Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| The merits of the ilm of the salaf over the khalaf |
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| assing |
| 09/30/00 at 00:12:22 |
| Alhamdulillahi rabbil a'lameen wa salallahu ala Muhammad wa aalihe wa ashaaabihe ajmaeen amma bad, This is a partial transalation of the wonderful book i recently read {fadlul ilm us-salaf ala ilm al-khalaf - The superiority of the knowledge of the salaf (early generation of muslims) over that of the later generation} which i would like to share, perhaps Allah may benefit some by it. These are just a few, brief words about the meaning of ilm (knowledge) and its division into beneficial ilm and that which is not, in addition to some points to explain why the ilm of the salaf (the early generation of Muslim) is superior that that of the khalaf (the later generation of Muslims), so by Allah's' assistance and la hawla wa la quwwata ila billah: Indeed Allah has mentioned ilm in his book sometimes praising it, and that is beneficial ilm, and other times despising it, and that is ilm that does not benefit. Types of beneficial ilm Say: "Are those who know equal to those who know not?" It is only men of understanding who will remember" (Az-zumar :9) "Allâh bears witness that Lâ ilâha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), and the angels, and those having knowledge (also give this witness); (He is always) maintaining His creation in Justice. Lâ ilâh illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the All-Mighty, the All-Wise" (Al-Imran: 18 ) "My Lord! Increase me in knowledge." (TaHa:114), "It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allâh. Verily, Allâh is AllMighty, OftForgiving" (Al-Fatir:28 ), also from beneficial ilm from that which Allah has informed us about is the the story Adam and Allah teaching him the names of his creation and asking the angels to do the same "They (angels) said: "Glory be to You, we have no knowledge except what you have taught us. Verily, it is You, the All-Knower, the All-Wise." (Al-Baqarah:32), and the story of Musa and Khidr where Musa asked khidr "Mûsa (Moses) said to him (Khidr) "May I follow you so that you teach me something of that knowledge (guidance and true path) which you have been taught (by Allâh)?" (Al-Kahf:66) Allah has also informed us in his book about a people who were given ilm but their ilm did not benefit them, this is beneficial ilm but the one who posseses it does benefit by it, Allah says "The likeness of those who were entrusted with the (obligation of the) Taurât (Torah) (i.e. to obey its commandments and to practise its legal laws), but who subsequently failed in those (obligations), is as the likeness of a donkey who carries huge burdens of books (but understands nothing from them). How bad is the example (or the likeness) of people who deny the Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allâh. And Allâh guides not the people who are Zâlimûn (polytheists, wrong-doers, disbelievers, etc.)" (Al-Jumuah:5) "And recite (O Muhammad SAW) to them the story of him to whom We gave Our Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), but he threw them away, so Shaitân (Satan) followed him up, and he became of those who went astray" (Al-Araf:175) "Then after them succeeded an (evil) generation, which inherited the Book, but they chose (for themselves) the goods of this low life (evil pleasures of this world) saying (as an excuse): "(Everything) will be forgiven to us." And if (again) the offer of the like (evil pleasures of this world) came their way, they would (again) seize them (would commit those sins). Was not the covenant of the Book taken from them that they would not say about Allâh anything but the truth? And they have studied what is in it (the Book). And the home of the Hereafter is better for those who are Al-Muttaqûn. Do not you then understand?" (Al-Araf:169) "Have you seen him who takes his own lust (vain desires) as his ilâh (god), and Allâh knowing (him as such), left him astray, and sealed his hearing and his heart, and put a cover on his sight. Who then will guide him after Allâh? Will you not then remember?" (Al-Jathiyah:23) Ilm that Allah despises From amongst the ilm that Allah dispraises is that of magic wherein He says Baqarah:102)"They followed what the Shayâtin (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic) in the lifetime of Sulaimân (Solomon). Sulaimân did not disbelieve, but the Shayâtin (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic and such things that came down at Babylon to the two angels, Hârût and Mârût, but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such things) till they had said, "We are only for trial, so disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us)." And from these (angels) people learn that by which they cause separation between man and his wife, but they could not thus harm anyone except by Allâh's Leave. And they learn that which harms them and profits them not. And indeed they knew that the buyers of it (magic) would have no share in the Hereafter. And how bad indeed was that for which they sold their ownselves, if they but knew" (Al-Baqarah) "Then when their Messengers came to them with clear proofs, they were glad (and proud) with that which they had of the knowledge (of worldly things): And that at which they used to mock, surrounded them (i.e. the punishment)" (Al-Gafir:83) "They know only the outside appearance of the life of the world (i.e. the matters of their livelihood, like irrigating or sowing or reaping, etc.), and they are heedless of the Hereafter" (Ar- Rum:7) This is why we find in the sunnah that ilm is divided into beneficial and non-beneficial, and to seek refuge from ilm that does not benefit and to ask for the one that does. Narrated in saheeh Muslim from Zayd ibn Arqam (who said) that the rasul (saw) used to say (in his dua) "Allahuma innee a'udhu bika min ilm la yanfa' wa min qalbin la yakhsa wa min nafsin la tashba'wa min du'a la yustujaab laha - O Allah I seek refuge in you from ilm that does not benefit,and a heart that does not fear, and a soul that is not contented and a dua that is not answered". It has been reported in the sunan of Abu Dawud with an isnaaad that has some weakness from Buraydah that the rasul (saw) said ""ina min albayan la sihr-eloquence is a type of magic, wa ina min al ilm jahl-there is ignorance in knowledge", some scholars explained this hadeeth to mean ilm that harms and it has no benefit in knowing it, because ignorance about is is better than knowledge of it, like knowledge of magic and other evil arts that harms ones' dunya and akhirah. Other scholars have explained it to mean to learn something which there is no need to learn like astronomy and ancient history, while at the same time leaving off what he needs to know about his deen like the ilm of the quran and sunnah. It has been narrated in the sunan of At-Tirmidhee with an saheeh isnaad from Abu Hurayrah that the rasul (saw) commanded ''learn you lineage so that you can maintain your family ties" and we also see sahabahs like Abu Bakr were very knowledgable about arab linage as narrated by A'ishah in saheeh Al-Bukhari. Umar is reported to have also said "learn astronomy so know your direction and that of the qiblah." Learning the science of astronomy for the sake knowing ones direction and the qiblah is permissible according to the majority of the scholars, as for what is above this, then there is no need for it, and it is busing oneself from what is more important, and it can probably reach a stage where one thinks bad of the Muslims all over the world, as what happened to a lot of scholars past and present by their belief that the direction the sahabahs and the tabieen prayed to was wrong so therefore their salat was invalid! This is why in an authentic hadeeth reported by At-Tirmidhee and ibn Majah the rasul (saw) said "what is between the east and the west is the qiblah" Also, scholars have recommended that one learns the science of math to the extent that one needs to calculate zakat, inheritance............etc, as for learning what is more than this which has no benefit except just draining the brain, then there is no need for this and it is busying oneself with that which is less important Al-hafiz As-Suyuti said in his book "Hasan al muhadarah" talking about himself "as for the science of math it is the most difficult thing for me and the most abstract for my mind, and whenever I look at a problem related to it (maths), it is if I am trying to move a mountain that I am carrying". Thus, those sciences which have been created after the sahabahs which people go deep into calling it "sciences" and assuming who ever does not know it is ignorant or astray, then all this is bidah, and this is from newly invented matters which are prohibited from. Innovated types of ilm Amongst the innovated types if ilm are what the mutazilah have brought up when they began to talk qadr (predestination), saying Allah is like this or that, using ayats in the quran to refute other ayats,rejecting ayats or ahadeeth based on their so called "intellect" like saying one cannot see Allah because that would mean he has a body and so on, and all this should be refrained from doing, because the truth is what the salaf as-salah were upon when it came to Allahs' characteristics where they believed in all of them as they came without saying "how" or comparing Him to any other thing. Also from the sciences the scholars have criticized is that of arguing, debate and bickering about haram and halal issues, this was never the way of the imams of Islam, in fact this is what the fuqaha of Iraq have invented. In an authentic hadeeth narrated by At-Tirmidhi and Ahmad from Abi Amamah that the rasul(saw) said "a people were never lead astray after guidance came to them except they were given [to) argument, the he (saw) recited "They quoted not the above example except for argument. Nay! But they are a quarrelsome people" (Az-zukhruf:58 ). Some of the salaf used to say; if Allah wants good for his servant he opens for him the door of deeds, and closes for him the door of argument, and if Allah want bad for his servant He closes the door of deeds for him and opens the door of argument for him. Imam Malik said I met the people of this city i.e. Madinah, and they used to hate these issues the people are into these days. The salaf also use to hate answering a lot of questions, Allah says "And they ask you (O Muhammad SAW) concerning the Rûh (the Spirit); Say: "The Rûh (the Spirit): it is one of the things, the knowledge of which is only with my Lord. And of knowledge, you (mankind) have been given only a little." (Al-Isra:85) and He subhanahu wa tala did not answer them. One of them was asked; could a person be knowledgeable of the sunnah and he argues about it? he said no, but he can inform them of the sunnah and if they don't accept it from him he should remain quite. They also used to say debates and arguing about ilm takes away the light of the ilm. If one looks at the statements of the scholars in their refutation of those who went against the sunnah, one would see they used the simplest points with the best expression to the degree that one understands what is being said without having to go through a whole heap of long talk that one may find in the later generations. This is because the statements of the salaf inspite of its brevity and preciseness, may have remained silent about many debates and arguments not because they were ignorant about them or unable to debate, but they refrained out of ilm and fear of Allah. And for those who came after them did not write/speak more than them because they were more knowledgable than them but because they loved to speak more and have little fear of Allah. Ibrahim An nakhi said "i never argued," Jafar ibn Muhammad said "avoid arguing about the deen, for it diverts the heart and nourishes hypocrisy," and the statements of the salaf about this are numerous. Many people of the later generation have been afflicted by this fitna where a lot of them think that because a persons speaks, debates and argues a lot, then he is more knowledgeable than the one who does not do this, and this is the pinnacle of ignorance, look at the sahabahs and their scholars like Abu Bakr, umar, Uthmaan, Ali, Muadh ibn Jabal, Zayd ibn Thabit and ibn Masood how they were? All their statements were less than ibn Abbas and they were all more knowledgable than him. The same goes for the tabieen, their statements were more than the sahabah and the sahabah were more knowledgable than them. Thus "ilm is not many narrations or speaking a lot but it is a light that Allah puts in the heart, by which the servant understands the truth and is able to distinguish between it and falsehood, expressed by short phrases that delivers the message." The rasul said "otitu jawamil kalim" (Al-Bukhari) which means he (saw) was blessed by the ablity to say a few words that has a lot of meaning, and this is why the rasul (saw) prohibited us from "qeel wa qaal-unneccesary talk", and he (saw) whenever he gave a khutbah it used to be the point and when he (saw) spoke he would speak in such a way that one could count his word as A'ishah said. Therefore, it is upon us to believe that not everyone who is a" dynamic speaker" is more knowledgeable than the one is not like that. Indeed we have been afflicted (in these times) by the ignorance of some people who think that those who have a lot of speeches (and books) from the later generation are more knowledgeable than those who came before them, and from among them is the one who thinks that such and such person is more knowledgeable than the sahabah just because he speaks more or is more eloquent, all this negates the greatness of the salaf us-salih, which equals to thinking bad about them and attributing to them ignorance and lack of ilm, wa la huwla wa quwwata ila billah. No doubt ibn Masood was right when he told some of his students "indeed your all are living in a time where the ulama (scholars) are many and the speakers are few, there is going to come a time after you all when the ulama (scholars) are few and the speakers are many." So whoever has a lot of ilm but his words are little, then he deserves praise and whoever is the opposite of that deserves criticism. For this reason we see why the rasul (saw) praised the people of Yemen for their emaan and fiqh because they were a people known for speaking little and having great ilm. Thus the best ilm is that of the quran and its tafseer, hadeeth and its meanings, knowledge of the haram and the halal and what has been reported from the sahabah, tabieen and the imams of this deen, and whoever does not take from their ilm has indeed lost a great loss in addition to falling prey to a lot of falsehood that came after them. Al-Awzai said "ilm is what the sahabahs of Muhammad (saw) came with, for what is other than that is not ilm". Included in the catergory of innovated ilm is the hidden, so called "deeper meaning" esoteric stuff, by which claims to know what is in the hearts by just feelings, dreams or opinions, and this is very dangerous. Abu Sulayman used to say "i would come across ancedotes of the people and i would not accept it except with two just witnesses; al-kitab wa sunnah". So, in summary beneficial knowledge is that of the quran, the sunnah and with the understanding of the sahabahs, knowing the haram and the halal, heart softeners and being able to distinguish between authentic and weak hadeeth. NB; to be continued inshallah............. |
| Re: The merits of the ilm of the salaf over the khalaf |
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| Asim |
| 09/29/00 at 22:52:53 |
| JazakAllah Khairan for sharing the translation. Alhamdulillah it discusses a very important subject. Wasalaam. |
| Re: The merits of the ilm of the salaf over the khalaf |
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| assing |
| 10/07/00 at 14:25:19 |
| continuing from ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali' book - Fadlu ilm as-salaf ala ilmul'khalaf} Signs of beneficial ilm Firstly, amongst the main indicators that a person has beneficial ilm is that he knows Allah, what He deserves from His most beautiful names and His impeccable characteristics , which all requires revering Him, glorifying Him, fearing Him, venerating Him, loving Him, hoping for His mercy, depending upon Him, being happy by His decree, and being patient with His trials. Secondly, knowing what Allah loves and is pleased with, what He hates and gets Him angry, by beliefs and deeds hidden or apparent. Thus, if the ilm of a person produces theses results, then this is beneficial ilm which settles in the heart, leading the heart to fear Allah, being humble to Him, revering Him, dignifying Him, glorifying Him and loving Him. All resulting in the servant and his lord having a special relationship, whereby if he asks He gives him, if he makes dua He answers him, as the hadeeth al-qudsi describes "the abd continues to do the nawafil [optional deeds] until I love him, and if he asks Me I will give him, and if he seeks My refuge I will give him refuge." He (saw) advised ibn Abbas "Ihfadhillah ya'fadhk-remember Allah He will remember you," remember Him you will find Him in front of you, know Him in times of ease He will know you in times of difficulty" {musnad of imam Ahmad-hasnan} . Thus, the hadeeth is pointing out to us that the abd is always falling into hardships and difficulties in the dunya, the barzakh and the day of standing, so if he was a person constantly remembering His lord, He will suffice him all his problems. Some of the sahabahs used to say "the first ilm that will be taken from the people is khushoo." Ibn Masood said "a people would read the quran, but it will not pass their throats, however, if it reaches the heart, it becomes implanted and is beneficial." The salaf used to say "the scholars are of 3 types: a scholar who knows Allah and His commands, a scholar who knows Allah but does not know what he commanded, and a scholar who knows Allah's commands but does not know Him, and the best of them is the one who fears Allah and knows His laws." Imam Ahmad used to say "the foundation of ilm is fear of Allah" People of beneficial ilm The basis of all ilm is the fear of Allah, which requires fearing Him, loving Him, being close to Him and longing towards His meeting, then comes after that ilm of His rulings which He is pleased with and loves from words, deeds or beliefs. So whenever a person achieves these two ilm, then his ilm is beneficial ilm, and who ever lacks this beneficial ilm, then he has fallen into the for things the rasus (saw) used to seek refuge from, his ilm becomes an affliction for him, a proof against him which he cannot benefit from (the ilm) because his heart did not fear His lord, and he was not contented with what he had in this dune, it (ilm) only increased him greed and eager (for the dunya), and Allah does not listen to his dua because he fails to carry out his commands, and He does not answer him because He is is angry at him. All this applies if the ilm is taken from the kitab and the sunnah, but if it is from another source, then this is beneficial ilm in itself, which cannot really help, in fact it harms more than it benefits. Signs of ilm that does not benefit From amongst the signs that a persons ilm does not benefit him is that this ilm makes the person proud, showing-off, wanting authority and high positions in this dunya, seeking to debate with scholars and argue with lightheaded folks, and wanting peoples' attention drawn to him, and whenever the situation is like this, it as the rasul (saw) said about the one who seeks ilm for that purpose "fan-nar un-nar - the fire, the fire" (At-Tirmidhee:hasan) Perhaps, some of them who claim to have a lot of ilm, knows Allah and have not intention except (to please) Him, their actual intention is nothing but to have place in the hearts of the rulers and the people, so that they may think good of them and have many followers. And from among this category of people are those who claim to be "awliyah-close friends of Allah" as do the people of the book abd other deviant groups. This goes against what the salaf were upon from the way they used to look down at their many good deeds, hidden and apparent. Umar said "who ever says i am an alim {scholar}, then he is jaahil {ignorant}" Also included in the signs that persons ilm does not benefit him, is that he does not accept the haqq nor submit to it, they is arrogant to the one who says the haqq, especially if that person is seen as less than them in the eyes of people, they are insistent upon falsehood fearing that people will abandon them if they return to the truth, furthermore, they may pretend with to criticize and belittle themselves on their tongues in front of people so that people may think that they are truly humble, so that they may be praised because of this, and this is from the very minute doors of "riyaa-pride" (may Allah save us all from it) as the tabieen and the schalars after them pionted out. This negates sincerity and truthfulness, because a truthful person fears hypocrisy and an evil ending. Abi Mulaykah said "i met over 30 sahabahs and all of them feared hypocrisy in himself" and ibn Hajar Al-asqalani said that they were from the great sahabahs like A'ishah, Abu hurayrah, Abu Darda.....................", and as some of the salaf used to say about nifaaq "only a mu'min fears it, and only a munafiq feels same from it". This is why from the signs that person is from among those whose ilm benefits them is that he does not see himself as having a high status or position, he dislikes praises and does not look down one anyone. Haas Al-Basri said "indeed the faqhee is the one who abstentious from the dunya, eager for the akhirah, knows his deen and is on point when it comes to worshiping his lord", and in another narration by him, he said "{the faqhee is} the one who does not envy those above him, nor look down on those below him, and does not take money for teaching the ilm Allah taught him" Included in the signs that a person ilm benefits them is that it guides the person to flee from the dunya, and the greatest {of these affliction of the dunya} are {wanting} leadership, fame and praise, thus he strives to keeps far from all that; this is an indication that the ilm benefits. However, if this happens to a person unintentionally (authority, fame of praise), then that person (should) be in a state of great concern, because perchance this may be a punishment for him where he fears this a plot or trap for him as what took place with imam Ahmad when his name became very popular. Also from the signs that a persons ilm benefits them is that the person does not claim to have ilm, he takes pride over others about it and he does not accuse any one of being ignorant except when those who go against the sunnah and its people, so whenever he speaks angrily, he speaks like that for Allah's' sake, not because of personal anger not to be better than anyone. As for those whose ilm benefits them not, they have no other concern except to look down on others because of his ilm and to make known the superiority if his ilm above others, accusing others of being ignorant and have many shortcomings so he may "look good," and this is the worst of these traits. Some of them might even accuse the previous scholars of jahil and ghaflah (heedlessness), so this makes him an "self-loving person" who loves people to think good of him and think negatively of the salaf. Regarding the true people of ilm they are totally opposite to this type of mentality, they see themselves as having many shortcomings, they hold in high esteem the scholars from the salaf, they readily admit to the superiority of the salaf above themselves and their inability to reach their position or even close to it. How wonderful imam abu Hanifah reply was when he was asked "who is better Aqlmah or Al-Aswad?" he retorted "by Allah, we are not from those people, so how could we favoritise between them?". Whenever the characteristics of the salaf was mentioned Ibn Al-mubarak used sing "do not expose us by mentioning us along with them, because the healthy one when he walks is not like the one who sits." Wuhayb ibn Al-Wird said "perhaps a person is considered an alim amongst the people, but with Allah is he from the jaahileen" So, in conclusion we ask Allah for beneficial ilm, and we seek refuge in Him from the ilm that does not benefit, from a heart that does not fear, a soul that is not contented, and a dua that is not heard, walhamdulillah rabbil'alameen, wa salallah ala Muhammad wa aalihi, wa sahbihi ajma'een. |
| NS |
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