The salaf detested the love of fame and would do there best to avoid and run from it whereas nowadays were the exact opposite in that it is craved and sought after by the people. The Fear of Fame: A Lost Characteristic. The scholars and the righteous of this Ummah always feared fame and becoming well-known amongst the people. They would dislike for their name to be mentioned much and you can see one of them fleeing from the people as if they were a fitnah (trial), whilst at other times you can see one get up and leave the circle of knowledge which he was conducting because the numbers became too many. Below here are some amazing statements from our predecessors that allude to just how much they held onto sincerity and how much they fled from fame and from being spoken about. _ Ibn Masood (radhiAllaahu `anhu): (O people!) Be the springs of knowledge and the lamps of guidance! Stick to your homes and be like a light in the night, revivers of hearts, wearing worn-out clothes, you will then be known by the people of the heavens and be hidden among the people of the earth. A man said to Bishr: Advice me. So he said, Let your mention be unknown… And Hushib would be found crying saying, My name has reached the Masjid! Both Ibrahim al-Nakhai and al-Hasan used to say, It is enough of an evil that a man should be pointed at in matters of Deen or Dunya (i.e. out of fame), except him whom Allah has protected. Righteousness lies here and hed point to his chest three times. Ibrahim ibn Adham: A slave who loves fame has not been truthful to Allah. Aasim: If more than four people came and sat around Abul-Aaliyah, he would get up and leave. Dawud al-Tai used to say: Flee from people just like you would flee from a lion. Imam Ahmad: Glad tidings be to the one whose mention has been hidden by Allah! And he would say, I wish for something that will never be… I wish to be in a place devoid of other people. Dhul-Nun: Being pleased with being around people is from the signs of bankruptcy Fudhayl ibn Iyyadh: If you can get by without being known, then do so. What does it bother you that people will not praise you, and what does it bother you that you may be blameworthy in the sight of people if in the Sight of Allah you are praiseworthy? Muhammad ibn al-Alaa ibn Musayyib from Basra wrote to Muhammad Yusuf al-Asbahani saying, O my brother, whoever loves Allah loves that he remain unknown (to the people). Bishr ibn al-Harith: I do not know a single man who loves fame except that he loses his religion and becomes disgraced. No-one who has fear of Allah, loves to be known amongst the people. He (rahimahullaah) also said: A man who loves that everyone should know him, will never find the sweetness of the Hereafter. Yazid ibn Abi Habib: Indeed from the fitnah of a scholar is that speech should become more pleasing to him than silence and listening. Abu Huraira (radhiAllaahu `anhu) used to say: Were it not for an ayah in the Book of Allah, I would not have narrated to you people (ayah below): إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَا أَنزَلْنَا مِنَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَالْهُدَى مِن بَعْدِ مَا بَيَّنَّاهُ لِلنَّاسِ فِي الْكِتَابِ أُولَـئِكَ يَلعَنُهُمُ اللّهُ وَيَلْعَنُهُمُ اللَّاعِنُونَ Verily, those who conceal the clear proofs, evidences and the guidance, which We have sent down, after We have made it clear for the people in the Book, they are the ones cursed by Allah and cursed by the cursers. [al-Baqarah: 158] Al-Shabi: We tried incredibly hard to get Ibrahim al-Taymi to sit down in the masjid and narrate to the people but he refused. Ibn Abi Layla: I met a hundred and twenty Companions of the Prophet (salAllaahu `alayhi wa salaam), and none of them would narrate except that he loved his brother to suffice him of that. And none of them gave fatawa except that he wished his brother would suffice him of that. Abdullah ibn Abbas: Indeed Allah has slaves who have been silenced by the fear of Allah although they are eloquent in speech. Sufyan al-Thawri: If you can become a scholar without being known, then do so. For indeed the people, if they knew what was in you, they would eat your flesh. ^ He (rahimahullaah) wouldnt allow more than three people to sit in his gathering. One day, more than three came and he saw his gathering had increased so he stood up in fear and said, By Allah, we have been taken and we do not even feel it! By Allah, if the leader of the faithful, Umar (radhiAllaahu `anhu) were to see someone like me sitting in this gathering he would make me stand up and say The like of you is not worthy of this! It is reported that when he sat to narrate hadeeth, he would sit in fear and terror. If a cloud passed over him, he would become silent until it passed then hed say, I feared that it contained stones with which we would be struck with. When Bishr al-Hafi abandoned narrating hadeeth in a gathering, the people said to him: What are you going to say to your Lord when He asks you Why did you abandon narrating to the people the statements of My Prophet Muhammad (salAllaahu `alayhi wa salaam)?! He (rahimahullaah) said, I will say, O my Lord. You have commanded me to do it with sincerity but I did not find that in me. It was said to Sufyan Ibn Uyaynah once, Wont you sit and narrate to us? He (rahimahullaah) said: By Allah, I dont see you worthy of being narrated to nor do I see myself worthy of being listened to. Ibrahim Ibn Adham;- Ibrahim ibn Adham: I never found delight in living except in al-Sham (greater Syria). I would flee with my religion from heights to heights and from mountain to mountain. Whoever saw me said Hes delusional and whoever saw me said Hes a porter. He (rahimahullaah) would also say: The scholars! When they taught they would act (righteous deeds) and when they acted, they would become busy in that, and when they became busy they would be missed by the people and when they were missed, they would be sought out by the people, and when they were sought, they would flee. One day he passed by the gathering of al-Awzai (rahimahullaah) and saw that a large number of people had gathered. So he said, If all this crowding was around Abu Huraira, he would have departed from it. This reached al-Awzai who got up and abandoned the gathering from that day on. Ibrahim ibn Adham was an amazing personality ma shaa Allaah; he tried hard to keep away from the people in fear of them mentioning him too much. But his fame shot up and his name became so widespread to the point that it was said one time He is in the garden (where he worked tending to crops), so the people entered it, encircling it, saying Where is Ibrahim ibn Adham? So he began to encircle along with them saying, Where is Ibrahim ibn Adham?! * [*Point being here that his name, character and reputation was known but he himself was hardly seen so they didnt recognise him!] He (rahimahullaah) said: My eye never found solace and delight in a day of this world except once.. I spent the night in a mosque in one of the villages in al-Sham whilst I had a stomach sickness. The muadhin then grabbed me by my leg and dragged me out of the mosque! – He found solace in this because the man did not recognise him and he did not leave the mosque as he was ill and illness had made him remain in the mosque. ____________________ Quotes taken from the book: Tatir al-Anfas min Hadith al-Ikhlas by Dr. Sayyid al-Affani (original sources include Tahdhib al-Hilyah, Siyar Alam al-Nubalaa, Tanbih al-Mughtarin and Sifat al-Safwah to name but a few) حب الظهور والشهرة المرجع: المراخع في المقلاة المؤلف :مجموعة من المشايخ الباب: أقوال السلف فقال تعالى تِلْكَ الدَّارُ الآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُهَا لِلَّذِينَ لا يُرِيدُونَ عُلُوّاً فِي الأَرْضِ وَلا فَسَاداً وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ القصص:83 فال ابن أبي حاتم حدثنا أبو سعيد الاشج ، ثنا ابن يمان ، عن سفيان ، عن رجل ، عن الحسن لا يريدون علوا في الأرض قال : الشرف والعز ، عند ذوي سلطانهم حدثنا أبي ، ثنا عمرو بن اسلم الطرسوسي قال : سمعت معاوية الاسود في قول الله : تلك الدار الاخرة نجعلها للذين لا يريدون علوا في الأرض ولا فسادا قال : لم ينازعوا اهلها في عزها التجبر والتكبر ولم يجزعوا من ذلها تفسير ابن أبي حاتم قال ابن كثير يخبر تعالى أن الدار الآخرة ونعيمها المقيم الذي لا يحول ولا يزول، جعلها لعباده المؤمنين المتواضعين، الذين لا يريدون علوًّا في الأرض، أي: ترفعًا على خلق الله وتعاظمًا عليهم وتجبرًا بهم، ولا فسادًا فيهم. كما قال عكرمة: العلو: التجبر. وقال سعيد بن جبير: العلو: البغي وقال سفيان بن سعيد الثوري، عن منصور، عن مسلم البطين: العلو في الأرض: التكبر بغير حق. والفساد: أخذ المال بغير حق وقال ابن جُرَيْج: لا يُرِيدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِي الأرْضِ تعظمًا وتجبرًا تفسير ابن كثير يا نعايا العرب ! يا نعايا العرب ! ثلاثا ، إن أخوف ما أخاف عليكم الرياء و الشهوة الخفية السلسلة الصحيحة: 2 / 20 قال ابن الأثير : الشهوة الخفية : حب اطلاع الناس على العمل وقال أحمد بن حنبل كما في طبقات الحنابلةطوبى لمن أخمل الله ذكره وفي كتاب معالم في طريق طلب العلم للشيخ عبدالعزيز السدحان قال الامام أحمد أريد أن أكون في شعب بمكة حتى لا أعرف وقد بليت بالشهرة إني أتمنى الموت صباحًا ومساءً - سير أعلام النبلاء 11/216 - قال أحمد مرة وهو يخاطب أحد تلاميذه لمّا بلّغه مدح النّاس يا أبا بكر، إذا عرف الرجل نفسه فما ينفعه كلام النّاس -سير أعلام النبلاء 11/211 وقال الشاطبي رحمه الله آخر شيء نزولا من قلوب الصالحين: حب السلطة والتصدر وقال بشر الحافي : ما اتقى الله من أحب الشهرة وقال : لا أعلم رجلاً أحب أن يُعرف إلا ذهب دينه وافتضح وقال أيضاً :لا يجد حلاوة الآخرة رجل يحب أن يعرفه الناس - سير أعلام النبلاء 10/476 وما أحسن ماذكر ابن الجوزي في صيد الخاطر قال: والأمر الفارق بين الفئتين أن-يعني علماء الدنيا وعلماء الآخره-أن علماء الدنيا ينظرون إلى الرئاسة فيها ويحبون كثرة الجمع والثناء وعلماء الآخرة بمعزل من إيثار ذلك وقد كانوا يتخوفونه ويرحمون من بلي به وقال علقمة أكره أن يوطأ عقبي ويقول علقمة وكان بعضهم إذا جلس إليه أكثر من أربعة قام عنهم قال إبراهيم بن أدهم: مَا صَدق َاللهَ عَبدٌ أَحَبَّ الشُّهرة قال الحافظ الذهبي معلِّقا: قلت: عَلاَمَة ُالمُخلِصِ الذي قد يُحِبُّ شُهرَةً، ولا يشعرُ بها، أنّه إذا عُوتب في ذلك لا يَحْرَدُ ( أي: لا يغضب ) ولا يُبَرِّئُ نفسَهُ، بل يعترف ويقول: رحمَ الله من أهدى إليَّ عُيوبي، ولا يَكُنْ مُعْجباً بنفسِه؛ لا يشعرُ بعيوبها، بل لا يشعر أنّه لا يشعر، فإنّ هذا داءٌ مزمنٌ سير أعلام النبلاء للذهبي 7/393 ودخل إبراهيم بن أدهم بستان، فظل الناس يدورون في البستان ويقولون: أين إبراهيم بن أدهم؟ فأخذ يدور معهم ويقول: أين إبراهيم بن أدهم؟! وقال الثوري لأخ له : احذر حب المنزلة ، فإن الزهادة فيها أشد من الزهادة في الدنيا وقال سفيان الثوري لعبد الله بن المبارك : إياك والشهرة ؛ فما أتيت أحدًا إلا وقد نهى عن الشهرة سير أعلام النبلاء - 7/260 وقال الحسن البصري كفى بالمرء شراً أن يشار إليه بالأصابع وقال أيوب السختياني : ما صدق عبد قط فأحب الشهرة سير أعلام النبلاء 6/20 و قال شعبة: ربما ذهبت مع أيوب لحاجة فلا يدعني أمشي معه ، و يخرج من هاهنا ومن هاهنا ؛ لكيلا يُفطن له قال فضيل بن عياض: ما أحب أحد الرئاسة إلا حسد وبغى وتتبع عيوب الناس، وكره أن يذكر أحد بخير قال محمد بن سيرين لثابت : يا أبا محمد لم يكن يمنعني من مجالستكم إلا مخافة الشهرة : سير أعلام النبلاء 4/609 subulassalaam/articles/article.cfm?article_id=121 The Salafi Da’wah in Disarray By: Shaykh Nasirudeen al-Albani (rahimhullaah taala) Questioner: What is your Excellency’s opinion about … the Salafi da’wah in general, and specifically in Kuwait, Egypt and Saudi? Al-Albaani: I say that unfortunately the Salafi Da’wah is now in disarray, and I attribute the cause of that to the hastiness of many of the Muslim youth to claim knowledge: so he will have the audacity to pass fatwas, and to declare things to be haram and halaal before he knows. Some of them, as I have heard on numerous occasions, can’t even recite an aayah from the Quraan properly—even if the Noble Mushaf were [open] in front of them—let alone the fact that he will make many mistakes when [simply] reading a hadith of the Prophet ﷺ. And so that proverb that is well-known in some countries is applicable to him: إنه تزبب قبل أن يتحصرم “He became a raisin before [even becoming] a sour grape.” You know what الحصرم is, is this word used amongst you? When a grape starts out it becomes a green berry, this is what الحصرم is referring to, and it is very sour, so before he even reaches this stage of being a sour grape, he makes himself out to be a raisin. Thus for many of these people to prop up their heads and be hasty in [both] claiming knowledge and writing when they haven’t even traversed half the way on the path to knowledge is what now unfortunately makes those who attribute themselves to the Salafi da’wah split into groups and factions. And so there is no cure for this except for these Muslims to fear their Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, and for them to know that it is not for everyone who starts off seeking knowledge to take the lead in declaring fatwas about things being halaal and haram, or declaring hadiths to be authentic or weak except after a long lifetime, a lifetime in which he practices learning how fatwas are delivered and how [verdicts] are derived from the Book and the Sunnah. And in this respect these callers or Salafis must comply with that third check which I mentioned before when speaking about beneficial knowledge and righteous actions, saying that beneficial knowledge must be according to the methodology of the Salaf as-Saalih. So nowadays when many of the Islamic callers depart from this check, the third check which Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy on him, indicated in his poetry when he said: “Knowledge is, ‘Allaah said … His Messenger said … The Companions said …’ and it is not hidden.” Not paying heed to what our Salaf as-Saalih were upon makes the people go back, after having been united, to disunity which separates them as it had done with many Muslims before, turning them into groups and factions, each faction pleased with what it has. This is my opinion of the situation. So if, as we hope, they are sincere they must cling to the correct knowledge-based principles, and that the person who has not reached the level of having correct knowledge does not have the audacity to … that he keeps himself out of sight from [delving into] that and he entrusts knowledge to the one who knows it [i.e., the scholars]. … in this regard [there] is a narration which has been reported in the books of hadith, I think it was ’Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Abi Layla, may Allaah have mercy on him, who was one of the major scholars of the Salaf as-Saalih, he said, “In this mosque …” and maybe he was referring to the Prophet’s Mosque, “… I met …” and then he mentioned a [specific] number of Companions, I forget the number now, “… so when one of them would be asked …” Interjection: Seventy. Al-Albaani: Maybe it was. “I met seventy Companions in this mosque, when one of them would be asked a question or asked for a fatwa, he would wish that another one of the scholars from those Companions who were present would shoulder the responsibility for it,” and the reason for that was because they feared that they would make a mistake and thus [as a result] would cause other people to fall into making a mistake. So they would wish to not have to take this responsibility and that someone else would. As for now, then the situation, most unfortunately, is the polar opposite. And that is because of one reason, which is something I always mention: that this blooming which we now see for the Book and the Sunnah and the Salafi Da’wah is something new, this blossoming which they call an awakening has not been going on for a long time such that these people can reap the fruits of this awakening or blossoming in themselves, namely, by being nurtured on the foundations of the Book and the Sunnah and for them to then inundate, with this correct nurturing based upon the Book and the Sunnah, others who are around them, [calling] those closest [to them firstly] and then those after them. So the cause is that the effects of this da’wah have not become apparent because it is new to this time in which we live, for this reason we find the situation to be the opposite of what ’Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Abi Layla reported about those Companions who would be cautious of being asked questions and who would wish that someone else would be asked, and the only reason that would make them answer a question would be because they knew that it was not allowed for them to hide knowledge—but in the depths of their hearts they used to wish that someone else would bear that responsibility. As for now, in many Salafi gatherings let alone non-Salafi ones, a person who it is assumed has more knowledge than other people present is asked a question, and all of a sudden you will see that so and so has started to speak even though he wasn’t asked, and so and so has started to speak even though he wasn’t asked—what makes these people do that? It is the love of fame. It is self-centredness, “I am here,” i.e., “I have knowledge. Maa shaa Allaah about me.” This shows that we have not had a Salafi tarbiyyah. We have grown up with Salafi knowledge, each according to his efforts and striving towards that knowledge, but as for tarbiyyah, then we have not yet acquired it as an Islamic, Salafi community … … so we are now in an awakening in terms of knowledge but we are not in an awakening of correct upbringing [tarbiyyah]. That is why many times we find individuals, some callers, that can be benefitted from in terms of knowledge but not in manners—because he brought himself up on knowledge but was not in a righteous environment in which he was raised from childhood, and for this reason he lives carrying the manners which he inherited from that society in which he exists and in which he is found, and it is a society which without doubt is not an Islamic one, but he was able to, by himself or with the direction of some of the people of knowledge, follow the path of [obtaining] correct knowledge, but the effects of this knowledge are not seen in his manners, in his behaviour, in his actions. The cause of this manifestation which we are talking about now is that we have not matured/fully developed in knowledge except a few individuals. And secondly, individuals, even more so, have not been brought up according to a correct Islamic upbringing and that is why you will find that many of the beginners in seeking knowledge will prop themselves up as a head … the head of a Jamaa’ah or faction, and it is here that an old piece of wisdom which expresses this manifestation applies, it says, “The love of fame will break one’s back,” so the cause of [all of] this goes back to a lack of a correct upbringing on that correct knowledge. [Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 188] May Allaah keep us firm upon the path of the salaf and protect us from the fitan of fame. Aameen.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Apr 2014 20:51:09 +0000
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