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Teach but do not Pretend
Ibn Al-Muhallab reports that he heard Abȗ Mȗsâ Al-Ash’arî – Allah be pleased with him – standing on his minbar (pulpit) saying:
Whoever Allâh has given some knowledge should teach it. And he must not say anything he has no knowledge of, lest he become one of the pretenders and leave the religion.
Ibn Sa’d, Al-Tabaqât 4:102. Maktabah Al-Khânjî, Cairo.
Be with the Carriers of Books
It is reported that Imâm ‘Abd Al-Rahmân b. Mahdî – Allâh have mercy on him – said, following a mention of the Sȗfîah (Sufis):
Do not sit with them, nor with the followers of Kalâm.(1) Be with the carriers of books,(2) for they are like mines, like those who descend: one brings up a gem and another a nugget of gold.
Ibn Battah, Al-Ibânah Al-Kubrâ article 483.
(1) Speculative theology, drawn from foreign philosophy and logic, as practiced by sects such as the Jahmia and Mutazila.
(2) Arabic al-qamâtir: covers or folders used to keep written material. ‘Carriers of books’ refers to the scholars and students who occupied themselves with Islamic knowledge and hadîth.
The Best of then and Now
It is reported that Mujâhid – Allâh have mercy on him – said:
Those who strive and exert themselves (al-mujtahid) amongst you today are like those who used to play around amongst those before you.
Wakî’ b. Al-Jarrâh, Al-Zuhd article 221.
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Don’t ask the Polytheists
Abdullâh b. ‘Abbâs – Allâh be pleased with them – said:
O Muslims, how can you ask the People of the Book [about their scripture] when the Book of Allâh that was revealed to your Prophet – Allâh’s peace and blessings be upon him – is the most recent news of Allâh; you recite it complete and unaltered? Allâh has informed you that they replaced what Allâh wrote and changed the Book with their hands and said ‘This is from Allâh,’ to purchase with it a measly price (Quran 2:79). Does not the knowledge that has come to you forbid you from asking them? By Allâh, we have not seen a single man among them asking you about what was revealed to you.
Al-Bukhârî, Al-Sahîh hadith 2685, Chapter on not asking the Polytheists for testimonies or anything else. He also records it in other chapters.
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The worst time, the worst people
It is reported that Abû Hâzim Al-Ashja’î – Allâh have mercy on him – said:
If you find yourself in a time when speech is accepted as knowledge and knowledge is accepted as deeds [instead of putting it into practice], then you are in the worst time and with the worst people.
Abû Bakr Al-Daynûrî, Al-Mujâlasah wa Jawâhir Al-’Ilm` 4:338.
Abû Hâzim Salmân Al-Ashja’î (died circa 100H) was one of the eminent Tâbi’în. He was a fully reliable transmitter of hadîth and a companion of Abû Hurayrah – Allâh be pleased with him.
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