?Who are the true ‘Ulama (Islamic scholars)
Mohammed Lahlal
Who are the true ‘Ulama (Islamic scholars)?
Mohammed Lahlal
Whenever the Muslim community (Umma) goes through a major calamity, Muslims would question the role and mission of the ‘Ulama in addressing their difficult situation. Muslims would expect to hear from them true facts, plausible analysis and suggestions to resolve the problems as Muslims take it for granted they are the voice of truth and a reliable source of knowledge, inspiration and integrity, unfortunately, this not always the case. On numerous occasions, the Muslim community get stunned and confused by the attitude of certain ‘Ulama who either withdraw from the public arena, or indulge in irrelevant and untimely topics, or worse engage in campaigns of manipulation, disinformation and defamation. In general, we can say that there exists in our Muslim community types of ‘Ulama: some would confine themselves to matters of doctrine and reignite past contentions between different schools of jurisprudence (fiqh), others would fanatically embrace the views of earliest scholars and see no way of Ijtihad (independent reasoning) for our times, some others are compromised by the political power and are ready to serve the interests of the ruling power by misinterpreting texts to resonate with the official policies. Only a few of the ‘Ulama community would voice the truth, serve the interests of the Umma, exert Ijtihad effort to figure out pertinent solutions to real problems and pay the price for their outspoken standpoint. What are the characteristics of true ‘Ulama in our days?
The ‘Ulama are exemplars
It is true that Islamic scholars are not infallible as they are humans, but to distinguish themselves from laypeople and to be real heirs of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing be upon him, they are supposed to adopt higher standards of knowledge and character to reflect his example. They are expected to explore and follow the Prophetic approach that lays out their mission and tasks in times of trials and tribulation to guide the Umma to the right path, the path of spiritual salvation, dignity and justice. The true ‘Ulama are supposed to incarnate emotional compassion and mental wisdom to tread in unchartered road full of obstacles that hamper any effort for reform and change. And it is insufficient for an Islamic scholar to graduate from an institution that cultivate scholarship in the Islamic sciences to qualify him for such mission and tasks. Why?
The ‘Ulama are men of Da’wa (calling to God)
The true ‘Ulama are before anything else men of Da’wa. They carry the mission of calling to God and conveying the core meaning of man’s endeavor in this life and his preparedness to encounter God in the afterlife. They are not people in pursuit of worldly gains or prestige. The true scholars are educators, they teach Muslims what is practically necessary for their faith. they are facilitators and adopt easy and moderate approaches in teaching and explaining things. The true scholars do not address the public from their ivory tower, they mix with people and hear their grievances and are proactive in redressing certain ills if possible and are prudent not to lose their moral credibility. It is a fact now that many scholars on TV channels and other social media platforms claim they a reliable source of knowledge and integrity and might issue fatwas and win thousands of followers, but when these scholars face the real test of voicing the truth, you only get shocked and disillusioned by their failing reaction, and instances of the war on Gaza and the Arab Spring protests illustrate this phenomenon.
The ‘Ulama unify the Umma
The true Islamic scholars strive to overcome the vestiges of ethnic and doctrinal rifts between groups of Muslim community. They see in the unification of the Umma the only way to recover strength, boost development and heal the ills of ethnic partition and national chauvinism that have widened the gulf between members of the best community ever emerged for humanity as God wills. When the Umma faces aggressions such as that of war on Gaza or domestic armed conflicts, some scholars would indulge in invoking historical contentions such as that of Shi’a-Sunni strife and sow chaos and confusion in the Umma instead of fostering unity and focusing on the real enemy that threatens their present and future. One of the major concerns of true Islamic scholars is to bring the Umma together and reexamine the cultural heritage and the fiqh literature dating back to times of disunity and ethnic conflicts, and exert concerted Ijtihad efforts to produce a comprehensive project of Islamic renaissance on the basis of the prophetic method that aims at reviving spiritual and educational motivations and enhancing social and political activism to establish justice and dignity for the global Umma using the peaceful tools of modern democracy.
These are some of the major tasks the true ‘Ulama have to undertake besides their academic scholarship. It is true that many secular regimes try hard to remove the true ‘Ulama from key positions of decision-making, but they have to keep struggling winning the hearts and minds of Muslim population who can still endorse them if they see signs of perseverance, moral credibility, courage and wisdom.