Encouraging the Company of Scholars
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Few are there who guide the youth, even among the scholars! Consequently, the youth fall behind in what they hear and see of trivial matters. So what is your guidance?
Answer:
In any case, there are people of knowledge and scholars—praise be to Allah—who exist, even if they are few in number compared to most countries. However, in any case, if a student of knowledge strives and seeks out the people of knowledge, he will find them.
The calamity is the lack of seeking, the lack of connecting with them, isolating oneself, and being self-sufficient; for one may err greatly and much may be hidden from him. Indeed, it is obligatory for him to strive to seek knowledge, to focus on the Qur'an and the seeking of knowledge, and to ask the people of knowledge about what is difficult for him. He should not belittle them or think ill of them. Rather, he should think well of the scholars of his time who have not shown him anything that contradicts the Shari'ah of Allah, and who have not contradicted him with anything indicating their falsehood and their distance from the truth.
He should seek out the people of knowledge and ask them about what is difficult for him, and not think ill of them; this is among the causes of Allah's success for him and among the causes of Allah's guidance for him. If he errs in one issue, he may not err in another; he may err in one issue, but he will be correct in others, unless it is difficult for him and he says, "Perhaps he erred." Then he asks the second scholar, the third scholar, and the fourth scholar.
This is how the Salaf used to ask until they were reassured. They asked the scholars not for the purpose of testing or being stubborn, no, but for reassurance, until they find from them what matches the evidence they have and the evidence they know that was difficult for them. If he finds what indicates the correctness of what appeared to him from a verse or a hadith, he stands firm upon it and is patient with it. He does not despair, nor does he think ill. He does what he can to connect with the people of knowledge, to read, and to discuss with his brothers and colleagues. Even the colleagues may benefit him; he does not think ill of them, nor does he say that he is more knowledgeable than them. Rather, he discusses with his colleagues, researches with them, and debates without error, until the difficulty is removed and the doubt is removed.
Question: The scholar in the eyes of the people: they have the custom that the one who graduates from the college is the shaykh, but if he graduates from high school or the intermediate school, he is not a shaykh?
Answer: In any case, the more his knowledge increases, the closer he is to the truth. The graduate from the university is closer to the truth than the high school graduate, and so on. But he should not belittle the people of high school, if Allah wills... his colleagues, even if they are from high school, he should not belittle them.
Few are there who guide the youth, even among the scholars! Consequently, the youth fall behind in what they hear and see of trivial matters. So what is your guidance?
Answer:
In any case, there are people of knowledge and scholars—praise be to Allah—who exist, even if they are few in number compared to most countries. However, in any case, if a student of knowledge strives and seeks out the people of knowledge, he will find them.
The calamity is the lack of seeking, the lack of connecting with them, isolating oneself, and being self-sufficient; for one may err greatly and much may be hidden from him. Indeed, it is obligatory for him to strive to seek knowledge, to focus on the Qur'an and the seeking of knowledge, and to ask the people of knowledge about what is difficult for him. He should not belittle them or think ill of them. Rather, he should think well of the scholars of his time who have not shown him anything that contradicts the Shari'ah of Allah, and who have not contradicted him with anything indicating their falsehood and their distance from the truth.
He should seek out the people of knowledge and ask them about what is difficult for him, and not think ill of them; this is among the causes of Allah's success for him and among the causes of Allah's guidance for him. If he errs in one issue, he may not err in another; he may err in one issue, but he will be correct in others, unless it is difficult for him and he says, "Perhaps he erred." Then he asks the second scholar, the third scholar, and the fourth scholar.
This is how the Salaf used to ask until they were reassured. They asked the scholars not for the purpose of testing or being stubborn, no, but for reassurance, until they find from them what matches the evidence they have and the evidence they know that was difficult for them. If he finds what indicates the correctness of what appeared to him from a verse or a hadith, he stands firm upon it and is patient with it. He does not despair, nor does he think ill. He does what he can to connect with the people of knowledge, to read, and to discuss with his brothers and colleagues. Even the colleagues may benefit him; he does not think ill of them, nor does he say that he is more knowledgeable than them. Rather, he discusses with his colleagues, researches with them, and debates without error, until the difficulty is removed and the doubt is removed.
Question: The scholar in the eyes of the people: they have the custom that the one who graduates from the college is the shaykh, but if he graduates from high school or the intermediate school, he is not a shaykh?
Answer: In any case, the more his knowledge increases, the closer he is to the truth. The graduate from the university is closer to the truth than the high school graduate, and so on. But he should not belittle the people of high school, if Allah wills... his colleagues, even if they are from high school, he should not belittle them.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.