In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
It is important to have humility and respect for Muslim scholars and carriers of knowledge as well as to honor them.
Humility is the foundation of all sublime moral excellence. Its absence in any soul removes any other virtue from the believer except for the superficial qualities.
... وَعِبَادُ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا[Qur'an, Al-Furqan 25:63]
The servants of the Rahman (the All-Merciful, Allah) are those who walk on the earth humbly, ...
Humility is an essential characteristic that a student must have to truly benefit from his or her teacher. In the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wassallam), when the angel Jibrīl alayhissalaam came to ask the Prophet, sallallahulayhi wassallam, about Islam, Imān, and Iḥsān, he is described as having, “put his knees against the knees [of the Prophet, sallallahulayhi wassallam, and placed his hands on his thighs.”
Similarly, when the Companions used to sit with the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wassallam) they did not used to raise their heads up to him out of their reverence for him. It is reported on the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), “If the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wassallam) used to enter the masjid, none of us used to raise our heads except Abū Bakr and ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them). They used to smile at him and he used to smile at them.”
It is also reported on the authority of ʿUbāda b. al-Ṣāmit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wassallam)said regarding respecting scholars and honoring them, “He is not from my community who does not venerate our elders, have mercy on our youth, and know the rights of our scholars.”
Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) would say regarding the manners of respect a student should have with his or her teacher, From the rights of the scholar over you is that you give greeting to people generally and greet him specifically, that you do not ask him questions excessively, you do not meet his answers with discord, you do not pressure him if he tires, you do not grab his garment if he sets forth, you do not reveal his secrets, you do not back bite anyone in his presence, you do not seek out his shortcomings, and if he makes a mistake you accept his excuse. It is incumbent upon you to respect and honor him for the sake of Allah as long as he adheres to the commands of Allah. And [you must not] sit with your back towards him, and if he has a need you should hasten before everyone in serving him.
It is related by Shaʿbī (may Allah be pleased with him) that, Zayd b. Thābit (may Allah be pleased with him) led a funeral prayer. He then brought his riding animal near so he could ride it and Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) came to assist him in mounting. Upon this, Zayd said, “Do not do this O, son of the Messenger of Allah’s uncle.” Ibn ʿAbbās replied, “This is how he ordered us to treat our scholars and elders.”
Sufyān al-Thawrī entered the gathering of Imām Mālik while his students around him were seated as if there were birds perched on their heads. He later recited the following poem to describe this:
He refuses to answer [excessive questions and the questioner] will not return out of awe
Those who ask [in his presence] sit with their necks bent
Refined manners, grace, and the dignity of a chief of piety
He inspires awe [in hearts] yet he is no king
Imam Shāfiʿi said: “Out of my reverence for him, I used to turn pages while being seated in the presence of Mālik with gentleness so that he does not hear the pages turn.”
It is related by Ṣāliḥ b. Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, “Al-Shāfiʿi came one day to visit my father while he was ill. He [Ibn Ḥanbal] leapt towards him, kissed him between the eyes, made him sit in his place and he sat in front of him.” He said, “Then he spoke to him for an hour. When al-Shāfiʿī got up to leave, my father rose and took hold of his saddle and walked with him. When [news] of this reached Yaḥya b. Maʿīn, he questioned my father saying, ‘O Abū ʿAbd Allāh, subḥānallah! Were you forced to walk by the side of al-Shāfiʿi’s riding animal?’ My father replied, ‘And you O Abū Zakariyya, had you walked on the other side you would have benefitted.’ Then he said, ‘Who wishes for goodness should follow the tail of that beast.’”
It was said to Iskandar, “Why is your reverence for your spiritual guide (al-muʾaddib) greater than your reverence for your father?” He said, “Because my father is the cause of my temporary life while my spiritual guide is the cause of [success] in my eternal life.”
Many of the Muslim rulers and caliphs also used to give immense importance to knowledge and the reverence of scholars. It is related that Hārūn al-Rashīd used to send his two sons al-Amīn and al-Māʾmūn to learn from Imām al-Kisāʾi who was one of the seven reciters of the Qur’an. One day after class was finished; al-Amīn and al-Maʾmūn were competing to carry the sandals of the shaykh. Each one wanted to carry them and then they settled for each of them carrying one sandal. Meanwhile, Hārūn al- Rashīd was watching them from an elevated place in his residence. He later invited him to a table he had prepared for him and then asked him during the meal, “Who is the happiest of people?” The shaykh said to him, “You are O Leader of the Believers.” He said, “No, the happiest of people is the one who the two heirs of the Leader of the Believers (amīr al-mu ʾminīn) quarrel to carry his sandals.”
From amongst the forms of respect that students must have for teachers is that they should listen with complete attentiveness even if the teacher is saying something which they already know from a quote, story, or poem.ʿ
Aṭā ʾ said, “I listen to a hadith from a man and I am more knowledgeable of it than him. However, I do not show him that I surpass him in anything.”
Similarly, he should not precede the scholar in explaining a matter or answering a question posed by one of the students. It is said, “Learn silence the way you learn to speak. And be more vigilant about listening than speaking.”
As for humility, this not only means that students should be in a state of humbleness while learning but that they must also humble themselves to knowledge in the exertion of their efforts to seek it.
Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say, “I lowered myself seeking, and then I became sought (dhalal-tu ṭāliban fafiztu maṭlūban).”
It is also related that he said, “When the Messenger of Allah died, I said to a man from the Anṣār come lets seek out the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wassallam) for they are many today. He said, ‘I am surprised by you, O Ibn ʿAbbās! Whom among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah do you see as better than yourself?’ He said, So I left him and I set out to ask the Companions of the Messenger of Allah and [news of] a hadith from a man had reached me. I came to the door of the one saying [the hadith] and I spread my cloak on his doorstep, all the while the wind was blowing sand in my face. He came out and saw me and said, ‘O son of the Messenger of Allah’s uncle, what brought you here? Had you sent for me, I would have come.’ I said to him, ‘It is more fitting that I should come to you.’ He said, and I asked him about the hadith. This man of the Ansar then lived until he saw me when people had gathered around me asking me, and he would say ‘This youth is more intelligent than me .’”
It is also related that Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī would not abandon anyone he knew to possess any knowledge except that he sought him out and found him. Ibrāhīm b. Saʿd said, “I asked my father, how did Ibn Shihāb surpass you?” He said, ‘He used to come to the center of gatherings and not leave an elderly person except that he asked him and not leave a youth except that he asked him. Then he used to go to the homes of the Anṣār and he would not leave a youth he did not ask or an elderly person he did not ask. He used to even speak to the women of the households.’”
Finally, it is incumbent that a student does not acquire pride or vanity after having gained an amount of knowledge, remembering that it is ultimately Allah who granted this to him or her. Also because the amount of knowledge that one has accumulated regardless of the heights a student has reached is insignificant in comparison to the knowledge of Allah the Exalted and High.
Allah Almighty says in the Qur’an,
عَلَّمَ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنَ مَا لَمۡ يَعۡلَمۡ (٥[Qur'an, Al-'Alaq 96:5}
He taught man what he did not know.
ٱللَّهُ أَخۡرَجَكُم مِّنۢ بُطُونِ أُمَّهَـٰتِكُمۡ لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ شَيۡـًٔ۬ا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلسَّمۡعَ وَٱلۡأَبۡصَـٰرَ وَٱلۡأَفۡـِٔدَةَۙ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَشۡكُرُونَ[Qur'an, al-Naḥl 16:78].
Allah has brought you forth from your mothers’ wombs when you knew nothing, and He made for you ears, eyes and hearts, so that you may be grateful.
وَيَسۡـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلرُّوحِۖ قُلِ ٱلرُّوحُ مِنۡ أَمۡرِ رَبِّى وَمَآ أُوتِيتُم مِّنَ ٱلۡعِلۡمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلاً۬[Qur'an, Al-Isrā 17:85] and He says,
And they ask you about the soul. Say, “The soul is something from the command of my Lord, and you are not given from the knowledge but a little.”
وَفَوۡقَ ڪُلِّ ذِى عِلۡمٍ عَلِيمٌ۬ ...[Qur'an, Yusuf 12:76]
... Above every man of knowledge, there is someone more knowledgeable.
May Allah increase us in beneficial knowledge and grant us humility. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.
Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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