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.
Hadith of the Day Blog
26 comments
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Looks very good
Alhamdulillah
very good advise.. syukran
Well- explained …JezakAllahu Khairan
While I do agree that we must stop ‘issuing fatwas’ to people…. I still hold that at the end of the day, we must use our own limited faculty to decide whether or not something should be done or not.
Thanks for sharing the valuable article. Incomplete knowledge is very dangerous. In religious matters we should be very careful and we try to get maximum knowledge. I hope this will reduce religious misunderstanding to a greater extent. Regards: http://islamicencyclopedia.org/
so it is wrong to share what knowledge we have acquired with others, that I may help them with a daily anecdote? Maybe i just want to give my friends and family some hope and insight on what kind of person i am today, compared to the kaufer i use to be, with a FB update. As much for myself as for their remembrance. If i learn something valuable, of course I will strive my best to implement it into my life as much as possible first and then share it with another. I don’t know even know enough about fiqh to orate a fatwah. I just pick up pieces here and there(what you call as incomplete knowledge) in my free time, like sunnah and hadith from the prophet(pbu) and share when it is applicable in a life circumstance. You know your right though. I don’t have comprehensive knowledge of sharia law to discuss Islam, but that doesn’t make me a kaufer or ineligible to have an intelligent conversation on my deen. In the worst times of grief, one of my best friends would share sunnah and hadith to help me come out turmoil, and it worked. he is not an imam! He didn’t give me an entire fatwah, rather he said, “ok this is your life circumstance, this is what the prophet(pbu) said, and you should follow his lead and you will be ok.” I don’t mean to get upset, but brother if you know a piece of knowledge to uplift someone with hope, to give them some type of renewed vigor into their faith why not? don’t mean to start an argument, just kinda felt offended.
assalmu alaikum va rahamathullahi va barkaathahu
thank you very much for ur advice.
it is exactly a fact which is heared frequently between every one….
but wats my doubt is I know something about Quran and Islam either it may be a dot or half a dot.
can I say about that to a colleague of mine if they raise up the doubt about wat I know or I see a friend doing haram things ! can I advice him,
do this act of mine is allowed or……
jazakkallhu khair .
True..
Many people talk without knowledge…
But
forbidding from evil and telling the truth with authentic knowledge is also part of Islam.
Alhamdhulilah Beautiful Reminder, Shukran. But about the Google, I have learned from the Google as I learned from your daily reminders, there is different scholars whom u can choose from Google and listen to there lectures such as mufti ment,bilal Philip & many more, you jst name it.walahi May Allah bless you and bless them all for the effort to spread the religion of Allah.
We may not have the right to issue fatwa… But Surah asr applies to every muslim …
And Quran is easy to read and grasp.. you dont always need socholars to learn Quran.God speaks everyone through his book and his signs
And whats happening today is that people blindly depending on these Alims and do not read Quran themselves.
Prophet(SAW) told a prophecy that many Alims will be fitna ..
Every muslim must read Quran and Hadith himslef to avoid fitnah !
We need teachers for science but you consider it enough to learn our deen our selves. Experience and examples on this matter will make it clear. Not everyone can go in to that deep depth.
I always agree with those Hadith on Facebook post when there is any reference from authentic Hadith books
Do u cross check those hadith for your self satisfaction
Does this mean a practicing Muslim is in no position to speak of Christianity unless he’s a certified Christian scholar, or has been under the tutelage of a priest?
This is really a good post……Thanks for such useful information..JazaakALLAH
While I do agree to some facts being stated. Saying I don’t know directly would be a lie to something that you do know even little of. So when/if someone asks a question which we do have limited knowledge of, my opinion is to share the knowledge saying that this is to my knowlege. And that it is better to consult those who have knowlege to verify it. On the other hand we should advise our follow brothers and sisters not to ask fiqh related questions from those other than the ones who have knowlege to be safe. That would be better advise.
IMHO, even in our incomplete state of knowledge we can still remind others about certain dos/donts. First of all establish a reliable source, a direct “fatwa” from your local mufti or your area’s religious office as reference. Failing which, at least a well written explanation from your learned scholar/teacher. Compile them beforehand if necessary.
Avoid saying rash absolute stuff like “bro this is without doubt clearly a definite crystal clear HARAM!” – people are extremely allergic to that word, even though it’s the truth – without referencing the daleels directly from the issuer yourself. It’s much better to just initially settle with “bro according to what I remember reading & hearing from [insert qualified party] it’s agreed upon [insert school of thought’s consensus – always be aware of the probability that scholars’ opinions could differ in regard to the issue] that it’s rather forbidden to do this & this. My memory could be failing me thought so I’ll pass you the link later (make sure you do!) so in the meantime bro-to-bro I advise you to just avoid doing so..just in case” or something to that effect.
Yeah abit longer to say/write, but much better for your conscience & integrity/credibility. Just remember that it’s our obligation not to invent lies about Allah & His Commands; don’t enjoin what is forbidden, and vice-versa. Wallahua’lam, I stand corrected.
God guides whom He will. Years of study, diplomas, titles and numbers of students are not guarantees that God will guide the heart to true understanding.
As always the public reads and still doesn’t interprete the meaning of a simple man’s text how so do you expect to understand the words of the Almighty.
@Muhammad Farooq: bro get your thinking cap back on cos you made no sense at all with what you said your answer in my opinion makes it seem that we naive humans can understand the quraan better than imam malik I don’t think so. The only thing that made sense is the hadith which I agree with. Like you won’t sit in the jungle with a bear or wolf like wise when sitting with and imaam there to make sure he is worthy of it don’t class all imams with that hadith.
In today’s age and time the biggest fitnah makers are all those islamic fb pages and twitter links you people follow they them self are not learned is islamic jurisprudence yet they start topics that they not educated in stay away from them and you shall not go astray.
@Almas Shamim: remember one thing yours mine and the entire ummahs knowledge doesn’t even come close to the sand on the blessed shoes of Hazrat Abu Baqr and Imam Maalik Radi Allahu Ta’ala Anhum so don’t even go there with that we must use our limited knowledge line
great thoughts by the writer of this article and it not only applies to Islam but to other religions too…too many world problems will be solved if we follow this
Right. One should always keep learning the Qur’an and Hadith, but before arriving at a conclusion one would better consult an expert they trust. There are many Ulama who can be trusted. No matter how good your knowledge of healthcare & bio-chemical sciences you always consult a doctor before taking a drug and go to at least 2 surgeons before deciding on a surgery.
(When you post these, please remember to attribute credit. I believe this one belongs to Hamza Yusuf, but I may be mistaken)
to all this in the holy quran is said not to talk of something without the knowledge of it.as it says here in Al Isra:And do not pursue that of
which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight
and the heart – about all those [one] will be questioned.
so when we follow the imams which they chose a profession it can be some are also knowledgable than them but they have the responsibility to help the comunity in certain things.as the aya mention all the organs of the humans share responsibility and in our deen its that we share and seek to learn and know and in that also not be ignorant and arrogant in seekin knowledge and acceptin when we dont know something.for its a divers thing to touch any and in Allah guids whom he wills with any person he choses.
You are right brother. Its sunnah to say ‘i dont know’ about the things which we do not know. (In surah al kahf) And like musa (as) went out in search for knowledge to khidr (as), we must go in search of knowledge to true Islamic scholars. For that, we must show interest in studying Islam (particularly now a days thru internet). But we must keep the words of khidr(as) in our minds. And those words are the real words from a real scholar. He said, ” oh musa, Allah has given me some knowledge which He hasnt given you & He has given you some knowledge which He hasnt given me.” A true islamic scholar is very humble. He is not an arrogant person to think that Allah has given me more knowledge than the ordinary muslims who hasnt learned Qur’aan for 5years. How many of todays Islamic scholars r like khidr(as)? A very few only. But among ordinary muslims der r many scholars whom we cant identify because dey r very humble & they dont come infront of cameras as scholars. Allah knows the best that who all are the best muslims. We dont need to be like jews nd christians, asking every opinions to ppl who claim to be scholars. Because it was the arrogant ppl who claimed to be scholars who made things that is halal as haram nd haram as halal for jews nd christians. And dat is shirk. We have Qur’aan & our beloved prophet (peace be upon him’s) sunnah. Almighty Allah has given us the translations for it in our own language and internet facilities to acquire good knowledge. Then for what reason we must stop acquiring knowledge and sharing it to our brothers and sisters?!
We are not scholars. But we love Allah and His messenger. Inshaa’Allah, That love is forever. The thirst for acquiring knowledge and propagating it, will remain till our deaths.