Knowledge has a relationship between its people
Translated by Abbas Abu Yahya
‘If someone gifts you with advice from the speech of Allaah and the speech of His Messenger -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- and you had said something in contradiction to that, then it is obligatory to correct that and return back from it. This is because a shy or an arrogant person will not acquire this knowledge’.
Knowledge has a relationship between its people
Translated By Abbas Abu Yahya
‘This statement is beneficial for the one whom Shaytaan has entered upon, so he regards himself that he has become a senior, or a shaykh and wears a shaykh’s cloak And the people gather around him, or he has been given a high position etc. So he detests and is haughty from asking students of what he does not know.
Therefore, knowledge has a relationship between its people, a man continues to be raised and in honour and excellence as long as he takes from whomsoever is less than him in knowledge just like he takes from he who is above him, As for him taking from he who is above himself in age and knowledge then it’s the correct way and this is not generally disliked from him, However, in generally what brings trials is in rejection and being arrogant from taking the truth from whom he sees as young.
If someone gifts you with advice from the speech of Allaah and the speech of His Messenger -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- and you had said something in contradiction to that, then it is obligatory to correct that and return back from it. This is because a shy or an arrogant person will not acquire this knowledge.
Since perhaps there could be someone other than yourself who had knowledge which you do not have, Look how the Amir al Mumineen [Umar ibn al-Khattab] the one who had good authority, the companion of the Sunnah whom we have been commanded to follow. Here we find him requesting from the young boy Abdullaah bin Abbas about the Hajj of the Prophet – sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam – and at that time he had nearly reached puberty at that time, he still had to reach puberty.
The Prophet – sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam – did not live for a long while after performing his Hajj, the months of al-Muharram, Safar, Rabia’, The khalafa of the rightly guided khalifa, the one who was the khalifa of the Messenger of Allaah – sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam – Abu Bakr was for the extent of two years meaning at the most we could say that Ibn Abbas was sixteen years of age Here comes Umar, and he is at the age he is and he is the Amir ul Mumineen, one who truly had inspiration, and he says to Ibn Abbas: ‘O young boy’ look at this humility in asking about knowledge, ‘O young boy did you hear from the Messenger of Allaah – sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam‘
I ask you for the sake of Allaah what harm would it do to a person if some knowledge was unknown to him?
He could ask O my brothers do you know of anything in such and such issue? So a benefit comes from here and over there. Does asking bring shame upon him?
No I swear by Allaah, but rather this honours him:
Firstly: to Allaah
Secondly: to the people.
So with Allaah, because he did not say something about that which he did not know, and with the people since they came to know of his truthfulness, and his being cautious, and his trustworthiness, because he had not been introduced to the issue, he had desisted until he learnt that which he did not know.
So here we have the rightly guided khalifa asking this youngster:
‘O young boy did you hear from the Messenger of Allaah – sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam‘
Or from one of his Companions what should a person do if he doubts in his prayer?’
Ibn Abbas -RadhiAllaahu anhu– did not answer because he did not have anything to reply with. AbdurRahman bin Awf -RadhiAllaahu anhum Jamee’an – caught up with them and said:
‘Indeed I heard you two discussing what were you talking about or he said discussing?’ So he mentioned to them what he heard from the Prophet – sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam.
Therefore, use this as a comparison and equivalent for many issues which were unknown to the rightly guided Khulafa while they were the best of time after the Prophet – sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam.
This is more so for the Imams of Ijtihaad while they have many issues, this is due to their distance from the time period of the Messenger of Allaah – sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam, and also because they did not see the Prophet – sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam.
There does not exist a scholar who claims to encompass the entire Sunnah of the Prophet – sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam. It is inevitable that some amount of Sunnan will escape a person No matter who he is and no matter how much knowledge he gained. Therefore, a shy or an arrogant person will not acquire this knowledge.
So it is necessary that a person humbles himself for knowledge, and it is well known among the muhadditheen (scholars of Hadeeth) that a person is not regarded as noble Until he takes knowledge from the one who is lower than him just as he takes from the one above him, meaning that this person humbles himself for the Sunnah, humbles himself for the Hadeeth. Sometimes there is a Sunnah Which you do not find except with someone who is younger than yourself in age, or less knowledgeable than you. So some people detest taking knowledge from him So they end up leaving a Sunnah and leaving knowledge. This is from the unfortunate calamity of being proud, Allaah’s refuge is sought from it, it is necessary to be humble.’
[Source: ‘Sharh Kitaab Rafa’ al Mallaam un Aimmat ul Ai’alaam’ lesson no. 2 http://ar.miraath.net/article/10360]