To be a religious savant, it is necessary to know contemporary knowledge of science and art to the extent of a graduate level at the faculties of science and letters, to receive a doctorate degree in these branches, to know the Qur’an al-karim and its meaning by heart, to know thousands of hadiths [1] and their meanings by heart, to be specialized in the twenty main branches of Islamic knowledge, to know well the eighty sections of these branches, to have efficiency in the delicate points of the four madhhabs, to reach the grade of ijtihad [2] in these madhhabs [3], and to reach the highest grade of tasawwuf [4] called “Wilayat-i Khassa-i Muhammadiyya.”
Where is such a savant now? I wonder if those who are known as religious men and who know Arabic perfectly could read and understand the books of those great people? If there were such a savant today, no one could attack the religion, and the false heroes who bluster shameless slanders would look for a place to take shelter.
Once there were many such savants. One of them was Imam-i Muhammad Ghazali (rahmatullahi ’alaih). His work is a witness to his depth in religious knowledge and his high grade in ijtihad. He who reads and understands these writings of his will know him. He who does not know him will attempt to impute his own defects to him. In order to understand a savant, one has to be a savant. He was specialized in all the branches of the scientific knowledge of his time, too. He was the Rector of Baghdad University. After learning Greek, the second language of that time, in two years, he examined Roman and Greek philosophy and science, and proclaimed their errors, their disgrace in his books. He wrote about the rotation of the earth, the structure of matter, the calculations of solar and lunar eclipses and many other technical and social facts.
Another Islamic savant was Imam-i Rabbani Ahmad-i Faruqi. It has been unanimously stated by religious authorities that his depth in religious knowledge, his high grade in ijtihad, and especially his perfection in tasawwuf were above the mind’s ability to comprehend. The books that have appeared recently in the United States have begun to be illuminated by the rays of this sun of happiness.
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GLOSSARY
[1] hadith (sharif): i) a saying of the Prophet (‘alaihi ‘s-salam).; al-Hadith ash-sharif: all the hadiths as a whole; ii) ‘ilm al-hadith; iii) Books of the hadith ash-sharif. iv) Al-hadith al-qudsi, as-sahih, al-hasan: kinds of hadiths (for which, see Endless Bliss, II).
[2] ijtihad: (meaning or conclusion drawn by a mujtahid by) endeavouring to understand the hidden meaning in an ayat or a hadith.
[3] madhhab: all of what a profound ‘alim of (especially) Fiqh (usually one of the four-Hanafi, Shafi’i, Maliki, Hanbali) or iman (one of the two, namely Ash-ari, Maturidi) communicated.
[4] Tasawwuf: (Islamic sufism as defined by Islam) knowledge and (after adapting oneself to fiqh) practice of the manners of the Prophet (‘alaihi ‘s-salam) which strengthens iman, makes the practice of fiqh easy and provides one to attain ma’rifa; ‘ilm at-tasawwuf. [See the book Maktubat by Ahmad al-Faruqi as-Sirhindi (rahmatullahi ta’ala ‘alaih)].
Where is such a savant now? I wonder if those who are known as religious men and who know Arabic perfectly could read and understand the books of those great people? If there were such a savant today, no one could attack the religion, and the false heroes who bluster shameless slanders would look for a place to take shelter.
Once there were many such savants. One of them was Imam-i Muhammad Ghazali (rahmatullahi ’alaih). His work is a witness to his depth in religious knowledge and his high grade in ijtihad. He who reads and understands these writings of his will know him. He who does not know him will attempt to impute his own defects to him. In order to understand a savant, one has to be a savant. He was specialized in all the branches of the scientific knowledge of his time, too. He was the Rector of Baghdad University. After learning Greek, the second language of that time, in two years, he examined Roman and Greek philosophy and science, and proclaimed their errors, their disgrace in his books. He wrote about the rotation of the earth, the structure of matter, the calculations of solar and lunar eclipses and many other technical and social facts.
Another Islamic savant was Imam-i Rabbani Ahmad-i Faruqi. It has been unanimously stated by religious authorities that his depth in religious knowledge, his high grade in ijtihad, and especially his perfection in tasawwuf were above the mind’s ability to comprehend. The books that have appeared recently in the United States have begun to be illuminated by the rays of this sun of happiness.
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GLOSSARY
[1] hadith (sharif): i) a saying of the Prophet (‘alaihi ‘s-salam).; al-Hadith ash-sharif: all the hadiths as a whole; ii) ‘ilm al-hadith; iii) Books of the hadith ash-sharif. iv) Al-hadith al-qudsi, as-sahih, al-hasan: kinds of hadiths (for which, see Endless Bliss, II).
[2] ijtihad: (meaning or conclusion drawn by a mujtahid by) endeavouring to understand the hidden meaning in an ayat or a hadith.
[3] madhhab: all of what a profound ‘alim of (especially) Fiqh (usually one of the four-Hanafi, Shafi’i, Maliki, Hanbali) or iman (one of the two, namely Ash-ari, Maturidi) communicated.
[4] Tasawwuf: (Islamic sufism as defined by Islam) knowledge and (after adapting oneself to fiqh) practice of the manners of the Prophet (‘alaihi ‘s-salam) which strengthens iman, makes the practice of fiqh easy and provides one to attain ma’rifa; ‘ilm at-tasawwuf. [See the book Maktubat by Ahmad al-Faruqi as-Sirhindi (rahmatullahi ta’ala ‘alaih)].
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