By Muattirah Ahmad

One may wonder about the above verse and ask who are “followers of the Remembrance”? The people who are steadfast in striving towards Allah ﷻ and assisting others to climb towards Allah: Our Teachers.

One of the important conditions for seeking knowledge is to have teachers. We need to find true teachers who are men and women of Allah ﷻ who embody Remembrance in their lives 24 hours a day.

THE BLESSINGS OF KNOWLEDGE WHEN YOU STUDY WITH RIGHTEOUS TEACHERS ARE ENDLESS. YOU WILL SEE BLESSINGS INCREASING IN EVERY PART OF YOUR LIFE. YOU WILL SEE THAT KNOWLEDGE GETS ABSORBED INTO YOUR HEARTS FASTER. YOU WILL FEEL THE DESIRE TO LEARN MORE, TO PRACTICE MORE.

And what if you don’t? Then, continue to strive until you feel the sweetness (value) of learning with your teachers.

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Here are eight benefits on why we should seek out true teachers and learn from them:

Sanad (Chain of Transmission Leading back to Prophet ﷺ)

Learning with teachers with Sanad links us in an unbroken chain to all of their teachers who inherited the Prophetic Light from each other directly to our beloved Prophet ﷺ. Having a chain of transmission in knowledge that connects us to our Prophet ﷺ, how beautiful! What more can we ask for in knowledge? 

Sound Understanding

Knowledge should increase your understanding and practice, not increase confusion and heedlessness. There is a difference between information hoarding & seeking out beneficial knowledge (conviction & practice). We may have felt this way before: reading one book to another endlessly without increasing in practice. We were taken aback when our teacher remarked, “You are reading a lot, but have you put one page into practice?’ We then realised our unreadiness to transform the information into beneficial knowledge. The knowledge that teachers give us sometimes may seem little, but it will be crucial to reach a holistic understanding—leading us to act upon the knowledge.

Sound Progress

Have you ever felt, even in academic studies, where you studied so much by yourself, but nothing seemed to make sense anymore? Many times, we memorise for exams without truly understanding. There is limited progress when we study by ourselves and just from books. But with the help of teachers who assist in building one topic upon the other, even a grade F (Fail) can move up to an A in exams. Our teachers assist in guiding and nurturing us towards Him with gradual build-ups and practices and to emulate our Beloved Prophet ﷺ. The more we learn, the more we should get closer to Allah ﷻ & our Prophet ﷺ, instead of drifting further!

Wisdom

Do you recall the story of Nabi Musa AS and Nabi Khidhir AS in Surah Al-Kahf? 

Musa AS said to him:

 “May I have your company so that you teach me some of the rightful knowledge you have been given.”

He said,  “You can never bear with me patiently. And how would you keep patient over something your comprehension cannot grasp?”

He (Musa AS) said, “You will find me patient if Allah wills, and I shall not disobey any order from you.”

(Quran 18:66-69)

Patience is key to benefit from our teachers. We have to learn to be patient when we learn with our teachers & we will eventually be able to drink from their endless wisdom. Lack of patience and focus on the external will deprive us of our teachers’ divine treasures and secrets. Similar to how Nabi Musa AS found wisdom with Nabi Khidhir AS eventually, although he did not initially understand. 

Adab and Humility (Good Mannerism)

As we learn with our teachers, we develop good adab and humility as we strive to preserve the sanctity of knowledge and its inheritors (our teachers). We should respect our teachers even in matters we may disagree on.

Imam Ash-Shafi’i once said: I have never debated anyone except that I would love for him to be successful, directed, aided, and for him to be under the care of Allah ﷻ and His protection. And I never debated with anyone but that I did not mind whether Allah has put the truth on my tongue or his tongue.

We should also always be humble when we learn from our teachers and when we are in their presence.

For example, we should write notes in classes to learn as much as possible from our beloved teachers:

Imam Ash-Shafi’i studied hadith under Imam Malik as a boy, attending his classes at Masjid An-Nabawi in Madinah. It was the habit of Imam Malik while reading a hadith to point to the grave of the Prophet ﷺ and say, “So-and-so narrated from the one in that grave…” One day during class, Imam Malik glanced over at Imam Ash-Shafi’i and noticed him wetting straw with his saliva and playing with it.  

Imam Malik continued with the lesson and narrated forty ahadith to his students. When the class had concluded, he called Imam Ash-Shafi’i over to reprimand him. How dare he play while his teacher was narrating ahadith from our Nabi ﷺ! Imam Ash-Shafi’i explained that he was not playing; instead, he was using the straw to write what was being narrated on his hand, as he could not afford pen and paper. Imam Malik then asked Imam Ash-Shafi’i to prove this by relating one of the hadith he had narrated in the day’s lesson. Imam Ash-Shafi’i did not narrate just one hadith; instead, he narrated all forty, copying the delivery of his teacher by pointing to the grave of the Prophet ﷺ. MasyaAllah! 

We should always be respectful in class and not talk or ask too many questions that will tire our teachers. Imam Ash-Shafi’i was so humble and respectful in the presence of his teachers to the extent that he would turn the pages of his books so carefully that he would not cause even the slightest noise that may disrupt his teachers. 

Emulating the sunnah�

It was narrated that Kathir bin Qais said:

“I was sitting with Abu Darda’ in the mosque of Damascus when a man came to him and said: ‘O Abu Darda’, I have come to you from Al-Madinah, the city of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, for a Hadith which I have heard that you narrate from the Prophet ﷺ.’ He said: ‘Did you not come for trade?’ He said: ‘No.’ He said: ‘Did you not come for anything else?’ He said: ‘No.’ He said: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: “Whoever follows a path in the pursuit of knowledge, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise. The angels lower their wings in approval of the seeker of knowledge, and everyone in the heavens and on earth prays for forgiveness for the seeker of knowledge, even the fish in the sea. The superiority of the scholar over the worshipper is like the superiority of the moon above all other heavenly bodies. The scholars are the heirs of the Prophets, for the Prophets did not leave behind a Dinar or Dirham, rather they left behind knowledge, so whoever takes it has taken a great share.’” (Sunan Ibn Majah)

Inheritors of knowledge are the inheritors of the Prophet ﷺ. We intend to enliven and practice the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ by following and learning from the inheritors of the Prophet ﷺ, from our teachers!

Blessings (Barakah)

Oh, imagine the immense blessings from Allah ﷻ as we learn from the heirs of our beloved Prophet ﷺ! Our pious teachers’ blessings will affect all parts of our lives. Experience it for yourselves! 

Companionship & Mentorship (Tarbiyah and Sohbat)

When you are with your teacher, you will always be in remembrance of Allah ﷻ. Even if he is not teaching you, just looking at him, having a meal with him, and being in his presence reminds you of Allah ﷻ and our beloved Prophet ﷺ! 

Abu Huraira reported: 

The Messenger of Allah said,

“A man is upon the religion of his best friend, so let one of you look at whom he befriends.”�

Sunan al-Tirmidhī

Would you not then want the friendship, companionship and mentorship of a pious, righteous teacher to connect us to our Beloved Prophet ﷺ ?

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Thank you to all of our Teachers. May Allah ﷻ reward them abundantly. May Allah ﷻ bless our teachers, may His endless mercy be upon them, may He be pleased with them and may He grant us useful knowledge that will benefit us both in this world and the hereafter.

Please forgive this needy refugee of Allah ﷻ for any shortcomings, for all good is from Him and all bad is from me!

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