Juma Khutbas

Driving transformational change is the most difficult of tasks, but the most rewarding. If we take the two Ahadith that are quoted on this subject, in one Rasoolullahﷺ said: وَإِنَّمَا بُعِثْتُ مُعَلِّمًا and in the other: بُعِثْتُ لِأُتَمِّمَ حُسْنَ الْأَخْلَاقِ

We can say from these two that he was sent as a teacher to transform society. Allahﷻ called the teacher – Rasoolullahﷺ His blessing on the people. We write books to be read. Allahﷻ’s Book came to be taught. Not simply to be read and understood according to the capacity of the reader. The Book was sent to the teacher. The teacher to the people, to teach them to live the Book.

تَبَارَكَ ٱلَّذِى نَزَّلَ ٱلْفُرْقَانَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِۦ لِيَكُونَ لِلْعَـٰلَمِينَ نَذِيرًا

Furqan 25: 1   Blessed is the One Who sent down the Standard to His servant, so that he may be a warner to the whole world.

Which explains the role and critical importance of the teacher as the medium between the message and the recipient...it was a verbal message. Without the Messengerﷺ we cannot understand the message. There is no Sahabi on record who claimed to understand the Qur’an on his own without the agency of Rasoolullahﷺ. For example, Aboo Bakr (RA) one time said, "What earth would give me place to live and what sky would shade me if I should speak about the Qur’an with my opinion or by something I do not know." `Umar ibn al Khattaab (RA), also said, "Beware of using your opinion in religious matters." Ibn `Abbaas (RA), the one who Rasoolullahﷺ  made dua, for him to understand the Qur’an, to get the understanding of the Deen, and to be given by Allahﷻ the Ta’weel or the understanding of the Qur’an, he also said, "All that there is to follow and obey is the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messengerﷺ. Whoever makes any statement after these two according to his opinion, then I do not know if you'll find it among his good deeds or among his sins."  This is the style of Ibn `Abbaas (RA), meaning that even if what you did looks like something good, you will find it among your sins.

This humility and turning to the teacher with humbleness are fundamental conditions of learning. That is why Allahﷻ gave Rasoolullahﷺ four related tasks which are a Teacher’s Checklist. Tilawatil Qur’an, Tazkiyyatun Nafs, Taaleem ul Quran, Hikma. Inform, Purify, Explain, Wisdom. This is the key to teaching anything. WHAT > PREPARE > HOW > WHY.

That is why in our tradition of scholarship whenever any scholar is mentioned, they don’t ask how many followers he/she has but who their teachers are. Followers, especially in today’s world of virtual followers, mean nothing and add no value to you. On the contrary, popularity is a big test of Ikhlaas and a slide into Ar-Riya (Shirk) for the unwary, when the person starts believing what people say about him. That is why I advise myself to look in the mirror. It is teachers who add real value. A person without teachers in Deen remains ignorant. The teacher is critical to learning. That is how the Sahaba are distinguished, and recognized and blessed because of their teacher, Rasoolullahﷺ and not vice versa.

We recognize the importance of the teacher in all bodies of knowledge that impact lives. Nobody becomes a pilot or surgeon or physician by reading books on aerodynamics or surgery, pharmacology or physiology. Reading is important but to qualify, the student must practice under the guidance of a teacher until the teacher is satisfied. Not the student. But when it comes to sacred knowledge that impacts not only the life of this world but much more importantly, the Aakhira, we imagine that reading some books, watching some videos, some pseudo-intellectual discussion, we have become experts and set ourselves up as teachers.