[1] O youth! Beware of Scraping The Barrel In Your Pursuit of Concessions

In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy

Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

“The loftiest ambition in pursuit of knowledge is to acquire knowledge from the Qur’an and the Sunnah- to be granted understanding by Allah [i.e. blessed to acquire sound knowledge and act upon it] and through the Sunnah of the Messenger, and acquaint oneself with the boundaries of the revelation [i.e. neither going into excess nor being lackadaisical]. And the most baseless ambition of the students of knowledge is to confine their ambitions in following the bizarre affairs and that which has neither occurred nor has it been revealed, or acquainting (oneself) with the differences of opinion and pursuing the statements of the scholars, whilst having no ambition to acquaint oneself with what is correct among those statements. Little is there to benefit from the knowledge of these people”. [1]

Imam ash-Shaatibee, may Allah have mercy upon him] stated regarding the attitude of the unjustified pursuit of concessions: “This arises from following one’s desires. Desire leads to a too easy going attitude and the pursuit of concessions for oneself and others. So, you see him adopting that for himself or passing that judgment for his relative or friend, which he would not do for another person due to the desire of that relative and friend”. [2]

Imam Ash-Shaatibee, may Allah have mercy upon him] also said, “If a Mukallaf [i.e. the sane one who has reached the age when the obligations of the Shariah are obligated on him or her] seeks after concessions in the Madhabs in every affair that is difficult for him and every statement that agrees with his desires, then he will remove himself from the firm handhold of piety and persist upon the pursuit of desires”. [3]

Ibrahim Ibn Abee Ablah (died 152AH – may Allah have mercy upon him) said, “He who carries the odd affairs of knowledge carries a lot of evil”. [4]

Abdur Rahmaan Bin Mahdi (died 198AH – may Allah have mercy upon him) said, “The one who pursues the odd affairs of knowledge cannot be an Imam in knowledge”. [5]

Imam Ash-Shaatibee, may Allah have mercy upon him, said, “f desires enter (a person), it leads to following the ambiguous matters out of being eager to prevail and become victorious through establishing excuses in issues related to difference of opinion (or differing); but rather it leads to splitting, disharmony, enmity, and hatred due to the different desires and lack of (sound) agreement; however, the Shariah came to curtail (vain) desires completely. If some of the premises of the evidence were not established except through desires, it would not result except in following desires and that is contrary to the Shariah, and opposing the Shariah is not fr of the Shariah at all. Therefore, following desires concerning what one may regard to be adherence to the Shariah is tantamount to misguidance.”. [6] [End of quote]

We certainly don’t want the next generation of youth to approach discussions about Masa’il with their minds preoccupied by whether there’s khilaf on the issue to justify their actions by saying, “Akhi, it’s Makruh and not Haram.” The effect of this  mindset can be seen in the appearance of some youth whose appearance reflects a desire to conform to certain interpretations that may even lead them to resemble the Mushrikoon. Sadly, this way of thinking has permeated some of our homes. It is something we never pondered nearly 30 years ago when our teachers used to urge us to embrace the Sunnah, focusing on actions that uphold the dignity of those who follow it. They emphasised the importance of adhering to the behaviour and appearance of the Salaf without seeking loopholes to satisfy our vain desires, which has now become a common thing for some in some matters, and quick to babble: “It’s Makruh, not Haram.” Any youth who exhibits such behaviour, especially if they are stubborn and opinionated, should be reminded clearly of one’s sense of honour and to stay away from desires that leads to resembling the Mushrikoon. If we do not, we risk raising a foolish generation—and eventually foolish grandchildren—who are steeped in this silly mindset. May Allah protect us from such desires, Ameen. I urge my younger brothers, including my sons, to constantly seek guidance from our upright elder teachers and refrain from engaging in discussions driven by personal desires, as this was never the path of the Salaf, rather, it is path of those who approach Masa’il to scrape the barrel. As for our Salaf, even when they differed, their firm and upright path was to  approach Masa’il with a firm intention to learn and follow truth, not with a mindset focused on finding disagreements to justify their desires. They were far removed from this approach, and we should strive to be the same.

والله المستعان

[1] An Excerpt from Al-Fawaa’id. Page 99

[2] Al-Muwaafaqaat. 5/84

[3] Al-Muwaafaqaat. 3/123

[4] Siyar A’laam An-Nubula 6/324

[5] At-Tamheed 1/64 by Ibn Abdil Barr

[6] Al-Muwaafaqaat 5/221