The Thinking Muslim Blog

Al-Adab Al-Mufrad Imam al-Bukhari states: (555) Ishaq narrated to us, saying: Muhammad bin Fudayl narrated to us, saying: Al-Walid bin Jamee' narrated to us: on the authority of Abu Salama bin Abd al-Rahman, he said: The Companions of Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, were neither aloof nor did they put on airs of humility. They would cite poetry to each other in their gatherings and recount their stories from the days of Jahiliyyah. But if a compromise was sought from one of them concerning a command of Allah, the pupils of his eyes would spin as if he were a madman.

It is narrated that Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, warned a man against injustice. The man said: "O Imam, I am poor and have family [to look after]." Imam Ahmad said: "Look at this wicked man, he claims that when he disobeys Allah, He provides him and when he obeys Him, He does not provide him!" (Al-Kiyasah fi Ahkam al-Siyasah) رُوي أن الإمام أحمد رحمه الله نهى رجلاً عن الظَلَمَة. فقال: يا إمام، أنا فقير ولي عيال. فقال: انظروا إلى هذا الخبيث يزعم أنه إذا عصى الله يرزقه، وإذا أطاعه لا يرزقه! (الكياسة في أحكام السياسة) لابن المبرد

Some of the scholars said, "Three are the flags of goodness in the student [of knowledge]: 1) Honoring scholars with good humility 2) Being blind to the faults of people by scrutinizing one's own flaws 3) Spending money on seeking knowledge, preferring it over worldly pleasures." من نصائح ذي النون المصري (ت ٢٤٥هـ): "ثلاثة من أعلام الخير في المتعلم: تعظيم العلماء بحسن التواضع لهم، والعمى عن عيوب الناس بالنظر في عيب نفسه، وبذل المال في طلب العلم إيثاراً له على متاع الدنيا"

I have seen some learned people say that if you want to capture the spirit and essence of the Sunnah as a whole, then go through the following three books: 1 - Umdah al-Ahkam by al-Maqdisi 2 - Buloogh al-Maraam by Ibn Hajar 3 - Riyaadh Saliheen by Nawawi The hadiths found in Umdat al-Ahkam and Buloogh al-Maraam are the foundations of legal rulings in fiqhi texts. All three have been translated into English. If you can go through commentaries on each that would even be better, especially for (1) and (2).

Imam al-Zuhri used to say to young men and youth: "Do not belittle yourselves because of your young age. When a difficult matter came to Umar ibn al-Khattab, he called the youth, consulted them, seeking the sharpness of their minds." فقد كان الإمام الزهري يقول للفتيان والشباب: "لا تحقروا أنفسكم لحداثة أسنانكم، فإن عمر بن الخطاب كان إذا نزل به الأمر المعضل دعا الفتيان، فاستشارهم، يبتغي حدة عقولهم"

*The value of expertise in one particular field* Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi (d. 170 AH) said: "If you want to be a scholar, specialize in one field of knowledge, and if you want to be a literary figure, take what is best from everything." Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Salam (d. 224 AH) said: "No one has debated me, being skilled in the sciences, without being defeated by me, and no one has debated me with expertise in one field without him defeating me in that field." These statements and similar ones from eminent scholars, indicating the superiority of specialization in one field over a general knowledge of various sciences, serve to confirm that every science is like a vast ocean, known only to those who delve into its depths and spend their lives exploring it. Those who merely swim on the surface of each sea of knowledge only recognize its superficial aspects, without truly understanding its treasures and secrets. -Sh. Hatem al-Awni in Nasa'ih Manhajiyyah

Imam Ahmad’s Short Deathbed Advice to the Seekers: THE DANGER TODAY is not that Islam will lack preachers, du‘at or even high-minded academics. We are currently blessed to have a growing cadre of young men and women in the Islamic studies field producing outstanding and exemplary academic works. The danger is that Islam’s goal of transformation, through deepening the realities of faith (haqa’iq al-iman), will continue to be devalued, downplayed or neglected. So we learn Islam to know more cerebral stuff. But we do not learn Islam to become transformed. Or that we learn Islam to be practicing at the surface level; that’s it. But we do not come to the deepest aspect of Islam that brings about the degrees of love and sanctity (wilayah) with Allah in the individual — which is ultimately what prophetic emulation is all about. The embodiment of this spirit can be seen with Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal. Throughout his life, budding hadith experts and high-minded jurists formed part of his wider circle of students. Yet on his deathbed, he was asked who they should ask questions to after him? He replied, ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Warraq. This raised some eyebrows on account of ‘Abd al-Wahhab, whilst being an individual of immense piety and sound knowledge, did not possess the breadth of learning in hadith or fiqh which others in the group did. When Imam Ahmad’s suggestion was queried, he said: ‘He is a righteous man. His like shall be enabled to do what is right.’1 Thus, what mattered to Imam Ahmad, as it must to us, was godliness and worldly detachment, instead of mere scholastic credentials. ________________ 1. Cited in Abu Bakr al-Marrudhi, Kitab al-Wara’ (Riyadh: Dar al-Samay‘i, 1997),7; no.4.

Ibn al-Jawzi on Being Rightly-Guided and Rightly-Guiding Through Example: LEST THE SEEKER forgets, it must never be about learning or transmission of knowledge for the sake of itself. Rather, it must be about transformation via knowledge. We must be not be fixated upon aqwal; mere ‘words’ as our goal, but on a‘mal and ahwal; actions and spiritual states. Learning isn’t the aim. Becoming is! To this end, Ibn al-Jawzi said about two of his teachers that had the profoundest influence upon him: one being al-Anmati [d.538H/1142CE], the hadith master of Baghdad in his age; the other, al-Jawaliki [d.540H/1144CE], the grammarian: ‘I have met shaykhs with differing states and varying levels of knowledge. The most beneficial of them to me, in terms of companionship, were those who acted on their knowledge, even if others were more learned than them. ‘I have [also] met a group of hadith scholars who had memorised [much] and were learned. But they were lax about backbiting, under the guise of impugning or validating [hadith reporters] (jarh wa ta‘dil), and they took payment in return for narrating hadiths. They would [also] be hasty in answering questions, even if they were wrong, because [they thought] their status would diminish [if they did not]. ‘I met ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Anmati. He was on the code (qanun) of the salaf. No backbiting was ever heard in his sittings, and he never sought payment for teaching hadiths. Whenever I read heart-softening hadiths to him, he would weep incessantly. When he did weep, and I was young at the time, it would stir my heart and take root in it. He was on the character (samt) of those shaykhs whose description we hear about in the reports. ‘I [also] met Shaykh Abu Mansur al-Jawaliki. He was given to much silence and was extremely careful and judicious about what he would utter. Sometimes he would be asked a plain [easy] question that some of his young students would rush to answer. He would withhold from replying until he was absolutely sure. He fasted abundantly and frequently kept to silence. ‘I benefitted most from seeing these two more than I did from other than them. So what I understood from this was that guidance through action is better than guidance through speech.’1 ____________ 1. Ibn al-Jawzi, Sayd al-Khatir (Riyadh: Madar al-Watan, 2017), 208-09.