Respecting the Scholars, Holding Them in High Regard, and Warning Against Slandering Them

Question:
This questioner says: Our Shaykh, may Allah preserve you, is there a word for your sons regarding the respect and appreciation of scholars, given that criticism and attacks on scholars have been observed recently?

Answer:
There is no doubt that belittling people and slandering their honor is a great crime, especially regarding students of knowledge, scholars, and those who call to Allah the Exalted and Majestic, who are responsible for enjoining good and forbidding evil, and the teachers who teach the Islamic sciences. Even if a teacher has a right over a student in worldly sciences, how much more so in the Islamic sciences? The student must respect the teacher and benefit from him. You will not benefit from a person with whom you do not conduct yourself properly; you will not benefit from him until you conduct yourself properly with him. Yes.