The Tremendous Admonition of Mu’ādh Ibn Jabal Concerning the Virtues of Knowledge by Abu Khadeejah.
Khutbah at Masjid as-Salafi 29th November 2019.
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May Allah bless and have mercy upon our beloved Shaykh, Abu Khadeejah, and reward him in abundance for all his tremendous efforts.
This lecture contains a brief, yet moving, biography of the companion Mu’adth ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) Some of the virtues of Mu’adth mentioned therein include:
He was from the greatest of the scholars.
He embraced Islam at the age of 18.
After embracing Islam he would break the idols of Bani’ Salamah
He was one of the 70 witnesses of the Pledge of Aqabah
The Prophet (ﷺ) made a pact of brotherhood between Mu’adth ibn Jabal and Abdullah Ibn Masood
He participated in the battle of Badr (at age 20), the Battle of Uhud, and the Battle of Khandagh
He would sit behind The Prophet () on his riding beast, and was his riding companion.
The Prophet(ﷺ) sent him to Yemen to invite the Jews and Christians to Islam, alongside Abu Moosaa.
He was beloved by The Prophet (ﷺ)
The Prophet (ﷺ) died whilst Mu’adth was in Yemen.
He later moved to ash-Sham and died as a martyr from the plague of Amawas, at the age of 34.
From his character we learn that he was humble, shy, and generous. He was handsome with a face that was bright and radiant, and he would apply kohl to his eyes.
From the advice and admonishments of Mu’adth ibn Jabal, there are many tremendous narrations mentioned in this lecture. I will highlight a few notable points below, however it is only by hearing the full narration from our beloved shaykh, in this lecture, that you will receive the most benefit…
To seek knowledge is ibada. To revise it is tasbih. To search for it and to research it is jihad in the path of Allah. To teach it to someone who does not know it is a sadaqat. To impart it to one’s family is to come close to them. That is because knowledge is the milestone, it is a signpost for that which is permissible and that which is prohibited. Knowledge is the minaret for the people of Jannah. Knowledge is a friend when there is nothing but loneliness. Knowledge is a companion when you are among strangers. Knowledge is a voice that speaks when you are alone. Knowledge is a guide in times of ease and in times of hardship. Knowledge is a weapon against your enemies. And it is a beautification when you are in the company of friends. Indeed, Allah raises people through knowledge. And he makes them, through its goodness, into leaders and Imams. Knowledges makes them individuals whose path is followed, and their deeds are emulated, and their views are taken. And the angels, they seek their friendship. The wings of the angels, they cover them. And every living and inanimate being seeks forgiveness for them, even the fish in the seas, and it’s insects, the wild predators, and the birds, and the cattle, all of them seek forgiveness for the person who has knowledge. And that is because knowledge is life for the hearts from a state of ignorance. And it is the shining lamp for the sights from the state of darkness. One reaches the heights of the virtuous through ‘ilm. And the highest stations in this life, and in the next life. Reflecting on knowledge is equivalent to fasting, and studying it is equivalent to praying at night. By way of knowledge kinship is connected. And the halal matters are distinguished from that which is haraam. The limbs and the deeds they follow it, and the blessed ones and the happy ones, are guided by way of knowledge. And the wretched ones, they are prevented from it.
In a narration of Abu Dawood, it mentions that while he was sitting amongst his students he said, indeed ahead of you there will be fitan, wherein the wealth will be in abundance, and the Quran will be easy, so much so that the believer, the hypocrite, the man, the woman, the young, the old, the slave and the free will all learn it. Then perhaps, he said, a person will say, what is wrong with the people that they do not follow me while I read the Quran and they are not going to follow me, and they do not want to follow me, until I introduce for them a biddah. So avoid that which is innovated in the deen, for that which is innovation is misguidance.
I warn you from the deviation of a scholar from right guidance, for sometimes Shaitan utters a word of error through the tongue of a scholar, and sometimes a hypocrite may speak a word of truth.
Our Shaykh brings additional advice from various Sahaba. A few of these advice include:
From Ibn Masoud (may Allah be pleased with him), that the jammah is whatever is in agreement with the truth, even if you are just one person.
From Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), that the destruction of the religion is in three things, one of those is the slip of the scholar.
From Abu Umar Ibn Abdul Barr (rahimahullah), that the scholars have compared the slip of an ‘alim to a sinking ship, because if a ship sinks, with it will sink a large number of people.