Emotional Challenges

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

Some emotional challenges mentioned by Al-Allamah Abdur Rahman Bin Yahyah Al-Mu’allimee that may have prevented al-Kawtharee from embracing the truth

To oppose desires – by way of action – for the sake of the truth is a manifest thing due to the obligation and difficulty it involves, and this can be viewed from different angles as follows:

A person sees that by acknowledging the truth, it would necessitate that he has acknowledged that he was upon falsehood. (This is) because a person is nurtured upon a religion, creed, school of thought or views, which he acquired from his nurturer and teacher, considers it to be the truth and followed it for a long time. Then when it becomes clear to him that (the religion, creed, view, or school of thought) is false, it becomes difficult for him to acknowledge, just like when his forefathers, ancestors or the one he follows are upon  a path and its falsity is clarified for him, for he sees that their deficiencies necessitate his own deficiencies, and an acknowledgement of their misguidance or errors necessitates his own.

It may be that clinging to falsehood gives him prestige, fame and a livelihood, thus, it becomes difficult for him to acknowledge this falsehood and thus all those benefits (i.e. the fame, prestige, livelihood etc) would disappear.

It may be that a person is upon ignorance or falsehood, then another person comes along and clarifies the proofs for him, thus, he sees that by acknowledging such proofs, it would necessitate that he is lacking (in understanding) and that it was that person who guided him. Due to this, we find that it is not difficult for some of those attributed to knowledge to acknowledge their mistakes when it becomes manifests to them in their researches and studies, but it becomes difficult for them if it was others who clarified such mistakes.

When another person clarifies the truth for him, he sees that by acknowledging such truth it would necessitate an acknowledgement of the clarifier’s virtue, knowledge and correctness due to that clarification, thus, that becomes great in the eyes of the people and many people follow him [i.e. the person who clarified the truth]. So you will find some of those attributed to knowledge being eager to prove the mistakes of other scholars even if that is done by way of falsehood due to envy and seeking to diminish their status amongst the people.

An excerpt from ‘At-Tankil Bima Fee Tanid Al-Kawthariy Minal Batil’ 2/180-181 with the checking of Imam Albaanee, may Allah have mercy upon him.