The Heirs of the Prophets

Abu Bakr al-Ajurri, a scholar of hadith and jurisprudence, writes the following in his book Akhlaqu’l-Ulama:

“If Allah Almighty grants three lanterns to a group of people traveling on a dark night, they will be safe from the dangers on the road, such as falling off a cliff or being attacked by a predator.

A scholar is similarly beneficial to people and the whole of society. People escape from darkness through scholars, reach the light, and stay on the straight path.”

Allah Almighty sent the prophets as guides for humanity. Those who follow in the footsteps of the prophets are the scholars, their true heirs. Few prophets’ stories are chronicled in the Holy Qur’an. Despite only a tiny fraction of all prophets being referenced in our holy book, these narratives make up one third of its codex. From these stories, we learn of the many hardships faced by the prophets as they proclaimed their message. We also learn how they maintained peace of mind despite all challenges, remained in a state of submission to Allah Almighty, and retained a neverending hope.

Prophets and trials

Prophets Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, and Ayyub (alayhimussalam) are only some of the prophets that were tested with their children, wealth, and communities. Prophet Yusuf (alayhissalam) was thrown into a well, separated from his family at a young age, and faced many hardships, including imprisonment. Prophet Musa (alayhissalam) faced challenges from infancy; he got separated from his mother, was forced to emigrate as a young man, and fought against the Pharaoh and his advisors. Ultimately, his people ended up being disloyal to him even though it was he who defended them against the Pharaoh. When he was instructed to go to Baytu’l-Maqdis, his people abandoned him and said, “O Moses, indeed we will not enter it, ever, as long as they are within it; so go, you and your Lord, and fight. Indeed, we are remaining right here.” (Al-Maidah, 24)

When Prophets Salih, Hud, and Shuayb (alayhimussalam) invited their people to the one true faith, they were met with aggression. They faced death threats from their people, who said, “We will kill you if you do not renounce your cause.” Prophet Lut (alayhissalam) faced immense grief and cruelty from his people, who had surpassed animals in their debauchery and disgrace. Even his wife sided with his enemies. Prophet Noah (alayhissalam) continuously invited his people to accept the one true faith for 950 years. He was even tested with his son.

The Holy Qur’an also talks of scholars and believers from past ages who faced formidable adversities. One such Muslim scholar, Habib al-Najjar, tried his best to convey the message of truth to a stray society but was eventually martyred. Ashab al-Ukhdud and Ashab al-Kahf are among the believers who persisted in the face of hardships and paid a high price for their perseverance. The Holy Qur’an tells us about Ashab al-Ukhdud being thrown into a pit of fire and the prayer they said at the time: “Our Lord, pour upon us patience and let us die as Muslims!” (Al-Araf, 126)

The great sacrifices of the Prophet’s Companions

The life of our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), who was sent as a mercy to all of the worlds, was filled with hardships. In fact, he noted that “I have faced hardships in the path of Allah that no other person has ever faced.” (Tirmidhi, Qiyamah, 34/2472)

A friend of Allah describes the attitude of our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) in the face of hardships as follows: “Even though his heart was wrought with great pain, his smile never left his face. No one has ever seen him with a frowning, sullen, or surly face. For he was always with Allah, he was in peace and happiness, and kept his smile to reflect the bright outlook of Islam.”

The call to Islam in Makkah lasted for thirteen years. Because of the pressures they faced, the Muslims had to migrate twice to Abyssinia (Modern Day Ethiopia) in smaller groups and then to Medinah as a whole. While pressure from the polytheists of Makkah continued even after the migration, oppression from the Jews, Christians, and other polytheists was added to the troubles of Muslims. These included wars as well as the assassinations of teachers from among the Companions who had been invited by deceptive Jews and hypocrites. 

In addition to inviting people to the path of Allah by himself, our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) trained some of His Companions to teach Islam to others. Musab bin Umayr (radiyallahu anh) was a very young man when tasked with teaching Islam to the people of Medinah after the first pledge at Aqabah. After the conquest of Makkah, many Companions were sent to distant lands as envoys or governors, where they made teaching Islam their main priority. The commitment, effort, patience, and courage seen in the Companions have guided the scholars of Islam for the past 14 centuries to follow in their footsteps, proclaiming the message of Islam.

The Tabi’in, who the Companions raised, continued the monumental effort to teach Islam in newly conquered territories. During the reign of Khalifah Umar (radiyallahu anh), a group of twelve thousand was sent to Damascus as teachers. The teaching of the Holy Qur'an, articles of iman, daily religious duties, Islamic manners, and proper social conduct in newly acquired lands shows the greatness of the spiritual conquests that followed the military achievements.

The Companions who were sent to various parts of the world during the reign of Khalifah Umar (radiyallahu anh) soon trained other teachers and scholars who would continue their work in guiding and teaching large numbers of people. These scholars guided others in following the Holy Qur’an and sunnah of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and helped schools and gatherings of learning increase rapidly. They showed people how to resist the tendency towards and temptations of the world and social and civil discord.

The price paid for knowledge

The hardships our scholars suffered in acquiring religious knowledge are mostly unrecorded. However, historical texts provide enough information to help assess the magnitude of their ordeals. We can imagine the daunting challenges they must have encountered when covering distances so long they seem staggering considering the limited means of travel at the time. All this effort and struggle simply to reach centers of learning, write books, and educate their students. 

Learning requires patience. Not only in our day but throughout history, seekers of knowledge have had to give up worldly ambitions, endure long and arduous journeys, and make do with little. Many old books mention scholars who survived on dry pieces of bread dipped in the Tigris river. A scholar who traveled from Andalusia to Baghdad to learn hadith came to know that the great scholar Ahmad bin Hanbal (rahmatullahi alayh) was under house arrest. To avoid drawing attention, he visited Ahmad bin Hanbal (rahmatullahi alayh) every morning disguised as a beggar to learn hadith. Imam Shafi’i (rahmatullahi alayh) would write the lectures he listened to onto his palm as he could not find any paper. Imam Abu Hanifah (rahmatullahi alayh) not only taught his students but supported them financially due to their lack of means.

The distances Imam Bukhari (rahmatullahi alayh) traveled to learn hadiths can be expressed in tens of thousands of kilometers. These great scholars, who are well known and respected throughout the Islamic world, would also stand up to the injustices in their times. They would sometimes migrate to distant lands or were imprisoned or even martyred, all for the cause of perpetuating the knowledge and truth of Islam. 

For example, Imam Abu Hanifah (rahmatulllahi alayh) died in prison at the age of seventy. While these scholars never condoned any act of injustice, they likewise never sparked any social unrest and were always perfect examples of people with impeccable personalities.

Separating truth from falsehood

Throughout the history of Islam, many overwhelming bouts of discord emerged from the earliest times. Our scholars consistently showed a proper, measured attitude in the face of these incidents. Against the challenge of Mutazilah, Hasan al-Basri (quddisa sirruhu) responded with a single statement that established the final judgment and ended the tumultuous situation. Imam Abu Hanifah (rahmatullahi alayh) authored his famous book al-Fiqh al-Akbar to support the unity and solidarity of the ummah and preserve the genuine, pure aqidah of Muslims. He personally dictated his book al-Wasiyya by confirming the tenets of faith through his own words. Imam al-Shafi’i, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, Imam al-Bukhari, and Imam Muslim (rahmatullahi alayhim ajmain) responded resolutely to the challenges posed by the instigators of Mutazilah even when faced with coercion.

Despite countless threats, Imam Abu’l-Hasan al-Ashari (rahmatullahi alayh) fought against the Mutazilah. His fight inspired the believers of his time as well as those who followed. Imam Sarahsi (rahmatullahi alayh), a well-known scholar of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, kept on teaching even when locked in a small earthen cell. He dictated his book called al-Mabsut to his students while imprisoned in this small space.

Such an imprisoned Muslim scholar being concerned with spreading the knowledge of Islam, whose works have been a source of learning and a benefit to all for centuries, is an excellent example of the self-sacrifice of the scholars of Islam. These ordeals are not isolated incidents. Regardless of where and when scholars lived, their life stories typically reveal them to be the epitome of selflessness, persistence, and courage.

Who is the flag-bearer of Islam?

For fourteen centuries, in every geography conquered by Muslim armies, the scholars and the pious have carried the flag of Islam and become a means for millions of people to embrace the one true religion. Our historical sources say that Ahmad al-Jami al-Namaki (quddisa sirruhu), also known as Mawlana of Khorasan, was why more than four hundred thousand people converted to Islam and Ahmad al-Yasawi (quddisa sirruhu) for hundreds of thousands of people in the grasslands of Turkistan.

Historical documents also testify to the valiant resistance of scholars against the Mongols, who martyred tens of thousands of scholars and burned many libraries. A Sufi scholar having a positive influence on Berke Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan, and causing him to embrace Islam is a valuable example of the historical impact of scholars. In that case, a single person entering the fold of Islam had such resounding effects that it led to Berke Khan defeating the tyrant Mongol ruler Hulagu and singlehandedly stopping the relentless advance of the Mongols.

A place where Islamic knowledge is taught is like a store that sells lanterns. Every learned scholar is a light source; his expertise and exemplary life light the way for individuals and society in general. A scholar of Islam can rectify the errant ways of problematic people who, despite rigorous efforts by their friends and family, would not open themselves to positive change, and the scholar would help them turn over a new leaf as individuals with a positive impact on others and their broader environment. Similarly, a scholar can nip poisonous ideas in the bud and have a vital, restorative role as one who heals the very essence of society.

Knowledge is the language of truth, and the scholars are the speakers of this language. When the fruits of knowledge aren’t left to wither on the vine and scholars tend their gardens by fulfilling their teaching duties, societies attain peace, unity, and prosperity.

Ali Sözer

A SCHOLAR IS WORTH A WORLD

Just as cities are the pillars of civilization, scholars who possess knowledge and ma’rifah living in these cities are the pillars that hold them up. Our civilization isn’t a school-based civilization but a teacher and scholar-based one.

Cities are the pillars of the civilizations they belong to. From the perspective of the Islamic civilization, the seeds of civilization sown in Makkah and Medinah matured and spread to grow new roots in Bukhara, Bosnia, Baghdad, Bursa, Samarkand, Sivas, Isfahan, Istanbul, Cairo, and Qurtuba, among many others. In retrospect, we realize that Muslim cities are each a robust pillar that upholds Islamic civilization.

The pillars of the Islamic civilization

Just as cities are the pillars of civilization, scholars who live in them and possess knowledge and ma’rifah are the pillars that hold them up. Our civilization isn’t a school-based civilization but a teacher and scholar-based one. This is because the Islamic civilization isn’t only a civilization of knowledge but also of manners and etiquette. Knowledge can be acquired from schools and books, but manners and etiquette can only be attained by observing, seeing, listening, and reaching an authentic actualization through imitation and emulation. In other words, a knowledgeable person can be trained and educated in a school or madrasa; however, a well-mannered, virtuous person who wishes to elevate to the level of a perfect human being can only come into their own under the guidance of another person who possesses similar noble traits perfected to high standards. An ignorant person can become knowledgeable through education, but someone whose characteristics reflect an uncouth and uncultured individual can only slip out of this crass, unrefined identity by way of submitting themselves to the ma’rifah-based training of an arif, who will build them up and guide them along the path of human perfection and away from crude and insensitive bearing.

When the injustices perpetrated against Muslims are considered within the context of cities and scholars, the invasions, occupations, and wanton destruction brought to bear against Muslim cities, and the widespread vilification being employed to depreciate scholars and dismantle their honorable titles show on how many fronts and in how many ways the war against the Islamic civilization is being waged. While cities without Muslim scholars turn into dystopic sociological disaster zones, civilizations whose cities have been ravaged by war and destruction gradually wane as they lose their supporting pillars one by one.

It is exactly for this reason that Damascus, the once-glorious home of great scholars, is now gravely wounded and languishing in a state of unenlightened strife; Mosul, quietly but inexorably fading, is but a shadow of its former self; and Al-Quds, the first qibla of Islam, a place where new tragedies unfold with each passing day, should be every Muslim’s deep, genuine concern, and be deemed a sacred trust to keep safe and close to their hearts. In a similar fashion to how these cities cannot be thought of as having borders that make them someone else’s problem, Muslim scholars are also a part of the collective responsibility of all Muslims. Just as we need to protect Muslim cities, we should share a common cause of uniting behind Muslim scholars and loving them as a part of this ummah. This is a presupposition of being a dutiful Muslim and a religious and moral obligation. Having the unwavering attitude expected of Muslims is a sign that one possesses the awareness of unity as an ummah.

With whose touch does the land heal?

Many scholars hailing from the eastern provinces are members and strong advocates of the Naqshi-Khalidi tradition shaped by melding knowledge and ma’rifah into a sublime unity formed by Mawlana Khalid al-Baghdadi (quddisa sirruhu). As it is commonly known, he raised more than a hundred scholars and khalifahs at a time when the Ottoman Empire was heavily on the decline and assigned them to various parts of the state. Through these khalifahs, he maintained a rigorous, enduring regimen of learning and irshad while at the same time working strenuously to ensure the survival of the Ottoman Empire because he believed it to be the defender and standard-bearer of the cause of Islam and Ahlu’s-Sunnah. For instance, he uses the following expressions in a letter addressed to his khalifahs:

“O Allah! Protect our sultan, who exudes with great favor. Protect him with the soldiers of ghayb. Help him protect the religion of Islam. Make constant in existence those who could serve as his successors as long as there are days yet to dawn. Grant victory to his soldiers on land and sea. Let our sultan and those who assist him pave the way for the lands to prosper and for people to live in peace. Help them elevate the glorious sunnah. Bring the bright and evident signs of the nabawi shariah to new heights through them...”

Established with this discernment and outlook, the Khalidi path and the scholars dedicated to it have been consistently at the crosshairs of the enemies of Islam from its inception to this day. This is because the concept of humanity, as provided by tasawwuf, softens hearts and sows seeds of unity amidst them. At the same time, tariqahs build bridges that transcend groups, organizations, and borders, offering the definite and evident experience of unifying the ummah. For this reason, Ottoman sultans always lent their support to scholars across the region and asked for their aid as well. The scholars, following in the footsteps of Mawlana Khalid (quddisa sirruhu), took it upon themselves to support the state and viewed it as a duty to be performed in order to defend the faith of Ahlu’s-Sunnah and carry the banner of Islam ever higher. For instance, the establisher of the dargah in a village called Norshin in Eastern Anatolia, Abdurrahman-i Takhi (quddisa sirruhu), specified in his 55th letter that he, his followers, and his supporters declared war against the Shia Rafidi ideology, which was in diametrical opposition to the Ahlu’s-Sunnah aqidah and was ultimately detrimental to it. He explained the reason for this decision as below:

“(We do this) because the Rafidis spewed venom about the three caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman radiyallahu anhum), declared Ahlu’s-Sunnah to be unbelievers, assimilated Ahlu’s-Sunnah believers into their aqidah through such vile, devious ways, and kept people from praying for the august Ottoman State.”

Later during the First World War and the Independence War, Khalidi scholars formed armed forces in dargahs, fought in these wars, and suffered losses, with many becoming ghazis or martyrs. Abdurrahman-i Takhi’s (quddisa sirruhu) son, Muhammad Diyauddin (quddisa sirruhu), was one of the esteemed scholars who lost an arm and became a ghazi.

These scholars and shaykhs of extraordinary ma’rifah worked vigorously to provide steady guidance to the whole of society, even during times of war, shouldering many varied responsibilities within their society, from perfecting iman to helping Muslims attain moral excellence. These shaykhs and scholars fully embodied the awareness that every Muslim scholar is an heir of the prophets. The undertakings of Shaykh Khalid al-Jazari (quddisa sirruhu), who was a khalifah of Mawlana Khalid (quddisa sirruhu), are but one example of these noble endeavors.

İbrahim Baz