Before Islam, the Arabs did not pay much attention to science, its major tools, or its established values, as ignorance prevailed among them. One of the reasons for a tribe's pride was to have a reader or a writer among them, so they would say: "So and so is the reader," and "So and so is the writer." When Islam came and the revelation began with the noble command: "Read," the status of scholars elevated to the extent that Allah, the Exalted, said: (Those truly fear Allah, among His Servants, who have knowledge: for Allah is Exalted in Might, Oft-Forgiving.) (Fatir:28) And He, the Exalted, said: ( Say, ‘How can those who know be equal to those who do not know?’ ) (Az-Zumar:9) Knowledge spread, and generations graduated, leaving the world with an unending legacy, and established firm scientific values that were confirmed from one generation to the next. Among these values:
Reverence for scholars
Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi narrated the saying of Ali ibn Abi Talib: "It is the right of a scholar upon you to greet the people generally, and to specifically greet him among them, to sit in front of him, and not to gesture with your hand while he is present, nor to wink your eyes, nor to say: So-and-so said; in opposition to his statement, nor to backbite anyone in his presence, nor to whisper in his gathering, nor to grab his garment, nor to insist on him when he is weary, nor to turn away from long companionship; for he is like a date palm, waiting for when something will fall from it upon you.
When Umar sent Abdullah ibn Mas'ud to Kufa to teach its people, he wrote to them: "By Allah, there is no deity but Him, I have preferred you over myself, so take from him.
Omar ibn al-Khattab set a practical example in respecting scholars for his companions, as he took the position of Zayd ibn Thabit, elevated him, and said: "This is how you should treat Zayd and his companions.
Abdullah ibn Umar would say when asked about something he found difficult: "Ask Said ibn al-Musayyib, for he has sat with the righteous.
A man asked Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari about a matter, and he answered him. Then he went to Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and asked him about it, and he contradicted Abu Musa. The man came back to Abu Musa and informed him of Ibn Mas'ud’s statement. Abu Musa then said: "Do not ask me about anything while this scholar (ibn Mas'ud) is among you.
Abdullah ibn Abbas would seek knowledge from the senior companions, and sometimes he would find one of them during their midday nap, so he would lay his cloak at their door, letting the wind blow over him, until they came out to him, "seeking thereby to soothe his soul.
Ibn Abbas grasped the stirrup of Zaid bin Thabit and said, "This is how we treat the scholars." He also took hold of the stirrup of Ubay bin Ka'b, and he was told, "You are the cousin of the Messenger of Allah; you hold the stirrup of a man from the Ansar?" He replied, "It is appropriate for a scholar to be honored and respected.
They used to emphasize the importance of distinguished individuals, the greatness of their roles, and the preservation of their status. Here is Umar ibn al-Khattab sitting with his companions, saying to them: "Wish for something." Some wished for this house to be filled with gold to spend it in the way of Allah, while others wished that it be filled with emeralds and jewels to spend in the way of Allah. Umar then said: "I wish it were filled with men like Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah, Muadh ibn Jabal, Salim, the freedman of Abu Hudhayfah, and Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman.
The importance of time management and utilizing free time
The companions were raised to be diligent with their time and to be careful that no part of their lives goes to waste. Here, Umar says: "I hate to see any of you idle and empty, neither engaged in work of this world nor the Hereafter." And Ibn Mas'ud said: "I truly dislike seeing a man idle, not engaged in any work of this world or the Hereafter.
Abu Darda used to say: "O son of Adam, you are merely days, and every time a day passes, a part of you goes with it. O son of Adam, you have been in the process of diminishing your lifespan since the day your mother gave birth to you!" Ibn Mas'ud said: "I have never regretted anything as much as I regret the day the sun set on me, for it reduced my lifespan and did not increase my deeds.
This method of education has yielded results, producing groups of scholars who devoted their lives to seeking and teaching knowledge, including Said ibn al-Musayyib, who said: "I would spend days and nights searching for a single hadith.
Verification of sources of knowledge
At that time, the scholars provided clear examples of verifying the accuracy of what was reported to them in terms of knowledge. Ibn Abbas said: "I would ask about a single matter thirty of the companions of the Prophet, may peace be upon him.
The need for verification was at its highest when it came to the narrations of the sayings of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. Abu Bakr hesitated to accept the narration of Al-Mughira bin Shu'bah that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, gave the grandmother one-sixth of the inheritance, until Muhammad ibn Maslamah stood up and said: 'What Al-Mughira bin Shu'bah said is true,' and then Abu Bakr accepted it.
Omar ibn al-Khattab refrained from accepting the narration of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari about the Prophet, peace be upon him: “If one of you seeks permission three times and is not granted it, let him return,” until Abu Sa'īd al-Khūdrī testified to its authenticity. Omar would not accept a narration without two witnesses.
Ali ibn Abi Talib would not accept a hadith (narration) until he had the narrator take an oath. He heard some fabricated hadiths attributed to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) while he was in Siffin, and he said: "May Allah fight them! What a group of white-faced ones they are! And what a corrupting of the hadith of the Messenger of Allah they have done!
This later became a motivation for the adoption of the chain of narration in the reporting of hadith. In this regard, Muhammad ibn Sirin said: "They [the people] did not used to ask about the chain of narration, but when the fitna (trial) occurred, they said: 'Name your men for us.' Then, one would look to the people of Sunnah and take their hadith and look to the people of innovation and not take their hadith.
Blending Knowledge with Action
Ali used to say to his companions: "Seek knowledge; you will be recognized by it, and act upon it; you will be among its people." He also said: "O bearers of knowledge, act upon it, for the true scholar is the one who acts in accordance with what he knows, and his actions align with his knowledge. There will be groups of people who carry knowledge but do not surpass their collarbones. Their inner selves contradict their outward appearances, and their actions are inconsistent with their knowledge. They sit in circles, boasting to one another, to the extent that one of them becomes angry with his companion when he sits with someone else and leaves him. Those people's deeds will not ascend to Allah, the Exalted, in those gatherings.
Abu Darda said: "The thing I fear most when I meet my Lord, Blessed and Exalted, is that He will say to me: 'I knew (your knowledge), so what did you do with what you knew?'" He used to say: "Woe to the one who does not know even once, and woe to the one who knows but does not act; seven times." He would tell his companions: "Whoever acts upon ten percent of what he knows, God will teach him what he does not know." Meanwhile, Muadh ibn Jabal would say to those around him: "Know whatever you wish to know, but Allah will not reward you for knowledge until you act upon it.
This educational and upbringing method has borne fruit, to the extent that Al-Hasan Al-Basri said: "A man would seek knowledge and soon this would be reflected in his humility, behavior, tongue, sight, and hands.
The work required here is not just worship, but also beneficial earnings, through which one supports oneself and their family. Abdullah bin Amr bin Al-As said to his servant who wanted to retreat in the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan: "Have you left anything for your family to sustain them?" He replied: "No." Abdullah said: "Then return and leave them what sustains them, for I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say: 'It is sufficient sin for a person to neglect those whom they are responsible for feeding.'
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