Every time I read a book by His Eminence, the renowned scholar, Shaykh Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di, it seizes my heart and amazes me with the beauty and ease of his style, given what I see in it
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The questioner : These are requests, says the honorable Shaykh, my father and my teacher, the honorable Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen. As for what follows, peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner : Every time I read a book by His Eminence, the renowned scholar, Shaykh Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di, it seizes my heart and amazes me with the beauty and ease of his style, given the vast amount of knowledge I see in it. My dear father, my cherished wish is that it be fulfilled, which is for you to speak to us about the life of this Imam, particularly his knowledge, his character, his impact on the Ummah, and his struggle. This is because I know of your closeness to him. And I say, in conclusion to this word which every believer who knows the worth of scholars utters: I love you for the sake of Allah, and I ask Allah the Exalted to gather us, him, our parents, and those present in His gardens, the Gardens of Firdaus. Indeed, He is capable of all things. And may He preserve you and bless your life. And may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad.
The Shaykh : Yes, as for speaking about the Shaykh, my words are unable to capture the extent of his knowledge, his morals, and his great excellence, may Allah have mercy on him. Biographies of him have been written in some of his books, so whoever wants more of that should refer to them.
As for his dealings with people, I have not seen anyone with better morals than him, may Allah have mercy on him. He was a humble man who loved the poor and loved to cover their faults. The people in his time were not at this level of wealth and affluence; rather, they were poor to the utmost extent. And he, may Allah have mercy on him, would go himself when zakah or charity came to him. He would take it himself to the poor man, knock on his door, and hand him the charity or zakah in his hand without the man being aware of it, because he did not want any reward or gratitude for it.
And he was humble, may Allah have mercy on him, toward the students, and he would joke with them. Yes, he would sometimes give them things that were not of much value to win their hearts. He would also sometimes set a reward for memorizing a text from the texts, as he set a reward of one hundred riyals for memorizing Bulugh al-Maram. One hundred riyals at that time was equal to approximately one hundred thousand in our time. Whoever gets one hundred riyals.
In any case, we, praise be to Allah, acquired a great deal from his morals, but we have not caught up to him even now. Rather, Allah the Mighty and Majestic facilitated for us some of his morals from which we benefited. And he, may Allah have mercy on him, faced calamities and harm from people, especially from some of his fellow scholars, but he was patient and sought reward from Allah, and the outcome was for him. People did not know his worth until after he died, may Allah have mercy on him. Then they knew his worth and the vast, beneficial sciences he provided to this Ummah, and his books, as the questioner said, his books are easy, and both the layperson and the student of knowledge benefit from them. Look at his tafsir, may Allah have mercy on him; a person reads it as if he is drinking water, so easy and clear is it. And he, may Allah have mercy on him, had wonderful deductions that I have not seen like them in what he goes through in the tafsir.
You find, for example, that he extracts many benefits from a verse that you do not find in any other tafsir. So the important thing is that the man, may Allah have mercy on him, was the pearl of his time, and we have not known anyone like him in goodness of character, gentleness, ease, and breadth. I mean, he did not have that strictness that is found in some people. Rather, he, may Allah have mercy on him, was easy-going, except that he would not approve of anything forbidden that he saw as forbidden; rather, he would deny it to the utmost extent. So we ask Allah the Exalted to encompass us and you with His mercy, and him, and to gather us all in His abode of honor.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner : Every time I read a book by His Eminence, the renowned scholar, Shaykh Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di, it seizes my heart and amazes me with the beauty and ease of his style, given the vast amount of knowledge I see in it. My dear father, my cherished wish is that it be fulfilled, which is for you to speak to us about the life of this Imam, particularly his knowledge, his character, his impact on the Ummah, and his struggle. This is because I know of your closeness to him. And I say, in conclusion to this word which every believer who knows the worth of scholars utters: I love you for the sake of Allah, and I ask Allah the Exalted to gather us, him, our parents, and those present in His gardens, the Gardens of Firdaus. Indeed, He is capable of all things. And may He preserve you and bless your life. And may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad.
The Shaykh : Yes, as for speaking about the Shaykh, my words are unable to capture the extent of his knowledge, his morals, and his great excellence, may Allah have mercy on him. Biographies of him have been written in some of his books, so whoever wants more of that should refer to them.
As for his dealings with people, I have not seen anyone with better morals than him, may Allah have mercy on him. He was a humble man who loved the poor and loved to cover their faults. The people in his time were not at this level of wealth and affluence; rather, they were poor to the utmost extent. And he, may Allah have mercy on him, would go himself when zakah or charity came to him. He would take it himself to the poor man, knock on his door, and hand him the charity or zakah in his hand without the man being aware of it, because he did not want any reward or gratitude for it.
And he was humble, may Allah have mercy on him, toward the students, and he would joke with them. Yes, he would sometimes give them things that were not of much value to win their hearts. He would also sometimes set a reward for memorizing a text from the texts, as he set a reward of one hundred riyals for memorizing Bulugh al-Maram. One hundred riyals at that time was equal to approximately one hundred thousand in our time. Whoever gets one hundred riyals.
In any case, we, praise be to Allah, acquired a great deal from his morals, but we have not caught up to him even now. Rather, Allah the Mighty and Majestic facilitated for us some of his morals from which we benefited. And he, may Allah have mercy on him, faced calamities and harm from people, especially from some of his fellow scholars, but he was patient and sought reward from Allah, and the outcome was for him. People did not know his worth until after he died, may Allah have mercy on him. Then they knew his worth and the vast, beneficial sciences he provided to this Ummah, and his books, as the questioner said, his books are easy, and both the layperson and the student of knowledge benefit from them. Look at his tafsir, may Allah have mercy on him; a person reads it as if he is drinking water, so easy and clear is it. And he, may Allah have mercy on him, had wonderful deductions that I have not seen like them in what he goes through in the tafsir.
You find, for example, that he extracts many benefits from a verse that you do not find in any other tafsir. So the important thing is that the man, may Allah have mercy on him, was the pearl of his time, and we have not known anyone like him in goodness of character, gentleness, ease, and breadth. I mean, he did not have that strictness that is found in some people. Rather, he, may Allah have mercy on him, was easy-going, except that he would not approve of anything forbidden that he saw as forbidden; rather, he would deny it to the utmost extent. So we ask Allah the Exalted to encompass us and you with His mercy, and him, and to gather us all in His abode of honor.