Sheikh Mentality

            ...let's stop "worshipping" scholars
            Ar-Rayah magazine, volume IV.

            Have you ever found yourself in a speech with a question, with a comment or maybe even a disagreement? Yet, you
            stay quiet. Why? Because the speaker has the "Islamic attire" and a degree from Al-Azhar, all the credentials of
            today's scholars. So you take what he says blindly. You obey him without ensuring whether or not what he said was
            right or wrong. In Surah At-Taubah, Allah (swt) states,

            "They take their priests and their rabbis as their lords besides Allah." [TMQ]

            In a hadith explanatory of the ayah one sahabi said to the Prophet (saw), "We did not worship them." The Prophet
            (saw) replied, "Did they not make what Allah made haram as halal and what Allah made halal as haram?" He said,
            "Yes." The Prophet (saw) said, "That is how you worshipped them."

            Today the matter is not as simple. With the Ummah's intellectual blindfold and the injection of erroneous concepts by
            Orientalists and the West, it is not always easy to say that the scholars are always right. In fact, there are some
            scholars out for dollars. Some are employed by the kufr regimes of the Muslim world to provide custom-made fatwas
            which legitimize them and their haram actions. Some have even gone to the extent of making Riba, the sale of alcohol
            and the occupation of our land halal. Although many of the scholars are sincere, most are educated in universities
            funded by the regimes who seek to mix erroneous concepts with the Islamic ones. Thus, sincerity is not enough. The
            scholars should re-evaluate their understanding of Islam: also Muslims, in order to avoid worshipping them, should ask
            for Islamic evidences. Now, for those plagued with the
            "I-can-not-dare-to-ask-or-challenge-the-speaker-he-has-a-degree-from Al-Azhar" syndrome, the seerah will no doubt
            provide a cure. It is not very uncommon to find the Sahaba asking the Prophet (saw) for his (saw) evidence.

            They would ask him (saw) whether what he (saw) was saying was based on the wahi or not. Why? Because they
            knew that they were ordered to follow Muhammad (saw) in those actions which are related to the Message. The
            Battle of Badr is a very famous example of this where one sahabi, Al-Khattab ibn Mundhir (raa), asked the Prophet
            (saw) as to whether his (saw) choice in the army's position was based on the wahi or his (saw) personal opinion.

            Another relevant point is that sovereignty belongs to Allah, and the only determinant of what He wishes us to do is the
            text. It is the text which orders us to pray, not some sheikh. Although most of us are incapable of referring to the text
            directly, and are dependant on the scholars, it does not mean we should refrain from asking for their evidence. Abdullah
            bin Amr narrates that he heard the Prophet (saw) saying, in the translation of the hadeeth,

            "Allah does not remove the 'Ilm after it was given to you, rather the 'Ilm would be removed with the death of the
            'ulema. Then some people, who are ignoract, will start giving their ra'ee (opinion) based on their desires and they are
            misled and will lead the Ummah astray." (Bukhari and Muslim)

            Therefore, for the Ummah to avoid such a fate it is a must for us to ask for Islamic evidences for all thoughts and
            actions. This questioning should also not be perceived as a threat to a scholar or a defamation of his character. Rather,
            it should be met with joy that the Ummah is now beginning to ask for evidences and is on its way to revival. In fact, the
            scholars of the past responded favorably to questions and say it as a right of the Ummah. Once we know we are acting
            on valid Islamic evidences which are interpreted correctly, then we can be sure we are worshipping Allah and not, as
            the ayah warns, worshipping our scholars or any other human being.