The Way of the Ulema Part one of two
We have a long night ahead of us
The Quran states, Are those who have knowledge equal to those who don’t?
There is no way that a person with knowledge is equal to those without
What does it mean when we have knowledge?
Orientalists (people who study Islam so they can misrepresent it or worse) know a lot about Islam, they even teach Usul Al-Fiqh, this does not make them equal to our scholars
Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala praised knowledge and teachers, read the Ihya
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is the first teacher of this Deen and he is the source of this heavenly knowledge
In his lifetime (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) Islam reached the fours corners of the Arabian Peninsula
What qualifies the companions (may Allah ta’ala be pleased with them all) to be teachers, in Kufa, Baghdad
Did they have PhDs, degrees??
What was their secret?
It was their relationship with Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala
Zaid ibn Thabit was the most knowledge in Halal Haram
Ali was the best judge
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “I am happy with what Abdullah ibn Masud chooses for this Umma.”
Abu Hanifa studied with his teacher Hammad, for seventeen years
These ways are better than a degree, they boast about the universities that they have been to
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave the companions the best qualifications
Ibn Abbas (may Allah show him mercy) was the most learned in the Quran, due to the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
No recruitment, no exams
Sidi Ahmed Al-Zarruq (may Allah show him mercy) said, “A Jurist Sufi is better than a Sufi Jurist.”
If you don’t know how to do Dhikr, how do you know when to stop
A teacher sits and students gather
Some students accompany their teachers for forty years, one of Anis ibn Maliks students did this
Sheikh Abdul-Khaib Al-Hazdi (a scholar in Damascus) was asked, “Who shall we see if we cannot find you?” He said go see Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Yaqoubi (Sheikh Muhammad’s father)
The way of the Ulema is versus to the way of the many, modernists, radicals. Its the way of the Ahl Sunna wa Ja’ma
There are ten principles of the scholar
Sometimes you get a scholar, who shakes hands with women, wearing suits
Who represents the Deen?
Ulema is an English word because those where leaders for 1400 years
Not modernists, not radicals
The Ulema are silenced versus the Selifi movement paid for by oil money
The Ikhwan are pulling the knowledge
Its time for the Ulema now
The scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets and they did not leave Dirham or Dinar
Abu Huraira (may Allah show him mercy) was at the market and protesting to the people that the inheritance of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was being disturbed in the Masjid, they went their and saw two groups of people. One remembering Allah and another studying Halal and Haram
That’s the inheritance of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
The virtue of the scholar over the worshipper is like the sun over the stars
What do we look for in a scholar?
He had meeting with some sisters (behind a veil) and they didn’t know the title of the Bukhari. (Al-Jami' Al-Musnad Al-Sahih Al-Mukhtasar min Umoori Rasulillahi wa Sunanihi wa Ayyamihi" a possible translation, ‘The concise, comprehensive, authentic and uninterruptedly chained collection of the accounts, traditions and expeditions of the Prophet of God.’)
She said her speciality was Usul udeen, You should know a broad range of subjects.
Sheikh Hamza Yusuf asked him if he had a specialty he said that he didn’t
Study the Deen for twenty years then specialise
Start with Tajweed, 5 books in Aqida, Arabic sciences, Mantiq – logic.
You need to study 10 sciences for ten years
Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Yaqoubi knew 20 sciences and could write about them from memory (He studied Astronomy and Algebra)
You should know the chains of the Hadith, so if they miss out a narrator then you know
Hasan Al-Banna never studied the hadith sciences not even Bukhari, he used to edit books and find the source. When he became very famous, he was handed an Ijaza without being tested
Sheikh Badr udeen Al-Hassani (may Allah show him mercy) was the last Hadith scholar in Damascus, Every top scholar was his student, he was the last one to memorize the six books of hadith
Any subject you would discuss, he should know something about it
Sheikh Ahmed Al-Banna (Hasan Al-Banna’s father) used to make Dua (supplication) against him due to his ingratitude and prayed that his sons harm did not reach the Umma
Sheikh Ibrahim (may Allah show him mercy) studied Algerba and astronomy from Shiekh Nur (father of Nasirddun)
If you’re not a scholar with encyclopedic knowledge, you will not be able to do your job
Knowledge of the state (Ilim Al-Hal) is the science of time
If you don’t know how people cheat then you wont know where the gap is
There are PHD holders in Islamic universities who can only teach one subject
Knowledge has no limits
Do you want to go to college? You are going to get a set of papers
There’s no real relationship between you and the professor, you want to pass your exams - there’s no spiritual connection
The way of the Ulema is established, started with knowledge of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and then moving onto worldly matters
Any of our students who deviate from the four Madhabs, his Ijaza may be pulled back from him, This happened in Damascus
Students need to recognise that: with every drop of knowledge, a ton of wisdom is needed
Most of the people who have high IQ’s go into faculties of medicine, if you don’t have a good level of intelligence then you don’t
Question: If a husband says to his wife, if you eat the date you are divorced and if you don’t eat it your divorced. What does she do?
Answer: She eats half.
Question: if his wife is on a ladder and the Husband says if you stay on the ladder you are divorced and if you jump down you are divorced?
Answer: bring another ladder.
It’s a quiz
(someone asked for a car to be moved, he said, “We haven’t started have we?” and Tala Al-Badr was recited.)
Acting upon knowledge makes the difference between satan and the scholars
What's the point of learning when you don’t practice
Practicing is part of learning
Knowledge looks for practice, if it finds it then it stays
When you look at the scholar, you look for practice
We have people give Khutaba in the Umayyad Masjid wearing ties
Abu Iyad As-Sakhtyani (may Allah ta’ala show him mercy) was a great scholar, Imam Malik considered studying with him until he saw him shake and shiver at the mention of the name Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). After he saw this, then he started to study with him
The most dangerous institution against the west, is the institutes of the Ulema and they cannot be outsmarted, they won't give their pride over
Look at the Ulema who practice the Deen
His earliest memory is the 6th June 1967, the Hammadi market was closed as there was glass on the ground, it had been bombed. Shiekh Muhammad was being taken by his father to a Masjid close by to deliver a lesson, Sheikh Ibrahim walked fast and when he arrived at the Masjid no one was there, he delivered the lesson.
The morning of his wedding Sheikh Ibrahim went to give his class. Someone said was the class cancelled. He said who told you? The class goes on
On the day of the death of his brother, who was a day old. Sheikh Ibrahim took the body to the lesson, delivered a three-hour lesson and then asked if anyone wanted to help him bury the baby. If the students knew they would’ve cancelled the lesson, they thought the baby was sleeping
The scholars don’t turn their backs on any students, not even one
A scholar once refused to drink water from one of his students
If you give a gift to an Alim make it cheap, he has to give it back
No student should pay for lessons
Most scholars don’t have salaries – they never charge the student - the students would sometimes give gifts and the scholar would refuse
Adab is for the scholars, He was walking with his father and another scholar, a close friend. Sheikh Ibrahim pushed him forward. You are not supposed to walk in the shadow of the sheikh
Sacred knowledge is known for its Adab
Remember how Jibril (upon him peace) sat when he was with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Knee to knee, tell me about Islam, he came to teach you, your Deen.
When you mention the name Allah add Subhanu wa ta’ala or Azz a-wjal
When you mention Muhammad put (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
Don’t leave a pen on the floor, carry your book on the right side
You should inherit mercy, without it you cannot be a scholar and the first people who are need of it are your enemies
People who don’t know Islam – you should have mercy in order to pull people to heaven
We don’t have a secret agenda, nothing is secret
The way of the Ulema is the truth
We want Christians to be Muslims because that’s what they want for us
I know many of you, I have seen you many times, next time can everyone bring someone from the outside, who need to come inside
Hasan Khabri and Sheikh Hassan changed the choice of Hasan Khabri, in marriage. When they came to ask for the younger daughter, the father said you have come for the younger one, who will marry the older one? So Sheikh Hassan married him to the older one and they lived happily for forty years
A scholar can’t be on television
He has done 25 tours of America and over 1000 people have taken shahada with him
Jest with your non-muslim friends, you’re smart, you should become Muslim
You don’t say should become Muslim or else boom, boom
Sultan Muhammad ali Pasha sent his son Ibrahim Pasha to stay in Damascus, he met Sheikh Al-Halibi. His knees used to hurt and he used to stretch out his legs in front of his students. Ibrahim Pasha left him some gold, when Sheikh Al-Halibi sent one of his students to return the gold to Ibrahim, he sent the message, “The one who stretches out his legs, doesn’t stretch out his hands.”
The government has nothing but money, after they get the Fatwa, they silence the scholars, and you can’t criticize them
Work, knowledge, practice, Adab, mercy, strength
Jamal udeen Nasir (former Egyptian president) introduced socialism and nationalism to the Middle East, when he wanted a Fatwa from Abu Yusuf al-Abideen, he refused, Jamal sacked him. Abu Yusuf protected the Izza (pride) of the deen
I pray that we can learn from the Ulema and become Ulema, Ameen.
We have a long night ahead of us
The Quran states, Are those who have knowledge equal to those who don’t?
There is no way that a person with knowledge is equal to those without
What does it mean when we have knowledge?
Orientalists (people who study Islam so they can misrepresent it or worse) know a lot about Islam, they even teach Usul Al-Fiqh, this does not make them equal to our scholars
Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala praised knowledge and teachers, read the Ihya
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is the first teacher of this Deen and he is the source of this heavenly knowledge
In his lifetime (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) Islam reached the fours corners of the Arabian Peninsula
What qualifies the companions (may Allah ta’ala be pleased with them all) to be teachers, in Kufa, Baghdad
Did they have PhDs, degrees??
What was their secret?
It was their relationship with Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala
Zaid ibn Thabit was the most knowledge in Halal Haram
Ali was the best judge
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “I am happy with what Abdullah ibn Masud chooses for this Umma.”
Abu Hanifa studied with his teacher Hammad, for seventeen years
These ways are better than a degree, they boast about the universities that they have been to
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave the companions the best qualifications
Ibn Abbas (may Allah show him mercy) was the most learned in the Quran, due to the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
No recruitment, no exams
Sidi Ahmed Al-Zarruq (may Allah show him mercy) said, “A Jurist Sufi is better than a Sufi Jurist.”
If you don’t know how to do Dhikr, how do you know when to stop
A teacher sits and students gather
Some students accompany their teachers for forty years, one of Anis ibn Maliks students did this
Sheikh Abdul-Khaib Al-Hazdi (a scholar in Damascus) was asked, “Who shall we see if we cannot find you?” He said go see Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Yaqoubi (Sheikh Muhammad’s father)
The way of the Ulema is versus to the way of the many, modernists, radicals. Its the way of the Ahl Sunna wa Ja’ma
There are ten principles of the scholar
Sometimes you get a scholar, who shakes hands with women, wearing suits
Who represents the Deen?
Ulema is an English word because those where leaders for 1400 years
Not modernists, not radicals
The Ulema are silenced versus the Selifi movement paid for by oil money
The Ikhwan are pulling the knowledge
Its time for the Ulema now
The scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets and they did not leave Dirham or Dinar
Abu Huraira (may Allah show him mercy) was at the market and protesting to the people that the inheritance of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was being disturbed in the Masjid, they went their and saw two groups of people. One remembering Allah and another studying Halal and Haram
That’s the inheritance of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
The virtue of the scholar over the worshipper is like the sun over the stars
What do we look for in a scholar?
He had meeting with some sisters (behind a veil) and they didn’t know the title of the Bukhari. (Al-Jami' Al-Musnad Al-Sahih Al-Mukhtasar min Umoori Rasulillahi wa Sunanihi wa Ayyamihi" a possible translation, ‘The concise, comprehensive, authentic and uninterruptedly chained collection of the accounts, traditions and expeditions of the Prophet of God.’)
She said her speciality was Usul udeen, You should know a broad range of subjects.
Sheikh Hamza Yusuf asked him if he had a specialty he said that he didn’t
Study the Deen for twenty years then specialise
Start with Tajweed, 5 books in Aqida, Arabic sciences, Mantiq – logic.
You need to study 10 sciences for ten years
Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Yaqoubi knew 20 sciences and could write about them from memory (He studied Astronomy and Algebra)
You should know the chains of the Hadith, so if they miss out a narrator then you know
Hasan Al-Banna never studied the hadith sciences not even Bukhari, he used to edit books and find the source. When he became very famous, he was handed an Ijaza without being tested
Sheikh Badr udeen Al-Hassani (may Allah show him mercy) was the last Hadith scholar in Damascus, Every top scholar was his student, he was the last one to memorize the six books of hadith
Any subject you would discuss, he should know something about it
Sheikh Ahmed Al-Banna (Hasan Al-Banna’s father) used to make Dua (supplication) against him due to his ingratitude and prayed that his sons harm did not reach the Umma
Sheikh Ibrahim (may Allah show him mercy) studied Algerba and astronomy from Shiekh Nur (father of Nasirddun)
If you’re not a scholar with encyclopedic knowledge, you will not be able to do your job
Knowledge of the state (Ilim Al-Hal) is the science of time
If you don’t know how people cheat then you wont know where the gap is
There are PHD holders in Islamic universities who can only teach one subject
Knowledge has no limits
Do you want to go to college? You are going to get a set of papers
There’s no real relationship between you and the professor, you want to pass your exams - there’s no spiritual connection
The way of the Ulema is established, started with knowledge of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and then moving onto worldly matters
Any of our students who deviate from the four Madhabs, his Ijaza may be pulled back from him, This happened in Damascus
Students need to recognise that: with every drop of knowledge, a ton of wisdom is needed
Most of the people who have high IQ’s go into faculties of medicine, if you don’t have a good level of intelligence then you don’t
Question: If a husband says to his wife, if you eat the date you are divorced and if you don’t eat it your divorced. What does she do?
Answer: She eats half.
Question: if his wife is on a ladder and the Husband says if you stay on the ladder you are divorced and if you jump down you are divorced?
Answer: bring another ladder.
It’s a quiz
(someone asked for a car to be moved, he said, “We haven’t started have we?” and Tala Al-Badr was recited.)
Acting upon knowledge makes the difference between satan and the scholars
What's the point of learning when you don’t practice
Practicing is part of learning
Knowledge looks for practice, if it finds it then it stays
When you look at the scholar, you look for practice
We have people give Khutaba in the Umayyad Masjid wearing ties
Abu Iyad As-Sakhtyani (may Allah ta’ala show him mercy) was a great scholar, Imam Malik considered studying with him until he saw him shake and shiver at the mention of the name Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). After he saw this, then he started to study with him
The most dangerous institution against the west, is the institutes of the Ulema and they cannot be outsmarted, they won't give their pride over
Look at the Ulema who practice the Deen
His earliest memory is the 6th June 1967, the Hammadi market was closed as there was glass on the ground, it had been bombed. Shiekh Muhammad was being taken by his father to a Masjid close by to deliver a lesson, Sheikh Ibrahim walked fast and when he arrived at the Masjid no one was there, he delivered the lesson.
The morning of his wedding Sheikh Ibrahim went to give his class. Someone said was the class cancelled. He said who told you? The class goes on
On the day of the death of his brother, who was a day old. Sheikh Ibrahim took the body to the lesson, delivered a three-hour lesson and then asked if anyone wanted to help him bury the baby. If the students knew they would’ve cancelled the lesson, they thought the baby was sleeping
The scholars don’t turn their backs on any students, not even one
A scholar once refused to drink water from one of his students
If you give a gift to an Alim make it cheap, he has to give it back
No student should pay for lessons
Most scholars don’t have salaries – they never charge the student - the students would sometimes give gifts and the scholar would refuse
Adab is for the scholars, He was walking with his father and another scholar, a close friend. Sheikh Ibrahim pushed him forward. You are not supposed to walk in the shadow of the sheikh
Sacred knowledge is known for its Adab
Remember how Jibril (upon him peace) sat when he was with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Knee to knee, tell me about Islam, he came to teach you, your Deen.
When you mention the name Allah add Subhanu wa ta’ala or Azz a-wjal
When you mention Muhammad put (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
Don’t leave a pen on the floor, carry your book on the right side
You should inherit mercy, without it you cannot be a scholar and the first people who are need of it are your enemies
People who don’t know Islam – you should have mercy in order to pull people to heaven
We don’t have a secret agenda, nothing is secret
The way of the Ulema is the truth
We want Christians to be Muslims because that’s what they want for us
I know many of you, I have seen you many times, next time can everyone bring someone from the outside, who need to come inside
Hasan Khabri and Sheikh Hassan changed the choice of Hasan Khabri, in marriage. When they came to ask for the younger daughter, the father said you have come for the younger one, who will marry the older one? So Sheikh Hassan married him to the older one and they lived happily for forty years
A scholar can’t be on television
He has done 25 tours of America and over 1000 people have taken shahada with him
Jest with your non-muslim friends, you’re smart, you should become Muslim
You don’t say should become Muslim or else boom, boom
Sultan Muhammad ali Pasha sent his son Ibrahim Pasha to stay in Damascus, he met Sheikh Al-Halibi. His knees used to hurt and he used to stretch out his legs in front of his students. Ibrahim Pasha left him some gold, when Sheikh Al-Halibi sent one of his students to return the gold to Ibrahim, he sent the message, “The one who stretches out his legs, doesn’t stretch out his hands.”
The government has nothing but money, after they get the Fatwa, they silence the scholars, and you can’t criticize them
Work, knowledge, practice, Adab, mercy, strength
Jamal udeen Nasir (former Egyptian president) introduced socialism and nationalism to the Middle East, when he wanted a Fatwa from Abu Yusuf al-Abideen, he refused, Jamal sacked him. Abu Yusuf protected the Izza (pride) of the deen
I pray that we can learn from the Ulema and become Ulema, Ameen.
Assalamu alaikum,
ReplyDeleteWhere can we find the audio for this lecture? JazakAllah.
walikum salam
ReplyDeleteSorry I don't know but I would love to have a copy myself.