Real “Hadith Disciples” Do Not Forsake the Scholars [A Brief Hadeeth Study]

In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Ever Merciful…

Know that the people of knowledge shall indeed be forsaken by some! It is a reality that has been foretold in the hadeeth of Mu’aawiyah (may Allaah be pleased with him), as found in the two Saheeh Compilations of al-Bukhaaree and Muslim:

لَا تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي قَائِمَةً بِأَمْرِ اللهِ، لَا يَضُرُّهُمْ مَنْ خَذَلَهُمْ أَوْ خَالَفَهُمْ، حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ اللهِ وَهُمْ ظَاهِرُونَ عَلَى النَّاسِ
“A group of my Ummah shall continue to uphold the Order of Allaah. Those who forsake or oppose them do not harm them, until the Affair of Allaah arrives, whilst they are (still) uppermost among the people.”

These people are known as the scholars of Islam, as al-Imaam al-Bukhaaree (may Allaah have Mercy on him) said in his chapter title: “They are the people of knowledge.”

The statement, “…Those who forsake or oppose them do not harm them…” indicates that there will indeed be people who speak ill of the scholars and try to divert the people from them. This is from the pre-determined Qadr of Allaah, as part of the struggle between truth and falsehood that He, the All Mighty and All Wise, has decreed to be one of the many tests His Servants shall face.

The scholars of Islam actively work to provide solutions to the Ummah’s problems in every place. Allaah blesses their time and efforts, the effects of which can be found everywhere upon Earth, by His Permission. They are the best of Allaah’s Servants, His true allies, those He has paired His Divine Testimony with:

شَهِدَ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ لا إِلهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ وَالْمَلائِكَةُ وَأُولُوا الْعِلْمِ
“Allaah testifies that there are none worthy of worship except Him, and the Angels [also testify], and the people of knowledge [also testify as well].” [Quran 3:18]

With this, they are still opposed and forsaken day and night by the very people who are in dire need of them. They are slandered. They are unjustly vilified. They are described by the ignorant and deviant as unconcerned and disconnected from the Ummah. Yet, “Those who forsake or oppose them DO NOT harm them.”

A Point for Serious Reflection

True “hadith disciples” are those who uphold this hadeeth, its wording and its meanings. They are those who work to expose and warn against those who undermine the work of the scholars and attempt to disconnect the people from them.

On the other hand, fraudulent self-proclaimed “hadith disciples” can be found demonstrating the exact behavior warned against in this hadeeth, forsaking and opposing the scholars, with terrible and unjust words, which could only come from levels and layers of deep contempt for the people of knowledge. [a recent example]

Once They Replace our Scholars…

Again, that same disturbing question poses itself once again: If they are pinching us off away from the scholars of Islam, where are they taking us…?

Moosaa Richardson
1438/11/22

UPDATE: Shaykh Abdullaah al-Bukhaaree responds (click here)

Follow up reading: Once They Replace our Scholars…

35 thoughts on “Real “Hadith Disciples” Do Not Forsake the Scholars [A Brief Hadeeth Study]

    • Wa ‘alaykum as-salaamu wa rahmatullaah. “Until the Affair of Allaah arrives” (حتى يأتي أمر الله) comes in some versions of the narrations as: “Until the Hour is established” (حتى تقوم الساعة), and Allaah knows best.

    • Thank you Moosaa. I have another question. I’ve heard that some scholars were killed for not believing in something… such as not admitting the Qur`aan was created. How do I understand scholars that scholars were killed for this while understanding “Those who forsake or oppose them do not **harm** them.” Is it that the group (scholars) will not be harmed but individuals from the group can be?

    • Like the Prophets and Messengers, the scholars and believers are put through trials, sometimes severe and harsh ones. The narration does not mean they will never be personally harmed or face persecution. They are not harmed though, meaning: Their reward only increases through those trials, their guidance only becomes more stable, they do not become doubtful and re-think their call, their status is only raised further in both lives, and their message only becomes stronger through that. Their creed and their call is what gives them that lofty status by the Permission of Allaah, so “harming them” is relative to that description. And Allaah knows best.

  1. Asalamualaika Brother Moosa. This article was shared in a chat group and it has caused some inquiries. People from this group has raised the following questions: [edited & abridged for brevity]

    [1] -What did he do to take us away from the Quran and Sunnah and is calling us a way from the scholars? Where is the daleel for that instead of metamorphic analogy.

    [2] -He studied in quilatul hadith…

    [3] -Is this a reference to the “Hadith Disciples” Youtube channel?

    [4] -If he was wrong, what do the scholars say…

    [5] -Some people quote things out of context…

    • Wa ‘alaykum as-Salaamu wa rahmatullaah. Dear sister, I apologize for truncating your questions. I understand your need to ask, however I felt that the questions could best be answered with the altered wordings.

      1. Please listen to the clip. [here] His speech is openly racist and deplorable. He vilified the scholars with a series of falsehoods in an immature rant. This is not the speech of a Salafi man, not even a commoner. I don’t understand what the “metamorphic anaology” is.

      2. Academic qualifications only open the door, and they absolutely do not grant anyone immunity from being accountable for what they do in da’wah. Quoting someone’s qualifications when he speaks with pure falsehood will only lead the people astray. The scholars say a teacher’s real tazkiyah (qualification) is his actions once he works in da’wah: What he teaches, how he teaches it, etc. If a man tries to steer you away from the scholars by teaching you that they don’t care about you, this is clear misguidance.

      3. Yes, and I hope and pray that our brothers and sisters who have got caught up in that will find their way back to safety. Established and reliable Salafi students and callers in the West have been warning you against Madeenah dot con and its associates, specifically and generally, for many years. Open your eyes, and this debacle shows that those warnings are not personal grudges, but warnings against clearly flawed methodology.

      4. After listening to that clip, saying “if he was wrong…” is very disturbing. It shows a very poor level of understanding, and perhaps it comes from being indoctrinated into a cult where one cannot accept criticism against the figures of that cult.

      As for what the scholars say, then you can expect to hear some clear statements from our scholars soon in shaa’ Allaah. May Allaah grant you safety and protect you from misguidance.

      5. Nothing was quoted out of context. The clip is the last part of a public Youtube video called “Asking Are You Salafi?…” uploaded on August 6, 2017. I will not link you to it, but if you feel you must verify the context, then it is public and verifiable.

    • How can this be taken out of context? He said what he said with no shame. People will say “well you have to understand what he said in light of the rest of the video”. Ok, let’s briefly examine the content of this video & see how we can properly understand this.

      Through the first 4 and three quarter minutes of the video he talks about what qualities an Imaam of a masjid should have. He says that what you call yourself, or who you associate with is not of importance as long as you’re upon the haqq in your actions. He also says that the practice of testing people for their manhaj & who they take from wasn’t known to the people of the past, & he goes even further to degrade & talk down upon those who take part in this practice of testing the people for what manhaj they’re upon, who they associate with, etc. Calling them “lost souls” & saying they’ve “wasted themselves”. This is in a nutshell what he covers from the start of the video to around the 4:53 mark.

      Then out of NOWHERE he starts vilifying the scholars, basically saying they show no care or interest to the Muslims & their problems in non-Muslim lands. He says “Know for sure ya akhi, this person this scholar, does not care about YOU or YOUR COUNTRY. It’s the HAQQ, you can say WHATEVER you want, without no sugar it’s RAW.” He then goes on to reiterate this statement in different words for the rest of the video.

      I ask anyone with an ounce of understanding, what does this statement have to do with anything else he said in the video? The answer is nothing. This statement has absolutely nothing to do with the qualities an Imaam of a masjid should have, nor does it have anything to do with testing the people for their manhaj. This is clear with no ambiguity. Just like he said, without no sugar, it’s raw.

      May Allaah guide us all.

    • May Allah keep you upon the haq and bless you for your work. For indeed forbidding the evil and enjoining the good is an act of worship. I really appreciate this and I hope Allah keeps us alll firm upon the haq (truth). For his speech is indeed clear faulsehood and racist and ungrateful to the scholars . And if we are able to put our feelings aside we will be able to understand in sha Allah. Keep up the good work my dear brother.

  2. Allahu Musta’aan. May Allah Ta’ala Help us all indeed. Help us all from talking about about schlors in such a disrespectful manner. Ameen.

    The Prophet Muhammad-peace be upon him said, “This knowledge will be carried by the trustworthy ones of every generation. They will remove from it the distortion of thoes going beyond bounds, the fabrication of falsifiers and the false-interpretations of the ignorant.” Mishkat al-Masabih with the checking of Shaykh al-Albaani (1/53). From the book “The Noble Revered Prophet Of Islam” By: Abu Iyyad Amjad bin Muhammad Rafiq.

  3. Salaamu Alaykum Wa rahmatullah,there’s a lot of people who are claiming to be salafi and have classes they teach online.What should we do in these times if we want to be a real Talibul Ilm for Allah sake and learn from real scholars and teachers of the Salafi one who says he follows the salaf living here in the West.Taking care of our responsibilities by seeking halal income and we’re not able to travel overseas to study under scholars.

    • Wa ‘alaykum as-salaamu wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh. May Allaah bless you and grant you success. Stick to the people who teach you the academic knowledge and working methodology of the Salaf, those who connect you to the scholars of Islam. It should be abundantly clear at this time that the latest graduate with an unknown record or methodology or another Youtube channel with the newest gimmick is not the way. It should be very clear that anybody who slips in that the scholars really do not care about you or your situation is leading you into deviation, raw truths being spoken. It does not matter if he uses the word Salafi or not. While fads pop up and fade away, stick to that same old real Salafi methodology being taught day in and day out by the trustworthy callers in the West you’ve known for years, like Abul-Hasan Maalik and his brothers. Do not allow the latest rumors and internet fodder to pull you away from clear benefit in your religion. And Allaah knows best.

    • Ibn Mahmoud, the points you (and others) have raised are correct, and I appreciate the time you took to respond in such detail. I apologize to you personally for my decision not to publish them. We don’t want to allow that individual to have his way in creating diversions, trying to make the issues personal and long-winded, and other smokescreens which make the severity of the original violation (to those who give in to that) unclear and drowned in a sea of back and forth debating. His words are not mysterious riddles that need interpreted. May Allaah guide him to sincere repentance and give him success. That is sufficient for us, and Allaah knows best.

  4. As-Salamu Alaikum… [message truncated by admin]

    …The reality is that his speech implies disconnecting and breaking people from the scholars.
    – Getting listeners to THINK bad of the Scholars.
    – Not to forget that he is THINKING bad/unpraiseworthy thoughts about the nearest connection we have to Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ).
    – THINKING bad assumptions is a crime.
    But his speech went FURTHER THAN just thinking bad… And Allaahu’Alam.

  5. Maa shaa Allaah, beautiful response from a scholar – Shaykh Abdullaah al-Bukhaaree – may Allaah protect and preserve him.

    May Allaah continue to provide our scholars with the best dates, the best tea and plenty of beneficial sleep so they can refute and repel the people of desires!

  6. As Selamu ‘Aleykum Wa Rahmetullahi wa Barakaatuh Ahsan Allahu Ileyk

    Are the qoutes above a refutation against those individuals who claim Salafiyyah but say that schoarship has ended within the time of Imam Muhammed bin Abdulwahhab rahimahullah? [Message truncated by admin]

    JazaakAllahu Khayra

  7. Assalaamu ‘Alaikum Moosaa,

    Does وَأُولُوا الْعِلْمِ include the students of knowledge? A person came to me saying he accepts obeying the scholars but not the students of knowledge and I didn’t know what to say.

    • Wa ‘alaykum as-salaamu wa rahmatullaah. No, the seeker of a thing is not the same as the possessor of that thing. A student may carry some benefit, but he does not become an authority figure like a scholar. And Allaah knows best.

    • Ok. Some students of knowledge are referred to by scholars as “Shaykh.” Does this change the ruling on those students?

    • Its just a show of respect. Someone can be called “Shaykh” because of age or even marital status. In today’s culture, any person of any significant age or social status would be called “Shaykh Fulaan” with no intent to indicate any level of Islamic knowledge. In fact, in classical Jarh and Ta’deel terms in the Sciences of Hadeeth, if all someone has in his favor is that he has been called a “shaykh”, then this means his reliability is not actually established. Otherwise, they would have called him thiqah (reliable) or some other relevant term. And Allaah knows best.

  8. Assalaamu ‘Alaikum Moosaa,

    I have a confusion. The first Hadeeth mentioned in this article shows scholars will exist until the day of judgement. But this Hadeeth sounds like there will be a time where there will be no knowledge because Allaah will cause the scholars to pass away. I don’t know how to understand between these two Hadeeth. This is the other Hadeeth:

    Narrated Abu Huraira:

    The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “The Hour (Last Day) will not be established until (religious) knowledge will be taken away (by the death of religious learned men), earthquakes will be very frequent, time will pass quickly, afflictions will appear, murders will increase and money will overflow amongst you.”

    Saheeh Bukhaaree No.1036

  9. As salamu alaikum .I understand Tahir Wyatt has been warned against and that his lectures are to be avoided. I don’t listen to him Maa sha Allah . My question is how do I go about explaining his situation when I have heard he was appointed as someone to translate for the Scholars . How is that considering his condition. Sheikh Rabee Madkhali refuted him , does this mean he can’t translate his works ? JazakAllah khair

    • Wa ‘alayk as-salaamu wa rahmatullaah. Just say: Those who know his specific situation well enough, from the scholars and their students, they hold that his harm is significant enough to warn against him. That’s sufficient. May Allaah guide him.

  10. Assalaamu’alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu

    How do u respond to one who says,

    “How can u claim there r no scholars in India and Pakistan whilst there are millions of Muslims in these countries”?

    Many people in these lands – who may be unknown to the rest of the world – are considered scholars by the general masses there.

    So what’s the way to guide them?

    • Wa ‘alayk as-salaamu wa rahmatullaah wa barakaatuh. Every land has its most knowledgeable people (relative to that country), yet the “scholars” are those whom the scholars know and refer to as scholars. Keep it simple like this, and you won’t be confused. And Allaah knows best.

    • This is another one of the many doubts, the likes of (self-proclaimed)Mufti Muneer are spreading. When you refuse to recognize them as scholars they say “so out of all the students in the West that have gone overseas to study, not one of them has returned a scholar?!” Using foul speech like “go to the scholars then and tell them ‘you have failed to produce a single one like yourselves from the west’ and see the look on their faces?”

      A tactic like the tactics of those who came before them (like YQ & his companions) in disconnecting the Muslims from their scholars. الله المستعان

  11. Assalaamu’alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu

    Is it from piety to refrain from acting upon authentic ahadeeth one comes across until one has referred to the explanation of ahlul ‘ilm of those narrations?

    • Wa ‘alayk as-salaamu wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh. We do not strip the hadeeth from its book, its chapter, and its fiqh, as explained by the imaams and scholars of this religion. We learn these narrations from the scholars, not from independent self-study, as a methodology. So the situation in the question seems to be for those who oppose this methodology and take hadeeths from indexes or random lists or something (which is common in this era), and not from the books of the scholars. Otherwise, we learn the meanings of the texts of the Book and the Sunnah from the scholars of Islam, and this keeps us from personal misunderstandings, and Allah knows best.

  12. As-salaamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh ustaadh. I hope you are in good condition and I ask Allah to increase you in good health.

    Ustaadh, Can a woman strive to become a taalibatul ‘ilm? Eventhough she cannot sit with the scholars nor she can meet with the students of knowledge? And what are the means that a woman can do to be more deligent in seeking knowledge? Baarak Allaahu feek ustaadh.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.