Sunday 7 June 2009

How the Salaf dealt with their teachers?

Al-Hamdulilla! We all witness in our land that the circles of knowledge’s are flourishing. And you see that the youth has the yearning to quench their thirsts from the ‘pools of knowledge’. Not long ago here in London, people did not have this zeal and awakening for attaining deep Islamic knowledge. Indeed this high aspiration in knowledge is a praiseworthy thing in Islam, in fact having high aspirations is one of the characteristics of Islam. This Islamic awakening is one of the bounties from Allah (SWT). I recall not long a ago, many of the brothers and sisters who were practicing then, used to attend talks and seminars which would at most, last a day or so but nowadays the way of passing and attaining knowledge has definitely changed in my opinion.


Nowadays, we have many circles of knowledge on a daily basis with the increased numbers of shaykh’s, ustatad’s, institutions etc. Also nowadays we witness that, rather than having just talks and reminders on a one-off occasion, on particular issues – the carriers of knowledge are teaching classical books that were studied systematically by the Salaf. So often, you would find that a teacher would start a classical text and try to finish it page by page – even if takes a year or so. Indeed scholars of the past have laid down the methodology of seeking knowledge and its levels. It is always essential to ground oneself in every subject by perfecting its basis and perfecting a concise book with a shaykh. And it is just amazing to see that this is actually happening in London – in the hearth of kufr and shirk.


In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a beginner seeker of knowledge would study the following books in the following subjects: ‘Al-Usool ath-Thalaathah’ in Tawheel al-Uloohiyyah, ‘Al-Aqeedah al-Waasitiyyah’ in Tawheed Al-Asmaa’ was-Sifaat, ‘Al-Arba’een-Nawawiyyah’ in Hadith, ‘Nukbatul-Fiqr’ in Science of Hadith, ‘Umdatul-Fiqh or ‘Zaad ul-Mustaqni’ in Fiqh, ‘Al-Waraqaat’ in Principles of Fiqh and ‘Al-Aajuroomiyyah’ in Arabic grammar – in this manner they would seek knowledge there.


Subhan-Allah, nowadays these few mentioned books for the beginners have been witnessed being taught in London also, so you see the students rushing from one circle to another, discussing, inter-mingling with the shaykh’s and students of knowledge’s etc. This is truly a bounty from the Lord of the Worlds – Who wanted this for us here in London. Books that are even higher than those mentioned above are also being taught, this all really due to awakening for the thirst for knowledge and the teacher’s eagerness to pass on the knowledge, and to Allah (SWT) belongs All-Praise.


Knowing all this; how Allah (SWT) has blessed us for giving this awakening, for pursuing this noble path, for allowing us to go out of our ways to attain the gems – we must realize and build within ourselves some ‘pre-requisites’ before and during in our roadmap to seeking knowledge. Without such ‘pre-requisites’ one would definitely be heading to the path of destruction.


Indeed it is Allah (SWT), Al-Aleem Al-Kareem – who teaches us all that we know. If Allah (SWT) did not want us to know something, we would not know that issue. Indeed, Allah (SWT) has made the scholars the inheritors of the prophets. They are the means, through them Allah (SWT) brings out the people from the darkness into the light, through them the individual is purified, through them societies are reformed. It is a must upon us to take into consideration the scholar’s status for indeed it is the token of success, acquisition and prosperity as mentioned by Sheikh Bakr Abu Zayd (ra). For one to be truly successful in this path – one should make their teacher an object of reverence, honour, appreciation and courtesy. Unfortunately, this is lacked much in London and the West in general – what we want do here is to quote some amazing statements from the Salaf about how they were towards their teachers – to give us an insight. Through theirs manners, they became who they were. May Allah (SWT) make us from amongst them! Ameen!


Abdullah bin al-Mubarak said: “I spent thirty years learning manners, and I spent twenty years learning knowledge.”


Ash-Sha’bi (may Allah have Mercy on him) said: “Zayd bin Thabit prayed a funeral prayer. A mule was then brought for him to ride away on, and Ibn ‘Abbas came and took hold of its reigns to lead him away. So, Zayd said to him: “Let go of it, O cousin of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).” Ibn ‘Abbas said: “This is how we were commanded to treat the scholars!””


Ayyub said: “A man would sit with al-Hasan for three years and not ask him anything out of awe and respect for him.”


Ishaq ash-Shahidi said: “I would see Yahya al-Qattan praying ‘Asr. He would then lean on the base of the mosque’s minaret, and standing in front of him would be ‘Ali bin al-Madini, ash-Shadhakuni, ‘Amr bin ‘Ali, Ahmad bin Hambal, Yahya bin Ma’in, etc. – all asking him about Hadith while they were standing up. This would go on until the Maghrib prayer, and he would not offer any of them to sit, and none of them would sit out of awe and respect of him.”


‘Abd ar-Rahman bin Harmalah al-Aslami said: “Nobody dared to ask Sa’id bin al-Musayyab about anything until he would seek his permission, just as the ruler’s permission is sought for something.”


Ash-Shafi’i (may Allah be Pleased with him) was criticized for his humility to the scholars, and he said: “I humble myself to them, and they honor me. And you will not be honored unless you humble yourself.”


Ahmad bin Hanbal (may Allah be Pleased with him) said to Khalaf al-Ahmar (may Allah have Mercy on him) : “I will not sit except between your hands. We were commanded to be humble to those we learn from.”


And ash-Shafi’i (may Allah have Mercy on him) said: “I would turn the pages of my books in front of Malik (may Allah have Mercy on him) in a very soft, quiet way so that he wouldn’t be bothered by its noise, out of respect for him.”


Dealing With a Harsh Teacher:


Ash-Shafi’i said: “Two men used to visit al-A’mash. One of them was interested in Hadith, and the other was not. So, one day al-A’mash got mad at the one who was interested in Hadith. The other man said: “If he got mad at me the way he did at you, I wouldn’t come back to him.” So, al-A’mash said: “Therefore, he is an idiot like you. He leaves what will benefit him due to my bad manners.”


Ibn Jama’ah (may Allah have Mercy on him) said: “The seeker of knowledge should withstand his teacher’s harshness and bad treatment, and this should not turn him away from him. He should give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to any bad actions on his part, and should respond to any harshness from his shaykh by apologizing himself, repenting to Allah, seeking His Forgiveness, and placing the blame on himself. This will preserve his love for this shaykh, will protect his heart, and is more beneficial for the student in this life and the next.”

Some of the Salaf said: “Whoever is not patient upon the humiliation of learning will spend the rest of his life in the blindness of the ignorant, and whoever is patient upon it will spend this life and the next in a state of honor.”


Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be Pleased with him): “I humbled myself as a student. So, I became honorable as a teacher.”


Ibn Jurayj said: “I did not gain what I gained from ‘Ata’ except with my softness with him.”


Visiting the Teacher:


And Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be Pleased with him) said: “I found most of the knowledge of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in this neighborhood of the Ansar. I would wait at the door of one of them, and if I wanted permission to enter, I would’ve gotten it. However, I wanted him to be pleasant when meeting me.”


And Sufyan bin ‘Uyaynah narrated that Abu al-Husayn said: “Ibn ‘Abbas used to go to one of the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), seeking to ask him about Hadith. It would be said to him: ‘He is asleep.’ So, he would lay down in front of his door waiting for him, and it would be said to him: ‘Do you want me to wake him up?’ He would say: “No.”


And Ma’mar narrated that az-Zuhri said: “If I came to ‘Urwah’s door, I could’ve entered if I wanted to. However, I would sit outside and wait out of respect for him.”


‘Ali (may Allah be Pleased with him) said: “From the rights of the scholar are that you greet the gathering and then greet the shaykh specifically; you should sit in front of him; you should not point here and there, wink, etc. in front of him; do not come out and tell him that fulan differs with him in a given matter; do not backbite anybody in his presence; and do not ask him intricate and complicated questions. If he makes a mistake, make an excuse for him, and it is upon you to honor him for the Sake of Allah, the Exalted. If he needs something, you should be the first to tend to his need; do not attract attention in his circle; do not grab his clothing; do not insist on something if he is too tired; do not think that you can have enough of his friendship, as he is like the palm tree from which you wait form something to fall on you.”


Ahmad bin Sinan al-Qattan said: “Nobody in the class of Abd ar-Rahman bin Mahdi would even speak, sharpen a pen, or smile. If he saw that someone spoke or sharpened a pen, he would get up, put on his shoes, and go home.”


And ‘Abd ar-Rahman bin ‘Umar said that a man laughed in the class of ‘Abd ar-Rahman bin Mahdi, and he asked: “Who laughed?” Everyone pointed to the man, and he scolded him: “You seek knowledge and laugh? I will not teach any of you for a month!”


As you can notice my dear brothers and sisters, the Salaf had great deal of respect for their teachers – which we should emulate to be successful on the roadmap to knowledge. And Allah knows best.


Abu Siyaam [written in Taiz, Yemen]