Explanation of the author's statement: "And among them are the signs of guidance and the lamps of the darkness, the possessors of the renowned virtues and the mentioned excellences, and among them are the substitutes"
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The Shaykh : He said: "And among them, and among them are the signs of guidance and the lamps of the darkness" "And among them, and among them are the signs of guidance and the lamps of the darkness": From the people of the Sunnah and the community are the signs of guidance.
And "al-a'lam" is the plural of "al-'alam," which originally means a mountain. Allah the Exalted said:[Ash-Shuraa 42:32] [Ar-Rahman 55:24] meaning: like mountains. The mountain is called an "alam" because people are guided by it and take their direction from it.
"Among them are the signs of guidance" Who are the signs of guidance by whom people take their direction and are guided? The scholars, for they are the guides and they are the signs of guidance. Likewise, they are the lamps of the darkness.
And "al-masabih" is the plural of "masbah," which is what is used for illumination.
And "al-daja" is the plural of "dujyah," which is darkness. That is, they are the lamps of the darkness by which people are illuminated and walk in light.
"The possessors of the renowned virtues and the mentioned excellences": The word "daja" in my view may not be a plural, and for this reason I will refer to it, if Allah wills, in the Qamus dictionary.
He said: "The possessors of the renowned virtues and the mentioned excellences": "Al-manaqib" is the plural of "manqabah," which is a rank. That is, the honor and nobility that a person attains.
As for "al-fada'il", it is the plural of "fada'il," which are the qualities by which a person is characterized, such as knowledge, worship, asceticism, generosity, courage, and others. So, the excellences are the ladder to the virtues; the virtues are the ranks a person attains, and the excellences are the praiseworthy qualities by which he is characterized.
"And among them are the substitutes": "Al-abdal" is the plural of "badal," and they are those who distinguished themselves from others by knowledge and worship. These are the substitutes who distinguished themselves from others by knowledge and worship. They were called substitutes either because whenever one of them died, a substitute replaced him, or because they used to replace their sins with good deeds, or because, being a good example, they used to replace people's wrong deeds with correct deeds due to being a good example. So, the substitutes, then, encompass three things. What are they?
The student: Some of them replace some others.
The Shaykh : That some of them replace some others and become a substitute for them.
Second: That they replace their sins with good deeds, so when they sin, they seek forgiveness.
Third: That they replace the deeds and character of others, because they are a good example that people follow. As for the definition of the substitute, who is he? He is the one who is distinguished from others in knowledge, and then what? And in worship. Pay attention to these criteria, may Allah reward you. Pay attention to them so you do not miss them; you may not find them in a book. So, the substitutes are the plural of substitute, and they are those who are distinguished from others by what? By knowledge and worship, and they were named so for the three reasons you heard.
And "al-a'lam" is the plural of "al-'alam," which originally means a mountain. Allah the Exalted said:
And of His signs are the ships in the sea, like mountains.
وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ الْجَوَارِ فِي الْبَحْرِ كَالْأَعْلَامِAnd to Him belong the ships [with sails] elevated in the sea like mountains.
وَلَهُ الْجَوَارِ الْمُنْشَآتُ فِي الْبَحْرِ كَالْأَعْلَامِ"Among them are the signs of guidance" Who are the signs of guidance by whom people take their direction and are guided? The scholars, for they are the guides and they are the signs of guidance. Likewise, they are the lamps of the darkness.
And "al-masabih" is the plural of "masbah," which is what is used for illumination.
And "al-daja" is the plural of "dujyah," which is darkness. That is, they are the lamps of the darkness by which people are illuminated and walk in light.
"The possessors of the renowned virtues and the mentioned excellences": The word "daja" in my view may not be a plural, and for this reason I will refer to it, if Allah wills, in the Qamus dictionary.
He said: "The possessors of the renowned virtues and the mentioned excellences": "Al-manaqib" is the plural of "manqabah," which is a rank. That is, the honor and nobility that a person attains.
As for "al-fada'il", it is the plural of "fada'il," which are the qualities by which a person is characterized, such as knowledge, worship, asceticism, generosity, courage, and others. So, the excellences are the ladder to the virtues; the virtues are the ranks a person attains, and the excellences are the praiseworthy qualities by which he is characterized.
"And among them are the substitutes": "Al-abdal" is the plural of "badal," and they are those who distinguished themselves from others by knowledge and worship. These are the substitutes who distinguished themselves from others by knowledge and worship. They were called substitutes either because whenever one of them died, a substitute replaced him, or because they used to replace their sins with good deeds, or because, being a good example, they used to replace people's wrong deeds with correct deeds due to being a good example. So, the substitutes, then, encompass three things. What are they?
The student: Some of them replace some others.
The Shaykh : That some of them replace some others and become a substitute for them.
Second: That they replace their sins with good deeds, so when they sin, they seek forgiveness.
Third: That they replace the deeds and character of others, because they are a good example that people follow. As for the definition of the substitute, who is he? He is the one who is distinguished from others in knowledge, and then what? And in worship. Pay attention to these criteria, may Allah reward you. Pay attention to them so you do not miss them; you may not find them in a book. So, the substitutes are the plural of substitute, and they are those who are distinguished from others by what? By knowledge and worship, and they were named so for the three reasons you heard.