In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
“Is he who payeth adoration in the watches of the night, prostrate and standing, bewaring of the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, (to be accounted equal with a disbeliever)? Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Are those who know equal with those who know not? But only men of understanding will pay heed.” (39:9)
The Splendor of Knowledge according to the Wise.
By Dr. Hamzah Ibn Fayi' Al Fathi.
May Allah preserve him.
The Guardians of the Foundation.
Imam Al Shafi'i, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
He who passed away in the year 204 AH.
"If I see a man from the people of hadith,
it is as if I have seen a man from the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him."
May Allah reward them with goodness.
For they have preserved the foundation for us.
Thus, they have a merit over us.
The hadith scholars are the guardians of the Sharia and the Sunnah.
They possess a merit over all other people of knowledge and disciplines.
They acknowledge their merit and are indebted to their efforts.
Among them is Al Shafi'i, may Allah have mercy on him.
He likens them to the Companions of the Messenger of Allah,
in knowledge, love, and preference for the Sunnah and the hadith.
He considers them the guardians of the foundation and the religion,
and the bearers of the text and the proofs.
A jurist cannot attain knowledge until he consults them,
and verifies the text, its authenticity, and its freedom from defects.
Hence, loving them is a duty.
Their merit shines over all other sciences and arts.
For they have mastered the Sunnah,
traveled for its sake,
verified it, and protected its narrations.
They exposed the falsehood and the extraneous elements within it.
So who can rival the merit of the hadith scholars,
or equal their efforts, may Allah have mercy on them?
Qutaybah Ibn Sa'id, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"If you see a man who loves the people of hadith,
then he is upon the Sunnah.
Whoever opposes this, know that he is an innovator."
Sufyan Al Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"If the person of hadith had no benefit,
other than the prayer upon the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
for he prays upon him as long as he is writing."
Al Za'farani, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
One of the great companions of Al Shafi'i:
"There is no group on the face of the earth better than the people of hadith.
They follow the traces of the Prophet, peace be upon him."
It is not a condition that they be jurists who derive rulings.
Their effort in preservation and precision is sufficient for us,
as well as the hadith-related travels and their hardships.
Unless one of them is able to combine the Sunnah
and its fiqh, like Imam Ahmad, Al Bukhari,
Abu Dawud, Ibn Khuzaymah, and Malik,
and their likes among the meticulous scholars.
May Allah have mercy on them all.