Every Scholar Has His Special Students, But the Real Measure Is Who Fears Allah Most

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Al-Allamah Salih Aala Ash-Shaikh, may Allah preserve him, said:

Whenever you have more humility in pursuit of knowledge through the Shariah, the scholar becomes more devoted to you (i.e. pays closer attention to your needs). This is why you find that many of the scholars have a special student because he (i.e. this student) has good manners when speaking, dealing and walking with the Shaikh, thus, the Shaikh trusts him, devotes (more time and effort to him) in knowledge, gives him knowledge which others are not given, (shares his) life experiences related to knowledge, his experiences with the scholars and circumstances”. [An Excerpt from Sharh Al-Arba’een. Pages 21-22] [end of quote]

The statement of the Shaikh is something we can observe. Even though all the scholars benefit the entire Ummah, they have special students in the East and the West. Similarly, the senior students, regardless of where they may be, will also have younger students of knowledge whom they give special attention to due to the good they know about them. We love all of them—seniors and juniors—and we ally with all of them, InShaAllah, upon the Sunnah, truth, and justice. Regardless of their varying degrees of Ilm, which Allah portions out to the students, their main goal is not merely gathering Ilm and attachment to any noble man. Rather, the goal is to follow clear proof, regardless of how strong their attachment to the scholar is, how many years they have spent with him on a regular basis, their regular correspondence with scholars, yearly visits, or whether they have not directly sat with the scholar much, but he knows and recognises their virtue and efforts as students of knowledge and has given them Tazkiyah. So, the goal is to be upright and truthful in private and public, regardless of one’s level of knowledge and experience. And Allah alone knows best who among them is the most Taqiy, as Allah, The Most High, said:

هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِكُمْ إِذْ أَنشَأَكُم مِّنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ وَإِذْ أَنتُمْ أَجِنَّةٌ فِى بُطُونِ أُمَّهَٰتِكُمْ فَلَا تُزَكُّوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ ٱتَّقَىٰٓ

He was most knowledgeable of you when He produced you (in the form of Ādam) from the (materials of the) earth and when you were fetuses in your mothers’ wombs. So do not praise and ascribe purity to yourselves, for He is most knowledgeable of the one who is fearfully dutiful (to Him). [An-Najm 32]

We ask Allah to protect us and all of them, and include us among those who truly fear Him in private and public.