About this blog

In recent times a plethora of misconceptions, misrepresentation and myths have been forged about Islam
and Muslims. Many western influentials from politicians, policymakers to judges have taken it upon
themselves to undermine the Islamic beliefs, values and rules so to make it palatable to their
egotistic minds and the secular liberal thoughts.

This blog is dedicated:-

1. To argue the point for Islam in its belief and systems and to refute the misconceptions.
2. To expose the weakness and contradictions of all forms of secularism.

3 Jan 2011

Scholars are those who really fear Allah

"…Those truly fear Allah among His servants are those who have knowledge (Ulema). For Allah is Exalted in Might and is Forgiving." [Al-Fatir: 28]

Regarding "…Those truly fear Allah among His servants are those who have knowledge…"

Ibn Kathir stated that, "The more the knowledge of Allah and His (swt) power is complete, the more He (swt) will be feared by those who have the complete knowledge."

Imam Al-Qurtubi said that, "The scholars are those who know the power of Allah (swt). They are in no doubt of his (swt) punishment no mater what the sin is."

It was narrated by Ali ibn abi Talha that Ibn Abbas (ra) said, "The scholars are those who know that Allah is capable of anything."

Al-Rabee narrated that Ibn Abbas (ra) said, "He who dos not fear Allah (and His punishment) is not a scholar."

Ali ibn abi Talib (ra) said, "The true faqih is the one who will not make the people give up or lose hope in Allah’s mercy; an does not belittle disobedience to Allah; and does not make the people feel protected from Allah’s punishment; and does not leave the Qur’an deliberately (when judging) to judge by other than the Qur’an. A worship not based on knowledge has no value. And a knowledge with no understanding has no value. And a recitation without reflection has no value."

"For Allah is Exalted…" i.e. the One who punishes and rewards should be feared.

The amount of Islamic knowledge, however varies from individual to individual. Therefore, some will know more than others and will need to teach those whose knowledge is less. Those who have the knowledge of the Islamic rules are called ulemaa'. While they do not occupy any spiritual position in Islam, they are given more responsibility then others due to the knowledge they posses. They are the ones who teach the Ummah their Deen, help guide them through the problems of life and direct them to the Islamic priorities. Allah (swt) made it clear that His revelation is to be openly declared to all:

"And Allah took the covenant from those who had received the scripture to make it known and clear to mankind and not to hide it" (TMQ 3:187)

He (swt) has warned against hiding the knowledge, which He (swt), has entrusted us with. He (swt), says:"Those who hide the proofs and the guidance which We revealed, after We had made it clear in the scripture, on them shall be Allah's curse and the curse of those who are entitled to curse." (TMQ 2:15 9)

Allah's Messenger (saw) informed us of the status and importance of the scholars when he (saw) said, "Whomever Al1ah wants goodness for, he makes him understand the Deen (Islam)." [Al-Bukhari]

He (saw) also said, "The scholars on earth are like the stars in the sky. People are guided by them in the darkness of the land and the sea. If the stars are covered, people would get lost." [Ahmad]

So we are told by the Messenger (saw) himself that scholars play an important role in guiding the Ummah and championing its cause. They are most needed nowadays at a time when Islam is no longer implemented, shirk of legislation is the law of Muslims, division and fragmentation pervade the Ummah, and the Western nations dominate over us. They are desperately needed now to show the Ummah how to re-establish Islam, unite as one body and take control of the international arena. It is the scholars who must lead the Ummah in its struggle against the tyrant rulers who not only insist on implementing western laws on Muslims, enslaving them to imperialist masters, but also imprisoning, torturing and killing those who want to simply live by Islam. The Islamic scholars of the past played such a leading role. They always stood firm and favoured Islam and the well-being of the Muslim Ummah over any other interest, and sometimes even at the expense of their own lives. They feared no one but Allah (swt) and thus they spoke the truth with absolutely no compromise of Islam. This was especially the case when it came to the rulers and how they conducted their affairs.

Muhammad (saw) said, "Whoever sees an unjust ruler breaking the prohibition of Allah, breaking His covenant, disagreeing with the Sunnah of the Prophet, committing sins and creating animosity against the servants ofAI1ah, and he does not say or do anything against it, then it is the right of Allah to put him where he belongs (hell)." (reported by At Tabbai in At-Tarikh and Ibn Al-Atheer in AI-Kamel).

Muhammad (saw) also said, "There will be unjust rulers who cause hardship to their people. Whoever went along with their lies and helped them with their injustice, he is not from me nor am I from him, and he will not drink from the Al-Hawd (pond)" (Ahmad, An-Nisa'ii, At-Tirmithi).

The following accounts are examples of how the scholars remained steadfast to Islam and did not remain silent in correcting the rulers of their time. Their love of Allah was far greater than any fear of torture the ruler could administer.

1 - The scholar Imam Sufiyan At-Thawri said "when AI-Mahdi Abu Jaa'far AI-Mansoor (the Khalifah came to Hajj, he asked for me. So [his men] watched the house and took me at night. When I was before him, he sat me close to him. He said, "Why don't you stay close to us where we can consult you in our affair. Whatever you tell us to do, we will comply with it." I [Sufiyan] said to him, "How much did you spend on this trip [for Hajj] of yours." He said, "I don't know. I have trustees and appointees [to take care of these matters]. "I said, "What excuse will you have tomorrow when you stand in front of Allah (swt), and He asks you about it?" (Sufiyan then related the example of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab). Omar Ibn Al-Khattab asked his servant, when he performed Hajj, for how much did he spend on their trip? He said, "O Ameer of the believers, I spent 18 Dinars." Omar said, "We overspent from the Muslims treasury" (Sufiyan then added) You know, Ibn Mas'ood reported that the Prophet said, "A person who spends from the wealth of Allah and His Messenger [extravagantly], will be rewarded hell." One of Abu Ja'faar's aids said (to Sufiyan) "You say this to the Ameer of the believers!?" Safiyan answered him, with the dignity and strength of the believers: "Silent! It is Haman (minister of Pharaoh) who destroyed Pharaoh and Pharaoh destroyed Haman. (Meaning the one who gave advice and the one who should follow the advice destroyed one another when they did not do as they should.)."

2 - Hajeej Az-Zayyat was a scholar at the time of Hajjaj who was a tyrant governor of Iraq. Al-Hajjaj asked him, "What do you think of me?" Az-Zayyat replied, "I say you are one of the enemies of Allah. You break Allah's laws and you kill for mere doubt." Al-Hajjaj asked him, "What do you say about the Ameer of the believers Abdul Malik bin Marwan?" He said, "He is a bigger sinner than you. You are but one of his sins." Al-Hajjaj ordered him to be tortured. They split bamboo sticks and tied his flesh with it. Then they started splitting the sticks tearing his flesh with it. He died shaheed. He was only 18 years old; may Allah (swt) have mercy on him.

3 - Sulayman bin Abdul Malik stopped by Medinah on his way to Mecca. He sent for a scholar named Abu Hazem. Once Abu Hazem entered, Sulayman asked him, "Why do we hate death?" Abu Hazem replied, "Because you ruined your hereafter and took care of your life. So you hate to go from luxury to ruin. Then after giving him sincere advice, Sulayman asked him, "What do you say of me?" Abu Hazem said, "Do not push me to answer." He said, "It is advice. You must tell me." Abu Hazem said, "Your forefathers overpowered the Muslims and took over the ruling position without the Muslims consultation or approval. They also killed a great number of them. You should know their behaviour and what was thought of them. One of the people said, "How could you say this!" Abu Hazim said, "Allah took the covenant from the scholars to explain things to the people and not to hide (true knowledge)"

Imam Malik bin Anas stated: "It is a duty upon every Muslim whom Allah has given some knowledge or fiqh to confront any ruler, command him to do good, forbid him from evil. This differentiates the scholar from others when they approach a ruler. This is the status that is not surpassed."

The reader should compare the positions taken by the scholars of the past against unjust, yet legitimate Khalifahs and governors and those taken by nowadays scholars. Al-Jaahith reported in Al-Byan wat Tabiyeen that Muhammad (saw) was asked, "0 Messenger of AI1ah, who is the worst people?" He replied, "The scholars, if they become corrupt."

Imam Ali is reported to have said, "Two types of people I cannot tolerate are - a scholar who is shameless and an ignorant worshiper. The ignorant worshipper fools the people with his worship and the scholar with his shamelessness."

If these scholars were true Islamic scholars they would show the people by example, standing by the Islamic rule, even if it costs them their lives. Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal realised his role as a scholar who is to show the Ummah that the Muslim is to fear none but Allah. He stated, "If the scholar uses Tuqyah (concealment of knowledge for one's own protection) in his answers, the ignorant person does not know, when will the Truth become known!"

These scholars have misled many people, especially those who have taken them as idols without knowing it. While denouncing imitation, they keep repeating what their scholars say, rejecting the tangible. We remind our brothers and sisters of a basic part of our Aqeedah called al-walaa wal- baraa' (allegiance to the believers and its supporters and denouncing the disbelievers and their supporters).

When a ruler rules by Kufr and scholars support him, what is their Islamic verdict? And what is our position vis-à-vis them? 0 Allah, have we conveyed the Message? 0 Allah be our witness!

Imam AI-Ghazali in Ihya'a Uloom id-Deen, volume 7, page 72 said, "This was the way and tradition of the scholars: commanding good and forbidding evil. They cared less for the might of the rulers. They depended on Allah's blessing to protect them and accepted Allah's rule of giving them the Shahadah. When their intentions were pure, their words softened the hard hearts. But now, greed has tied up the scholars tongues and made them quiet. Even if they talk, their speech will help none of the affairs at hand and thus they will fail. Had they told the truth and intended to give knowledge its due right, they would have succeeded. The corruption of the people is due to the corruption of the rulers; the corrupt rulers exist due to the corruption of the scholars (for the scholars are not speaking out against these rulers); and the corruption of the scholars is due to the love of wealth and power".

Whoever is dominated by the love of this world, he is so preoccupied that he is unable to question the general public. If he cannot even question the general public of their duty, then how will he have the capacity and the courage to question the rulers and those in higher positions?"

[Taken from Islamic Revival Website]
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What they said...

“Islam represented the greatest military power on earth…It was the foremost economic power in the world…It had achieved the highest level so far in human history, in the arts and sciences of civilization...Islam in contrast created a world civilization, poly-ethnic, multiracial, international, one might even say intercontinental.”





[Bernard Lewis, Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Orientalist and Historian, 2001]





"There was once a civilization that was the greatest in the world. It was able to create a continental super-state that stretched from ocean to ocean, and from northern climes to tropics and deserts…the civilization I'm talking about was the Islamic world from the year 800 to 1600… Although we are often unaware of our indebtedness to this other civilization, its gifts are very much a part of our heritage"





[Carly Fiorina, ex-CEO of Hewlett-Packard, 2001]





"For the first three centuries of its existence (circ. A.D 650-1000) the realm of Islam was the most civilized and progressive portion of the world. Studded with splendid cities, gracious mosques and quiet universities where the wisdom of the ancient world was preserved and appreciated, the Moslem world offered a striking contrast to the Christian West, then sunk in the night of the Dark Ages."





[Lothrop Stoddard, Ph.D (Harvard), American political theorist and historian, 1932]





"Medieval Islam was technologically advanced and open to innovation. It achieved far higher literacy rates than in contemporary Europe;it assimilated the legacy of classical Greek civilization to such a degree that many classical books are now known to us only through Arabic copies. It invented windmills ,trigonometry, lateen sails and made major advances in metallurgy, mechanical and chemical engineering and irrigation methods. In the middle-ages the flow of technology was overwhelmingly from Islam to Europe rather from Europe to Islam. Only after the 1500's did the net direction of flow begin to reverse."





[Jared Diamond, UCLA sociologist and Author, 1997]



"No other society has such a record of success in uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity and endeavour so many and so varied races of mankind. The great Muslim communities of Africa, India and Indonesia, perhaps also the small community in Japan, show that Islam has still the power to reconcile apparently irreconcilable elements of race and tradition. If ever the opposition of the great societies of the East and west is to be replaced by cooperation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable condition."





[Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb, Professor at Harvard University, 1932]





“The Muhammadan Law which is binding on all -- from the crowned head to the meanest subject is a law interwoven with a system of the wisest, the most learned and the most enlightened jurisprudence that ever existed in the world.”





[Edmund Burke, British Statesman and Philosopher, 1789]





"The Exile here is not like in our homeland. The Turks hold respectable Jews in esteem. Here and in Alexandria, Egypt, Jews are the chief officers and administrators of the customs, and the king’s revenues. No injuries are perpetuated against them in all the empire. Only this year, in consequence of the extraordinary expenditure caused by the war against Shah Tahmsap al-Sufi, were the Jews required to make advances of loans to the princes."





[David dei Rossi, Jewish Traveller 17CE, quoted by Norman A. Stillman, The Jews of Arab Lands]





"The notable religious tolerance towards Christians and Jew under Muslim rule had given way to the uncompromising zealotry of Spanish Inquisition. Jews and Muslims thus fled Spain with large numbers of Jews immigrating to the Ottoman Empire which was known for its tolerance to the Jews."





[Graham Fuller, Author and former CIA, 1995]





“If there is much misunderstanding in the West about the nature of Islam, there is also much ignorance about the debt our own culture and civilization owe to the Islamic world. It is a failure, which stems, I think, from the straightjacket of history, which we have inherited. The medieval Islamic world, from central Asia to the shores of the Atlantic, was a world where scholars and men of learning flourished. But because we have tended to see Islam as the enemy of the West, as an alien culture, society, and systems of beliefs, we have tended to ignore or erase its great relevance to our own history”





[Charles Philip Arthur George, HRH The Prince of Wales, 1993]





"...Not being subject to the Sharia, Jews and Christians were free to go to their own religious authorities for adjudication of disputes; but in many cases they went instead to the [Muslim] Qadi"





[Richard W. Bulliet, Professor of History and Author, 2004]





"Here in the land of the Turks we have nothing to complain of. We possess great fortunes; much gold and silver are in our hands. We are not oppressed by heavy taxes and our commerce is free and unhindered. Rich are the fruits of the earth. Everything is cheap and each one of us lives in freedom. Here a Jew is not compelled to wear a yellow star as a badge of shame as is the case in Germany where even wealth and great fortune is a curse for a Jew because he therewith arouses jealousy among the Christians and they devise all kinds of slander against him to rob him of his gold. Arise my brethren, gird up your loins, collect up your forces and come to us."





[In his book 'Constantinople', Philip Mansel quotes a rabbi in Turkey writing to his brethren in Europe where they were facing increasing persecution after 1453]





"Praise be to the beneficent God for his mercy towards me! Kings of the earth, to whom his [the Caliph’s] magnificence and power are known, bring gifts to him, conciliating his favour by costly presents, such as the king of the Germans, the king of the Gebalim, the king of Constantinople, and others. All their gifts pass through my hands, and I am charged with making gifts in return. (Let my lips express praise to the God in heaven who so far extends his loving kindness towards me without any merit of my own, but in the fullness of his mercies.) I always ask the ambassadors of these monarchs about our brethren the Jews, the remnant of the captivity, whether they have heard anything concerning the deliverance of those who have pined in bondage and had found no rest."





[Hasdai Ibn Shaprut (915-990 CE) Jewish physician, chief minister of Islamic Caliphate in Cordova, 'The Jewish Caravan']





"In Baghdad there are about forty thousand Jews, and they dwell in security, prosperity, and honour under the great Caliph [al-Mustanjid, 1160-70 CE], and amongst them are great sages, the Heads of the Academies engaged in the study of the Law…’"





[Benjamin of Tudela, Rabbi in Baghdad in the year 1168 CE, 'The Jew in the Medieval World']





"Those Eastern thinkers of the ninth century laid down, on the basis of their theology, the principle of the Rights of Man, in those very terms, comprehending the rights of individual liberty, and of inviolability of person and property; described the supreme power in Islam, or Califate, as based on a contract, implying conditions of capacity and performance, and subject to cancellation if the conditions under the contract were not fulfilled; elaborated a Law of War of which the humane, chivalrous prescriptions would have put to the blush certain belligerents in the Great War; expounded a doctrine of toleration of non-Moslem creeds so liberal that our West had to wait a thousand years before seeing equivalent principles adopted.





[Leon Ostorog, French Jurist]





"The debt of our science to that of the Arabs does not consist in startling discoveries or revolutionary theories; science owes a great deal more to Arab culture, it owes its existence"





[Robert Briffault, Novelist and Historian, 1928]





"The only effective link between the old and the new science is afforded by the Arabs. The dark ages come as an utter gap in the scientific history of Europe, and for more than a thousand years there was not a scientific man of note except in Arabia"





[Oliver Joseph Lodge, Writer and Professor of Physics, 1893]





“Thus, when Muslims crossed the straits of Gibraltar from North Africa in 711 and invaded the Iberian Peninsula, Jews welcomed them as liberators from Christian Persecution.”





[Zion Zohar, Jewish scholar at Florida International University, 2005]







“Throughout much of the period in question, Arabic served as the global language of scholarship, and learned men of all stripes could travel widely and hold serious and nuanced discussions in this lingua franca. Medieval Western scholars who wanted access to the latest findings also needed to master the Arabic Tongue or work from translations by those who had done so.”





[Jonathan Lyons, Author, Writer and Lecturer, 2009]