In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah. We praise him, we seek His help, we seek His forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evil within ourselves and our evil deeds. Whoever Allah guides, there is none to misguide him. Whoever Allah leads astray, there is none to guide him. I testify there is none worthy of worship but Allah alone, without any partners, and that Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, is His servant and His messenger.
Verily, the truest word is the Book of Allah and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. The most evil matters are those that are newly invented, for every newly invented matter is an innovation. Every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Hellfire.
To proceed:
ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀs narrated that the Prophet (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam) said: “Indeed, Allah does not take away knowledge by taking it from the hearts of the people, rather He takes away knowledge by the death of the scholars, such that there does not remain among them a single scholar. Then the people take the ignorant ones as their leaders, so they lead themselves astray and they lead others astray.” (Reported by Bukhāri and Muslim).
This is the reality that takes place when the scholars pass away, and Allah’s help is sought, because it is the scholars who guide the people.
Imām Ibn ul-Qayyim states in Iʿlām ul-Muwaqiʿeen’ in a chapter regarding the scholars of Islām and their status. He stated: “The scholars on the earth have the same station as the stars in the sky; the bewildered ones are guided by them in the depths of darkness. The need of the people for them is greater than their need for food and drink, and obedience to them holds a greater station than obedience to their mothers and fathers, according to the text of the Book of Allah, where He, the Most High says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ ۖ فَإِن تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلًا
O you who have believed, obey Allāh and obey the Messenger and those in authority over you. And if you disagree among yourselves over anything, then refer it back to Allāh and the Messenger if you truly believe in Allāh and the Last Day. That is better (conduct) and (leads to) the most excellent outcome. (Surah an-Nisā 4:59).
Ibn ul-Qayyim continued, saying that ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAbbās, Jābir bin ʿAbdillāh, al-Hassan al-Basrī, Abul ʿAaliyah, ʿAtā bin Abi Rabiʿah, ad-Dahhāk, Mujāhid and Imām Ahmad (rahimahumullāh) all stated, “When Allah the Most High said ‘and those in authority over you,’ this refers to the scholars.’ Abu Huraira and Ibn ʿAbbās (radiAllahu ‘anhum), Zayd bin Aslam, as-Suddi and al-Maqātil stated that the scholars are the ones in authority over you.”
In a report from Imām Ahmad, he said: “Obedience to the rulers follows on from, and is contingent upon obedience to the scholars,” showing that the rulers are shown obedience if they command with that which agrees with knowledge, and in that which is correct and good. Likewise, obedience to the scholars follows on from, and is contingent upon obedience to Allah and the Messenger (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam). Therefore, the religion is established by way of these two groups: the scholars and the rulers, and the people follow their lead.
Furthermore, the rectification of the world is through the rectification of these two groups, and its corruption occurs when these two groups become corrupt, just as ʿAbdullah ibn al-Mubārak and others among the scholars said: “There are two groups from the people, if they are rectified, the people will be rectified and if they are corrupt, the people will be corrupt.” It was said, “Who are they?” So he replied, “The kings and the scholars.”
The great scholars of Islām are the preservers and the memorisers of the prophetic traditions; they are the defenders and protectors of the ʿaqeedah, the manhaj (prophetic methodology), the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam). It is the scholars who stood firm, and continue to stand firm against the people of innovation; they refute them and warn against them, they are the brilliant men of this ummah and its leaders
They are the ones about whom Imām Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the great Imām of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamā’ah, spoke about in his famous work, Ar-Radd ʿalaz-Zanādiqah wal Jahmiyyah:
“All praise is due to Allah who raises up in every generation, between the sending of the messengers, vestiges from the people of knowledge. They call the astray ones to guidance, they patiently bear the harms that they receive from them, they give life through the Book of Allah, the Most High to the dead and they give sight to the blind by the light of Allah. How many that have been killed by Iblees, have they brought back to life. How many stray ones have they guided aright. Look how beautiful their effect has been upon the people, and look how wicked people are to them.
These scholars expel from the Book of Allah the distortions of those who go beyond bounds, the lies of the falsifiers and the false interpretations of the ignorant ones- those who raise the banner of innovation, and let loose the reins of tribulation. They differ concerning the Book of Allah and they oppose it, and they are united in their dividing from the Book- they speak about Allah and the Book of Allah without knowledge. They talk with ambiguous, vague and unclear speech, and they deceive the ignorant people with doubts that they throw at them, and we seek refuge with Allah from the trials of the misguided.” (End)
So, when these scholars die, and the people are not left with anyone to turn to, they go astray and are destroyed. There why Allah, the Most High, has praised knowledge and the scholars. The people will rely upon the ignorant ones when there are no scholars, they rely upon them for fatāwa and guidance, so shaytān misguides them—both those who are asked and those who are asking.
In Imām Bukhāri’s narration of the Hadeeth of ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAas, it states: “There will not remain except the ignorant ones, who when consulted will give fatāwa according to their opinions, so they will mislead others and go astray (themselves).”
Imām al-Bukhāri prefaces these two narrations that we have mentioned regarding the removal of knowledge, with the statement: “Chapter: How knowledge shall be taken away.” Then he mentioned the narration of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul ‘Azeez when he wrote to Abu Bakr ibn Hazm and said: “Search for the Hadeeth of Allah’s Messenger (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) and write them down, for I am afraid that knowledge will vanish and that the scholars will pass away. And do not accept anything but the narrations of the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) and spread knowledge; sit and teach the one who does not know, for knowledge does not vanish except when it is kept secret.”
Allah’s Messenger (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam) made the level of the scholars clear, and the scholars are tried and tested in their quest for spreading the truth. This is why the Prophet (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam) said, “Those who are tried the most are the prophets, then those who resemble them, then those who resemble them.”
So, it is upon us to seek knowledge before it is taken away. Imām ʿAbdullah bin ʿAbdur Rahmān ad-Dārimi as-Samarqandi, the great Imām (d. 255H rahimahullah) reported in his Musnad, better known as the Sunan that ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’oud said: ‘Learn knowledge before it is taken away, and it will be taken away by the death of its people, and beware of going to extremes and beware of delving deeply into matters, and beware of innovations. Upon you is to cling to the old way (the affair as it was in the beginning).”
This is how we can remain steadfast: to turn back to the affair as it was in the beginning, that which the scholars throughout the ages have taught us, those scholars who Allah, the Most High, has raised, as He the Most High says in His Book:
“Allah will raise in degrees those who have believed among you, and those who have been given knowledge.” (Surah al-Mujādilah 58:11).
Allah and His Messenger (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam) have obligated us to honour the scholars as is reported in a Hadeeth collected by Ahmad and al-Hākim and graded hasan by Shaikh al-Albāni where the Prophet (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam) said: “He is not from us who does not honour our elders, does not have mercy upon the young and does not acknowledge the rights due to our scholars.”
Imām as-Saʿdī (rahimahullah) said. “From the ‘Aqeedah of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamā’ah is that they show obedience to Allah by showing respect to the rightly guided scholars, extolling them and protecting their honour.”
So, when the scholars depart through death, and knowledge is raised, corruption appears in the land as the Prophet (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam) said: “From the signs of the Hour is that knowledge will be lifted, ignorance will become established, alcohol will be drunk and fornication will become widespread.”
Imām al-Ājurri said, “Can you imagine, may Allah have mercy upon you, if there was a path with many dangers, but the people had to travel that path in the deepest darkness of the night—if they do not even have a light or a lamp, they will walk without direction and in confusion. So, Allah sends to them light and lamps that light up their path, so they walk upon it in safety and wellbeing. Then there comes another group of people who must walk the same path, so they do so, but as they are walking, the lamps are extinguished. They are thrown into darkness, so what do you think will happen to them? This is what the scholars are among the people—many people do not know how to carry out the obligations of the religion and how to avoid the prohibitions. They do not know how to worship Allah in all the ways that He is to be worshipped, except due to the presence of the scholars among them. So, when the scholars die, the people are left without direction, and they are thrown into confusion. Knowledge departs by their deaths and ignorance becomes prevalent.” (Akhlāq al-ʿUlema of al-Aajurrī page 96).
ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb (radiyallahu ʿanhu) said: “The death if a thousand worshippers is easier upon the ummah than the death of a scholar who has insightful knowledge of that which is halāl and harām with Allah.” (See Ibn Abdil Barr in Jamiʿ Bayān al-ʿIlm wa Fadlihi ).
Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullāh) commented on the above statement saying, “The speech of ʿUmar is to be understood that this scholar, with his knowledge and guidance, demolishes everything that Iblees builds. As for the general worshipper, his benefit is restricted only to himself.”
For this reason, the scholars of Sunnah and Salafiyyah, the scholars of Hadeeth, the defenders of the religion and the ʿaqeedah, are the guardians of the religion upon the earth who stand against falsehood, and they are not to be spoken about except with virtue.
Abu Jaʿfar at-Tahāwī (d.321H, rahimahullāh) said: “The scholars of the Salaf from the foremost ones, and those who came after them from the Tābiʿeen, the people of virtue, people of narrations (ahlul-Athar), the people of understanding and insight, are not to be mentioned except with good, and whoever speaks about them in an evil way is upon other than the straight path.”
Shaikh al-Fawzān (hafidhahullāh) commented in this in his explanation of at-Tahāwiyyah, saying: “The author moves on from the praise of the Sahābah, to mention those who have virtue after them, and they are the ʿulema, so they have this virtue after the Sahābah because they are the inheritors of the prophets, as the Prophet (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam) said, ‘The scholars are the inheritors of the prophets.’ And the intent here is the scholars of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamāʿah; they are the people of knowledge and insight and understanding, they are ahlul-Athar and they are ahlul-Hadeeth.”
The noble scholar, Shaikh Sālih Aalush-Shaikh commented in his explanation of at-Tahāwiyyah, saying: “That is because they are the transmitters of the Sharʿiah; they are the ones who issue fatāwa in matters of the Sharʿiah, and they explain to the people the meanings of the Speech of Allah in His Book, and the meanings of the ahādeeth of the Prophet (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam). They are the ones who repel the attacks against the religion, and they do so by establishing the correct ʿaqeedah, and by establishing the Sunnah of the Prophet (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam), and by refuting the fabrications against it, and the futile narrations that are falsely ascribed to the Prophet (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam).”
This is the role of the scholars, just as the Prophet (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam) said in a Hadeeth: “This knowledge will be carried by the trustworthy ones of every generation, they will expel from it the distortions of those who go to extremes, the lies of the falsifiers and their false interpretations of the ignorant.” (Saheeh, reported by Ibn Qutaybah, al-Bayhaqī, al-Aajurrī and others).
We have witnessed the death of many scholars in this time—the likes of Muhammad Amān al-Jāmī, ʿAbdul-ʿAzeez bin Bāz, Hammād al-Ansāri, Muhammad Nāsir ud-Deen al-Albānī, Ibn ʿUthaymeen, Muqbil bin Hādī, Zayd al-Madkhali, Ahmad an-Najmī, ʿAbdullāh al-Ghudayān, Sālih al-Luhaydān, ʿUbayd al-Jābirī and others—and their absence is calamity upon the Ummah.
ʿAbdullah ibn al-Mubārak said: “Whoever belittles the scholars has lost his hereafter, whoever belittles the rulers has lost his world and whoever belittles his brothers has lost his honour.” (Siyar Aʿlām an-Nubalā of Imām adh-Dhahabī).
ʿAbdullah ibn ʿood said to his companions: “Do you know how Islām will diminish from the people?” They said, ‘Yes, just as the fat burns from the beast of burden, and the colour of dye fades from the garment, and how the hardness diminishes from a silver coin when it stays in the pocket for a long time.’ He said, “Yes, all of that is from it, but greater than that is the passing away of the scholars, such that if there are two scholars in a town and one of them dies, half of the knowledge of that place has passed away. There will be a place where there is only one scholar, so when he dies, all of the knowledge of that town passes away with him. So, with the passing away of the scholars, knowledge is taken away.” (Madkhal ila Sunan al-Kubrā of al-Bayhaqī).
There are many narrations regarding the calamity of the death of the scholars and the importance of returning back to them. Approximately 26 years ago, a group of scholars passed away in a very short period of time: Shaikh Bin Bāz, Shaikh al-Albāni, Shaikh ʿUthaymeen and Shaikh Muqbil (rahimahumullāh). They were the greatest scholars that we knew of at that time, so Shaikh Rabeeʿ (rahimahullāh) was asked at that time, “Who are the ʿulema that remain after the deaths of these scholars?” He said, “Those that remain are many, alhamdulillāh. Allah’s Messenger (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam) died, and the noble Sahābah remained, Ahmad bin Hanbal died, and his companions remained, Ibn Taymiyyah died, and his students remained, Muhammad ibn ʿAbdil-Wahhāb died, and his companions remained. And these scholars have died, but there are inshā’ Allāh their students who still remain, and the truth will not be lost, regardless.”
When ʿUmar (radiyallāhu ʿanhu) was attacked and stabbed, it was said to him, ‘Appoint someone,’ so he said, ‘Allah will not allow His religion to be lost.’ Therefore, it is upon you to buckle down and help in earnest and in all seriousness in raising the banner of Sunnah and the banner of truth. The Messenger of Allah (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam): “There will not cease to be a group from my ummah manifest upon the truth. They will not be harmed by those who betray them, until the command of Allah comes, and they will remain as such.”
So, there will remain in this ummah a group who are upon the truth and they will remain upon the truth—and it is the ʿulema who are this Aided Group, this Victorious Group; they do not care who helps them nor who betrays them because they are firm and steadfast upon the truth.
Shaikh Rabeeʿ (rahimahullāh) said: “By Allah, knowledge has not died, and the ʿulema have not died (there are still ʿulema in the world). There is still the Committee of Major Scholars, and in them there is good. We have our brothers in Shām, in Yemen, in India, in Pakistān, in Bangladesh, Egypt, Sudān and other places. The world is filled with students of knowledge who will fill this breach, and all praise is for Allah. So, there are no glad tidings nor rejoicing for the people of falsehood.”
Therefore, the death of the ʿulema does not mean that the Sunnah has died. The Sunnah does not die and Islām will not perish. Allah, the Most High, will raise in the lands among the people those who will defend and protect His religion, whether they are small students of knowledge, or shaikhs or the elder scholars.
