Imam Malik was one of the greatest scholars in the history of Islam. One day a man who lived thousands of miles away went to visit him. In those days there were no Emirates or British Airways. No 100 mph trains. This man travelled for months to visit Imam Malik for one simple reason. He wanted to ask questions and learn more about his deen.
He finally arrived and asked the esteemed Imam 40 questions. And the Imam said “I don’t know” to 36 of them. He only answered 4 questions. 4 questions out of 40.
Similarly, one day Abu Bakr RA was asked a question about the Quran and he beautifully answered “Which sky will shelter me and which earth will hold me if I speak about a verse of the Qur’an without knowledge.”
The question is, are YOU an Islamic scholar in the true sense?
Yes you.
What Islamic education do you have? Are you qualified to interpret Hadiths? Have you studied 8 hours a day for 5 years to understand Quran in detail? What teachers have you studied under? How many students do you to teach? How many hours a week do you spend learning Islam?
If the answers to the above questions are mostly in the negative then the answer to the first question is probably no.
So brothers and sisters, who are we?
Compared to such greats. And yet on Facebook, on Twitter, on email, in our homes, in our classrooms, in our discussions, we issues Fatwas all day long. We pronounce halal haram and we pronounce haram halal. And we do it daily. We do it with ease. The words slip out of our tongues like butter spreads on warm bread. We do it without regard. We’ve become experts on Islamic fiqh.
Folks, we do it out of ignorance.
Sheikh Google is not an authentic Imam. Maulana Twitter is not an authentic Imam. Mufti Facebook is not an authentic Imam.
Real fatwas are issued by scholars who have spent years studying Islam and often they reply with the same humility as Imam Malik and Abu Bakr RA did.
So from today be careful. Be careful what you say. The angel on your left records everything. Don’t keep him busy. Keep the angel on the right busier and learn how to simply say
I don’t know.
Like the greats did.
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