Although I never personally met Murabit Al-Hajj, I heard a
lot about from his students in particular Sheikh Hamza Yusuf. Moreover, anyone
who heard from Sheikh Hamza would have benefited from the knowledge that he
was taught.
He was a man known for piety and great knowledge. He taught
for decades and had an understanding that is beyond a few years of study. It is foolish to think one is qualified after a few years of study but in reality,
they are merely students.
The real sadness is that we do not recognise the importance
of scholars and scholarship. ‘Diy’ Islam has affected us all. Namely, Islam is
whatever we think it is and not what it actually is. The Internet has made
experts of us all as we spread false opinions without realising the
ramifications.
Often people do not recognise knowledge but recognise dress
sense. Therefore, when someone dresses like a scholar people think he is! Only
those with something recognise in someone else. This is our problem.
Perhaps greater than all this is the death of a
scholar without his knowledge being passed on. It is not the loss of books in
that we lose religion it is from people who are in touch with the traditional works.
That most of us have no access to. Scholars are a means to knowledge. You see it is the heart that contains
knowledge and when the hearts go, so does the knowledge.
I find it bizarre that the illiterate have expressed sadness about the death of a scholar when they have no interest in knowledge. To me the death of a scholar is the severing of decades of study and understanding. Even if someone was to study like them they would only reach their understanding after decades, if at all.
I find it bizarre that the illiterate have expressed sadness about the death of a scholar when they have no interest in knowledge. To me the death of a scholar is the severing of decades of study and understanding. Even if someone was to study like them they would only reach their understanding after decades, if at all.
He (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) said,
“Allah the Exalted does not take knowledge by removing it from the servant. Nevertheless,
He takes knowledge by the death of scholars until there does not remain a
single scholar. Then people appoint the ignorant as their leaders. They are
asked, they give legal edict without knowledge. They are misguided and cause
greater misguidance.”[1]
Allah (the Exalted) does not take knowledge once it is given
but there might be a time when it is not taken. Then the scholar dies and that
knowledge has gone and the opportunity lost. People make leaders of the
misguided because they cannot recognise knowledge. Only knowledge recognises
knowledge. The people are misguided and they can only accept the misguided as
leaders. Look at how a scholar saves people from misguidance, but without one
everything goes. So bear in mind the person who is appointed by people might be
as misguided as them. When there is no apparent heir to the knowledge should we become worried.
Food for thought because this hadith is happening now and has
been happening for about twenty years without most people losing sleep. If we
were really to understand this correctly, we should be scared.
Islam is protected from being altered by the men of
knowledge and when we lose them, do the misguided rule. We are seeing these
signs now. We need more students to study at least the basics, if not more than this.
Religion is protected from misguidance because a party will remain steadfast on
the truth. But the distressing thing that most of us are not concerned with, that
makes the death of any scholar heartbreaking is, there is no replacement.
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