early generations entered this station, they differed from those from whom they had received knowledge, because of increased certainty and understanding. Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with them both, said:
لَيْسَ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا يُؤْخَذُ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ وَيُتْرَكُ إِلَّا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ تَعَلَّمَ مِنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ الْفِقْهَ وَقَرَأَ عَلَى أُبَيِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ ثُمَّ خَالَفَ زَيْدًا فِي الْفِقْهِ وَأُبَيًّا فِي الْقِرَاءَةِ . وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْفُقَهَاءِ مِنَ السَّلَفِ : مَا جَاءَنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ قَبِلْنَاهُ عَلَى الرَّأْسِ وَالْعَيْنِ وَمَا جَاءَنَا عَنِ الصَّحَابَةِ فَنَأْخُذُ بِهِ وَنَتْرُكُ وَمَا جَاءَنَا عَنِ التَّابِعِينَ فَهُمْ رِجَالٌ وَنَحْنُ رِجَالٌ قَالُوا :
laysa ʾaḥadun ʾillā yuʾkhadhu min qawlihi wayutraku ʾillā rasūla allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama , waqad kāna taʿallama min zaydi bni thābitin al-fiqha waqaraʾa ʿalā ʾubayyi bni kaʿbin thumma khālafa zaydan fī al-fiqhi waʾubayyan fī al-qirāʾati. waqāla baʿḍu al-fuqahāʾi mina al-salafi: mā jāʾanā ʿan rasūli allāhi qabilnāhu ʿalā al-raʾsi wa-al-ʿayni wamā jāʾanā ʿani al-ṣaḥābati fanaʾkhudhu bihi wanatruku wamā jāʾanā ʿani al-tābiʿīna fahum rijālun wanaḥnu rijālun qālū:
“There is no one whose words are not both accepted and set aside, except God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace.” He had learned jurisprudence from Zayd ibn Thābit and recited to Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, then differed from Zayd in jurisprudence and from Ubayy in recitation. One of the jurists among the predecessors said: “Whatever comes to us from God’s Messenger, we receive upon our head and eyes. Whatever comes to us from the Companions, we accept some and leave some. Whatever comes to us from the Successors, they are men and we are men. They spoke,
وَنَقُولُ وَلِأَجْلِ ذَلِكَ كَانَ الْفُقَهَاءُ يَكْرَهُونَ التَّقْلِيدَ وَيَقُولُونَ : لَا يَنْبَغِي لِلرَّجُلِ أَنْ يُفْتِيَ حَتَّى يَعْرِفَ اخْتِلَافَ الْفُقَهَاءِ أَيْ فَيَخْتَارَ مِنْهَا عَلَى عِلْمِهِ الْأَحْوَطَ لِلدِّينِ وَالْأَقْوَى بِالْيَقِينِ ، فَلَوْ كَانُوا يَسْتَحِبُّونَ أَنْ يُفْتِيَ الْعَالِمُ بِمَذْهَبِ غَيْرِهِ لَمْ يَحْتَجْ أَنْ يَعْرِفَ الِاخْتِلَافَ وَلَكَانَ إِذَا عَرَفَ مَذْهَبَ صَاحِبِهِ كَفَاهُ ، وَمِنْ ثَمَّ قِيلَ : إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ يُسْأَلُ غَدًا فَيُقَالُ مَاذَا عَمِلْتَ فِيمَا عَلِمْتَ ؟
wanaqūlu waliʾajli dhālika kāna al-fuqahāʾu yakrahūna al-taqlīda wayaqūlūna: lā yanbaghī lil-rajuli ʾan yuftiya ḥattā yaʿrifa ikhtilāfa al-fuqahāʾi ʾay fayakhtāra minhā ʿalā ʿilmihi al-ʾaḥwaṭa lil-dīni wa-al-ʾaqwā bi-al-yaqīni , falaw kānū yastaḥibbūna ʾan yuftiya al-ʿālimu bimadhhabi ghayrihi lam yaḥtaj ʾan yaʿrifa al-ikhtilāfa walakāna ʾidhā ʿarafa madhhaba ṣāḥibihi kafāhu , wamin thamma qīla: ʾinna al-ʿabda yusʾalu ghadan fayuqālu mādhā ʿamilta fīmā ʿalimta ?
“and we speak.” For this reason the jurists disliked following authority and used to say: “A man should not issue legal opinions until he knows the disagreements of the jurists,” so that, according to his knowledge, he can choose among them what is most cautious for religion and strongest in certainty. Had they approved a scholar issuing opinions according to someone else’s school, he would not need to know the disagreements; knowing his teacher’s school would suffice. Hence it was said: “The servant will be questioned tomorrow and asked: ‘What did you do concerning what you knew?’”
وَلَا يُقَالُ لَهُ فِيمَا عَلِمَ غَيْرُكَ . وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ وَالْإِيمَانَ ) الرُّومُ : 56 فَفَرَّقَ بَيْنَهُمَا يَدُلُّ بِهِ أَنَّ مَنْ أُوتِيَ إِيمَانًا أُوتِيَ عِلْمًا كَمَا أَنَّ مَنْ أُوتِيَ عِلْمًا نَافِعًا أُوتِيَ إِيمَانًا وَهَذَا أَحَدُ الْوُجُوهِ فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ : ( كَتَبَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْإِيمَانَ وَأَيَّدَهُمْ بِرُوحٍ مِنْهُ ) الْمُجَادَلَةُ :
walā yuqālu lahu fīmā ʿalima ghayruka. waqad qāla allāhu taʿālā: ( waqāla alladhīna ʾūtū al-ʿilma wa-al-ʾīmāna ) al-rūmu: 56 fafarraqa baynahumā yadullu bihi ʾanna man ʾūtiya ʾīmānan ʾūtiya ʿilman kamā ʾanna man ʾūtiya ʿilman nāfiʿan ʾūtiya ʾīmānan wahādhā ʾaḥadu al-wujūhi fī maʿnā qawlihi subḥānahu: ( kataba fī qulūbihimu al-ʾīmāna waʾayyadahum birūḥin minhu ) al-mujādalatu:
He will not be asked: “Concerning what someone else knew.” God Most High said: “Those who were given knowledge and faith said” (al-Rūm 30:56). He distinguished between the two, indicating that whoever is given faith is given knowledge, just as whoever is given beneficial knowledge is given faith. This is one interpretation of His words, glorified is He: “He inscribed faith in their hearts and strengthened them with a spirit from Him” (al-Mujādala 58:
22 أَيْ قَوَّاهُمْ بِعِلْمِ الْإِيمَانِ ، فَعِلْمُ الْإِيمَانِ هُوَ رُوحُهُ وَتَكُونُ الْهَاءُ عَائِدَةً إِلَى الْإِيمَانِ وَكَذَا الْعَالِمُ الَّذِي هُوَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الِاسْتِنْبَاطِ وَالِاسْتِدْلَالِ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ فَإِنَّهُ أَدَاةُ الصَّنْعَةِ وَآلَةُ الصُّنْعِ لِأَنَّهُ ذُو تَمْيِيزٍ وَبَصِيرَةٍ وَمِنْ أَهْلِ التَّدَبُّرِ وَالْعِبْرَةِ ، فَأَمَّا الْجَاهِلُ وَالْعَامِيُّ الْغَافِلُ فَلَهُ أَنْ يُقَلِّدَ الْعُلَمَاءَ وَلِعَالِمِ عُمُومٍ أَيْضًا أَنْ يُقَلِّدَ عَالِمَ خُصُوصٍ وَلِلْعَالِمِ بِالْعِلْمِ الظَّاهِرِ أَنْ يُقَلِّدَ مَنْ فَوْقَهُ مِمَّنْ
22 ʾay qawwāhum biʿilmi al-ʾīmāni , faʿilmu al-ʾīmāni huwa rūḥuhu watakūnu al-hāʾu ʿāʾidatan ʾilā al-ʾīmāni wakadhā al-ʿālimu alladhī huwa min ʾahli al-istinbāṭi wa-al-istidlāli mina al-kitābi wa-al-sunnati faʾinnahu ʾadātu al-ṣanʿati waʾālatu al-ṣunʿi liʾannahu dhū tamyīzin wabaṣīratin wamin ʾahli al-tadabburi wa-al-ʿibrati , faʾammā al-jāhilu wa-al-ʿāmiyyu al-ghāfilu falahu ʾan yuqallida al-ʿulamāʾa waliʿālimi ʿumūmin ʾayḍan ʾan yuqallida ʿālima khuṣūṣin walilʿālimi bi-al-ʿilmi al-ẓāhiri ʾan yuqallida man fawqahu mimman
22): that is, He strengthened them through knowledge of faith. Knowledge of faith is its spirit, and the pronoun refers back to faith. The same applies to the scholar qualified to derive meanings and draw inferences from the Book and the Sunna: he is the instrument of the craft and the tool of its practice, because he possesses discernment and insight and belongs to the people of reflection and learning from examples. The ignorant person and the heedless ordinary person, however, may follow the scholars. A scholar of general knowledge may also follow a scholar of particular knowledge, and a scholar of outward knowledge may follow someone above him among those who
جُعِلَ عَلَى عِلْمٍ بَاطِنٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْقُلُوبِ لِأَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رَدَّ مِنْ عِلْمِ الْأَلْسِنَةِ وَالْفُتْيَا إِلَى عِلْمِ الْقُلُوبِ وَلَمْ يَرُدَّ أَهْلَ الْقُلُوبِ فِي عِلْمِهِمُ الَّذِي يَخْتَصُّونَ بِهِ إِلَى الْمُفْتِينَ لِأَنَّهُمْ يَأْخُذُونَ مِنَ الْمُفْتِينَ فُتْيَاهُمْ ثُمَّ يَجِدُونَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ حَيْكًا وَحَزَازَةً فَيَلْزَمُهُمْ فُتْيَا الْقَلْبِ لِقَوْلِهِ :
juʿila ʿalā ʿilmin bāṭinin min ʾahli al-qulūbi liʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama radda min ʿilmi al-ʾalsinati wa-al-futyā ʾilā ʿilmi al-qulūbi walam yarudda ʾahla al-qulūbi fī ʿilmihimu alladhī yakhtaṣṣūna bihi ʾilā al-muftīna liʾannahum yaʾkhudhūna mina al-muftīna futyāhum thumma yajidūna fī qulūbihim ḥaykan waḥazāzatan fayalzamuhum futyā al-qalbi liqawlihi:
have been established in inward knowledge among the people of hearts. For the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, directed people from the knowledge of tongues and legal opinions to knowledge of hearts. He did not direct the people of hearts, concerning the knowledge particular to them, back to legal advisers. They take the advisers’ rulings, then find an uneasiness and irritation in their hearts, so they must abide by the heart’s ruling, because of his saying:
اسْتَفْتِ قَلْبَكَ بَعْدَ قَوْلِهِ وَإِنْ أَفْتَاكَ الْمُفْتُونَ مَعَ قَوْلِهِ الْإِثْمُ حَزَازُ الْقُلُوبِ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ مَا حَاكَ فِي صَدْرِكَ فَدَعْهُ وَإِنْ أَفْتَوْكَ وَأَفْتَوْكَ ثُمَّ دَرَسَ مَعْرِفَةُ هَذَا فَجُهِلَ فَصَارَ كُلُّ مَنْ نَطَقَ بِكَلَامٍ وَصَنَعَهُ غَرَبَ عَلَى السَّامِعِينَ لَا يُعْرَفُ حَقُّهُ مِنْ بَاطِلِهِ سُمِّيَ عَالِمًا وَكُلُّ كَلَامٍ مُسْتَحْسَنٍ زُخْرِفَ رَوْنَقُهُ لَا أَصْلَ لَهُ يُسَمَّى عَالِمًا لِجَهْلِ الْعَامَّةِ بِالْعِلْمِ أَيُّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ وَلِقِلَّةِ مَعْرِفَةِ السَّامِعِ بِوَصْفِ
istafti qalbaka baʿda qawlihi waʾin ʾaftāka al-muftūna maʿa qawlihi al-ʾithmu ḥazāzu al-qulūbi ʾilā qawlihi mā ḥāka fī ṣadrika fadaʿhu waʾin ʾaftawka waʾaftawka thumma darasa maʿrifatu hādhā fajuhila faṣāra kullu man naṭaqa bikalāmin waṣanaʿahu gharaba ʿalā al-sāmiʿīna lā yuʿrafu ḥaqquhu min bāṭilihi summiya ʿāliman wakullu kalāmin mustaḥsanin zukhrifa rawnaquhu lā ʾaṣla lahu yusammā ʿāliman lijahli al-ʿāmmati bi-al-ʿilmi ʾayyu shayʾin huwa waliqillati maʿrifati al-sāmiʿi biwaṣfi
“Consult your heart,” following his words, “Even if the legal advisers give you opinions,” together with his saying, “Sin is what irritates hearts,” through to his words, “Leave what troubles your breast, even if they give you opinions, and give you opinions.” Then knowledge of this faded and became unknown. Everyone who spoke words and fashioned them in a way unfamiliar to listeners, whose truth could not be distinguished from falsehood, was called a scholar. Every admired speech whose sheen was embellished, without any foundation, was called learned, because ordinary people did not know what knowledge was and listeners had little knowledge of the character of
مَنْ سَلَفَ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ كَيْفَ كَانُوا فَصَارَ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ مُتَكَلِّمِي الزَّمَانِ فِتْنَةَ الْمَفْتُونِ وَصَارَ كَثِيرٌ مِنَ الْكَلَامِ وَالرَّأْيِ وَالْمَعْقُولِ الَّذِي حَقِيقَتُهُ جَهْلٌ كَأَنَّهُ عِلْمٌ عِنْدَ الْجَاهِلِينَ فَلَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بَيْنَ الْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ وَالْعُلَمَاءِ وَلَا يُمَيِّزُونَ بَيْنَ الْعِلْمِ وَالْكَلَامِ ،
man salafa mina al-ʿulamāʾi kayfa kānū faṣāra kathīrun min mutakallimī al-zamāni fitnata al-maftūni waṣāra kathīrun mina al-kalāmi wa-al-raʾyi wa-al-maʿqūli alladhī ḥaqīqatuhu jahlun kaʾannahu ʿilmun ʿinda al-jāhilīna falā yufarriqūna bayna al-mutakallimīna wa-al-ʿulamāʾi walā yumayyizūna bayna al-ʿilmi wa-al-kalāmi ,
the scholars who came before and how they were. Many speakers of the age became a trial for those susceptible to trial. Much speech, opinion, and rational argument, whose reality is ignorance, became like knowledge in the eyes of the ignorant. They do not distinguish speakers from scholars, or knowledge from speech.
وَقَدْ قُلْنَا : إِنَّ خُصُوصَ الْجُهَّالِ يُشَبَّهُونَ بِالْعُلَمَاءِ فَيَشْتَبِهُونَ عَلَى مُجَالِسِيهِمْ فِي الْحَالِ ، فَأَعْلَمُ النَّاسِ فِي زَمَانِكَ هَذَا أَعْرَفُهُمْ بِسِيرَةِ الْمُتَقَدِّمِينَ وَأَعْلَمُهُمْ بِطَرَائِقِ السَّالِفِينَ ثُمَّ أَعْلَمُهُمْ بِالْعِلْمِ أَيُّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ وَبِالْعَالِمِ مَنْ هُوَ مِنَ الْمُتَعَلِّمِ وَالْمُتَعَالِمِ وَهَذَا كَالْفَرْضِ عَلَى طَالِبِي الْعِلْمِ أَنْ يَعْرِفُوهُ لِأَنَّهُ لَمَّا قَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ وَجَبَ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنْ يَعْرِفُوا أَيُّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ الْعِلْمُ حَتَّى
waqad qulnā: ʾinna khuṣūṣa al-juhhāli yushabbahūna bi-al-ʿulamāʾi fayashtabihūna ʿalā mujālisīhim fī al-ḥāli , faʾaʿlamu al-nāsi fī zamānika hādhā ʾaʿrafuhum bisīrati al-mutaqaddimīna waʾaʿlamuhum biṭarāʾiqi al-sālifīna thumma ʾaʿlamuhum bi-al-ʿilmi ʾayyu shayʾin huwa wabilʿālimi man huwa mina al-mutaʿallimi wa-al-mutaʿālimi wahādhā ka-al-farḍi ʿalā ṭālibī al-ʿilmi ʾan yaʿrifūhu liʾannahu lammā qāla ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ṭalabu al-ʿilmi farīḍatun wajaba ʿalayhim ʾan yaʿrifū ʾayyu shayʾin huwa al-ʿilmu ḥattā
We have said that the prominent among the ignorant are likened to scholars, so their state becomes confused for those who sit with them. The most learned person in your present age is the one who best knows the conduct of the early generations and the ways of the predecessors; then the one who best knows what knowledge is, and who the scholar is as distinct from the learner and the pretender to learning. Knowing this is like an obligation upon seekers of knowledge. When he, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Seeking knowledge is an obligation,” it became obligatory for them to know what knowledge is, so that they might
يَطْلُبُوهُ إِذْ لَا يَصِحُّ طَلَبُ مَا لَا يُعْرَفُ ثُمَّ وَجَبَ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ هَذَا أَنْ يَعْرِفُوا الْعَالِمَ مَنْ هُوَ لِيَطْلُبُوا عِنْدَهُ الْعِلْمَ إِذِ الْعِلْمُ عَرَضٌ وَلَا يَقُومُ إِلَّا بِجِسْمٍ فَلَا يُوجَدُ إِلَّا عِنْدَ أَهْلِهِ كَمَا قِيلَ لِعَلِيٍّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ وَقِيلَ لَهُ إِنَّكَ خَالَفْتَ فُلَانًا فِي كَذَا فَقَالَ خَيْرُنَا أَتْبَعُنَا لِهَذَا الدِّينِ ، وَكَمَا قِيلَ لِسَعْدٍ أَنَّ ابْنَ الْمُسَيَّبِ يَقْرَأُ مَا نَنْسَخْ مِنْ آيَةٍ أَوْ نَنْسَأْهَا فَقَالَ :
yaṭlubūhu ʾidh lā yaṣiḥḥu ṭalabu mā lā yuʿrafu thumma wajaba ʿalayhim min hādhā ʾan yaʿrifū al-ʿālima man huwa liyaṭlubū ʿindahu al-ʿilma ʾidhi al-ʿilmu ʿaraḍun walā yaqūmu ʾillā bijismin falā yūjadu ʾillā ʿinda ʾahlihi kamā qīla liʿaliyyin karrama allāhu wajhahu waqīla lahu ʾinnaka khālafta fulānan fī kadhā faqāla khayrunā ʾatbaʿunā lihādhā al-dīni , wakamā qīla lisaʿdin ʾanna ibna al-musayyabi yaqraʾu mā nansakh min ʾāyatin ʾaw nansaʾhā faqāla:
seek it, since seeking what one does not know cannot be sound. It then became obligatory for them to know who the scholar is, so that they might seek knowledge with him, because knowledge is an attribute that subsists only in a body and is found only among its people. As was said to ʿAlī, God honor his face, when he was told: “You have differed from so-and-so on such-and-such,” and he said: “The best of us is the one who follows this religion most closely.” Likewise, Saʿd was told that Ibn al-Musayyab recited: “Whatever verse We abrogate or defer.” He said:
إِنَّ الْقُرْآنَ لَمْ يَنْزِلْ عَلَى ابْنِ الْمُسَيَّبِ وَلَا عَلَى أَبِيهِ ثُمَّ قَرَأَ أَوْ نُنْسِهَا فَأَعْلَمُ النَّاسِ فِي هَذَا الْوَقْتِ وَأَقْرَبُهُمْ مِنَ التَّوْفِيقِ وَالرُّشْدِ أَتْبَعُهُمْ لِمَنْ سَلَفَ وَأَشْبَهُهُمْ بِشَمَائِلِ صَالِحِي الْخَلَفِ ، كَيْفَ وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ سُئِلَ مَنْ أَعْلَمُ النَّاسِ ؟ فَقَالَ : أَعْرَفُهُمْ بِالْحَقِّ إِذَا اشْتَبَهَتِ الْأُمُورُ . وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ :
ʾinna al-qurʾāna lam yanzil ʿalā ibni al-musayyabi walā ʿalā ʾabīhi thumma qaraʾa ʾaw nunsihā faʾaʿlamu al-nāsi fī hādhā al-waqti waʾaqrabuhum mina al-tawfīqi wa-al-rushdi ʾatbaʿuhum liman salafa waʾashbahuhum bishamāʾili ṣāliḥī al-khalafi , kayfa waqad rawaynā ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾannahu suʾila man ʾaʿlamu al-nāsi ? faqāla: ʾaʿrafuhum bi-al-ḥaqqi ʾidhā ishtabahati al-ʾumūru. waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi:
“The Qurʾān was not sent down to Ibn al-Musayyab or to his father.” Then he recited: “Or cause it to be forgotten.” The most learned people at this time, and those closest to divine guidance and right judgment, are those who follow the predecessors most closely and most resemble the qualities of the righteous among later generations. How could it be otherwise, when we have related from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, that he was asked: “Who is the most learned person?” He said: “The one who best knows the truth when matters become confused.” One of the predecessors said:
أَعْلَمُ النَّاسِ أَعْرَفُهُمْ بِاخْتِلَافِ النَّاسِ ، وَكَانَ الْحَسَنُ الْبَصْرِيُّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : مُحْدَثَانِ أَحْدَثَا فِي الْإِسْلَامِ ، رَجُلٌ ذُو رَأْيِ سُوءٍ زَعَمَ أَنَّ الْجَنَّةَ لِمَنْ رَأَى مِثْلَ رَأْيِهِ ، وَمُتْرَفٌ يَعْبُدُ الدُّنْيَا لَهَا يَغْضَبُ وَلَهَا يَرْضَى وَإِيَّاهَا يَطْلُبُ فَارْفُضُوهُمَا إِلَى النَّارِ اعْرِفُوا إِنْكَارَهُمْ لِرَبِّهِمْ بِأَعْمَالِهِمْ إِنَّ رَجُلًا أَصْبَحَ فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا بَيْنَ مُتْرَفٍ يَدْعُو إِلَى دُنْيَاهُ وَصَاحِبِ هَوًى يَدْعُو إِلَى هَوَاهُ
ʾaʿlamu al-nāsi ʾaʿrafuhum bikhtilāfi al-nāsi , wakāna al-ḥasanu al-baṣriyyu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu: muḥdathāni ʾaḥdathā fī al-ʾislāmi , rajulun dhū raʾyi sūʾin zaʿama ʾanna al-jannata liman raʾā mithla raʾyihi , wamutrafun yaʿbudu al-dunyā lahā yaghḍabu walahā yarḍā waʾiyyāhā yaṭlubu farfuḍūhumā ʾilā al-nāri iʿrifū ʾinkārahum lirabbihim biʾaʿmālihim ʾinna rajulan ʾaṣbaḥa fī hādhihi al-dunyā bayna mutrafin yadʿū ʾilā dunyāhu waṣāḥibi hawan yadʿū ʾilā hawāhu
“The most learned person is the one who best knows people’s disagreements.” Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, may God be pleased with him, used to say: “Two new types have arisen in Islam: a man with a corrupt opinion who claims Paradise belongs to whoever shares his opinion, and a pampered man who worships this world, becomes angry for it, is pleased for it, and seeks it. Reject them both to the Fire. Recognize their denial of their Lord through their deeds. A man who finds himself in this world between a pampered man calling to his world and a follower of desire calling to his desire,
قَدْ عَصَمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِنْهُمَا يَجِيءُ إِلَى السَّلَفِ الصَّالِحِ يَسْأَلُ عَنْ فِعَالِهِمْ وَيَقْتَصُّ آثَارَهُمْ لَتَعَرَّضَ لِأَجْرٍ عَظِيمٍ فَكَذَلِكَ فَكُونُوا وَكَمَا رَوَيْنَا عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ وَقَدْ جَاءَ مُسْنَدًا إِنَّمَا هُمَا اثْنَانِ الْكَلَامُ وَالْهُدَى فَأَحْسَنُ الْكَلَامِ كَلَامُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَأَحْسَنُ الْهُدَى هُدَى مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَلَا وَإِيَّاكُمْ وَمُحْدَثَاتِ الْأُمُورِ فَإِنَّ شَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا إِنَّ كُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ أَلَا لَا يَطُولَنَّ عَلَيْكُمُ الْأَمَدُ فَتَقْسُوا قُلُوبُكُمْ ،
qad ʿaṣamahu allāhu taʿālā minhumā yajīʾu ʾilā al-salafi al-ṣāliḥi yasʾalu ʿan fiʿālihim wayaqtaṣṣu ʾāthārahum lataʿarraḍa liʾajrin ʿaẓīmin fakadhālika fakūnū wakamā rawaynā ʿani ibni masʿūdin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu waqad jāʾa musnadan ʾinnamā humā ithnāni al-kalāmu wa-al-hudā faʾaḥsanu al-kalāmi kalāmu allāhi taʿālā waʾaḥsanu al-hudā hudā muḥammadin ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾalā waʾiyyākum wamuḥdathāti al-ʾumūri faʾinna sharra al-ʾumūri muḥdathātuhā ʾinna kulla muḥdathatin bidʿatun wakulla bidʿatin ḍalālatun ʾalā lā yaṭūlanna ʿalaykumu al-ʾamadu fataqsū qulūbukum ,
“whom God Most High has protected from them both, who comes to the righteous predecessors, asks about their deeds, and follows their traces, has exposed himself to a great reward. So be like that.” As we related from Ibn Masʿūd, may God be pleased with him, and it has also come with a chain of attribution: “There are only two things: speech and guidance. The best speech is the speech of God Most High, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muḥammad, God bless him and grant him peace. Beware newly introduced matters, for the worst matters are newly introduced ones. Every newly introduced matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance. Do not let a long time pass over you, lest your hearts harden.
أَلَا كُلُّ مَا هُوَ آتٍ قَرِيبٌ ، أَلَا إِنَّ الْبَعِيدَ مَا لَيْسَ بِآتٍ ، وَفِي خُطْبَةِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الَّتِي رَوَيْنَاهَا عَنْ أَبَانَ عَنْ أَنَسٍ : طُوبَى لِمَنْ شَغَلَهُ عَيْبُهُ عَنْ عُيُوبِ النَّاسِ وَأَنْفَقَ مِنْ مَالٍ اكْتَسَبَهُ مِنْ غَيْرِ مَعْصِيَةٍ وَخَالَطَ أَهْلَ الْفِقْهِ وَالْحِكْمَةِ وَجَانَبَ أَهْلَ الذُّلِّ وَالْمَعْصِيَةِ ، طُوبَى لِمَنْ ذَلَّ فِي نَفْسِهِ وَحَسُنَتْ خَلِيقَتُهُ وَصَلُحَتْ سَرِيرَتُهُ وَعَزَلَ عَنِ النَّاسِ شَرَّهُ ،
ʾalā kullu mā huwa ʾātin qarībun , ʾalā ʾinna al-baʿīda mā laysa biʾātin , wafī khuṭbati al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama allatī rawaynāhā ʿan ʾabāna ʿan ʾanasin: ṭūbā liman shaghalahu ʿaybuhu ʿan ʿuyūbi al-nāsi waʾanfaqa min mālin iktasabahu min ghayri maʿṣiyatin wakhālaṭa ʾahla al-fiqhi wa-al-ḥikmati wajānaba ʾahla al-dhulli wa-al-maʿṣiyati , ṭūbā liman dhalla fī nafsihi waḥasunat khalīqatuhu waṣaluḥat sarīratuhu waʿazala ʿani al-nāsi sharrahu ,
“Everything that is coming is near. The distant is only what is not coming.” In the sermon of the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, which we related from Abān, from Anas: “Blessed is one whose own fault occupies him away from people’s faults; who spends from wealth earned without disobedience; who mixes with the people of understanding and wisdom; and who avoids the people of abasement and disobedience. Blessed is one who is humble within himself, whose character is good and inward state sound, and who keeps his harm away from people.
طُوبَى لِمَنْ عَمِلَ بِعِلْمِهِ وَأَنْفَقَ الْفَضْلَ مِنْ مَالِهِ وَأَمْسَكَ الْفَضْلَ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ وَوَسِعَتْهُ السُّنَّةُ وَلَمْ يَعْدُهَا إِلَى بِدْعَةٍ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْأُدَبَاءِ كَلَامًا مَنْظُومًا فِي وَصْفِ زَمَانِنَا هَذَا كَأَنَّهُ شَاهَدَهُ : ذَهَبَ الرِّجَالُ الْمُقْتَدَى بِفِعَالِهِمْ . . . وَالْمُنْكِرُونَ لِكُلِّ أَمْرٍ مُنْكَرٍ وَبَقِيتَ فِي خَلْفٍ يُزَكِّي بَعْضُهُمْ . . . بَعْضًا لِيَدْفَعَ مُعْوِرٌ عَنْ مُعْوِرٍ أَبُنَيَّ إِنَّ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ بَهِيمَةً . . . فِي صُورَةِ الرَّجُلِ السَّمِيعِ الْمُبْصِرِ
ṭūbā liman ʿamila biʿilmihi waʾanfaqa al-faḍla min mālihi waʾamsaka al-faḍla min qawlihi wawasiʿathu al-sunnatu walam yaʿduhā ʾilā bidʿatin , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʾudabāʾi kalāman manẓūman fī waṣfi zamāninā hādhā kaʾannahu shāhadahu: dhahaba al-rijālu al-muqtadā bifiʿālihim... wa-al-munkirūna likulli ʾamrin munkarin wabaqīta fī khalfin yuzakkī baʿḍuhum... baʿḍan liyadfaʿa muʿwirun ʿan muʿwirin ʾabunayya ʾinna mina al-rijāli bahīmatan... fī ṣūrati al-rajuli al-samīʿi al-mubṣiri
“Blessed is one who acts upon his knowledge, spends the surplus of his wealth, withholds the surplus of his speech, finds the Sunna sufficient, and does not pass beyond it into innovation.” One of the literary men composed verses describing our present time as though he had witnessed it: “The men whose deeds were followed have gone, / and those who rejected every objectionable deed. / You remain among a deficient posterity who praise one another, / so that one flawed man may shield another. / My son, among men is a beast / in the form of a man who hears and sees,
فَطِنًا بِكُلِّ مُصِيبَةٍ فِي مَالِهِ . . . فَإِذَا أُصِيبَ بِدِينِهِ لَمْ يَشْعُرْ فَسَلِ الْفَقِيهَ تَكُنْ فَقِيهًا مِثْلَهُ . . . مَنْ يَسْعَ فِي أَمْرٍ بِفِقْهٍ يَظْفَرْ وَقَدْ كَانَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : حُسْنُ الْهُدَى فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ ، وَقَالَ فِي وَصْفِ زَمَانِهِ بِالْيَقِينِ وَفِي وَصْفِ زَمَانِنَا بِالشَّكِّ فَقَالَ :
faṭinan bikulli muṣībatin fī mālihi... faʾidhā ʾuṣība bidīnihi lam yashʿur fasali al-faqīha takun faqīhan mithlahu... man yasʿa fī ʾamrin bifiqhin yaẓfar waqad kāna ibnu masʿūdin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu: ḥusnu al-hudā fī ʾākhiri al-zamāni khayrun min kathīrin mina al-ʿamali , waqāla fī waṣfi zamānihi bi-al-yaqīni wafī waṣfi zamāninā bi-al-shakki faqāla:
“alert to every calamity affecting his wealth, / but when struck in his religion, he does not notice. / Ask the person of understanding, and become understanding like him; / whoever pursues a matter with understanding succeeds.” Ibn Masʿūd, may God be pleased with him, used to say: “Good guidance at the end of time is better than much action.” Describing his own time in terms of certainty and our time in terms of doubt, he said:
إِنَّكُمْ فِي زَمَانٍ خَيْرُكُمْ فِيهِ الْمُسَارِعُ فِي الْأُمُورِ وَسَيَأْتِي بَعْدَكُمْ زَمَانٌ يَكُونُ خَيْرُهُمْ فِيهِ الْمُتَثَبِّتُ الْمُتَوَقِّفُ يَعْنِي لِكَثْرَةِ الشُّبُهَاتِ ، وَقَالَ حُذَيْفَةُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : أَعْجَبُ مِنْ هَذَا قَالَ إِنَّ مَعْرُوفَكُمْ هَذَا مُنْكَرُ زَمَانٍ قَدْ مَضَى ، وَإِنَّ مُنْكَرَكُمْ مَعْرُوفُ زَمَانٍ قَدْ يَأْتِي وَإِنَّكُمْ لَنْ تَزَالُوا بِخَيْرٍ مَا عَرَفْتُمُ الْحَقَّ ، وَكَانَ الْعَالِمُ فِيكُمْ غَيْرَ مُسْتَخَفٍّ وَكَانَ يَقُولُ أَيْضًا :
ʾinnakum fī zamānin khayrukum fīhi al-musāriʿu fī al-ʾumūri wasayaʾtī baʿdakum zamānun yakūnu khayruhum fīhi al-mutathabbitu al-mutawaqqifu yaʿnī likathrati al-shubuhāti , waqāla ḥudhayfatu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: ʾaʿjabu min hādhā qāla ʾinna maʿrūfakum hādhā munkaru zamānin qad maḍā , waʾinna munkarakum maʿrūfu zamānin qad yaʾtī waʾinnakum lan tazālū bikhayrin mā ʿaraftumu al-ḥaqqa , wakāna al-ʿālimu fīkum ghayra mustakhaffin wakāna yaqūlu ʾayḍan:
“You are in a time when the best of you is the one quickest to act in matters. After you will come a time when the best among them is the one who verifies carefully and holds back,” meaning because doubts are so numerous. Ḥudhayfa, may God be pleased with him, said something more surprising: “What you now call right was the wrong of an age that has passed, and what you call wrong will be the right of an age yet to come. You will remain well so long as you recognize the truth and the scholar among you is not treated lightly.” He also used to say:
يَأْتِي فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ قَوْمٌ يَكُونُ الْعَالِمُ فِيهِمْ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْحِمَارِ الْمَيِّتِ لَا يَلْتَفِتُونَ إِلَيْهِ يَسْتَخْفِي الْمُؤْمِنُ فِيهِمْ كَمَا يَسْتَخْفِي الْمُنَافِقُ فِينَا الْيَوْمَ الْمُؤْمِنُ فِيهِمْ أَذَلُّ مِنَ الْأَمَةِ ، وَفِي حَدِيثِ عَلِيٍّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ يَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ يُنْكِرُ الْحَقَّ تِسْعَةُ أَعْشَارِهِمْ لَا يَنْجُو مِنْهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ إِلَّا كُلُّ مُؤْمِنٍ نُوَمَةٍ يَعْنِي صَمُوتًا مُتَغَافِلًا أُولَئِكَ مَصَابِيحُ الْعِلْمِ وَأَئِمَّةُ الْهُدَى وَلَيْسُوا بِالْمَذَايِيعِ الْبُذْرِ يَعْنِي الْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ كَثِيرًا الْمُتَظَاهِرِينَ بِالْكَلَامِ افْتِخَارًا ،
yaʾtī fī ʾākhiri al-zamāni qawmun yakūnu al-ʿālimu fīhim bimanzilati al-ḥimāri al-mayyiti lā yaltafitūna ʾilayhi yastakhfī al-muʾminu fīhim kamā yastakhfī al-munāfiqu fīnā al-yawma al-muʾminu fīhim ʾadhallu mina al-ʾamati , wafī ḥadīthi ʿaliyyin karrama allāhu wajhahu yaʾtī ʿalā al-nāsi zamānun yunkiru al-ḥaqqa tisʿatu ʾaʿshārihim lā yanjū minhum yawmaʾidhin ʾillā kullu muʾminin nuwamatin yaʿnī ṣamūtan mutaghāfilan ʾūlāʾika maṣābīḥu al-ʿilmi waʾaʾimmatu al-hudā walaysū bi-al-madhāyīʿi al-budhri yaʿnī al-mutakallimīna kathīran al-mutaẓāhirīna bi-al-kalāmi iftikhāran ,
“At the end of time a people will come among whom the scholar is like a dead donkey: they pay him no attention. The believer hides among them as the hypocrite hides among us today. The believer among them is more abased than a bondwoman.” In the report of ʿAlī, God honor his face: “A time will come upon people when nine-tenths of them deny the truth. On that day, only every unnoticed believer will be saved,” meaning silent and deliberately unassuming. “Those are the lamps of knowledge and the leaders of guidance. They are not broadcasting gossipmongers,” meaning people who speak much and parade their speech in pride.
وَفِي خَبَرٍ : يَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ مَنْ عَرَفَ فِيهِ الْحَقَّ نَجَا قِيلَ فَأَيْنَ الْعَمَلُ ؟ قَالَ : لَا عَمَلَ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَا يَنْجُو فِيهِ إِلَّا مَنْ هَرَبَ بِدِينِهِ مِنْ شَاهِقٍ إِلَى شَاهِقٍ وَفِي حَدِيثِ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : يَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ مَنْ عَمِلَ مِنْهُمْ بِعُشْرِ مَا أُمِرَ بِهِ نَجَا وَفِي بَعْضِهَا بِعُشْرِ مَا يَعْلَمُ ،
wafī khabarin: yaʾtī ʿalā al-nāsi zamānun man ʿarafa fīhi al-ḥaqqa najā qīla faʾayna al-ʿamalu ? qāla: lā ʿamala yawmaʾidhin lā yanjū fīhi ʾillā man haraba bidīnihi min shāhiqin ʾilā shāhiqin wafī ḥadīthi ʾabī hurayrata raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: yaʾtī ʿalā al-nāsi zamānun man ʿamila minhum biʿushri mā ʾumira bihi najā wafī baʿḍihā biʿushri mā yaʿlamu ,
In a report: “A time will come upon people when whoever recognizes the truth will be saved.” He was asked: “Then where is action?” He said: “There is no action on that day. Only the one who flees with his religion from one mountain height to another will be saved.” In the hadith of Abū Hurayra, may God be pleased with him: “A time will come upon people when whoever among them acts upon one-tenth of what he was commanded will be saved.” In some versions: “One-tenth of what he knows.”
وَعَنْ بَعْضِ الصَّحَابَةِ أَنْتُمُ الْيَوْمَ فِي زَمَانٍ مَنْ تَرَكَ مِنْكُمْ عُشْرَ مَا يَعْلَمُ هَلَكَ وَيَأْتِي عَلَيْكُمْ زَمَانٌ مَنْ عَمِلَ فِيهِ بِعُشْرِ مَا يَعْلَمُ نَجَا ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْخُلَفَاءِ : يَأْتِي عَلَيْكُمْ زَمَانٌ يَكُونُ أَفْضَلَ الْعِلْمِ الصَّمْتُ وَأَفْضَلَ الْعَمَلِ النَّوْمُ يَعْنِي لِكَثْرَةِ الْمُنَافِقِينَ بِالشُّبُهَاتِ فَصَارَ الصَّمْتُ لِلْجَاهِلِ عِلْمًا وَلِكَثْرَةِ الْعَامِلِينَ بِالشَّهَوَاتِ فَصَارَ النَّوْمُ عِبَادَةَ الْبَطَّالِ وَلَعَمْرِي إِنَّ الصَّمْتَ وَالنَّوْمَ أَدْنَى أَحْوَالِ الْعَالِمِ وَهُمَا أَعْلَى
waʿan baʿḍi al-ṣaḥābati ʾantumu al-yawma fī zamānin man taraka minkum ʿushra mā yaʿlamu halaka wayaʾtī ʿalaykum zamānun man ʿamila fīhi biʿushri mā yaʿlamu najā , waqāla baʿḍu al-khulafāʾi: yaʾtī ʿalaykum zamānun yakūnu ʾafḍala al-ʿilmi al-ṣamtu waʾafḍala al-ʿamali al-nawmu yaʿnī likathrati al-munāfiqīna bi-al-shubuhāti faṣāra al-ṣamtu liljāhili ʿilman walikathrati al-ʿāmilīna bi-al-shahawāti faṣāra al-nawmu ʿibādata al-baṭṭāli walaʿamrī ʾinna al-ṣamta wa-al-nawma ʾadnā ʾaḥwāli al-ʿālimi wahumā ʾaʿlā
From one of the Companions: “You are today in a time when whoever among you abandons one-tenth of what he knows perishes. A time will come upon you when whoever acts upon one-tenth of what he knows will be saved.” One of the caliphs said: “A time will come upon you when the best knowledge is silence and the best action is sleep,” meaning because hypocrites are so numerous with their doubts, silence has become knowledge for the ignorant; and because those who act from desires are so numerous, sleep has become the idler’s worship. By my life, silence and sleep are the lowest states of the scholar, but the highest
أَحْوَالِ الْجَاهِلِ وَكَانَ يُونُسُ بْنُ عُبَيْدٍ يَقُولُ أَصْبَحَ الْيَوْمَ مَنْ يَعْرِفُ السُّنَّةَ غَرِيبًا وَأَغْرَبُ مِنْهُ مَنْ يَعْرِفُهُ يَعْنِي طَرِيقَةَ السَّلَفِ ، يَقُولُ : فَمَنْ يَعْرِفُهُ عَرَفَ طَرِيقَ مَنْ مَضَى وَهُوَ غَرِيبٌ أَيْضًا لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ عَرَفَ غَرِيبًا ، وَقَالَ حُذَيْفَةُ الْمَرْعَشِيُّ : كَتَبَ إِلَى يُوسُفَ بْنِ أَسْبَاطٍ ذَهَبَ الطَّاعَةُ وَمَنْ يَعْرِفُهَا وَكَانَ أَيْضًا يَقُولُ مَا بَقِيَ مَنْ يُؤْنَسُ بِهِ . وَقَالَ :
ʾaḥwāli al-jāhili wakāna yūnusu bnu ʿubaydin yaqūlu ʾaṣbaḥa al-yawma man yaʿrifu al-sunnata gharīban waʾaghrabu minhu man yaʿrifuhu yaʿnī ṭarīqata al-salafi , yaqūlu: faman yaʿrifuhu ʿarafa ṭarīqa man maḍā wahuwa gharībun ʾayḍan liʾannahu qad ʿarafa gharīban , waqāla ḥudhayfatu al-marʿashiyyu: kataba ʾilā yūsufa bni ʾasbāṭin dhahaba al-ṭāʿatu waman yaʿrifuhā wakāna ʾayḍan yaqūlu mā baqiya man yuʾnasu bihi. waqāla:
states of the ignorant person. Yūnus ibn ʿUbayd used to say: “Today, the one who knows the Sunna has become a stranger, and stranger still is the one who recognizes him,” meaning the way of the predecessors. He says: “Whoever recognizes him knows the path of those who passed before. He too is a stranger, because he has recognized a stranger.” Ḥudhayfa al-Marʿashī said, writing to Yūsuf ibn Asbāṭ: “Obedience has gone, and so have those who know it.” He also used to say: “No one remains in whose company one finds intimacy.” And he said:
مَا ظَنُّكَ بِزَمَانٍ مُذَاكَرَةُ الْعِلْمِ فِيهِ مَعْصِيَةٌ قِيلَ وَلِمَ ذَلِكَ ؟ قَالَ : لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَجِدُ أَهْلَهُ وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُو الدَّرْدَاءِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : إِنَّكُمْ لَنْ تَزَالُوا بِخَيْرٍ مَا أَحْبَبْتُمْ خِيَارَكُمْ وَقِيلَ فِيكُمُ الْحَقُّ فَعُرِفَ وَيْلٌ لَكُمْ إِذَا كَانَ الْعَالِمُ فِيكُمْ كَالشَّاةِ النَّطِيحِ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ لِلْمُتَقَدِّمِينَ عُلُومٌ يَجْتَمِعُونَ عَلَيْهَا وَيَتَفَاوَضُونَهَا بَيْنَهُمْ قَدْ دَرَسَتْ فِي زَمَانِنَا وَكَانَ لِلصَّالِحِينَ مَعَانٍ وَطَرَائِقُ يَسْلُكُونَهَا
mā ẓannuka bizamānin mudhākaratu al-ʿilmi fīhi maʿṣiyatun qīla walima dhālika ? qāla: liʾannahu lā yajidu ʾahlahu waqad kāna ʾabū al-dardāʾi raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu: ʾinnakum lan tazālū bikhayrin mā ʾaḥbabtum khiyārakum waqīla fīkumu al-ḥaqqu faʿurifa waylun lakum ʾidhā kāna al-ʿālimu fīkum ka-al-shāti al-naṭīḥi , waqad kāna lilmutaqaddimīna ʿulūmun yajtamiʿūna ʿalayhā wayatafāwaḍūnahā baynahum qad darasat fī zamāninā wakāna lil-ṣāliḥīna maʿānin waṭarāʾiqu yaslukūnahā
“What do you think of a time when discussing knowledge is disobedience?” He was asked: “Why is that?” He said: “Because one cannot find its people.” Abū al-Dardāʾ, may God be pleased with him, used to say: “You will remain well so long as you love your best people and truth is spoken among you and recognized. Woe to you when the scholar among you is like a sheep that has been butted.” The early generations had sciences around which they gathered and which they discussed with one another; these have faded in our time. The righteous had meanings and paths they traveled
وَيَسْأَلُونَ عَنْهَا قَدْ ذَهَبَتْ فِي وَقْتِنَا وَكَانَ لِلْيَقِينِ وَالْمَعْرِفَةِ مَقَامَاتٌ وَأَحْوَالٌ يَتَذَاكَرُهَا أَهْلُهَا وَيَطْلُبُونَ أَرْبَابَهَا قَدْ عَفَتْ آثَارُهَا عِنْدَنَا لِقِلَّةِ
wayasʾalūna ʿanhā qad dhahabat fī waqtinā wakāna lilyaqīni wa-al-maʿrifati maqāmātun waʾaḥwālun yatadhākaruhā ʾahluhā wayaṭlubūna ʾarbābahā qad ʿafat ʾāthāruhā ʿindanā liqillati
and asked about; these have departed in our time. Certainty and knowledge of God had stations and states that their people discussed, seeking those who possessed them. Their traces have been effaced among us because of the scarcity of
الطَّالِبِينَ لَهَا وَلِعَدَمِ الرَّاغِبِينَ فِيهَا وَفَقْدِ الْعُلَمَاءِ بِهَا وَذَهَابِ السَّالِكِينَ فِي طُرُقِهَا مِنْهَا طَلَبُ الْحَلَالِ وَعِلْمُ الْوَرَعِ فِي الْمَكَاسِبِ وَالْمُعَامَلَاتِ وَعِلْمُ الْإِخْلَاصِ وَعِلْمُ آفَاتِ النُّفُوسِ وَفَسَادِ الْأَعْمَالِ وَعِلْمُ نِفَاقِ الْعِلْمِ وَالْعَمَلِ وَالْفَرْقُ بَيْنَ نِفَاقِ الْعِلْمِ وَالْعَمَلِ وَالْفَرْقُ بَيْنَ نِفَاقِ الْقَلْبِ وَنِفَاقِ النَّفْسِ وَبَيْنَ إِظْهَارِ النَّفْسِ شَهْوَتَهَا وَإِخْفَائِهَا ذَلِكَ وَالْفَرْقُ بَيْنَ سُكُونِ الْقَلْبِ بِاللَّهِ وَسُكُونِ النَّفْسِ بِالْأَسْبَابِ وَالْفَرْقُ بَيْنَ خَوَاطِرِ الرُّوحِ وَالنَّفْسِ وَبَيْنَ خَاطِرِ
al-ṭālibīna lahā waliʿadami al-rāghibīna fīhā wafaqdi al-ʿulamāʾi bihā wadhahābi al-sālikīna fī ṭuruqihā minhā ṭalabu al-ḥalāli waʿilmu al-waraʿi fī al-makāsibi wa-al-muʿāmalāti waʿilmu al-ʾikhlāṣi waʿilmu ʾāfāti al-nufūsi wafasādi al-ʾaʿmāli waʿilmu nifāqi al-ʿilmi wa-al-ʿamali wa-al-farqu bayna nifāqi al-ʿilmi wa-al-ʿamali wa-al-farqu bayna nifāqi al-qalbi wanifāqi al-nafsi wabayna ʾiẓhāri al-nafsi shahwatahā waʾikhfāʾihā dhālika wa-al-farqu bayna sukūni al-qalbi bi-allāhi wasukūni al-nafsi bi-al-ʾasbābi wa-al-farqu bayna khawāṭiri al-rūḥi wa-al-nafsi wabayna khāṭiri
those who seek them, the absence of those who desire them, the loss of those who know them, and the departure of those who travel their paths. They include seeking what is lawful; knowledge of scrupulousness in earnings and dealings; knowledge of sincerity; knowledge of the defects of souls and the corruption of deeds; knowledge of hypocrisy in learning and action; distinguishing hypocrisy in learning from hypocrisy in action; distinguishing hypocrisy of the heart from hypocrisy of the soul, and the soul’s displaying its desire from concealing it; distinguishing the heart’s rest in God from the soul’s rest in means; and distinguishing the promptings of spirit and soul from the prompting of
الْإِيمَانِ وَالْيَقِينِ وَالْعَقْلِ وَعِلْمُ خَلَائِقِ الْأَحْوَالِ وَأَحْوَالِ طَرَائِقِ الْعُمَّالِ وَتَفَاوُتِ مُشَاهَدَاتِ الْعَارِفِينَ وَتَلْوِينَاتِ الشَّوَاهِدِ عَلَى الْمُرِيدِينَ وَعِلْمُ الْقَبْضِ وَالْبَسْطِ وَالتَّحْقِيقِ بِصِفَاتِ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ وَالتَّخَلُّقِ بِأَخْلَاقِ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ وَتَبَايُنِ مَقَامَاتِ الْعُلَمَاءِ إِلَى غَيْرِ ذَلِكَ مِمَّا لَا نَذْكُرُهُ مِنْ عِلْمِ التَّوْحِيدِ وَمَعْرِفَةِ مَعَانِي الصِّفَاتِ وَعُلُومِ الْمُكَاشَفَةِ بِتَجَلِّي الذَّاتِ وَإِظْهَارِ الْأَفْعَالِ الدَّالَّةِ عَلَى مَعَانِي الصِّفَاتِ الْبَاطِنَةِ وَظُهُورِ الْمَعَانِي الدَّالَّةِ عَلَى النَّظَرِ وَالْإِعْرَاضِ وَالتَّقْرِيبِ وَالْإِبْعَادِ وَالنَّقْصِ وَالْمَزِيدِ وَالْمَثُوبَةِ وَالْعُقُوبَةِ وَالِاخْتِبَاءِ وَالِاخْتِيَارِ ،
al-ʾīmāni wa-al-yaqīni wa-al-ʿaqli waʿilmu khalāʾiqi al-ʾaḥwāli waʾaḥwāli ṭarāʾiqi al-ʿummāli watafāwuti mushāhadāti al-ʿārifīna watalwīnāti al-shawāhidi ʿalā al-murīdīna waʿilmu al-qabḍi wa-al-basṭi wa-al-taḥqīqi biṣifāti al-ʿubūdiyyati wa-al-takhalluqi biʾakhlāqi al-rubūbiyyati watabāyuni maqāmāti al-ʿulamāʾi ʾilā ghayri dhālika mimmā lā nadhkuruhu min ʿilmi al-tawḥīdi wamaʿrifati maʿānī al-ṣifāti waʿulūmi al-mukāshafati bitajallī al-dhāti waʾiẓhāri al-ʾafʿāli al-dāllati ʿalā maʿānī al-ṣifāti al-bāṭinati waẓuhūri al-maʿānī al-dāllati ʿalā al-naẓari wa-al-ʾiʿrāḍi wa-al-taqrībi wa-al-ʾibʿādi wa-al-naqṣi wa-al-mazīdi wa-al-mathūbati wa-al-ʿuqūbati wa-al-ikhtibāʾi wa-al-ikhtiyāri ,
faith, certainty, and reason; knowledge of the qualities of spiritual states, the conditions of practitioners’ paths, the differing visions of those who know God, and the changing forms of witnesses presented to seekers; knowledge of contraction and expansion, realization of the qualities of servanthood, taking on the qualities of lordship, and the differences between scholars’ stations. There are other matters we do not mention: knowledge of divine oneness, understanding the meanings of the attributes, the sciences of unveiling through the self-disclosure of the Essence and the manifestation of acts that indicate the meanings of inward attributes, and the appearance of meanings indicating regard and turning away, drawing near and distancing, decrease and increase, reward and punishment, concealment and choice.
وَقَدْ ذَكَرْنَا مِنْ جَمِيعِ هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي فُصُولًا وَرَسَمْنَا جُمَلًا وَأُصُولًا تُنَبِّهُ عَلَى فُرُوعِهَا وَنَدُلُّ عَلَى أَشْكَالِهَا لِمَنْ وُفِّقَ لِتَدَبُّرِهَا وَأُرِيدَ بِتَذَكُّرِهَا وَجُعِلَ لَهُ نَصِيبٌ مِنْهَا . وَقَالَ بَعْضُ عُلَمَائِنَا : أَعْرِفُ لِلْمُتَقَدِّمِينَ سَبْعِينَ عِلْمًا كَانُوا يَتَحَاوَرُونَهَا وَيَتَعَارَفُونَهَا فِي هَذَا الْعِلْمِ لَمْ يَبْقَ مِنْهَا الْيَوْمَ عِلْمٌ وَاحِدٌ يُعْرَفُ ، قَالَ : وَأَعْرِفُ فِي زَمَانِنَا هَذَا عُلُومًا كَثِيرَةً مِنَ الْأَبَاطِيلِ وَالدَّعَاوَى وَالْغُرُورِ ،
waqad dhakarnā min jamīʿi hādhihi al-maʿānī fuṣūlan warasamnā jumalan waʾuṣūlan tunabbihu ʿalā furūʿihā wanadullu ʿalā ʾashkālihā liman wuffiqa litadabburihā waʾurīda bitadhakkurihā wajuʿila lahu naṣībun minhā. waqāla baʿḍu ʿulamāʾinā: ʾaʿrifu lilmutaqaddimīna sabʿīna ʿilman kānū yataḥāwarūnahā wayataʿārafūnahā fī hādhā al-ʿilmi lam yabqa minhā al-yawma ʿilmun wāḥidun yuʿrafu , qāla: waʾaʿrifu fī zamāninā hādhā ʿulūman kathīratan mina al-ʾabāṭīli wa-al-daʿāwā wa-al-ghurūri ,
We have mentioned sections on all these meanings, and outlined general statements and principles that draw attention to their branches. We indicate their related forms for those granted success in reflecting on them, intended to remember them, and allotted a share in them. One of our scholars said: “I know of seventy sciences possessed by the early generations, which they discussed and recognized among themselves within this knowledge. Today not a single one remains known.” He said: “In our present time I know many sciences consisting of falsehoods, claims, and delusion,
وَقَدْ ظَهَرَتْ وَسُمِّيَتْ عُلُومًا لَمْ تَكُنْ فِيمَا مَضَى تُعْرَفُ فَهَذَا كَالسَّرَابِ الَّذِي وَصَفَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فَقَالَ : ( يَحْسَبُهُ الظَّمْآنُ مَاءً حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئًا ) النُّورُ : 39 ، وَكَانَ الْجُنَيْدُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِنْ قَبْلِهِ يَقُولُ : عِلْمُنَا هَذَا الَّذِي نَتَكَلَّمُ فِيهِ قَدْ طُوِيَ بِسَاطُهُ مُنْذُ عِشْرِينَ سَنَةً وَإِنَّمَا نَتَكَلَّمُ فِي حَوَاشِيهِ وَكَانَ يَقُولُ أَيْضًا قَدْ كُنْتُ أُجَالِسُ قَوْمًا
waqad ẓaharat wasummiyat ʿulūman lam takun fīmā maḍā tuʿrafu fahādhā ka-al-sarābi alladhī waṣafahu allāhu taʿālā faqāla: ( yaḥsabuhu al-ẓamʾānu māʾan ḥattā ʾidhā jāʾahu lam yajidhu shayʾan ) al-nūru: 39 , wakāna al-junaydu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā min qablihi yaqūlu: ʿilmunā hādhā alladhī natakallamu fīhi qad ṭuwiya bisāṭuhu mundhu ʿishrīna sanatan waʾinnamā natakallamu fī ḥawāshīhi wakāna yaqūlu ʾayḍan qad kuntu ʾujālisu qawman
“which have appeared and been called sciences, although they were unknown in earlier times.” This is like the mirage God Most High described, saying: “The thirsty person thinks it water, until, when he comes to it, he finds it nothing” (al-Nūr 24:39). Before him, al-Junayd, God Most High have mercy on him, used to say: “The carpet of this knowledge of ours, of which we speak, was rolled up twenty years ago. We speak only of its margins.” He also used to say: “I sat with people for
سِنِينَ يَتَحَاوَرُونَ فِي عُلُومٍ لَا أَفْهَمُهَا وَلَا أَدْرِي مَا هِيَ وَمَا بُلِيتُ بِالْإِنْكَارِ قَطُّ كُنْتُ أَتَقَبَّلُهَا وَأُحِبُّهَا مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ أَعْرِفَهَا وَكَانَ أَيْضًا يَقُولُ كُنَّا نَتَجَارَى مَعَ إِخْوَانِنَا قَدِيمًا فِي عُلُومٍ كَثِيرَةٍ مَا تُعْرَفُ فِي وَقْتِنَا هَذَا وَلَا سَأَلَنِي عَنْهَا أَحَدٌ ، وَهَذَا بَابٌ قَدْ أُغْلِقَ وَرُدِمَ ،
sinīna yataḥāwarūna fī ʿulūmin lā ʾafhamuhā walā ʾadrī mā hiya wamā bulītu bi-al-ʾinkāri qaṭṭu kuntu ʾataqabbaluhā waʾuḥibbuhā min ghayri ʾan ʾaʿrifahā wakāna ʾayḍan yaqūlu kunnā natajārā maʿa ʾikhwāninā qadīman fī ʿulūmin kathīratin mā tuʿrafu fī waqtinā hādhā walā saʾalanī ʿanhā ʾaḥadun , wahādhā bābun qad ʾughliqa warudima ,
“years while they discussed sciences I did not understand and did not know what they were. I was never afflicted with rejecting them; I accepted and loved them without knowing them.” He also used to say: “In earlier times we discussed with our brothers many sciences unknown in our time, and no one has asked me about them. This is a door that has been closed and blocked up.”
وَلَمَّا صَنَّفَ شَيْخُنَا أَبُو سَعِيدِ بْنُ الْأَعْرَابِيِّ كِتَابَ طَبَقَاتِ النُّسَّاكِ وَوَصَفَ أَوَّلَ مَنْ تَكَلَّمَ فِي هَذَا الْعِلْمِ وَأَظْهَرَهُ ثُمَّ مَنْ بَعْدَهُ مِنَ الْبَصْرِيِّينَ وَالشَّامِيِّينَ وَأَهْلِ خُرَاسَانَ إِلَى أَنْ كَانَ آخِرُهُمُ الْبَغْدَادِيِّينَ ، وَقَالَ : آخِرُ مَنْ تَكَلَّمَ فِي هَذَا صَاحِبُنَا جُنَيْدُ الْقَوَارِيرِيُّ وَكَانَتْ لَهُ بَصِيرَةٌ فِيهِ وَحَقِيقَةٌ وَحُسْنُ عِبَارَةٍ وَمَا بَقِيَ بَعْدَهُ إِلَّا مَنْ مُجَالَسَتُهُ غَيْظٌ ، وَقَالَ مَرَّةً أُخْرَى :
walammā ṣannafa shaykhunā ʾabū saʿīdi bnu al-ʾaʿrābiyyi kitāba ṭabaqāti al-nussāki wawaṣafa ʾawwala man takallama fī hādhā al-ʿilmi waʾaẓharahu thumma man baʿdahu mina al-baṣriyyīna wa-al-shāmiyyīna waʾahli khurāsāna ʾilā ʾan kāna ʾākhiruhumu al-baghdādiyyīna , waqāla: ʾākhiru man takallama fī hādhā ṣāḥibunā junaydu al-qawārīriyyu wakānat lahu baṣīratun fīhi waḥaqīqatun waḥusnu ʿibāratin wamā baqiya baʿdahu ʾillā man mujālasatuhu ghayẓun , waqāla marratan ʾukhrā:
When our teacher Abū Saʿīd ibn al-Aʿrābī compiled the Book of the Classes of Ascetics, he described the first to speak of this knowledge and make it manifest, then those after him among the Basrans, Syrians, and people of Khurāsān, until the last of them were the Baghdadis. He said: “The last to speak about this was our companion Junayd al-Qawārīrī. He had insight into it, realization, and fine expression. After him there remain only people whose company provokes anger.” On another occasion he said:
مَا بَقِيَ بَعْدَ جُنَيْدٍ إِلَّا مَنْ يُسْتَحْيَا مِنْ ذِكْرِهِ وَقَدْ كَانَ إِمَامُنَا أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ بَعْدَ سَنَةِ ثَلَاثِمِائَةٍ لَا يَحِلُّ أَنْ يُتَكَلَّمَ بِعِلْمِنَا هَذَا لِأَنَّهُ يَحْدُثُ قَوْمٌ يَتَصَنَّعُونَ لِلْخَلْقِ وَيَتَزَيَّنُونَ بِالْكَلَامِ لِتَكُونَ مَوَاجِيدُهُمْ لِبَاسَهُمْ وَحِلْيَتُهُمْ كَلَامَهُمْ وَمَعْبُودُهُمْ بُطُونَهُمْ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ حُذَيْفَةُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ إِذَا سُئِلَ أَيُّ الْفِتَنِ أَشَدُّ فَقَالَ :
mā baqiya baʿda junaydin ʾillā man yustaḥyā min dhikrihi waqad kāna ʾimāmunā ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun raḥimahu allāhu yaqūlu baʿda sanati thalāthimiʾatin lā yaḥillu ʾan yutakallama biʿilminā hādhā liʾannahu yaḥduthu qawmun yataṣannaʿūna lilkhalqi wayatazayyanūna bi-al-kalāmi litakūna mawājīduhum libāsahum waḥilyatuhum kalāmahum wamaʿbūduhum buṭūnahum , waqad kāna ḥudhayfatu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ʾidhā suʾila ʾayyu al-fitani ʾashaddu faqāla:
“After Junayd there remain only people one is ashamed to mention.” Our leader Abū Muḥammad Sahl, God have mercy on him, used to say: “After the year three hundred it will not be permissible to speak of this knowledge of ours, because people will arise who put on appearances for others and adorn themselves with speech, so that their spiritual experiences are their garments, their adornment is their words, and what they worship is their bellies.” When Ḥudhayfa, may God be pleased with him, was asked which trials were most severe, he said:
أَنْ يُعْرَضَ عَلَيْكَ الْخَيْرُ وَالشَّرُّ فَلَا تَدْرِي أَيَّهُمَا تَأْخُذُ لِكَثْرَةِ الشُّبُهَاتِ كَمَا كَانَ سَهْلٌ يَقُولُ بَعْدَ سَنَةِ ثَلَاثِمِائَةٍ لَا يَصِحُّ لِأَحَدٍ تَوْبَةٌ لِأَنَّهُ يَفْسُدُ
ʾan yuʿraḍa ʿalayka al-khayru wa-al-sharru falā tadrī ʾayyahumā taʾkhudhu likathrati al-shubuhāti kamā kāna sahlun yaqūlu baʿda sanati thalāthimiʾatin lā yaṣiḥḥu liʾaḥadin tawbatun liʾannahu yafsudu
“That good and evil are presented to you, and you do not know which to take because doubts are so numerous.” Likewise Sahl used to say: “After the year three hundred no one’s repentance will be sound, because
خُبْزُهُمْ وَهُمْ لَا يَصْبِرُونَ عَنِ الْخُبْزِ يَعْنِي أَنَّ أَوَّلَ التَّوْبَةِ أَكْلُ الْحَلَالِ وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي خَبَرٍ يَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ يَضِلُّونَ فِيهِ دِينَهُمْ فَلَا يَعْرِفُونَهُ يُصْبِحُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى دِينٍ وَيُمْسِي عَلَى دِينٍ يَضِلُّ أَمْرُهُ عَلَى غَيْرِ يَقِينٍ وَتُسْلَبُ عُقُولُ أَكْثَرِ أَهْلِ ذَلِكَ الزَّمَانِ وَأَوَّلُ مَا يُرْفَعُ عَنْهُمُ الْخُشُوعُ ثُمَّ الْإِجَابَةُ ثُمَّ الْوَرَعُ وَيُقَالُ : أَوَّلُ مَا يُرْفَعُ مِنَ النَّاسِ الْأُلْفَةُ .
khubzuhum wahum lā yaṣbirūna ʿani al-khubzi yaʿnī ʾanna ʾawwala al-tawbati ʾaklu al-ḥalāli waqad rawaynā fī khabarin yaʾtī ʿalā al-nāsi zamānun yaḍillūna fīhi dīnahum falā yaʿrifūnahu yuṣbiḥu al-rajulu ʿalā dīnin wayumsī ʿalā dīnin yaḍillu ʾamruhu ʿalā ghayri yaqīnin watuslabu ʿuqūlu ʾakthari ʾahli dhālika al-zamāni waʾawwalu mā yurfaʿu ʿanhumu al-khushūʿu thumma al-ʾijābatu thumma al-waraʿu wayuqālu: ʾawwalu mā yurfaʿu mina al-nāsi al-ʾulfatu.
“their bread becomes corrupt, and they cannot do without bread,” meaning that the beginning of repentance is eating what is lawful. We have related in a report: “A time will come upon people when they lose their religion and do not recognize it. A man enters the morning upon one religion and the evening upon another. His affair wanders without certainty. The minds of most people of that time will be taken away. The first thing removed from them will be humble submission, then answered prayer, then scrupulousness.” It is said: “The first thing removed from people will be mutual affection.”
ذِكْرُ مَا أَحْدَثَ النَّاسُ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَالْفِعْلِ فِيمَا بَيْنَهُمْ مِمَّا لَمْ يَكُنْ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَفُ
dhikru mā ʾaḥdatha al-nāsu mina al-qawli wa-al-fiʿli fīmā baynahum mimmā lam yakun ʿalayhi al-salafu
An Account of the Words and Deeds People Have Introduced among Themselves That Were Not the Practice of the Predecessors
كَانَ النَّاسُ قَدِيمًا إِذَا الْتَقَوْا يَقُولُ أَحَدُهُمْ : لِصَاحِبِهِ مَا خَبَرُكَ وَمَا حَالُكَ ؟ يَعْنُونَ بِذَلِكَ مَا خَبَرُ نَفْسِكَ فِي مُجَاهَدَتِهَا وَصَبْرِهَا وَمَا حَالُ قَلْبِكَ مِنْ مَزِيدِ الْإِيمَانِ وَعِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَيْضًا مَا خَبَرُكَ فِي الْمُعَامَلَةِ لِمَوْلَاكَ وَمَا حَالُكَ فِي أُمُورِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ هَلِ ازْدَدْتَ أَمِ انْتَقَصْتَ فَيَتَذَاكَرُونَ أَحْوَالَ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَيَصِفُونَ أَعْمَالَ عُلُومِهِمْ وَيَذْكُرُونَ مَا وَهَبَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَهُمْ مِنْ حُسْنِ الْمُعَامَلَةِ وَمَا
kāna al-nāsu qadīman ʾidhā iltaqaw yaqūlu ʾaḥaduhum: liṣāḥibihi mā khabaruka wamā ḥāluka ? yaʿnūna bidhālika mā khabaru nafsika fī mujāhadatihā waṣabrihā wamā ḥālu qalbika min mazīdi al-ʾīmāni waʿilmi al-yaqīni wayurīdūna ʾayḍan mā khabaruka fī al-muʿāmalati limawlāka wamā ḥāluka fī ʾumūri al-dunyā wa-al-ʾākhirati hali izdadta ʾami intaqaṣta fayatadhākarūna ʾaḥwāla qulūbihim wayaṣifūna ʾaʿmāla ʿulūmihim wayadhkurūna mā wahaba allāhu taʿālā lahum min ḥusni al-muʿāmalati wamā
In earlier times, when people met, one would say to his companion: “What is your news, and what is your state?” They meant: “What is the news of your soul in its struggle and patience, and what is the state of your heart in increased faith and knowledge of certainty?” They also meant: “What is your news in your dealings with your Master, and what is your state in the affairs of this world and the hereafter? Have you increased or diminished?” They would discuss the states of their hearts, describe the deeds arising from their knowledge, and mention what God Most High had granted them of good dealings with Him, and what
فَتَحَ لَهُمْ مِنْ غَرَائِبِ الْفُهُومِ فَكَانَ هَذَا مِنْ تَعْدِيدِ نِعَمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِمْ وَمِنْ جَمِيلِ شُكْرِهِمْ وَيَكُونُ مَزِيدًا لَهُمْ فِي الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَالْمُعَامَلَةِ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ يَقُولُ : أَكْثَرُ عُلُومِنَا وَمَوَاجِيدِنَا مَا يَعْرِفُهُ بَعْضُنَا مِنْ بَعْضٍ وَمَا يُخْبِرُ بِهِ أَحَدُنَا أَخَاهُ إِذَا الْتَقَيْنَا فَقَدْ جُهِلَ هَذَا الْيَوْمَ فَتُرِكَ ،
fataḥa lahum min gharāʾibi al-fuhūmi fakāna hādhā min taʿdīdi niʿami allāhi taʿālā ʿalayhim wamin jamīli shukrihim wayakūnu mazīdan lahum fī al-maʿrifati wa-al-muʿāmalati , waqad kāna baʿḍuhum yaqūlu: ʾaktharu ʿulūminā wamawājīdinā mā yaʿrifuhu baʿḍunā min baʿḍin wamā yukhbiru bihi ʾaḥadunā ʾakhāhu ʾidhā iltaqaynā faqad juhila hādhā al-yawma faturika ,
He had opened to them of extraordinary insights. This was a recounting of God Most High’s blessings upon them and an expression of their beautiful gratitude, and it would bring them an increase in knowledge and in their dealings with Him. One of them used to say, “Most of our knowledge and spiritual experiences are what we learn from one another and what each of us tells his brother when we meet.” Today this has been forgotten and abandoned.
فَهُمْ إِذَا تَسَاءَلُوا عَنِ الْخَبَرِ وَالْحَالِ إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُونَ بِهِ أُمُورَ الدُّنْيَا وَأَسْبَابَ الْهَوَى ثُمَّ يَشْكُو كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ مَوْلَاهُ الْجَلِيلَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى إِلَى عَبْدِهِ الذَّلِيلِ وَيَتَسَخَّطُ أَحْكَامَهُ وَيَتَبَرَّمُ بِقَضَائِهِ وَيَنْسَى نَفْسَهُ وَمَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاهُ فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ ذُكِّرَ بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِ فَأَعْرَضَ عَنْهَا وَنَسِيَ مَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاهُ ) الْكَهْفُ : 57 ، وَكَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى :
fahum ʾidhā tasāʾalū ʿani al-khabari wa-al-ḥāli ʾinnamā yurīdūna bihi ʾumūra al-dunyā waʾasbāba al-hawā thumma yashkū kullu wāḥidin mawlāhu al-jalīla subḥānahu wataʿālā ʾilā ʿabdihi al-dhalīli wayatasakhkhaṭu ʾaḥkāmahu wayatabarramu biqaḍāʾihi wayansā nafsahu wamā qaddamat yadāhu famathaluhu kamā qāla taʿālā: ( waman ʾaẓlamu mimman dhukkira biʾāyāti rabbihi faʾaʿraḍa ʿanhā wanasiya mā qaddamat yadāhu ) al-kahfu: 57 , wakamā qāla taʿālā:
When people ask one another for news and about their condition, they now mean only worldly affairs and the means of satisfying desire. Then each complains of his majestic Master, glorified and exalted is He, to His lowly servant, resents His judgments, frets at His decree, and forgets himself and what his own hands have done. His case is as the Most High says: “Who is more unjust than one who is reminded of his Lord’s signs, then turns away from them and forgets what his hands have sent ahead?” (al-Kahf 18:57). And as the Most High says:
( إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لِرَبِّهِ لَكَنُودٌ ) الْعَادِيَاتُ : 6 قِيلَ كَفُورٌ بِنِعْمَتِهِ يُعَدِّدُ الْمَصَائِبَ وَيَنْسَى النِّعَمَ كُلُّ ذَلِكَ جَهَالَةٌ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَغَفْلَةٌ عَنْهُ ، وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُهُمْ : الْآنَ كَيْفَ أَصْبَحْتَ وَكَيْفَ أَمْسَيْتَ ؟ هَذَا مُحْدَثٌ ، إِنَّمَا كَانُوا إِذَا الْتَقَوْا قَالُوا : السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ . وَفِي الْخَبَرِ :
( ʾinna al-ʾinsāna lirabbihi lakanūdun ) al-ʿādiyātu: 6 qīla kafūrun biniʿmatihi yuʿaddidu al-maṣāʾiba wayansā al-niʿama kullu dhālika jahālatun bi-allāhi taʿālā waghaflatun ʿanhu , waminhu qawluhum: al-ʾāna kayfa ʾaṣbaḥta wakayfa ʾamsayta ? hādhā muḥdathun , ʾinnamā kānū ʾidhā iltaqaw qālū: al-salāmu ʿalaykum waraḥmatu allāhi. wafī al-khabari:
“The human being is indeed ungrateful to his Lord” (al-ʿĀdiyāt 100:6). It has been explained: ungrateful for His blessing, counting his misfortunes and forgetting His favors. All this is ignorance of God Most High and heedlessness of Him. Another example is what people say now: “How are you this morning? How are you this evening?” This is an innovation. When the earlier people met, they simply said, “Peace be upon you, and God’s mercy.” In the report:
مَنْ بَدَأَكُمْ بِالْكَلَامِ قَبْلَ السَّلَامِ فَلَا تُجِيبُوهُ وَإِنَّمَا حَدَثَ هَذَا فِي زَمَانِ الطَّاعُونِ الَّذِي كَانَ يُدْعَى طَاعُونَ عِمْوَاسَ بِالشَّامِ مِنَ الْمَوْتِ الذَّرِيعِ ، كَانَ الرَّجُلُ يَلْقَى أَخَاهُ غُدْوَةً فَيَقُولُ كَيْفَ أَصْبَحْتَ مِنَ الطَّاعُونِ وَيَلْقَاهُ عَشِيَّةً فَيَقُولُ كَيْفَ أَمْسَيْتَ مِنْهُ لِأَنَّ أَحَدَهُمْ كَانَ إِذَا أَصْبَحَ لَمْ يُمْسِ وَإِذَا أَمْسَى لَمْ يُصْبِحْ ، فَبَقِيَ هَذَا إِلَى الْيَوْمِ وَنُسِيَ سَبَبُهُ وَكَانَ مَنْ عَرَفَ حُدُوثَهُ مِنَ الْمُتَقَدِّمِينَ يَكْرَهُهُ ،
man badaʾakum bi-al-kalāmi qabla al-salāmi falā tujībūhu waʾinnamā ḥadatha hādhā fī zamāni al-ṭāʿūni alladhī kāna yudʿā ṭāʿūna ʿimwāsa bi-al-shāmi mina al-mawti al-dharīʿi , kāna al-rajulu yalqā ʾakhāhu ghudwatan fayaqūlu kayfa ʾaṣbaḥta mina al-ṭāʿūni wayalqāhu ʿashiyyatan fayaqūlu kayfa ʾamsayta minhu liʾanna ʾaḥadahum kāna ʾidhā ʾaṣbaḥa lam yumsi waʾidhā ʾamsā lam yuṣbiḥ , fabaqiya hādhā ʾilā al-yawmi wanusiya sababuhu wakāna man ʿarafa ḥudūthahu mina al-mutaqaddimīna yakrahuhu ,
“Do not answer anyone who begins speaking to you before offering the greeting of peace.” This arose only at the time of the plague in Syria called the plague of ʿImwās, because death was so widespread. A man would meet his brother in the morning and say, “How have you fared this morning with the plague?” He would meet him in the evening and say, “How have you fared this evening with it?” For someone alive in the morning might not reach evening, and someone alive in the evening might not reach morning. This has remained to the present day, while its cause has been forgotten. Those among the earlier people who knew how it originated disliked it.
حَدَّثُونَا عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ أَبِي الْحَوَارِي قَالَ : قَالَ رَجُلٌ لِأَبِي بَكْرِ بْنِ عَيَّاشٍ : كَيْفَ أَصْبَحْتَ أَوْ كَيْفَ أَمْسَيْتَ فَلَمْ يُكَلِّمْهُ ، وَقَالَ : دَعُونَا مِنْ هَذِهِ الْبِدْعَةِ قَالَ : وَقُلْتُ لِبَعْضِ السَّلَفِ : كَيْفَ أَصْبَحْتَ فَأَعْرَضَ عَنِّي وَقَالَ مَا كَيْفَ أَصْبَحْتَ قُلْ بِالسَّلَامِ . وَرَوَى أَبُو مَعْشَرٍ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ إِنَّمَا كَانُوا يَقُولُونَ السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ سَلِمَتْ وَاللَّهِ الْقُلُوبُ ،
ḥaddathūnā ʿan ʾaḥmada bni ʾabī al-ḥawārī qāla: qāla rajulun liʾabī bakri bni ʿayyāshin: kayfa ʾaṣbaḥta ʾaw kayfa ʾamsayta falam yukallimhu , waqāla: daʿūnā min hādhihi al-bidʿati qāla: waqultu libaʿḍi al-salafi: kayfa ʾaṣbaḥta faʾaʿraḍa ʿannī waqāla mā kayfa ʾaṣbaḥta qul bi-al-salāmi. warawā ʾabū maʿsharin ʿani al-ḥasani raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ʾinnamā kānū yaqūlūna al-salāmu ʿalaykum salimat wa-allāhi al-qulūbu ,
They related to us from Aḥmad ibn Abī al-Ḥawārī, who said: A man said to Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh, “How are you this morning?” or “How are you this evening?” He would not speak to him, but said, “Spare us this innovation.” He said: I said to one of the predecessors, “How are you this morning?” He turned away from me and said, “What is this ‘How are you this morning’? Give the greeting of peace.” Abū Maʿshar related from al-Ḥasan, may God be pleased with him: “They used to say only, ‘Peace be upon you.’ By God, their hearts were sound!”
فَأَمَّا الْيَوْمَ كَيْفَ أَصْبَحْتَ أَصْلَحَكَ اللَّهُ كَيْفَ أَمْسَيْتَ عَافَاكَ اللَّهُ ، فَإِنْ أَخَذْنَا بِقَوْلِهِمْ كَانَتْ بِدْعَةً أَلَا وَلَا كَرَامَةَ فَإِنْ شَاؤُوا غَضِبُوا عَلَيْنَا وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ ابْتِدَاءُ الرَّجُلِ فِي عُنْوَانِ الْكِتَابِ بِاسْمِ الْمَكْتُوبِ إِلَيْهِ وَإِنَّمَا السُّنَّةُ أَنْ يَبْتَدِئَ بِنَفْسِهِ فَيَكْتُبَ مِنْ فُلَانٍ إِلَى فُلَانٍ ،
faʾammā al-yawma kayfa ʾaṣbaḥta ʾaṣlaḥaka allāhu kayfa ʾamsayta ʿāfāka allāhu , faʾin ʾakhadhnā biqawlihim kānat bidʿatan ʾalā walā karāmata faʾin shāʾū ghaḍibū ʿalaynā wamin dhālika ibtidāʾu al-rajuli fī ʿunwāni al-kitābi bismi al-maktūbi ʾilayhi waʾinnamā al-sunnatu ʾan yabtadiʾa binafsihi fayaktuba min fulānin ʾilā fulānin ,
“But today it is, ‘How are you this morning? May God set you right! How are you this evening? May God give you well-being!’ If we adopt their expressions, it is an innovation. No indeed, and no welcome to it! Let them be angry with us if they wish.” Another example is beginning a letter’s heading with the addressee’s name. The Sunna is to begin with oneself, writing, “From so-and-so to so-and-so.”
قَالَ ابْنُ سِيرِينَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : غِبْتُ غَيْبَةً فَكَتَبْتُ إِلَى أَبِي فَابْتَدَأْتُ بِاسْمِهِ فَكَتَبَ إِلَيَّ يَا بُنَيَّ إِذَا كَتَبْتَ إِلَيَّ فَابْدَأْ بِاسْمِكَ فِي الْكِتَابِ فَإِنِ ابْتَدَأْتَ بِاسْمِي قَبْلَ اسْمِكَ لَا قَرَأْتُ لَكَ كِتَابًا وَلَا رَدَدْتُ إِلَيْكَ جَوَابًا ، وَكَتَبَ الْعَلَاءُ بْنُ الْحَضْرَمِيِّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَبَدَأَ بِنَفْسِهِ وَكَتَبَ مِنَ الْعَلَاءِ بْنِ الْحَضْرَمِيِّ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :
qāla ibnu sīrīna raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā: ghibtu ghaybatan fakatabtu ʾilā ʾabī fabtadaʾtu bismihi fakataba ʾilayya yā bunayya ʾidhā katabta ʾilayya fabdaʾ bismika fī al-kitābi faʾini ibtadaʾta bismī qabla ismika lā qaraʾtu laka kitāban walā radadtu ʾilayka jawāban , wakataba al-ʿalāʾu bnu al-ḥaḍramiyyi raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ʾilā rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fabadaʾa binafsihi wakataba mina al-ʿalāʾi bni al-ḥaḍramiyyi ʾilā rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama:
Ibn Sīrīn, may God Most High have mercy on him, said: “I was away for a time and wrote to my father, beginning with his name. He wrote to me, ‘My son, when you write to me, begin the letter with your own name. If you begin with my name before yours, I will read no letter of yours and send you no reply.’” Al-ʿAlāʾ ibn al-Ḥaḍramī, may God be pleased with him, wrote to God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, beginning with himself. He wrote, “From al-ʿAlāʾ ibn al-Ḥaḍramī to God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace.”
وَيُقَالُ أَوَّلُ مَنْ أَحْدَثَهُ زِيَادٌ فَعَابَهُ الْعُلَمَاءُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَدُّوهُ مِنْ إِحْدَاثِ بَنِي أُمَيَّةَ ، وَقَدْ بَقِيَ سُنَّةُ هَذَا فِي كُتُبِ الْخُلَفَاءِ وَالْأُمَرَاءِ إِلَى الْيَوْمِ عَلَى نَحْوِ مَا مَضَى فَهُمْ يُقَدِّمُونَ أَسْمَاءَهُمْ فِي كُتُبِهِمْ وَمِنَ الْأَحْدَاثِ قَوْلُ الرَّجُلِ إِذَا جَاءَ مَنْزِلَ أَخِيهِ يَا غُلَامُ يَا جَارِيَةُ فِيهِ مُخَالَفَةٌ لِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَأَمْرِ رَسُولِهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ ، قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ :
wayuqālu ʾawwalu man ʾaḥdathahu ziyādun faʿābahu al-ʿulamāʾu ʿalayhi waʿaddūhu min ʾiḥdāthi banī ʾumayyata , waqad baqiya sunnatu hādhā fī kutubi al-khulafāʾi wa-al-ʾumarāʾi ʾilā al-yawmi ʿalā naḥwi mā maḍā fahum yuqaddimūna ʾasmāʾahum fī kutubihim wamina al-ʾaḥdāthi qawlu al-rajuli ʾidhā jāʾa manzila ʾakhīhi yā ghulāmu yā jāriyatu fīhi mukhālafatun liʾamri allāhi ʿazza wajalla waʾamri rasūlihi ʿalayhi al-salāmu , qāla allāhu ʿazza wajalla:
It is said that Ziyād was the first to introduce this. The scholars censured him for it and counted it among the innovations of the Umayyads. The earlier customary practice has continued in the letters of caliphs and commanders to this day: they put their own names first in their letters. Another innovation is a man’s saying, when he comes to his brother’s house, “Boy! Girl!” This contravenes the command of God, mighty and majestic, and the command of His Messenger, peace be upon him. God, mighty and majestic, says:
( لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتًا غَيْرَ بُيُوتِكُمْ حَتَّى تَسْتَأْنِسُوا وَتُسَلِّمُوا عَلَى أَهْلِهَا ) النُّورُ : 27 قَالَ أَهْلُ التَّفْسِيرِ : الِاسْتِئْنَاسُ الدَّقُّ أَوِ التَّنَحْنُحُ أَوِ الْحَرَكَةُ حَتَّى يُؤْذِنَ بِذَلِكَ أَنَّ وَرَاءَهَا إِنْسَانًا وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدُكُمْ مَنْزِلَ أَخِيهِ فَلْيُسَلِّمْ ثَلَاثًا فَإِنْ أُذِنَ لَهُ فَلْيَدْخُلْ وَإِلَّا فَلْيَرْجِعْ وَكَانَ السَّلَفُ يَقْرَعُ أَحَدُهُمْ بَابَ أَخِيهِ ثُمَّ يُسَلِّمُ ثَلَاثًا يَقِفُ بَعْدَ
( lā tadkhulū buyūtan ghayra buyūtikum ḥattā tastaʾnisū watusallimū ʿalā ʾahlihā ) al-nūru: 27 qāla ʾahlu al-tafsīri: al-istiʾnāsu al-daqqu ʾawi al-tanaḥnuḥu ʾawi al-ḥarakatu ḥattā yuʾdhina bidhālika ʾanna warāʾahā ʾinsānan waqāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾidhā jāʾa ʾaḥadukum manzila ʾakhīhi falyusallim thalāthan faʾin ʾudhina lahu falyadkhul waʾillā falyarjiʿ wakāna al-salafu yaqraʿu ʾaḥaduhum bāba ʾakhīhi thumma yusallimu thalāthan yaqifu baʿda
“Do not enter houses other than your own until you make your presence known and greet their inhabitants” (al-Nūr 24:27). The exegetes said: Making one’s presence known means knocking, clearing one’s throat, or making a movement, so that it becomes known that someone is outside. God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “When one of you comes to his brother’s house, let him give the greeting of peace three times. If he is given permission, let him enter; otherwise let him go back.” A person among the predecessors would knock on his brother’s door, then give the greeting three times, pausing after
كُلِّ تَسْلِيمَةٍ هُنَيْهَةً فَإِنْ أُذِنَ لَهُ دَخَلَ وَقَدْ لَا يُحِبُّ صَاحِبُ الْمَنْزِلِ أَنْ تَدْخُلَ عَلَيْهِ فِي ذَلِكَ الْوَقْتِ لِسَبَبِ عُذْرٍ لَهُ فَيَقُولُ : وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامُ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ ارْجِعْ عَافَاكَ اللَّهُ فَإِنِّي عَلَى شُغْلٍ فَيَرْجِعُ عَنْهُ غَيْرَ كَارِهٍ لِرُجُوعِهِ وَلَا يُؤَثِّرُ ذَلِكَ عَلَيْهِ فِي نَفْسِهِ ، وَقَدْ يَكُونُ قَوْلُهُ ارْجِعْ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ لِأَنَّهُ أَفْضَلُ لَهُ رَجَاءَ الْإِجَابَةِ وَالتَّزْكِيَةِ لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :
kulli taslīmatin hunayhatan faʾin ʾudhina lahu dakhala waqad lā yuḥibbu ṣāḥibu al-manzili ʾan tadkhula ʿalayhi fī dhālika al-waqti lisababi ʿudhrin lahu fayaqūlu: waʿalaykumu al-salāmu waraḥmatu allāhi irjiʿ ʿāfāka allāhu faʾinnī ʿalā shughlin fayirjiʿu ʿanhu ghayra kārihin lirujūʿihi walā yuʾaththiru dhālika ʿalayhi fī nafsihi , waqad yakūnu qawluhu irjiʿ ʾaḥabba ʾilayhi liʾannahu ʾafḍalu lahu rajāʾa al-ʾijābati wa-al-tazkiyati liqawlihi taʿālā:
each greeting for a little while. If given permission, he entered. The householder might, for some reason of his own, not want you to come in at that time. He would say, “And upon you be peace and God’s mercy. Go back, may God give you well-being, for I am occupied.” The visitor would leave without resenting his return, and it would leave no hurt within him. Indeed, “Go back” might be all the more welcome to him, since it was better for him, in the hope of responding to God’s command and being purified, because of the Most High’s words:
( وَإِنْ قِيلَ لَكُمُ ارْجِعُوا فَارْجِعُوا هُوَ أَزْكَى لَكُمْ ) النُّورُ : 28 ، فَرُبَّمَا رَجَعَ فِي الْيَوْمِ مَرَّتَيْنِ أَوْ ثَلَاثًا بَعْدَ رَدِّ صَاحِبِهِ لَهُ وَهُوَ يَعُودُ لِأَنَّ ذَلِكَ لَمْ يُؤَثِّرْ فِي قَلْبِهِ شَيْئًا وَهَذَا لَوْ فُعِلَ بِبَعْضِ النَّاسِ مِنْ أَهْلِ عَصْرِنَا هَذَا لَكَرِهَهُ ، وَلَعَلَّ أَنْ لَا يَعُودَ يَوْمَهُ ذَلِكَ فَأَمَّا الْعُلَمَاءُ فَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُ النَّاسِ لَا يَسْتَأْذِنُ عَلَيْهِمْ إِلَّا لِمُهِمٍّ لَا
( waʾin qīla lakumu irjiʿū firjiʿū huwa ʾazkā lakum ) al-nūru: 28 , farubbamā rajaʿa fī al-yawmi marratayni ʾaw thalāthan baʿda raddi ṣāḥibihi lahu wahuwa yaʿūdu liʾanna dhālika lam yuʾaththir fī qalbihi shayʾan wahādhā law fuʿila bibaʿḍi al-nāsi min ʾahli ʿaṣrinā hādhā lakarihahu , walaʿalla ʾan lā yaʿūda yawmahu dhālika faʾammā al-ʿulamāʾu faqad kāna baʿḍu al-nāsi lā yastaʾdhinu ʿalayhim ʾillā limuhimmin lā
“If you are told, ‘Go back,’ then go back; that is purer for you” (al-Nūr 24:28). He might go back two or three times in one day after his companion turned him away, and still return, for it had left no hurt in his heart. If this were done to some people of our own time, they would resent it and perhaps not return that day. As for scholars, some people would ask permission to see them only on an important matter that could not
بُدَّ مِنْهُ بَلْ كَانُوا يَقْعُدُونَ عَلَى أَبْوَابِهِمْ وَفِي مَسَاجِدِهِمْ يَنْتَظِرُونَ خُرُوجَهُمْ لِأَوْقَاتِ الصَّلَاةِ إِجْلَالًا لِلْعِلْمِ وَهَيْبَةً لِلْعُلَمَاءِ . وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ أَبِي عُبَيْدٍ قَالَ : مَا قَرَعْتُ عَلَى عَالِمٍ قَطُّ بَابَهُ كُنْتُ أَجِيءُ إِلَى مَنْزِلِهِ فَأَقْعُدُ عَلَى بَابِهِ أَنْتَظِرُ خُرُوجَهُ مِنْ قِبَلِ نَفْسِهِ أَتَأَوَّلُ قَوْلَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ صَبَرُوا حَتَّى تَخْرُجَ إِلَيْهِمْ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُمْ ) الْحُجُرَاتُ :
budda minhu bal kānū yaqʿudūna ʿalā ʾabwābihim wafī masājidihim yantaẓirūna khurūjahum liʾawqāti al-ṣalāti ʾijlālan lilʿilmi wahaybatan lilʿulamāʾi. waḥaddathūnā ʿan ʾabī ʿubaydin qāla: mā qaraʿtu ʿalā ʿālimin qaṭṭu bābahu kuntu ʾajīʾu ʾilā manzilihi faʾaqʿudu ʿalā bābihi ʾantaẓiru khurūjahu min qibali nafsihi ʾataʾawwalu qawla allāhi ʿazza wajalla: ( walaw ʾannahum ṣabarū ḥattā takhruja ʾilayhim lakāna khayran lahum ) al-ḥujurātu:
be avoided. Instead, they would sit at their doors or in their mosques, waiting for them to come out at prayer times, out of reverence for knowledge and awe of the scholars. They related to us from Abū ʿUbayd, who said: “I never knocked on a scholar’s door. I would come to his house and sit at his door, waiting for him to come out of his own accord, applying the words of God, mighty and majestic: ‘Had they been patient until you came out to them, it would have been better for them’” (al-Ḥujurāt 49:
5 ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مِثْلَ هَذَا عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا فِي مَوْضِعِهِ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ وَالشَّرَفِ أَنَّ الْمَارَّ كَانَ يَمُرُّ بِهِ وَهُوَ قَائِمٌ عَلَى بَابِ مَنْزِلِ الرَّجُلِ مِنَ الْأَنْصَارِ تَسْفِي عَلَيْهِ الرِّيَاحُ فَيَقُولُ : مَا يُجْلِسُكَ هَهُنَا يَا ابْنَ عَمِّ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ؟ فَيَقُولُ : أَنْتَظِرُ خُرُوجَ صَاحِبِ الْمَنْزِلِ ، فَيَخْرُجُ الرَّجُلُ فَيَقُولُ ابْنَ عَمِّ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ :
5 , waqad rawaynā mithla hādhā ʿani ibni ʿabbāsin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā fī mawḍiʿihi mina al-ʿilmi wa-al-sharafi ʾanna al-mārra kāna yamurru bihi wahuwa qāʾimun ʿalā bābi manzili al-rajuli mina al-ʾanṣāri tasfī ʿalayhi al-riyāḥu fayaqūlu: mā yujlisuka hāhunā yā ibna ʿammi rasūli allāhi ? fayaqūlu: ʾantaẓiru khurūja ṣāḥibi al-manzili , fayakhruju al-rajulu fayaqūlu ibna ʿammi rasūli allāhi:
5). We have related a similar account of Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with them both, despite his standing in knowledge and honor. A passerby would come upon him standing at the door of a man of the Anṣār, with the winds blowing dust over him, and say, “What keeps you sitting here, cousin of God’s Messenger?” He would say, “I am waiting for the householder to come out.” The man would come out and say, “Cousin of God’s Messenger!
لَوْ أَرْسَلْتَ إِلَيَّ لَجِئْتُكَ فَيَقُولُ : لَا أَنَا كُنْتُ أَحَقَّ أَنْ آتِيَكَ ، فَيَسْأَلُهُ عَمَّا يُرِيدُ مِنْ حَدِيثٍ بَلَغَهُ أَنَّهُ يَرْوِيهِ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمْ يَكُنْ هُوَ سَمِعَهُ مِنْهُ ، وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ اسْتِقْصَاءُ الرَّجُلِ فِي الْمَسْأَلَةِ عَنْ حَالِ أَخِيهِ وَخَبَرِهِ ، وَقَدْ كُرِهَ ذَلِكَ ، تَزَوَّجَ سَلْمَانُ الْفَارِسِيُّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فَلَمَّا دَخَلَ عَلَى أَهْلِهِ خَرَجَ إِلَى النَّاسِ مِنَ الْغَدِ فَقَالَ لَهُ رَجُلٌ :
law ʾarsalta ʾilayya lajiʾtuka fayaqūlu: lā ʾanā kuntu ʾaḥaqqa ʾan ʾātiyaka , fayasʾaluhu ʿammā yurīdu min ḥadīthin balaghahu ʾannahu yarwīhi ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lam yakun huwa samiʿahu minhu , wamin dhālika istiqṣāʾu al-rajuli fī al-masʾalati ʿan ḥāli ʾakhīhi wakhabarihi , waqad kuriha dhālika , tazawwaja salmānu al-fārisiyyu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu falammā dakhala ʿalā ʾahlihi kharaja ʾilā al-nāsi mina al-ghadi faqāla lahu rajulun:
“If you had sent for me, I would have come to you.” He would reply, “No, it was more fitting that I should come to you.” Then he would ask him about the report he wanted, which he had learned the man transmitted from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, although he himself had not heard it from him. Another example is a man’s exhaustive questioning about his brother’s condition and affairs. This was disliked. Salmān al-Fārisī, may God be pleased with him, married, and after going in to his wife, he came out to the people the following morning. A man said to him:
كَيْفَ أَنْتَ يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ بِخَيْرٍ أَحْمَدُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَالَ :
kayfa ʾanta yā ʾabā ʿabdi allāhi qāla bikhayrin ʾaḥmadu allāha taʿālā qāla:
“How are you, Abū ʿAbd Allāh?” He said, “Well; I praise God Most High.” He said:
كَيْفَ حَالُكَ وَكَيْفَ بِتَّ الْبَارِحَةَ . وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ كَيْفَ وَجَدْتَ أَهْلَكَ فَغَضِبَ سَلْمَانُ وَقَالَ : لِمَ يَسْأَلُ أَحَدُكُمْ فَيُحْفِي الْمَسْأَلَةَ وَيَسْأَلُ عَمَّا وَرَاءَ الْبُيُوتِ يَكْفِي أَحَدَكُمْ أَنْ يَسْأَلَ عَنْ ظَاهِرِ الْأَمْرِ وَأَمَّا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ مِهْرَانَ الْأَعْمَشُ فَإِنَّ رَجُلًا قَالَ لَهُ فِي مَنْزِلِهِ : كَيْفَ أَنْتَ يَا أَبَا مُحَمَّدٍ ؟ قَالَ : بِخَيْرٍ قَالَ : كَيْفَ حَالُكَ ؟ قَالَ فِي عَافِيَةٍ ،
kayfa ḥāluka wakayfa bitta al-bāriḥata. wafī lafẓin ʾākhara kayfa wajadta ʾahlaka faghaḍiba salmānu waqāla: lima yasʾalu ʾaḥadukum fayuḥfī al-masʾalata wayasʾalu ʿammā warāʾa al-buyūti yakfī ʾaḥadakum ʾan yasʾala ʿan ẓāhiri al-ʾamri waʾammā sulaymānu bnu mihrāna al-ʾaʿmashu faʾinna rajulan qāla lahu fī manzilihi: kayfa ʾanta yā ʾabā muḥammadin ? qāla: bikhayrin qāla: kayfa ḥāluka ? qāla fī ʿāfiyatin ,
“How are things with you? How did you spend last night?” In another wording: “How did you find your wife?” Salmān became angry and said, “Why does one of you ask and press his questioning, and ask about what is behind closed doors? It is enough for any of you to ask about outward circumstances.” As for Sulaymān ibn Mihrān al-Aʿmash, a man said to him in his home, “How are you, Abū Muḥammad?” He said, “Well.” He said, “How are things with you?” He said, “In good health.”
قَالَ : كَيْفَ بِتَّ الْبَارِحَةَ ؟ فَصَاحَ : يَا جَارِيَةُ انْزِلِي بِالْفِرَاشِ وَالْمَخَادِّ فَأَنْزَلَتْ بِذَلِكَ فَقَالَ : افْرِشِي وَاضْطَجِعِي حَتَّى أَضْطَجِعَ إِلَى جَنْبِكِ لِنُرِيَ أَخَانَا كَيْفَ بِتُّ الْبَارِحَةَ وَكَانَ يَقُولُ يَلْقَى أَحَدُهُمْ أَخَاهُ فَيَسْأَلُهُ عَنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حَتَّى عَنِ الدَّجَاجِ فِي الْبَيْتِ وَلَوْ سَأَلَهُ دِرْهَمًا مَا أَعْطَاهُ وَكَانَ مَنْ مَضَى مِنَ السَّلَفِ إِذَا لَقِيَ أَخَاهُ لَا يَزِيدُ عَلَى قَوْلِ :
qāla: kayfa bitta al-bāriḥata ? faṣāḥa: yā jāriyatu inzilī bi-al-firāshi wa-al-makhāddi faʾanzalat bidhālika faqāla: ifrishī waḍṭajiʿī ḥattā ʾaḍṭajiʿa ʾilā janbiki linuriya ʾakhānā kayfa bittu al-bāriḥata wakāna yaqūlu yalqā ʾaḥaduhum ʾakhāhu fayasʾaluhu ʿan kulli shayʾin ḥattā ʿani al-dajāji fī al-bayti walaw saʾalahu dirhaman mā ʾaʿṭāhu wakāna man maḍā mina al-salafi ʾidhā laqiya ʾakhāhu lā yazīdu ʿalā qawli:
He said, “How did you spend last night?” He shouted, “Girl, bring down the bedding and pillows!” She brought them down, and he said, “Spread them out and lie down, so that I may lie beside you and show our brother how I spent last night.” He used to say, “One of them meets his brother and asks him about everything, even the chickens in the house; yet if he asked him for a dirham, he would not give it to him.” When the earlier predecessors met a brother, they said no more than:
كَيْفَ أَنْتُمْ أَوْ حَيَّاكُمُ اللَّهُ بِالسَّلَامِ ، وَلَوْ سَأَلَهُ شَطْرَ مَالِهِ قَاسَمَهُ ، وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُ الرَّجُلِ لِأَخِيهِ إِذَا لَقِيَهُ ذَاهِبًا فِي الطَّرِيقِ إِلَى أَيْنَ تُرِيدُ أَوْ مِنْ أَيْنَ جِئْتَ فَقَدْ كُرِهَ هَذَا وَلَيْسَ مِنَ السُّنَّةِ وَلَا الْأَدَبِ وَهُوَ دَاخِلٌ فِي التَّجَسُّسِ وَالتَّحَسُّسِ لِأَنَّ التَّحَسُّسَ فِي الْآثَارِ وَالتَّجَسُّسَ فِي الْأَخْبَارِ وَهَذَا السُّؤَالُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ يَجْمَعُهُمَا وَقَدْ لَا يُحِبُّ الرَّجُلُ أَنْ يَعْلَمَ صَاحِبُهُ أَيْنَ يَذْهَبُ وَلَا مِنْ أَيْنَ جَاءَ .
kayfa ʾantum ʾaw ḥayyākumu allāhu bi-al-salāmi , walaw saʾalahu shaṭra mālihi qāsamahu , wamin dhālika qawlu al-rajuli liʾakhīhi ʾidhā laqiyahu dhāhiban fī al-ṭarīqi ʾilā ʾayna turīdu ʾaw min ʾayna jiʾta faqad kuriha hādhā walaysa mina al-sunnati walā al-ʾadabi wahuwa dākhilun fī al-tajassusi wa-al-taḥassusi liʾanna al-taḥassusa fī al-ʾāthāri wa-al-tajassusa fī al-ʾakhbāri wahādhā al-suʾālu ʿan dhālika yajmaʿuhumā waqad lā yuḥibbu al-rajulu ʾan yaʿlama ṣāḥibuhu ʾayna yadhhabu walā min ʾayna jāʾa.
“How are you?” or “May God greet you with peace.” Yet if he asked him for half his wealth, he would divide it with him. Another example is what a man says when he meets his brother walking along the road: “Where are you heading?” or “Where have you come from?” This has been disliked; it is neither the Sunna nor good manners, and it falls under spying and prying. Prying concerns traces of people’s movements, and spying concerns their affairs; these questions combine both. A man may not want his companion to know where he is going or where he has come from.
وَقَدْ كَرِهَ ذَلِكَ مُجَاهِدٌ وَعَطَاءٌ قَالَا : إِذَا لَقِيتَ أَخَاكَ فِي طَرِيقٍ فَلَا تَسْأَلْهُ مِنْ أَيْنَ جِئْتَ وَلَا أَيْنَ يَذْهَبُ فَلَعَلَّهُ أَنْ يَصْدُقَكَ فَتَكْرَهَ ذَلِكَ وَلَعَلَّهُ أَنْ يَكْذِبَكَ فَتَكُونَ قَدْ حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَيْهِ وَقَدْ كَانُوا يَكْرَهُونَ بَيْعَ الْمَصَاحِفِ وَشِرَاءَهَا وَكَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَيْعِهَا أَكْرَهَ مِنْهُ لِشِرَائِهَا ، وَقَدِ ابْتَدَعَ النَّاسُ عُلُومًا لَمْ تَكُنْ تُعْرَفُ فِيمَا سَلَفَ مِنْهَا :
waqad kariha dhālika mujāhidun waʿaṭāʾun qālā: ʾidhā laqīta ʾakhāka fī ṭarīqin falā tasʾalhu min ʾayna jiʾta walā ʾayna yadhhabu falaʿallahu ʾan yaṣduqaka fatakraha dhālika walaʿallahu ʾan yakdhibaka fatakūna qad ḥamaltahu ʿalayhi waqad kānū yakrahūna bayʿa al-maṣāḥifi washirāʾahā wakāna baʿḍuhum libayʿihā ʾakraha minhu lishirāʾihā , waqadi ibtadaʿa al-nāsu ʿulūman lam takun tuʿrafu fīmā salafa minhā:
Mujāhid and ʿAṭāʾ disliked this. They said, “When you meet your brother on a road, do not ask him, ‘Where have you come from?’ or where he is going. He may tell you the truth and you may dislike it; or he may lie to you, in which case you will have driven him to it.” They used to dislike selling and buying copies of the Qurʾān; some disliked selling them more than buying them. People have introduced sciences that were not known in earlier times, among them:
عِلْمُ الْكَلَامِ وَالْجَدَلِ وَعُلُومُ الْمَقَايِسِ وَالنَّظَرِ وَالِاسْتِدْلَالِ عَلَى سُنَنِ الرَّسُولِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِأَدِلَّةِ الرَّأْيِ وَالْمَعْقُولِ وَمِنْهَا إِيثَارُ عِلْمِ الْعَقْلِ وَالرَّأْيِ وَالْقِيَاسِ عَلَى ظَوَاهِرِ الْقُرْآنِ وَعَلَى الْأَخْبَارِ وَمِنْهَا : إِظْهَارُ الْإِشَارَاتِ بِالْمَوَاجِيدِ مِنْ غَيْرِ عُلُومِهَا وَلَا بَيَانِ تَفْصِيلِهَا ، وَفِي ذَلِكَ تَحْيِيرٌ لِلسَّامِعِينَ وَإِضْلَالٌ لِلْعَامِلِينَ وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ الْعُلَمَاءُ بِهَذَا الْعِلْمِ يُظْهِرُونَ عُلُومَ الْمَوَاجِيدِ وَيُخْفُونَ الْإِشَارَةَ بِالْوَجْدِ فَيُظْهِرُونَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا يَنْفَعُ وَيُخْفُونَ مَا
ʿilmu al-kalāmi wa-al-jadali waʿulūmu al-maqāyisi wa-al-naẓari wa-al-istidlāli ʿalā sunani al-rasūli ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama biʾadillati al-raʾyi wa-al-maʿqūli waminhā ʾīthāru ʿilmi al-ʿaqli wa-al-raʾyi wa-al-qiyāsi ʿalā ẓawāhiri al-qurʾāni waʿalā al-ʾakhbāri waminhā: ʾiẓhāru al-ʾishārāti bi-al-mawājīdi min ghayri ʿulūmihā walā bayāni tafṣīlihā , wafī dhālika taḥyīrun lil-sāmiʿīna waʾiḍlālun lilʿāmilīna waʾinnamā kāna al-ʿulamāʾu bihādhā al-ʿilmi yuẓhirūna ʿulūma al-mawājīdi wayukhfūna al-ʾishārata bi-al-wajdi fayuẓhirūna lil-nāsi mā yanfaʿu wayukhfūna mā
the science of speculative theology and disputation; the sciences of analogical reasoning, theoretical inquiry, and arguing about the Messenger’s practices, God bless him and grant him peace, by evidence drawn from opinion and reason. Another is preferring the knowledge of reason, opinion, and analogy to the apparent meanings of the Qurʾān and to transmitted reports. Another is displaying allusions to spiritual experiences without their proper knowledge or a detailed explanation. This bewilders listeners and misleads those who practice. Those learned in this science used to make the knowledge of spiritual experiences public while concealing allusions to their own experience: they would show people what benefited them and conceal what
يَضُرُّ وَلِأَنَّ الْمَوَاجِيدَ أَحْوَالُ قُلُوبِهِمْ فَكِتْمُهَا أَفْضَلُ وَعُلُومُهَا أَنْصِبَةُ الْمُرِيدِينَ وَالْعَامِلِينَ فَإِظْهَارُهَا هُوَ الْبُغْيَةُ لَهُمْ فَأَظْهَرُوهُ وَأَخْفَوْا وَجْدَهُمْ لِأَنَّهُ سِرٌّ لَهُمْ فَسَلِمُوا مِنَ التَّصَنُّعِ وَالدَّعْوَى وَأَعْطَوُا السَّامِعِينَ نَصِيبَهُمْ وَمَنَعُوهُمْ مَا لَيْسَ لَهُمْ فَعَدَلُوا فِي الْوَصْفَيْنِ مَعًا فَفُضِّلُوا فِي الْحَالَيْنِ جَمِيعًا فَجُهِلَ هَذَا الْآنَ فَأُظْهِرَ ضِدُّهُ وَكَانَ إِلَى الضَّرَرِ أَقْرَبَ وَمِنَ السَّلَامَةِ أَبْعَدَ ،
yaḍurru waliʾanna al-mawājīda ʾaḥwālu qulūbihim fakitmuhā ʾafḍalu waʿulūmuhā ʾanṣibatu al-murīdīna wa-al-ʿāmilīna faʾiẓhāruhā huwa al-bughyatu lahum faʾaẓharūhu waʾakhfaw wajdahum liʾannahu sirrun lahum fasalimū mina al-taṣannuʿi wa-al-daʿwā waʾaʿṭawu al-sāmiʿīna naṣībahum wamanaʿūhum mā laysa lahum faʿadalū fī al-waṣfayni maʿan fafuḍḍilū fī al-ḥālayni jamīʿan fajuhila hādhā al-ʾāna faʾuẓhira ḍidduhu wakāna ʾilā al-ḍarari ʾaqraba wamina al-salāmati ʾabʿada ,
would harm them. Spiritual experiences are states of their own hearts, so concealing them is better; knowledge of them is the portion due to seekers and practitioners, so making that knowledge public is what they need. They therefore disclosed it and concealed their own experience, since it was their secret. They were thus safe from affectation and pretension, gave listeners their due, and withheld from them what was not theirs. They acted justly in both respects and so attained excellence in both conditions. This has now become unknown, and its opposite is displayed, bringing people nearer to harm and farther from safety.
فَمَنْ لَمْ يُحْسِنِ التَّفْصِيلَ وَلَمْ يُرْزَقِ الْعِبَارَةَ فَإِنَّهُ يُحْسِنُ الصَّمْتَ فَهُوَ وَاسِعٌ إِنَّ مَنْ لَمْ يَتَكَلَّمْ بِعِلْمٍ عَلَى سُنَّةٍ فَسُكُوتُهُ أَقْرَبُ لَهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَمَثَلُهُ فِي ذَلِكَ كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَمَنْ قُدِرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقُهُ فَلْيُنْفِقْ مِمَّا آتَاهُ اللَّهُ لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا مَا آتَاهَا ) الطَّلَاقُ : 7 ،
faman lam yuḥsini al-tafṣīla walam yurzaqi al-ʿibārata faʾinnahu yuḥsinu al-ṣamta fahuwa wāsiʿun ʾinna man lam yatakallam biʿilmin ʿalā sunnatin fasukūtuhu ʾaqrabu lahu ʾilā allāhi taʿālā famathaluhu fī dhālika kamā qāla allāhu ʿazza wajalla: ( waman qudira ʿalayhi rizquhu falyunfiq mimmā ʾātāhu allāhu lā yukallifu allāhu nafsan ʾillā mā ʾātāhā ) al-ṭalāqu: 7 ,
Someone who cannot explain the distinctions well and has not been given the gift of expression can nevertheless practice silence well; ample room remains for it. Whoever does not speak with knowledge in accordance with the Sunna comes nearer to God Most High through his silence. His case is as God, mighty and majestic, says: “Let the one whose provision is restricted spend from what God has given him. God does not burden any soul beyond what He has given it” (al-Ṭalāq 65:7).
وَمِمَّا ظَهَرَ إِظْهَارُ عُلُومِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ بِمَعَانِي الرَّغْبَةِ لِيَتَمَيَّزُوا عَنِ الْفُقَرَاءِ تَكَبُّرًا مِنْهُمْ فَلَا يُجْعَلُونَ مَجْعَلَهُمْ فَلْيُصْرَفْ إِلَيْهِمْ مِنَ الْأَسْبَابِ عَلَى قَدْرِ أُنْسِهِمْ وَأَحْوَالِهِمْ ، وَهَذَا مِنْ أَكْبَرِ أَبْوَابِ الدُّنْيَا وَأَضَرِّهِ عَلَى مُرِيدِي الْآخِرَةِ وَأَلْطَفِهِ تَمْوِيهًا فِي الدِّينِ وَمِنْهَا الْكَلَامُ
wamimmā ẓahara ʾiẓhāru ʿulūmi al-maʿrifati bimaʿānī al-raghbati liyatamayyazū ʿani al-fuqarāʾi takabburan minhum falā yujʿalūna majʿalahum falyuṣraf ʾilayhim mina al-ʾasbābi ʿalā qadri ʾunsihim waʾaḥwālihim , wahādhā min ʾakbari ʾabwābi al-dunyā waʾaḍarrihi ʿalā murīdī al-ʾākhirati waʾalṭafihi tamwīhan fī al-dīni waminhā al-kalāmu
Another practice that has appeared is displaying the sciences of spiritual knowledge with acquisitive motives, so as to distinguish themselves from the poor out of arrogance, and thus not be placed in their position, but have material means directed to them in proportion to their intimacy with God and their spiritual states. This is one of the greatest avenues to worldly gain, one of the most harmful to seekers of the hereafter, and one of the subtlest forms of deception in religion. Another is speaking
فِي التَّوْحِيدِ بِمُخَالَفَةِ عِلْمِ الشَّرْعِ وَأَنَّ الْحَقِيقَةَ تُخَالِفُ الْعِلْمَ وَالْحَقِيقَةُ هِيَ عِلْمٌ وَهِيَ أَحَدُ طُرُقَاتِ الشَّرِيعَةِ وَعِلْمُ الشَّرْعِ عَنْهَا فَكَيْفَ تُنَافِيهَا وَهِيَ الَّتِي أَوْجَبَتْهُ وَإِنَّمَا هِيَ عَزِيمَةٌ وَضِيقَةٌ وَعِلْمُ الظَّاهِرِ هُوَ الرُّخْصَةُ وَالسَّعَةُ فَمَنْ تَكَلَّمَ فِي عِلْمِ الْبَاطِنِ عَلَى غَيْرِ قَوَاعِدِ الْعِلْمِ الظَّاهِرِ وَأُصُولِهِ فَذَلِكَ مِنَ الْإِلْحَادِ فِي الشَّرِيعَةِ وَالْوَلِيجَةِ بَيْنَ الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ . وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ :
fī al-tawḥīdi bimukhālafati ʿilmi al-sharʿi waʾanna al-ḥaqīqata tukhālifu al-ʿilma wa-al-ḥaqīqatu hiya ʿilmun wahiya ʾaḥadu ṭuruqāti al-sharīʿati waʿilmu al-sharʿi ʿanhā fakayfa tunāfīhā wahiya allatī ʾawjabathu waʾinnamā hiya ʿazīmatun waḍīqatun waʿilmu al-ẓāhiri huwa al-rukhṣatu wa-al-saʿatu faman takallama fī ʿilmi al-bāṭini ʿalā ghayri qawāʿidi al-ʿilmi al-ẓāhiri waʾuṣūlihi fadhālika mina al-ʾilḥādi fī al-sharīʿati wa-al-walījati bayna al-kitābi wa-al-sunnati. waqad qāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna:
about divine unity in contradiction to knowledge of the revealed law, and claiming that spiritual reality contradicts knowledge. Spiritual reality is itself knowledge and one of the paths of the revealed law; knowledge of that law comes from it. How, then, could it contradict it, when it is what made it obligatory? It is a binding resolve and a narrow way, while outward knowledge provides dispensation and breadth. Whoever speaks about inward knowledge outside the rules and foundations of outward knowledge deviates from the revealed law and insinuates himself between the Book and the Sunna. One of the knowers said:
نَظَرْتُ إِلَى هَؤُلَاءِ الشَّاطِحِينَ فَمَا وَجَدْتُ إِلَّا جَاهِلًا مَغْرُورًا أَوْ خَاسِئًا حَبُورًا أَوْ مُسْتَظْهِرًا بِلَا شَيْءٍ ، وَمِنْهَا الْكَلَامُ فِي الدِّينِ بِالْوَسَاوِسِ وَالْخَطَرَاتِ عَنْ غَيْرِ رَدِّ مَوَاجِيدِهَا إِلَى الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ وَالْوَاجِبُ مَعْرِفَةُ تَفْصِيلِهَا ، وَنَفْيُ مَا لَمْ يَشْهَدْ لَهُ الْكِتَابُ وَالسُّنَّةُ مِنْهَا ، إِذْ فِي الْمَوَاجِيدِ ضَلَالٌ وَغُرُورٌ وَفِي الْمُشَاهَدَاتِ بَاطِلٌ وَزُورٌ ،
naẓartu ʾilā hāʾulāʾi al-shāṭiḥīna famā wajadtu ʾillā jāhilan maghrūran ʾaw khāsiʾan ḥabūran ʾaw mustaẓhiran bilā shayʾin , waminhā al-kalāmu fī al-dīni bi-al-wasāwisi wa-al-khaṭarāti ʿan ghayri raddi mawājīdihā ʾilā al-kitābi wa-al-sunnati wa-al-wājibu maʿrifatu tafṣīlihā , wanafyu mā lam yashhad lahu al-kitābu wa-al-sunnatu minhā , ʾidh fī al-mawājīdi ḍalālun waghurūrun wafī al-mushāhadāti bāṭilun wazūrun ,
“I looked at these people who utter extravagant spiritual claims and found only an ignorant person deluded, an abject person rejoicing, or one claiming support from nothing.” Another practice is speaking about religion on the basis of whisperings and passing thoughts without referring their inward experiences to the Book and the Sunna. What is required is to know their distinctions and reject those to which the Book and the Sunna do not testify. For among inward experiences there are error and delusion, and among contemplative visions there are falsehood and fabrication,
مَعَ دَعْوَاهُمُ الْمَحَبَّةَ وَإِنْكَارِهِمُ الصِّفَةَ الَّتِي جَاءَتْ بِهَا السُّنَّةُ وَعَنْ غَيْرِ شَهَادَةِ مَوْصُوفٍ وَادِّعَائِهِمُ الْمَعْرِفَةَ مِنْ غَيْرِ تَعَرُّفِ مَعْرُوفٍ وَمِمَّا أَحْدَثُوا السَّجْعُ فِي الدُّعَاءِ وَالتَّغْرِيبُ فِيهِ وَلَمْ يَرِدِ الْكِتَابُ بِهِ وَلَا نُقِلَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَلَا الصَّحَابَةِ بَلْ كَانُوا يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الِاعْتِدَاءِ فِي الدُّعَاءِ وَيَجْتَنِبُونَ مُجَاوَزَةَ مَا أَخْبَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْ أَوْلِيَائِهِ مِنَ الْأَدْعِيَةِ الْجَامِعَةِ الْمُخْتَصَرَةِ الْمَعْرُوفَةِ .
maʿa daʿwāhumu al-maḥabbata waʾinkārihimu al-ṣifata allatī jāʾat bihā al-sunnatu waʿan ghayri shahādati mawṣūfin waddiʿāʾihimu al-maʿrifata min ghayri taʿarrufi maʿrūfin wamimmā ʾaḥdathū al-sajʿu fī al-duʿāʾi wa-al-taghrību fīhi walam yaridi al-kitābu bihi walā nuqila ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama walā al-ṣaḥābati bal kānū yanhawna ʿani al-iʿtidāʾi fī al-duʿāʾi wayajtanibūna mujāwazata mā ʾakhbara allāhu taʿālā ʿan ʾawliyāʾihi mina al-ʾadʿiyati al-jāmiʿati al-mukhtaṣarati al-maʿrūfati.
along with their claims of love and their denial of the attribute brought by the Sunna, without witnessing the One described, and their claims of spiritual knowledge without the Known making Himself known. Among their innovations are rhymed prose in supplication and strange expressions in it, which the Book has not prescribed and which have not been transmitted from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, or from the Companions. On the contrary, they used to forbid overstepping bounds in supplication and avoid going beyond the familiar, brief, comprehensive prayers that God Most High reports from His friends.
وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : إِيَّاكُمْ وَالسَّجْعَ فِي الدُّعَاءِ ، حَسْبُ أَحَدِكُمْ أَنْ يَقُولَ : اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَا قَرُبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ وَعَمَلٍ ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَا قَرُبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ وَعَمَلٍ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ سَيَأْتِي قَوْمٌ يَعْتَدُونَ فِي الدُّعَاءِ وَالطُّهُورِ ، وَسَمِعَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُغَفَّلٍ ابْنَهُ يَدْعُو بِدُعَاءٍ يَغْمُقُ فِيهِ فَقَالَ :
warawaynā ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾiyyākum wa-al-sajʿa fī al-duʿāʾi , ḥasbu ʾaḥadikum ʾan yaqūla: allāhumma ʾinnī ʾasʾaluka al-jannata wamā qaruba ʾilayhā min qawlin waʿamalin , waʾaʿūdhu bika mina al-nāri wamā qaruba ʾilayhā min qawlin waʿamalin , wafī al-khabari sayaʾtī qawmun yaʿtadūna fī al-duʿāʾi wa-al-ṭuhūri , wasamiʿa ʿabdu allāhi bnu mughaffalin ibnahu yadʿū biduʿāʾin yaghmuqu fīhi faqāla:
We have related from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: “Beware of rhymed prose in supplication. It is enough for one of you to say, ‘O God, I ask You for the Garden and whatever words and deeds bring one near it, and I seek refuge in You from the Fire and whatever words and deeds bring one near it.’” In the report: “There will come people who overstep bounds in supplication and purification.” ʿAbd Allāh ibn Mughaffal heard his son offering a prayer that went to excessive depths, and said:
يَا بُنَيَّ إِيَّاكَ وَالْحَدَثَ وَالِاعْتِدَاءَ فِي الدُّعَاءِ ، وَفِي قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( ادْعُوا رَبَّكُمْ تَضَرُّعًا وَخُفْيَةً إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 55 ، قِيلَ فِي الدُّعَاءِ : فَالِاعْتِدَاءُ فِي الدُّعَاءِ هُوَ تَرْكُ مَا أَخْبَرَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَنْ أَوْلِيَائِهِ الصَّالِحِينَ مِنَ الدُّعَاءِ بِالْمَغْفِرَةِ وَالرَّحْمَةِ وَالتَّوْبَةِ وَمَعْنَى ذَلِكَ مِنَ الدُّعَاءِ الْمَعْرُوفِ وَالْقَوْلِ الْمَشْهُورِ إِلَى التَّنَطُّعِ وَالتَّعْمِيقِ وَالتَّغْرِيبِ وَالتَّدْقِيقِ ،
yā bunayya ʾiyyāka wa-al-ḥadatha wa-al-iʿtidāʾa fī al-duʿāʾi , wafī qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ( udʿū rabbakum taḍarruʿan wakhufyatan ʾinnahu lā yuḥibbu al-muʿtadīna ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 55 , qīla fī al-duʿāʾi: fa-al-iʿtidāʾu fī al-duʿāʾi huwa tarku mā ʾakhbara allāhu ʿazza wajalla ʿan ʾawliyāʾihi al-ṣāliḥīna mina al-duʿāʾi bi-al-maghfirati wa-al-raḥmati wa-al-tawbati wamaʿnā dhālika mina al-duʿāʾi al-maʿrūfi wa-al-qawli al-mashhūri ʾilā al-tanaṭṭuʿi wa-al-taʿmīqi wa-al-taghrībi wa-al-tadqīqi ,
“My son, beware of innovation and overstepping bounds in supplication.” Concerning His words, mighty and majestic, “Call upon your Lord humbly and secretly; He does not love those who overstep bounds” (al-Aʿrāf 7:55), it has been said: in supplication. Overstepping bounds in supplication means abandoning what God, mighty and majestic, reports from His righteous friends: prayers for forgiveness, mercy, repentance, and similar familiar supplications and well-known expressions, in favor of affectation, excessive elaboration, strangeness, and minute refinement.
وَيُقَالُ إِنَّ الْعُلَمَاءَ وَالْأَبْدَالَ لَا يَزِيدُ أَحَدُهُمْ عَلَى سَبْعِ كَلِمَاتٍ فِي الدُّعَاءِ وَوَجَدْتُ تَصْدِيقَ ذَلِكَ فِي الْكِتَابِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى مَا أَخْبَرَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ فِي الدُّعَاءِ فِي مَكَانٍ وَاحِدٍ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ سَبْعِ دَعَوَاتٍ ، وَهِيَ الَّتِي فِي آخِرِ سُورَةِ الْبَقَرَةِ ، وَإِلَّا إِنَّمَا يُخْبِرُ عَنْهُمْ بِالدَّعْوَتَيْنِ وَالثَّلَاثِ وَالْأَرْبَعِ إِلَى الْخَمْسِ فِي مَوَاضِعَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ مُتَفَرِّقَةٍ .
wayuqālu ʾinna al-ʿulamāʾa wa-al-ʾabdāla lā yazīdu ʾaḥaduhum ʿalā sabʿi kalimātin fī al-duʿāʾi wawajadtu taṣdīqa dhālika fī al-kitābi ʾinna allāha taʿālā mā ʾakhbara ʿan ʿibādihi fī al-duʿāʾi fī makānin wāḥidin ʾakthara min sabʿi daʿawātin , wahiya allatī fī ʾākhiri sūrati al-baqarati , waʾillā ʾinnamā yukhbiru ʿanhum bi-al-daʿwatayni wa-al-thalāthi wa-al-ʾarbaʿi ʾilā al-khamsi fī mawāḍiʿa mina al-kitābi mutafarriqatin.
It is said that no scholar or abdāl saint exceeds seven expressions in supplication. I found confirmation of this in the Book: God Most High has nowhere reported more than seven petitions from His servants together in one place. These are those at the end of Sūrat al-Baqara. Otherwise He reports from them only two, three, four, or up to five petitions in scattered places in the Book.
وَمَرَّ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ بِقَاصٍّ يَدْعُو يَسْجَعُ فِي دُعَائِهِ وَيَتَعَمَّقُ فَقَالَ لَهُ : وَيْلَكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ تُبَالِغُ ، أَشْهَدُ لَقَدْ رَأَيْتُ حَبِيبًا الْعَجَمِيَّ يَدْعُو وَمَا يَزِيدُ عَلَى قَوْلِهِ : اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْنَا جَيِّدِينَ ، اللَّهُمَّ لَا تَفْضَحْنَا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ، اللَّهُمَّ وَفِّقْنَا لِلْخَيْرِ ، قَالَ : وَالنَّاسُ يَبْكُونَ مِنْ كُلِّ نَاحِيَةٍ وَكُنَّا نَتَعَرَّفُ إِجَابَةَ دُعَائِهِ وَبَرَكَتَهُ ، وَكَانَ أَبُو يَزِيدَ الْبِسْطَامِيُّ يَقُولُ :
wamarra baʿḍu al-salafi biqāṣṣin yadʿū yasjaʿu fī duʿāʾihi wayataʿammaqu faqāla lahu: waylaka ʿalā allāhi tubālighu , ʾashhadu laqad raʾaytu ḥabīban al-ʿajamiyya yadʿū wamā yazīdu ʿalā qawlihi: allāhumma ijʿalnā jayyidīna , allāhumma lā tafḍaḥnā yawma al-qiyāmati , allāhumma waffiqnā lilkhayri , qāla: wa-al-nāsu yabkūna min kulli nāḥiyatin wakunnā nataʿarrafu ʾijābata duʿāʾihi wabarakatahu , wakāna ʾabū yazīda al-bisṭāmiyyu yaqūlu:
One of the predecessors passed a storyteller who was praying in rhymes and with elaborate expressions. He said to him, “Woe to you! Are you trying to impress God with exaggeration? I testify that I saw Ḥabīb al-ʿAjamī pray, saying no more than, ‘O God, make us good. O God, do not disgrace us on the Day of Resurrection. O God, grant us success in doing good.’” He said, “People were weeping on every side, and we used to recognize the answering of his prayer and its blessing.” Abū Yazīd al-Bisṭāmī used to say:
سَلْهُ بِلِسَانِ الْحَاجَةِ لَا بِلِسَانِ الْحِكْمَةِ ، وَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ : ادْعُ بِلِسَانِ الِاسْتِكَانَةِ وَالِافْتِقَارِ لَا بِالْفَصَاحَةِ وَالِانْطِلَاقِ ، وَمِمَّا أَحْدَثُوهُ أَخْذُ الْقُرْآنِ بِالْإِدَارَةِ وَتَنَازُعُ الِاثْنَيْنِ الْآيَةَ أَوْ تَلَقِّي الرَّجُلَيْنِ لِلْآيَتَيْنِ فِي مَكَانٍ وَاحِدٍ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الِاخْتِلَاسِ وَالنَّهْبَةِ مِنْ غَيْرِ خُشُوعٍ لِلْقُرْآنِ وَلَا هَيْبَةٍ ، وَقِرَاءَةُ الْقُرْآنِ تَحْتَاجُ إِلَى حُزْنٍ وَسُكُونٍ
salhu bilisāni al-ḥājati lā bilisāni al-ḥikmati , waqāla al-ḥasanu: udʿu bilisāni al-istikānati wa-al-iftiqāri lā bi-al-faṣāḥati wa-al-inṭilāqi , wamimmā ʾaḥdathūhu ʾakhdhu al-qurʾāni bi-al-ʾidārati watanāzuʿu al-ithnayni al-ʾāyata ʾaw talaqqī al-rajulayni lilʾāyatayni fī makānin wāḥidin bimanzilati al-ikhtilāsi wa-al-nahbati min ghayri khushūʿin lilqurʾāni walā haybatin , waqirāʾatu al-qurʾāni taḥtāju ʾilā ḥuznin wasukūnin
“Ask Him with the language of need, not the language of wisdom.” Al-Ḥasan said, “Pray with the language of submission and poverty, not with eloquence and fluent speech.” Among their innovations is taking up the Qurʾān in rotation, two people competing over a verse, or two men taking up two verses in one place, as though snatching and plundering, without humility before the Qurʾān or awe. Reciting the Qurʾān requires sorrow, stillness,
وَخُشُوعٍ ، وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ أَخْذُ الْمُقْرِئِ عَلَى الِاثْنَيْنِ وَلَيْتَهُ قَامَ بِقِرَاءَةِ الْوَاحِدِ لِسَهْوِ الْقَلْبِ كَمَا قِيلَ لِإِبْرَاهِيمَ الْحَرْبِيِّ إِنَّ فُلَانًا يَأْخُذُ عَلَى الِاثْنَيْنِ فَقَالَ هَاهْ يَحْتَاجُ اثْنَانِ أَنْ يَأْخُذَا عَلَى وَاحِدٍ ، وَمِنَ الْبِدَعِ التَّلْحِينُ فِي الْقِرَاءَةِ حَتَّى لَا تُفْهَمَ التِّلَاوَةُ وَحَتَّى يُجَاوَزَ إِعْرَابُ الْكَلِمَةِ بِمَدِّ الْمَقْصُورِ وَقَصْرِ الْمَمْدُودِ وَإِدْغَامِ الْمُظْهَرِ وَإِظْهَارِ الْمُدْغَمِ لِيَسْتَوِيَ بِذَلِكَ التَّلَاحُنُ وَلَا يُبَالِي بِاعْوِجَاجِ الْكَلِمِ وَإِحَالَتِهِ عَنْ حَقِيقَتِهِ فَهُوَ بِدْعَةٌ وَمَكْرُوهٌ اسْتِمَاعُهُ ،
wakhushūʿin , wamin dhālika ʾakhdhu al-muqriʾi ʿalā al-ithnayni walaytahu qāma biqirāʾati al-wāḥidi lisahwi al-qalbi kamā qīla liʾibrāhīma al-ḥarbiyyi ʾinna fulānan yaʾkhudhu ʿalā al-ithnayni faqāla hāh yaḥtāju ithnāni ʾan yaʾkhudhā ʿalā wāḥidin , wamina al-bidaʿi al-talḥīnu fī al-qirāʾati ḥattā lā tufhama al-tilāwatu waḥattā yujāwaza ʾiʿrābu al-kalimati bimaddi al-maqṣūri waqaṣri al-mamdūdi waʾidghāmi al-muẓhari waʾiẓhāri al-mudghami liyastawiya bidhālika al-talāḥunu walā yubālī biʿwijāji al-kalimi waʾiḥālatihi ʿan ḥaqīqatihi fahuwa bidʿatun wamakrūhun istimāʿuhu ,
and humility. Another example is a recitation teacher hearing two people at once. If only he could attend properly to the recitation of one, given the heart’s inattention! Thus Ibrāhīm al-Ḥarbī was told, “So-and-so hears two people at once.” He said, “Ha! It takes two to hear one.” Among innovations is chanting the recitation melodically until it cannot be understood and the proper vocalization of words is exceeded: shortening what is long, lengthening what is short, assimilating what should be pronounced distinctly, and pronouncing distinctly what should be assimilated, so as to make the melody fit, without concern for distorting the words or changing them from their true form. This is an innovation, and listening to it is reprehensible.
قَالَ بِشْرُ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ : سَأَلْتُ ابْنَ دَاوُدَ الْحَرْبِيَّ أَمُرُّ بِالرَّجُلِ يَقْرَأُ فَأَجْلِسُ إِلَيْهِ قَالَ : يَقُولُ يُطْرِبُ قُلْتُ : نَعَمْ ، قَالَ : لَا هَذَا قَدْ أَظْهَرَ بِدْعَتَهُ ، وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ التَّلْحِينُ فِي الْأَذَانِ وَهُوَ مِنَ الْبَغْيِ وَالِاعْتِدَاءِ فِيهِ ، قَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْمُؤَذِّنِينَ لِابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا : إِنِّي لَأُحِبُّكَ فِي اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَقَالَ لَهُ :
qāla bishru bnu al-ḥārithi: saʾaltu ibna dāwuda al-ḥarbiyya ʾamurru bi-al-rajuli yaqraʾu faʾajlisu ʾilayhi qāla: yaqūlu yuṭribu qultu: naʿam , qāla: lā hādhā qad ʾaẓhara bidʿatahu , wamin dhālika al-talḥīnu fī al-ʾadhāni wahuwa mina al-baghyi wa-al-iʿtidāʾi fīhi , qāla rajulun mina al-muʾadhdhinīna libni ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā: ʾinnī laʾuḥibbuka fī allāhi taʿālā faqāla lahu:
Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith said: I asked Ibn Dāwūd al-Ḥarbī, “I pass a man reciting; may I sit with him?” He said, asking, “Does he sing it melodiously?” I said, “Yes.” He said, “No; this man has openly displayed his innovation.” Another example is singing the call to prayer melodically, which is excess and overstepping bounds in it. One of the callers to prayer said to Ibn ʿUmar, may God be pleased with them both, “I do love you for the sake of God Most High.” He said to him:
لَكِنِّي أُبْغِضُكَ فِي اللَّهِ تَعَالَى قَالَ : يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ لِمَ : قَالَ لِأَنَّكَ تَبْغِي فِي أَذَانِكَ وَتَأْخُذُ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا ، وَكَانَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الْآجُرِّيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ : خَرَجْتُ مِنْ بَغْدَادَ وَمَا يَحِلُّ لِيَ الْمُقَامُ بِهَا قَدِ ابْتَدَعُوا فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حَتَّى فِي قِرَاءَةِ الْقُرْآنِ وَفِي الْأَذَانِ وَكَانَ يَعْنِي بِذَلِكَ قِرَاءَةَ الْإِدَارَةِ وَالتَّلْحِينِ وَقَدِمَ عَلَيْنَا مَكَّةَ فِي سَنَةِ ثَلَاثِينَ وَمِنْ جُمَلِ
lākinnī ʾubghiḍuka fī allāhi taʿālā qāla: yā ʾabā ʿabdi al-raḥmani lima: qāla liʾannaka tabghī fī ʾadhānika wataʾkhudhu ʿalayhi ʾajran , wakāna ʾabū bakrin al-ʾājurriyyu raḥimahu allāhu yaqūlu: kharajtu min baghdāda wamā yaḥillu liya al-muqāmu bihā qadi ibtadaʿū fī kulli shayʾin ḥattā fī qirāʾati al-qurʾāni wafī al-ʾadhāni wakāna yaʿnī bidhālika qirāʾata al-ʾidārati wa-al-talḥīni waqadima ʿalaynā makkata fī sanati thalāthīna wamin jumali
“But I hate you for the sake of God Most High.” He said, “Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, why?” He said, “Because you transgress in your call to prayer and take payment for it.” Abū Bakr al-Ājurrī, may God have mercy on him, used to say, “I left Baghdad when it was no longer lawful for me to remain there. They had introduced innovations into everything, even recitation of the Qurʾān and the call to prayer.” He meant recitation in rotation and melodic chanting. He came to us in Mecca in the year thirty. Among the practices
مَا أَحْدَثَ الْخَلَفُ فَخَالَفُوا بِهِ سُنَنَ السَّلَفِ أَنَّهُمْ شَدَّدُوا فِي أَشْيَاءَ كَانَ السَّلَفُ يُسَهِّلُونَ فِيهَا وَسَهَّلُوا أَشْيَاءَ كَانَ السَّلَفُ يُشَدِّدُونَ فِيهَا ، فَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي ذَلِكَ كَالْخَوَارِجِ شَدَّدُوا فِي الصَّغَائِرِ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ وَسَهَّلُوا فِي الْآثَارِ وَالسُّنَّةِ وَفِي تَرْكِ مَذْهَبِ الْجَمَاعَةِ حَتَّى فَارَقُوهُمْ فَمِمَّا شَدَّدَ فِيهِ الْخَلَفُ مِمَّا كَانَ السَّلَفُ يُسَهِّلُونَهُ كَتْبُ الْأَحَادِيثِ مِنْ أَنْوَاعِ طُرُقِهَا وَتَتَبُّعُ الْغَرَائِبِ مِنْ طُرُقَاتِهَا وَتَحَرِّي الْأَلْفَاظِ فِيهَا .
mā ʾaḥdatha al-khalafu fakhālafū bihi sunana al-salafi ʾannahum shaddadū fī ʾashyāʾa kāna al-salafu yusahhilūna fīhā wasahhalū ʾashyāʾa kāna al-salafu yushaddidūna fīhā , famathaluhum fī dhālika ka-al-khawāriji shaddadū fī al-ṣaghāʾiri mina al-dhunūbi wasahhalū fī al-ʾāthāri wa-al-sunnati wafī tarki madhhabi al-jamāʿati ḥattā fāraqūhum famimmā shaddada fīhi al-khalafu mimmā kāna al-salafu yusahhilūnahu katbu al-ʾaḥādīthi min ʾanwāʿi ṭuruqihā watatabbuʿu al-gharāʾibi min ṭuruqātihā wataḥarrī al-ʾalfāẓi fīhā.
introduced by later generations in opposition to the ways of the predecessors is their strictness about things the predecessors made easy, and their laxness about things the predecessors treated strictly. Their case resembles that of the Khārijites: they were strict about minor sins but lax about transmitted reports, the Sunna, and abandoning the community’s way, until they separated from it. Among the things later people treated strictly, though the predecessors allowed ease, are writing down hadiths through all kinds of transmission routes, pursuing rare reports through their routes, and exacting care over their wording.
وَقَدْ قَالَ ابْنُ عَوْنٍ : أَدْرَكْتُ ثَلَاثَةً يُرَخِّصُونَ فِي الْمَعَانِي : إِبْرَاهِيمَ ، وَالشَّعْبِيَّ ، وَالْحَسَنَ رَحِمَهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى ، وَعَنْ جَمَاعَةٍ مِنْ عُلَمَاءِ السَّلَفِ وَالصَّحَابَةِ التَّوْسِعَةُ فِي مَعَانِي الْأَحَادِيثِ وَإِنْ لَمْ يُؤَدِّ أَلْفَاظَهَا وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ تَجْرِيدُ الْحُرُوفِ وَتَحَرِّي الْمُقْرِئِ الْوَاحِدِ فِي جَمِيعِ اخْتِيَارِهِ حَتَّى كَأَنَّهُ فَرْضٌ عَلَيْهِ ، وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ التَّدْقِيقُ فِي الْقِيَاسِ وَالنَّظَرِ وَالتَّبَحُّرُ فِي عُلُومِ النَّحْوِ وَالْعَرَبِيَّةِ ،
waqad qāla ibnu ʿawnin: ʾadraktu thalāthatan yurakhkhiṣūna fī al-maʿānī: ʾibrāhīma , wa-al-shaʿbiyya , wa-al-ḥasana raḥimahumu allāhu taʿālā , waʿan jamāʿatin min ʿulamāʾi al-salafi wa-al-ṣaḥābati al-tawsiʿatu fī maʿānī al-ʾaḥādīthi waʾin lam yuʾaddi ʾalfāẓahā wamin dhālika tajrīdu al-ḥurūfi wataḥarrī al-muqriʾi al-wāḥidi fī jamīʿi ikhtiyārihi ḥattā kaʾannahu farḍun ʿalayhi , wamin dhālika al-tadqīqu fī al-qiyāsi wa-al-naẓari wa-al-tabaḥḥuru fī ʿulūmi al-naḥwi wa-al-ʿarabiyyati ,
Ibn ʿAwn said, “I knew three who allowed latitude in conveying meanings: Ibrāhīm, al-Shaʿbī, and al-Ḥasan, may God Most High have mercy on them.” Latitude in conveying the meanings of hadiths without reproducing their exact words is transmitted from a group of scholars among the predecessors and Companions. Another example is exacting precision in the letters and adhering to every choice of a single recitation teacher, as though this were obligatory. Another is minute refinement in analogy and theoretical inquiry and deep immersion in the sciences of grammar and Arabic,
كَمَا قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ أَدْهَمَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : أَعْرَبْنَا فِي الْكَلَامِ فَلَمْ نَلْحَنْ وَلَحَنَّا فِي الْأَعْمَالِ فَيَا لَيْتَنَا لَحَنَّا فِي الْكَلَامِ وَأَعْرَبْنَا فِي الْأَعْمَالِ . وَذُكِرَتِ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ عِنْدَ الْقَاسِمِ بْنِ الْمُخَيْمِرَةِ فَقَالَ : أَوَّلُهَا كِبْرٌ وَآخِرُهَا بَغْيٌ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ : النَّحْوُ يُذْهِبُ الْخُشُوعَ مِنَ الْقَلْبِ ، وَقَالَ آخَرُ :
kamā qāla ʾibrāhīmu bnu ʾadhama raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā: ʾaʿrabnā fī al-kalāmi falam nalḥan walaḥannā fī al-ʾaʿmāli fayā laytanā laḥannā fī al-kalāmi waʾaʿrabnā fī al-ʾaʿmāli. wadhukirati al-ʿarabiyyatu ʿinda al-qāsimi bni al-mukhaymirati faqāla: ʾawwaluhā kibrun waʾākhiruhā baghyun , waqad qāla baʿḍu al-salafi: al-naḥwu yudhhibu al-khushūʿa mina al-qalbi , waqāla ʾākharu:
as Ibrāhīm ibn Adham, may God Most High have mercy on him, said: “We spoke grammatically and made no errors in speech, but we erred in our deeds. If only we had erred in speech and acted correctly!” Arabic learning was mentioned in the presence of al-Qāsim ibn al-Mukhaymira, and he said, “Its beginning is pride and its end is transgression.” One of the predecessors said, “Grammar takes humility away from the heart.” Another said:
مَنْ أَحَبَّ أَنْ يَزْدَرِيَ النَّاسَ كُلَّهُمْ فَلْيَتَعَلَّمِ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ وَشَدَّدُوا فِي الطَّهَارَةِ بِالْمَاءِ وَتَنْظِيفِ الثِّيَابِ وَكَثْرَةِ غَسْلِهَا مِنْ عَرَقِ الْجُنُبِ وَلُبْسِ الْحَائِضِ وَمِنْ أَرْوَاثِ مَا يُؤْكَلُ لَحْمُهُ وَأَبْوَالِهِ وَغَسْلِ الْيَسِيرِ مِنَ الدَّمِ وَنَحْوِ ذَلِكَ وَكَانَ السَّلَفُ يُرَخِّصُونَ فِي هَذَا كُلِّهِ وَمِمَّا سَهَّلُوهُ مِمَّا كَانَ السَّلَفُ يُشَدِّدُونَ فِيهِ أَمْرُ الْمَكَاسِبِ وَتَرْكُ التَّحَرِّي فِيهَا وَالْكَلَامُ فِيمَا لَا يَعْنِي وَالْخَوْضُ فِي الْبَاطِلِ وَالْغِيبَةُ وَالنَّمِيمَةُ
man ʾaḥabba ʾan yazdariya al-nāsa kullahum falyataʿallami al-ʿarabiyyata washaddadū fī al-ṭahārati bi-al-māʾi watanẓīfi al-thiyābi wakathrati ghaslihā min ʿaraqi al-junubi walubsi al-ḥāʾiḍi wamin ʾarwāthi mā yuʾkalu laḥmuhu waʾabwālihi waghasli al-yasīri mina al-dami wanaḥwi dhālika wakāna al-salafu yurakhkhiṣūna fī hādhā kullihi wamimmā sahhalūhu mimmā kāna al-salafu yushaddidūna fīhi ʾamru al-makāsibi watarku al-taḥarrī fīhā wa-al-kalāmu fīmā lā yaʿnī wa-al-khawḍu fī al-bāṭili wa-al-ghībatu wa-al-namīmatu
“Whoever would like to despise everyone should learn Arabic.” They were strict about purification with water, cleaning clothes, and washing them often because of the sweat of someone in a state of major ritual impurity, their having been worn by a menstruating woman, the dung and urine of animals whose meat is eaten, or washing away a little blood and similar things. The predecessors allowed latitude in all this. Among the things later people treated lightly, though the predecessors treated them strictly, are earning a livelihood and neglecting careful scrutiny of it; speaking about what does not concern one; engaging in falsehood; backbiting; tale-bearing;
وَالِاسْتِمَاعُ إِلَيْهِمَا وَالْعَقْدُ عَلَى الْبَلَاغَاتِ وَسُوءُ الظَّنِّ لِأَجْلِهَا ، وَهُوَ اشْتِرَاكٌ فِي الْغِيبَةِ وَالنَّمِيمَةِ ، وَكُلُّ بَلَاغَةٍ تَزِيدُ وَتَنْقُصُ إِنْ كَانَ شَرًّا ازْدَدْتَ فِيهِ وَإِنْ كَانَ خَيْرًا نَقَصْتَ مِنْهُ وَسَهَّلُوا فِي النَّظَرِ إِلَى الزُّورِ وَاللَّهْوِ وَمُجَالَسَةِ الْبَطَّالِينَ وَالْمَشْيِ فِي أَسْبَابِ الْهَوَى وَالتَّعَصُّبِ وَشِدَّةِ الْحِرْصِ فِي الدُّنْيَا ، وَهَذَا كُلُّهُ كَانَ السَّلَفُ يُشَدِّدُونَ فِيهِ وَمِمَّا أَحْدَثُوا دُخُولُ النِّسَاءِ الْحَمَّامَ مِنْ غَيْرِ ضَرُورَةٍ وَدُخُولُ الرَّجُلِ بِغَيْرِ مِئْزَرٍ وَهُوَ فِسْقٌ ،
wa-al-istimāʿu ʾilayhimā wa-al-ʿaqdu ʿalā al-balāghāti wasūʾu al-ẓanni liʾajlihā , wahuwa ishtirākun fī al-ghībati wa-al-namīmati , wakullu balāghatin tazīdu watanquṣu ʾin kāna sharran izdadta fīhi waʾin kāna khayran naqaṣta minhu wasahhalū fī al-naẓari ʾilā al-zūri wa-al-lahwi wamujālasati al-baṭṭālīna wa-al-mashyi fī ʾasbābi al-hawā wa-al-taʿaṣṣubi washiddati al-ḥirṣi fī al-dunyā , wahādhā kulluhu kāna al-salafu yushaddidūna fīhi wamimmā ʾaḥdathū dukhūlu al-nisāʾi al-ḥammāma min ghayri ḍarūratin wadukhūlu al-rajuli bighayri miʾzarin wahuwa fisqun ,
listening to both; accepting reports brought by others and entertaining suspicions because of them, which is sharing in backbiting and tale-bearing. Every report is increased and diminished: if it is bad, you add to it; if it is good, you take away from it. They were lax about watching falsehood and entertainment, keeping company with idlers, pursuing the means of desire, partisanship, and intense greed for worldly things. The predecessors treated all of this strictly. Among their innovations are women entering bathhouses without necessity and a man entering without a waistcloth, which is sinful disobedience.
وَسُئِلَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ الْحَرْبِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَمَّنْ يَشْرَبُ النَّبِيذَ وَلَا يَسْكَرُ أَيُصَلَّى خَلْفَهُ ؟ قَالَ : نَعَمْ ، قِيلَ : فَمَنْ دَخَلَ الْحَمَّامَ بِغَيْرِ مِئْزَرٍ فَقَالَ لَا يُصَلَّى خَلْفَهُ ، هَذَا لِأَنَّ شُرْبَ النَّبِيذِ يُخْتَلَفُ فِيهِ إِذَا لَمْ يُسْكِرْ وَدُخُولَ الْحَمَّامِ بِغَيْرِ مِئْزَرٍ مُحَرَّمٌ بِإِجْمَاعٍ ، وَكَانَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ يَقُولُ : يَحْتَاجُ دَاخِلُ الْحَمَّامِ إِلَى مِئْزَرَيْنِ مِئْزَرٍ لِوَجْهِهِ وَمِئْزَرٍ لِعَوْرَتِهِ وَإِلَّا لَمْ يَسْلَمْ فِي دُخُولِهِ ،
wasuʾila ʾibrāhīmu al-ḥarbiyyu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā ʿamman yashrabu al-nabīdha walā yaskaru ʾayuṣallā khalfahu ? qāla: naʿam , qīla: faman dakhala al-ḥammāma bighayri miʾzarin faqāla lā yuṣallā khalfahu , hādhā liʾanna shurba al-nabīdhi yukhtalafu fīhi ʾidhā lam yuskir wadukhūla al-ḥammāmi bighayri miʾzarin muḥarramun biʾijmāʿin , wakāna baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi yaqūlu: yaḥtāju dākhilu al-ḥammāmi ʾilā miʾzarayni miʾzarin liwajhihi wamiʾzarin liʿawratihi waʾillā lam yaslam fī dukhūlihi ,
Ibrāhīm al-Ḥarbī, may God Most High have mercy on him, was asked about someone who drinks nabīdh without becoming intoxicated: “May one pray behind him?” He said, “Yes.” He was asked, “And someone who enters the bathhouse without a waistcloth?” He said, “One should not pray behind him.” This is because there is disagreement over drinking nabīdh when it does not intoxicate, whereas entering the bathhouse without a waistcloth is forbidden by consensus. One scholar used to say, “A person entering the bathhouse needs two cloths: one for his face and one for his private parts. Otherwise he will not be safe in entering it.”
وَكَانَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ يَقُولُ : الْحَمَّامُ مِنَ النَّعِيمِ الَّذِي أَحْدَثُوهُ ، وَمِنَ الْمُنْكَرِ فِي الْحَمَّامِ تَوَلِّي الْقَيِّمِ لِعَوْرَةِ الرَّجُلِ الْمُسْلِمِ فِي الْإِطْلَاءِ بِالنُّورَةِ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ مِنْ هَدْيِ الْعُلَمَاءِ فِي قُعُودِهِمْ أَنْ يَجْتَمِعَ أَحَدُهُمْ فِي جَلْسَتِهِ فَيَنْصِبَ رُكْبَتَيْهِ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقْعُدُ عَلَى قَدَمَيْهِ وَيَضَعُ مِرْفَقَيْهِ عَلَى رُكْبَتَيْهِ كَذَلِكَ كَانَ شَمَائِلُ كُلِّ مَنْ تَكَلَّمَ فِي هَذَا الْعِلْمِ خَاصَّةً مِنْ عَهْدِ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى
wakāna ibnu ʿumara yaqūlu: al-ḥammāmu mina al-naʿīmi alladhī ʾaḥdathūhu , wamina al-munkari fī al-ḥammāmi tawallī al-qayyimi liʿawrati al-rajuli al-muslimi fī al-ʾiṭlāʾi bi-al-nūrati , waqad kāna min hadyi al-ʿulamāʾi fī quʿūdihim ʾan yajtamiʿa ʾaḥaduhum fī jalsatihi fayanṣiba rukbatayhi waminhum man yaqʿudu ʿalā qadamayhi wayaḍaʿu mirfaqayhi ʿalā rukbatayhi kadhālika kāna shamāʾilu kulli man takallama fī hādhā al-ʿilmi khāṣṣatan min ʿahdi ʾaṣḥābi rasūli allāhi ṣallā
Ibn ʿUmar used to say, “The bathhouse is among the luxuries they have introduced.” One objectionable practice in the bathhouse is the attendant’s handling a Muslim man’s private parts while applying depilatory lime. The scholars’ way of sitting was to draw themselves together, raising their knees; some sat on their feet and rested their elbows on their knees. Such were the manners of everyone who spoke about this particular science from the time of the Companions of God’s Messenger, God
اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَمِنْ زَمَنِ الْحَسَنِ الْبَصْرِيِّ وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ مَنْ أَظْهَرَ هَذَا الْعِلْمَ وَفَتَقَ الْأَلْسُنَ بِهِ إِلَى وَقْتِ أَبِي الْقَاسِمِ الْجُنَيْدِ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَظْهَرَ الْكَرَاسِيُّ ، وَكَذَلِكَ رُوِيَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقْعُدُ الْقُرْفُصَاءَ وَيَحْتَبِي بِيَدَيْهِ ، وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ أُخْرَى : أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقْعُدُ عَلَى قَدَمَيْهِ وَيَجْعَلُ مِرْفَقَيْهِ عَلَى رُكْبَتَيْهِ وَأَوَّلُ مَنْ قَعَدَ عَلَى كُرْسِيٍّ مِنْ أَهْلِ هَذَا الْعِلْمِ :
allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama wamin zamani al-ḥasani al-baṣriyyi wahuwa ʾawwalu man ʾaẓhara hādhā al-ʿilma wafataqa al-ʾalsuna bihi ʾilā waqti ʾabī al-qāsimi al-junaydi qabla ʾan taẓhara al-karāsiyyu , wakadhālika ruwiya ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾannahu kāna yaqʿudu al-qurfuṣāʾa wayaḥtabī biyadayhi , wafī riwāyatin ʾukhrā: ʾannahu kāna yaqʿudu ʿalā qadamayhi wayajʿalu mirfaqayhi ʿalā rukbatayhi waʾawwalu man qaʿada ʿalā kursiyyin min ʾahli hādhā al-ʿilmi:
bless him and grant him peace, and from the time of al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, who first made this science public and set tongues speaking of it, until the time of Abū al-Qāsim al-Junayd, before chairs appeared. It is likewise related of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, that he would sit with his knees drawn up, clasping them with his hands. In another account, he would sit on his feet and rest his elbows on his knees. The first of the people of this science to sit on a chair was:
يَحْيَى بْنُ مُعَاذٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِمِصْرَ ، وَتَبِعَهُ أَبُو حَمْزَةَ بِبَغْدَادَ ، فَعَابَ الْأَشْيَاخُ عَلَيْهِمَا ذَلِكَ ، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ ذَلِكَ مِنْ سِيرَةِ الْعَارِفِينَ الَّذِينَ يَتَكَلَّمُونَ فِي عِلْمِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَالْيَقِينِ إِنَّمَا كَانَ يَجْلِسُ مُتَرَبِّعًا ، النَّحْوِيُّونَ وَاللُّغَوِيُّونَ وَأَبْنَاءُ الدُّنْيَا مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ الْمُفْتِينَ وَهِيَ جَلْسَةُ الْمُتَكَبِّرِينَ ، وَمِنَ التَّوَاضُعِ الِاجْتِمَاعُ فِي الْجَلْسَةِ .
yaḥyā bnu muʿādhin raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā bimiṣra , watabiʿahu ʾabū ḥamzata bibaghdāda , faʿāba al-ʾashyākhu ʿalayhimā dhālika , walam yakun dhālika min sīrati al-ʿārifīna alladhīna yatakallamūna fī ʿilmi al-maʿrifati wa-al-yaqīni ʾinnamā kāna yajlisu mutarabbiʿan , al-naḥwiyyūna wa-al-lughawiyyūna waʾabnāʾu al-dunyā mina al-ʿulamāʾi al-muftīna wahiya jalsatu al-mutakabbirīna , wamina al-tawāḍuʿi al-ijtimāʿu fī al-jalsati.
Yaḥyā ibn Muʿādh, may God Most High have mercy on him, in Egypt. Abū Ḥamza followed him in Baghdad. The elders criticized them both for this, for it was not the practice of the knowers who spoke about spiritual knowledge and certainty. Those who sat cross-legged were the grammarians, the philologists, and the worldly among scholars who issued legal opinions. It is the posture of the arrogant; drawing oneself together while seated is a mark of humility.
ذِكْرُ تَفْصِيلِ الْعُلُومِ وَمَعْرُوفِهَا وَقَدِيمِهَا وَمُحْدَثِهَا وَمُنْكَرِهَا
dhikru tafṣīli al-ʿulūmi wamaʿrūfihā waqadīmihā wamuḥdathihā wamunkarihā
An Account of the Distinctions among the Sciences: Their Recognized, Ancient, Newly Introduced, and Objectionable Forms
اعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْعُلُومَ تِسْعَةٌ : أَرْبَعَةٌ مِنْهَا سُنَّةٌ مَعْرُوفَةٌ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالتَّابِعِينَ وَخَمْسَةٌ مُحْدَثَةٌ لَمْ تَكُنْ تُعْرَفُ فِيمَا سَلَفَ ، فَأَمَّا الْأَرْبَعَةُ الْمَعْرُوفَةُ فَعِلْمُ الْإِيمَانِ وَعِلْمُ الْقُرْآنِ وَعِلْمُ السُّنَنِ وَالْآثَارِ ، وَعِلْمُ الْفَتَاوَى وَالْأَحْكَامِ ، وَأَمَّا الْخَمْسَةُ الْمُحْدَثَةُ ، فَالنَّحْوُ وَالْعَرُوضُ ، وَعِلْمُ الْمَقَايِيسِ ، وَالْجَدَلُ فِي الْفِقْهِ ، وَعِلْمُ الْمَعْقُولِ بِالنَّظَرِ ،
iʿlam ʾanna al-ʿulūma tisʿatun: ʾarbaʿatun minhā sunnatun maʿrūfatun mina al-ṣaḥābati wa-al-tābiʿīna wakhamsatun muḥdathatun lam takun tuʿrafu fīmā salafa , faʾammā al-ʾarbaʿatu al-maʿrūfatu faʿilmu al-ʾīmāni waʿilmu al-qurʾāni waʿilmu al-sunani wa-al-ʾāthāri , waʿilmu al-fatāwā wa-al-ʾaḥkāmi , waʾammā al-khamsatu al-muḥdathatu , fa-al-naḥwu wa-al-ʿarūḍu , waʿilmu al-maqāyīsi , wa-al-jadalu fī al-fiqhi , waʿilmu al-maʿqūli bi-al-naẓari ,
Know that there are nine sciences: four are established practices known from the Companions and the Successors, while five are newly introduced and were unknown in earlier times. The four recognized sciences are the knowledge of faith, the knowledge of the Qurʾān, the knowledge of prophetic practices and transmitted reports, and the knowledge of legal opinions and rulings. The five newly introduced sciences are grammar and prosody; the science of analogical measures; disputation in jurisprudence; rational knowledge through theoretical inquiry;
وَعِلْمُ عِلَلِ الْحَدِيثِ وَتَطْرِيقِ الطُّرُقَاتِ فِيهِ وَتَعْلِيلِ الضُّعَفَاءِ وَتَضْعِيفِ النَّقَلَةِ لِلْآثَارِ فَهَذَا الْعِلْمُ مِنَ الْمُحْدَثِ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ عِلْمٌ لِأَهْلِهِ فَيَسْمَعُهُ أَصْحَابُهُ مِنْهُمْ ، وَقَدْ كَانُوا يَرَوْنَ الْقَصَصَ بِدْعَةً وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ وَيَكْرَهُونَ مُجَالَسَةَ الْقُصَّاصِ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ نِعْمَ الرَّجُلُ فُلَانٌ لَوْلَا أَنَّهُ يَقُصُّ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةِ : مَثَلُ أَصْحَابِ الْحِكَايَاتِ فِي أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ مَثَلُ الْقُصَّاصِ فِي الْفُقَهَاءِ ، وَقَالَ آخَرُ : مَثَلُ
waʿilmu ʿilali al-ḥadīthi wataṭrīqi al-ṭuruqāti fīhi wataʿlīli al-ḍuʿafāʾi wataḍʿīfi al-naqalati lilʾāthāri fahādhā al-ʿilmu mina al-muḥdathi ʾillā ʾannahu ʿilmun liʾahlihi fayasmaʿuhu ʾaṣḥābuhu minhum , waqad kānū yarawna al-qaṣaṣa bidʿatan wayanhawna ʿanhu wayakrahūna mujālasata al-quṣṣāṣi , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi niʿma al-rajulu fulānun lawlā ʾannahu yaquṣṣu , waqāla baʿḍu hādhihi al-ṭāʾifati: mathalu ʾaṣḥābi al-ḥikāyāti fī ʾahli al-maʿrifati mathalu al-quṣṣāṣi fī al-fuqahāʾi , waqāla ʾākharu: mathalu
and the science of defects in hadith, mapping its transmission routes, identifying defects in weak transmitters, and declaring transmitters of reports weak. This science is newly introduced, but it is a science for its specialists, and its students hear it from them. They used to regard storytelling as an innovation, forbid it, and dislike sitting with storytellers. One scholar said, “What a good man so-and-so is, if only he did not tell stories!” One of this company said, “Relaters of anecdotes among the people of spiritual knowledge are like storytellers among jurists.” Another said, “The place of
الْقُصَّاصِ فِي الْعُلَمَاءِ مَثَلُ أَهْلِ السَّوَادِ فِي أَهْلِ الْمُدُنِ ، فَأَمَّا أَكْلُ الدُّنْيَا بِالدِّينِ وَأَخْذُهَا عَلَى الصَّلَاحِ وَبَيْعُ الْعِلْمِ بِالدُّنْيَا وَالتَّصَنُّعُ وَالتَّزَيُّنُ لِلْعُمُومِ فَمِنْ قَبِيحِ مَا أُحْدِثَ ، وَهُوَ أَظْهَرُ مِنْ أَنْ يُدَلَّ عَلَى فَسَادِهِ عِنْدَ مَنْ عَرَفَ ظَاهِرَ الْعِلْمِ ، وَقَدْ سَمَّى هَؤُلَاءِ فِي زَمَانِنَا هَذَا الْجَاهِلُونَ بِالْعِلْمِ عُلَمَاءَ وَجَعَلَهُمُ النَّاقِصُونَ عَنِ الْفَضْلِ فُضَلَاءَ لِقِلَّةِ مَعْرِفَتِهِمْ بِطَرِيقِ الْمُتَقَدِّمِينَ وَعَدَمِ بَصِيرَتِهِمْ بِحَقِيقَةِ عِلْمِ الدِّينِ ،
al-quṣṣāṣi fī al-ʿulamāʾi mathalu ʾahli al-sawādi fī ʾahli al-muduni , faʾammā ʾaklu al-dunyā bi-al-dīni waʾakhdhuhā ʿalā al-ṣalāḥi wabayʿu al-ʿilmi bi-al-dunyā wa-al-taṣannuʿu wa-al-tazayyunu lilʿumūmi famin qabīḥi mā ʾuḥditha , wahuwa ʾaẓharu min ʾan yudalla ʿalā fasādihi ʿinda man ʿarafa ẓāhira al-ʿilmi , waqad sammā hāʾulāʾi fī zamāninā hādhā al-jāhilūna bi-al-ʿilmi ʿulamāʾa wajaʿalahumu al-nāqiṣūna ʿani al-faḍli fuḍalāʾa liqillati maʿrifatihim biṭarīqi al-mutaqaddimīna waʿadami baṣīratihim biḥaqīqati ʿilmi al-dīni ,
storytellers among scholars is like that of country people among townspeople.” As for consuming worldly goods through religion, acquiring them on the strength of righteousness, selling knowledge for worldly gain, and putting on a show and adorning oneself for the public, these are among the ugliest innovations. Their corruption is too obvious to need demonstrating to anyone who knows outward learning. Yet in our time the ignorant in knowledge have called such men scholars, and those deficient in excellence have called them excellent, because they know little of the earlier people’s path and have no insight into the reality of religious knowledge.
وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْكَلَامَ يَنْقَسِمُ عِنْدَنَا سَبْعَةَ أَقْسَامٍ : الْعِلْمُ مِنْهُ قِسْمٌ وَاحِدٌ ، وَسَائِرُ السِّتَّةِ لَغْوٌ مُطَّرَحٌ يَلْتَقِطُهُ مَنْ لَا يَعْرِفُهُ وَلَا يُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ الْعِلْمِ وَالْجَهْلِ ، وَالْعَرَبُ تَقُولُ : لِكُلِّ سَاقِطَةٍ لَاقِطَةٌ وَلِكُلِّ قَائِلَةٍ نَاقِلَةٌ ، فَالسِّتَّةُ إِفْكٌ وَسَفَهٌ وَخَطَأٌ وَظَنٌّ وَزُخْرُفٌ وَوَسْوَسَةٌ ، فَهَذِهِ أَسْمَاؤُهَا عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ يُفَصِّلُونَ ذَلِكَ بِمَا فَصَّلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَهُمْ مِنْ بَيَانِهِ وَاسْتَحْفَظَهُمْ مِنْ كِتَابِهِ وَجَعَلَهُمْ شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى دِينِهِ وَعِبَادِهِ ،
waʿlam ʾanna al-kalāma yanqasimu ʿindanā sabʿata ʾaqsāmin: al-ʿilmu minhu qismun wāḥidun , wasāʾiru al-sittati laghwun muṭṭaraḥun yaltaqiṭuhu man lā yaʿrifuhu walā yufarriqu bayna al-ʿilmi wa-al-jahli , wa-al-ʿarabu taqūlu: likulli sāqiṭatin lāqiṭatun walikulli qāʾilatin nāqilatun , fa-al-sittatu ʾifkun wasafahun wakhaṭaʾun waẓannun wazukhrufun wawaswasatun , fahādhihi ʾasmāʾuhā ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi yufaṣṣilūna dhālika bimā faṣṣala allāhu taʿālā lahum min bayānihi wastaḥfaẓahum min kitābihi wajaʿalahum shuhadāʾa ʿalā dīnihi waʿibādihi ,
Know that, in our view, speech falls into seven categories. Knowledge is only one; the other six are discarded idle talk, picked up by those who do not recognize it and cannot distinguish knowledge from ignorance. The Arabs say, “Every fallen saying has someone to pick it up, and every utterance has someone to carry it on.” The six are fabrication, foolishness, error, conjecture, ornamented speech, and whisperings. These are their names among scholars, who distinguish them through the explanation God Most High has made clear to them, the Book He has entrusted them to preserve, and His making them witnesses over His religion and His servants.
فَالْقِسْمُ السَّابِعُ مِنَ الْكَلَامِ هُوَ مَا عَدَا هَذِهِ السِّتَّةَ ، وَلَمْ يَقَعْ عَلَيْهِ اسْمٌ مِنْهَا مَذْمُومٌ ، فَهُوَ عِلْمٌ وَهُوَ نَصُّ الْقُرْآنِ وَالسُّنَّةِ أَوْ مَا دَلَّا عَلَيْهِ ، وَاسْتُنْبِطَ مِنْهُمَا أَوْ وُجِدَ فِيهِمَا اسْمُهُ وَمَعْنَاهُ مِنْ قَوْلٍ وَفِعْلٍ ، وَالتَّأْوِيلُ إِذَا لَمْ يَخْرُجْ عَنِ الْإِجْمَاعِ دَاخِلٌ فِي الْعِلْمِ وَالِاسْتِنْبَاطُ إِذَا كَانَ مُسْتَوْدَعًا فِي الْكِتَابِ يَشْهَدُ لَهُ الْمُجْمَلُ وَلَا يُنَافِيهِ النَّصُّ فَهُوَ عِلْمٌ ،
fa-al-qismu al-sābiʿu mina al-kalāmi huwa mā ʿadā hādhihi al-sittata , walam yaqaʿ ʿalayhi ismun minhā madhmūmun , fahuwa ʿilmun wahuwa naṣṣu al-qurʾāni wa-al-sunnati ʾaw mā dallā ʿalayhi , wastunbiṭa minhumā ʾaw wujida fīhimā ismuhu wamaʿnāhu min qawlin wafiʿlin , wa-al-taʾwīlu ʾidhā lam yakhruj ʿani al-ʾijmāʿi dākhilun fī al-ʿilmi wa-al-istinbāṭu ʾidhā kāna mustawdaʿan fī al-kitābi yashhadu lahu al-mujmalu walā yunāfīhi al-naṣṣu fahuwa ʿilmun ,
The seventh category of speech is whatever lies outside these six and bears none of their blameworthy names. It is knowledge: the explicit text of the Qurʾān and the Sunna, what the two indicate, what is deduced from them, or whatever word or deed has its name and meaning found in them. Interpretation, when it does not depart from consensus, belongs to knowledge. Deduction, when it is deposited in the Book, supported by its general statements, and not contradicted by its explicit text, is also knowledge.
وَقَدْ كَانَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : أَنْتُمُ الْيَوْمَ فِي زَمَانٍ الْهَوَى فِيهِ تَابِعٌ لِلْعِلْمِ وَسَيَأْتِي عَلَيْكُمْ زَمَانٌ يَكُونُ الْعِلْمُ فِيهِ تَابِعًا لِلْهَوَى . وَقَدْ جَمَعَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بَيْنَ رَوْنَقِ الْعَقْلِ وَمُتْعَةِ الدُّنْيَا بِتَسْمِيَةِ الزُّخْرُفِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَلِبُيُوتِهِمْ أَبْوَابًا وَسُرُرًا عَلَيْهَا يَتَّكِئُونَ ) الزُّخْرُفُ :
waqad kāna ibnu masʿūdin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu: ʾantumu al-yawma fī zamānin al-hawā fīhi tābiʿun lilʿilmi wasayaʾtī ʿalaykum zamānun yakūnu al-ʿilmu fīhi tābiʿan lilhawā. waqad jamaʿa allāhu taʿālā bayna rawnaqi al-ʿaqli wamutʿati al-dunyā bitasmiyati al-zukhrufi faqāla taʿālā: ( walibuyūtihim ʾabwāban wasururan ʿalayhā yattakiʾūna ) al-zukhrufu:
Ibn Masʿūd, may God be pleased with him, used to say, “Today you live in a time when desire follows knowledge. A time will come upon you when knowledge follows desire.” God Most High brought together the glitter of intellect and worldly enjoyment under the name “ornament.” The Most High said, “And for their houses doors and couches upon which they recline” (al-Zukhruf 43:
34 وَزُخْرُفًا وَكَمَا قَالَ زُخْرُفًا مِنَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُورًا فَذَهَابُ الْجَاهِلِ بِالِاسْتِحْسَانِ لِزُخْرُفِ الْقَوْلِ مِنَ الْمُمَوَّهِ مِنْ عُلَمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا كَمُتْعَةِ الْجَاهِلِ مِنْ أَبْنَاءِ الدُّنْيَا بِزُخْرُفِ الذَّهَبِ ذَاهِبًا عَنْ حَقِيقَةِ الْأَمْرِ وَالزُّخْرُفُ مَا يُمَوَّهُ عَلَى الذَّهَبِ ، فَيُشْبِهُ بِهِ يَحْسَبُهُ الْجَاهِلُ وَالصَّبِيُّ عَيْنَ الذَّهَبِ ، كَذَلِكَ الزُّخْرُفُ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ : مَا يُمَوَّهُ وَيُشَبَّهُ عَلَى الْعِلْمِ يَحْسَبُهُ الْمُسْتَمِعُ مِنَ الْجُهَّالِ عِلْمًا ،
34 wazukhrufan wakamā qāla zukhrufan mina al-qawli ghurūran fadhahābu al-jāhili bi-al-istiḥsāni lizukhrufi al-qawli mina al-mumawwahi min ʿulamāʾi al-dunyā kamutʿati al-jāhili min ʾabnāʾi al-dunyā bizukhrufi al-dhahabi dhāhiban ʿan ḥaqīqati al-ʾamri wa-al-zukhrufu mā yumawwahu ʿalā al-dhahabi , fayushbihu bihi yaḥsabuhu al-jāhilu wa-al-ṣabiyyu ʿayna al-dhahabi , kadhālika al-zukhrufu mina al-qawli: mā yumawwahu wayushabbahu ʿalā al-ʿilmi yaḥsabuhu al-mustamiʿu mina al-juhhāli ʿilman ,
34), “and ornament”; and likewise He said, “ornamented speech, as deception.” The ignorant person’s infatuation with admiring ornate words from a dissembling worldly scholar is like the pleasure an ignorant worldly person takes in gold ornament, oblivious to the reality of the matter. Ornament is what is plated to resemble gold, so that the ignorant person or child takes it for gold itself. Similarly, ornament in speech is something disguised and made to resemble knowledge, which an ignorant listener takes for knowledge.
فَكَذَلِكَ جَمَعَ بَيْنَهُمَا فِي التَّسْمِيَةِ الزُّخْرُفِ ، وَقَدْ قِيلَ إِنَّ الزُّخْرُفَ هُوَ الذَّهَبُ فَعَلَى هَذَا شَبَّهَ قَوْلَ الْغُرُورِ بِالذَّهَبِ الَّذِي يَذْهَبُ بَقَاؤُهُ وَتَقِلُّ حَقِيقَتُهُ عِنْدَ الرَّبَّانِيِّينَ وَأَهْلِ الْحَقِيقَةِ الزَّاهِدِينَ إِذْ شَبَّهَهُ الْأَنْبِيَاءُ وَالصِّدِّيقُونَ كَالْحَجَرِ وَالْمَدَرِ ، وَكَانَ الْإِمَامُ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : تَرَكُوا الْعِلْمَ وَأَقْبَلُوا عَلَى الْغِرَاسِ ، مَا أَقَلَّ الْعِلْمَ فِيهِمْ وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ ،
fakadhālika jamaʿa baynahumā fī al-tasmiyati al-zukhrufi , waqad qīla ʾinna al-zukhrufa huwa al-dhahabu faʿalā hādhā shabbaha qawla al-ghurūri bi-al-dhahabi alladhī yadhhabu baqāʾuhu wataqillu ḥaqīqatuhu ʿinda al-rabbāniyyīna waʾahli al-ḥaqīqati al-zāhidīna ʾidh shabbahahu al-ʾanbiyāʾu wa-al-ṣiddīqūna ka-al-ḥajari wa-al-madari , wakāna al-ʾimāmu ʾaḥmadu bnu ḥanbalin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu: tarakū al-ʿilma waʾaqbalū ʿalā al-ghirāsi , mā ʾaqalla al-ʿilma fīhim wa-allāhu al-mustaʿānu ,
Thus He joined the two under the name “ornament.” It has also been said that “ornament” means gold. On that reading He likened deceptive speech to gold, whose permanence vanishes and whose reality counts for little among the godly and the renunciant people of spiritual reality. The prophets and the utterly truthful likened it to stones and clods of earth. Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, may God be pleased with him, used to say, “They have abandoned knowledge and turned to planting. How little knowledge there is among them! God is the One whose help is sought.”
وَقَالَ الْإِمَامُ مَالِكُ بْنُ أَنَسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : لَمْ يَكُنِ النَّاسُ فِيمَا مَضَى يَسْأَلُونَ عَنْ هَذِهِ الْأُمُورِ كَمَا يَسْأَلُ النَّاسُ الْيَوْمَ وَلَمْ يَكُنِ الْعُلَمَاءُ يَقُولُونَ حَرَامٌ وَلَا حَلَالٌ فِي أَكْثَرِ الْأُمُورِ أَدْرَكْتُهُمْ يَقُولُونَ مُسْتَحَبٌّ وَمَكْرُوهٌ ، وَكَانَ مَالِكٌ كَثِيرَ التَّوَقُّفِ فِي الْأَجْوِبَةِ إِذَا سُئِلَ وَيُكْثِرُ أَنْ يَقُولَ لَا أَدْرِي سَلْ غَيْرِي وَقَالَ رَجُلٌ لِعَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ مَهْدِيٍّ أَلَا تَرَى إِلَى قَوْلِ فُلَانٍ
waqāla al-ʾimāmu māliku bnu ʾanasin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: lam yakuni al-nāsu fīmā maḍā yasʾalūna ʿan hādhihi al-ʾumūri kamā yasʾalu al-nāsu al-yawma walam yakuni al-ʿulamāʾu yaqūlūna ḥarāmun walā ḥalālun fī ʾakthari al-ʾumūri ʾadraktuhum yaqūlūna mustaḥabbun wamakrūhun , wakāna mālikun kathīra al-tawaqqufi fī al-ʾajwibati ʾidhā suʾila wayukthiru ʾan yaqūla lā ʾadrī sal ghayrī waqāla rajulun liʿabdi al-raḥmani bni mahdiyyin ʾalā tarā ʾilā qawli fulānin
Imām Mālik ibn Anas, may God be pleased with him, said, “In the past, people did not ask about these matters as people ask today. Scholars did not say ‘forbidden’ or ‘lawful’ about most matters. I knew them to say ‘recommended’ and ‘disliked.’” Mālik often withheld answers when questioned and frequently said, “I do not know. Ask someone else.” A man said to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī, “Do you not see how so-and-so says
فِي الْعِلْمِ حَلَالٌ وَحَرَامٌ وَقَطْعِهِ فِي الْأُمُورِ بِعِلْمِهِ يَعْنِي رَجُلًا مِنْ أَهْلِ الرَّأْيِ وَإِلَى قَوْلِ مَالِكٍ : إِذَا سُئِلَ أَحْسِبُ ، فَقَالَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ : وَيْلَكَ قَوْلُ مَالِكٍ أَحْسِبُ أَحْسِبُ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ قَوْلِ
fī al-ʿilmi ḥalālun waḥarāmun waqaṭʿihi fī al-ʾumūri biʿilmihi yaʿnī rajulan min ʾahli al-raʾyi waʾilā qawli mālikin: ʾidhā suʾila ʾaḥsibu , faqāla ʿabdu al-raḥmani: waylaka qawlu mālikin ʾaḥsibu ʾaḥsibu ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min qawli
in matters of knowledge, ‘Lawful! Forbidden!’ and gives categorical judgments on the strength of his knowledge,” meaning a man of the school of personal opinion, “whereas Mālik, when asked, says, ‘I think’?” ʿAbd al-Raḥmān said, “Woe to you! Mālik’s ‘I think, I think’ is dearer to me than
فُلَانٍ : أَشْهَدُ أَشْهَدُ ، وَكَانَ هِشَامُ بْنُ عُرْوَةَ يَقُولُ : لَا تَسْأَلُوهُمُ الْيَوْمَ عَمَّا أَحْدَثُوا فَإِنَّهُمْ قَدْ أَعَدُّوا لَهُ جَوَابًا ، وَلَكِنِ اسْأَلُوهُمْ عَنِ السُّنَنِ فَإِنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْرِفُونَهَا ، وَكَانَ الشَّعْبِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِذَا نَظَرَ إِلَى مَا أَحْدَثَ النَّاسُ مِنَ الرَّأْيِ وَالْهَوَى يَقُولُ : لَقَدْ كَانَ الْقُعُودُ فِي هَذَا الْمَسْجِدِ أَحَبَّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا يُعْدَلُ بِهِ فَمُذْ صَارَ فِيهِ هَؤُلَاءِ الْمُرَاؤُونَ فَقَدْ
fulānin: ʾashhadu ʾashhadu , wakāna hishāmu bnu ʿurwata yaqūlu: lā tasʾalūhumu al-yawma ʿammā ʾaḥdathū faʾinnahum qad ʾaʿaddū lahu jawāban , walākini isʾalūhum ʿani al-sunani faʾinnahum lā yaʿrifūnahā , wakāna al-shaʿbiyyu raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā ʾidhā naẓara ʾilā mā ʾaḥdatha al-nāsu mina al-raʾyi wa-al-hawā yaqūlu: laqad kāna al-quʿūdu fī hādhā al-masjidi ʾaḥabba ʾilayya mimmā yuʿdalu bihi famudh ṣāra fīhi hāʾulāʾi al-murāʾūna faqad
so-and-so’s ‘I testify, I testify.’” Hishām ibn ʿUrwa used to say, “Do not ask them today about what they have introduced; they have already prepared an answer for it. Ask them instead about the established practices, for they do not know them.” When al-Shaʿbī, may God Most High have mercy on him, saw the opinions and desires people had introduced, he would say, “Sitting in this mosque was once dearer to me than anything that could be set beside it. Since these show-offs came into it, they have
بَغَّضُوا إِلَيَّ الْجُلُوسَ فِيهِ وَلَأَنْ أَقْعُدَ عَلَى مَزْبَلَةٍ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ أَنْ أَجْلِسَ فِيهِ وَكَانَ يَقُولُ مَا حَدَّثُوكَ عَنِ السُّنَنِ وَالْآثَارِ فَخُذْ بِهِ وَمَا حَدَّثُوكَ عَمَّا أَحْدَثُوا مِنْ رَأْيِهِمْ فَامْخُطْ عَلَيْهِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ مَرَّةً : فَبُلْ عَلَيْهِ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ السَّلَفُ يَسْتَحِبُّونَ الْعِيَّ وَالْبَلَهَ عَنْ عُلُومِ الْمَعْقُولِ ، وَقَدْ جَعَلَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ إِذْ قَرَنَهُ بِالْحَيَاءِ فَقَالَ :
baghghaḍū ʾilayya al-julūsa fīhi walaʾan ʾaqʿuda ʿalā mazbalatin ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min ʾan ʾajlisa fīhi wakāna yaqūlu mā ḥaddathūka ʿani al-sunani wa-al-ʾāthāri fakhudh bihi wamā ḥaddathūka ʿammā ʾaḥdathū min raʾyihim famkhuṭ ʿalayhi , waqad qāla marratan: fabul ʿalayhi , waqad kāna al-salafu yastaḥibbūna al-ʿiyya wa-al-balaha ʿan ʿulūmi al-maʿqūli , waqad jaʿalahu rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama mina al-ʾīmāni ʾidh qaranahu bi-al-ḥayāʾi faqāla:
made sitting in it hateful to me. I would rather sit on a rubbish heap than sit in it.” He used to say, “Whatever they relate to you of established practices and transmitted reports, take it. Whatever they tell you of what they have introduced from their own opinions, blow your nose on it.” Once he said, “Urinate on it.” The predecessors used to approve of inarticulacy and simplicity concerning rational sciences. God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, made it part of faith when he joined it to modesty, saying:
الْحَيَاءُ وَالْعِيُّ شُعْبَتَانِ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْبَذَاءُ وَالْبَيَانُ شُعْبَتَانِ مِنَ النِّفَاقِ . وَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ : أَبْغَضُ الْخَلْقِ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الْبَلِيغُ الَّذِي يَتَخَلَّلُ الْكَلَامَ بِلِسَانِهِ كَمَا يَتَخَلَّلُ الْبَاقَرُ الْخَلَا بِلِسَانِهَا يَعْنِي الْحَشِيشَ الرَّطْبَ ، وَقَالَ فِي حَدِيثٍ آخَرَ : الْعِيُّ عَنِ اللِّسَانِ لَا عِيُّ الْقَلْبِ ، وَقَالَ :
al-ḥayāʾu wa-al-ʿiyyu shuʿbatāni mina al-ʾīmāni wa-al-badhāʾu wa-al-bayānu shuʿbatāni mina al-nifāqi. waqāla ʿalayhi al-salāmu: ʾabghaḍu al-khalqi ʾilā allāhi ʿazza wajalla al-balīghu alladhī yatakhallalu al-kalāma bilisānihi kamā yatakhallalu al-bāqaru al-khalā bilisānihā yaʿnī al-ḥashīsha al-raṭba , waqāla fī ḥadīthin ʾākhara: al-ʿiyyu ʿani al-lisāni lā ʿiyyu al-qalbi , waqāla:
“Modesty and inarticulacy are two branches of faith; obscenity and eloquence are two branches of hypocrisy.” He said, peace be upon him, “The creature most hateful to God, mighty and majestic, is the eloquent person who works his tongue through speech as cattle work their tongues through herbage,” meaning fresh grass. In another hadith he said, “Inarticulacy of the tongue, not inarticulacy of the heart.” And he said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ كَرِهَ لَكُمُ الْبَيَانَ كُلَّ الْبَيَانِ فَصَارَ الْفِقْهُ إِنَّمَا هُوَ فِقْهُ الْقَلْبِ عَنِ الرَّبِّ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى وَصَارَ فِقْهُ اللِّسَانِ بِالْبَيَانِ إِنَّمَا هُوَ عِيُّ الْقَلْبِ عَنِ الشَّهَادَةِ وَالْإِيقَانِ وَعِيُّ اللِّسَانِ وَطُولُ الصَّمْتِ الَّذِي كَانَ يَسْتَحِبُّهُ السَّلَفُ هُوَ الْيَوْمَ عَيْبٌ ، وَمِنَ الْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ مَنْ لَا يَعْرِفُ أَنَّ كَلَامَ الْبِدَعِ وَعِلْمَ الْمُنَافِقِينَ الَّذِي ذَمَّهُ الْقُدَمَاءُ هُوَ الْيَوْمَ سُنَّةٌ وَأَهْلُ النُّطْقِ بِهِ هُمُ الْعُلَمَاءُ الْيَوْمَ ،
ʾinna allāha ʿazza wajalla kariha lakumu al-bayāna kulla al-bayāni faṣāra al-fiqhu ʾinnamā huwa fiqhu al-qalbi ʿani al-rabbi subḥānahu wataʿālā waṣāra fiqhu al-lisāni bi-al-bayāni ʾinnamā huwa ʿiyyu al-qalbi ʿani al-shahādati wa-al-ʾīqāni waʿiyyu al-lisāni waṭūlu al-ṣamti alladhī kāna yastaḥibbuhu al-salafu huwa al-yawma ʿaybun , wamina al-mutakallimīna man lā yaʿrifu ʾanna kalāma al-bidaʿi waʿilma al-munāfiqīna alladhī dhammahu al-qudamāʾu huwa al-yawma sunnatun waʾahlu al-nuṭqi bihi humu al-ʿulamāʾu al-yawma ,
“God, mighty and majestic, has disliked for you eloquence taken to its fullest extent.” Understanding, then, is the heart’s understanding from the Lord, glorified and exalted is He. The tongue’s understanding through eloquence is merely the heart’s inability to witness and attain certainty. An inarticulate tongue and the long silence the predecessors favored are now considered a fault. Some dialecticians do not recognize that the discourse of innovations and the knowledge of hypocrites, which the ancients condemned, are now treated as Sunna, and those who utter them are today’s scholars.
وَلَقَدْ صَارَ الْمَعْرُوفُ مُنْكَرًا وَالْمُنْكَرُ مَعْرُوفًا وَصَارَ السُّنَّةُ بِدْعَةً وَالْبِدْعَةُ سُنَّةً ، وَكَذَلِكَ جَاءَتْ بِهِ الْأَخْبَارُ فِي وَصْفِ عُلَمَاءِ آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْمَشْهُورِ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يُبْغِضُ الثَّرْثَارِينَ الْمُتَشَدِّقِينَ ، فَمَنْ غَلَبَ عَلَيْهِ هَذَا الْوَصْفُ فَكَانَ مُتَشَدِّقًا بَلِيغًا فِي عِلْمِ الرَّأْيِ وَالْمَعْقُولِ عَيِيَّ الْقَلْبِ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْيَقِينِ وَعِلْمِ الْإِيمَانِ كَانَ إِلَى النِّفَاقِ أَقْرَبَ ، وَمِنْ حَقِيقَةِ الْإِيمَانِ أَبْعَدَ ،
walaqad ṣāra al-maʿrūfu munkaran wa-al-munkaru maʿrūfan waṣāra al-sunnatu bidʿatan wa-al-bidʿatu sunnatan , wakadhālika jāʾat bihi al-ʾakhbāru fī waṣfi ʿulamāʾi ʾākhiri al-zamāni , wafī al-khabari al-mashhūri: ʾinna allāha taʿālā yubghiḍu al-tharthārīna al-mutashaddiqīna , faman ghalaba ʿalayhi hādhā al-waṣfu fakāna mutashaddiqan balīghan fī ʿilmi al-raʾyi wa-al-maʿqūli ʿayiyya al-qalbi ʿan mushāhadati al-yaqīni waʿilmi al-ʾīmāni kāna ʾilā al-nifāqi ʾaqraba , wamin ḥaqīqati al-ʾīmāni ʾabʿada ,
What is recognized as right has become objectionable, and what is objectionable has become recognized as right. The Sunna has become innovation, and innovation has become Sunna. This is just how transmitted reports describe the scholars of the end of time. In the well-known report: “God Most High hates the garrulous and those who speak affectedly.” Whoever is dominated by this trait, speaking affectedly and eloquently in the sciences of opinion and reason while his heart is incapable of witnessing certainty and knowing faith, is nearer to hypocrisy and farther from the reality of faith.
وَقَدْ كَانَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيُّ يَقُولُ : لَا يَنْبَغِي لِمَنْ أُلْهِمَ شَيْئًا مِنَ الْخَيْرَاتِ أَنْ يَعْمَلَهُ حَتَّى يَسْمَعَ بِهِ فِي الْأَثَرِ فَيَحْمَدَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى إِذَا وَافَقَ مَا فِي نَفْسِهِ . وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ : مَا قَبِلْتُ خَاطِرًا مِنْ قَلْبِي حَتَّى يُقِيمَ لِي شَاهِدَيْ عَدْلٍ مِنْ كِتَابٍ وَسُنَّةٍ وَكَانَ إِمَامُنَا أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ :
waqad kāna ʾabū sulaymāna al-dārāniyyu yaqūlu: lā yanbaghī liman ʾulhima shayʾan mina al-khayrāti ʾan yaʿmalahu ḥattā yasmaʿa bihi fī al-ʾathari fayaḥmada allāha taʿālā ʾidhā wāfaqa mā fī nafsihi. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna: mā qabiltu khāṭiran min qalbī ḥattā yuqīma lī shāhiday ʿadlin min kitābin wasunnatin wakāna ʾimāmunā ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu:
Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī used to say, “Someone inspired to do something good should not act on it until he hears it in a transmitted report. Then he should praise God Most High when it agrees with what is within him.” One of the knowers said, “I have never accepted a prompting from my heart until it produces two just witnesses for me from the Book and the Sunna.” Our imam Abū Muḥammad Sahl, may God Most High have mercy on him, used to say:
لَا يَبْلُغُ الْعَبْدُ حَقِيقَةَ الْإِيمَانِ حَتَّى يَكُونَ فِيهِ هَذِهِ الْأَرْبَعُ : أَدَاءُ الْفَرَائِضِ بِالسُّنَّةِ ، وَأَكْلُ الْحَلَالِ بِالْوَرَعِ ، وَاجْتِنَابُ النَّهْيِ مِنَ الظَّاهِرِ ، وَالْبَاطِنِ وَالصَّبْرُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ حَتَّى الْمَمَاتِ ، وَقَدْ كَانُوا يَعِيبُونَ عَلَى مَنْ تَكَلَّمَ بَعْدَ طُلُوعِ الْفَجْرِ إِلَى طُلُوعِ الشَّمْسِ بِغَيْرِ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَكَانُوا يُخْرِجُونَ الْمُتَحَدِّثِينَ مِنَ الْمَسَاجِدِ فَلَا يَبْقَى فِيهِ إِلَّا مُصَلٍّ أَوْ ذَاكِرٌ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى ،
lā yablughu al-ʿabdu ḥaqīqata al-ʾīmāni ḥattā yakūna fīhi hādhihi al-ʾarbaʿu: ʾadāʾu al-farāʾiḍi bi-al-sunnati , waʾaklu al-ḥalāli bi-al-waraʿi , wajtinābu al-nahyi mina al-ẓāhiri , wa-al-bāṭini wa-al-ṣabru ʿalā dhālika ḥattā al-mamāti , waqad kānū yaʿībūna ʿalā man takallama baʿda ṭulūʿi al-fajri ʾilā ṭulūʿi al-shamsi bighayri dhikri allāhi taʿālā wakānū yukhrijūna al-mutaḥaddithīna mina al-masājidi falā yabqā fīhi ʾillā muṣallin ʾaw dhākirun lillāhi taʿālā ,
“A servant does not attain the reality of faith until these four things are found in him: performing the obligatory duties according to the Sunna, eating lawful food with scrupulousness, avoiding what is forbidden outwardly and inwardly, and persevering in this until death.” They used to censure anyone who spoke between the rising of dawn and sunrise about anything other than remembrance of God Most High. They would put people who were conversing out of the mosques, leaving only someone praying or remembering God Most High.
وَقَدْ كَانَ السَّلَفُ يَسْتَعْظِمُونَ يَسِيرَ الْحَدِيثِ فِي الدِّينِ وَدَقَائِقَ الْبِدَعِ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ لِعِظَمِ الْإِيمَانِ وَالسُّنَّةِ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ وَلِمَعْرِفَتِهِمْ بِحَقِيقَةِ الْمَعْرُوفِ ، قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُغَفَّلٍ لِابْنِهِ وَقَدْ سَمِعَهُ يَقْرَأُ خَلْفَ الْإِمَامِ : يَا بُنَيَّ إِيَّاكَ وَالْحَدَثَ إِيَّاكَ وَالْحَدَثَ ، وَقَالَ سَعْدُ بْنُ أَبِي وَقَّاصٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ لِابْنِهِ عُمَرَ وَقَدْ سَمِعَهُ
waqad kāna al-salafu yastaʿẓimūna yasīra al-ḥadīthi fī al-dīni wadaqāʾiqa al-bidaʿi fī al-ʾislāmi liʿiẓami al-ʾīmāni wa-al-sunnati fī qulūbihim walimaʿrifatihim biḥaqīqati al-maʿrūfi , qāla ʿabdu allāhi bnu mughaffalin libnihi waqad samiʿahu yaqraʾu khalfa al-ʾimāmi: yā bunayya ʾiyyāka wa-al-ḥadatha ʾiyyāka wa-al-ḥadatha , waqāla saʿdu bnu ʾabī waqqāṣin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu libnihi ʿumara waqad samiʿahu
The predecessors used to regard slight novelties in religion and subtle innovations in Islam as grave, because of the greatness of faith and the Sunna in their hearts and their knowledge of the reality of what is right. ʿAbd Allāh ibn Mughaffal said to his son, after hearing him recite behind the imam, “My son, beware of innovation! Beware of innovation!” Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, may God be pleased with him, said to his son ʿUmar, after hearing him
يَسْجَعُ فِي كَلَامِهِ : هَذَا الَّذِي يُبْغِضُكَ إِلَيَّ لَا قَضَيْتُ حَاجَتَكَ أَبَدًا ، وَكَانَ قَدْ جَاءَهُ يَسْأَلُهُ حَاجَةً لَهُ ، وَقَالَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مَا أُوتِيَ امْرُؤٌ شَرًّا مِنْ طَلَاقَةٍ فِي لِسَانِهِ ، وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِابْنِ رَوَاحَةَ حِينَ سَمِعَهُ سَجَعَ فَوَالَى بَيْنَ ثَلَاثٍ وَقَالَ : إِيَّاكَ وَالسَّجْعَ يَا ابْنَ رَوَاحَةَ ،
yasjaʿu fī kalāmihi: hādhā alladhī yubghiḍuka ʾilayya lā qaḍaytu ḥājataka ʾabadan , wakāna qad jāʾahu yasʾaluhu ḥājatan lahu , waqāla ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: mā ʾūtiya imruʾun sharran min ṭalāqatin fī lisānihi , waqāla ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama libni rawāḥata ḥīna samiʿahu sajaʿa fawālā bayna thalāthin waqāla: ʾiyyāka wa-al-sajʿa yā ibna rawāḥata ,
speak in rhymed prose, “This is what makes you hateful to me. I will never grant your request!” He had come to ask him for something he needed. He related from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: “No person has been given anything worse than fluency of tongue.” He, God bless him and grant him peace, said to Ibn Rawāḥa when he heard him rhyme, making three phrases follow one another, “Beware of rhymed prose, Ibn Rawāḥa!”
فَكَانَ السَّجْعُ مَا زَادَ عَلَى كَلِمَتَيْنِ ، وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِلرَّجُلِ الَّذِي أَمَرَهُ بِدِيَةِ الْجَنِينِ ، لَمَّا قَالَ كَيْفَ نَدِي مَنْ لَا شَرِبَ وَلَا أَكَلَ وَلَا صَاحَ وَلَا اسْتَهَلَّ فَمِثْلُ هَذَا بَطَلٌ ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَسَجْعٌ كَسَجْعِ الْأَعْرَابِ . وَرَوَيْنَا أَنَّ مَرْوَانَ لَمَّا أَحْدَثَ الْمِنْبَرَ فِي صَلَاةِ الْعِيدِ عِنْدَ الْمُصَلَّى قَامَ إِلَيْهِ أَبُو سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيُّ فَقَالَ :
fakāna al-sajʿu mā zāda ʿalā kalimatayni , wakadhālika qāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lil-rajuli alladhī ʾamarahu bidiyati al-janīni , lammā qāla kayfa nadī man lā shariba walā ʾakala walā ṣāḥa walā istahalla famithlu hādhā baṭalun , faqāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾasajʿun kasajʿi al-ʾaʿrābi. warawaynā ʾanna marwāna lammā ʾaḥdatha al-minbara fī ṣalāti al-ʿīdi ʿinda al-muṣallā qāma ʾilayhi ʾabū saʿīdin al-khudriyyu faqāla:
Rhymed prose, then, consisted of more than two expressions. Similarly, God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, addressed the man whom he had ordered to pay blood money for a fetus. When the man said, “How can we pay for one who neither drank nor ate, neither cried nor gave a birth cry? A case like this is void,” God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Rhymed prose like the rhymed prose of the Bedouins?” We have related that when Marwān introduced a pulpit at the prayer ground for the festival prayer, Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī rose and addressed him:
يَا مَرْوَانُ مَا هَذِهِ الْبِدْعَةُ فَقَالَ : إِنَّهَا لَيْسَتْ بِدْعَةً هِيَ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا تَعْلَمُ ، إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ كَثُرُوا فَأَرَدْتُ أَنْ يَبْلُغَهُمُ الصَّوْتُ ، قَالَ أَبُو سَعِيدٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : وَلَا تَأْتُونَ بِخَيْرٍ مِمَّا أَعْلَمُ أَبَدًا وَاللَّهِ لَا صَلَّيْتُ وَرَاءَكَ الْيَوْمَ ، فَانْصَرَفَ وَلَمْ يُصَلِّ مَعَهُ صَلَاةَ الْعِيدِ ، فَالْخُطْبَةُ عَلَى مِنْبَرٍ فِي صَلَاةِ الْعِيدِ وَخُطْبَةُ الِاسْتِسْقَاءِ بِدْعَةٌ ،
yā marwānu mā hādhihi al-bidʿatu faqāla: ʾinnahā laysat bidʿatan hiya khayrun mimmā taʿlamu , ʾinna al-nāsa qad kathurū faʾaradtu ʾan yablughahumu al-ṣawtu , qāla ʾabū saʿīdin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: walā taʾtūna bikhayrin mimmā ʾaʿlamu ʾabadan wa-allāhi lā ṣallaytu warāʾaka al-yawma , fanṣarafa walam yuṣalli maʿahu ṣalāta al-ʿīdi , fa-al-khuṭbatu ʿalā minbarin fī ṣalāti al-ʿīdi wakhuṭbatu al-istisqāʾi bidʿatun ,
“Marwān, what is this innovation?” He replied, “It is no innovation; it is better than what you know. The people have grown numerous, and I wanted the sound to reach them.” Abū Saʿīd, may God be pleased with him, said, “You will never bring anything better than what I know! By God, I will not pray behind you today.” He left and did not perform the festival prayer with him. Delivering the festival sermon or the sermon for rain from a pulpit is therefore an innovation.
وَكَانَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ يَخْطُبُ فِيهِمَا عَلَى الْأَرْضِ مُتَوَكِّئًا عَلَى قَوْسٍ أَوْ عَصًا ، وَرُوِيَ أَنَّ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَخَّرَ صَلَاةَ الْمَغْرِبِ لَيْلَةً حَتَّى طَلَعَ نَجْمٌ فَأَعْتَقَ رَقَبَةً ، وَفَعَلَهُ عُمَرُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَيْضًا فَأَعْتَقَ رَقَبَةً اسْتِنَانًا بِعُمَرَ وَهُوَ جَدُّهُ لِأُمِّهِ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا أَنَّهُ أَخَّرَ صَلَاةَ الْمَغْرِبِ حَتَّى طَلَعَ كَوْكَبَانِ فَأَعْتَقَ رَقَبَتَيْنِ وَفِي الْخَبَرِ :
wakāna ʿalayhi al-salāmu yakhṭubu fīhimā ʿalā al-ʾarḍi mutawakkiʾan ʿalā qawsin ʾaw ʿaṣan , waruwiya ʾanna ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ʾakhkhara ṣalāta al-maghribi laylatan ḥattā ṭalaʿa najmun faʾaʿtaqa raqabatan , wafaʿalahu ʿumaru bnu ʿabdi al-ʿazīzi raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ʾayḍan faʾaʿtaqa raqabatan istinānan biʿumara wahuwa jadduhu liʾummihi. warawaynā ʿani ibni ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā ʾannahu ʾakhkhara ṣalāta al-maghribi ḥattā ṭalaʿa kawkabāni faʾaʿtaqa raqabatayni wafī al-khabari:
He, peace be upon him, used to deliver both sermons on the ground, leaning on a bow or a staff. It is related that ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, delayed the sunset prayer one night until a star appeared, so he freed a slave. ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, may God be pleased with him, did the same and freed a slave, following the example of ʿUmar, his grandfather on his mother’s side. We have related from Ibn ʿUmar, may God be pleased with them both, that he delayed the sunset prayer until two stars appeared and freed two slaves. In the report:
لَا تَزَالُ أُمَّتِي عَلَى مُسْكَةٍ مِنْ دِينِهَا مَا لَمْ يُؤَخِّرُوا صَلَاةَ الْمَغْرِبِ إِلَى اشْتِبَاكِ النُّجُومِ تَشَبُّهًا بِالْيَهُودِيَّةِ وَلَمْ يُؤَخِّرُوا صَلَاةَ الصُّبْحِ إِلَى افْتِرَاقِ النُّجُومِ تَشَبُّهًا بِالنَّصْرَانِيَّةِ ، وَقَالَ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ وَيُوسُفُ بْنُ أَسْبَاطٍ : لَا تُقَلِّدْ دِينَكَ مَنْ لَا دِينَ لَهُ ، وَقَالَ وَكِيعٌ : لَأَنْ أَزْنِيَ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ أَنْ أَسْأَلَ مُبْتَدِعًا عَنْ دِينِي ،
lā tazālu ʾummatī ʿalā muskatin min dīnihā mā lam yuʾakhkhirū ṣalāta al-maghribi ʾilā ishtibāki al-nujūmi tashabbuhan bi-al-yahūdiyyati walam yuʾakhkhirū ṣalāta al-ṣubḥi ʾilā iftirāqi al-nujūmi tashabbuhan bi-al-naṣrāniyyati , waqāla sufyānu al-thawriyyu raḥimahu allāhu wayūsufu bnu ʾasbāṭin: lā tuqallid dīnaka man lā dīna lahu , waqāla wakīʿun: laʾan ʾazniya ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min ʾan ʾasʾala mubtadiʿan ʿan dīnī ,
“My community will retain a hold on its religion so long as they do not delay the sunset prayer until the stars crowd together, in imitation of Judaism, or delay the dawn prayer until the stars scatter, in imitation of Christianity.” Sufyān al-Thawrī, may God have mercy on him, and Yūsuf ibn Asbāṭ said, “Do not entrust your religion to someone who has no religion.” Wakīʿ said, “I would rather commit adultery than ask an innovator about my religion.”
وَكَانَ الْإِمَامُ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى قَدْ أَكْثَرَ عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مُوسَى الْعَبْسِيِّ ثُمَّ بَلَغَهُ عَنْهُ أَدْنَى بِدْعَةٍ قِيلَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ يُقَدِّمُ عَلِيًّا عَلَى عُثْمَانَ ، وَقِيلَ : بَلْ ذَكَرَ مُعَاوِيَةَ بِسُوءٍ ، فَانْصَرَفَ أَحْمَدُ وَمَزَّقَ جَمِيعَ مَا حَمَلَ عَنْهُ وَلَمْ يُحَدِّثْ عَنْهُ شَيْئًا ، وَقِيلَ لَهُ مَرَّةً : يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ أَوَكِيعٌ أَشْبَهُ بِالسَّلَفِ أَمْ عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ فَقَالَ :
wakāna al-ʾimāmu ʾaḥmadu bnu ḥanbalin raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā qad ʾakthara ʿan ʿubaydi allāhi bni mūsā al-ʿabsiyyi thumma balaghahu ʿanhu ʾadnā bidʿatin qīla ʾinnahu kāna yuqaddimu ʿaliyyan ʿalā ʿuthmāna , waqīla: bal dhakara muʿāwiyata bisūʾin , fanṣarafa ʾaḥmadu wamazzaqa jamīʿa mā ḥamala ʿanhu walam yuḥaddith ʿanhu shayʾan , waqīla lahu marratan: yā ʾabā ʿabdi allāhi ʾawakīʿun ʾashbahu bi-al-salafi ʾam ʿubaydu allāhi faqāla:
Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, may God Most High have mercy on him, had transmitted much from ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Mūsā al-ʿAbsī. Then word reached him of the slightest innovation on his part. It was said that he preferred ʿAlī to ʿUthmān; others said that he had spoken ill of Muʿāwiya. Aḥmad withdrew and tore up everything he had received from him, and transmitted nothing from him. Once he was asked, “Abū ʿAbd Allāh, who more closely resembles the predecessors, Wakīʿ or ʿUbayd Allāh?” He replied:
وَكِيعٌ وَإِنْ زَنَى ، وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْحَرْبِيِّ قَالَ : كَتَبْتُ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْمَدِينِيِّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ جُمَلًا لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى أَنْ لَا أُحَدِّثَ عَنْهُ بِحَرْفٍ ، قِيلَ : وَلِمَ يَا أَبَا إِسْحَاقَ فَذَكَرَ صَلَاتَهُ خَلْفَ مُبْتَدِعٍ وَكَانَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ : صَحِبْتُ الْفُقَهَاءَ وَأَصْحَابَ الْحَدِيثِ وَأَهْلَ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ وَاللُّغَةِ سَبْعِينَ سَنَةً مَا سَمِعْتُ هَذِهِ الْمَسَائِلَ الَّتِي أُحْدِثَتْ فِي هَذَا الْوَقْتِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ قَطُّ يَعْنِي الِاسْمَ وَالْمُسَمَّى وَنَحْوَ ذَلِكَ ،
wakīʿun waʾin zanā , waḥaddathūnā ʿan ʾibrāhīma al-ḥarbiyyi qāla: katabtu ʿan ʿaliyyi bni al-madīniyyi raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu jumalan lillāhi taʿālā ʿalā ʾan lā ʾuḥadditha ʿanhu biḥarfin , qīla: walima yā ʾabā ʾisḥāqa fadhakara ṣalātahu khalfa mubtadiʿin wakāna raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: ṣaḥibtu al-fuqahāʾa waʾaṣḥāba al-ḥadīthi waʾahla al-ʿarabiyyati wa-al-lughati sabʿīna sanatan mā samiʿtu hādhihi al-masāʾila allatī ʾuḥdithat fī hādhā al-waqti min ʾaḥadin minhum qaṭṭu yaʿnī al-isma wa-al-musammā wanaḥwa dhālika ,
“Wakīʿ, even if he committed adultery.” They related to us from Ibrāhīm al-Ḥarbī, who said, “I wrote down much from ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī, may God be pleased with him; for God Most High, I undertake not to transmit a single letter from him.” He was asked, “Why, Abū Isḥāq?” He mentioned his praying behind an innovator. He, may God Most High have mercy on him, used to say, “I kept company with jurists, hadith specialists, and scholars of Arabic and language for seventy years. I never heard any of them raise these questions that have been introduced in this time,” meaning the name and the named, and similar matters.
وَقَالَ : وَأُحَرِّجُ عَلَى مَنْ كَانَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكَلَامِ وَالْجَدَلِ أَنْ يَحْضُرَ مَجْلِسِي أَوْ يَسْأَلَنِي عَنْ شَيْءٍ فَإِنَّهُ لَا عِلْمَ لِي بِالْكَلَامِ وَلَا أَنَا أُحْسِنُهُ وَلَا أَقُولُ بِأَهْلِهِ ، وَلَوْ عَرَفْتُ أَحَدًا مِنْهُمْ مَا كَلَّمْتُهُ وَلَا أَجَبْتُهُ عَنْ شَيْءٍ ، وَهَجَرَ الْإِمَامُ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَبَا ثَوْرٍ صَاحِبَ الشَّافِعِيِّ لَمَّا سُئِلَ عَنْ
waqāla: waʾuḥarriju ʿalā man kāna min ʾahli al-kalāmi wa-al-jadali ʾan yaḥḍura majlisī ʾaw yasʾalanī ʿan shayʾin faʾinnahu lā ʿilma lī bi-al-kalāmi walā ʾanā ʾuḥsinuhu walā ʾaqūlu biʾahlihi , walaw ʿaraftu ʾaḥadan minhum mā kallamtuhu walā ʾajabtuhu ʿan shayʾin , wahajara al-ʾimāmu ʾaḥmadu bnu ḥanbalin raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā ʾabā thawrin ṣāḥiba al-shāfiʿiyyi lammā suʾila ʿan
He said, “I solemnly forbid anyone who belongs to speculative theology and disputation to attend my gathering or ask me about anything. I have no knowledge of speculative theology, no skill in it, and do not uphold its practitioners. If I knew anyone to be one of them, I would neither speak to him nor answer him about anything.” Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, may God Most High have mercy on him, shunned Abū Thawr, al-Shāfiʿī’s associate, when he was asked about
مَعْنَى قَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى خَلَقَ آدَمَ عَلَى صُورَتِهِ قَالَ : إِنَّ الْهَاءَ عَائِدَةٌ عَلَى آدَمَ فَغَضِبَ وَقَالَ : وَيْلَهُ وَأَيُّ صُورَةٍ كَانَتْ لِآدَمَ يَخْلُقُهُ عَلَيْهَا ؟ وَيْلَهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى خَلَقَ عَلَى مِثَالٍ فَأَيُّ شَيْءٍ يَعْمَلُ فِي الْحَدِيثِ الْمُفَسَّرِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى خَلَقَ آدَمَ عَلَى صُورَةِ الرَّحْمَنِ ،
maʿnā qawli al-nabiyyi: ʾinna allāha taʿālā khalaqa ʾādama ʿalā ṣūratihi qāla: ʾinna al-hāʾa ʿāʾidatun ʿalā ʾādama faghaḍiba waqāla: waylahu waʾayyu ṣūratin kānat liʾādama yakhluquhu ʿalayhā ? waylahu yaqūlu ʾinna allāha taʿālā khalaqa ʿalā mithālin faʾayyu shayʾin yaʿmalu fī al-ḥadīthi al-mufassari ʾinna allāha taʿālā khalaqa ʾādama ʿalā ṣūrati al-raḥmani ,
the meaning of the Prophet’s saying, “God Most High created Adam in his image.” He said, “The pronoun refers back to Adam.” Aḥmad grew angry and said, “Woe to him! What image did Adam have for Him to create him in it? Woe to him! He says that God Most High created according to a model. What, then, does he do with the explicit hadith, ‘God Most High created Adam in the image of the All-Merciful’?”
فَبَلَغَ ذَلِكَ أَبَا ثَوْرٍ فَجَاءَهُ وَاعْتَذَرَ وَحَلَفَ أَنَّهُ مَا قُلْتُ عَنْ اعْتِقَادٍ وَإِنَّمَا هُوَ رَأْيٌ رَأَيْتُهُ وَالْقَوْلُ مَا قُلْتَ وَهُوَ مَذْهَبِي ، وَهَجَرَ أَيْضًا حَارِثًا الْمُحَاسِبِيَّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي رَدِّهِ عَلَى الْمُبْتَدِعَةِ وَكَانَ مِنْ أَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ فَقَالَ : أَيْنَ تَرُدُّ عَلَيْهِمْ وَقَدْ حَكَيْتَ قَوْلَهُمْ وَأَيْضًا فَإِنَّكَ تَحْمِلُهُمْ عَلَى التَّفَكُّرِ وَالرَّأْيِ فِيمَا قُلْتَ فَيَكُونُ سَبَبًا لِرَدِّ الْحَقِّ بِالْبَاطِلِ ،
fabalagha dhālika ʾabā thawrin fajāʾahu waʿtadhara waḥalafa ʾannahu mā qultu ʿan iʿtiqādin waʾinnamā huwa raʾyun raʾaytuhu wa-al-qawlu mā qulta wahuwa madhhabī , wahajara ʾayḍan ḥārithan al-muḥāsibiyya raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā fī raddihi ʿalā al-mubtadiʿati wakāna min ʾahli al-sunnati faqāla: ʾayna taruddu ʿalayhim waqad ḥakayta qawlahum waʾayḍan faʾinnaka taḥmiluhum ʿalā al-tafakkuri wa-al-raʾyi fīmā qulta fayakūnu sababan liraddi al-ḥaqqi bi-al-bāṭili ,
When this reached Abū Thawr, he came to him, apologized, and swore, “I did not say it as a matter of conviction. It was only an opinion I formed. The position is what you have said, and that is my doctrine.” He also shunned Ḥārith al-Muḥāsibī, may God Most High have mercy on him, for his refutation of the innovators, although he belonged to the people of the Sunna. He said, “How are you refuting them when you have repeated their doctrine? You also lead them to reflect and form opinions about what you have said, and this becomes a cause of rejecting truth with falsehood.”
وَهَجَرَ أَيْضًا يَحْيَى بْنَ مَعِينٍ فِي كَلِمَةٍ تَكَلَّمَ بِهَا وَهُوَ قَوْلُهُ : لَوْ أَعْطَانِيَ الشَّيْطَانُ شَيْئًا أَخَذْتُهُ ، وَقَالَ مَالِكُ بْنُ أَنَسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : لَيْسَ مِنَ السُّنَّةِ أَنْ تُجَادِلَ عَنِ السُّنَّةِ وَلَكِنْ تُخْبِرَ بِهَا فَإِنْ قُبِلَ مِنْكَ وَإِلَّا فَاسْكُتْ ، وَقِيلَ لِعَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ مَهْدِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : إِنَّ فُلَانًا يَرُدُّ عَلَى الْمُبْتَدِعَةِ فَقَالَ :
wahajara ʾayḍan yaḥyā bna maʿīnin fī kalimatin takallama bihā wahuwa qawluhu: law ʾaʿṭāniya al-shayṭānu shayʾan ʾakhadhtuhu , waqāla māliku bnu ʾanasin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: laysa mina al-sunnati ʾan tujādila ʿani al-sunnati walākin tukhbira bihā faʾin qubila minka waʾillā faskut , waqīla liʿabdi al-raḥmani bni mahdiyyin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: ʾinna fulānan yaruddu ʿalā al-mubtadiʿati faqāla:
He also shunned Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn over a statement he made: “If Satan gave me something, I would take it.” Mālik ibn Anas, may God be pleased with him, said, “It is not part of the Sunna to argue on behalf of the Sunna. Rather, tell people about it. If it is accepted from you, well and good; otherwise be silent.” ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī, may God be pleased with him, was told, “So-and-so refutes the innovators.” He said:
بِكِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَسُنَّةِ رَسُولِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالُوا : لَا بَلْ بِالْمَعْقُولِ قَالَ بِئْسَمَا صَنَعَ رَدَّ بِدْعَةً بِبِدْعَةٍ . وَحَدَّثَ زَيْدُ بْنُ أَحْزَمَ عَنْ وَهْبِ بْنِ جَرِيرٍ قَالَ : سَمِعْتُ شُعْبَةَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ : أَتَيْتُ الْحَارِثَ الْعُكْلِيَّ فَقُلْتُ : مَا مَعْنَى قَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا تَبِعَ أَحَدُكُمْ جِنَازَةً فَلَا يَجْلِسْ حَتَّى تُوضَعَ قَالَ :
bikitābi allāhi taʿālā wasunnati rasūlihi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qālū: lā bal bi-al-maʿqūli qāla biʾsamā ṣanaʿa radda bidʿatan bibidʿatin. waḥaddatha zaydu bnu ʾaḥzama ʿan wahbi bni jarīrin qāla: samiʿtu shuʿbata raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: ʾataytu al-ḥāritha al-ʿukliyya faqultu: mā maʿnā qawli al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾidhā tabiʿa ʾaḥadukum jināzatan falā yajlis ḥattā tūḍaʿa qāla:
“With the Book of God Most High and the Sunna of His Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace?” They said, “No, with rational argument.” He said, “How badly he has acted! He has refuted an innovation with an innovation.” Zayd ibn Aḥzam related from Wahb ibn Jarīr, who said: I heard Shuʿba, may God Most High have mercy on him, say, “I came to al-Ḥārith al-ʿUklī and said, ‘What is the meaning of the Prophet’s saying, God bless him and grant him peace, “When one of you follows a funeral, he should not sit down until it is set down”?’ He said:
أَرَأَيْتَ إِنْ جِئْنَا وَلَمْ يُحْفَرْ لَهُ يَنْبَغِي لَنَا أَنْ نَقُومَ قِيَامًا فَحَيْثُ قَالَ لِي : أَرَأَيْتَ تَرَكْتُهُ وَرَوَى مَحْمُودُ بْنُ غَيْلَانَ أَيْضًا عَنْ وَهْبٍ أَيْضًا عَنْ شُعْبَةَ قَالَ : أَتَيْتُ الْمِنْهَالَ بْنَ عَمْرٍو أَسْأَلُهُ عَنْ حَدِيثٍ فَسَمِعْتُ مِنْ مَنْزِلِهِ صَوْتَ طُنْبُورٍ فَرَجَعْتُ وَلَمْ أَسْأَلْهُ ثُمَّ نَدِمْتُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَقُلْتُ : هَلَّا سَأَلْتُهُ فَعَسَى : كَانَ لَا يَعْلَمُ بِهِ ،
ʾaraʾayta ʾin jiʾnā walam yuḥfar lahu yanbaghī lanā ʾan naqūma qiyāman faḥaythu qāla lī: ʾaraʾayta taraktuhu warawā maḥmūdu bnu ghaylāna ʾayḍan ʿan wahbin ʾayḍan ʿan shuʿbata qāla: ʾataytu al-minhāla bna ʿamrin ʾasʾaluhu ʿan ḥadīthin fasamiʿtu min manzilihi ṣawta ṭunbūrin farajaʿtu walam ʾasʾalhu thumma nadimtu baʿda dhālika faqultu: hallā saʾaltuhu faʿasā: kāna lā yaʿlamu bihi ,
“‘Suppose we arrive and no grave has been dug for him: should we remain standing?’ As soon as he said to me, ‘Suppose,’ I left him.” Maḥmūd ibn Ghaylān also related from Wahb, likewise from Shuʿba, who said, “I came to al-Minhāl ibn ʿAmr to ask him about a hadith, but heard the sound of a lute from his house, so I went back without asking him. Later I regretted this and said, ‘Why did I not ask him? Perhaps he did not know about it.’”
وَمِمَّا أَحْدَثُوا الْبَيْعُ وَالشِّرَاءُ عَلَى الطَّرِيقِ وَكَانَ الْوَرِعُونَ لَا يَشْتَرُونَ شَيْئًا مِمَّنْ قَعَدَ يَبِيعُهُ عَلَى طَرِيقٍ وَكَذَلِكَ إِخْرَاجُ الرَّوَاشِنِ مِنَ الْبُيُوتِ وَتَقْدِيمُ الْعَضَايِدِ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ الْحَوَانِيتِ إِلَى الطَّرِيقِ مَكْرُوهٌ ، وَمِمَّا كَرِهَهُ أَهْلُ الْوَرَعِ الْبَيْعُ وَالشِّرَاءُ مِنَ الصِّبْيَانِ لِأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ وَكَلَامُهُمْ غَيْرُ مَقْبُولٍ ، وَحُدِّثْتُ عَنْ أَبِي بَكْرٍ الْمَرْوَزِيِّ أَنَّ شَيْخًا كَانَ يُجَالِسُ الْإِمَامَ أَحْمَدَ بْنَ حَنْبَلٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى ذَا هَيْبَةٍ
wamimmā ʾaḥdathū al-bayʿu wa-al-shirāʾu ʿalā al-ṭarīqi wakāna al-wariʿūna lā yashtarūna shayʾan mimman qaʿada yabīʿuhu ʿalā ṭarīqin wakadhālika ʾikhrāju al-rawāshini mina al-buyūti wataqdīmu al-ʿaḍāyidi bayna yadayi al-ḥawānīti ʾilā al-ṭarīqi makrūhun , wamimmā karihahu ʾahlu al-waraʿi al-bayʿu wa-al-shirāʾu mina al-ṣibyāni liʾannahum lā yamlikūna wakalāmuhum ghayru maqbūlin , waḥuddithtu ʿan ʾabī bakrin al-marwaziyyi ʾanna shaykhan kāna yujālisu al-ʾimāma ʾaḥmada bna ḥanbalin raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā dhā haybatin
Among their innovations is buying and selling on the road. The scrupulous would buy nothing from someone who sat selling it on a road. Likewise, projecting balconies from houses and extending the supports in front of shops into the road is reprehensible. Among the things the scrupulous disliked is buying and selling with children, because they do not have authority to dispose of property and their statements are not accepted. I was told from Abū Bakr al-Marwazī that there was an imposing elder who used to sit with Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, may God Most High have mercy on him.
فَكَانَ أَحْمَدُ يُقْبِلُ عَلَيْهِ وَيُكْرِمُهُ فَبَلَغَهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ طَيَّنَ حَائِطَ دَارِهِ مِنْ خَارِجٍ قَالَ : فَأَعْرَضَ عَنْهُ فِي الْمَجْلِسِ فَاسْتَنْكَرَ الشَّيْخُ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ : يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ هَلْ بَلَغَكَ عَنِّي حَدَثٌ أَحْدَثْتُهُ ؟ قَالَ : نَعَمْ طَيَّنْتَ حَائِطَكَ مِنْ خَارِجٍ قَالَ : وَلَا يَجُوزُ قَالَ : لَا لِأَنَّكَ قَدْ أَخَذْتَ مِنْ طَرِيقِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ أُنْمُلَةً قَالَ : فَكَيْفَ أَصْنَعُ ؟
fakāna ʾaḥmadu yuqbilu ʿalayhi wayukrimuhu fabalaghahu ʿanhu ʾannahu ṭayyana ḥāʾiṭa dārihi min khārijin qāla: faʾaʿraḍa ʿanhu fī al-majlisi fastankara al-shaykhu dhālika faqāla: yā ʾabā ʿabdi allāhi hal balaghaka ʿannī ḥadathun ʾaḥdathtuhu ? qāla: naʿam ṭayyanta ḥāʾiṭaka min khārijin qāla: walā yajūzu qāla: lā liʾannaka qad ʾakhadhta min ṭarīqi al-muslimīna ʾunmulatan qāla: fakayfa ʾaṣnaʿu ?
Aḥmad would give him his attention and honor him. Then word reached him that the man had coated the outside of his house wall with clay. He said: Aḥmad turned away from him in the gathering. The elder found this strange and said, “Abū ʿAbd Allāh, have you heard that I have introduced some innovation?” He said, “Yes. You coated your wall on the outside.” He said, “Is that not permissible?” He said, “No, because you have taken a fingertip’s breadth from the Muslims’ road.” He said, “Then what should I do?”
قَالَ : إِمَّا أَنْ تَكْشِطَ مَا طَيَّنْتَهُ وَإِمَّا أَنْ تَهْدِمَ الْحَائِطَ وَتُؤَخِّرَهُ إِلَى وَرَاءَ مِقْدَارَ أُصْبُعٍ ثُمَّ تُطَيِّنَهُ مِنْ خَارِجٍ قَالَ : فَهَدَمَ الرَّجُلُ الْحَائِطَ وَأَخَّرَهُ أُصْبُعًا ثُمَّ طَيَّنَهُ مِنْ خَارِجٍ قَالَ : فَأَقْبَلَ عَلَيْهِ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ كَمَا كَانَ ، وَمِمَّا كَرِهَهُ السَّلَفُ طَرْحُ السِّنَّوْرِ وَالدَّابَّةِ عَلَى الْمَزَابِلِ فِي الطُّرُقَاتِ فَيَتَأَذَّى الْمُسْلِمُونَ بِرَوَائِحِ ذَلِكَ ،
qāla: ʾimmā ʾan takshiṭa mā ṭayyantahu waʾimmā ʾan tahdima al-ḥāʾiṭa watuʾakhkhirahu ʾilā warāʾa miqdāra ʾuṣbuʿin thumma tuṭayyinahu min khārijin qāla: fahadama al-rajulu al-ḥāʾiṭa waʾakhkharahu ʾuṣbuʿan thumma ṭayyanahu min khārijin qāla: faʾaqbala ʿalayhi ʾabū ʿabdi allāhi kamā kāna , wamimmā karihahu al-salafu ṭarḥu al-sinnawri wa-al-dābbati ʿalā al-mazābili fī al-ṭuruqāti fayataʾadhdhā al-muslimūna birawāʾiḥi dhālika ,
He said, “Either scrape away the clay you applied, or demolish the wall and move it back the width of a finger, then coat it from outside.” He said: The man demolished the wall, moved it back a finger’s width, and coated it on the outside. He said: Abū ʿAbd Allāh then gave him his attention as before. Among the things the predecessors disliked was throwing a cat’s or other animal’s carcass onto roadside rubbish heaps, so that Muslims would be harmed by the smell.
وَكَانَ شُرَيْحٌ وَغَيْرُهُ إِذَا مَاتَ لَهُمْ سِنَّوْرٌ دَفَنُوهَا فِي دُورِهِمْ وَمِثْلُهُ إِخْرَاجُ الْمَيَازِيبِ وَصَبِّهَا إِلَى الطُّرُقَاتِ ، وَكَانَ الْإِمَامُ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ وَأَهْلُ الْوَرَعِ
wakāna shurayḥun waghayruhu ʾidhā māta lahum sinnawrun dafanūhā fī dūrihim wamithluhu ʾikhrāju al-mayāzībi waṣabbihā ʾilā al-ṭuruqāti , wakāna al-ʾimāmu ʾaḥmadu bnu ḥanbalin raḥimahu allāhu waʾahlu al-waraʿi
When a cat belonging to Shurayḥ or others died, they would bury it in their homes. The same applies to extending gutters and discharging them into the roads. Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, may God have mercy on him, and the scrupulous
يَجْعَلُونَ مَيَازِيبَهُمْ إِلَى دَاخِلِ دُورِهِمْ ، وَقَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ النَّخَعِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ : كَانَ أَحَدُهُمْ يَكْذِبُ مَرَّتَيْنِ وَلَا يَشْعُرُ يَقُولُ : لَا شَيْءَ إِلَّا شَيْءٌ لَيْسَ بِشَيْءٍ يَعْنِي قَوْلَ النَّاسِ لِلشَّيْءِ الْيَسِيرِ الَّذِي لَا يُوصَفُ بِكَثِيرٍ لَا شَيْءَ فَاسْتَعْظَمَ هَذَا وَرَآهُ كَذِبًا مَرَّتَيْنِ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : إِنَّهُ قَالَ لِعَوَانَةَ : كُنْتُ أَرْثِي لَكَ مِنَ الْعَمَى فَصِرْتُ الْآنَ أَغْبِطُكَ بِهِ قَالَ وَكَيْفَ ؟
yajʿalūna mayāzībahum ʾilā dākhili dūrihim , waqāla ʾibrāhīmu al-nakhaʿiyyu raḥimahu allāhu: kāna ʾaḥaduhum yakdhibu marratayni walā yashʿuru yaqūlu: lā shayʾa ʾillā shayʾun laysa bishayʾin yaʿnī qawla al-nāsi lil-shayʾi al-yasīri alladhī lā yūṣafu bikathīrin lā shayʾa fastaʿẓama hādhā waraʾāhu kadhiban marratayni. warawaynā ʿan ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: ʾinnahu qāla liʿawānata: kuntu ʾarthī laka mina al-ʿamā faṣirtu al-ʾāna ʾaghbiṭuka bihi qāla wakayfa ?
would direct their gutters into their houses. Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī, may God have mercy on him, said, “One of them would lie twice without realizing it, saying, ‘Nothing, except something that is nothing.’” He meant people’s calling a small thing, which cannot be described as much, “nothing.” He regarded this as grave and considered it lying twice. We have related from ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, that he said to ʿAwāna, “I used to pity you for your blindness, but now I envy you for it.” He said, “How so?”
قَالَ : صِرْتَ لَا تَرَى أَبَا الصُّغْرِي بِعَيْنَيْكَ مُبْتَدِعٌ كَانَ بِالْمَدِينَةِ ، وَقِيلَ لِقَتَادَةَ : تَوَدُّ لَوْ أَنَّكَ بَصِيرٌ ؟ فَقَالَ : لَا عَلَى مَنْ كُنْتُ أَفْتَحُ عَيْنَيَّ بَلْ لَوْ كَانَ فِي وَقْتِ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كُنْتُ أَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِمْ ، وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنِ الْفَضْلِ بْنِ مِهْرَانَ قَالَ : قُلْتُ لِيَحْيَى بْنِ مَعِينٍ : أَخٌ لِي يَقْعُدُ إِلَى الْقُصَّاصِ فَقَالَ :
qāla: ṣirta lā tarā ʾabā al-ṣughrī biʿaynayka mubtadiʿun kāna bi-al-madīnati , waqīla liqatādata: tawaddu law ʾannaka baṣīrun ? faqāla: lā ʿalā man kuntu ʾaftaḥu ʿaynayya bal law kāna fī waqti ʾaṣḥābi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama kuntu ʾanẓuru ʾilayhim , waḥaddathūnā ʿani al-faḍli bni mihrāna qāla: qultu liyaḥyā bni maʿīnin: ʾakhun lī yaqʿudu ʾilā al-quṣṣāṣi faqāla:
He said, “You no longer see Abū al-Ṣughrī with your own eyes,” an innovator who was in Medina. Qatāda was asked, “Would you like to be able to see?” He said, “No. On whom would I open my eyes? But if it were the time of the Companions of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, I would look at them.” They related to us from al-Faḍl ibn Mihrān, who said: I said to Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, “A brother of mine sits with the storytellers.” He said:
انْهَهُ فَقُلْتُ : لَا يَقْبَلُ قَالَ عِظْهُ قُلْتُ : لَا يَقْبَلُ أَأَهْجُرُهُ ؟ قَالَ : نَعَمْ قَالَ : فَأَتَيْتُ الْإِمَامَ أَحْمَدَ بْنَ حَنْبَلٍ فَذَكَرْتُ لَهُ نَحْوَ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ : قُلْ لَهُ يَقْرَأْ فِي الْمُصْحَفِ وَيَذْكُرِ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فِي نَفْسِهِ وَيَطْلُبْ حَدِيثَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ لِلَّهِ قُلْتُ : فَإِنْ لَمْ يَفْعَلْ قَالَ : بَلَى إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فَإِنَّ هَذَا الِاجْتِمَاعَ مُحْدَثٌ قُلْتُ :
inhahu faqultu: lā yaqbalu qāla ʿiẓhu qultu: lā yaqbalu ʾaʾahjuruhu ? qāla: naʿam qāla: faʾataytu al-ʾimāma ʾaḥmada bna ḥanbalin fadhakartu lahu naḥwa dhālika faqāla: qul lahu yaqraʾ fī al-muṣḥafi wayadhkuri allāha taʿālā fī nafsihi wayaṭlub ḥadītha rasūli allāhi lillāhi qultu: faʾin lam yafʿal qāla: balā ʾin shāʾa allāhu taʿālā faʾinna hādhā al-ijtimāʿa muḥdathun qultu:
“Forbid him.” I said, “He will not accept it.” He said, “Admonish him.” I said, “He will not accept it. Shall I shun him?” He said, “Yes.” He said: I then went to Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and told him something similar. He said, “Tell him to read from the Qurʾān, remember God Most High within himself, and seek the hadith of God’s Messenger for God’s sake.” I said, “What if he does not do so?” He said, “Yes, he will, if God Most High wills; this gathering is a new practice.” I said:
فَإِنْ لَمْ يَقْبَلْ أَأَهْجُرُهُ ؟ فَتَبَسَّمَ وَسَكَتَ ، وَسَأَلَ رَجُلٌ بِشْرَ بْنَ الْحَارِثِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْ مَسْأَلَةٍ مِنْ عِلْمِ الْقُلُوبِ فَتَوَقَّفَ ثُمَّ أَجَابَهُ ثُمَّ سَأَلَهُ مَسْأَلَةً أُخْرَى مِنْ عِلْمِ الْمُعَامَلَاتِ فَسَكَتَ وَنَظَرَ إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ : مَنْ تُجَالِسُ مِنَ النَّاسِ فَقَالَ : مَنْصُورَ بْنَ عَمَّارٍ وَابْنَ السَّمَّاكِ فَقَالَ : أَلَا تَسْتَحِي تَسْأَلُنَا عَنْ عِلْمِ الْقُلُوبِ ثُمَّ تُجَالِسُ الْقُصَّاصَ ؟
faʾin lam yaqbal ʾaʾahjuruhu ? fatabassama wasakata , wasaʾala rajulun bishra bna al-ḥārithi raḥimahu allāhu taʿālā ʿan masʾalatin min ʿilmi al-qulūbi fatawaqqafa thumma ʾajābahu thumma saʾalahu masʾalatan ʾukhrā min ʿilmi al-muʿāmalāti fasakata wanaẓara ʾilayhi thumma qāla: man tujālisu mina al-nāsi faqāla: manṣūra bna ʿammārin wabna al-sammāki faqāla: ʾalā tastaḥī tasʾalunā ʿan ʿilmi al-qulūbi thumma tujālisu al-quṣṣāṣa ?
“If he will not accept it, shall I shun him?” He smiled and remained silent. A man asked Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith, may God Most High have mercy on him, a question about the science of hearts. He paused, then answered. The man asked him another question about the science of conduct. He fell silent, looked at him, and said, “Whom do you sit with?” He said, “Manṣūr ibn ʿAmmār and Ibn al-Sammāk.” He said, “Are you not ashamed to ask us about the science of hearts and then sit with storytellers?”
قَالَ : وَأَعْرَضَ عَنْهُ حَتَّى قُلْنَا لَهُ : يَا أَبَا نَصْرٍ إِنَّهُ لَا بَأْسَ بِهِ ، إِنَّهُ مِنْ أَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ وَقَدْ كَانُوا يَكْرَهُونَ الصَّلَاةَ فِي الْمَقْصُورَةِ وَيَرَوْنَهَا أَنَّهَا أَوَّلُ بِدْعَةٍ أُحْدِثَتْ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ وَيَكْرَهُونَ تَزْوِيقَ الْمَسَاجِدِ وَكَذَا الْقِبْلَةَ بِالزُّخْرُفِ وَتَحْلِيَةَ الْمَصَاحِفِ وَهَذَا مِنَ الْبِدَعِ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : إِذَا مَا زَخْرَفْتُمْ مَسَاجِدَكُمْ وَحَلَّيْتُمْ مَصَاحِفَكُمْ فَالدَّبَارُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَقَدْ كَانُوا يَكْرَهُونَ كَثْرَةَ الْمَسَاجِدِ فِي الْمَحَلَّةِ الْوَاحِدَةِ .
qāla: waʾaʿraḍa ʿanhu ḥattā qulnā lahu: yā ʾabā naṣrin ʾinnahu lā baʾsa bihi , ʾinnahu min ʾahli al-sunnati waqad kānū yakrahūna al-ṣalāta fī al-maqṣūrati wayarawnahā ʾannahā ʾawwalu bidʿatin ʾuḥdithat fī al-masājidi wayakrahūna tazwīqa al-masājidi wakadhā al-qiblata bi-al-zukhrufi wataḥliyata al-maṣāḥifi wahādhā mina al-bidaʿi , wafī al-khabari: ʾidhā mā zakhraftum masājidakum waḥallaytum maṣāḥifakum fa-al-dabāru ʿalaykum waqad kānū yakrahūna kathrata al-masājidi fī al-maḥallati al-wāḥidati.
He said: He turned away from him until we said, “Abū Naṣr, there is nothing wrong with him; he is one of the people of the Sunna.” They used to dislike praying in the enclosure reserved within a mosque, regarding it as the first innovation introduced into mosques. They disliked decorating mosques, ornamenting the prayer direction, and embellishing copies of the Qurʾān; these were among innovations. In the report: “When you ornament your mosques and embellish your copies of the Qurʾān, destruction is upon you.” They also disliked having many mosques in a single neighborhood.
رُوِيَ أَنَّ أَنَسَ بْنَ مَالِكٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا لَمَّا دَخَلَ الْبَصْرَةَ جَعَلَ كُلَّمَا خَطَا خُطْوَتَيْنِ رَأَى مَسْجِدًا فَقَالَ : مَا هَذِهِ الْبِدْعَةُ ؟ لَمَّا كَثُرَتِ الْمَسَاجِدُ قَلَّ الْمُصَلُّونَ ، أَشْهَدُ لَقَدْ كَانَتِ الْقَبِيلَةُ بِأَسْرِهَا لَيْسَ فِيهَا إِلَّا مَسْجِدٌ وَاحِدٌ ، وَكَانَ أَهْلُ الْقَبَائِلِ يَتَبَانَوْنَ الْمَسْجِدَ الْوَاحِدَ فِي الْحَيِّ مِنَ الْأَحْيَاءِ وَاخْتَلَفُوا فِي أَيِّهِمَا يُصَلِّي إِذَا اتَّفَقَ مَسْجِدَانِ فِي مَحَلَّةٍ ،
ruwiya ʾanna ʾanasa bna mālikin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā lammā dakhala al-baṣrata jaʿala kullamā khaṭā khuṭwatayni raʾā masjidan faqāla: mā hādhihi al-bidʿatu ? lammā kathurati al-masājidu qalla al-muṣallūna , ʾashhadu laqad kānati al-qabīlatu biʾasrihā laysa fīhā ʾillā masjidun wāḥidun , wakāna ʾahlu al-qabāʾili yatabānawna al-masjida al-wāḥida fī al-ḥayyi mina al-ʾaḥyāʾi wakhtalafū fī ʾayyihimā yuṣallī ʾidhā ittafaqa masjidāni fī maḥallatin ,
It is related that when Anas ibn Mālik, may God be pleased with them both, entered Basra, he saw a mosque every two steps. He said, “What is this innovation? As mosques have multiplied, worshippers have become fewer. I testify that a whole tribe used to have only one mosque.” Members of tribes used to build a single mosque together in one of their districts. They differed about which mosque one should pray in when there happened to be two in the same neighborhood.
فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَالَ فِي أَقْدَمِهِمَا وَإِلَيْهِ ذَهَبَ أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ وَغَيْرُهُ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ ، قَالَ : وَكَانُوا يُجَاوِزُونَ الْمَسَاجِدَ الْمُحْدَثَةَ إِلَى الْمَسَاجِدِ الْعُتُقِ ، وَكَانَ الْحَسَنُ يَقُولُ : يُصَلِّي فِي أَقْرَبِهِمَا مِنْهُ وَيُقَالُ : أَوَّلُ مَا حَدَثَ مِنَ الْبِدَعِ أَرْبَعٌ : الْمَوَائِدُ ، وَالْمَنَاخِلُ ، وَالْأُشْنَانُ ، وَالشِّبَعُ ، وَكَانُوا يَكْرَهُونَ أَنْ تَكُونَ أَوَانِي الْبَيْتِ غَيْرَ الْخَزَفِ وَلَا يَتَوَضَّأُ أَهْلُ الْوَرَعِ فِي آنِيَةِ الصُّفْرِ وَالنُّحَاسِ ،
faminhum man qāla fī ʾaqdamihimā waʾilayhi dhahaba ʾanasu bnu mālikin waghayruhu mina al-ṣaḥābati , qāla: wakānū yujāwizūna al-masājida al-muḥdathata ʾilā al-masājidi al-ʿutuqi , wakāna al-ḥasanu yaqūlu: yuṣallī fī ʾaqrabihimā minhu wayuqālu: ʾawwalu mā ḥadatha mina al-bidaʿi ʾarbaʿun: al-mawāʾidu , wa-al-manākhilu , wa-al-ʾushnānu , wa-al-shibaʿu , wakānū yakrahūna ʾan takūna ʾawānī al-bayti ghayra al-khazafi walā yatawaḍḍaʾu ʾahlu al-waraʿi fī ʾāniyati al-ṣufri wa-al-nuḥāsi ,
Some said, “In the older of the two.” Anas ibn Mālik and other Companions held this view. He said: They used to pass newly built mosques to reach the old ones. Al-Ḥasan used to say, “One should pray in whichever is nearer.” It is said that the first innovations to appear were four: dining tables, sieves, cleansing alkali, and eating one’s fill. They disliked household vessels made of anything other than earthenware. The scrupulous did not perform ablutions from brass or copper vessels.
قَالَ الْجُنَيْدُ : قَالَ لِي سَرِيُّ السَّقَطِيُّ : اجْتَهِدْ أَنْ لَا تَسْتَعْمِلَ مِنْ آنِيَةِ بَيْتِكَ إِلَّا جِنْسَكَ يَعْنِي مِنَ الطِّينِ ، وَيُقَالُ : لَا حِسَابَ عَلَيْهِ ، وَمِمَّا كَرِهَهُ السَّلَفُ تَشْيِيدُ الْبِنَاءِ بِالْجِصِّ وَالْآجُرِّ ، يُقَالُ : أَوَّلُ مَنْ طَبَخَ الطِّينَ هَامَانُ أَمَرَهُ بِهِ فِرْعَوْنُ ، وَيُقَالُ : هُوَ بِنَاءُ الْجَبَابِرَةِ ،
qāla al-junaydu: qāla lī sariyyu al-saqaṭiyyu: ijtahid ʾan lā tastaʿmila min ʾāniyati baytika ʾillā jinsaka yaʿnī mina al-ṭīni , wayuqālu: lā ḥisāba ʿalayhi , wamimmā karihahu al-salafu tashyīdu al-bināʾi bi-al-jiṣṣi wa-al-ʾājurri , yuqālu: ʾawwalu man ṭabakha al-ṭīna hāmānu ʾamarahu bihi firʿawnu , wayuqālu: huwa bināʾu al-jabābirati ,
Al-Junayd said: Sarī al-Saqaṭī said to me, “Strive to use among your household vessels only what is of your own kind,” meaning clay. It is said that there is no reckoning for it. Among the things the predecessors disliked was erecting buildings with plaster and fired brick. It is said that Hāmān was the first to fire clay, at Pharaoh’s command. It is said, “This is the building of tyrants.”
وَكَرِهُوا النُّقُوشَ وَالتَّزْوِيقَ فِي السُّقُوفِ وَالْأَبْوَابِ ، وَكَانُوا يَغُضُّونَ مِنَ النَّظَرِ إِلَى ذَلِكَ وَغَابَ الْأَحْنَفُ بْنُ قَيْسٍ غَيْبَةً فَرَجَعَ وَقَدْ خَضَّرُوا سَقْفَ بَيْتِهِ وَصَفَّرُوهُ فَلَمَّا نَظَرَ إِلَيْهِ خَرَجَ مِنْ مَنْزِلِهِ وَحَلَفَ أَنْ لَا يَدْخُلَهُ حَتَّى يَقْلَعُوا ذَلِكَ مِنْهُ وَيُعِيدُوهُ كَمَا كَانَ ، وَقَالَ يَحْيَى بْنُ مُعَاذٍ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الثَّوْرِيِّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ :
wakarihū al-nuqūsha wa-al-tazwīqa fī al-suqūfi wa-al-ʾabwābi , wakānū yaghuḍḍūna mina al-naẓari ʾilā dhālika waghāba al-ʾaḥnafu bnu qaysin ghaybatan farajaʿa waqad khaḍḍarū saqfa baytihi waṣaffarūhu falammā naẓara ʾilayhi kharaja min manzilihi waḥalafa ʾan lā yadkhulahu ḥattā yaqlaʿū dhālika minhu wayuʿīdūhu kamā kāna , waqāla yaḥyā bnu muʿādhin min ʾaṣḥābi al-thawriyyi raḥimahu allāhu:
They disliked carvings and painted decoration on ceilings and doors, and would avert their gaze from them. Al-Aḥnaf ibn Qays was away for a time and returned to find that they had painted his house’s ceiling green and yellow. When he saw it, he left his home and swore not to enter until they had removed this and restored it as it had been. Yaḥyā ibn Muʿādh, one of al-Thawrī’s companions, may God have mercy on him, said:
كُنْتُ أَمْشِي مَعَ الثَّوْرِيِّ فِي طَرِيقٍ فَمَرَرْنَا بِبَابٍ مَنْقُوشٍ مُزَوَّقٍ فَنَظَرْتُ إِلَيْهِ فَجَذَبَنِي سُفْيَانُ حَتَّى جُزْتُ فَقُلْتُ : مَا تَكْرَهُ مِنَ النَّظَرِ إِلَى هَذَا ؟ فَقَالَ : إِنَّمَا بَنَوْهُ لِيُنْظَرَ إِلَيْهِ وَلَوْ كَانَ كُلُّ مَنْ مَرَّ بِهِ لَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِ مَا بَنَوْهُ ، فَكَأَنَّهُ خَشِيَ أَنْ يَكُونَ بِنَظَرِهِ إِلَيْهِ مُعَاوِنًا لَهُ عَلَى بِنَائِهِ ،
kuntu ʾamshī maʿa al-thawriyyi fī ṭarīqin famararnā bibābin manqūshin muzawwaqin fanaẓartu ʾilayhi fajadhabanī sufyānu ḥattā juztu faqultu: mā takrahu mina al-naẓari ʾilā hādhā ? faqāla: ʾinnamā banawhu liyunẓara ʾilayhi walaw kāna kullu man marra bihi lā yanẓuru ʾilayhi mā banawhu , fakaʾannahu khashiya ʾan yakūna binaẓarihi ʾilayhi muʿāwinan lahu ʿalā bināʾihi ,
“I was walking with al-Thawrī along a road, and we passed a carved and decorated door. I looked at it, and Sufyān pulled me along until I had passed it. I said, ‘What do you dislike about looking at this?’ He said, ‘They built it only to be looked at. If everyone who passed it refrained from looking, they would not have built it.’” It was as though he feared that by looking at it he would help its owner in building it.
وَمِمَّا أَحْدَثَ النَّاسُ مِمَّا كَانُوا يَكْرَهُونَهُ الثِّيَابُ الرِّقَاقُ مِثْلُ الْقَصَبِ وَرَقِيقِ بَزِّ مِصْرَ لِلنِّسَاءِ وَالرِّجَالِ وَهُوَ لِلنِّسَاءِ أَكْرَهُ وَأَغْلَظُ وَكَانُوا يَقُولُونَ : الثِّيَابُ الرِّقَاقُ لِبَاسُ الْفُسَّاقِ وَمَنْ رَقَّ ثَوْبُهُ رَقَّ دِينُهُ وَيَقُولُونَ أَوَّلُ النُّسُكِ الزِّيُّ . وَقَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ لَا يُشْبِهُ الزِّيُّ الزِّيَّ حَتَّى يُشْبِهَ الْقَلْبُ الْقَلْبَ ، وَخَطَبَ بِشْرُ بْنُ مَرْوَانَ وَعَلَيْهِ ثَوْبٌ رَقِيقٌ فَجَعَلَ رَافِعُ بْنُ خَدِيجٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَهْزَأُ بِهِ وَيَقُولُ :
wamimmā ʾaḥdatha al-nāsu mimmā kānū yakrahūnahu al-thiyābu al-riqāqu mithlu al-qaṣabi waraqīqi bazzi miṣra lil-nisāʾi wa-al-rijāli wahuwa lil-nisāʾi ʾakrahu waʾaghlaẓu wakānū yaqūlūna: al-thiyābu al-riqāqu libāsu al-fussāqi waman raqqa thawbuhu raqqa dīnuhu wayaqūlūna ʾawwalu al-nusuki al-ziyyu. waqāla ibnu masʿūdin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu lā yushbihu al-ziyyu al-ziyya ḥattā yushbiha al-qalbu al-qalba , wakhaṭaba bishru bnu marwāna waʿalayhi thawbun raqīqun fajaʿala rāfiʿu bnu khadījin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yahzaʾu bihi wayaqūlu:
Among the things people have introduced that the earlier people disliked are thin garments, such as fine linen and the delicate textiles of Egypt, for women and men. For women this is more objectionable and more serious. They used to say, “Thin garments are the clothing of the dissolute. When someone’s garment becomes thin, his religion becomes thin.” They would say, “The beginning of devotion is one’s manner of dress.” Ibn Masʿūd, may God be pleased with him, said, “One person’s dress does not resemble another’s until his heart resembles the other’s heart.” Bishr ibn Marwān delivered a sermon wearing a thin garment. Rāfiʿ ibn Khadīj, may God be pleased with him, began mocking him and saying:
انْظُرُوا إِلَى أَمِيرِكُمْ يَعِظُ النَّاسَ وَعَلَيْهِ ثِيَابُ الْفُسَّاقِ ، وَلَمَّا جَاءَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَامِرِ بْنِ رَبِيعَةَ فِي بِزَّتِهِ إِلَى أَبِي ذَرٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ وَسَأَلَهُ عَنِ الزُّهْدِ وَأَخَذَ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِيهِ فَجَعَلَ أَبُو ذَرٍّ يَضْرِطُ بِهِ فِي كَفِّهِ ثُمَّ أَعْرَضَ عَنْهُ وَلَمْ يُكَلِّمْهُ ، فَغَضِبَ ابْنُ عَامِرٍ وَكَانَ قُرَشِيًّا شَرِيفًا وَشَكَاهُ إِلَى ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا فَقَالَ لَهُ :
unẓurū ʾilā ʾamīrikum yaʿiẓu al-nāsa waʿalayhi thiyābu al-fussāqi , walammā jāʾa ʿabdu allāhi bnu ʿāmiri bni rabīʿata fī bizzatihi ʾilā ʾabī dharrin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu wasaʾalahu ʿani al-zuhdi waʾakhadha yatakallamu fīhi fajaʿala ʾabū dharrin yaḍriṭu bihi fī kaffihi thumma ʾaʿraḍa ʿanhu walam yukallimhu , faghaḍiba ibnu ʿāmirin wakāna qurashiyyan sharīfan washakāhu ʾilā ibni ʿumara raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā faqāla lahu:
“Look at your commander: he admonishes the people while wearing the clothes of the dissolute!” When ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿĀmir ibn Rabīʿa came in his fine clothes to Abū Dharr, may God be pleased with him, asked him about renunciation, and began to speak about it, Abū Dharr made a farting sound into his palm at him, then turned away and would not speak to him. Ibn ʿĀmir became angry; he was a noble Qurashī. He complained to Ibn ʿUmar, may God be pleased with them both, who said to him:
أَنْتَ فَعَلْتَ نَفْسَكَ تَأْتِي أَبَا ذَرٍّ فِي هَذِهِ الثِّيَابِ وَتَسْأَلُهُ عَنِ الزُّهْدِ ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : وَقَدْ وَصَفَ نِسَاءً يَكُنَّ فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ فَقَالَ : كَاسِيَاتٌ عَارِيَاتٌ مَائِلَاتٌ مُمِيلَاتٌ عَلَى رُؤُوسِهِنَّ أَمْثَالُ أَسْنِمَةِ الْبَقَرِ يَعْنِي الْمَعَاجِرَ وَالْأَكْوَارَ لَا يَجِدْنَ رَائِحَةَ الْجَنَّةِ ، كَانَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ يُفَسِّرُ التَّبَرُّجَ أَنَّهُ مِنْهُ لُبْسُ مَا رَقَّ مِنَ الثِّيَابِ وَقَالَ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :
ʾanta faʿalta nafsaka taʾtī ʾabā dharrin fī hādhihi al-thiyābi watasʾaluhu ʿani al-zuhdi , wafī al-khabari ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: waqad waṣafa nisāʾan yakunna fī ʾākhiri al-zamāni faqāla: kāsiyātun ʿāriyātun māʾilātun mumīlātun ʿalā ruʾūsihinna ʾamthālu ʾasnimati al-baqari yaʿnī al-maʿājira wa-al-ʾakwāra lā yajidna rāʾiḥata al-jannati , kāna ibnu ʿabbāsin yufassiru al-tabarruja ʾannahu minhu lubsu mā raqqa mina al-thiyābi waqāla fī qawlihi taʿālā:
“You did it to yourself, coming to Abū Dharr in these clothes and asking him about renunciation.” In the report from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, he described women who would exist at the end of time, saying, “Clothed yet naked, inclining and causing others to incline, with things upon their heads like the humps of cattle,” meaning headwraps and coils, “they will not find the scent of the Garden.” Ibn ʿAbbās used to explain that display of adornment includes wearing thin clothes. Concerning the Most High’s words:
( وَلَا تَبَرَّجْنَ تَبَرُّجَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الْأُولَى ) الْأَحْزَابُ : 33 ، قَالَ : كَانَتِ الْمَرْأَةُ تَلْبَسُ ثِيَابًا قِيمَتُهَا كَذَا وَكَذَا لَا تُوَارِي لَهَا عَوْرَةً مِمَّا لَا يَجُوزُ فِيهِ الصَّلَاةُ لِأَنَّهُ يَصِفُ أَوْ يَشِفُّ فَمَكْرُوهٌ لُبْسُهُ وَإِنَّمَا كَانَتْ ثِيَابُ السَّلَفِ السُّنْبُلَانِيَّ وَالْقَطَوَانِيَّ وَعَصْبَ الْيَمَنِ وَمَعَافِرِيَّ مِصْرَ وَالْقَبَاطِيَّ مِثْلَ كِسْوَةِ الْكَعْبَةِ وَالثِّيَابَ السُّحُولِيَّةَ الْيَمَانِيَّةَ وَالْكَرَابِيسَ الْحَضْرَمِيَّةَ ، وَهَذِهِ كُلُّهَا غِلَاظٌ كَثِيفَةٌ ،
( walā tabarrajna tabarruja al-jāhiliyyati al-ʾūlā ) al-ʾaḥzābu: 33 , qāla: kānati al-marʾatu talbasu thiyāban qīmatuhā kadhā wakadhā lā tuwārī lahā ʿawratan mimmā lā yajūzu fīhi al-ṣalātu liʾannahu yaṣifu ʾaw yashiffu famakrūhun lubsuhu waʾinnamā kānat thiyābu al-salafi al-sunbulāniyya wa-al-qaṭawāniyya waʿaṣba al-yamani wamaʿāfiriyya miṣra wa-al-qabāṭiyya mithla kiswati al-kaʿbati wa-al-thiyāba al-suḥūliyyata al-yamāniyyata wa-al-karābīsa al-ḥaḍramiyyata , wahādhihi kulluhā ghilāẓun kathīfatun ,
“Do not display yourselves as in the former age of ignorance” (al-Aḥzāb 33:33), he said, “A woman used to wear clothes worth such-and-such that did not cover her nakedness.” Clothes in which prayer is not permitted because they outline the body or are transparent are reprehensible to wear. The predecessors’ clothes were sunbulānī and qaṭawānī cloth, Yemeni striped cloth, Egyptian maʿāfirī cloth, Coptic cloth like the covering of the Kaʿba, Yemeni suḥūlī garments, and Ḥaḍramī cotton cloth. All of these were thick and densely woven.
وَكَانَتِ الْأَثْمَانُ مِنْ خَمْسَةِ دَرَاهِمَ إِلَى ثَلَاثِينَ دِرْهَمًا وَمَا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ ، ثُمَّ أَحْدَثَ النَّاسُ الثِّيَابَ الرِّقَاقَ مِنْ كَتَّانِ مِصْرَ وَقُطْنِ خُرَاسَانَ ، وَكَانَ طُولُ مِئْزَرِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَرْبَعَةَ أَذْرُعٍ وَنِصْفًا وَثَمَنُهُ إِلَى الْأَرْبَعَةِ وَالْخَمْسَةِ ، وَكَانَتْ أَثْمَانُ ثِيَابِهِمُ الْقُمُصِ مِنَ الْخَمْسَةِ إِلَى الْعَشَرَةِ فِيمَا بَيْنَهُمَا مِنَ الثَّمَنِ ، وَلَكِنْ قَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ :
wakānati al-ʾathmānu min khamsati darāhima ʾilā thalāthīna dirhaman wamā bayna dhālika , thumma ʾaḥdatha al-nāsu al-thiyāba al-riqāqa min kattāni miṣra waquṭni khurāsāna , wakāna ṭūlu miʾzari rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾarbaʿata ʾadhruʿin waniṣfan wathamanuhu ʾilā al-ʾarbaʿati wa-al-khamsati , wakānat ʾathmānu thiyābihimu al-qumuṣi mina al-khamsati ʾilā al-ʿasharati fīmā baynahumā mina al-thamani , walākin qad jāʾa fī al-khabari:
Prices ranged from five dirhams to thirty dirhams and amounts between them. Then people introduced thin garments made from Egyptian linen and Khurasani cotton. The waistcloth of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, was four and a half cubits long, and its price was about four or five. The prices of their shirts were from five to ten, with amounts in between. Yet it has come in the report:
لَا تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى يَصِيرَ الْمَعْرُوفُ مُنْكَرًا وَالْمُنْكَرُ مَعْرُوفًا ، وَكَانَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا يَقُولُ : لَا يَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ عَامٌ إِلَّا أَمَاتُوا فِيهِ سُنَّةً وَأَحْيَوْا فِيهِ بِدْعَةً حَتَّى تَمُوتَ السُّنَنُ وَتَحْيَا الْبِدَعُ وَإِنَّمَا قِيلَ مُنْكَرٌ لِأَنَّهُ لَا يُعْرَفُ ، فَإِذَا خَفِيَ الْحَقُّ فَلَمْ يُعْرَفْ وَقَعَ عَلَيْهِ اسْمُ مُنْكَرٍ ، وَكَذَلِكَ قِيلَ مَعْرُوفٌ لِأَنَّهُ مَشْهُورٌ مَأْلُوفٌ ، فَإِذَا فَشَا الْبَاطِلُ وَكَثُرَ الْجَهْلُ حَتَّى أُلِفَ وَعُرِفَ وَقَعَ عَلَيْهِ اسْمُ الْمَعْرُوفِ ، وَكَذَلِكَ
lā taqūmu al-sāʿatu ḥattā yaṣīra al-maʿrūfu munkaran wa-al-munkaru maʿrūfan , wakāna ibnu ʿabbāsin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhumā yaqūlu: lā yaʾtī ʿalā al-nāsi ʿāmun ʾillā ʾamātū fīhi sunnatan waʾaḥyaw fīhi bidʿatan ḥattā tamūta al-sunanu wataḥyā al-bidaʿu waʾinnamā qīla munkarun liʾannahu lā yuʿrafu , faʾidhā khafiya al-ḥaqqu falam yuʿraf waqaʿa ʿalayhi ismu munkarin , wakadhālika qīla maʿrūfun liʾannahu mashhūrun maʾlūfun , faʾidhā fashā al-bāṭilu wakathura al-jahlu ḥattā ʾulifa waʿurifa waqaʿa ʿalayhi ismu al-maʿrūfi , wakadhālika
“The Hour will not come until what is right becomes objectionable and what is objectionable becomes recognized as right.” Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with them both, used to say, “No year comes upon people without their killing off a Sunna and reviving an innovation, until the established practices die and innovations live.” A thing is called objectionable because it is not recognized. When truth is hidden and unrecognized, the name “objectionable” comes to be applied to it. Likewise, a thing is called recognized as right because it is well known and familiar. When falsehood spreads and ignorance increases until it becomes familiar and recognized, the name “recognized as right” comes to be applied to it. Likewise,
قِيلَ : يَكْثُرُ الْجَوْرُ حَتَّى يُولَدَ فِيهِ مَنْ لَا يَعْرِفُ الْعَدْلَ . وَكَانَ الشَّعْبِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ : يَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ يُصَلُّونَ فِيهِ عَلَى الْحَجَّاجِ وَهَذَا قَدْ أَتَى مُنْذُ زَمَانٍ لِأَنَّ الْحَجَّاجَ قَدِ ابْتَدَعَ أَشْيَاءَ أَنْكَرَهَا النَّاسُ عَلَيْهِ فِي زَمَانِهِ هِيَ الْيَوْمَ سُنَنٌ مَعْرُوفَةٌ وَأَعْمَالٌ مُسْتَحْسَنَةٌ يَتَرَحَّمُ النَّاسُ وَيَغْبِطُونَ مَنْ أَحْدَثَهَا وَيَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُ مَأْجُورٌ عَلَيْهَا مَشْكُورٌ لَهُ سَعْيُهُ فِيهَا إِلَّا أَنَّهُمْ لَا
qīla: yakthuru al-jawru ḥattā yūlada fīhi man lā yaʿrifu al-ʿadla. wakāna al-shaʿbiyyu raḥimahu allāhu yaqūlu: yaʾtī ʿalā al-nāsi zamānun yuṣallūna fīhi ʿalā al-ḥajjāji wahādhā qad ʾatā mundhu zamānin liʾanna al-ḥajjāja qadi ibtadaʿa ʾashyāʾa ʾankarahā al-nāsu ʿalayhi fī zamānihi hiya al-yawma sunanun maʿrūfatun waʾaʿmālun mustaḥsanatun yataraḥḥamu al-nāsu wayaghbiṭūna man ʾaḥdathahā wayaḥsabūna ʾannahu maʾjūrun ʿalayhā mashkūrun lahu saʿyuhu fīhā ʾillā ʾannahum lā
it has been said, “Injustice will increase until people are born into it who do not know justice.” Al-Shaʿbī, may God have mercy on him, used to say, “A time will come upon people when they invoke blessings on al-Ḥajjāj.” This time came long ago, for al-Ḥajjāj introduced things that people condemned in his day, yet today they are recognized customs and admired practices. People invoke mercy upon and envy whoever introduced them, supposing him rewarded for them and his efforts appreciated. Yet they do not
يَعْرِفُونَ أَنَّهُ أَحْدَثَهَا فَهُمْ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَفُوهُوا بِالصَّلَاةِ عَلَيْهِ قَوْلًا فَإِنَّ اسْتِعْمَالَهُمْ لِمَا أَحْدَثَ وَاسْتِحْسَانَهُمْ لِمَا ابْتَدَعَ تَرَحُّمٌ مِنْهُمْ عَلَيْهِ ، وَالتَّرَحُّمُ هُوَ الصَّلَاةُ ، وَأَيْضًا فَإِنَّهُ ابْتَدَعَ أَشْيَاءَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ وَدَاخَلَهُ فِي أَبْوَابِ الْآخِرَةِ ثُمَّ ظَهَرَتْ وُلَاةٌ بَعْدَهُ أَحْدَثُوا أَحْدَاثًا مِنَ الْجَوْرِ وَابْتَدَعُوا بِدَعًا مِنَ الْفُسُوقِ فَصَارَتْ سُنَنًا بَعْدَهُمْ فَوَجَبَ بِذَلِكَ الصَّلَاةُ عَلَى الْحَجَّاجِ إِلَى جَنْبِ مَا أُظْهِرَ بَعْدَهُ فَمِمَّا أَحْدَثَ هَذِهِ
yaʿrifūna ʾannahu ʾaḥdathahā fahum waʾin lam yafūhū bi-al-ṣalāti ʿalayhi qawlan faʾinna istiʿmālahum limā ʾaḥdatha wastiḥsānahum limā ibtadaʿa taraḥḥumun minhum ʿalayhi , wa-al-taraḥḥumu huwa al-ṣalātu , waʾayḍan faʾinnahu ibtadaʿa ʾashyāʾa mina al-khayri wadākhalahu fī ʾabwābi al-ʾākhirati thumma ẓaharat wulātun baʿdahu ʾaḥdathū ʾaḥdāthan mina al-jawri wabtadaʿū bidaʿan mina al-fusūqi faṣārat sunanan baʿdahum fawajaba bidhālika al-ṣalātu ʿalā al-ḥajjāji ʾilā janbi mā ʾuẓhira baʿdahu famimmā ʾaḥdatha hādhihi
know that he introduced them. Even if they do not voice blessings upon him, their use of what he introduced and their approval of what he innovated are an invocation of mercy upon him; invoking mercy is blessing. He also introduced good things and became involved in avenues of the hereafter. Then governors appeared after him who introduced new acts of injustice and innovations of sinful disobedience, which became customs after them. This made blessings upon al-Ḥajjāj fitting by comparison with what appeared after him. Among his innovations were these
الْمَحَامِلُ وَالْقِبَابُ الَّتِي خَالَفَ بِهَا هَدْيَ السَّلَفِ بِالتَّنَعُّمِ وَالرَّفَاهِيَةِ وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ النَّاسُ يَخْرُجُونَ عَلَى الرَّوَاحِلِ وَالزَّوَامِلِ فَيَضْحَوْنَ لِلشَّمْسِ وَيَنْصَبُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَيَشْعَثُونَ وَيَغْبَرُّونَ وَيَقِلُّ أَكْلُهُمْ وَنَوْمُهُمْ وَتَكْثُرُ رَفَاهَةُ الْإِبِلِ وَتَقِلُّ الْمَشَقَّةُ وَالْحَمْلُ عَلَيْهَا فَيَكُونُ ذَلِكَ أَثْوَبَ لَهُمْ وَأَزْكَى لِحَجِّهِمْ وَأَدْنَى إِلَى السَّلَامَةِ لِإِبِلِهِمْ ، وَيُوَافِقُونَ بِهِ سُنَّةَ نَبِيِّهِمْ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَأَخْرَجَهُمْ مِنْ جَمِيعِ ذَلِكَ بِمَا أَدْخَلَهُمْ فِيهِ مِنْ بِدْعَتِهِ
al-maḥāmilu wa-al-qibābu allatī khālafa bihā hadya al-salafi bi-al-tanaʿʿumi wa-al-rafāhiyati waʾinnamā kāna al-nāsu yakhrujūna ʿalā al-rawāḥili wa-al-zawāmili fayaḍḥawna lil-shamsi wayanṣabūna fī sabīli allāhi taʿālā wayashʿathūna wayaghbarrūna wayaqillu ʾakluhum wanawmuhum watakthuru rafāhatu al-ʾibili wataqillu al-mashaqqatu wa-al-ḥamlu ʿalayhā fayakūnu dhālika ʾathwaba lahum waʾazkā liḥajjihim waʾadnā ʾilā al-salāmati liʾibilihim , wayuwāfiqūna bihi sunnata nabiyyihim ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama faʾakhrajahum min jamīʿi dhālika bimā ʾadkhalahum fīhi min bidʿatihi
howdahs and canopies, by which he departed from the predecessors’ way through luxury and ease. People used to set out on riding camels and pack camels, exposing themselves to the sun and tiring themselves in the way of God Most High, becoming disheveled and dusty, eating and sleeping little. The camels enjoyed greater ease, with less hardship and lighter loads. This brought them more reward, purified their pilgrimage more, and was safer for their camels. In this they followed the Sunna of their Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace. He deprived them of all of it by drawing them into his innovation,
فَصَارُوا يَخْرُجُونَ فِي بُيُوتٍ ظَلِيلَةٍ مَعَ الْحَمْلِ عَلَى الْإِبِلِ مَا لَا تُطِيقُ فَيَكُونُ سَبَبَ تَلَفِهَا فَيُشْرِكُونَهُ فِيهِ وَيُشْرِكُهُمْ بِسُنَّتِهِ . وَابْتَدَعَ أَيْضًا هَذِهِ الْأَخْمَاسَ وَالْعَوَاشِرَ وَرُؤُوسَ الْآيِ وَحُمْرَ السَّوَادِ وَخُضْرَهُ وَصُفْرَهُ فَأَدْخَلَ فِي الْمُصْحَفِ مَا لَيْسَ فِيهِ مِنَ الزُّخْرُفِ وَكَانَ السَّلَفُ يَقُولُونَ : جَرِّدُوا الْقُرْآنَ كَمَا أَنْزَلَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَلَا تَخْلِطُوا بِهِ غَيْرَهُ ، فَأَنْكَرَ الْعُلَمَاءُ ذَلِكَ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى قَالَ أَبُو رَزِينٍ :
faṣārū yakhrujūna fī buyūtin ẓalīlatin maʿa al-ḥamli ʿalā al-ʾibili mā lā tuṭīqu fayakūnu sababa talafihā fayushrikūnahu fīhi wayushrikuhum bisunnatihi. wabtadaʿa ʾayḍan hādhihi al-ʾakhmāsa wa-al-ʿawāshira waruʾūsa al-ʾāyi waḥumra al-sawādi wakhuḍrahu waṣufrahu faʾadkhala fī al-muṣḥafi mā laysa fīhi mina al-zukhrufi wakāna al-salafu yaqūlūna: jarridū al-qurʾāna kamā ʾanzalahu allāhu taʿālā walā takhliṭū bihi ghayrahu , faʾankara al-ʿulamāʾu dhālika ʿalayhi ḥattā qāla ʾabū razīnin:
so that they went out in shaded cabins while loading the camels beyond their strength, causing their destruction. They make him share in it, and he shares with them through the practice he established. He also introduced these marks for groups of five and ten verses, verse endings, and red, green, and yellow added to the black script. He thus introduced ornament into the Qurʾān manuscript that was not part of it. The predecessors used to say, “Keep the Qurʾān bare, as God Most High sent it down, and mix nothing else with it.” The scholars condemned him for this, to the point that Abū Razīn said:
يَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ يَنْشَأُ فِيهِ نَشْءٌ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّ مَا أَحْدَثَ الْحَجَّاجُ فِي الْمَصَاحِفِ هَكَذَا أَنْزَلَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَذُمُّهُ بِذَلِكَ وَحَتَّى نُقِلَ الِاخْتِلَافُ وَأَنَّ بَعْضَهُمْ كَانَ لَا يَقْرَأُ فِي مُصْحَفٍ مَنْقُوطٍ بِحُمْرَةٍ لِأَنَّ بَعْضَهُمْ كَانَ لَا يَرَى الْقِرَاءَةَ فِي مُصْحَفٍ مَنْقُوطٍ كَمَا نُقِلَ أَنَّ بَعْضَهُمْ كَانَ يَرَى شِرَاءَ الْمُصْحَفِ وَيَكْرَهُ بَيْعَهُ أَيْ : وَكَذَلِكَ إِذَا لَمْ تَنْقُطْهُ أَنْتَ فَلَا بَأْسَ أَنْ تَقْرَأَ فِيمَا نَقَطَهُ غَيْرُكَ ،
yaʾtī ʿalā al-nāsi zamānun yanshaʾu fīhi nashʾun yaḥsabūna ʾanna mā ʾaḥdatha al-ḥajjāju fī al-maṣāḥifi hākadhā ʾanzalahu allāhu taʿālā yadhummuhu bidhālika waḥattā nuqila al-ikhtilāfu waʾanna baʿḍahum kāna lā yaqraʾu fī muṣḥafin manqūṭin biḥumratin liʾanna baʿḍahum kāna lā yarā al-qirāʾata fī muṣḥafin manqūṭin kamā nuqila ʾanna baʿḍahum kāna yarā shirāʾa al-muṣḥafi wayakrahu bayʿahu ʾay: wakadhālika ʾidhā lam tanquṭhu ʾanta falā baʾsa ʾan taqraʾa fīmā naqaṭahu ghayruka ,
“A time will come upon people when a generation arises thinking that what al-Ḥajjāj introduced into Qurʾān manuscripts was sent down by God Most High in that form.” He was censuring him for this. Disagreement was even transmitted on the matter: some would not read a Qurʾān manuscript dotted in red, because some did not approve of reading a dotted manuscript at all. Likewise, it is transmitted that some approved of buying a Qurʾān manuscript while disliking its sale. That is, if you have not dotted it yourself, there is similarly no harm in reading one dotted by someone else.
وَقَدْ كَانُوا يَكْرَهُونَ أَخْذَ الْأَجْرِ عَلَى تَنْقِيطِ الْقُرْآنِ لِأَجْلِ أَنَّهُ مُبْتَدَعٌ ، وَقَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الْهُذَلِيُّ : سَأَلْتُ الْحَسَنَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ عَنْ تَنْقِيطِ الْمَصَاحِفِ بِالْأَجْرِ قَالَ : وَمَا تَنْقِيطُهَا قُلْتُ : يُعْرِبُونَ الْكَلِمَ بِالْعَرَبِيَّةِ فَقَالَ : أَمَّا إِعْرَابُ الْقُرْآنِ فَلَا بَأْسَ بِهِ ، وَقَالَ خَالِدٌ الْحَذَّاءُ : دَخَلْتُ عَلَى ابْنِ سِيرِينَ فَرَأَيْتُهُ يَقْرَأُ فِي مُصْحَفٍ مَنْقُوطٍ وَقَدْ كَانَ يَكْرَهُ النَّقْطَ ،
waqad kānū yakrahūna ʾakhdha al-ʾajri ʿalā tanqīṭi al-qurʾāni liʾajli ʾannahu mubtadaʿun , waqāla ʾabū bakrin al-hudhaliyyu: saʾaltu al-ḥasana raḥimahu allāhu ʿan tanqīṭi al-maṣāḥifi bi-al-ʾajri qāla: wamā tanqīṭuhā qultu: yuʿribūna al-kalima bi-al-ʿarabiyyati faqāla: ʾammā ʾiʿrābu al-qurʾāni falā baʾsa bihi , waqāla khālidun al-ḥadhdhāʾu: dakhaltu ʿalā ibni sīrīna faraʾaytuhu yaqraʾu fī muṣḥafin manqūṭin waqad kāna yakrahu al-naqṭa ,
They used to dislike taking payment for dotting the Qurʾān because it was an innovation. Abū Bakr al-Hudhalī said: I asked al-Ḥasan, may God have mercy on him, about dotting Qurʾān manuscripts for payment. He said, “What does dotting them mean?” I said, “They mark the words’ grammatical inflections in Arabic.” He said, “As for marking the Qurʾān’s grammatical inflections, there is no harm in that.” Khālid al-Ḥadhdhāʾ said, “I entered Ibn Sīrīn’s presence and saw him reading a dotted Qurʾān manuscript, although he had disliked dots.”
وَقَالَ فِرَاسُ بْنُ يَحْيَى : وَجَدْتُ وَرَقًا مَنْقُوطًا بِالنَّحْوِ فِي سِجْنِ الْحَجَّاجِ فَعَجِبْتُ مِنْهُ وَكَانَ أَوَّلَ نَقْطٍ رَأَيْتُهُ فَأَتَيْتُ بِهِ الشَّعْبِيَّ فَأَخْبَرْتُهُ فَقَالَ لِي : اقْرَأْ عَلَيْهِ وَلَا تَنْقُطْهُ أَنْتَ بِيَدِكَ ، وَمِنْهَا أَنَّهُ جَمَعَ مِنَ الْقُرَّاءِ ثَلَاثِينَ رَجُلًا فَكَانُوا يَعُدُّونَ حُرُوفَ الْمُصْحَفِ وَيَعُدُّونَ كَلِمَهُ شَهْرًا ، وَلَوْ رَآهُمْ عُمَرُ أَوْ عُثْمَانُ أَوْ عَلِيٌّ يَصْنَعُونَ هَذَا بِالْقُرْآنِ أَيْ يَعُدُّونَ حُرُوفَهُ وَكَلِمَهُ لَأَوْجَعَ رُؤُوسَهُمْ ضَرْبًا وَهَذَا
waqāla firāsu bnu yaḥyā: wajadtu waraqan manqūṭan bi-al-naḥwi fī sijni al-ḥajjāji faʿajibtu minhu wakāna ʾawwala naqṭin raʾaytuhu faʾataytu bihi al-shaʿbiyya faʾakhbartuhu faqāla lī: iqraʾ ʿalayhi walā tanquṭhu ʾanta biyadika , waminhā ʾannahu jamaʿa mina al-qurrāʾi thalāthīna rajulan fakānū yaʿuddūna ḥurūfa al-muṣḥafi wayaʿuddūna kalimahu shahran , walaw raʾāhum ʿumaru ʾaw ʿuthmānu ʾaw ʿaliyyun yaṣnaʿūna hādhā bi-al-qurʾāni ʾay yaʿuddūna ḥurūfahu wakalimahu laʾawjaʿa ruʾūsahum ḍarban wahādhā
Firās ibn Yaḥyā said, “I found sheets marked with grammatical dots in al-Ḥajjāj’s prison. I was astonished by them; they were the first dots I had seen. I brought them to al-Shaʿbī and told him about them. He said to me, ‘Read from them, but do not dot them yourself with your own hand.’” Another of his practices was gathering thirty Qurʾān readers, who spent a month counting the manuscript’s letters and counting its words. If ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, or ʿAlī had seen them doing this to the Qurʾān, that is, counting its letters and words, he would have made their heads ache with blows. This is
الَّذِي كَرِهَتْهُ الصَّحَابَةُ وَوَصَفُوا بِهِ قُرَّاءَ آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ أَنَّهُمْ يَحْفَظُونَ حُرُوفَهُ وَيُضَيِّعُونَ حُدُودَهُ وَكَانَ الْحَجَّاجُ أَقْرَأَ الْقُرَّاءِ وَأَحْفَظَهُمْ لِحُرُوفِ الْقُرْآنِ كَانَ يَخْتِمُ الْقُرْآنَ فِي كُلِّ ثَلَاثٍ وَكَانَ أَضْيَعَ النَّاسِ لِحُدُودِهِ ، وَمِنْهَا أَنَّهُ ابْتَدَعَ إِخْرَاجَ الْحَصَى وَالرَّمْلِ مِنَ الْمَسَاجِدِ وَفَرْشَهَا بِالْبَوَارِي ، كَمَا رُوِيَ أَنَّ قَتَادَةَ سَجَدَ فَدَخَلَتْ فِي عَيْنِهِ قَصَبَةٌ وَكَانَ ضَرِيرًا فَقَالَ لَعَنَ اللَّهُ الْحَجَّاجَ ابْتَدَعَ هَذِهِ الْبَوَارِيَ يُؤْذِي بِهَا الْمُصَلِّينَ
alladhī karihathu al-ṣaḥābatu wawaṣafū bihi qurrāʾa ʾākhiri al-zamāni ʾannahum yaḥfaẓūna ḥurūfahu wayuḍayyiʿūna ḥudūdahu wakāna al-ḥajjāju ʾaqraʾa al-qurrāʾi waʾaḥfaẓahum liḥurūfi al-qurʾāni kāna yakhtimu al-qurʾāna fī kulli thalāthin wakāna ʾaḍyaʿa al-nāsi liḥudūdihi , waminhā ʾannahu ibtadaʿa ʾikhrāja al-ḥaṣā wa-al-ramli mina al-masājidi wafarshahā bi-al-bawārī , kamā ruwiya ʾanna qatādata sajada fadakhalat fī ʿaynihi qaṣabatun wakāna ḍarīran faqāla laʿana allāhu al-ḥajjāja ibtadaʿa hādhihi al-bawāriya yuʾdhī bihā al-muṣallīna
what the Companions disliked and the way they described the Qurʾān readers of the end of time: they preserve its letters while neglecting its limits. Al-Ḥajjāj was the most accomplished of the readers and had the strongest memory for the Qurʾān’s letters. He would finish the Qurʾān every three days, yet he was the most neglectful of its limits. Another innovation of his was removing pebbles and sand from mosques and covering them with reed mats. It is related that Qatāda prostrated and a reed entered his eye; he was blind. He said, “May God curse al-Ḥajjāj! He introduced these reed mats and harms worshippers with them.”
وَقَدْ كَانُوا يَسْتَحِبُّونَ السُّجُودَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ وَالتُّرَابِ تَوَاضُعًا لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَتَخَشُّعًا وَذُلًّا إِلَى غَيْرِ ذَلِكَ مِنْ بِدَعِهِ الَّتِي لَمْ نَقْصِدْ تَعْدِيدَهَا عَلَيْهِ وَلَا جَمْعَهَا فَهِيَ الْيَوْمَ سُنَنٌ مَعْرُوفَةٌ وَشَرَائِعُ مَأْلُوفَةٌ مَعَ مَا أَحْدَثَ غَيْرُهُ مِمَّا يَكْثُرُ عَدَدُهُ مُنْكَرٌ كُلُّهُ عِنْدَ مَنْ عَرَفَ الْمَعْرُوفَ مِنْ سِيرَةِ الْمُتَقَدِّمِينَ وَشَمَائِلِ الصَّالِحِينَ . وَقَدْ قَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ :
waqad kānū yastaḥibbūna al-sujūda ʿalā al-ʾarḍi wa-al-turābi tawāḍuʿan lillāhi taʿālā watakhashshuʿan wadhullan ʾilā ghayri dhālika min bidaʿihi allatī lam naqṣid taʿdīdahā ʿalayhi walā jamʿahā fahiya al-yawma sunanun maʿrūfatun washarāʾiʿu maʾlūfatun maʿa mā ʾaḥdatha ghayruhu mimmā yakthuru ʿadaduhu munkarun kulluhu ʿinda man ʿarafa al-maʿrūfa min sīrati al-mutaqaddimīna washamāʾili al-ṣāliḥīna. waqad qāla ibnu masʿūdin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu:
They used to favor prostrating on the ground and dust out of humility before God Most High, reverence, and lowliness. There are other innovations of his which we have not set out to enumerate against him or collect. Today they are recognized customs and familiar religious practices, along with the innumerable things others have introduced. All of them are objectionable to anyone who knows what is right in the conduct of the earlier people and the manners of the righteous. Ibn Masʿūd, may God be pleased with him, said:
يَظْهَرُ الْمُنْكَرُ وَالْبِدَعُ حَتَّى إِذَا غُيِّرَ مِنْهَا شَيْءٌ قِيلَ غُيِّرَتِ السُّنَّةُ وَقَالَ فِي آخِرِ حَدِيثِهِ : أَكْيَسُهُمْ فِي ذَلِكَ الزَّمَانِ الَّذِي يَرُوغُ بِدِينِهِ رَوَغَانَ الثَّعَالِبِ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فِي سَنَةِ ثَمَانِينَ وَأَيَّامِ الْحَجَّاجِ يَقُولُ : مَا أَعْرِفُ الْيَوْمَ شَيْئًا كَانَ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَّا قَدْ غُيِّرَ إِلَّا شَهَادَةَ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ قِيلَ :
yaẓharu al-munkaru wa-al-bidaʿu ḥattā ʾidhā ghuyyira minhā shayʾun qīla ghuyyirati al-sunnatu waqāla fī ʾākhiri ḥadīthihi: ʾakyasuhum fī dhālika al-zamāni alladhī yarūghu bidīnihi rawaghāna al-thaʿālibi , waqad kāna ʾanasu bnu mālikin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu fī sanati thamānīna waʾayyāmi al-ḥajjāji yaqūlu: mā ʾaʿrifu al-yawma shayʾan kāna ʿalā ʿahdi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾillā qad ghuyyira ʾillā shahādata ʾan lā ʾilāha ʾillā allāhu qīla:
“Wrongdoing and innovations will appear until, when anything among them is changed, people say, ‘The Sunna has been changed.’” At the end of his report he said, “The shrewdest among them in that time will be the one who slips away with his religion as foxes slip away.” In the year eighty, during the days of al-Ḥajjāj, Anas ibn Mālik, may God be pleased with him, used to say, “Today I know of nothing that existed in the time of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, that has not been changed, except the testimony that there is no god but God.” He was asked:
فَالصَّلَاةُ يَا أَبَا حَمْزَةَ قَالَ : أَوَلَيْسَ قَدْ أَحْدَثُوا فِي الصَّلَاةِ مَا عَلِمْتُمْ يَعْنِي تَأْخِيرَهَا وَالتَّثْوِيبَ قَبْلَهَا وَتَعَيُّنَ السَّلَامِ حَتَّى أَنَّهُمْ يُضَاهُونَ بِهِ الْإِقَامَةَ فَجَعَلُوهُ كَالسُّنَّةِ ، وَكَانَ يَقُولُ لِلْقُرَّاءِ إِذَا دَخَلُوا عَلَيْهِ مِثْلَ يَزِيدَ الرَّقَّاشِيِّ وَزِيَادٍ النُّمَيْرِيِّ وَفَرْقَدَ السَّنْجِيِّ : مَا أَشْبَهَكُمْ بِأَصْحَابِ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَيَفْرَحُونَ فَيَقُولُ نَعَمْ رُؤُوسُكُمْ وَلِحَاكُمْ فَهَذَا كَمَا قَالَ الْمَجْنُونُ :
fa-al-ṣalātu yā ʾabā ḥamzata qāla: ʾawalaysa qad ʾaḥdathū fī al-ṣalāti mā ʿalimtum yaʿnī taʾkhīrahā wa-al-tathwība qablahā wataʿayyuna al-salāmi ḥattā ʾannahum yuḍāhūna bihi al-ʾiqāmata fajaʿalūhu ka-al-sunnati , wakāna yaqūlu lilqurrāʾi ʾidhā dakhalū ʿalayhi mithla yazīda al-raqqāshiyyi waziyādin al-numayriyyi wafarqada al-sanjiyyi: mā ʾashbahakum biʾaṣḥābi muḥammadin ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fayafraḥūna fayaqūlu naʿam ruʾūsukum waliḥākum fahādhā kamā qāla al-majnūnu:
“What about prayer, Abū Ḥamza?” He said, “Have they not introduced into prayer the things you know?” He meant delaying it, repeating a summons before it, and fixing a salutation so that they made it resemble the call to begin prayer, treating it as a Sunna. When Qurʾān readers such as Yazīd al-Raqqāshī, Ziyād al-Numayrī, and Farqad al-Sanjī came in to him, he used to say, “How like the Companions of Muḥammad you are, God bless him and grant him peace!” They would rejoice, and he would say, “Yes: your heads and your beards.” This is like Majnūn’s saying:
أَمَّا الْخِيَامُ فَإِنَّهَا كَخِيَامِهِمْ . . . وَأَرَى نِسَاءَ الْحَيِّ غَيْرَ نِسَائِهِ وَعَنْ جَمَاعَةٍ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ : لَوْ نُشِرَ أَصْحَابُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَرَأَوْكُمْ لَمَا عَرَفُوا شَيْئًا مِمَّا أَنْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ الْآنَ إِلَّا الصَّلَاةَ فِي جَمَاعَةٍ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ : إِلَّا أَنَّكُمْ تُصَلُّونَ جَمِيعًا ، وَكَانَ الْحَسَنُ يَقُولُ : صَحِبْتُ طَوَائِفَ لَوْ رَأَيْتُمُوهُمْ لَقُلْتُمْ مَجَانِينَ وَلَوْ رَأَوْا خِيَارَكُمْ لَقَالُوا مَا لِهَؤُلَاءِ مِنْ خَلَاقٍ ،
ʾammā al-khiyāmu faʾinnahā kakhiyāmihim... waʾarā nisāʾa al-ḥayyi ghayra nisāʾihi waʿan jamāʿatin mina al-ṣaḥābati: law nushira ʾaṣḥābu rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waraʾawkum lamā ʿarafū shayʾan mimmā ʾantum ʿalayhi al-ʾāna ʾillā al-ṣalāta fī jamāʿatin , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: ʾillā ʾannakum tuṣallūna jamīʿan , wakāna al-ḥasanu yaqūlu: ṣaḥibtu ṭawāʾifa law raʾaytumūhum laqultum majānīna walaw raʾaw khiyārakum laqālū mā lihāʾulāʾi min khalāqin ,
“As for the tents, they are like their tents; but I see the women of the camp are not its former women.” From a group of Companions: “If the Companions of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, were raised again and saw you, they would recognize nothing of your present practice except congregational prayer.” In another wording: “Except that you pray together.” Al-Ḥasan used to say, “I kept company with groups of people whom, if you saw them, you would call mad. If they saw the best of you, they would say, ‘These people have no share.’”
وَقَالَ أَبُو حَازِمٍ : أَدْرَكْتُ الْقُرَّاءَ وَهُمُ الْقُرَّاءُ حَقًّا وَلَوْ كَانَ حَامِلُ الْقُرْآنِ فِي مِائَةِ رَجُلٍ لَعُرِفَ بِشِدَّةِ تَوَاضُعِهِ وَحُسْنِ سَمْتِهِ وَخُشُوعِهِ وَقَدْ وَقَّرَهُ الْقُرْآنُ فِي سَمْتِهِ وَقَدْ خَضَعَهُ الْقُرْآنُ وَأَخْشَعَهُ ، فَأَمَّا هَؤُلَاءِ فَوَ اللَّهِ مَا هُمْ بِالْقُرَّاءِ وَلَكِنَّهُمُ الْجُرَاءُ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ : كُنَّا نَشْهَدُ الْجَنَازَةَ فَلَا نَعْرِفُ صَاحِبَ الْمُصِيبَةِ وَلَا نَدْرِي مَنْ نُعَزِّي مِنْ شِدَّةِ حُزْنِ الْقَوْمِ قَالَ :
waqāla ʾabū ḥāzimin: ʾadraktu al-qurrāʾa wahumu al-qurrāʾu ḥaqqan walaw kāna ḥāmilu al-qurʾāni fī miʾati rajulin laʿurifa bishiddati tawāḍuʿihi waḥusni samtihi wakhushūʿihi waqad waqqarahu al-qurʾānu fī samtihi waqad khaḍaʿahu al-qurʾānu waʾakhshaʿahu , faʾammā hāʾulāʾi fawa-allāhi mā hum bi-al-qurrāʾi walākinnahumu al-jurāʾu , waqad qāla baʿḍuhum: kunnā nashhadu al-janāzata falā naʿrifu ṣāḥiba al-muṣībati walā nadrī man nuʿazzī min shiddati ḥuzni al-qawmi qāla:
Abū Ḥāzim said, “I knew Qurʾān readers who truly were readers. If a bearer of the Qurʾān stood among a hundred men, he would be recognized by his profound humility, fine bearing, and reverence. The Qurʾān had given dignity to his bearing, subdued him, and made him reverent. As for these people, by God, they are not readers but brazen men.” One of them said, “We used to attend a funeral and could not recognize the bereaved person or know whom to console, so great was the people’s grief.” He said:
وَكَانَ أَحَدُهُمْ يَبْقَى بَعْدَ شُهُودِ الْجَنَازَةِ ثَلَاثًا لَا يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ ، وَكَانَ الْفُضَيْلُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يُحَذِّرُ مِنْ قُرَّاءِ زَمَانِهِ فَقَالَ : إِيَّاكَ وَصُحْبَةَ هَؤُلَاءِ الْقُرَّاءِ فَإِنَّكَ إِنْ خَالَفْتَهُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ كَفَّرُوكَ ، وَقَالَ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ مَا شَيْءٌ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ صُحْبَةِ فَتًى وَلَا شَيْءٌ أَبْغَضُ إِلَيَّ مِنْ صُحْبَةِ قَارِئٍ ، وَكَانَ كَثِيرًا يَقُولُ : مَنْ لَمْ يُحْسِنْ يَتَغَنَّى لَمْ يُحْسِنْ يَتَقَرَّى ،
wakāna ʾaḥaduhum yabqā baʿda shuhūdi al-janāzati thalāthan lā yuntafaʿu bihi , wakāna al-fuḍaylu raḥimahu allāhu yuḥadhdhiru min qurrāʾi zamānihi faqāla: ʾiyyāka waṣuḥbata hāʾulāʾi al-qurrāʾi faʾinnaka ʾin khālaftahum fī shayʾin kaffarūka , waqāla sufyānu al-thawriyyu raḥimahu allāhu mā shayʾun ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min ṣuḥbati fatan walā shayʾun ʾabghaḍu ʾilayya min ṣuḥbati qāriʾin , wakāna kathīran yaqūlu: man lam yuḥsin yataghannā lam yuḥsin yataqarrā ,
“After attending a funeral, one of them would remain for three days unable to be of use.” Al-Fuḍayl, may God have mercy on him, used to warn against the Qurʾān readers of his time, saying, “Beware of keeping company with these readers. If you disagree with them in anything, they declare you an unbeliever.” Sufyān al-Thawrī, may God have mercy on him, said, “Nothing is dearer to me than the company of a young man, and nothing more hateful to me than the company of a reader.” He often used to say, “Whoever cannot sing well cannot play the pious reader well.”
وَكَانَ بِشْرُ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ يَقُولُ : لَأَنْ أَصْحَبَ فَتًى أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ أَنْ أَصْحَبَ قَارِئًا فَإِيَّاكَ وَصُحْبَةَ الْقُرَّاءِ فَإِنَّهُمْ يَذُمُّونَ غَيْرَ مَذْمُومٍ وَإِنْ تَرَكْتَ الصَّلَاةَ مَعَهُمْ فِي جَمَاعَةٍ تَشَاهَدُوا عَلَيْكَ ، كُلُّ ذَلِكَ لِأَنَّهُمْ يُجَاوِزُونَ الْحَدَّ فِي الشَّيْءِ وَيُسْرِعُونَ الْإِنْكَارَ إِلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ لِغَلَبَةِ الْجَهْلِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَقِلَّةِ مُجَالَسَتِهِمْ لِلْعُلَمَاءِ وَمُعَانَاتِهِمْ لِلْعِلْمِ وَإِنَّهُمْ مَوْصُوفُونَ بِدَقَائِقِ الرِّيَاءِ وَالتَّصَنُّعِ لِلْعَامَّةِ فَيُنْكِرُونَ غَيْرَ مُنْكَرٍ وَيَتَعَصَّبُونَ بِالْبُغْضَةِ وَالْهَجْرِ
wakāna bishru bnu al-ḥārithi yaqūlu: laʾan ʾaṣḥaba fatan ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min ʾan ʾaṣḥaba qāriʾan faʾiyyāka waṣuḥbata al-qurrāʾi faʾinnahum yadhummūna ghayra madhmūmin waʾin tarakta al-ṣalāta maʿahum fī jamāʿatin tashāhadū ʿalayka , kullu dhālika liʾannahum yujāwizūna al-ḥadda fī al-shayʾi wayusriʿūna al-ʾinkāra ʾilā kulli shayʾin lighalabati al-jahli ʿalayhim waqillati mujālasatihim lilʿulamāʾi wamuʿānātihim lilʿilmi waʾinnahum mawṣūfūna bidaqāʾiqi al-riyāʾi wa-al-taṣannuʿi lilʿāmmati fayunkirūna ghayra munkarin wayataʿaṣṣabūna bi-al-bughḍati wa-al-hajri
Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith used to say, “I would rather keep company with a young man than with a Qurʾān reader. Beware of the company of these readers: they blame people who deserve no blame, and if you leave off praying with them in congregation, they testify against you.” All this is because they exceed the proper bounds in a matter and rush to condemn everything, since ignorance prevails over them and they have little company with scholars or experience of learning. They are marked by subtle forms of ostentation and affectation before the public, condemning what is not objectionable and taking partisan stands through hatred and shunning
فِي الشَّيْءِ الْيَسِيرِ الَّذِي قَدْ يُغْتَفَرُ مِثْلُهُ وَهُمْ غَيْرُ مَوْصُوفِينَ بِمَحَاسِنِ الْأَخْلَاقِ وَلَا مَوْسُومِينَ بِالْبَشَاشَةِ وَالِانْطِلَاقِ إِذْ فِيهِمْ كَزَازَةٌ وَتَغْلِيظٌ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَلَزَازَةٌ وَحَنَقٌ عَلَى الْأَغْنِيَاءِ حَتَّى كَأَنَّهُمْ يَأْكُلُونَ أَرْزَاقَهُمْ وَكَأَنَّهُمْ يَعْمَلُونَ الْعِبَادَةَ لَهُمْ وَفِيهِمْ كَثْرَةُ مَقْتٍ لِأَهْلِ الْبِشْرِ وَالطَّلَاقَةِ ، فَلِذَلِكَ قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ : الشَّرِيفُ إِذَا تَقَرَّى تَوَاضَعَ وَالْوَضِيعُ إِنْ تَقَرَّى تَكَبَّرَ ، وَقَالَ آخَرُ: السَّفَلَةُ :
fī al-shayʾi al-yasīri alladhī qad yughtafaru mithluhu wahum ghayru mawṣūfīna bimaḥāsini al-ʾakhlāqi walā mawsūmīna bi-al-bashāshati wa-al-inṭilāqi ʾidh fīhim kazāzatun wataghlīẓun ʿalā al-nāsi walazāzatun waḥanaqun ʿalā al-ʾaghniyāʾi ḥattā kaʾannahum yaʾkulūna ʾarzāqahum wakaʾannahum yaʿmalūna al-ʿibādata lahum wafīhim kathratu maqtin liʾahli al-bishri wa-al-ṭalāqati , falidhālika qāla baʿḍuhum: al-sharīfu ʾidhā taqarrā tawāḍaʿa wa-al-waḍīʿu ʾin taqarrā takabbara , waqāla ʾākharu: al-safalatu:
over a slight matter of a kind that may be forgiven. They are not characterized by fine manners or marked by cheerfulness and openness. Instead, they are rigid and harsh toward people, importunate and resentful toward the wealthy, as though the wealthy were consuming their provision and as though they performed their worship for them. They have great hatred for cheerful and open people. That is why one of them said, “When a noble person becomes a pious reader, he grows humble; when a lowly person does so, he grows arrogant.” Another said, “The lowly person,
إِذَا تَقَرَّى أَكْثَرَ الْأَمْرَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَاعْتَرَضَ عَلَى جِيرَانِهِ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ يَعْنِي أَكْثَرَ الْأَمْرَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ لِيُعْرَفَ بِهِ ، فَمِنْ أَجْلِ ذَلِكَ رَفَضَهُمُ الْعُلَمَاءُ وَذَمَّهُمُ الْحُكَمَاءُ لِأَنَّ الْعِلْمَ يَبْسُطُ وَيُوَسِّعُ وَتَكُونُ مَعَهُ الْأَخْلَاقُ الْحَسَنَةُ وَالْآدَابُ وَالْمُرُوءَاتُ الْوَاسِعَةُ وَالْعَالِمُ يَضَعُ الْأَشْيَاءَ فِي مَوَاضِعِهَا مِنَ النَّاسِ وَلَا يُجَاوِزُ بِهَا وَلَا بِهِمُ الْمَقَادِيرَ وَيَسْتَخْرِجُ لَهُمُ الْمَعَاذِيرَ ، وَمِنْ صِفَةِ الْعُلَمَاءِ الِانْقِبَاضُ فِي بَسْطِ خُلُقٍ ،
ʾidhā taqarrā ʾakthara al-ʾamra bi-al-maʿrūfi waʿtaraḍa ʿalā jīrānihi fī kulli shayʾin yaʿnī ʾakthara al-ʾamra bi-al-maʿrūfi liyuʿrafa bihi , famin ʾajli dhālika rafaḍahumu al-ʿulamāʾu wadhammahumu al-ḥukamāʾu liʾanna al-ʿilma yabsuṭu wayuwassiʿu watakūnu maʿahu al-ʾakhlāqu al-ḥasanatu wa-al-ʾādābu wa-al-murūʾātu al-wāsiʿatu wa-al-ʿālimu yaḍaʿu al-ʾashyāʾa fī mawāḍiʿihā mina al-nāsi walā yujāwizu bihā walā bihimu al-maqādīra wayastakhriju lahumu al-maʿādhīra , wamin ṣifati al-ʿulamāʾi al-inqibāḍu fī basṭi khuluqin ,
when he becomes a pious reader, multiplies his commands to do right and objects to everything his neighbors do,” meaning that he multiplies his commands to do right so as to become known for it. For this reason scholars rejected them and sages censured them, because knowledge opens and broadens a person and brings with it good character, proper manners, and generous qualities of honor. A scholar puts things in their proper place in dealing with people, does not exceed due measure in either things or people, and finds excuses for them. Among the qualities of scholars is reserve within an open character.
وَقَدْ قَالَ الْإِمَامُ الشَّافِعِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ الِانْقِبَاضُ عَلَى النَّاسِ مَكْسَبَةٌ لِعَدَاوَتِهِمْ فَكُنْ بَيْنَ الْمُنْقَبِضِ وَالْمُنْبَسِطِ . وَفِي الْخَبَرِ : إِنَّكُمْ لَا تَسَعُونَ النَّاسَ بِأَمْوَالِكُمْ فَلْيَسَعْهُمْ مِنْكُمْ وَجْهٌ طَلْقٌ وَخُلُقٌ حَسَنٌ ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ : وَبِشْرٌ وَبَشَاشَةٌ وَهَذَا كُلُّهُ مَعْدُومٌ مِنَ الْقُرَّاءِ وَلَا يَعْرِفُونَهُ ، وَقَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا فَمَنْ تَعَدَّى حَدَّ الشَّيْءِ فَقَدْ أَفْسَدَهُ ،
waqad qāla al-ʾimāmu al-shāfiʿiyyu raḥimahu allāhu al-inqibāḍu ʿalā al-nāsi maksabatun liʿadāwatihim fakun bayna al-munqabiḍi wa-al-munbasiṭi. wafī al-khabari: ʾinnakum lā tasaʿūna al-nāsa biʾamwālikum falyasaʿhum minkum wajhun ṭalqun wakhuluqun ḥasanun , wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: wabishrun wabashāshatun wahādhā kulluhu maʿdūmun mina al-qurrāʾi walā yaʿrifūnahu , waqad jaʿala allāhu taʿālā likulli shayʾin qadran faman taʿaddā ḥadda al-shayʾi faqad ʾafsadahu ,
Imām al-Shāfiʿī, may God have mercy on him, said, “Being withdrawn from people earns their enmity. Be between the withdrawn and the expansive.” In the report: “You cannot encompass all people with your wealth, so let a cheerful face and good character from you encompass them.” In another wording: “And good cheer and warmth.” All this is absent from these readers, and they do not know it. God Most High has appointed a measure for everything; whoever exceeds a thing’s bounds has spoiled it.
وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ : قَلِيلُ التَّوَاضُعِ يَكْفِي مِنْ كَثِيرِ الْعَمَلِ وَقَلِيلُ الْوَرَعِ يَكْفِي مِنْ كَثِيرِ الْعِلْمِ ، وَمِنْ أَخْلَاقِ السَّلَفِ مِمَّا تَهَاوَنَ بِهِ الْخَلَفُ أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يَعُدُّونَ مِنَ النِّفَاقِ أَنْ يَتَكَلَّمَ الرَّجُلُ فِيمَنْ يُكَلِّمُهُ أَوْ يُكَلِّمَ مَنْ تَكَلَّمَ فِيهِ لِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا إِذَا كَلَّمُوا أَحَدًا أَوْ سَلَّمُوا عَلَيْهِ سَلِمَتْ لَهُ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَلَمْ يَتَكَلَّمُوا فِيهِ وَإِذَا تَكَلَّمُوا فِي أَحَدٍ لِبِدْعَتِهِ أَوْ ظُهُورِ فِسْقِهِ لَمْ يُكَلِّمُوهُ
waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: qalīlu al-tawāḍuʿi yakfī min kathīri al-ʿamali waqalīlu al-waraʿi yakfī min kathīri al-ʿilmi , wamin ʾakhlāqi al-salafi mimmā tahāwana bihi al-khalafu ʾannahum kānū yaʿuddūna mina al-nifāqi ʾan yatakallama al-rajulu fīman yukallimuhu ʾaw yukallima man takallama fīhi liʾannahum kānū ʾidhā kallamū ʾaḥadan ʾaw sallamū ʿalayhi salimat lahu qulūbuhum walam yatakallamū fīhi waʾidhā takallamū fī ʾaḥadin libidʿatihi ʾaw ẓuhūri fisqihi lam yukallimūhu
One of the predecessors said, “A little humility suffices in place of much work, and a little scrupulousness suffices in place of much knowledge.” Among the predecessors’ moral practices that later people have neglected is that they considered it hypocrisy for a man to speak against someone he spoke to, or to speak to someone he had spoken against. When they spoke to anyone or greeted him, their hearts were sound toward him and they did not speak against him. If they spoke against someone because of his innovation or manifest sinful conduct, they did not speak to him.
وَكَانُوا إِذَا مَدَحُوا أَحَدًا بِقَوْلٍ لَمْ يَذُمُّوهُ بِفِعْلٍ وَإِذَا ذَمُّوا وَاحِدًا بِفِعْلٍ لَمْ يَمْدَحُوهُ بِقَوْلٍ لِأَنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لِسَانَيْنِ وَاخْتِلَافَ وَجْهَيْنِ وَاخْتِلَافَ سِرٍّ وَعَلَانِيَةٍ وَكَانُوا يَقُولُونَ مَعْنَى سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكَ إِذَا لَقِيتَهُ أَيْ سَلِمْتَ مِنِّي أَنْ أَغْتَابَكَ وَأَذُمَّكَ فَكَانَ اخْتِلَافُ هَذَا عِنْدَهُمْ مِنْ أَبْوَابِ النِّفَاقِ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : شَرُّ النَّاسِ ذُو الْوَجْهَيْنِ الَّذِي يَأْتِي هَؤُلَاءِ بِوَجْهٍ ،
wakānū ʾidhā madaḥū ʾaḥadan biqawlin lam yadhummūhu bifiʿlin waʾidhā dhammū wāḥidan bifiʿlin lam yamdaḥūhu biqawlin liʾanna fī dhālika lisānayni wakhtilāfa wajhayni wakhtilāfa sirrin waʿalāniyatin wakānū yaqūlūna maʿnā salāmun ʿalayka ʾidhā laqītahu ʾay salimta minnī ʾan ʾaghtābaka waʾadhummaka fakāna ikhtilāfu hādhā ʿindahum min ʾabwābi al-nifāqi. warawaynā ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: sharru al-nāsi dhū al-wajhayni alladhī yaʾtī hāʾulāʾi biwajhin ,
When they praised someone in words, they did not disparage him in deeds; when they disparaged someone in deeds, they did not praise him in words. That would mean having two tongues, conflicting faces, and a difference between one’s private and public selves. They used to say that “Peace be upon you,” when you meet someone, means, “You are safe from my backbiting and disparagement.” Contradicting this was, in their view, among the doors of hypocrisy. We have related from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: “The worst of people is the two-faced person, who comes to these people with one face
وَهَؤُلَاءِ بِوَجْهٍ وَفِي حَدِيثٍ آخَرَ : مَنْ كَانَ ذَا لِسَانَيْنِ فِي الدُّنْيَا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ لِسَانَيْنِ مِنْ نَارٍ ، وَكَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ يَقُولُ : مَا ذُكِرَ عِنْدِي إِنْسَانٌ قَطُّ إِلَّا مَثَّلْتُهُ جَالِسًا فَقُلْتُ فِي غَيْبَتِهِ بِمَا يَجِبُ أَنْ يَسْمَعَ ، وَقَالَ آخَرُ : مَا ذُكِرَ عِنْدِي رَجُلٌ إِلَّا تَصَوَّرْتُ فِي نَفْسِي مِثَالَهُ فَكُلَّ مَا أُحِبُّ أَنْ يُقَالَ لِي قُلْتُهُ لَهُ ،
wahāʾulāʾi biwajhin wafī ḥadīthin ʾākhara: man kāna dhā lisānayni fī al-dunyā jaʿala allāhu lahu yawma al-qiyāmati lisānayni min nārin , wakāna baʿḍuhum yaqūlu: mā dhukira ʿindī ʾinsānun qaṭṭu ʾillā maththaltuhu jālisan faqultu fī ghaybatihi bimā yajibu ʾan yasmaʿa , waqāla ʾākharu: mā dhukira ʿindī rajulun ʾillā taṣawwartu fī nafsī mithālahu fakulla mā ʾuḥibbu ʾan yuqāla lī qultuhu lahu ,
and to those people with another face.” In another hadith: “Whoever has two tongues in this world, God will give him two tongues of fire on the Day of Resurrection.” One of them used to say, “No person has ever been mentioned in my presence without my imagining him sitting there, and then saying in his absence what he ought to hear.” Another said, “No man has been mentioned in my presence without my picturing his likeness within myself. Whatever I would like said to me, I have said of him.”
وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ : قَلِيلُ التَّوَاضُعِ يَكْفِي عَنْ كَثِيرِ الْعَمَلِ وَقَلِيلُ الْوَرَعِ يَكْفِي عَنْ كَثِيرِ الْعِلْمِ ، فَهَذِهِ كَانَتْ صِفَاتُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ الَّذِينَ يَسْلَمُ النَّاسُ عَلَى أَيْدِيهِمْ
waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: qalīlu al-tawāḍuʿi yakfī ʿan kathīri al-ʿamali waqalīlu al-waraʿi yakfī ʿan kathīri al-ʿilmi , fahādhihi kānat ṣifātu al-muslimīna alladhīna yaslamu al-nāsu ʿalā ʾaydīhim
One of the predecessors said, “A little humility suffices in place of much work, and a little scrupulousness suffices in place of much knowledge.” These were the qualities of the Muslims from whose hands
وَقُلُوبِهِمْ ، كَانَ أَحَدُهُمْ إِذَا ذُكِرَ عِنْدَهُ غَيْرُهُ بِسُوءٍ وَقَفَ وَتَفَكَّرَ فِي شَأْنِ نَفْسِهِ فَإِنْ كَانَ فِيهِ مِثْلُ ذَلِكَ السُّوءِ قَطَعَهُ الْحَيَاءُ عَنِ الْكَلَامِ فِي أَخِيهِ فَسَكَتَ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ ذَلِكَ فِيهِ حَمِدَ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَرَحِمَ أَخَاهُ فَشَغَلَهُ الشُّكْرُ لِمَوْلَاهُ إِذْ عَافَاهُ ، فَهَذِهِ كَانَتْ سِيرَةُ السَّلَفِ ، وَيُقَالُ فِي بَعْضِ كُتُبِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى :
waqulūbihim , kāna ʾaḥaduhum ʾidhā dhukira ʿindahu ghayruhu bisūʾin waqafa watafakkara fī shaʾni nafsihi faʾin kāna fīhi mithlu dhālika al-sūʾi qaṭaʿahu al-ḥayāʾu ʿani al-kalāmi fī ʾakhīhi fasakata waʾin lam yakun dhālika fīhi ḥamida allāha ʿazza wajalla waraḥima ʾakhāhu fashaghalahu al-shukru limawlāhu ʾidh ʿāfāhu , fahādhihi kānat sīratu al-salafi , wayuqālu fī baʿḍi kutubi allāhi taʿālā:
and hearts people were safe. When someone else was mentioned unfavorably in their presence, one of them would stop and reflect on his own condition. If he had the same fault, shame prevented him from speaking against his brother, and he remained silent. If he did not have it, he praised God, mighty and majestic, and had mercy on his brother; gratitude to his Master for having spared him occupied him. Such was the predecessors’ way. It is said in one of the books of God Most High:
عَجَبًا لِمَنْ قِيلَ فِيهِ الْخَيْرُ وَلَيْسَ فِيهِ كَيْفَ يَفْرَحُ وَلِمَنْ قِيلَ فِيهِ الشَّرُّ وَهُوَ فِيهِ كَيْفَ يَغْضَبُ ، وَأَعْجَبُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ نَفْسَهُ عَلَى الْيَقِينِ وَأَبْغَضَ النَّاسَ عَلَى الشَّكِّ ، وَمِنْ طَرِيقَةِ السَّلَفِ مِمَّا كَانُوا يُشَدِّدُونَ فِيهِ حُبُّ الْمَدْحِ وَطَلَبُ الْحَمْدِ حَتَّى قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ : مَنْ أَحَبَّ الْمَدْحَ وَكَرِهَ الذَّمَّ فَهُوَ مُنَافِقٌ ، وَقَالَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ لِرَجُلٍ :
ʿajaban liman qīla fīhi al-khayru walaysa fīhi kayfa yafraḥu waliman qīla fīhi al-sharru wahuwa fīhi kayfa yaghḍabu , waʾaʿjabu min dhālika man ʾaḥabba nafsahu ʿalā al-yaqīni waʾabghaḍa al-nāsa ʿalā al-shakki , wamin ṭarīqati al-salafi mimmā kānū yushaddidūna fīhi ḥubbu al-madḥi waṭalabu al-ḥamdi ḥattā qāla baʿḍuhum: man ʾaḥabba al-madḥa wakariha al-dhamma fahuwa munāfiqun , waqāla ʿumaru raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu lirajulin:
“How strange is someone of whom good is spoken when he does not possess it: how can he rejoice? And someone of whom evil is spoken when he does possess it: how can he be angry? Stranger still is someone who loves himself despite what he knows with certainty and hates others on suspicion.” Among the matters the predecessors treated strictly in their way were love of praise and seeking acclaim, so much so that one of them said, “Whoever loves praise and hates blame is a hypocrite.” ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, said to a man:
مَنْ سَيِّدُ قَوْمِكَ ؟ قَالَ : أَنَا ، قَالَ : لَوْ كُنْتَ كَذَلِكَ لَمْ تَقُلْ ، وَكَتَبَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ كَعْبٍ فَانْتَسَبَ فَقَالَ الْقُرَظِيُّ قِيلَ لَهُ : قُلِ الْأَنْصَارِيُّ قَالَ أَكْرَهُ أَنْ أَمُنَّ عَلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِمَا لَمْ أَفْعَلْ ، وَقَالَ الثَّوْرِيُّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : إِذَا قِيلَ لَكَ بِئْسَ الرَّجُلُ أَنْتَ تَغْضَبُ فَأَنْتَ بِئْسَ الرَّجُلُ ، وَقَالَ آخَرُ :
man sayyidu qawmika ? qāla: ʾanā , qāla: law kunta kadhālika lam taqul , wakataba muḥammadu bnu kaʿbin fantasaba faqāla al-quraẓiyyu qīla lahu: quli al-ʾanṣāriyyu qāla ʾakrahu ʾan ʾamunna ʿalā allāhi ʿazza wajalla bimā lam ʾafʿal , waqāla al-thawriyyu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: ʾidhā qīla laka biʾsa al-rajulu ʾanta taghḍabu faʾanta biʾsa al-rajulu , waqāla ʾākharu:
“Who is the chief of your people?” He said, “I am.” He said, “If you were, you would not have said so.” Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb wrote and gave his lineage as “al-Quraẓī.” He was told, “Say ‘al-Anṣārī.’” He said, “I dislike claiming a favor against God, mighty and majestic, for something I have not done.” Al-Thawrī, may God be pleased with him, said, “If you are told, ‘What a bad man you are,’ and you become angry, then you are a bad man.” Another said:
لَا يَزَالُ فِيكَ خَيْرٌ مَا لَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ فِيكَ خَيْرًا ، وَسُئِلَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : مَا عَلَامَةُ النِّفَاقِ ؟ قَالَ : الَّذِي إِذَا مُدِحَ بِمَا لَيْسَ فِيهِ ارْتَاحَ لِذَلِكَ قَلْبُهُ ، وَكَانَ سُفْيَانُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ : إِذَا رَأَيْتَ الرَّجُلَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يُحِبَّهُ النَّاسُ كُلُّهُمْ وَيَكْرَهُ أَنْ يَذْكُرَهُ أَحَدٌ بِسُوءٍ فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ مُنَافِقٌ فَهَذَا دَاخِلٌ فِي وَصْفِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الْمُنَافِقِينَ بِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى :
lā yazālu fīka khayrun mā lam tara ʾanna fīka khayran , wasuʾila baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: mā ʿalāmatu al-nifāqi ? qāla: alladhī ʾidhā mudiḥa bimā laysa fīhi irtāḥa lidhālika qalbuhu , wakāna sufyānu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu: ʾidhā raʾayta al-rajula yuḥibbu ʾan yuḥibbahu al-nāsu kulluhum wayakrahu ʾan yadhkurahu ʾaḥadun bisūʾin faʿlam ʾannahu munāfiqun fahādhā dākhilun fī waṣfi allāhi taʿālā al-munāfiqīna biqawlihi taʿālā:
“There will continue to be good in you as long as you do not see good in yourself.” One scholar was asked, “What is the sign of hypocrisy?” He said, “Someone whose heart is pleased when he is praised for what he does not possess.” Sufyān, may God be pleased with him, used to say, “When you see a man who wants everyone to love him and dislikes anyone mentioning him unfavorably, know that he is a hypocrite.” This falls under God Most High’s description of the hypocrites in His words, exalted is He:
( سَتَجِدُونَ آخَرِينَ يُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يَأْمَنُوكُمْ وَ يَأْمَنُوا قَوْمَهُمْ ) النِّسَاءُ : 91 ، فَيَنْبَغِي لِمَنْ أَمِنَ فِي أَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ أَنْ يَخَافَ فِي أَهْلِ الْبِدَعِ وَهَذَا مِمَّا دَخَلَ عَلَى الْقُرَّاءِ الَّذِينَ ذَمَّهُمُ الْعُلَمَاءُ مَدَاخِلَ اللَّيْلِ فِي النَّهَارِ وَلَعَلَّ مَغْرُورًا جَاهِلًا يَتَأَوَّلُ الْحَدِيثَ الَّذِي جَاءَ إِذَا مُدِحَ الْمُؤْمِنُ رَبَا الْإِيمَانُ فِي قَلْبِهِ عَلَى غَيْرِ تَأْوِيلِهِ وَيَحْمِلُهُ عَلَى غَيْرِ مَحْمِلِهِ فَإِنَّمَا قَالَ رَبَا الْإِيمَانُ وَلَمْ
( satajidūna ʾākharīna yurīdūna ʾan yaʾmanūkum wa yaʾmanū qawmahum ) al-nisāʾu: 91 , fayanbaghī liman ʾamina fī ʾahli al-sunnati ʾan yakhāfa fī ʾahli al-bidaʿi wahādhā mimmā dakhala ʿalā al-qurrāʾi alladhīna dhammahumu al-ʿulamāʾu madākhila al-layli fī al-nahāri walaʿalla maghrūran jāhilan yataʾawwalu al-ḥadītha alladhī jāʾa ʾidhā mudiḥa al-muʾminu rabā al-ʾīmānu fī qalbihi ʿalā ghayri taʾwīlihi wayaḥmiluhu ʿalā ghayri maḥmilihi faʾinnamā qāla rabā al-ʾīmānu walam
“You will find others who wish to be safe from you and safe from their own people” (al-Nisāʾ 4:91). Someone who is safe among the people of the Sunna should fear among the people of innovations. This is among the things that have entered the Qurʾān readers whom the scholars censured, as night enters day. Perhaps an ignorant, deluded person will wrongly interpret the transmitted hadith, “When a believer is praised, faith grows in his heart,” and apply it where it does not belong. It says only, “Faith grows”; it does not
يَقُلْ رَبَا الْمُؤْمِنُ فَرُبُوُّ الْإِيمَانِ زِيَادَتُهُ وَزِيَادَتُهُ بِالْخَوْفِ وَالْإِشْفَاقِ مِنَ الْمَكْرِ بِهِ وَالِاسْتِدْرَاجِ وَفِيهِ طَرِيقٌ لِلْعَارِفِينَ بِأَنْ يَعْلُوَ الْإِيمَانُ الْعَلِيُّ إِلَى الْمُؤْمِنِ الْأَعْلَى فَيَفْرَحَ بِذَلِكَ لِمَوْلَاهُ وَيُضِيفَهُ إِلَى سَيِّدِهِ الَّذِي بِهِ تَوَلَّاهُ فَيَرُدَّ الصَّنْعَةَ إِلَى صَانِعِهَا وَيَشْهَدَ فِي الْفِطْرَةِ فَاطِرَهَا فَيَكُونَ ذَلِكَ مَدْحًا لِلصَّانِعِ وَوَصْفًا لِلْفَاطِرِ لَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَى نَفْسِهِ لَا يُعْجَبُ بِوَصْفِهِ وَهَذِهِ طَرَقَاتٌ قَدْ دَرَسَتْ وَانْقَطَعَ سُلَّاكُهَا إِلَّا مَنْ رَحِمَ رَبُّكَ .
yaqul rabā al-muʾminu farubuwwu al-ʾīmāni ziyādatuhu waziyādatuhu bi-al-khawfi wa-al-ʾishfāqi mina al-makri bihi wa-al-istidrāji wafīhi ṭarīqun lilʿārifīna biʾan yaʿluwa al-ʾīmānu al-ʿaliyyu ʾilā al-muʾmini al-ʾaʿlā fayafraḥa bidhālika limawlāhu wayuḍīfahu ʾilā sayyidihi alladhī bihi tawallāhu fayarudda al-ṣanʿata ʾilā ṣāniʿihā wayashhada fī al-fiṭrati fāṭirahā fayakūna dhālika madḥan lil-ṣāniʿi wawaṣfan lilfāṭiri lā yanẓuru ʾilā nafsihi lā yuʿjabu biwaṣfihi wahādhihi ṭaraqātun qad darasat wanqaṭaʿa sullākuhā ʾillā man raḥima rabbuka.
say, “The believer grows.” Faith’s growth is its increase, and it increases through fear and apprehension of being outwitted and gradually drawn into ruin. There is also a path here for the knowers: lofty faith rises toward the Supreme Giver of Faith, so that a person rejoices in it for his Master’s sake and attributes it to his Lord, who has cared for him through it. He returns the workmanship to its Maker and witnesses the Originator in what He originated. This is praise of the Maker and a description of the Originator. He does not look at himself or admire his own qualities. These paths have become effaced, and their travelers have disappeared, except those upon whom your Lord has mercy.
بَابُ تَفْضِيلِ عِلْمِ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْيَقِينِ عَلَى سَائِرِ الْعُلُومِ وَالتَّحْذِيرِ مِنَ الزَّلَلِ فِيهِ وَبَيَانِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ
bābu tafḍīli ʿilmi al-ʾīmāni wa-al-yaqīni ʿalā sāʾiri al-ʿulūmi wa-al-taḥdhīri mina al-zalali fīhi wabayāni mā dhakarnāhu
Section on the Superiority of the Knowledge of Faith and Certainty over All Other Sciences, a Warning against Error in It, and an Explanation of What We Have Mentioned
: اعْلَمْ أَنَّ كُلَّ عِلْمٍ مِنَ الْعُلُومِ قَدْ يَتَأَتَّى حِفْظُهُ وَنَشْرُهُ لِمُنَافِقٍ أَوْ مُبْتَدِعٍ أَوْ مُشْرِكٍ إِذَا رَغِبَ فِيهِ وَحَرَصَ عَلَيْهِ لِأَنَّهُ نَتِيجَةُ الذِّهْنِ وَثَمَرَةُ الْعَقْلِ إِلَّا عِلْمَ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْيَقِينِ فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَتَأَتَّى ظُهُورُ مُشَاهَدَتِهِ وَالْكَلَامُ فِي حَقَائِقِهِ إِلَّا لِمُؤْمِنٍ مُوقِنٍ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ ذَلِكَ تَقْرِيرُ مَزِيدِ الْإِيمَانِ وَحَقِيقَةِ الْعِلْمِ وَالْإِيمَانِ ، فَهُوَ آيَاتُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَعَهْدُهُ عَنْ مُكَاشَفَةِ قُدْرَتِهِ وَعَظَمَتِهِ
: iʿlam ʾanna kulla ʿilmin mina al-ʿulūmi qad yataʾattā ḥifẓuhu wanashruhu limunāfiqin ʾaw mubtadiʿin ʾaw mushrikin ʾidhā raghiba fīhi waḥaraṣa ʿalayhi liʾannahu natījatu al-dhihni wathamaratu al-ʿaqli ʾillā ʿilma al-ʾīmāni wa-al-yaqīni faʾinnahu lā yataʾattā ẓuhūru mushāhadatihi wa-al-kalāmu fī ḥaqāʾiqihi ʾillā limuʾminin mūqinin min qibali ʾanna dhālika taqrīru mazīdi al-ʾīmāni waḥaqīqati al-ʿilmi wa-al-ʾīmāni , fahuwa ʾāyātu allāhi taʿālā waʿahduhu ʿan mukāshafati qudratihi waʿaẓamatihi
Know that a hypocrite, an innovator, or an associator of partners with God may manage to memorize and disseminate any science if he desires it and pursues it eagerly, because it is the product of the mind and the fruit of reason. The exception is the knowledge of faith and certainty: the manifestation of its witnessing and speech about its realities are possible only for a believer possessed of certainty. This is because it establishes an increase of faith and the reality of knowledge and faith. It consists of God Most High’s signs and His covenant, arising from an unveiling of His power and greatness.
وَآيَاتُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لَا تَكُونُ لِلْفَاسِقِينَ وَعَهْدُهُ لَا يَنَالُ الظَّالِمِينَ وَعَظَمَتُهُ وَقُدْرَتُهُ لَا تَكُونُ شَهَادَةً لِلزَّائِغِينَ وَلَا وَجْدًا لِلْمُبْطِلِينَ إِذْ فِي ذَلِكَ تَوْهِينٌ لِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَحُجَجِهِ وَانْتِقَاصٌ لِبَرَاهِينِهِ وَقُدْرَتِهِ وَدُخُولُ الشَّكِّ فِي الْيَقِينِ الَّذِي هُوَ مَحَجَّةُ الْمُخْلِصِينَ وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ بَقِيَّةُ اللَّهِ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَاشْتِبَاهُ الْبَاطِلِ بِالْحَقِّ الَّذِي هُوَ وَصْفُ أَهْلِ الصِّدْقِ الَّذِينَ هُمْ أَدِلَّتُهُ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَهْلِ وِدَادِهِ وَهَذَا مِنْ أَدَلِّ دَلِيلٍ عَلَى فَضْلِ عِلْمِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ عَلَى غَيْرِهِ قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ :
waʾāyātu allāhi taʿālā lā takūnu lilfāsiqīna waʿahduhu lā yanālu al-ẓālimīna waʿaẓamatuhu waqudratuhu lā takūnu shahādatan lil-zāʾighīna walā wajdan lilmubṭilīna ʾidh fī dhālika tawhīnun liʾāyāti allāhi waḥujajihi wantiqāṣun libarāhīnihi waqudratihi wadukhūlu al-shakki fī al-yaqīni alladhī huwa maḥajjatu al-mukhliṣīna walladhīna hum baqiyyatu allāhi min ʿibādihi washtibāhu al-bāṭili bi-al-ḥaqqi alladhī huwa waṣfu ʾahli al-ṣidqi alladhīna hum ʾadillatuhu ʿalayhi min ʾahli widādihi wahādhā min ʾadalli dalīlin ʿalā faḍli ʿilmi al-maʿrifati ʿalā ghayrihi qāla allāhu ʿazza wajalla:
God Most High’s signs do not belong to the disobedient; His covenant does not reach the wrongdoers; His greatness and power are not a witnessing for those who deviate or an inward experience for those who follow falsehood. That would weaken God’s signs and proofs, diminish His demonstrations and power, introduce doubt into certainty, which is the highway of the sincere, those who are God’s remnant among His servants, and confuse falsehood with truth, which characterizes the truthful, those among His beloved who point to Him. This is among the clearest proofs of the excellence of spiritual knowledge over other sciences. God, mighty and majestic, says:
( أَوَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ آيَةً أَنْ يَعْلَمَهُ عُلَمَاءُ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ ) الشُّعَرَاءُ : 197 ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( بَلْ هُوَ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ فِي صُدُورِ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ ) الْعَنْكَبُوتُ : 49 ، وَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِلْمُتَوَسِّمِينَ ) الْحِجْرُ : 75 ، وَقَالَ : ( قَدْ بَيَّنَّا الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ ) ، الْبَقَرَةُ :
( ʾawalam yakun lahum ʾāyatan ʾan yaʿlamahu ʿulamāʾu banī ʾisrāʾīla ) al-shuʿarāʾu: 197 , waqāla taʿālā: ( bal huwa ʾāyātun bayyinātun fī ṣudūri alladhīna ʾūtū al-ʿilma ) al-ʿankabūtu: 49 , waqāla subḥānahu wataʿālā: ( ʾinna fī dhālika laʾāyātin lilmutawassimīna ) al-ḥijru: 75 , waqāla: ( qad bayyannā al-ʾāyāti liqawmin yūqinūna ) , al-baqaratu:
“Was it not a sign for them that the scholars of the Children of Israel know it?” (al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:197). The Most High said, “Rather, it is clear signs in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge” (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:49). He, glorified and exalted, said, “In that are indeed signs for those who discern” (al-Ḥijr 15:75). And He said, “We have made the signs clear to people who possess certainty” (al-Baqara 2:
118 وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَلِنُبَيِّنَهُ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ ) ، الْأَنْعَامُ : 105 فَهَؤُلَاءِ الْعُلَمَاءُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى النَّاطِقُونَ عَنِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ جَعَلَ لَهُمْ أَنْصِبَةً مِنْهُ وَمَكَانًا عِنْدَهُ ، وَلَا يَكُونُ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ لَيْسَ أَهْلًا لَهُ وَلَا حَقِيقًا بِهِ لِأَنَّهُمْ آيَاتُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَبَيِّنَاتُهُ وَشُهُودُهُ وَبَصَائِرُهُ كَاشِفُو طَرِيقِهِ وَمُظْهِرُو بَيَانِهِ إِذْ يَقُولُ تَعَالَى : ( ثُمَّ إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا بَيَانَهُ ) الْقِيَامَةُ :
118 waqāla ʿazza wajalla: ( walinubayyinahu liqawmin yaʿlamūna ) , al-ʾanʿāmu: 105 fahāʾulāʾi al-ʿulamāʾu bi-allāhi taʿālā al-nāṭiqūna ʿani allāhi ʿazza wajalla jaʿala lahum ʾanṣibatan minhu wamakānan ʿindahu , walā yakūnu dhālika liman laysa ʾahlan lahu walā ḥaqīqan bihi liʾannahum ʾāyātu allāhi taʿālā wabayyinātuhu washuhūduhu wabaṣāʾiruhu kāshifū ṭarīqihi wamuẓhirū bayānihi ʾidh yaqūlu taʿālā: ( thumma ʾinna ʿalaynā bayānahu ) al-qiyāmatu:
118). He, mighty and majestic, said, “And so that We may make it clear to people who know” (al-Anʿām 6:105). These are those who know God Most High and speak from God, mighty and majestic. He has given them shares from Him and a place with Him. This does not belong to someone who is neither qualified nor worthy of it, for they are God Most High’s signs, clear proofs, witnesses, and means of insight, uncovering His path and making His explanation manifest. The Most High says, “Then its explanation is incumbent upon Us” (al-Qiyāma 75:
19 ، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ ) ( عَلَّمَهُ الْبَيَانَ ) الرَّحْمَنُ : 3 - 4 بَعْدَ قَوْلِهِ : ( وَكَانَ حَقًّا عَلَيْنَا نَصْرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ) الرُّومُ : 47 ، مَعَ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى : ( وَكَانُوا أَحَقَّ بِهَا وَأَهْلَهَا ) الْفَتْحُ : 26 فَنَصَرُوهُ بِمَا نَصَرَهُمْ بِهِ وَتَحَقَّقُوا بِمَا حَقَّقَهُمْ مِنْهُ وَشَهِدُوا لَهُ مَا شَهِدَ لَهُمْ عَنْهُ فَكَانُوا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا وَإِلَى الْهِدَايَةِ أَعْلَامًا .
19 , thumma qāla taʿālā: ( khalaqa al-ʾinsāna ) ( ʿallamahu al-bayāna ) al-raḥmanu: 3 - 4 baʿda qawlihi: ( wakāna ḥaqqan ʿalaynā naṣru al-muʾminīna ) al-rūmu: 47 , maʿa qawlihi taʿālā: ( wakānū ʾaḥaqqa bihā waʾahlahā ) al-fatḥu: 26 fanaṣarūhu bimā naṣarahum bihi wataḥaqqaqū bimā ḥaqqaqahum minhu washahidū lahu mā shahida lahum ʿanhu fakānū lilmuttaqīna ʾimāman waʾilā al-hidāyati ʾaʿlāman.
19). Then the Most High said, “He created the human being; He taught him expression” (al-Raḥmān 55:3–4), after His words, “It was incumbent upon Us to help the believers” (al-Rūm 30:47), together with His words, exalted is He, “They were more entitled to it and worthy of it” (al-Fatḥ 48:26). They supported Him through that with which He supported them, realized that through which He made them real, and testified for Him to that concerning which He testified for them. Thus they became an example for the God-fearing and landmarks leading to guidance.
وَقَالَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ : مَنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ لَهُ مُشَاهَدَةٌ مِنْ هَذَا الْعِلْمِ لَمْ يَعْرُ مِنْ شِرْكٍ أَوْ نِفَاقٍ لِأَنَّهُ عَارٍ مِنْ عِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ وَمَنْ عَرِيَ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ وُجِدَ فِيهِ دَقَائِقُ الشَّكِّ ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ : مَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ نَصِيبٌ مِنْ هَذَا الْعِلْمِ أَخَافُ عَلَيْهِ سُوءَ الْخَاتِمَةِ وَأَدْنَى النَّصِيبِ مِنْهُ التَّصْدِيقُ بِهِ وَتَسْلِيمُهُ لِأَهْلِهِ وَقَالَ آخَرُ مَنْ كَانَ فِيهِ خَصْلَتَانِ لَمْ يُفْتَحْ لَهُ مِنْ هَذَا الْعِلْمِ شَيْءٌ بِدْعَةٌ أَوْ كِبْرٌ ،
waqāla baʿḍu ʾahli al-maʿrifati: man lam takun lahu mushāhadatun min hādhā al-ʿilmi lam yaʿru min shirkin ʾaw nifāqin liʾannahu ʿārin min ʿilmi al-yaqīni waman ʿariya mina al-yaqīni wujida fīhi daqāʾiqu al-shakki , waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna: man lam yakun lahu naṣībun min hādhā al-ʿilmi ʾakhāfu ʿalayhi sūʾa al-khātimati waʾadnā al-naṣībi minhu al-taṣdīqu bihi wataslīmuhu liʾahlihi waqāla ʾākharu man kāna fīhi khaṣlatāni lam yuftaḥ lahu min hādhā al-ʿilmi shayʾun bidʿatun ʾaw kibrun ,
One of the people of spiritual knowledge said, “Whoever has no witnessing of this knowledge is not free of associating partners with God or hypocrisy, because he is bare of the knowledge of certainty. Whoever is bare of certainty has subtle forms of doubt within him.” One of the knowers said, “I fear a bad ending for anyone who has no share in this knowledge.” The smallest share in it is affirming its truth and acknowledging it in its people. Another said, “No part of this knowledge is opened to someone in whom there are these two traits: innovation or pride.”
وَقَالَ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أَهْلِهِ : مَنْ كَانَ مُحِبًّا لِلدُّنْيَا أَوْ مُصِرًّا عَلَى هَوًى لَمْ يَتَحَقَّقْ بِهِ ، وَقَالَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ : أَقَلُّ عُقُوبَةِ مَنْ أَنْكَرَ هَذَا الْعِلْمَ أَنْ لَا يُرْزَقَ مِنْهُ شَيْءٌ أَبَدًا ، وَاتَّفَقُوا عَلَى أَنَّهُ عِلْمُ الصِّدِّيقِينَ وَأَنَّ مَنْ كَانَ لَهُ مِنْهُ نَصِيبٌ فَهُوَ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ وَيَنَالُ دَرَجَةَ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ ، وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ عِلْمَ التَّوْحِيدِ وَمَعْرِفَةَ الصِّفَاتِ مُبَايِنٌ لِسَائِرِ الْعُلُومِ ،
waqāla ṭāʾifatun min ʾahlihi: man kāna muḥibban lil-dunyā ʾaw muṣirran ʿalā hawan lam yataḥaqqaq bihi , waqāla ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun: ʾaqallu ʿuqūbati man ʾankara hādhā al-ʿilma ʾan lā yurzaqa minhu shayʾun ʾabadan , wattafaqū ʿalā ʾannahu ʿilmu al-ṣiddīqīna waʾanna man kāna lahu minhu naṣībun fahuwa mina al-muqarrabīna wayanālu darajata ʾaṣḥābi al-yamīni , waʿlam ʾanna ʿilma al-tawḥīdi wamaʿrifata al-ṣifāti mubāyinun lisāʾiri al-ʿulūmi ,
A group of its people said, “Whoever loves this world or persists in a desire does not realize it.” Abū Muḥammad Sahl said, “The least punishment of someone who denies this knowledge is never to be granted any of it.” They agreed that it is the knowledge of the utterly truthful, and that anyone with a share in it belongs to those brought near and attains the degree of the people of the right hand. Know that the knowledge of divine unity and the knowledge of the attributes differ from all other sciences.
فَالِاخْتِلَافُ فِي سَائِرِ الْعُلُومِ الظَّاهِرَةِ رَحْمَةٌ وَالِاخْتِلَافُ فِي عِلْمِ التَّوْحِيدِ ضَلَالٌ وَبِدْعَةٌ وَالْخَطَأُ فِي عِلْمِ الظَّاهِرِ مَغْفُورٌ وَرُبَّمَا كَانَتْ حَسَنَةً إِذَا اجْتَهَدَ وَالْخَطَأُ فِي عِلْمِ التَّوْحِيدِ وَشَهَادَةِ الْيَقِينِ كُفْرٌ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ الْعِبَادَ لَمْ يُكَلَّفُوا حَقِيقَةَ الْعِلْمِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي طَلَبِ الْعِلْمِ الظَّاهِرِ وَعَلَيْهِمْ وَاجِبُ طَلَبِ مُوَافَقَةِ الْحَقِيقَةِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ فِي التَّوْحِيدِ وَمَنِ ابْتَدَعَ شَيْئًا رُدَّتْ عَلَيْهِ بِدْعَتُهُ وَكَانَ مَسْؤُولًا عَنْهُ وَلَمْ
fa-al-ikhtilāfu fī sāʾiri al-ʿulūmi al-ẓāhirati raḥmatun wa-al-ikhtilāfu fī ʿilmi al-tawḥīdi ḍalālun wabidʿatun wa-al-khaṭaʾu fī ʿilmi al-ẓāhiri maghfūrun warubbamā kānat ḥasanatan ʾidhā ijtahada wa-al-khaṭaʾu fī ʿilmi al-tawḥīdi washahādati al-yaqīni kufrun min qibali ʾanna al-ʿibāda lam yukallafū ḥaqīqata al-ʿilmi ʿinda allāhi taʿālā fī ṭalabi al-ʿilmi al-ẓāhiri waʿalayhim wājibu ṭalabi muwāfaqati al-ḥaqīqati ʿinda allāhi fī al-tawḥīdi wamani ibtadaʿa shayʾan ruddat ʿalayhi bidʿatuhu wakāna masʾūlan ʿanhu walam
Disagreement in the other, outward sciences is a mercy; disagreement in the science of divine unity is error and innovation. Mistakes in outward knowledge are forgiven and may even count as a good deed when one has made a diligent effort. Error in the knowledge of divine unity and the witnessing of certainty is unbelief. This is because, in seeking outward knowledge, servants have not been charged with attaining the reality of knowledge as it is with God Most High, whereas in divine unity they are obliged to seek agreement with the reality as it is with God. Whoever introduces an innovation has his innovation rejected and is answerable for it. He is not
يَكُنْ حُجَّةً لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى عِبَادِهِ وَلَا غَيْثًا نَافِعًا فِي بِلَادِهِ بَلْ كَانَ مَوْصُوفًا بِالدُّنْيَا وَفِيهَا مِنَ الرَّاغِبِينَ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ دَلِيلًا عَلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَلَا مِنْ دُعَاةِ الدِّينِ وَلَا إِمَامًا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ ، وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ : الْعُلَمَاءُ أُمَنَاءُ الرُّسُلِ مَا لَمْ يَدْخُلُوا فِي الدُّنْيَا فَإِذَا دَخَلُوا فِي الدُّنْيَا فَاحْذَرُوهُمْ عَلَى دِينِكُمْ ، وَالْخَبَرُ الْمَشْهُورُ : مَنْ أَحْدَثَ فِي دِينِنَا مَا لَيْسَ فِيهِ فَهُوَ رَدٌّ .
yakun ḥujjatan lillāhi taʿālā ʿalā ʿibādihi walā ghaythan nāfiʿan fī bilādihi bal kāna mawṣūfan bi-al-dunyā wafīhā mina al-rāghibīna walam yakun dalīlan ʿalā allāhi ʿazza wajalla walā min duʿāti al-dīni walā ʾimāman lilmuttaqīna , waqad jāʾa fī al-khabari: al-ʿulamāʾu ʾumanāʾu al-rusuli mā lam yadkhulū fī al-dunyā faʾidhā dakhalū fī al-dunyā faḥdharūhum ʿalā dīnikum , wa-al-khabaru al-mashhūru: man ʾaḥdatha fī dīninā mā laysa fīhi fahuwa raddun.
a proof for God Most High against His servants or beneficial rain in His lands. Rather, he is characterized by worldliness and is among those who desire it. He is no guide to God, mighty and majestic, no caller to religion, and no leader for the God-fearing. It has come in the report: “Scholars are the messengers’ trustees as long as they do not enter into worldly affairs. When they do enter into them, beware of them for your religion’s sake.” And in the well-known report: “Whoever introduces into our religion what does not belong to it, it is rejected.”
وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَقِيلَ لَهُ : مَنْ أَشَدُّ النَّاسِ فِتْنَةً فَقَالَ : زَلَّةُ عَالِمٍ إِذَا زَلَّ بِزَلَّتِهِ عَالَمٌ ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مَعْنَاهُ عَنْ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مِمَّا أَخَافُ عَلَى أُمَّتِي زَلَّةُ عَالِمٍ وَجِدَالُ مُنَافِقٍ فِي الْقُرْآنِ ، وَكَانَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ يَقُولُ :
waqad rawaynā ʿan ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu waqīla lahu: man ʾashaddu al-nāsi fitnatan faqāla: zallatu ʿālimin ʾidhā zalla bizallatihi ʿālamun , waqad rawaynā maʿnāhu ʿan nabiyyinā muḥammadin ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: mimmā ʾakhāfu ʿalā ʾummatī zallatu ʿālimin wajidālu munāfiqin fī al-qurʾāni , wakāna baʿḍu al-salafi yaqūlu:
We have related from Jesus, peace be upon him, that he was asked, “Who causes the greatest trial for people?” He said, “A scholar’s slip, when a whole world slips through his slip.” We have related the same meaning from our Prophet Muḥammad, God bless him and grant him peace: “Among what I fear for my community are a scholar’s slip and a hypocrite’s disputation about the Qurʾān.” One of the predecessors used to say:
مَثَلُ الْعَالِمِ إِذَا زَلَّ مَثَلُ سَفِينَةٍ إِذَا غَرِقَتْ غَرِقَ مَعَهَا خَلْقٌ كَثِيرٌ وَمَثَلُ كُسُوفِ الشَّمْسِ يَصِيحُ النَّاسُ يَا غَافِلُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَإِنَّهَا عِنْدَ الْعَامَّةِ آيَةٌ يُفْزَعُ مِنْهَا . وَيُرْوَى فِي خَبَرٍ غَرِيبٍ : مَنْ غَشَّ أُمَّتِي فَعَلَيْهِ لَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ قِيلَ : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَا غَشُّ أُمَّتِكَ ؟ قَالَ : أَنْ يَبْتَدِعَ بِدْعَةً فِي الْإِسْلَامِ يَحْمِلُ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا ،
mathalu al-ʿālimi ʾidhā zalla mathalu safīnatin ʾidhā ghariqat ghariqa maʿahā khalqun kathīrun wamathalu kusūfi al-shamsi yaṣīḥu al-nāsu yā ghāfilūna al-ṣalāta waʾinnahā ʿinda al-ʿāmmati ʾāyatun yufzaʿu minhā. wayurwā fī khabarin gharībin: man ghashsha ʾummatī faʿalayhi laʿnatu allāhi wa-al-malāʾikati wa-al-nāsi ʾajmaʿīna qīla: yā rasūla allāhi wamā ghashshu ʾummatika ? qāla: ʾan yabtadiʿa bidʿatan fī al-ʾislāmi yaḥmilu al-nāsa ʿalayhā ,
“When a scholar slips, he is like a ship which, when it sinks, takes many people down with it. He is also like a solar eclipse, when people cry, ‘Heedless ones, to prayer!’ It is a sign at which ordinary people take fright.” It is related in an uncommon report: “Whoever deceives my community, upon him is the curse of God, the angels, and all people.” He was asked, “God’s Messenger, what is deceiving your community?” He said, “Introducing an innovation into Islam and inducing people to follow it.”
وَكَانَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ وَيْلٌ لِلْعَالِمِ مِنَ الْأَتْبَاعِ وَوَيْلٌ لِلْأَتْبَاعِ مِنَ الْعَالِمِ يَزِلُّ الْعَالِمُ بِزَلَّةٍ فَيَتْبَعُهُ عَلَيْهَا فِئَامٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ وَتَبْلُغُ الْآفَاقَ وَمَا أَعْلَمُ أَحَدًا أَعْظَمَ جُرْمًا مِمَّنِ ابْتَدَعَ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَنَطَقَ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَفِي عِلْمِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ بِمَا لَمْ يَأْذَنْ بِهِ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَعْبَأْ بِسُنَنِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الَّذِي هُوَ حُجَّةُ
wakāna ibnu ʿabbāsin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu yaqūlu waylun lilʿālimi mina al-ʾatbāʿi wawaylun lilʾatbāʿi mina al-ʿālimi yazillu al-ʿālimu bizallatin fayatbaʿuhu ʿalayhā fiʾāmun mina al-nāsi watablughu al-ʾāfāqa wamā ʾaʿlamu ʾaḥadan ʾaʿẓama jurman mimmani ibtadaʿa fī dīni allāhi ʿazza wajalla fanaṭaqa fī kitābi allāhi taʿālā wafī ʿilmi al-maʿrifati bimā lam yaʾdhan bihi allāhu thumma lam yaʿbaʾ bisunani rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama alladhī huwa ḥujjatu
Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with him, used to say, “Woe to the scholar because of his followers, and woe to the followers because of the scholar! A scholar makes a slip, masses of people follow him in it, and it reaches the horizons.” I know no one more grievously culpable than someone who introduces innovations into the religion of God, mighty and majestic, speaking about the Book of God Most High and the science of spiritual knowledge in ways God has not authorized, then paying no heed to the established practices of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, who is the proof of
اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى جَمِيعِ خَلْقِهِ وَطَرِيقُ مُقَرَّبِيهِ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ فَأَضَلَّ بِذَلِكَ عِبَادَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَإِنَّ مَثَلَ مَنِ ابْتَدَعَ فِي الدِّينِ وَاتَّخَذَ وَلِيجَةً دُونَ الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ وَبَيَّنَ طَرِيقَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِلَى جَنْبِ مَنْ يُكَاثِرُ فِي أُمُورِ الدُّنْيَا وَارْتَكَبَ فِيهَا شَهَوَاتِ الْأَهْوَاءِ كَمَثَلِ مَنِ اجْتَرَحَ الْمَظَالِمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ فِي الْأَمْوَالِ وَالدِّمَاءِ إِلَى جَنْبِ مَنْ ظَلَمَ نَفْسَهُ بِكَسْبِ الذُّنُوبِ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ رَبِّهِ ،
allāhi taʿālā ʿalā jamīʿi khalqihi waṭarīqu muqarrabīhi min ʿibādihi faʾaḍalla bidhālika ʿibāda allāhi ʿazza wajalla faʾinna mathala mani ibtadaʿa fī al-dīni wattakhadha walījatan dūna al-kitābi wa-al-sunnati wabayyana ṭarīqa al-muʾminīna ʾilā janbi man yukāthiru fī ʾumūri al-dunyā wartakaba fīhā shahawāti al-ʾahwāʾi kamathali mani ijtaraḥa al-maẓālima bayna al-nāsi fī al-ʾamwāli wa-al-dimāʾi ʾilā janbi man ẓalama nafsahu bikasbi al-dhunūbi baynahu wabayna rabbihi ,
God Most High against all His creation and the path of those of His servants whom He brings near, thus misleading the servants of God, mighty and majestic. The person who introduces innovations into religion, adopts an intimate allegiance apart from the Book and the Sunna, and lays out the believers’ path, compared with someone who competes for worldly abundance and pursues the cravings of desire in it, is like someone who commits wrongs against people’s property and lives, compared with someone who wrongs only himself by earning sins between himself and his Lord.
إِنَّ مَظَالِمَ الْعِبَادِ أَعْظَمُ وَهُوَ الدِّيوَانُ الَّذِي لَا يُتْرَكُ ، كَذَلِكَ التَّمْوِيهُ فِي الدِّينِ أَعْظَمُ لِأَنَّهُ مَظَالِمُ الْآخِرَةِ وَقَطْعُ طُرُقَاتِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَمَحْوُ شَرِيعَةِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ ، وَمَثَلُهُ أَيْضًا مَثَلُ مَنْ أَذْنَبَ وَجَحَدَ ذَنْبَهُ وَاحْتَجَّ لِنَفْسِهِ إِلَى مَنِ أَذْنَبَ وَاعْتَرَفَ بِذَنْبِهِ وَاعْتَذَرَ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ فَهُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلْعَفْوِ وَأَرْجَى لِلرَّحْمَةِ مِنَ الْآخَرِ ،
ʾinna maẓālima al-ʿibādi ʾaʿẓamu wahuwa al-dīwānu alladhī lā yutraku , kadhālika al-tamwīhu fī al-dīni ʾaʿẓamu liʾannahu maẓālimu al-ʾākhirati waqaṭʿu ṭuruqāti al-muʾminīna wamaḥwu sharīʿati al-mursalīna , wamathaluhu ʾayḍan mathalu man ʾadhnaba wajaḥada dhanbahu waḥtajja linafsihi ʾilā mani ʾadhnaba waʿtarafa bidhanbihi waʿtadhara min nafsihi fahuwa ʾaqrabu lilʿafwi waʾarjā lil-raḥmati mina al-ʾākhari ,
Wrongs against God’s servants are greater; theirs is the register that is not left unsettled. Likewise, deception in religion is greater, because it wrongs people in the hereafter, cuts off believers’ paths, and effaces the messengers’ law. His case is also like that of someone who sins, denies his sin, and argues in his own defense, compared with someone who sins, acknowledges his sin, and apologizes for himself. The latter is nearer to pardon and has more hope of mercy than the former.
كَذَلِكَ مَنِ اعْتَلَّ بِالتَّقْصِيرِ وَالتَّفْرِيطِ فِي الْعَمَلِ وَلَمْ يَنْصَحْ لِنَفْسِهِ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ أَظْهَرَ حَقِيقَةَ الْعِلْمِ وَنَصَحَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَلِرَسُولِهِ بِبَيَانِ كِتَابِهِ وَذِكْرِ سُنَّتِهِ أَقْرَبُ إِلَى حُسْنِ الْإِخْلَاصِ وَأَوْلَى بِالتَّدَارُكِ فِي الْعَافِيَةِ مِمَّنْ شَرَعَ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَابْتَدَعَ فِي الْأُمَّةِ مَا يُخَالِفُ بِهِ الْكِتَابَ وَالسُّنَّةَ ، هَكَذَا كَأَنَّهُ قَدْ قَلَبَ مِلَّةً وَبَدَّلَ شَرِيعَةً ،
kadhālika mani iʿtalla bi-al-taqṣīri wa-al-tafrīṭi fī al-ʿamali walam yanṣaḥ linafsihi ʾillā ʾannahu ʾaẓhara ḥaqīqata al-ʿilmi wanaṣaḥa lillāhi taʿālā walirasūlihi bibayāni kitābihi wadhikri sunnatihi ʾaqrabu ʾilā ḥusni al-ʾikhlāṣi waʾawlā bi-al-tadāruki fī al-ʿāfiyati mimman sharaʿa fī dīni allāhi taʿālā wabtadaʿa fī al-ʾummati mā yukhālifu bihi al-kitāba wa-al-sunnata , hākadhā kaʾannahu qad qalaba millatan wabaddala sharīʿatan ,
Likewise, someone afflicted by shortcomings and negligence in practice, who has not been true to himself, yet has made the reality of knowledge manifest and been faithful to God Most High and His Messenger by explaining His Book and recounting his Sunna, is nearer to beautiful sincerity and more deserving of being rescued into well-being than someone who legislates in God Most High’s religion and introduces among the community what contradicts the Book and the Sunna. In this way it is as though he has overturned a faith and changed a revealed law.
فَهَذَا يُوَلِّدُ النِّفَاقَ فِي قَلْبِهِ حَتَّى يُخْتَمَ لَهُ بِهِ وَمَثَلُ مَنِ ابْتَدَعَ فِي الْمِلَّةِ مُخَالِفًا لِلسُّنَّةِ إِلَى مَنْ أَسَاءَ إِلَى نَفْسِهِ بِالذُّنُوبِ مَثَلُ مَنْ عَصَى الْمَلِكَ فِي قَلْبِ دَوْلَتِهِ وَتَظَاهَرَ عَلَيْهِ فِي مُلْكِهِ بِالْإِزَالَةِ إِلَى جَنْبِ مَنْ عَصَى أَمْرَهُ وَقَصَّرَ فِي حَقِّهِ مِنَ الرَّعِيَّةِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْحُكَمَاءِ : ثَلَاثٌ لَا يَحْسُنُ مِنَ الْمَلِكِ أَنْ يَغْفِرَهَا ،
fahādhā yuwallidu al-nifāqa fī qalbihi ḥattā yukhtama lahu bihi wamathalu mani ibtadaʿa fī al-millati mukhālifan lil-sunnati ʾilā man ʾasāʾa ʾilā nafsihi bi-al-dhunūbi mathalu man ʿaṣā al-malika fī qalbi dawlatihi wataẓāhara ʿalayhi fī mulkihi bi-al-ʾizālati ʾilā janbi man ʿaṣā ʾamrahu waqaṣṣara fī ḥaqqihi mina al-raʿiyyati , waqad qāla baʿḍu al-ḥukamāʾi: thalāthun lā yaḥsunu mina al-maliki ʾan yaghfirahā ,
This breeds hypocrisy in his heart until his life is sealed with it. Someone who introduces innovations into the faith contrary to the Sunna, compared with someone who wrongs himself through sins, is like someone who rebels against a king by overturning his rule and joining forces against his sovereignty to remove him, compared with a subject who disobeys his command and falls short in his duty to him. One of the sages said, “There are three things it is not fitting for a king to forgive:
مَنْ قَلَبَ دَوْلَةً مِنْ رَعِيَّتِهِ ، أَوْ عَمِلَ فِيمَا يُوهِنُ الْمُلْكَ ، أَوْ أَفْسَدَ حُرْمَةً مِنْ حُرَمِهِ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : إِنَّ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى مَلَكًا يُنَادِي كُلَّ يَوْمٍ مَنْ خَالَفَ سُنَّةَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمْ تَنَلْهُ شَفَاعَتُهُ ، وَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ : الْهَوَى شَرِيكُ الْعَمَى ، وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى :
man qalaba dawlatan min raʿiyyatihi , ʾaw ʿamila fīmā yūhinu al-mulka , ʾaw ʾafsada ḥurmatan min ḥuramihi. warawaynā ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾinna lillāhi taʿālā malakan yunādī kulla yawmin man khālafa sunnata rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lam tanalhu shafāʿatuhu , waqāla ʿaliyyun karrama allāhu wajhahu: al-hawā sharīku al-ʿamā , waqāla allāhu taʿālā:
a subject who overturns his rule, someone who acts to weaken his sovereignty, or someone who violates one of his sacred trusts.” We have related from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “God Most High has an angel who calls out every day, ‘Whoever opposes the Sunna of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, will not be reached by his intercession.’” ʿAlī, may God honor his face, said, “Desire is the partner of blindness.” God Most High said:
( وَمَنْ أَصْدَقُ مِنَ اللَّهِ ) النِّسَاءُ : 87 قِيلًا وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَى عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِبًا لِيُضِلَّ النَّاسَ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( أَوْ قَالَ أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ وَلَمْ يُوحَ إِلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ وَمَنْ قَالَ سَأُنْزِلُ مِثْلَ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 93 فَسَوَّى بَيْنَ الْكَذَّابِ فِي الْفِرْيَةِ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَبَيْنَ الْمُتَشَبِّهِ الْمُضَاهِي لِلرُّبُوبِيَّةِ ،
( waman ʾaṣdaqu mina allāhi ) al-nisāʾu: 87 qīlan waman ʾaẓlamu mimmani iftarā ʿalā allāhi kadhiban liyuḍilla al-nāsa bighayri ʿilmin , thumma qāla taʿālā: ( ʾaw qāla ʾūḥiya ʾilayya walam yūḥa ʾilayhi shayʾun waman qāla saʾunzilu mithla mā ʾanzala allāhu ) al-ʾanʿāmu: 93 fasawwā bayna al-kadhdhābi fī al-firyati ʿalā allāhi taʿālā wabayna al-mutashabbihi al-muḍāhī lil-rubūbiyyati ,
“Who is more truthful than God” (al-Nisāʾ 4:87), “in speech?” And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie against God to mislead people without knowledge? Then the Most High said, “Or says, ‘It has been revealed to me,’ when nothing has been revealed to him, and one who says, ‘I will send down the like of what God has sent down’” (al-Anʿām 6:93). He thus placed the liar who fabricates against God Most High on the same level as the imitator who presumes to rival divine lordship.
وَكَذَلِكَ مِنْ أَعْظَمِ الْمُنْكَرِ بَعْدَ هَذَا إِنْكَارُ الْحَقِّ مِنْ أَهْلِهِ وَرَدُّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ بِالتَّكْذِيبِ ، وَقَدْ سَوَّى تَعَالَى أَيْضًا بَيْنَ التَّكْذِيبِ بِالْحَقِّ وَبَيْنَ ابْتِدَاءِ الْكَذِبِ عَلَى الْخَالِقِ فِي قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَى عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِبًا أَوْ كَذَّبَ بِالْحَقِّ لَمَّا جَاءَهُ ) الْعَنْكَبُوتُ : 68 ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي مِثْلِهِ :
wakadhālika min ʾaʿẓami al-munkari baʿda hādhā ʾinkāru al-ḥaqqi min ʾahlihi waradduhu ʿalayhim bi-al-takdhībi , waqad sawwā taʿālā ʾayḍan bayna al-takdhībi bi-al-ḥaqqi wabayna ibtidāʾi al-kadhibi ʿalā al-khāliqi fī qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: ( waman ʾaẓlamu mimmani iftarā ʿalā allāhi kadhiban ʾaw kadhdhaba bi-al-ḥaqqi lammā jāʾahu ) al-ʿankabūtu: 68 , waqāla taʿālā fī mithlihi:
Likewise, among the greatest wrongs after this is denying the truth from its rightful people and rejecting it from them as false. The Most High also placed denying the truth on the same level as initiating lies against the Creator, in His words, mighty and majestic: “Who is more unjust than one who invents a lie against God or denies the truth when it comes to him?” (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:68). The Most High said similarly:
( فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ كَذَبَ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَكَذَّبَ بِالصِّدْقِ إِذْ جَاءَهُ ) الزُّمَرُ : 32 كَذَلِكَ أَيْضًا فِي ضِدِّهِ سَوَّى كَمَا سَوَّى عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بَيْنَ الصَّادِقِ بِالصِّدْقِ وَالْمُصَدِّقِ بِهِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ ) الزُّمَرُ : 33 قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : الْعَالِمُ وَالْمُتَعَلِّمُ شَرِيكَانِ فِي الْعِلْمِ ،
( faman ʾaẓlamu mimman kadhaba ʿalā allāhi wakadhdhaba bi-al-ṣidqi ʾidh jāʾahu ) al-zumaru: 32 kadhālika ʾayḍan fī ḍiddihi sawwā kamā sawwā ʿazza wajalla bayna al-ṣādiqi bi-al-ṣidqi wa-al-muṣaddiqi bihi faqāla taʿālā: ( walladhī jāʾa bi-al-ṣidqi waṣaddaqa bihi ʾūlāʾika humu al-muttaqūna ) al-zumaru: 33 qāla rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: al-ʿālimu wa-al-mutaʿallimu sharīkāni fī al-ʿilmi ,
“Who is more unjust than one who lies against God and denies the truth when it comes to him?” (al-Zumar 39:32). Likewise, in the opposite case He made an equivalence, just as He, mighty and majestic, placed the one who speaks truth and the one who affirms it on the same level. The Most High said, “The one who brings the truth and affirms it: those are the God-fearing” (al-Zumar 39:33). God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “The scholar and the learner are partners in knowledge.”
وَقَالَ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِمَعْنَاهُ : الْمُسْتَمِعُ شَرِيكُ الْقَائِلِ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَدْ جَعَلَ هَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى تَرُدُّ عَلَى جَمِيعِ الطَّوَائِفِ مِنَ الشَّاطِحِينَ وَالْمُبْتَدِعِينَ أَهْلِ الْجَهَالَةِ بِالدِّينِ وَالْحَيْدَةِ عَنْ سَبِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِمَا أَرَاهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِنْ عِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ وَبِمَا شَهِدَ لَهُمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِالْعِلْمِ وَالتَّعْدِيلِ فِي قَوْلِهِ :
waqāla ʿīsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu bimaʿnāhu: al-mustamiʿu sharīku al-qāʾili walākinna allāha taʿālā qad jaʿala hādhihi al-ṭāʾifata min ʾahli al-ʿilmi bi-allāhi taʿālā taruddu ʿalā jamīʿi al-ṭawāʾifi mina al-shāṭiḥīna wa-al-mubtadiʿīna ʾahli al-jahālati bi-al-dīni wa-al-ḥaydati ʿan sabīli al-muʾminīna bimā ʾarāhumu allāhu taʿālā min ʿilmi al-yaqīni wabimā shahida lahum rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bi-al-ʿilmi wa-al-taʿdīli fī qawlihi:
Jesus, peace be upon him, expressed the same meaning: “The listener is the speaker’s partner.” But God Most High has made this company of those who know God Most High answer all groups of extravagant claimants and innovators, people ignorant of religion who turn away from the believers’ path, through what God Most High has shown them of the knowledge of certainty and through God’s Messenger’s testimony, God bless him and grant him peace, to their knowledge and uprightness in his saying:
يَحْمِلُ هَذَا الْعِلْمَ مِنْ كُلِّ خَلَفٍ عُدُولُهُ يَنْفُونَ عَنْهُ تَحْرِيفَ الْغَالِينَ وَانْتِحَالَ الْمُبْطِلِينَ وَتَأْوِيلَ الْجَاهِلِينَ ، فَالْغَالُونَ هُمُ الشَّاطِحُونَ لِأَنَّهُمْ قَدْ جَاوَزُوا الْعِلْمَ وَمَحَوُا الرَّسْمَ فَأَسْقَطُوا الْحُكْمَ ، وَالْمُبْطِلُونَ هُمُ الْمُدَّعُونَ الْمُبْتَدِعُونَ لِأَنَّهُمْ جَادَلُوا بِالْبَاطِلِ لِيُدْحِضُوا بِهِ الْحَقَّ وَافْتَرَوْا بِالدَّعْوَى وَابْتَدَعُوا بِالرَّأْيِ وَالْهَوَى ، وَالْجَاهِلُونَ هُمُ الْمُنْكِرُونَ لِغَرَائِبِ الْعِلْمِ الْمُغْتَرُّونَ لِمَا عَرَفُوا مِنْ ظَاهِرِ الْعَقْلِ ، كَمَا رَوَيْنَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :
yaḥmilu hādhā al-ʿilma min kulli khalafin ʿudūluhu yanfūna ʿanhu taḥrīfa al-ghālīna wantiḥāla al-mubṭilīna wataʾwīla al-jāhilīna , fa-al-ghālūna humu al-shāṭiḥūna liʾannahum qad jāwazū al-ʿilma wamaḥawu al-rasma faʾasqaṭū al-ḥukma , wa-al-mubṭilūna humu al-muddaʿūna al-mubtadiʿūna liʾannahum jādalū bi-al-bāṭili liyudḥiḍū bihi al-ḥaqqa waftaraw bi-al-daʿwā wabtadaʿū bi-al-raʾyi wa-al-hawā , wa-al-jāhilūna humu al-munkirūna ligharāʾibi al-ʿilmi al-mughtarrūna limā ʿarafū min ẓāhiri al-ʿaqli , kamā rawaynā ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama:
“The upright of every succeeding generation bear this knowledge, removing from it the distortions of extremists, the false claims of those who follow falsehood, and the interpretations of the ignorant.” The extremists are those who make extravagant spiritual claims, because they have gone beyond knowledge, effaced the prescribed form, and so annulled the ruling. Those who follow falsehood are the pretenders and innovators, because they argue with falsehood to overthrow truth through it, fabricate through their claims, and innovate through opinion and desire. The ignorant are those who deny the rarities of knowledge, deluded by what they know of outward reason. As we have related from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace:
إِنَّ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ كَهَيْئَةِ الْمَكْنُونِ لَا يَعْلَمُهُ إِلَّا أَهْلُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، فَإِذَا نَطَقُوا بِهِ لَمْ يَجْهَلْهُ إِلَّا أَهْلُ الِاغْتِرَارِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى : وَلَا تَحْقِرُوا عَالِمًا آتَاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عِلْمًا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَمْ يَحْقِرْهُ إِذْ آتَاهُ وَكُلُّ مَنْ تَأَوَّلَ السُّنَنَ بِالرَّأْيِ أَوِ الْمَعْقُولِ أَوْ نَطَقَ بِمَا لَمْ يَسْبِقْ إِلَيْهِ السَّلَفُ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ أَوْ بِمَعْنَاهُ فَهُوَ مُتَكَلِّفٌ مُبْطِلٌ ،
ʾinna mina al-ʿilmi kahayʾati al-maknūni lā yaʿlamuhu ʾillā ʾahlu al-maʿrifati bi-allāhi ʿazza wajalla , faʾidhā naṭaqū bihi lam yajhalhu ʾillā ʾahlu al-ightirāri bi-allāhi taʿālā: walā taḥqirū ʿāliman ʾātāhu allāhu taʿālā ʿilman faʾinna allāha ʿazza wajalla lam yaḥqirhu ʾidh ʾātāhu wakullu man taʾawwala al-sunana bi-al-raʾyi ʾawi al-maʿqūli ʾaw naṭaqa bimā lam yasbiq ʾilayhi al-salafu mina al-qawli ʾaw bimaʿnāhu fahuwa mutakallifun mubṭilun ,
“There is a kind of knowledge that is like something hidden. Only those who know God, mighty and majestic, know it. When they speak of it, only those deluded concerning God Most High fail to recognize it. Do not belittle a scholar to whom God Most High has given knowledge, for God, mighty and majestic, did not belittle him when He gave it to him.” Anyone who interprets established practices by opinion or reason, or speaks words or meanings in which the predecessors did not precede him, is a strained pretender who follows falsehood.
فَأَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى يَرُدُّونَ عُلُومَ الْمَعْقُولِ بِعِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ وَعِلْمَ الرَّأْيِ بِعِلْمِ السُّنَّةِ يُثْبِتُونَ أَهْلَ الْآثَارِ وَيُؤَيِّدُونَ نَقَلَةَ الْأَخْبَارِ بِمَا يُفَصِّلُونَ مِنْ أَخْبَارِهِمْ وَيُفَسِّرُونَ مِنْ حَدِيثِهِمْ مِمَّا لَمْ يُجْعَلْ لِلنَّقَلَةِ طَرِيقٌ إِلَيْهِ وَلَمْ يَهْتَدِ الرُّوَاةُ إِلَى كَشْفٍ مِنْهُ بِمَا أَشْهَدَهُمُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَاسْتَوْدَعَهُمْ وَنَوَّرَ بِهِ قُلُوبَهُمْ وَنَطَّقَهُمْ فَهُمْ يَنْطِقُونَ عَنِ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فِيمَا يُخْبِرُونَ عَنْهُ ،
faʾahlu al-ʿilmi bi-allāhi taʿālā yaruddūna ʿulūma al-maʿqūli biʿilmi al-yaqīni waʿilma al-raʾyi biʿilmi al-sunnati yuthbitūna ʾahla al-ʾāthāri wayuʾayyidūna naqalata al-ʾakhbāri bimā yufaṣṣilūna min ʾakhbārihim wayufassirūna min ḥadīthihim mimmā lam yujʿal lil-naqalati ṭarīqun ʾilayhi walam yahtadi al-ruwātu ʾilā kashfin minhu bimā ʾashhadahumu allāhu ʿazza wajalla wastawdaʿahum wanawwara bihi qulūbahum wanaṭṭaqahum fahum yanṭiqūna ʿani allāhi subḥānahu wataʿālā fīmā yukhbirūna ʿanhu ,
Those who know God Most High answer the sciences of reason with the knowledge of certainty, and the knowledge of opinion with the knowledge of the Sunna. They affirm the people of transmitted reports and support their transmitters by distinguishing their reports and explaining their hadiths in ways to which transmitters have not been given access and which narrators have not been guided to uncover. This is through what God, mighty and majestic, has made them witness and entrusted to them, with which He has illuminated their hearts and made them speak. They speak from God, glorified and exalted is He, in what they report about Him.
ذَلِكَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ، وَجَعَلْنَا مِنْهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا لَمَّا صَبَرُوا وَكَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يُوقِنُونَ . وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : مَا تَكَلَّمَ فِيهِ السَّلَفُ فَالسُّكُوتُ عَنْهُ جَفَاءٌ وَمَا سَكَتَ عَنْهُ السَّلَفُ فَالْكَلَامُ فِيهِ تَكَلُّفٌ وَقَالَ آخَرُ : الْحَقُّ ثَقِيلٌ مَنْ جَاوَزَهُ ظَلَمَ وَمَنْ قَصَّرَ عَنْهُ عَجَزَ وَمَنْ وَقَفَ مَعَهُ اكْتَفَى وَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالنَّمَطِ الْأَوْسَطِ الَّذِي يَرْجِعُ
dhālika faḍlu allāhi yuʾtīhi man yashāʾu , wajaʿalnā minhum ʾaʾimmatan yahdūna biʾamrinā lammā ṣabarū wakānū biʾāyātinā yūqinūna. waqad qāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: mā takallama fīhi al-salafu fa-al-sukūtu ʿanhu jafāʾun wamā sakata ʿanhu al-salafu fa-al-kalāmu fīhi takallufun waqāla ʾākharu: al-ḥaqqu thaqīlun man jāwazahu ẓalama waman qaṣṣara ʿanhu ʿajaza waman waqafa maʿahu iktafā waqāla ʿaliyyun raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ʿalaykum bi-al-namaṭi al-ʾawsaṭi alladhī yarjiʿu
“That is God’s bounty; He gives it to whom He wills.” “We made from among them leaders who guided by Our command when they were patient and had certainty in Our signs.” One scholar said, “Silence about what the predecessors spoke of is neglect; speech about what the predecessors kept silent about is affectation.” Another said, “Truth is weighty. Whoever goes beyond it does wrong; whoever falls short of it fails; whoever stands with it has enough.” ʿAlī, may God be pleased with him, said, “Keep to the middle course, to which returns
إِلَيْهِ الْعَالِي وَيَرْتَفِعُ عَنْهُ الْقَالِي وَهَكَذَا سِيرَةُ السَّلَفِ إِنَّهُ لَا يَسْتَمِعُ إِلَى مُبْتَدِعٍ لِأَنَّهُ مُنْكَرٌ وَلَا يَرُدُّ عَلَيْهِ بِالْجِدَالِ وَالنَّظَرِ لِأَنَّهُ بِدْعَةٌ ، وَلَكِنْ يُخْبِرُ بِالسُّنَنِ وَيَحْتَجُّ بِالْأَثَرِ فَإِنْ قَبِلَ فَهُوَ أَخُوكَ فِي اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَوَجَبَتْ عَلَيْكَ مُوَالَاتُهُ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَرْجِعْ وَأَنْكَرَ نُقِضَ بِإِنْكَارِهِ وَعُرِفَ بِبِدْعَتِهِ وَحَقَّتْ عَدَاوَتُهُ وَهُجِرَ فِي اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَهَذَا طَرِيقٌ لَا يَسْلُكُهُ فِي وَقْتِنَا هَذَا إِلَّا مَنْ عَرَفَ
ʾilayhi al-ʿālī wayartafiʿu ʿanhu al-qālī wahākadhā sīratu al-salafi ʾinnahu lā yastamiʿu ʾilā mubtadiʿin liʾannahu munkarun walā yaruddu ʿalayhi bi-al-jidāli wa-al-naẓari liʾannahu bidʿatun , walākin yukhbiru bi-al-sunani wayaḥtajju bi-al-ʾathari faʾin qabila fahuwa ʾakhūka fī allāhi ʿazza wajalla wawajabat ʿalayka muwālātuhu waʾin lam yarjiʿ waʾankara nuqiḍa biʾinkārihi waʿurifa bibidʿatihi waḥaqqat ʿadāwatuhu wahujira fī allāhi taʿālā , wahādhā ṭarīqun lā yaslukuhu fī waqtinā hādhā ʾillā man ʿarafa
the one who has risen too high and from which the estranged rises.” Such is the predecessors’ way: one does not listen to an innovator, because it is objectionable, nor answer him with disputation and theoretical inquiry, because that is innovation. Instead, one recounts established practices and adduces transmitted reports. If he accepts, he is your brother in God, mighty and majestic, and loyalty to him becomes your duty. If he does not return and denies, he is discredited by his denial, recognized by his innovation, rightly treated as an enemy, and shunned for God Most High’s sake. In our time only someone who knows
فَضْلَهُ وَطَرِيقَةَ السَّلَفِ فِيهِ . وَحُدِّثْتُ عَنْ إِبْلِيسَ لَعَنَهُ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ بَثَّ جُنُودَهُ فِي وَقْتِ الصَّحَابَةِ فَرَجَعُوا إِلَيْهِ مَحْسُورِينَ فَقَالَ : مَا شَأْنُكُمْ ؟ قَالُوا : مَا رَأَيْنَا مِثْلَ هَؤُلَاءِ الْقَوْمِ مَا نُصِيبُ مِنْهُمْ شَيْئًا قَدْ أَتْعَبُونَا فَيَقُولُ : إِنَّكُمْ لَا تَقْدِرُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ قَدْ صَحِبُوا نَبِيَّهُمْ وَشَهِدُوا تَنْزِيلَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَكِنْ سَيَأْتِي بَعْدَهُمْ قَوْمٌ تَنَالُونَ مِنْهُمْ حَاجَتَكُمْ ،
faḍlahu waṭarīqata al-salafi fīhi. waḥuddithtu ʿan ʾiblīsa laʿanahu allāhu ʾannahu baththa junūdahu fī waqti al-ṣaḥābati farajaʿū ʾilayhi maḥsūrīna faqāla: mā shaʾnukum ? qālū: mā raʾaynā mithla hāʾulāʾi al-qawmi mā nuṣību minhum shayʾan qad ʾatʿabūnā fayaqūlu: ʾinnakum lā taqdirūna ʿalayhim qad ṣaḥibū nabiyyahum washahidū tanzīla rabbihim walākin sayaʾtī baʿdahum qawmun tanālūna minhum ḥājatakum ,
its excellence and the predecessors’ manner of following it walks this path. I was told of Iblīs, may God curse him, that he sent out his forces in the time of the Companions. They returned to him exhausted. He said, “What is the matter with you?” They said, “We have never seen people like these. We gain nothing from them; they have worn us out.” He said, “You cannot overcome them. They kept company with their Prophet and witnessed their Lord’s revelation. But a people will come after them from whom you will gain what you want.”
فَلَمَّا جَاءَ التَّابِعُونَ بَثَّ جُنُودَهُ فِيهِمْ فَرَجَعُوا إِلَيْهِ مُنْكَسِرِينَ مَنْكُوسِينَ ، فَقَالَ : مَا شَأْنُكُمْ ، قَالُوا : مَا رَأَيْنَا أَعْجَبَ مِنْ هَؤُلَاءِ الْقَوْمِ نُصِيبُ مِنْهُمُ الشَّيْءَ بَعْدَ الشَّيْءِ مِنَ الْخَطَايَا فَإِذَا كَانَ مِنْ آخِرِ النَّهَارِ أَخَذُوا فِي الِاسْتِغْفَارِ فَتُبَدَّلُ سَيِّئَاتُهُمْ حَسَنَاتٍ فَقَالَ : إِنَّكُمْ لَنْ تَنَالُوا مِنْ هَؤُلَاءِ شَيْئًا لِصِحَّةِ تَوْحِيدِهِمْ وَاتِّبَاعِهِمْ سُنَّةَ نَبِيِّهِمْ وَلَكِنْ سَيَأْتِي بَعْدَ هَؤُلَاءِ قَوْمٌ تَقَرُّ أَعْيُنُكُمْ بِهِمْ
falammā jāʾa al-tābiʿūna baththa junūdahu fīhim farajaʿū ʾilayhi munkasirīna mankūsīna , faqāla: mā shaʾnukum , qālū: mā raʾaynā ʾaʿjaba min hāʾulāʾi al-qawmi nuṣību minhumu al-shayʾa baʿda al-shayʾi mina al-khaṭāyā faʾidhā kāna min ʾākhiri al-nahāri ʾakhadhū fī al-istighfāri fatubaddalu sayyiʾātuhum ḥasanātin faqāla: ʾinnakum lan tanālū min hāʾulāʾi shayʾan liṣiḥḥati tawḥīdihim wattibāʿihim sunnata nabiyyihim walākin sayaʾtī baʿda hāʾulāʾi qawmun taqarru ʾaʿyunukum bihim
When the Successors came, he sent his forces among them. They returned to him defeated and cast down. He said, “What is the matter with you?” They said, “We have never seen anything more astonishing than these people. We get them to commit one sin after another, but at the end of the day they begin asking forgiveness, and their bad deeds are changed into good deeds.” He said, “You will gain nothing from these people because their divine unity is sound and they follow their Prophet’s Sunna. But after these people will come a people who delight your eyes:
تَلْعَبُونَ بِهِمْ لَعِبًا وَتَقُودُونَهُمْ بِأَزِمَّةِ أَهْوَائِهِمْ كَيْفَ شِئْتُمْ إِنِ اسْتَغْفَرُوا لَمْ يُغْفَرْ لَهُمْ وَلَا يَتُوبُونَ فَتُبَدَّلُ حَسَنَاتُهُمْ سَيِّئَاتٍ قَالَ : فَجَاءَ قَوْمٌ بَعْدَ الْقَرْنِ الْأَوَّلِ فَبَعَثَ فِيهِمُ الْأَهْوَاءَ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الْبِدَعَ فَاسْتَحَلُّوهَا وَاتَّخَذُوهَا دِينًا لَا يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ مِنْهَا وَلَا يَتُوبُونَ إِلَى اللَّهِ قَالَ فَتَسَلَّطَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَعْدَاءُ وَقَادَتْهُمْ أَيْنَ شَاؤُوا ، وَقَدْ قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : إِنَّ لِلضَّلَالَةِ حَلَاوَةً فِي قُلُوبِ أَهْلِهَا .
talʿabūna bihim laʿiban wataqūdūnahum biʾazimmati ʾahwāʾihim kayfa shiʾtum ʾini istaghfarū lam yughfar lahum walā yatūbūna fatubaddalu ḥasanātuhum sayyiʾātin qāla: fajāʾa qawmun baʿda al-qarni al-ʾawwali fabaʿatha fīhimu al-ʾahwāʾa wazayyana lahumu al-bidaʿa fastaḥallūhā wattakhadhūhā dīnan lā yastaghfirūna minhā walā yatūbūna ʾilā allāhi qāla fatasallaṭat ʿalayhimu al-ʾaʿdāʾu waqādathum ʾayna shāʾū , waqad qāla ibnu ʿabbāsin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: ʾinna lil-ḍalālati ḥalāwatan fī qulūbi ʾahlihā.
you will play with them freely and lead them by the reins of their desires however you wish. If they ask forgiveness, they will not be forgiven; they will not repent, and their good deeds will be changed into bad deeds.” He said: A people then came after the first generation. He stirred desires among them and made innovations attractive to them, so they deemed them lawful and adopted them as religion, neither asking forgiveness for them nor repenting to God. He said: The enemies gained mastery over them and led them wherever they wished. Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with him, said, “Misguidance has a sweetness in the hearts of its people.”
وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( اتَّخَذُوا دِينَهُمْ لَعِبًا وَلَهْوًا ) الْأَنْعَامُ : 70 ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( أَفَمَنْ زُيِّنَ لَهُ سُوءُ عَمَلِهِ فَرَآهُ حَسَنًا ) فَاطِرٌ : 8 كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى : ( أَفَمَنْ كَانَ عَلَى بَيِّنَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَيَتْلُوهُ شَاهِدٌ مِنْهُ ) هُودٌ : 17 فَالْعِلْمُ رَحِمَكَ اللَّهُ هُوَ الَّذِي كَانَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَفُ الصَّالِحُ الْمُقْتَفِي آثَارَهُمْ وَالْخَلَفُ التَّابِعُ الْمُقْتَدِي بِهَدْيِهِمْ
waqad qāla allāhu taʿālā: ( ittakhadhū dīnahum laʿiban walahwan ) al-ʾanʿāmu: 70 , waqāla taʿālā: ( ʾafaman zuyyina lahu sūʾu ʿamalihi faraʾāhu ḥasanan ) fāṭirun: 8 kamā qāla taʿālā: ( ʾafaman kāna ʿalā bayyinatin min rabbihi wayatlūhu shāhidun minhu ) hūdun: 17 fa-al-ʿilmu raḥimaka allāhu huwa alladhī kāna ʿalayhi al-salafu al-ṣāliḥu al-muqtafī ʾāthārahum wa-al-khalafu al-tābiʿu al-muqtadī bihadyihim
God Most High said, “They took their religion as play and diversion” (al-Anʿām 6:70). The Most High said, “What of one whose evil deed has been made attractive to him, so that he sees it as good?” (Fāṭir 35:8). Likewise the Most High said, “What of one who stands on clear proof from his Lord, and a witness from Him follows it?” (Hūd 11:17). Knowledge, may God have mercy on you, is what the righteous predecessors followed, the following of their traces, and what later generations follow when they take their guidance as a model.
وَهُمُ الصَّحَابَةُ أَهْلُ السَّكِينَةِ وَالرِّضَا ثُمَّ التَّابِعُونَ لَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ الزُّهْدِ وَالنُّهَى وَالْعَالِمُ هُوَ الَّذِي يَدْعُو النَّاسَ إِلَى مِثْلِ حَالِهِ حَتَّى يَكُونُوا مِثْلَهُ فَإِذَا نَظَرُوا إِلَيْهِ زَهِدُوا فِي الدُّنْيَا لِزُهْدِهِ فِيهَا كَمَا كَانَ ذُو النُّونِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ : جَالِسْ مَنْ يُكَلِّمُكَ عِلْمُهُ لَا مَنْ يُكَلِّمُكَ لِسَانُهُ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ الْحَسَنُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَبْلَهُ : عِظِ النَّاسَ بِفِعْلِكَ وَلَا تَعِظْهُمْ بِقَوْلِكَ ،
wahumu al-ṣaḥābatu ʾahlu al-sakīnati wa-al-riḍā thumma al-tābiʿūna lahum biʾiḥsānin min ʾahli al-zuhdi wa-al-nuhā wa-al-ʿālimu huwa alladhī yadʿū al-nāsa ʾilā mithli ḥālihi ḥattā yakūnū mithlahu faʾidhā naẓarū ʾilayhi zahidū fī al-dunyā lizuhdihi fīhā kamā kāna dhū al-nūni raḥimahu allāhu yaqūlu: jālis man yukallimuka ʿilmuhu lā man yukallimuka lisānuhu , waqad qāla al-ḥasanu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu qablahu: ʿiẓi al-nāsa bifiʿlika walā taʿiẓhum biqawlika ,
They are the Companions, people of tranquility and contentment, and then those who follow them in goodness, people of renunciation and understanding. The scholar is the one who calls people to a condition like his own until they become like him. When they look at him, they renounce the world because he renounces it. Dhū al-Nūn, may God have mercy on him, used to say, “Sit with someone whose knowledge speaks to you, not someone whose tongue speaks to you.” Before him al-Ḥasan, may God be pleased with him, said, “Admonish people through your actions; do not admonish them through your speech.”
وَقَالَ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ : الْعِلْمُ يَهْتِفُ بِالْعَمَلِ فَإِنْ أَجَابَهُ وَإِلَّا ارْتَحَلَ ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مَعْنَى ذَلِكَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قِيلَ لَهُ : أَيُّ جُلَسَائِنَا خَيْرٌ فَقَالَ : مَنْ ذَكَّرَكُمْ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى رُؤْيَتُهُ وَزَادَ فِي عِلْمِكُمْ مَنْطِقُهُ وَذَكَّرَكُمْ بِالْآخِرَةِ عَمَلُهُ ، فَأَمَّا الَّذِي يَطْلُبُ دُنْيَاهُمْ حَتَّى يَكُونَ مِثْلَهُمْ فَإِذَا رَأَوْهُ اغْتَبَطُوا بِحَالِهِمْ فَهَذَا شَرٌّ مِنْهُمْ لِأَنَّهُ يَدْعُو إِلَى نَفْسِهِ لَا إِلَى مَوْلَاهُ وَلِأَنَّهُ طَامِعٌ فِيهِمْ وَهُمْ زَاهِدُونَ فِيهِ ،
waqāla sahlun raḥimahu allāhu: al-ʿilmu yahtifu bi-al-ʿamali faʾin ʾajābahu waʾillā irtaḥala , waqad rawaynā maʿnā dhālika ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾannahu qīla lahu: ʾayyu julasāʾinā khayrun faqāla: man dhakkarakum bi-allāhi taʿālā ruʾyatuhu wazāda fī ʿilmikum manṭiquhu wadhakkarakum bi-al-ʾākhirati ʿamaluhu , faʾammā alladhī yaṭlubu dunyāhum ḥattā yakūna mithlahum faʾidhā raʾawhu ightabaṭū biḥālihim fahādhā sharrun minhum liʾannahu yadʿū ʾilā nafsihi lā ʾilā mawlāhu waliʾannahu ṭāmiʿun fīhim wahum zāhidūna fīhi ,
Sahl, may God have mercy on him, said, “Knowledge calls to action. If it answers, well and good; otherwise knowledge departs.” We have related this meaning from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace. He was asked, “Which of our companions is best?” He said, “One whose appearance reminds you of God Most High, whose speech increases your knowledge, and whose action reminds you of the hereafter.” As for someone who seeks their worldly goods until he becomes like them, so that when they see him they feel pleased with their own state, he is worse than they are. He calls to himself rather than to his Master, and he covets them while they have no desire for him.
فَالْعُلَمَاءُ الَّذِينَ هُمْ وَرَثَةُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ هُمُ الْوَرِعُونَ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، الزَّاهِدُونَ فِي فُضُولِ الدُّنْيَا النَّاطِقُونَ بِعِلْمِ الْيَقِينِ وَالْقُدْرَةِ لَا عِلْمِ الرَّأْيِ وَالْهَوَى ، وَالصَّامِتُونَ عَنِ الشُّبُهَاتِ وَالْآرَاءِ لَا يَخْتَلِفُ هَذَا إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ الشُّهَدَاءِ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِرَأْيِ قَائِلٍ وَلَا بِقَوْلِ مُبْطِلٍ جَاهِلٍ . كَمَا رُوِيَ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ وَعَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ :
fa-al-ʿulamāʾu alladhīna hum warathatu al-ʾanbiyāʾi humu al-wariʿūna fī dīni allāhi ʿazza wajalla , al-zāhidūna fī fuḍūli al-dunyā al-nāṭiqūna biʿilmi al-yaqīni wa-al-qudrati lā ʿilmi al-raʾyi wa-al-hawā , wa-al-ṣāmitūna ʿani al-shubuhāti wa-al-ʾārāʾi lā yakhtalifu hādhā ʾilā yawmi al-qiyāmati ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi al-shuhadāʾi ʿalā allāhi taʿālā biraʾyi qāʾilin walā biqawli mubṭilin jāhilin. kamā ruwiya ʿan ʿabdi allāhi bni ʿumara waʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama:
The scholars who are the prophets’ heirs are those scrupulous in the religion of God, mighty and majestic, who renounce the world’s excess, speak with the knowledge of certainty and divine power rather than the knowledge of opinion and desire, and remain silent about doubtful matters and opinions. For the scholars who bear witness to God Most High, this does not change until the Day of Resurrection because of anyone’s opinion or the statement of an ignorant advocate of falsehood. As it is related from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar and from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace:
صَلَحَ أَوَّلُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ بِالزُّهْدِ وَالْيَقِينِ وَيَهْلِكُ آخِرُهَا بِالْبُخْلِ وَالْأَمَلِ ، وَقَالَ يُوسُفُ بْنُ أَسْبَاطٍ : كَتَبَ إِلَيَّ حُذَيْفَةُ الْمَرْعَشِيُّ مَا ظَنُّكَ بِمَنْ قَدْ بَقِيَ لَا يَجِدُ أَحَدًا يَذْكُرُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى مَعَهُ إِلَّا كَانَ آثِمًا وَكَانَتْ مُذَاكَرَتُهُ مَعْصِيَةً وَذَلِكَ
ṣalaḥa ʾawwalu hādhihi al-ʾummati bi-al-zuhdi wa-al-yaqīni wayahliku ʾākhiruhā bi-al-bukhli wa-al-ʾamali , waqāla yūsufu bnu ʾasbāṭin: kataba ʾilayya ḥudhayfatu al-marʿashiyyu mā ẓannuka biman qad baqiya lā yajidu ʾaḥadan yadhkuru allāha taʿālā maʿahu ʾillā kāna ʾāthiman wakānat mudhākaratuhu maʿṣiyatan wadhālika
“The first of this community prospered through renunciation and certainty; its last will perish through miserliness and hope.” Yūsuf ibn Asbāṭ said, “Ḥudhayfa al-Marʿashī wrote to me: ‘What do you think of someone left unable to find anyone with whom to remember God Most High without becoming sinful, his discussion itself becoming disobedience?’” This is because
أَنَّهُ لَا يَجِدُ أَهْلَهُ قُلْتُ لِيُوسُفَ : يَا أَبَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَتَعْرِفُهُمْ قَالَ : لَا يَخْفَوْنَ عَلَيْنَا وَيُقَالُ : إِنَّ الْأَبْدَالَ إِنَّمَا انْقَطَعُوا فِي أَطْرَافِ الْأَرْضِ وَاسْتَتَرُوا عَنْ أَعْيُنِ الْجُمْهُورِ لِأَنَّهُمْ لَا يُطِيقُونَ النَّظَرَ إِلَى عُلَمَاءِ هَذَا الْوَقْتِ وَلَا يَصْبِرُونَ عَلَى الِاسْتِمَاعِ لِكَلَامِهِمْ لِأَنَّهُمْ عِنْدَهُمْ جُهَّالٌ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَهُمْ عِنْدَ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَعِنْدَ الْجَاهِلِينَ عُلَمَاءُ ،
ʾannahu lā yajidu ʾahlahu qultu liyūsufa: yā ʾabā muḥammadin wataʿrifuhum qāla: lā yakhfawna ʿalaynā wayuqālu: ʾinna al-ʾabdāla ʾinnamā inqaṭaʿū fī ʾaṭrāfi al-ʾarḍi wastatarū ʿan ʾaʿyuni al-jumhūri liʾannahum lā yuṭīqūna al-naẓara ʾilā ʿulamāʾi hādhā al-waqti walā yaṣbirūna ʿalā al-istimāʿi likalāmihim liʾannahum ʿindahum juhhālun bi-allāhi taʿālā wahum ʿinda ʾanfusihim waʿinda al-jāhilīna ʿulamāʾu ,
he finds none of its people. I said to Yūsuf, “Abū Muḥammad, do you know them?” He said, “They are not hidden from us.” It is said that the abdāl saints withdrew to the ends of the earth and hid from the eyes of the public because they could not endure looking at the scholars of this time or bear listening to their words. In their view these scholars are ignorant of God Most High, although in their own eyes and in the eyes of the ignorant they are scholars.
فَقَدْ صَارُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَهْلِ وَأَهْلِ الْجَهْلِ بِالْجَهْلِ عَلَى الْوَصْفِ الَّذِي قَالَ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ : إِنَّ مِنْ أَعْظَمِ الْمَعَاصِي الْجَهْلَ بِالْجَهْلِ وَالنَّظَرُ إِلَى الْعَامَّةِ وَاسْتِمَاعُ كَلَامِ أَهْلِ الْغَفْلَةِ أَيْسَرُ عِنْدَهُمْ لِأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْدَمُونَ ذَلِكَ حَيْثُ كَانُوا مِنْ أَطْرَافِ الْأَمْصَارِ لِأَنَّ الْعَامَّةَ لَا يُمَوِّهُونَ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَا يَغُرُّونَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَا يَدَّعُونَ أَنَّهُمْ عُلَمَاءُ لِأَنَّهُمْ يَتَعَلَّمُونَ وَبِالْجَهْلِ مُعْتَرِفُونَ ،
faqad ṣārū min ʾahli al-jahli waʾahli al-jahli bi-al-jahli ʿalā al-waṣfi alladhī qāla sahlun raḥimahu allāhu: ʾinna min ʾaʿẓami al-maʿāṣī al-jahla bi-al-jahli wa-al-naẓaru ʾilā al-ʿāmmati wastimāʿu kalāmi ʾahli al-ghaflati ʾaysaru ʿindahum liʾannahum lā yaʿdamūna dhālika ḥaythu kānū min ʾaṭrāfi al-ʾamṣāri liʾanna al-ʿāmmata lā yumawwihūna fī al-dīni walā yaghurrūna al-muʾminīna walā yaddaʿūna ʾannahum ʿulamāʾu liʾannahum yataʿallamūna wabiljahli muʿtarifūna ,
They have become people of ignorance and people ignorant of their ignorance, as Sahl, may God have mercy on him, described it: “Among the greatest sins is ignorance of one’s ignorance.” Looking at ordinary people and listening to the words of the heedless is easier for them, for they are never without this wherever they may be on the outskirts of towns. Ordinary people do not disguise error in religion, delude believers, or claim to be scholars, for they learn and acknowledge their ignorance.
فَهُمْ إِلَى الرَّحْمَةِ أَقْرَبُ وَمِنَ الْمَقْتِ أَبْعَدُ . وَكَانَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ أَيْضًا يَقُولُ : قَسْوَةُ الْقَلْبِ بِالْجَهْلِ بِالْعِلْمِ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الْقَسْوَةِ بِالْمَعَاصِي لِأَنَّ الْجَاهِلَ بِالْعِلْمِ تَارِكٌ وَمُدَّعٍ وَالْعَاصِيَ بِالْفِعْلِ مُقِرٌّ بِالْعِلْمِ ، وَيَقُولُ أَيْضًا : لِأَنَّ الْعِلْمَ دَوَاءٌ بِهِ تُصْلَحُ الْأَدْوَاءُ فَهُوَ يُزِيلُ فَسَادَ الْأَعْمَالِ بِالتَّدَارُكِ ، وَالْجَهْلُ دَاءٌ يُفْسِدُ الْأَعْمَالَ بَعْدَ صَلَاحِهَا فَهُوَ يُزِيلُ الْحَسَنَاتِ فَيَجْعَلُهَا سَيِّئَاتٍ ،
fahum ʾilā al-raḥmati ʾaqrabu wamina al-maqti ʾabʿadu. wakāna ʾabū muḥammadin ʾayḍan yaqūlu: qaswatu al-qalbi bi-al-jahli bi-al-ʿilmi ʾashaddu mina al-qaswati bi-al-maʿāṣī liʾanna al-jāhila bi-al-ʿilmi tārikun wamuddaʿin wa-al-ʿāṣiya bi-al-fiʿli muqirrun bi-al-ʿilmi , wayaqūlu ʾayḍan: liʾanna al-ʿilma dawāʾun bihi tuṣlaḥu al-ʾadwāʾu fahuwa yuzīlu fasāda al-ʾaʿmāli bi-al-tadāruki , wa-al-jahlu dāʾun yufsidu al-ʾaʿmāla baʿda ṣalāḥihā fahuwa yuzīlu al-ḥasanāti fayajʿaluhā sayyiʾātin ,
They are therefore nearer to mercy and farther from hatred. Abū Muḥammad also used to say, “Hardness of heart through ignorance of knowledge is more severe than hardness through sins, because one who is ignorant of knowledge abandons it and makes claims, whereas one who sins in action acknowledges knowledge.” He would also say, “Knowledge is a medicine by which diseases are cured; it removes the corruption of deeds through remedying them. Ignorance is a disease that corrupts deeds after they have been sound; it removes good deeds and turns them into bad deeds.”
فَكَمْ بَيْنَ مَا يُصْلِحُ الْفَاسِدَ وَبَيْنَ مَا يُفْسِدُ الصَّالِحَاتِ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُصْلِحُ عَمَلَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ ) يُونُسُ : 81 ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ( إِنَّا لَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُصْلِحِينَ ) الْأَعْرَافُ : 170 فَهَذَا مِنْ أَدَلِّ دَلِيلٍ عَلَى فَضْلِ الْعَالِمِ الْمُقَصِّرِ عَلَى الْعَابِدِ الْمُجْتَهِدِ ،
fakam bayna mā yuṣliḥu al-fāsida wabayna mā yufsidu al-ṣāliḥāti , waqad qāla allāhu taʿālā: ( ʾinna allāha lā yuṣliḥu ʿamala al-mufsidīna ) yūnusu: 81 , waqāla taʿālā: ( ʾinnā lā nuḍīʿu ʾajra al-muṣliḥīna ) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 170 fahādhā min ʾadalli dalīlin ʿalā faḍli al-ʿālimi al-muqaṣṣiri ʿalā al-ʿābidi al-mujtahidi ,
How great the distance between what repairs the corrupt and what corrupts righteous deeds! God Most High said, “God does not set right the work of those who cause corruption” (Yūnus 10:81). The Most High said, “We do not let the reward of those who put things right be lost” (al-Aʿrāf 7:170). This is among the clearest proofs of the excellence of the scholar who falls short over the worshipper who strives diligently.
وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا بَايَنَ النَّاسَ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مِنْ أَحْوَالِهِمُ انْفَرَدَ عَنْ جَمْعِهِمْ وَلَمْ يَأْلَفْ أَحَدًا مِنْهُمْ وَإِنْ بَايَنَهُمْ فِي أَكْثَرِ أَحْوَالِهِمُ اعْتَزَلَ عَنِ الْأَكْثَرِ مِنْهُمْ فَإِنْ فَارَقَهُمْ فِي بَعْضِ الْأَحْوَالِ وَوَافَقَهُمْ فِي بَعْضِ حَالِهِ خَالَطَ أَهْلَ الْخَيْرِ وَفَارَقَ أَهْلَ الشَّرِّ .
waʿlam ʾanna al-ʿabda ʾidhā bāyana al-nāsa fī kulli shayʾin min ʾaḥwālihimu infarada ʿan jamʿihim walam yaʾlaf ʾaḥadan minhum waʾin bāyanahum fī ʾakthari ʾaḥwālihimu iʿtazala ʿani al-ʾakthari minhum faʾin fāraqahum fī baʿḍi al-ʾaḥwāli wawāfaqahum fī baʿḍi ḥālihi khālaṭa ʾahla al-khayri wafāraqa ʾahla al-sharri.
Know that if a servant differs from people in every aspect of their condition, he separates himself from their company and becomes familiar with none of them. If he differs from them in most of their conditions, he withdraws from most of them. If he parts from them in some conditions and agrees with them in part of his own condition, he mixes with the people of good and parts from the people of evil.
بَابُ تَفْضِيلِ الْأَخْبَارِ وَبَيَانِ طَرِيقِ الْإِرْشَادِ وَذِكْرِ الرُّخْصَةِ وَالسَّعَةِ فِي النَّقْلِ وَالرِّوَايَةِ
bābu tafḍīli al-ʾakhbāri wabayāni ṭarīqi al-ʾirshādi wadhikri al-rukhṣati wa-al-saʿati fī al-naqli wa-al-riwāyati
Section on the Excellence of Transmitted Reports, Explaining the Path of Guidance, and Mentioning the Dispensation and Latitude in Transmission and Narration
جَمِيعُ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ فِي هَذَا الْكِتَابِ مِنَ الْأَخْبَارِ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ثُمَّ عَنِ الصَّحَابَةِ وَعَنِ التَّابِعِينَ وَتَابِعِيهِمْ رَسَمْنَاهُ حِفْظًا وَسُقْنَاهُ عَلَى الْمَعْنَى إِلَّا يَسِيرًا اتَّفَقَ وُجُودُهُ فِي أَيْدِينَا وَقَرُبَ تَنَاوُلُهُ مِنَّا مِنْ أَخْبَارٍ فِيهَا طُولٌ فَإِنَّا نَقَلْنَاهَا مِنْ مَوَاضِعِهَا وَمَا بَعُدَ عَلَيْنَا فَلَمْ نَقْفُهُ وَلَمْ نَشْغَلْ هِمَّتَنَا بِهِ فَمَا كَانَ فِيهِ مِنْ صَوَابٍ وَبَيَانٍ وَتَثَبُّتٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِحُسْنِ تَوْفِيقِهِ وَقُوَّةِ تَأْيِيدِهِ ،
jamīʿu mā dhakarnāhu fī hādhā al-kitābi mina al-ʾakhbāri ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama thumma ʿani al-ṣaḥābati waʿani al-tābiʿīna watābiʿīhim rasamnāhu ḥifẓan wasuqnāhu ʿalā al-maʿnā ʾillā yasīran ittafaqa wujūduhu fī ʾaydīnā waqaruba tanāwuluhu minnā min ʾakhbārin fīhā ṭūlun faʾinnā naqalnāhā min mawāḍiʿihā wamā baʿuda ʿalaynā falam naqfuhu walam nashghal himmatanā bihi famā kāna fīhi min ṣawābin wabayānin watathabbutin famina allāhi taʿālā biḥusni tawfīqihi waquwwati taʾyīdihi ,
All the reports we have mentioned in this book from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, then from the Companions, the Successors, and their successors, we have set down from memory and presented according to their meaning, except a small number of lengthy reports that happened to be in our possession and readily accessible to us. These we copied from their places. What was remote from us we did not pursue or occupy our attention with. Whatever is correct, clear, and carefully established in it comes from God Most High, through His gracious enabling and powerful support.
وَمَا كَانَ فِيهِ مِنْ خَطَأٍ وَعَجَلَةٍ وَهَوًى فَمِنَّا بِالسَّهْوِ وَالْغَفْلَةِ وَمِنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ بِالْعَجَلَةِ وَالنِّسْيَانِ ، كَذَلِكَ رَوَيْنَا عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فِي قَضِيَّتِهِ الَّتِي قَضَاهَا بِرَأْيِهِ وَقَوْلُنَا لِرَأْيِهِ تَبَعٌ . وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : الْبَيَانُ وَالتَّثَبُّتُ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَالْعَجَلَةُ وَالنِّسْيَانُ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ يَعْنِي بِوَاسِطَتِهِ وَبِقِلَّةِ التَّوْفِيقِ ،
wamā kāna fīhi min khaṭaʾin waʿajalatin wahawan faminnā bi-al-sahwi wa-al-ghaflati wamin ʿamali al-shayṭāni bi-al-ʿajalati wa-al-nisyāni , kadhālika rawaynā ʿani ibni masʿūdin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu fī qaḍiyyatihi allatī qaḍāhā biraʾyihi waqawlunā liraʾyihi tabaʿun. warawaynā ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: al-bayānu wa-al-tathabbutu mina allāhi ʿazza wajalla wa-al-ʿajalatu wa-al-nisyānu mina al-shayṭāni yaʿnī biwāsiṭatihi wabiqillati al-tawfīqi ,
Whatever error, haste, or desire is in it comes from us through inattention and heedlessness, and from Satan’s work through haste and forgetfulness. We have similarly related from Ibn Masʿūd, may God be pleased with him, concerning the judgment he gave by his own opinion; our statement follows his opinion. We have related from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: “Clarity and careful verification are from God, mighty and majestic; haste and forgetfulness are from Satan,” meaning through his mediation and through a lack of divine enabling.
وَلَمْ أَعْتَبِرْ أَلْفَاظَ الْأَخْبَارِ فِي أَكْثَرِهِ وَلَمْ آلُ عَنْ سِيَاقِ الْمَعْنَى فِي كُلِّهِ إِذْ لَيْسَ تَحْرِيرُ الْأَلْفَاظِ عِنْدِي وَاجِبًا إِذَا أَتَيْتُ بِالْمَعْنَى بَعْدَ أَنْ تَكُونَ عَالِمًا بِتَصْرِيفِ الْكَلَامِ وَبِتَفَاوُتِ وُجُوهِ الْمَعَانِي مُجْتَنِبًا لِمَا يَكُونُ بِهِ تَحْرِيفٌ أَوْ إِحَالَةٌ بَيْنَ اللَّفْظَيْنِ وَقَدْ رَخَّصَ فِي سَوْقِ الْحَدِيثِ عَلَى الْمَعْنَى دُونَ سِيَاقِهِ عَلَى اللَّفْظِ جَمَاعَةٌ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ
walam ʾaʿtabir ʾalfāẓa al-ʾakhbāri fī ʾaktharihi walam ʾālu ʿan siyāqi al-maʿnā fī kullihi ʾidh laysa taḥrīru al-ʾalfāẓi ʿindī wājiban ʾidhā ʾataytu bi-al-maʿnā baʿda ʾan takūna ʿāliman bitaṣrīfi al-kalāmi wabitafāwuti wujūhi al-maʿānī mujtaniban limā yakūnu bihi taḥrīfun ʾaw ʾiḥālatun bayna al-lafẓayni waqad rakhkhaṣa fī sawqi al-ḥadīthi ʿalā al-maʿnā dūna siyāqihi ʿalā al-lafẓi jamāʿatun mina al-ṣaḥābati
In most of it I have not attended to the precise wording of the reports, but in all of it I have spared no effort in conveying the meaning. In my view, exact wording is not obligatory when I convey the meaning, provided one knows the variations of speech and the differences between aspects of meaning, avoiding anything that would distort or alter the sense between the two expressions. A group of Companions permitted conveying hadith according to its meaning rather than according to its precise wording,
مِنْهُمْ : عَلِيٌّ وَابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ وَأَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ وَوَاثِلَةُ بْنُ الْأَسْقَعِ وَأَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ ثُمَّ جَمَاعَةٌ مِنَ التَّابِعِينَ يَكْثُرُ عَدَدُهُمْ مِنْهُمْ : إِمَامُ الْأَئِمَّةِ الْحَسَنُ الْبَصْرِيُّ ثُمَّ الشَّعْبِيُّ وَعَمْرُو بْنُ دِينَارٍ وَإِبْرَاهِيمُ النَّخَعِيُّ وَمُجَاهِدٌ وَعِكْرِمَةُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ نَقَلْنَا ذَلِكَ عَنْهُمْ فِي كُتُبِ سِيَرِهِمْ بِأَخْبَارٍ مُخْتَلِفَةِ الْأَلْفَاظِ ، وَقَالَ ابْنُ سِيرِينَ : كُنْتُ أَسْمَعُ الْحَدِيثَ مِنْ عَشَرَةٍ الْمَعْنَى وَاحِدٌ وَالْأَلْفَاظُ مُخْتَلِفَةٌ ،
minhum: ʿaliyyun wabnu ʿabbāsin waʾanasu bnu mālikin wawāthilatu bnu al-ʾasqaʿi waʾabū hurayrata thumma jamāʿatun mina al-tābiʿīna yakthuru ʿadaduhum minhum: ʾimāmu al-ʾaʾimmati al-ḥasanu al-baṣriyyu thumma al-shaʿbiyyu waʿamru bnu dīnārin waʾibrāhīmu al-nakhaʿiyyu wamujāhidun waʿikrimatu raḍiya allāhu ʿanhum naqalnā dhālika ʿanhum fī kutubi siyarihim biʾakhbārin mukhtalifati al-ʾalfāẓi , waqāla ibnu sīrīna: kuntu ʾasmaʿu al-ḥadītha min ʿasharatin al-maʿnā wāḥidun wa-al-ʾalfāẓu mukhtalifatun ,
among them ʿAlī, Ibn ʿAbbās, Anas ibn Mālik, Wāthila ibn al-Asqaʿ, and Abū Hurayra, followed by a numerous group of Successors, including the imam of imams, al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, then al-Shaʿbī, ʿAmr ibn Dīnār, Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī, Mujāhid, and ʿIkrima, may God be pleased with them. We have transmitted this from them in the books of their lives, through reports with differing wordings. Ibn Sīrīn said, “I used to hear a hadith from ten people: the meaning was one, but the expressions differed.”
وَلِذَلِكَ اخْتَلَفَ الصَّحَابَةُ فِي رِوَايَةِ الْحَدِيثِ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَرْوِيهِ تَامًّا وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَجِيءُ بِهِ مُخْتَصَرًا وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَرْوِيهِ عَلَى الْمَعْنَى وَبَعْضُهُمْ يُغَايِرُ بَيْنَ اللَّفْظَتَيْنِ وَيَرَاهُ وَاسِعًا إِذَا لَمْ يُخَالِفِ الْمَعْنَى وَلَمْ يُحِلِ الْبُغْيَةَ وَكُلُّهُمْ لَا يَتَعَمَّدُ الْكَذِبَ وَجَمِيعُهُمْ يَقْصِدُ الصِّدْقَ وَمَعْنَى مَا سَمِعَ وَلَا يُحِيلُ الْبُغْيَةَ فَلِذَلِكَ وَسِعَهُمْ وَكَانُوا يَقُولُونَ :
walidhālika ikhtalafa al-ṣaḥābatu fī riwāyati al-ḥadīthi ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama faminhum man yarwīhi tāmman waminhum man yajīʾu bihi mukhtaṣaran waminhum man yarwīhi ʿalā al-maʿnā wabaʿḍuhum yughāyiru bayna al-lafẓatayni wayarāhu wāsiʿan ʾidhā lam yukhālifi al-maʿnā walam yuḥili al-bughyata wakulluhum lā yataʿammadu al-kadhiba wajamīʿuhum yaqṣidu al-ṣidqa wamaʿnā mā samiʿa walā yuḥīlu al-bughyata falidhālika wasiʿahum wakānū yaqūlūna:
For this reason the Companions differed in narrating hadith from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace. Some narrated it in full, some brought it in abridged form, and some narrated it according to its meaning. Some varied between two expressions and regarded this as permissible latitude when it did not contradict the meaning or alter the intended purpose. None of them deliberately lied; all aimed at truth and the meaning of what they had heard, without altering the intended purpose. That is why latitude was allowed them. They used to say:
إِنَّمَا الْكَذِبُ عَلَى مَنْ تَعَمَّدَهُ . وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ عِمْرَانَ بْنِ مُسْلِمٍ قَالَ : قَالَ رَجُلٌ لِلْحَسَنِ : يَا أَبَا سَعِيدٍ إِنَّكَ تُحَدِّثُ بِالْحَدِيثِ أَنْتَ أَحْسَنُ لَهُ سِيَاقًا وَأَجْوَدُ تَحْبِيرًا وَأَفْصَحُ بِهِ لِسَانًا مِنَّا إِذَا حَدَّثْتَنَا بِهِ ، فَقَالَ : إِذَا أَصَبْتَ الْمَعْنَى فَلَا بَأْسَ بِذَلِكَ ، وَقَدْ قَالَ النَّضْرُ بْنُ شُمَيْلٍ :
ʾinnamā al-kadhibu ʿalā man taʿammadahu. waqad rawaynā ʿan ʿimrāna bni muslimin qāla: qāla rajulun lilḥasani: yā ʾabā saʿīdin ʾinnaka tuḥaddithu bi-al-ḥadīthi ʾanta ʾaḥsanu lahu siyāqan waʾajwadu taḥbīran waʾafṣaḥu bihi lisānan minnā ʾidhā ḥaddathtanā bihi , faqāla: ʾidhā ʾaṣabta al-maʿnā falā baʾsa bidhālika , waqad qāla al-naḍru bnu shumaylin:
“The blame for lying falls only on one who does it deliberately.” We have related from ʿImrān ibn Muslim, who said: A man said to al-Ḥasan, “Abū Saʿīd, when you relate a hadith to us, you present it better, compose it more beautifully, and speak it more eloquently than we do.” He said, “If you get the meaning right, there is no harm in that.” Al-Naḍr ibn Shumayl said:
كَانَ هِشَامٌ لَحَّانًا فَكَسَوْتُ لَكُمْ حَدِيثَهُ كِسْوَةً حَسَنَةً يَعْنِي بِالْإِعْرَابِ وَكَانَ النَّضْرُ نَحْوِيًّا وَنَحْنُ قَائِلُونَ فِي جَمِيعِ مَا رَوَيْنَاهُ أَوْ كَمَا قِيلَ وَنَحْوَهُ وَشَبَهَهُ ، وَبِمَعْنَاهُ كَذَلِكَ قَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ فِي حَدِيثِهِ : وَكَانَ سُلَيْمَانُ التَّيْمِيُّ يَقُولُهُ فِي كُلِّ مَا يُحَدِّثُ بِهِ وَقَدْ كَانَ سُفْيَانُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ : إِذَا رَأَيْتَ الرَّجُلَ يُشَدِّدُ فِي أَلْفَاظِ الْحَدِيثِ فِي الْمَجْلِسِ فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ يَقُولُ :
kāna hishāmun laḥḥānan fakasawtu lakum ḥadīthahu kiswatan ḥasanatan yaʿnī bi-al-ʾiʿrābi wakāna al-naḍru naḥwiyyan wanaḥnu qāʾilūna fī jamīʿi mā rawaynāhu ʾaw kamā qīla wanaḥwahu washabahahu , wabimaʿnāhu kadhālika qāla ibnu masʿūdin fī ḥadīthihi: wakāna sulaymānu al-taymiyyu yaqūluhu fī kulli mā yuḥaddithu bihi waqad kāna sufyānu raḥimahu allāhu yaqūlu: ʾidhā raʾayta al-rajula yushaddidu fī ʾalfāẓi al-ḥadīthi fī al-majlisi faʿlam ʾannahu yaqūlu:
“Hishām often made grammatical errors, so I dressed his hadith for you in fine clothing,” meaning correct grammatical inflection. Al-Naḍr was a grammarian. Regarding everything we have narrated, we say, “Or as it was said,” “something like it,” “something resembling it,” and “with its meaning.” Ibn Masʿūd likewise said this in his narration, and Sulaymān al-Taymī used to say it in everything he related. Sufyān, may God have mercy on him, used to say, “When you see a man being strict about the wording of hadith in a gathering, know that he is saying:
اعْرِفُونِي قَالَ : وَجَعَلَ رَجُلٌ يَسْأَلُ يَحْيَى بْنَ سَعِيدٍ الْقَطَّانَ عَنْ حَرْفٍ فِي الْحَدِيثِ عَلَى لَفْظِهِ فَقَالَ لَهُ يَحْيَى : يَا هَذَا لَيْسَ فِي أَيْدِينَا أَجَلَّ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ، وَقَدْ رُخِّصَ بِالْقِرَاءَةِ فِيهِ بِالْكَلِمَةِ عَلَى سَبْعَةِ أَحْرُفٍ فَلَا تُشَدِّدْ ، وَفِي بَعْضِ مَا رَوَيْنَاهُ مَرَاسِيلُ وَمَقَاطِعُ وَمِنْهَا مَا فِي سَنَدِهِ مَقَالٌ وَرُبَّمَا كَانَ الْمَقْطُوعُ وَالْمُرْسَلُ أَصَحَّ مِنْ بَعْضِ الْمُسْنَدِ إِذْ رَوَاهُ
iʿrifūnī qāla: wajaʿala rajulun yasʾalu yaḥyā bna saʿīdin al-qaṭṭāna ʿan ḥarfin fī al-ḥadīthi ʿalā lafẓihi faqāla lahu yaḥyā: yā hādhā laysa fī ʾaydīnā ʾajalla min kitābi allāhi taʿālā , waqad rukhkhiṣa bi-al-qirāʾati fīhi bi-al-kalimati ʿalā sabʿati ʾaḥrufin falā tushaddid , wafī baʿḍi mā rawaynāhu marāsīlu wamaqāṭiʿu waminhā mā fī sanadihi maqālun warubbamā kāna al-maqṭūʿu wa-al-mursalu ʾaṣaḥḥa min baʿḍi al-musnadi ʾidh rawāhu
“‘Recognize me!’” He said: A man kept asking Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān about the exact wording of a word in a hadith. Yaḥyā said to him, “Man, we possess nothing more majestic than the Book of God Most High, and permission has been given to recite its words in seven modes. Do not be strict.” Some of what we have narrated consists of reports with omitted links and disconnected reports; some have chains open to criticism. A disconnected or mursal report may sometimes be sounder than some connected reports when narrated by
الْأَئِمَّةُ وَجَازَ لَنَا رَسْمُ ذَلِكَ لِمَعَانٍ أَحَدُهَا أَنَّا لَسْنَا عَلَى يَقِينٍ مِنْ بَاطِلِهَا وَالثَّانِي أَنَّ مَعَنَا حُجَّةً بِذَلِكَ وَهُوَ رِوَايَتُنَا لَهُ وَأَنَّا قَدْ سَمِعْنَا فَإِنْ أَخْطَأْنَا الْحَقِيقَةَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فَذَلِكَ سَاقِطٌ عَنَّا ، كَمَا قَالَ الْأَسْبَاطُ : وَمَا شَهِدْنَا إِلَّا بِمَا عَلِمْنَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِلْغَيْبِ حَافِظِينَ فِي قَوْلِهِمْ :
al-ʾaʾimmatu wajāza lanā rasmu dhālika limaʿānin ʾaḥaduhā ʾannā lasnā ʿalā yaqīnin min bāṭilihā wa-al-thānī ʾanna maʿanā ḥujjatan bidhālika wahuwa riwāyatunā lahu waʾannā qad samiʿnā faʾin ʾakhṭaʾnā al-ḥaqīqata ʿinda allāhi taʿālā fadhālika sāqiṭun ʿannā , kamā qāla al-ʾasbāṭu: wamā shahidnā ʾillā bimā ʿalimnā wamā kunnā lilghaybi ḥāfiẓīna fī qawlihim:
the leading authorities. We have been permitted to set this down for several reasons. The first is that we are not certain that these reports are false. The second is that we have a justification for doing so: we transmit them and have heard them. If we miss the reality as it is with God Most High, responsibility for that falls away from us. As the sons of Jacob said, “We testified only to what we knew, and we were not guardians of the unseen,” in their saying:
إِنَّ ابْنَكَ سَرَقَ فَأَخْطَؤُوا الْحَقِيقَةَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى إِلَّا أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا مَعْذُورِينَ لِوُجُودِ الدَّلِيلِ وَهُوَ شَهَادَتُهُمْ لِلصَّاعِ مُسْتَخْرَجًا مِنْ رَحْلِ أَخِيهِمْ وَالثَّالِثُ أَنَّ الْأَخْبَارَ الضِّعَافَ غَيْرَ مُخَالِفَةِ الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ لَا يَلْزَمُنَا رَدُّهَا بَلْ فِيهِمَا مَا يَدُلُّ عَلَيْهَا وَالرَّابِعُ أَنَّا مُتَعَبَّدُونَ بِحُسْنِ الظَّنِّ مَنْهِيُّونَ عَنْ كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الظَّنِّ مَذْمُومُونَ بِظَنِّ السُّوءِ وَالْخَامِسُ أَنَّهُ لَا يُتَوَصَّلُ إِلَى حَقِيقَةِ ذَلِكَ إِلَّا مِنْ طَرِيقِ الْمُعَايَنَةِ وَلَا سَبِيلَ
ʾinna ibnaka saraqa faʾakhṭaʾū al-ḥaqīqata ʿinda allāhi taʿālā ʾillā ʾannahum kānū maʿdhūrīna liwujūdi al-dalīli wahuwa shahādatuhum lil-ṣāʿi mustakhrajan min raḥli ʾakhīhim wa-al-thālithu ʾanna al-ʾakhbāra al-ḍiʿāfa ghayra mukhālifati al-kitābi wa-al-sunnati lā yalzamunā radduhā bal fīhimā mā yadullu ʿalayhā wa-al-rābiʿu ʾannā mutaʿabbadūna biḥusni al-ẓanni manhiyyūna ʿan kathīrin mina al-ẓanni madhmūmūna biẓanni al-sūʾi wa-al-khāmisu ʾannahu lā yutawaṣṣalu ʾilā ḥaqīqati dhālika ʾillā min ṭarīqi al-muʿāyanati walā sabīla
“Your son stole.” They missed the reality as it was with God Most High, yet they were excused because evidence existed: they had witnessed the measure being brought out of their brother’s baggage. The third reason is that we are not required to reject weak reports that do not contradict the Book and the Sunna; indeed, the two contain indications supporting them. The fourth is that we are charged to think well, forbidden much suspicion, and censured for thinking ill. The fifth is that the reality of this can be reached only through direct observation, and there is no way
إِلَيْهَا فَاضْطُرِرْنَا إِلَى التَّقْلِيدِ وَالتَّصْدِيقِ بِحُسْنِ الظَّنِّ بِالنَّقَلَةِ مَعَ مَا تَسْكُنُ إِلَيْهِ قُلُوبُنَا وَتَلِينُ لَهُ أَبْشَارُنَا وَنَرَى أَنَّهُ حَقٌّ كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ وَأَيْضًا فَإِنَّهُ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ نَعْتَقِدَ فِي سَلَفِنَا الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنَّهُمْ خَيْرٌ مِنَّا ثُمَّ نَحْنُ لَا نَكْذِبُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَلَا عَلَى التَّابِعِينَ فَكَيْفَ نَظُنُّ بِهِمْ أَنْ يَكْذِبُوا وَهُمْ فَوْقَنَا عَلَى أَنَّهُ قَدْ جَاءَتْ أَحَادِيثُ ضِعَافٌ بِأَسَانِيدَ صِحَاحٍ
ʾilayhā faḍṭurirnā ʾilā al-taqlīdi wa-al-taṣdīqi biḥusni al-ẓanni bi-al-naqalati maʿa mā taskunu ʾilayhi qulūbunā watalīnu lahu ʾabshārunā wanarā ʾannahu ḥaqqun kamā jāʾa fī al-khabari waʾayḍan faʾinnahu yanbaghī ʾan naʿtaqida fī salafinā al-muʾminīna ʾannahum khayrun minnā thumma naḥnu lā nakdhibu ʿalā rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama walā ʿalā al-tābiʿīna fakayfa naẓunnu bihim ʾan yakdhibū wahum fawqanā ʿalā ʾannahu qad jāʾat ʾaḥādīthu ḍiʿāfun biʾasānīda ṣiḥāḥin
to attain it. We are therefore compelled to rely on transmission and affirmation through a good opinion of the transmitters, together with what our hearts rest in, what softens our skins, and what we see to be true, as has come in the report. We should also believe that our believing predecessors were better than we are. We do not lie about God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, or about the Successors; how, then, could we suspect them of lying when they are above us? Moreover, weak hadiths have come through sound chains,
فَكَذَلِكَ يَصْلُحُ أَنْ نُورِدَ أَحَادِيثَ صِحَاحًا بِسَنَدٍ ضَعِيفٍ لِاحْتِمَالِ أَنْ يَكُونَ قَدْ رُوِيَ مِنْ وَجْهٍ صَحِيحٍ إِذْ لَمْ نُحِطْ بِجُمْلَةِ الْعِلْمِ أَوْ لِأَنَّ بَعْضَ مَنْ يُضَعِّفُهُ أَهْلُ الْحَدِيثِ يُقَوِّيهِ بَعْضُهُمْ وَبَعْضَ مَنْ يَجْرَحُهُ وَيَذُمُّهُ أَحَدٌ
fakadhālika yaṣluḥu ʾan nūrida ʾaḥādītha ṣiḥāḥan bisanadin ḍaʿīfin liḥtimāli ʾan yakūna qad ruwiya min wajhin ṣaḥīḥin ʾidh lam nuḥiṭ bijumlati al-ʿilmi ʾaw liʾanna baʿḍa man yuḍaʿʿifuhu ʾahlu al-ḥadīthi yuqawwīhi baʿḍuhum wabaʿḍa man yajraḥuhu wayadhummuhu ʾaḥadun
so it is likewise permissible for us to present sound hadiths through a weak chain, because they may have been transmitted by a sound route, since we do not encompass all knowledge. Or because some transmitters whom hadith specialists declare weak are considered strong by others, and someone whom one person impugns and censures
يُعَدِّلُهُ وَيَمْدَحُهُ آخَرُ فَصَارَ مُخْتَلَفًا فِيهِ فَلَمْ يُرَدَّ حَدِيثُهُ بِقَوْلِ وَاحِدٍ دُونَ مَنْ فَوْقَهُ أَوْ مِثْلِهِ أَوْ لِأَنَّ بَعْضَ مَا يُضَعَّفُ بِهِ رُوَاةُ الْحَدِيثِ وَتُعَلَّلُ بِهِ أَحَادِيثُهُمْ لَا يَكُونُ تَعْلِيلًا وَلَا جَرْحًا عِنْدَ الْفُقَهَاءِ وَلَا عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِثْلَ أَنْ يَكُونَ الرَّاوِي مَجْهُولًا لِإِيثَارِهِ الْخُمُولَ ،
yuʿaddiluhu wayamdaḥuhu ʾākharu faṣāra mukhtalafan fīhi falam yuradda ḥadīthuhu biqawli wāḥidin dūna man fawqahu ʾaw mithlihi ʾaw liʾanna baʿḍa mā yuḍaʿʿafu bihi ruwātu al-ḥadīthi watuʿallalu bihi ʾaḥādīthuhum lā yakūnu taʿlīlan walā jarḥan ʿinda al-fuqahāʾi walā ʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi bi-allāhi taʿālā mithla ʾan yakūna al-rāwī majhūlan liʾīthārihi al-khumūla ,
another declares upright and praises. He has thus become a subject of disagreement, and his hadith is not rejected on one person’s word in disregard of someone superior or equal to him. Or because some grounds on which hadith narrators are weakened and their reports declared defective are not considered defects or grounds for impugning someone by jurists or by scholars who know God Most High: for example, a narrator may be unknown because he prefers obscurity,
وَقَدْ نُدِبَ إِلَيْهِ أَوْ لِقِلَّةِ الْأَتْبَاعِ لَهُ إِذْ لَمْ يَقُمْ لَهُمُ الْأَثَرَةُ عَنْهُ أَوْ يَنْفَرِدَ بِلَفْظٍ أَوْ حَدِيثٍ حَفِظَهُ أَوْ خُصَّ بِهِ دُونَ غَيْرِهِ مِنَ الثِّقَاتِ أَوْ يَكُونَ غَيْرَ سَائِقٍ لِلْحَدِيثِ عَلَى لَفْظَةٍ أَوْ لَا يَكُونَ مُعْتَنِيًا بِحِفْظٍ وَدَرْسِهِ وَقَدْ يَتَكَلَّمُ بَعْضُ الْحُفَّاظِ بِالْإِقْدَامِ وَالْجَرَاءَةِ فَيُجَاوِزُ الْحَدَّ فِي الْجَرْحِ وَيَتَعَدَّى فِي اللَّفْظِ وَيَكُونُ الْمُتَكَلَّمُ فِيهِ أَفْضَلَ مِنْهُ ، وَعِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى :
waqad nudiba ʾilayhi ʾaw liqillati al-ʾatbāʿi lahu ʾidh lam yaqum lahumu al-ʾatharatu ʿanhu ʾaw yanfarida bilafẓin ʾaw ḥadīthin ḥafiẓahu ʾaw khuṣṣa bihi dūna ghayrihi mina al-thiqāti ʾaw yakūna ghayra sāʾiqin lilḥadīthi ʿalā lafẓatin ʾaw lā yakūna muʿtaniyan biḥifẓin wadarsihi waqad yatakallamu baʿḍu al-ḥuffāẓi bi-al-ʾiqdāmi wa-al-jarāʾati fayujāwizu al-ḥadda fī al-jarḥi wayataʿaddā fī al-lafẓi wayakūnu al-mutakallamu fīhi ʾafḍala minhu , waʿinda al-ʿulamāʾi bi-allāhi taʿālā:
which he has been encouraged to seek; or because he has few followers, since transmission from him has not become established among them; or he alone transmits a wording or hadith that he preserved or was specially given, apart from other trustworthy transmitters; or he does not convey the hadith in a particular wording; or he does not devote himself to memorization and its study. Some hadith masters may speak boldly and audaciously, exceed the proper bounds in impugning someone, and use excessive expressions, while the person they discuss is better than they are and, in the eyes of those who know God Most High,
أَعْلَى دَرَجَةً فَيَعُودُ الْجَرْحُ عَلَى الْجَارِحِ أَوْ يَكُونُ رَأَى عَلَيْهِ لِبَاسًا أَوْ سَمِعَ مِنْهُ كَلَامًا يَجْرَحُهُ عِنْدَ الْفُقَهَاءِ عَلَّلَهُ بِهِ بَعْضُ الْقُرَّاءِ مِنَ الرُّوَاةِ وَأَنَّ بَعْضَ مَنْ يُضَعِّفُهُ أَصْحَابُ الْحَدِيثِ هُوَ مِنْ عُلَمَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ وَمِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَلَهُ فِي الرِّوَايَةِ وَالْحَدِيثِ مَذَاهِبُ غَيْرُ طَرِيقَةِ بَعْضِ أَصْحَابِ الْحَدِيثِ فَيَعْمَلُ فِي رِوَايَتِهِ بِمَذْهَبِهِ فَلَا يَكُونُ أَصْحَابُ الْحَدِيثِ حُجَّةً عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا كَانَ هُوَ حُجَّةً
ʾaʿlā darajatan fayaʿūdu al-jarḥu ʿalā al-jāriḥi ʾaw yakūnu raʾā ʿalayhi libāsan ʾaw samiʿa minhu kalāman yajraḥuhu ʿinda al-fuqahāʾi ʿallalahu bihi baʿḍu al-qurrāʾi mina al-ruwāti waʾanna baʿḍa man yuḍaʿʿifuhu ʾaṣḥābu al-ḥadīthi huwa min ʿulamāʾi al-ʾākhirati wamin ʾahli al-maʿrifati bi-allāhi taʿālā walahu fī al-riwāyati wa-al-ḥadīthi madhāhibu ghayru ṭarīqati baʿḍi ʾaṣḥābi al-ḥadīthi fayaʿmalu fī riwāyatihi bimadhhabihi falā yakūnu ʾaṣḥābu al-ḥadīthi ḥujjatan ʿalayhi ʾillā kāna huwa ḥujjatan
higher in degree, so that the criticism rebounds on the critic. Or he may have seen clothing upon him or heard words from him that impugn him in the jurists’ eyes, for which some readers among the narrators found fault with him. Some whom hadith specialists weaken are scholars of the hereafter and people who know God Most High. They have approaches to narration and hadith different from the method of some hadith specialists, and they follow their own approach when narrating. The hadith specialists are therefore no authority against such a person without his being an authority
عَلَيْهِمْ إِذْ لَيْسَ هُوَ عِنْدَ أَصْحَابِهِ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ دُونَ أَصْحَابِ الْحَدِيثِ مِمَّنْ ضَعَّفَهُ إِذْ رَأَى غَيْرَ رَأْيِ مَذْهَبِهِ . وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ : الْحَدِيثُ وَإِنْ كَانَ شَهَادَةً فَقَدْ وُسِّعَ فِيهِ بِحُسْنِ الظَّنِّ كَمَا جُوِّزَ فِيهِ قَبُولُ شَهَادَةِ وَاحِدٍ أَيْ لِلضَّرُورَةِ كَشَهَادَةِ الْقَابِلَةِ وَنَحْوِهَا ، وَرَوَيْنَا مَعْنَاهُ عَنِ الْإِمَامِ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ حَنْبَلٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ :
ʿalayhim ʾidh laysa huwa ʿinda ʾaṣḥābihi mina al-ʿulamāʾi dūna ʾaṣḥābi al-ḥadīthi mimman ḍaʿʿafahu ʾidh raʾā ghayra raʾyi madhhabihi. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: al-ḥadīthu waʾin kāna shahādatan faqad wussiʿa fīhi biḥusni al-ẓanni kamā juwwiza fīhi qabūlu shahādati wāḥidin ʾay lil-ḍarūrati kashahādati al-qābilati wanaḥwihā , warawaynā maʿnāhu ʿani al-ʾimāmi ʾaḥmada bni ḥanbalin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu:
against them, since among his fellow scholars he is not inferior to those hadith specialists who have declared him weak because he held an opinion different from their school’s. One scholar said, “Although hadith is testimony, latitude has been allowed in it through a good opinion, just as accepting the testimony of one person has been allowed in it, that is, because of necessity, like the testimony of a midwife and similar cases.” We have related this meaning from Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, may God be pleased with him:
وَالْحَدِيثُ إِذَا لَمْ يُنَافِهِ كِتَابٌ أَوْ سُنَّةٌ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَشْهَدَا لَهُ إِنْ لَمْ يَخْرُجْ تَأْوِيلُهُ عَنْ إِجْمَاعِ الْأُمَّةِ فَإِنَّهُ يُوجِبُ الْقَبُولَ وَالْعَمَلَ بِقَوْلِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَيْفَ وَقَدْ قِيلَ : وَالْحَدِيثُ الضَّعِيفُ عِنْدِي آثَرُ مِنَ الرَّأْيِ وَالْقِيَاسِ وَهَذَا مَذْهَبُ الْإِمَامِ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ حَنْبَلٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ ،
wa-al-ḥadīthu ʾidhā lam yunāfihi kitābun ʾaw sunnatun waʾin lam yashhadā lahu ʾin lam yakhruj taʾwīluhu ʿan ʾijmāʿi al-ʾummati faʾinnahu yūjibu al-qabūla wa-al-ʿamala biqawlihi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama kayfa waqad qīla: wa-al-ḥadīthu al-ḍaʿīfu ʿindī ʾātharu mina al-raʾyi wa-al-qiyāsi wahādhā madhhabu al-ʾimāmi ʾabī ʿabdi allāhi ʾaḥmada bni ḥanbalin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu ,
A hadith, when no text of the Book or Sunna contradicts it, even if neither testifies to it, and when its interpretation does not depart from the community’s consensus, requires acceptance and acting upon his saying, God bless him and grant him peace. How could it be otherwise, when it has been said, “A weak hadith is dearer to me than opinion and analogy”? This is the school of Imām Abū ʿAbd Allāh Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, may God be pleased with him.
وَالْحَدِيثُ إِذَا تَدَاوَلَهُ عَصْرَانِ أَوْ رَوَاهُ الْقُرُونُ الثَّلَاثَةُ أَوْ دَارَ فِي الْعَصْرِ الْوَاحِدِ فَلَمْ يُنْكِرْهُ عُلَمَاؤُهُ وَكَانَ مَشْهُورًا لَا يُنْكِرُهُ الطَّبَقَةُ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ احْتُمِلَ وَوَقَعَ بِهِ حُجَّةٌ وَإِنْ كَانَ فِي سَنَدِهِ قَوْلٌ إِلَّا مَا خَالَفَ الْكِتَابَ وَالسُّنَنَ الصَّحِيحَةَ أَوْ إِجْمَاعَ الْأُمَّةِ أَوْ ظَهَرَ كَذِبُ نَاقِلِيهِ بِشَهَادَةِ الصَّادِقِينَ مِنَ الْأَئِمَّةِ ، وَقَالَ وَكِيعُ بْنُ الْجَرَّاحِ :
wa-al-ḥadīthu ʾidhā tadāwalahu ʿaṣrāni ʾaw rawāhu al-qurūnu al-thalāthatu ʾaw dāra fī al-ʿaṣri al-wāḥidi falam yunkirhu ʿulamāʾuhu wakāna mashhūran lā yunkiruhu al-ṭabaqatu mina al-muslimīna uḥtumila wawaqaʿa bihi ḥujjatun waʾin kāna fī sanadihi qawlun ʾillā mā khālafa al-kitāba wa-al-sunana al-ṣaḥīḥata ʾaw ʾijmāʿa al-ʾummati ʾaw ẓahara kadhibu nāqilīhi bishahādati al-ṣādiqīna mina al-ʾaʾimmati , waqāla wakīʿu bnu al-jarrāḥi:
When a hadith has circulated through two ages, been transmitted by the three generations, or circulated in a single age without its scholars rejecting it, and is well known without being rejected by that generation of Muslims, it is received and serves as evidence even if there is criticism of its chain. The exceptions are what contradicts the Book, sound established practices, or the community’s consensus, or where its transmitters’ falsehood becomes evident through the testimony of truthful leading authorities. Wakīʿ ibn al-Jarrāḥ said:
مَا يَنْبَغِي لِأَحَدٍ أَنْ يَقُولَ هَذَا الْحَدِيثُ بَاطِلٌ لِأَنَّ الْحَدِيثَ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ ، وَقَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ : قَالَ أَبُو زُرْعَةَ الرَّازِيُّ : قُبِضَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ عِشْرِينَ أَلْفَ عَيْنٍ تَطْرِفُ ، كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ قَدْ رَوَى عَنْهُ وَلَوْ حَدِيثًا وَلَوْ كَلِمَةً أَوْ رِوَايَةً فَحَدِيثُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ أَنْ يُحْصَى وَذَكَرَ رَجُلٌ عِنْدَ الزُّهْرِيِّ حَدِيثًا فَقَالَ :
mā yanbaghī liʾaḥadin ʾan yaqūla hādhā al-ḥadīthu bāṭilun liʾanna al-ḥadītha ʾaktharu min dhālika , waqāla ʾabū dāwuda: qāla ʾabū zurʿata al-rāziyyu: qubiḍa rasūlu allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿan ʿishrīna ʾalfa ʿaynin taṭrifu , kullu wāḥidin qad rawā ʿanhu walaw ḥadīthan walaw kalimatan ʾaw riwāyatan faḥadīthu rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾaktharu min ʾan yuḥṣā wadhakara rajulun ʿinda al-zuhriyyi ḥadīthan faqāla:
“No one should say, ‘This hadith is false,’ for hadith is more extensive than that.” Abū Dāwūd said: Abū Zurʿa al-Rāzī said, “God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, died leaving twenty thousand eyes still blinking, each one having narrated from him, even if only a hadith, a word, or a report. The hadith of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, is too extensive to be counted.” A man mentioned a hadith in al-Zuhrī’s presence, and he said:
مَا سَمِعْنَا بِهَذَا فَقَالَ : أَكُلَّ حَدِيثِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ سَمِعْتَ ؟ قَالَ : لَا ، قَالَ : فَثُلُثَاهُ ؟ قَالَ : لَا ، قَالَ : فَنِصْفَهُ فَسَكَتَ وَقَالَ : عُدَّ هَذَا مِنَ النِّصْفِ الَّذِي لَمْ تَسْمَعْهُ ، وَقَالَ الْإِمَامُ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ : كَانَ يَزِيدُ بْنُ هَارُونَ يَكْتُبُ عَنِ الرَّجُلِ وَهُوَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ ضَعِيفٌ وَكَانَ لَهُ ذَكَاءٌ وَعِلْمٌ بِالْحَدِيثِ وَقَالَ إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ رَاهَوَيْهِ :
mā samiʿnā bihādhā faqāla: ʾakulla ḥadīthi rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama samiʿta ? qāla: lā , qāla: fathuluthāhu ? qāla: lā , qāla: faniṣfahu fasakata waqāla: ʿudda hādhā mina al-niṣfi alladhī lam tasmaʿhu , waqāla al-ʾimāmu ʾaḥmadu bnu ḥanbalin raḍiya allāhu ʿanhu: kāna yazīdu bnu hārūna yaktubu ʿani al-rajuli wahuwa yaʿlamu ʾannahu ḍaʿīfun wakāna lahu dhakāʾun waʿilmun bi-al-ḥadīthi waqāla ʾisḥāqu bnu rāhawayhi:
“We have not heard this.” He replied, “Have you heard all the hadith of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace?” He said, “No.” He said, “Then two-thirds of it?” He said, “No.” He said, “Then half of it?” He fell silent. He said, “Count this among the half you have not heard.” Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, may God be pleased with him, said, “Yazīd ibn Hārūn used to write down reports from a man while knowing him to be weak, and he had intelligence and knowledge of hadith.” Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh said:
قِيلَ لِلْإِمَامِ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ حَنْبَلٍ : هَذِهِ الْفَوَائِدُ الَّتِي فِيهَا الْمَنَاكِيرُ تَرَى أَنْ نَكْتُبَ الْجَيِّدَ مِنْهَا ، فَقَالَ : الْمُنْكَرُ أَبَدًا مُنْكَرٌ قِيلَ لَهُ : فَالضُّعَفَاءُ ؟ قَالَ : قَدْ يُحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ فِي وَقْتٍ كَأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَرَ بِالْكِتَابَةِ عَنْهُمْ بَأْسًا . وَقَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الْمَرْوَزِيُّ عَنْهُ : إِنَّ الْحَدِيثَ عَنِ الضُّعَفَاءِ قَدْ يُحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ وَمِمَّا يَدُلُّكَ
qīla lilʾimāmi ʾaḥmada bni ḥanbalin: hādhihi al-fawāʾidu allatī fīhā al-manākīru tarā ʾan naktuba al-jayyida minhā , faqāla: al-munkaru ʾabadan munkarun qīla lahu: fa-al-ḍuʿafāʾu ? qāla: qad yuḥtāju ʾilayhi fī waqtin kaʾannahu lam yara bi-al-kitābati ʿanhum baʾsan. waqāla ʾabū bakrin al-marwaziyyu ʿanhu: ʾinna al-ḥadītha ʿani al-ḍuʿafāʾi qad yuḥtāju ʾilayhi wamimmā yadulluka
Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was asked, “These collections of useful reports that contain objectionable narrations: do you think we should write down the good material from them?” He said, “An objectionable report is always objectionable.” He was asked, “And weak transmitters?” He said, “One may need it at some time.” It was as though he saw no harm in writing down reports from them. Abū Bakr al-Marwazī said of him, “Hadith from weak transmitters may be needed.” Among the things that show you
عَلَى مَذْهَبِهِ فِي التَّوْسِعَةِ أَنَّهُ أَخْرَجَ حَدِيثَهُ كُلَّهُ فِي الْمُسْنَدِ الْمَأْثُورِ عَنْهُ الَّذِي رَوَيْنَاهُ عَنْ أَشْيَاخِنَا عَنِ ابْنِهِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عَنْهُ وَلَمْ يَعْتَبِرِ الصَّحِيحَ مِنْهُ وَفِيهِ أَحَادِيثُ كَثِيرَةٌ يَعْلَمُ الثِّقَاتُ أَنَّهَا ضَعِيفَةٌ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِضَعْفِهَا مِنْهُمْ ثُمَّ أَدْخَلَهَا فِي مُسْنَدِهِ لِأَنَّهُ أَرَادَ تَخْرِيجَ الْمُسْنَدِ وَلَمْ يَقْصِدْ تَصْحِيحَ السَّنَدِ فَاسْتَجَازَ رِوَايَاتِهَا كَمَا سَمِعَهَا وَقَدْ كَانَ قَطَعَ أَنْ يُحَدِّثَ النَّاسَ فِي سَنَةِ ثَمَانٍ وَعِشْرِينَ وَتُوُفِّيَ
ʿalā madhhabihi fī al-tawsiʿati ʾannahu ʾakhraja ḥadīthahu kullahu fī al-musnadi al-maʾthūri ʿanhu alladhī rawaynāhu ʿan ʾashyākhinā ʿani ibnihi ʿabdi allāhi ʿanhu walam yaʿtabiri al-ṣaḥīḥa minhu wafīhi ʾaḥādīthu kathīratun yaʿlamu al-thiqātu ʾannahā ḍaʿīfatun wahuwa ʾaʿlamu biḍaʿfihā minhum thumma ʾadkhalahā fī musnadihi liʾannahu ʾarāda takhrīja al-musnadi walam yaqṣid taṣḥīḥa al-sanadi fastajāza riwāyātihā kamā samiʿahā waqad kāna qaṭaʿa ʾan yuḥadditha al-nāsa fī sanati thamānin waʿishrīna watuwuffiya
his approach of allowing latitude is that he included all his hadith in the Musnad transmitted from him, which we narrated from our teachers, from his son ʿAbd Allāh, from him. He did not select only its sound reports. It contains many hadiths that trustworthy scholars know to be weak, and he knew their weakness better than they did. Yet he included them in his Musnad, because he intended to compile a Musnad, not to establish the soundness of every chain. He therefore deemed it permissible to narrate them as he had heard them. He had stopped narrating to people in the year twenty-eight, and he died
فِي سَنَةِ إِحْدَى وَأَرْبَعِينَ فَلَمْ يَسْمَعْ أَحَدٌ مِنْهُ فِي هَذِهِ الْمُدَّةِ إِلَّا ابْنُهُ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ وَابْنُ مَنِيعٍ جُزْءًا وَاحِدًا بِشَفَاعَةِ جَدِّهِ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مَنِيعٍ ، وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنْهُ أَعْنِي الْإِمَامَ أَحْمَدَ قَالَ : كَانَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ يُنْكِرُ الْحَدِيثَ ثُمَّ يَخْرُجُ إِلَيْنَا بَعْدَ وَقْتٍ فَيَقُولُ : هُوَ صَحِيحٌ قَدْ وَجَدْتُهُ ، قَالَ : وَأَمَّا وَكِيعٌ فَلَمْ يُنْكِرْ وَلَكِنْ يَقُولُ إِذَا سُئِلَ عَنْهُ لَا أَحْفَظُهُ ،
fī sanati ʾiḥdā waʾarbaʿīna falam yasmaʿ ʾaḥadun minhu fī hādhihi al-muddati ʾillā ibnuhu ʿabdu allāhi wabnu manīʿin juzʾan wāḥidan bishafāʿati jaddihi ʾaḥmada bni manīʿin , waḥaddathūnā ʿanhu ʾaʿnī al-ʾimāma ʾaḥmada qāla: kāna ʿabdu al-raḥmani yunkiru al-ḥadītha thumma yakhruju ʾilaynā baʿda waqtin fayaqūlu: huwa ṣaḥīḥun qad wajadtuhu , qāla: waʾammā wakīʿun falam yunkir walākin yaqūlu ʾidhā suʾila ʿanhu lā ʾaḥfaẓuhu ,
in the year forty-one. During this interval no one heard from him except his son ʿAbd Allāh, and Ibn Manīʿ, who heard one section through the intercession of his grandfather Aḥmad ibn Manīʿ. They related to us from him, meaning Imām Aḥmad, who said, “ʿAbd al-Raḥmān would reject a hadith, then come out to us after a while and say, ‘It is sound; I have found it.’” He said, “As for Wakīʿ, he would not reject it; when asked about it, he would say, ‘I do not remember it.’”
وَحَدَّثُونَا عَنِ ابْنِ أُخْتِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ مَهْدِيٍّ قَالَ : كَانَ خَالِي قَدْ خَطَّ عَلَى أَحَادِيثَ ثُمَّ صَحَّحَ عَلَيْهَا بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ وَقَرَأْتُهَا عَلَيْهِ فَقُلْتُ : قَدْ كُنْتَ خَطَطْتَ عَلَيْهَا قَالَ : نَعَمْ ، ثُمَّ تَفَكَّرْتُ فَإِذَا إِنِّي إِنْ ضَعَّفْتُهَا أَسْقَطْتُ عَدَالَةَ نَاقِلِيهَا فَإِنْ جَاءَ بِي بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَقَالَ : لِمَ أَسْقَطْتَ عَدَالَتِي رَأَيْتَنِي؟ سَمِعْتَ كَلَامِي؟ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِي حُجَّةٌ ،
waḥaddathūnā ʿani ibni ʾukhti ʿabdi al-raḥmani bni mahdiyyin qāla: kāna khālī qad khaṭṭa ʿalā ʾaḥādītha thumma ṣaḥḥaḥa ʿalayhā baʿda dhālika waqaraʾtuhā ʿalayhi faqultu: qad kunta khaṭaṭta ʿalayhā qāla: naʿam , thumma tafakkartu faʾidhā ʾinnī ʾin ḍaʿʿaftuhā ʾasqaṭtu ʿadālata nāqilīhā faʾin jāʾa bī bayna yadayi allāhi taʿālā waqāla: lima ʾasqaṭta ʿadālatī raʾaytanī? samiʿta kalāmī? lam yakun lī ḥujjatun ,
They related to us from the son of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī’s sister, who said: “My maternal uncle had crossed out some hadiths, then later marked them as sound. I read them to him and said, ‘You had crossed them out.’ He said, ‘Yes. Then I reflected: if I declare them weak, I discredit the uprightness of their transmitters. If one of them brings me before God Most High and says, “Why did you discredit my uprightness? Did you see me? Did you hear my words?” I would have no argument.’”
هَذَا كَانَ مَذْهَبَ الْوَرِعِينَ مِنَ السَّلَفِ ، وَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ يَقُولُ : كُنَّا نَتْرُكُ مُجَالَسَةَ شُعْبَةَ لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ يُدْخِلُنَا فِي الْغِيبَةِ وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ كَلَامُهُ فِي التَّضْعِيفِ وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ فِي تَضْعِيفِ الرُّوَاةِ : إِنْ خَلَصَتْ نِيَّتُكَ يَعْنِي إِنْ أَرَدْتَ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَالدِّينَ بِذَلِكَ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَكَ وَلَا عَلَيْكَ فَهَذِهِ الْفُصُولُ الَّتِي ذَكَرْنَاهَا هِيَ أُصُولٌ فِي مَعْرِفَةِ الْحَدِيثِ وَهُوَ عِلْمٌ لِأَهْلِهِ وَطَرِيقٌ هُمْ سَالِكُوهُ
hādhā kāna madhhaba al-wariʿīna mina al-salafi , waqad kāna baʿḍuhum yaqūlu: kunnā natruku mujālasata shuʿbata liʾannahu kāna yudkhilunā fī al-ghībati waʾinnamā kāna kalāmuhu fī al-taḍʿīfi waqāla baʿḍuhum fī taḍʿīfi al-ruwāti: ʾin khalaṣat niyyatuka yaʿnī ʾin ʾaradta allāha ʿazza wajalla wa-al-dīna bidhālika lam yakun laka walā ʿalayka fahādhihi al-fuṣūlu allatī dhakarnāhā hiya ʾuṣūlun fī maʿrifati al-ḥadīthi wahuwa ʿilmun liʾahlihi waṭarīqun hum sālikūhu
This was the approach of the scrupulous among the predecessors. One of them used to say, “We would leave off sitting with Shuʿba because he brought us into backbiting,” although his talk concerned declaring transmitters weak. One of them said about weakening narrators, “If your intention is pure,” meaning if through this you seek God, mighty and majestic, and religion, “it will count neither for you nor against you.” These sections we have mentioned are foundations for understanding hadith. It is a science for its specialists and a path they follow.
ثُمَّ حَدَثَ قَوْمٌ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ عِلْمٌ يَخْتَصُّونَ بِهِ وَلَا حَالٌ مِنْ عِلْمٍ يُوصَفُونَ بِهِ وَلَا شُغْلٌ مِنْ عِبَادَةٍ تَقْطَعُهُمْ فَجَعَلُوا لِنُفُوسِهِمْ عِلْمًا تَشَاغَلُوا بِهِ وَشَغَلُوا مَنِ اسْتَمَعَ إِلَيْهِمْ فَصَنَّفُوا كُتُبًا وَأَخَذُوا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ فِي نَقَلَةِ الْأَخْبَارِ بِالتَّعْلِيلِ وَتَتَبُّعِ الْعَثَارِ فَطَرَّقُوا لِأَهْلِ الْبِدَعِ إِلَى رَدِّ السُّنَنِ وَإِيثَارِ الرَّأْيِ وَالْمَعْقُولِ عَلَيْهَا لِمَا يَرَوْنَ مِنْ طَعْنِهِمْ فِيهَا وَاغْتَبَطُوا بِالْقِيَاسِ وَالنَّظَرِ لِمَا وَجَدُوا مِنْ زُهْدِهِمْ فِي السُّنَّةِ
thumma ḥadatha qawmun lam yakun lahum ʿilmun yakhtaṣṣūna bihi walā ḥālun min ʿilmin yūṣafūna bihi walā shughlun min ʿibādatin taqṭaʿuhum fajaʿalū linufūsihim ʿilman tashāghalū bihi washaghalū mani istamaʿa ʾilayhim faṣannafū kutuban waʾakhadhū yatakallamūna fī naqalati al-ʾakhbāri bi-al-taʿlīli watatabbuʿi al-ʿathāri faṭarraqū liʾahli al-bidaʿi ʾilā raddi al-sunani waʾīthāri al-raʾyi wa-al-maʿqūli ʿalayhā limā yarawna min ṭaʿnihim fīhā waghtabaṭū bi-al-qiyāsi wa-al-naẓari limā wajadū min zuhdihim fī al-sunnati
Then there arose people who had no knowledge peculiar to them, no state arising from knowledge by which they were characterized, and no occupation in worship to absorb them. They made a science for themselves with which they occupied themselves and those who listened to them. They composed books and began to discuss the transmitters of reports by finding defects and pursuing slips. They opened a road for innovators to reject established practices and prefer opinion and rational speculation to them, because of the attacks they saw them make upon them. They delighted in analogy and theoretical inquiry because of the indifference they found toward the Sunna
وَالْخَبَرِ سِيَّمَا فِي زَمَانِكَ هَذَا وَالْأَحَادِيثُ فِي التَّرْغِيبِ فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَالتَّزْهِيدِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالتَّرْهِيبِ لِوَعْدِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَفِي فَضَائِلِ الْأَعْمَالِ وَتَفْضِيلِ الْأَصْحَابِ مُتَقَبَّلَةٌ مُحْتَمَلَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ مَقَاطِيعُهَا وَمَرَاسِيلُهَا لَا تُعَارَضُ وَلَا تُرَدُّ ، وَكَذَلِكَ فِي أَهْوَالِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَوَصْفِ زَلَازِلِهَا وَعَظَائِمِهَا لَا تُنْكَرُ بِعَقْلٍ بَلْ تُتَقَبَّلُ بِالتَّصْدِيقِ وَالتَّسْلِيمِ كَذَلِكَ كَانَ السَّلَفُ يَفْعَلُونَ لِأَنَّ الْعِلْمَ قَدْ دَلَّ عَلَى ذَلِكَ وَالْأُصُولُ قَدْ وَرَدَتْ بِهِ ،
wa-al-khabari siyyamā fī zamānika hādhā wa-al-ʾaḥādīthu fī al-targhībi fī al-ʾākhirati wa-al-tazhīdi fī al-dunyā wa-al-tarhībi liwaʿdi allāhi taʿālā wafī faḍāʾili al-ʾaʿmāli watafḍīli al-ʾaṣḥābi mutaqabbalatun muḥtamalatun ʿalā kulli ḥālin maqāṭīʿuhā wamarāsīluhā lā tuʿāraḍu walā turaddu , wakadhālika fī ʾahwāli al-qiyāmati wawaṣfi zalāzilihā waʿaẓāʾimihā lā tunkaru biʿaqlin bal tutaqabbalu bi-al-taṣdīqi wa-al-taslīmi kadhālika kāna al-salafu yafʿalūna liʾanna al-ʿilma qad dalla ʿalā dhālika wa-al-ʾuṣūlu qad waradat bihi ,
and transmitted reports, especially in this time of yours. Hadiths encouraging desire for the hereafter, renunciation of the world, and fear of God Most High’s promise, and concerning the virtues of deeds and the excellence of the Companions, are accepted and received in all circumstances; their disconnected and mursal forms are neither opposed nor rejected. Likewise, reports about the terrors of the Resurrection and descriptions of its convulsions and mighty events are not denied through reason but received with affirmation and submission. This was how the predecessors acted, because knowledge pointed to it and the foundations had transmitted it.
وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مَنْ بَلَغَهُ عَنِ اللَّهِ فَضِيلَةٌ أَوْ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَعَمِلَ بِهِ أَعْطَاهُ اللَّهُ ثَوَابَ ذَلِكَ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ مَا قِيلَ وَالْخَبَرُ الْآخَرُ مَنْ رَوَى عَنِّي حَقًّا فَأَنَا أَقُولُهُ وَإِنْ لَمْ أَكُنْ قُلْتُهُ وَمَنْ رَوَى بَاطِلًا فَإِنِّي لَا أَقُولُ بِالْبَاطِلِ ، وَفِي كُلِّ مَا رَسَمْنَا مِنْ هَذَا الْكِتَابِ نَقُولُ :
waqad rawaynā man balaghahu ʿani allāhi faḍīlatun ʾaw ʿan rasūli allāhi ṣallā allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waʿamila bihi ʾaʿṭāhu allāhu thawāba dhālika waʾin lam yakun mā qīla wa-al-khabaru al-ʾākharu man rawā ʿannī ḥaqqan faʾanā ʾaqūluhu waʾin lam ʾakun qultuhu waman rawā bāṭilan faʾinnī lā ʾaqūlu bi-al-bāṭili , wafī kulli mā rasamnā min hādhā al-kitābi naqūlu:
We have related: “Whoever receives a report of a merit from God or from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, and acts on it, God gives him its reward even if what was said was not so.” In the other report: “Whoever narrates truth from me, I say it, even if I did not say it; whoever narrates falsehood, I do not speak falsehood.” Concerning everything we have set down in this book, we say:
اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ وَأَحْكَمُ وَعِلْمُهُ الْمُقَدَّمُ وَعِنْدَهُ حَقَائِقُ الْعُلُومِ وَإِلَيْهِ تَرْجِعُ الْأُمُورُ وَمَا شَاءَ كَانَ وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ ، وَهَذَا آخِرُ كِتَابِ الْعِلْمِ وَتَفْصِيلِ الْعُلُومِ وَوَصْفِ طَرِيقِ السَّلَفِ وَنَشْرِ مَا أَحْدَثَ بَعْدَهُمُ الْخَلَفُ .
allāhu ʾaʿlamu waʾaḥkamu waʿilmuhu al-muqaddamu waʿindahu ḥaqāʾiqu al-ʿulūmi waʾilayhi tarjiʿu al-ʾumūru wamā shāʾa kāna wa-allāhu al-mustaʿānu walā ḥawla walā quwwata ʾillā bi-allāhi , wahādhā ʾākhiru kitābi al-ʿilmi watafṣīli al-ʿulūmi wawaṣfi ṭarīqi al-salafi wanashri mā ʾaḥdatha baʿdahumu al-khalafu.
God knows best and judges most wisely. His knowledge takes precedence; with Him are the realities of the sciences, and to Him all affairs return. Whatever He wills comes to be. God is the One whose help is sought. There is no power and no strength except through God. This is the end of the Book of Knowledge, the distinctions among the sciences, the description of the predecessors’ path, and the exposition of what later generations introduced after them.
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