Respect for the 'Ulama

Nabi (Sallallaahu A’laihi Wasallam) qualified the ‘Ulama as the heirs of the prophets. The ‘Ulama are the heirs of the prophets in the sense that they should carry out Deeni work and continue the mission of Da’wah which Nabi (Sallallaahu A’laihi Wasallam) initiated. So, those who carry out the work of Da’wah according to the principle of Deen, deserve to be respected.

Lack of respect for the ‘Ulama emanates from lack of Deen. The person who loves his Deen will always have affection for the ‘Ulama and be committed to them. According to a Hadith of Musnad Ahmad, Nabi (Sallallaahu A’laihi Wasallam) said: "The one who does not respect our seniors, does not have pity for our juniors and does not have respect for our ‘Ulama, is not part of my Ummah."
According to this Hadith, it is very grave to have enmity or resentment towards the ‘Ulama. One can lose one’s Imaan without even realising it.

People often say that there is no good Aa’lim. But do they even make the time to examine whether they themselves are good or not? The Sahaabah-e-Kiraam (Radiyallahu anhum) were excellent, so their ‘Aalim, Nabi (Sallallaahu A’laihi Wasallam), was excellent too. Why don’t we rather say that we do not have good ‘Ulama because we ourselves are not good! Is it not true that we choose the weakest and the worst child among our children to become a Haafiz or an Aa’lim? Is it not true that we push our children into the secular domain as far as possible? This is an undeniable truth. We want our brilliant child to become a doctor, an engineer or to pursue a certain level at university, but very rarely do we think of using the very same brilliant child for the service of the Deen.
If we acknowledge that there is no good Aa’lim, then we must also acknowledge that we are at fault and guilty of what is happening. We must also be grateful to the Islamic institutions (Madrassah) for their work. They give us good results despite the students’ lack of ability. These institutions are able to produce solid and dignified persons that were once considered weak in society.

Based on the general trend, nowadays, a good Aa’lim is the one who replies to our questions in our favour. On the other hand, a bad Aa’lim, according to this same trend, is the one that prevents us from doing what we want. For example, a person wants to know if a woman is allowed to wear jeans, a blouse and a scarf on her head, and whether this satisfies the norms of pardah according to the Shariah. If the Aalim answers in the affirmative, it means that the Aalim is a great and excellent Aa’lim. However, if the Aalim says it is impermissible, then he is not a good Aa’lim, because he is preventing the questioner from living according to his desires and pleasures. But, it is obvious that the second Aa’lim is the better and correct one because he replied in accordance to the law of Shari’ah. Contrary to this, the first Aa’lim is a misguided Aa’lim because he chose to satisfy the trend of the public so that he becomes beloved to them.

Similarly, if an Aalim allows a person to take back his wife after issuing three Talaaqs, then he is a great and good Aa’lim. But he is bad and will be labelled as ignorant if he answers in the negative. In reality, a good Aa’lim is one who has learned the Deen‎ under the scholars of Deen and he propagates it according to the principles in all clarity, without inducing people into confusion or ambiguity. He does not care of the criticisms of people. He speaks with sincerity, seeking the pleasure of Allah Ta’aala. This A’alim is a good Aa’lim and this is the way of carrying out Da’wah which is according to the principle of Nabi ‎(Sallallaahu A’laihi Wasallam)‎.

[English version of "Respect pou banne 'Oulama"- Al Jamiat - Vol.4 No.10]