How do we know who is a scholar (one who can take knowledge from) and who is not ?


Question :

How do we know who is a scholar (one who can take knowledge from) and who is not ?

Answer :

They need to seek knowledge as for merely working and driving a taxi or other than that then you will not be able to differentiate. You need to ask the one you trust in his Deen as for if you seek the Dunya and then want to distinguish (then no). If you were to give money to anyone he won’t be able to distinguish whether this is fake money or not but the money exchanger looks and he knows immediately due to his experience and likewise in every field (there are its people). So if you want to distinguish then seek knowledge, attend the lessons of Ahlus Sunnah, listen to there lessons, constantly be with Ahlus Sunnah and then you will be able to distinguish between the Scholar and the one who claims scholarship and the Hizbee.

Some people are like a firewood collector at night time (terminology used for someone that can’t distinguish, so for example he gathers firewood at nighttime and in the daytime when he looks at what he gathered then it’s a mix of things such as scorpions, firewood, insects, so he picks up that which is harmful) he takes from here and there Miskeen like ‘Areefy’ and even though this is his situation they want to make him the Allaamah of this time and place! When he came Egypt he didn’t come to Ahlus Sunnah and likewise in the time of Shakh Muqbil when he came to Damaaj in Yemen he adviced him. The point is some people direct themselves toward Damaaj simply for acquaintance. One time the Ambassadress of America in the time of the Shaykh came to Damaaj hoping to meet him and she was told “the shaykh doesn’t meet women!” and they dressed her with Islamic clothing and entered her into the women’s section and obviously she was angry that she could not meet the Shaykh as she wanted to boast about her meeting with Shaykh Muqbil. The point is upon you is to seek knowledge.

Answered by: Shaykh Hasan ibn Qaasim Ar-Raymee