Salafi Research Institute SRI
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
قال رَسُولَ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِنَّ اللهَ لَا يَقْبِضُ الْعِلْمَ انْتِزَاعًا يَنْتَزِعُهُ مِنَ الْعِبَادِ، وَلَكِنْ يَقْبِضُ الْعِلْمَ بِقَبْضِ الْعُلَمَاءِ، حَتَّى إِذَا لَمْ يُبْقِ عَالِمًا، اتَّخَذَ النَّاسُ رُءُوسًا جُهَّالًا، فَسُئِلُوا فَأَفْتَوْا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ، فَضَلُّوا وَأَضَلُّوا [البخاري (١٠٠) ومسلم (٢٦٧٣)]
Allāh’s Messenger ﷺ said: “Indeed, Allāh does not take away knowledge by snatching it from the servants, but rather He takes away knowledge by taking away the scholars, until, when He leaves no scholar, the people take as their leaders ignorant ones. They are (then) asked, and they give fatwā without knowledge, so they go astray and lead others astray.” [Al-Bukhārī (100) and Muslim (2673)]
وقال إِنَّ مِنْ أَشْرَاطِ السَّاعَةِ أَنْ يُرْفَعَ الْعِلْمُ [البخاري (٥٢٣١) ومسلم (٢٦٧١)]
And he ﷺ said “Indeed, from the signs of the Hour is that knowledge will be lifted.” [Al-Bukhārī (5231) and Muslim (2671)]
عن عائذ الله أبي إدريس الخولاني قال: قام فينا عبد الله بن مسعود على درج هذه الكنيسة فما أنسى أنه يوم خميس فقال: «يا أيها الناس ، عليكم بالعلم قبل أن يرفع فإن من رفعه أن يقبض أصحابه ، وإياكم والتبدع والتنطع ، وعليكم بالعتيق ، فإنه سيكون في آخر هذه الأمة أقوام يزعمون أنهم يدعون إلى كتاب الله ، وقد تركوه وراء ظهورهم [المدخل للبيهقي (٣٨٨) وسنده جيد]
ʿĀʾidh Allāh Abī Idrīs al-Khawlānī said: ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd stood among us on the steps of this church and I have not forgotten that it was a Thursday and said: “O people, upon you is to seek knowledge before it is lifted, for part of it being lifted is that its possessors are taken away (in death). And beware of innovation and extremism, and upon you is the old (ones), for indeed there will be in the end of this Ummah peoples who will claim that they are calling to the Book of Allāh, while they have cast it behind their backs.” [Al-Madkhal by al-Bayhaqī (388); Isnād Jayyid]
عن أيوب قال: إنه ليبلغني أن الرجل من أهل السنة مات فكأنما أفقد بعض أعضائي [الكامل لابن عدي (١/١٤٥) وسنده صحيح]
Ayyūb (al-Sakhtiyānī) said: “Indeed, when news reaches me that a man from the Ahl al-Sunnah has died, it is as if I have lost one of my own limbs.” [Al-Kāmil by Ibn ʿAdī (1/145); Isnād Ṣaḥīḥ]
قال عبد الله: تدرون كيف ينقص الإسلام؟ قالوا: كما ينقص صبغ الثوب، وكما ينقص من الدابة، وكما يقسو الدرهم عن طول الحبي، قال: إن ذلك لمنه، وأكثر من ذلك موت أو ذهاب العلماء [الطبراني (٨٩٩١) والفقيه والمتفقه (١/١٥٤) وسندهما صحيح]
ʿAbdullāh (bin Masʿūd) said: “Do you know how Islām diminishes?” They said: “As the dye of a garment diminishes, and as the strength of a beast diminishes, and as a dirham wears out from prolonged handling.” He said: “That is indeed part of it, but greater than that is the death or departure of the scholars.” [Al-Ṭabarānī (8991) and al-Faqīh wa al-Mutafaqqih (1/154); their Isnāds are Ṣaḥīḥ]
ابْنَ مَسْعُودٍ ، يَقُولُ: إِنَّمَا الْعِلْمُ قَبَضَاتٌ ، فَإِذَا مَاتَ عَالِمٌ ذَهَبَتْ قَبْضَةٌ [الفقيه والمتفقه (١/١٥٤) وسنده صحيح]
Ibn Masʿūd (may Allāh be pleased with him) said: “Knowledge is but handfuls (of treasure), so when a scholar dies, a handful has gone.” [Al-Faqīh wa al-Mutafaqqih (1/154); Isnād Ṣaḥīḥ]
عَنْ مُعَاذِ بْنِ جَبَلٍ، رضي الله عنه قَالَ: أَمَا إِنَّكُمْ لَنْ تَرَوْا مِنَ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا بَلَاءً وَفِتْنَةً، وَلَنْ يَزْدَادَ الْأَمْرُ إِلَّا شِدَّةً، وَلَنْ تَرَوْا أَمْرًا يَهُولُكُمْ أَوْ يَشْتَدَّ عَلَيْكُمْ إِلَّا حَقَرَهُ بَعْدَهُ مَا هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُ [الفتن لنعيم (٤٤) وسنده حسن]
From Muʿādh ibn Jabal (may Allāh be pleased with him), he said: “Verily, you will not see from this world anything but trials and tribulations, and the affair will only increase in severity. You will not see a matter that terrifies you or is difficult for you except that what comes after it will trivialize it by being even more severe.” [Al-Fitan by Nuʿaym (44); Isnād Ḥasan]
عَنْ كَثِيرِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ فِي تَفْسِيرِ الْحَدِيثِ: لَا يَزْدَادُ الْأَمْرُ إِلَّا شِدَّةً قَالَ: ذَهَابُ الْعُلَمَاءِ [جامع بيان العلم (١/٦٠٤) وسنده صحيح]
From Kathīr ibn Ziyād, regarding the meaning of the Ḥadīth: “The affair will only increase in severity,” he said: “(It means) the departure of the scholars.” [Jāmiʿ Bayān al-ʿIlm (1/604); Isnād Ṣaḥīḥ]
عَنْ أَبِي قِلَابَةَ ، قَالَ : مَثَلُ الْعُلَمَاءِ كَمَثَلِ النُّجُومِ وَالْأَعْلَامِ الَّتِي يَقْتَدِي بِهَا النَّاسُ ، فَإِذَا تَوَارَتْ تَرَدَّدُوا فِي الْحِيرَةِ [جزء حنبل بن إسحاق (٤٢) وسنده صحيح]
From Abū Qilābah, he said: “The likeness of the scholars is that of the stars and the landmarks by which people are guided. So when they disappear, they wander about in confusion.” [Juzʾ Ḥanbal ibn Isḥāq (42); Isnād Ṣaḥīḥ]
قال ابن القيم:ـ
وقولُه “موتُ العالم مصيبةٌ لا تُجْبَر، وثُلْمةٌ لا تُسَدُّ، ونجمٌ طُمِس، وموتُ قبيلةٍ أيسرُ من موت عالم” لمَّا كان صلاحُ الوجود بالعلماء، ولولاهم كان الناسُ كالبهائم، بل أسوأ حالًا؛ كان موتُ العالم مصيبةً لا يَجْبُرها إلا خلفُ غيره له [مفتاح دار السعادة (١/١٨٣)]
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allāh have mercy on him) said:
And his statement: “The death of a scholar is an irreplaceable calamity, and an unfillable void, and a star that has been extinguished. The death of an entire tribe is easier than the death of one scholar.” Since the righteousness of existence is through the scholars, and were it not for them, people would be like cattle, rather, in a worse state. The death of a scholar is a calamity that cannot be compensated for except by another who succeeds him. [Miftāḥ Dār al-Saʿādah (1/183)]
إِنَّ لِلهِ مَا أَخَذَ وَلَهُ مَا أَعْطَى، وَكُلٌّ عِنْدَهُ بِأَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى، فَلْتَصْبِرْ وَلْتَحْتَسِبْ [البخاري (١٢٨٤) ومسلم (٩٢٣)]
“Indeed, to Allāh belongs what He has taken, and to Him belongs what He has given, and everything with Him has an appointed term. So let her be patient and seek reward (from Allāh).” [Al-Bukhārī (1284) and Muslim (923)]
Therefore my brothers and sisters it is indeed a sad calamity every time a scholar of ahlus sunnah passes away but let that be a reminder for us to exert more on seeking knowledge and not do anything which displeases our Rabb as the Prophet ﷺ said when Ibrahim, may Allah be pleased with him passed away:
إِنَّ الْعَيْنَ تَدْمَعُ، وَالْقَلْبَ يَحْزَنُ، وَلَا نَقُولُ إِلَّا مَا يَرْضَى رَبُّنَا [البخاري (١٣٠٣) ومسلم (٢٣١٥)]
“Indeed, the eye sheds tears and the heart grieves, but we do not say except what pleases our Rabb.” [Al-Bukhārī (1303) and Muslim (2315)]
