The twelfth malady of the heart is conceit.
Conceit is one’s holding or deeming one’s self to be superior to others. A
person with this malady feels complacency in his heart when he thinks himself
to be superior to others. ’Ujb (self-love) also is a feeling of superiority. In
this case one does not think of oneself as superior to a specific person or
persons but in a generalized sense sees one’s self and deeds as superior.
Conceit is a very disagreeable trait and is prohibited (harâm).
It is a sign of
forgetting
one’s Creator, Rabb. Many religious men suffer from this malady. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in
a hadîth-i-sherîf: “A person who has an
atom’s weight of conceit in his heart will not enter Paradise.”
The opposite of conceit is tawâdu’, which is a feeling of equality. A humble
person holds himself equal with others. He does not hold himself to be either
superior or inferior to others. Humility is a very valuable trait for a human
being. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “How lucky for humble
people.” A humble person does not think of himself
as inferior to others. He is neither a base nor a lazy person. He earns his
living by permissible (halâl) means and gives much to charity or as a
gift to others. He establishes acquaintances with scholars or scientists. He
also feels compassion toward poor people. In the following hadîths Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states: “A humble person who
earns his living by permissible (halâl) means, who has an agreeable nature, who
is very mild towards others, and who does not harm anyone else is a very
beautiful person,” and “A person who humbles himself for the sake of Allâhu ta’âlâ will be raised to
superior ranks by Allâhu ta’âlâ.” Treating a conceited
person with equal conceited behavior is permissible (jâiz). Allâhu ta’âlâ is proud (Mutakabbir)
toward His creatures. Allâhu ta’âlâ has pride (Kibr).
A person will earn rewards (thawâb) when he treats a
conceited person with equally conceited behavior. Anyone who treats a conceited
person humbly has done injustice to himself (by doing so). It is also
permissible to be conceited towards those who have deviated from the right path
and towards rich people. Responding with conceited behavior towards them is not
for the purpose of showing one’s superiority but for waking them up to reality.
Being proud and haughty against the enemy during a war is very rewarding. This
type of haughtiness is called “huyalâ.” A person giving alms should have a sort
of conceit mixed with cheer and joy. His conceit is not directed toward the
receiver but instead it is intended to despise the given property or money. It
indicates that one is not a slave of property or money. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “The giving hand is superior to the
receiving one.” Being proud towards hypocrites or those who
behave ostentatiously is also permissible. It is permissible to be humble
towards
those who are below one’s rank or position but one should be careful to avoid
extremes. Excessive humility is called “tamalluk”. Excessive humility is only
permissible toward one’s spiritual master or toward an Islamic scholar.
Excessive humility (tamalluk) is not permissible toward anybody
else. It is reported in a hadîth-i-sherîf, “Tamalluk is not a part
of Islamic ethics.”
Poem:
To a teacher and medical doctor,
Necessary to do “tamalluk”.
The former for inner soul, the latter physically,
Serve for curing these diseases.
Among the various conceited behaviors, the
worst kind is to be conceited toward Allâhu ta’âlâ.
Nimrod was an example for this type of conceit. He declared himself to be God.
He threw the prophet into fire because he had
been sent by Allâhu ta’âlâ to counsel him.
Pharaoh was another one of these fools. He declared his deity in Egypt and said
that he was the powerful god of Egypt. Allâhu ta’âlâ
sent prophet Moses (Műsâ) ‘alaihis-salâm’ to
advise him but he refused to believe and thereafter he was drowned by Allâhu ta’âlâ in the Suez Sea. People who are similar
in nature, i.e., who do not believe in the Creator of the universe, are called
atheists (dahris). [People with similar atheistic attitude appear in almost
every century. For example, Mao and Stalin killed and tortured millions of
people and destroyed religious men, Islamic scholars and books and inflicted
terror and horror upon their nations. They imposed their desires by using
force, which gave them a smug satisfaction. They began to have delusions that
they possessed the superior qualities possessed by the Creator and said so to
others. They banned importing of Islamic literature into their country and
banned reading them. They executed those who talked about religion or Allâhu ta’âlâ. And finally, they could not protect
themselves from the Wrath of Allâhu ta’âlâ and
became destroyed and annihilated. They are remembered with damnation and
disgust like their historical peers who were also remembered with hatred. Some
people who were brainwashed and poisoned with the harmful atheistic propaganda
of Mao and Stalin assumed power in some Arab countries through trickery. These
people started to imitate those communist leaders and became cruel dictators
and started to practise a regime which is
harmful
to Islam. They did not take a lesson from history, i.e., how the lives of those
tyrants had ended with great tragedy. They do not think about the great
disasters awaiting them in this world or the punishments in the next world.]
Many people also looked down on
our Prophet Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’
and said, “Is this the Prophet that is sent by Allâhu ta’âlâ?” The unbelievers of Mecca said, “It would have been better if
this Qur’ân had descended to one of the leaders of Mecca.” This conceited
behavior of unbelievers toward great men of religion has taken place throughout
the Islamic history. Such behavior by these powerless creatures, who are
unaware even about the construction of their own bodies, is a declaration of
war against their Owner and Creator, who is the most powerful in all respects.
Once, the devil also behaved with conceit and said that he was created out of
fire and Adam was created out of clay, therefore, he was superior when Allâhu ta’âlâ ordered the angels to prostrate
themselves before Adam ‘alaihis-salâm’ and thus the devil rebelled toward Allâhu ta’âlâ. When the devil observed that
the fire was giving light and was very sublime, it thought that it was superior
to water and soil. In reality the real superiority is through humility, not
through conceit. There will be soil in Paradise and it will smell like musk. There
is no fire in Paradise. Fire is a means of punishment in Hell. Fire in this
world destroys whatever it touches but on the other hand soil is useful as a
building material. Creatures live on the soil (earth). Treasures are buried
under the soil. Ka’ba was built from the soil. Whereas the light of fire ends
the darkness of the night and brings light unto earth, the soil causes flowers
and fruits to grow. Hadrat Muhammad ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’, the most
superior of all created beings, resides in the soil.
Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in the following hadîth-i-sherîfs: “Allâhu ta’âlâ declares to us:
‘Kibriyâ (Almightiness), Superiority and ’Azamat (Greatness) are My Attributes.
Shouldst there be anyone to try to share these Attributes with Me, I shall
throw them into Hell without showing them any mercy.” ’ and “Anyone with an atom’s weight of conceit ‘Kibr’ in his heart will
not enter Paradise.” When he was asked whether those
who like to wear clean clothes and use clean shoes would be included in this
category, he answered, “Allâhu ta’âlâ is all Gracious
(Jamîl) and loves those
who possess grace (jamâl)” or in other words, Allâhu ta’âlâ loves graceful people. [People
who cleanse themselves to avoid having an ugly and disgusting appearance or in
order not to get a nickname for having an ugly appearance or in order to look
good and beautiful are called “people having grace.” The things that are
necessary to support life barely are classified as “bare necessities”. Using “bare
necessities” in a way to look lovely and beautiful is considered as having
grace. For example, having something to wear is a “necessity” of life. While
everyone needs clothes to cover themselves, to wear something in a fashion to
look lovely, means to have grace. Any changes made on one’s body, on one’s
attirements or on one’s property for the purpose of ornamentation, adornment or
superiority to others, are called ‘zînat’, which are things more than necessary
to protect one’s body, one’s health, one’s honour and value. It is not
permissible for a man to use “zînat” under any circumstances. As for women; it
is not permissible for them to wear articles of ‘zînat’ in the presence of men
nâ-mahram[1] to them.
Every work and act of Allâhu ta’âlâ is beautiful. He also loves people with beautiful morals and
character. This hadîth informs us that conceited people, like other sinners,
will not enter Paradise without punishment. The destination for those who
cannot enter Paradise will be Hell, since there is no place other than these
two in the Hereafter. Anyone who has an atom’s weight of belief will not reside
in Hell forever and will enter Paradise ultimately. Anyone who has committed a
grave sin and has not made tawba for it (before death), if he cannot attain any
intercession, will first suffer the punishment he has deserved and then will be
admitted into Paradise. Once a person has entered Paradise, he will never be
thrown out of it. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in hadîth-i-sherîfs: “Any Believer (Mu’min)
who was not a conceited person, who was not a traitor, and who did not violate
others’ rights will enter Paradise without questioning;” and “A Believer (Mu’min) who violates others’ rights is a blemished and
defected Believer.” One may borrow money in order
to meet the necessities of life, but one must pay it back as soon as one has
---------------------------------
[1] For a detailed definiton and
explanation of this term, please see Endless Bliss, fascicle
four, chapter eight.
the
means. The above hadîth cautions against violating others’ rights. These rights
comprise the money which one borrows without needing it or which is not paid
back after having the means or which is borrowed through an illegitimate or
prohibited means and the money promised to be paid to the wife (Mahr money) and
which has not been paid yet and obligation of teaching religious knowledge to
others which one did not carry out yet. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sal-lam’ before his death called his son-in-law Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ and told him, “Yâ Alî! I owe (a
certain amount of) money to a Jew named (so and so). Pay it back (for
me)!” He
had borrowed some barley from the same Jew earlier. His last request was that
it should be paid back. Hadrat Abdullah bin Salâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’, who was one of the leading Jewish
scholars of that time, recognized the prophethood
of Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’
after talking with him only once and became a Muslim. One day, he was seen
carrying wood on his back. People, in the community, who saw him this way asked
him why he was carrying wood on his back while he was rich and had so much
money. He said he was doing so in order to protect his nafs from conceit. If a
rich man carried his own goods in order to avoid paying money to a porter, that
would be lowliness (tazallul). But if he does so in order to
follow the Sunnat of our Prophet
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ and in order to break the desires of his nafs,
it is a good action which brings rewards (thawâb). Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in
a hadîth-i-sherîf: “During the Day of
Gathering (Qiyâmat), Allâhu ta’âlâ will not speak to three classes of people and
will punish them very severely; they are: a fornicating old man, a lying head
of state, and a conceited poor man.” Abű Ubayda bin Jarrâh
‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’, the commander of the
Muslim army in Damascus, along with others around him went out to welcome
Khalîfa Hadrat ’Umar. Hadrat ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’anh’ and his slave were riding the camel by turns. It was the slave’s turn to
ride the camel when they were about to enter Damascus. Hadrat ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ dismounted the camel and let his
slave ride the camel. He held the halter of the camel and walked. As they were
going along a waterside, he took off his (soleless shoes called) mests and
plunged his feet into the water. Abű ’Ubayda ‘radiy-Allâhu
ta’âlâ ’anh’, commander of the
Damascene
army, remonstrated with him, “O you, Khalîfa of Muslims! What on earth are you
doing? All the Damascenes, especially the Byzantine Greeks, are here to see the
Khalîfa of Muslims. They are looking at you at the moment. They will despise
your behavior.” The blessed Khalîfa’s answer was as follows: “Yâ Abâ ’Ubayda!
This protest of yours will be very harmful to the people who have gathered
here. Those who hear you will think that a person’s honour is in riding
vehicles and wearing ornamented attirements. They will not know that real
honour is in being a Muslim and worshipping Allâhu
ta’âlâ. We used to be lowly, mean people. [We used to be slaves in the
hands of Persian Shâhs.] Allâhu ta’âlâ blessed
us with the honour of Islam. If we look for an honour other than this honour
which Allâhu ta’âlâ has bestowed on us, Allâhu ta’âlâ will make us relapse into our former
lowly state again; He may make us lower than anything else.” Superiority (Izzat)
is with Islam. Anyone who follows the ethics of Islam will be superior. Anyone
who dislikes these rules and looks for superiorities in other things will be
lowly. Another command of Islam is humility. Anyone who behaves humbly will be
superior and will rise above others. Anyone who has arrogance (takabbur)
and haughtiness will be lowly.
Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sallam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “On the Day of
Gathering (Qiyamat), the people who were conceited in the world will be raised
from their graves like small ants, lowly and disgraced. They will be small like
an ant but they will be in the form of a human being. Everyone will look down
upon them as lowly creatures. They will be thrown into the “Bolis” canyon of
Hell which is the deepest canyon of Hell and which has the severest punishment
of all. This canyon is called “Bolis” because the people who are thrown there
will lose all their hope for ever getting out. They will be lost within the
fire. When they ask for water, they will be served the pus of the residents of
Hell.” Abű Hurayra ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’anh’ the governor of the city of Medîna, was carrying wood on his back. Muhammad
bin Ziyâd ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ recognized
him and said to the people around him, “Open the way for the governor!”. The
young people there were puzzled by the humility of the governor. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states as
follows in his hadîth-i-sherîfs: “There was a conceited
person
among the ummat (community) of one of the prophets. He would sashay
around, his skirts sweeping the ground. His arrogant behaviour offended Allâhu ta’âlâ, so that the earth
swallowed him up.” and “Riding a donkey, wearing clothes made of wool
and milking a cow shows that the performer of these actions is not a conceited
person.”
Conceit is caused by the
following seven reasons: Knowledge or religious knowledge, performing good
deeds or worships, lineage, beauty, strength, property and rank. Existence of
these attributes with ignorant people causes conceit in them.
Although knowledge causes
conceit, its medicine is also knowledge. It is very difficult to obtain remedy
for knowledge which causes conceit. Knowledge is a very valuable thing. A
person who possesses knowledge thinks of himself as superior and honorable. It
is more correct to say that his knowledge is not real knowledge but is, in
fact, ignorance. Real knowledge teaches one his weaknesses and shortcomings as
well as the superiorities and greatness of Allâhu ta’âlâ. It increases one’s fear toward Allâhu
ta’âlâ and humility toward His creatures and causes him to
respect the rights of others. Learning and teaching this type of knowledge is
obligatory and is called “Ilm al-nafi”. It causes one to perform worships only
for the sake of Allâhu ta’âlâ. The remedy for knowledge which causes conceit is to know the
following two items: The first one is to know that the superiority of knowledge
is relative. That is, it depends on the pure intention of the person who
possesses knowledge. One should not learn in order to become a religious leader
(“imâm” or “muftî”) or to achieve fame as a religious person. The second one is
to know that one should learn in order to practise in accordance with that
knowledge and to teach others and one should perform these only for the sake of Allâhu ta’âlâ. Sheer knowledge which does not
accompany practice (’amal) or sincerity (ikhlâs) is harmful. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “A person who has
acquired knowledge not for the sake of Allâhu ta’âlâ will be forced to sit
on the fire of Hell.” Learning in order to obtain
property, position and fame is in this category. Learning in order to obtain
worldly possessions or to be more precise, learning religious knowledge in
order to increase one’s worldly possessions is like eating excrement with a
gold spoon. Such a
person is a thief of faith. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “Those who acquire
religious knowledge in order to gain worldly property will not smell the scent
of Paradise.” It is permissible and even
necessary to acquire scientific knowledge in order to gain worldly property.
Another hadîth-i-sherîf
communicates about two types of scholars: “There will be two groups of scholars in
my Community (Ummat). The first group will be useful to human beings through
their knowledge. They will not expect any benefit for their teaching. Fishes in
seas, animals on the earth and birds in the skies will pray for these people.
By contrast, the group whose knowledge is not beneficial to others and use
their knowledge in order to gain worldly possessions will be forced to wear a
halter made of fire in Hell.” The Qur’ân
informs us that all the creatures in the skies and on the earth praise Allâhu ta’âlâ. The scholars mentioned in the
hadîth, “Scholars
are inheritors of prophets,” are the ones who follow the
examples set by the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’. The
scholar who performs his religious practices in accordance with Islam is like a
source of light which illuminates its environment. The following hadîths are
widely known: “On the Day of Gathering ‘Qiyâmat’, a religious scholar will be
thrown into Hell. Residents of Hell and who knew this person will gather around
him and ask him why he is punished this way although in the world he was a
person who taught the commands of Allâhu ta’âlâ to others. He will
answer: Yes! I would commit the sins that I told you not to commit, and would
not do, myself, what I told you to do. That is why I am suffering this
punishment now,” and “As I was being taken
to heavens during the night of ascendance (Mi’râj), I saw some people. They
were being punished by having their lips clipped with scissors made of fire. I
asked Gabriel about them. He said they were the holy preachers who advised
others to do what they would not do themselves,” and “Soldiers of Hell will punish the sinning memorizers (Hâfizes) of
holy books before they will punish idol-worshippers. For, the sin which is
committed knowingly is much worse than the one which is done because one does
not know.” The Sahâba of the Prophet were very profound scholars;
therefore, they were as afraid of venial sins as they
were of grave sins. The memorizers (Hafizes) mentioned in this hadîth might very well be memorizers of the Old
Testament because sinful Muslims will not suffer heavier punishment than
disbelievers. Or, perhaps, they are the hâfizes who, although they were from
this Ummat, flouted the harâms and the necessity of abstinence from sins, thus
becoming disbelievers. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “Scholars are trusted
representatives of prophets as long as they do not intermingle with
government officials and do not run after hoarding worldly property. When they
start to collect worldly goods and start to intermingle with government
officials, they are considered to be violating the trust of prophets.” A trusted person is expected to protect the goods which are
entrusted to him. Similarly, religious scholars should be protecting the
religious knowledge from corruption. Once, Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ was visiting the “Ka’ba”. He was
asked who was the worst person. He answered, “Do not ask the worst ones! Ask about
the good ones. The evil scholars are the worst of all human beings.” For, they commit sins knowingly. Îsâ (Jesus) ‘alaihis-salâm’ once
said, “Evil scholars are like a piece of rock which blocks the waterway. Water
cannot penetrate through the rock. Therefore, the rock stops the running of the
water.” An evil religious scholar resembles a sewer. Outwardly, it is a firm
work of art, but it is filled with sewage. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “On the Day of
Gathering (Qiyâmat), the severest punishments will be inflicted on religious
scholars who did not benefit from their knowledge,” For this reason, hypocrites, in other words, those disbelievers
who pretend to be Muslims, will go to the deepest part of Hell. For, they
remained as disbelievers knowingly and obstinately. A person who learns
religious knowledge obtains either eternal salvation or lapses into eternal
perdition. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “Some people who will be punished in Hell will emit a very bad
smell. Others around them will suffer more from the bad smell than from the
fire. When asked about the reason for their bad smell, they will answer that
they were religious scholars but they did not perform their religious practices
in accordance with their knowledge.”
Abűddardâ
‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ once said, “If a
person
holding any kind of a religious
rank does not perform his religious practices in accordance with his knowledge,
he cannot be called a scholar (’âlim).” The devil had knowledge about all
religions but did not perform his religious practices in accordance with that
knowledge. Let’s assume that a person is left alone in a desert and has ten
swords and other weapons in his possession. Let’s assume also that he is a very
brave person with knowledge of how to use these weapons. If he does not use the
weapons against an attacking lion, what good are the weapons? They are no good,
are they? By the same token, learning the answers of one hundred thousand
religious questions does not do any good to a person unless he puts this
knowledge into practice. Likewise, if a sick person knows how to remedy his sickness
but does not apply his knowledge toward obtaining that remedy, he does not
benefit from his sheer knowledge.
Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “In the time period
close to Doomsday, most worshippers will be ignorant of their religion and
majority of men who possess an authoritative position in religion will be
sinners (fâsiqs).” The sinful religious man
referred to in this hadîth will be mixing with government officials in order to
obtain materialistic gains. According to Sufyân-i-Sawrî ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ there is a special pit in
Hell which is made of fire. This pit will be reserved only for the punishment
of hypocrites who memorize the Qur’ân but also mix with the government
officials. Again, Sufyân ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ related the following: I was very advanced in the knowledge
of expounding the Qur’ân. I was able to explain a verse in thirty-three
different ways. Then, I went to a reception given by the ruler (Sultan) of the time and lost all my knowledge because of the effects of
the food I consumed at that reception. Muhammad bin Salama ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ says that the state of a
memorizer of Qur’ân who waits by the door of the people who are in charge of
government affairs in order to obtain some material gain is worse than a fly
which sits on a piece of dirt.
The hadîth-i-sherîf, “The person who has
been given knowledge by Allâhu ta’âlâ but does not transmit the knowledge to others
will be punished severely during the day of Judgement with a halter made of
fire round his
neck,” has been quoted earlier in the text. Religious men who do not
teach the knowledge to qualified people are the ones referred to in this
hadîth. The fifth âyat, “Do not give your possessions to dissolute people” of Sűra “Nisâ” of the Qur’ân prohibits one to teach knowledge to
base and lowly hypocrites.
The following hadîth, “Islam will spread
everywhere. Muslim businessmen will travel freely by ships across large seas to
other countries for commerce. Muslim warriors riding their horses will go to
other countries. Later, some memorizers (hâfiz) of the Qur’ân will appear and
will boast by saying, ‘Is there anyone who can recite the Qur’ân better than I
do?’ or ‘Is there anyone who knows more than I do?’ They will be the firewood
of Hell,” points out that their
recitation of the Qur’ân with hypocrisy and their boasting will lead them to
Hell.
In another hadîth-i-sherîf:
“Anyone
who claims to be a scholar is an ignoramus.” People who
present themselves to be knowledgeable about everything, for example, by
answering every question or giving an interpretation of everything they see are
actually displaying their ignorance. He who states that he does not know the
answer but will study and then answer the question is an advanced scholar. When
they asked Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sal-lam’ what was the most valuable place on earth, he answered, “I don’t know. If my
Lord informs me, I will tell you.” Then, he asked this to
Archangel Gabriel and received a similar answer from him. Then, Gabriel asked Allâhu ta’âlâ and received the answer, “Masjids (mosques).”
When the hundred and ninety-eighth âyat of Sűra A’râf of the Qur’ân al-kerîm was revealed, which purported, “Be forgiving and
command ma’rűf,” Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sal-lam’ asked Hadrat Jebrâîl to explain its meaning. The blessed
angel said, “Let me learn from my Rabb (Allâhu ta’âlâ)” and left. When he
returned he said that Allâhu ta’âlâ commanded, “Get close to those who
get away from you! Give generously to one who does not give you! Forgive those
who oppress you!” When Sha’bî ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’ was
asked a question he answered that he did not know the answer. They reproved
him, saying that it would not be worthy of him, Muftî of Iraq as he was, to say
that he did not know. His reply was: “Why should I ever be blamed for something
I do not know, in
the
face of the facts which the greatest ones of angels acknowledged not to know?”
Imâm Abű Yűsuf ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’ answered a question by saying that he
did not know. When they reproached him for failing to answer their question
with the stipend he received from the (treasury department called) Bayt-ul-mâl,
he replied, “I am being paid for that much as I know. The Bayt-ul-mâl would be short
of paying me for the facts I did not know.” Establishing friendships with
ignorant people who do not follow their nafs would be better than establishing
friendships with religious persons who are slaves of their nafs. A religious
person’s being conceited because of his holding a religious post is symptomatic
of his ignorance because having knowledge leads one into being a humble and
modest person and protects one against arrogance and conceit.
It is forbidden to be conceited or haughty.
Pride (Kibr)
is an Attribute of Allâhu ta’âlâ. Being proud (Kibriya)
or the Attribute of Pride is appropriate for Allâhu
ta’âlâ. When a human being holds the view that his nafs is lowly his
value will increase in the sight of Allâhu ta’âlâ.
Conversely, a person who thinks himself worthy and superior will not have any
value in the sight of Allâhu ta’âlâ. Any scholar
who does not know the harm of being conceited and haughty should not be
considered a real scholar. Gaining more knowledge increases one’s fear of Allâhu ta’âlâ and one cannot dare to commit sins. For
this reason, all prophets were humble people.
They were very much afraid of Allâhu ta’âlâ.
They did not possess vices like conceit and self love (’ujb).
One should not treat youngsters and sinners (fâsiqs and fâjirs) with conceit.
However, it is necessary to treat conceited people with equal conceit. If a
person is a learned one; when he sees an ignorant sinner he should say to
himself, “This person is sinning because he does not know. Yet I am committing
sins despite my knowledge of them.” When he sees a learned person he should
think, “This person has more knowledge than I do. And he pays his knowledge its
due; he performs his religious practices with ikhlâs; whereas I don’t.” When he
sees an elderly person he should say, “This person has probably done more
worship than I have;” and if the person he sees is younger than he is, he
should think, “Young people have fewer sins than I do.” When he sees a person
his age, he should say to himself, “I know about my sins, not about his
doings.
Iniquities are to be censured when they are known.” When he sees a holder of
bid’at or a disbeliever, he should say, “A person’s credal state is vulnerable
to changes till the time of his expiration. I do not know how I will end up.”
So, even such people should not cause a Muslim to be conceited. Yet we should
not like them. In fact, people who try to spread bid’ats and heresies are
inimical to the Sunnat of the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sal-lam’. They strive to extinguish the nűrs (lights) of Sunnat, to promulgate
bid’ats and heresies, to malign the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat ‘rahima-humullâhu
ta’âlâ’, to distort the meanings of âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs,
and thereby to destroy Islam from within.
[The books published by our
organization are all translated from the books of well-known “Ahl as-sunnat
scholars”. These books do not contain any of our own thoughts. In all of our
books, we are striving to explain to the youngsters about the greatness of the “Ahl
as-sunnat scholars”. We are telling them that the only way to attain happiness
in the next world (âkhirat) is the way taught by the “Ahl
as-sunnat scholars”. We are striving to introduce this way of happiness and
salvation to humanity and we do not expect any worldly benefits for these
services from anyone. Those who have deviated from the right path, or
“la-madhhabiyya” or all other types of enemies of Islam might not like our
striving to distribute these books and therefore invent extraordinary lies and
slanders about our books. Since they do not possess the necessary Islamic
knowledge, they cannot challenge us in this regard. Nor can they claim that we
are making profit by selling these books, for we are not. Everyone knows that.
Most of the time, we send these books free of charge to anyone who asks for
them. We hear that some people are telling others that these books contain
unsound knowledge but when we challenge them to show what part is unsound they
say, “Oh! We just heard that from others. That was what they told us.”
Alhamdulillah, conscientious youngsters do not believe these lies and slanders
and the number of people who read our books is increasing day by day.]
One should not sympathize with these
destructive people, who try to divide Muslims. One should also ponder how one’s
life will end and how Allâhu ta’âlâ has decreed
in eternal past about one’s end. One cannot know definitely, while living here,
who
will have higher degrees in the Hereafter. Many of those who held religious
posts died in a state of disbelief. Many disbelievers ended their lives in a
state of belief. Considering all of the things said above, a person who says
that a disbeliever will be in Hell and he himself will be in heaven would be
claiming to have knowledge of the hidden (ghayb), which in turn would
put him into a state of disbelief. Therefore, it is not permissible to be
conceited toward any person.
A person might argue as follows:
It is necessary to advise others, i.e., disbelievers and people who have
deviated from the right path and to try to dissuade them from committing
prohibited actions, but obviously you cannot advise them if you see yourself
lower than they are. Besides, the way our Lord performs His actions are such
that a person will die in a state which represents the way of his living. In
some instances the opposite of this also occurs but these instances are rare.
Furthermore, Allâhu ta’âlâ praises Believers and says that they are superior to
disbelievers. We would answer the argument as follows: It is necessary not to
like them because Allâhu ta’âlâ commanded us “Not to like them”, not
because we are superior to them. The following example will clarify this point
further. While a ruler (Sultan) is sending
his young son along with a servant to some distant location, he instructs the
servant to beat his son if he does not behave himself. Later, when the son
misbehaves the servant beats him according to the instruction of the ruler.
While he is beating the son, the servant knows that he is not superior to him.
Therefore, he cannot treat him with conceit. Similarly, a Believer’s not liking
disbelievers resembles this example. Allâhu ta’âlâ informs us that Believers are superior but this is not due to
their selves being superior but instead it is due to their superior belief.
Possessors of belief will be superior. Endless superiority will show itself at
the last breath.
A certain worship’s being valuable depends
on some conditions. A Muslim does not waste his time with useless things (mâ-lâ-ya’nî).
The first Caliph Hadrat Abű Baqr ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’anh’ said that they would do without seventy permissible (halâl)
actions lest they should commit one prohibited (harâm)
action. Therefore, no one should depend on his worships and become conceited.
Acceptance of a worship depends on its proper intention. It should only be
performed for
the
sake of Allâhu ta’âlâ. It is not easy to obtain
such pure intention. Purifying or cleansing one’s nafs could only be achieved
through taqwâ, which means abstinence from performing forbidden deeds. It is
very difficult for anyone who does not have a cleansed nafs to perform worship
only for the sake of Allâhu ta’âlâ.
Bragging with one’s ancestry and
showing conceit is a sign of ignorance and idiocy. Cain (Kabil) was the son of
“Adam” ‘alaihis-salâm’. Kan’an (Canaan), or Yâm (Shem) was the son of Noah
(Nűh) ‘alaihis-salâm’. Their fathers’ being prophets did not save them from disbelief. Those who brag with their
ancestry should observe the state of their ancestors now. Aren’t they a piece
of soil by now? Is it reasonable to brag about a piece of soil? One should not
brag with their piousness, either, but, instead, one should try to be a pious
person like them.
Most women are conceited about
their beauty. But, beauty does not last. It goes away fast. It does not become
a permanent property of a person. Bragging about something which is temporarily
given to her would be idiocy. Physical beauty, accompanied with a beautiful
heart, i.e., spiritual beauty, is very valuable. Cleanliness of a heart would
be apparent by its owner’s adherence to the Sunnat of
our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sal-lam’. If the heart, soul and ethics of human beings are not held as
valuable, human beings will be no different from animals. They become even
lower than animals. They will be like machinery which is filled with dirt and
needs cleaning up and maintenance. They will resemble worn out machinery which
always requires fueling, cleaning up and repair. Is this something which a
person could be proud of? One should rather show humility.
Being conceited about one’s
youth and strength would also be ignorance. In general, strength of muscles and
sense organs exists in greater amounts in animals than in man. Accordingly,
animals should be conceited toward human beings, shouldn’t they? Moreover, who
can ever claim that he will always stay young and strong, or will never be ill,
or will never have an accident? Is there anyone in the recorded history of
mankind who never lost his youth and strength or breath? Therefore, would it be
reasonable for anyone to brag or to be conceited about something which one
possesses temporarily for a short period of time and which also exists in
animals.
Nor would it be fit for human
beings to brag and to be conceited about their property, children, rank, and
position because these are not superior properties inherent in them. They are
temporal and transitory things that leave human beings very quickly. Besides,
they even exist in immoral and lowly people. Actually, they exist amongst those
people most of the time. If these were things that caused superiority, people
who do not have these or who had them but later lost them would necessarily be
very lowly people. If having property is a cause of honor then a thief would be
considered an honored man because he possesses stolen property even if it is
his for a short period of time.
Hatred (hiqd) should not cause conceit, either. The lexical meaning of hatred is
to hate or to nurse a grudge, or to feel hostility with the heart. A person who
suffers from this corrosive feeling will be angry at somebody who is equal or
superior to him. Since he cannot do anything about it, he would become
conceited toward that person. This kind of person cannot be humble toward those
who deserve humility, and cannot accept their righteous words and advice. He
tries to show everybody that he is better than that person. Even when he
wrongfully hurts someone, he does not apologize.
Covetousness (hasad) also causes conceit. A person with this immoderate feeling wishes
that the blessings possessed by someone else leave that person and come to him.
He wants others not to have them. He also refuses to listen to the righteous
words of those whom he is jealous of. He does not want to ask and learn anything
from them. Even though he knows their superiority, he treats them with conceit.
Riyâ (hypocrisy, ostentation) also causes
conceit. A person who has this habit treats strangers with conceit in the
presence of his friends. But when he is alone with the stranger, he does not
treat him with conceit. Islamic scholars should wear attirements which would
become their honor and should act with dignity in order to protect themselves
from the conceited people. For this reason, the great Islamic scholar, Imâm
al-a’zam Abű Hanîfa ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’ said that scholars should have a
larger head cover and large sleeves in their gowns. Preachers will get rewards
of worshipping if they beautify themselves with new and clean clothes. If they
are not respected, then their words will not have any effect on others
because
ignorant people judge others by their attirements and appearances. They don’t
understand the value of knowledge or virtues.
Most people are not aware of
their conceited behavior. Therefore, it is necessary for one to know the signs
of conceit. When a conceited person enters a new place, he wants everyone there
to stand up. This does not apply to a scholar who goes to some place to preach
and knows that people there respect him. If he wishes for those people to stand
up, that would not be conceit. In general, if a person wants himself to sit and
others to stand, that would be conceit. Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ stated, “Anyone who wants
to see what a person of Hell looks like should look at the person who himself
sits but wishes others to stand.” The Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘ridwânullâhi ta’âlâ
’alaihim ajma’în’ loved Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ more than anything else in the
world but they would not stand up when he joined them because they knew that Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’
would not want them to stand up for him. However, when an Islamic scholar (’âlim) joins a group of Muslims, they should stand up in order to show
respect for his knowledge. Yahyâ bin Qattân ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’ had just
completed the performance of a late afternoon (’asr) prayer and was sitting
with his back against the minaret of the mosque, when some of the famous
scholars of his time came along. One of them was Imâm Ahmad bin Hanbal ‘rahimahullâhu
ta’âlâ’. They asked him questions about knowledge of Hadîth. He answered all
their questions. They were all standing as he himself was sitting. He did not
tell any of them to sit down, and none of them dared to sit down. Their
conversation continued until the time of sunset. The general custom is that a
younger scholar will be seated in a higher seat than an older ignorant man. A
student should not start to speak before his teacher does, should not sit in
his seat in his absence, and should not walk ahead of him on the street. If a
person likes others to get up and stand up for him but knows that this wish and
desire is not proper and wants to get rid of this wish, then his wish is
considered a natural tendency, or it is a false sense inculcated by the devil.
In either case, it is not a sin because the control is not in his hands. It
happens despite his will.
Another sign of conceit is an aversion to
walking alone and a
tendency
towards being followed by someone walking behind, or a penchant for riding a
horse with a number of pupils walking along beside the horse. Rasűlullah ‘salla-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ was going
toward the “Baki” cemetery of the city of Medina. Some people saw him and
started to walk behind him. Rasűlullah ‘salla-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sal-lam’ stopped walking and commanded them to walk ahead of him and
he followed them. When he was asked for the reason for his behavior he said, “I heard the sound of
their steps. I required them to walk ahead of me in order to prevent an atom’s
weight of conceit coming into my heart.” It is obvious that he
would not have any conceit in his heart but this was a way of communication or
teaching his Sahâba. According to Abuddardâ, ‘rahimahullâhu ta’âlâ’, when the
number of people walking behind a conceited man increases, the conceited man’s
spiritual distance from Allâhu ta’âlâ also
increases.
The following actions also
indicate conceit: not to visit acquaintances or friends; a dislike for sitting
with someone beside you; not to sit together with sick or ill people; not to do
housework, not to do the shopping necessary for the household; a distaste for
wearing something you have worn once, or an overall as you work. It is conceit
as well to refuse a poor person’s invitation and to accept a rich one’s. The
following actions are considered hypocrisy when done in the presence of others
and conceit when done alone or in the presence of others: not providing
necessities of one’s relatives and family members, not accepting the righteous
warnings and arguing with those who advise one, and not thanking those who
point out one’s shortcomings.
A person’s being a humble person requires
knowing his origins, e.g., where he came from and where he is going. He did not
exist before. Later, he became a weakling infant who could not move. He is now
a person who is always in fear of becoming ill or dying. At the end, he will
die, rot away and become soil. He will become livestock for worms and insects.
His sufferings are similar to a prisoner’s suffering, e.g., one who is awaiting
execution by hanging, i.e., in the dungeon of the world. He waits every minute
for news of his punishment. He will die. His body will become a carcass and
will be food-stock for insects. He will suffer punishment in his grave. After all,
he will be raised from death and will suffer the inconveniences of
the
last Judgement day. Which one of the following would be better fitting for a
person who is living with the fear of being punished eternally in Hell:
humility or conceit? Allâhu ta’âlâ, Who is the
Creator, the Raiser, the Protector of human beings, the all-Powerful Who has no
likeness and Who is the only Ruler and the Almighty says, “I don’t like conceited
people,” and “I like humble people.”
Hence, which one would be more befitting for weakling human creatures? Could a
sensible person who recognizes the greatness of Allâhu
ta’âlâ ever be conceited? Human beings must always show and demonstrate
their weaknesses and lowliness to Allâhu ta’âlâ.
Therefore, at all times and at any and every occasion they must show their
weakness and humility to Him. Abű Sulaimân Dârânî ‘rahimahullâhu ta’âlâ’ says,
“If the entire mankind tried to degrade me so as to represent me as a person
lower than I actually am, they would fail to do so, for I know that I am lower
than the lowest grade anybody could think of.” Could a person ever consider
himself as lower than everybody, including the devil and the Pharaoh, who two
[and some other cruel enemies of Islam and humanity, such as Stalin, Mao and
their henchmen] are the worst of disbelievers of all times? People who claim
deity and persecute and kill millions of people for the purpose of imposing
their own desires, are definitely the lowest of disbelievers. They have
incurred the Wrath of Allâhu ta’âlâ, and He has
made them lapse into the worst disbelief. “As for me; He has treated me with
His Compassion, giving me true belief and guidance. He could as well have done
quite the opposite if He had willed to do so. Al-hamd-u-lillâh, He did not do
so. But I have committed so many sins and perpetrated iniquities which no one
else has done. And I do not know how I will die.” One should say these words to
oneself and be humble.
Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states as follows in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “Allâhu ta’âlâ has commanded me to be
a humble person. None of you should behave with conceit toward any one of the
others!” According to this hadîth we
should be humble toward non-Muslim citizens (zimmî) and those who visit our country with permission (passport) as
well as visiting businessmen and tourists. Since it is necessary to be humble
toward everybody, it is a necessary conclusion of this hadîth that it would not
be permissible to hurt them in any way.
[This hadîth and its explanation by “Ahl
as-sunnat scholars”
clearly
indicate that it is not permissible for those Muslims who live in non-Muslim
countries (dâr-ul-harb) to attack and violate the rights,
property and honor of the citizens of that country. Stealing, rioting, hurting
others, violating the laws of the land, insulting the government officials,
violating tax-laws, avoiding payments of tolls or fares, and all similar
behaviors which are not compatible with the honor of Islam and Islamic ethics
are not permissible. In disbelievers’ countries, not violating the Christian
laws does not mean recognizing them as “ulul-amr.” Commandments (of
others) which entail disobedience to Allâhu ta’âlâ
must not necessarily be fought back. Commandments of this sort should not be
reacted against, even if they were given by irreligious dignitaries. Rebellion
against an established government and opposition to its laws in force will
cause fitna, (i.e. mischief, upheaval, instigation,)
which in turn is harâm, (i.e. forbidden by Islam.) This matter is explained in
books (teaching Islam’s practical, social, economical, transactional, canonical
and legislative sciences, and which are termed literature) of Fiqh, in their
sections allotted to coercion and duress, and also in the fifty-fifth letter of
the third volume of Maktűbât, by
Muhammad Ma’thűm ‘rahmatullâhi ’aleyh’. If a person, whether he lives in a
Muslim country or in a country of disbelievers called dâr-ul-harb, acts in
opposition to this commandment of our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ and commits acts which are
against the laws of the country he lives in, he will not only be sinful but
also have represented Islam as a cult of savagery and Muslims as barbarians
worldover, which in turn is a grave treachery against Islam.
‘Jihâd’ means ‘amr-i-ma’rűf’
and ‘nahy-i-’an-il-munkar’.
The former means ‘to introduce Islam to disbelievers, and thereby to rescue
them from the blight of disbelief’, and the latter means ‘to teach Muslims
Islam’s practices, and thereby to protect them from committing Islam’s prohibitions’.
There are three ways of performing either one of these two duties (of jihâd).
The first way is to do it physically, or, in clearer terms, to perform jihâd by
employing all sorts of weaponry; this sort of jihâd is conducted against
dictators and imperialistic powers for the purpose of eliminating their
obstructive policies over hapless masses of people who have fallen into the pit
of disbelief as a result of being unaware of Islam or blindly following others
or living under tyranny, oppression,
persecution,
exploitation or misguidance. The most up-to-date weaponry are used to fight
these dictators and imperialistic tyrants, to annihilate their forces, and
thereby to rescue the wretched slaves and the oppressed peoples from their
talons. Then Islam is preached to these people and they are offered to become
Muslims willingly. If they prefer not to become Muslims, they are allowed to
live and practice their religion of choice equally with Muslims under the
Islamic state, which provides freedom, equality and justice to all. This type
of (jihâd)
is done only by Islamic states or by their armies. It is never permissible for
any individual Muslim to attack and rob any disbeliever without the prior
order, permission and knowledge of an Islamic state. Islamic religion punishes
severely those Muslims who murder any citizen of another state with whom the
Islamic state has a peace accord. As can be seen clearly from the foregoing, in
the Islamic religion, fighting does not mean destroying other countries or
killing other people. What it really means is striving for the introduction of
Islam to others so that they might become Muslims willingly and lovingly and
save themselves from the eternal disasters. Our Prophet
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’, the Sahâba ‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’, and real
Islamic states, for example Ottomans, all performed this type of jihâd. They
never attacked weak and defenceless people. They fought against enemies of
Islam, tyrannical disbelievers, imperialists and heretical and disruptive
people who carried Muslim names and yet who were preventing Islam from reaching
those poor people and communicating its message to them. They fought against
them and destroyed their imperialist powers and freed enslaved people who were
living miserably under their torturous powers. They, taught them Islam and thus
provided opportunity for them to become Muslims of their own free will and thus
helped them to find the eternal happiness.
The second duty of the Islamic army or the
Islamic state is to protect Muslims and Islam and to make jihâd against
disbelivers and heretical separatists who attack Islamic countries in order to
destroy and annihilate Muslims and Islam. Allâhu ta’âlâ
commands in Sűra Anfâl that the Islamic state should conduct scientific research
during peace time, learning and making the latest weaponry manufactured in
disbelievers’ countries. State officials who neglect this duty of producing new
weaponry are insubordinate to Islam’s Sharî’at and are responsible for the
death
of millions of Muslims and the debilitation of Islam as a result of their
failure to counter the attacks of their enemies.
The second way of Islamic jihâd
is to exploit all sorts of means of communication to spread Islam and to
announce it to humanity. This type of jihâd is done only by Islamic scholars
with the help and under the control of Islamic states. In our time, enemies of
Islam, i.e., missionaries, communists, freemasons, and people who do not follow
any madhhab, (la-madhhabiyya) are
attacking Islam by using all kinds of communication means. They are trying to
deceive people and ignorant Muslims through fabricated lies and slanders and
thereby to destroy Islam. Recently, in 1992, we have heard that Christians
prepared eleven questions and distributed them to all Islamic countries. The
scholars of Bangladesh wrote answers to these and thus disgraced the Christian
clergy, the behind-the-scene plotters. Hakikat book-store located in Istanbul
added these answers under the name of “Al-Akazib-ul-jadidatul-hiristyaniyya” to
the book Assirat-ul-mustakim and is now
distributing it throughout the world. Also, another group, i.e., Qâdiyânîs (Ahmadiyyas), Bahâîs, followers of Mawdűdî, people of Tabligh al-Jamâ’at, the
group called Salafiyya, and those people who do not belong to any madhhab (la-madhhabiyya)
and wahhâbîs have deviated from the correct path of Islam by deriving wrong and
corrupt meanings from the Qur’ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs. Some of these miscreants have carried their heresy too far and
lapsed into disbelief. They all spread their corrupt and deviated beliefs by
publishing books, magazines and booklets and by way of radios. They spend
millions for this purpose. On the one hand, they are destroying Islam from
within by deceiving “Ahl as-Sunnat Muslims”, i.e., “Sunni Muslîms” and on the
other hand, they are introducing to all peoples something in the name of
religion which is not pure and correct Islam. Amidst all these various
propaganda, people who want to become Muslims are becoming confused and they
are either giving up the idea of becoming Muslims or entering into a wrong path
with the credulity that they have become Muslims.
Today, the greatest jihâd is performed by
“Ahl as-Sunnat scholars” against the destructive and cunning propagandas of the
internal and external enemies of Islam by spreading the teachings of the
knowledge of “Ahl as-sunnat”, i.e., the way of
our
Prophet Muhammad ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sal-lam’ and his Sahâba by using all means of communication to all peoples of
the world.
The third way of jihâd is to do
it through prayer. It is “fard al-ayn” or in other words it is a must duty for
every Muslim to perform this type of jihâd. Not performing this type of jihâd
is a grave sin. Performing this third type of jihâd is done by praying for
those who perform the first two types of jihâd. Those who are doing the first
two types of jihâd are in need of the prayers of those who are not actively
participating in the first two types of jihâd. All prayers performed with
sincerity will surely be accepted.
Allâhu ta’âlâ without any doubt will help those who trust the help of Allâhu ta’âlâ and obey Islam’s commandments
and perform the above-mentioned three types of jihâd. Allâhu ta’âlâ will not accept the prayers of
those who do not prepare themselves for the jihâd and who do not prepare the
necessary newest war equipment beforehand and who do not establish strong
brotherhood and love among themselves but instead assume that they do their
duty of jihâd only by praying. There are conditions to be fulfilled for the
acceptance of the prayer (dua.) These conditions stipulate that we hold fast to
the causes which will provide the results that we pray for. As we have stated
above, in order to be successful in jihâd, we have to follow the commandments
of Islam. Islam commands us to prepare ourselves for jihâd. The first type of
jihâd requires acquisition of the most modern weaponry and training on how to
use them. Moreover, it also requires discipline and obedience to the leaders
and commanders who are in charge as well as avoiding separatist movements. If
the commanding posts have trusts (waqf), every
Muslim who has the means should help such trusts. Helping “Ahl as-sunnat
scholars” or trusts which support such scholars constitutes jihâd through
property. Allâhu ta’âlâ promises
the eternal Gardens of Paradise to those who perform jihâd physically and
financially. Alî Muhammad Belhî explains jihâd at length in his book Muftî-i-mujâhid,
written in Persian and printed in 1411 A.H.]
A hadîth-i-sherîf
reads as follows: “How lucky for those people who have attained the Blessing, and who
also behave humbly and who are aware of their deficiencies and who earn their
living by (ways which Islam allows and terms)
halâl, and spend their
earnings for useful purposes, and who combine the knowledge of fiqh with the
knowledge of tasawwuf, i.e. hikmat, and who are watchful of the borders between
the halâl and the harâm, and who are merciful towards the poor, and who behave
so as to please Allâhu ta’âlâ, and who have acquired beautiful moral habits,
and who do not harm anybody, and whose practice complies with their theory, and
who deal out the surplus of their property and retain the surplus of their
speech.”
Humility is a vice when it is
misused for purposes such as mockery, hypocrisy, ostentation, or for financial,
higher-positional or security considerations. Getting rid of this vice requires
elimination of the things that cause it. Anyone who gets rid of the things that
cause a vice will obtain true humility.
The book Riyâd-un-nâsikhîn
written in Persian [This book was written in Persian by Muhammad Rabhami in 835
Hijrî. It was published in 1313 Hijrî in Bombay. It was reprinted for a second
time by Hakîkat Kitâbevi of Istanbul in 1994.] states the following starting at
page 356: The hadîth which is written in the book Mirsad-ul-ibad
minal-mabda-i ilal-ma’ad [The author of this book Najmaddîn
Abű Bakr Râzî passed away in 654 Hijrî.] states, “A person who learns
religious knowledge with the intention of obtaining respect of the scholars or
with the intention of arguing with the ignorant and becoming famous will not
even get the smell of Paradise.” It is understood from
this hadîth that a person who learns religious knowledge for obtaining wealth
or ranks or satisfying his bestial desires and does not practise his knowledge,
is not an Islamic scholar (’âlim). Another hadîth states: “A person who learns
for obtaining worldly possessions will gather those worldlypossessions but his
gain in the Âkhirat will be the fire of Hell.”
This type of knowledge will not benefit anyone. It is necessary to avoid this
type of knowledge. For this reason the following hadîth states, “O my Rabb! Please
protect me from the useless knowledge.” The knowledge which has
to be learned by a Muslim is called “Islamic Knowledge.” Islamic knowledge is
divided into two sections, “Religious knowledge” and “Scientific knowledge”.
Useless knowledge is also divided into two sections. The first one is religious
knowledge learned
by
the aforesaid people, who are said to go to Hell. The second type is scientific
knowledge which is not associated with religious knowledge. [The Ancient
Romans’ torturing the Jews by throwing them to the lions, the Christians’ barbaric
attacks against the Muslims in Palestine during the Middle Ages, mass killing
of people in Europe by Hitler and in Asia by Russian and Chinese communists,
and British attacks on people by deceiving nations and making them fight with
one another, were all accomplished by using this second type of scientific
knowledge.] Allâhu ta’âlâ says that these
monstrous people who are enemies of humanity but advanced in scientific
knowledge resemble donkeys. He specifically says, “They are like donkeys
laden with Taurah and New Tastement.”
These cruel people who possess scientific
knowledge and who are unaware of Islamic knowledge are not in the right path. Allâhu ta’âlâ is not pleased with them. The book Kunűz-ud-deqâiq
incudes the hadîth, “The best among you are the ones who learn and teach Qur’ân.”
Mishkât quotes a hadîth-i-sherîf which states, “Every Muslim man and
woman must learn Islamic knowledge.” The knowledge referred
by this hadîth is the knowledge which Allâhu ta’âlâ
likes and approves. Teaching knowledge to people who will not handle it with
care is like putting golden chains around pigs’ necks. [ The following hadîth-i-sherîf was quoted on a calendar sheet dated
June 12, 1995 published by Türkiye Newspaper, “True religious knowledge will be rare
towards the time of Qiyâmat. Ignorant religious men will give fatwa according
to their own views and cause people to deviate from the right path.”]
In another hadîth, Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sal-lam’ said, “A time will come when people will run away from religious
men in the same manner as they would run away from a dead donkey.”
Their state informs us that the states of human beings will be corrupt and
ugly. For, Allâhu ta’âlâ values knowledge. But
those idiots who worship the world did not go to school in their childhood; nor
after reaching adulthood did they attain the blessing of attending the sohbat
of a true Islamic scholar. Therefore, quite unaware of the dangerous position
they are in, they do not acquire the necessary knowledge and they do not read
and learn from a real religious scholar’s book. Their only concern is hoarding
money and property and obtain a rank. They do not care whether they earn from
permissible
(halâl)
or not permissible (harâm) ways. They do not recognize and distinguish between
the right and wrong. They do not appreciate the value of knowledge and true
religious scholars. True religious scholars’ writings and preachings have no
value in the sight of these people. In the sight of these people books and
preachings of true religious scholars are similar to a person who sells
perfumes in the market where they sell animals or to a person who sells mirrors
to blind people. Or it is like reading the Tâhâ Sűrah of the Qur’ân to Abű
Lahab or filling the pockets of street drifters with pearls and precious stones
or gifting kohl to a blind person by a smart man; yet a smart man would never
do any of these actions. Allâhu ta’âlâ describes
these type of people as follows: “They are like animals. In fact, they are lower
than animals.” It is stated as follows in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported on the authority of Enes bin
Mâlik ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’: “Allâhu ta’âlâ will disgrace a person
in the society if he insults a scholar without any justifiable reason. A person
who respects scholars will be honored and held high like prophets by Allâhu ta’âlâ.”
Another hadîth-i-sherîf reads as follows: “If a person talking
with a scholar raises his voice higher than the scholar’s voice Allâhu ta’âlâ will disgrace him in
this world and in the next. If he feels sorry and repents then he will be
forgiven.” It is apparent from the foregoing that it
is necessary to be respectful toward true scholars.
A poem:
You were created from a drop of water, don’t forget!
Never hold yourself equal with scholars!
Listen to what ordered Mustafâ!
Respecting scholars is respecting me!
Know well that only knowledge and scholars
will save human beings from deviating to wrong paths. Without a guide (rahbar)
one can never find the true path. For this reason it is necessary to find true
Ahl as-sunnat scholars and then read correct religious books writtten by them.
It is written in the “Kahf” Sűra of the Qur’ân that even though the great prophet Moses (Műsâ) ‘alaihis-salâm’ was in the
highest degree of knowledge, so much so that he communed with Allâhu ta’âlâ and drank from the sherbet of love of Allâhu ta’âlâ, he still joined Yusha ‘alaihis-salâm’
who was a student of Hizir ‘alaihis-salâm’ in order to learn knowledge from
him. Also, Moses
(Műsâ)
‘alaihis-salâm’ despite being a master of logic, still went to learn from Hizir
‘alaihis-salâm’. This is reported at length in the book of exegesis (Tafsîr)
written by Bukhârî ‘rahimahullâhu ta’âlâ’. O my brother! Did you find something
more precious than knowledge and scholars so that you are spending your life
away with it. Don’t you know that our religion orders us to pay respect to
knowledge and scholars and join in the ranks of those who are in the way of Allâhu ta’âlâ. For this reason, do not spend your
life away with unnecessary things. A hadîth-i-sherîf
reads as follows: “There is one degree of difference between a prophet and a scholar who
possessess correct knowledge and acts according to that knowledge. This one
degree is the degree of prophethood.” One should strive to
learn knowledge in order to attain this fortune.
A poem:
Oh! The happy person who is learning knowledge!
Do not waste even one minute of your life!
Appreciate the value of this advice!
The sorry will be, the one who does not appreciate!
Story: Imâm Abű Yűsuf Qâdî had a
fifteen year old son. He loved his son very much. One day the very much beloved
son died suddenly. He said to his students that they should do the services
(prescribed by Islam) for the funeral of his dead son (without him) because he
did not want to miss the class of his teacher. After the death of the Imâm,
some people saw him in their dreams. He was standing before a large mansion in
Paradise. So tall was the mansion that it seemed to be extending toward the
“Arsh”. When they asked who the mansion belonged to, he said that it was his
mansion. Then they asked how he had obtained that mansion. He answered that he
had obtained the mansion because of his love for knowledge as well as his love
for learning and teaching it. O my brother! In order to be dear in this world
and in the next, do learn knowledge!
A poem:
To be happy all the time,
To find respect everywhere,
Try to acquire knowledge,
Get used to carrying the crown of knowledge!
Story: The author of the book Riyâd-un-nâsikhîn
Mawlânâ
Muhammad
Rabhamî states that his teacher Allâma Muhammad Jalâl Kayini Summa Hirawî’s
eldest son was a very pious scholar. As he was dying, his father was by his
bed. After his death, he covered his face and went to the school and started to
teach hadîth for a while. After the teaching, he went back and started for the
preparation for the burial. A voice coming from the mountains surrounding the
city said, “My son’s time of death arrived. He died. Since this was in
accordance with the Decree of Allâhu ta’âlâ, I
accepted His Decree and acquiesced in it. I could not think of anything else.
Hasan bin Atiyya ‘rahimahullâhu ta’âlâ’ stated, “Anyone who is not
saddened with the death of an Islamic scholar is a hypocrite. There is no
bigger disaster for human beings than the death of an Islamic scholar. When an
Islamic scholar dies, the skies and the occupants of the skies weep for seventy
days.” When a real scholar dies, an injury occurs in the religion and
the injury continues till the end of the world. The following is reported in
another hadîth-i-sherîf: “A human being is
either a scholar or a student in the way of learning knowledge or he is one who
loves them. People other than these three types are like the flies on the
stable.” Try not to be one of this forth group!
A poem:
It is knowledge which saves human beings from Hell.
Knowledge is property no one can take away from you.
Do not ask for anything other than knowledge,
Knowledge is the means which provides happiness in both worlds!
It is written in the “fatwas of
Baldaji” that the Imâm-i Sadr-us-shahîd [Sadr-us-shahîd Husamaddin ’Umar was
martyred in 536 in Semerkand] states, “A person’s marriage (nikâh) will be
dissolved automatically if he makes fun of a real ’âlim (scholar).” Anyone who
calls an ’âlim names like, fool, ignorant, pig, or donkey will be punished with
flogging. If he says these for a derogatory purpose he becomes a disbeliever
and his nikâh[1] gets dissolved automatically. Imâm-i Muhammad says that uttering
a word which causes disbelief (kufr) will be treated in the same manner, i.e.,
he will become a disbeliever and his
---------------------------------
[1] Marriage contract as prescribed by
Islam.
marriage will be dissolved automatically. Anyone who insults knowledge and scholars will become a disbeliever. May Allâhu ta’âlâ give all of us useful knowledge and protect us from useless knowledge.