The Danger of Generalization in Combating Inherited Knowledge
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Your Eminence! There are currently many seminars and lectures being delivered, mostly abroad, that focus on what is called breaking the shackles of inherited knowledge, and on broad criticism without detail in this matter. They take certain matters, such as the presence of Isra'iliyyat or similar things in some of what was transmitted from the Salaf (may Allah have mercy on them), and they generalize absolutely,They say: claiming that this inherited knowledge is shackles standing in the way of civilizational progress, and that we now have a great civilizational project in which we must advance and catch up with the ranks, and so on. Is there any clarification of this issue?
There is no doubt that if they mean by inherited knowledge a generalization, the implication of their generalization is that we should cast the Book of Allah behind our backs, and cast behind our backs what is authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), because it is all inherited knowledge.As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (The scholars are the heirs of the prophets) If they want this, then there is no doubt that they—If we do not say: they are outside of Islam, apostates from it—they are closer to that than to faith, [Al-Imran: 167].
And if they mean what was inherited from the Children of Israel in the form of stories that the state of the one to whom they are attributed refutes, then this is the truth, and we are with them.For example, the one who says: For example, the one who says that the story of Dawud (peace be upon him) in his saying: [Sad: 21] that Dawud (peace be upon him) fell in love with the wife of one of the soldiers and that he ordered him to go fight so that he might be killed and he could take his wife, this is undoubtedly a lie, and it is not befitting of Dawud (peace be upon him). He is from the Children of Israel, regarding whom we must be certain of their falsehood, and [Sad: 23] meaning: a woman, this is also undoubtedly a lie.
So we deny such stories, and such as the story of Sulayman and that the jinn took his ring, and the like of that. We deny all of this, and we are with them in rejecting it.
As for the inherited truth, we reject the one who rejects it. Yes.
There is no doubt that if they mean by inherited knowledge a generalization, the implication of their generalization is that we should cast the Book of Allah behind our backs, and cast behind our backs what is authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), because it is all inherited knowledge.As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (The scholars are the heirs of the prophets) If they want this, then there is no doubt that they—If we do not say: they are outside of Islam, apostates from it—they are closer to that than to faith,
They were nearer to disbelief that day than to faith
هُمْ لِلْكُفْرِ يَوْمَئِذٍ أَقْرَبُ مِنْهُمْ لِلْإِيمَانِAnd if they mean what was inherited from the Children of Israel in the form of stories that the state of the one to whom they are attributed refutes, then this is the truth, and we are with them.For example, the one who says: For example, the one who says that the story of Dawud (peace be upon him) in his saying:
And has there come to you the news of the adversaries, when they climbed over the wall of [his] prayer chamber -
وَهَلْ أَتَاكَ نَبَأُ الْخَصْمِ إِذْ تَسَوَّرُوا الْمِحْرَابَIndeed this, my brother, has ninety-nine ewes
إِنَّ هَذَا أَخِي لَهُ تِسْعٌ وَتِسْعُونَ نَعْجَةًSo we deny such stories, and such as the story of Sulayman and that the jinn took his ring, and the like of that. We deny all of this, and we are with them in rejecting it.
As for the inherited truth, we reject the one who rejects it. Yes.