Part 6

Albani, a/-Sabihah #880; Sabib al-Jami' #1875.

Munawi, vol. 2, pg. 359, ‘The resemblance lies in the fact that this person moves his tongue over his tecth and mouth while speaking just as the cow moves its tongue when eating.”

Bayhaqi, Shu‘ab #4978 records from ibn al-Mubarak that he said, ‘I found that our companions would suddenly end their speech,’ the sub-narrator explained this by saying, Meaning out of fear that they would fall under the hadith about a people moving their tongues in their mouths as a cow does when it eats.”

THE EXCELLENCE OF KNOWLEDGE

nature towards the righteous Salaf and indeed amounts to having an evil opinion of them and accusing them of ignorance or deficiency in knowledge. There is no strength or ability except with Allah!”?

Ibn Mas‘id spoke the truth when he said, ‘Amongst mankind, they had the most righteous of hearts, they had the most profound and in-depth knowledge, and they were the least pretentious,”’ thereby indicating that those to come after them are of a lesser stature with regards knowledge but more pretentious. The likes of this has also been reported from ibn ‘Umar.

Ibn Mas‘id also said, ‘You are in a time in which the scholars ate many but whose speakers are few. After you will come a time in which the scholars are few but the speakers are many.”* Hence

It was declared sahih by ibn Hajr, vol. 10, p. 510, and Albani in his notes to Abi Khaythamah.

‘Tabarani also records that ibn Mas‘id said, ‘You are in a time in which the prayer is lengthy and the sermons are short; the scholars are many and the speakers are few. There will come a time when the prayer is short and the sermon is lengthy; the speakers will be many and the scholars few...’ Haythami, vol. 7, p. 285, said, ‘Its narrators are those of the Sahih.’

2.8 The Way and Wisdom of the Salaf

whoever’s knowledge is great but speech is little is to be commended, and whoever is the opposite is to be censured.

The Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, testified that the people of Yemen had faith and understanding,* The people of Yemen are the least of people with regards speech and delving into the minutiae of the various sciences. However, their knowledge is beneficial knowledge that has taken root in their hearts and they express of it only that which is required. This is beneficial understanding,

The best of what exists with regards the sciences of exegesis of the Quran, explanation of hadith, and discussion of the lawful and prohibited is that which is related from the Companions, the Successors, and the following generations until the generation of the famous Imams we have previously referred to. The proof that this portion is indeed the choicest of these sciences, arising from the most profound depth of understanding and discernment, is that which occurred after them of delving into minute details and widening issues, most of which contains no benefit unless it be an explanation of their words. As for that which contradicts their speech, most of it is false or contains no benefit whatsoever.

Their words suffice us and more, there is no truth that one finds in the words of those who came after except that it can be found in their words in the most succinct and comprehensive of ways. There is no falsehood to be found in the words of those who came after except that you will find in their words, after understanding and due consideration, a clatification of its falsity. ‘There is to be found in their words such profound meanings and

* Bukhari #3499-4388-4390 and Muslim #52 on the authority of Abi Hurayrah.

THE EXCELLENCE OF KNOWLEDGE

subtle derivations that those who came after would never have even begun to broach, let alone been guided to!

Whoever does not take knowledge from their words will miss out on all that good as well as falling into much falsehood by way of following those who came after. However, whoever wishes to collate their words is in need of knowing the authentic from the weak. This comes about by knowing the science of authenticating and disparaging narrators (jarb wa’/-ta‘dil) and the defects of hadith. Whoever does not know this cannot be sure of what he quotes from them and quickly will such a person confuse the truth of it with the falsehood. Such a petson is not to be depended upon when he reports from the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, or the Salaf because of his ignorance of the authentic from the weak. It is even possible that such a person, as a consequence of this ignorance and subsequent confusion, go to the extreme of believing that all of it is false.

Awza‘i said, ‘Knowledge is that which the Companions of Muhammad, peace and blessing be upon him, conveyed, anything else is not to be considered knowledge.” This was also stated by Imam Ahmad and he said concerning the Successors, ‘You are free to choose,’ meaning it is up to you if you wish to record their words or leave them. Zuhri used to write their narrations and Salih ibn Kaysan disagreed with him on this only to later regret that he himself never wrote them.

anyone else doing anything else it is as if he is saying, “I am better than him. ‘The first is sahih and the second is hasan.

2.8 The Way and Wisdom of the Salaf

In our times it is imperative that the words of the Imams of the Salaf, who are followed up to the time of Shafi, Ahmad, Ishaq and Abi ‘Ubaid, be written down. Let the people beware of those affairs that happened after them, for many new matters occurred amongst which was the appearance of those who attributed themselves to following the Sunnah and Hadith such as the Zahiriyyah and their likes. The Zahiriyyah often oppose the Sunnah due to their founders’ deviation from the stances held by the Imams and following his own understanding, or his taking to those texts that the Imams before him did not take to.

As for delving into the words of the speculative theologians and the philosophers, this is pure evil! Rare is it to find one who delves into them without being sullied by some of their filth. Ahmad said, ‘None delves into speculative theology (kalam) except that he takes on board the ways of Jahm.’ He, as well as the other Imams of the Salaf, used to warn against the People of speculative theology (Ah/y’-Kalam) even if their intention be to defend the Sunnah.

As for what is to be found in the words of those who love this rhetoric and follow its adherents in censuring those who do not excel in disputation and debate, accusing them of ignorance and Hashw,” - or that they do not have gnosis of Allah, or that they do not possess true understanding of this religion - all of this is from following the footsteps of Satan. We take refuge with Allah from such a person.

% This is a word that was often employed by the innovators to abuse Ahlu’lSunnah.

THE EXCELLENCE OF KNOWLEDGE

2.9 The ‘Inner Sciences’

From those sciences that have been innovated is the discussion and analysis of the ‘Inner Sciences’ i.e. sciences dealing with matters such as gnosis, the actions of the heart, and related issues based upon pure opinion, spiritual experience (dhawq), or spiritual realisation (kash). This contains a great danger and was rejected by the greatest of the Imams such as Ahmad and others.

Sulayman [al-Darani] used to say, ‘Sometimes a point of inspiration occurs to me as it does to the nation [of ascetics], but I do not accept it except by the testimony of two just witnesses: the Book and the Sunnah.”

Junayd said, ‘This knowledge of ours is governed by the Book and the Sunnah, whoever has not read the Qur’an or written the hadith is not to be followed in this knowledge of ours.” This knowledge has been greatly abused and some of those who laid claim to it fell into various forms of heresy and hypocrisy: claiming that the Am/iya‘ were better than the Prophets,” or that they had no need of the Prophets, belittling the laws conveyed by the Messengers, having the belief of incarnation and unification (bali! wa’ l-ittihad), the belief of the unity of being (wahdatu’-wnjnd), and other such matters which form the foundations of disbelief, sin, and transgression; such as the claim that many of the prohibited matters are lawful to them. Through this approach they have in-

2.9 The ‘Inner Sciences’

2.10 Beneficial Knowledge with regards the ‘Inner Sciences’

Beneficial knowledge in this arena is to strictly follow the texts of the Book and Sunnah, to understand their meanings, and in order to do so, confine oneself to what has been reported from the Companions, the Successors, and theit successors in matters to do with the Qur’an, hadith, the lawful and prohibited, asceticism, softening of the heart, gnosis, and other such things. It is upon one to exert himself in distinguishing the authentic narration from the weak, then after this to exert himself in correctly understanding the authentic narrations. In this there is sufficiency for any who possess intelligence and adequate material for those who seek beneficial knowledge.