Is it obligatory for a student of knowledge, upon reaching a certain stage, to call people to Allah (Mighty and Majestic)?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : He says: And is it obligatory for him to call people to Allah when he reaches a certain stage?
The Shaykh : Calling people to Allah is, in reality, not organized or defined, and it has no specific time or place. Rather, it is suitable for every time and every place, and it is necessary for every Muslim who has been given some knowledge. It is not said, for example, that as long as he is a student of knowledge, he is not obligated to call people to Allah until he becomes, for example, a scholar. And I do not know.
Another questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh: And upon you peace.
for the student of knowledge that he has become a scholar until it is valid to say that he has become, or is qualified to be, a caller to Allah.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : The point is: Calling people to Islam is like knowledge itself; some of it is an individual obligation, and some of it is a collective obligation. The knowledge that is obligatory for every accountable Muslim is only the amount that suffices for his obligatory worship. I say his obligatory worship because among the greatest acts of worship are the five pillars, as he (peace be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 8 to the end of it, the well-known hadith in "the two Sahihs." So there is no doubt that every accountable, sane, adult Muslim must pray, and he must fast. But not every accountable Muslim is obligated to pay zakah, and not every accountable Muslim is obligated to perform Hajj; because that is conditioned by the ability to afford it, possessing the nisab, the completion of a lunar year, and similar conditions. So, every Muslim has obligatory learning, if that expression is correct, within the limits of his reality. They all agree on the obligation of learning the correct creed, learning how to pray, and learning how to fast, what invalidates them, what makes them valid, and so on. As for zakah and Hajj, likewise, it is for a group of people in whom the conditions of obligation are present. So, every Muslim must learn, as an individual obligation, what enables him to fulfill what he has been commanded by the Shari'ah. As for anything beyond that, expanding in knowledge, this is a collective obligation; if some people fulfill it, it drops off the rest.
Likewise, calling people to Islam is of two types: an individual obligation and a collective obligation. If a Muslim, regardless of whether he is a scholar, a student, or a listener, but he knows something about a certain issue that arose in a certain gathering, and he is spoken to with an error in this issue; then he must clarify the truth that he knows, even if he is not a scholar, even if he is not a student. As for appointing himself to call people to Islam, this is a collective obligation, and it is not fitting except for the people of knowledge. Therefore, it came in the Qur'an, the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He):[Ali 'Imran 3:104] meaning: a group. It did not say: be all of you; it said: [Ali 'Imran 3:104].
Another questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : So then.
And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings, and upon you be peace.
So, calling people to Allah—we said—is like knowledge; some of it is an individual obligation, and some of it is a collective obligation. And I must remind you on this occasion, for the reminder benefits the believers; today, calling people to Allah and speaking about it and talking around it, as they say, has become "the fashion of the present age." And there have become callers among us, and there have become—also—female callers—what Allah willed!
Another questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Oh?
Another questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : ... and the reason for this, in reality, is that knowledge has today become a profession, and it has become a job, whereas previously it was a voluntary effort by individuals who dedicated themselves to learning and teaching knowledge, seeking no reward or gratitude in return, performing the call to Allah. Likewise, they enjoin good and forbid evil, not motivated by performing a job that the state assigned to them, but rather by fulfilling a duty that their Lord, the Lord of the worlds (Blessed and Exalted is He), commanded them to do, either as an individual or a collective obligation. So the matter has reversed today = -- welcome -- =; and knowledge, learning, and calling have become a job and a profession. And this is one of the reasons for the lack of impact of this knowledge, or this teaching, and this call; because those who usually perform such jobs do not perform them except to the extent that they collect the salary, and Allah is sufficient for the believers in fighting.
As for calling people to Allah with a motivation from creed and a motivation from the desire for what is with Allah (Mighty and Majestic), rather than what is with people; this is almost very rare in every arena of the Islamic world. And the day when we have among the Islamic callers, truly, those who learn for Allah and teach for Allah, and enjoin good and forbid evil, and call to all that for Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) and in execution of His command; on that day, the believers will rejoice in the victory of Allah.
The Shaykh : Calling people to Allah is, in reality, not organized or defined, and it has no specific time or place. Rather, it is suitable for every time and every place, and it is necessary for every Muslim who has been given some knowledge. It is not said, for example, that as long as he is a student of knowledge, he is not obligated to call people to Allah until he becomes, for example, a scholar. And I do not know.
Another questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh: And upon you peace.
for the student of knowledge that he has become a scholar until it is valid to say that he has become, or is qualified to be, a caller to Allah.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : The point is: Calling people to Islam is like knowledge itself; some of it is an individual obligation, and some of it is a collective obligation. The knowledge that is obligatory for every accountable Muslim is only the amount that suffices for his obligatory worship. I say his obligatory worship because among the greatest acts of worship are the five pillars, as he (peace be upon him) said:
Islam is based on (the following) five (principles): 1. To testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). 2. To offer the (compulsory congregational) prayers dutifully and perfectly. 3. To pay Zakat (i.e. obligatory charity)
بُنِيَ الإسلام على خمس : شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمَّدًا رسول الله ، وإقام الصلاة ، وإيتاء الزكاةLikewise, calling people to Islam is of two types: an individual obligation and a collective obligation. If a Muslim, regardless of whether he is a scholar, a student, or a listener, but he knows something about a certain issue that arose in a certain gathering, and he is spoken to with an error in this issue; then he must clarify the truth that he knows, even if he is not a scholar, even if he is not a student. As for appointing himself to call people to Islam, this is a collective obligation, and it is not fitting except for the people of knowledge. Therefore, it came in the Qur'an, the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He):
And let there be [arising] from you a nation
وَلْتَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌAnd let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong
وَلْتَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِAnother questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : So then.
And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings, and upon you be peace.
So, calling people to Allah—we said—is like knowledge; some of it is an individual obligation, and some of it is a collective obligation. And I must remind you on this occasion, for the reminder benefits the believers; today, calling people to Allah and speaking about it and talking around it, as they say, has become "the fashion of the present age." And there have become callers among us, and there have become—also—female callers—what Allah willed!
Another questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Oh?
Another questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : ... and the reason for this, in reality, is that knowledge has today become a profession, and it has become a job, whereas previously it was a voluntary effort by individuals who dedicated themselves to learning and teaching knowledge, seeking no reward or gratitude in return, performing the call to Allah. Likewise, they enjoin good and forbid evil, not motivated by performing a job that the state assigned to them, but rather by fulfilling a duty that their Lord, the Lord of the worlds (Blessed and Exalted is He), commanded them to do, either as an individual or a collective obligation. So the matter has reversed today = -- welcome -- =; and knowledge, learning, and calling have become a job and a profession. And this is one of the reasons for the lack of impact of this knowledge, or this teaching, and this call; because those who usually perform such jobs do not perform them except to the extent that they collect the salary, and Allah is sufficient for the believers in fighting.
As for calling people to Allah with a motivation from creed and a motivation from the desire for what is with Allah (Mighty and Majestic), rather than what is with people; this is almost very rare in every arena of the Islamic world. And the day when we have among the Islamic callers, truly, those who learn for Allah and teach for Allah, and enjoin good and forbid evil, and call to all that for Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) and in execution of His command; on that day, the believers will rejoice in the victory of Allah.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.