Chapter I: Acquisition of Knowledge
Some wise man said: There are Abdals (worshipers) in the world . Their meal ends when they are still hungry. They sleep when it overcomes them. Their words end only in necessary talks. In other words, they donot speak unless asked and they remain silent when sufficient reply is obtained from others.
When compelled, they reply. Ibn Omar used to say : Do you wish to use us as a bridge over which you wish to cross over to Hell, Abu Hafs Nishapuri said : A learned man is he who fears the day of questions, who fears that he will be asked on the Resurrection Day : Wherefrom have you got this answer : The Prohpet said : I don't know whether Uzair was a Prophet or not, whether Tubba was accursed or not, whether Zul-Qarnain was a Prophet or not.
When asked about the best and worst places on the earth, the Prophet said : I don't know. But the Almighty God said to me that the best place is mosque and the worst place is market. When Hazrat Ibn Omar was asked ten questions, he replied only one and not others, Hazrat Ibn Abbas replied nine and did not reply one. Someone said that among the jurists, the greater number were men who used to say we don't know than the numbers who who used to say we know. Sufiyan Saori said : Malek-b-Anas, Ahmad-b-Hanbal, Fuzail, Bashar and others were among the former, Abdur Rehman-b- Abi Laila said : I met in this mosque 120 companions of the Prophet among whom there was none who when questioned to express an opinion would not have wished that someone else would reply to it. It is narrated that when somebody presented something to someone of Ahle Suffa, he would give it to another who would give it to another and so on, until it finally came back to the first one. Now see what was the condition of the learned men of that age and what is the condition now.
The Prophet said: Let not the people seek legal decision except from three persons, a ruler or a person to whom power is delegated or a religious man. Some one said : the companions used to refer to one another about four things-Immate (leadership), Wasiat (legacy), Amant (deposit) and Fatwa (legal decision). Someone said : One who hurriedly used to give opinion was a less learned man. The activites of the companions and their followers were confined only to four things, reading the Quran,building mosques, Zikr of God and enjoining good had forbiding evil. They heard the Prophet say : There is no good in most of their secret talks except only in. his who enjoins
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alms-giving or what is right or concord among men. Hazrat Ibn Hussan said. Any question of legal decision, when put to them, used to be placed before Hazrat Omar who used to call all the warriors who took part in the battle of Badr for consulation. The Prophet said : If you see a man adopting silence and asceticism, take advice from him, as he is not free from wisdom.