A speech by Ibrahim Shuqara regarding those who claim knowledge from among these ignorant people.

Abu Malik: I say that among the great calamities of this age is that those who are not qualified have assumed the position of knowledge, and that the paths of understanding have been traversed by young boys, and that the peak of knowledge has been climbed by those who do not know how to climb.

The Shaykh : Allahu Akbar.

The Shaykh : Therefore, I always say, and I will always say, that ignorance is better than this kind of knowledge if it leads some people to these unfortunate ends. Ignorance is better than this knowledge, because the ignorant person does not rationalize his actions except through his ignorance. As for this one who rationalizes his actions, or this action that our brother referred to, he only rationalizes and justifies it with knowledge in which he has not reached a valid legal proof. Therefore, my advice to my brothers is always that the understanding of the legal proofs is more important, after preserving them, than the proofs themselves. That is because the legal proofs, and praise be to Allah, if they are made accessible by the hand of our Shaykh, a person is safe from stumbling when he takes a proof from them. We have the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), to which falsehood does not come from before it or from behind it, and we have these Sunnahs that were truly neglected, along with the athar, the sayings, the actions, and the approvals. Allah has bestowed upon us in this age that they have become accessible to us, known to us, and close to us, first by the grace of Allah, and then by the grace of our Shaykh, may Allah reward him with good. Therefore, I say that looking into such proofs is what is important now, and it is not important that I strike blindly without knowing how to extract the proof from these numerous legal proofs from the texts of the Book and the Sunnah, which no one can count. Many of those who fell on their faces and were humbled while they were trying to do good with what they did—would that they had not thought they were doing good, for they did evil while they thought they were doing good. As Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "How many are those who seek good but do not attain it." Therefore, I say that knowledge should be looked at with a conscious and precise view, so that students and seekers of knowledge do not fall into what this person fell into, who justifies for himself calling these neglected matters Sunnahs. Would that he had not called them Sunnahs, because they are not of the Sunnah, and the Sunnah is not of them at all.