Part of Rawnaq Al-Ilm (series completed)
· Lesson 31 of 50
The book of the elegance of knowledge among the wise | Episode (31) | The virtue of fairness
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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“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)
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The Splendor of Knowledge in Wisdom.
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By Dr. Hamzah Ibn Fayi' Al Fathi.
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May Allah preserve him: The Virtue of Fairness.
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The great scholar Al Shawkani, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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Who passed away in the year 1250 AH.
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If you prepare your soul, O student, for fairness,
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And for avoiding partisanship toward any school of thought,
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Or toward any specific scholar,
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And instead regard all people as being on the same footing,
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In that they all belong to the Sharia,
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Governed by it in a way from which they can find no escape,
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Nor can they turn away from it,
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Let alone ascend to a position above that,
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Where it would be mandatory for anyone in the Ummah to act,
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According to the opinion of only one of them,
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Or be bound to follow him and accept his word,
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Then you have attained the greatest benefits of knowledge,
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And gained its most precious treasures.
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Among the most noble qualities of a student of knowledge,
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Is preparing the soul for fairness and justice toward opponents,
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In matters of debate, ijtihad, and critiques.
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There is no sanctity for a school of thought, a sheikh, a method, or a book,
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At the expense of a proof or an established text,
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Or a transmitted consensus.
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Infallibility belongs only to the legal proof,
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Not to the scholar or the jurist,
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Because he is a human being who is sometimes right and sometimes wrong,
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And everyone’s opinion may be accepted or rejected,
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Except for the occupant of the greatest grave, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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This is the most precious benefit of knowledge:
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Fairness and devotion to the truth,
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And showing no favoritism to anyone whatsoever,
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Because academic sycophancy is a form of partisanship,
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And a distancing from the truth,
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And a corruption of the path and of ijtihad.
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And in the Qur'an:
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"Do not follow desire."
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If a student is raised upon this,
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His religion remains intact and his approach becomes wholesome,
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His qualities improve, and his knowledge is blessed.
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He will never be a true scholar,
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Until he devotes himself to knowledge, casts aside desire,
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Lives for the proof,
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And follows the path of the Imams who preceded us,
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By drinking from the ocean of the Book and the Sunnah,
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Rather than the abyss of blind imitation and partisanship.
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As Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"Do not imitate me, nor imitate Malik, nor Al Shafi'i,
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Nor Al Awza'i, nor Al Thawri,
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But take from where they took."
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And the source of their taking is the Revelation,
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Not the venerated books of the school of thought,
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Nor the reliance upon sheikhs,
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Or the repetitive texts studied by students.
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And Allah is the One whose help is sought.
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How beautiful it is for jurists to read,
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The books of those who disagree with them,
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And to receive them with respect,
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Without partisanship for one school of fiqh over another,
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But rather seeking the truth,
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And becoming acquainted with the views of their opponents,
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Especially since some sectarian books,
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Diminish the status or the proofs of others.
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Our judge, for all of us, is the Book and the Sunnah,
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And the proper application of evidence from them.
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Peace.