The following is a translation of select portions from Mufti Radhaul Haq’s “important advices” in the introduction to his recently published book “Julūs al-Ḥawārī li Fahm Durūs al-Bukhārī”:
Mufti Radhaul Haq Says:
We will mention some important advices for students of this noble knowledge, practicing on the words of the Prophet ﷺ narrated by Imam Muslim (r.h) from Tamim al-Dārī (r.a) where the Prophet ﷺ said: “Religion is sincere advice.” The ṣaḥābah asked, “For who?” The Prophet ﷺ replied, “For Allah, his book, his prophet, for the leaders of the Muslims, and for all Muslims.”
These advices encompass 6 qualities:
- Al-Ikhlāṣ (sincerity)
- Al-Iṭā’ah (obedience)
- Al-Mujāhadah (Striving)
- Al-Khidmah (service)
- Ikrām al-Mashāyikh wa Ta’ẓīmuhum (respecting and honouring teachers)
- Al-Du’a lahum (praying for your teachers)
1. Al-Ikhlāṣ (sincerity)
It is necessary for every student to dedicate his intention solely to Allah ta’āla. This is done by choosing “attaining the pleasure of Allah ta’āla” as the goal of his search for knowledge. His goal should not be any worldly purpose nor status. Similarly, he should not seek knowledge to earn the honour of people so they can say, “so-and-so is a great scholar” or “so-and-so is such and such.” Whoever holds this intention in seeking knowledge, his knowledge will not benefit him, rather, his knowledge will be a means of harm for him on the day of judgement.
Abū Hurairah (r.a) said: “The Prophet ﷺ said to me: ‘On the Day of Judgement, Allah ta’āla will descend to His slaves to judge them. Every nation shall be kneeling. The first of those who will be called before him will be: a man who memorized the Qur’an, a man who was killed in the path of Allah, and a wealthy man. Allah will say to the reciter: ‘Did I not teach you what I revealed to My Messenger?’ He will reply: ‘Of course my Lord!’ Allah will ask: ‘Then what did you do with what you learned?’ He will reply: ‘I would stand with it during all hours of the night and all hours of the day.’ Then Allah will say to him: ‘You have lied.’ The angels will also say to him: ‘You have lied.’ Allah will say to him: ‘Rather, you wanted it to be said that so-and-so is a reciter of the Qur`ān, and that was said… The Prophet ﷺ said: “Oh Abū Hurairah, those three people will be the first creation of Allah to burn in the fire of hell on the day of Qiyāmah.”[1]
Imām al-Tirmidhī narrates a ḥadīth from Ka’b ibn Mālik (r.a) who said: “I heard the Prophet ﷺ saying: ‘ Whoever seeks knowledge to use it in competing with scholars, or to dispute with the foolish, or to use it to attract the attention of people, Allah will enter him into the fire of hell.’”[2]
Whoever purifies his actions solely for the sake of Allah, Allah will be for him. And whoever has Allah, he has everything.[3]
Allāmah Muḥammad Yūsuf Binnūrī (r.h)[4] used to say in his lesson in the beginning of the year, “The similitude of this knowledge and the hereafter is like pearls, whilst the similitude of this world and its decorations are like sweets and chocolates. Whoever seeks knowledge for this world and its decorations is like a child who is given the choice between a pearl and a sweet. He will choose the sweet, and he will leave that which is of much greater value and more beautiful. This is on account of him not knowing the true value of the pearl, nor being capable of appreciating it fully.”
Keep in mind that sincerity is when a person’s actions in private reflect his actions in public. If he perfects his ṣalāḥ in front of people, then it is also necessary for him to perfect it in private. If he recites proficiently in public, he should also recite proficiently in private. In summary, sincerity is when the internal is in harmony with the external, and the private is in harmony with the public.
Extremely small actions carried out with sincerity are like mountains and are valuable before Allah ta’āla. Similarly, numerous actions without sincerity are barren and worthless before Allah ta’āla.
A student must avoid showing off, as this is considered a lower form of shirk (al-shirk al-aṣghar) as the following verse of the Qur`ān indicates:
فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا
[الكهف: 110]
Translation: “So whoever wishes to meet their lord, they should do good deeds, and they should not associate anyone else in the worship of their lord”
That is to include someone else in your intention. To include someone else along with Allah in your worship is the real shirk (al-shirk al-akbar).
In other words, we can say that al-Shirk al-Akbar is when someone other than Allah is being worshipped, and Al-Shirk al-Asghar is when someone other than Allah is intended.[5]
2. Al-Iṭā’ah (Obedience)
Along with the Quality of sincerity is the quality of obedience. Obedience is for Allah, his prophet, and those in authority. Allah ta’āla says in the Qur`ān:
يَاأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ
النساء: 59
Translation: “Oh Believers, obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority amongst you”
Obedience of Allah and his prophet are apparent and known. However for a student, “obedience to those in authority” is obedience of their teachers and those who manage their matters in the school. People of authority are those who have command over various matters, and they are the teachers and those who are involved in arranging the matters of the students in school.
An example of this is the incident of Yūsuf (ؑ). When his father and his brothers visited him, they fell in prostration to him. Allah ta’āla says in the Qur`ān:
وَرَفَعَ أَبَوَيْهِ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ وَخَرُّوا لَهُ سُجَّدًا
يوسف: 100
Translation: “He seated his parents on the throne, and they all fell down in prostration before him” i.e. for Yūsuf (ؑa.s).
Ya’qūb (ؑa.s) humbled himself before his own son, despite the fact that he is his father. This was due to him submitting to the sovereignty of Yūsuf (ؑa.s). This shows that those who are in authority should be obeyed, even if they are younger.
This concept can also be seen in the fact that Abbas (r.a) followed the Shari’ah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ even though the Prophet ﷺ was his nephew. Similarly, ‘Umar (r.a) was in the army of Usāmah ibn Zaid (r.a). When the Prophet ﷺ passed away, and Abū Bakr (r.a) was appointed as the Khalīfah, Abū Bakr (r.a) sought permission from Usāmah (r.a) and requested for ‘Umar (r.a) to remain in Madinah as an advisor.
3. Al-Mujāhadah (Striving)
Along with the qualities of sincerity and obedience, it is necessary for a student of knowledge to strive and exert himself in seeking [knowledge]. Through this, true understanding is achieved and deeper meanings are exposed. Imam Shāfi’ī said:
بقدرِ الكدِّ تكتسبُ المعالي ومن طلب العلا سهر الليالي
ومن رام العلا من غير كد أضاع العمر في طلب المحال
تروم العز ثم تنام ليلاً يغوص البحر من طلب اللآلي
According to the struggle one can achieve new heights.
And whoever seeks greatness does away with sleep during the nights.
He who seeks greatness without any toil,
Has wasted his life seeking the impossible.
You wish for honour, yet you sleep at night,
like diving in the ocean in search of pearls.
Mufti Maḥmūd al-Ḥasan used to say this Urdu poem:
نیند اس کی ہے، دماغ اس کی ہے، راتیں اس کی ہیں تیری زلفیں جس کے بازو پر پریشاں ہوگئیں
Meaning: if the braids and hair of the beloved are spread in a person’s arms, then his sleep, his mind, and his night is blessed, and he is fortunate.
Similarly we say: “whoever has the pages of religious books and ḥadīth books spread open before him, and the marginalia and commentaries of books are open before him, his life is fortunate and blessed.”
Shaykh Asadullah, previously the headteacher of Jāmi’ah Maẓāhir al-‘Ulūm in Saharanpur, said:
وہ کونسا عقدہ ہے جو حل ہو نہیں سکتا ہمت کرے انسان تو کیا ہو نہیں سکتا
Meaning: what difficulty or problem is there that cannot be solved? Is there anything a human cannot do when he tries?
Every love decreases except for the love of knowledge. The love of knowledge only increases.
A student should exert himself until knowledge becomes like a beloved to him, because knowledge is complete good.
Keep in mind that it is extremely important to be punctual in attending lessons, for this is the foundation of understanding, and the foundation of gaining blessings and light.
‘Allāmah Shaykh Khair Muhammad Jālandharī (r.h) used to say:
I attended every lesson in the final year of my studies, except for one lesson of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, which I missed. Now, whenever I pass by those narrations whilst teaching, I find them to be strange, as if I do not recognise them.
Therefore, it is necessary for a student to ensure that he attends lessons on time.
4. Al-Khidmah (Service)
Along with the aforementioned qualities, a student must beautify himself with the quality of service. It is necessary for him to serve: the madrasah, teachers, friends, the masjid, books, the classroom, and everything that is connected to knowledge. Service attracts the prayers of teachers.
This can be learnt from the practice of Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbās (r.a), when he spent the night with the Prophet ﷺ and prepared water for him for wuḍū. Through this, he gained the du’ā of the Prophet ﷺ: “Oh Allah grant him the understanding of Dīn.”
From this story, it can be understood that it is necessary for one who serves to be smart, understanding, and forbearing. Whoever serves without these qualities may end up harming the one they are serving.
Maulana ‘Allāmah Ashraf Alī Thānwī (r.h), who is known as “Ḥakīm al-Ummah” in India said: “A man seeking guidance came to me and requested me to allow him to hold my slippers. I did not give them to him and I said to him, ‘I will hold them myself.’ He insisted to the extent that he twisted my hand and took it by force.” The shaykh then said: “tell me. Did he serve me or harm me?
5. Ikrām al-Mashāyikh wa Ta’ẓīmuhum (Honouring and Respecting Teachers)
The fifth quality a student should adopt is honouring and respecting teachers the same way the Ṣaḥābah (r.a) used to prioritise and honour the Prophet ﷺ.
In the ḥadīth of Ibn ‘Abbās (r.a) he says: “I spent the night with my aunt Maymūnah. The Prophet ﷺ got up at night and performed wuḍū.” Ibn Abbas (r.a) said: “I got up and I performed wuḍū. Then he ﷺ started praying ṣalāḥ. So I stood behind him or on his left. He then pulled me around until he made me stand on his right”
In this story, Ibn ‘Abbās (r.a) stood behind the Prophet ﷺ, and he did not stand next to him.
Similarly, another ḥadīth mentioned by Imam al-Bukhārī states: “Then ‘Urwah started looking at the companions of the Prophet ﷺ. He said: ‘I swear by Allah, the Prophet ﷺ would not clear his throat and spit it out except that it would land in the hand of a person, and he would rub it over his face and skin. When he commanded them, they would hasten to carry it out. When he would perform wuḍū, they would almost fight for his wuḍū water. When he would speak, they would lower their voices near him, and out of honour, they would not look directly at him.”
A student should know that a teacher and a book have six rights over him:
- Al-Istimā’ (listening attentively): i.e. to pay attention carefully to the teacher’s words. This is a higher level than simply listening.
- Al-Fahm (understanding): the method to do this is to repeat what was heard in the lesson, to revise it at night, and to look ahead at the following lesson before attending the class.
The word Mu’ṭāla’ah is from the verb form Mufā’alah which shows ishtirāk. This means that the light in the mind of the student, and the light in the book meet each other, and they benefit each other. This leads to differentiating what is known from what is unknown.
‘Allāmah Binnūrī used to say: “After ‘Ishā, a student is the king of the night. He can dedicate whatever time he wants to studying books.”
- Al-Ḥifẓ (memorising): To memorise the important topics that were mentioned by the teacher or seen in books.
- Al-‘Amal Ba’d al-Ḥifẓ (practicing after memorising): Acting [on what was learnt] is the means of the knowledge truly seeping in.
- Al-Tablīgh (passing it on): to pass on what was learnt in the lesson and call to it.
- Al-Khidmah (service).
6. Al-Du’ā li al-Mashāyikh wa al-Ṭullāb (Making Du’ā for teachers and students):
Lastly, it is necessary for a student to pray for his teachers, and it is necessary for teachers to pray for their students. Anas (r.a) said: “Umm Sulaim said to the Prophet ﷺ: ‘Anas is your servant.’ The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Oh Allah, increase his wealth, his children, and grant him blessings in that which you give him’”
-End-
Above was a dynamic translation of a portion of Mufti Radha’s introduction to his new book Julūs al-Ḥawārī li Fahm Durūs al-Bukhārī. May Allah ta’āla preserve Mufti Radha’s health and knowledge and allow him to benefit the Muslim ummah for many more years to come. May Allah ta’āla reward the editors, compilers and reviewers of this book, especially my respected friend Mufti Fudhail Patel and Mufti Danyal Sharif for their great khidmah in preserving the knowledge of Mufti Radhaul Haq through this book. Ameen.
-Abbas Piparawala (Student of Mufti Radhaul Haq)
[1] Sunan al-Tirmidhī (2382)
[2] Sunan al-Tirmidhī (2654)
[3] والفاظ المفتي رضاء الحق هي: من أخلص عمله لله، كان الله له، ومن كان الله له، يكن كل شيء له
[4] After completing his studies in 1970, Mufti Radhaul haq went to Karachi in 1972 where he specialised in Iftā with Mf. Walī Hasan Tonkī (r.h) and benefited from Ml. Yūsuf Binnory (r.h).
[5] وفي الفاظ الشيخ: إذا كان غير الله معبودا فهو الشرك الأكبر وإذا كان غير الله مقصودا فهو الشرك الأصغر
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