{"id":3671,"date":"2014-01-15T05:47:52","date_gmt":"2014-01-15T05:47:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bakkah.net\/en\/?p=3671"},"modified":"2016-02-05T14:29:57","modified_gmt":"2016-02-05T14:29:57","slug":"tafseer-benefits-the-scholars-are-authority-figures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bakkah.net\/en\/tafseer-benefits-the-scholars-are-authority-figures.htm","title":{"rendered":"Tafseer Benefits: The Scholars are Authority Figures"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful…<\/em><\/p>\n

In a response to a recent exposition of the Almaghrib Institute and their direction<\/a>, one of our visitors who has (apparently) been\u00a0influenced by their teachings\u00a0requested us to reflect on the\u00a0Verse of the Quran:<\/p>\n

\u064a\u0627 \u0623\u064a\u0647\u0627 \u0627\u0644\u0630\u064a\u0646 \u0622\u0645\u0646\u0648\u0627 \u0623\u0637\u064a\u0639\u0648\u0627 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0648\u0623\u0637\u064a\u0639\u0648\u0627 \u0627\u0644\u0631\u0633\u0648\u0644 \u0648\u0623\u0648\u0644\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0645\u0631 \u0645\u0646\u0643\u0645 \u0648\u0625\u0646 \u062a\u0646\u0627\u0632\u0639\u062a\u0645 \u0641\u064a \u0634\u064a\u0621 \u0641\u0631\u062f\u0648\u0647 \u0625\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647\u00a0\u0648\u0627\u0644\u0631\u0633\u0648\u0644 \u0625\u0646 \u0643\u0646\u062a\u0645 \u062a\u0624\u0645\u0646\u0648\u0646 \u0628\u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0648\u0627\u0644\u064a\u0648\u0645 \u0627\u0644\u0622\u062e\u0631 \u0630\u0644\u0643 \u062e\u064a\u0631 \u0648\u0623\u062d\u0633\u0646 \u062a\u0623\u0648\u064a\u0644\u0627
\n<\/strong>\u201cO you who believe! Obey Allah, obey\u00a0His Messenger, and <\/strong>(obey)\u00a0those of you who are in authority. If you differ in anything, refer it back to Allah and the Messenger, if you truly believe in Allah and in the Last Day. That is better and a more suitable outcome.”<\/strong>\u00a0[4:59]<\/p>\n

The confused advisor assumed that -based on his misunderstanding of the Verse- Muslims are required to return the affairs they disagree about\u00a0back to the Book and the Sunnah, and not to the scholars of Islaam<\/strong><\/em>, and that\u00a0is one more reason to avoid “blindly following”<\/strong> the scholars. (While blind-following was never endorsed or encouraged in any of our writings in the first place!)<\/em><\/p>\n

This is one of the common effects of the Almaghrib scheme \u2013 that people understand any connection to the scholars as\u00a0\u201cblindly following\u201d <\/strong>them. As a result, people actually believe that removing the scholars from their lives is better and even supported in the Quran!<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

Response to This Point of Confusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes indeed, we refer back to Allaah and His Messenger (may Allaah raise his rank and grant him peace). But without the scholars?<\/em>\u00a0How could we come to this conclusion?<\/p>\n

We do not take one Verse and ignore other Verses! Allaah has made returning back to the scholars an obligation:<\/p>\n

\u0641\u0627\u0633\u0623\u0644\u0648\u0627 \u0623\u0647\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u0630\u0643\u0631 \u0625\u0646 \u0643\u0646\u062a\u0645 \u0644\u0627 \u062a\u0639\u0644\u0645\u0648\u0646<\/strong>
\n\u201cAnd ask the people of knowledge when you do not know.\u201d <\/strong>[16:43]<\/p>\n

\u0648\u0644\u0648 \u0631\u062f\u0648\u0647 \u0625\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0631\u0633\u0648\u0644 \u0648\u0625\u0644\u0649 \u0623\u0648\u0644\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0645\u0631 \u0645\u0646\u0647\u0645 \u0644\u0639\u0644\u0645\u0647 \u0627\u0644\u0630\u064a\u0646 \u064a\u0633\u062a\u0646\u0628\u0637\u0648\u0646\u0647 \u0645\u0646\u0647\u0645<\/strong>
\n\u201cHad they only referred it back to the Messenger and back to those in authority among them, so that those of them who know how to extract it<\/strong> (the ruling) would have known it\u2026\u201d<\/strong> [4:83]<\/p>\n

And Allaah has even made it an obligation to OBEY<\/strong> the scholars in many matters, saying:<\/p>\n

\u064a\u0627 \u0623\u064a\u0647\u0627 \u0627\u0644\u0630\u064a\u0646 \u0622\u0645\u0646\u0648\u0627 \u0623\u0637\u064a\u0639\u0648\u0627 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0648\u0623\u0637\u064a\u0639\u0648\u0627 \u0627\u0644\u0631\u0633\u0648\u0644 \u0648\u0623\u0648\u0644\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0645\u0631 \u0645\u0646\u0643\u0645<\/strong>
\n\u201cO you who believe! Obey Allaah, and obey the Messenger, and (also obey) all those in authority [the scholars and the rulers] amongst you\u2026\u201d<\/strong> [the first part of the Verse quoted: 4:59]<\/p>\n

This person quoted the second part of the Verse in an attempt to discount the importance of the scholars. Yet the first part of the same Verse commands us to obey them!<\/p>\n

\u0623\u0641\u062a\u0624\u0645\u0646\u0648\u0646 \u0628\u0628\u0639\u0636 \u0627\u0644\u0643\u062a\u0627\u0628 \u0648\u062a\u0643\u0641\u0631\u0648\u0646 \u0628\u0628\u0639\u0636
\n<\/strong>\u201cDo you believe in part of the Book and disbelieve in other parts?\u201d<\/strong> [2:85]<\/p>\n

May Allaah\u00a0excuse\u00a0us! Quoting\u00a0a Quranic Verse which commands\u00a0us to obey the scholars<\/strong>, thinking it frees\u00a0us from any obligation to follow them!\u00a0Such people\u00a0are clearly\u00a0confused in\u00a0their Religion, and obviously incapable of deriving the intended rulings from the Quran themselves.<\/p>\n

In essence, this commenter has\u00a0given us a very\u00a0poignant\u00a0example of exactly why we need our scholars, perhaps more effectively than my original article<\/a> attempts to do, and for that we thank him.<\/p>\n

And tanaazulan<\/em> (for the sake of argument), if there is no need for the scholars (as some may assume), then there would certainly be no need for the fake ones at Almaghrib Institue<\/strong> either, and certainly no need for people to fork over large amounts of cash for their seminars!<\/p>\n

The Meaning of “Those in Authority” in the Verse<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some people may assume we have incorrectly explained the meaning of the Verse, and that “the people of authority”<\/strong> are not the scholars, but only the Muslim rulers.\u00a0Let us look to two of the most important books in Quranic Exegesis (Tafseer): Tafseer at-Tabaree<\/em> and Tafseer Ibn Katheer<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Tafseer at-Tabaree<\/strong><\/p>\n

Imaam Muhammad ibn Jareer at-Tabaree (d.310)\u00a0mentions a number of opinions about the Verse, that “those in authority”<\/strong> in the Verse are:<\/p>\n

(1) The Muslim rulers
\n(2) The scholars
\n(3) The Companions in general
\n(4) Aboo Bakr and \u2018Umar specifically<\/p>\n

He mentions which scholars expressed which opinions. In that discussion, he brings a number of\u00a0narrations from\u00a0Ibn \u2018Abbaas, Mujaahid, \u2018Ataa\u2019, al-Hasan al-Basree, and others saying that \u201cthe people in authority among you\u201d <\/strong> (referred to in the Verse) are the scholars. He ends by preferring the first position: the Muslim rulers.<\/p>\n

Tafseer Ibn Katheer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Imaam Ibn Katheer (d.774) mentions that some scholars understood the people of authority to be the rulers, while others understood them to be the scholars. He concludes:<\/p>\n

\u0648\u0627\u0644\u0638\u0627\u0647\u0631 -\u0648\u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0623\u0639\u0644\u0645-\u0623\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u0622\u064a\u0629 \u0641\u064a \u062c\u0645\u064a\u0639 \u0623\u0648\u0644\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0645\u0631 \u0645\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0645\u0631\u0627\u0621 \u0648\u0627\u0644\u0639\u0644\u0645\u0627\u0621\u060c \u0643\u0645\u0627 \u062a\u0642\u062f\u0645. \u0648\u0642\u062f \u0642\u0627\u0644 \u062a\u0639\u0627\u0644\u0649: {\u0644\u0648\u0644\u0627 \u064a\u0646\u0647\u0627\u0647\u0645 \u0627\u0644\u0631\u0628\u0627\u0646\u064a\u0648\u0646 \u0648\u0627\u0644\u0623\u062d\u0628\u0627\u0631 \u0639\u0646 \u0642\u0648\u0644\u0647\u0645 \u0627\u0644\u0625\u062b\u0645 \u0648\u0623\u0643\u0644\u0647\u0645 \u0627\u0644\u0633\u062d\u062a} [\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0627\u0626\u062f\u0629:63] \u0648\u0642\u0627\u0644 \u062a\u0639\u0627\u0644\u0649: {\u0641\u0627\u0633\u0623\u0644\u0648\u0627 \u0623\u0647\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u0630\u0643\u0631 \u0625\u0646 \u0643\u0646\u062a\u0645 \u0644\u0627 \u062a\u0639\u0644\u0645\u0648\u0646} [\u0627\u0644\u0646\u062d\u0644:43] \u0648\u0641\u064a \u0627\u0644\u062d\u062f\u064a\u062b \u0627\u0644\u0635\u062d\u064a\u062d \u0627\u0644\u0645\u062a\u0641\u0642 \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0647\u060c \u0639\u0646 \u0623\u0628\u064a \u0647\u0631\u064a\u0631\u0629\u060c \u0639\u0646 \u0631\u0633\u0648\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0635\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0647 \u0648\u0633\u0644\u0645 \u0623\u0646\u0647 \u0642\u0627\u0644: \u201c\u0645\u0646 \u0623\u0637\u0627\u0639\u0646\u064a \u0641\u0642\u062f \u0623\u0637\u0627\u0639 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647\u060c \u0648\u0645\u0646 \u0639\u0635\u0627\u0646\u064a \u0641\u0642\u062f \u0639\u0635\u0627 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647\u060c \u0648\u0645\u0646 \u0623\u0637\u0627\u0639 \u0623\u0645\u064a\u0631\u064a \u0641\u0642\u062f \u0623\u0637\u0627\u0639\u0646\u064a\u060c \u0648\u0645\u0646 \u0639\u0635\u0627 \u0623\u0645\u064a\u0631\u064a \u0641\u0642\u062f \u0639\u0635\u0627\u0646\u064a\u201d. \u0641\u0647\u0630\u0647 \u0623\u0648\u0627\u0645\u0631 \u0628\u0637\u0627\u0639\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0639\u0644\u0645\u0627\u0621 \u0648\u0627\u0644\u0623\u0645\u0631\u0627\u0621
\nWhat seems apparent -and Allaah knows best- is that the Verse refers to all authorities, both the rulers and the scholars<\/strong>, as has preceded. Allaah has said [what means]: \u201cWhy do the firmly-grounded scholars and priests not forbid them from their sinful statements and their devouring of evil things (immoral transactions, oppressive earnings).\u201d <\/strong>[5:62] And Allaah has said [what means]: \u201cThen ask the people of knowledge when you do not know.\u201d <\/strong>[16:43] And in the authentic hadeeth which is agreed upon, from the narration of Aboo Hurayrah, who related that the Messenger of Allaah -may Allaah raise his rank and grant him peace- said [what means]: \u201cWhoever obeys me has obeyed Allaah, and whoever disobeys me has disobeyed Allaah. Whoever obeys my ameer (appointed leader) has obeyed me, and whoever disobeys my ameer has disobeyed me.\u201d <\/strong>These are orders to obey both the scholars and the rulers.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These are two of the most important staple books of Quranic Interpretation. Of course, this same discussion can be found in the many other books of Tafseer as well.<\/p>\n

A Clear Verse in Support of the Scholars Being Authority Figures<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Statement of Allaah describing \u201cthe people of authority\u201d<\/strong> can be used to help understand that indeed the scholars are people of authority:<\/p>\n

\u0648\u0644\u0648 \u0631\u062f\u0648\u0647 \u0625\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0631\u0633\u0648\u0644 \u0648\u0625\u0644\u0649 \u0623\u0648\u0644\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0645\u0631 \u0645\u0646\u0647\u0645 \u0644\u0639\u0644\u0645\u0647 \u0627\u0644\u0630\u064a\u0646 \u064a\u0633\u062a\u0646\u0628\u0637\u0648\u0646\u0647 \u0645\u0646\u0647\u0645<\/strong>
\n\u201cHad they only returned it <\/strong>(the affair) back to the Messenger and back to those in authority among them, those of them who could derive rulings about it would know it <\/strong>(what is correct)\u2026\u201d<\/strong> [4:83]<\/p>\n

Those in authority:<\/strong> according to this Verse are those who are capable of making istinbaat<\/em> (extracting the correct rulings from texts and principles to apply to a certain situation or issue), i.e. the scholars. This was a specific connection between the two Verses made by Abul-‘Aaliyah, one of the leading students of Ibn ‘Abbaas, as collected\u00a0by At-Tabaree.<\/p>\n

From the Principles of Quranic Explanation<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the most important principles in Tafseer, as explained by the scholars, is not to dismiss the explanations of the early scholars from the Companions and Taabi\u2019oon, unless their\u00a0understanding\u00a0is clearly wrong, in contradiction to clear evidences. Rather, we are to consider Verses to carry the meanings they understood, so long as they are not contradictory. We do not believe that there must only be one single understanding of a given Quranic Verse. It is the Speech of Allaah, miraculous and divine in its expressions and meanings. So instead of viewing the opinions in this case as a case of problematic discord\u00a0in need of a solution, we can accept them as harmonious, as demonstrated by Imaam Ibn Katheer above. The “people of authority”<\/strong> mentioned in Allaah’s Book are the scholars and<\/strong> the rulers.<\/p>\n

Based on this,\u00a0\u201cthe people of authority\u201d<\/strong> also include the Companions in general, as well as Aboo Bakr and \u2018Umar specifically, since all of them were people of knowledge and authority in their own right. So then all four opinions mentioned by Imaam At-Tabaree are correct and harmonious.\u00a0We should\u00a0not understand his personal preference (based on the specific reason for the Verse\u2019s revelation) to be a rejection of the other meanings expressed by the Companions and Taabi\u2019oon.<\/p>\n

That Which Aids the Almaghrib Agenda<\/strong><\/p>\n

To keep\u00a0people\u00a0disconnected from the scholars of Islaam,\u00a0we find people dismissing the\u00a0conclusion of\u00a0Ibn Katheer and even discounting\u00a0the possibility of the Tafseer of the Companions and Taabi\u2019oon, that the scholars of Islaam have any authority in our lives.\u00a0This is to avoid allowing the people\u00a0to recognize the status of the scholars,\u00a0regain an attachment to them, and\u00a0eventually slip away from the Almaghrib scheme.<\/p>\n

However [Plan B],\u00a0if the people\u00a0are able to recognize the importance of the scholars, they\u00a0simply redefine the word \u201cscholar\u201d to essentially mean:\u00a0Almaghrib instructors, as previously explained<\/a>. And Allaah knows best.<\/p>\n

Written by: Moosaa Richardson<\/em><\/p>\n

rev.mg.oh.qm.amm<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful… In a response to a recent exposition of the Almaghrib Institute and their direction, one of our visitors who has (apparently) been\u00a0influenced by their teachings\u00a0requested us to reflect on … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[84,85,87,96,250,64,118,162,182],"tags":[306,1000,1003,341,1001,996,1375,998,999,1007,1005,1006,1004,997,245,254,1002,698],"class_list":["post-3671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aqeedah-manhaj","category-fiqh-islamic-rulings","category-general-reminders","category-islamic-manners-behavior","category-knowing-the-scholars","category-original-articles","category-quran-studies","category-book-sunnah","category-way-of-the-salaf","tag-almaghrib-institute","tag-at-tabaree","tag-authority-figures","tag-companions","tag-ibn-katheer","tag-muslim-authorities","tag-nouman-ali-khan","tag-obeying-the-rulers","tag-obeying-the-scholars","tag-principles-of-tafseer","tag-quranic-exegesis","tag-quranic-explanation","tag-quranic-interpretation","tag-rulers","tag-scholars","tag-tafseer","tag-tafseer-benefits","tag-yasir-qadhi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bakkah.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bakkah.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bakkah.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bakkah.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bakkah.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3671"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.bakkah.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3686,"href":"https:\/\/www.bakkah.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3671\/revisions\/3686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bakkah.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bakkah.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bakkah.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}