Avoiding Rashness in Issuing Rulings
Another quality sought in scholars of the Hereafter is not to rush in giving a ruling when asked, but to take time and be cautious in seeking the path of salvation. If the question asked is known from the clear text of the Qur’an or Hadith, or from consensus or an open analogy, he answers it. But if the question is one in which he is doubtful, he says, «I do not know.» If the question is based on his own ijtihad and guess, he refers it to someone more knowledgeable, as a precaution. Wisdom lies in this. For ijtihad carries great risk.
It is reported in the Hadith:
«Knowledge has three forms: the speaking Book, the established Sunnah, and saying «I do not know.»
Sha’bi says: «Saying «I do not know» is half of knowledge. The reward of the one who remains silent out of ignorance for the sake of Allah is not less than that of the one who speaks. For the most painful thing for the soul is to accept ignorance.» This was the behavior of the Companions (R.A.) and the early scholars. When a ruling was sought from Abdullah b. Umar, he would say: «The one who takes upon himself the affairs of people, go to this person and place this matter upon his neck.» Ibn Mas’ud (R.A.) said: «The one who answers every question is a fool.» Again, Ibn Mas’ud (R.A.) said: «The shield of the scholar is «I do not know.» If he fails to use his shield, he becomes a target for his enemy.»
Ibrahim b. Adham says: «The greatest strength of Satan is when the scholar speaks in some matters and remains silent in others. Satan says: «Look at this, his silence is not for me, but his speaking is far more harmful for me.»
Some describe the group called «abdals» as follows: They eat only in times of extreme need, sleep only in times of intense struggle, and their speaking is only in times of necessity. That is, they do not eat unless they are very hungry, do not sleep unless they are very tired, and do not speak unless compelled, and do not answer unless asked. If someone else is available to answer, they remain silent; if not, they answer. They consider initiating speech without being asked as hidden desire.
Hazret-i Ali (R.A.) and Abdullah b. Abba (R.A.) encountered a man who was reciting his words to people. After listening for a while, they said: «This man is trying to introduce himself through his speech.» Some said: «A true scholar, when asked a question, adopts the posture of a newly married man, thinking about the difficulty of the answer.» Ibn Umar (R.A.) would say to those asking for rulings: «Are you trying to make us a bridge for people to cross over to Hell?» Abu Al-‘Aliya, Al-Riyahi, Ibrahim b. Adham, and Sufyan al-Thawri would only speak with two or three people, and when the gathering became large, they would disperse. Even our Prophet (P.B.U.H.) said: «I do not know.»
He said: «I do not know whether Uzayr was a prophet, whether Tubbah was a prophet, or whether Zul-Karnayn was a prophet.» Again, when asked: «Where are the best and worst places to sit?» he said: «Until the time of Cebhâll, I do not know [Lâedri].» When asked by Jibril, he also said: «I do not know [Lâedri].» Until Allah Almighty revealed: «The best place to sit is the mosques, and the worst is the streets.»
Ibn Umar (R.A.) would remain silent on nine out of ten questions and answer only one. Ibn Abbas would answer nine and remain silent on one. The scholars who said «I do not know» were more numerous than those who said «I know.» Among them were Sufyan al-Thawri, Malik b. Anas, Ahmad b. Hanbal, Fudayl b. Iyaz, and Bishr b. Haris. Abdurrahman b. Abu Layla said: «In this mosque (the Mosque of Medina), I have met 120 of the Companions of the Prophet. All of them, when asked a question or asked for a ruling, would refer it to others and would not wish to answer. Even when a question was asked, they would refer it to someone else. It would go from one to another, and no one would wish to answer.
It is reported that a member of the Suffa (151) was given the head of a cooked sheep as a gift. Despite being in dire need, he passed it on to another who was even more in need, and it went around until it reached the one who was the most in need. Because he was the hungriest. (This level of the Companions is called «Isâr,» meaning preferring the more needy when one is in need oneself.)
Now look at the current scholars and see how things have completely turned upside down. For now, what should be sought is avoided, and what should be avoided is sought. Some people have reported a hadith attributed to the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) that speaks of the beauty of avoiding giving rulings: «Only three kinds of people give rulings to people: the ruler, the one who is entrusted with giving rulings, and the one who is responsible for it.» Others say that the Companions avoided four things:
- Leadership.
- Power.
- Trustworthiness.
- Giving rulings.
Some report: «The Companions who rushed to give rulings were those with less insight, and those who avoided rulings the most were those with the most knowledge and who avoided doubt.»
The Companions and the Tabi‘un were occupied with five things: reading the Qur’an, going to the mosque and the congregation, reciting the dhikr, commanding what is good, and forbidding what is evil. This is based on a hadith of our Prophet (P.B.U.H.):
«Every word of the son of Adam is against him, except for commanding what is good, forbidding what is evil, and remembering Allah Almighty.»
These were a group of the poor among the Companions, sometimes decreasing and sometimes increasing, who had cut off their ties with the world. They sat in the mosque’s prayer hall and lived a life similar to a seminary. They learned hadith from the Prophet (P.B.U.H.). When charity came to the Prophet, it was entirely given to them, and when gifts came, some were kept for themselves. Haret-i Umar said: «Your duty is now complete,» and they were dispersed.
God Almighty says in the noble verse:
«There is no good in most of their words, except for the one who commands charity, commands what is good, or acts as an intermediary between people.» (4 – Nisa : 114)
A certain person (Nasr b. Ali al-Juhzumi) from Kufa, a mujtahid, saw one of the forty (Halil b. Ahmed) in a dream and asked: «What benefit have you seen from your ijtihad and rulings?» That person turned his face away and said: «We have seen no benefit from them.»
Ibn al-Hassan said: «One of the scholars would attempt to answer very important questions on his own, but if the question had been asked from Umar b. al-Khattab (R.A.), he would not have answered it without gathering all the people present at the Battle of Badr.»
Silence is the characteristic of those who possess knowledge. Indeed, our Prophet (P.B.U.H.) said:
«Approach the one who finds wisdom in silence, for he is wise.»
It was said that scholars are divided into two groups:
- The common scholars who distinguish between halal and haram. These are the scholars of the sultans. (In another version, «ESÂTIN» is used instead of «SALATIN,» which would mean that the scholars of the mosque, i.e., the imams, are referred to.)
- The learned scholars who know tawhid and the matters of the heart. These are the ones who have separated from the people and are the scholars of their own quarters.