Not for Fame, Not for Fortune: Just Duty
بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
قال الله تعالى:
وإذ أخذ الله ميثاق الذين أوتوا الكتاب لتبيننه للناس ولا تكتمونه فنبذوه وراء ظهورهم واشتروا به ثمناً قليلاً فبئس ما يشترون
{“And (remember) when Allaah took a covenant from those who have been given the Kitaab: ‘You shall make it clear to the people and not conceal it’, they threw it behind their backs and sold it for a meagre price, so evil is that which they purchased.”}
In his Tafseer on this Aayah, Imaam Abul Barakaat an-Nasafi رحمة الله عليه said:
وهو دليل على أنه يجب على العلماء أن يبينوا الحق للناس وما علموه وأن لا يكتموا منه شيئاً لغرض فاسد من تسهيل على الظلمة وتطييب لنفوسهم، أو لجر منفعة أو دفع أذية، أو لبخل بالعلم، وفي الحديث “من كتم علماً عن أهله ألجمه الله بلجام من نار
“It is proof that it is waajib upon the `Ulamaa to make the Haqq clear to people and that which they know of it, and to not conceal anything of it due to some corrupt reason such as making things easy for the oppressors (tyrants; dictators) and
appeasing them, or to gain some benefit, or to ward off some harm, or out of being stingy regarding `Ilm. It comes in a Hadeeth: ‘Whosoever conceals `Ilm from its people, Allaah will bridle him with a bridle of fire.” [Madaarikut Tanzeel wa Haqaa’iqut Ta’weel]
In an era wherein almost, nobody proclaims the Haqq or does Nahi `anil Munkar, to argue about “tones” when some `Aalim actually carries out that waajib obligation, is nonsensical.
بل الإنسان على نفسه بصيرة ولو ألقى معاذيره
{“Insaan is a witness against himself, though he may put forward his excuses.”} [Soorah Qiyaamah, 75:14]
When it comes to proclaiming the Haqq, `Ulamaa don’t have a choice. They have to proclaim the Haqq regardless of who will be offended. This is because Allaah Ta`aalaa has entrusted the `Ulamaa with safeguarding the Deen. If they keep silent, the Deen will be destroyed and mankind will fall into dhalaal (misguidance) and zhulmat (darkness).
There are many today who hate those `Ulamaa who openly proclaim the Haqq and do Amr bil-Ma`roof and Nahi `anil Munkar, but one day – maybe not in this world, but in the Aakhirah – they’ll realise how important all of it was.
The `Ulamaa aren’t doing this for dunyawi motives or petty reasons, or out of grudges, or because they’re “miserable people who just criticize and speak bad of everyone”. They’re doing this because Allaah Ta`alaa made it their duty. If they didn’t have to, they wouldn’t. In today’s world, proclaiming the Haqq comes with a host of worldly harms and difficulties: court cases, legal problems, security police watch lists, imprisonment, torture, etc. There are tens of thousands of `Ulamaa in jails around the world (especially in places like Saudi). Do people think the `Ulamaa are doing that for fun? Enjoyment? They would be enjoying this dunyaa far more by keeping silent, going around on lecture tours, becoming “celebrities”, becoming rich, being promoted by the kuffaar, etc. Why would they turn away from all of that and instead choose this Path filled with so many difficulties, being hated by people, becoming outcasts (ghurabaa), etc?
The answer is one word: duty. That’s all it’s about.
May Allaah Ta`alaa grant us tawfeeq, آمين.
والله تعالى أعلم
M.H. Ebrahim
