The Factors of Measure
By Shaykh ‘Aadil bin Mansoor Al Yemani
Translated by:
Akram an-Najdee
Source:
Liqaa Al Maftooh, Saturday, April 13, 2013
The following are some notes and points that Shaykh ‘Aadil bin Mansoor Al Yemani mentioned to us in a sitting with him on Saturday 13/04/13 regarding the factors that lead people to take a person as a scholar or a da’ee upon the Sunnah. [Note: these are notes, not a translation or exact quote]
1) Memorization
Some people take a person as a scholar or a guide due to this memorization.
Do not turn to people because of their memorization. Some may see a person who is a Haafidh, he memorizes whatever he reads without need for revision, and they turn to him and seek knowledge from him because of it.
Do they not know about the people of Jaahilliyah (pre-Islamic ignorance)? That the people whom the Prophet (SallAllaahu Alaihi wa Salam) was sent to (to call them to Tawheed) were the best in memorization? This was known about the Arabs, they were known for their memorization. They could memorize the most difficult of poetry without writing it down. They did not used to write, they used to memorize – they were a nation of illiteracy.
The Da’wah of the Prophet (SallAllaahu Alaihi wa Salam) came to them, and did all of them turn to it? There remained those who went against him and his da’wah.
From another aspect, there are those who are Huffaadh… who are innovators, liars in narrating, and the scholars of ‘ilm ar-Rijaal (knowledge of the narrators) knew that of them.
They would say about them: “Haafidh, a Liar”
They would say about them: “Al Jaami’ (comprehensive)” – like it was said about Nooh ibn Abi Maryam, the one who by his own admission fabricated hadeeth, for example the lengthy Hadeeth about the virtues of the Qur’aan and certain Surahs.
And there are so many examples! Read the books of the Mustalah, you will find in the biographies and the criticisms of the narrators that some where criticized as liars and they were Huffaadh.
There are Jahmiyyah who are Huffaadh, there are Ashaa’irah that are Huffaadh, there are Mu’tazilah that are Huffaadh. There are people who memorize Hadeeth with their chains of narration and the Qur’aan with the different Qiraa’aat and they worship the graves.
Memorization is not a defining factor. We praise it, if it coincides with the Sunnah
We encourage our brothers to memorize the Qur’aan, the Hadeeth, the Mutoon.
2) Eloquence
For some, they judge based on the eloquence of a person. When they hear his speech, they hear his eloquence. He uses eloquent speech from the Arabic language, and this causes them to turn to him.
This is a factor that is not correct.
The Arab of Jaahilliyah were the most eloquent. They were so eloquent that we have to study books in order to understand their eloquence.
From Ahlul Bid’ah (the people of innovations) are those who are described with eloquence. They used to describe Jahm bin Safwan saying “He was not a scholar, nor was he known to sit with the scholars, rather he was eloquent in his speech.” He was an innovator.
Because of this, nowadays they have workshops on how to be an eloquent speaker! How to affect others!
Shaykh Muhammad bin ‘Abdul Wahhaab mentioned in his book Al Kabaa’ir (the major sins), that from the major sins is whoever learns eloquence to turn the hearts of the people to him.
3) Appearance
From the strangest of factors that people use is the appearance of a person. They see a person who is handsome, well-dressed and they turn to them.
When the people of falsehood see that these are the factors that make people listen to them, they turn to practicing these things.
4) His voice and his silence
From the factors that people use to turn to a person is his voice and his silence. When he speaks or when he stays quiet, the people see him keeping quiet and not speaking about various things, they turn to him. Ibn Abee Dunya wrote his book Kitaab as Samt and he mentioned Hadeeth and Athaar and he mentioned a chapter: The prohibition of staying silent on the Truth and ordaining the good and forbidding the evil.
There are those from the people who turn for guidance to people who speak or stay silent on things that are not the Truth.
5) The followers
Some people look to the numbers of followers that a person has with them. They look to see if there are many or little and this is their way of measure. Shaykh Muhammad bin ‘Abdul Wahhaab explained the error of this factor in his Masaa’il al Jaahilliyyah.
6) The status of the followers
Some will look to the status of those who follow a person, if they are highly-regarded in society, then he is to be followed. This is incorrect. Look at what the people of Nooh said to him, “Are we to follow you and the lowly of people?”
7) The number of his writings and publications
So you see some of the students of knowledge will accept a person without knowing whether he is upon the Sunnah or what his position is with the innovators, or not knowing if he is in contact or connected with the people of Truth (the scholars), but they attach themselves to him and take from him because of his high number publications and or knowledge of manuscripts.
Where are many of the Islamic manuscripts today? They are being preserved by the Orientalists (who are disbelievers) and they know more about the manuscripts than some of the scholars of the Muslims. They preserve the manuscripts and index them and safeguard them in places like Spain, England, Germany, and the Library of Congress in America.
It is from the wisdom of Allaah. The disbelievers preserved our Islamic manuscripts and protected them from damage. What did the Muslims do when Baghdad fell? They sold them in the streets! Look at the Maktabat adh-Dhaahiriyyah in Damascus which has millions of manuscripts that date back to the 3rd generation!
The point: a person’s knowledge of the manuscripts is not a factor in his affirmation upon the Sunnah.
8) That he is seen with a Shaykh from the Shuyookh of Ahlus Sunnah
From the factors that people use to distinguish a person is that he is seen sitting next to a Shaykh from the Shuyookh of the Sunnah or that he eats with him from the same plate or holds his bisht for him or his pen. Are these (correct) factors?
You are required to look into him, his position, his affirmation of the sunnah.
The point is that these factors are incorrect in distinguishing a person as a scholar or as a person to be followed or listened to.
The correct measure for a person to take knowledge from or turn to is:
His affirmation upon the Qur’aan and Sunnah with the correct understanding of the Sahaabah. This is seen by:
His positions. If there is an issue between the People of Truth and the People of Falsehood, then what is his position? Where does he stand? What does he become happy with? Is it Salafiyyah, Sunniyyah, Athariyyah that is the measure of Truth!