‘ULAMÂ AS-SÛ’ - علماء السوء

 

The ‘Ulamâ who forget the âkhirah for the sake of their worldly life. The ‘Ulamâ who prefer the world instead of religion. The ‘Ulamâ who veil the haqiqahs for their benefit.

 

“Profiting from ananiyyah, the supporters of the people of dhalâlah want to draw away my brothers from me. Truly, the most dangerous vein in man is ananiyyah, and it is his weakest vein, too. They can make people do terrible things by encouraging it. My brothers! Beware, do not let them strike you with ananiyyah, do not let them hunt you with it! You should also know that in this age people of dhalâlah have mounted the ana and are galloping through the valleys of dhalâlah. The people of haqq may serve to the haqq through necessarily abandoning the ana. Even if a person is justified in making use of the ana, since he will resemble the others and they too will suppose they are performers of ‘ibâdah to the nafs like themselves, it is an injustice to the service of the haqq. In any event, the service of the Qur'an around which we are gathered does not accept the ana. It demands the “nahnu” (we). It says: "Do not say 'I', say 'we.'"

Indeed, you have realised that this poor brother of yours did not emerge with the ana. And he did not make you serve his ana. Indeed, he presented himself to you as a servant of the Qur'an without ana. And he has taken as his way to not admire himself and not taking the side of his ana. In any event, he has proved to you with decisive evidence that the works that have been presented for the general benefit are common property; that is, they have issued from Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm. Nobody can claim ownership of them through his ana. Even if, to suppose the impossible, I did claim them as my own through my ana, as one of my brothers said: since this door of Qur'anic haqiqah has been opened,  the people of ‘ilm and perfection should not consider my defects and insignificance, and hold back from following me; they should not consider themselves self-sufficient. For sure, the works of As-Salaf as-Sâlihîn and ‘Ulamâ of Muhaqqiqîn are a huge treasury sufficient for every ill, but it sometimes happens that a key has more importance than the treasury. For the treasury is closed, while the key may open lots of treasuries.

I reckon that those whose ananiyyah in regard to their ‘ilm is excessive have understood that the Words that have been published are each key to the haqiqahs of the Qur'an and diamonds swords smiting those who try to deny those haqiqahs. The people of fadl and perfection and those who have strongly ananiyyah in regard to their ‘ilm should know that the students are students not of me, but of Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm, and I study along with them.

And so, if, to suppose the impossible, I claimed to be the Ustadh, since we have a way of saving all the classes of people of îmân -from the ‘awâm to the khawass- from the wahm and scepticism to which they are exposed, then let those ‘Ulamâ either find an easier solution, or let them have iltizâm of our solution, and teach it and support it. There is a grave threat towards the ‘Ulamâ as-sû’. People of ‘ilm have to be especially careful at this time. So suppose, like my enemies, that I perform a service like this for the sake of egotism. Since a large number of people give up their ananiyyah and gather around a Pharaoh-like man with complete loyalty for some worldly and national aim and carry out their work in complete solidarity, does this brother of yours not have the right to ask of you solidarity around the haqiqahs of îmân and the Qur'an by giving up ananiyyah, like those corporals of that worldly society, so long as he concealed his ananiyyah? If even the greatest of the ‘Ulamâ among you were not to agree, would they not be in the wrong?” The Twenty-Ninth Letter/The Sixth Section/Fifth Wile of Shaytan

 

“Recently the concealed aggression of the people of ilhad has taken on the ugliest form; tyrannical aggression against the unfortunate people of îmân and against religion. In our private and unofficial place of ‘ibâdah which I myself repaired; with one or two close brothers during my private ‘ibâdah, our hidden adhan and iqâmah were interrupted. "Why are you reciting the iqâmah in Arabic and making the adhan secretly?" they asked. My patience was exhausted in keeping silent. So I say, not to those unscrupulous vile men who are not worth addressing, but to the heads of the Pharaoh-like committee who with arbitrary despotism plays with the fate of this nation: O you people of bid’ah and ilhad, I want the answer to six questions….

…According to what principle do you propose to people like me who follow the Shafi'i madhab, the Hanafi madhab, in a way opposed to the elevatedness and purity of that madhab, due to the wrong fatwas of certain ‘Ulamâ as- sû’ who have sold their consciences to gain the world? If, after abrogating the Shafi'i madhab, which has millions of followers, and making them all follow the Hanafi madhab, it is forcibly proposed to me in the fashion of dhulm, it may perhaps be said that it is a principle of irreligious people like you. Otherwise, it is arbitrary and despicable, and we do not follow the whims of people such as that, and we do not recognize them!” The Letters (502-503 )

 

“O you unfair people who try to criticize Islam from outside and from afar! Don’t be deceived! Think and reason! Don’t make do with thinking superficially, for those who are the cause of these pretexts of yours are called ‘Ulamâ as- sû’ in the language of the Sharî’ah. Look beyond the veil caused by their imbalance and literal externalism. You’ll see each haqiqah of Islam is a light scattering proof, like a luminous star. It appears within a tapestry stretching from pre-eternity to post-eternity. Indeed, that which proceeds from the pre-eternal divine speech will go to post-eternity. But alas! Due to love of nafs and taking part of nafs and exonerating the nafs, which arises from ananiyyah and impotence, they blame their own faults on others. They want to exonerate themselves by ascribing something they say or do that might possibly be wrong to some lofty person or esteemed book, or even sometimes to religion and very often to Hadith, and finally to Qadar. Hâsha summa hasha!1 Darkness cannot come from nûr. Even if they conceal the stars appearing in their own mirrors, they cannot hide the stars in the samâ. It’s only themselves who can’t see them!

Kind sir who objects and opposes! It is a great injustice to consider as proofs doubts arising from misunderstanding or attitudes springing from opposition to the Sharî’ah, and to seek pretexts like a child looking for something to cry about or a rancorous enemy seeking revenge, and so to tarnish Islam. For not every attribute a Muslim possesses, has to derive from Islam.” Rational Arguments ( 39 )