Advice to Future Imams and Scholars

Advice to Future Imams and Scholars

By Mufti Hussain Kamani

Introduction and Gratitude

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Prophet, the chosen one, especially upon the Master of the Messengers and the Seal of the Prophets, and upon his family and companions, one after the other.

I wanted to first thank the brothers from Ibrahim College for inviting me for this beautiful gathering. Alhamdulillah, we were blessed to somehow fit this in the schedule. To be honest with you, the best of gatherings are those with the students, because everyone else that we're speaking to, we hope that one day they become students. And those that are students are the people that we enjoy sitting with.

Reference to Classical Works on Scholarly Conduct

When I was studying in madrasa, towards the end of our studies, in the iftaar part of the course in particular, we studied a book by Ibn Nujaim, a very great Hanafi scholar. The book that he's written is actually a very beautiful book on the qawa'id of fiqh, the principles of fiqh. Many of you may have also heard of it by its name, Al-Ashbah wal-Nadha'ir.

At the end of the book, there are a few pages where you will find the advice given by Imam Abu Hanifa to his student, Imam Abu Yusuf. When Imam Abu Yusuf was graduating from the institute after spending years and years with his great teacher, Imam Abu Hanifa gave him some very valuable advice. Every sentence had a unique piece to it in the way he was preparing his student.

The Four Pillars of Seeking Knowledge

If you were to summarize the chain of seeking knowledge from beginning to end, it starts off with sincerity, then it goes to learning, then it ends with acting, and then finally propagating. These are the four steps, the four keys, the four links in your process of learning Islam:

1. Sincerity (Ikhlas) - Make sure you're sincere
2. Learning - Seek the knowledge
3. Acting - Act upon the knowledge
4. Propagating - Teach that knowledge to other people

The last step is one of the most important, and this is where I wanted to focus today - how to take that knowledge that you've acted upon and teach it to other people with sincerity.

The Primacy of Sincere Intention

The Danger of Wrong Intentions

The first thing you need to ensure when teaching is that you're doing it for the right intention. Wrong intentions will dissolve the reward of the greatest action. The very famous hadith that you can find in Sahih Muslim mentions that the first three people to go to the fire of hell are: the charitable man, the knowledgeable person, and the martyr. All these three had great efforts, but they walked out with nothing because their intentions were corrupt.

The Only Correct Intention

The actual goal isn't knowledge - the goal is pleasing Allah. When I went to study in England, a senior student once told me after I gave various reasons for being there: "There's only one right intention in this matter, which is to please Allah."

This is exactly what Imam Ghazali has written in his Ihya Ulum al-Din. In the first chapter, Kitab al-'Ilm (The Book of Knowledge), he defines what knowledge truly is - that knowledge which the Qur'an and Hadith give virtue for has a very specific definition.

The Summary of the Prophet's Life in the Last Ten Surahs

The last 10 surahs of the Qur'an, from Surah al-Fil to Surah an-Nas, actually summarize the entire life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Let me explain this sequence:

Ibrahim's Prayer and Its Fulfillment

There's a verse where Allah mentions Ibrahim's prayer:

"And when Ibrahim said: My Lord, make this a peaceful city and grant its people sustenance from fruits - those who believe in Allah and the Last Day. He said: And whoever disbelieves, I will grant him enjoyment for a little while, then I will force him to the punishment of the Fire, and wretched is the destination."

The same verse is repeated in Surah Ibrahim, but with a key difference: in Surah Baqarah, Ibrahim says (بَلَدًا - a city - indefinite), while in Surah Ibrahim he says (الْبَلَدَ - the city - definite). This is because the first prayer was when he arrived in Makkah when nothing was there, while the second was after people had populated the city.

The Sequential Fulfillment

Allah accepted Ibrahim's prayer for peace and prosperity:

"Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant?"

This surah shows how Allah protected Makkah. Then in Surah Quraysh:

"For the accustomed security of the Quraysh - their accustomed security [in] the caravan of winter and summer"

Allah gave them prosperity through trade in both seasons. Then comes the spiritual call:

"Let them worship the Lord of this House"

But some still reject, as described in Surah al-Ma'un:

"Have you seen the one who denies the religion?"

This surah describes four characteristics of those who reject: they repel the orphan, don't encourage feeding the poor, are heedless in their prayer, and make show of their deeds while withholding simple assistance.

The response comes in Surah al-Kawthar addressing these four issues, followed by the verbal battles (Surah al-Kafirun), physical battles (Surah an-Nasr), and finally protection from both external enemies (Surah al-Falaq) and internal spiritual enemies (Surah an-Nas).

The Importance of Sincere Scholars

There is a proverb: من كَانَ لِلَّهِ كَانَ اللَّهُ لَهُ - "Whoever dedicates themselves for Allah, Allah will take care of them."

This is clear in the Qur'an: وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ - "And whoever relies on Allah, He is sufficient for him."

You'll be amazed when you become a scholar how people will raise you on a pedestal. You'll no longer be called by your name, but Shaykh, Mufti, Allamah, and many other titles. But remember - these titles are not the goal. The knowledge is not the goal. The goal is pleasing Allah.

As Rumi said in his Mathnawi: "Jannah is two steps away - place one foot on your nafs, stomp your inner desires down, and the second foot will land directly in Jannah."

Protecting the Honor of Your Knowledge

Differentiating Between Self and Knowledge

When you step out of here, remember that your knowledge has honor - you don't have honor. You have to differentiate between the two. You as an individual have to remember who you are, but you have a responsibility toward the knowledge of Rasulullah (peace be upon him).

I learned this from Shaykh Yunus Jaunpuri, a scholar who dedicated his entire life to hadith without marriage. When people would kiss his hand and seek blessings in Makkah, he would cry and say: "Those people weren't kissing me - they were kissing the knowledge of Rasulullah. Who is Yunus? Yunus was a young kid who used to walk around in shorts in a small Indian city who no one would have known had he not fallen in love with the hadith of the Prophet."

The Fine Balance

There's a fine line because after you study, you and your knowledge almost become the same in people's eyes. From the perspective of the average person, they can't differentiate between you and knowledge. But in your own eyes, you are two completely different things.

Hassan al-Basri, who was named by Umar ibn al-Khattab and was suckled by the wife of the Prophet, said: "Islam is in the books, Muslims are in the graves." This shows the difference between the ideal and the reality.

Never do anything as an individual that would affect the image of your knowledge. If dressing in a particular way at a gathering would give someone the impression that scholars don't dress properly, then you should avoid it - not because it's haram, but because you're held to a higher standard to preserve the honor of your knowledge.

The Prophetic Example

Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) mentioned that when the Prophet (peace be upon him) would enter the door, he would be so down to earth that they would forget he was a Prophet of Allah. He would play with children, clean the house, and eat whatever he found. But as soon as he started his salah, she would forget that he was even a human being.

Maintaining Zuhd (Abstinence) and Taqwa (Piety)

Personal Obligations First

If you're studying the knowledge of deen but are still not functional with your five daily salah, we have a problem. If sisters cannot wear hijab or brothers cannot dress modestly, these are mandated issues within our deen that must be addressed.

Showing Abstinence from Worldly Desires

When you become a scholar and step into the real world, people will throw themselves at you. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

"Abstain from the world and Allah will love you, and abstain from what people have and people will love you."

Never show excessive interest in what people have. Don't overly praise their houses or cars beyond a simple "MashaAllah" and prayer for barakah. The moment you show interest in what people have and become greedy, people won't love you anymore.

Maintaining Scholarly Dignity

If you're sitting with ten professionals - mathematicians, physicists, doctors, engineers - should you for a single second show regret about being a scholar of the deen? Never. You can respect their sciences and praise their work, but never over-praise anyone, because you have a responsibility to maintain honor for who you are.

Good Character - The Foundation of Scholarship

The best scholars in communities are not those who are smartest, because the world has no lack of smart people. What the world lacks are people with good character.

Mufti Shafi Usmani said that if he had to marry his daughter and there were only two people left on earth - a scholar without good character and an ignorant person with good character - he would give his daughter to the ignorant person any day, because there's no lack of knowledge in this world, but there's a lack of people with good character.

As Iqbal beautifully said:

"Embody yourself with the light of good character, so that even Satan would want to become Muslim."

The Prophet (peace be upon him) tells us: إن أثقل شيء في الميزان يوم القيامة الخلق الحسن - "The most weighty thing on the scale of the Day of Judgment will be good character."

Continuous Learning and Service

Never Stop Learning

After you graduate, always desire to learn more. Never stop learning knowledge. Find scholars, whether in person or through distance learning, and continue to learn. I graduated years ago, but even today, a group of scholars and I gather every week in Chicago to study together under Shaykh Amin Qalwadi.

The second you stop studying is the second you think you know it all. As Stephen Hawking said: "The enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it's the illusion of knowledge."

Continue to Serve Knowledge

A scholar's responsibility includes writing, speaking, and sharing knowledge in every possible manner. Don't just have knowledge and sit on it - teach it to others. Have weekly, daily, and monthly commitments. You should have local commitments and distant commitments.

A Powerful Reminder

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: - "Sometimes Allah supports this deen through a transgressor as well."

Just because you're serving the deen doesn't make you pious. Just because you're giving lectures doesn't mean you're pious. Even if you become an imam or khateeb, constantly ask Allah for forgiveness and pray that He grants you sincerity.

Stories of Sincere Scholars

The Wealthy Heart of a Poor Scholar

I want to share the story of Shaykh Islam al-Haqq, who was the Shaykh al-Hadith at Darul Uloom Bury. His son, Shaykh Zia al-Haqq, told us that his father's entire life consisted of coming to the madrasa from 9 to 4, saying "Qala Rasulullah" (the Messenger of Allah said), and receiving a brown envelope with maybe 100-200 pounds a week.

Despite having a big family and minimal income, his father would go to Umrah regularly and take people with him. The last year of his life, he took his family to Umrah in Ramadan. On the 27th night, after Isha prayer, he went for a long farewell to the Rawdah of the Prophet. He woke everyone at 1 AM for suhoor, prayed tahajjud with his son Nurul Haq, and when he went into sajdah, he never got up again.

This shows the wealth of sincere scholars - if such a death could be auctioned, what price would people pay for it?

The Lesson of Detachment

Shaykh Qasim Nanotwi, founder of Darul Uloom Deoband, once refused a donation from a wealthy man who seemed to think he was favoring the madrasa. The man left the money by the Shaykh's shoes. When the Shaykh found it, he told his students: "This is how Allah delivers wealth to us - not in our hands, not even at our feet, but right next to our shoes."

There are very few scholars in Islamic history who died of hunger, though some died of overeating (like Imam Muslim, who died while searching for a hadith reference). Money should never be your goal, but your goal should be nothing other than pleasing Allah.

Conclusion and Final Advice

Never let wealth fool you. Never let fame fool you. Sometimes the people unknown in this world are known to Allah, and the people known in this world are unknown to Allah.

When you graduate and return to serve your communities, structure yourself properly. Plan yourself well, and you'll be amazed how quickly you can accomplish great things following the prophetic model.

May Allah accept from us all and grant us sincerity in seeking and teaching His deen.