In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
The act of obeying Allah and His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, is the most important act for us to be concerned about in our lives. The substance what we need to be obeying in order to reach the high level of Paradise and save us from the pits of Hell is in the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
Holding fast to the Qur'an and the Sunnah and acting upon the guidance is the way out of misguidance. Every act of ours there is a ruling from Allah and we need to know this ruling and apply it so we be of those who obey and not of those who disobey.
You can't assume that since you pray and you fast in Ramadhan, you are going to make it to Paradise. You might make it to Paradise, out of Allah's mercy, but this is not guaranteed. You cannot just read the Qur'an and the Hadith books and think you know what Allah wants you to do. You may be praying for 20 years all wrong because you never learn how to pray from someone who knows.
Most of us, when we look at a giant tree, we see a big trunk with branches and leaves. We might marvel at beauty of the tree, but a very skilled carpenter sees more--he sees a hand crafted masterpiece or an ornate furniture because he is trained in carpentry and has the tools and experience.
So we want to learn our religion from Muslim scholars to avoid misguidance and destruction. Books cannot substitute Muslim scholars.
Who are the Muslim scholars?
The scholars are the heirs of the Prophets, and they have assumed their role in conveying the Message of Islam and calling people to the religion Islam.
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
The scholars are the heirs of the Prophets, for the Prophets do not leave behind any dinars or dirhams (i.e., wealth), but they leave behind knowledge. Whoever receives this knowledge receives abundant good fortune.[Tirmidhi]
Allah wills good for the scholars. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
Whoever Allah wishes good for, He enables him to understand the religion properly.[Bukhari]
They are the people who truly fear Allah.
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ وَالدَّوَابِّ وَالْأَنْعَامِ مُخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوَانُهُ كَذَٰلِكَ ۗ إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّـهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ عَزِيزٌ غَفُورٌ ﴿٢٨[Qur'an Fatir 35:28]
And among people and moving creatures and grazing livestock are various colors similarly. Only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Forgiving. (28)
The honor of the scholars is tremendous. The Lord has made them witnesses to the greatest of truths and has mentioned their testimony alongside His own and that of His angels.
شَهِدَ اللَّـهُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ وَأُولُو الْعِلْمِ قَائِمًا بِالْقِسْطِ ۚ لَا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ ﴿١٨[Qur'an AleImran 3:18]
Allah bears witness that La ilaaha illa huwa (none has the right to be worshiped but He) -- and the angels, and men possessed of knowledge -- upholding justice; La ilaaha illa huwa (none has the right to be worshiped but He), the All-mighty, the All-wise.
Allah has raised their status in this world and the next.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قِيلَ لَكُمْ تَفَسَّحُوا فِي الْمَجَالِسِ فَافْسَحُوا يَفْسَحِ اللَّـهُ لَكُمْ ۖ وَإِذَا قِيلَ انشُزُوا فَانشُزُوا يَرْفَعِ اللَّـهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ ۚ وَاللَّـهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ ﴿١١[Qur'an al-Mujadila 58:11]
O you who have believed, when you are told, "Space yourselves" in assemblies, then make space; Allah will make space for you. And when you are told, "Arise," then arise; Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees. And Allah is Acquainted with what you do. (11)
They are the most knowledgeable of people about evil and what leads to it, so they warn people of it.
ثُمَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يُخْزِيهِمْ وَيَقُولُ أَيْنَ شُرَكَائِيَ الَّذِينَ كُنتُمْ تُشَاقُّونَ فِيهِمْ ۚ قَالَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ إِنَّ الْخِزْيَ الْيَوْمَ وَالسُّوءَ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ ﴿٢٧[Qur'an An-Nahl 16:27]
Then on the Day of Resurrection He will disgrace them and say, "Where are My 'partners' for whom you used to oppose [the believers]?" Those who were given knowledge will say, "Indeed disgrace, this Day, and evil are upon the disbelievers"
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ وَيْلَكُمْ ثَوَابُ اللَّـهِ خَيْرٌ لِّمَنْ آمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا وَلَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا الصَّابِرُونَ ﴿٨٠[Qur'an al-Qasas 28:80]
But those who had been given knowledge said, "Woe to you! The reward of Allah is better for he who believes and does righteousness. And none are granted it except the patient." (80)
Our salvation is connected to the presence of scholars. 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'Aas said,
I heard the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, Allah does not take knowledge away by taking it away from people's (hearts); He takes knowledge away by taking away the scholars (i.e., when scholars die), and when there is not one scholar left, the people will turn to ignorant leaders who, when they are consulted, will give fatwas without knowledge. They are misguided and they misguide others.'[Bukhari]
Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said, "People need knowledge more than they need food and drink, because they need food and drink two or three times a day, but they need knowledge all the time." Thus the loss of scholars is a great calamity, "...because the death of the entire tribe is less serious than the death of one scholar."
We ask Allah to preserve our scholars and guide the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad, Allah bless him and grant him peace. We ask Allah to forgive our scholars who have left us, have mercy on them, make their graves wide and fill with light, and admit them to a place of honor in the Day of Resurrection.
May Allah guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom He has bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked His anger or of those who are astray.
Ameen.
Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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