Verse No. 12

“No time is devoid of a man from the people of Remembrance, whom people ask about what they do not know, and he provides them with the correct answer.”

قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى:

﴿فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ﴾[1]

Translation:

God Almighty has said:

“Ask the people of remembrance if you do not know”.

Considerations

1 . أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو إِبْرَاهِيمَ السَّمَرْقَنْدِيُّ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ يَقُولُ: مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فِي الْكِتَابِ شَيْئًا لَا يَسَعُ النَّاسَ الْقِيَامُ بِهِ، وَقَدْ أَنْزَلَ فِيهِ: ﴿فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ﴾، فَلَا يَخْلُو زَمَانٌ مِنْ رَجُلٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ الذِّكْرِ يَسْأَلُهُ النَّاسُ عَمَّا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ فَيُجِيبُهُمْ بِالصَّوَابِ، وَلَئِنْ قُلْتَ لِهَؤُلَاءِ الْجُهَّالِ: اعْرِفُوا هَذَا الرَّجُلَ وَاسْأَلُوهُ لَيَقُولُنَّ: «إِنْ أَنْتُمْ إِلَّا مُبْتَدِعُونَ»! قُلْتُ: جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ، إِنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ أَنَّ الْعُلَمَاءَ كُلَّهُمْ أَهْلُ الذِّكْرِ، فَقَالَ: أَكُلُّهُمْ يُصِيبُونَ فِي الْجَوَابِ إِذَا سُئِلُوا؟! قُلْتُ: لَا، قَالَ: لَا يَأْمُرُ اللَّهُ بِسُؤَالِ قَوْمٍ قَدْ لَا يُصِيبُونَ فِي الْجَوَابِ!

Translation:

Abu Ibrahim al-Samarqandi informed us, he said: I heard Mansoor say: God has not revealed in the Book what people are not able to do, and He has revealed in It: “Ask the people of remembrance if you do not know”, so no time is empty of a man of remembrance that people ask him about what they do not know and he gives them the right answer, and if you tell these ignorant people to know this man and ask him, they will say that you are but the people of bid’ah! I said: May I be sacrificed for you, these people say that the scholars are all people of remembrance, so he said: Do all of them give right answers when asked? I said: No, he said: God does not command to ask a group that may not give right answers!

2 . أَخْبَرَنَا صَالِحُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ السَّبْزَوَارِيُّ، قَالَ: كُنَّا عِنْدَ الْعَبْدِ الصَّالِحِ فِي مَسْجِدٍ وَكَانَ مَعَنَا رِجَالٌ مِنَ السَّلَفِيَّةِ، فَأَقْبَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَقَالَ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحْدَثَ لَكُمْ ذِكْرًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ، وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا السَّلَفَ، فَإِنَّ السَّلَفَ لَمْ يَتَّبِعُوا السَّلَفَ، وَلَكِنِ اتَّبَعُوا ذِكْرَهُمْ، وَإِنَّ مَنْ وَقَفَ عَلَى سَلَفٍ وَلَمْ يَتَّبِعْ مَا أَحْدَثَ اللَّهُ لَهُ مِنْ ذِكْرٍ فَقَدْ قَطَعَ مَا أَمَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ أَنْ يُوصَلَ وَضَلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ، ﴿أُولَئِكَ يُنَادَوْنَ مِنْ مَكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ﴾[2]! قَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ السَّلَفِيَّةِ: أَلَيْسَ كُلُّ مُحْدَثٍ بِدْعَةً؟! فَالْتَفَتَ إِلَيْهِ وَقَالَ: الْبِدْعَةُ مَا أَحْدَثَ النَّاسُ فِي الدِّينِ، وَالذِّكْرُ مَا أَحْدَثَ اللَّهُ، ثُمَّ قَرَأَ: ﴿مَا يَأْتِيهِمْ مِنْ ذِكْرٍ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ مُحْدَثٍ إِلَّا اسْتَمَعُوهُ وَهُمْ يَلْعَبُونَ﴾[3]، قَالَ الرَّجُلُ: وَمَا ذِكْرٌ مُحْدَثٌ؟! قَالَ: إِمَامٌ يُحْدِثُهُ اللَّهُ فِي كُلِّ قَرْنٍ يَهْدِي بِأَمْرِهِ، لِيُنْذِرَ مَنْ كَانَ حَيًّا وَيُحِقَّ الْقَوْلَ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ، قَالَ الرَّجُلُ: مَا سَمِعْنَا بِهَذَا فِي الْقُرُونِ الثَّلَاثَةِ، إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا بِدْعَةٌ! قَالَ: وَيْحَكَ، أَتَأْبَى إِلَّا أَنْ تُضَاهِئَ قَوْلَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا؟! قَالُوا: ﴿مَا سَمِعْنَا بِهَذَا فِي الْمِلَّةِ الْآخِرَةِ إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا اخْتِلَاقٌ﴾[4]! وَاللَّهِ مَا كُنْتُ أَظُنُّ أَنَّ مُسْلِمًا يَقُولُ بِهَذَا حَتَّى سَمِعْتُكُمْ تَقُولُونَ بِهِ يَا مَعْشَرَ السَّلَفِيَّةِ!

Translation:

Salih ibn Muhammad al-Sabzawari informed us, he said: We were in a mosque with the righteous servant[5] and there were men from Salafiyya with us, so he looked at them and said: Indeed, God has renewed a new remembrance for you, then follow it and do not follow the predecessors; because the predecessors did not follow the predecessors, but followed their remembrance, and indeed, whoever stops at the predecessors and does not follow the remembrance that God has renewed for him, has cut off what God has commanded to be always kept constant and has gone astray from His way, “they are being called from a faraway place”! A man from Salafiyya said: Is it not that every renewed thing is bid’ah?! So His Honor paid attention to him and said: Bid’ah is what people have renewed in the religion, and the remembrance is what God has renewed, then he recited this verse that says: “Never comes to them a renewed remembrance from their Lord, unless they listen to it as they play around”. The man said: What is the renewed remembrance?! He said: An Imam whom God renews in every century that guides by His command, in order to warn everyone who is alive and prove the words to disbelievers. The man said: We have not heard this in the first centuries, this is nothing but bid’ah! He said: Woe to you! Do you want nothing but to speak like those who disbelieved?! They said: “We have not heard of this in the religion of past people, this is but a fabrication”. I swear to God, I did not think any Muslim would say this until I heard you say it, O people of Salfiyya!