Tabraze Azam

ONE “TWO” MANY TEACHERS? One of the fascinating character traits employed by Shaykh ʿAbd al-Wahhab al-Shaʿrani (d. 973) as expressed in his Lataʾif al-Minan wa al-Akhlaq, is his frowning and general lack of affability with respect to students who would visit him if he feared that they would incline towards him and thus leave their own teachers. He considered this to be a means of preserving relationships and maintaining the sanctity of teacher-student connections. The bond between students and teachers is sacred, and both parties should recognise the ʿilmi covenant they have made. Accordingly, and if one has taken a teacher in a particular science, it only makes sense that one consult with them and receive instruction from them in order to soundly progress from one stage to another. Multiplicity in teachers of the same subject at the same time can often be detrimental to one’s progression. After graduating at the hands of one’s teacher, one can and should go to another in order to continue one’s development.